”When Joshua was born, there was no cry. His umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and the doctor had to pry it off piece by piece. The second I saw him, I knew. At that moment, everything changed.”
‘I’m 25 years old. This is my first baby. I couldn’t even look at my husband. But the second I held him, I was madly in love.’: Mom says despite what she was told about Down syndrome diagnosis, ‘this boy was going to be a blessing’
‘I place my son on the table. I’m concerned about the size of his belly. ‘Does it look too big?’ I see the fear on her face. My heart drops.’
“Sobs come from my chest, uncontrollably. This cannot actually be happening. I tell my husband to get Jameson dressed, in his car seat, and out the door now.”
‘I love inspecting the vessels in umbilical cords. My awe never ceases over how our bodies are so intricately woven in the womb. I love to share my excitement over what others consider ‘gross.’
“A lot of people think it’s just a ‘tube’ of sorts transporting nutrients to their baby. But…it’s so much more intricately designed than that!”
‘Did I really experience that or was it a dream? The pastor asks, ‘Have you had any problems with your pregnancy?’ I reply ‘NO.’’
“Immediately I call my husband. I asked him to meet me at the hospital (still no tears and I don’t understand). The lady informs me my baby boy died 3 days ago.”
‘Her worried look spoke volumes. ‘How much did you weigh before this pregnancy?’ My doctor laid a hand on my leg.’: Mom’s harrowing journey with umbilical cord not giving son enough nutrients
“’I’m sure it’s nothing. Some babies are just small,’ she said. I was beginning to make connections in my head. I had been 115 pounds before pregnancy, and was now down to 94 pounds. But weren’t pregnant women supposed to gain weight? ‘There is a blood flow issue. The umbilical cord isn’t working properly.’ I heard nothing else.”
‘Babies don’t have strokes! Or so we thought.’ Mom warns of son’s pediatric stroke in the womb, wasn’t aware until he was 6 months old
“It was a massive stroke. Big enough to kill a grown man. It was horrifying. This could not be happening to us.”
‘There is no heartbeat’: Mom turns devastating stillbirth at full term into opportunity to make a difference for ‘other parents who will walk this road’
“Over and over I sobbed into Tony’s neck, ‘I’m so sorry.’ I carried her. I should have kept her safe. What did I do wrong? Did I sleep on my back? Maybe I shouldn’t have eaten that lunchmeat. Why didn’t I make my doctor induce that morning?”
‘I have an idea!’: Midwife spells LOVE with baby’s umbilical cord in breathtaking photo
“It is a beautiful representation of what was connected between mama and baby Milly for those 9 months: love.”
Marine helps with friend’s baby via emergency C-section: ‘She was so emotional and scared’
“I knew she was new to Yuma and didn’t have friends here and this was her first baby.”
Mom leaves newborn son attached to his placenta for 9 days after birth: ‘It worked itself out beautifully’
“I shared because in all of the mysteries of reproduction and childbirth, this made sense to me.”
