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I'm not selfish for having kids, knowing I can pass down my bone disease
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And I want more. I'm a single mom of three, and my bones are like glass
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So many people have called me selfish. Having children and reproducing is not for everyone
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If they want to feel loved by a dog or cat, don't reproduce
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Granny! Today I'm going to tell my grandmother that I want more kids
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She was against me having a child. She's going to explode. How do y'all feel about me having more children
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You gotta go brush your teeth, okay? And wash your face. Put your iPads down, please
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Thank you. My name is Gigi. I have a brittle bone disease, but I still parent my three kids alone
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You wanna brush your teeth? Okay, let me just put this on your face
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I have osteogenesis imperfecta type 4, and I am 3'8". My 4-year-old is the same height as me
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So this is Milani. She's 1 years old. This is Montavious. He's nine years old
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And this is Melanie. She's four years old. Okay. You ready? Also, Genesis Imperfecta is a brittle bone disease
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I have to be very, very careful on how I move and carry my youngest baby so I don't break anything
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I need you to go get her walker for me. Okay. Thank you. My condition affects my bones in my day-to-day life by the way I take care of my children
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and the way I do a lot of things around the house. My tip is I need you to give me the pancake
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Melanie, can you get the baking for me, please? You got it for me already? Thank you
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Plug that up for me, too. Okay. Thank you. It looks like your kids are a lot of help
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What did you used to do before? They could bring stuff around so much
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I would just have to struggle. Just do it myself. Montavious, can you pull the baby a little closer to me, please
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Is your mom a good cook? Yeah. What's your favorite thing that she makes
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She makes bacon and pancakes and went stirrup with pancakes. Is that the favorite thing
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Yeah. My oldest, Montavious, was diagnosed with autism when he was five years old
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He's like the biggest help. I have two baby daddies. My girls share a dad
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My son has his own dad. They are still present in the children lives They just two hours away so it just me by myself I would definitely be bound to break
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if I fell off of this thing the wrong way. I've broken over 20-something times
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My first fracture happened when I was four months, the same age as Milani
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Ready to put your clothes on, girl? When did you learn that this was a condition
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you could pass on to your kids? In 2016, when I got pregnant, I was 17 years old. I was not aware that I could pass it down to my
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child. When I was 20 weeks pregnant with my son, they ran my blood and they said, hey, you have
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type 4. This type right here is like very high, high risk. So I had a lot of ultrasounds, a lot of
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prenatal appointments. Everything was good. C-sections went smooth. Babies came out good
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When I did become pregnant with Lonnie, I felt very confident that, hey, if my first two are without OI, she's not going to come out with OI
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Third time's the charm, right? And unfortunately, we had that final ultrasound getting ready for the birth
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And he told me, hey, there's a chance that she's probably going to have OI
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Literally cried so bad. I did have a lot of guilt when I was pregnant because she is not going to have a regular life like her brother and sister
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She's going to have to be cautious of everything that she does. I'm going to have to be cautious
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The whole thing is super scary. It's so scary because you do not want to hurt your baby
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Who wants to break a bone, you know? I don't want my baby to go through anything that I went through because it's not easy
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I'm tough but seeing it on your child and repeating that cycle it's like trauma
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it felt like trauma to me and I'm just like I'm not gonna be able to do this
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how's she progressing honestly I feel like after all the breaks and stuff she's
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she's getting stronger she's had nine breaks total but she's very brave and
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very strong she likes to explore she is very dare double-ish caring for her it's
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a challenge. It's not easy. I've had that guilt on me like letting her stand up and she's
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broken her ankle before and I just like oh my god that all my fault because I letting her do anything a normal baby would do Just can do anything any type of way with her Does all of this ever feel like just a lot to manage After I had Milani I felt like it was just a lot on me dealing with three kids
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It does get very overwhelming, but I don't regret any of my babies at all
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What judgment have you received in relation to having children with your conditions? People are always questioning me on why am I doing this
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Why am I continuing to have children? When people call me selfish for wanting to keep having children, that's like probably mentally the hardest part for me
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They're not putting themselves in my shoes as a human. I'm still human
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So my feelings still matter. Producers ask the audience, is it selfish to have children if you know you could pass on a rare condition
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And I just kind of wanted to show you some of the responses they got and kind of get your thoughts on what people have to say
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That's so very selfish. If they want to feel loved by a dog and a cat, don't reproduce is kind of crazy
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Just add the dog and the cat. Having children and reproducing is not for everyone
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I disagree. Everyone deserves their own family. With a physical disability, mental disability, any disability, I feel like, hey, reproduce
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I mean, the world is going to judge you either way it goes. and you just have to be a very strong individual to do what's best for you
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I just don't let that sound good to me. I'm going to do what I want to do regardless. It doesn't matter what you think of me
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I'm still going to have more children and I'm still going to be a great single mom to them
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Oh, it's Granny. Hey, school. My grandmother, she is the one who raised me
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She's very helpful with everything. We talk to her every day on FaceTime
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Hi, Cherry. Hi. Oh, my goodness. It's Monday, Monday. Cherish, she's my childhood friend
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We've been friends since we were baby. She's more like a sister
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Yeah, growing up. Oh, my goodness. I'm getting big. My grandmother was against me having a child
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She was very shocked. You say, I'm pregnant. I'm like, I know she not
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I don't even know who she talking to. I was furious. It the worry of it Each time I got pregnant she was just very very concerned about my health and the baby health I see the bow and I know that she gonna need the same surgery that you
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had. My grandmother assumed that I would get my tubes tied and I did tell her like I don't plan
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on having any children right now. Today I'm going to tell my grandmother that I want more kids
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she's going to explode. How do y'all feel about me having more children
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Are y'all scared? No more kids. Because three, you got so lucky
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I did. But that's, Melania's going to be a job. I know, yeah
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Like a full-time job. Yeah, I know. Don't take a chance. Well, you just open my eyes
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I get it. I understand. You still to this day worry about me
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Of course. I know. But I have to let you, you know, you do have to let go eventually
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You're a very strong young lady. Thank you. You are very strong
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I mean, you blow my mind. I'm just like, I can't believe it. Honestly, like, you achieved so much already
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It's like, there's nothing you can't do. I think you're doing so good, and I'm just so proud
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Thank y'all. What she was saying about having more kids, you think she can handle it
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I wouldn't want her to do it, but it's not my decision
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She takes very good care of her kids, and she's adventurous. She'll do what you think she wants
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She really will. I don't have any regrets on having children as a person with OI
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I've achieved a lot of my goals with my children, and I feel like we're living a very peaceful life, so I love it
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We're good. What's impressed you most about her raising these kids on the road
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She takes good care of them, and she doesn't really ask for help
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If she want to go, she going. If she want to do, she doing. She doesn't let nothing stand in her worth
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What would you say to other young disabled people out there who can say anything about you
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Go for it. Don't care about what others have to say about you
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because it's your life, and you deserve to be happy, no matter what
