In the Spirit of Thanksgiving I thought I would share a few things I am feeling extra thankful for today! 🙂

Midwives – I am grateful for midwives who compassionately support and empower women through pregnancy and childbirth. There is a saying “peace on earth begins with birth” and I believe that to be true!  In which case midwives are ambassadors of peace and love to us all.

Health – Sadly, it sometimes takes a health crisis to truly appreciate one’s health. Today I am full of deep gratitude for my health! I hope to humbly continue to recognize what a gift it is to have a strong, healthy body.

Co-Sleeping – I am thankful to be a co-sleeping family! I am happy that my hubby understands and supports our sleeping arrangement. I seriously cannot imagine any other bedtime arrangement. I am thankful for the conversations we have as we drift off to sleep. I am thankful for the night time cuddles as we play musical beds throughout the night. And I am most thankful to awake each morning next to sweet little faces.

Pets – Up until more recently I felt completely annoyed with my two dogs. I admittedly saw them as a “chore” and nothing more. Although that changed after I had a scary incident while running that involved a man threatening me. Ever since then I have been running with my dogs and have discovered a new appreciation for them. My younger dog actually makes a really great running partner! I feel reconnected to my dogs and am thankful for the protection they provide me.

Infertility – I honestly never imagined I would be thankful for the infertility we experienced when trying to conceive our first child. It was an extremely difficult and emotional time in my life. I deeply longed to be a mother and month after month (32 of them to be exact) I was met with disappointment. Now several years beyond and 3 children after infertility, I view it as a gift of time. By the time we actually had our first baby, my husband and I had been married for 6 years. Therefore we had plenty of time as a couple to develop a strong relationship before welcoming a baby into our lives. Additionally I was able to finish my graduate degree before having a baby. Not to say I couldn’t have completed my educational goals after becoming a mother, but it would have definitely been more challenging. We were also granted extra time to develop financial security before becoming parents. Shortly before I got pregnant with my first child, my husband secured a stable job which would allow me to be a stay-at-home mom. During the course of trying to conceive, I had many years to read about and reflect upon information regarding pregnancy, child birth, and mothering. Of course at the time I didn’t recognize the value in that, but now I realize and appreciate the positive impact it had on my birth and parenting choices. I have only recently viewed infertility as a gift which I feel reflects a great deal of inner peace and healing.

What are you thankful for today? Would love to hear from you!! 🙂

-Sarah