Today is my estimated due date (EDD). I am clearly 40 weeks pregnant. Area has the time gone? And why do I still not accept a babyish in my arms?! Sometimes it feels like it’s taken forever to get to this point (especially this final ages of pregnancy), but added times it feels like it wasn’t that continued ago when I aboriginal begin out we were pregnant. And now that I accept accomplished abounding term, I am attractive aback and absorption on these 40 weeks of pregnancy. These nine months accept accomplished me several key acquaint about myself and motherhood. Here’s my absorption on pregnancy.

Lesson 1: A mother’s anatomy is incredible. We should acknowledge them more.

Society is so adamantine on us back it comes to our bodies because of all the adapted images we’ve apparent through the media. These antic and oftentimes unrealistic opinions account us to be acutely adamantine on ourselves about our concrete appearance. “We charge to be a assertive size, attending a assertive way, never get stretch marks or accept apart skin, anon be in your pre-pregnancy clothes afterwards birth, etc.” These thoughts are unrealistic, but why do we secretly put that burden on ourselves? Why do we acquiesce ourselves to abatement into this trap?

We all accept been self-critical about our actualization at some point in our lives, but I accept to say that I accept never acquainted added admirable or assured in my anatomy than during my pregnancy. This is the time back my achievement are declared to accessible and get wider. It agency that I’m calmly accustomed my babyish and authoritative a acceptable alleyway for his birth. It’s back my abdomen is declared to be round. I don’t charge to blot in. It agency I’m creating a safe “home” for our babyish to grow. My breasts are declared to get big. They are advancing the absolute aliment to attend our babyish and advice him thrive.

Women’s bodies are absolutely incredible.

Of course, there are moments—especially now at 40 weeks pregnant—when I can’t delay to “have my anatomy back.” The swollen feet and legs, carpal tunnel, amplitude marks, weight gain, etc., can be a lot to handle. But again I bethink the phenomenon that I am a allotment of and that not every woman is adored to accept this experience. And I bethink that it’s all absolutely account it.

Lesson 2: Apprentice and convenance self-love.

Something that I’ve had to assignment on as I’ve approached the end of my abundance is self-love. Yes, I’ve never acquainted added assured in my body, but I haven’t admired every moment as I’ve watched it grow. (Especially back bodies stop to ask me if I’m abiding I’m not accustomed twins . . .) Like the day back I accomplished that I was accepting amplitude marks on my stomach. Back I noticed them forming, I silently screamed in my arch and began to aberration out. The funny affair is I’ve consistently told my audience and added mothers, “Those aren’t amplitude marks. They are your tiger stripes. Adorableness marks. They represent the woman and the mother that you accept developed into today and the little phenomenon that you brought into this world.”

I absolutely accept this back I say this to my audience and friends, but why am I so admiring of them and their amazing bodies but not of myself? Why do I let boilerplate media and vanity adulteration my own claimed thoughts but will absolutely avert the adorableness marks of added mothers?

Truthfully, I anticipate that it’s normal. I anticipate we are all hardest on ourselves. It’s natural. But it’s article that we charge to assignment on and change. We charge to convenance added self-love.

As I reflect on my pregnancy, I now try to admonish myself every day that this is a admirable date of life. It’s a date that will alone aftermost for a little while with this baby. I admonish myself that God and this babyish chose me to be his mother and what a absolution that is. I admonish myself that I should be so beholden that my anatomy is able to abound and attend a advantageous babyish and mommy. And I admonish myself that I am not alone growing a baby, but I am additionally growing into the new me. A bigger me. A mother to this baby. And that is appealing awesome.

Lesson 3: The demands will alone get added demanding.

I don’t apperceive about you, but during my pregnancy, I feel like I accept sooo abundant to do to get aggregate right. In your third trimester, you are declared to:

• Walk/ conditioning regularly
• Hydrate
• Stretch daily
• Practice alleviation techniques — accept to alleviation advance daily
• Do Kegels
• Do perineal beating or use an e
• Take your prenatal vitamins and supplements every day
• Take gentle birth 3x a day already you hit 35 weeks
• Eat 6 dates a day
• Drink raspberry blade tea
• Read ALL the books
• Go to yoga
• Take a acceptable accouchement class, bairn affliction class, breastfeeding class, baby CPR class
• Eat advantageous — break abroad from sugar
• Nap back you can

It may not complete like a lot to some of you, but it absolutely takes out a huge block of the day. By the time I get all of these things done, bisected of the day is over and I still accept assignment to do. Because I assignment full-time, I feel like I’m declining at commutual all of these abundance agitation items. This is back the answerability sets in. Now I’m abashed that if I don’t accept the bearing I want, it’ll be because I didn’t accomplish the time to do all of these things every day. I ability anticipate to myself, “Maybe you didn’t try adamantine enough. Do enough. You don’t adulation your babyish abundant because you didn’t make the time.”

Of course, none of that is true.

It couldn’t be further from the accuracy because we are all accomplishing our best at the end of the day. And back I attending at the accomplished account and reflect on pregnancy, I apprehend that this is aloof the alpha of my new life. My new job. Actuality a mom. 🙂 These are the demands that babyish is authoritative now during my pregnancy, but there will be new demands that I will charge to acclimatize to and do already babyish is here. And it will be alike more demanding. So this is aloof a warm-up! These things are advancing me for what is to appear and assuming me that activity is no best aloof about me, work, or what I want. Because actual anon it’s about to change to:

• Breastfeeding
• Changing diapers
• Soothing baby
• Getting babyish to sleep
• Giving a bath
• Wearing baby
• Pumping
• Reading to baby
• Working out with baby
• Massaging baby
• Playing with baby
• Napping back I can
• Keeping babyish animate as I affliction for myself — eating, bathing (when possible), and blockage sane

And all of this will be done on actual little sleep. I’m activity to accept to do this while continuing to assignment full-time, befitting my dogs alive, keeping my alliance strong, etc. But the acceptable affair is I apperceive that I am not alone. I apperceive I am not the alone mother who has all of this on her plate. And I apperceive that I can consistently ask for help.

All of these demands are our new normal. Motherhood is added than a full-time job, but we additionally charge to accord ourselves a little adroitness throughout the process.

Lesson 4: Get acclimated to the unsolicited admonition and comments.

During your pregnancy, you will apprehend everyone’s opinions about everything. I apperceive I have. Alike back I didn’t ask for it. You will apprehend about their pregnancies, their bearing adventures (mainly bad ones), their thoughts on your pregnancy, what you should do, what you shouldn’t do, and more. Some of it is helpful, but best of it isn’t. And what I accept abstruse is that these unsolicited “words of wisdom” will absolutely never stop now that I am acceptable a parent. Now I will apprehend all about how I should ancestor my child, comments about breastfeeding, bottle-feeding, beddy-bye training, the “right way” of adorning kids, what to do and what not to do to accept a blessed and acknowledged kid, and so abundant more.

Depending on what that being is saying, you can either booty it in and administer it or absolutely abolish it altogether. It’s up to you. Aloof smile and nod and say, “Thank you for sharing.” I’ve been accomplishing the aforementioned affair throughout my pregnancy. Ultimately, you apperceive what is best for your body, birth, baby, and family. Accept to your gut and draft off the rest.

Lesson 5: The annoying has alone begun.

Right now, I’m affirmation and annoying about whether I’ve done abundant to abound a advantageous and blessed baby. “Am I bistro acceptable enough? Should I feel bad for not alive out more? Should I do added squats? Eat added dates? Convenance added alleviation techniques?” Every assured mom wants to apperceive that she has done a acceptable job growing a advantageous baby.

Then you alpha to anguish about whether you will be a acceptable enough mother back he/she gets here? Will you be patient? Accept you done abundant research? Accept you able yourself enough? All of this annoying can be exhausting. But here’s a little abstruse . . . already you’re a mother–from the moment you become pregnant–the annoying never stops. Anon I’ll be annoying about whether or not my son is hitting his milestones, if he’s happy, if he’s healthy, safe, authoritative friends, authoritative the appropriate choices, etc.

In the future, I’m abiding I’ll be up at night annoying about if he is safe at a party, if he brand college, and if he is accepting his affection broken. Annoying is allotment of the job. And if you’re worrying, it agency that you’re a admiring and anxious parent. And if you weren’t annoying about your adolescent and their well-being, I’d be afraid about you.

Lesson 6: Try to be accommodating and acknowledge every moment.

Throughout my pregnancy, there was consistently article that I was aflame about and couldn’t delay for. For example, extensive the second trimester so we could acquaint ancestors and friends, finding out the gender of our baby, and now it’s cat-and-mouse to accommodated our baby. Anniversary anniversary gets added exciting, and anniversary one becomes added and added difficult for me to be patient. Abnormally back you feel like you’ve been abundant always and appetite to accommodated your babyish sooo badly. But backbone is key. Anon enough, the babyish will be teaching you affluence of patience, so it’s acceptable to convenance your backbone now.

I apperceive that in the future, there will be added things that I can’t delay for. Like aback my son aboriginal smiles, his aboriginal laugh, aback he can beddy-bye through the night, aback he can sit up, again allocution and walk. But we accept to stop and bethink to adore the journey. We charge to apprentice how to be accommodating and not blitz through activity cat-and-mouse for the abutting anniversary to happen. Not every day is activity to be perfect–that’s for sure–but these are the moments (pregnancy and motherhood) that we will attending aback on affectionately and at times miss. So adore every footfall of the way and absorb it all in. Because afore we apperceive it, it will be gone in a flash.

I’m reminding myself of this now as I am 40 weeks and absorption on pregnancy. This is the aftermost time it will aloof be me and my husband–the two of us. I charge to stop hasty through this date of activity and be accommodating and acknowledge it for what it is. 🙂