Lessons Learned During Pregnancy

Now, with just one week left in my pregnancy, I look back over the last nine months at all the things I've learned. I'm not just talking about things I've learned about pregnancy (though- I DID learn a lot!). No, the lessons that I want to talk about are things that I will take with me through life, on a daily basis, whether I am pregnant or not. It's always important to recognize moments where we can learn about ourselves and become better. Below are my three biggest takeaways from the last nine months.

No feelings are wrong. This is powerful for me as someone who strives to be in control of all situations at all times (yes, I'm a control freak- my poor hubby). I can't say that I've noticed the huge hormone swings that people swear by except on days that I was feeling weepy. But there have been days where cascades of emotion have swept over me that left me feeling guilty, overwhelmed, angry, and/or lonely. It's hard to explain where these feelings come from, but I think that we can all relate to feeling this way sometimes. Often, before we even allow ourselves to just feel it, we berate ourselves for feeling that way at all, feeling as though the emotion is invalid, unjustified, or just plain "wrong". We work to remove the feeling before it has even been processed. I struggled with this the most in the first trimester, but realized how unproductive it was quickly. Now, when I feel a certain way, I create a safe space to just feel it and think about it. Why am I feeling this way? Where did this feeling come from? Acknowledging that a feeling doesn't make me a bad person, but taking the time to absorb it, and then being able to reason with it. Does it hold any bearing? Is this a permanent feeling? Is there truth in it? I've found when I create space for these emotions, they are less likely to pop back up as I'm taking the time figure out where they are coming from, why, and going forward are there any actionable items I need to take. Berating yourself for feeling a certain way is only going to make you feel worse, instead take the time to show some self love and actually do something to take care of yourself.

We are such selfish beings. This might sound super negative but stay with me. Becoming a mother is a transformative experience and sometimes I think that pregnancy is the first lesson that we are no longer allowed to be selfish. Granted we don't HAVE to follow the "guidelines" to stay healthy and take care of the baby growing inside of us, but for nine months we truly have to put much of our own plans, desires, and ambitions aside to grow this little one. I never realized how selfish I really was until I got pregnant and I found myself struggling with giving certain things up. Yes, there have been days where it's been easy, but I definitely had my moments of, "But I want to do this NOW," and it is just not an option. Truthfully I think it's good we go through this period because our lives are about to change drastically and if I think my world doesn't revolve around me now... it's about to get a whole lot more baby centered soon. With this realization I have been trying to just be mindful that my needs will be met the more I try to meet other's needs. Generally we think pouring into other people's buckets will deplete our own, but really it does the opposite. When I take the time to pour into my hubby and really love and care for him, he returns it ten-fold and my bucket is more full than ever. Granted, this rule does not work with all people, but it does with those that you love and truly love you in return. I think in this era where we are promoting self-love (as I do in the previous paragraph), we are becoming me-centered and are so concerned about getting what we "deserve". Don't be so worried about yourself, pour into those around you, and your life will be blessed.

We are beautifully and wonderfully made. So, for those of you who don't know, I'm a Christian and believe in God the Father, and I have a relationship with Jesus Christ, his son. I don't talk about my faith a lot on here but it's the cornerstone of my life. That being said, I believe that God created us and that we were not created by bacteria that evolved over millions of years. My main point in bringing this up, is just to say that the human body is just amazing. Being into health, nutrition, and fitness for my entire adult life I have felt this way for a long time, but being pregnant has opened my eyes to a whole different level of appreciation. What the body is capable of doing and how it adjusts is truly incredible and nothing short of a miracle. I guess that's why when people think we were created by "accident" it sort of blows my mind. It just makes so much more sense to me that an all-knowing and all-powerful being created something that is so intricate, so complex, so diverse, and so resilient. I have grown to appreciate and love my body so much more than I ever thought possible over the last nine months. I am so grateful for how it's carried me and supported me through all these changes and am just in awe of God's creation.

It's really cool how different phases of life allow you to learn more about yourself and the world around you. I encourage you to embrace the transitions, effortless or demanding, and find the good in all of them. There are always things to be learned, and always ways to challenge ourselves to grow.

With my due date right around the corner I am going to do my best to continue to blog each week but that might be too ambitious hahaha. Just know that if you are reading about this that I care about you and would love to hear from you! Check out my Insta @healthwithholly0106 or leave me a message here. Hope to hear from you and hopefully I'll be posting pics of a cute baby girl here soon! <3