He’s here!
After 40 weeks, he’s arrived! My son was born early in a mid-July morning, in a whirlwind three hours after we got to the hospital. It’s been such a ride – being a first-time parent is something really nothing can prepare you for, and every day comes with a new experience. My husband and I have juggled schedules, foregone sleep, laughed, cried, and just stared in wonder at our perfect little guy.
I haven’t had time to think about much besides him, although now that he’s in his second month of life a lot of my fears about him have gone away, only to be replaced with anxiety about my body. I gained a healthy amount of weight during my pregnancy, and there’s a lot that comes off afterward, but things…have shifted around, so to speak. Before him, I worked on my feet each day, but now I’ve been confined to the sofa to nurse, so my exercise has really gone downhill. Meals have been what I could just hold in one hand and shovel in quickly before his next cry, and it’s so much easier to not be very nutrition-minded. There’s a lot to get used to with my new body, and I’m trying to see it as an opportunity to learn how to love myself and my body for its strengths, not for what I perceive are its weaknesses.
And boy, is it strong. During my son’s birth I did not take any medication, just zoned out, barely speaking to anyone – not because it was too painful, but because my body just took over and did its own thing. It didn’t need me to control it, it just needed me to let it do what it knew how to do. It was such a glorious lesson to learn – that my body knows what it needs. And it delivered a beautiful, healthy, wonderful little boy.
The body is like that with food, too. It knows what it needs to function well – which is why it doesn’t hesitate to let me know when I don’t feel good after I eat a ton of junk because it’s “easier.” It knows it needs exercise, and gently lets me know (by my needing to catch my breath when I go up and down the stairs) that I need to start moving again, even if it’s just a little bit to start. It’s not the easiest time, but I know that if I just rely on God’s grace and if I listen to what my body is telling me, I won’t go wrong.
Pregnancy has been a wonderful journey – as I’m sure parenting will be. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support as I’ve made my way here! Best of luck to all of the new mamas-to-be who are reading – be assured of my prayers and love as you make your way down this wonderful new pathway of life!
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Thank you so much!