May 27, 2014

Mommy Tales

A really incredible part about becoming a parent is how it connects you to so many other people. Suddenly you’re a part of this league of people who’ve committed their lives to growing little humans, and all of the challenges, joys, successes and trials that come along with it. There are so many stories to share, so many moments to commiserate over. And one of our favorite parts about being connected to such a vibrant online community is all the stories offered up by people just like us. Their personal efforts provide guidance, support, love and advice, and we can’t get enough!

Today, we’ve compiled a list of “Mommy Tales” we’ve found particularly resonant. We so enjoyed reading them, and hope you will too!

This adoptive mama shares why her first Mother’s Day was the longest day of her life…eight time zones and projectile vomit included.

What would you do if you found out that your child had Reactive Attachment Disorder, AFTER you’d adopted her? This mom put up with the fits, the lack of affection, the tantrums and the frustration, and shares how she helped her daughter overcome her disorder on an incredible blog, and now in a new memoir.

Here, one of our all-time favorite mommy bloggers, Kristen Howerton of “Rage Against the Minivan” talks about she brought a flask to a children’s party, filled with an eye dropper. (How many times have you wanted to do that?!)

And another from Kristen…a pretty incredible roundup of all the things she wanted to talk about when she was invited onto The View to discuss her adoption, including some pretty powerful statements on what it’s like to be a transracial family: “I wanted to talk about how, despite how much we long for it, we have had difficulty finding inclusion in the African-American community.  I wanted to talk about how, after two years of going to the same barbershop, the elderly proprietor finally admitted to Mark that he was just now ‘cool with us.’  I wanted to talk about the sting of wanting to immerse Jafta in his culture, while recognizing that having white parents may set him up for rejection.”

Adoptive mom Pam Banks shares with The Cradle why open adoption seemed the most natural for her—why she chose it, and the peace of mind she gained as a result.

This is a series we’d love to keep going…we find it such an inspiration! If you come across any adoption stories you fall in love with, feel free to email them to us, or share them with the Abby’s One True Gift community on our Facebook page