We are so, so close to meeting our baby girl :’) Anytime now~ and it’s something that I’m looking forward to so much! Finally meeting her face-to-face, and being able to carry her in my arms and cuddle her. I could never really understand why some people would say that they miss pregnancy and sometimes wish that baby was back inside (maybe I’ll change my mind about that when she’s out haha!). I’ve been feeling so not-normal throughout this pregnancy, that I can’t wait to go back to “myself”. But now that we’re reaching the tail-end of pregnancy, it’s really quite a bittersweet feeling. Perhaps I might never really go back to “normal” anyway – how could you possibly, when becoming a mother is such a life-changing experience? :’)
But yes, now that I think about it, there are some things that I’ll really miss about being pregnant.
That round pregnant belly
I guess it’s really quite impossible to imagine how you’d look when you’re pregnant before it actually happens. I never really thought about it. But oh, that feeling of your little one growing inside and seeing it manifested outwardly in the growing belly is such an amazing feeling. It was so liberating to not have to think about “sucking in” the tummy throughout the pregnancy, when you could never distinguish a post-meal food belly from the pregnant belly anyway. While I couldn’t exercise as freely as I used to, and began to lose the tone in my body, I embraced the softness that replaced it. And I loved the roundness of my belly! (well thank God in a way that I didn’t get too round anywhere else :p result of my lack of appetite during the entire pregnancy, which I guess was somewhat a blessing in disguise?).
Being one with baby
Although I’m so looking forward to carrying baby in my arms, I realised that I’ll miss having her in my belly too! I still remember the first time I felt the tiniest flutter of her movement in my belly in the middle of the night. It was magical. Over the course of days and weeks, the movements slowly became more distinct, becoming ripples, waves and sometimes kicks. When I felt her feet in my ribs one day, a wave of relief washed over me because it told me that she’d finally turned head down. Her movements tell me that she’s okay inside, and I could while away minutes just watching her create waves on my belly. With her inside me for the past 9 months, I never felt alone :’) And yes, I’m one of those crazy mummies who talk to my belly, and I loves how she responds when I do that! It’s especially cute how she’s always super active when hubs & I are praying for her, hehe.
The perfect reason to rest
As someone who loves being active, I’m always out and about busying myself with something. During my 1st trimester, which mercifully coincided with the circuit breaker period, I was pretty much debilitated thanks to the awful nausea and spent most of my days horizontal on the sofa. It was then I realised and appreciated the importance of giving my body rest when it was due, and while I’m so glad that the nausea is far gone, I’m thankful for this lesson that it has taught me. 2nd & 3rd trimesters were much better for me, but even with my energy levels pretty much back to normal, I still made it a point to tune in to my body and take breaks whenever I needed it. Particularly in the 3rd trimester, though I’ve still been feeling pretty energetic, but I’ve sometimes just stopped myself from doing too much and just lying down for a rest because I know that I won’t have the luxury to do so pretty soon. Stopping my studio/gym classes has been a refreshing break (though I do miss my students!!), and it’s been a good time for me to recharge before baby’s arrival.
Not many things I’ll miss other than these 😉 On the other hand, many other things that I’m looking forward to as well when bb is out! Holding her in my arms is #1 in the list ^^ but also many other things like – having my appetite back to normal, eating sashimi, drinking wine, regaining my mobility without the belly in the way, lying on my tummy. Hehe. Exciting times just around the corner :’)