“Immediately after birth, he began growing rapidly. He grew almost 3 inches and 8 pounds in 7 weeks. We were told Joshua’s condition is ‘without a doubt rare and genetic.’ Everywhere we went, people stared. Josh just wants to be everyone’s friend.”
‘At 10 months old, he weighed over 35 pounds. I began keeping food logs. ‘Does this justify the weight gain?’: Mom births baby with obesity disorder, autism
‘I look around and mothers are wilting. Marriages are filled with resentment, longing. Moments with our children are hurried and empty.’: Woman explains mental health through gardening
“My husband is a man with a need to accomplish a list. You can throw all the yoga, hot tea, sex, and time together you can dream up his way, but if he’s not daily accomplishing something on that list, he will feel stagnant and unfulfilled. Me? I probably had a list, but I lost it somewhere.”
‘The email subject read, ‘The Preschoolers Hibernated Today.’ How cute, I thought. Until I realized it was a lockdown drill.’: Mom says ‘it’s brave to parent in this crazy world we live in’
“The lockdown was made into a game. Our kids had to practice what they would do if a person entered the school and started shooting at them. It will never stop breaking my heart.”
‘I’m sorry, you have the wrong number.’ ‘Mom, no, stop joking, it’s not funny.’ Click. The phone hangs up. I felt like I lost my mom when she was still here.’: Woman says she has found her mom ‘in so many ways over the years’
“Trying to figure out how to be around your own mom that only remembers you sometimes changes you.”
‘Laura can do it, she’s home every day.’ I was told how hard my husband must have it. They didn’t tell me about the frustrations, the anger.’: Mom tells other stay-at-home moms ‘you are not alone’
“When I had my son, people were asking me, ‘When do you plan to go back to work?’ When I told them I had no plans to immediately go back, I would constantly be told how lucky I am. Then when I had my daughter, I was asked again. I was told I should be so appreciative.”
‘Our waitress says, ‘Your bill is already covered.’ Who would pay for a family with a whining baby?’: Mom ‘astounded’ by strangers’ Valentine’s Day act of kindness
“Thank you for restoring my faith in humanity.”
‘We placed my son in the back of a black SUV and said goodbye. I lost all hope. Just before I drank myself to death, I found out I was pregnant.’: Mom’s harrowing journey to recovery, ‘It’s up to you to break the cycle’
“Right after I turned 15, I met the absolute love of my life. Apparently, we were never really exclusive. In the summer going into my senior year, I got pregnant. I learned alcohol numbed the pain. After my daughter’s father left without telling me, I started partying more. He had no more fight in him. Days after his 4th birthday, we brought him home on hospice care.”
‘How was your trip?’ It broke my heart. Their schoolhouse was an open room separated by wooden dividers. The roof leaked every time it rained.’: Woman’s trip to Liberia was ‘eye-opening’ and ‘enlightening’
“This was the tough part for me. Thinking back to how I grew up, and seeing how drastically different it was from them, broke my heart. As a kid, I remember asking for updated decor for my room or a new, more comfortable bed to sleep in, and my parents working their butts off to make it a reality for me. But these kids didn’t have that.”
It’s Hard To Find The Balance As A Mother—There’s Only So Much Of Me
“I don’t even recognize myself. I look tired. I look like I’ve let myself go. I look angry. I look really rushed. I know I’m a good mom. I don’t doubt myself in that department. But I also feel like all I am is a mom sometimes.”
‘I’m positive you’re depressed, and that’s just from this one conversation.’ I froze inside.’: College student shocked by depression diagnosis, ‘It’s good to know people aren’t supposed to operate like this.’
“My family is very against medicine and doctors. My parents still don’t know I went to the doctor, or that I attend therapy regularly now. I don’t know what they would do, honestly. It’s ridiculous I need to hide going to the doctor, especially when it’s for my brain. My roommate was sharing how she couldn’t get out of bed. ‘It’s like someone placed you into a blank room, with no furniture or door or windows, and they expect you to thrive in it.’ It all clicked.”