“I met this guy who was a little older than me. He had a daughter the same age as mine, it was too good to be true. ‘This is it, this is the guy who’s going to fix what was broken.’ But I learned very quickly how someone could live two totally separate lives. It was a nightmare. In that moment, I swear I heard it loud and clear. ‘I gave you the person who needed you the most.’ My daughter walked into my bedroom.”
‘Can I sleep with you tonight mommy?’ I still get chills thinking about it. I cried my eyes out.’: Mom swears her child is ‘the reason I am alive,’ after traumatic relationship leaves her contemplating suicide
‘Don’t sleep with your child. You’ll give them attachment issues.’ I’ll lay with you as long as you need.’: Toddler mom encourages co-sleeping despite criticism, ‘it is what feels right’
“When you were first born, I was told by many people to just let you ‘learn to self-settle.’ I was told not to rock you to sleep in my arms. They were sharing what they read in a parenting books. But for us, that is not our truth. You are a toddler now. And each night, I will gladly lay with you, enjoying our cuddles until you quietly drift off to sleep, until you need me no more.”
‘We get a hotel, and we lay down a lot. After putting on comfy clothes and taking bras off of course.’: Mom urges other women to ‘take the girls’ trip to enjoy the ‘simple things’ like ‘naps in the middle of the day
“Take the girls trip. Vacationing with other moms is the best. We fall asleep at 8:30 p.m. and wake up at 7 a.m. because our kids messed us up that way. We don’t judge if someone had to FaceTime their kids loudly and we laugh hilariously when those kids get in a fight we get to hang. Up. The. Phone. And let our husbands deal with it.”
‘I’m okay babe. I overslept.’ My phone lit up with her beautiful face. We went to my hotel room rather than dinner.’: Boyfriend discovers his ‘baby’ overdosed in bed next to him, despite being ‘happiest in a long time’
“She didn’t want me to stay at her apartment because of her obsessed ex that was still showing up uninvited, and unannounced. She was the most beautiful person I’d laid eyes on. She had 3 little girls she loved dearly. All our demons had disappeared. Or so I thought. My sweet Elena told me she was going to the bathroom to take some medicine. Then we sat and talked. ‘I love you so much, just don’t hurt me.’ How silly I thought. She went to sleep soon afterwards.”
‘Would you like help with his meth addiction?’ the doctor said. I was floored. Once everything was out in the open, our home became a pressure cooker.’: Mom escapes domestic abuse in wake of husband’s addiction, urges us to ‘trust our instincts’
“We ended up leaving 5 days before Christmas. The tree was decorated. Stockings hung. I tried to drag my babies out of their good time. I absolutely panicked. I wasn’t rational. But, panic, absolute real panic, is not rational. If I hadn’t left when I did, myself, my children, or all of us would’ve been dead.”
‘I sleep in my contacts all the time and I’ve never had a problem.’ I hear this daily, as an eye doctor. This bacteria can quickly lead to permanent blindness.’
“It takes seconds to remove your contacts but a potential lifetime of irreversible damage if you choose to leave them in.”
‘Sex after babies. I thought I’d be making jokes about my vagina looking like an angry old man who ate an onion, or always saying, ‘I have a headache.’ Never did I reflect on my relationship.’
“The exhaustion of parenting is literally ruining my relationship. I have not once thought about putting my relationship first. Why would I? My children are priority. I kill myself every day for them, because I love them.”
‘I fought buying a king-sized bed for years. It was for older couples who secretly hate each other but are sticking it out until the kids leave for college.’: Man learns important lesson about his marriage
“My wife was insistent, saying she couldn’t sleep that close to me. Then she’d look at me with the same cold, dead eyes.”
‘Just you wait,’ they say with a knowing smirk, ‘life with a baby is exhausting.’ I’m here to tell you that life without the baby is exhausting too.’
“When you return home empty handed, you also face sleepless nights. You will be exhausted, but you find it hard to sleep. You know that waking up means living in a nightmare.”
‘He is a good son. We love you Jeff.’ I couldn’t stop sobbing. He went on, as if they both were standing next to his bed. His eyes were closed, but he had the most peaceful smile.’
“He was sleeping, when I heard him say something. I leaned in. As clear as can be, he started having a conversation with Mom and Jeff. Jeff is his son, who died 2 years ago. They were whole, healthy, and together once again. I was overwhelmed by what had just taken place.”
