“When I was pregnant, everyone said to me, ‘Enjoy every moment. It goes by so fast.’ I wish I could go back and re-do the first few weeks with my firstborn. I would cherish every moment. It feels like just yesterday you entered this world, but now, it’s a distant memory.”
‘If I could go back, I would never put you down. I’d enjoy the cuddles, even at 3 a.m. I’d study your little fingers and toes, and soak it all in.’: Mom urges ‘cherish every moment’ with your newborns, ‘You will never get the chance again’
‘5 months after my daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, I felt a soft lump in one breast. ‘It’s not cancer,’ the doctor assured me. I believed her.’: Mom diagnosed with breast cancer 5 months after daughter’s leukemia
“All throughout her treatment, I asked, ‘Why her and not me?’ Well, someone was listening. It wasn’t until she finished treatment, I took some time for myself. I felt a soft lump in my breast. I knew it was cancer. ‘Whatever happens, please stay positive.’ My daughter with leukemia was ready to take the lead and help me.”
‘It felt like my whole world was crumbling around me. The second the ultrasound wand hit my belly, four sacs appeared. ‘Surely, it’s just two.’: Woman struggling with infertility, miscarriage gets pregnant with quadruplets
“I knew a disappearing symptom wasn’t a good sign. The first doctor told me to wait three months to try again. I refused. The next doctor told me I had to wait until my next miscarriage before I could be seen by a specialist. The next doctor I saw at that practice said she refused to help me anymore.”
‘SHE’S 21 AND PREGNANT. DO NOT ASSOCIATE.’ We lost friends. We stopped getting invites.’: Young mother swears every sacrifice was worth it, ‘We gained so much more than we lost’
“Our apartment was located near bars. 8 days after moving in, we found out we were pregnant. Life did an immediate 180. We’d wake up, look at Snapchat, and watch all of the fun we were missing out on. When we heard our baby’s heartbeat flutter for the first time, we knew we’d do anything for that little person living inside me.”
‘He told me once when he was deployed, a woman noticed my picture on his laptop. He carries a heavy load.’: Military spouse says ‘the load is so much lighter when we carry it together’
“I turned bright red when he told me. When we lived overseas, there was a 7-hour time difference and a 23-hour flight separating us from the rest of our family. He’s the kind of man who holds you when you cry and ask for forgiveness.”
‘You’ll never get out of this hole. Just go back to your old friend, heroin.’ I spent the night in jail, tying bedsheets around my neck.’: Man who battled addiction 9 years now owner of state’s largest recovery center
“I put the sheet around my neck and waited. I just couldn’t let go. I could hear the voices in my head saying, ‘You can’t even do this right.’ When I was released from prison, my family wouldn’t take me in. After too many broken promises, they were done with me. I owed $33,000 in child support and $100,000 for my crimes. ‘You’re going to be okay.’ My prisonmates saved my life. They took me in when I was too far gone.”
‘I just found a giant bottle of vodka in their closet, so I’m pretty freaked out.’ Parenting teenagers makes us into liars. We show the shiny side. We can no longer spill our guts.’: Mom says parents to teens ‘need a village more than ever’
“All this may be true, but we are all only telling one side of the story.”
‘If you start to feel like you don’t like it, you can tell me to stop,’ I said. ‘I don’t like that,’ he practiced.’: Mom turns playful tickling with son into consent lesson, ‘We all deserve to enjoy living in our own bodies’
“My 3-year-old asked me to tickle him. Tickling is one of those activities that can move quickly from fun into boundary transgression. I wanted to connect with him playfully in the way he was asking and model safe physical experiences at the same time. It’s not one serious, awkward conversation. It’s not The Sex Talk you’ve known and dreaded. It’s a foundation built over years.”
‘She came to us asking why she felt so much anger. Jeremy gave her a hammer. The slightest thing sets her off, boiling just under the surface.’: Daughter ‘relieved to know she wasn’t alone’ after parents help her to ‘release anger safely’
“Our 12-year-old has been struggling with anger lately, erupting when the slightest thing sets her off. ‘Why do I feel this way?’ We found an old desk on the side of the road. Jeremy gave her a hammer. We wanted her to dismantle it. It went faster than I anticipated.”
‘Why is your wife crying? Not everyone gets to have a perfect baby,’ the nurse said. We were shocked. I just wanted to be told everything was okay.’: Mom to son with Down syndrome says she’s in ‘the luckiest club there is’
“I heard whisperings at my bedside. I asked my husband, ‘Did you just hear what I heard? I think something is wrong with the baby.’ They looked little Henrik up and down, lifting him and setting him back down into the bassinet. I stared blankly in disbelief as my husband covered his eyes. ‘What does THAT mean?’ We couldn’t even form words. ‘This is very, very serious.'”
