MÈRE Stories: Jenn Gietzen
“The suffering, grief, depression, anxiety, each piece has formed us and taught us to hold grief and joy in the same breath. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone, but it is our story and I’m thankful for each step.”
Being an only child, I always dreamed of getting married and having a big family. When marriage did happen we joked it wouldn’t surprise us to have a honeymoon baby, because that would be “our luck”.
The honeymoon came and went, as did year after year.
Then came the doctor’s appointments, the surgeries, the adoption home study paperwork and IVF.
We moved to a new town where we knew no one, but God. He knew. He knew we would need the community that opened their arms to us, loved us, cried with us, fed us, prayed with us.
We have three babies, one here with us, and we don’t take a single moment of it for granted.
If you had to summarize your journey in motherhood with all its challenges, how would you describe it now? How have you found a way to reclaim your strength or identity? What have you learned?My journey in motherhood is one surrounded by thankfulness and joy.
It didn’t start out that way, and it’s not that way every day as I continue to battle PPD/PPA, but the appreciation I have for my little girl comes from the hardships we endured to get her here. Her smile lights up our world.
I absolutely still play tug-of-war with mom guilt and taking time for myself. It’s a battle that I fight regularly, but I continue to fight to be able to show up for myself and my family.
What advice or words of encouragement would you give another mom walking through a similar chapter? It’s not for everyone to be an open book, but the risk of being vulnerable and letting people walk with you is well worth the reward.
How has your journey changed you, both in ways you expected and in ways you never could have imagined?This journey has reminded me how much we value community. How it really does “take a village”.
I never imagined this road would be ours, but I wouldn’t change it because not only is our girl here, but my marriage is deeper, richer and our community is something we treasure deeply.
— Jenn Gietzen
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