Even though we do this routine every time you need to nurse, at 3 a.m., it is just you and me.
Our fall favorites are here! 🍂
As our days are filled with loud noises of make-believe and singing from your two older siblings, the night feeds bring a calm connection because at 3 a.m., it is just you and me.
I’m in the moment and I’m in my body more than I have been all day as I feel the comforting weight of your growing two-month-old self because at 3 a.m., it is just you and me.
In the dark, I see your big eyes looking at me, and I feel the massive responsibility of being the one you will look up to because at 3 a.m., it is just you and me.
In the quiet, I can hear only the tick-tock of the clock and your soft and heavy breaths against my neck . . . at 3 a.m., it is just you and me.
I pray hard to God that I was enough for you today, that I will be enough for you tomorrow, and into the future. Sometimes a silent tear falls when all I feel is I have already fallen short because at 3 a.m., it is just you and me.
I realize my chin fits perfectly above your nose and on your forehead.
I realize the nook of my left shoulder is your favorite spot to nestle.
I realize we were cut from the same cloth, made for one another because at 3 a.m., it isn’t just you and me.
It’s you, me, and God meeting us where we are—a sweet baby and a weary tried momma who is just always trying her best.
The grace is given, and I can sigh and let go of the less-than feeling, knowing I’m blessed to have been entrusted to be your mom.
Because at 3 a.m., time stands still.
The world’s big problems fade far away.
You lie in my arms, and I’m incredibly grateful for our late-night moments.
Miscarriage. It floods my head with devastating memories. It seems like it happened so long ago, yet I can still feel the roller coaster of emotions I was taken on. My husband and I were ready to start a family, and I was fortunate enough to get pregnant right away. Holding that pregnancy test with my hands shaking and voice trembling, I was scared and excited. I was ready to be a mom. Even though seeing those two lines so quickly left me shocked, I was ready to meet my baby. When I found out there was a little human growing...
The best part of me is my son. Being a new mom is exhausting yet so rewarding. They say when he sleeps, you sleep. But I don’t want to miss any cuddles, so when he sleeps, I snuggle him up tight. Being a new mom is lonely and so fulfilling at the same time. I’ve never felt so alone, but I’ve also never felt like my life had a purpose until now. I wouldn’t trade my loneliness for a large number of friends. Although having some friends, even if very few, helps. Sometimes it takes being lonely to bring the most...
Author’s note: September is NICU awareness month. As I reflect on our four-year anniversary of becoming NICU parents, these are the thoughts that came to me. According to the March of Dines, about 14.4 percent of births result in a NICU stay, so this one is for you and all your beautiful NICU babies. Hey mama, I know you never thought you’d be here. Even if you had a warning of a potential stay, it’s not what you pictured when you pictured motherhood. None of us did. Sure, you were nervous about the birth of your baby. Will it hurt?...
I feel the warmth radiating from my weeks-old baby girl’s body onto my lap. She sleeps soundly. But I can’t. My jaw is clenched, my forehead is wrinkled, my body is tense. I’ve been in complete survival mode. Our baby girl unexpectedly made her appearance one month early due to some placental deficiencies and was born at three and a half pounds. I wasn’t prepared. When I saw my sweet girl, my heart was instantly taken over by immense love and immense fear. Fear grabbing me with every thought, every breath. I wasn’t prepared. She spent some time in the NICU but not...
Several women in my larger circle of friends have recently given birth. The photos of their precious miracles shine on social media, and I can’t help but notice them the same way I notice a lone daffodil in an overgrown field. They silently demand their attention simply by their bright beauty alone. I also notice that these “welcome to the world” photos are mostly the same: Mom and her partner holding a baby against a hospital gown, the one with the pattern that ushers us seasoned mothers into warm nostalgia; older siblings smiling down at their new lifemate, a pair...
Gideon Theodore Harding was born at home on August 13, 2019 at 5:15 p.m. weighing nine pounds. His name means mighty warrior. He has a Jesus story that will follow him for the rest of his life. It was my fourth pregnancy. I was low-risk with a history of fast labor, the perfect candidate for another home birth. Despite having a 6, 4, and 2-year-old at home, I always find at least an hour each day to pray, journal, and do Bible studies. The Bible study I had been invited to had recently finished Priscilla Shirer’s Gideon. I found...
It is my first time saying goodbye. Today brought conflicting emotions to the surface like a rising tide as it inevitably crashes to shore. I felt immense joy as giddy laughter bubbled forth from the feat my child conquered today. You walked across the house on your not-so-wobbly legs, strutting around, with the confidence of the toddler you’ve become. This also brings upon a sense of fear and anxiety that is unavoidable when change occurs as rapidly as day shifts to night. Today, I had to say goodbye to the first version of you I’ve ever known. The version that...
Some people roll their eyes at the term, but I used to be a card-carrying member of the boy mom club. My two boys were just under 22 months apart but worlds different from each other—one lanky and one solid, one quiet and easy and one intent on visiting as many emergency rooms as possible and sneakier than a raccoon. One even slept through the night starting at 8 weeks, and one is now 14 and still has yet to sleep through the night. Both of my dimpled, blue-eyed boys were my little buddies, my guys, built-in best friends, and...
It’s a surreal feeling to leave the hospital, with no baby in your arms. It’s one of those terrible things you hear about happening to other women. You never imagine you will be the one telling the story. It was our first pregnancy. My husband and I waited 10 years to actually start trying to expand our family (we got married young). Learning I was pregnant with a baby was another surreal feeling. Remember . . . 10 years of just the two of us. We had the first ultrasound and received a due date. This was really happening. We...
The moment I had been waiting for, the moment that was supposed to make all the pain worth it: the nurse placed my newborn baby girl in my arms. It was the most surreal moment, looking down at this tiny human that I had created, that I had carried, and that I had brought into this world. Then I heard, “Say bye for now, Mama. Your baby is going to visit the NICU for a bit.” And the perfect world that had been constructed in those few precious moments came tumbling down, taking my heart with it. The feeling of...