As I sit here surrounded by flowers and cards, phonecalls from relatives, the soft cooing of our newborn son in his nursery I am reminded with sadness the mother's day I had the year before, quietly crying a river of tears over another attempt to conceive ending in failure, the news that physically it was impossible for us to conceive naturally and the possibility of holding a much loved child in my arms pushed further out of reach.

We thank all our mums, those that bore us, those who's babes grew wings far too soon for a mother to bear, those who's children are out of reach because of conflict of one sort or another, and those of us who are mum's ourselves.

But spare a thought for those mum's in waiting ... those that have to run the gauntlet every second of every day ... be it sitting in the OB's waiting room heavy hearted, surrounded by glowing bellies and bonnie babes, or sitting in an IVF office, surrounded by pictures of couples that have made it, wishing for the zillionth time that they were one of them, knowing that with crushing cruelty they're not, or even just the day to day fight of seeing babies on the street, being pushed in prams or cuddled in arms and going home empty: in arms, in spirit and in heart.

These brave women have no child to hold, only negative testing sticks, bewildering medical conditions that are beyond anyone's understanding ... the phone calls they receive aren't ones of well wishes, they're the gutwrenching calls from the doctor's surgery telling them if their dreams are fullfilled or crushed, their children are their pets or their house or husbands or their jobs, because they have sooooo much love to give, but but no child to give it to.

They are the women that hide their tears everyday, today especially, they hold other's children just that fraction longer, eyes misting over with thoughts of what could be, hearts breaking just that little bit deeper when they hand them back.

All us mum's have done it tough, be it tough pregnancies or labour, sleep deprived from soothing a baby's cries, or frustrated at a toddler's independence.

But spare a thought today for those mum's in waiting, those that know your worst day as a mum is a day of heaven for them.

Happy Mother's Day Mum's in Waiting ... whilst I cannot give you what your heart truly desires and longs for, know that there are mother's out there that have travelled your road of despair and have not forgotten.

I pray that your outcome is as fullfilled as mine has been ... may your precious child come to you quickly, and your road of hardship be at an end.