“I broke down crying, ‘Promise me she’s going to be okay.’ I didn’t think I’d be coming home with my daughter. I couldn’t understand how my 2-year-old was on life support. How I could breathe and she couldn’t?”
‘They told me, ‘It’s nothing to worry about. Every baby does this.’ She was turning BLUE. I knew this wasn’t normal.’: New mom births baby with congenital heart defect, ‘She makes me proud every day’
‘Your son’s on the spectrum.’ Hearing those words was TERRIFYING. What would happen when he got older? I felt so alone.’: Mom to son with autism urges ‘you deserve compassion’
“I dreaded going out in public and the stares when my son would have a meltdown or start making sounds. ‘He doesn’t look autistic.’ I couldn’t figure out what people expected autism to look like. I was doing everything I could to make sure my son received the assistance he needed.”
‘Dear friend, it’s still me. Well, sort of. I’m no longer popping bottles, I’m pouring milk into them. I’m canceling a lot and it’s hard to explain why.’: Mom to newborn says ‘please keep inviting me, it means more than you know’
“I know you messaged me this morning…or was it yesterday? It’s all a bit of a blur and my phone is buried somewhere on my bedside that has never felt so small. I so badly want to reconnect with you, but I’m trying to reconnect with me too.”
‘I’m sorry he won’t stop whining. I don’t want to ruin your flight.’ She smiles, puts her arms out. ‘May I hold him for you?’: Military spouse thanks strangers for acts of kindness on flight, ‘They lifted my burdens’
“I was just a military wife solo parenting, trying to survive while my husband was in a war zone. I didn’t get her name. She probably doesn’t even remember us, but I will never forget her.”
‘I drown in piles of laundry and dishes, the pressure to be a good wife. Most days, I feel like I didn’t do enough. The load we carry is heavy, from the moment our feet hit the floor.’: Special needs mom urges ‘ask for help’
“The load we carry is heavy, from the moment our feet hit the floor to the moment our head hits the pillow.”
‘You lift him up, no matter how heavy the world seems. You’re his safe place, his best friend. You became a hero in not just one, but two sets of eyes.’: Mom thanks daughter for being ‘hero’ to sibling with autism
“When he was diagnosed with autism, it changed nothing between you. You loved him for being himself. He doesn’t have to pretend with you. Back then, I didn’t truly know how much your role would mean. I’m so happy he has you to walk through this life together.”
‘The cashier said, ‘How old is your baby? She’s old. She doesn’t need to be breastfed.’: Mom urges ‘it’s none of your business how long someone nurses their child for’
“Since when is there a time limit on nursing your child? I’m 18 months in and she has no interest in stopping, and quite frankly, neither do I.”
‘I used to grab him every morning at 5 a.m. when he’d cry out for me. Then, one day, he didn’t need my snuggles anymore. I didn’t know the last time would be the last time.’: Mom reminds us ‘savor the difficult moments, before they slip away’
“I’d spend hours just breathing him in. Watching the rise and fall of his chest. Kissing his forehead and snuggling his sweet little body. Still, I longed for sleep. Then, without warning, it all quickly slipped away. He didn’t need my snuggles anymore.I didn’t know the last time would be the last time.”
‘Scrolling through Facebook, a photo of my high school friend grabbed a hold of me and wouldn’t let go.’: Woman celebrates mom ‘forging ahead’ during unpredictable pandemic, ‘She represents all of us’
“You see, like so many others, this girl has had a really trying year. A mother of 3, her primary income was cut in half. Just when her world flipped completely upside down, she refused to let it break her.”
‘My husband joked, ‘How will you handle not sleeping when the baby arrives?’ We let them cry it out. Learning to sleep on your own is a necessary life skill.’: Mom shares tips for sleep training
“Both my kids sleep 12 hours in the same room together from 6:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. Yes, you did read that right. I cannot possibly be the good mom I want to be if I am not sleeping.”
