“As we walked toward the doctor’s office, the fear made my body cold. I would feel my anxiety bubbling up, making it harder to breathe. I wanted to pull away from my mom. Stop getting closer. I became aware infants and children are still treated without any pain control. ‘They just swaddle them and do the treatment really fast,’ I was told. Babies? How could anyone do this? ‘It doesn’t really hurt.’ Reading this made me want to vomit. The memories of the pain and being held down is so visceral for me.”
‘My fingertips gripped the vinyl. It felt like hot rubber band snaps. My mom had to hold me down. For a child who doesn’t understand, it’s torture.’: Woman with port wine stain advocates for ‘torture’ pain control
‘My mom said, ‘You have to leave. I’ll kill myself if you stay in this house with us.’ I was given one week.’: Woman overcomes neglect, eating disorder, ‘I wake up every day and choose recovery’
“When I had my first period, I felt I was confessing to a huge crime. I asked her, ‘Why?’ She simply said, ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’ I moved into a rundown bed where nobody spoke English. There was no lock on the front door and I frequently saw and heard people doing drugs on the roof of my bedroom.”
‘You’re the 5th person to overdose by 3 p.m. today. You’re the lucky one,’ the nurse said. My grandma saw me turning blue. I didn’t feel lucky.’: Woman addicted to heroin gets clean, ‘There are not enough words of gratitude. I would have missed it all.’
“The only time I was high enough was if I was close to an overdose. He shoved the gun into my temple and screamed at my using buddy to give him the money. To be honest, at that moment, I wish he would have pulled the trigger. My arm was swollen four times its normal size the next morning. One person held me while the other drained my arm. I was just going to do a little bit and then go pick my daughters up from daycare.”
‘My doctor complained I need to work out more,’ my pregnant friend said. She looked down at her big belly. I was HEATED.’: Mom reminds us pregnant bellies ‘come in all shapes and sizes’
“Today at a play space with my daughters, I ran into a mom friend who I hadn’t seen in about a year. She was obviously pregnant. ‘Congrats! How are you feeling?’ She looked down at her belly. ‘Just big.’ She went on to explain her doctor complained she ‘needed to work out more.’ She was not only PREGNANT, but raising 3 kids. Guys, this got me heated. Like, breathing fire out of my nose and mouth heated.”
‘Mom. I need to talk to you.’ She looked concerned. ‘What’s wrong?’ I didn’t want to disappoint her, but I am a grown woman.’: Young widow scared to tell mom she’s dating again, ‘I severely underestimated my own mom’
“I wanted to cry and vomit at the same time. Here I am, a 33-year-old woman, terrified to tell my mom I am dating. I mean, c’mon?! ‘I may have met someone.’ She looked at me surprised and asked, ‘How? And when?’ I told her I’d signed up for dating apps and that my friends had been keeping tabs on me. To top it off, I live in my parent’s house and those feelings of that 16-year-old girl came back. Keeping secrets, sneaking out to see boys, saying, I’m ‘going to see friends.’”
‘Don’t say, ‘When can I see the baby?’ Say, ‘Let me know when you’re ready for visitors.’: Post-labor mom reminds us ‘there is nothing more vulnerable than a freshly postpartum momma’
“Truth is, she’s labored NAKED in front of an audience of nurses and doctors. She’s had eyes and hands all over her lady bits. She literally just expelled another human being from her body through her vagina or from being cut open. She carried this little being for 9 long months and probably isn’t eager to have others just come in and sweep him/her away as soon as they take their first breath. If you are a friend or family member of a new mom, don’t just EXPECT to pop in at YOUR convenience.”
‘Would you change things?’ I answer without hesitation, ‘No.’ We looked like a happy couple, but we both knew it was over.’: Super Dad is single father to 3 kids, ‘I’ve learned how to literally be 2 people at the same time.’
“It seems like I’m just a cool dad having fun while his wife is at work. But that’s not the case. We looked like a happy couple. You’d never know I was sleeping in my children’s playroom on a futon. I remember my mentor being honest with me, ‘You are an African American male in Texas, serving in the military. It’s highly unlikely you’ll get primary custody of your kids.’ I joined the 15 percent of single dads around the world that have primary custody of their kids. Now, I’m a full-time father of the 3 most resilient kids I know.”
‘I took my son’s temperature, and wow! A fever. I did NOT send him to school. The well-being of my son and his classmates is more important.’: Mom urges parents to keep sick kids at home
“Your child is still contagious until they are fever-free, WITHOUT medication, for 24 hours.”
‘This child will be a burden to you.’ Her chocolate eyes shot through my screen. ‘Oh, crap.’ A feeling washed over. ‘There you are, my child.’: Woman adopts girl with spina bifida, epilepsy
“A feeling washed over me. The exact same wave that washed over when they placed my biological children on my chest in the delivery room. ‘There you are, my child.’ Stroking my cheek, I felt her 28 pounds snuggle into mine. ‘Mommy, I’m so glad you found me in Armenia. I missed you even when I didn’t know you.’ She fed my soul, and she doesn’t even know it.”
‘The cold room smelt like bleach. It felt so wrong. ‘She’ll be returned to you in a carboard box.’ We dropped to our knees.’: Mom loses 10-month-old daughter to SIDS
“‘We’re here to see our daughter,’ we croaked. They led us into a room with a small cot. We looked over the side, and there she was, asleep. There was a water drop rolling down her cheek. She looked frozen. We were told, ‘You may not be able to view her in an open casket. It’s already been a while. Also, you may not receive any of her back.'”