I have three kids, but my youngest is seven, so it’s BEEN a minute since I’ve been pregnant…and it’s been about 15 years since I was pregnant with my first child. So although that pregnant mama feeling has faded into memory for me, the truth is, it’s such a strong and unique feeling that I could truly never forget it. And that moment when you give birth? It’s something that no number or pregnancy books or motherly advice can prepare you for. Seeing that baby of yours outside your womb for the first time just always, always takes your breath away.
That’s why I was moved to tears when I happened upon this Facebook post by mom and writer Amy Weatherly. Entitled “Dear Pregnant Mama,” it sums up the exact experience of carrying and bearing your first born child much better than I ever could. Weatherly posted a photo of her with her newborn and said:
Dear Pregnant Mama,
Yes, it will hurt.
It will be weird.
It will be scary.Yes, your boobs will be sore.
Your body will ache.
Your hands and feet will swell to the size of a pufferfish.Yes, you will feel pain.
You will feel gross.
You will feel a little like an alien in some strange science fiction movie.Yes, you will lose some sleep.
You will lose some freedom.
You will lose the ability to stay awake until 3 am and the ability to eat Doritos by the handful and not gain weight and the ability to “hold it” when you laugh really hard.Yes, you will get stretch marks.
You will get droopy dark circles.
You will get a giant pair of mesh underwear and an ice pack to take home with you.Yes, You will cry.
You will laugh.
You will be so completely overcome with emotion you won’t know what to do with yourself.But the second you hold that baby, everything else will fade away. Everything that happened yesterday becomes background noise to the music of your newborn crying. Your old life becomes a blur in an instant and your new life becomes a beautiful open road that stretches through to the bright and brave unknown.
You will never forget the moment the doctor lays that ooey, gooey, gorgeous baby on your chest. Or the first time he opens his eyes and stares into yours. Or the joy of her tiny hands wrapping gently around your finger.
That’s the moment that will change everything. That’s the moment you will know what it’s like to walk around with your heart uncovered, unprotected and unprepared on the outside of your body.
That’s the moment you will come face to face with one of the greatest loves of your life.
Isn’t that just PERFECTLY said?
I have always been very thankful that I was able to carry and bear three children, but to be quite honest, I never enjoyed pregnancy much. I was the pregnant mama who threw up all day long, everywhere, for 20 weeks instead of eight, had terrible knee and foot pain, and then had to have an emergency c-section when my blood pressure went crazy high. And yet, I would do it again and again if it meant having my three precious kids to love and to raise every day. My heart aches for those who long to be pregnant and cannot have children of their own, or have to fight long infertility battles to get to that amazing moment Weatherly writes about “that will change everything.”
If you are a pregnant mama, or long to become one, please know that even as I write this, I am praying for you! I’m praying that God will bless you with a child that will show you just how amazing and capable you are, that will teach you the meaning of unconditional love, and that will give you a deep perspective on what really matters in this life here on earth.
Thank you, Amy Weatherly, for these beautiful words! For more great stuff from Amy, follow her on her Facebook page.
