Super Preggo Ladies, Could You Just Relax?

Here’s a recipe for an internet disaster:  Tell a bunch of tired and hormonal women to RELAX already.

But I can’t. I literally can not hear another women complain about needing her baby out NOW without adding another perspective.

Note:  If you are a nurse or a well meaning friend or family member – please don’t add to that notion either.  Help these women relax!  Buy them ice cream, rub their feet, but don’t make them feel like their baby NEEDS to come out now.

This P.S.A. is coming from someone that is currently “past due” by almost a week, so I’m in the trenches too.  But not for a second will I be fooled that I can’t wait a few more days for my baby to arrive.  Passing your due date is not a reason to panic.  It doesn’t mean something is wrong with your body or your baby.  You don’t need to start planning your induction the second you reach your last month of pregnancy.  I mean, your baby WILL arrive.  I have never heard of one baby that grew up and graduated in their mother’s womb.

Don’t get too caught up in the labor signs either.  Some of us have Braxton Hicks and start dilating weeks before baby makes an appearance.  Some of us go from 0-10 cm dilated in less than twenty four hours with no prior labor signs.  Neither is right or wrong.  Our bodies are unique.  Our babies are unique.  Relax mamas-to-be.  You are almost there.  Your baby will arrive any day now.

Trust me, I get it, you are uncomfortable right now.  Your ankles may be swollen, your skin may be tight and itchy, you can’t find a comfortable sleeping position.  That’s all real.

But I hate to break it to you, you aren’t going to be comfortable for awhile.

If you’ve never been through it or in case you’ve forgotten, once baby arrives, your body is still not the one you are longing to return to for awhile.  The unglamorous truth is that your body will be bleeding for a few weeks afterwards, statistically you’ll probably be recovering from stitches (vaginally or a c-section), and you still won’t be getting any sleep.

Sure you won’t be waking up to pee and reposition every few hours; instead it will be to soothe and feed a crying baby.  Your boobs will be huge, leaky, and overly sensitive.  Your mind won’t be able to shut off because you have a newborn to check on.

I’m not saying this to scare you.  I’m just honestly wondering, do those sound like great alternatives to rush through the last days of your pregnancy?

Personally, I am in no rush.  Baby will come, and I will be thrilled when she does.  In the meantime, I am trying to relax, even in my super preggo body.  Because relaxing and thinking in concise thoughts is something the newborn stage doesn’t often afford.

Have you read Love You to Pieces, Beautiful Monster or My Mom is the Worst?  These children’s books offer a good laugh to a tired parent, and make a great gift.  Check them out here.

For the women on the other side of pregnancy:  Which was harder for you – the last two weeks of your pregnancy, or the first two weeks home with your newborn?