I was just pondering how wonderful and fragile life is.  How amazing it is to be able to get pregnant, carry a baby and experience the joy of hearing a new baby cry and becoming a mom. Today I am trying to remember how wonderful my children are and how much I appreciate the fact that I have them.

I have a friend who spent five years and upwards of $50,000 trying to conceive a child. They tried every type of fertility treatment, tried every test, and read negative pregnancy test after negative pregnancy test.  When it took me 4 months to conceive my daughter and experienced the frustration of people asking me constantly if I was pregnant yet?  I thought about my friend and how frustrating it would have been to try to get pregnant for years instead of a few measly months.

I have a good friend who miscarried while I was pregnant with my second baby, she experienced the excitement of finding out she was pregnant, she got to see the baby on the ultrasound and was able to share her happiness with others, but it ended up that she miscarried right before her 2nd trimester.  I was so careful to never complain about feeling nauseated, pain or discomfort of my pregnancy, because I know she would have done anything to change places with me.

I am so grateful for having two healthy babies be delivered and listening to them cry for the first time!  I have a wonderful neighbor who has been so excited to have her first great grand child. Every time I saw her she has been sharing details about her grand daughters pregnancy, and showing me the little things she bought in anticipation of the babies arrival. Today she told me that the baby was delivered yesterday, and everyone was at the hospital excited to meet him.  Once the baby was delivered they noticed that he was not pinking up, they tried to intubate him but they were not able to get the tube down his throat because his throat was not developed.  He was born alive but only lived 10 minutes without air. They never got to hear their baby cry.

Think about how lucky you were to be a Mom, think about how different your life would have been if you would have not been able to have them.  From the amazing feat of one healthy sperm fertilizing one healthy egg, the cells dividing perfectly, the placenta attaching right, the fetus developing perfectly for 9 months, having a safe delivery, and hearing your healthy baby cry.  What a miracle!