“I had Bell’s Palsy. I was severely bullied. I would go around at lunch asking to sit with people, and every group would tell me no. I would sit by the trashcans and get food thrown at me.”
‘When I was 12 years old, my older sister died by suicide. She was my whole world. This year alone I’ve had over 20 suicide attempts.’
‘When will we hear the patter of tiny feet? ‘You don’t want to be OLD parents, do you?’: Family adopts 2 children after struggling for years with infertility
“The phone call that changed our life. It was 8 p.m. on a Wednesday when the phone rang. It was our social worker. ‘How would you like to come and meet a baby boy? He’s almost 6 weeks old.’ My scream must have deafened her. We’d been waiting to adopt a child for two years and before that had spent five long, desperate years of infertility tests and treatments to try for one of our own.”
My Son Has Been Gone For 1,825 Days
“A piece of me died the day my son took his final breath. But through the tears, I smile. In my son’s short time, he changed my life.”
I Miss My Husband, Even Though He’s Right Here
“He looks at our children the way he used to look at me.”
‘I’m THAT girl who spent 6 months with a ring on her finger. Who planned an entire wedding, only to find out a week prior it was all a lie.’: Woman discovers fiance’s pornography addiction, ‘I felt uncontrollably numb’
“I found it. He’d been searching for pornography just hours ago. There isn’t a way in the world this could be true. I pleaded with God: ‘Please no… No. No. NO! Please don’t do this to me!'”
‘We didn’t look at adoption as ‘Plan B’ anymore. We look at it as a privilege, and something we were honored to say yes to.’
“When we talked on the phone to her birth mama, we bawled crying. We couldn’t believe the miracle already taking place.”
‘I’ve been in jail, been beat up, raped and left for dead, and it still didn’t stop me.’ Grandmother admits her grandkids were the only thing to give her ‘hope’ for recovery
“I was going to end up with life in prison or in the grave. Now I have 2 little sets of eyes watching me and looking up to me, and that gave me reason to want to live.”
Getting pregnant at 15 was not a ‘dumb, teenage mistake.’ I wish I hadn’t remained silent.
“I was coerced into having an abortion by my parents who threatened to abandon me if I chose to continue my pregnancy. We were the typical Suburban facade, our lawn dyed as green as my parents were supportive.”
‘My son is exclusively breastfed. But he doesn’t get an ounce of breast milk from me. He is exclusively breastfed by another woman.’
“I was expecting a few ounces to get him some breastmilk once or twice a day. She sent me home with 300 ounces of milk!”
‘Babies having babies.’ That’s what my doctor said in the delivery room. I felt every range of emotion.’: Teen mom decides to prove doctor ‘wrong’ by being the best mom possible
“I lay in premature labor at 17 years old, as If I wasn’t terrified enough already. I made a decision that evening as I laid in the hospital bed ready to bring my son into the world. I was going to prove that doctor wrong. I was going to grow up in the next few hours and prepare myself to raise this child as an adult, not a teenager. This boy was going to become my entire world and I was going to be his. And while I wasn’t sure how difficult the journey was going to be, I was going to take it.”
‘Not sure who’s crazier: me or the 13 mamas who decided to take on a group cake smash!’: Photographer shares hilarious newborn photoshoot
“It was HILARIOUS. All the mama’s lined up with babies in hand. On the count of three they sat their babies down and ran behind me! It was total chaos, but absolutely adorable.”
‘If we’re together, and you notice me wiggling my leg, it’s my anxiety. If you’re scrolling through Facebook and see I commented on your picture at 3 a.m., it’s my anxiety.’: Mom gets real about severe anxiety disorder
“It doesn’t let me stop. Ever. Once a worry has made its way inside my mind, it’s trapped there. It lives there. It comes on strong like a wave crashing down over my head.”
‘I pull down Drew’s diaper to find a huge red spot where he has peed. So my first thoughts are ‘Oh my gosh.. okay, this is fresh new blood. Does he have a cut? Is he passing some sort of stone?’
“He had been complaining about his back hurting Does he have a UTI?” Then what to my wondering eyes should appear but a little ole Starburst jelly bean…”
My Son Got La Crosse Encephalitis From A Mosquito Bite
“This was something I thought I had prevented. I don’t want to see another baby go through this. The doctors told me it’s very common in this area, but this is the first I have ever heard of it.”
‘I am a mom of 3 beautiful children. I recently became an addict. My story isn’t your typical one.’: Mother admits she ‘could have bought a car’ with all the money she spent on heroin, ‘It made me sick’
“I lost my best friend to a heroin overdose. Grief stricken, I wanted to see what was sooooo great about dope that people would risk their lives for it.”
‘That day, they became MINE.’: Married couple adopts 3 siblings from foster care
“There was no logical reason, in our minds, to start a family. But, as soon as those girls locked eyes on mine I knew… I would kill or die for them.”
My Family And I Ditched Tradition To Live In An Airstream Trailer Full-Time
“We were stuck. Average family of 6 living the American Dream. Neck deep in a 30-year mortgage.”
Daughter surprises mom with tattoo from her dad in heaven: ‘It’s my PawPaw’s handwriting. It says, ‘I love you Shug – Dad.’’
“She trusts me way too much sometimes, but this time, it paid off. I sent my mom to get her tattoo and her reaction was priceless.”
My Church Gave Out Free Hugs At Our Local Pride Parade, And The Response Was Amazing
“I’d spot someone in the parade look our way, squint at our shirts and posters, and RACE into our arms. I told them over and over that they were impossibly loved and needed and precious. We hugged until our arms fell off.”
Complaining About My Kids Doesn’t Make Me A Bad Mom
“You don’t know a mother’s challenges, strengths, weaknesses…her life. You don’t know any of it.”
‘I wasn’t always this sick. It just fell upon me in the most beautiful possible way.’
“I would faint up to 20 times a day, couldn’t eat more than clear liquids and struggled to even get off the couch. Everyone shed an extra tear at the ‘in sickness and in health’ part of our vows.”
‘I dialed 911. ‘I am miscarrying alone with a 10-month-old baby in the house. I am about to black out and die. Please hurry.’: Woman diagnosed with PCOS, secondary infertility after experiencing second trimester loss
“I rapidly started to gain weight. I’m talking double-digit, rapid weight gain. No matter what I did to get rid of it, I kept packing it on. Each month, I was waiting longer and longer for my cycle. I said to the operator, ‘I am upstairs, last door on the right. I am losing a lot of blood rapidly. Please hurry.’ I don’t remember speaking after that.”
Dear Society: Please Stop Commenting On Children’s Bodies
“She’s so big. How much does she weigh?”
I Got Sober 5 Years And 110 Pounds Ago
“My name’s Erik, and I’m an alcoholic.”
‘Our carts hit each other. I don’t think it was by accident. I asked you, a stranger, if you were okay. ‘No, no I’m not.’ Then it happened. We both started crying.’
“I don’t normally ask strangers in Target if they are okay but at that moment you weren’t a stranger. You were a fellow Mom knee deep in emotions in the folder aisle just like me.”