Wow! I've taken quite the hiatus from blogging lately. It seems so easy to slip into a pattern of blogging very frequently orrrrrr not blogging at all. I'm guilty of the latter lately :).
If you are expecting this post to be all education and full of ideas for classroom use, look again. This is for all the teacher moms out there. I've just recently become a mom myself and this blog post has been weighing on my heart for quite sometime. I keep getting a gentle nudge to write it, but I've become really good at making up excuses lately. (cue the mom status)
Sometime in January of 2016 my husband and I learned we were gonna be blessed with a sweet baby. Let me be the first to say that this was pretty unexpected. I had my fleeting (or not so fleeting) moments of panic there in the beginning. And oh the sickness... that is really no joke. But through this entire process God has taught me so much. I've laughed, cried, panicked and just been a ray of emotions over the past year. But I know for sure this is something I should write for any moms out there, not just my teacher tribe moms.
One thing I've learned about pregnancy is to be eternally grateful. I never really thought much about struggling to get pregnant before it actually just happened. And in that moment when the doctor told me I did not in fact have the flu but was carrying a child inside, I'll be the first to admit that my immediate instinct was not one of a grateful heart. I panicked. How could we do this? Where was the money gonna come from? How could anyone trust me to be the mom of an actual human?! It became very apparent to us that this baby was a blessing from God. All of our needs over the past year have been miraculously taken care of. We have felt the favor and love of God so much that at times it was just completely overwhelming. Honestly, it still brings me to tears to even think about the ways we have been provided for over the past year. Our pastor has often said "His will His bill". And that has been so true in our lives. I feel like our little family is a walking testament of this.
My pregnancy and labor was really nothing compared to other stories I'd heard. I had the sickness and {somewhat} got over it. The morning of my induction, I woke up in labor and had the baby just a little over 10 hours later. Contractions hurt, sure, but in the grand scheme of things I was really blessed. Recovery was hard in the beginning and I have my husband and mom to thank for holding together the pieces as I struggled with some Baby Blues. That might have been the hardest part for me and something not a lot of women talk about. If you feel that way, talk to your doctor. I will never regret that decision (again, lots of thanks to my mom and husband whom I never would have done that without). All in all, I felt really blessed with the outcome of our situation.
Then, I started to hear of more and more friends who were struggling with pregnancy or miscarriages. Ones who I'd so guiltily asked, "When's the baby coming?!" or "Now it's your turn!". I feel like my entire reason of writing this post is to just bring attention to all the struggling mama's or girls who so very much want to be a mama. If you are lucky enough to be a mama, cherish that child. The child you have someone else has been praying for for years and not conceived. The child you get frustrated with for not sleeping when you want them too, the one you wish wouldn't cry for no reason, the one who spit up all in your hair.. someone else would kill to be in your shoes. I'm learning in this season of life, to be so grateful for everything. Sure, I don't love waking up in the middle of the night to feed when I've got work the next day. But, I know for sure that other women would do anything to be up at that moment feeding their baby. When your tired after a long day working and you just want to take a nap, think of the women who would love to be smiling, goo-gooing or rocking a baby of their own.
I beg you to think before you ask someone when they are going to have a child, because for all you know they may be the ones struggling to get pregnant. Or the woman who just had a miscarriage.
Women, be kind to one another. Being a mom is not easy. It's full of doubtful moments and unwashed hair. Clean houses are a thing of the past and laundry piles have grown enormously. But just feel so blessed to be that mama. Because I know for sure God handpicked that sweet baby to be in your life. Cherish every moment. Love your husband fiercely because his job is not easy either. Support one another.
And for all those mama's (or future ones) who are struggling, know that you have someone praying for you. For, just as my needs have been abundantly taken care of, I know God will take care of yours as well.
There is always someone who wishes they could be in your mama shoes.
xoxo
-a new mama
