It has been quite a while since my last "Motherly advice" post i figured its time for another one.
In the beginning of this pregnancy all i could think of was how badly i jinxed myself in sooo many ways. Every time i heard of someone getting pregnant for the 4th time in 3 years or the 2nd time before their baby was 1 i would roll my eyes and think "what in the world is that woman doing, doesnt she ever want to have a life, or they should really have been more careful." Then guess what?! Bam when i swore off another child until Leighton was 3 so I could have a life someone else decided to give me some perspective. So even though i was running, i was nursing, we were "careful", i didnt have a cycle and it took 2 years and lots of clomid to get Leighton, I was pregnant. With all of the odds against us it happened. Every thought i had about other women ran through my mind but apparently nothing besides being abstinent was going to stop us from having a baby. So from then on my judging has mostly stopped.
Now i have had to learn what being pregnant for a second time is like. It really isn't any easier than the first. Don't get me wrong i do not have hard pregnancies. I have an average amount of morning sickness and i feel tired pretty often but something happens when i am pregnant and i feel like i have way more self control. I tend to eat way better and exercise harder and more often. Mentally i try to stay sharp and spiritually i try to grow stronger in my beliefs. If you have ever been pregnant though you know being pregnant is not fun. Some girls can not wait to have a baby bump or the pregnant glow but me i worry constantly over how healthy the baby is or how much weight i have gained and some pains that my body goes through growing this little human make me want to just curl up in bed all day and hide.
Instead of focusing on all of the negative though i tend to look at how positive of an experience this is. I include Leighton in all of my pregnancy activities like running in the mornings. She loves it, if we miss a day she will go to the door at least 10 times and ask to go or climb in her stroller and tell me she is ready. I tell her about the baby in my belly not that she gets it at all but she sure does love my belly and somehow i think she knows its special and not just because it looks like hers. When i rock Leighton at night she snuggles close to my stomach and can feel the baby kick, they already love each other.
Sweet things like that do make this second pregnancy nicer than the first. I was so involved in Leighton's pregnancy and learning everything there was to know and now i am involved in preparing Leighton for the new baby and myself for her as well. Knowing more of what to expect takes some of the edge off and really seeing once again what i am capable of is nice too. Pregnancy really does tend to put life into perspective for me. With Leighton it was the not getting pregnant part that made everything seem like such a miracle. I really learned not to take anything for granted and that things happen when they are supposed to. With little girl number two, again things do not happen on our time it is all up to the Lord. What an eye opener that there are more things in store for Kaden and I than to be selfish and save money and travel and have an easy couple years of doing whatever we wanted to do. Having a baby is so much more special than that so i don't know what we were thinking anyways.
So my advice out of all of this. Try to learn from everything that comes your way. I have posted about pregnancy and timing before but besides that life throws a lot at us and we are expected to do so much. When things are easy love it and when they aren't grow from from it. If i can run 4 miles pushing a stroller while 27 weeks pregnant i know i can basically do anything. Find something in your life that tells you that, because it is true.
