Michele Altenburger, of Delphos, OH, was only 32 when she received the devastating diagnosis of breast cancer on June 13, 2006.

She was also 24 weeks pregnant with twins.

“I just had a breast exam by my OB doctor about a week and a half before that, and neither one of us noticed anything,” Altenburger said. “And then that particularly evening, I was going to bed and I happened to brush my breast and I felt a lump. I wasn’t sure what was going on. With being pregnant, you never know what’s happening with your body.”

Altenburger’s next OB visit was a little over a week away, so she decided to mention the lump to her doctor at that time.

“She didn’t really think it was going to be anything, but suggested that we go ahead and do an ultrasound on it,” Altenburger said, noting that was on a Friday. “I did the ultrasound and obviously, they found something. So I went ahead and did the biopsy. And then on Tuesday morning, we got the news that it was cancer … I could tell by her face, as soon as she walked into the room. She didn’t even have to say anything to me. I just broke down sobbing, sitting there with a belly on me already, with twins.”

Pictured is Michele, pregnant with twins and sporting a bandanna, after losing her hair to chemotherapy.

After her initial scan, the 2.5-centimeter tumor determined that she had stage 2B breast cancer. So how, exactly, do doctors treat cancer in a pregnant woman?

If the twins were delivered at that point, they would have have only a 50 percent chance of survival, doctors told Altenburger. This is when she was referred to Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus. There, the family was presented with several different options for Michele’s treatment during her pregnancy, she explained.

“I wasn’t sure, at that point, whether to deliver the babies, or whether to go into surgery and have a mastectomy done or have a lumpectomy,” she said. “There were actually a lot of options, but we did chemo because I was out of my first trimester. They had done research that anything outside of the first trimester would not harm the baby, or babies, in this case.”

Altenburger received four rounds of chemotherapy treatment to try and shrink the tumor. At the same time, an ultrasound was performed every other week on the twins to make sure they were still growing and developing properly.

A C-section was scheduled for three weeks after her last chemo treatment — on Sept. 15, 2006 — which would have put the babies at 37 week gestation. However, the twin girls had other plans: Altenburger’s water broke on Sept. 14. She made it to the hospital and had her C-section that night.

Twin sisters, Avery and Brooke, came into the world 1 minute apart. They were born healthy, each earning an Apgar score of 9 and even rooming with their mom right away in the hospital.

“They had no issues at all,” Altenburger said.

Avery and Brooke were born healthy at 37 weeks gestation.

Big sis Brianna holds her newborn twin sisters.

On Nov. 14, 2006, Altenburger had a mastectomy on her right breast and a TRAM flap reconstruction – where fat, muscle and tissue was taken from her hip area and used to construct a mound on her chest to reflect a breast. More than 30 lymph nodes were also removed from her right under-arm area for testing, just to make sure there were no signs of cancer spreading there.

“I couldn’t pick them up for a period of time after that,” she said, of caring for the twins after the mastectomy. “I could lay them in my lap and feed them, or change them. Someone else would have to physically pick them up for me until my incisions and everything were fully healed.”

After healing from these surgeries, she went through four more rounds of chemotherapy to make sure there were no lingering cancer cells anywhere else in her body. Altenburger finished with this chemo in February 2007. In June 2007, she had a reduction performed on her left side in order to make her breasts more symmetrical. This was her last procedure. She has remained cancer-free to this day.

Michele, Brian, Brianna, Avery and Brooke Altenburger pose for a family photo.

Since there is no breast tissue on her right side anymore, Altenburger continues to get regular mammograms on her left breast.

“Some of the trauma of it has diminished over time,” she said. “So, when breast cancer month comes up, it’s kind of like, ‘Wow, that was us eight years ago.’ It just makes you grateful. It makes you wonder what the purpose is behind your story.”

Altenburger, now 40, continues to stress the importance of regular self breast exams. After all, she probably saved her own life by noticing the lump in her breast so early on.

“It’s all about being aware and being in tune with your body so that you can notice changes,” she said. “It’s so heartbreaking when you see someone who doesn’t go and get a second opinion, even though that they feel that something was wrong. Don’t be afraid to get things checked out because by the time you get the right diagnosis, it might be too late.”

All photos courtesy of Michele Altenburger

If you’ve already carried your baby in an Ergo (and sometimes it seems as if by law every newish parent must), you don’t need to be told that it’s a good, good thing.

While many baby carriers are a bear to put on whether they’re sling, wrap or strap-on, getting the Ergo fastened involves a few intuitive straps, some easygoing buckles, and a little bit of wiggling. No need to ask strangers to hold the baby while you get the carrier on; no worry that he’s going to slip out or fall sideways.

The Performance model adds in a few nice wrinkles to an already great carrier. Wit a wicking mesh lining, it keeps sweat from building up next to your skin. At 1.4 pounds, it’s lightweight to come along in a diaper bag. And best of all, like the original Ergo carrier, the Performance Collection model can be used for babies weighing 12 to 45 pounds. It’ll be with you a while, so you’ll have more time to fall for it.

Shopping for a baby carrier?

* See the full review of the Ergobaby Performance Collection Carrier
* Read expert reviews of other baby carriers
* The best baby carriers, according to moms
* Check out BabyCenter’s Products & Gear channel

“Product of the week” is where BabyCenter’s mom bloggers call out a new, cool, or beloved thing we’ve found. It’s not sponsored and the views expressed are our own.

It never fails every Halloween I’m scrambling to throw a costume together, even though I’ve had an idea of what I wanted my kids to be since June. What can I say? I tend to procrastinate.

If you’re like me but don’t have a clue what your kid should be this year, and you’d rather skip the mummy made out of toilet paper or bandage wrap, you’re in luck, because I have 10 ideas for free Halloween costumes you already have around your house.

1. Baby Carrot: This is the cutest and most simple idea from C.R.A.F.T. Get an orange onesie, some tulle, and make some of your own USDA stickers and before you know it, you’ve got an organic baby carrot.

2. Super Hero: Cut out a letter with your child’s initial and pin it to a t-shirt. Tie a superhero “cape” using a blanket or towel. BAM! POW! You’re set.

3. Ninja: Black pants and a shirt is all you need for this one. To go the extra mile just tie on a solid black bandana or scarf around the face, or use a little bit of black face paint around the eyes.

4. Road: If your little one had dark clothes but isn’t into ninjas, you can turn her into a road by adding some yellow duct tape down the center of your kid in a line.

5. Athlete: Everyone has some extra sports balls lying around. Have your kid carry one around while wearing some some knee-high socks and long shorts, or a sweatband and tennis shoes.

6. Tutu ballerina: Tutus are super easy to make. Use tulle to make a red one and glue or hand-stitch black felt circles to make a ladybug, or make an all-white, add wings and you’ve got an angel. Check out my tutorial if you’re wondering how to make these. You can also mix and match several different colors of tulle to make your favorite princess dress.

7. Ghost: This one is almost too easy. There’s really nothing quite like the classic ghost costume. Just cut holes for eyes out of a small white sheet.

8. Koala Bear: Another cute one for the little ones just using some grey pants, a grey top a beanie and some felt. C.R.A.F.T has the step-by-step tutorial.

9. Sick and tired: This one is great for parents too! All you need for this are some pajamas and a thermometer. Paint on some rosy cheeks or red polka dots all over to be a kid with the chicken pox.

10. Smarty Pants/ Cereal Killer: Want something more creative? Hot glue several rows of the Smarties candies to solid pants, or cereal boxes with broken plastic knives poked through, and let others marvel at your cleverness.

Looking for more DIY Halloween ideas for the whole family? Check these out.

Jennifer Borget is a domestically challenged part-time journalist, and a full-time mom. She’s a parenting reporter, documenting her life in extraordinary ways and inspiring others to do the same. Jennifer makes beautiful keepsakes with her beautiful babies on her blog, BabyMakingMachine.com.  To catch more of her motherhood journey, follow @JenniferBorget on Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.

Featured Image via: C.R.A.F.T and Jennifer Borget

Every time I share my experience of having four homebirths, I am always asked the same questions. Here are three really common ones:

Where were your other kids when you were giving birth at home?
Were they there?
Did they watch?

I smile and think back to the first time I was ever exposed to the idea of homebirth. I was pregnant with my second child and I was watching A Baby Story on TLC, something I was absolutely obsessed with. In this particular episode, a mom gives birth on her own bed, with several of her children surrounding her for support.

My mind was blown, understandably.

Image source: Stumberg Photography

I went on to have my own homebirths, of course, but the part about having my other children there just never seemed to happen. Every time labor would start, my mother would come over and pick up my kids. The last thing you need is to be chasing around the kids, she said to me.

Dear mother, I heart you, I think was my sentiment.

The thought of my kids going about their daily routine was a comfort to me. I knew they were being cared for while I did the hard work of birthing a child. Fast forward to my sixth birth. Noah, my oldest child (eight years old at the time) decided he wanted to stay home. We let him. My youngest child Maya (18 months old) was taking a really long nap and we didn’t want to disrupt her when my other children were whisked away so she stayed home, too. I was slightly anxious, not knowing how it would work out.

One of my main concerns is I didn’t want to frighten my children while they saw me in obvious pain and discomfort — blood and placentas and amniotic fluid, etc.  I didn’t want to overwhelm them. Natural childbirth is intense. I also didn’t want to have to worry about my husband and I taking care of our kids while I was in labor either. According to The Beauty of Siblings at a Birth, it’s hard to know how their presence may influence the birth.

As my labor pains started to build up, I headed toward the shower for comfort. Maya found her way to the bathroom and started to take off her clothes so she could join me. I let her and discovered that her little hands on my face, sweetly comforting me and loving me was a very strong and calming presence. My baby girl still has the same calm, knowing demeanor to this day.

When labor really started to pick up and I was completely in my own head trying to manage the almost ten pound baby making its way down my body, my daughter left with her grandmother. I was so relieved. My son busied himself in other areas of our home and he even passed me a few times while I was in the birth tub so he could go outside and jump on the trampoline. He didn’t resurface until I had given birth to the baby and he popped in the room to kiss her on the cheek and proclaim, “She’s pretty cute.”

I’m thankful for my children’s presence at my last birth. I know it was meant to be.

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Image source: Stumberg Photography