I love being a mom, most of the time. I think anyone that says they love motherhood all of the time is either smoking a little something, or telling a little fib.

I have been a mom for almost thirteen years, but have learned the most about mommyhood over the last 6 months. I learned that sometimes it can be so great, that you have to pinch yourself because life can’t be real. Other times, it is so painful you wish you could go into a coma, and wake up to find your kids have graduated, moved out, attended an ivy league school (if you dream, you might as well dream big, right?!) and have kids of their own.

I had my third (and VERY final) baby in mid-April. By mid-June he was paralyzed, blind, and in respiratory arrest. People always told me that boys were easier than girls. I beg to differ.

To sum it up quickly, he is OK now– or mostly OK. His doctors are obsessed with his (lack of) weight gain. I tell them, “Throw him a frickin bone! He can breathe, eat, smile and roll over now, do we really have to obsess about weight gain?”

Through this long ordeal, I have learned the following:

• Poop and pee are a really big deal.
• Feedings can be measured in fractions of a milliliter. An ounce is a LOT of liquid.
• When a baby laughs, fairies really ARE born.
• All nurses will go to heaven. (Except that one frickin nurse in the PICU. She will go somewhere else.)
• There are worse things than lack of sleep.
• It is possible to experience the “for better or worse” in marriage both in the same day.
• A smile is one of the greatest gifts we can give others.
• When a loved one is in the hospital, celebrate successes quietly. Sometimes your best day, is someone else’s worst.
• Time passes regardless of our attitude. Choose to be positive, gracious, kind, appreciative and loving.
• Life is a journey. Everything we experience can be for our benefit.
• If you need to cry, frickin cry!
• You can have fun even when life is falling apart. Don’t believe me, talk to the nurses on the 4th floor. We spent many nights laughing so frickin hard our cheeks hurt.
• Don’t drink too much water before you go to bed. Hmmmm, you might see where I am going with this. Look for a future blog post for more detail.
• Hug a stranger. It is awesome.
• Mommyhood is a roller coaster ride, but one I am so glad that I am on.

Have you had a similar experience? If so, I would love to hear about it. We frickin moms need to stick together.