“Oh god, you’re so sweet, you’re making this difficult for me,” Hannah Mongie choked on tears as she recorded parting words for her baby, who was just a few days old, because the young mother had decided to put him up for adoption.
„This is for you, Taggart. I made this video so you will know how much I love you.”
Baby’s father dies during pregnancy
The 18-year-old and her boyfriend were looking forward to their child. The two have been together for a while when Hannah surprisingly finds out she’s pregnant. Her boyfriend always wanted a boy: “He’s already envisioned teaching you baseball and stuff like that,” Hannah tells her baby.
But everything is supposed to be different, a short time later the father of the unborn child dies. When she talks about her boyfriend’s death, Hannah has to take several deep breaths in order not to completely lose her composure: “Two days after hearing your heartbeat for the first time, his heart stopped.”
Her boyfriend died suddenly while he was sleeping. The pregnant Hannah is in deep despair, on the one hand she cannot imagine giving away the last piece she has of her beloved friend, but she suspects that her child could have it better with other parents.
Then the pregnant woman makes a decision
“One day I woke up and just knew that my child belongs with other parents.” So she sets out to find a couple who will fulfill all her wishes for their child: Brad and Emily Marsh.
The two already have an adopted child and are aiming for an open adoption in which the biological mother remains in contact with her child and is part of his life.
“Emily will be the best mom in the world!”
“Over time, your mom Emily and I have become very, very good friends. We waited together for your birth. She will be the best mom in the world because she is one of the most amazing people I know.”
Still, anyone who plays her goodbye message hears that Hannah is having a very hard time giving her baby away.”For the past few weeks I’ve just been waiting for the two precious days that I’ll have you all to myself. Now the last hour of these days has come. I’m about to hand you over to Brad and Emily and then you’ll be their little boy.”
At this point, Hannah has to stop and sobs. “I just want you to know that I love you more than any other person in the world.”
Hannah can hardly get the last words over her lips
She explains to her son that she is giving him away for love, because she wants the best for him and wants him to have a mom and a dad. Then she comes to her last words:
“I will now end this video and give you as many kisses as possible in our last hour. I love you, my little boy, my son. With love, your mother Hannah.”
Hannah doesn’t regret her decision – on the contrary
Although this farewell message is so incredibly sad, it is important to Mama Hannah and the adoptive parents to share it.
“I hope that everyone who sees this video will get a new perspective on how hard it is for a mom to give away her baby. It’s far from heartless. Love is the definition of loving someone so much that you sacrifice your happiness for them.”
Even if the process was very painful, Hannah does not regret her decision to this day. She lives just 10 minutes drive from her son and sees him several times a month. She and Emily are still good friends: “I’m so grateful that my son introduced me to her and her wonderful family,” Hannah tells the KTVU FOX 2 news channel.
Hannah and Emily wish to empower others
Meanwhile, little Taggart has another brother, all three children of Emily and Brad know their origin story. They all have contact with their birth mothers and a picture of them in the nursery.
Adoptive mom Emily explains, “My children will always know that their birth mothers gave them up for adoption out of selfless love, because they wanted more for their babies than they could give them. But they are all wonderful mothers and will always be our children’s first mothers.”
Together, Hannah and Emily hope that they can take the fear out of adoption and share their story with women who are facing such a difficult decision.
