The day you were born-
Room filled with pink balloons and Cataleya flowers with the scent of newborn skin
As I look over on the side of the bed there you were wrapped in a pink thin blanket
Curly long hair, big brown beautiful eyes and perfect heart shaped lips
It was almost as if the world stopped and silenced for the birth of a princess
Thinking about how much I love you makes tears come to my eyes
Unconditional love , your protector, your mother
I pick you up and lay on across my chest
Skin to skin, bonding, feelings your little heart beat against mines, the first time feeling (pure) true love
Walking into motherhood is like walking into womanhood
Greif of your old self, noticing you are no longer living for just you
But its all worth it because here you are healthy and perfect
All the doubt and scariness leaves when I look you because you are the reason I never want to give up
Here we are the last day in this small hospital room
Last day in this uncomfortable bed and last day the nurses have to come in every hour to check on us
Walking out of the hospital blessed and grateful that I was chosen to be able to bring life into this world and trusted enough to be
A Mother.
On the way home all I could think about is our future together
The matching nail and toe dates, the snuggles and kisses, the ballerina classes, the unconditional love that only you were able to pull out.
My Cataleya Medellin
my princess. I Love You.
In revising this piece, I wanted to bridge the gap between my personal emotional experience and the medical realities of being a Type 1 Diabetic mother. I chose to focus on the "Cataleya flower" as a recurring motif because it represents both my daughter's name and the beauty that can grow out of a high-stress, "high-risk" environment. My goal was to show that motherhood isn't just a biological process but a psychological transformation that requires letting go of an old self to protect a new life. I integrated researched facts about T1D and heart defects to provide context for the "scare" we went through, making the final "perfect" health of my daughter feel like a hard-won victory for the reader.
Anaya Abrought is a student at Houston City College, majoring in Health Science.