Pregnancy - love it or hate it - it's an adventure!

     Pregnancy!  What a double-edged sword.  It stinks most of the time but has such a great reward!  Unfortunately, it seems I have not made it look too easy.  I thought I hadn't been too bad, not too pathetic and sickly.  Granted, it is my sixth baby - seventh pregnancy - and I am getting a bit older, but not that old, not old enough to make it seem sooo hard.  I didn't complain too much, although I think I probably groaned every time I had to get up from sitting position and if I had to bend over, that would definitely get some sort of desperate yet quiet, feminine moan.:)  And, the heartburn medication was annoying, can't say I missed that.  And, the cramps in every muscle in my body, especially the feet where it is impossible to stretch them out, that would send me jumping up in the middle of the night trying to walk them out.  Or, the feeling that something was going to fall out of me at any second.  And, the contractions which started at about 6 months and were occurring on an hourly basis (the last month and a half) but apparently never did what they were supposed to, didn't help me feel any better.  Sure I didn't sleep which led to me being perhaps a bit on the ornerier side, maybe even a bit snappish but overall, my kids don't know how good they had it.  :)  Still, I am grateful it is over and at this point, my feet have lost the swelling and look normal again even if the rest of my body still doesn't.

     I guess I must have put my hand on my belly a lot because that is what Jainie picked up on most.  (You know, they say that is how you can tell if a woman is pregnant, she is much more protective of her abdomen.  So all you prego women who are trying to keep it a secret, keep your hands down! :)).  Anyway, I was sitting in the living room one morning, not too long before Miss J arrived when Jainie came in like this - moaning a bit.  Ridiculous - she was dead serious too, not even trying to mock me.  I have to admit, it was pretty funny.  She did look pretty cute and when she decided to have her baby, it was a darling little bitty baby doll that I was lucky enough to take care of for the next couple hours - til she went to school - because, after all, I am the grandma and that's what Grandma's do!  

Well, this is how I really looked - a couple days before delivery.  I think I was a bit bigger than Jainie was!  This was actually about one week - 6 days early.  I went in this day with contractions and after staying and walking and pacing and getting checked and praying for the contractions to be more regular, I was sent home - $900 poorer.  Stink!  I was at a 3 and a half and left at a little over a 4 but it doesn't matter, if you aren't regular with your contractions, and mine never have been, you don't get to stay.  I am way too inconsistent - even with blogging, if you haven't noticed. :)  Either way, I was heart broken - kind of.

 This picture (below) was the night before I went in - isn't that a great contemplative picture?  I am sure I was thinking some vastly deep thought about life and why we are here and where we will go when we die.  Oh wait, I already know all of that!  Isn't that great?  So, I was probably wondering why my kids feel they need 3 meals a day and when I would have time to clean the kitchen yet again.  

With a very complimentary shadow, right? 

 Anyway, I wanted to document everything this pregnancy so where usually I wouldn't let anyone take pictures of me while pregnant because I never felt that I looked that bad while pregnant but always looking back at pictures, I would think, "How could all my family and friends let me walk around in public looking so humongous?"  But, this time, I wanted to try get more pics and remember what it is like since really, this stage in my life is over.  Yes, I am a bit sad about it - if you would have asked me a couple months ago, I wouldn't have been, but now I am.  It is such a beautiful miracle to be pregnant and know that there is a sacred life growing inside of you - very humbling and surreal really.  A blessing I will always be grateful for - the opportunity I have had to deliver each of my six children and the blessing they are and even were while I was carrying them.  All the lessons I learned from pregnancy and the wonderful sweet knowledge that I have of the amazing bodies our Heavenly Father gave to each of us.  And, how great it is to have good health and feel good.  I could go on and on.  It really is a miracle!  And, I really am eternally grateful that I have been able to experience and endure the pregnancies that I have had, even if there has been a wee bit of complaining throughout.

So, I guess I do have to say it has been an adventure - seven times - one obviously definitely not so great and sad; but the other six have been beyond words and an adventure that I am so glad to have had and survived!  But, it is a good thing I a not a pioneer - I am not that tough!