Trading Pain Now for Joy Later

I must say, WOW. I am overwhelmed and very grateful for all the wonderful comments I've received thus far on my recent post, Loving like Christ, as a Mom. I realize it's only 8 but that's a whole stinkin' lot for me. They were really encouraging to read tonight as I've spent the last 5 days battling Analiese's constipation. It started out with just little hard poops then it escalated to her crying whenever one came out it is currently at 2 days of no poop at all, whatsoever. She is in so much pain, so uncomfortable and can't figure out what is going on in her body. Similar to how she was during her flu except I can't figure out which is worse (probably at this point the vomiting/diarrhea flu was worse). Part of this has stemmed from she used to eat yogurt everyday for lunch but she hasn't in approximately 2 weeks because I can't find the yogurt she likes down here and the fact that she will not drink. I cannot for the life of me get her to drink any sort of liquid from any sort of cup, unless it's my breast. I know this isn't going to fly for long, she needs different liquids so she isn't dehydrated. I've been attempting to mix liquids into her foods lately, much to her chagrin and also trying to squeeze juice from the box into her mouth. That method seems to have worked the best, she actually wanted the juice tonight (mini victory hooray!) . Tonight though I resorted to diluted prune juice, oh the dread. I think the sippy cup I gave it to her through will now forever be known as "bad" sippy cup. I removed the valve from it so that I could just pour it down her throat. Oh gosh, it was one of the most awful, heartbreaking things I've had to do as a mother. We sat in the bathroom, towel around her while I tipped her back and gave her the prune juice. It was terrible, she screamed and cried but she DID swallow. I had to keep tipping her back and forcing it, which I hate to do. Say I'm spoiling her, but I don't believe that a 13 month old who has only been on solid foods for about a month should be forced to eat food that she doesn't like. I don't believe in making my child scream while I force some sort of food down her throat. She'll eventually eat it. This doesn't mean I stop trying that food altogether, we simply do one spoonful either at the next meal or the next day. Like I said, eventually she'll eat it. Fortunately, I think I got enough down her throat and we stopped. I sat there cradling and rocking her while tears trickled down my own face. She made a few whines and sad little cries but they quickly went away with a few kisses from mommy. I hated doing that, I know she needs it in order to have a b.m, I know she needs it to feel better but I hate inflicting pain on her. That's not my job, I'm the mommy, I protect her. I had to give her a few more sips tonight before bed and again, heartbreaking. She has such a heartbreaking cry, it makes you want to cry. She still hasn't had a b.m, expecting one in the morning. I'm hoping at this point she'll sleep better. I wish she could see that I'm not doing it to harm her but to help her. That it'll make everything better in the end. Which again, is how motherhood is similar to the love of Christ. He does so many things for us in our lives that seem painful at the time but it's for good in the end. As a popular relient k song states "and you said I know that this will hurt but if I don't break your heart then things will just get worse. If the burden seems too much to bear, remember the end will justify the pain to took to get us there". (let it all out-relient k) Oh how well they put it. Also, remember God doesn't discipline those he doesn't love and Romans 8:28 says "and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (NIV) Isn't it great to know we have that satisfaction, that guarantee in Him? That the trials we're going through, God is molding us and turning it into something good in our lives. He knows the end result, we don't. He knows that it is painful now, but that it will be WELL worth it in the end. We SHOULD know that, after all the Bible tells us, but we fail to remember it. All we see is what is directly in front of us. Oh woe, is me.