Thirty years ago today, Sunday, December 23, 1984 started as a typical day except I was 20 years old, single and pregnant. I had been home from college since the middle of September and I was due to give birth, soon. I’ll give the back story another time, I hope you’ll stick around for that some day soon. That evening my dad was out Christmas shopping. I was home playing Trivial Pursuit with our neighbor Rick. As the game and the evening wore on, I had some intermittent back pains. I attributed these pains to being very pregnant and sitting on the floor. After the game I got up to walk them off and I was hit with a bit of a worse pain. I told my mom and we decided I was probably in labor. At the time we had but 1 car and my dad was out shopping. Of course, we had no way of reaching him, this was before cell hones and we didn’t know where he was shopping.

I remember telling Rick he might have to drive us to the hospital in Sarasota and I remember the look of panic on his face. Rick was a good friend, a quadriplegic, a few years older than me. I gathered my things for the hospital and my mom called th doctor and thankfully, my dad arrived home to drive us to the hospital.

My doctor was not available, he had recently broken his leg on an African safari, so his associate, whom I had met at my last check-up would deliver my baby. I wasn’t in the Labor room that long before they decided to wheel me to delivery. On the way there was a traffic jam in the hall and I remember telling the doctor that the baby was coming now! I was assured there was plenty of time. I arrived in the delivery room and things moved along. I can’t remember how long I was in labor but it wasn’t too long. Yes, there was pain and yelling and my younger sister swearing she would never give birth (and she never did). At 12:24am on 12-24-84 Brynn Ann was born.

There was no baby’s cry. There were hushed tones, nurses scurrying around and other doctors coming into the room. Brynn was whisked to NICU and eventually I was taken to the maternity ward where I shared a room with four other mothers. Later I was told that Brynn had Meconium Asptration Syndrome and Hyaline Membrane Disease. Her lung x-rays showed that her lungs were black like a coal miner’s.

The Sarasota NICU couldn’t care for a child this sick so they were going to fly her via helicopter to Lee Memorial Hospital in Ft Myers. I was able to visit her in the NICU for a few minutes, looking at her in her isolette, lying on one of the hospital beds. A nurse took a Polaroid picture of her for me and gave me her footprints before she left the hospital.

That afternoon I was released from the hospital. I went home to spend Christmas with my family and the plan was that dad and I would head to Ft Myers the day after Christmas. In the meantime, the hospital called us with updates of Brynn’s care. Early Wednesday morning we received the call that every mother dreads, Brynn’s lungs were just too bad and they couldn’t keep her alive. My daughter had passed away and I had never even held her.

For 30 years, Christmas has been a difficult holiday for me. Brynn was born on Christmas Eve and she passed on the 26th. For the last 20 years I led the music at the Christmas Eve service at our church and every time I sing “Silent Night”, I get choked up.

It is hard for me to imagine having a 30 year old daughter, how different my life would have been. I do believe with 100% that this was all a part of God’s plan for me. Yes, even the heartache and pain. This experience made me a better person, a stronger person and it drew me much closer to God. As hard as it was is, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Happy Birthday to my Christmas Angel! I know I will see you again some day, and we will have a wonderful reunion.

Thank-you for sticking around to read this story that is part of my heart.

The post Thirty Years…A Story of a Mom and her Christmas Angel appeared first on The Mom Maven.

Moms are always multi-taking and it is nice when we can find a product that is versatile enough to keep up with many of our needs. The DRIA Cover is not only multi-functional, providing versatility for moms-on-the-go, but it’s also fashionable.  Adria O’Donnell wanted a solution to feeling comfortable and stylish when it came to maternity wear.  After being inspired by a beautiful Italian scarf she owned, she came up with the elegant DRIA Cover.  It was the perfect cover-up while she was pregnant, and after giving birth to her daughter she realized that it was great as a nursing cover as well.

The DRIA Cover’s flexible material is not only chic but breathable and light weight.  Its silky blend allows for the cover to veil the nursing infant while wholly covering the mom, creating discretion and comfort, unlike other nursing covers or aprons.  DRIA Cover fabrics range from casual chic to limited edition designer fabrics such as Roberto Cavalli or Missoni.  The luxurious swathe is wrinkle and button free, so women can just toss it in the diaper bag and throw it on whenever they need.

Not only is the DRIA cover great for nursing moms but it also acts as a shield from the sun and unfavorable weather while covering strollers and infant car seats.  The handle on the car seat and stroller can be accessed through the neck hole, while still allowing women to peek in at their sleeping baby.

Adria O’Donnell soon realized that more moms needed something like the DRIA Cover.  When she noticed a mother with twins on the side of the road struggling to provide coverage on the stroller from the fierce sun, she immediately pulled over and gave her a cover.

I wish the Dria Cover was around 15 years ago when I had my last baby…and I know what will be on my gift giving list for baby showers! The Dria Cover does so much and looks great doing it! The cover comes in12 beautiful patterns and is available at DriaCover.com for $49.95-$179.95 depending on fabric choice. Stop by the website and order one today.

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Mom Faves is a new FREE website filled with recommendations from moms and for moms. It takes just a few minutes to register on Mom Faves and then you can search activities, causes, deals, entertainment, events, experiences, products, and much more. You can see how many moms have faved a particular item and read why the nominating mom placed that item on the site. You can even search by zip code so if you need a performer for your child’s birthday party in Boston, MA you can search for it and see who has been recommended.

As a Mom Faves member you can also fave items already in the database and if an item isn’t listed then you can add it. Mom Faves wrapped up it’s launch last week and I am sure there is a lot more of great things in store for this new site. You can even fave Mom Maven or the Mom Maven blog! So come on over to Mom Faves and let your voice be heard.

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The object is simple: share with us and your readers a lesson that you learned from your own mom, a special mom in your life, or while raising your own children. There’s no right or wrong answers…just lessons that each of us can learn and implement with our own children.

Link your post back to this one, leave a comment below so we can visit and learn from you, and then tag 2-3 other moms to participate.

One lesson I learned from my mom would be stick-to-it-iveness (if that is even a word). Growing up my sister and I were active in music lessons, YMCA classes, church activities and school extra-curricular programs. Sometimes we would be all excited and couldn’t wait for the program to start but soon after it started we would want to drop out. We were fickle kids. Mom never let us quit in the middle of anything. If we signed up for an 8 week class at the YMCA we went to all 8 weeks. If we signed up for a semester of clarinet lessons we didn’t quit in the middle.

Perseverance is very important in life, we can’t just quit on a whim or when things get tough. I especially appreciate learning this lesson because I am a private music teacher and it is very disheartening when a student drops out mid-term. When I am interviewing a potential family for lessons we discuss this topic and they sign a contract for the semester in which they agree to pay for the semester in full even if they quit lessons. Teaching is my livelihood not a hobby. My family depends on my income and I depend on my students to persevere through their studies.

I am going to tag Michelle at Memorable Myers, Jerri Ann at Jerri Ann Reason,

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