Perfect Pregnancy....Not
As I enter the 35th week of pregnancy I find myself feeling all kinds of things. Feelings, pains, aches, emotions. Its all just a wild ride. I find myself comparing my journey with others. Mostly the perfect people on social media. How come they aren't in as much pain as I am? How come their bodies have barely changed? How are they able to work out so frequently? All these things make me feel like I am failing at being pregnant. Then I remember they are sharing their highlight reel. Only sharing what makes them seem perfect. That makes me feel like I am not a complete failure.
Granted, I know there are some super moms and super people out there who defy the odds and handle pregnancy like super heroes. Good for them. I wish I could but that is not who I am. I am a regular human. I have no special powers, I have no prior commitment to working out or fitness. I would run occasionally, go hiking, do light yoga from home but it wasn't my life. I felt these things put me on the right, healthy track when it came to pregnancy.
I don't know if I was wrong or if I am just the lucky one who didn't get any morning sickness, or heartburn but instead I have excruciating back pain. This limited my running early on and after a while made long walks pretty painful. I continued to do yoga and stretching but eventually I became limited in what I could do that would help my back. I tried massage and dabbled in the idea of physical therapy. But when you are trying to save all your sick and vacation time for maternity leave, you limit the unnecessary appointments. Maybe that was my mistake in not choosing to do physical therapy but it was my choice and I am living with it.
Still, when I see these cute, fit pregnant mommies to be I feel discouraged. I have my moment of self doubt and pity and hate that I didn't try to handle this pregnancy better but then I bring myself back to reality. I am doing a darn good job being pregnant. My body is creating life and of course it is going to change. Of course things are going to expand and stretch and ache. Once the little one we have created is here, it will all mean nothing. The stretch marks will be my well earned tiger stripes. And the back pain will fade away with the extra pounds once I can get back into my routine. I know it won't be easy to lose the baby weight but I look forward to getting my body strong again. The Orrisons will have hikes to explore with baby Harper.
"Not every day of pregnancy is easy, but every day brings me closer to you."
Granted, I know there are some super moms and super people out there who defy the odds and handle pregnancy like super heroes. Good for them. I wish I could but that is not who I am. I am a regular human. I have no special powers, I have no prior commitment to working out or fitness. I would run occasionally, go hiking, do light yoga from home but it wasn't my life. I felt these things put me on the right, healthy track when it came to pregnancy.
I don't know if I was wrong or if I am just the lucky one who didn't get any morning sickness, or heartburn but instead I have excruciating back pain. This limited my running early on and after a while made long walks pretty painful. I continued to do yoga and stretching but eventually I became limited in what I could do that would help my back. I tried massage and dabbled in the idea of physical therapy. But when you are trying to save all your sick and vacation time for maternity leave, you limit the unnecessary appointments. Maybe that was my mistake in not choosing to do physical therapy but it was my choice and I am living with it.
Still, when I see these cute, fit pregnant mommies to be I feel discouraged. I have my moment of self doubt and pity and hate that I didn't try to handle this pregnancy better but then I bring myself back to reality. I am doing a darn good job being pregnant. My body is creating life and of course it is going to change. Of course things are going to expand and stretch and ache. Once the little one we have created is here, it will all mean nothing. The stretch marks will be my well earned tiger stripes. And the back pain will fade away with the extra pounds once I can get back into my routine. I know it won't be easy to lose the baby weight but I look forward to getting my body strong again. The Orrisons will have hikes to explore with baby Harper.
"Not every day of pregnancy is easy, but every day brings me closer to you."
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