“Emmy decided that day I was going be known as ‘Mom’ and not ‘Melissa’ anymore.”
‘I want you to adopt us.’ It wouldn’t be easy, but she was worth fighting for.’: Mom adopts stepdaughters into forever family
‘This amazing, selfless birth mother. We owe her everything.’: Infertility warrior shares journey to adopting boy into forever family
“After years of infertility, we walked into the delivery room and saw our son sleeping in his little crib. The joy I felt overshadowed all the despair. I cannot describe it; I felt like my heart was going to explode and I just cried. I was finally a mother.”
5 Things Co-Parenting Is Not
“It all stops being fun and games when one or more people decide to take it upon themselves to play judge, jury, and executioner. Things get complicated, high conflict personalities flare, resentments resurface, and we’re back at ground zero.”
‘My whole body hurt every day. I could barely bend down.’: Mom shares journey with Rheumatoid Arthritis, POTS, Lupus
“They couldn’t find Luke’s heartbeat for several minutes. I started to go in and out of consciousness. Before they could even put the partition up, they had begun a crash vertical C-section.”
‘They didn’t stay because he was ‘lifeless,’ leaving Jeffery with the nurses and machines for company. I knew I had to be there for him.’: Aunt details caring for Shaken Baby Syndrome survivor
“The second we got off the elevator my heart dropped to my feet. I wasn’t ready for what I was about to see. We walked only a few hundred feet but it seemed like miles. I remember the smell of saline and alcohol as if I was there. The beeping and the sounds of the machines working to keep my nephew alive still haunt my dreams.”
‘Despite appearing to be a stage-loving, attention-hogging, enthusiastic extrovert, the truth is quite the opposite.’: Woman shares realizations about being a ‘closet introvert’
“I wouldn’t blink an eye if told I had to get on stage in front of hundreds of people and perform. I’d do it in a heartbeat, and do it enthusiastically. But put me in a room with the same people and ask me to mingle, and I’d want to crawl into a hole and hide.”
‘I was so depressed I spent 5 days in the psych ward. My husband promised he’d be there for me, but that wasn’t the case when I came home.’: Divorcee candidly shares healing, self-love journey
“About 6 months into my pregnancy, I noticed a shift in my relationship with my husband. He came to me and told me he was unhappy. It rocked my world and for the first time in a long time, I dipped into a depression.”
‘She has her differences, but she is still our little girl.’: Mom shares daughter’s rare Nager Syndrome diagnosis journey
“How could this be happening when everything had been so normal for the last 34 weeks? Concerned. That word still haunts me. We were almost done with the pregnancy, and to just find out something was abnormal was tough to process.”
‘After going through that miscarriage, I resolved to never ‘try’ or even pray to have another baby ever again.’: Miscarriage survivor welcomes rainbow twins, one with Down Syndrome
“’What if no one accepts our babies?’ Mark looked me right in the eye and said, ‘WE will accept our babies! We will love them just like we would any other baby, and Lyndi will love them both just as much. This is our little family. They will be perfect!’”
‘Mommy, will the new baby be autistic?’ asked my 7-year-old. ‘We’re so lucky to have Koimburi!’: Special needs mom moved to tears after daughter’s sweet moment of inclusivity
“I’d racked my brain for all the reasons she was asking. Was she hoping for a different kind of connection than with her autistic brother? A different kind of play experience with her new sibling? Tears welled in my eyes, moved by her matter-of-fact, whole-hearted acceptance.”