“Her beautiful, almond-shaped eyes, the way her tongue rested gently on her bottom lip, and her tiny pinky with the slightest curve. I was in shock.”
‘As I laid eyes on her for the first time, they quickly pointed out everything ‘wrong’ with her.’: Mom ‘blindsided’ by daughter’s Down syndrome diagnosis, ‘I’m no longer afraid’
‘Why did you keep having kids if you weren’t happy?’ Everyone was disappointed in me. I was the ‘bad guy’ for breaking up my family.’: Single mom of 4 navigates life after divorce, ‘Happiness comes first’
“From the outside looking in, we were the perfect family. ‘Maybe if we just take this one vacation, everything will magically change.’ I felt worthless and unloved. My boys were the only thing that made life worthwhile.”
‘The first 8 years of being a parent were rough. ‘It’s the after-baby blues. They’ll go away.’ I felt like a failure.’: Mom shares journey with postpartum depression, ‘The NOW is where I’m content’
“I hated watching my husband sleep when I was exhausted. I felt such emptiness. I was told, ’It’ll get better when you get out of the house more.’ I always responded, ‘Yeah, you’re probably right. But I knew it wasn’t the case. I was depressed again.”
‘I’d gained 40 pounds while pregnant. ‘I’m sick of feeling ashamed of my body.’ It was like a switch flipped inside of me.’: Mom of 3 shares body confidence journey, ‘I finally love myself’
“After the initial excitement of having a child wore off, I was ready to start ‘getting back to normal.’ I woke up, got out of bed, and walked past a mirror. I stopped and stared at the person looking back at me. I didn’t even recognize her. The girl I’d known my whole life was gone.”
‘You guys are no good.’ I fell pregnant at 15. The world was against us and things got worse.’: Teen mom shares beautiful relationship, ‘We are stronger together’
“I had to borrow medicine off the shelves when my son was sick because we couldn’t afford it. We were doing everything we could to get by. It never seemed like enough.”
‘I’m FINE!’ I heard my son call out. Something very wrong was happening. It was an out-of-body experience.’: Mom of 2 battles PPD, becomes advocate, ‘Motherhood shouldn’t be so hard’
“’I have 2 children under the age of 2. It’s not going to be easy.’ Up with the sun came an abrupt halt and the idyllic mom vanished.”
‘You’re young, you have plenty of time to try again.’ I knew I never wanted to be pregnant again. ‘Mommy, when am I going to have a baby sister to play with?’: Young couple adopt after miscarriages, ‘We were meant to find him’
“My husband and I were at a family wedding outside of our local town. I remember going to the toilet with my sister-in-law and seeing blood. ‘This is it, Molly, you can do this because you’ve been preparing to lose her for the last 9 months.’ My husband said to me, ‘I won’t make you go through that again.”
‘I’ll see her in one month IF she makes it until then.’ He asked if we were related, multiple times. I was APPALLED.’: Mom births baby with dwarfism, ‘She’s doing AMAZING’
“I looked down at her hands and knew something was off. The mom in me knew. ‘So she’s going to be small? No big deal!’ We could tell there was something else he wasn’t telling us.”
‘My son NEEDS an evaluation!’ I knew it was coming, but it still hit me like a ton of bricks. I had no idea what to think.’: Mom shares son’s Autism journey, ‘There’s no other life I’d want’
“I began to see differences in him. Ronin was banging his head against the floor and pulling my hair out by the handful during his meltdowns. Doing nothing didn’t seem right.”
‘I’m stuck at my parent’s with a baby I don’t deserve. My 19-year-old body was overwhelmed.’: Mom forgives herself for her past, embraces blended family
“‘I don’t deserve to mother him.’ Am I mom or a person? He was too perfect and I was too flawed. I had to forgive myself.’”
