Shannon It’s been months since completing my first ever pregnancy journey and I’ve been seeing a waterfall of pregnancy blessings fall onto those around me. Seeing pregnancy announcements popping up, it’s also spurred me on to more seriously contemplate the lessons that I’ve also been marinating on from my more than 40-week journey.
To say that pregnancy is a life-changing experience is, of course, an understatement, but first you need to learn your pregnancy symptoms to start taking care of yourself. What it is at its core is truly an individual experience. There is just no way to predict how your pregnancy will go, how your body and mind will react, and how you will feel about it all. If you feel like you’re not yet ready for pregnancy, you can look for abortion alternatives, and consider having your baby adopted.
Despite the fact the stores and internet are rich with books and articles and expert websites like BabywearingInternational.org just packed with information about pregnancy, I was more surprised by the lessons I didn’t see focused on that much.
So, I thought I’d share those key lessons and realizations for anyone who’s embarking on this journey for the first time. These aren’t groundbreaking, but the reasons I’m sharing these are worth the read – they were new to me!
First of all, and I really can’t stress this enough, every pregnancy is unique.
Information overload in pregnancy is REAL. There is no shortage of tips, apps, stories, etc. People you don’t even know will offer you unsolicited advice and stories about pelvic physiotherapy. In fact, it’s better to get in touch with a professional such as a massage therapist Cary instead of these unprofessional tips.
All this information will prompt you to start drawing comparisons. You’ll want to compare your symptoms with a friend’s symptoms or match your progress up with a chart from some popular pregnancy app (What fruit/vegetable is your baby this week?), but just know that your pregnancy is going to be different. The only milestones you need to worry about are what your gynecologist will share with you. Everything else is just gravy.
Do NOT get hung up on what someone else experienced. Even if you’ve had a baby before, each pregnancy itself is different. You stress about so many things while incubating that tiny human life, it is not worth getting caught up trying to match up to someone else’s standards, schedule or experience.
Be amazed and grateful every single day, because your body is doing something absolutely incredible.
It’s easy to feel inconvenienced or even overwhelmed at times by the symptoms or even illnesses that pregnancy can cause, but even on your lowest day, be so amazed and grateful for the incredible work your body is doing. If you’re lucky enough to be operating fairly normal (going to work, running errands, etc.) then just take a moment as frequently as you can remember to, to think about the fact that your body is growing another human while you walk and talk and go about your day. And you’re functioning.
Like, what???
Just imagine how much energy and work it takes to care for another human who exists out in the world, and your body is doing all that and then some, while also allowing you to go about your usual business. Mind. Blown.
Don’t take my word for it. You’ll learn all the details about the biology involved in pregnancy if you ever experience it just from doctor visits, but it’s easy to take it all for granted. Just stop to consider all of it occasionally and you will truly have the chance to appreciate it.
Just keep moving.
In the wise words of a certain animated, blue fish (know that Disney reference, anyone?) you really need to “just keep swimming” for as long as you can. I’m not talking about working out, I mean simply moving that body. I discovered prenatal yoga about halfway through my pregnancy, and it taught me to connect more with my pregnant body better through movement than anything else. This is somewhat ironic, given the fact I was training to be a yoga teacher under a Certified Yoga Teacher Program at the time. It challenged me to not feel limited, but rather to feel out the space I could create by moving my body the right way. Even basic things like sitting and walking can be uncomfortable and seemingly cause your body to ache, so movement is unbelievably important.
Even if all you can do is get on a mat in your home once a day, just let your body guide you through some gentle movements, and focus on the areas that need some extra love (there will be plenty as your body makes space for that new life!).
I’d also recommend getting yourself to at least one prenatal yoga class, as they teach you so much about your body and how you can move, even with a growing baby bump.
Follow your instincts.
In the scope of your life, pregnancy is a relatively short period of time. It’s a miracle and how you choose to honor and celebrate it is all you. Get portraits done or don’t – it’s all your call. Splurge for the cord blood banking or not. Just try to follow your own truest desires and instincts, because once you become a parent, you’ll need to RELY on instincts to make decisions. Every. Single. Day.
Start getting comfortable with it now. Learn to take in all the info and recommendations of emeraldspa.com, but to form your own decisions and make your own choices based on what feels right for you.
There are probably a thousand other micro-lessons, but you find what works for you during your pregnancy and for me, it all came back to these four key lessons.
If you have any learnings you’d like to add, by all means, share away!
