Change is in the Air - Natasha

20 weeks - halfway there!

Change is in the air, and around my waistline. It’s a funny thing as a woman, going from trying to keep the pounds off to celebrating (does anyone do that? Still trying to master that one!) each pound gained in preparation for a new little life. There is no question about it – from the moment you find out the joyful news that you are expecting a baby, biology makes it clear in an infinite number of ways that your body is not your own. We are made to serve others, and there is no more beautiful affirmation of this fact than pregnancy, and how in every way a mother’s needs always come second to those of the little person growing within her womb.

I had a moderate weight gain for each of my previous pregnancies (between 21 and 45 pounds), and always thought that working helped me keep the pounds off because it gave me an excuse to get up and on the go every day. This being my first pregnancy as a stay-at-home Mom, I feared I would gain weight much more quickly than before. Thank goodness that’s not what happened, and here’s why:

1. I sat still way more at work than I ever do at home. I had a 1 ½ hour commute both ways (by the time you factored in dropping kids off at the sitter and waiting for the ferry), a nice hour-long lunch each day, and a desk job – which pretty much guaranteed I spent the greater part of my working hours sitting down.

2. I homeschool. This means that even though I can sleep in a little more than I did when I had to be to work every day, there is still a schedule to be kept. I have a responsibility to these little ones, and a duty to the government as a Canadian citizen (I had to sign a form promising I would ensure the kids would meet all of the educational benchmarks set by the Department of Education) to make their education top priority, as it should be. Pregnant or not, the day must start bright and early to accomplish everything that needs to be done.

3. We do not have TV, and I don’t use facebook through the day. Sometime last summer we did some roofing work on our house and had to disconnect the satellite dish. We had trouble getting the connection set up again, and before you know it a month had gone by and we didn’t even notice the difference. So we decided to save ourselves a bit of money and cancel it all together. Add to that the fact that I have made a promise to myself not to facebook in the daytime (which takes far too much of my time and makes me a cranky Mommy!) and that means that if I do choose to sit down for a bit, there is little else for me to do except look around at everything I could (and should be doing). I’m not saying I don’t take a five or ten minute break here and there, but I find that I don’t waste nearly as much time as I thought I would.

4. Somewhere along the way, I had five children. Seriously – I don’t know what ever made me think staying at home would involve any amount of not doing anything! Keeping up with these little guys keeps me going all day, and I like that. Because after supper when the day is over, then I can sit and relax, and enjoy the fruits of a day well-spent. When I was working we didn’t get home until 6:00 pm, and then there was a mad rush of supper-homework-get the kids off to bed, followed by a subsequent mad rush of doing housework (or neglecting it) and getting ready for the next day. There is so much more of a routine to my day now that makes it even easier to work when I need to, and rest when the day is done. I think overall it makes for an even healthier pregnancy, and I couldn’t be happier with the way things are working out.

I still struggle trying not to obsess over gaining too much weight (I hate to see the number go up on the scale) but I can see that is the result of a lifetime spent growing up in a culture that prizes being thin over just about everything, and I find it’s really work for me to see my weight gain in a positive light. When I had my miscarriage before Christmas, one of the first signs something was wrong was a sudden weight loss of a few pounds. When the same thing happened early on in this pregnancy I feared the worst, and spent a good many weeks agonizing over whether we would lose this baby too. When I find myself fixating on the scale, I try to remind myself of how that felt. This is the best reason to gain weight! And while I know from experience that the summer is not likely to be comfortable for me appearance-wise (let’s not even mention the heat!) I far prefer it to the alternative. The more I pray to separate myself from the pressures of the way the world says I should be, the happier I become embracing the way God made me to be, which is feminine beauty in all its fullness. Beautiful, attractive, and yes, even a few pounds heavier.

Yep - we're all pretty excited about the baby!