Over the past few weeks, it has not taken much to make me cry: a card from the worship team given to me for Administrative Professionals Day, a song sung in church, or just looking at cards in Target. Anything can set me off…& it is annoying. Being a person who doesn’t really cry much, it is weird. Mostly because looking at random cards in Target wouldn’t make the normal person cry. I guess it just comes with the territory.
Being pregnant has opened a new world for me. It has given me a different perspective on others (i.e. others who cry easily). It has also opened my eyes to what others have gone through being pregnant. Others have made being pregnant look so easy & fun. Yes, it is an exciting time of wonder & anticipation, but fun? I’m not so sure about that. I’m not saying this to scare others! By no means has my pregnancy so far been hard or so bad that I didn’t want to be pregnant, but there were times that I wish people would have told me the truth instead of sugarcoating it so that I wouldn’t be afraid to have children. Then, maybe I wouldn’t have been so scared the first few months when things were changing!
I’ve talked to another person at our church that feels the same way. She also was shocked at the beginning by all of the “normal” things that we were never told about. Maybe you forget…hopefully you forget. I’m not saying things should change & I’m not upset with anyone for not telling me more. I’m just saying, my eyes have been opened…
5 comments:
Trust me on this- you don't want honesty about pregnancy. OR having children for that matter. I would guess it is similar to marrying a military man-no one could have told you how hard it would be, but you are a better person and happier because of it.
Pregnancy is awesome in so many ways, but also exhausting. It is prep for when the baby comes and you realize you can go a long time without good sleep.
Parenting is not for the faint of heart, but God is there to meet you at every difficult place. There is a scripture in the Bible(don't know the passage)that says women are saved by having children and I think for most women, this is true(there are major exceptions). It is true because this new little person is more than we can handle alone-we must have God to do it. Your prayer life will increase tenfold!!
Don't sweat it though- some people even go on to have more than one!!! Those nutty people!
I hope I didn't sound like I'm not happy that I'm pregnant or having children. I just meant that I freaked out with some of the "normal" pains. Everyone around me has made it sound like a piece of cake, so it never entered my mind that there would be those types of pains. It scared me more for fear of a miscarriage than being upset with dealing with the pains. If I had known that would be coming, I would not have been as terrified as I was. Plus, we had not told family/friends yet so I couldn't ask Mom or others what was normal. Thankfully, Summer was there to answer questions. Once I knew what I was feeling was normal, I was perfectly fine. I can handle it...it just would have been nice to know it was coming.
Get some good books, Leslie. My favorite pregnancy books were "Conception, Pregnancy and Birth" by Miriam Stoppard; "The Birth Book" by Martha and William Sears", and "A Child Is Born" by Lennart Nilsson (great photography of babies from conception through birth, and real photos of labor). The Sears also have published "The Pregnancy Book" now, and although I haven't seen it, I am sure it is preferable to the standard, "What to Expect When You Are Expecting" (which is basically a list of things to scare you every month of your pregnancy and then tells you to be a good girl and lay down and eat your ice chips during labor. Puh-leeze! If you have that book, enjoy it, but take it with a grain of salt. I read it religiously during my first pregnancy and found it to be less and less useful with each subsequent pregnancy)
When you take childbirth classes, you might also look around for one not affiliated with a hospital and take it, as well as the hospital one. Hospitals generally tell you what they want you to know and gloss over the fact that you have a lot of choices about how you want your labor and delivery to go. An independent class will give you a different perspective and you'll understand all the choices available to you.
Anyway, some good books and classes will help you keep all the helpful advice and pregnancy/labor stories in perspective (grin).
Your first pregnancy is such a special time; enjoy it!
(((((Hugs))))
Well, I'll keep mine open for when my time comes...but hopefully not for 2 more years.
Ok, so that's just scary...because I already cry at cards I see at Target! ;) Pathetic, I know!
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