“Let me tell y’all something! Sometimes I have some REALLY grumpy boyfriends and husbands come to my sessions. Dudes who are on their phones the entire time, saying, ‘Are we done yet?’ But every once in a while, you get a gem.”
‘YASSS GIRL!’ She wanted bubbles in her pictures, and her man was going to make sure it happened. He was so enthusiastic and I’m here for it!’
‘They hadn’t told us which bed she was in, but we knew. Somehow, we knew. She was tiny, wrapped in an orange elephant blanket, and absolutely beautiful.’
“Every day that went by, we didn’t know if it would be our last together. Every time the phone rang my stomach was in knots. There were a few times I remember looking at each other like, ‘What the heck did we just get ourselves into?’”
‘I remember saying, ‘First, I need to get high. We will deal with that later.’: Woman hits rock bottom of addictions with second pregnancy
“Our daughter has been placed in protective custody,’ my husband said. Then I find out I’m pregnant. I’m deep into my addiction – 95 pounds and shooting heroin multiples times a day. I tell my OBGYN. This was a rock bottom plea for help. Addiction crept into my life so quietly I didn’t notice until it was far too late.”
‘I have a secret. Somebody we know is hurting tonight. Somebody we know is watching their clock and praying for bedtime to come quickly.’
“There is a dirty little secret hiding behind the curtain. You are not the only one who crashes at the end of the day and needs everything to be silent, easy and invisible, so you can just BINGE OREOS IN PEACE FOR TWO FREAKING MINUTES.”
‘A friend of mine called. ‘Hey, I’m going to swing over and hang out with you for a few.’ I panicked. This wasn’t a planned swing by.’: Mom remembers what’s important after friend’s unexpected drop-in
“She came over and automatically opened my laundry room door. She went into my bedroom to make sure my bed was made. Then she made her way into my kitchen and checked my sink to make sure I had done the dishes. She gave me the once-over before we sat down to catch up.”
‘Danielle, babies cry. That’s what they do!’ I remember thinking, well it must be me then. This must be ‘normal’ and I’m just not equipped.’
“I wish I could have told my innocent and naive self to buckle up because that was only the beginning. Once we got the diagnosis, I remember foolishly feeling giddy. Like finally we have the answer and now it will be fine. This will all be okay. Like I said, foolish.”
‘Her eyes widened and her voice changed to panic. ‘What if you have a FIFTH daughter?’ This stranger’s question left a bitter taste in my mouth.’: Mom of five says ‘whatever we are blessed with is what we will cherish’
“I was at Costco with my little crew when a woman approached me about my growing bump. I usually try to ‘kill them with kindness.’ She noticed our four girls and our son, whom we adopted 3 years prior. She made a joke he was the only boy, then shifted her attention to what gender THIS baby would be.”
‘I lay in the hotel bed in tears. ‘Play with me!’ I snapped at him as I plugged calories into my app. ‘I can’t live like this anymore.’: Woman overcomes 10 years of eating disorders, ‘I’m always enough’
“I was determined to be that girl who transforms from ugly duckling into beauty queen over summer break. I stumbled across pictures of skin-and-bone bodies. I’d never seen anything like it, except in photos of German concentration camps. I only ever wanted to lose 15 pounds.”
‘I was finally ready to ask for a divorce. Then I found out I was pregnant. I was shocked. ‘Well I have to tell my husband.’ It felt like we were living separate lives.’
“I didn’t think I was going to make it. My husband was with me. I told him he was going to figure out how to be a great dad. He had to trust himself, and find who he needed to help raise our daughter. My breaking point was when I caught him lying to my face.”
‘The door is locked and the person has been in there a long time.’ I knocked again, harder this time. No answer. I ran in to see a half naked man slouched over on the toilet.’
“At that moment I found myself yelling to him, ‘YOU ARE WORTH MORE THAN THIS’ over and over again.”