Every time one of my friends give birth to a precious baby, I get more excited about having my own children one day. I used to fear the birthing process, but as I get more “ready” to start my own family, I actually look forward to it.
The idea of giving birth goes through my mind quite often and I love reading birth stories. I see it as a precious gift that God gave women to experience with their partners. An experience still waiting for me one special day. Some days I wonder in which month I’ll give birth... And, will it be a cold, rainy day, or will it be a warm, sunny day? Well, if I can have it my way, I hope that it will be a very cold day in winter... Late in winter (as if one can be fussy about stuff like that!). I can imagine how wonderful it must feel to cuddle with your baby on a cold day... Ok, obviously I have the more “glamorous”, edited version in my head.
But don’t worry, I am very aware of the unedited version. I’m a very strong believer that one should say it as it is... Say what you really feel. If you have a bad day, tell someone. We don’t live in a perfect world, so there is no way that every day can be perfect. If you share what you feel, people and friends can relate with you, because they experience something similar – it will actually make your day seem brighter...
So yes, it is a wonderful experience to have your own children, but obviously nothing can always be glamorous like celebs make it out to be... No stress, no fuss. A pregnant woman’s figure is something extremely beautiful. I can imagine how awesome it must be not to worry about pulling your stomach in when you wear tight clothing! But what do people don’t tell you? You might get stretch marks... I’ve seen some really bad ones. Your boobs will never be the same... Bye bye perkies :( And how do you get rid of all the baby fat after birth? The worst is when people ask you about when your due date is – after you’ve given birth!!! Ouch!!!
And the actual birth process... I can’t image how excited one must be when your water brakes and you realise; The time has come, today I will meet our baby! But how do you cope with the pain of the contractions? How do you know if you will be able to handle it? Well, I suppose you don’t know – the idea you have in your head before you give birth is completely different after you’ve actually given birth. And when the baby is finally there, I imagine that there will be moments when you wish that it was still in your stomach... And how do you get a human being so small and fragile to grow up and be healthy? How do start to protect them from... EVERYTHING?
What I believe is that this experience is something one would never swap for anything on earth and whatever “bad” happens during pregnancy (stretch marks, floppy belly, massive nipples, etc...), birth (farting, crying, “roaring”, etc...), parenthood (no sleep, paranoia, more crying, etc...)... It will all be worth it when you look into your own child’s eyes.
So Steph and Marchand... Congratulations on your first baby girl! I can only imagine how amazing/crazy/precious your past few days must have been. Enjoy every moment with her, take all your napping opportunities, and take a lot of pictures! We can’t wait to meet her in December.
All our love!
