Nesting and Reflecting

It's been just over a week since my last post, with no real news to report. I have been in full nesting mode, and am doing everything I can to finish all the last-minute things that I need to get done. I have been cooking up a storm, freezing meals so we will have something convenient and nutritious to eat once we are too busy to cook. I have been stocking up our pantry too, with tons of canned beans, chick peas, tuna, crackers etc. Right now, if we went to war, we would be fine! Last night, we started gathering some things together to pack in our 'hospital' bag. Right now, we have our things all laid out, and they will be ready to toss in the bag at a last minute's notice.

I have been reading my Expectant Mother book again on any signs of pre-labour symptoms. For a while now, I have been avoiding reading anything to do with labour. The reason for this is because, although informational, it was causing me great anxiety. But I think most of the anxiety was caused by people telling me about their own labour situations. One of the things I have noticed most about pregnancy, is that everybody wants to tell you their own experiences about labour (even though you have never asked, I might add). And about 80% of the time, the stories are bad. I have no idea why people do this, especially as they can see how close you are to your due date. Do they think they are being reassuring and comforting, or even helpful? Perhaps they are trying to give me a dose of reality, but I have had to tune my ears out to them, and just smile politely at them and pretend I am listening. Of course, the end result of their labour process was always positive, and that was probably the reason for them telling me their stories. But I really could do without all the graphic details!

So I made the decision to go with my own instincts, to not listen to anybody's stories, and to just go with the flow. And that is what my philosophy has been pretty much since I got pregnant. When I first got pregnant, people were so eager to give me advice and tell me all of the things I would be expecting over the next nine months. Here are just a few of them:
1. You will have bad morning sickness- I had none
2. You will always be about 10 degrees hotter than anybody else.- I only experienced this about 5 times, and that was during the summer
3. You will have bad heartburn- I haven't had any
4. You will be all swollen by the end of your pregnancy- So far, I can still put on my wedding rings, and shoes. Granted, there is probably some slight swelling but not to the degree that so many people said it would be
5. Wait until you are completely immobile and can't tie your shoe laces anymore- I am still able to put on my runners

It may seem like I sound bitter at all of the advice that has been thrown my way, and believe me, I am not. Nor am I a hero or pretend that this pregnancy has not given me some physical challenges. Because it has. Physically and mentally, I am not the same person I was nine months ago. I just think that every single person is different, and every experience is different and I am just glad that I decided to take things day by day, and to not listen to the experiences of others, and take them too much to heart.