For all us premature Mums

[TinkerbellesMum]

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures, and a couple by habit. This year thousands of mothers will give birth to a premature baby. Did you ever wonder how mothers of preemies are chosen?

Somehow, I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting His instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As He observes, He instructs His angels to make notes in a giant ledger.

?Armstrong, Beth, son. Patron saint, Matthew. Forest, Marjorie, daughter. Patron saint, Cecelia. Rutledge, Carrie, twins. Patron saint... give her Gerard. He?s used to profanity.?

Finally, He passes a name to an angel and smiles, ?Give her a premature baby.? The angel is curious. ?Why this one, God? She?s so happy.? ?Exactly,? smiles God. ?Could I give a premature baby a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel.?

?But does she have patience?? asks the angel.

?I don?t want her to have too much patience, or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she?ll handle it.

?I watched her today. She has that sense of self and independence that are so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see the child I?m going to give her has his own world. She has to make it live in her world and that?s not going to be easy.?

?But, Lord, I don?t think she even believes in you.? God smiles, ?No matter, I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness.?

The angel gasps, ?Selfishness? Is that a virtue??

God nods. ?If she can?t separate herself from the child occasionally, she?ll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child who comes in a less than perfect way. She doesn?t realize it yet, but she is to be envied.

?She will never take for granted a spoken word. She will never consider a step ordinary. When her child says ?Mummy? for the first time, she will be witness to a miracle and know it. When she describes a tree or a sunset to her blind child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations.

?I will permit her to see clearly the things I see - ignorance, cruelty, prejudice - and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side.?

?And what about her patron saint?? asks the angel, the pen poised in mid-air.

God smiles. ?A mirror will suffice.

-Author unknown.

[numptysmummy]

Also applies to mums of sn lo's.

[shreksmissus]

Message withdrawn

[tasha22]

thats really nice im finding it hard atm with my lo he was born 7 weeks prem with a cleft lip and palate and keeps dropping in wieght. but that made me feel better

[bruhaha]

i'm sitting here bubbling like an eejit

[fluffthekitten]

no matter how manytimes i read that i cry me eyeballs out.........
my 28 +3 will be 5 in september and perfect....

[RuthMum2Lewis]

OMG! I too am crying like a baby! It is so lovely I'm gonna print a copy for my mum...she'll cry too!

[Florrieandme]

What a lovely idea. That could have been me - right down to the non-believing! My little girl was born at 32 weeks and now, aged 21 months, has just been signed off by the consultant as she is perfectly normal despite initial problems!!

[There]

Definetely picked me for the selfishness!

[Pollyk]

Oh how lovely, that has made me feel better! Mum to twins, Ben and Emma, born at 23 + 6 three weeks ago. 27 weeks old today, adjusted age. Having a bad week, the poor little mites, but know it will get better

[jellibob]

Crying so much I can hardly breathe. My 28 week twins are just over 6 weeks old x

[rascal1979]

Managed to get trhough my daughters first birthday yesterday without shedding a tear but feel like I've been hit by a ton of bricks today. It's all coming back. Thinking back to this time last year when I was too poorly to even go and see my DD etc .....Just reread this and feel a bit better x