This poem was written by a lady who’s baby was born at 29 weeks 5 days. I believe she got to spend about 5 days at home her entire life. She passed away at 9 months 1 week (this past January). This poem is so very powerful about what it’s like to have a different life with a baby…. life with a TOGG (Trophy of God’s Grace) baby. I couldn’t have summed up our lives with ^Bun^ any better!
Being a Mother
Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you’ve had a baby.
That somebody doesn’t know that once you’re a mother “normal” is a matter of perspective.
Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct.
That somebody never learned how to program a feeding pump.
Somebody said being a mother is boring. . .
That somebody never stood over their child and prayed they would make it through the night.
Somebody said if you’re a good mother your children will turn out good.
That somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee.
Somebody said good mothers never raise their voices.
That somebody never yelled for their husband to, “quick run and get something to catch vomit in.”
Somebody said you don’t need an education to be a mother.
That somebody never spent endless hours on the internet researching their child’s condition.
Somebody said you can’t love an unborn baby as much as you love one that you hold in your arms, that certain things were “meant to be.”
That somebody never lost a baby.
Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her child-rearing questions in the books.
That somebody never been handed a diagnosis for which no books have ever been written.
Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery.
That somebody never watched her baby get wheeled into the O.R.
Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back.
That somebody never managed a med schedule, feeding schedule, nebulizer schedule, therapy and doctor schedule.
Somebody said a mother’s job is done when her last child leaves home.
That somebody never had children who may never leave home. And if they do leave home, be it a home on earth or to a home in heaven, that child will never stop being a part of a mother’s very being.
Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don’t need to tell her.
That somebody isn’t a mother. And that person doesn’t know that a child can say volumes with their eyes or body language even if their lips never utter a single word.
To all the moms who do a little bit extra, I know you didn’t ask for this particular journey or expect it, but here you are, doing what has to be done. Thanks for lifting me up in my times of need and helping
me to become a better mother.
By the way, I have a prayer request. There is a little baby, the child of a friend of mine, who is having surgery to put a shunt in her brain tomorrow at noon PST. This little girl has the same kind of seizures (infantile spasms) as Munchkin, but instead of TSC, this little girl has head swelling caused by water on the brain. She’s been in the hospital almost two weeks and last weekend her heart stopped and she’s not woken up since. She’s in the Peds ICU at the local university hospital (one of the best in the country) and being treated by world-class doctors. Please pray for little “E” and her family.
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