‘I Loved My Babies:’ Grieving Mother Shares Photos of Premature Twins to Cope with Loss

Stock image of a premature baby. Public Domain Pictures/Pixabay

A mother in Wisconsin is grieving the loss of her 20-week old twins after they were born prematurely. A third had died in the womb two months earlier due to pregnancy complications.

Joy turned into a deep feeling of sorrow for Desiree Buhrow-Olson, 21, from Blair, Wisconsin, after complications resulted in the premature arrival of her daughter Natalie, who was stillborn, and her son Mason, who was born breathing but passed away just a few hours later, reported the Daily Mail.

To cope with the tragedy and celebrate the short life of her babies, she took to social media to share bereavement photos.

“I loved my babies–including our other triplet, their sister Madeline, who died in the womb in February–and there are so many other people that cared for them,” said the mother, according to Daily Mail.

“I wouldn’t have wanted them not being able to see their grand-babies, nieces, nephews, so I posted the pictures,” she said.

The twins were born at just 20 weeks, weighing just half a pound each. While Mason was 9.5 inches long, Natalie was just 9.25 inches.

Buhrow-Olson shared a photo of her with her babies so that the rest of her family could see them and to help everyone cope with the loss.

“I wrote on Facebook I was going to do it, and said, ‘If you don’t want to see them, message me,’ but everyone wants to. It’s closure for them,” the mourning mother said, according to Daily Mail.

“I know that the pictures are a little much for some people, but I think they’re still very pretty. I don’t know what I would do without them, and the posts I write too, help me cope.”

During a routine pregnancy scan, doctors told Buhrow-Olson that she was expecting triplets, but that the scans had revealed a grapefruit-sized cyst growing on her left ovary.

She said she was shocked to know she was expecting triplets because no one in her family had ever conceived them before.

“Then they said I had a cyst. It wasn’t cancerous but they had to remove it or I'd lose my babies,” she said.

Her cyst was to be operated on in March, but in February, she came to know that one of her babies, Madeline, had died in the womb.

“I had some spotting before but I thought there would have been more blood, losing a baby. We called her Madeline and it was hard to take in that she'd died,” Buhrow-Olson said, according to Daily Mail.

“It was sad to hear, but we were still grateful that the other two were still alive. However, I was nervous about the operation. I didn’t want to lose any more babies,” she said.

Buhrow-Olson had a successful operation to remove the cyst in March, but two months later, she found a wet patch on her bed. Shortly after, she began cramping and went into labor.

At the hospital, doctors found that one of Natalie’s amniotic sacs had ruptured and embroynic fluid was leaking out.

“Doctors said this baby could make it, but they didn’t know,” she said. “I was heartbroken. I cried so hard. I was in denial.”

A few hours later, Natalie and Mason were born prematurely.

“When I held them, I kept hoping it was a bad dream. I hoped I‘d wake up and they’d still be in my belly. I wondered how this could happen,” said the mother.

Buhrow-Olson said that she'll never forget her triplets. She is currently spending time with her best friend who just gave birth.

“Whatever happens, we will never forget Madeline, Natalie and Mason, and for now I’m happy seeing my best friend’s baby and sharing in her joy,” she told Daily Mail.