Toughest of times: Three modern mums celebrate their babies born against the odds

THE dream of motherhood is not always straightforward. To celebrate Mother’s Day we share a group of mums who achieved their dreams against the odds.

A COUPLE whose struggle to conceive eventually resulted in triplets.

A singleton who turned to IVF after giving up finding Mr Right.

And an early birth that left one mum in fear as her baby’s life swung in the balance.

The path to motherhood is not always straightforward and, for some, the journey is filled with tears and torment.

To celebrate Mother’s Day we share the amazing stories of a group of mums who achieved their dreams against the odds.

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I COULDN’T NOT BE A MUM

Belinda Grimmond has always loved children.

She has made them her career, going into early childhood education, and has wanted to be a mother ever since she was a little girl. But the right man just never showed up.

Proud mum Belinda withy Noah.

Last year, at age 37, she decided she could no longer wait and sourced a sperm donor through IVF Australia.

Noah was born four weeks ago.

“I have been single for eight years and I’ve been on dates but it is a minefield. People lie about who they are, they only want one thing and no one wants to be tied down.

“I even dated a few older men thinking they’d be more mature, but they were the same so I lost faith. My friend can’t find anyone who wants to commit either,” she said.

Belinda said it was hard being pregnant without a partner, but still worthwhile.

Going it alone was not what Ms Grimmond planned, but it was her only option as her body clock ticked on.

“It may be selfish of me but I can’t not be a mum. Children mean everything to me, from an early age I always wanted to be a mother. But at age 37, I thought I’m not waiting any longer, so I decided to go down the solo parent path,” she said.

Her friend Olympian Jana Pittman encouraged her to do so. Jana had two of her three children with a sperm donor.

Special pregnancy memories, including ultrasound pictures.

“She has helped me in my journey to become a solo mum,” she said.

The decision came with some grief.

“At the antenatal classes I’d see all the couples, my mum was there for me, she is my rock, but still, you don’t have that partner and the excitement in that respect so there is a bit of grief there,” she said.

Noah settling in to his bedroom in his western Sydney home. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Such worries disappeared when she saw her young son however.

“He is gorgeous and perfect in every way and he has fulfilled everything and given me a purpose. My life wasn’t complete without him,” she said.

Belinda, from Toongabbie, is now planning on adding to her family.

Belinda says her mum Marea Child has been her rock. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“I’ll definitely have another one, whether my knight in shining armour will come along I don’t know, but I can use the same sperm donor. Nothing beats motherhood,” she said.

BORN ON A KNIFE EDGE

There have been plenty of moments in the past four months when Lauren Halliday did not know whether she would get to take her baby boy home.

Austin was born so early that his life was on a knife edge.

Tiny Austin was born at 24 weeks, weighing 600g.

Born at just 24 weeks gestation and weighing just 635 grams, he had only a 50 per cent chance of survival. But Austin was a fighter.

Months later his ecstatic mum will get to take him home from the Royal Women’s Hospital in Randwick this weekend, just in time for Mother’s Day.

Lauren knew she may not get to take Austin home. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“It’s amazing now. To think nearly four months ago we thought we would be going home without a baby, but to take him home for Mother’s Day, it’s just amazing,” she said.

Nurturing Austin has changed Lauren’s outlook on life.

While she had always been career-focused in her marketing role the first-time Illawong mum said such extreme experiences can’t help but alter you.

“Motherhood changes you,” she said.

All-important skin to skin contact.

“I was always work oriented, but just to be able to step away and watch him grown ... it is something so very unique. We know we are lucky because not every baby makes it, so we are extremely grateful.”

I’VE WON THE LOTTERY THREE TIMES OVER

Blue Mountains couple Christine and Douglas Kennedy had tried for a baby for eight years. But Christine suffered polycystic ovarian syndrome where cysts grow on the ovaries and hampers conception.

As a result they were years of miscarriages, tears and dashed dreams.

Christine Kennedy with triplets Orion, Onyx and Odin.

Then the couple turned to fertility treatment.

“I had an ovulation injection (to increase egg production) and instead of my body releasing one egg, it released three. Then we tried naturally that month.

Orion, Onyx and Odin in Katoomba Hospital.

“We had the first scan at seven weeks and after a while, the scanner said ‘let me double check but I think you’ve got three in there’. We were shocked.

My husband’s first words were ‘we’re going to need a bigger car, and a bigger house’ and then my mum burst into tears of happiness,” the 29-year-old said.

‘They are very cheeky little boys’.

The Australia Post worker was put on modified duties but at 23 weeks she was ordered off her feet and onto bed rest. The triplets arrived at 29 weeks, 11 weeks early and weighing just over one kilogram each.

Christine says motherhood is everything she hoped it would be.

Sons Onyx, Odin and Orion are non-identical bundles of joy who are now nine months old, and motherhood is everything Christine wished for — albeit a little full-on.

The possibilities for newborn shots are just too cute. Picture: Sarah Moore

“It’s amazing, it’s something I have hoped for for a long time and I didn’t think I’d get to be one.

“They make me smile every day, they are very cheeky little boys,” she said.

“I feel like I have won the lottery and I feel so many people wished and hoped for us to have kids and their wishes were multiplied by three.”