I have been guilty of being an ungrateful mother. I find myself getting so upset when my babies cry. I get angry. I get frustrated. I get sad. I yell and I cry with them. Sometimes I just sit silently and ignore it for a second because I cannot take it any more - or so I think. Of course, I CAN take more, but I choose not to, because I'm selfish. I want my sleep. I want my Facebook. I want to fold laundry and cook dinner.
But then I am reminded of what I would miss. There was a woman on one of the message boards I frequent. She had a baby in April 2009, just like Leonidas. She told her story of her c-section birth. This child that was born was her second. She had a baby that was stillborn the year before. I remember in her story how she related that as they took her baby out of her stomach, she kept repeating to herself, "Cry. Please cry," because with her first baby, she never got to hear that beautiful cry. Just silence. I think of what must have been this deafening silence after buying baby clothes, decorating the nursery, and going through baby name after baby name trying to find the perfect one. Oh, how indescribably amazing that first little cry must have been! It made ME cry just to hear that her second child was born alive and healthy - and screaming his little head off!
When my babies start to cry - when they won't STOP crying for hours - let me not forget how beautiful a cry can be. Let me remember that there are people out there who would give all that they have just to hear their baby cry.
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That gave me goosebumps, Lea :)
ReplyDeleteAmen! I try to tell myself that on the days that are the most frustrating. After all, we had been told we might never have a baby naturally, and after a pretty normal pregnancy we had a TERRIBLE and FRIGHTENING birth! (The nurse told my hubby it was the hardest delivery she had seen) I was SOOOOO happy to hear him cry...and I try to pull up that memory when I feel like crying myself. (Though sometimes I end up crying too.)
ReplyDeleteMakes me cry! Just think, when Brandon was born, his crys were very welcome because it was a miracle that he was alive. As a mom, grandma and great grandma I cherish those crys. The crying will stop one day and they will be all grown up and you'll miss those crys like I do. Love ya Lea
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel. I have bad days with my older ones and at the end of the night I complain to hubby. He reminds me that he only got 3 precious years with his daughter. He didn't get to do homework with her,or argue about doing chores... And then I feel guilty. I realize that I take so much for granted. Reality check, I guess.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Lea! As moms, we all need to remember that!
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean. I know the mom you are talking about, she was a December 2007 mommy just like me and I remember how horrible it was when we heard about her son's stillbirth. I sat there holding my newborn daughter all night thinking how lucky I am and how I will never complain about sleepless nights ever again.
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