It is SO worth it...

This was on my heart so I linked up at the "On Your Heart" linky party found HERE

*Disclaimer:  This post is sappy.  But it's true and it's on my mind.

I was talking to a dear friend last night about having babies.  She does not have any babies yet, although when she is ready, she will be the most loving and wonderful mom you know.  She was expressing how she was nervous about a future (no not yet) pregnancy and childbirth.  She was stating all of the things that I used to be nervous about too, things that I think every single "not yet" mom thinks about.  I think you know what I'm talking about....

Anyway, I purposely DON'T give a lot of details about birthing experiences (especially my first one) to nervous future moms because they can be scary.  My birthing story with my second was hilarious and embarrassing from start to finish, partially why I've never shared it online.  Typical me, with no filter, the queen of awkward, was telling that story and I think I freaked her out more.  So I got to thinking about it.

Having a baby is beautiful, natural, and wonderful.  But it can also be scary, leaky, and sometimes embarrassing.  What I want to exaggerate today is why it is so worth it to go through a short amount of weird.

Dear sweet friend, and any other future moms who are worried out there, I'm not going to tell you that it's not hard, but I am going to tell you that is more than worth it.  When that part is over, you get this:

My first picture with my new guy (after he was wiped down)

If you're like me (and I can't be the only one) You may not have a darn clue what you are doing, but it's okay.  You really do figure it out.  It still hurts a little (or maybe a lot).  You're sensitive emotionally and physically.  No, nothing will ever be the same again.  While it seems slow, your brand new sweet baby very (very, very, very) quickly develops into a wonderful personality.  You're cracking up:

And it doesn't matter what you do because you can't stop it.  You can't slow it down either.  In fact, as much as you want to freeze it, you also can't wait to see what's next.  You can't wait to see who they become and love them more and more every single day.

Oh and this:

Oh man.  This gets to a whole new level of love.  You're in this together and it is the hardest, but sweetest journey that you'll be on.  When you see them together.  Forget it.  You melted into butter before you could do anything else.

If you're like me, and it's what you want, you then get blessed to do it all over again.  It's similar, but it's totally different.  After all, you have another completely different person.  It's leaky and embarrassing again.  But very soon, you have this:

This picture apparently became a tradition.

Who also develops a wonderful personality all too quickly:

Only this time, you get this along with it:

Those moments grow into these:

Even when they do the most basic things, you think it's the greatest thing ever.

It's not always easy.  They leak:

They're very messy:

But you love them.  You love them so much.  By now, you don't care WHAT you did in that labor room.

You're tired, but you're strong and so in love.  The next thing you know, you have these wonderful little people who take over your everything and you love it.  Memories of a birthing area are there, but they're fond, even when they're embarrassing or yes, sometimes traumatic.

That's because they're yours.

Those memories and those times; those belong to you and they are unique to you, just like my experiences here are all unique to me.  They are the moments that start it all.  And from my experience, they are SO worth it.