Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Families.

Giving Birth Again 11 Months Later
Luckily for me, giving birth for the first time had turned out to be a much more enjoyable and less harrowing experience that I had anticipated. The fact that I had such a pleasant experience the first time definitely contributed to the fact that I ended up pregnant with baby number two when my son was only three months old. Everyone thought my husband and I were nuts for having a second kid so soon, and I can’t say we planned for her to come so soon. However, I knew I wanted my kids to be close in age and it had taken a while to conceive our first baby, so I felt more excited than overwhelmed at the thought of having another baby so soon.
By Haley Peterson7 years ago in Families
Taking Care of Your Body During Pregnancy
Being pregnant is a very special time in your life that you will never forget. You will get to experience all of the stages and trimesters of pregnancy, and as they come and go you will notice significant changes in your body. The first six to eight weeks of pregnancy are a little rough as your body is adjusting to the spike in your hormones. This often causes morning sickness and there is very little you can do to help it. Eating crackers and getting up slowly in the morning will help ease the symptoms of morning sickness, but some pregnant women have morning sickness all the way through the entire pregnancy. During the second trimester, you will start to gain weight, the baby will start moving, and your breasts will get larger. You should start to feel better by this point in the pregnancy. The third trimester is the last and final one when the baby is almost fully developed and you are definitely feeling the pregnancy weight. You might even be retaining a little water at this point and it may become difficult for you to sleep at night. The baby is usually very active during this phase and it this makes it difficult for you to get comfortable. It’s important that you take extra care of your body during pregnancy so that after you have the baby you can try and get back to some sort of normalcy.
By Paisley Hansen7 years ago in Families
How to Stay One Step Ahead of Your Children
As a mom you know how important it is to think about potential problems before they actually become a problem. We try to stay one step ahead of everything and anticipate potential situation before the event occurs so that we are prepared for anything. Preparing for the worst case scenario all the time forces us as moms to overthink anything and everything and we often come across as overbearing or too protective to our family and children. As we get ready to head into the summertime there are some small but key things we can do to help ensure that our children and family are safe and protected without being that crazy mother that gets on everyone’s nerves.
By Kevin7 years ago in Families
Father's Will Tore the Family Apart
It is sad when anyone loses a member of their family. Most people go through the necessary process to get through things. Funeral, grieving and eventually settling the deceased's estate.
By Kenna Rae7 years ago in Families
“And I Don’t Pick Up when You Call Cause Your Voice Is a Gun” - Paramore
“I like to rebel against society's bullshit expectations. I just decided to become what everyone hates," I said to her. "You mean, what your mom hates..." she replied.
By Penelope Dowdy7 years ago in Families
What Every Home Needs for Kids
After you have children, there are changes that you should make to your home to make it safer. Here is what every home that has children needs added to it to prevent dangerous situations.
By Sasha McGregor7 years ago in Families
The "Candy" Talk
As a Mom—my love is unlimited. It doesn't matter if your happy or sad, angry or glad—I love you. This is my story to you, my children.
By Katherine Caruso7 years ago in Families
The Daughter of a Venezuelan Immigrant in America
When I think of Venezuela, I have this image in my mind of a far away country that I have only heard about but have never experienced myself.
By Sofía Pinto7 years ago in Families
My Father the Invalid
My father has lived a really long life. His first wife died of an illness when he was approaching his middle age. At that time, he had four children to take care of himself.
By Brian Anonymous7 years ago in Families
Pregnancy Body Shaming
It takes nine months, more or less, for a woman to grow and birth a new life into this world. That’s 42 weeks. 294 days. 423,360 minutes. In that amount of time, our bodies undergo changes unlike anything anyone has experienced before. Pregnant women go through spiritual, psychological, and physiological warfare within themselves—and more so than not do we talk about the psychological, spiritual, and even emotional portion of this experience. For the most part, we know that you can get postpartum depression, and with that, there are resources directly after birth to help combat that. For example, we are asked, and sometimes given, questionnaires as to how we are feeling emotionally. But rarely do we ever discuss the physiological effects that our society as a whole throws onto us about the way a woman should look immediately after giving birth.
By Japhia Spencer7 years ago in Families
Conscious Parenting 101
Parenting. A tall order for many adults who—let's just be real—don’t know what the heck they are doing (I certainly don’t! 😝)! It’s one of the biggest responsibilities we have in life. We are supposed to raise a child to be a kind, healthy, happy human who can take care of themselves efficiently. Now how the hell does one do that?!
By Grace Calo7 years ago in Families
24 Hours
It is every child’s fear; the loss of a parent. I don't think we lose that fear. I tried to push it aside often. The "what will I do? How will it feel? Will I survive it?"
By Ava McCoy7 years ago in Families