Who's That Girl?

My journey to motherhood wasn’t an easy one. For us, it wasn’t just a flick of a switch and SNAP — a baby. It was four years of struggles, doctor appointments, heartbreak, and even a loss that eventually led us to our blessing: a beautiful baby girl.

The first few years after her birth were challenging too. From open heart surgery to three hip surgeries, seven specialists, and an abundance of appointments at SickKids Hospital — you name it, we went through it. But look at the incredible, resilient, strong girl I have today.

Notice a theme though? Nothing throughout my life has ever really come easy. But with every roadblock and every struggle, we got through it and became stronger because of it.

I always dreamed of having a family. The classic Disney dream — the husband, the kids, the whole picture. Ideally, at least two children, and in a perfect world maybe a boy and a girl. But once I finally conceived and carried full term, none of that mattered anymore. I simply wanted a healthy, happy baby.

When I heard Mark say, “It’s a girl,” after that final push, I instantly burst into tears. A sweet baby girl. A lifelong best friend. That’s exactly what I felt in that moment. I felt unbelievably lucky and blessed.

I thought having a girl would be easy because I could relate to her. Mark always imagined himself with a boy, but wow… did he ever become the proudest, happiest girl dad imaginable.

I remember sitting beside him during one of her difficult moments and him turning to me and saying:
“I can’t imagine having anybody else — not a boy, not another girl. She is exactly who I was meant to have, and I love her so damn much it hurts.”

How beautiful is that?

Mark wasn’t someone who posted often on social media, but when he did, it was almost always about his little girl. Whether it was a photo, a comment, or a simple caption, the message was always the same:
“Love this girl so much.”

And she absolutely stole his heart.

Because of our struggles conceiving and all of her health hurdles, we made the difficult decision not to try for more children. For years, it didn’t really phase me because life already felt chaotic enough. But deep down, in the quiet parts of my heart, I still yearned for more children. I think that’s a very natural feeling.

Our home and family life was always beautifully female-dominated — myself, Mila, our dog Minnie, and now even our cat Willow. All girls.

Until the most incredible male blessings entered our lives.

Four of them, to be exact.

After an amazing weekend spent building Lego, watching action-packed movies and shows, laughing, talking, and simply enjoying quality time together with what I lovingly call my “bonus boys,” my heart feels fuller than I ever imagined possible.

What an incredible gift it is to love and be part of these boys’ lives. I may not be their mother, nor would I ever try to replace her, but I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to build genuine relationships and meaningful bonds with each of them.

We’ve grown from two… to six.

How lucky are we to have so much more love to share. 

Love is such a beautiful thing. It expands. It grows. It reaches far beyond blood relatives. And my heart continues to overflow with more of it as we spend time together and create beautiful memories in this second part of our lives.

xo LM