Our Souls Are Forever Changing…

Day 68 in my miracles life

11 years ago i was a teenager trying to figure out who i was, there were days where i felt trapped and scared and there were days where i wasnt sure where i was going or where things were headed, days where confusion overcame me and my soul felt like it was trapped in a body that didnt know quite how to express its self.

5 years ago i was a young adult trying once again to figure out who i was and where i fit into the world, searching for something that would give me inspiration and peace within, searching for love, laughter and the endless want of ‘happily ever after’

3 years ago i thought i had the world in my palms, i thought that finally i knew who i was and where i fit into this world, my soul was in love, content and just as it should be.

But 2 years ago, my soul was changed forever, and today i am left searching to find myself and my place in this world once again.

Infertility takes away a part of your soul that you can never get back, it changes who you are, and takes the confidence you spent the better part of your younger life finding…. And now that i have been blessed to overcome my infertility and to hold my precious miracle child in my arms i am still left searching for the place in this world where i fit.

Life changes us, it changes our souls.  I once thought that once we found our ‘spot’ in this world, once we finally realised who we are, once we got past our teenage years of tormented souls, i thought that it would be easy, that we would know who we were and that we would never have to search for our confidence or try to find our place in this world once again…

But i was wrong.

Infertility has changed my soul, pregnancy has changed my soul, and being a mother has changed my place in this world, it has changed who i am, and it has changed the confidence i have in myself.

I am slowly realising that everything in life changes our souls, i am slowly realising that each day, each new event, everything we go through is a chance to rediscover ourselves, and a chance for change – hopefully for the better….

Some times technology cant help you…

Day 65 in my miracles life

I learned something last night….

I learned that sometimes technology as awesome as it is, sometimes cant really help you, sometimes it is more of a burden than a blessing, and i learned that sometimes, just as many people have told me before, sometimes you just need to have a little faith and put your trust in the Lord & yourself…

You see, last night was the second night my little miracle slept in her own room…

It was the hardest most pondered on decision of my life.  Ok so maybe not as hard as the decision to do IVF, hmm and maybe not as hard as the decision to put one or two embies back in… But it was hard!

I have spent the past few weeks debating whether it was time or not, and having an internal debate about baby monitors, thoughts and ideas swirling round my head, horror stories creeping into my dreams, yet at the same time dreams of a full nights sleep, and dreams that one day soon my husband and i can be more like partners rather than friends…

I wanted to do this right, i wanted to make sure i didnt desert my little one, and leave her in her own room for something dreadful to happen…. Because like every new parent, and maybe a little more because of what we have been through, i am so scared that something is going to happen, scared that my miracle will be taken away from me, and with all that they tell you with all the new information out there on SIDS, i wanted to make sure i was doing this right.

So i bought a monitor with sensor pads.

And for me, it didnt work…

The technology worked, but the fears were still there, the technology did not take my fears away, it did not help me get through the night without checking on my daughter a thousand times, the technology did not help me through the night without worrying that something was wrong, without thinking that the worst was to happen…

So i took it back.

Yup i took the fancy pants monitor back to the shop, and last night my daughter slept unasisted in her own room… Still in the basanett – but none the less, in her own room.

And guess what?

We made it, both of us.

Now tonight is another night, tomorrow is another day, but today i feel ok about it.  I am starting to believe that she will be ok in her own room, that after nine long months inside me and after nine short weeks by my side i am ready to close my eye of a night and know that she will be ok.

Maybe it seems a little dramatic, all this fuss over moving her 6 meters away (no seriously its about 6 meters) but after all that we went through, and through all the pain that will forever remain in my heart….  This is huge.

And from this experience i will know in my heart for the rest of my life that technology in all its glory, will never take away the fears we hold onto, that fear is something that we have to pass on, something we have to overcome in our own time and in our own ways.

Am i the ‘wrong’ kind of parent?

Day 63 in my miracles life

I am slowly learning that there are a thousand and one different styles of parenting, that everyone has their own magical way, and that everyone believes in the way that they have done it and they believe in the way that works for them…

Fair enough – you do what works right?

But how do you know what works for you?

I am in the middle of confusion…

I am torn between what is right and what is wrong, what is good for Jennifer, and what i am going to ‘regret’ later on down the track.  I am scared and worried that i am the ‘wrong’ kind of parent, that what i do isnt healthy, that the way i work is going to make my baby too dependant, or too needy, or that i am being selfish, or that she is going to cry too much later down the track…

And the reasons that i am torn about how to handle different situations, the reasons these ideas have come into my head of late, is becuase that is what people have told me.

I know that i need to find what works for me i know that i need to find my feet and go with my gut, but i just dont know, ive never done this before i have never been in these situations and quite honestly i dont want to do something that is going to ‘hurt’ my baby, and i dont want to ‘stuff up’ what i worked so hard for…

Two months ago i never imagined that it would be quite so hard, or that i would get so entangled in what others thought, or what others said to me… I thought that it would all be pure instinct and that i would know exactly what to do in each situation because i had dreamed about being a mother for so long, but it just hasnt worked out like that…

Two months down the track people are asking me why my baby doesnt sleep through yet (mondays confusion) they are telling me that my child should have ‘regular’ naps in her cot and not on me, they are telling me that i should let her ‘self settle’ and i am being told that i should change my feeding routine to accommodate more routine nap times….

So how do i know what is right? How do i sift through the good advise and know what is right for me and Jennifer, how on earth do i know what will ‘hurt’ her and what is best for her?

How do i make sure that i am not the ‘wrong’ kind of parent?

I Am Exhausted! HELP!!

Day 61 in my miracles life.

Its been 61 days since i have had a good nights sleep.  61 days since my world was turned up side down in the most magical way, but 61 days where i have been living on pure love and hope.

And it is finally honestly beginning to take its toll.

I am exhausted, purely and utterly exhausted…

I need a good nights sleep, and i cant help but to wonder when that will be.

Sure my husband could take a night here and there, sure i could get six hours once in a blue moon, sure i could have a nap in the afternoon…. But that is not what i need.  I need my little lady to learn to sleep through the night, and i am wondering when this happens, i am wondering at what age does she no longer need to wake to feed, i need a time frame, i need to know how much longer to hold out for?

I have read the books, i am working the routines…. But still she wakes at 2.30 / 3.00 am each morning…

Is it me? Am i doing this wrong?  Or am i just being impatient?  Is my exhaustion taking over my reality checker?

I know she is small, i understand that she is young… But how long? How much longer will it be before i can see the light of a good nights sleep….

How much longer before the early morning screams turn into silence?

How do i approach this in the most selfless way?

Day 298 – What the future holds

Thirty Two Weeks. Four Days. 52 Days to go

To my dearest little miracle,

I dont want to cry, i want to be strong for you, but i know that in the days, weeks, and months to come that there will be tears. I will cry for you, and i know that at times i will cry for me too, becuause i am scared… There is nothing more frightening than the unknown, there really isnt.

My little one i know that no matter how much i prepare myself for this, no matter how much i research this, no matter how much i visulise what is going to happen and how delicate and precious you will be, no matter how much i know that the statistics are with us, no matter what i am still scared for you.

I am sitting here with all my faith believing in my heart and hoping like hell that tonight you and i will be heading home and you will be inside of me for at least a month longer, grow just that little bit more to ensure that you are stronger… And i just have to have faith that my body will support you the way that you need.

The future is just so unknown so uncertain… Its hard not to be scared, hard not to be overwhelmed.

Love from a mother that will be

Day 190 – Wordless Wednesday – Can you believe we have come so far?

Seventeen Weeks, One Day. Day 121 in the quest to chase our little miracle

I am not normally the one to post pictures, but as i looked at the calendar and as i looked down at my belly, i realised just how far i have come….  It is wordless to me… I have a 13cm little one in my belly!

Who can be wise, amazed, temperate and furious,Loyal and neutral, in a moment? No man. William Shakespeare

Day 186 – In a name…

Sixteen Weeks, four days. Day 117 in the quest to chase our little miracle

I believe i have mentioned before that i think naming a baby is a huge responsibility…  I mean if you think about it, you are giving someone something that they will have to live with for the rest of their lives…

And as we drove down to the furniture shop my husband and i had a little discussion…

It has to be cute enough to suit a little baby, normal enough to get your child through primary and then high school without being teased, or without the name becoming anything other than what it is, then the name has to be smart enough, or should i say reflect intellegance enough to get your child through college and into carrer….

I am just going to say it, there is a lot ridding on a name.  And it may seem that i am being very, hmmm trying to think of the right word, very vain.  It may seem like i believe choosing the right name will change my miracles personality, or belief in him/herself, but if you think about it, it is in some situations true.

If i child is teased at school because of their name, will that not effect their personality?  If a name is too ‘cute’ or ‘weird’ will that not effect the way they are looked upon by peers?  I know that when a child becomes an adult these influences disappear, but by that stage, maybe my child wont like their name anymore, maybe all the teasing and carring on over a name would have made them hate it, or wish for another…To me, that is an influence on a lifetime… but, maybe i am wrong.

On  the other hand, there maybe a name you like, however you know of someone that you dislike with that name, you therefore wont use that name. I find that aspect funny as well, if you know someone, and dont like the person, you instantly dont like the name, why is that? For fear that the name will change the personality?  Maybe? Maybe not.

So what is in a name, and will it affect a personality, and if you have named a child, how did you go about it?  It is like an endless circle, a decision that has to be made, a choice that you cant take back, something that influences three people…

Integrity: A name is the blueprint of the thing we call character. You ask, What’s in a name? I answer, Just about everything you do. Morris Mandel

Day 159 – I cant help but wonder

Twelve weeks, five days. Day 91 in the quest to chase our little miracle

To my dearest little miracle,

I am sitting here with the cool air on my face, the puppy asleep on my legs, looking at the images of your face from your scan last week.

My own amazement overwhelms me, and i know by the time you are reading my letters, technology will have progressed and my scans will be ancient, but right now, i dont care, the emotions that i feel thinking of the day in six months times when i meet you, well those emotions will never change, no matter how much the world progresses.

I wonder what colour hair you’ll have, and i wonder what colour eyes.  I wonder if you will be short or tall, and i wonder if your a boy or a girl… But i also sit here and know that none of that matters, so long and you are happy and healthy, and so long as you are mine…

I cant help but dream of your first day of school, what sport you’ll want to play, the times you will cry, and the times you will laugh.  I cant wait to see your first smile, your first tooth, your first step, your first fall, and i cant wait to see your father pick you up in your tears to hold and love you unconditionally.

Nothing can compare to this, nothing will ever compare to the emotions i feel toward you looking at your little face, your little hand, and your little feet… Nothing.  And no matter what happens from this day forth, George, i will always love you.

Love from a mother that will be.

And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years. Abraham Lincoln

Day 155 – A heart beats on a wordless wednesday

Twelve weeks, one day. Day 87 in the quest to chase our little miracle

boom boom boom, beats the little heart…

165 beats per minute, i hope i never forget.

Love comes to those who still hope even though they’ve been disappointed, to those who still believe even though they’ve been betrayed, to those who still love even though they’ve been hurt before. Anon

Day 149 – Frustration, argh! I had been doing so well…

Eleven Weeks, two days. Day 81 in the quest to chase our little miracle

To be honest i have a weee lil bit of a temper… My sister and i call it the “Bowen trait” and we have always said that any man that can put up with a Bowen is a keeper, and well we have both found our keepers… And after last night i am not sure my keeper really knew what he was in for when he said “I do”!

It is a fact that sometimes my frustrations get the better of me and i will just get so angry and overwhelmed and something i am doing or a situation that i have put myself into that i just have to stomp or yell it out…

And last night i shocked myself, because for the first time in my pregnancy i got all worked up and frustrated, and i honestly couldnt help it!  I tried not to get upset, i tried to be calm, but i couldnt, i just got so annoyed at the situation – and it really started worrying me.

This couldnt have been good for lil george, getting so worked up inside?  I asked myself how do i stop? And last night i did something i dont usually do.  I gave up.  I shut my computer, got a bowl of ice-cream, and gave up… I went to bed without a solution.  I have NEVER done that in my life!  I always go to be with solutions, and i always finish what i am doing, and i never emotional eat… But i did.

I think last night this was a wise decision, but i dont want to be the person who gives up… I want to conquer and succeed!  I want to find a solution to my challenges.

So my question this morning is not how to avoid the frustration, because we all know that is impossible, it is how on earth do i stop myself getting so worked up and find a solution that is not giving in?  How do i control the uncontrollable?  How do i realise i am in the middle of a situation that can only be solved when i am calm?

I need to be the one that succeeds, but now i need to be the one that doesnt get so frustrated and angry first…

Our frustration is greater when we have much and want more than when we have nothing and want some. We are less dissatisfied when we lack many things than when we seem to lack but one thing. Eric Hoffer