I have learned that one thing that you should never do is rail at God when you are not getting what you have asked Him for. My husband and I suffered with infertility issues for many years. It took us almost a year to conceive our firstborn. Conceiving a second time took us five years. During that interval I spent a portion of every day earnestly praying for another child. Praying turned to imploring. Imploring turned to ranting and railing. A natural enough progression, I suppose, when the blessing that is so desperately desired is continually denied. We tried taking the drug Clomid to no avail. I had exploratory surgery only to find that there were no physical impediments to conception.
Finally, at long last, in 2004 we conceived. It was an ectopic pregnancy. The miscarriage was indescribably painful, both physically and psychologically. Six months later we were expecting once again. Another ectopic pregnancy. This time my fallopian tube burst and I required emergency surgery. Now we had our tumultuous fertility history and only one fallopian tube to work with. Our doctor was not at all certain that the remaining tube was even functional. He advised us that, in his professional opinion, our only option was to try In Vitro Fertilization. We both felt that children are gifts to be given by God and decided to leave the situation in His hands. I began to resign myself to the fact that I could give my husband no more children.
Four months later we conceived again and I was devastated. I didn't know if I could bear the loss of another child. Because of my history, my fertility doctor monitored me very carefully. After several blood tests he determined that my hormone levels were rising as expected with a normal pregnancy. I was still too afraid to have hope. Six weeks later we went for our first ultrasound and saw our baby's little heart beating. We could think it nothing less than a truly Heavenly miracle; We were thankful beyond words. Back to God having a sense of humor....
The baby is now four years old, and is easily the most impossible child that I have ever come into contact with. He began the 'Terrible Two's' at a year and a half and we are still waiting for him to outgrow them. His temperament is such that we have affectionately dubbed him 'The Antichrist'. Don't you dare judge me; You don't live here! You have NO idea what we deal with.
So, after bitterly railing at God for so long, He granted our request. He gave us another child. A beautiful, perfect, terribly tempered, destructive child who tries my patience to it's breaking point almost daily. I have to wonder if it is not because I asked for another baby for so long, but because of how I went about asking. Perhaps bitterly ranting and railing was not the best way of petitioning the Almighty. Am I now reaping what I have sown by living daily with the most precocious child on the planet? Are there any other moms out there that feel the way I do? I love my child fiercely and at the same time feel like setting my hair on fire and running down the street screaming maniacally. It is my hope that by blogging my daily struggles as a stay-at-home mommy, I will be more able to put things into proper perspective. And maybe to let someone else out there know that they are not alone.
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Hi there!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to this world of blogging.
I am also a Mom, but staying at home is not an option now. I did for the first 5 years. Went nearly insane and am now somewhat back to normal.
You're off to a good start! I'm looking forward to reading your updates! :)
ReplyDeleteYou and I both know he has a very endearing side to him. I can say there are 2 issues at play:
ReplyDelete1. Too much mom and sibling time.
2. Boredom.
He is no different that I in that he is constantly looking for a challenge. He is a thinker to the extreme and when boredom sets in, he will turn to doing things he shouldn't. In 5 years he will be out with his brother and I doing guy things and the frustration will have subsided. ;)
Great Blog Alice! I am trying the method of patiently waiting for God to give me another child. I tried for 2 years to get pg with my 2nd son, Sean, but Sean went back to heaven just 5 weeks before he was supposed to be born...he was still born. We never did find out why. I am now divorced...the loss of Sean sent my ex-husband down a terribly destructive road...All I ever wanted was to be a stay at home mom with lots of kids...instead I am working full-time in a terribly stresfull job and raising my son on my own...we are doing pretty darn well, though. I still pray to God, and ask that if it is HIS will, I will meet someone, and be blessed with another child. I also pray that if it is NOT His will, that I learn to accept this....I'm not quite there yet..Thanks for sharing your story!
ReplyDeleteMell
While I do not have any children of my own, I have been teaching for 4 years and have had at one time or another several 100 kids. I know what it is like to spend every day with a child that grates your last nerve and I know what it's like to spend every day with a child that truly scares you. Teaching is, I assume, a lot like parenting. A lot of trial and error and trying to find something that works. Through my experiences here is what I have learned about working with a difficult child.
ReplyDelete1. If you say it (or threaten it) you have to mean it. Even if it ends up hurting you more in the long run. Most behavior issue kids are a lot smarter than you think and they will use your weaknesses to get what they want.
2. You have to spend a LOT of time teaching them about how their actions effect others. Some kids have to be taught empathy. Once they start figuring out why everyone is so upset, they get a little better.
3. If you can find something they love, do everything you can to help them be the best at it. Most kids that are behavior issues need an outlet. It can also be something they can earn more time doing for good behavior, but shouldn't neccessarily be something you take away unless it's a really bad offense. It also helps you bond with them. You aren't just the person that tells them no all the time.
I don't know if any of that helps and I'm sure that you've already tried most of it. I will tell you that when he starts school, the school councelor and the speech teacher can be great resources. Social skills are usually taught through the speech programs and the school councelor has access to the school district psychologist and they can be a lot of help.
Last, I would tell you, keep praying. God never gives us more than we can handle, even when we think he's overestimated our abilities.