In March 2016, Hannah Mongie gave birth to a baby boy named Taggart when she was just 18 years old. Mongie knew she couldn’t give her son everything he needed, which was both a mother and a father.
The reason for this is that Taggart’s dad passed away in his sleep 12 weeks into Mongie’s pregnancy. The young mother decided to place her son up for open adoption and it was the best decision she could have made.
Taggart was adopted by Emily and Brad Marsh, who loved the idea of open adoptions for their three sons. They felt that the children’s birth mothers should have a place in their lives, that way the boys will never feel like they were abandoned or unwanted. For this same reason, Mongie recorded a special video message for Taggart that explained why she was giving him to the Marsh family and told him that she loved him immensely.
Mongie lives 10 minutes away from Brad and Emily, who have two other adopted sons, Carter and Lucas. After Brad and Emily learned they couldn’t conceive and fertility treatments were not an option for them, they turned to adoption and it has worked out very well for the whole family. Mongie described Emily as one of her best friends and she has even babysat Taggart and his brothers.
Emily also makes sure to keep a photo of each of the boy’s birth mothers in their rooms so they always know how important they are. After facing tragedy and having to go through the difficult task of letting go of her newborn baby, Mongie came out of the other side and did what was best for her child, not just her own happiness. Read on to learn more about this moving story.
In her video to Taggart, Mongie told her son how much she loved him and assured him that she was making the right choice by placing him with the Marsh family. She said in the video:
“I just wanted to let you know that I love you and I made this decision completely out of love and if I didn’t love you I wouldn’t be in the position at all and you wouldn’t have this awesome family — I’m going to give you all the kisses I can before I sign you away to Brad and Emily. I love you Taggart Kaden Marsh. My little boy. My son. I love you so much, love your mommy Hannah.”
The open adoption allowed Mongie to have a significant role in Taggart’s life. She added to KTVU:
“Rather than ‘giving him up’ or ‘away,’ I just adopted his entire family into mine. Including his extended family. We just grew, and everyone loves each other as if we’ve always been family. His mom Emily is still one of my best friends in the whole world. She honestly is everything I want to be as a person and a mother. I am so grateful that Tagg led me to her and their family. They are a blessing alone. And with Tagg, they are everything I need.”
Emily shared: “Having our boys’ birth mothers so involved in their lives means they will never have to wonder if their birth moms loved them, they will never have to feel abandoned — they will always know their birth mothers placed them out of selfless love and sacrifice — wanting to give their babies more than they felt they could offer at that time in their lives. They are all wonderful mothers and will always be our boys’ first mothers.”
After Mongie revealed her story, Brad and Emilly discussed open adoption in their interview with host Megyn Kelly, and they made it clear that for Taggart to have an open relationship with his birth mom will only bring good things. One person in the comments echoed this sentiment. They wrote:
“I am adopted and grew up knowing my birth mother and I feel that I am better for it. I was far more well adjusted, and I didn’t ever struggle with the feelings of not belonging.”
The incredible story first broke when Mongie posted the video that she made for Taggart to her own YouTube page in January 2017. Titled “Birth Mother’s Message to Son Before Adoption,” the video has since been viewed over 3.5 million times. In the video’s caption, Mongie explained:
“I hope anyone who watches this will be able to gain a new perspective on what the birth mom goes through when she places her child for adoption. It is the FARTHEST thing from a heartless act. It shows (the) definition of love. To love someone this much is to give away your happiness for them.”
In an update, Mongie wrote in the video’s description that since people had asked if she would ever see Taggart again in the future, she reiterated: “This is an OPEN adoption. I get to see him all the time thanks to his wonderful mommy and daddy.” She also wrote that if anyone wanted to see how they were all doing, they could follow her Instagram account, which now boasts over 24,200 followers.
Taggart’s story is an incredibly moving one and we’re sure he’ll grow up with so much love around him.
