“His sweet little cherub curls and fat tears streaming down his face, and all I could think was WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME??? My son was scared. Of me.”
‘He flailed around like a salted earthworm. ‘SIT DOWN. GO TO TIME OUT.’ I felt nothing but resentment. He widened his eyes and said, ‘Mommy, I’m scared.’: Mom shares moment of lost temper, ‘I’m terrified of screwing things up’
‘I restarted my profile and started swiping. He was nice, funny, and so easy to talk to. ‘Okay, I guess I can try dating you.’: Divorcee talks online dating in the pandemic, ‘Coincidence? Fate? Who knows?’
“My stomach dropped… I was just getting used to talking to someone, now I have to meet them! By then Covid was in full swing, but he had already planned coffee and a walk in the park. He said, ‘How about we meet at 10:00?’ I remember asking him, ‘Oh, like a day date?’ This was getting serious – I had to put on my big girl pants, fast.”
‘Are all these kids yours?’ Truthfully, I’m not the best stepmom. Sometimes I feel like an intruder in their home.’: Mom describes ‘rocky waters’ of blending families, ‘Love conquers all’
“We’ve dealt with two baby mamas, a pregnant teenager, and infertility. People think we’re crazy. ’Step’ means we don’t have to love each other but we still do.”
It’s Our Duty As Boy Moms To Raise Boys Who Know Real Men Cry
“Man up. Boys will be boys. Men don’t cry. We’ve been hearing phrases like this all our lives. To tell you the truth, I never gave it much thought. Now that I’m a parent to two boys, these phrases and euphemisms sound like nails on a chalkboard.”
‘You dig pregnancy tests out of the trash, just to make sure. You plan cute announcements, only for your period to show. You cry tears behind closed doors.’: Woman battling infertility says ‘I see you, I am you’
“Even after months or years of praying and trying, it’s still not your month. You dread family events because you don’t want to face the question, ‘When are you having a baby?’ No matter how many times you request that question not come up. You wonder what you are doing wrong if it’s so easy for everyone else.”
‘She fell into my arms, tears falling. ‘My boy was non-verbal. He let himself out the front door.’ She tightly clutched his blanket, and described a boy just like my own.’: Special needs mom talks anxiety, missing children statistics
“My husband’s voice cracked. ‘They found him. He’s gone.’ As we sat there in the warm night lit by citronella torches, his mother, who I’d never met, hugged me and fell into my arms. ‘It happened fast. Minutes…maybe seconds. No noise…just silently slipped away.’ I held my breath. As an autism parent, I knew the statistics.”
‘When we saw the ultrasound, I almost fainted. ‘We need to hire some staff!’ It was an enormous gift.’: Gay dads welcome triplets through surrogacy, ‘We’re surrounded by love’
“We’d basically given up hope. We never asked them. They asked US. Two women wanted to help us create the family we had always wanted.”
‘We can have one more. Only ONE.’ That’s all I needed to hear. We had 8 kids within the next month.’: Couple adopts four kids from foster care, ‘My heart was changed’
“My son yelled from the back of our 12 passenger van, ‘So when does he move in?’ I was shocked. ‘Mom, he doesn’t have a family!’ It took one visit to decide.”
‘My sweet little innocent girl looked right at me and said, ‘But mom, you are Santa.’ I could have lied. Instead, I confessed the truth.’: Mom teaches daughter ‘true magic of Christmas’
“I wanted to tell her that even though the writing on her presents looks like mine, it isn’t. I wanted to tell her that when her elf caught fire last year when he was sitting on a hot light bulb, that she didn’t smell melting plastic. She is still so little, and I wanted to savor that magic.”
‘We found cysts on her brain.’ I felt her strength, her love. I did everything possible to give her a chance.’: Mom births miracle baby with Edward’s Syndrome, ‘She’s a warrior’
“I started bleeding and my only thought was, ‘I’m losing my baby.’ But there was a heartbeat. And it was a strong one. She wanted to live.”