Congratulations on your pregnancy!! Whether you just found out or are several weeks into your first trimester, this is such a special time.
Contrary to popular belief, being pregnant isn’t as simple as remembering to take your prenatal vitamins, which is a feat in itself. Pregnancy is exhausting, exciting, exhilarating, and stressful all at once, which means that you’re going to be exhausted, excited, exhilarated, and stressed for the next few months. Not an easy thing to be — especially when you’re gaining weight at a rate of three pounds per week.
I hate to even say this to a pregnant woman, but the next few months might not be the best months of your life. (Sorry!) I think my biggest misconception about pregnancy was that I expected it to be easy. I thought I’d be bubbling with baby-growing joy for the entire nine months. Maybe that’s true for some people, but it wasn’t the case for me. Pregnancy was hard. And stressful. And super annoying at times. And I wrestled with emotions that I’m embarrassed to even admit.
Interestingly, while I was trying to get a handle on the stress and emotions of pregnancy, I felt an overwhelming urge to draw closer to God. There’s something about impending motherhood that makes a girl really reflect on who she is and who she wants to be.
I knew that my future children needed a godly mother, and I knew that I fell (far) short of the mark. This caused me to spend a lot of time reflecting on the characteristics of godly mothers and how I could become one.
As Christian women, we have to live up to a pretty high standard.
The legendary Proverbs 31 woman is gracious and kind and long-suffering and probably never snapped at her husband for leaving dirty clothes on the floor. I’m not even close. I find myself living in a daily battle to live up to God’s standard for my life. I wake up praying that I’ll live with patience and integrity throughout the day… and find myself losing my cool before breakfast.
Yet, at one of the most stressful, emotional, and trying times of my life (my first pregnancy), God drew me closer to Him. I actually felt His presence as I spent time praying and reflecting on my baby and my future as a mother. It’s comforting to hear His voice in a time of need and feel His presence when you’re feeling your worst. And, hearing God’s voice (and knowing He’s there) is great motivation to have a godly attitude throughout pregnancy.
Of course, I was still the same old girl who couldn’t seem to make it to breakfast without losing patience about something. (Have I mentioned the dirty laundry that is always left on the bathroom floor?) Still, God did show me that purposefully choosing to have a godly attitude resulted in me feeling closer to Him.
That, in turn, allowed me to have a more gracious attitude about my pregnancies.
Sounds a bit trite, doesn’t it? I mean, if it was all about choosing to smile through any situation, then every day would be gumdrops and Preggie Pops, right? Not exactly. But God does call us to be content in any circumstance (even morning sickness!), which means choosing to focus on the reasons we have to be grateful, even when it’s tempting to be grumpy.
And trust me, when I was pregnant, I had lots of reasons to be grumpy. But, I did strive to have an attitude of gratitude about my pregnancy. Here’s how I did (and didn’t) do it.
How to Get into the Pregnancy Groove
1. Get Yourself Pumped Up
When I first got pregnant, I was giddy with excitement. And who wouldn’t be? I was going to have a baby. I couldn’t stop thinking (or talking) about it. But then I got tired. And sick. And bloated. And suddenly I wasn’t so giddy anymore. In fact, once those pregnancy symptoms kicked in, I turned into a whiney, moaning, self-pitying mess. I resented my baby for making me feel so bad and resented everyone else because they didn’t feel as bad as I did. I resented my job because I had to go to it. I resented my husband because he could sleep and I couldn’t. I even resented my dog because she could spend the entire day basking in the sunshine while I had to actually get up and function.
So, how exactly do you start thinking about rainbows and baby booties when you’ve spent weeks hugging the toilet bowl? One thing I did was immerse myself in babyland. I bought books about pregnancies and babies. I hung out with friends who had babies. I googled over baby gear on the Internet and rented funny movies about babies and watched them over and over. The only thing I didn’t do was volunteer to babysit because that would’ve taken way more energy than I had at that point. But if you’re feeling up to dirty diapers and peek-a-boo, then go for it.
The point is, the more time you spend around babies (and other mothers), the more excited you will be about your own baby. And trust me, the only thing in the world that is worth nine months of pregnancy is a baby… and you’re getting one. So hop on board the baby train (I don’t have to tell you twice, do I?) and start living baby.
2. Turn that Mommy Guilt into Glee (Or at Least Contentment)
That resentment I felt because I was sick, tired, and fat quickly turned to guilt. I felt guilty for resenting my baby, who was supposed to be my pride and joy. I felt guilty for resenting my husband, who was honestly trying to help me as much as he could. Mostly, I felt guilty that I wasn’t thrilled to be pregnant.
I started to wonder if God didn’t approve of my pregnancy and my baby. Crazy talk, right? I know that now, but at the time, I felt so awful and so confused that I started to doubt God’s providence.
Of course, once I realized — duh! — that God blessed me with the pregnancy, I wanted to be grateful to Him regardless of how I was feeling. God wants us to be content in our pregnancies, even when we’re not feeling good. Tough job, huh?
It was a long, uphill battle for me. And I had to constantly remind myself of God’s grace and mercy.
But in the midst of the battle, God taught me many lessons I wouldn’t have otherwise learned: how to depend on others, how to trust, and what it means to truly depend on God for strength.
3. Pray for Your Baby
Another way to get into the pregnancy groove is to start praying for your baby in-utero. Sounds obvious, right? Well, it wasn’t for me. (I was tired and sick, okay?) It took me several weeks of pregnancy to start praying for my son. I was so stunned and overwhelmed by the idea of being pregnant that the idea of praying for my baby didn’t cross my mind. One day, one of the girls in my small-group Bible study mentioned that she had prayed for her baby throughout her pregnancy and suddenly the light went on. I wanted to pray for my unborn child too!
I could go into the mushy details about how my husband and I lay in bed and put our hands on my slightly protruding tummy and prayed for our son, but I’m sure you get it. In fact, you’ve probably been praying for your baby since the moment you found out you were pregnant. But, just in case there’s another woman out there like me who didn’t think of it, I thought I’d mention it.
4. Think About the Pros of Pregnancy
There are some (okay, lots of) wonderful things about pregnancy. What other times in your life do you have free license to eat extra calories, sleep late, and buy baby clothes without reservation?
Plus, when you’re pregnant, everyone (and I mean everyone) gushes over you. I remember walking into the church as I was just starting to show. Two of the guys in our Sunday school class ran to grab me a chair. My husband got me water and my girlfriend brought me muffins from the class next door. They had blueberry crumble! Everyone oohed and aahhhed. Part of me hated all of the fuss — uh, who am I kidding? I loved the attention! Who wouldn’t?
But aside from the minor benefits, when you’re pregnant, it’s easy to dwell on all of the things you’re missing out on. You can’t eat sushi. You can’t wear your favorite pencil skirt. Your bras are all too small, and you’re too tired to stay up late watching chick flicks with your hubby (as if that happened before). I remember bursting into tears in the middle of our church group’s Christmas party because the eggnog was made from raw eggs and I was a little uneasy about exposing my unborn child to salmonella. I actually sobbed. Totally irrational, I know (especially considering the fact that there were a million other drink options at the party), but I felt so deprived.
The thing is, pregnancy isn’t about deprivation. Sure, there are things you shouldn’t and can’t do, but there is also one huge thing that you can do: nurture your own child inside of you. What an incredible privilege.
I’m sure some of our husbands are secretly envious of us that we get to do it and they don’t! How else can we account for their sympathy weight gain?
The best way to get out of a pregnancy funk is to think about the reason for the pregnancy. I know that sounds obvious, but focus on your baby. Focus on the privilege. It’ll help you to forget the pain.
And if that doesn’t work, think of all of the things that you can get away with during this brief period of your life.
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In conclusion…
A baby is truly a gift from the Lord. As your little one begins to develop, you will find yourself in awe of our creator. He has planned everything so perfectly. While you learn about how He is knitting your baby together…. each and every week… you will see what an amazing miracle this is.
My prayer is that during this special time, you will find a deeper connection with the Lord.