Children

‘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, ‘It felt like hot needles into my brain.’

“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.”

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‘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.”

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‘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.”

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‘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.”

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‘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.”

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‘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.”

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‘You may not be able to view her with an open casket.’ She was ice cold, as if she’d been frozen. A water drop rolling down her cheek.’: Mom loses 10-month-old daughter to SIDS

“We got to this overly blue and white, bitterly cold room that smelt like bleach and death. ‘We’re here to see our daughter,’ we croaked. It felt so wrong she was in such a place. They led us into a room with a small cot. We looked over the side, and there she was, asleep. Ice cold. The coroner released her body, but there was nowhere for her to go. ‘She’ll be returned to you in a little carboard box.’ We dropped to our knees.”

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‘I just want to let you know, Mommy is… the baby is probably no longer viable.’: Journalist brings 12-year-old daughter into restroom during miscarriage

“Mommy doesn’t feel any guilt. This is normal, it happens to so many women, it’s happened to me a few other times,” she said after pulling her 12-year-old daughter into the bathroom during her miscarriage. “When you get pregnant, it might happen to you, honey. And I want you to know there’s nothing you did wrong.”

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