“I was 18 when I married my high school sweetheart. I hesitantly resigned myself to becoming a youth pastor’s wife, and told myself I’d learn to bake casseroles and become the epitome of domesticity. I told myself this was who I was. I never anticipated the crash.”
‘I broke things off with my husband. It was a shock to my family. I hid my unhappiness well. Then I met Sean.’: Teen bride finds ‘unconditional love’ after realizing she didn’t want to be ‘pastor’s wife,’ is ‘grateful for second chance at happiness’
‘Man. I’m so glad I didn’t miss this.’ I was scared. I didn’t want this life. I didn’t want to be ‘chosen’ for this.’: Mom embraces son’s Down syndrome after admitting fear made her consider abortion
“I’ll never forget the way my heart dropped when someone said, ‘I’m not pro-termination. But in complex situations like these, sometimes it is appropriate.’ With heartbreaking honesty that rips my insides apart now, I’ll tell you – I went home and googled abortion procedures. A Christian woman who loves Him with all of her heart — I googled it.”
‘She was unable to find the baby’s legs. She also couldn’t find the left arm.’ I squeezed my husband’s hand.’: Mom knows daughter with limb difference is in their lives ‘for a reason,’ she is surrounded by ‘love, support’
“There were still no legs. All I could picture were two tiny baby legs floating around in my belly with our baby girl. ‘No,’ she said. ‘They didn’t fall off. They just never grew.’ They laid her on my chest. ‘She’s here, she’s okay,’ we said through tears of joy. Our beautiful girl was here. All I could think was that we’d be able to go get mani-pedi’s together when she was older; but you better believe I’m not paying full price for one hand and two toenails!”
‘This is crazy! We don’t have any pink hats left. This has NEVER happened before.’: Mom realizes signs from her dad in heaven were ‘loud’ throughout pregnancy with son
“Each patient gets a blue and a pink hat. She pulled out a blue one to hand to me. ‘It’s strange. There weren’t any pink ones in there. I don’t know if you believe in signs, but there’s no way the baby you’re carrying is a girl. Absolutely no way!’ I’ve only carried 4 girls. To me, there was no way this baby could be a boy. I wanted nothing more than to give my little brother we adopted a brother.”
‘I was 41 weeks pregnant, upside down in a ditch, holding my husband’s hand as he stopped breathing.’: Woman ‘T-boned by drunk drivers’ on the way to deliver baby, loses ‘love of her life’
“We were on our way to the hospital to deliver our baby. ‘Babe, I’m really excited!’ I looked up. We were going through a green light. Then we were hit. Everything went numb. I tried to unbuckle my seat belt, but it was jammed. I had no way of getting out. My water broke. My husband just lay beside me, lifeless. I held his hand the entire time.”
‘She put her tiny hand around my finger. We said our hellos, then we said our goodbyes. ‘It’s okay, mama. It’s going to be okay.’ It wasn’t.’: Woman terminates pregnancy after lethal Trisonomy 13 diagnosis, vows to to ‘carry her with us for the rest of our lives’
“I remember the phone call as clear as day. I was home, and our daughter was playing in her room. The phone rang. We were told that our baby did not have Down Syndrome. There was a ‘but’ at the end of the sentence. Then the tears came. Loud obnoxious tears. I hung up the phone and cried as hard as I ever have. She wasn’t going to live.”
‘I held his tiny hand. I knew what was coming. We made the heartbreaking decision and waited for the chaplain arrive.’: Parents ‘devastated’ over loss of son born with Down syndrome, congenital heart defects
“He waited for his dad and I to be able to hold him before he went. I held him as the nurses took the ventilator, with his daddy by his side. I was Saxon’s favorite place to be. I was his safe space. I believe with all my heart, he waited for me.”
‘What? No hands?’ My Dad was minutes away from picking my husband up. The Universe chose me to be Ivy’s mom.’: Mother learns of daughter’s limb difference, refuses terminating pregnancy because ‘she was ours to love, protect’
“My husband firmly, passionately said to me, ‘I’ll do whatever I have to do to take care of her. I’ll build her anything. I want her. I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll take care of her for the rest of her life.’ He was right. She saw me and said, ‘Yes. I want her. I want HER to be my mommy.’”
‘WHAT!? Going from no kids to 2 under 2 in 1 day?! What on earth were we getting ourselves into?! My husband and I looked at each other. ‘WHO THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?’
“The docs were certain I had mono. I kept thinking to myself, ‘There’s no way this is happening again’. The next day I get an urgent call. The clinic frantically demanded for me to be at the hospital ASAP for an ultrasound. I literally laughed. ‘I’m not pregnant, you must have called the wrong patient.’”
‘I was afraid of having a girl because of my mother. Into my teens, she taunted me about my weight. I was terrified.’: Mom’s candid fear about having daughter after her mom caused childhood PTSD, eating disorder
“The ultrasound technician asked me, ‘Alright, are you ready?’ I asked with excitement, ‘Is it a boy?!’ She shook her head. ‘Nope.’ ‘It’s a girl?’ I was hoping I misunderstood her. ‘Yes,’ she said. My heart sank. I felt it would be impossible to have a successful relationship with a daughter.”
