“My husband and I needed to be together, but not at home. Not at the home where we were going to raise our first child together. Where we had the room picked out for the nursery. The home that had every ultrasound image plastered on the fridge.”
‘My body failed me. Betrayed me in the worst way. I wanted it to be a mistake.’: Woman’s first pregnancy results in miscarriage, ‘I’m not going to give up on becoming a mom’
‘I went to my baby checkup today alone. My doctor and I elbow bumped through weary smiles. As soon as I got into my car, tears started rolling down my face.’: Pregnant woman shares ‘devastating’ reality of expecting mommas during pandemic
“My doctor asked how I was holding up. We tried to keep things light, but there was nothing light about making sure not to share pens, hand sanitizing every 2 minutes, and placing the Doppler on my stomach from a distance. There was a heavy energy in the room. As soon as I got into my car, tears started rolling down my face.”
‘It took him nearly an hour and a half to finish a bottle. Milk would come out from his nose, his ears. EVERYWHERE.’: Boy’s cleft lip and palate ‘gave him a chance to know why he’s special from an early age’
“I was alone when they told me. I do remember carrying my still squirming baby boy up the stairs to his room and collapsing on the ground next to his dresser, unable to move, unable to even cry. A strange thing happened during this time. I grew up. I got tough. To the rest of the world, it was a defect, but to us, it was precious.”
‘Doctors told me it was ‘a blocked milk duct.’ It felt like a lemon seed under my skin, close to my areola, and hadn’t hurt at all.’: Woman with breast cancer stays positive, ‘I’ve got this. Everything will be okay.’
“My diagnosis came when I was a 48-year-old, post-menopausal woman with no biological children. I told myself, ‘I have to get my sh*t together quick!’ Things were progressing well until a few days after we moved into a new home. I was experiencing severe shortness of breath, which I’d mistakenly attributed to chemo side effects. Long story short, 840 gallons of propane leaked into our home. By the time the leak was discovered, my treatment plan had been modified.”
‘What’s wrong with me?’ I burst into tears. My ovaries were that of a 40-year-old. I longed so desperately to make my sweet girl a big sister.’: Mom births baby with epilepsy, autism, then miracle baby after battling endometriosis
“Our thoughts of having a second child were buried under years of trauma. Until one day. ‘Kylee, I want a baby.’ That sparked something inside me I never thought would happen again. 4 days after my transfer, I took a pregnancy test expecting nothing. There was a very faint second line. ‘This has to be a fluke.’ My heart began racing. A different kind of panic ensued.”
‘Calm down a little. Sleep it off.’ My baby had an egg-sized lump on his skull. I was told I was ‘just a stressed out momma.’: Baby diagnosed with Chiari Malformation after mom’s concerns brushed off for months, ‘I’m so glad I trusted my gut’
“Rowen’s skull was swelling. He started grabbing his head constantly and screaming. He was throwing up non-stop and couldn’t even turn his head. I kept hearing time and time again from doctors, ‘You just need some sleep.’ It got to the point where every time they saw me, they asked, ‘Are you getting sleep? You need it badly.’ I started to doubt myself. Was I going crazy? But deep down, I knew something wasn’t right. I decided to go with my gut. Enough was ENOUGH.”
‘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.”
‘Were you bit by a mosquito during pregnancy?’ The doctor said, ‘I’m having a hard time finding the baby’s head.’: Mom births miracle baby with microcephaly, ‘He brings us endless joy!’
“Every diaper I got to change came with so much excitement. Every feeding was so special to me. But secretly, I was still scared. My heart was attached, but my mind knew to keep a distance, just in case. And then I felt it. ‘This baby isn’t going anywhere.’”
‘I’m under the impression you already know your baby is missing its left hand.’ The doctor looked mortified.’: Couple learns of daughter’s limb difference, ‘angry’ after doctor suggests termination
“I can still smell the pungent cleaner that room smelled so strongly of. My gut told me he wasn’t telling me something. I immediately saw red. Oh the tears I cried. Nothing can prepare you for news like that, nothing. I wanted to protect her. She was perfect.”
‘What do we do with the remaining embryos?’ We signed away the parental rights. I was in for one more shock: TWINS!’: Couple donates extra embryos to family battling infertility, ‘They were put in our path for a reason!’
“We decided we were done having children, but still had 6 embryos frozen. I created a Facebook profile in hopes of finding a deserving family. I didn’t expect much. Within hours, we had EIGHT families interested. Kate and Seth were put in our path for a reason.”
