Did You Just Say That?

"My feet were so swollen during pregnancy! They were as huge as your thighs!" Thank you for that wonderful compliment.

"You better be careful with all that watermelon... You're going to get gestational diabetes and go into a coma..." Well, that sounds fun.

"How much weight have you gained? With my 3rd I gained the MOST... 23 pounds! It fell right off afterward, though..." I'm done with this conversation.

"They didn't detect her Preeclampsia, so her placenta ruptured and she had to give birth to a dead baby...but don't worry! I'm sure you'll be fine." Well,  that was a ray of sunshine.

"You're really looking ready to have that baby" aka you look very fat and tired.

"I really wish we waited to have kids until my 30s...24 is way too young." I'm 23... Tyler's 25. Too late.

"You just wait...(fill in the blank)" if I hear that phrase one more time...

"You better get sleep now! You won't sleep for another 18 years..." Thank you, person #509364 to say that...

Well, well, well...here we are at the end. The comments just keep getting better and better! I'm so grateful that everyone's so encouraging about this process! Smacks head with hand.

First time parents have a lot going on in their minds. There's a lot of pressure, anxieties, hopes, goals, excitement, fears, etc. We have a lot of mixed emotions. If you have kids, you've been there. This is unchartered territory for us.

I know parenting is not all rainbows and butterflies, but really? Does anyone have anything positive to say? If you've been encouraging,  I'm absolutely certain I've looked you square in the face and sincerely said, "thank you for being positive! There's so much negativity surrounding parenting." And I truly meant it.

Some days Tyler has to remind me to just laugh at the crazy things people say to me. We'll just need to experience all of the craziness ourselves.
This morning I was thinking about a couple of verses my wonderful friend Shannon sent me the other day...
Psalm 127:3-4

"Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth."

I will be the first to admit that I'm naturally a pessimist. That's one reason why Tyler and I are so great together- he's so positive, while my tendency is to be negative. Through all of life's stresses, I naturally see the glass half empty. I have to pray for a positive outlook DAILY. I hate not recognizing the sunshine The Lord's put in my life. All that being said, why are we so quick to lose sight of the fact that children are a blessing? Parenting is a gift. I know...easy for me to say. My child isn't born yet. However, I hope and pray The Lord reminds me of this daily. I hope to be an encouragement to new parents! I pray that every day I'll have at least one positive thing to say about Liam and about being his mommy. No judgement here, but is a little positivity too much to ask for?!

Take some time today to encourage some new parents. I'm sure they could use it! I'm so excited to meet Liam! Please don't rain on my parade!

So, lay it on me...what are some parenting joys we have to look forward to?