Good Morning!

I woke up this morning to rain. The window was open and it was so beautiful to watch and listen to the rain falling. Though sometimes the rain is a nuisance and can cause a lot of trouble, it can sometimes also be peaceful and so enjoyable. I'm grateful I can sit here and enjoy it today.

I wanted to post today about some thoughts that I have been having, mostly around my previous post regarding my pregnancy complications. This being my first pregnancy, it's been a whole new experience for me. The physical, emotional, and psychological changes that have happened over that last few months have been such an experience for me. It really is one of those things that "you just don't fully understand until you go through it yourself".

One of the things that I've come to learn, and thus wanted to share with others is: more people have been in your shoes than you realize. It took us almost a year of trying to actually get pregnant. As we were struggling through that trial (I think me more than Danny), we came to realize that this was actually quite common for a lot of couples. It never occurred to me that trying to have a baby would be difficult, especially with so many unwanted or unsolicited pregnancies in the world. But as time progressed we learned from friends and family that they too have had the same issues.

We came to this same realization as we were going through our most recent "complication" with having low amniotic fluid and having to be on bed rest, the possibility of losing our child or delivering very premature. So many people out there have actually gone through this same thing. Some have had worse issues and others have had a little less. It really surprised us to learn how common these things are. And it surprised us even more to hear our friends or acquaintances tell us they had the same thing happen to them. Why had I never heard any of this before? Why, at first, was I feeling so alone, as if we were the only ones who were going through this?

I realized quickly that people just don't talk about it. Everyone has their own reason for keeping something like this behind their "curtains", and I completely respect that. I understand that it is a very sensitive subject for a lot of people and discussing it brings up too many difficult emotions. This is why I feel like it is so important for me to tell people exactly what happened. Yes, it is a little personal, but I don't want any other women out there thinking things like this are uncommon and feeling like they are the only ones going through it. I want people to know what happened with us and I want them to know this happens a lot. How much more prepared could women be if this was common knowledge, and how much more would they be able to handle the shock of it all?

I just want everyone to understand that, even if you have never heard or known someone with these kind (or any other myriad) of complications, these things happen, and they happen a lot more frequently than you realize. We'd be so much better able to support each other if we opened up just a little and knew we weren't the only ones suffering through a difficult time. While I don't think it's appropriate to divulge every personal item of business, I do think we can draw strength and power from each other as we relate and support others who are walking paths we too have walked.