“I couldn’t shake this feeling. ‘I have this strong sense we have a child who is already alive.’ I whispered to my husband. ‘Nothing would surprise me at this point,’ he responded.”
‘Dear God, please bring me a 4-year-old sister.’ Then came an email. ‘Let’s not get our hopes up.’ I wanted to protect her.’: Couple adopts 3 ‘unlikely siblings,’ ‘We are a family’
‘It doesn’t matter if you’re white, black, brown, or yellow. If you’re healthy or unhealthy. Single, married, or divorced.’: Woman urges ‘miscarriage does not discriminate’
“Miscarriage does not discriminate.”
‘They don’t like you.’ No one wants you there. The unanswered text kills you inside.’: Woman thankful for friends who understand her anxiety, ‘You won’t have to face this alone’
“Anxiety is the time you spend waiting for an answer as a scenario plays out in your mind. It’s apologizing for things that don’t require an ‘I’m sorry.’ When you come across friends who begin to understand, you realize you don’t have to face the battle alone.”
‘They are WAY too big to be picked up!’ They’re unaware I never held their tiny bodies. I fell and sobbed.’: Couple adopts 4 kids, ‘Being parents is the most extraordinary privilege’
“I’ve pulled live frogs from my son’s pants. They’ve peed in their dresser drawers. Their tiny lives are brimming with trauma and neglect. I’ve lost friends and family. I’ve missed major portions of their lives. They will always belong to another mama, too.”
‘As a man, I will never be able to breastfeed my children, but I can do my best to support my breastfeeding wife.’: Husband urges ‘teamwork is essential’
“She’s exhausted. She’s dealing with postpartum PTSD. She’s not sleeping. She doesn’t have the extra hours to pump. Give her a shoulder to lean on.”
‘The ministry called. ‘We have a boy and a girl. Would you be open to adopting two children?’ WHAT? Could this be real?! We were moved to tears.’: After 11 miscarriages, failed surrogacy, couple adopt 2 kids from foster care
“11 miscarriages, a failed surrogacy, and a failed adoption later, a family member on my husband’s side begged us not to give up. ‘Try ONE more time.’ If it was meant to be, it would be. ‘These are actually our babies?!’ TEARS upon tears of joy came upon me as I held them.”
‘It’s nobody’s business!’ I’d tell myself. I was in survival mode. I dropped to 75 pounds. I thought I’d never wake up.’: Woman shares recovery journey from eating disorder, ‘I chose a life of fullness’
“I had to navigate the chaos alone. When I finally got to see my fiancé, he was hurt and confused. I was 75 pounds.”
‘Some curves don’t need to be flattened.’: Woman urges ‘you are not a before, you are not an after, you are a right now’
“Countless nights I prayed. Countless nights I spoke to the air hoping someone was listening, and I would wake up and not be me. I wanted so badly to fit the mold.”
‘I just want to run my car into the wall.’ He became short with us. Our arguments were violent. I tried so hard to reach him.’: Mom of 4 loses husband to suicide, ‘I choose love over bitterness’
“After we lost Hannah, he began spiraling. One night, he came home extremely late and he was crying. His drinking increased. I tried to reach out to him but his personality was split in two.”
‘I vomited in a bush from pain. I was told your 20’s are the best years of your life but I was watching them go by.’: Woman with ACNES syndrome starts fashion blog. You can still be YOU’
“I was sweating profusely and vomited in a bush from the pain. I was too young to get sick! I’d always been told your 20’s are the best years of your life but I was just watching them go by from my bed.”