“I did not want to carry, create, or be responsible for another life. What will your partner do if he decides he wants children?’ Some called it extreme, I personally felt it was me being responsible.”
‘A 27-year-old woman asking to have a hysterectomy is extremely troubling. My choice has been difficult to understand.’: Woman fights addiction, endometriosis, ‘This is not a decision I’ve made lightly’
‘Her heart’s on the wrong side.’ She held the tip of my finger. We thought we beat the odds.’: NICU survivor diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, ‘One day she WILL walk’
“We were having a baby 6 weeks early. ‘I need to hear her cry!’ I entered the world of the unknown.”
‘You need to bring her back to the hospital.’ I couldn’t help but sob. We didn’t realize how sick she was.’: Mom says baby with rare 2q37 Deletion Syndrome is ‘a little world-changer’
“I’ll never forget being told to catheterize our 5-day-old baby. I didn’t even know that was possible. When they strapped her little arm, I nearly fainted.”
‘Late-night milk run, huh?’ I was standing in front of a tired momma in Target just before closing. ‘Go get that precious baby to bed. I got you.’: Woman shares act of kindness for stranger
“She cried and asked me if she could hug me ‘pandemic’ and all. We embraced as the cashier got teary-eyed. In five minutes, I managed to make two strangers smile.”
‘You were born for our entertainment.’ An avalanche of mean comments poured in. It was crushing.’: Woman with dwarfism ‘determined’ to spread awareness
“With a smile, my dad said, ‘You’re going to be tiny all your life.’ It didn’t usually bother me. I found acceptance and kindness at nearly every turn. And then I went viral.”
My Ex-Husband And I Weren’t Meant To Be Lovers, But We Were Destined To Be Co-Parents
“The greatest lesson we’ve both learned through this entire journey is if we put our child first, everything else will fall into place.”
‘What I DO care about is if your kid intentionally hurts mine, and you pretend you didn’t see it.’: Mom advocates for ‘sense of community’ on playgrounds
“It is not my job to discipline your kid, and if you don’t tell your kid to stop, and I have to, then I will.”
‘I picked up one of the magazines, ‘How to Save Your Marriage by Having an Open Marriage.’: Woman shares 7 reasons why ‘boring marriages are beautiful’
“I stood in the checkout line. I laughed so hard I nearly peed my pants. Perplexed by my behavior, my friends asked what was so funny about the headlines. I was officially obligated to explain.”
‘The tears started running. ‘How much blood has there been?’ I didn’t want to go to the ER alone. ‘That’s a nice tree, Mama.’ My husband bought it the next day.’: Mom decorates for Christmas early after miscarriage scare
“Christmas decorations this soon seemed like too much to my husband. I needed Christmas just as badly as my little girl did. Maybe we needed that tree. Crying, snot dripping down my nose, I told my husband. ‘I just want Christmas. I need Christmas.'”
My Daughter With Down Syndrome Is A Gift, Not A Burden
“Our genetics counselor suggested we institutionalize her. The speech therapist said right in front of my 8-year-old daughter, ‘She will likely never have a job. I don’t even think part-time work is in her future.’ Right then is when a fire got lit. We wanted her to have the fullest and most complete life she possibly could.”
‘Every test came back normal.’ I was bedridden, unable to wash my hair or take care of my son. My life was forever changed.’: POTS warrior finds support, ‘They fight for me when I can’t’
“Going into Target is hard for me. Standing and talking too long is hard for me. I’ve almost fainted doing both things. It would be easy to hide from the world.”
I Gave Birth To A Child With Dwarfism Despite No Family History, And I Wouldn’t Change It For The World
“I’m 5’7″ and my husband is 6’3″.”
‘I said yes without asking my husband. We went from 0 to 4 in less than a year!’: Couple adopts 3 siblings then becomes pregnant, ‘This is not what I had planned, it’s BETTER than I imagined’
“They told us if we decided against taking in the baby, they would take the older two and find a home who was willing to take all three siblings, for the sake of keeping them together. Well, we were not about to let that happen. Three short months later, I was home with my three kids and a POSITIVE pregnancy test.”
‘I was the ‘teen mama with no prospects.’ But being a mom doesn’t mean your life has ended. Not even a little bit.’: Mom graduates nursing school with her children as inspiration, ‘I wouldn’t change a d*mn thing’
“The mama who had ‘given up the chance at a good life to raise two young children.’ The one who had chosen ‘mama’ over ‘life.’ Full stop. I had to show them both how everyone else was wrong.”
‘Your condition is dangerous.’ Blood came pouring out. I couldn’t live another day like this.’: Woman reveals ‘highs and lows’ of Crohn’s Disease, ‘I’m ready to take on what’s next’
“I ran to the bathroom thirty times a day, losing blood each time. I broke down and sobbed. I felt defeated by this disease. I was only a shadow of myself.”
‘When will you make your own babies?’ I’ve never been pregnant, but I am a mother. She doesn’t have my skin color, but her little arms reached for me the very first time I called her name.’: Adoptive mom details emotional journey, ‘She is our Plan A’
“It didn’t happen the way we had imagined or planned, but she was always our Plan A. Every pain, every setback, every prayer was all worth it. She may not have my eyes, my hair, or my skin color, but she has my heart. I can’t imagine loving my little girl as anything less than a true daughter.”
‘We don’t have a perfect relationship. We yell, we cry, we get into petty fights. But in the end, we’d give our lives for one another.’: Woman shares ode to sister, ‘God gave me my best friend through biology’
“No one can make me as angry as my sister. However, no one can make me feel more loved. God gave me my best friend through biology.”
‘I know you wanted to hide and eat a snack in peace. Maybe you did. Little fingers slid under the door to get to you.’: Woman reminds other moms ‘Mama, you did great today’
“I know it was a lot. It was loud and messy. You said things that were hurtful. It’s okay that today wasn’t perfect. No day will ever be.”
My 4-Year-Old Son And 50-Year-Old Neighbor Have Become Unlikely Best Friends
“Every morning he gets up, brushes his teeth, and asks, ‘Can I go by Ms. Susan’s house?’ When she goes out of town, he gets upset and says, ‘She’s been gone for too long!’ She is the perfect best friend and neighbor my little boy could ask for.”
I Reunited With My Birth Family Decades After Being Adopted, And They Accepted Me With Open Arms
“I was adopted when I was very young in 1961.”
‘Newborn strapped to my chest, I said, ‘I think we should foster.’ We knew it would take a village.’: Couple is ‘changed’ by foster care, ‘Our love grows each day’
“There have been some really hard days of tantrums, yelling, and crying. ‘Are we crazy? What are we doing?’ We wouldn’t be here without our village.”
‘I’m worried to give you the spot because of your hearing.’ I was mortified. I needed to prove him wrong.’: Student with hearing loss becomes advocate, ‘I’m proud of myself’
“The coach pulled me aside. ‘You have the skills, but I’m worried you’ll miss commands.’ I wasn’t about to let someone make assumptions based on my disability.”
‘I turn to walk away and she’s already crying. At 4 months old, she is realizing we are two separate people. Until now, she and I were one and the same.’: Mom shares candid reality of 4-month-old
“She came into this world only knowing our shared existence. At 4 months, she is learning her sun, moon, and stars…can just walk away. She only has one thing—a deep trust and faith I will come when she calls. As long as my arms, my chest, and my presence are where she finds peace and security, she shall have them.”
‘Anthony was the ‘throw away child,’ in and out of foster care since 4 years old.’: Family adopt teen stuck in foster care
“At 6 years old, his brother died of child abuse. He was separated from his sisters, adopted without him. People could not see the child he was going to become. They only saw the broken child. ‘Is he available for adoption?’ I was ready to be his mama.”
‘The doctor said, ‘I don’t like this, let’s do a C-section right away.’ I could hear them talking urgently, requests for tubes and oxygen — but no cry.’: Mom goes into preterm labor at 34 weeks, ‘Our family feels complete’
“No one said anything but there was some whispering and I was asked to start coming by every 2 hours. ‘Just to make sure,’ they said. There is nothing you can do except to trust the doctors but I couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong and nobody wanted to tell me.”