I didn’t get pregnant until I was 36, and the event was very demanding and planned. It’s not that pregnancy caught me by surprise! I was just as prepared as a mother could be in a variety of ways. Mentally, professionally, financially, logistically – but of course, reflection is 20/20 she said.
And now that my twins are 10 months old, I have little clarity on just a few other findings I could have made to better prepare myself. Here’s what I thought I might have done as a mom-to-be:
Strengthening my core (unit) before becoming a mother
While I was pregnant with twins, I was a physically fit and active person.
I assumed I would continue my work during pregnancy. However, half the way I did it was uncomfortable and at very high risk. Therefore, self-creation projects of professionalism should leave room for motherhood preparation time.
Travel to lesser-known places
After getting pregnant with twins, it was impossible to travel the distant routes with my husband. Previously we had problems managing our consumables.
If I had to do it again, I would have saved those experiences for the first few years without a child and used the single time as a couple for more exotic destinations.
I realized I was ignorant before I became a mother
Until you get pregnant and then bring children into the world, you may think you know about the experience, but you just don’t know. That’s why I shamefully recall the small ways in which I judged friends – mothers who were pregnant, or already parents. Now that I’ve gone through it myself, I realize how naive I was. If I had fully understood that concept years ago, I could have been a better friend, daughter, and sister in the journey of someone else’s motherhood. /mommytobe
