Now that I am a mom, I see the world in a completely new way than I did before. I know what it feels like to be personally responsible for the life of another human being. Trust me, it’s extremely humbling. I can look back over the nine months of my pregnancy and see how that time helped to shape me into the person I am now. Here is a list of some things that I learned during that time.
1. It is best to be kind but blunt with hard truths. When I first found out I was pregnant, it was the biggest shock life had ever given me. I had to take a minute (or a few weeks, no big deal) just to accept it for myself. However, I also had to tell my family. I could have danced around the subject or sugar coated it but I just cut to the chase in telling them. They were shocked like I was, but they appreciated me being straightforward with them regarding my news.
2. Eating healthy is important, even if it’s not what you want to do. Cravings are a natural part of pregnancy. While I didn’t have any weird cravings, like an ice cream and spinach sandwich with mayo, for example, I craved comfort foods a lot. For me, those are things like ice cream, pizza, pasta (lots and lots of pasta!), potatoes and gravy, and so on. Foods like that were not helping my body give my son as many nutrients as he needed, and they were also making me more sluggish than I already was. Plus, they added to the weight I was gaining. While I cannot go back in time and change what I ate then, I can learn from my mistake and try to do better now.
3. Planning is important, but you also have to be able to accept life’s random twists and turns. I read the What to Expect book, I did online research, I reached out to friends and family for advice, and I even made a birth plan. I wanted to be prepared, or at least I wanted to feel like I was prepared. However, life was not about to make things easy for me. I discovered early on that I had a septate uterus, which made my pregnancy more complicated. I was carrying a boy, which was a little disappointing because at the time I had been hoping for a girl (so many moms tell me boys are easier, though, so I am glad I have a boy). Also, I ended up needing a C-section instead of the vaginal birth I had planned. I had to roll with the punches and accept life as it came to me. That lesson is only growing more and more important now that my son is an official member of my family.
4. Accepting help is not lazy. I am a very stubborn, independent person. I like to try to do things on my own, so when I had to rely on my friends, family, and boyfriend a lot more it was hard for me. However, I needed their help. That need has only increased, and even though it can still be hard for me to ask for help I am more likely to do it. The saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ has a lot of truth to it.
