“I’ve seen trauma, tears, and sorrow on this path, but I’ve also seen beautiful scenery along the way. Without the bumps in the road, we wouldn’t cherish the good days like we do now.”
‘I have deep scars all over. Most are not visible, but they’re there.’: Mom shares journey to embracing emotional scars
‘How many kids do you have?’ For years, this question was a trigger. Like lemon juice in a fresh wound, it stung.’: Birthmother shares adoption grief, making peace with others’ opinions
“Now I allow the other person an opportunity to hear a new perspective, gain a new depth of understanding, or judge me based on what little information they’ve amassed. Either way, I’m a mama to three girls, but one of them doesn’t live with me.”
‘My. Son. Died. I can’t run from that. But I run so no one else has to run this race.’: Mom shares the intensity of grief after losing son to overdose
“Grief is the most arduous race anyone will ever run. You can do this, and I’ll run by your side.”
‘We are at capacity, babe.’ Two months later, Mike asked if I’d gotten her info. We’d never adopted a teen before, we were terrified.’: Family of 11 shares foster care, adoption journey
“She would contact her workers monthly asking if they had found her a family yet. She was desperate for a family to love her and call her own.”
‘Hair loss, depression, anxiety, mood swings, tears, a healing body—it all can await us after bringing life into this world.’: Mom talks about life postpartum, ‘It’s worth any amount of hair’
“We’re all thrown out into the open ocean of motherhood just trying to stay afloat and make our way back to shore alive…but no matter how big those waves are, the open ocean of motherhood is the most beautiful, humbling, and awe-inspiring creation there is.”
‘It’s not a big deal. He’ll grow out of it,’ the nurse practitioner told me. I fought with the hospital to admit him immediately.’: Mom of two special needs boys shares accepting diagnoses
“The excitement and determination were swept away with grief. This incurable disease is marked by developmental delays, atrophy of the basal ganglia and cerebellum, difficulty controlling muscles… and death.”
‘These two boys have entirely different stories, yet they are so fiercely meant to be bros.’: Mom reflects on adoptive son’s journey
“Some days he asks about his birth mom; other days I remind him how much she loves him. Some days he tells people he’s adopted; other days he wonders why he wasn’t born from my tummy.”
To My Special Needs Child: I Knew Our Lives Would Never Look The Same As Anyone Else’s, But We Picked Up The Pieces
“I know how to love different, how to embrace different, how to see all the different and know that it is beautiful. But most importantly, I know how to love a special little baby with my whole heart, and give him the life full of adventure he deserves.”
‘I don’t need to run on fumes. I need to recognize I’m human and ask for help.’: Special needs mom shares son’s sweet reminder after rough day
“‘Anything you want to thank God for?’ Without even a whisper, he simply looked up at me and pointed. ‘Me? You want to thank God for me?’ He nodded with a sweet smile. He wanted to thank God for me. The one who thought she was an utter failure of a mom that day.”
‘Wait! It’s on us today.’: Mom to medically-complex children shares acts of kindness that changed her life
“One kind act can change someone’s entire day. One considerate thing can shift someone’s perspective on life. So be kind, be loving, and be present.”
‘My name always came with ‘big-boned’ attached to it. ‘I’ll never be thin enough or built right for her.’: Woman shares struggle with body image, reminds parents ‘your words and actions matter’
“My mom told me to get ready because she had a special birthday surprise for me. I had no idea where we were going, but it felt good to get dressed up. It was definitely a surprise when we pulled into a gym parking lot.”
‘My home isn’t quiet or as clean as I’d like. There’s always an appointment or task on the to-do list. My husband and I are clearly out numbered.’: Stay-at-home mom chronicles life with 4 kids
“People stare when they find out we have four kids. They ask why. I don’t have an answer; this is just our life and the way we choose to live it. If you ask me, it’s exactly how we were supposed to do it.”
‘We landed back in Nashville, Tennessee as a family of 6. Two adoptions, two very different faith-building experiences.’: Mom shares growing family through international adoptions
“The pandemic threw a whole new spin on things and the entire adoption process felt so volatile. The worry could have buried me, so I had to face it head-on. If God called me to it, He would get me through it.”
‘I can’t think of a better example to set for my daughters.’: Mom talks about the importance of setting boundaries, ‘My mental health has never felt better’
“Knowing your worth, your well-being, and your desires is more important than pleasing everyone else in your life. It’s freeing.”
‘There’s a fine line between pushing him to be someone he’ll never be, and supporting him in the person he’s meant to become.’: Special needs mom says ‘we can’t do it all’
“If I met someone whose child did therapy 5 times a week, I would feel like I wasn’t doing enough. If my son responded to a vintage toy at therapy, I would be at the second-hand shop hoping to score one. If someone said pudding in the tub helped their child eat orally, I would march upstairs to try it.”
I’m A Worry Mom—My Brain Can’t Help But Spin Out Of Control When It Comes To My Kids
“Because it’s not just my life I’m worried about, it’s my children’s too, and that’s A LOT.”
I Love My Kids Fiercely, But That Doesn’t Mean I Must Love Parenting
“As a society, we need to start validating and supporting moms when they feel overwhelmed instead of telling them to choke their feelings down, plaster on a smile, and be positive.”
‘I’d just walked into a public establishment wearing a ratty t-shirt with no bra and my husband’s old UNDERWEAR.’: Mom urges ‘we can’t win ’em all’ after embarrassing ‘mom fail’
“Mama, I’ll grab the wine and the s’mores, then I’ll meet you next to the dumpster fire so we can watch it burn together.”
‘Her eyes rest on a little unicorn her daddy bought her two Christmases ago. ‘What’s on your heart?’ I ask. ‘Daddy,’ she says.’: Widowed mom navigates grief and solo parenthood
“This grief, this missing your person, and this raising babies without their daddy – it is relentless.”
‘Well, if my parents didn’t do this, I wouldn’t have this issue today.’ No growth comes from that mindset.’: Woman on healing journey urges others to give parents grace after losing mom
“Yes, I wish a lot of hard times hadn’t happened because it hurt, but it hurt me enough to say, ‘I will not do this to my kids’ and pushed me in a way I could have never been pushed without living through it.”
‘I was on the side of the road, throwing up all over the place. That day, a spark lit inside me. I realized I deserved better.’: Mom overcomes abuse, depression to help others
“It felt like I was watching everyone around me living. At the same time, I was drowning in the life surrounding me. It was like I was imprisoned inside my own body, and I couldn’t escape.”
‘He said to my son, ‘Do you really like my shoes?’ The boys will never forget what Quinten did.’: Mom shares act of kindness from stranger, ‘Kindness changes the world’
“Quinten smiled and walked out of the store—in his socks!!”
‘He heard I was a birthmother before I ever got the chance to share. He didn’t assume or judge, he offered empathy.’: Teen birth mom shares appreciation for husband’s compassion
“He bought me a Mother’s Day card our first year together. One of those obnoxiously HUGE ones with a heartfelt message that both validated my emotions and offered hope for my future. He was the first person to truly acknowledge my motherhood after placement.”
Dear Mom Of A Big Kid, They Still Need You
“It’s easy to assume the older they get the less they need you. They just need you differently.”
17 Things This Mom Wishes She Knew Before Becoming A Parent
“I wish they would have told me about how long it took to heal. And what it felt like when everyone was holding the baby and nobody was holding me.”