Counting my Blessings

I am a part of a forum of moms from around the United States whose babies were all born in April.  We met through the What To Expect website and been following each others stories since when we became pregnant.  The forum has been a nice way to share day to day about being pregnant and now about having our little cherubs.  We joke, give advice, ask advice, share tons of photos, we ask for help when we are feeling down, we pick each other up and support one another through this thing called motherhood. It's nice because we are all going through the same thing.

Well this was an emotional week.  We learned that one of our moms lost her little girl Prudence at 10 weeks old on July 4th.  While I don't know if it was actually a SIDS case, it sure sounds like it.  The little tyke was sleeping in her crib, and then her mom went to check on her and she was blue and wasn't breathing.  It sounded sudden and unexpected.

I just cannot imagine anything like losing your child.  When I look at the photos of Prudence smiling, or reaching for the camera, I think of Lucia.  She is now becoming a little person.  And so was Prudence.  And then she lost her life.  While my days are filled with joy with Lucia, my nights have been hard.  I cannot stop thinking about this mom and what she is going through.  It just so happened that the night we learned of this, Lucia was up every two hours.  And you know what?  I didn't care.  I was thankful that I had my little Lucia to hold and love on.  This will be the 4th night since I learned about Prudence and I am still so sad.  Nothing of course compared to her mom, Courtney.  One thing is for sure, is that there are about 700 of us moms on the forum, who hands down, are counting their blessings; sleepless nights, no free time, babies you can't console.  We would all choose these things any day of the year.

So while I cannot seem to shake this sadness, I am counting my blessings for all that I have in my life.  And I will always remember Prudence and her mom Courtney as a tender reminder to be thankful for everything that I have, each and every day, especially this gift of being Lucia's mom.

And while I did not know you personally Prudence, may the angles guide you to heaven, may your mom, dad, and family find strength and courage, and may the World know how truly blessed it was to have you in it, even if just for a short time.