Times of Transition | 30 Week Pregnancy Update

Hey y’all! There’s a baby in there! He’s a-moving and shaking all the time these days. I think it’s the most-fun-thing-ever to watch my belly move! Pregnancy is a really cool and really weird phenomenon (all at the same time). A little human being growing in my belly? So strange. So amazing. So ridiculously awesome.

So I’ll give a little update for the friends & family… we’re finally back at home and it’s wonderful. I have officially launched into “baby preparation” mode. While I still don’t own a scrap of baby clothing (yet), we’ve been gifted with an amazing stroller and car seat so we’re pretty much ready, right? :D Hehe. We did have a fun little interlude of mall walking over the weekend. It was too hot/muggy to walk outside, so we window-shopped by looking at cute little baby clothes. And shoes. Which are adorable, but about .0001% practical (from what I’ve heard) and considering the $25 price tag, I think my children are going barefoot forever. I will be raising pioneer children --- of the hardy variety. :P

Baby Nursery.  I like that my Narnian baby nursery vision is coming together in my head—though not yet in the room. Also, I saw some top-secret baby shower decoration ideas that someone is working on and they just thrilled my soul… not to mention, made everything start to feel so real! I went home and started getting busy with my own list of nursery décor purchases. But first --- we paint the room. Sometime.

Pregnancy Symptoms. Current symptoms include general roundness, heartburn and the inability to get off of my very-low-couch. Poor little thing is a very old secondhand couch, and it can’t help that it is defective and a bit bowed where I usually sit. So I have officially moved my normal reading & laptop writing seat to the living room glider. If only to keep myself from being irritated by the necessity of rolling, turning and grunting to stand up…. In general, my pregnancy is going very well. Measuring right on, keeping the weight in a good range and feeling GREAT. I really cannot complain in the least. :) At least, now that I’ve finished the cleaning extravaganza, I can’t complain. :D

Cravings & Other Deliciousness. You could say that I craved whoopie pies? But really, we were gonna buy them at the farmer’s market last weekend and the absence of a baking vendor distressed me so much that I walked into a pole with my head. It hurt.. but made a funny story for later. I redeemed myself this week by finding, buying and eating whoopie pies (well, one was for Brandon) and therefore mostly forgetting about my walking-into-poles moment… The newest food-related pregnancy phenomenon is the very-small-state of my stomach. I am hungry A LOT, but full very quickly and then frustrated when I can’t finish my delicious food. I know, I know. #firstworldproblems

Thoughts on Times of Transition. I have had a lot more thinking time these days, and more moments to consider the changes going on in my life. This is truly one of my biggest life transitions to date. Going from single to married was huuuuuge, of course, and because of who I married and our joint devotion to the ministry of the home, our marriage is the foundation for the decision for me to be a full-time homemaker. In the three years of our marriage thus far, we were making preparations --- relational, financial, educational, etc. for this season. And so I feel like going from working-full-time to staying home with babies + becoming a full-time homemaker is almost the biggest thing that’s ever happened to me. And quite honestly, one of the best things ever! Side note: Knowing that something will be difficult doesn’t have to diminish the enthusiasm that I have for it. :)

The process of transition is unsettling. People don’t like change. They don’t like it for how weird it feels and how it changes the status quo and how it makes waves in the peaceful pond of their existence. Perhaps I’m feeling a bit more like I’m rowing this boat of change in our lives and I’m having fun feeling the movements and the waves that precipitate the arrival of our wee babe…. so I don’t feel “drowned” (to go along with my metaphor) by the dramatic changes in my lifestyle --- from not working outside the home, to stepping back any church/ministry obligations, to taking over the day-to-day management of our finances, to not really seeing a lot of people because I’m not going to a job, etc. I am stepping into the blessing that someone once eloquently called “the hidden season of motherhood.” It’s something like a great disappearance (though not quite so dramatic as prior to the Internet age --- where I still have a bloggy/facebook/social media presence), and sometimes these kinds of transition can be difficult.

How am I preparing for this hidden season? Lots of reading. Lots of thinking. Lots of meditating about what the Bible says about motherhood/parenting/*gasp* gender roles. I just finished rereading “Dare to Discipline” by Dr. James Dobson. I’m a big fan of that book --- for the balanced approach that he has to discipline. There’s a way to discipline children right and there’s a way to discipline children wrong, and I think children’s souls are far too valuable to get it wrong. (at this moment, my windows are open and the nice breeze is blowing in… but also the sounds of loud-and-obnoxious yelling. The only good thing is that the neighbor folks are yelling at their dogs – not children – but still, it’s no fun to listen to).

I will say that I am feeling profoundly grateful for God’s provision through a hard-working and genius husband who puts priority on this new season of my life. Without his encouragement, protection and complete support, I know that life would be rough. This is why you should a) talk about gender roles before marriage, and b) marry someone who thinks like you do. (that’s for all the single lady readers!! Talking about EVERYTHING during the dating/engagement season is absolutely paramount! The best way to not have conflict about the important stuff is to agree beforehand!).

Because I mean, wow. If I thought marriage was good before… being married and pregnant with the love of my life, it’s pretty darn spectacular.