Those of you who have been through pregnancy will find that these tidbits I discovered are no surprise and might laugh at how naive I was, but this is what I've learned in my limited experience:
1. No matter how much I try to lie myself into thinking I am in control, God could easily remind me of his role in the matter with the little person He was putting together inside my tummy...talk about frustrating, humbling, comforting, and scary all at the same time.
2. Nine months is a very very long time to wait for something as exciting as a baby.
3. Chinese food does not sit well on a nauseous stomach.
4. Getting a round house kick to the ribs everyday is as miraculous and painful as it sounds.
5. Watching your tummy wiggle involuntarily is the strangest yet most incredible experience.
6. Hips hurt when they are trying to get wider.
7. Lower backs hurt when they are holding up a big belly.
8. Sleep is hard to do when the little nugget decides its wake time. Or when the calf cramps stop by for their nightly visit. Or when its time to pee for the 18th time.
9. Breathing gets hard to do when your lungs are confined to a third of the space they normally have to function.
10. No matter how hard you try to defy it, "pregnancy brain" is a real thing.
11. A peaceful walk next to a creek can easily become a not so subtle reminder that there is a baby pressing on the bladder and I haven't visited the bathroom in the last 20 minutes.
12. Grumpiness is alive and well when a baby is on the way and no matter how hard you try to fight it off sometimes it wins. Husbands beware.
13. Due dates don't mean squat.
14. Contractions hurt.
15. Sometimes it can take a very long time for pregnancy to be over. Like over 33 hours very long.
16. When the "water breaks" it can cause a surge of emotions: excitement, impatience, panic, and "holy cow, contractions do get worse!"
17. Four letter words that don't normally come from your mouth may or may not unexpectantly fire at will after experiencing #16.
18. Epidurals are God's special gift to woman kind. If you don't agree, I understand...just wait and see how you feel about it after hour 19 of pain...then you'll agree, after you cry tears of joy.
19. Everyone's body deals with extreme pain differently. Mine shakes uncontrollably and laughing creeps its way into my bawling. The nurse got a kick out of that.
20. There are a lot of fears about labor being embarrassing but when you're in the heat of the moment you could care less that everyone in the room is looking at your "girlie area", or that you puke all your guts out into the trashcan your husband is holding for you, or that you may or may not involuntarily do other things while pushing out a baby. All that starts to matter is holding that little baby in your arms.
21. All the frustration, impatience, and pain mentioned in 1-20 went away the moment she was laid on my chest and I said "Hi Lynley"... the crying came to an abrupt halt to focus on my face. My face. Mine. The source of the voice she had been hearing for 9 months. Her mother's voice. My voice. I think God gave me a very small taste of what it feels like for Him when He calls out after one of His children and he/she responds for the first time.
22. All that same frustration, impatience, and pain went even further away when I saw Josh with tears in his eyes hold our precious daughter and with an "I love you" put a kiss right on her little nose.
I'd do it again.
No doubt.
So, farewell pregnancy, until we meet again....
