Happy
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‘When will we get our baby brother?’ We needed $4,000 and had no idea how to come up with that money.’: Couple embark on adoption ‘roller coaster,’ community unites to raise money
“We have his room all set up for him. We have clothes, toys, a family waiting for him. All the while, others share their highlight reel of adoption and make it look like a breeze. I want to teach him words, love on him, watch him run around the house and yard with his brother and sister. My heart is aching for him to be with us.”
‘Look what I did, papa!’ There was poop all over the walls, floors, bed. I didn’t know whether to faint or throw up.’: Dad says ‘the struggle is real’ when it comes to ‘climbing the potty training mountain’
“We were well on our way up potty mountain when I walked into her room. REALLY?! ‘Don’t lose your cool.’ Well, that’s easy to say. I didn’t want her to feel like she failed. I had to remind myself that one day we would laugh at this.”
‘2 days after my 43rd birthday, our ‘little frosty’ was transferred to me. My belly is growing at an astounding rate and I love it.’: LGBTQ couple pregnant with baby ‘so loved already’ after ‘agonizing’ miscarriage
“Our consultant discussed choosing a sperm donor with us and suggested while looking at our tiny heights we ‘Choose someone tall, let’s give it a chance!’ which really made us laugh. I just want the next 6 months to hurry up so we can hold him or her in our arms and say, ‘We’re your Mommies.'”
‘Minutes after being born the doctors noticed my skin peeling from just being wrapped in the typical blanket they use with newborns’. Woman describes the pain of living with Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa
“There’s often the misconception my illness is not a big deal and it’s ‘just a skin condition.’ If my illness was as minor as people tend to believe I wouldn’t have lost the ability to walk over the years, or my hands wouldn’t be webbing from years of scarring and friction.”
‘If I have surgery, I might not wake up. If I don’t, the tumors will grow, killing me anyway.’: Mom with 23 tumors pens heartbreaking love letter to her sons
“I want to watch you grow up. I want to see what you wear on your first day of school, who you fall in love with. I don’t want to miss a moment. If I wake up, I will fight for you every day. If I don’t, please don’t ever doubt the power of my undying, unrelenting, never-ending love for you.”
‘We were given a pamphlet. Everything said ‘lethal’. My boy had other plans.’: Baby with Osteogenesis Imperfecta ‘makes his own rules,’ defies all medical odds
“I didn’t learn anything was wrong with my son until 2 weeks before I had him. It went from ‘something might be wrong with his foot’ to ‘he is completely incompatible with life’. We waited for the genetic results to come back knowing every hour could be his last. All I could think was, ‘This can’t be his story.’ He’s a warrior.”
‘There’s no way it’s contractions. I’m only 20 weeks!’ Tears rolled down.’: Woman says goodbye to twin son after ‘devastating’ stillborn delivery
“I remember feeling pain, but I was pregnant with twins so I didn’t think too much about it. I could hear nurses laughing in the next room at the sound of another baby’s heartbeat. I sat there, waiting. Then, the nurse came. ‘Your son’s heart stopped.’ I sat in silence. I just wanted to go to sleep, wake up in the morning, and have everything be okay.”
‘Help!’ I banged on the wall. My parents were downstairs. I reached for my nebulizer, but quickly realized something was wrong. This is when I remember feeling very calm and a sense of peace.’: Young woman learns ‘lesson’ after near-death experience from whooping cough
“Before bed, my dad asked if I needed to go the the hospital. As a stubborn 19 year old, I somehow talked my way out of it. I told him I was ‘fine’. The next thing I remember, my parents were rushing downstairs. They immediately tried to put my nebulizer mask on, but for some reason I was pushing it away. I woke up in an ambulance. I still feel guilty about that night.”
‘On my wedding day, I asked both my mom and dad to walk me down the aisle. I won’t let divorce keep us from being a family.’: Woman’s separated parents set aside their differences, come together in ‘surreal’ moment on her ‘big day’
“One weekend, when I was 8, my mom sent me to my grandparents’ ranch. When I came back, my dad was gone. No explanation. No reasoning. He just wan’t in my life anymore. It wasn’t until years later, over lunch, when I found out he tried to bring me a birthday cake every year since the divorce. I never got to see them.”
‘I was called ‘gay’ before I even knew what it meant. I have to be a strong papa to my girls. I can’t let them see I’m hurting.’ Gay father from deep south says he’s just like ‘any other family’, finds confidence after years of bullying
“My cousin called my mom screaming when she found out. ‘How can you be happy for him?!’ In public, we get looked at A LOT. It doesn’t matter if we’re at Olive Garden or Home Depot. It’s hard to turn a blind eye to the glares. As much as I wish I wasn’t bothered by my past, it comes bubbling back up. There’s something that happens to one’s confidence when they grow up in an environment like mine.”
