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Many birth mothers look back on their pregnancies and wish they’d done more to celebrate their motherhood as they carried their child to term. Crisis pregnancies are sometimes stressful and full of difficult decisions, but you should still try to enjoy the nine months you have with your baby.
An unplanned pregnancy can feel like a “mistake.” Shame and fear can pile up, and unsupportive friends, family or partners can cause you to ignore or downplay your pregnancy. Don’t let youself fall into that trap!
If you take a longer-term view, however, you will soon begin to realize that in the big picture of your life, these nine months will eventually turn into something you’ll look back on with a wide range of emotion. Instead of just the fear, anxiety and general trepidation that you are currently experiencing, other feelings like pride, nostalgia, grief, joy and a twinge of sadness will creep into your memories.
That’s why it is so important to attempt to really celebrate what is going on in your life right now. You can do that in many different ways. Here are a few good ideas to get you started!
- Take plenty of pictures of yourself as an expectant mother. You and your child will want those someday, even if you don’t want them now. (One of my biggest regrets is not getting more pictures of myself while pregnant. I have, at most, two handfuls of pictures while I was pregnant with the Munchkin. As such, I went slightly overboard with the snapshots during my other two pregnancies and I didn’t regret that one bit. So, trust me, err on the side of “more is better” when it comes to photos.)
- Consider making a hope chest, writing a letter or journaling for your child. Again, he or she will appreciate the history you preserve for them now.
- Keep your mementos from the hospital, such as the crib card, baby blanket and other small things. Saving these items is especially important if this is your first pregnancy. You only have one first child in your life, so if this is your first pregnancy, claim it as such!
- Work on your child’s family tree and ancestry. Not only will you learn a lot about your family but your child will have a valuable keepsake.
In short, think about this time from your baby’s point of view. Try your best to make your pregnancy a happy time for your baby and yourself. You deserve it and so does your child!
