Touching
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‘Why was I the last to notice my baby was in distress?’ I needed constant reassurance everything was going to be okay.’: New mom thanks nurses during short but grueling NICU stay
“One night, while I was holding my fragile Heron, he turned completely grey. All I can remember is sounds exploding from seemingly everywhere and a sea of NICU staff rushed into the room. All we could do was stand back and watch.”
‘I was patient zero. All we wanted was our baby boy, but we knew we couldn’t be selfish.’: Woman with severe blood clot cyst shares abortion story in response to ‘horrifying’ Texas abortion ban
“I had an abortion on June 10th, 2021. This is not a story I ever intended to share, but given the circumstances in Texas, I feel it’s important. Today, as I continue grieving over my unborn son, I also grieve for the helpless women who won’t get the opportunity I had.”
‘You didn’t lose your baby, but there’s two in there.’ This was the moment I knew I was in for a wild ride.’: Twin mom thanks NICU nurses for helping premature daughters ‘come home’
“At 26 weeks, I went in for a routine ultrasound only to be told I was being admitted. I knew it was coming to be life or death for this baby. My sweet Baby B was at risk.”
‘I immediately lost it. ‘I’m NEVER going to be able to have kids of my own’ was on repeat in my head’: Woman shares emotional infertility journey
“‘Maybe I’m just a late bloomer.’ The doctor struggled to get the words out. Tears filled my eyes. Everyone I knew was beginning the family, and I longed for a baby of my own.”
‘I set the box of ashes on the couch. She gathered her blanket close, the first time she’d sit next to her Daddy without weeping.’: Widow shares heartfelt moment with daughter after losing husband
“I go to my bedroom and pick up the box. My heart immediately recognizes its weight. My hands know every edge and corner of this container that holds all that’s physically left of the man I thought I’d grow old with.”
‘Poor thing.’ It’s not something to avoid or pull your children away from at the playground. It’s pure, unfiltered joy.’: Special needs mom advocates for Down Syndrome acceptance
“It’s giving zero F–KS, wearing what makes you happy, and being proud of how you look. It’s loving people for exactly who they are and showing everyone kindness without expecting anything in return.”
‘The excitement of a normal poop, the pain seeing your child poked 1,000 times, the strength to continue walking inside.’: Hospital mom describes emotional journey during NICU Awareness Month
“The late night calls of a parent, the early morning calls of an emergency, pressing a button on an incubator before you can touch your child, the longing to rock your baby to sleep just one time.”
‘What if this knife lands on my baby? What if my toddler misplaces a step and breaks his neck? Horrible, graphic images held me prisoner in my mind.’: Mom candidly opens up about intrusive postpartum thoughts
“Perfectly ordinary and happy scenarios were quickly overrun by irrational thoughts. I so badly wanted to be that unruffled mom, but my mind was constantly painting ugly pictures around the beautiful pages of our lives. I was a prisoner in my own head.”
‘I was unable to rest or sleep. I didn’t realize how sick I was until I could no longer take care of myself.’: Woman with acute mania, bipolar urges, ‘You are so much more than your diagnosis’
“If it wasn’t for my mental illness, I might still be in a loveless marriage, stuck working on the same old nursing unit, without any aspirations of becoming a best-selling author one day.”
‘We can’t see why you can’t have children.’ I felt like there was something wrong with me.’: Mom struggling with infertility shares emotional journey to adopt
“I could have fallen into a puddle on the floor, but that’s not what happened. In the midst of tragedy, these words kept pressing on my heart: ‘GOD ISN’T FINISHED.’”
