Morning Cuppas With Glenys : Pregnancy

Showing posts with label Pregnancy. Show all posts

I have gotten a man!

In joyful love and amazement the young Eve’s heart lurched

As she gazed at the infant she’d just brought to birth,

And the depth of her love took her quite by surprise

As she looked at Cain’s face with its big blue eyes.
This gift from the LORD brought her to first know..
Pain mingled with joy which followed to show
A mother's love...

How perfectly shaped his head covered in fine down
What strength in his grip on her finger he clasped round,
How tiny each feature, how perfect, how flawless-

How soft was the skin still wet from the waters

That protected and comforted him just moments ago

When the world still had no babe nor mother to know

A mother’s love…

Joy swept through her previously unknown;

Eve knew it was the same joy God towards her had shown-

Feelings of elation in the life of a new living being

And possibilities of shared love previously unseen;

Deep feelings of protection and for the nurturing of

This delightful new creature and object of

A mother’s love…

This love felt so strange as it burst in Eve’s soul

And she knew that as a woman she truly felt whole,

For she sensed that as a mother she took a part in creation,

And thanking God, full of thankful celebration,

She lifted her son to the Father above,

Amazed by the strength and power of

A mother’s love…

All through the ages this same love formed in Eve’s heart

Has been passed down to her daughters as they too take part

In the greatest of mysteries known to man,

The strong feeling of partnership in God’s plan

Of the birth and the nurture and the survival of

God’s most precious of blessings so needful of

A mother’s love.

“ I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” Genesis 4:1

Don't feel guilty for being a woman

As a friend of mine said, women are made to feel so guilty for being women- wanting to marry, stay home and keep house and mother our children! We have nothing to thank the feminist movement for. .. our identity as women has been trampled on and we who wish to stay at home have had that dream sullied by strident women who have penis envy!

We women are created to nurture. It is in our nature to pick up a dolly and embrace her from the time we can grasp her and bring her to our chest and lips... it is entirely natural for us to offer that dolly sustenance from a toy bottle or even our breast, in imitation of our mothers feeding younger siblings...

How many of us have received a cup of tea from tiny teacups, sipping it slowly to delight our little hostesses who are still too young to be entrusted with real teapots and teacups? Or watched the toddler girl trying to tuck her baby into her tiny dolly's pram, covering its head completely and far too young to really tuck her in? -yet her tenderness and concern is charming to watch...

Now the feminists try to tell us that we are responsible for training our daughters to become servile, and meek and weak, forcing them into a life of subservience that thwarts their potential both personally and financially. It is easy to see that the majority of these feminists have not mothered sons who will toddle up to a dolly and proceed to poke at her eyes and twist her joints and disrobe her in an attempt to see how she works... his interest is one of inquisitiveness.... he too is doing what comes naturally to him. Working things out in a practical way...

Feminists have been instrumental in promoting contraception and abortion on demand. They have stolen a lot of women's dreams of being mothers and have often lied to them about consequences that they say are detrimental to them- mostly career achievements that in the end leave them with empty arms and ashes in their mouth.

Even the married woman is convinced that her desire to be a mother is misplaced, especially if her desire is for a large family, and sadly even in some churches, this is seen to be an ambition that is frowned upon. Yet God Himself has placed the desire to bear children and to bring children up, in our hearts. Yet many feel guilty that they have these desires.... desires which are God given and good.

What God considers of great importance, creating a happy home for the raising of children unto Him, with the blessing of marriage and a committed father, is being destroyed by feminists who are often self-proclaimed lesbian man-haters... women who see marriage as a male invention of tyranny and control, and pregnancy as the undesirable biological entrapment of their gender...

From an early age a little girl will often be fascinated by brides and all the trimmings of a wedding, and again this is natural. Yet feminists have now managed to influence girls to delay getting married or to cohabit without expecting or even wanting to be married, and again we find the women of today who secretly long to be married feeling guilty for desiring something that really is their birthright as women. Feminism has taken away that which is precious to our identity as women- being a wife and enjoying the security and esteem that being married brings to a woman who loves her man...

Whilst some feminists did marry and have children, most divorced as their feminist ways weren't conducive to a happy marriage. Still others cohabited but remained voluntarily childless... many took lesbian lovers..

Now not everyone is called to be married and mothers, but these feminist women have so trampled on our natural identity as women that young women and girls are feeling guilty for being women! They are so confused with what they want in life that they are not only guilty that they want marriage, home and children but that they are also afraid. They are often forced to excel at school and university in order to provide for themselves, and are often in the position of finding out that even though they do now want marriage and motherhood, that they have left their run too late.

Thanks to feminism making women guilty and afraid of their womanhood, many women who in the natural scheme of things, should already be wives and mothers, are doomed to remain single. Or, hearing the biological clock ticking, they find their only option to at least become mothers limited to a one night stand or artificial insemination.... hardly ideal for the foundation of a new family...

I know this is true because I have an acquaintance who has fallen for the feminists' lies and who now has found herself in exactly that position.... we are waiting to see how she approaches being childless, which reportedly happened to Germaine Greer after she discovered she did in fact want a child but was unable to have one....

All this feminist clap-trap has done nothing for womankind but heap coals of fire on young women's heads. What should be a natural God-given course of life for a woman has been thwarted and defiled... Countless women have actually become victims of feminists' lies and are destined to live out lonely sad lives... lives rich in worldly possessions but poor in those things of eternal value.

I am sorry for the young women today who feel guilty for being a woman.... I pray that they will come to realise that they are victims of feminist women who tried to liberate them from the good things God had for them, but who instead bound them up in chains of regret and longings that they will have to endure for the rest of their lonely lives...

Please ladies, don't let feminists make you feel guilty for being a woman...

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. Psalm 127:3

Don't feel guilty for being a woman

I know this is true because I have an acquaintance who has fallen for the feminists' lies and who now has found herself in exactly that position.... we are waiting to see how she approaches being childless, which incidentally happened to Germaine Greer after she discovered she did in fact want a child but was unable to have one....

Please ladies, don't let feminists make you feel guilty for being a woman...

He maketh the barren woman to keep house, [and to be] a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD. Psalm 113:9

Way beyond blue

The first time I came across post-natal depression was when my daughter had just given birth to her first child. She was elated with her baby but about a week later she had crying fits that came for no apparent reason. At first we put them down to baby blues. But then came irrational thoughts and feelings.

She believed her husband didn’t love her anymore. Feeling ugly, she was sure her husband was having an affair. She believed her mother-in-law didn’t like her and was trying to overtake her baby. None of which was true.

One night when the baby was about 5 weeks old, we were called to her home by her frantic husband- she had packed all hers and the baby’s clothes in the car and was demanding the car keys. We raced to her home and were met by a daughter we had never seen before. Red-faced, unkempt and crying loudly.

Fortunately her husband had the foresight to hide the car keys as she was in no fit state to drive anywhere. She tried to take the baby out of her crib to take her away, but we stood in front of her so she could not get her.

I tried to reason with her but she just kept screaming that she had had enough- her husband didn’t love her or the baby- she was fat and he was certainly seeing someone else. It was heart-breaking to see him in tears too pleading with her to calm down and declaring his love for her.

Eventually she ran out of voice and strength and collapsed in my arms quite spent. I stroked her hair and her husband came and took her in his arms and comforted her. He was able at last to reason with her and she agreed to see a doctor the next day. We took the car keys with us at his request. Satisfied that the immediate danger was over, we returned home.

The next day, my daughter and her husband went to see a doctor who diagnosed post-natal depression. For about 2 months my daughter took anti-depressants and became the loving calm girl we had always known. It was frightening to see what hormones can sometimes do to a woman.

We were a little apprehensive when she gave birth to her second child. In fact the post-natal depression manifested itself in panic-attacks the first few hours after she gave birth. I notified the midwives at the hospital about my daughter’s agitation and previous depressions and they sent a doctor up to see her.

She was put onto medication immediately and was much more relaxed and happy with motherhood. The medications were only needed for about 2 months. I was so glad that I had noticed the signs sooner this time.

I would say to all new mothers or grandmothers that if a depression goes beyond the blue that most of us experience in the first few days after childbirth, a doctor should be consulted. Hormones play a major part in promoting and maintaining pregnancy and lactation, but can sometimes also cause major depression. This can lead to disastrous results if left unattended. If my daughter ever has another child, I will be alert to any mood swings signaling post-natal depression. It should never be underestimated and should be treated promptly when discovered.

I thank God for medication and a sensible son-in-law. Sometimes we mothers need a little help in getting well when our hormones make our depression soar way beyond blue...

Footnote to this post: my daughter has since had another child, suffering no panic attacks or post-natal depression. This just goes to show how fickle hormones can be and the need to be observant with each pregnancy and confinement. We praise the LORD for answered prayer!

And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. Matthew 14:14

Teardrop babies.

WARNING- POSSIBLE TRIGGER FOR THOSE WHO HAVE LOST A BABY:

Many years ago, my mother went to the hospital bleeding heavily during her 13th week of pregnancy. It was unclear on her admission if she had in fact lost the baby she had planned. She was laying in the cubicle awaiting results of the examination of her lost tissue to see if she had miscarried or not. It was in the days before ultrasound.

Eventually a nurse came in, winked conspiratorially at Mum and announced that it looked like she had miscarried. Her demeanour was like she was the bearer of good news and that Mum should be grateful that she was no longer pregnant. Mum just turned her face to the wall and cried.

As a young woman, I too had a loss of a much wanted pregnancy. At the time I conceived, I had to have an emergency surgery. I was so ill for so long after the anaesthetic that it dawned on me that it could be morning sickness. It was.

I prayed that I would not lose the baby but it was not to be. A few weeks after my morning sickness disappeared- and I was always morning sick the entire 9 months with my other babies- I started bleeding.

Eventually I lost my baby and Mum had advised me to keep any tissue I lost to show the doctor. I fetched out my lost tissue and found a little embryo, all curled up and just forming its eyes. I was devastated.

I showed the little one to my then husband, who sniffed and said what a silly looking little thing it was! Something inside me died and I went outside and wept for the baby who would join its stillborn twin sisters, Sarah and Ruth in God's nursery. I named it Leslie because that name would do for either gender.

Wiping my eyes, I thought about how precious these lives were and how sad most women feel when they never see the light. By far there are more women who grieve over the loss of a baby than who feel relieved or rejoice. I decided that I would call lost babies Teardrop Babies. For many would shed a tear over their loss.

No Teardrop Baby is lost to God and is known to Him and that brings me some comfort. All mothers of those babes will see them again if they know the Giver of Life. I believe that goes for aborted children as well. Many a woman who aborted a baby will suffer great anguish over that choice and if she repents, God will forgive her and show her His great mercy and grace.

No matter what people tell us about our lost Teardrop Baby being just a bunch of cells or tissue, we know that they were our potential son or daughter and we will grieve for them with many tears. Another reason I call lost babes Teardrop Babies.

Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them. Psalm 139:16

Some things only parents should share

My daughter-in-law and I were talking the other day, and she voiced some concerns she had with what the school was teaching her nine year old son. Specifically, very graphic and explicit sex education.

She showed me the home work that was among her son's school work to be sorted and thrown out. To say that it was explicit was an understatement. Far too much information for a child who was still eight years old to have to take on board.

Now I believe children should be told about the facts of life, but only when it is necessary to explain the next phase of life as in adolescence or to explain Mum's tummy bulge that is a future sibling. But it is done with due respect to age, understanding and discretion.

I considered it my right and privilege to lead my children into adolescence and adulthood. Indeed, I would have felt angered if schools had taken it upon themselves to explain something as important as sex to my child. And my daughter-in-law felt the same.

We also have to remember that most schools are secular and consider most sexual activity and gender choices to be normal. Woe betide the Christian parent who wishes to impart godly principles of morality to their child. Once the lesson is given, it is never forgotten!

This young child and all his fellow classmates were taught that self-pleasure, homosexuality, transgenderism, and gay marriage are quite the norm. These children are forced to grow up before their years and have been robbed of their innocence. They have not been allowed to simply be children.

It is quite one thing to have a discussion of menarche for girls and puberty for boys in grade six, but these teachings of self gratification and descriptions of what a climax feels like to third graders is to my mind repulsive. It reeks of paedophilic tendencies in teachers that promote precociously sexually active babies who should be playing with their marbles and ipads instead of playing literal games of show and tell.

There was no permission granted for such a session or sessions and it was a great shock to come across these assignments when cleaning out the boy's school bag for the new year. Taking the authority from parents is a violation of our rights as parents to train and bring up our children in ways that we personally consider moral and Christian.

It is a good case for homeschooling our children if we can because there are some things only parents should share.

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

So let's not argue

I was having a heart to heart with a friend and as old friends do, confidences were shared. Talking over milestone events in our lives, I shared that I was pregnant to my fiance at 16.

My friend sniffed, and announced that she was a virgin at marriage. She was looking down her nose at me. And it duly got up it. Why? you may ask...

This same friend who was judging me for my premarital sexual relationship later on committed adultery against her husband who rightly avoided sleeping with her prior to their marriage. The stink of her hypocrisy rose in my nostrils and in my gall.

Likewise, my paternal grandmother who was pregnant at her marriage refused to come to mine because I was in the same delicate condition. Her hypocrisy also made me angry as well as sad.

We are so quick to judge and call each other out, when in fact we are guilty of transgressing God's law because we are all sinners. Christ was the only Man to walk the earth and not sin.

Premarital sex and adultery are both sin and each in its' own right was the reason why we needed a Saviour to bear that sin in our place. Each sin- every sin- necessitated Christ's sacrifice to redeem us.

Before we assume that we are more virtuous than another, we would do well to remember that our own sin led Christ to Calvary just as the sin of another did. There's none of us guiltless and sinless.

As we ponder or dismay at the sins of mankind, we would do well to remember that but by the grace of God, go I. Sin is sin. It all had to be cleansed by the precious Blood of Christ.

My sin- your sin is ugly. We all need to repent and accept God's grace and forgiveness and not judge. We have been redeemed, cleansed and set apart from whatever sin we committed. So let's not argue.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:7

Go forth and multiply

I was going through some family photos yesterday and it brought back a lot of memories. One thing in particular made me think. In my younger days there were lots more babies than now.

Over here, there aren't a lot of pregnant women or babies. In fact, a lot of people are fascinated and stare at someone carrying an infant in arms.

Bringing an infant anywhere creates a lot of attention. For the most part, people are fixated on the tiny fingers and rosebud mouths and eyes are on it most of the time.

For the other part, particularly if the infant is being fussy, people can get annoyed, as if its crying is just to annoy them. They are the ones through whom motherhood is under attack.

So rare is it to see a baby these days, older women are experiencing baby hunger. It is real and distressing.

As I looked at a photo my then husband had taken of me breast feeding my first child, I was sad to realise that most children don't know that a baby can be fed by its mother. They are quite surprised if they see a child being fed without using a bottle.

Such is the distaste for all things maternal in our society today, some nursing mothers have been asked to leave restaurants and so on for feeding them.

Like everything else God has said is good, motherhood has been denigrated to a low job that has to be fit into the work schedule and if possible avoided except for the one or two times strictly necessary to procreate and give a woman a sense of accomplishment. Something to be ticked off the To Do List before she finishes her maternity leave.

Having children is a life long commitment and in today's society thanks to feminism, most women either don't want to commit or hand over the reins to child care to bring up their child.

Without seeing the beauty of motherhood and biblical womanhood, we are doomed to resent pregnancy and training of our children. Feminism's lies have succeeded in blinding women to this and having them prefer to pursue career paths that are outside the home and nursery. Abortion has enabled this as well.

God is pleased when Christian women accept the arrival and nurturing of children and acknowledge that they are indeed a blessing from the LORD. He created womankind to be a part of His creation and has created us to go forth and multiply.

Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: Genesis 49 25

Baby hunger and old ladies.

As a woman who is now a great-grandmother, I have come to realise that for most of us women, there is a deep desire to one day becoming a mother. It is how God created us.

Indeed, one sees this inherent virtue in young girls from the time they tenderly place blankets around their dollies or clasp a dolly to their breast in the first bloom of maternal love.

As is natural, after this first blooming, other factors come into play as they learn about the world, books and life. But the seed of maternal desire has been sowed and will spring up in later years.

Nurture of new life is a characteristic of womanhood and that nurturing endures for a lifetime. Ask any aged woman who has reared a family and she will tell you that it still presents itself. It presents itself in memories of her own children now grown, and later in her children's children. And if she is fortunate, in her grandchildren's children.

The ache for a baby to hold is still strong, even though the years for becoming a mother are well and truly gone. Each baby will be scrutinised, exclaimed over and rocked and the wonder of new life and a baby's sweet smell will transport a woman to earlier years and the time she first welcomed each new child of her own into her arms and life.

I remember once when we were at a wedding, my aged aunt begged me to allow her to hold my baby daughter, eagerly holding her arms out to receive her. At the time, I didn't realise how strong baby hunger is, until the last grandchild was born and my arms became empty.

There seem to be less babies these days, in part to feminism trying to tell us that a career is better than wiping little noses and bottoms and advise control of our fertility by having abortions. However, wherever there is a baby, you can be sure of two things- there will be other children and old ladies.

For the young ones, it brings a fascination born of that same inbuilt desire to love and nurture. But why old ladies? you ask. Because most times the God created desire to nurture and the love of new life remains long after the ability to beget children. A newborn brings back the memories of younger fertile years and the children born in that time. It makes her feel young again. Reborn.

Enjoy your children and grandchildren and always get plenty of cuddles. Baby hunger will be easier to cope with if you get a full diet of infant cuddles while you are still young....

I promise, you will feel that longing to fill your empty arms with a baby one day as baby hunger is very real.

He maketh the barren woman to keep house, [and to be] a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD. Psalm 113:9

Put it away!

I was shopping recently and I was horrified by the way a lot of young mothers-to-be dress over here. They wear skin-tight jeans that do up under the bump and then top it with a skin-tight tee-shirt and look like an Easter egg. So tight you can almost see the little one moving. Another lass waddled past with a crop top on which left the whole stomach exposed. She sure got a lot of looks, but not the kind she was hoping for, I'm sure.

I asked myself- am I old-fashioned? No! Is the pregnant belly something I despise or am offended by? Again, NO! I guess I am offended by the whole immodesty of the girls. Men and women alike were turning round to catch another look, obviously horrified. And the lasses smiling happily and rubbing their bumps didn't decrease the shocked looks. Where have all the pretty maternity tops and dresses gone?

Children are a blessing of the LORD and pregnancy is a wonderful part of a womans’ life, but there should be a line of modesty in public that ensures that a womans’ tummy is covered. We can rejoice in a new life coming without being privy to a mothers’ uncovered body. Glorious as the pregnant form is, I wish they would put it away!

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing [as] they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: Isaiah 3:16

It's not every day...

Over the last thirty years I have suffered from over fifty bi-lateral kidney stones. Sometimes after waiting agonising weeks, they would pass, but five times I required surgery to remove them. At one time, I had surgery twice in a month. It is the most painful of pains and surgery.

At each occasion, no one seemed interested in finding out why I made them, and didn't send them off to be analysed. I was miserable and lived in fear of the onset of back pain which signalled a stone was coming. Of course, being in traction for my back two weeks at a time didn't help matters. I always seemed to get a stone after being in hospital.

Fed up, after passing a charming 6mm jagged stone, I changed doctors and at last I found one who was curious to know why I kept making them. He kept the stone I showed him and sent it off for analysis. But better yet, he sent me to see a kidney specialist who was at the time associated with our local hospital in Dandenong.

The renal specialist was Margot McIver, a very approachable older lady, who became a pioneer in renal medicine in Australia. Margot spent a lot of the consultation questioning me about my health. She was interested that I had an identical twin. Then she noticed my maiden name, her interest was piqued.

Chalkley was a name that rang a bell with her. In her training days at the Queen Victoria Hospital Melbourne, she was treating my mother during our birth. Mum had pre-eclampsia and uterine inertia plus a bad kidney infection. She remembered our hurried delivery by high forceps- we were lying transverse and were both breech. She said she was in the observation gallery for trainee doctors and remembered it well. She said our birth was complicated and she learned a lot from her teacher doctor.

Margot was the only doctor ever to offer condolences for the still born twin girls I had given birth to in 1969 and to venture an opinion on the cause of their death in utero. Her opinion was an untreated kidney infection took their lives. Very common in multiple pregnancies, she said.

She had me do many blood tests and 24 hour samples of urine and later went on to diagnose me with calcium oxylate stones in uric acid. I was given allopurinol to reduce the uric acid in my blood and so give the calcium oxylate nothing to bind with. I have had no stones since taking it....

I was sad to read of her death in Queensland in 2012 at age 78 . She would have been the same age as my mother...

Margot will always be remembered for her compassionate and caring manner as well as medical expertise. I was amazed that I got to meet the doctor who looked after my mother and watched my birth at the training hospital. She touched me lightly on the arm as she said goodbye at my last visit and voiced what I had been thinking, "It was lovely to meet you: who would have thought?... it's not every day...!"

So teach [us] to number our days, that we may apply [our] hearts unto wisdom. Psalm 90:12

She will melt his heart

She was asleep, perhaps dreaming, if unborn babies dream

In a watery world that was quickly shrinking as she grew.

Suddenly an urgent jiggle roused her from her slumber....

About to cry, she sought comfort in her thumb...

That and her mother's heart beat her constant companions...

This jiggling upset her, making her kick and twirl-

But after coaxing, she was pronounced a perfect baby girl.

Her mother beamed, wiping gel from her fecund stomach,

Happily unaware that her husband scowled in disappointment,

For the child was not perfect: she was a girl...

Her mother's thoughts turned to pink ribbons and bows,

He grieved a son to kick a ball with and continue the family line...

All quiet within, the little babe returned to her slumber,

Sucking on fingers that would wrap round her father's,

Unaware that soon she will melt her Daddy's heart.

Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward. Psalm 127:3

They know!

I just read an article today written by a female abortion doctor who felt no qualms doing terminations when she herself was pregnant. To be honest, I believe this woman is unhinged and has a conscience that is seared. It's not like she didn't know what she was doing to the unborn fetus at the same stage of gestation as her own.

Likewise, the pro abortion fools aren't ill informed like women of years ago! These days we have the scientific evidence that a fetus is alive and human. They know it, and still they murder them or encourage others to.

And whilst we pity the poor women faced with an unplanned pregnancy who aborted and suffer intensely for their decision, and who seek God's forgiveness (and receive it), we can't even pray "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!" for those who perform abortions. They know!

These days, with the lack of babies to adopt, they know that there are thousands of couples who long to fill the empty cribs waiting in an empty nursery, who would open their hearts and homes to bring their child up.

Even if there were no longer those who are waiting to adopt a child, there would be no shortage of older women who would still take on a child rather than see it aborted.

No longer do people have the excuse of seeing a fetus as "human like" "baby like" etc as this woman in the above article stated: they are human babies. Period. And each time they destroy a fetus, their consciences are seared further, because- they know!

Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Isaiah 44: 2

Some things a mother never forgets

One of my favourite things is to go to Opportunity or Thrift Shops. Some of my best clothes have been second-hand: some even have been brand new with labels still on!

During one of these trips, I was trying on a dress in the change room. I overheard a conversation between the aged volunteer ladies who live in the grounds where they have their Op Shop. They made me chuckle and left me feeling strangely happy.....

"Myrtle, do you know where the spare coat hangers are? I thought I put them out the back, but I can't find them! I would leave my head at home if it weren't screwed on!"...

"Beryl, you put them under the counter this morning: here they are!".....tutt- tutt

"Myrtle, did I tell you that Maries' youngest daughter had her baby last night? Yep, a girl as that scan thing said....quite a big baby: 9lbs.....mmmmmm. My Barry was nearly 9lbs: nearly killed me....Cheryl was just over 8lbs: huh, I thought that was bad enough but Barry beat that!...Marie said Stacy is such a tiny girl to have a big baby like that....still you can't tell can ya? Some women have em real easy like that and then the bigger lassies need an Opera-tion! How much did your bubbies weigh, Myrtle?"

"Oh, Jack was 7lbs 6ozs and was a real long fella! 20 inches. I was having me pains for days before I took the tram to the Womens Hospital.... reckon he'd have been a cesssareann if I'd been havin' him now! Beth was so fast, I nearly had her on the tram!! Just goes to show ya how each kiddie is different, Beryl. Beth wasn't as long as Jack but he was a bit heavier....she was 7lbs. George gave me no trouble whatsoever: 8lbs 2.... Can you show me how to operate this till? I can't get the hang of it..."

Putting my purchases on the counter, I guessed Beryl and Myrtle to be nearly 80. Forgetful and playful, they made my day: but forgetful as they are- they proved a point. Even though their 'babies' were in their 60's, motherhood leaves an indelible mark on a woman's soul... and there are some things a mother never forgets!

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

He maketh the barren woman to keep house, [and to be] a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD. Psalm 113:9

An unborn baby's prayer

I love being so close to you Mummy,
I was lulled to sleep when you were walking today, the gentle warm waters rocked me so.

Did you feel me kick today Mummy?
I have been practicing so long for you to feel me, I want you to know I am well and growing.

I have hiccups tonight,
I just can't stop them coming and it feels so strange-I hope they don't keep you awake too.

I did a somersault for you Mummy,
I turned over and back again cos I found I can still do it, I won't be able to soon but I s'pose that will make you glad!

Today I heard for the first time, Mummy-
I heard your heart beating slow and steady next to mine; will your heart always be close to me?

You have a lovely voice
that I will recognise at once, for I woke and heard you singing-will you sing to me when I'm cradled in your arms?

You must have been in sunshine today,
for I saw red colours shining through my fused eyelids. I want so much to see you and the colours you wear.

O how I wish I could always be this close, Mummy,
protected and stretching and growing under your heart, but I know you tire easily so I must be in your arms!

I want you to love me forever, Mummy-
I've prayed God will make my skin really velvety soft, so you will want to touch me and cover me in kisses.

God's told me He's preparing me as a gift for you,
He's shaping me in a secret place known to just us three…

I've asked God to help you love me, Mummy,
to make me the best baby just for you- He whispered," Just relax and be yourself, that's all you have to do"

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

"The Work Of His Hands" © 2004 Gary B Clark www.garybclark.com Used With Permission

"Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest out of the womb I sanctified thee.." Jeremiah 1:5a

Created for love

As women, we can often think that God has given us the rough end of a pineapple physically. We have to contend with pre-menstrual stress, periods and later on, pregnancy and childbirth and menopause. Even our first intercourse is often painful and we wonder if we had the power, if we would have preferred to have been born male.

But I don't think most of us realise that God loves womankind and has designed us to respond to a loving man with a sensitive organ that has no other place than to bring us pleasure in intercourse. Other than humans, no other mammal has one: a clitoris.

In the Song of Solomon, the Shulamite actually requests her Beloved to pleasure her so that her juices may flow out...His left hand is under my head, And his right hand embraces me. Song of Songs 2:6 Awake, O north wind, And come, O south! Blow upon my garden, That its spices may flow out. Let my beloved come to his garden And eat its pleasant fruits. Songs 4:1

The Shulamite is well aware of this gift of love from the LORD. Something that speaks to us of God's love for us and His plan for a happy marriage with His daughters elevated to more than mere sex objects.

This gift from the LORD is spoken of in many ancient texts and in Latin is known as "the little key" for it opens the pathway to a woman's heart. The French call it "Le petit penis" which is the little penis, so named because in the early fetal stage these two organs develop the same: the male nub growing into a penis and the female nub receding into the clitoris. Both comprised of the same sensitive tissue and nerve endings. Proof that intercourse is not meant to be pleasurable just for men.

It's interesting to note that in non Christian countries where a woman's place is mainly for begetting sons, the clitoris is either cut or fully removed. Supposedly to ensure a woman stays faithful and doesn't gain pleasure from intercourse. In fact, it's just further proof that Satan hates womankind and destroys everything that God says is good.

Married sex is so important in bonding couples that God has created an organ that enhances not only pleasure for women, but for the husbands who delight in pleasing them. This is so critical in building strong marriages and keeping families together.

Once we get over our embarrassment at reading about the clitoris, we can see that it is a gift to women from a God Who truly loves them.

His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me. Song of Songs 8:3

Motherhood is under attack

I believe that there is an attack on motherhood today. Children generally aren't highly regarded in our society, especially infants. In the past motherhood has been elevated to almost a Madonna type worship, but todays' society shows that there is a decline in our view of mothers and children...

Whilst waiting to see a doctor today, a young mother came in with a baby girl about 3 months old. Baby was obviously unwell and was crying loudly. Mother sat down with Baby over her shoulder, patting her back, but Baby was not going to be consoled. Soon Mother was as flushed looking as her crying infant, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

As I looked around me, I noticed that several patients were glaring at the poor mother. From the receptionists to a man who was reading a paper. He kept looking over the top of the paper with a look of annoyance, and now and then tutted...sensing their disapproval, the mother got up and walked around the waiting room a bit... but Baby still cried.

I understand that the patients waiting to see their doctor were probably ill and the weather was extremely hot: 40C or 104F but to be so obviously upset at a sick infant and her poor mother is not right! Children aren't valued by some and neither is motherhood!

A friend of ours went to England with his little toddler son. Going on the Tube railway with his sons' stroller, he was shocked at the lack of manners and inconsiderate reactions of fellow passengers.... after all our friend had as much of a right to use the Tube as they did. But again, the obvious resentment of children was there.

When I was first married to Chris, I used to work outside of the home for a bit to save a deposit for a home. I had to travel to Melbourne by train and tram each day and once again I saw the inconsiderate attitude fellow travelers had to pregnant women and women with prams.

Extremely pregnant women weren't offered a seat and people almost hissed at women struggling to get in a tram or train with a pram or children. And little children clung for dear life on the trams seats, almost falling over with every rock of a changed track..... no one offered a seat or a hand to hang on to...

I know I am showing my age when I say, "In my day....." but truly, in my day, when I was having children, people were more considerate of those with young- either unborn or in tow. There was a different attitude towards the pregnant woman, and she was generally considered worthy of enough respect to be offered a seat on a train or tram...

It shouldn't come as any surprise really, because motherhood is under attack today. And the effects of that attack are more far-reaching than just not getting a seat on public transport. The effects start at conception with often derogatory remarks on the announcement of another pregnancy and filter through to aid a decision or "choice" to abort that pregnancy.

Instead of congratulations, the new parents-to-be are often bombarded with concerned people asking how this pregnancy will affect their lifestyle or career chances. And thereby they cast a pall over what should be a happy time. One should not have to defend the decision to have a child, but most of us find we are doing just that when we announce our pregnancy...

Motherhood is under attack by a society that has lost the joy of procreation and child rearing. Our babies are inconveniences, our children are pests. There is a shocking increase worldwide of child abuse- and in a world of materialism, hedonism and godlessness, we need not be surprised.... We are becoming very adept at attacking and eradicating all things that God has said are good!

'Lo children are an heritage from the LORD and the fruit of the womb is His reward.' Psalm 127:3

Ode to my unborn child

O child of mine as yet unborn your presence fills my heart with joy-

Each movement assures me of your life within the confines of my womb...

At day I proudly watch the swell of growth that heralds your impending birth-

In dreams your features are so perfect; filling my heart with love and longing...

O count the days till I will hold you nestled closely at my breast-

Hear the heart that beats for you,dear- it yours now till I draw no breath..

'Lo children are an heritage from the LORD and the fruit of the womb is His reward.' Psalm 127:3

Blessed beyond measure!

Time goes by so fast: I have just held my first newborn great-grandchild Evie, and she took me back to when I first held her mother Sarah, my first grandchild. She looked so like her that it took my breath away in a sigh of delight, sadness, nostalgia and love.

I was there beside my Sarah's mother when she gave birth to her. Indeed, she owes her life to me being interested in midwifery, for I was her mother's advocate when she started bleeding at ten weeks. In the hospital, the doctors concluded that Sarah was miscarried without even doing an ultrasound. They planned a D & C for the next morning.

Asking if there was much dilatation, they said no so I asked if they had done an ultrasound. They replied there was no need as they were sure there was no baby there. I asked them to do one before the scheduled surgery just to be sure. And sure enough, there was a healthy ten week old fetus!

To this day, we believe my first grandchild was a twin which was miscarried, as I am a twin, I had still-born twins and twins were in both sides of the family. But sad as potentially losing a twin was, we rejoice that we have Sarah and that I demanded they check with an ultrasound. They were so cavalier about it and would have technically aborted her.

A few months later I had the joy of acting as doula to her mother and my granddaughter's little features were etched permanently in my mind. Sarah was after all, a female carbon copy of my own first child, her father.

Seeing little Evie's face for the first time was a total spin out! A mixture of delight, sadness, nostalgia and love, as I said. Delight too that I was at last a great-grandmother after two years of infertility for Sarah, sadness that the time has gone so quickly, and love for this baby who shared a comic resemblance to those other sweet babies of my past.

As I lifted Evie up onto my shoulder, I whispered a prayer of thanks to God and of welcome to our family, in her ear, just as I had done for my own babies and theirs. God is so wonderful! I am blessed beyond measure!

Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers. Proverbs 17:6