“I chalked it up to eating spicy Cajun food. 5 a.m. the following morning, I jerked myself awake with the sudden urge to throw up. I immediately called my mom, sobbing. ‘What’s wrong?!’ Without hesitation, my sweet angel of a mother got in her car and drove 2 hours to see me. My boyfriend was sleeping so peacefully, not knowing what was about to hit him.”
‘I tapped him on the shoulder. ‘Jay, wake up. Can you turn on the light? I have something to say.’ A single tear ran down his cheek.’: Young mom urges ‘this is the greatest job I’ve ever had’
‘You used to wear makeup. Now you’re wearing spit up. Laundry day is now laundry life. That first baby will have you questioning your sanity.’: Woman pens letter to new mommas, ‘You’re going to be just fine’
“You’re wandering around delirious, hoping someday you’ll sleep a full night again. You’re digging for pacifiers in the most unthinkable spaces. Sweet girl, the beginning is a doozy.”
‘I said to my husband, ‘I think something is wrong with the baby.’ There was fluid in the back of his neck. ‘We need to admit you. Today.’: Mom says ‘Down syndrome is the best thing to ever happen to our family’
“‘It could be something, it could be nothing.’ My blood pressure spiked dangerously high. The doctor said, ‘We need to admit you. Today.’ I was hooked to an IV in a massive, darkened birthing room in the middle of the night. When it came time for his arrival, there were 20 people in the room. All I remember saying was, ‘Oh, he’s so cute,’ and then he was gone.”
‘I saw panic in her eyes. ‘I can’t find your cervix.’ I thought it was just a UTI. ‘You’re not allowed to leave.’ I waited 4.5 hours while medical staff conversed about me.’: Couple pregnant with twins after 7 miscarriages, incarcerated uterus
“Within 24 hours, I was being prepped for emergency surgery. My uterus was growing up and outwards and had completely cut off my uretha and bladder. ‘This is life-threatening to you and your twins.’ We were told to brace ourselves for the loss of both babies. I woke up to a large incision from my breast to my pelvis.”
‘She was uninvited because she is ‘not pretty enough, skinny enough.’ At 9 years old, her heart has already been broken by unkindness.’: Mom urges ‘love yourself the way you want her to love herself’
“At 9, they’ve already commented on her body, her face, her clothes, her family. Those words don’t hurt me because I know they’re not true. I know she’s enough. What kills me is how she believes the naysayers of the world instead of her mama, the person who knows her best.”
‘When are you going to have kids?’ I cringe any time I hear that question.’: Woman urges ‘PLEASE think before asking’ after 2-year battle with infertility
“When people asked me that when I was first married, I thought nothing of it. I would respond, ‘Oh we are just going to enjoy married life for a while, maybe in a couple of years.’ They don’t realize the heartache. The feelings and sense of failure behind that question.”
‘She got personal. ‘Grow up! The world doesn’t revolve around you.’ That comment sparked something in me again.’: Woman advocates for social media kindness ‘I realized I’m not alone in these feelings’
“I could stop myself from reading there it was, staring back at me with sharp daggers…a mean comment. The super ‘controversial’ title of the piece they were commenting on? ‘A woman in Walmart made me cry.’ It weighed me down like heavy rocks.”
‘I tried to break up with him. 2 days later, he was curled up with my daughter watching Disney movies. He wanted to destroy me.’: Woman says ‘I’m taking my power back’ after dating narcissist
“I would tell him I was in for the night, he would call and insist I meet him out somewhere. I would say no more drinks, he would order me another one. Every bartender in town knew to pour half my drink out when he wasn’t looking. I was scared to tell him no.”
‘My son was gone a little too long on his bike, and I worried about his life. My husband walked out to protect and serve during riots, and I worried about his too.’: Police wife, mom to bi-racial family urges ‘advocate for them both’
“Two of the humans who I love more than they could ever fathom, I have to worry about them dying for no reason other than the color of their skin or the badge on their shirt. My heart is in pieces.”
‘This morning I got some horrible news: ‘Models who aren’t a size 0 are called plus size.’ My body isn’t risky or brave, it’s normal.’: Woman learns lesson on body positivity, ‘I realized it’ll take more than 30 days to do’
“Even skin conditions you have no control over will have people asking you questions about your ability to ‘keep yourself.’ I said I would make it my mission to spend 30 days working on body acceptance. When the 30 days were up, I got some horrible news. I realized, it’ll take more than 30 days to do.”