“My eyes closed, and I felt weaker by the minute. Through many, many, many tears and lots of pain, I woke every 3 hours and pumped.”
‘My baby was STARVING. I felt like a failure.’: Mom shares breastfeeding struggles, urges ‘fed is best’
‘A letter fell out. ‘Let’s never give up and keep pluggin.’: Anniversary note reminds wife of former addict to ‘cherish and celebrate’ their love story
“I can actually hear the sigh of relief through his words on the paper. ‘We’re still here.’ We are still defying the odds.”
‘How could I cope with being a widow before the age of 40? My heart broke.’: Mother births rainbow baby while husband battles brain tumor
“She was conceived and born during a global pandemic, using frozen sperm from the week her daddy was diagnosed with a brain tumor.”
‘At 2, they decided amputation was the best option. But NOTHING could have prepared me for adolescence.’: Amputee shares experiences with athletics and modeling, ‘My leg is a work of art’
“I wore pants when it was hot, crossed my left leg over my right, and wore revealing clothes and WAY too much makeup to detract attention from my prosthesis. Their eyes bore holes into my soul.”
‘How do I do this?’ Almost right away, she sent me everything I needed.’: Mom urges ‘make sure you have friends like this’
“We can get so incredibly busy and burdened, we can’t see the solution right under our very own noses. Make sure you have friends like this”
‘I’m a better mom than friend. I show up late to your birthday dinner. I miss coffee, because someone awoke with a cold. I’m unreliable, burnt out.’: Mom admits ‘my kids always come first’
“Because one day, when I’ll have more time to meet my friends, I know I’ll miss this. Because soon they’ll be older, and I’ll no longer be the center of their universe, but a supporting role in their lives.”
It Took 25 Years To Admit My Childhood Sexual Trauma
“When the news was full of women coming forward with abuse reports, a small match lit the furnace of my memories, and I was knotted up inside.”
‘Will I have friends soon, mom?’ Since December, my son has been isolated because he is Autistic.’: Mom speaks out about education for Autistic son, ‘He doesn’t deserve less’
“He doesn’t see his friends every day, he doesn’t have a classroom, he misses out. He was left with no option.”
‘If mom can do drugs, so can I.’ I was punishing her. Little did I know, I’d create my OWN demon.’: Woman shares life with mom addicted to heroin, her own drug abuse, ‘I want to bring hope to other addicts’
“I’ll never forget dropping her off at rehab in another state and just sitting there in the car sobbing, not wanting to leave her. It felt like I was leaving my own child.”
‘Look at those eyes; she is a fighter.’ She was one of the smallest, sickest babies they’d ever seen.’: Mom of twinless micropreemie offers advice for navigating ‘NICU rollercoaster’
“‘Do you want to see her?’ My first response was no. All I wanted to know was if she could come home.”
‘I refused to go to church on Mother’s Day because I couldn’t bear it.’: Woman opens up about infertility struggles, ‘It is not a big, bad secret’
“I learned quickly how much society attributes a woman’s self-worth to her childbearing abilities.”
‘Scott was in bed Googling autism. ‘This is me, isn’t it?’: Mom urges ‘radical’ acceptance after whole family diagnosed with autism, ADHD
“I was now the only neurotypical person in the house.”
‘I wondered why on EARTH I thought it was a good idea to have a child.’: Woman opens up about postpartum depression, anxiety, ‘Mamas, please know you aren’t alone’
“From a painful pregnancy which had me dealing with a SLEW of crap, to a traumatic emergency C-section 10 days after my due date, I thought the worst was over. But I couldn’t have been MORE wrong.”
‘His tiny body was suspended between her arms and mine. The silence seemed too BIG for the hospital room.’: Adoptive parents create community to bring multicultural education into homes, give flowers to expectant mothers
“Our mighty guy picked flowers from our garden to give to his birth mom. He hugged her, celebrated his 2nd year of life with her, and basked in the attention of so many people who love him. I’m grateful.”
‘This is all my fault. I did this to her.’ For months, I felt worthless.’: Mom embraces daughter’s Down Syndrome diagnosis, urges ‘see the positives’
“I was lying on the bed like a giddy schoolgirl watching our baby. The doctor stopped. ‘I’m not happy with the shape of the head.’”
‘If I paid more attention, ate healthier, and drank less wine, maybe things would have played out differently.’: Mom details miscarriages, infertility journey, ‘I’ll never take my title of mama for granted’
“Some people think it’s SO easy. They think to get pregnant, stay pregnant, and have a baby is like baking a cake. Sadly, it isn’t.”
‘Where is your husband?!’ I took the kids to a party less than 48 hours after giving birth, newborn in one arm, champagne in the other.’: Mom overcomes affair and alcoholism for her kids
“I earned points by doing things he wanted, when he wanted, how he wanted: cleaning the condo, home-cooked meals, editing his work emails, sexual favors. When I hit 1,000 points, he asked me to marry him. For him, it meant ‘I control you.’”
‘There’s nothing there.’ The tumor was breaking the bone from the inside out, but nobody believed me.’: Woman survives ‘invisible’ nervous system attack, shares mental health journey
“I lost every friend I had. Nobody would speak to me. I dreaded going to school, I just wanted to sleep. I hated myself for the pain and worry I caused my family.”
‘Laundry doesn’t care if someone dies or not.’ In a world where ‘busy’ is a success, grieving people get a hall pass.’: Mom, widow urges ‘time truly is all we have’
“The truth is, grief changes you. I live with urgency because I know what it’s like to have everything I hoped for taken in an instant.”
‘She opened her arms and reached out to us for a big hug. Our hearts melted.’: After pregnancy losses, couple finds ‘pure love’ in adopting 5 daughters
“She had been waiting for us every bit as much as we had been waiting for her. Our family has kept growing ever since.”
‘Her birth parents changed their minds.’ The call ripped us apart. ‘She’s coming to pick her up.’: Woman shares journey with infertility, adoption, foster care, urges ‘you will make it to the other side’
‘I woke up and decided to take a pregnancy test. I couldn’t explain it. Almost immediately, two lines showed up. Then, my phone started ringing. I looked down and saw our social worker from our adoption agency was calling.”
‘After just 2 WEEKS, he helped with medication and even cleaned after I lost control of my bladder. ‘I knew this hot mess would fit right into my life.’: Couple shares journey from ‘a Bumble swipe to baby wipes’
“I was ready to write him off, and I didn’t even invite him to the hospital. But he’d already arranged to be there and was right by my side. In fact, he never left.”
‘He appeared on ‘Adopt US Kids’ 3 months after he was with us. ‘He doesn’t want to be adopted.’: Mom adopts son as adult, co-writes story with him
“He said, ‘When I came home and saw a room decorated for me and a house key, I was so overwhelmed I didn’t know HOW to respond.”
‘He has 4 to 6 months left to live.’ Hospice prepared us for the worst, but our faith was bigger than that.’: Woman shares powerful love story through husband’s stage 4 cancer battle
“The day before getting discharged, I thought it was the strangest thing Devan requested for my mom to get him a ring pop. ‘Will you take a walk with me?’ As we are walked through the garden outside the hospital, I see from the corner of my eye a piece of paper. Instantly, my heart started pounding. Tears began pouring down my face.”
‘I’m so sorry mommy wasn’t there to protect you.’ Forever didn’t last as long as we thought it would.’: Adoptive mom remembers medically-complex daughter after her passing
“‘She’ll probably be in the hospital until her 2nd birthday.’ I enjoyed every second I got to be her mom. Even if I knew how this was going to end, I would do it all over again.”