Cherishing Your Pregnancy

Sometimes in the throws of pregnancy we forget to cherish this wonderful journey we are taking into motherhood. Between the morning sickness, the aches, the body and hormonal changes, and all the other worries, fears, and such that come with pregnancy it's easy to lose sight of the final outcome. Yes we feel the baby moving and have opportunities to hear the heartbeat and even see our baby and learn the sex, but those are mostly just moments, blinks of an eye, during pregnancy. We often get caught up in trying not to vomit as we walk past what was once our favorite restaurant, cheering when we can actually pass a bowel movement without our hemroids feeling like they've exploded, trying to roll over in bed without feeling like someone has pulled our pelvis apart, etc... Are all pregnancy that terrifyingly horrible? Thankfully no. But here are some ways to, in the midst of whatever your pregnancy ailments are, remember the joy of being pregnant and cherishing it.

Take belly shots each week of your pregnancy and track the growth of your belly. Why? Well for one, you'd be surprised how much your belly can grow, even early on, especially if you've already had children. Plus, it can be fun to look back at how much your body has changed and remember that this is pregnancy!

Create a belly cast or even a couple. Some women do a belly cast at the beginning of each trimester. This is a good way to show how dramatically your belly has changed to accommodate the new life within your womb. They can also be fun decorations for the baby's room or wherever you want to put them.

Keep a journal and write in it everyday, especially those little moments that make your heart melt. Examples might be, the first time you felt baby move, the position baby is in, etc. This also comes in handy as a reminder during your next pregnancy of what you went through the last time. It can be fun to compare how similar or even different the pregnancies are.

Make a habit of doing something special everyday, that helps you to focus on the life growing within you. Whether you sit quietly listening to music or singing, take a nice warm bath, or read a book out loud. A lot of times, baby will respond to what is going on and it can help you to connect with the baby.

Talk and think about the good things concerning your pregnancy. Like how people don't gawk at you for getting another helping at a meal. How some places have a special place for moms-to-be to park up close to the store and today you just happened to luck out on a busy day there and get the spot! Or if you want to be a little deeper than that, how cool it feels when the baby is fluttering around inside you.

Go on a little shopping spree and find some nice maternity clothes. Ones that will make you feel good about how you look and not just frumpy. After all, you're carrying a miracle inside you. You should be glowing and feeling beautiful and powerful, despite the downsides of pregnancy.

Have a celebration. Whether you celebrate each week, month, or trimester you make it through, just have fun and celebrate. Celebrate the life within you and how far along you've come. Celebrate the good things about being pregnant. Celebrate the excitement you feel about having this baby (or babies.) People have baby showers to celebrate the baby's upcoming arrival, but I see no reason not to celebrate their journey towards that arrival.

Keep video documentary. Make recordings of special moments throughout your pregnancy, like the day you first notice a little baby bump. The day you get the ultrasound done and your excitement about what you saw. Being able to go back and watch the simple little things, and even more obvious big things, that happen during pregnancy can bring a connection to you and your baby as well. It's a great way to remember and focus on what a wonderful journey this is.

Feel free to cast away any toxic people in your life. People who are negative about your pregnancy, or even about you in general. You don't need people like that in your life, and neither does your baby.

Finally, listen when people talk about how much they love pregnancy and how exciting it is. When we're dealing with the downsides of pregnancy, we sometimes get annoyed and irritated by other people's perkiness towards pregnancy. But instead of getting upset and tuning out what these people are saying, try opening up to receive what it is they have to say. They just might have a comment that makes you feel better. You may even be so kind as to let them, if you're really close to them and not anti-touchy, rub your belly and such. One of my dear friends was overjoyed when I allowed her to stand behind me with her arms wrapped around my belly, rubbing it. She was able to imagine having her own preggo belly, which made her feel all giddy inside. For her, it was a big deal, because she has no intentions of having anymore children. And in the end, it kind of made my day to have brought her that joy. Of course, I needed a hug that day anyway so it was a win-win situation.

These are just a few ideas of what you can do to really get into your pregnancy and cherish it. Just remember. Despite all the yuck that comes with pregnancy, in the end it's all worth it, so we might as well learn to enjoy the good things about it.