When I Became a Mom

Lo, children are a heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
Psalm 127:3

With Mother’s Day approaching, I have a million memories rushing back to me. Memories of my mom and other women who have had a motherly role in my life. Memories of my own experiences as a mom. Memories of moms’ stories I’ve heard from others.

So here it is. A time to share our MOM MEMORIES.

Let me start….

You know me by now. I love being a mom. What an awesome blessing! I cherish each moment. Growing up, there were three things I wanted to be:
A teacher
A wife
A mom (2 boys and 1 girl)

God has blessed me with each of these roles (no girl yet).

As a teacher, I can be a motherly role model to my students. There are so many with issues that concern their moms. Unfortunately, for a lot of students, I am the only motherly type they know.

I remember the second year I taught, I had a parent and a principal that basically told me that I didn’t know how to be teach because I wasn’t a mom. OUCH! Needless to say, I’ve done something right because I’m still in that position and my attitudes toward children have not changed. I love them all dearly. They are unique individuals who have their own needs. As a teacher, I have to be perceptive to those needs and meet them. I did that then and I’m doing that now.

Three years ago, one of my students came to me with a problem. Her mom, who was a single mom who had finally gotten her life together, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. Five months later, she was gone. There would be days that we would just hold each other while this precious child cried. At that point, I was one of the only ones able to give her motherly love.

After this last Christmas break, one of my fourth graders came to me and just burst into tears. I asked her what was wrong and was totally unprepared for the answer.

“I just don’t understand why my mom doesn’t love me and doesn’t want to see me!”

What do you say? I just hugged her and told her I loved her.

You know, there are countless kids that have broken promises and broken dreams. They’ve been told lie after lie and they just don’t understand. As women, regardless of if we are mothers or not, AS WOMEN, we are to love these precious children. We may be the only “moms” they have.

Then we have our own personal motherhood. You know how it begins. With yearning, that itch, the sound of that biological clock ticking.

When Jeffrey and I were married, we both knew we wanted children. Well, a couple of years into the marriage, I experienced the yearning, the itch, the ticking of that clock. I was consumed with it. Babies were everywhere. My friends were having babies. Babies were in restaurants and stores. I wanted one. We eventually decided it was time. In December of 2001, after 7, yes, 7 pregnancy tests and an big “NO, you are not pregnant” a month earlier from the doctor (which I was), we found ourselves expecting our first child, Colin.

For the first 3 months I was sick! No, I never threw up, but I sure wanted to. But, oh, how I loved being pregnant. I’ll never forget that first flutter I felt while at that Keith Urban concert in Owensboro or how my belly bounced when Colin would hiccup. Just the enjoyment and anticipation filled my swollen 205 lb body with excitement.

Then it happened.

On Thursday, July 25, 2002, I was tidying up the house (which we had just moved into that Monday after 7 months of living with Jeffrey’s parents). I had been timing my contractions for a couple of days. However, that day, they were stronger and closer, 8 – 15 minutes apart to be exact. I called the doctor and was told to wait until they were consistently 5 – 8 minutes apart. I decided it was time for Jeffrey to come home from work. We head to the bookstore to buy some ready material for the hospital. When we got there, I couldn’t even get out of the car. I did the next best thing….called the doctor and lied about my contractions. What is a woman in labor to do?

Once at the hospital, I was examined (oh, boy, unlike any other exam I had ever had). It was determined by the medical professional that I was indeed in labor. However, there were no rooms available.

What?
Was my name Mary?
Was there no room for me at the inn, er, hospital?

An expecting mom had asked during our last night at Lamaze what would happen if all the rooms were full. The answer….Oh, that will never happen.

It did.

We arrived at the hospital about noon and didn’t get a birthing room until about 2 pm. Well, about 6:30 that night, I requested no more visitors. At 9:00, Dr. Fee said, “Any minute now.” Any minute happened at 12:33 am on Friday, July 26, 2002. I became a mom. My precious baby, Baby Colin, was born. With his smooshed face and pointed head, Colin stole my heart. That 9 lb 9 ¾ oz baby was beautifully perfect in every way. I almost expected him to be Chinese since I craved Chinese food, eating it at least twice a week!

Those next two days in the hospital flew by. When we got home it was all over. Colin stopped sleeping, and he cried A LOT. I prayed that he would take a paci (mom talk for pacifier), but he wouldn’t. I stayed home with him for 3 months. It was wonderful. I think I took pictures and videos each day.

My how things have changed. My how some things have stayed the same. Colin is still my cuddle bug, quick to give lots of love and cuddle up to read or watch tv. He is probably the most caring, loving, thought children I’ve ever seen. Maybe I’m a little biased.

Eventually, we decided we wanted a sibling for Colin. That would be the 1 girl. My plan was boy, girl, boy. Everything with Carson was and is totally different. It is amazing how two experiences for one woman can be different.

With Colin, I knew I was pregnant because I just knew. With Carson, I knew because I experienced motion sickness and got sick in the heat. The first time was on our boat. YUCK. Jeffrey never could make it back to the dock quick enough!

Colin wanted a baby sister so badly. He was not happy during the ultrasound when the technician told him he was having a little brother. He had already named the baby Lila Tinkle (his words, “you know, mama, tinkle, tinkle little star), so he was now going to have to rename the baby and share his toys. Just not fair.

I remember Carson getting into the weirdest positions. One day while shopping at Wal-Mart, he turned and stuck his elbow or knee out. I had just squatted to get something off the shelf. Not good. I was stuck in the floor holding on to the cart. After a while, I was finally able to stand back up. I had debated on leaving my cart and going home. I knew though that I’d eventually have to come back, so I stuck it out. And Carson did too. I had to call my dad to meet me at home to help me get my groceries in the house.

I loved the moments of Colin touching my belly and talking to Carson, poking me to see if he would poke back.

Because Colin was so big (I say he was two weeks late because the doctor changed my due date twice), it was decided that I would be induced with Carson. What a totally different experience. Jeffrey and I arrived at the hospital at 6 am on April 6, 2006. We went through all the stuff to get ready and then meds were started to induce labor. At one point, the nurse checked me and said I was progressing well and to let her know when I felt ready. When she walked out the door, Jeffrey got the camera out to take some pictures of the room. I instructed him to get the nurse; I was ready. He thought I was kidding. I wasn’t. She came back and totally freaked out. Carson came fast (11:30 am on April 6, 2006) and he’s been going ever since.

Well, a couple things happened. Before he was born, the nurse came in and had me roll on my side. It seemed that his heart rate had dropped. I didn’t realize the severity of that until about a month later when the same thing happened on an episode of A Baby Story on TLC. That mom had to have an emergency C-section because turning on the side didn’t help. Immediately after Carson was born, Jeffrey was told to take him out very quickly and then hand him over to the nurses. It seemed Carson’s lungs were full of liquid and he was having trouble breathing. I didn’t realize how bad it was until I was in my room and was told he was in NICU getting oxygen. The rest of our time in the hospital was filled with excitement. Colin getting to hold his baby brother for the first time. The four of us together as a family. Tornado Warnings and Lock Downs.

I’ll never forget the day we brought Carson home. When we pulled in the drive way, Colin bolted out of the front door doing the cutest little run/skip/trot. His baby brother was finally home. Together at last.

I was able to stay home with Carson for 3 months as well. Colin spent some time with us and then we sent him back to daycare to keep him on his schedule. Colin was such a good little helper that it was easy to spend quality time with both of them.

I do miss the baby days. However, the big boy days are great in their own way. There are things about each stage that are precious and I do cherish each moment. Maybe we will be blessed with Lila Twinkle one of these days.

In the meantime, I will cherish each moment that I spend with my children both at home and at school. I know that God chose me. He chose me to be the mother of Colin and Carson, to be the teacher of my students. There was a reason in it. He knew that I was something they needed. I will be the mom that He has planned for me. I will continue to ask for patience and guidance, for wisdom and strength. He knows as well as I do that I can’t do this alone. As a mom, I am not only thankful for my children, but I am also thankful for the man I get to share this experience with, my husband, the father of my children. What an amazing man! When I lose it, he is calm. When I need comfort, he is there. When I need reinforcements, he backs me up. God made us a family.

Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Proverbs 31:28

Now, it is your turn. Please share your mom stories. In the days to come, I will add some other moments that I cherish. Simply leave a comment. I have changed the setup so that all comments will be shown. That will make them easier for everyone to read.