“Pre-baby, I knew who I was. I had an idea of where I was heading. Imagine the shock I endured when I found out we had a tiny human en route. I was about to meet a completely new version of myself. My name was Mom, not Jess. I ate, slept, and breathed motherhood. I started to become more and more aware of my loss of identity.”
‘I can spend Friday night at a bar with my friends. I can go to mommy and me group. That is what moms do. We do it all.’: Woman reminds other mothers to ‘get to know YOU better’
‘We are having a closed adoption! She will not steal my baby!’ Then our lives were suddenly intertwined.’: Mom ‘gains a sister’ through open adoption, ‘We get to walk this together’
‘We are having a closed adoption. She will not steal my baby!’ Then, our lives were suddenly intertwined.’: Mom ‘gains a sister’ through open adoption, ‘We get to walk this together’
‘They see only your Black friend. They may take matters into their own hands. I’m trusting you.’: Mom to black son pens open letter to white friends
“He is still the kind-hearted boy who ate at their kitchen table, sat next to them at church, and came to your Spiderman birthday party. Don’t ignore it just because you can. In the wrong hands, his consequences could be far worse than yours.”
‘I was 18 and woke up nauseous. ‘You need to tell Mark immediately.’ I’d broken off communication with the father 2 weeks before.’: Teen births baby girl, ‘I’d do it a million times over’
“I had one pregnancy test in my drawer and decided to bite the bullet. I watched it load and I could not take my eyes off of it for one second. After 3 minutes, the words appeared… ‘pregnant.’ My heart stopped. I got in my car and made the 10-minute drive to my ex’s house. I just wanted to get to him and hug him. I was carrying his child.”
‘Within 24 hours of birth the doctor said, ‘He needs immediate surgery.’ Other moms got to have normal kids.’: Mom of son with Lowe Syndrome finds her tribe, ‘They take care of us’
“I knew parenthood would be full of stress, but not like this. Hayden’s conditions were so rare, he didn’t fit into any box we could find. We couldn’t even find the questions to ask. I watched as all the other new moms got to have normal kids without a care in the world.”
‘Your second baby will make you wonder why you ever thought one was hard, but prove that a sibling is the best gift you could ever give your child.’: Mom says ‘your second baby will surprise you’
“Your second baby will make you wish for fewer hours in the day, but make you long for more time to soak them in. Your time and attention and your energy and your patience will be split in two, but your heart will double in size. These babies won’t last forever.”
‘I accidentally left my son’s sippy cup on the top of the car at a gas station and ended up with bruises on my arms.’: Domestic violence survivor urges ‘there is no excuse for abuse’
“I used to give so many excuses for my ex’s behavior. I used to blame MYSELF for his actions.”
‘We felt helpless watching his silent cries. ‘Am I allowed to touch him?’ We already lost our baby girl.’: Mom births rainbow baby with Congenital Diaphragmatic hernia, ‘I chose faith over fear’
“She told me our baby boy had a hole in his diaphragm. We felt helpless as our sweet boy fought for his life, and there was nothing we could do. After we lost our daughter, I said I would have done absolutely anything for her to be with us. This is it. This is the ‘absolutely anything.’”
‘Mommy, I had an accident. I couldn’t make it to the toilet. I did it on the kitchen floor.’ I peeked over, half-asleep.’: Mom urges ‘give the blessing of grace and unconditional love’
“I knew within that moment two things could happen. As I sat up from my spot on the couch, she immediately took my breath away. I wanted to remember it all.”
‘You have 24 hours to tell your parents you’re pregnant or I will.’ She pressured me. I was 17 and scared.’: Teen mom becomes widow at 18, ‘I lost my best friend, my high school sweetheart’
“She dialed my mom’s number on speaker. ‘Hi, Diane. This is the nurse at your daughter’s school. Katherine has something to tell you.’ Seriously lady? I got on the phone, played dumb. ‘Oh my gosh, Katherine! What is going on?’ My parents had NO idea I was sexually active. Little did I know, there were bigger problems to worry about. ‘If he was wearing his seatbelt, he would have survived.’ A funeral was planned without me or my daughter in attendance.”
