“We packed up all his belongings, drove him to his mother’s apartment, and said goodbye. Later, we received a call from the birth mom: ‘Can he come live with you again?’ One month turned to two, two to four. ‘Do you want to apply for joint custody?’ We had to explain to our little boy he was stuck with THREE parents forever! God had put us in each other’s lives for a reason.”
‘We have a 3-year-old boy. His mother is homeless. No one will take him.’ Our jaws fell open. ‘We’ll be at your house in 30 minutes!’: Couple adopt 4 children from foster care, co-parent with birth mom
‘I vividly recall my phone ringing. ‘Uh, Meg is pushing out your child RIGHT NOW.’ Instead of Ethan’s dad, my sister cut the cord.’: Veteran details birth during husband’s deployment, ‘He is our proof miracles do happen’
“I tried to call my husband. No matter how many times, I got no answer. In my heart I knew his phone going straight to voicemail, which meant he was in transit from the United States to the Middle East. Jay was ready to go fight and defend our country, while his wife was giving birth on the other side of the world, to a child who was born too early.”
‘We’ll call tomorrow, Daddy.’ He tested positive. She cries big heavy tears for her daddy she hasn’t seen in a month.’: Mom takes full custody of kids while officer dad battles coronavirus at work
“We are divorced but have 50/50 custody. He’s an essential worker in our state prison that has the most cases of COVID-19. And, they’re all in his unit. Last week, he tested positive. 7 days later he was ‘released’ and sent back to work. I see the pain in his eyes every time we go to hang up.”
‘Really? Another mom in the picture? More kids?’ I realized I’d robbed them of some of their favorite things.’: Stepmom realizes ‘every member of a blended family has to be flexible from time to time’
“I would make an effort to hide my bump if we were at school or sports functions. The quips came out of the woodwork. ’They’re crazy! This will be the end of them…’ I tried to involve the girls as much as possible. I wanted them to feel the joy I was feeling.”
‘This was NOT in the plan. Everyone was supposed to stay home.’ His daughter had been to Walmart and the grocery store a few days prior.’: Stepmom urges ‘keep everyone as safe as you possibly can’
“I could tell they were having a heated conversation. I took the boys to the backyard and waited. His hands were shaky as he called her mom and said she had to come to pick her up. I was so frustrated. Here he was, telling his daughter she has to go home before she even gets out of the car.”
‘This isn’t the time to be stirring up legal arguments — for your sake, but mostly for your stepkids. This part of their lives will be in history books.’: Mom says co-parenting during the pandemic is a pivotal moment, ‘Allow it to bring you together’
“Maybe your stepkids are with you right now. Maybe they’re with their mom and she would prefer not to send them back to you. When everything calms down, if you feel you’re entitled to ‘make up time’ or you’ve overpaid child support to help your ex through tough times, you can address it then.”
‘He forgets appointments. He never knows the party dates and doesn’t feed him as I would. But our son lights up because daddy is ALWAYS there.’: Divorced couple learns to co-parent ‘to the level our son DESERVES’
“We were oil and vinegar 75% of the day, every single day, for the vast majority of our 14 years together. Many would say, ‘None of that is your problem. You shouldn’t have to work around that.’ He still often needs to be handled with grace, even if I don’t feel like he deserves it.”
‘This is my ex-husband’s new wife Tiffaney showing up and showing out. This isn’t JUST another picture of a stethoscope and a coffee cup.’: Nurse mom praises co-parent during quarantine
“Today, when she dropped off the boys, she brought coffee. I worked 72 hours last week, and will work 72 the next. Both ICU ‘s where I’m a nurse are busy preparing for unknowns. This is a picture of all of the good things I wanted from my divorce. By choosing their daddy, she also chooses them.”
‘They were dropped off sick with pneumonia. The oldest had underwear that had been worn for so long, it had fecal matter stains.’: Stepmom stands her ground against abusive ex-wife, ‘It breaks my heart’
“You want to talk crazy? She requested the judge order him to refer to her as his ‘wife’ and sleep in the same bed as her. It felt like I was in the twilight zone. She even refused to work or support her children financially. She didn’t let him see his children for over a year. It eventually tore my husband and me apart.”
‘I called my ex. ‘You’re the one with sole custody, it’s your problem.’ The fact is, in this time of uncertainty, we are both her parents.’: Woman encourages co-parents to ‘work together and set differences aside’ during Coronavirus
“When he picked up the phone, I was surprised to learn he had been laid off a month before the Coronavirus took off. If this had happened a year ago or even 6 months ago, I would have a very different narrative on how this is going. I’ve literally heard it all. But I decided to give him a chance to help.”
