On my favorite morning radio show, the disc jockeys were talking about a new study showing that breastfeeding does not cause saggy breasts. They talked about how this is great news because the benefits of breastfeeding are well known, but many women choose not to breastfeed their babies because they do not want their breasts to sag.

This news story would have set me off when I was trying to conceive. I would have been so angry that some women would put their vanity over what was best for their baby. I would have railed at God about the unfairness of allowing women who care more about their breasts' shape than their baby's health to conceive while I could not. That news story would have put me in a bad mood for a long time.

I would also get frustrated when I heard pregnant women complaining about their pregnancies. I would say that I would gladly throw up every single morning for nine months if it meant that I had a baby coming. These women had everything that I wanted, and yet they spent their time complaining about their discomfort instead of expressing joy at having a miracle growing inside of their bodies.

Now that I am a mother through adoption, I understand better how someone can feel the need to vent about their frustrations while, at the same time, appreciating a particular stage of life. As happy as I was to be a mother, I was still quite cranky about only sleeping in three-hour shifts for several weeks when my son was a newborn. So, I do not mean to be too hard on complaining pregnant women. However, this is my perspective after the fact. While I was trying to conceive, I cut them no slack whatsoever.

It is hard to hear people focus on the downside when you would give anything - A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G - to have the blessings that they do. This would cause me to question all over again why God/life was doing this to me. I would get very angry, and then I would cry tears of frustration. It never got any easier as long as I desperately wanted to become a mother.

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Photo credit: Lynda Bernhardt