Pregnancy

I've been pondering my pregnancy these days. I'm near the end, and I have yet to get to the point where I am sick of being pregnant. It seems to be something most pregnant women experience, and I'm still waiting for it to happen for me. Perhaps that means I have a while to go yet... Either way, I thought I'd share some of my thoughts about my pregnancy experience.

I have really enjoyed being pregnant. Physically, I've felt great most of the time. I had about 4 days of nausea early on and a few days when I liked the smell of tomatoes even less than normal (Unfortunately, it happened to be tomato canning season during that time). I was not working full time during the 1st or 3rd trimester, so I've had plenty of time to rest, if needed. I think that made a huge difference.

Towards the end of pregnancy, some of my muscles have been more achy than usual, but I think that's par for the course. When I was newly pregnant I had a conversation with a friend who was also pregnant at the time. Something she said has stuck with me, and I'm keeping it as a motto. She said (and I'm paraphrasing) she likes to savor being pregnant because she doesn't know how much longer she'll be pregnant or if she'll get to be pregnant again. I liked that. Another friend of mine referred to carrying a baby as an honor. That also stuck with me. It really is. So, it's been encouraging for me to think of pregnancy in those ways. Granted, I know I've had a pretty easy time of it overall, and that makes it easier to enjoy.

I've also enjoyed being pregnant from a social point of view. When I'm shopping or running errands, it's fun to have some one strike up a conversation with me because they see I'm pregnant. And surprisingly, I've not had any strangers try to touch my belly or tell me terrible birth stories.

My only real stress has come from my own fears about delivering in a hospital and realizing how much is out of my control. And the high blood pressure that seemed to accompany those fears. I've had some high b.p. when at my prenatal appointments anytime I'm nervous or worried, and it kind of created a vicious cycle of worry and fear. At this point, all is well. (And I don't need to face induction for high blood pressure - my midwife had my b.p. monitored for about 2 hours last week and it was completely normal - so I've been given the "all clear". Whew.)

So I'm thankful for the experience I'm having. It's been teaching me a lot about myself.

But I am ready to meet this little guy. I hope he doesn't wait too long to join us.