“He has been up till 2:00 a.m. every night the past four nights. I can see the exhaustion in his eyes, but his brain is on rapid-fire mode. I feel like a horrible mom sitting on the floor in the hall outside his room, which is locked, listening to him.”
‘All they see is ‘locked in his room’ and immediately jump to ‘savior’ mode.’They call CPS without knowing the damage it can do.’: Mom of bipolar, autistic son advocates for mental health, ‘Each victory makes us stronger’
‘She showed me the texts, shaking. ‘My son and his friends were planning to splash a milkshake on her face.’: Mom urges ‘bullying affects everyone’
“I was at the beach with my kiddies when I saw a woman crying. She left from yelling at her 15-year-old son and went for a walk because she didn’t want him to see her tears. She found out he has been bullying a girl at school and took his phone. Shaking, she showed me the group texts.”
‘Her body hit the floor. ‘If you want to say goodbye to your daughter, you’d better come now.’ She’d only had a bad cold the day before.’: Mom dies suddenly of congenital cardiac arrythmia, leaves behind twins
“Brittany called to say she had a bad cold. I told her to get some rest. We said ‘I love you’ and I told her the twins were doing fine. At 8:30 a.m. we received a call from her husband. ‘It’s Britt! They’re lifeflighting her.’ At the hospital, she was just lying there, the ventilator breathing for her. ‘Please come back to us. Your babies need you.’ I held her hand. They checked her system for diet pills.”
‘Just get the babies in the car.’ I stood there for too long, wondering how to let a stranger clean up my mess. It was way harder than I wanted it to be.’: Mom thanks Trader Joe’s employee for showing her ‘the beauty in the mess’
“I believe I told you ‘just shove it in, and pray,’ which I immediately wanted to follow-up with, ‘That’s what she said.’ I heard the bag filled with grapes, strawberries, and blueberries tumble to the ground. Without hesitation, you told me to let you clean it up and you would be right back out with fresh replacements. I didn’t want to accept the help, but I knew I needed it.”
‘You think you’re tired now? Just wait.’ Can we drop the ‘I’m more tired than you’ act and just lift each other up? I’m sick of this motherhood competition.’: Mom urges ‘just wait mama, it only gets better’
“‘Dear excited pregnant mom, you think you’re tired now? Just wait until your baby won’t sleep, your nipples ache, and you fight with your husband nonstop. You’ll probably get depressed, never get your body back, your house will always be a disaster, and your social life with disappear.’ Why is this the basic ‘welcome to motherhood’ letter being sent out? I received it. Many of my friends did. I suspect you did, too.”
‘As soon as you birth your baby, you’re a different person. Take it and run. You’re now a mama before anything else. There is no higher title than that.’: New mom shares candid reality of first-time motherhood, ‘You’re doing an amazing job’
“They don’t tell you you’re going to cry. A lot. You dropped that pacifier on the floor? Might as well throw in the towel. According to your postpartum brain, your partner will NEVER do it right. Your ‘friends’ will drop you like it doesn’t even phase them. You’ll check your baby’s breathing every few minutes. Whether you breastfeed or formula feed, it hurts. Someone will always have something to say.”
‘Today I sat in my car, in last night’s pajamas, and cried. Like, junior high first breakup kinda’ cry.’: Mom reminds us it’s okay to have a rough seasion, ‘Sometimes life can be a lot’
“Sometimes motherhood can be a lot. Sometimes marriage can be a lot. Sometimes a career can be a lot. And sometimes? Sometimes it just feels like a lot all at once.”
‘YOU DO NOT HAVE MY PERMISSION TO TOUCH ME! I DO NOT CONSENT!’ Her screams of anger melted into shrieking sobs.’: Mom urges parents to ‘help ‘children process emotions’
“She had backed her sister into a corner with both sides blocked. Before we changed our parenting, I would have yelled, spanked, and heaped on shame. Now, I had to do something else. ‘I won’t let you hurt your sister. I will help you get control of yourself.’”
‘Breathe in slow,’ my mother said. Our hands interlocked as the long needle entered my back. She gripped me with her hands.’: Woman recounts how mother saved her life, ‘Moms have this magic way of easing pain’
“The deadly bacterial infection spread to my heart. The machine next to my bed started beeping wildly. I remember the fluorescent lights burning my eyes. The beeps kept getting louder, louder. My mother flew over, piling blankets over me. Though my mother was not calm this time, I breathed her in. That’s all I remember. No pain.”
‘I was late to work today, again. Holding back tears, visibly shaking after a coworker belittled and broke down whatever piece of soul I had left that.’: Special needs mom’s plea for kindness
“I hope you never get that phone call at work. That desperate plea from your child to ‘come get me now.’ The call where your heart drops into your stomach and you have no idea what you are walking in to. I would much rather be at my desk.”
