“The name of the contest was ‘Mojo Gives You a Baby.’ You won a free round of IVF. We decided to go for it. It was our miracle! We decided to try for a sibling.”
‘I’ll have you pregnant in no time!’ I held my breath at the ultrasound. I’ll never forget the panic in their eyes.’: Mom births rainbow baby after losing son in utero, ‘Never stop fighting’
‘The nurse came in. ‘Her new parents are ready for her.’ Only 15, I kissed her cheek and placed her into the arms of her mama.’: Teen mom embarks on ‘beautiful’ open adoption journey, ‘I couldn’t have picked better parents’
“I hid my pregnancy for 7 months. I should’ve been picking the perfect dress for Winter Ball. Instead, I was writing a birth plan. Once my sobs slowed, I looked at her birth father and said, ‘Those are the people who will raise our baby girl.’ I wavered. I fought. I broke. But in the end, I knew what I needed to do.”
‘I took a test, saw a line. ‘What’s ONE more?’ he laughed. I already had 3 under 3.’: Couple surprised by pregnancy while adopting brothers, ‘It’s exactly what I dreamed’
“’Meet your son.’ Weeks later, we brought number 3 home. I noticed I was having mood swings. I joked to my girlfriends on a group text, ‘I‘m probably pregnant.’”
‘Can you tell me how we’re related?’ Then she said, ‘I am your mom.’ My heart was beating so fast it almost popped out of my chest.’: Woman reunites with biological mom, ‘I’m excited to build a relationship with this sweet, intelligent woman’
“We embraced each other. ‘I look like you,’ I said with watery eyes. In 1996, pregnant in her early 20s with already two kids, she wrapped me in a towel and called the police to tell them where I was. ‘I forgive you.’ I tried my hardest to keep my tears in. I knew if I let one fall, the rest would not stop.”
‘No, you can’t play with us.’ I never would’ve dreamed my 6-year-old would already shed this many tears. She just wants to fit in.’: Mom teaches daughter ‘self-worth’ in wake of bullying
“Just like my mother taught me, I told her to kill them with kindness. But after a particular pair of older girls, who frankly know better, continued to be rude and exclude my daughter, I had to have a difficult talk with her.”
‘You watch him in pain and feel the energy. Sometimes you feel robbed. This shouldn’t fall on your shoulders.’: Woman with special needs brother says ‘he taught me to be selfless’
“Every birthday, when I blow out my candles, I use my one wish to wish my sibling could be able to walk and talk.”
‘I jostled awake to the sensation of the couch moving. ‘PLEASE!!’ His eyes rolled back. I watched as Kenny’s body flailed uncontrollably.’: Woman finds love after losing husband to cancer
“My sobbing husband pulled me close and choked out, ‘Don’t EVER let me be a vegetable. Do you hear me???’ The weight of his words shattered my shock. My face crumbled. ‘It’s recommended you never procreate again.’ We’d accidentally gotten pregnant the last month it would ever be possible.”
‘Days after my surgery, we got the call. The birth mother was also pregnant. ‘Start straightening the house!’: After ‘painful’ infertility journey, couple foster 3 siblings
“‘All fixed up! You’ll be pregnant in 4 months tops!’ I was taking medicines, arguing with my husband. Our hearts were breaking. Coming off the infertility rollercoaster, God told me it was time to change our plans. ‘The birth mother is also pregnant.'”
‘I’m going to die young.’ I was drunk the day I took my SATs. I’d go days without eating.’: Single mom overcomes addiction, ‘I wanted to see my daughter grow up’
“While my friends were dreaming about their future careers, I was dreaming about booze. I’d carve words into my legs just to feel something. And then I got pregnant. The only thing I wanted for this child is to not feel how I felt.”
‘Your to-do list will keep growing. The emails will continue to flood in. The texts will sit unanswered.’: Mom urges ‘everything else can wait, you only get one chance to raise your kids’
“But your children, they grow right before your eyes. Their tiny voices change overnight. Their giggles and tears start and end with you…until they don’t. Everything else can wait. Parenting is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”