Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Families.
Doing It Right This Time
As a parent have you ever felt wrong about the things that you couldn't do for your first child? When you think about it, the first child is always the most memorable, because at times you never see him, her, or them coming. I am 23 years old, and I just had my second child July 7th, 2018 @ 6:30 PM. My first child is six years old; this is a big gap because I had my son when I was 17 years old. Being pregnant at 16 was very traumatic for me but looking back I know that my son was a blessing. He put me on the right path and brought me the stability that I needed in my life as crazy as that may seem. At the age of 16, I wasn't prepared to have a baby at all. I had only known my son's father for a month, and I was still naive and a child but I've always been mature, so it didn't ruin my life. One of the main thoughts I had, when I was pregnant the first time, was, how am I going to take care of this baby? I didn't have any job experience and wasn't old enough to be hired for a job, so I was already heading down a struggling path. While I was pregnant with my son, I was still in high school, so this was hard enough because I was dealing with nosy people all the time. I didn't get to enjoy being pregnant, my mom was my biggest supporter, and she helped me through everything. However, I never had money to myself, so I didn't get to feed my cravings, have a baby shower or take maternity pictures. I also didn't get to shop for my baby because I wasn't the one bringing in any money. My mom was my rock, and she did as much as she could. When I got pregnant, I was staying with a family member because my mom was getting ready to deploy. The funny thing is that when I found out, I was pregnant my mom's deployment was canceled. After my mom got the news, my siblings and I moved back with my mom, so my son's father and I had a long distance relationship on and off throughout my pregnancy. This meant that I didn't get to go through my pregnancy with the person that I made this child with. My family experienced all my trimesters and pregnancy moments. When I had my son January 27th, 2012 my mom and sisters were there not my son's father. As my son got older, I still wasn't able to provide for him because I was still trying to figure out how to provide for myself and get my life together to get him together. I went through a lot between the ages of 18-20 so that I could provide for my son. These moments were tough but, my son was my biggest motivation to stay strong. The stress of being a first-time young parent was very hard, and I'll honestly say I got it all together when my son turned 3. It took three years for me to feel like I was doing right by my son. Now that he is 6 I can honestly say I am proud of myself for the provider that I've become. My daughter has provided me with a whole new meaning of pregnancy, adulthood, and parenting. The first difference I felt when I find out I was pregnant with my daughter was that I made the decision to have her and it wasn't by surprise. I am also married to the love of my life, so I am in a stable relationship. Finding out I was pregnant with my daughter made me realize my life was complete and stable enough to have another baby. I got to experience a partner with me through this pregnancy. I was able to feed my cravings and shop for my baby like crazy. I was able to take beautiful maternity pictures and get the amazing 4D ultrasound pictures. Most importantly I was able to experience bringing a life into the world with the man that I made my beautiful daughter with. My daughter reminds me daily that I did stuff right this time. My kids are my world and even at 23 years old with two kids I feel good, I am a great mom, and it is because of my son that I can be the mom that I am today. In the future I want one more child, I wonder if there will be another difference with baby #3.
By Maelyn Jeffers7 years ago in Families
Chapter One
Hi, my name's Levi and no I don't know why my parents decided to call me that. I never even met my parents, they put me up for adoption days after being born only for my grandmother to find me and take me in. All I know is that I have a brother and an aunt on my mother's side and that is pretty much all they would tell me. Where am I now though... standing in line waiting to meet this other side of my family.
By claire klubertanz7 years ago in Families
Miss Your Loved Ones Who Have Passed, and When it Hurts, Miss Them Harder
The empty chair at the dinner table, the automated voice at the dead end of a phone call relaying that the number has been disconnected, the longing to tell a story about something that happened in your day, something you know they would laugh at, they would be proud of, they would be overjoyed to hear— these are the things that eat us alive when grieving the death of a loved one, the things that bring about a sense of emptiness within our souls that cannot be filled with anything this earth has to offer.
By Abbey Walters7 years ago in Families
To the Woman Who Lost Her Daughter...
I don't know where else to write this, but I feel it needs to be put out into the universe. The other day I went for a motorcycle ride with my boyfriend of 9 years. He and I dropped our two babies off at my friends house and went for a cruise out to visit my boyfriend's dad. On the way back home, we stopped at Walmart to pick up some much needed items, things that we had been putting off buying all month, and met up with my boyfriends riding buddy.
By Kelsey Park7 years ago in Families
A Bump in the Road
A Bump in the Road Life is full of challenges. I don’t know even one person who hasn’t faced any hardships in their life. Life challenges can vary from something as small as losing a sock to something as big as losing a family member or a close friend. Sure, I’ve lost a couple socks and I’ve unfortunately lost family members, but those things happen to everyone. Everyone can relate to those hardships. Uncommon life challenges on the other hand are different, because not many people can relate to them. Being pregnant in high school is definitely a good example of one.
By Lynnette Keo7 years ago in Families
Halloween Books for Kids
Halloween is a wonderful, spooky, and unique time of year, perfect for spinning tales into nights that grow longer and longer with the approach of winter. Here is a list of books for kids in order of age recommendation, starting with age 3.
By Crysta Coburn7 years ago in Families
What It's Like to Have Post-Natal Depression
My journey begins mid February 2017 when I took a pregnancy test after having missed a few periods. I was 19 and I had just split up with my partner. I actually took two tests just to be sure and when they both came up positive I panicked and started crying thinking my life was over. My mum who had waited outside our bathroom door for me came in and told me something I will never forget. Something which helped me decide to keep my baby.
By Martina Stopani 7 years ago in Families
My Estranged Sister
Growing up, my sister and I were very close. She is younger than me, and she was always a pain in my butt when we were little. She wanted to do the same things I was doing, or hang out with me and my friends. Sometimes it was okay, but other times, she was too nosy for her own good.
By Brandi Payne7 years ago in Families
Life
So, over a year ago, my soon-to-be husband at the time, came to me and wanted to help one of his friends out of a tough situation in terms of having nowhere to go. I was a little apprehensive at the time, gave it a lot of thought, considering what I thought to be every outcome to the situation and eventually came to the conclusion that I was comfortable with having his friend stay with us.
By Abby Fisher7 years ago in Families
We Live in a Digital Generation. Where Is the Balance?
When your kids grew up in a culture full of blessings that you can simply get access to something they want with a just a click away in this digital generation we live in, it has some side effects of disconnection from the reality of human interaction and the lack of not knowing how to deal with pain in life. The side effect of that is they have no clue how blessed they are until some huge storm of reality check hits their lives and same goes with us parents.
By Grace KOSTAMO7 years ago in Families
21 and Pregnant
Hi, my name is LeighAnn, I'm 21-years-old and currently about 14 weeks pregnant. I found out about the pregnancy when I was 6 weeks along. When I saw those two little lines, I panicked. It was hard to breathe. I couldn't stop crying over the phone to my boyfriend. He reassured me that everything would be fine. I was filled with every emotion, scared, angry, sad.
By LeighAnn Connor7 years ago in Families
