“He can’t count, point, or wave. There are days he cannot look into my eyes. Days where I can only guess what might be causing his tears. But I could not imagine my world without my son.”
‘Of course he doesn’t, he’s absolutely fine!’ Everyone laughed it off. My little boy wasn’t going to talk, EVER.’: Mom to son with autism urges ‘acceptance starts in the home’
9 Things Nobody Tells You After Your Parent Passes Away
“Grief and pain do NOT stop, but your strength will overpower every emotion you have.”
‘She simply said, ‘He needs us.’ He moved in right away. We are his home now.’: Family fosters after preemie beat the odds
“He doesn’t want you to leave the house and runs to give you a hug before you go. It has been hard. Really hard. But so worth it.”
‘I guess you’re wondering about the results.’ It was like lightbulb after lightbulb going off.’: After diagnosis, woman advocates for autism in girls, ‘Representation matters’
“I’ve felt different my whole life. By high school, I was beginning to figure out I was queer. I’d assumed that was the thing ‘different’ about me. That’s not what happened. I was different at my core.”
‘That little one who once rested so perfectly upon your chest doesn’t fit there quite so well anymore, and you forget to hold the baby.’: Mom urges ‘forget about the to-do list’
“Leave the papers piled on the counter to attend the tea party. Pause the vacuuming for an impromptu game of hide-and-seek. Take him in your arms and envelop him in your unconditional love. Because there will be time—so much time—to get all the things done, and babe needs you.”
‘Hold on to that dress for me.’ At this point, I was not having any more births. But I just knew.’: Mom saves dress for daughter’s adoption day, ‘It was worth the wait’
“My mother-in-law started to show me a bunch of little dresses she found. One of them caught my eye. ‘One day, I’ll have a daughter and she’s going to wear it.’ Then I got the call. ‘We have a birth mom, and she’s chosen you.’”
‘I was 19 and diligently on birth control. My heart raced seeing those two lines. Shocked was an understatement.’: Young mom births 3 rainbow babies after multiple miscarriages, ‘Don’t give up, friend’
“At my first ultrasound, there was no little blinking heartbeat, no wiggling. I was told, ‘If you hadn’t taken the test so early, you wouldn’t have known.’ Like my baby wasn’t real. Sobbing, I told God I was done. My marriage was struggling. Then I heard the words, ‘Try again, and she will be perfect.'”
‘The phone rang. ‘Hello, Police Service. We’re on the side of the Broadway Bridge. I’m sorry. We answered because it said ‘Mom.’: Mom loses 15-year-old to suicide; ‘I choose to honor Ethan’
“He told me, ‘I started seeing the counselor when dad was being really mean to me about football.’ The more time Ethan spent with his father, the more my role became to be there to pick up the pieces. He confessed, ‘I thought about killing myself.’”
‘Go the F– to sleep! You ruined my life!’ I cried and clenched my fists. Nothing I did helped.’: Mom shares candid reality of Postpartum Depression, ‘You can come out a warrior’
“He would stay awake all day long and barely sleep at night. ‘You’re so annoying, I wish I never had you!’ When I realized what I’d just said to my sweet baby, I knew something was really wrong. I wasn’t myself.”
‘She chose US for her baby!’ He had to stay in NICU indefinitely. We were dumped at a stranger’s doorstep.’: Single mom taken in by strangers after adopting baby with Down syndrome
“I was single, had no mom to help me, and was staying with complete strangers. We had 6 kids between us at the house, one husband, and a baby at the NICU. I needed a PLAN.”