“Some families are rich as sin and sponsor all of the things and host all of the parties. Some families have kids on the football team. Some families raise geniuses who are writing cancer grants by the age of 16. Some families have 15 kids whose names begin with the same letter. Some families have three-year-olds who play piano and can speak three languages.”
“Part of this is my fault. Yesterday, I threw a birthday party for our child with extra needs. I can’t seem to be honest when I need help or when I need a break. Sometimes I just need a day.”
“My days are filled with tripping over Matchbox cars, breaking up wrestling matches, searching for big sticks, laughing at poop jokes, and talking about sports. I’ll never be the mother of the bride. I’ll never walk my daughter down the aisle. But I can assure you, I’m not missing out on anything.”
“Today, I could have stolen your child and flown to another state with them. No proof of name or identity necessary. Unchecked. Unchallenged.”
“I couldn’t shake this feeling. ‘I have this strong sense we have a child who is already alive.’ I whispered to my husband. ‘Nothing would surprise me at this point,’ he responded.”
“Miscarriage does not discriminate.”
“I’ve pulled live frogs from my son’s pants. They’ve peed in their dresser drawers. Their tiny lives are brimming with trauma and neglect. I’ve lost friends and family. I’ve missed major portions of their lives. They will always belong to another mama, too.”
“She’s exhausted. She’s dealing with postpartum PTSD. She’s not sleeping. She doesn’t have the extra hours to pump. Give her a shoulder to lean on.”
“11 miscarriages, a failed surrogacy, and a failed adoption later, a family member on my husband’s side begged us not to give up. ‘Try ONE more time.’ If it was meant to be, it would be. ‘These are actually our babies?!’ TEARS upon tears of joy came upon me as I held them.”
“After we lost Hannah, he began spiraling. One night, he came home extremely late and he was crying. His drinking increased. I tried to reach out to him but his personality was split in two.”
