Prepping for the Final Stretch

From the time I was a little girl I was conditioned to believe that labor is the worst thing a woman can endure. I heard horror stories from my friends' moms recounting their experiences to my mother. When playing house there was always panting and screaming in the name of authenticity. Media portrays labor as something to be feared or a necessary evil. After spending some time looking at the stages of labor I have come to a conclusion. Now, I know I haven't done this before, but I have long felt that my experiences were only going to be as good as I wanted them to be. I have found this to be true in developing friendships, relationships with family and my own marriage. With that in mind, let us proceed.

I want to actively ENJOY doing what I was sent to Earth to do. I want to feel connected to the process with the understanding that there will be pain and discomfort involved. I want to feel my contractions (maybe not full-blown) and feel my baby move through me. I want to relax and understand that while labor and delivery may feel like an eternity on its own, it is the final experience to me being pregnant and I want to go out with a bang! It is the first true test in preparing for what I have always wanted to do, be a mother. There is divinity in that, it is not a reason to be fearful, but to find joy!

I have realized that the course of my pregnancy has been training me to get less sleep, thank you insomnia; that I can't always have my own schedule, thank you bladder; and that I will have moments that I would rather not have, thank you vomiting. Pregnancy has been teaching me flexibility and other important lessons that I will need as a mother. I always heard how hard pregnancy was, and yes, there were times it was not pleasant, but there is so much joy in it! I realized that I was responsible for another living being that would depend on me for all of his basic needs, thank you little embryo! A being that would turn to Leo and I for comfort, thank you little kicks! Someone who I would love so completely and try so hard to figure out how to keep him safe and get him back to Heavenly Father in the best possible shape, thank you Baxter!

I am so thankful for a Heavenly Father who loves me and allows me to grow to my fullest capacity through tests and has given me a strong, righteous partner to face these times with. I am grateful for the opportunity that Heavenly Father has given me to bring one of His spirit children into the world and for the knowledge that He knows I will be fine. Because I am His daughter with His divinity inside of me, His desire for our family to be together forever and His strength uplifting and protecting me. What a beautiful blessing that knowledge is.