“I was sitting down at the table while my four-year-old twins enjoyed their pretzels. All of a sudden, a little girl with blonde hair came and sat down. She really didn’t say anything, all she was doing was smiling. I thought, ‘I wonder if her mom is looking for her.’ I started to get more anxious.”
‘He had tears in his eyes as he grabbed his daughter’s hand. ‘I’m so sorry. My wife died in a car accident. She wanted to hang out with you guys.’: Mom ‘forever changed’ by chance encounter with stranger
‘We can’t find a heartbeat for Baby B, C, or D.’ I was 19. I still remember my heart breaking. ‘I can’t lose my babies, I can’t.’: Teen mom births miracle micro-preemie after losing 3 of her quadruplets
“We had 3 babies in one sac, and 1 in another. I kept telling myself, ‘It’s going to be okay.’ It just wasn’t enough to sustain them all. My water broke. It was everywhere. I didn’t think it was ever going to stop, and I wasn’t even 24 weeks along yet. I kept crying out, ‘Please wait! It’s too early!’ I was petrified.”
‘They’re gone, we lost them.’ A substitute teacher touched my belly. There was no belly. I had to mutter these words.’: Couple struggling with Fragile X Syndrome, infertility, finally pregnant with rainbow baby, ‘People tell me how strong I am. I wasn’t given another choice.’
“We were having identical twin girls. My husband and I were overjoyed. But our twins did not develop their brains. We lost both our little girls. Because I am a teacher, I had to write to all of my students’ parents about what happened, asking them to explain it to their 5-year-old children. There was no belly. I had to mutter the words, ‘They’re gone, we lost them.’ It leaves behind scars, fears, and triggers.”
‘In a year, sure. But right now, we’d all suffer.’ I turned down the promotion. Work will always be there, but my babies won’t always be this small.’: Mom shamelessly turns down promotion to spend more time with twin toddlers
“‘I think they could offer me a promotion. What do you think about that?’ I stood at the kitchen counter and brought up the topic to my husband almost hesitantly. Our identical twin sons were 16 months old and had spent their life in and out of hospitals. ‘What do YOU think?’ he responded. The resounding response from my heart was, ‘No.’ And for the first time I realized that motherhood has truly changed me.”
‘Are you experiencing any stress?’ I hadn’t had a menstrual cycle since I was 15. My husband had testicular cancer when he was 21.’: Mom battles preeclampsia while birthing first set of twins, ‘We need to deliver immediately’
“While I was at the gym, I felt a sudden gush. At first, I thought it was water, but I looked down and saw blood. I panicked, fearing the worst. Everything seemed better. I woke up in the middle of the night not feeling well and went into the bathroom. There was blood everywhere – it looked like a murder scene. Miraculously the babies were fine. I noticed my legs were severely swollen and I had a bad headache. My husband took one look at my ‘cankles’ and said, ‘We need to call the doctor, NOW.”
‘As our boys stood at the finish line, we saw something ignite inside them. They began jumping up and down!’: Mom finds ‘magical’ hobby for autistic twins after 15 years of searching
“My boys are twins and both severely autistic. They can’t have a job, make friends, or drive a car. But we noticed early on that they had a special gift: running. My husband and I thought, ‘Why are we standing on the sidelines watching them? We want to do this, too!’ Their excitement was contagious.”
‘I wouldn’t use Chapstick. I was afraid I might lick my lips and accidentally swallow some of it, convinced it would make me fat.’: Woman suffering eating disorder is admitted to recovery center, ‘We aren’t treated like people. We were treated like patients’
“All doors were alarmed, and I was surrounded by strangers. My identical twin made me a blanket to take to treatment. She wanted me to feel at home. The staff wouldn’t allow me to have it. Since I was still on Red level, I wasn’t allowed into my bedroom. I sat on the floor in the hallway by my room and cried to my mom on the phone, begging her to bring me home. As I cried on the floor, a patient walked up to me and handed me a little slip of paper. He had written ‘You can do this’ on a scrap of paper. I sobbed. I still have his note.”
‘I signed up for this. Messes, timeouts and blow outs. You know what I didn’t sign up for? Multiple hospital stays.’: Mom says it’s not about the ‘mess’ it’s about the ‘lesson’
“I’m not ever going to tell them that I wasn’t thinking about the mess, and that I was loving their little faces and the joy that was taking place. That’s MY secret. But it’s the little things. Really. It’s not really about WHO cleans up the mess, it’s about the lesson.”
‘The surgeon ran a plumbing snake through my insides. We were left haggard, anxious. It was our first wedding anniversary.’: Woman learns of infertility after infection, chooses adoption instead of IVF, ‘Like magic, it all became clear’
“At 24, I’d been married to Peter less than a year. ‘Are you alright?’ I must’ve looked flush. My knees gave out. As I stepped toward the waiting room, time slowed to a crawl. Heaving sobs came next. ‘Oh honey,’ she whispered. ‘I am so sorry.’”
‘How far along are you?’ You were unknowingly pregnant, alone, living in a tent under a bridge. I tried my best to keep you calm. My heart broke for you.’: 911 dispatcher recounts phone call from homeless woman that ‘changed her life forever’
“It was 4 a.m. and 39 degrees outside. You were cold and all alone. ‘Can you feel for any parts of the baby?’ You yelled out that you could feel her head! My heart broke for you. Those precious cries are something I will never forget.”
