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"  Hey, researchers, why do you keep asking moms if they&amp;#039;re happy? We&amp;#039;ve seen the endless studies: A recent one out of Norway found that moms&amp;#039; satisfaction with life peaked when their children reached 6 months old \u2014 then plummeted from there. Another study, based on the National Survey of Families and Households, found that parents across the board are more depressed than their childless friends. We wondered: Do researchers ever ask about the hilarious, heart-soaring moments that make the rest worthwhile? Well, we did, and here&amp;#039;s what moms told us. &amp;quot;My two kids and I had had a long day, and after bedtime I poured myself a glass of wine. But before I could take a sip, my 18-month-old son started to cry. I was about to head upstairs when I heard my 3-year-old daughter say, &amp;#039;It&amp;#039;s okay, Luca. Just close your eyes, it&amp;#039;s okay\u2026.&amp;#039; Then she started singing him a lullaby. I wanted to give them the biggest hug. And once she started singing, he stopped crying and fell asleep!&amp;quot; \u2014 SARAH GEIGER, 32, BROOKLYN, NY &amp;quot;I sometimes put notes in my 7-year-old twins&amp;#039; lunchboxes to surprise them\u2014 &amp;#039;Have a good day!&amp;#039; or &amp;#039;Love you!&amp;#039; They never comment, so I&amp;#039;d assumed they just tossed them out with the crusts. But then, during a stressful time at work, I found a note in my lunch bag. It read, &amp;#039;Mommy, I hope you have a great time at work! Love, Norah.&amp;#039; I melted. Now, whenever I&amp;#039;m overwhelmed, I look at it and smile.&amp;quot; \u2014 HEIDI ADAMS, 43, AUSTIN, TX &amp;quot;My 4-year-old still wets the bed sometimes. It happened the other night at 3 a.m., and after I got him into dry clothes, I put him in my bed so he wouldn&amp;#039;t wake up his brother. My typically non-cuddly boy wrapped his arms and legs around me and said, &amp;#039;I love you, Mommy, with all my heart.&amp;#039; Which was good to know, since a few hours later he peed in my bed too!&amp;quot; \u2014 CHRISTINA COPLEY, 33, NASHVILLE &amp;quot;I recently went on a much-needed girls&amp;#039; weekend and left my two teenagers with my husband. When I called from the airport on my way home, my 15-year-old daughter picked up but told me she couldn&amp;#039;t talk. I thought she was being her usual moody teenage self, but then she said, &amp;#039;I have a sink full of dishes to get through and three loads of laundry to do. I don&amp;#039;t want you to have to come home to this.&amp;#039; I couldn&amp;#039;t believe my ears. I actually got a little choked up\u2026 over laundry.&amp;quot; \u2014 BETH COHEN, 41, GLEN COVE, NY BEING THE MIDDLE KID IS ACTUALLY GREAT It&amp;#039;s true: Middle children tend to have less of their parents&amp;#039; attention. But that can be a good thing, says Catherine Salmon, Ph.D., coauthor (with Katrin Schumann) of the new book The Secret Power of Middle Children. &amp;quot;Because middle children don&amp;#039;t get the expectation often heaped on firstborns,&amp;quot; she says, &amp;quot;they&amp;#039;re more likely to settle into activities and careers that truly suit them.&amp;quot; Middles are also better at seeing everyone&amp;#039;s point of view, so they&amp;#039;re great negotiators and are more likely to have happier marriages than first or last borns. And they&amp;#039;re less likely to need therapy. In short, it&amp;#039;s awesome in the middle. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/life/mom-kids/advice/a12214/being-a-mom/>