“I was nervous. I didn’t know if she would understand the baby I was holding is her sister. But when she came to the hospital, she pointed to my belly and said ‘no.’ Then she pointed to Josie and said ‘yes.’ So powerful.”
‘We finally got the call. This baby was due in 2 months, and she had a heart defect that would require open-heart surgery. The second I saw her little face, I fell to the ground.’
‘Best Santa Ever’ Gives Blind, Autistic Boy Magical Holiday Experience
“He asked Matthew if he wanted to feel anything and Matthew said, ‘Your eyes that twinkle.’ My heart was so full.”
‘You might look at these pictures, and feel uncomfortable. You might think, ‘I could never ‘share’ my child like that.’ She leaves the hospital with empty arms.’: Mom says open adoption does not equal co-parenting
“During her second trimester she sent me emails letting me know about the SpaghettiOs he was making her crave. She gave us a jar of pink and blue candies and made us count every single one to find out if it was a boy or a girl. They gave them life and I am teaching them how to live it.”
I’m A Big, Messy Contradiction—And That’s Okay
“At the end of the day, the only thing you really have to do in this world is show up, give yourself a little grace, and love hard.”
‘She was known as ‘Baby A.’ My husband and I hadn’t even discussed names when our triplets arrived more than 17 weeks premature.’
“None of our children were expected to survive. And as hard as it is to admit, I was worried about wasting a name. If none of my children survived, wouldn’t I need those names in the future?”
‘My son’s father got diagnosed at the age of 36 with stage 4 colon cancer, we had been together 10 years, our son was 3-years-old’
“I kept my own grief bottled up inside. Months and months later it just comes crashing back like a wave in the ocean and you can’t catch your breath.”
‘I started to get that pit in my stomach, telling me there was a problem. I went to his room. He was laying on his tummy. I patted his butt, thinking he was still sleeping. He didn’t respond.’
“It was like watching a movie. I wasn’t there. I was watching this poor mom kneeling by her baby boy praying and crying, trying to bring him back. I remember standing in the living room with the cops. Thinking, ‘They’ll save him. They have to save him. They can do it.’”
‘My dad got very angry at me for crying. I was a tiny, 5-week-old baby. He shook me, threw me against a wall.’: Survivor of shaken baby syndrome’s powerful account so ‘other babies won’t have to go through this too’
“I lived with a new family, but things weren’t so good there either. I wasn’t gaining weight and my day care was very concerned about me – a lot of people were, I guess. When DHS finally came to take me, I was found on the floor in animal waste. My new mommy seemed very excited to meet me. I felt safe and loved right away. My new family never left me alone.”
‘My husband said, ‘My chest hurts. I feel like I’m having a heart attack.’ I started getting angry. He wasn’t demanding answers.’: Mom delivers triplets after finding husband has Chiari Malformation, ‘Each day I am more grateful’
“I called my husband: ‘You have to leave work.’ I couldn’t find the right words, so I just showed him the ultrasound pictures. Three perfectly healthy babies. I felt like I was in a dream. We both sat there for what seemed like the whole afternoon. How would we manage this with his new diagnosis and 2 active boys who were already taking up all of our love and energy?”
‘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!”