We Need Your Support, Even After The Newborn Phase Ends
“I’m still in postpartum clothes, stained and stretched. I’m still wearing my hair whichever way is easiest, messy and practical. I’m still anchored at home, under him and on top of nothing.”
‘I silently mouthed to my husband, ‘We have a little girl.’ At that moment, we became parents.’: Adoptive mom of 4 shares journey
“She asked us to be Elijah’s parents over a meal. I was scared but determined as I wrote my cell number down on a scrap piece of paper and pushed it across the wooden table.”
Edited By Amanda Doulos‘The doctor ruled it ‘a terrible, chance accident.’ We were alone as a little trio, together in this grief.’: Surrogate for LGBTQ couple experiences loss, ‘I want their dreams to come true’
“A week before their flight, the worst happened. ‘How am I going to tell them?’ I didn’t feel him moving.”
Edited By Emily Richey‘3 days postpartum, I looked at my husband. ‘I want to throw our son.’: Mom says ‘even through the fog of depression, I am worthy’
“I had a massive panic attack while feeding him. His latch pierced me with pain. I had nightly terrors one or both of us were left dead on the hospital table. My doctor asked, ‘How are you doing?’ I just cried.”
Edited By Emily Richey
‘Two men should not father two little boys.’ It was a kick in the gut.’: Gay foster dads find ‘happy ending,’ adopt siblings
“’Are they trying to turn us off to being foster parents?’ My anxiety was through the roof. The judge made eye contact with us both. ‘Wow.’ We could not hold back our tears.”
Edited By Sonia Beltz
‘How did we get here?’ After 12 years, we turned into unrecognizable strangers. I was 27, a mom to the sweetest boy, and getting divorced. This wasn’t the plan.’: Single mom takes the risk, meets ‘knight in shining armor’ on Tinder
“My friend encouraged me to make a dating profile. ‘Find 3 guys you feel a connection with, give 2 your number, and go on a date with 1… ‘ I found myself driving towards Applebee’s, my heart racing. I just wanted to get ‘this’ going or over with, then my phone rings. ‘Ashton – Cute Tinder Guy’ flashes across my phone screen. Time and my breathing stop.”
Edited By Sophia San Filippo
‘I’m so sorry. I can’t do this anymore, Chelsea.’ I didn’t know it would be his last Father’s Day.’: Woman mourning father declares ‘to grieve is to have felt love’
“I waited until I heard my dad come home to sleep. I took off his shoes after he passed out on the couch and put my finger under his nose to check his breathing. I learned to love his scent—grass, sweat, and booze.”
Edited By Emily Richey
‘Reese was snotty, stuffy, and not her usual self. The following day, we noticed a button battery missing in our home.’: Bereaved mom starts non-profit after losing daughter to ingested battery
“The reality of Reese being gone crashed over me when it was time to call my husband. His words and voice are etched in my mind forever: ‘No, no, no. It can’t be.’ And then came the wailing. I held her, one last time, praying it wasn’t real. If it was possible, I would have held on forever.”
Edited By Sophia San Filippo
‘They didn’t know if I’d ever wake up. The first thing I said was, ‘I can’t see. Everything is completely black.’: Woman navigates new normal with sight loss
“After my tonsils were removed, my mom woke me up to check on my throat and give me some water. I was completely unresponsive. They didn’t know if I’d be able to breathe, talk, walk, or think ever again.”
Edited By Emily Richey
Dear Newborn Mother, Please Know This Is What Productivity Looks Like
“It looks like feeding your baby on the couch for an hour and leaving a dent in the cushions when you leave, if you leave. It looks like ignoring the mess around you and somehow always making more. It looks like constantly being poo’d and spewed on. You may not feel alive right now, but you are keeping someone else alive.”
Edited By Sophia San Filippo
‘2 weeks postpartum, I returned to work. I felt like I had an identity again. I had a purpose other than mom.’: Working mom urges ‘create your own perfect’
“The first few months weren’t always bad, but I felt lost. I was a shell of who I used to be. During all this drama and pain, I failed to get to know our son.”
Edited By Amanda Doulos
‘I was getting my son off the bus when he handed me a pink folder and flowers. ‘This is from all the kids, mom!’ I sobbed.’: Mom battling cervical cancer thanks bus driver for act of kindness
“On top of a pandemic, I heard the words I’d hoped to never hear: ‘Your cancer is back.’ It seems my son had been talking about how much he missed me on his school bus each time I went to the hospital. Mrs. Hammonds went above and beyond to make us feel so special and loved.”
Edited By Sophia San Filippo
‘I woke up to my mom sobbing. ‘Your father passed away from drug abuse.’ A part of me knew it would happen.’: Woman dedicates life to healing others from ‘father wounds’
“I felt cheated from having a good father who’d watch me grow up, dance with me at my wedding. Father’s Day may be extremely hard to get through, but you’re complete with or without. You are enough.”
Edited By Emily Richey