"If there was one thought that floated through my mind constantly during pregnancy, childbirth, recovery, and early parenthood, it was, “What have I gotten myself into?” The inertia of the whole thing made me question what started it all, what was I expecting, and what am I going to do with my current predicament." - F.C.
"The first time I ever laid eyes on my firstborn child, my perfect baby girl that I had so eagerly anticipated and lovingly awaited, I vomited. Twice. And so began my first year of motherhood. Needless to say, the vomit-at-first-sight didn’t quite fit into my Perfect Mommy ideas. And I quickly discovered that neither did many other realities of motherhood, especially two things that I like to think of as the Dirty Little Secrets of Motherhood: unsolicited advice from others, and Mommy Guilt." - H.M.
"The Native American tribe of the Cherokee believed, and perhaps rightly so, that the first year of motherhood made women far stronger than men. Of the two genders, only women, could walk to the edge of death and bring back life. And yes, the birth of a child and the first year of a child's life does call for an almost inhuman amount of strength." – C.E.
"While pregnant, I thought being a parent meant loving and raising a child. What I did not know was how much I would have to grow to be a parent. I also had no idea how much I would learn about myself on the journey." – L.C.
"As we sat in a dark room staring at the glowing ultrasound screen waiting, we held hands. The technician put the wand to my extremely large stomach and we immediately saw two little boys on the screen where there should have been one! There are no adequate words to describe the shock, joy, and fear of such a surprise. I laughed and laughed while Jon sat staring at the screen speechless." - L.C.