There comes a time in every woman’s pregnancy where we hit a wall. We are done being pregnant. Sure, we still love feeling the baby move, having them close and enjoy all of the wonder that goes into carrying someone we’ve never met before, but at some point, most of us, if not all of us, would prefer to have that baby out.
I haven’t hit that wall yet (although, I wouldn’t mind not having a large belly right about now – ha!), but I feel myself inching closer and closer every day. You see, this is my third time doing this. I know the drill. I know when I can expect to feel my best and I know when I’ll reach my breaking point – two weeks before my due date and there are still no signs of the baby coming!! I swear, my children would stay in my womb FOREVER if they could.
I feel confident in saying I will feel this way again because I know I make big babies and the exhaustion towards the end is killer!! This time around, I’m very quick to assume this little girl will be on the larger side. Peyton was 8 pounds 9 oz and came a week late and Emory was 8 pounds 1 oz and was a week early. I was induced on purpose because I was not doing that whole “past my due date” thing again. So, I know that towards the last couple weeks of my pregnancy, I’ll be carrying around an almost 8-pounder while trying to chase around two little ones. Yep… thinking about it doesn’t exactly excite me at the moment.
Trust me, I’m thankful, SO thankful that I’ve been able to experience the blessing of being pregnant again and carrying our third child with no complications, but I do want to say, I also really miss my non-pregnant body. Gosh, I kind of cringe saying that wondering what you’re all thinking, but I’m just being honest. To me, I just don’t have that pregnancy glow. I gain weight all over the place, my face gets fuller, and it’s just physically exhausting towards the end. I’ve been this way with every pregnancy. I’ve just never really truly been comfortable being pregnant.
And this pregnancy, I find myself really missing my high-waisted mom jeans. I get serious envy when I see my friends or cute influencers I follow on Instagram that are able to do the mom tuck with their t-shirts!!! I want that!! I want to tuck my shirt in my jeans and hide my squishy mom skin!! And I miss being able to bend over without feeling like I’m hurting my child. I miss feeling lighter on runs. I miss being able to crack my back. I miss being able to twist and turn my body like a normal human being. I miss my skin not being so hormonal. I miss having clothes that fit. And I miss looking in the mirror and recognizing myself.
As horrible and dramatic as I’m making this all sound, it’s so worth it. So incredibly worth it. All of these things that I miss with every pregnancy clearly vanish in my brain the moment I hold that baby for the first time, otherwise there’s no chance I’d be doing this THREE TIMES!!! Seriously, as much as I joke to my husband how much a relief it is to physically have that baby out when they enter the world, it’s a million times more comforting hearing them cry for the first time and knowing they are okay.
During the next two-and-a-half months, I can 100% guarantee, I’ll have moments where I so desperately want to be able to see my toes, or want to cry because I’m tired of carrying the weight of a watermelon in my stomach while running to catch my son to get out of the door in time. But when these next couple of months come to end, I’ll hopefully be fortunate enough to hold our healthy baby girl for the first time skin-to-skin, breathe her in, and experience the overwhelming sense of gratitude and joy of becoming a mother again.
To all my pregnant mamas, hang in there. Love you all, and we’ve got this!! Those mom jeans will fit us again soon enough. 🙂
Marina Makes 