Did you watch Switched at Birth? The show premiered Monday night on ABC Family. Seriously, ABC Family has been airing some pretty decent shows. I hope this show finds the same success as The Secret Life of the American Teenager because this show has real potential. It stars D.W. Moffett and Lea Thompson as John and Kathryn Kennish who find out that their daughter was switched at birth with the daughter of Regina Vasquez, played by Constance Marie. The first episode centered around the families getting to know each other and the girls trying to find their place within their new families. At several points, the Kennishes push the boundaries and occasionally cross the boundaries between their rights as birth parents and the rights of Vasquez, who raised their daughter. I also like that the show explores the girls’ reactions to discovering that they aren’t who they thought they were and how they relate to each other, their new families and friends.
Watching this show reminded of me of when my twins were born (you can read their birth story here)…
After the twins were born, the nurses wheeled me into the recovery room at Brooke Army Medical Center and told me that they’d be bringing my babies into the room to meet me as soon as the doctors were finished examining them. Because we only had 9 days notice that we were having twins, the doctors were very concerned about their condition. Despite everything, they were relatively healthy ~ my daughter was 4 lbs 3 oz and my son was 4 lbs 1 oz. Anyway, in the bed next to meet was a young couple who had also just delivered twins. A mixed couple ~ the wife was Japanese and the husband was white. I’m not being racist, this is essential to the story…
The nurse wheeled the babies into the room, their sweet little faces visible through the clear plastic bassinets. The baby girl had the straightest, shiniest black hair I’d ever seen and the little boy had wispy dark brown hair and both children had almond shaped eyes. They were beautiful and I said as much to the mother and father as they reached into the bassinets to grab the babies. The nurse stopped them quickly and said “No, Mrs. Tucker, these are your babies.”
What? I think I sputtered a couple of times as did the hubs and the couple who was sharing the room with us. We made the nurse triple check the I.D. bracelets. After we accepted that these were, indeed, our babies, the hubs turned to me and said “Is there something you want to tell me?” Dead.
Anyway, for about 6 months after the twins were born, I kept waiting for a phone call from the hospital telling me that we’d taken home the wrong babies. I also used to wonder what I’d do if it ever did happen. Would I give them the babies back? Would I want to know the truth?
How would you react if you found out that your child was switched at birth? Would you want to share parental responsibilities?
