“The pain was excruciating. I cried every time I fed her. I felt like I couldn’t provide for my child. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”
‘My husband sat me down. ‘I hate seeing you in constant pain. You’re good enough if you don’t breastfeed.’: New mom embarks on motherhood journey, ‘She’s our fresh start’
‘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’
“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?”
‘My 14-year-old came into the bedroom with distressed eyes. ‘I was panicking last night and couldn’t sleep.’ This is the third time in 3 weeks.’: Mom stands in the gap for daughter battling anxiety
“I wish there was a simple fix. A magical playlist to erase her anxieties and ease the panic. I can’t take this burden from her, but I can wrap her in my embrace. For as long as she’ll let me, I will be her stand-in lullaby.”
‘Her doctor burst in. ‘Where is she?’ He looked nervous. I wished for a second parent to defer to. But I didn’t have one.’: Daughter supports mom through terminal illness, ‘I hug her a little longer each day’
“For as long as I can remember, it has been the two of us. She kept up with all of her motherly duties despite being sick, fighting twice as hard because she knew she was all I had. I can never repay her.”
‘I woke up to find this picture. I generally get annoyed at whoever took it. But this picture was different.’: Mom reminds others to capture childhood moments, ‘Be proud of these pictures’
“Normally, when I see a picture of myself that I haven’t ‘posed’ for, I never post it. But not this time. He snuck this picture of me and my daughter. I don’t ever want to forget it.”
‘I watched as my mom was zipped up in a body bag and carried away. This is the end of us.’: Woman loses mom to Stage 4 colon cancer, ‘My mom would be angry if I didn’t make a beautiful life for myself’
“Instead of celebrating with pizza and cake on my 17th birthday, we sat in the hospital. My addict brother would steal my mom’s medication. A switch flipped in my brain. Suddenly, my wants and needs didn’t matter.”
‘It’s important they can come to you and ask what a ‘BJ’ is and if it can give you an STD. Yes, I said BJ.’: Mom explains the importance of answering kids’ sex questions
“She was 7. As you can imagine, when I came home pregnant at 14, I was terrified. It was my choice to either silence her or lean in. I leaned.”
‘Doesn’t she want a doll?!’ my grandma asked. I REFUSE to buy my kid any toys for Christmas.’: Mom stands by unconventional gift-giving practice, ‘I want to grow her mind and passion’
“Yeah, you read that right. Making the shopping list for this holiday season, I couldn’t help but think what my daughter got for Christmas last year. Her gifts ended up smashed at the bottom of an overstuffed, dusty box. She barely plays with them. I’m avoiding that this year. I emailed, texted relatives with the news. I crossed my fingers and prayed everyone would understand.”
‘I’m grown, married, and a momma to my own herd, but I’ll never stop needing you, mom.’: Woman praises mother’s ‘sacrifices, love’ in emotional letter
“All the times you told me how much you loved me growing up, I never fully realized the magnitude of those words. Until I had children of my own. Mom, I’ll never stop needing to hear your voice when I call. I’ll never stop needing you to hug me and pat my hair like you did when I was little, or your advice and wisdom. The way you step in to help when I’m drowning. Thank you for everything you do.”
‘My mom came out of surgery. ‘Everything looks beautiful,’ the nurse said. Just 10 minutes later, my sister called screaming. My little mom was gone.’ Mom passes after heart surgery, brings family closer than ‘ever before’
“I remember my mom stepping into the house. She looked different, weak. She blamed it on eating bad bacon…yes, bacon. I talked to her about the possibility of having had a heart attack. She looked at me stubbornly and said, ‘So?’ We convinced her to go to the hospital. She went only for her ‘little angels,’ her great grandkids. We found ourselves in tidal wave after tidal wave of problems.”
