“She wanted me to come into the office as soon as I could. I didn’t make it to that appointment, though. The bleeding started a day later. The rest was a blur.”
‘I heard the words no momma wants to hear, ‘We couldn’t find a heartbeat.’ It felt like too much to bear.’: Woman suffers miscarriage, gives birth to rainbow baby, ‘The future is bright’
‘Please, don’t say it,’ I begged. I saw the truth in his eyes. I almost laughed in disbelief THIS could be happening.’: Mom welcomes rainbow twins after sister’s death, ‘God gave us new hope’
“Not only was my sister lying in a hospital bed on ventilators, but now I had lost my son too. My world spun into absolute chaos. And then one day, they were there again. Those two pink lines.”
‘Our family’s complete.’ Adding another child seemed impossible. Thanks to Jude, my heart changed.’: Mom both births and adopts sons with Down syndrome, ‘They were meant to be brothers’
“I remember telling Michael with 100% conviction, ‘Our family is complete, and I can no longer consider adopting.’ I did not know how I could cope with a child with DS, and the idea of adding another child seemed impossible. Then, I saw his picture.”
‘Get the monitor, PLEASE!’ I needed more time! The nurse said, ‘It will be OK.’ But it WASN’T.’: Woman has rainbow baby, ‘I never take my boys for granted’
“I tried to get back to the person I was, but she wasn’t there. Especially after the test results came back. I felt sick, crying happy and sad tears.”
‘It’s an impossible mission.’ My mom wasn’t going to give up yet. This was for her little girl. She wasn’t about to lose this fight.’: Transracial adoptee shares journey, ‘My life was forever changed’
“I was abandoned when I was born, dropped off in a box by a school. It broke my mom’s heart. ‘I can’t pick up the phone and end my dream.’ She worked without sleeping, day in and day out, to fulfill her dream.“
‘I’m sure it’s nothing.’ I came out of the bathroom, shaking. I was terrified to tell the father. I’d made such a mess of my life.’: Birth mom details open adoption journey, ‘Everything fell into place’
“How was I supposed to tell my mom before she died? I had a dream she was holding the baby as they stood in the clouds. ‘I’ll take care of him until he’s ready to enter the world.’ I clung to those words.”
‘He stopped speaking.’ I was scared. I didn’t recognize my child. We were on our own now.’: Mom of Autistic boy says, ‘I love him with every fiber of my being’
“My entire world came crashing down. We finally knew WHY he was different.”
‘Tomorrow, your foot won’t be there.’ It looked like it went through a garbage disposal. I was devastated.’: Amputee shares self-acceptance journey, ‘Being different should be EMBRACED’
“I looked down at my foot. ‘They’re just gonna chop it off? That’s cool.’ At 5 years old, I learned a life lesson many people struggle with into adulthood: self-acceptance.”
‘I told myself, ‘It won’t last forever.’ I was self-conscious about my looks. It was holding me back.’: Woman with Treacher Collins Syndrome says ‘I choose to feel nothing but empowered’
“I decided, ‘I’m going to shave my head.’ I used my long hair as a shield, but once I didn’t have it anymore, I was forced to be seen. All of my differences were out in the open. I had no choice but to embrace what made me different.”
‘Scrolling through Facebook, a photo of my high school friend grabbed a hold of me and wouldn’t let go.’: Woman celebrates moms ‘forging ahead’ during unpredictable pandemic
“She represents all of us.”
‘The results came back 90% positive.’ My world crumbled. This wasn’t our plan. This wasn’t how we envisioned our family.’: Mom shares Down syndrome acceptance journey, ‘We’re LUCKY’
“You’ll grieve the life you thought your child would live. You’ll wonder why this happened to you and your family and your baby. You’ll wonder if you did something to deserve this. And all those thoughts are okay. That’s how you get to the other side.”
‘This has been a hard journey. I know the want to give up. This road isn’t meant to be walked alone.’: Woman pens open letter to chronic illness warriors, ‘I’m fighting beside you’
“You can be in your bed, on a couch, in a hospital room, or a doctor’s office. It doesn’t matter where your life is taking place. There’s a beautiful life waiting for all of us if we choose it.”
‘You don’t need that, FAKER!’ She tried to muster energy to make it to the store. People rolled their eyes. I was powerless.’: Sisters battle multiple chronic illnesses, ‘We’ve gained a stronger bond’
“I crawled to the bathroom and couldn’t stand up without blacking out. ‘It’s a miracle you can even sit upright.’ I felt like I was drugged.”
‘I’ll deal with it when I graduate.’ I was drinking daily, but had NO CLUE how to ask for help. I was always reaching for the next drink.’: Woman overcomes alcohol addiction, ‘I’m healing’
“I bought a dog. I bought a house. Everyone thought I was doing great. But I had bottles of alcohol all around my house. I would wake up with full resolve to never drink again, and would find myself with a bottle in my hand by the evening. Things got really dark, really fast.”
‘My husband joked, ‘How will you handle not sleeping when the baby arrives?’ We let them cry it out. Learning to sleep on your own is a necessary life skill.’: Mom shares tips for sleep training
“Both my kids sleep 12 hours in the same room together from 6:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. Yes, you did read that right. I cannot possibly be the good mom I want to be if I am not sleeping.”
‘It’s bad, and it’s everywhere. There’s too much to take out.’ I fell into his arms. We fought through the grief to stay one.’: Couple battling infertility adopts two sons, ‘We see perfection’
“I lived with a Fentanyl patch, which barely touched the pain. My uterus was sitting on my pelvic floor and had compromised my bladder. Our dream of two or three children became a hope we could just get ONE.”
‘I requested only second-hand gifts and hand-me-downs for my baby shower. I was shocked to learn only ONE guest showed up with a preloved gift.’: Mom shares important lesson on sustainably this holiday season
“There won’t be a lot under our tree this Christmas, and that’s okay. We’ve got more than enough love to fill the gaps.”
‘What’s wrong with my baby?’ Her head was measuring large and her femurs were small. We were in denial this could happen to us.’: New mom births baby with dwarfism, ‘It DOESN’T define her’
“Everything had gone so wrong. ‘Did I eat something I shouldn’t have? Get exposed to something harmful?’ What was supposed to be the happiest part of our lives had turned into a nightmare.”
‘Will he live a normal life?’ There was silence. All I could think of were the things he WOULDN’T be able to do.’: Autism mom shares son’s diagnosis journey, ‘It is NOT an illness’
“At his 18-month appointment, the red flags were noted. He still had no words. ‘This is it. The life I thought I was going to have is over.’ Would he ever speak? Would he have the life I dreamed of him having?”
‘How can we take on another?’ We knew nothing. Just that this little girl needed a home and we had one.’: Couple become parents to 8 after adoption, miracle pregnancies
“My husband only wanted one. I picked him up from class to surprise him with an extra kiddo. We had 15 miscarriages and a long road to each of our kids. But it’s been worth all the pain.”
I’m The Woman With Vitiligo Everyone Can’t Help But Stare At
“I want to live without a care in the world because no one else is living for me.”
‘What’s wrong now? You’ve got nothing to be sad about!’ I felt like I was the only one going through this. I blamed myself.’: Woman shares mental health journey, urges ‘fight for what you need’
“I was alone. No-one liked me, and I had no sense of belonging at all. I was a very lost teenager in a very big world. It was a difficult place to be in. I didn’t understand I was anxious or depressed.”
‘We’ve been robbed. All our stuff is gone.’ This only cemented it for us. Material possessions AREN’T important.’: Couple ‘hit the road’ in van, ‘It’s been the ride of a lifetime’
“We threw the idea around for a few weeks. ’It’s always been my dream to leave it all behind.’ I mean, we had just met. That would be crazy, right? But we did it. We bought a VAN!”
‘Maybe I’m just weak.’ I carried a 1-liter bag with all my pills for the day. I felt so guilty for what happened to me.’: Woman battling invisible illnesses says, ‘It’s not who I am, it’s just part of me’
“For over a year, I had a headache that never went away. ‘You’re too young to be taking so many pills.’ I was in so much pain I wanted to die. I felt like a burden to those around me.”
‘One day, I opened up her cookbook. Inside was an inscription. I cried tears I didn’t know I had.’: Woman honors late grandmother with tattoo, ‘I love you forever and always’
“Naming my child after my grandmother never seemed like enough. It never seemed like it was enough to pay tribute to the woman who meant more to me than I could ever express in words.”