“He was ours. I knew exactly where I wanted to go. I wanted our first family picture to be of our entire family. In our favorite, most special place. We drove straight from the hospital to the cemetery.”
‘My husband caressed his cheek and told him we’d be okay. His eye searched ours, as if to be sure.’: Mother of angel baby says their son ‘brought a light to our lives death could not shadow’
‘He was perfectly healthy with no fever. I called 911 while mom made sure Sawyer didn’t harm himself. By the time the paramedics arrived the seizure had stopped.’: Mom details son’s experience through seizures, EEG and the Emergency Room
“After being in our room at the ER for less than 10 minutes Sawyer had another seizure followed by another one less than an hour later. At this point, our new doctor was taking it very seriously. Sawyer got a CT scan and was admitted to the hospital. He had a few more seizures before we saw the neurologist on call.”
‘They tell you stressing over it makes it harder. But we can’t help feeling jealous when we see another pregnancy announcement on our timeline.’: Woman opens up about the pain of waiting for her own ‘positive pregnancy test’
“Before we take the test, in our minds we count out to see what month the baby would be born in and think about all the cute ways to announce it… something like ‘Red, White, and Due’ on the 4th of July. Then it turns into possibly making a surprise trip home to tell the family before summer is over. Then August and September pass and you decide it’s okay because announcing at Halloween is just as exciting. And then Halloween passes.”
‘My husband used to come home to find the girl on the right. A little rouge, a pretty top, a sexy bra. This girl on the right was sassy. This girl on the right was F-U-N.’
“She wanted you to come home to girl on the right. But no bueno. That crap, it didn’t fly.”
The One Thing Every Mom Needs Is Mom Friends
“WOMEN NEED friends who can pig out on a big piece of cake and tell each other inappropriate jokes. That can grab our little cherubs and have a massive sleepover, binge watching TV shows with wine. Hands up if this is what you need.”
‘I didn’t love my daughter at first sight. I look at that picture and cringe. I just wanted to be left alone. I felt so heartless.’: Mom describes battle with postpartum depression
“There the nurse was, taking this baby’s head and shoving it into my boob to start breastfeeding. ‘She’s your baby!’ I would tell myself, ‘just bond with her.’ I’ve made a huge mistake here.”
‘Fire burned in my eyes. He backed away. I pointed to the sink. ‘Oh yeah, I cleaned out my room.’ My eyes bulged.’: Mom hilariously recalls the joys of parenting
“‘WHYARETHEDISHESNOTINTHEDISHWASHER?’ Yes, I said it like it was all one word. ‘I dunno.’ My blood pressure shot to unsafe levels. Seventeen, yes, 17 cups in the damn sink. Not one. Not 5. Seven-fricking-teen.”
‘Can I murder the baby now?’ My first day back to work from maternity leave, I got a text.’: 3-month-old shaken baby survives ‘extensive’ brain damage
“I called his father. ‘What happened?’ He didn’t have much to say. I choked down tears and made my way to the hospital. After x-rays, I was told they suspected child abuse. My baby was bleeding in his brain due to non-accidental trauma. I immediately went to his father. ‘How could this happen?!’ He just kept repeating, ‘He was choking on milk.’ I was enraged.”
‘Marriage 2! This one only lasted 9 months. I was broke. He was not. He drove a nice car. He treated us to things. I’m not proud of this.’
“Then one night, he poured me a glass of wine. I took a sip and saw something in the bottom of my glass. No… It can’t be what I think it is. Can I keep drinking and pretend I don’t see it?”
‘Don’t worry honey, I have no plans to die today.’ He asked me to watch a movie with him, but I declined.’: Daughter regrets turning down dad’s invitation night he was murdered
“I called my dad and he didn’t answer, which was weird. I drove over to his house. His car was there, but he wasn’t. I started panicking. I knew something had to be horribly wrong. My dad never ignored me. I called bars I knew he’d go to when he relapsed. I couldn’t find him. Finally, around 4:00 p.m. I called the morgue. The very kind woman informed us there was a John Doe. When she described him to us, I knew it was him.”