Being a Mom is Hard! (Part 1)

I confess, being a mom isn't exactly what I'd expected.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  It all started in January of 2009.  I always wanted to have a family, some day.  But January of 2009 rolled around, and the desire to have a baby was all I could think about.  It was made even worse by the fact that the timing just wasn't right.  I knew I'd have to wait, and that was killing me.  In May of that year, I began praying.  I mean, I prayed hard core...like I had never prayed before.  I asked God for a baby in earnest.  I don't think I've ever wanted anything that much in my life.  I also asked God to help me to be okay if the answer was "No" or "Not now."  In June, we began trying to have a baby, and on August 11, 2009, I took a little test....I passed.  It all happened so fast.  Somewhere in the back of my mind, I'd kind of expected that I'd have more trouble getting pregnant.  After all, almost everyone I know who has kids had some kind of difficulty; I just expected it would be so for us too.

I knew she was a "she" right from the start.  After learning I was pregnant, I began to pray for my little one almost immediately.  I was driving home in my car, and somewhere along Ward Road, I referred to my little one as "she" during my prayer.  I caught myself, and continued praying after a few seconds, but secretly, I treasured the idea that the life growing inside me might be a little girl.

My pregnancy was ideal.  I really can't complain, but I'm going to!  There were several things that I found down right tough to take.  Number 1:  I couldn't eat sushi.  That is some kind of cruel and unusual punishment!  Number 2:  I had to reduce my caffeine intake.  Seriously?  Let me just say that when you wake at 5:30 am to be at work by 7:00 am and you deal with 11-14 year olds all day long, coffee is a must!  I was able to cut my coffee intake to three times a week...a real miracle for me!  Number 3:  I couldn't wear all my cute clothes anymore.  My mom worked at Talbot's for almost three years and was kind enough to contribute to my wardrobe a rather large collection of Talbot's skirts and blouses...I love clothing.  Unfortunately, I had to put it all away in exchange for pants that had a huge, stretchy waist.  Seven months later, they are still in storage. In all seriousness though, the worst thing about being pregnant was the back pain.  My back started aching at around eighteen weeks and didn't stop until Juliet was born at 42 weeks.  My husband gave me daily deep tissue massages, in which he would actually bruise me, but it was one of the only things that helped.  I also carried around a rice pack that I could heat up to put on my back.  I would get it so hot that it would nearly scald my back, but it had to be that hot to help.  Learning to live with this pain was difficult, but the pain was often tempered by the joy I would experience when I felt Juliet dance around inside me.  She was so active in the womb;  it should have been a hint as to what was to come.

Finally, my due date arrived.  It passed, just as quickly as it had come, and still, no baby.  I continued teaching for ten days past my due date.  Finally, on April 27, 2010, I called it quits at my job.  I was induced on April 29, 2010 and 23 hours and 30 minutes later, my sweet daughter was born.  Juliet came into the world at 7:47 pm on April 30, 2010, weighing a mere 6 lbs. 4 oz. and measuring 19 1/4 inches long.  She was perfect.  She was so beautiful.  She was mine!  While we were in the hospital, she was so sweet.  She just slept peacefully all day.  They brought her to me in the middle of the night to eat, and I could barely keep her awake to finish her task.  She only fussed a little for us the evening before we went home.  The nurse finally came in and took her to the nursery.  My good friend, Cory, once told me that babies never cry in the hospital, they wait until you get home.  Boy, did that ever prove to be true!


*The story doesn't end here...thus the part 1 in the title!  :)  More to come....