A little stress here, a little stress there........

Hey Everybody. Sorry I haven't written for a while. I've been very busy, mostly in my head. A couple of weeks ago, I found out I was pregnant with baby number 4. I have to say that since then, my heads been a little cloudy. I suddenly have a whole new set of priorities. The first being to make sure that I rest and take care of myself as best I can.

I am looking at this pregnancy very differently then the last three. One day I was speaking with the obstetrician, this is years ago after the birth of my last child, and he described pregnancy in a very interesting way. I was concerned with getting pregnant again because at the time we "planned" on having four children. Anyway he said that I had to look at pregnancy as if I were a bear. He said when a mother bear gets pregnant, she goes into her cave to hibernate. While hibernating she rests, does as little as possible to exert herself, eats properly and just plain takes care of herself. At the end of the pregnancy she emerges from her cave with a healthy baby cub.

What I took from this explanation was that rest is the most important part of pregnancy. Plenty of rest and as little stress as possible!

How many of you can say that you work on relieving stress in your daily life?
Do you notice that when you are stressed out that you just don't feel well?
Do you feel more tired and cranky?
It is harder for you to enjoy life?

I agree with the stress explanation whole heartedly. I know for a fact that stress is very dangerous to a growing baby. I also know that it is fairly simple to keep stress levels at a minimum. I think it is a choice. I also think it takes work though.

If I want my day to go smoothly, I have to plan for it. Since finding out I was pregnant I had to drop out of a couple of commitments that I had taken on. I had to look at it through the eyes of a responsible mother and not through the eyes of a people pleaser.

Take for example the first commitment I had to drop out of. I was teaching religious education every Tuesday night while my kids were in class. The stress of getting them there early enough so that I could be there for my students began taking its toll. I was rushing my own children and myself like crazy so that I could show up for the other kids. In my eyes that was not the priority. My children are the priority. So I quit. The class will not fall apart. I won't get dirty looks and nasty phone calls from parents. Life will go on. The children will continue to learn from a qualified catechist and I have taken a step toward hibernation.

There comes a time in all of our lives when we have to make choices that seem unfair. But when we look at the big picture, we can see clearly what needs to be done. I pray every day for guidance, patience, tolerance and expansion of my territories. I think the latter prayer is the explanation for this sudden pregnancy, but that's another story.

So my intention for you all today is to try to figure out how you can release one stressor in your life. Try not to make the holiday season a burden on yourself. It is a wonderful time of giving and family. It is a time to reflect on the past year and see how you did and what things you can change to make your life better in the new year. Remember, baby steps!

And always remember, we are in this together!
Kerri