Life Lessons from 24 Weeks of Pregnancy

There are few things in my life that I have felt more ill-equipped for than pregnancy. When we first found out we were pregnant, I said to my doctor, "I know literally nothing about pregnancy; tell me everything I need to know, nothing is too basic." I'm a teacher! Working with kids comes naturally to me, but that does not mean that I was ready for all that was to come. I'm still not, but I'm resting in the truth that God equips the called, not the other way around. With that, here's a couple of life lessons I've learned so far, at 24 weeks. (Also, it's WILD to me to think about how much learning Ben and I are in for in the coming weeks and months and years.)

First off, everyone was a first timer at some point. While many people may feel confident right from the beginning, everyone starts as a beginner. This still took me weeks to understand (and I still have to remind myself of this), but it's been imperative to remember that I don't need to know everything beforehand. Parenthood and life in general are kind of learn-as-you-go things, and I'm so open to that.

Another big takeaway from pregnancy is that rest is one of the most underrated ways to solve any problem. I hadn't realized how few medications or typical remedies hadn't been proven to be safe during pregnancy. You're basically stuck with Tylenol and rest as ways to feel better. It blows me away how horrible I am at rest (I don't think I'm alone on this). Recently, a friend reminded me that rest isn't something we earn; we were designed to rest in order to do the things our lives require of us. I know it's ironic to learn about the powers of rest before entering into thee most sleepless season of life, but I think there's a reason for that. I hope I can remember to protect and prioritize rest when the baby arrives.

Experienced parents will probably laugh at me for this one, but I've been abundantly reminded throughout pregnancy not to cling too tightly to plans. I already knew that kids require flexibility, but from feeling sick throughout the first trimester to last minute doctor's appointments, and changes in my own abilities (hello, huffing and puffing after a few stairs) to general life rearrangement, there's all kinds of unexpected that we can't predict when making plans. I'm trying to be open to that roller coaster and, laugh if you will, plan accordingly. For example, despite how overwhelming it feels to consider all the products we might need with baby, I'm trying to be mindful of grabbing options, rather than stocking up on things I'm unsure if we'll like/use/etc.

We can't discuss pregnancy without addressing the female body. Like, I knew it was incredible, and I knew that women had to go through a lot, but I'm continually blown away by the magic that is pregnancy. I don't have to know what I'm doing; my body somehow figures it out itself. Initially, I had been so terrified of how my body would change. However, as I'm going through all these transformations, I can't help but regret all the times I ever thought anything less than positive about my body. The human body deserves so much more love than we give it. Our bodies should be celebrated. With this new realization, I've been trying to focus more on nourishing my body, rather than just feeding it (although I type this while dreaming of Twix and French fries, so...) and moving it because I can, rather than because I need to change something.

Arguably my biggest life lesson throughout pregnancy so far is how the joy of new babies is so exponential and contagious. Babies terrify me, and it's easy to feel unqualified for parenthood, a job I'll spend the rest of my life working on without ever really knowing how I'm doing. When we found out we were pregnant, it was unbelievably nerve-racking to share the news. I still haven't figured out how to do it without just blurting, "I'm pregnant" in random conversation. But ever since we've started telling people, I've been blown away by the sheer JOY everyone seems to share in our upcoming excitement. It's so beautiful and truly such a gift to connect with so many over this special human we'll get to meet in a little over three months.

It's almost overwhelming to consider all the learning that's happened so far and even more so to think about allllllll the learning that's yet to come. Here's to a lifetime of life lessons.

-J