‘When we were just about done with the foster process, I GOT PREGNANT. I peed on 14 sticks because I couldn’t believe it. We thought we were ready. I didn’t realize the roller coaster it’d be.’

“We had a 6-month-old baby and added an emotional 5-year-old to the mix. There were days where I felt like I was babysitting someone else’s kids. People told me I wouldn’t be able to love these children as my own. You come in expecting everything to fall into place. It doesn’t work like that. I had no idea what I was doing.”

‘I peeked in her bedroom. As I walked closer, I looked at her white feet and knew something was wrong. My brain snapped.’ Mother tragically loses daughter to Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood

“‘I’m sorry, we have to do this when a child dies in the home. It’s so hard for you,’ the investigator said. They found no cause of death. It is so rare, and the last thing I want to do is cause fear in someone else, but it’s a very real and possible thing that can happen.”

‘My dad hates me,’ the girl whispered in my ear with a sullen look on her face. It was one of the first hugs I gave.’: Man gives out ‘free dad hugs’ at pride event, ‘If your dad isn’t there for you, I will be’

“An hour later, a girl pointed to my shirt. ‘Hey, free dad hugs!’ The look on her face said everything I needed to know. She hugged me as if she hadn’t seen me in years. She walked away in tears, without ever saying a word. I’m nobody special. I’m just a regular dad.”

‘I was standing 3 feet away from my son, close enough to him to ‘hear’ any struggling. Whatever you’ve seen on TV, just forget. Drowning is silent.’: Bereaved mother shares water safety PSA, ‘I can only hope his story will save others’

“Nothing angers me more than generic water safety messages for parents. As if we don’t already care enough to get them swim lessons. Water safety is NOT that simple. So, this won’t be one of those messages. This one is real, and it is raw I checked ALL the boxes a ‘good mom’ before going to the pool.”

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