Soon To Be First Time Moms

Parentberries
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I just wanted to say… enjoy every last minute of your pregnancy! I know this makes some of you want to gouge out my eyes, especially if you are nearing the end. I know, because I was there just a few short months ago! [name_f]My[/name_f] son is now 2 1/2 months old, and not so long ago I was waiting very patiently (or rather, not so patiently) for his arrival. Nesting away, vacuuming the porch, vacuuming the fireplace, vacuuming the bathtub (ok maybe not the bathtub). Washing clothes and organizing his drawers about 50 million times. I couldn’t wait. I couldn’t wait to meet him, hold him, love him, kiss him, snuggle him, and get to know him! If pregnancy could be wished away, I would have done it in a heart beat!

Now… I sigh longingly when I see pregnant women! For many reasons. Part of it is more of a snickering laugh, as I think ‘hehe… they don’t know what is about to hit them!’ I mean honestly… if it wasn’t the biggest oversight in the universe! Pregnant women, especially first timers, get waited on hand and foot! After I stopped working, when I wasn’t nesting and cooking as many freezer meals as possible, I was sitting on my couch in my pjs and fuzzy socks watching TLC and drinking hot cocoa! Complaining that I had to get up 7 times to pee last night and that I felt like I got hit by a [name_m]MAC[/name_m] truck. And then, BAM! Well maybe it is a softer ‘bam’. The first few days after giving birth, you are still waited on by nurses and well-meaning family members and friends. You have this sweet, angelic, closest-thing-to-perfection-you-can-get baby that sleeps 99% of the day and you think ‘wow I am so lucky!’ Then you get home, and so begins the sleepless nights, continuous crying, thoughts racing through your mind like ‘what on earth am I doing wrong?!’ and ‘there MUST be something wrong with him!’ (Which, by the way, there usually isn’t. Babies just cry.) So, when I see a pregnant woman now, part of me selfishly and cynically laughs a bit.

However, the other part of me longs for pregnancy again. Again, please don’t wish death upon me when you read this! I remember all the negatives. The first trimester was horribly scary, the second seemed to take forever, and the third was a waiting game. All the morning sickness, emotions, false alarms. I remember it well. But I immensely miss those kicks you feel from the inside out. Yes, you know, those ones you feel that you keep all to yourself, that give you that special warm fuzzy feeling all over. I miss the wonder and excitement of guessing if it was going to be a boy or girl, discussing names, daydreaming about what he would look like.

[name_m]Don[/name_m]'t get me wrong. I love being a mom. I love my little boy more than anything in the world. The point is, every step along the way, from the minute you find out you are pregnant, through out you child’s entire life, is special in it’s own way. [name_m]Just[/name_m] as I wished away my pregnancy, I am wishing away the sleepless nights and the (what seems to be) 24/7 crying for no apparent reason. I can’t wait for the next milestone he reaches. Sleeping more, crawling, talking, walking. I forget that with those things, away will go the sleepy newborn yawns and stretches, and the way he melts into my chest when he falls asleep in my arms.

So, this is just a little note to remind you to enjoy every step of the way. [name_f]Every[/name_f] stage has its challenges, it’s difficulties, those things you want so badly to wish away. But sometimes we forget that every moment is a moment we will never experience again. [name_f]Cherish[/name_f] every single one, the good with the bad, for soon they will be just memories!

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@babylove14

Thank you, that was both beautifully written and insightful.

It is hard not to wish away the really difficult moments. What has helped for me (from when my son was a tiny newborn screaming at 3am to now- when he is a huge 2.5 year old screaming at 3am) is to stop and say, “This is probably the easiest it will ever be.” Then I think of all of the things to be thankful about him- his lung capacity, getting to be the one who can comfort him when he wakes up from a nightmare, really, anything you can think of at 3am. Or at 10am, when he eats your shopping list and destroys your phone.

I have spent a lot of time in my life wishing time away, wishing I could skip to the part where I got to be home with a sweet baby. I don’t want him to speed up, and I don’t want him to slow down- I can promise you that this only gets more fun.

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@babylove14 -

Thank you for the insight! I am due in [name_u]November[/name_u] and this post is an excellent reminder to cherish every moment of this wonderful journey!

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Also, keep in mind pregnancy is the only time your baby will be constantly, 100% physically with you ALWAYS. When the baby’s inside, you don’t need a break to eat or shower or pay bills, it’s the only time baby will go to work with you, etc.

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This is my 4th last pregnancy so I too am trying to enjoy every minute of it. I have been pregnant 3 times before and even though I didn’t love heartburn, leg cramps, or stretch marks, I mostly loved being pregnant. I know this will be my last time to be pregnant, last time to have a newborn, etc and I will enjoy every minute of it. I have never once had morning sickness though, so I think for someone who gets sick during pregnancy it would be much harder to enjoy it. I too think the newborn stage is the easiest (but I also always had easy newborns, never one with colic). However, my almost 4 year old still wakes up some nights ahhh!

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Awwh, this was heart warming!
I’m having a csection in less than a month & i’m so not ready to share my little boy with the world. I already know I’m gonna miss this & totally want this back. I have to constanly remember to remind myself to remember these moments, if that makes sense?
Its ironic that we long to teach our babies to walk & talk, but years from now we’re going to want them to shut up & sit down.

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that is so sweet and so needed right now because I really want the next stage I want to bring on the adventure of 5 under 4 with 3 special needs(FAS babies) and 2 newborns. Today I will slow down and remember that this too will be gone to fast and to enjoy my huge belly and think about the joy it has given me.

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I really like this, so thanks for sharing. We’re still deciding when or if we want to conceive, but for some reason this more than anything else is making me want to be a mother and experience the whole range of emotions and changes. Maybe because it feels so honest.

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Aww this was beautiful. I think I’m going to miss this last trimester the most. I’ll try not to rush away the next week but I’m so excited to meet him and show him to the world.