“She had recently given birth and stood there holding her adorable, tiny, perfect baby as the words came out of her mouth. I remember the pain and shock as she said those words to me. I cried into my pillow, ‘I’m not lucky, I am cursed.‘ But it wasn’t the end of our story.”
‘You’re so lucky, you won’t have to get fat.’ She walked away laughing. Anger ran through my body.’: Woman’s harrowing journey with infertility, 3 failed adoptions
‘My principal told me, ‘Some kids just like to be bullied.’ She stared squarely at my parents. ‘Unless it involves blood, don’t call me.’ I felt so alone.’
“All of my materials were stolen and vandalized. I would barter with my bullies. ‘If you’ll be nice to me for one lunch hour or recess, I’ll give you my lunch.’ I literally gave them everything I had, but everything wasn’t enough. There wasn’t a single morning I didn’t beg my mother to not make me go.”
‘It’s too soon. No one would approve.’ I met K at the wrong time. At 26, I had already been married 6 years, parented 7 children and miscarried 2 babies.’: Woman gets real about dating after divorce
“My phone vibrates in the middle of my text. It’s an unsaved number. I just stared at my phone. ALL I could think about was the tall handsome dude at the store, whom I didn’t even catch the name of.”
‘I was face to face with a mama sobbing in the driver’s seat. She was crying the cry where your chest shakes, head in hands, and big tears fall heavy. I could tell she was embarrassed.’
“I walked out of my gym. Our eyes locked and she immediately looked panicked. I paused because I didn’t want to interrupt her intimate moment.”
‘I had a stroke at 28. Everyone assumed I was dehydrated. Soon enough, I was signing for my husband to take me off life support.’: Young couple share struggles through miscarriage, stroke, ‘We were given a second chance, we’re not going to waste it’
“We had a beautifully healed daughter. Our marriage was stronger than ever. That’s when everything changed, again. Words cannot describe how scared we were. We were again trying to hide our struggles behind fake smiles. That’s when they heard it.”
I Surprised My Husband With A Weekend Away From The Kids—Here’s Why You Should Too
“I packed up our four kids, wrote a goodbye letter, and drove three hours away to a hotel.”
‘I rushed him to the vet. I never imagined what would happen next’: Pet owner discovers 19 pacifiers lodged in bulldog’s stomach
“He started getting nauseous before meals. Then, he stopped eating altogether. I thought it was acid reflux. Boy, was I wrong.”
‘Unsafe and idiotic,’ is how they described it. I was hurt. I cried heavy tears all night.’: Mom insists ‘evil will not win’ after neighbor confronts her about memorial for her late son
“This neighborhood has been such a safe space for me since my son died. But this is heartbreaking. Each year on the anniversary of my son’s death, we hold a small memorial for him. Last night, I had a confrontation with our neighbors, a husband and a wife, who threatened to ‘report’ us if we do our memorial this year.”
‘You’ve caught an infection. If we don’t remove these babies, you will become sepsis. You can die.’ Tears ran down my face. ‘This is not where I hoped to see you,’ my doctor said. Neither did I.’
“‘You are having twins!’ I looked at my husband. We were in total shock. When we went to the doctor experiencing bleeding, we were sure something else was the issue — not twins. It was a dream come true. Minutes later, I sat on the toilet. I heard a ‘pop.’ I felt this flow of water between my legs.”
‘We broke up. Everything was perfect. Until I missed my period. I was pregnant. There was one mountain to climb: Tell my parents.’: Teen mom knows adoptive parents are ‘the one’ as soon as they ‘walked in the door’
“I was close to starting my second trimester and knew I couldn’t go to the doctors without my parents’ knowledge. My brother came home to help me tell my them. They ragged on him for 4 hours about his life choices before I finally pulled the plug. ‘Mom, Dad. I’m pregnant.’ The next week was a daze of my parents trying figure out what to do while I tried to keep food down.”
‘Parts of our baby’s brain were missing. I spent all my time crying. My husband spent his time avoiding it all. ‘Please don’t plan a baby shower.’ I didn’t want to return things if my baby died.’: Woman’s baby diagnosed with HPE, claims there’s ‘hope after prenatal diagnosis’
“Everyday interactions like strangers asking about my baby in the grocery store felt like ripping open a wound. I tried to prepare my 3-year-old for the chance that his baby sister may not come home from the hospital. As my due date approached, we considered planning for a funeral. But how do you truly prepare for the death of a child? I felt so bitter.”
‘You should’ve just killed yourself and got it over with.’ My gym teacher caught me in the girl’s bathroom. I was the talk of the school.’: Teen mom overcomes bullying, sexual assault, ‘I’m learning to love myself in a way I never have’
“I was so tired of being the ‘fat friend.’ I started getting up at 5 a.m. to do my hair and makeup. I bought ‘promiscuous’ clothing and dropped to a size 0. When I was sent away to rehab for not eating, it took my so-called ‘friends’ over a year and a half to even notice I was gone. I could feel that something was still missing in my life, but I didn’t know what.”
‘In the hall, I overheard the doctor saying she had ‘rough news’ to break. I walked out of the office in a haze.’: Mom keeps baby with Hydrocephalus despite pressure to abort, ‘she is my miracle’
“‘Can my day just be done?,’ I heard her say. She then said a word that took me by surprise, and scared me: ‘Abort.’”
‘You can’t squeeze 3 car seats in a Honda Civic anymore, SHARON. You gotta buy a minivan. And you better LIKE IT and act like you were never anti-minivan.’
“When one child is not home or napping, it feels like spring break! And I’m whipping off my bra! Jokes. I don’t own one… three kids mean I have no money for bras… or new underwear without holes for that matter.”
‘She was in the hotel pool. The water looked murky. I noticed a red line running down her calf.’: Girl contracts Necrotizing Fasciitis, flesh-eating bacteria during vacation swim
“We were only allowed in the water to our ankles. We tried to make the best of our beach day. Monday morning, my daughter woke up with pain in her calf. I can’t help but feel sick to my stomach. We were on vacation, enjoying the warm weather and waves. Now, here we are, fighting to save her life.”
‘I had just watched my husband die, in the hospital, right in front of me. I NEEDED to change. Finally, I got a text. ‘Are you free to come in right now?’
“It was the one month anniversary of Albert’s death. ‘I trust you,’ I said.”
‘I stood in line, filling the medication that would remove the life within me. I looked at my fiancé. ‘I’m going home and grabbing my camera.’: Woman photographs friend’s birth while miscarrying, ‘Let’s not forget the mamas’
“I headed to the hospital. I remember being in the room, feeling blood dripping from my body. I watched my friend’s body bleed simultaneously, signs of life, as she waited to bring her baby into the world. A life leaving and a life beginning all in the same room at the same moment. I was transfixed.”
‘When we were just about done with the foster process, I GOT PREGNANT. I peed on 14 sticks because I couldn’t believe it. We thought we were ready. I didn’t realize the roller coaster it’d be.’
“We had a 6-month-old baby and added an emotional 5-year-old to the mix. There were days where I felt like I was babysitting someone else’s kids. People told me I wouldn’t be able to love these children as my own. You come in expecting everything to fall into place. It doesn’t work like that. I had no idea what I was doing.”
‘To the parents of Abigail.’ I was shuffling through the junk mail, before tossing it in the trash. But the last letter left me frozen. My heart began racing. I gasped as I read the name.’
“As I stared at the letter, my hand started shaking. I found myself holding my breath, paralyzed by the shock of the unexpected. Seeing her name in writing after so many years caught me off guard.”
You Won’t Be Everyone’s Cup Of Tea, And That’s OK
“We over-analyze texts. We wonder why we didn’t get the invite. We see glances, whispers and assume they’re directed at us. We try so hard to bend ourselves 50 different ways to fit a mold in hopes of somehow satisfying everyone else, only to leave ourselves feeling empty. But, why? For what? This is YOUR journey. Stop doubting your own decisions. Stop looking over your shoulder. Stop trying to please everyone else.”
‘I love you,’ I whispered. I checked his arm, and noticed there was a needle mark. I don’t know how I held myself together from SCREAMING his name, praying he’d snap out of it.’
“He tried to call me, but I was asleep and missed his call. Then my mom called. ‘Get to the hospital immediately,’ she said. I knew it was about him. I didn’t know the situation, so I got there in 4 minutes. My mind was racing.”
‘I kept my baby. Even though I was 16, when everyone told me ‘kids shouldn’t have kids’ or that I’d ‘ruin my life,’ I kept my baby.’: Teen mom explains why she ‘kept her baby’ at 16-years-old
“I knew some would think I slept around, that I was promiscuous. I knew that girls would talk. I knew there was a pill that could ‘take it all away.’ But I knew that was a lie anyway.”
‘I peeked in her bedroom. As I walked closer, I looked at her white feet and knew something was wrong. My brain snapped.’ Mother tragically loses daughter to Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood
“‘I’m sorry, we have to do this when a child dies in the home. It’s so hard for you,’ the investigator said. They found no cause of death. It is so rare, and the last thing I want to do is cause fear in someone else, but it’s a very real and possible thing that can happen.”
‘Where does Nana live?’ You’ll think of her when a stranger walks by and you have to do a double take because for a minute, you could have sworn it was her.’
“You’ll think about the sound of her voice and the way her hugs felt. You’ll think about the ways she cared about every little detail of your day. You’ll think of her until one day, you realize thinking of her no longer hurts.”
‘What did you do to my child?! She’s telling me she’s our SON.’ That was the angry text I woke up to from my ex-wife.’: Stay-at-home dad details child’s coming out as transgender, ‘Your kids will always need you’
“It didn’t matter which parent she told first. What mattered is my baby needed me to love and support her, even if I didn’t understand these current changes. Even if it hurt me a little.”