I find it interesting the comments I now get from random strangers. Some tell me how "cute" I am, that I'm "all belly" while others tell me "you're so big, there's no way you'll make it to your due date!". Just this week I had a patient's mother put both hands right on my stomach and say "it's a boy, the way you're carrying I know it's a boy", the check out lady at the grocery store say "that baby has to be a girl, the way you're carrying, I'm sure it's a girl" as she INSISTED I needed help to my car with groceries (which I ran away with the cart from her line before she could get me help), while a 16 year old patient (very delayed) was mesmerized by my belly and the only way I could get her to do therapy was to use "now you can pat the baby" as a reinforcer.
I'm sure it will keep coming. I also get a lot of "how are you feeling?" and "are you ready?".....but the other day, I think I got some of the best parenting advice I think I may ever get. The conversation went something like this--I'm talking with the father of a 15 year old girl who just had a bone marrow transplant for cancer:
Dad: "So, are you ready?"
Me: "We're getting there, but definitely not ready. I'm hoping he cooks a good 10 more weeks and then I think we'll be ready"
Dad: "Well, enjoy this time. It's so easy to say "when I have x I'll be ready" or "when they're sleeping through the night it will get better" or "when this colic stage is over with then they will be fun". Just enjoy each stage for what it's worth, because you never know what will happen. I always "wished" for the next stage of (patient's name) life and never knew this would hit us, now I wish I could turn back time. Now I wish we were dealing with colic and not cancer. I long for those days being at home and rushing kids off every direction, as now my wife and 3 other kids are in Amarillo while we're here and she's fighing for her life. So, that may sound scary, but start it early and just enjoy each stage. Enjoy your pregnancy now, those kicks and sleepless nights might seem like a pain during pregnancy, but pregnancy is so short in the big picture. Enjoy it".
Something to remember, not just for pregnancy but for life. To everything there is a season. Thank you, Lord, for getting to carry this little blessing and feel him moving on a daily basis.
2 comments:
Totally precious...thank you for sharing that conversation...
awesome advice and a good reminder! definitely hard to do some days but i try to remind myself that each stage isn't going to last forever so i better enjoy it (or at least some part of it...it's hard to enjoy sleepless/crying nights but then again, if the only way i can get tanner to sleep is by snuggling with him, i should enjoy that-he won't be mr snuggly when he's 16!)
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