By Jeana Lee Tahnk
Let me preface this post by saying that I am one of those people
who truly enjoyed being pregnant. I know there are others like me out
there, but I also know there are those who were miserable their entire
pregnancy. I have a lot of sympathy for you, because I can't imagine how
difficult it must have been to be uncomfortable and uneasy for that
long.
My biggest pregnancy complaint with all three babies was massive
indigestion. I consider myself pretty lucky. Even though I had to sleep
upright at a 90-degree angle throughout each pregnancy (I really did), I
know it could have been a whole lot worse. And of course, I had the
other typical symptoms including morning sickness in the first
trimester, the fatigue and the achy back, but overall, I truly enjoyed
my pregnancies.
It's amazing about what the human body is capable of, and each time
I was pregnant I was aware of what my body had to do to sustain this
other being inside of me. Nine months seems like a long time, and it is,
but in the grand scheme of things, it's pretty short-lived.
It can be hard to step outside of the day-to-day monotony of
clothes getting tighter, every part of you getting bigger and appendages
getting puffier, but having the appreciation of what your body is
accomplishing and being thankful for a routine pregnancy can be a great
way to have perspective on the whole process.
But if you're having a normal pregnancy and just can't shake the feeling that there is an alien inside
of your body (how one of my friends described her baby), I'd recommend
focusing on anything positive that you can pull out of the pregnancy,
not matter how small it is. If your hair is lustrous, get a really
awesome-smelling shampoo that you look forward to using every day. If
it's sleep you crave, get a body pillow and surround yourself with
luxurious bedding to help ease you into bed at night.
And even though you might not appreciate your big belly and those
puffy areas, do take pictures of yourself with the bun in the oven. One
day, you might look back at those pictures and have moments of nostalgia
over what a magical time it really was.
Read More by Jeana Lee Tahnk