“My husband and I had been married for over 10 years and due to a cancer diagnosis and treatment shortly after college, we were unable to conceive children of our own.”
‘It’s funny how a 2-sentence email can change your life forever. ‘I need to speak with you about a unique situation. Please give me a call.’: Couple adopt triplets born at 30 weeks
‘Nervously, we asked what was happening. ‘Are you sitting down? The birth mother is having twins.’ Our tears of joy were replaced with complete shock.’: Gay dads welcome ‘beautiful and healthy twins’ after adoption journey
“I instantly begin crying. ‘Can someone please get the other dad?!’ A nurse says, ‘Sure, where is he?’ ‘Waiting in the delivery room.’ Nick rushed into the recovery unit with the most happy, surprised, and confused look. ‘They are BOTH here?'”
‘He asked bluntly: ‘Am I allowed to hug you?’ I don’t love hugs. I especially don’t like men initiating physical contact. ‘Come on, it’s just a hug.’
“I cuddled up with my ferocious 5-year-old in bed. She said, ‘keep your hands to yourself.’ Then she smiled at me, and fell asleep. God, I hope for her.”
‘To the woman at the pharmacist. Not the one who stared at me like I was a disgusting pile of filth. The other woman, with kindness in her eyes. You didn’t know it, but you saved me.’
“I was ready to burst into tears. I was trying to talk to him, because being on your last week of pills is like standing on the edge of a cliff. Everyone heard me, even the pharmacist could hear the panic and my voice quivering.”
‘I was the gift that was traded in exchange. What killed me the most, was pulling my Sunday dress back down and walking out as if nothing had happened. I was 5 years old.’
“I finally ended my silence and told my dad. His response was, ‘I had a feeling that was what was happening.’”
‘One boy said, ‘Why is she even in here? She’s f—king crippled!’ I ignored it, but it would get worse. My mom and I got into a huge argument. She stopped, and looked at me in shock.’
“One day someone came to talk to me at lunch. I thought, ‘Finally someone wants to be my friend!’ Instead, they cut me off by saying, ‘If I was you I would kill myself because I couldn’t live like that.'”
‘I want to surprise him. To make it official.’: Boy eagerly asks Stepdad to adopt him forever
“My high school sweetheart was shot and killed at a party. I was left a single mom, lost without my best friend. This man stepped up and took care of this amazing little boy when his daddy was taken from this world. Connor asked if he could ask Jonathan to adopt him.”
‘Weeks before boot camp he said, ‘What if we get married?!’ I knew the risks. The statistics were against us.’: Military spouse candidly recounts ‘navigating the chaos’ of young marriage, pregnancy
“When I got pregnant, we had a fairy tale image of what our little life would look like. We went from the comforts of our family homes to living off ramen. From regular date nights and weekend outings to sleeping in shifts. We barely spoke. Our connection and intimacy had gone numb.”
‘I had to leave my 5-month pregnant wife behind. I was completely alone. ‘Am I cut out to be a dad?’ I showered and climbed into bed. Then it began. ‘THUMP, THUMP.’
“‘Does she even miss me? Is my wife going to love me after this long separation? Would I be able to provide for my family?’ My heart started beating louder. LOUDER. I started sweating profusely. It was 4 a.m. I began to panic.”
You know the teacher who made flashcards for every kid in the classroom? Who writes encouraging notes, and notices the kids being left out? Tell them.’
“You know the waiter who just did a really great job? The one who worked their tail off to refill your water glass over and over, remembered your complicated order perfectly, and smiled when your kids were acting like fools? Don’t assume they know they are doing a good job. Tell them.”
‘My husband and I decided during his deployment we would try to get pregnant as soon as he got home. I got pregnant the first try. But, I wasn’t supposed to mother this baby.’
“It was hell. My doctor removed it and sent me on my way. And then I was alone.”
‘I knew he had Down syndrome. I asked ‘Why us?’ His eyes were almond-shaped, his ears were tiny and low-set, and he had a sandal-toe gap.’
“Knowing what I know now, I believe he was trying to prepare me for what was to come.”
‘If I refused, I’d get in trouble. I had to keep my head down, my mouth shut. I couldn’t ‘ruin’ her image of the perfect family.’: Sexual assault survivor breaks silence after 2 decades
“At first, Mickey’s grooming was very subtle. I was starved for affection. He used that to introduce adult discussions and behaviors. I saw glimpses of silent threats. He’d sit in the dark until I got home, silently staring, so I knew he was watching. He’d threaten to kick me out, send me away to the state. All in the name of control.”
I Gave Birth To Twins—One With Light Skin, One With Dark Skin
“Nurses didn’t know how to approach me. I got statements like, ‘I’ve been a nurse 23 years and have never worked with twins like them.’ People are shocked. When we’re out in public I get questions. ‘Are they adopted?’ ‘Are they twins?’ ‘Do they have the same father?’ It’s amazing.”
‘My OB walked in to ‘talk about our little guy.’ My heart had that feeling when you’re on a roller coaster about to go down a big drop. ‘Well this is the day,’ I thought to myself. ‘D day.’
“Anesthesia took over. Before I knew it, I was back in my hospital room as if nothing had happened. In reality, a lot had. The surgery took place with baby still in the womb.”
‘I wouldn’t even let you watch my DOG,’ the attorney said to me. I lost custody of my firstborn, my baby girl. I began sobbing. Then WOW, a miracle happened.’
“I had already seen my daughter, at 2 years old, my ‘angel baby,’ be taken over by this ‘STRANGER.’ Now here I am, years later with my son. I began to see this ‘stranger’ steal another one of my baby’s personalities. I had always looked forward to motherhood. BUT THIS?! Why my babies?!”
‘You’re lucky I’m with you, because you’re really fat.’ I was always the smart girl with a pretty face, never the total package.’: Woman overcomes bullying, depression to carry out weight loss, ‘I transformed into a warrior’
“From the moment I started school, I was always the biggest kid in class. At one point, I was pulled out of school for 8 weeks. Rumors started. I heard a group of girls talking about how I should have never come back. I was a ‘pig.’ Trying to fit in and make every test an A+ began to get harder and harder. I was desperate for love and acceptance. My life quickly spiraled out of control.”
‘Baby, when I hear you say you’re pregnant what I actually hear is ‘life destroyed.’ He was right. The Universe had been playing this cruel joke on me for 4 years.’: Woman ‘grateful for every fallen tear’ after infertility struggle
“Surprisingly, the doctor pulled me into her arms, ignoring professionalism and boundaries, and held me. She whispered in my ear, ‘I heard you talking in the change room. I know how badly you wanted this. Don’t give up yet.’”
‘HI MOMMY, I’M BABY A.’ My eyes landed on, ‘HI MOMMY, I’M BABY C.’ Triplets, they deserved more.’: Mom credits unexpected triplets and husband with her helping to find sobriety
“I was working at a strip club in Detroit, trading my body for drugs, deteriorating into nothingness. I sought refuge in another rehab and shortly after leaving, I found out again I was pregnant. I went in to see my OBGYN, and cried over the possibility of an evil man being the baby’s father. I called my husband who knew the circumstances of my life and our relationship. He was willing to be there for me in whatever way he could.”
‘Keeley?,’ you whispered. I peeked back in. You were grinning that huge grin. ‘I love you, Keebee.’ I’m not happy to admit I got annoyed. Now, I think you were just preparing me.’
“I remember my mom on the phone telling me to ‘Get out, get out. Close your eyes, don’t look’. You knew I was coming home first that day. You knew.”
‘I was ‘late,’ but strange things happened. I told Danny I was going to take a pregnancy test. ‘That CANNOT be 2 lines. What is going on?!’ Neither of us could believe our eyes.’
“It’s 3 a.m. and I am yelling from the bathroom: ‘Danny! Wake up! I just listened to a message and she’s in labor! We missed ALL of the calls!’ We were panicked and had a 3 hour drive ahead. ‘How close are you? I don’t know if she can wait much longer!'”
‘I met him on a dating site. I had a lot of creeps asking me inappropriate questions. Jimmy was the ONLY one who didn’t. He changed my life completely.’: Woman says despite her disability, ‘I am living my life to the fullest’
“28 years ago I was born with a spinal cord injury due to my doctor using forceps, and came out basically dead. Doctors told my parents I would be like a vegetable. But they were wrong. Then, I met Jimmy.”
‘We went out to eat. There was a family sitting beside us, obviously disgusted. That hurt. My ‘life choices’ interfere with their views.’: Gay dad of 3 adopted kids says ‘we ARE the new normal’
“I still remember what the room smelled like, I even remember what we were wearing. I couldn’t look away as if I was frozen. I knew instantly, this was the very moment I had prayed for.”
‘Your sister’s been in an accident.’ He broke the news. ‘Where are the kids?!’: Woman adopts long-lost nieces and nephews, ‘Our hearts are so full’
“I called my husband, worried what he’d say. I wanted my nieces and nephews. He responded, ‘Let’s go get our kids.’ We had no idea what we were getting into. We’d never even met them. One by one, they entered the room. I sat there quietly, but inside I was screaming, ‘I am your aunt!’”
‘Only a motherless daughter knows the deafening silence in a delivery room when her mother isn’t there for her grandchild’s first breath.’
“Only a motherless daughter knows the power behind that last ‘I love you.’ Only a motherless daughter knows the difference between ‘I miss my Mom’ because she doesn’t live here, and ‘I miss my Mom’ because she lives in Heaven.”