“I came down with a bad cold. I was nauseous and chalked it up to medication, but something inside me said to take the test. ‘PREGNANT.’ I wasn’t convinced. There was barely enough time for my body to naturally miscarry. It didn’t make sense. An ultrasound hours later confirmed the news. ‘You’re 8 weeks!’ We were so happy, but also angry. We had spent thousands of dollars on fertility treatment only to conceive naturally, TWICE.”
‘Danielle. You’re, like, really pregnant!’ I had JUST miscarried. How could I get pregnant TWICE?!’: Woman conceives 2 children naturally after infertility, donates remaining embryos to help another family birth twins
‘He was so nervous. From the darkness of the hallway comes a little curly haired boy, weary of all these people.’: Couple adopts twin survivors of shaken baby syndrome, loses son just 2 years shy of being in his ‘forever home’
“We heard about twin boys with Shaken Baby Syndrome. It was a super stormy morning, we ended up having to pull off the interstate. I was dying to get to them. Everyone held back tears as long as we could. Malakai was scared. He had no idea who we were. He’d hardly look at my husband. He passed away less than 6 hours after saying goodbye to his siblings. I still would have driven to a teeny tiny town in the pouring rain to pick he and his twin up to bring them to their forever home.”
‘I’m a twin, and we’re both going to deliver your twins!’ ‘What?!,’ the mom asked.’: Identical twin nurses help deliver newborn twins in same hospital they were born, ‘It’s always been my dream’
“The elevator going up to labor and delivery was right outside the ER door. I’d see pregnant women walking through the waiting room. It was a constant reminder of where I wanted to be. My second week at work, I happened to see my twin sister in the hall. ‘I’m going to the delivery of twin girls today!’ Later, I was assigned too. I met the mom. ‘Guess what?! I have something to tell you!’”
‘What are the chances lightning strikes twice?’ Then I got the news. ‘Ashley…I have cancer, too.’: Twins battle breast cancer simultaneously, ‘we found strength in each other’
“The day after my biopsy, I received a phone call. ‘Wow, the results came fast. Must be good news!’ The nurse put the doctor on. ‘Hi, Danielle. I want you to know we found cancer…’ Suddenly, all of the air was sucked out of my body. I called my sister. ‘Man, you cursed me. I have it.’ I could hear my mom in the background saying, ‘Are you EFFING kidding me?!’ We were battling this together.”
‘Learning his mistress was pregnant with twins felt like his hands were still wrapped around my neck.’: Woman escapes domestic abuse relationship after neighbor overhears desperate pleas for ‘help,’ raising little boy has been her ‘saving grace’
“I’d get dressed, only to realize my keys were gone from their usual spot. ‘Babe, I took them by accident,’ he’d tell me. My husband had his cellphone number programmed to receive all the notifications when visitors buzzed our apartment. No one could visit me. At 7 months pregnant, I rushed into my closet. I was in the fetal position cradling my stomach. I whispered to my baby, ‘Mommy will always protect you. We’re going to be okay.’ ‘Get out of there immediately,’ my cousin told me.”
‘You won’t ‘get over it.’ And you shouldn’t. My grandma still gets choked up about her angel baby.’: Woman suffers twin miscarriage, ‘I talk to our babies every day’
“I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve seen my grandma emotional. 50 years after she lost her baby, she sat across from her two granddaughters and bravely told the story through teary eyes. Her face was glowing, every emotion so pronounced. 50 years later, and my ferociously strong and stubborn grandma is still grieving. You and I will grieve our babies forever, too.”
‘How can you allow a dead baby to stay inside you?’ ‘Because it’s my baby.’ I’m keeping her safe.’: Mom suffers multiple miscarriages, loss of twin, says ‘to me, every child matters’
“We rushed to the doctor. I was sadly met with little concern. ‘There is nothing we can do. Let nature take its course, what will be, will be!’ I chose the natural route. I wanted to keep her with me for as long as possible. A scan showed the baby had grown further, but her heart remained still. ‘No Zoe, sadly your baby hasn’t miraculously come back to life. Yes, we know you had hoped it would happen.’”
‘The cancer unit? How’d this go from ‘Hawaii 5-0’ to ‘Fighting-4-Life’ in 24 hours? This can’t be right.’: Dad insists he’ll be ‘taking my family to the top, whatever it takes’ despite infant daughter’s Down syndrome diagnosis, then cancer battle
“‘I will not be leaving her side,’ I responded in the clearest daddy-bear tone I had. Dad’s on guard. It was the look in the new doctor’s eyes that told me, I needed to go. I kissed my perfect baby girl goodbye. I’m the bug being drawn into the glowing light of the bug-zapper. Like a true ‘lamb-to-the-slaughter’ walk.”
‘Prepare to say goodbye to at least 1 of your children.’ It’s inconceivable.’: Twin mom feels both ‘joy’ and ‘pain’ after 1 twin dies and the other survives
“It was the only time we had with her. We were able to hold her and see her sweet face, it was beautiful. ‘Everything happens for a reason. At least you have one.’ They are poking the wound. The gravity of what happened to us is too hard for people to imagine.”
‘Nat, are you pregnant?!’ I was infertile, on birth control, had my period, and broken up with my boyfriend. NO WAY!’: Woman gets pregnant with twins, delivers ‘one to earth, one to heaven’
“The technician said, ‘Well, which news do you want first?’ I immediately freaked out. ‘Breathe, honey. You’re 17 weeks pregnant with twins. Do you want to know the rest?’ I had zero intent of getting pregnant. ‘WHAT?’ ‘Twin boys!’ I called my mom in tears. ‘Please don’t kill me! Don’t hate me!’ The father wanted no part of my pregnancy.”
