You are already preparing for postpartum, but it just seems like every day lasts a million years. Here’s what you need to remember when you feel like you’ll be pregnant forever and can’t stand one more minute... After all, you’ve been pregnant for 35 weeks.
I laid down on the bed crying. Sobbing. Ugly crying, really. I was feeling exhaustion, self-pity, and an all around sense that I was going to die of misery before I ever gave birth.
I could barely move, eat, sleep or think about anything other than the apparently false contractions I was having and whether labor would ever actually happen. And this was just at 35 weeks pregnant…
“Do I bring to the moment of birth and not give delivery?” says the LORD. “Do I close up the womb when I bring to delivery?” says your God. Isaiah 66:9″
Well, labor did come. And it came 5 times… with five precious kiddos. And now the kids are a bit older and I can’t believe how fast the time has flown.
Words to Remember When You Feel Like You’ll Be Pregnant Forever
When you feel like you can’t go on and you want to rage and cry and eat all the pineapples and walk for 5 miles and whatever else, remember these things.
Daily Routine Brainstorm SHEETS
Get my cheat sheets (newborn up to elementary aged kids) and find your family’s groove. Use them for nap times, meal times, bedtimes, chore times, play times AND more!
An Hour Is Like a Day, But After…
Every hour of life those last few weeks feel like entire days. Everything is in slow motion and even the smallest thing like cooking a meal or doing the dishes feels like a huge chore.
A strain… and you’re only 35 weeks pregnant.
That one straw that’s about to break the camel’s back. But take heart…
After you have your baby in your arms, time goes back to normal. In fact it speeds up.
Just as slow as those final days feel, the postpartum days go by quicker than you can possibly imagine. It feels like an eternity between now and then, it’ll be here before you know it.
Read: Why I don’t weigh myself during pregnancy and why you shouldn’t either
Your Body Was Made To Do This, Even at 35 Weeks Pregnant…
Whether or not you think it at this moment, your body is not revolting against you and you won’t be pregnant forever.
One of the female body’s primary functions is to grow and nurture life. Though everything feels Large and Swollen and you can’t remember what life was like when you fit into real clothes, your body is doing it. It’s doing the exact right thing.
Read: How my 3 year old daughter caused my water to break
Giving Birth Is Better Than Being Pregnant… Focus…
If you are a first time mom, you may find this hard to believe. But believe it, by the time you are ready to push it’s nearly over.
The labor is pain and discomfort with a purpose. If you start to feel stir crazy and Over It, do some relaxation exercises. Practice your preferred birthing position or do some stretches.
You’re 35 weeks pregnant…
After birth, you’ll be amazed how wrecked your core is and how loose and wobbly all your leg muscles are. Even though you’ve been carrying around all that extra weight!
Do something physical that helps you feel as though you’re preparing for labor. It’ll give you focus and take your mind off the present discomfort.
Self-Care Habit Tracker
Do you forget to sleep, bathe, eat, relax, etc.? NO MORE. This tracker will help you consistently live within your limits so you have more love to give to your family.
Related Reads:
- What’s the difference between a midwife and a doctor?
- Ultimate Newborn Sleep Schedule: Week By Week
- Sample Newborn Routine
- Printable Newborn Feeding Chart
- Newborn Feeding Schedule That Work
You Are Beautiful, But You Can’t Feel It…
Every time I’m pregnant I feel ugly, huge, and gross. From 35 weeks pregnant and on, it gets worse…
The physical feeling is too strong for me to even believe my husband’s kind words about how I look. He says, rightly so, that pregnancy is a special time so how you look now is outside of comparison.
When a woman is carrying a child she’s fuller, rounder, softer, and – well – bigger. But that doesn’t mean she isn’t beautiful. There is something inherently beautiful about being pregnant.
Read: Pregnancy Fitness: Your Ultimate Resource Guide
Women love seeing other pregnant women and men do as well. I remember many many times throughout my pregnancies, having men (dads themselves, clearly) give me sympathetic and encouraging smiles. Their smiles said what I did not believe in the moment…
That pregnancy is beautiful.
It‘s hard.
And, that pregnancy is fleeting.
Hang on, mama.
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