Dear Mommy Wife,

I considered getting you a card, but it just wasn’t the same without you there to help pick one out that you liked so we could laugh or say “Aww” together and put it back.

I am so happy to celebrate your first Mother’s Day as a mother. It was a long time coming, and even before you were a mom, I felt like Mother’s Day ought to include you, since you have always been so wonderful and nurturing with your nieces, nephew, and kids in general. You have already been a great mom through your pregnancy and our daughters’ first month of life, and I’m sure that will continue.

Brooke and Claire are lucky to have you as their Mommy, and I’m even more lucky to have you as my wife and the mother of my children. It still boggles my mind when I see you doubt your own strength or maternal ability, because the woman and mother I’ve seen over the last year – especially the last couple months – is a pretty strong and awe-inspiring person and mother.

• You’ve endured more shots, blood draws, and IV’s than I can count, despite your fear of needles and history of being a “tough stick”.
• You’ve stayed upbeat and resilient in the face of disappointments, never losing your sense of humor or tiring of mine.
• You had to drastically modify your diet and lifestyle to keep our girls gestating as long as they did, which helped give them a healthy start, even for a pair of 31-weekers.
• You tolerated a month of bedrest (and were prepared for more), and longer than that of not being able to get normal sleep because every position you tried would get uncomfortable after a few minutes.
• Besides the rather substantial discomforts that go with a twin pregnancy, you’ve endured the extra pain and limitations of severe gall stones, including restricted diet, a 5-day hospitalization at Week 27, and surgery to remove your gall bladder before you’re even fully recovered from a c-section. When’s the last time you were completely pain-free?
• Despite the frustrations and difficulties of trying to produce breast milk exclusively by pumping – which isn’t what Nature built your body for – you have persevered and given Brooke and Claire precious nourishment from you during the period they needed it most.
• You’ve managed to survive huge chunks of the last year without sex, often due to doctors’ orders, sometimes due to it just being physically out of the question, which I know has been torture for you. Well, maybe not, but feel free to borrow this bullet item if you write me a Father’s Day letter next month.

I am so proud of you and thankful to have you as my wife. Congratulations on becoming a Mommy, and thanks for making me a Daddy.

Love,

Daddy Husband