Tuesday, November 9, 2010

End of Pregnancy...


As this pregnancy draws to a close, I sit, armed with a freshly purchased bottle of TUMS, and reflect back on the past 38 weeks of pregnancy. There are certainly things I will miss - and plenty of things I will NOT miss. Here is my pregnancy review:

I will miss the encouragement to "eat that other cookie, you're pregnant!" or "you're pregnant - you NEED that cheesecake. I bet it is just your body saying you need calcium."

I will NOT miss the morning sickness. Many people never deal with it. For others, it lasts a few weeks and then subsides. Other moms-to-be have it the entire time. I am in the middle - I have had it the entire time, but it is not a daily situation (so it could be worse, right?).

I will miss the happy smiles from strangers. Seriously, as a pregnant woman I receive more warm, wistful smiles than I know what to do with, and it is fantastic (not to mention the opened doors, offers to cut in line and assistance with lifting/carrying/holding things)!

I will NOT miss the aches and pains. Acid reflux (thank you TUMS, for your creation). Round ligament pain. Odd back & hip pain.

I will miss that while baby is in my tummy, it is super easy to be an excellent mother. Skip the alcohol, eat fruits and veggies, rest, light yoga work outs - and BAM, I am being a good mother. Once baby arrives, I have things like "making sure this tiny human grows up to be a confident, smart, kind, educated, non-pushover of a person with strong morals but a enough of a wild streak that allows them to experience life without getting into too much trouble" to worry about.

I will NOT miss turning down alcohol. I am not an alcoholic, but I love a good glass of wine with dinner, a champagne toast at a wedding, a cool beverage in my hand while I swim around the lake on a hot summer day...

I will miss the movements in my tummy. There is just something so surreal about watching my stomach bounce and roll. And I love that when Johnny talks to my stomach, she'll instantly start wiggling and bouncing to the sound of her daddy's voice.

I will NOT miss the feeling of "Great. I'm on the floor. How am I going to get up?"

I will miss the excitement of a specific day to look forward to. For nine months, my universe has been centered around Thanksgiving Day. After November 25, 2010 comes and goes I will just be back to wishing that time would slow down.

I will NOT miss the constant remarks on my appearance: "You look great for someone who is as pregnant as you are!" "Are you sure there is only one in there?" "You've gained, what, 30 pounds?" "Mind if I stand here and rub your belly while I talk really close to your face?" (OK, the last one wasn't appearance related, but I won't miss that either)

I will miss the name game! I love talking about names, thinking about names, creating name lists... Soon, we will just have a baby with a name and no more lists to review.

I will NOT miss the worry that something could still go wrong - I can't wait to just have the baby girl safely in my arms, where I can see her face, touch her skin, kiss her nose...

OK, well - miniature clothes have been hung, sheets are washed, diapers are ready to be changed - now I guess we just wait....

4 comments:

Arin Kunkle said...

Beautiful! I loved reading this. You pretty much perfectly described how i felt with each of pregnancies (with obvious differences of course). It was a real joy to read this blog. Thank you for sharing.

Unknown said...

Not sure why, but this brought tears to my eyes. What a miracle this adventure must be!

Johnny, Sarah, Christopher and Emmy Buckner said...

Awww, thank you both Arin and Margie - you all made my day!

Amy Tiomkin said...

Such beautiful words Sarah. I am so excited for you, your going to be the best mom all over again! I am now in my 19 week, I have a way to go. This just made my day, giving me lots to look forward to. I have been lucky enough to never have been sick; fingers crossed, lol. But the feeling of him moving around makes my day, its amazing. 30 pounds is perfect, your a gorgeous mother to be; don't think for a sec your not. I love ya and wish I could see you <3 its been to many years! love your blog...