Yesterday my baby had his 3 month birthday! 3 months!!!! I can't believe how time has flown by! I'm already on my 2nd week of full-time work and Clay is on his 2nd week of daycare. It just doesn't stop - or slow down - and sometimes I wish it would.
Last night I had dinner with two good friends of mine - one I've known since 5th grade, the other since high school. We all blog and love to discuss other blogs that we read. We talked about some blogs of people who have amazing stories - stories of how they have overcome huge tragedies and are somehow still standing. There is one family who was pregnant with a baby who basically had no chance of living, but was born perfectly fine and another where the family lost the baby only a few hours after delivery due to a fatal diagnosis given while she was pregnant. Now I have a new one to keep up with (thanks, Lori) that is about a woman who lost her husband and then her unborn baby all within a few weeks of each other. Now why would I even want to read about such tragedy, you may ask? I don't really know... I think it gives me inspiration seeing how strong these individuals are during these times of such terrible tragedies. It also reminds me of how precious life is and to NEVER take anything for granted.
Now back to my sweet baby... Clay's nightly bedtime routine used to consist of me (or my husband) feeding him his last meal and then we would put him in the swing because that was the only thing that consistently put him to sleep quickly. "Quickly" is the key word in that sentence... rocking him to sleep seemed too time consuming and I wanted to relax and watch one of the 500 shows I've got recorded. This past week, all that has changed. I've realized how little time I have left with my baby being a "baby". Instead of letting the swing put him to sleep, I now rock him to sleep - sometimes it takes forever... sometimes just a few minutes, but nothing is more precious than watching my sweet baby fall asleep in my arms. Once he falls asleep, I continue to rock him and just stare at him... amazed that God allowed me to be his mommy. This has now become my FAVORITE time with him.
Many of you know my long journey with trying to get pregnant and after reading about other people's journey, mine is no where near the trials other couple's have been through. For those of you that aren't familiar, here's the short version. We had to go to a fertility specialist in order to get pregnant. We got pregnant in July of 2007 and I had to undergo emergency sugery to remove it due to it being an ectopic pregnancy. We went back on fertility drugs after a small break and conceived Clay December 2007... and now a year later we have a healthy, beautiful 3 month old! My pregnancy was not an easy one either with insulin-dependent gestational diabetes, but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!
Mark and I wanted to wait a while to have children. For many reasons - some selfish :) and some not so selfish. We wanted to enjoy our time together as a married couple, but I also wanted to make sure we were financially stable to support a child and be able to provide everything they need. Now that we have Clay, I can't imagine my life without him! Yes, our lives are changed forever... but it's in the best way possible! Having change in your life is important and it's easy to handle when you're married to your best friend.
I know of so many people who have needed assistance to get pregnant - some successful, others still trying - I am just so grateful that last December was "my time"! My time to become a mommy and I am vowing to never take the time with my child (or my family and friends) for granted because you never know what God has in store. You never know how long we have on this earth. Children grow up so fast - and I don't want to be selfish and miss out on any part of Clay's life because I was too busy - too busy with work... too busy with my 500 recorded shows :)... too busy with anything! I still get sad about the baby I lost, but I know God had other plans for me. I have 2 scars on my belly - 1 from the baby I lost and 1 from my sweet little Clay - so I'm reminded every day I see them of how precious life is.
Everything that happens in life happens for a reason... good or bad. I've just been lucky and blessed to have mostly good things happen to me. I guess I read those other blogs because it makes me feel even more grateful for the things I have in my life because I know they can be taken from me in an instant. So please, don't take life for granted! Be GRATEFUL for everything God gives you - good or bad - because you never know what's in store!
So now that I've rambled on for a VERY LONG time, I will end on a light note... with pictures of course!!
Last night I had dinner with two good friends of mine - one I've known since 5th grade, the other since high school. We all blog and love to discuss other blogs that we read. We talked about some blogs of people who have amazing stories - stories of how they have overcome huge tragedies and are somehow still standing. There is one family who was pregnant with a baby who basically had no chance of living, but was born perfectly fine and another where the family lost the baby only a few hours after delivery due to a fatal diagnosis given while she was pregnant. Now I have a new one to keep up with (thanks, Lori) that is about a woman who lost her husband and then her unborn baby all within a few weeks of each other. Now why would I even want to read about such tragedy, you may ask? I don't really know... I think it gives me inspiration seeing how strong these individuals are during these times of such terrible tragedies. It also reminds me of how precious life is and to NEVER take anything for granted.
Now back to my sweet baby... Clay's nightly bedtime routine used to consist of me (or my husband) feeding him his last meal and then we would put him in the swing because that was the only thing that consistently put him to sleep quickly. "Quickly" is the key word in that sentence... rocking him to sleep seemed too time consuming and I wanted to relax and watch one of the 500 shows I've got recorded. This past week, all that has changed. I've realized how little time I have left with my baby being a "baby". Instead of letting the swing put him to sleep, I now rock him to sleep - sometimes it takes forever... sometimes just a few minutes, but nothing is more precious than watching my sweet baby fall asleep in my arms. Once he falls asleep, I continue to rock him and just stare at him... amazed that God allowed me to be his mommy. This has now become my FAVORITE time with him.
Many of you know my long journey with trying to get pregnant and after reading about other people's journey, mine is no where near the trials other couple's have been through. For those of you that aren't familiar, here's the short version. We had to go to a fertility specialist in order to get pregnant. We got pregnant in July of 2007 and I had to undergo emergency sugery to remove it due to it being an ectopic pregnancy. We went back on fertility drugs after a small break and conceived Clay December 2007... and now a year later we have a healthy, beautiful 3 month old! My pregnancy was not an easy one either with insulin-dependent gestational diabetes, but I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!
Mark and I wanted to wait a while to have children. For many reasons - some selfish :) and some not so selfish. We wanted to enjoy our time together as a married couple, but I also wanted to make sure we were financially stable to support a child and be able to provide everything they need. Now that we have Clay, I can't imagine my life without him! Yes, our lives are changed forever... but it's in the best way possible! Having change in your life is important and it's easy to handle when you're married to your best friend.
I know of so many people who have needed assistance to get pregnant - some successful, others still trying - I am just so grateful that last December was "my time"! My time to become a mommy and I am vowing to never take the time with my child (or my family and friends) for granted because you never know what God has in store. You never know how long we have on this earth. Children grow up so fast - and I don't want to be selfish and miss out on any part of Clay's life because I was too busy - too busy with work... too busy with my 500 recorded shows :)... too busy with anything! I still get sad about the baby I lost, but I know God had other plans for me. I have 2 scars on my belly - 1 from the baby I lost and 1 from my sweet little Clay - so I'm reminded every day I see them of how precious life is.
Everything that happens in life happens for a reason... good or bad. I've just been lucky and blessed to have mostly good things happen to me. I guess I read those other blogs because it makes me feel even more grateful for the things I have in my life because I know they can be taken from me in an instant. So please, don't take life for granted! Be GRATEFUL for everything God gives you - good or bad - because you never know what's in store!
So now that I've rambled on for a VERY LONG time, I will end on a light note... with pictures of course!!
This was his daddy's doing!
6 comments:
Good post.
Enjoy the rocking. We rocked both of our girls every night, taking turns to make sure we were spending quality time with each of them. I loved that time, but my son did not like rocking at all. He wanted to be laid in his bed in the dark to go to sleep and I really missed the rocking. Savor every moment. It goes by faster than I ever could have imagined.
Be Blessed!
Thanks, Leslie! I'm now sitting at my desk crying. What a sweet post! I'm happy for you and the outlook you have on life. I can really tell how much added happiness Clay has brought into your life. I am so grateful because of the struggle you had. I really do feel inspired now by your blog! I get so caught up in wanting this or that, when I really do need to just live in the moment and wait on God's timing for me when it comes to those other things. I'm going to try hard to change my attitude.
On a lighter note, of course I love the pics of Clay and Monte. So sweet!
Well said my dear friend. Wy is almost 3 and I still rock him before bed. He loves it and even though I have to almost totally recline to have his long little body stretched out so he can lay on my shoulder, I could stay like that forever. Often I have to remind myself to slow down, enjoy experiences like those b/c before I know it, there won't be any more rocking. I am so glad that you are experiencing the true joy of being a mommy and thriving with God's many blessings. Love, EM
Leslie, I nearly missed this one!
You are such a sweet friend and I'm so happy for you and Mark. It is amazing how quickly time flies, isn't it? I can tell how much love you two have for Little Clay...I know he was long awaited and well worth it! Such a wonderful blessing...and right on time. :)
Thank you for reminding us all to slow down. I am also trying to soak up every moment that I have with my sweet baby girl and I enjoyed reading the things that you are learning as well!
What a sweet post and I could not agree more with ya. Children are a gift from God. Enjoy your precious rocking time with Clay, he was well worth the wait. Glad you are enjoying "2 Coins". I told you it was a good one. (Hugs)
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