When I confirmed my pregnancy news, the feeling was immeasurable.
I can’t believe that I, Paulina, get to write about my pregnancy journey and share with the world what motherhood feels like to me. Motherhood had been a distant thought.
It felt so far away, mixed up with some other not-so-important-right-now thoughts in my mind, somewhere. The idea of me being pregnant seemed far-fetched, but now that the reality has caught on, it feels like a dream come true. .
The moment I realized I loved being a mother
A few minutes ago, before I began writing this post, I was rocking my baby to sleep. Whenever I want to put him to sleep, I admire his face as he playfully wrestles with himself, ultimately succumbing to sleep. Today, this little guy was tired and sleepy but wanted to play with Mommy more.
I had been playing with him for two hours. But this mommy needed him to sleep so she could take a nap and quickly draft something down. So, I picked him up from the sofa and started pacing around in the hallway, just to get him to drift off.
I did this while shaking him a little bit and singing him his favorite song. “I love you, baby; I know you love me too….” It’s just a made-up song anyway, but he loves it.
While singing to him, he was getting in and out of sleep but kept on rubbing his eyes to keep himself awake. Looking at him adorably struggle with himself, I felt my heart smile wide. “The rhythm of my heartbeat now beat with rhythms of joy.”
“The rhythm of my heart beat now beat with rhythms of joy.”
Paulina Bonsu-Donkoh
When he realized he couldn’t hold it any longer, he finally gave in. As I put him in his bed, it felt good in my heart that I got to hold, hug, and shower him with plenty of kisses.
At that moment, I think I felt what Adam meant when he said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh (Genesis 2:23).” Finally, I was beholding an extension of me whom I get to love unconditionally. As I have always known when I had him, I knew even more that I wanted him.
How I reacted when I found out that I was pregnant
Yes, this was a deeply yearned-for pregnancy; however, I was absolutely taken aback when I saw those two pink lines gleaming back at me. My husband and I had been diligently pursuing our dream of becoming parents, and yet, I never anticipated the joy of a positive result arriving so swiftly.
Funny enough, even though I thought that getting pregnant soon might not be in the picture now, I raced out to get pregnancy test kits when I realized my period was several days late. I bought not one but two pregnancy test kits. A ray of hope washed over me, as I anxiously waited for the result. When I finally glanced at the first test and saw that positive sign, I couldn’t believe my eyes- I was utterly awestruck!
I thought it might just be a stroke of luck, so I quickly grabbed the other test kit to try one last time. Once again, it was positive! Filled with excitement, I turned to my husband, urging him to confirm the truth of this exciting news. When he returned, a radiant smile gracing his face, he confirmed that it was real and positive. Hearing him say it was positive ignited an explosion of happiness within me.
I stared at him for what could have possibly been a minute, but it felt like forever to him. He opened his hands, and we shared a long, deep hug.
How I Enjoyed my Pregnancy News
- I prayed. Yes, I prayed. The Bible says in all things we should give thanks to God. I was elated when I found out that there was another life growing inside of me. And that I too was going to be a mother. So, I gave thanks to God and praised His holy name. Every morning I woke up, I thanked God for my life and the life of the yet-to-be-seen new member of our nuclear family.
- I wrote a letter. I got a cute little diary and I wrote a short letter for my baby, detailing how much I love him and the kind of family and world he will be born into. I also wrote a short note describing who his father and mother are. I kept it safely until the day he was born and read it to him when we finally brought him home from the hospital. It has become one of my favorite books to read to him.
- I took a picture. I had heard and seen how pregnancy changed some women. My elder sister is part of those women whom pregnancy humbled :). Since I didn’t know how the pregnancy was going to treat me, I took one ‘fine last’ selfie picture on my phone. I took it for ‘shege (unimportant)’ reasons. Just to remind myself and show other people who didn’t know me earlier that I was one fine babe. Ha! Aside from the ‘shege’ reasons, the picture marked the first documentation of my pregnancy journey.
Doing the things mentioned above helped me enjoy and appreciate my pregnancy news. They may be simple, but they are very effective.
Learning that you’re pregnant can be overwhelming
Depending on the state you were in before you got pregnant, handling pregnancy news could be quite overwhelming for you. Even when you want the pregnancy. In my experience, I have found that having a grateful spirit, journaling about your feelings, and capturing every moment of your pregnancy journey on your phone can help you enjoy every bit of the journey.
Share with me. How did you react when you found out that you were pregnant?
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