Looking Back over A Whole 9 Months... The Good , The Bad, & The Ugly

I apologise for my lack of posts recently. I have been AWOL again and my days have been taken up with the joys that I believe they call 'nesting.' I believe that I am becomming a lovely homely mother however, Mr C begs to differ and thinks that cleaning the toilet at 2am constitutes as a 'mad woman' not a earth-loving mumsy type!

 As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I am now less than one week away from Baby C's due date and with this comes the reflection of the last 9 months and it got me wondering; what will I miss when i'm no longer a firm member of the 'Pregnant Lady Club'?

Laugh as you may, I firmly believe that there is some sort of unspoken 'Pregnant Lady Club'. Not a Hogwarts for ladies carrying life, but a 'look' or an acknowledging smile that says 'Hang on in there fellow pregnant lady, I feel your pain!' Mr C finds it highly ammusing that I like to grin like a cheshire cat at any fellow mummy to be but I feel that being part of that exclusive unity of women is a lovely feeling and one that I will miss!

What else will I miss?

The good...

Carrying my child inside of me - Knowing that my body is nurturing my son and will soon deliver him into this world is most truely the wonderful blessing. The bond that you experience from the moment you find out about the little bean right up to times when you can actually see little limbs flailing about inside of you, like something out of Alien, is magical. The blessing of carrying and nurturing a life inside of your body is quite simply, the most beautiful thing you could possibly experience and I will forever count my blessings that I was priviliged enough to experience it.

Having the 'pregnant lady' excuse! - 'You'll have to drive; i'm pregnant.' 'I'll have another slice of cheesecake; i'm pregnant'. 'Can you run me a bath?; i'm pregnant'. 'Can you take the bin out?; i'm pregnant'. 'Can you massage my feet?; i'm pregnant'. Mr C is well deserving of a medal of some sort, in fact, get that man a Blue Peter badge!

Talking about my 'baby.' - Since being pregnant and having a bump that actually looks like a baby bump and not just the result of too many hob nobs, I have been inundated with questions and comments about my pregnancy and the baby that is growing inside of me. Wherever you go, be it work, the checkouts at Asda or even in the queue in the petrol station, people love to ask all about your bump and well, as a very proud mummy-to-be, I love talking all about him! I used to laugh at mothers that talked non-stop about their children however I hold up my hands 'I am one of THOSE mothers!'.

Having lovely hair & clear skin! - Since being pregnant, i've been blessed with a glossy thick mane of hair and my skin has not seen even a hint of a pimple since those two little pink lines flashed before my eyes. Hopefully (fingers crossed!) this is a change that is here to stay post-pregnancy but knowing my luck, a big mount vesuvius sized monstrostery is getting ready to rear it's ugly head... right in the middle of my forehead!

The bad...

I have been blessed with a reletively stress-free pregnancy and I am thankful for the love and support that I have been showered with during the past 9 months. There have been no 'bad' aspects whatsoever; how can there be when the outcome is the most perfect gift you could be given? However, I'd be lying if I said that there weren't things that I wouldn't miss!

Being a human pin cushion - Prior to pregnancy, I was a TOTAL needle-phobe. Nowadays, I am that used to being prodded and poked that it has become a long standing joke between Mr C & I that the hospital have some sort of secret mission to stab me with as many needles as possible. Repeat GTT's, conflicting rubella immunity results... the list is endless and has resulted in tons of needles!

My bladder shrinking to the size of a pea! - I will not miss this. 12 trips to the bathroom last night, i kid you not! The only plus side is that we have an en-suite so I don't need to go to far to empty my pea bladder but it's most definitely not a highlight of pregnancy!

& finally, The Ugly!  Beautiful!
Stretchmarks - Some may say these are ugly but truth be told, i've grown fairly proud of my 'tiger stripes' over thre last few weeks. They are a sign that i've nurtured my son and provided him with a home throughout the lastnine months. Pregnancy has been a blessing and my body has created the most precious gift I could have possibly wished for therefore I aren't going to see my stretch marks as ugly. They are part of me. Yes, I won't be wearing a bikini or auditioning for Miss World anytime soon, I may have days where I feel like a slob and mourn my pre-pregnancy body but I have a new found appreciation of my body... it gave my son life and for that, I will always be thankful (no matter how saggy it is!).