National Infertility Awareness Week

In order to honor those families that are affected by infertility every single day, Austin Moms Blog plans to share several stories throughout this week. What binds us together is motherhood and whether you are a veteran mom, expecting mom, new mom, or just want to be a mom, we all have one common denominator… our love for children and motherhood.

Chelsea shared her struggles this morning, but see how she’s using OneDay to preserve her future in motherhood.

MrsMrsignsMy husband and I had our 2nd anniversary a few weeks ago. We were married April 1, 2012 and because we’d been together over 7 years by the time we got married, we immediately started trying to have a baby. Well, 2 years later-no baby. Going through fertility treatments is hell for anyone (I mean-HELL), but I try to stay focused on the positive and the purpose. And you can read more details from my post, here. The purpose is to create a lil’ chink o’ love that’s a piece of my husband and a piece of me. To me, a baby is love incarnate.

A few months ago I wrote a letter to my “unborn, unconditionally loved child” and shared it on my personal blog. Even though it was healing to make it public, I felt it didn’t do the letter justice to be sent out there to the universe knowing it could be lost or erased if the blog fails or if I forget about it years from now. Then, I discovered OneDay. This site allows you to post events to a timeline (either public or private) and add photos, videos, certificates, etc., but the best part is “the vault”. Screen Shot 2014-04-03 at 7.51.40 PM

I can actually upload the letter to my sweet baby and have it emailed to them on a specific date. Of course we don’t have that date yet, but what if I set up an email for my child and scheduled the vault to send them this letter in 10 years automatically or 16 or 20? The possibilities for this website are endless! I’ve decided to share the letter that I uploaded to the vault on OneDay:

To my unborn, not yet conceived, but unconditionally loved child, SleepyElleZ

I have been waiting to meet you for as long as I can remember, but having to wait for you has taught me patience, selflessness, and faith. I have to be patient and realize you’ll be mine when the world is ready for your life to begin and not a moment before. I have learned selflessness, because it’s my own selfish desire to demand you now, but I have to trust His timing. I’ve had my faith tested time and time again, but I have to have faith that eventually we’ll meet.

I imagine meeting you and feeling as though I’ve always known you. I will not be afraid as many mothers have warned me I would. I will not be stressed about caring for you because I’ve prepared myself for you for so long and I will not be unsure about your needs because we were designed to meet each other’s needs right from the start.

My hope for you is PASSION! I will model for you a lust for life, an adventure seeking spirit, and a curiosity about things unknown. I will not tell you what to expect, but will stand by and provoke your curiosity so that you may discover for yourself. I will not answer your questions, but I will encourage you to share your thoughts and draw your own conclusions. I will provide you with opportunities to learn, observe, and discover.

My hope for you is LOVE! I will model unconditional love in my love for you and for your father, but I will also allow you to get your heartbroken so that you may learn that real love doesn’t hurt. I will put my relationship with your father above all else so that you will feel secure that your parents love you together as one body. I will let you see the trials, tribulations, and obstacles overcome in my relationships with my sisters and family so that you will learn how to express feelings and work through things with loved ones. I will share with you why I chose your father above anyone else in hopes you will become the man he is or marry a man as strong as he is. You will love, be loved, and know love.

SmilingEVMy hope for you is LAUGHTER! I will model for you how to find the humor in things that are tough, how to laugh at yourself when you make human mistakes, and how to laugh with your #wholeheart. I will create a home full of laughter for you.

My hope for you is HAPPINESS! I will not become a mother who sacrifices everything in my life for you because I do not want you to be someone who sacrifices your life for anyone else. I don’t want you to learn that you’re my only source of happiness because that would be a lie, but it would also be unfair pressure on you to make me happy. That’s not your job. I’ll love you enough to take time for myself and find my own happiness in the things I love and enjoy so that you will learn the value of self care. I will teach you that happiness is a choice and a constant battle to maintain.

My hope for you is HEALTH! I will commit myself to creating a healthy environment and providing you with foods meant for nourishment, not self-indulgence. I will not allow you to be a glutton or gorge yourself on treats just because you want to. I will say “no” to you when you ask for things that are not healthy because I want you to learn that I love you enough to protect your health even if it makes me sad to tell you “no”. I will model healthy eating habits and healthy body image so that you will learn to love whole foods, know their value for your body and mind, and love your body for it’s abilities, not it’s shape.

Kissing&HoldingEVMy hope for you is STRUGGLE! I hope that you struggle so that you will learn success and I will provide opportunities for you to fail so that you will build the desire to succeed. I will not solve your problems for you, but I will be a consultant to help you think through a course of action. I will not make choices for you even when I think you’re making a poor choice because I want you to experience the consequences of poor choices so that you’ll grow up to make better choices. If I interfere, I’m preventing valuable learning opportunities. You won’t like it at the time, but you’ll thank me later.

My hope for you is PRIDE in yourself! I will not tell you you’ve done a good job when you haven’t. I will not praise you for work done halfheartedly and I will not tell you you’re amazing when you haven’t put in effort. I will return the responsibility to you by reminding you you’re proud of yourself when you accomplish things. I will praise EFFORT, not product. I will encourage you to evaluate your own performance and develop pride in yourself, not wait for me to evaluate you. I will not give you stickers or treats when you are successful, but I will hug you and smile and listen lovingly as you tel me how good it felt to be successful. I want you to be motivated by your desire to be great, not MY desire for you to be great.

My hope for you is ME! I hope I can be the mother I encourage other mothers to be. I hope I can raise you the way I was raised. I hope I’ll be strong enough to follow through on my commitments to you and I hope I’m strong enough to stand back when I know I need to let you learn for yourself. I hope you and I will meet soon. I love you. Love, your mother.”

National Infertility Awareness Week, Chelsea Vail

In honor of National Infertility Awareness Week, it is our hope to raise awareness and educate our community about the varying types of infertility and the many options available.  We hope that you are empowered by this series, because we really are in this journey of motherhood together. Please continue to support the real moms this week as they share their journeys.  To read more, please click here.

Sponsored By: OneDay

 

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