You Were Completely Worth It.
You were worth the battle with infertility…
The wasted pregnancy tests, the side effects of the hormones, the uncomfortable HCG and other tests, the disappointing phone calls, the pangs of wanting a child so desperately.
You were worth the uncertain days of a volatile high-risk pregnancy…
The days I lived in complete fear curled up on the couch, quitting my job at thirteen weeks, the Transabdominal Cerclauge surgery while pregnant with you to give you all the best shot at survival, the home contraction monitoring, sacrificing my body for your growth, the weeks of bed rest, the torn ligaments, changing my address to St. Vincent Women’s Hospital for over a month, the stress of a marriage that had no idea what to prepare itself for, the painstaking daily ultrasounds to see if you were all still alive, the units of blood and high doses of medicines to keep me alive after they removed you from my body, the permanent scars and pains that I live with daily as a result of an extremely difficult pregnancy.
You were worth the frightening days in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit…
The alarms going off to alert those that you needed assistance breathing or that your heart rate was dropping, the tubes to help you eat and breath, the ventilator that shook one of your bodies so violently we could hardly watch, not being able to hold you for days, the late night phone calls to keep us up to date with your progress when we couldn’t be with you, the inability to share you with family and friends.
You were worth the exhaustion of the first year…
The all night feedings, the doctors visits, the multiple baby apparatuses that took over our house, changing 32 diapers a day, the responsibility of becoming a first time parent to four at once, the projectile vomiting, the winter “lockdowns” for RSV, the mode of survival that we had to embrace.
You were worth the ever changing days of toddlerhood…
The biting and fighting, the bumps and bruises, the scary nights in the hospital with respiratory infections, the potty training messes, moving houses, chasing you in four different directions, cleaning under the feeding table, raising our grocery bill.
You are worth it today…
As you prove daily you are BOYS through and through, when you break things I once thought were important, when you wake me up earlier than I set my alarm clock for, when you complain or grumble, when you make me repeat myself four times in a row, when I fail miserably.
You were (and are) completely and utterly WORTH IT.
AMEN!
I refer to those times as when we were blowing through the Sam’s cases of Pregnancy Tests. Though it got to the point, where you don’t even test anymore, hope nearly given up. 4 years for us. And we gave up…were talking adoption, when I found out at my annual exam we were pg. Our first miracle has had health problems, just like yours, lots of hospital time, but worth it. Worth Every Single Crazy Minute!
Wow, Cathy – what an awesome story you have to share. Thankful for our blessings!
Love this post. You have such beautiful boys, so full of life and love for everyone. Congratulations.
Thank you, Kalle. They are incredible miraculous boys. Thank you for allowing me to share them with you!
This made me cry. Granted, I’m almost 39 weeks pregnant with my second baby boy, so it doesn’t take much! 😉 From singleton to quad and beyond, easy to difficult, shaky to smooth – this captures what I hope most mothers feel when they look at their sweet blessings!
Thanks for this sweet comment, Carole. There’s SO MUCH we’ve been through and can relate to as mothers.
So incredibly sweet. Even in the hard work, kids are worth it all. Amazing.
Thanks, Sarah. Worth it all – even the messy not so pleasant times. =)
Well put! 28 weeks today, and still getting along well with our quad pregnancy. I know that it will be worth all that is to come!
That’s great to hear, Liz! Congrats on doing so well already! Are you inpatient? Anything you need or I could do to encourage you?
Thanks Jen! We have been so blessed. I am still at home, taking Procardia and monitoring twice a day. I see the dr in the morning, and hopefully things are still on track. Just getting a little nervous about having 3 boys…I already have a 2 1/2 year old girl. Everyone keeps telling me that boys are very different from girls.
Thanks for sharing Jen!! You’re exactly right! All the craziness and challenges of pregnancy and the early days are worth it! Thanks for the reminder to those of us still in the sleep deprived first years! 🙂
Thank you for the heartwarming post, Jen. I feel so tired because I haven’t had a whole night of sleep in … at least 6 months. (And dude. That is just with 2 kids!) But it is SO worth it. They are worth it.
Thank you so much for sharing! It is SO encouraging knowing that we are not alone on this journey!! I dont think I have any idea what I’m in for with our 4 boys, so glad I have another quad-mama friend to share stories with! 🙂
I absolutely LOVE this post! Soo, soooo true! It brought tears to my eyes just thinking about all of those moments. Thanks for posting!
What a beautiful beautiful post by a beautiful mom!!!
Thank you for writing this! My quads are almost eight weeks old and still in the NICU. Part of what you’ve wrote about I’ve already experienced, and so much of it is still in front of me. It’s so good to have the reminder from a fellow quad mama that it’s all worth it!
Thanks for sharing, Jen! And, if I may follow….
After 5 years of waiting and praying, 13 weeks of bedrest, a scary diagnosis, a premature delivery, a NICU stay, a sleepless first year…by God’s amazing grace my {almost} one year old twins are totally worth it!!
I have loved reading everyone’s comments!
Yep, Yep, Yep, Yep, Yep, and bonus Yep! Praise be to God from whom all blessings flow!
This was absolutely beautiful…what a blessing!!!!
*****
April is Autism Awareness Month. I’m dedicating my blog all month long to Autism.
Had me crying!
Precious, Precious, Precious, Precious!
They were definitely worth it. It is amazing how God hides the biggest blessings of our lives in the most difficult of circumstances. What a testimony of God’s great love for you!!
I know I probably sound like a broken record here, but I just wanted to say that you are truly inspiring and I so thoroughly enjoy your love for God and your love for your family:-) May God continue to bless you:-) Thanks again for sharing
Amen and well said!!
Thanks for making me get all teary
Ohhhh, this post, this post. I have one boy, and my story is at the other extreme of yours. Still, I feel what you’ve written. And I thank you for saying it so beautifully and honestly.
Thank you so much for taking the time to encourage me today, Jessica. I’m so glad you could relate to my words. Motherhood is definitely has it’s ups and downs, but it is ALWAYS worth it!
Appreciated your email as well and will try to get back with you soon!
OMIGOD! I love your website and this post! Found you via Southern Fairytale and boy can I relate! I have two and your story sounds like mine! xoxo