This is a sponsored conversation from Mums the Word Network and The Stork OTC. All opinions are my own.
Mother’s day just passed and I seem to always reflect on the birth of our daughter around Mother’s Day. It was unlike anything I would have ever imagined that experience to be. It was 6 days in the hospital on a ridiculously uncomfortable bed that was built for delivering a baby not for sleeping. There was 70 hours of labor from the start of my induction as well as 3 hours of pushing. There were several horribly painful procedures to help me progress with the hopes of avoiding a C-section. One of them involved a “cervical ripening balloon” and I will just let you use your imagination on that one (with the help of the doodle one of the nurses drew). In the end I did deliver vaginally and I am thankful for that. But talk about exhausted! 
After going through all of that the thought of trying to get pregnant again completely freaked me out. Each time my period was late I had a moment of panic. It has been 2 years now since I gave birth. The older our daughters gets and the more time I have to process what happened the more I realize that more than a baby was delivered that day.
The past 2 years have been the hardest of my life. I struggled to breastfeed. I struggled to sleep. I struggled emotionally and felt like a failure more often than a success. But God. God knew that I would learn a lot from our sweet baby girl. He knew I would learn things I could not possibly learn any other way. Did I enjoy the process… no… not really. But that is probably my fault for not staying in the Word like I should have or asking for more help. But then again I didn’t know I needed to ask for help. So, when your friends have a new baby go visit, do their dishes, or at least send a card.
I have been delivered from the “state of me” that I was living in… it no longer exists. It got smaller when we got married but having a child who completely depended on me to live made it crumble to pieces. My ideas of what motherhood was going to be crumbled with it. I have a new respect for my mother as well as all other mothers. Every day I feel God working to deliver me from selfishness as I serve my child. I also feel Him growing my heart… He had to in order to hold all the Love for our sweet girl.
I am now at peace with the thought that we might have another baby one day. That thought no longer causes me to relive the painful procedures that literally kept me awake in the hospital counting the minutes until they would have to repeat them. I now know that if I deliver a baby again it will not be the same. Things will be different because I am different. I know what I will say no to during pregnancy and delivery and that it is ok to say no. I now also know the tremendous joy that comes from having a child. I know now more than ever that His ways are higher than mine and that He is faithful even when we are not. I know that situations and experiences I will never understand can still be worked for my good in His hands. I just have to remember to always put them there… in His hands.
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9
The one who calls you is faithful, and he will continue to be faithful. 1 Thessalonians 5:24
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
Our bodies are amazing and can do amazing things. However, the stress that comes from trying to figure out what our bodies are actually doing is not amazing! I hear over and over from my sweet friends, who are actively trying to get pregnant, just how stressful and disheartening trying to conceive can be. The struggle to figure out when they are ovulating and keeping track of their very irregular period turns the process into work.
I hate that my loved ones have had to walk through that. I also know that it can happen to anyone. So, when I had the chance to learn more about something that could make the process easier without paying a ton of money or going through any procedures… I was intrigued.
Let me introduce you to “The Stork“. Basically it is a device that delivers the semen closer to and more directly near the cervix. It essentially provides a bit of a shortcut in the hopes that the direct delivery system will improve the chances of pregnancy. Seems like with up to a 20% success rate it might be worth a try.
As far as more children go, I don’t know what God has in store for us. I do know that if we decide to actively try to get pregnant that the process of tracking my period, trying to figure out if I am ovulating or not, and taking a pregnancy test every other day would quickly feel like work and probably overwhelm me.
We might just use The Stork right away with the hopes of shortening that process. I mean, The Stork can be purchased at Target and it is located in the family planning section next to ovulation test kits…so we are bound to see it if we are in that section already!
I know that some of you reading this are longing to be pregnant right now and I hope that you hear my heart as you read this. I know that I have been given a gift in our daughter. I wanted to share about this product juuust in case someone might decide to use it. Because if it works … they could experience the gift as well.
