Once upon a time, not so very long ago, a child was born. Her parents had hoped and dreamed for a child. But, as the years went by, they began to lose hope. And then, out of the blue, after many years of trying to have a child, their prayers were answered.

The mother, whose name was Sandra, woke up one morning feeling sick to her stomach. Nausea continued for many weeks. She finally decided she should go to the doctor and find out what was wrong with her. It did not occur to her that she might be pregnant. Since she had given up, all hope long ago. She felt weak and tired, and depressed. The nurse took her temperature, weighed her, and asked if she had any other symptoms.

Sandra said,” Not really. I don’t know what is wrong with me. Can you help me, please?”

“Well, there is one more test I can do, and we will be able to get the results soon after. Please go into the ladies’ room and urinate on this stick and then bring it right back to me.

Sandra did as she was told and returned to the exam room with the stick in hand. The nurse walked in and took the stick, and said,” I’ll be back in a few minutes. Please sit down and take deep breaths and try to calm down. I think you will be feeling much better soon. “

Sandra laid back on the exam table and quickly fell into a deep sleep. She was so exhausted from not sleeping well for weeks. The nurse poked her head in the door and saw Sandra sleeping. She decided to let her sleep since the doctor was on his lunch break and wouldn’t be back for an hour.

About forty-five minutes passed by, and the nurse decided to check on Sandra and make sure all was well. She brought the test results into the exam room where Sandra was quietly sleeping and said, “Sandra, wake up Sandra, I have very good news for you.”

“ Sandra slowly opened her eyes. She didn’t remember where she was right away. She looked around and remembered she was at the doctor’s office. “You do. Am I going to be alright?”
“Yes, Sandra, you are going to be more than alright. In fact, I have great news you are going to have a baby. You are six weeks along. What do you think about that?”

Sandra was so shocked by what the nurse said that she responded,” Is this some sick joke or something? It’s not funny.”

“No, of course not. You are going to be a mother in about seven and a half months.”

Sandra was so happy that she started crying tears of happiness. The nurse came over and said, alright, try to calm down. I have some prescriptions for neonatal vitamins. Please try to take care of yourself and eat healthy foods, but don’t overeat. And you don’t want to gain too much weight. The doctor will be in to see you in a few minutes to talk to you. Then you will need to make an appointment to come back in six weeks. We want a healthy mom and baby.

After the nurse walked out of the room, Sandra couldn’t stop smiling. She had so longed for this day to happen and had all but given up on her long-awaited dream of becoming a mother. She had always loved children. She started babysitting when she was ten, and as an adult, she worked in schools as a teacher’s aide. Her face was starting to hurt from the broad smile on her face. Just then, the doctor came into her room and said, “It seems like congratulations are in order, Sandra. This must be a happy day for you.”

“Yes, yes, it is. I can hardly believe it. I can’t wait until this baby arrives. It seems like I have been waiting for a long, long time for this to happen.”

“Sandra, I want you to follow the letter and the diet the nurse gave you and take those prenatal vitamins every day. We want both you and the baby to thrive. I’ll see you in six weeks if you have any problems before then, please call the office immediately. I look forward to seeing you soon. Please take care.”

Over the next six weeks, Sandra found that her appetite increased quickly. Sometimes she woke up in the middle of the night, and her stomach was growling. When she returned to the doctor for her six-week check-up, she was astounded to find she had gained twelve pounds. The doctor was not pleased.

“Sandra, how are you feeling? Have you been experiencing nausea, vomiting, or any other symptoms you might want to share with me or concerns you may have?”

“Well, my stomach growls all day and night. It is really uncomfortable. I am always starving. Sometimes I get up in the middle of the night and eat something. I can’t help it. The hunger wakes me up.”

“Have you tried drinking water before you go to bed”

“Yes, but then I must go to the bathroom all night. I promise I’ll do better and try and keep my weight down. I’ll see you in six weeks, doctor.”

The time flew by, and before she knew it was only two weeks before Sandra’s due date. It was difficult to sleep at night since her baby seemed so restless and tossed and turned all night while Sandra was trying to get sleep. And the baby didn’t calm down during the day; she could feel her baby pushing his legs against her ribs.

Sandra couldn’t wait for her baby to be born, and before she knew it, the nine months had slipped by. And one day, her contractions started, and Sandra called her husband at work and told him it was time. After they arrived at the hospital, Sandra was taken into the delivery room. There was a television on in the room, and the doctor watched the show up until she was ready to give birth.

The baby arrived, and Sandra was handed her baby to hold for a few minutes. Until she was taken to the neonatal room. After the obstetrician spoke to her husband for a while, he said he would return later to check on her. And Sandra tried to get some sleep but was suffering from afterpains from her uterus contractions.

A couple of hours later, a nurse came into the recovery room and said we are moving you into your room now. So you can spend some time nursing your baby and holding her. Right now, she is making so much noise that she is disturbing all the other babies. Then a second nurse came in holding Sandra’s newborn, and she was screaming at the top of her lungs. Her face was red as a beet. Sandra looked at the baby and then at the nurse and said, “Oh my,  she is really making a ruckus. Let me see if I can calm her down.

So, Sandra took her tiny, red-faced newborn baby and nursed her until she quieted down. As it turned out that nursing her baby was the only thing that quieted her down. Sandra decided to stay overnight at the hospital and leave first thing the next morning.

Sandra realized that having a baby was a gift, but it also was a somewhat overwhelming experience. And Sandra’s little girl was indeed challenging from day one forward.  Sandra never regretted her choice and took one day at a time. Each day was indeed a gift, but it was also a lifelong challenge.

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