“I used to make breakfasts for kids in footie pajamas, swinging their legs at my kitchen counter. Now, I make four frozen pizzas at once, trying to keep up with how much these tall kids are eating. I used to stay up at night worrying about what they ate that day. Now, I stay awake hoping they are driving safely.”
‘I used to be the one they went to for all the things. The one-stop shop for food and comfort and love.’: Mother of teenagers says ‘it’s all a blessing… every bit’
‘One day, you’ll realize you’re serving whole chicken nuggets instead of cutting them into pieces.’: Mom urges ‘you never know when the last day of a precious phase will be’
“One day they’ll want a shower instead of a bath. One day you’ll realize their car seat is no longer facing backward, and you don’t need that little rearview mirror on the headrest anymore. One day you’ll miss brushing their teeth because now they can do it themselves. Before you even know it, that precious phase will be gone.”
‘We waited for age 3 to potty train. We started preschool late. We baptized when our son was old enough to understand what it means.’: Mom urges ‘move at your own pace, mama’
“The world will try to pressure you to hurry it all up. Good meaning people will chime in with advice on how to do your job better. As the world reopens and all the pressures start to return, remember, motherhood is not a sprint. It’s a marathon.”
‘Who is going to pay for them?’ The years brought 7 more kids. ‘Are you crazy?’ Maybe.’: Mom chooses to have large family, ‘We had less money, but more love’
“The amount of rude comments were astounding. ‘Don’t you know how that happens? How do you afford them? We couldn’t figure out why everyone saw having a big family as a negative.”
‘I was driving with my newborn in the back. ‘Can you take in a 12-month-old emergency placement for a few days?’: New mom takes in child from foster care, ‘Bubba is truly one in a million’
“The case worker casually mentioned, ‘You’d be the first considered for his long-term placement.’ I laughed! I assured her we would absolutely NOT be able to do this with a 4 month old in tow. Within days, everything changed. We were absolutely smitten. We were ready to commit to him, for however long he needed us. Bubba is truly one in a million.”
‘I’ve turned my back for a moment and found my son in the dog crate. It’s a house of chaos.’: Mom of two babies survives quarantine, ‘We will never forget this gift of time’
“Trips have been canceled. Friends have gone un-seen and family has to stay away. The noise in our home consists of babies crying, dogs barking, and the occasional adult crying. Sometimes we let them cry so we can give each other a hug.”
‘I cried at Walmart this morning and wiped away tears as I stared at all the empty shelves. This is the most comfort I’ve felt in a while.’: Woman says ‘this virus has done very ugly things, but it has also brought us together’
“The board games are gone because families are playing together. Paint is wiped out because people are creatively expressing themselves. Children’s books are missing because parents and siblings are reading to each other. Around 5:00 p.m. EVERY evening, the driveways down my street are full of families and their kids playing in the yard.”
‘We cancelled our baby shower. I went from Googling dangly monkey earrings to ‘28-week baby premature survival rates.’: Woman expecting her rainbow baby says ‘I will continue to stay home and fight to be a helper’
“But then, people I love dearly got laid off. But then, I found myself on the phone with older family members I naively thought would live forever, suddenly wondering ‘what if.’ But then, people started to die. In what felt like a matter of minutes, it became more clearly into focus what was really at stake.”
‘It’s time to check on your pregnant friends, too – because their babies will be born, even if the rest of the world is shutting down.’: Birth doula urges to expecting moms ‘you are NOT alone, don’t let fear win’
“Preventing a birthing person from having their support team with them – not even a spouse, but ALSO not their doula, trained and contracted to provide them with emotional and physical comfort – is traumatic and brutal, plain and simple.”
‘2-year-olds aren’t terrible—they’re just learning how to be human.’: Child psychologist shares tips to manage toddlers’ complicated feelings
“We see kids this age as misbehaving, rude, or not listening. We see them losing it or throwing temper tantrums over nothing. But when looked at with fresh eyes, these misbehaviors can make sense, even to us.”
