\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n \tRelated story \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tHow to Prepare Your Teen for the Unspoken Risks of College Parties\t\t<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n \t\t<\/a><\/p>\n<\/article>\n \t \n\t\u201cRight before the pandemic, my children had left home, and I wasn\u2019t working. The things that had always anchored me \u2014 my family and my work \u2014 were gone,\u201d Heaton told Woman\u2019s World<\/em><\/a>. \u201cI started thinking, \u2018What am I supposed to do today?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWithout her usual lifelines of work and parenting to keep her busy, she found herself casually drinking<\/a> throughout the evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cA glass of wine while cooking became wine with dinner, wine while cleaning up, and wine while watching Wheel of Fortune<\/em> and Jeopardy!<\/em>\u201d Heaton said. \u201cOne night I realized I had almost finished an entire bottle by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIt wasn\u2019t long before she realized something needed to change.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI was thinking about alcohol<\/a> differently,\u201d she said. \u201cI said a prayer: \u2018God, I think you want me to stop drinking. I would be willing to stop, but you have to make it happen because I can\u2019t. I\u2019m willing, but I\u2019m unable.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tThe universe seemingly answered her plea the very next day.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI was with my sons and their friends, and I couldn\u2019t pronounce the word \u2018tradition.\u2019 I tried three times. My youngest son said, \u2018That\u2019s great, Mom. You can\u2019t even speak.\u2019 I was completely mortified,\u201d she continued. \u201cThe next morning I said, \u2018Okay, God. Message received.\u2019 That was eight years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tNow, eight years sober, she\u2019s focusing her energy on Solubrae<\/a>, her own line of non-alcoholic wine.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tIn addition to her sobriety, Heaton has also shared the anxieties she faced as a first-time mother in her mid-30s.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tIn a post on X<\/a>, Heaton recalled how doctors told her that her eldest son had an \u201cextremely high chance\u201d of having Down syndrome <\/a>following a prenatal blood test. She explained that she declined further testing because abortion was never an option for her, and her son was ultimately born without the condition.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tShe also admitted to battling frightening, hormone-induced intrusive thoughts during his first few months of life.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI kept having weird ideations of violent things happening to him,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI had enough knowledge to realize it was a hormonal thing. I asked for prayer in my mom\u2019s group to deal with it. It eventually subsided,\u201d she continued. \u201cI subsequently had three more babies \u2014 I was 40 years old at the time of my fourth pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWhether she\u2019s talking about overcoming addiction<\/a> or surviving the scary realities of new motherhood, Heaton continues to prove she isn\u2019t afraid to keep things totally real with her fans.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"people](\"https:\/\/www.sheknows.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-sheknows-2020\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
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\n<\/section>\n<\/p>\n\n\t\tThe Power of Prayer\u00a0\t<\/h2>\n
\n\t\tKeeping it Real About Motherhood\t<\/h2>\n