One Day Closer

During Chol Hamoed Pesach I spent some time reflecting on how Pesach might be the last yom tov that I celebrate together with my family of four. Sometime between now and Shavuos we are expecting our third child, and life as we know it will never be the same. Soon our children will outnumber us.

Unlike her first two pregnancies, this pregnancy has been extremely difficult for my wife. Once the morning sickness began, it never stopped. At the beginning during Tishrei, she vomited 10 to 15 times a day and even had trouble keeping down popsicles, her sole means of nourishment. Her weight dropped a pound each day until reaching a low of 115. At this point, a doctor diagnosed her with hyperemesis and prescribed Zofran for her. While taking the Zofran greatly helped in relieving her hyperemesis, my wife suffered through weeks of painful sciatica, and also had to be hospitalized on two occasions in March after experiencing labor contractions.

With these trying days behind her, my wife is now in the "nesting" stage and it is evident that her days of discomfort will soon be coming to an end. Each night as I count the Omer, I am also mindful that I am counting the final days of my wife's pregnancy; one day closer to Shavuos and one day closer to the new baby.