Happy
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‘I was relaxing by the pool, scrolling through my phone, when my heart stopped. My son was considered a ‘curse.’: Mom adopts boy with Spina Bifida, ‘We are the blessed ones to have him’
“He was sent to live in an orphanage. At only 4 years old, they were preparing him for an Adult Mental Institution. We had no idea what his name was. We didn’t even know his birthday. Every time that phone rang, I ran to it. I was on pins and needles.”
‘What did you do to make *her* like this?!’ Wow. My son was just 4 years old.’: Mom shares lessons learned raising trans son who ‘is blazing trails’
“I thought I was being so progressive when I ‘allowed’ my son to dress ‘like a boy’ when he began voicing his opinions. Now, I laugh at that notion. I’ve transformed into a completely different person.”
‘Where is his wife? Why is he watching the baby? What’s she doing?’ My favorite part of this story is the way Steven told it to me.’: Mom grateful for husband’s help during child birth recovery
“I felt completely overwhelmed and exhausted. Enter Steven.”
‘I need a friend,’ she said. That’s all she had to say.’: Woman urges others ‘if you need one, too, tell someone’
“Sometimes, more than coffee, wine, quiet, a vacation or some self-care, what we really need is human connection with good people.”
‘You would have to be prepared to adopt.’ My heart stopped fluttering; it just stopped. ‘How am I even allowed to be doing this?’: Woman becomes transracial foster mom, ‘We are the lucky ones’
“She was playing basketball with all the neighborhood kids in our front yard when I got home from work. My heart fluttered. ‘What the heck am I doing? Can I even be a good mom? I know NOTHING.’ I walked up and tried to say hello to her.”
‘He found her playing with a used drug syringe. ‘The kids can all come here!’ I didn’t even stop to talk to my husband.’: Couple fosters 5 siblings, deals with ‘roller coaster’ of 7 kids
“’Hey, I was thinking…’ I am the queen of crazy ideas. This was a single father with five children, ages 12 to 1. That hit me like a ton of bricks. I didn’t even hesitate.”
‘I can do it all!’ I was on the verge of tears at any given moment. And then COVID-19 hit.’: Pandemic reminds teacher ‘to savor and enjoy moments without thinking about the next thing’
“I went from being a youth pastor’s wife, youth leader, and teacher, to all of those things PLUS a mom of a pre-teen and teenager. My body screamed, ‘YOU NEED TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT,’ but my mind responded, ‘I don’t know how.’ Then, we were forced to stay home in our pajamas.”
‘Oh my god, I’m pregnant,’ I whispered. The first time it occurred to me I was a mom, he was two weeks old.’: Single mom struggles to connect with baby born during Covid, ‘I wasn’t just me anymore’
“Dispatch was on speakerphone yelling unnecessary instructions. Firemen were wandering through my house. ‘My baby is here.’ He didn’t have a name for several hours. This little human was a stranger to me.”
‘SURPRISE! You just had twins!’ The only words I could muster were, ‘Oh, f—!’: Mom gives birth to surprise twin, ‘It was just beautiful!’
“The ultrasound had only picked up 1 fetus, 1 heartbeat. After baby #1, I felt another huge contraction. The nurse said, ‘It’s probably the placenta coming.’ I was in shock. The staff was shocked. The likelihood of a baby hiding in the womb is extremely minuscule.”
‘I turned thirty years old. ‘I wanna talk to you about something. You know I want to be pregnant and have a family?’ I am getting a sperm donor’: Mom to-be journals her IUI journey during COVID
“Don’t you want to wait for the right guy?’ Single parenting is hard, are you sure you can afford it?’ I cried. I was so emotional, I was like this can’t honestly be happening to me right now, everything is ready to go. Being a mom has always been my dream.”
