Everyone knows that I'm pregnant with #3 and everyone knows that I have difficult pregnancies. I suffer from hyperemesis which means that I have extreme morning sickness from about week 4 to delivery. I don't gain weight, I don't enjoy eating. I'm sick to my stomach everyday and every time I eat. It usually gets a little more manageable around week 20 and currently it's getting worse again. I also suffer from Tachycardia which means that for no reason my heart will start to beat so fast that it doesn't have time to refill with blood so it keeps pumping but without any blood. I have to take medication to keep it from doing this so that I can function throughout the day. I also suffer from horrendous back pain and a this time around my pelvis is separating. Both of which are very painful and because I'm pregnant there is nothing that I can do about it except to just deal with it. It will go away when the baby is born, just like everything else.
However, with all that I have to put up with to give birth to a beautiful, healthy baby at full term there are parents out there that are dealing with babies that are born at 24 weeks, 26 weeks and on. These babies have maybe a 50% chance of survival and will be in the hospital for months before they will be able to go home with their parents. These little babies, usually born at less than 2 lbs are rays of sunshine for these moms and dads that are literally thankful for every minute that they get with their babies, knowing that it may be their last. I can sit at my laptop complaining of my sore back or lack of weight gain, knowing that with my 2 daughters they were born full term and perfectly healthy. Neither of them even have an allergy to speak of.
I sit and think about all the things that new moms complain about, changing diapers, midnight feedings, the fact that their baby will cry if they put them down. These moms are the luckiest moms in the world. Mom's of preemies don't get to hold their babies for weeks after they are born, they don't get to gripe about sore nipples from breast feeding, they don't get to gripe about the cost of diapers or formula. These parents literally spend $100,000's of thousands of dollars to just give their babies a chance to survive.
It makes our petty concerns seems trite and of little consequence when you stop to think how lucky you are that the worst that your baby will have to go through is the stomach flu or a bad cold. Take a moment to stop and thank the Lord that all of your challenges in life are simple and easy to go through when compared to the life of a preemie.
It is hard to stop and think about how lucky we are when you want your back to stop hurting or your baby to stop crying but please take a moment to say a prayer for the blessings in your life and that the hardships in other peoples (even complete strangers) God will help them through to the other side. God gives some people the hardest things to get through and so you should he thankful that what petty things you have to deal with, and really everything is pretty petty when you consider the life of your child.
Stop and thank the Lord for the blessings in your life. I know I am.
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