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| 7 months pregnant |
I hear so many women say "I loved being pregnant" or "I hated being pregnant". For a while now I have been wondering which category I fall into. Do I like being pregnant? Well, if there's one thing I have at my disposal it's several awake hours a night to think about these things. Last night, between the hours at 3am and 7am I thought about where I stand.
If when I thought about pregnancy I considered each sensation, change and challenge as apart from pregnancy I would be miserable. There's the backache, the insomnia, the HEARTBURN (oh god the heartburn), the shortness of breath, the weight gain, the swelling of the hands and feet, the stretching feeling in my groin, the inability to wear regular jeans, the punches to the bladder, the LEG CRAMPS (oh god the leg cramps), the itchy boobs, the stretch marks... any single one of these conditions would be enough to make a non-pregnant person fall in a crying heap to the floor.
But surprisingly, it's really not that bad. It's actually quite amazing and beautiful.
I liken it to travel. In order to go anywhere cool and exotic you need to fly in an airplane. Does anyone really LIKE flying? If your flights runs perfectly smoothly you still have to go through airport security, wait around for hours in a terminal looking at nothing, sit on a plain in a compact little seat possibly beside a stranger with a cold for god-knows-how-long, eat airplane food, use the tiny airplane washroom and adjust to the ever fluctuating too-cold and too-hot temperatures. When you finally arrive to wherever you were headed you have to stand FOREVER in a sea of impatient smelly people to wait for your luggage to show itself along the conveyor belt and most likely you have to go through customs. God help you if after all that you need to catch a taxi to get to where you are going. But, you know what: I love flying! It's exciting. It's adventurous. And typically it leads you to somewhere that you've never been before and new experiences that will forever change who you are. All of the challenges and annoyances are part of the fun. They make you a better, more adaptable and interesting person in my opinion.
This is how I see my pregnancy. I have a long list of discomforts but if you ask me how I'm feeling I say "I feel great!", because I do. Each pregnancy related ailment is an adventure in it's own. Each discomfort I feel tells me that there is a beeb growing away, and my body has sacrificed its comfort for the comfort that he needs and deserves. I listen closely to each sensation. Pain tells me to rest. Discomfort tells me to move. Fatigue usually tells me to eat something nutritious. Insomnia is preparing me for the sleep deprivation I will have once this baby is out and needs me every hour of the day until he moves out of the house.Pregnancy is messy, but it's oh-so-wonderful too.
So, I guess what I'm saying is I love pregnancy not despite all of the discomforts, but because of them. And you know what else? There are so many great things about being pregnant: I get to wear all of my flowey empire waist tops that I never liked wearing before because they "made me look pregnant"! I get to feel my baby move around inside of me all day long! I have strangers smile at me just for being round and full of life! I get to buy cute little onesies, and receive adorable gifts from friends and family. I get to make something unexplainably beautiful for my husband, and give my parents a grandchild.
So, here's to celebrating this amazing miracle that I am very blessed to have inside of me.
Love Always,
Joan Blondina
