“Getting an abortion scared the crap out of me. I wanted to be the mother who had all her ducks in a row. The mother whose children were well behaved, drank organic kale smoothies, and began reading at 3.”
‘The nurse asked my husband, ‘Are you the FATHER, or just the one she’s pregnant with?’ I hated the disapproving nods, strange stares. I stopped going out in public with my kids. I felt inadequate.’: Mom shares candid reality of being mother to multiple kids
‘Hey! What the HELL ARE YOU DOING?!’ The kid looked at me, stuck out his tongue and ran. I almost turned into Medusa.’: Mom watches playground bully kick her son, ‘I will not excuse a mother who does not pay attention’
“Andy was screaming with a swollen red eye, tears rolling down his face. I saw him run off towards his mom, whom I noticed had been on her phone for the entire hour we were there, not looking up once.”
‘Sorry, kids. I wish I could make it so you’d never hurt, or have your heart broken. But the world doesn’t work that way.’
“If I made everything easy, you’d never know how to work hard. If I paid your way in, you would never know you are capable of accomplishing your dreams on your own.”
‘Why can’t we just fly to Heaven and bring her back down?,’ our son asked. We told our kids I had a baby in my belly, but she had a boo-boo on her head, and would not come home with us.’
“I had a strong mom instinct. First thing on Monday morning, I shut my ultrasound door and put the probe on my belly to check out the progress of the baby. Immediately, I knew something was wrong.”
‘She yelled, ‘I want my baby sister back!’ There was no longer a baby in my belly, but a thick pad shoved against me like a band-aid.’: Mom grieves loss of angel baby, ‘I hope they feel their baby sister guiding them’
“My kids had no clue what was happening in that moment, but they saw mama fall apart. ‘I’ve had my lifeless baby in me for two weeks? How did I not know?’ I was empty, confused. I lay on my tear-soaked pillow while my two healthy kiddos ran around the house, wondering why mommy is still sad.”
‘Immediately, I knew there was something different. Her precious little body felt weak and floppy. Looking at her tiny face, I saw it.’: Blended family births 11th baby with Down syndrome
“When I found myself unexpectedly widowed at 39, I couldn’t have imagined what my life would look like 5 years later. We met on a dating site. Blending our families and accommodating the needs of 10 children was a complicated task. Then we heard, ‘I’m so sorry,’ which prompted more tears. It was my job as her mother to be strong and brave, but I doubted my ability to do so.”
‘I was worried about falling asleep the night before I turned 10. The doctor said I wouldn’t live past 10. I always carried ‘expiration dates’ with me. It wasn’t the last time I was told I had this amount of time to live.’
“Mrs. Chase, I don’t think you need to worry about how many sick days Leah has, or if she is held back because of it because she will not live past 10-years-old.”
‘We have been sick since January. It feels like the cold and flu got together, and were like, ‘hold my wine.’ Our youngest covered our van in projectile vomit. HOW DOES THIS EVEN HAPPEN!?’
“Getting childcare coverage for these two wild hobos is like trying to trade someone the shaggy dog van in Dumb and Dumber – next to impossible. Our small town urgent care needs to adopt a punch card system because we would’ve qualified for a free co-pay or something by now.”
‘Are you ok?,’ I asked. ‘It’s complicated.’ Panicked, I said, ‘We aren’t okay?’ He replied, ‘I don’t want to talk anymore.’ And the conversation ended.’: Woman overcomes divorce after husband cheated, ‘I know I am beautiful, smart, kind’
“I heard him tell the kids, ‘I don’t know how much I will be seeing you guys for the next little while.’ I threw on some clothes and asked the children to leave the room. He told me he simply did not love me anymore. ‘Having sex with you is hard since you’ve started all these diets but never stick to any of them.’ My heart fell to the floor.”
‘Then the rocking started. It began as a gentle sway and turned into him throwing himself so hard into the couch he was putting holes in the wall. We knew something was not right.’
“The doctor stopped what she was doing, scooted back from her desk and looked me dead in the eye. ‘I am confident I know why your son is having so many issues. I also believe he is having a seizure right now.'”