PREGNANCY MEMORIES
Pregnancy is a crazy fun experience! A roller coaster is really the best way I can describe it. Some days you feel great, and others… not so great! But that is OK! It’s all part of it. I want to write this out so that I’ll always remember this amazing journey!
At 36 years old, I’m sure that pregnancy feels way different for me than if I was 26. I feel old as it is, but add in being pregnant and it’s hard on my body, ha! Don’t hear me wrong, I am still very grateful for God’s timing and for this miracle, but I’m just being real with y’all. A lot of times you hear people say “I LOVED being pregnant, I would do it over and over again if I could”…I don’t think I’m like that. Did the fibroid situation scar me? Being on bed rest? Dealing with a pandemic? Yes! Then there is pregnancy guilt. When you have dealt with infertility, there is a lot of guilt that comes with that positive pregnancy test. You feel so bad for your friends who are still struggling. I’m sure all of this has played a huge part in the roller coaster I mentioned. It’s been a ride for sure.
BUT…
Do you know what is beautiful about pregnancy? The reasons why I would deal with those above discomforts over and over again? For me it has been:
Being constantly amazed at how God created a woman’s body! It’s crazy what it can do!
Feeling and seeing your baby move around inside of you! I can’t even begin to explain it.
I LOVE my baby belly! It’s perfect to me. I know I will miss it.
Wearing leggings every single day.
Not having to suck it in for pictures.
Watching my husband talk to my belly and how he gets so excited with each movement.
I now have a built in table thanks to my belly!
Seeing our girls get so excited about baby brother.
You can eat a lot and not be judged.
Naps, naps, and more naps!
Double takes in the mirror! I catch myself looking at this belly like “is that mine?!” I still can’t believe it!
God meeting me exactly where I am. The big AND the little things that I bring to him, He is there no matter what.
Some things I would like to remember:
FIRST TRIMESTER: I never crave red meat and here I was wanting steaks all the time! Wasabi’s filet was my biggest request. That and Casey’s biscuits and sausage gravy. I NEVER threw up, but I would be nauseous alllllll day long. I wish I could throw up to get it over with but I never could! I was tired, my boobs hurt so so bad, and I was cramping some. ALL signs of my period. I kept waiting and waiting and it never came. This is probably why I was so in shock. I NEVER had “off” periods. They were always right on time. Looking back, I think the one thing that was worse was my boobs. They have never been that sore. I never broke out, I didn’t crave much sweets. I’ve always heard that girls will “steal your beauty” you might break out more and that you’ll crave sweets. This made me think it might be a boy, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. I would have loved all girls in this house as well! But Casey called him a boy from the DAY we found out we were pregnant. He would actually call him by the name we always had picked out. It’s like he knew from the start. From the time we found out I was pregnant, we were living in pure shock. My heart was full of so much gratitude! I could not get over God and his timing. We could not WAIT to find out the gender and tell our parents. <— be sure to check out those videos if you haven’t yet!
SECOND TRIMESTER: FULL of energy! Like a 180 from the first trimester. I was enjoying going out and doing some baby shopping. Felt great! But then something happened around week 20. I started hurting really bad on my lower left side. Turns out I had a softball sized fibroid entangled in my stage 4 endometriosis and ovary. The pain was like nothing I have ever experienced. Even Casey said I have a high pain tolerance so for him to see me like this… he was really worried! I remember one night I was screaming so loud in pain that he had his phone about to call 911. So apparently the way that it was entangled made the “dying off” process of it much more painful than a normal fibroid. As it dies off, the blood supply gets cut off. Usually lasting a few days. Mine lasted over 2 weeks. My doctor said she had only seen 3 other cases as bad as mine (go figure). It was 2 weeks of bed rest + non-stop pain. I would never wish it on anyone. BUT when it was over, I felt amazing! My energy came back and it was like it never happened. It’s still sore and sensitive every now and then, I feel it protruding from my side, but nothing will every compare to that dying off process. Needless too say y’all, I was ready for the third trimester!!!
THIRD TRIMESTER: Feeling really good! Starting to get more tired. It’s hard to breathe. Starting to swell a little, but for the most part I feel great! I LOVE my belly, I know y’all are tired of hearing about it, but I really do. I know I will miss it. It’s perfectly round to me. As I write this, I am 36 weeks, and things are starting to take a turn. I have high blood pressure. Really high. As in, I think he will be here soon y’all. I’ve never dealt with high BP. It’s annoying. I’m scared to be honest. My biggest fear is the unknown and labor and delivery is one big fat unknown! You can plan all you want, but you never know what might happen. I have an idea of how I would like everything to go down (ha!), but I will not go in guns a blazin’ and demand it happen a certain way. I trust my doctor, I trust my mama instincts, I know the author of my story. He already has it written out. We want a healthy baby, and however that has to happen is what matters.
A very wise friend told me “don’t let worry rob you from the delivery”. That really spoke to me and I am clinging to that quote! I will never experience this again. I want to enjoy every last second of it. Now if I can just remind myself of this at the hospital - ha!
I have truly enjoyed being pregnant. Has it been hard some? Yes. But I would go through everything again to be able to witness this miracle. It’s all been worth it. God’s timing = worth it. I will always be living in pure shock that this is happening!!! Thank you Lord for blessing us and our family! 🙌🏼
We are ready to meet you baby Peddicord!!! We pray you are happy and healthy! We love you!
Our amazing maternity photos are by Brittany Conner Photography!
