I love it and at the same time I am in awe. Part of me still doesn’t grasp how I can have assisted in creating new life. I feel very honored to have invited a baby into my life and to have had this little soul answer. I’m eager to meet the baby and at the same time I really love being pregnant.

It’s incredible how far along I already am. My favorite forums have already put up the “March 2009 Due Date Club” – wow! It seems it was just a few days ago that my due date club was being added. And now there are women expecting babies in March of ‘09!

I felt the baby kicking above my belly button yesterday. And when I sit I can feel baby pressure against my lungs. I can’t believe he’s already getting that big. I most certainly look pregnant now and I can’t really “suck it in” anymore if I want to look less pregnant :p This is pleasing to me because all you want in the early weeks is to show. But at the same time I think I still have months to go and how big am I actually going to get!!!

But I want a good strong baby. A nice fat one :p I’m working really hard on my nutrition now because the baby is starting to pad up and get fat. I find that I am getting hungry a lot more, which is good since I’m eating three meals and three snacks a day to help get in all my nutrients. I do sometimes splurge though, before you go thinking I’m some sort of nature mama saint I had a Milky Way and Burger King this week (oh the shock and horror of it, a hero has fallen!) I do think it’s ok to indulge once in awhile. I just don’t make it a habit :p

And I’m excited because we start our Pink Kit work in just a few short weeks. Wow. Childbirth preparation already! I’ve been reading tons of birth stories lately and have even taken some time to start visualizing birth situations and thinking about what I want.

It’s really an amazing privilege to be pregnant. I’m so glad I get to experience it   And I need to get to work on that Baby List stuff!!!

These things are pretty natural in pregnancy and it’s a good time to take action. It’s also a good thing to do to get ready for your baby. Such things are not quite so easy once you actually have a little baby. But still do-able. If you’re already parenting your baby, or if you already have more than one child, you can still sit and think about these same things and they’ll still be valuable to your family. I talk about the context of pregnancy because it’s just natural.

So where do you start? As much as you find yourself thinking about what you’d like to do and who you’d like to be, you may be confused about where to start, where you are, even who you are. This is especially natural when you’re becoming a mother. So the best place to start is to figure out where you are. And to think about where you want to go.

Do you want to get the house organized before your baby comes? This is a good goal that can have a big impact. Do you want to figure out a parenting style that feels right to you?

These are two goals that don’t feel too “deep” but will help you feel more prepared for your baby. Start by writing down your goals and thinking through some steps that will help you to achieve them. Make sure your goal is concrete enough that you can put a “yes” or “no” on the completion. This is easy for organizing your house. But for something like picking a parenting style it’s not so easy. A good goal could be “I want to research popular parenting theories.” Then you can ask yourself if you’ve done that. You can plan steps – check out parenting books from the library, visit parenting sites online (like Natural Birth and Baby Care!), read magazines, etc.

It’s good to think through steps to achieving your goals. Go with managable chunks. Say you want to start your house by organizing the kitchen. Set aside 30 minutes every day for a week to work on the kitchen and see where it gets you. Small, consistent steps will help you get where you want to go.

As I said above, another natural pregnancy question is “do I want to stop working?” You could set a goal to logically examine your options and the implications of those options. Examine the benefits and the down-side to returning to work. Do the same for staying at home. Consider work at home options. Knowing the logical facts now will help you make an informed choice once the full emotional impact has arrived (in the form of your baby!)

You might think of some other goals that are not quite so directly related to pregnancy. And that’s fine. It’s a good time to think over all your goals and to decide what you want to set down and work on now. I’ll write more about setting goals and more practical considerations for helping you achieve those goals. I may also share some that I’m working on

Pregnancy makes women introspective. It’s just a time when you focus a little more on what’s going on inside of you. Your dreams even get more vivid.

I’ve found that this time around I’m so busy with things and have so much going through my mind that I don’t just sit and think as much. Or at least I haven’t. But now my little one is kicking. And tonight he or she is kicking up a storm. So much that I’ve found myself staring into space, hand on my belly, lost in thoughts of my baby, of my life. Of everything.

I sit and I feel awed that there is someone inside of me, kicking. Can you believe that? Sometimes it just hits me that there’s a tiny person in there, a person who will be born into a real baby, and turn into a real child, and then a real adult. A thinking, feeling being. It’s pretty amazing to think of creating life huh?

I think pregnancy is a good time to sit back and be thankful. It’s a good time to be awed. It’s even a good time to put some healthy fear into life. “Oh. My. Gosh. We’re going to have a baby. A real baby!” If you’ve caught yourself thinking that, don’t worry I sometimes find that in myself. And it’s a good thing.

All this thought, all this awe, all this fear – it motivates you truly think, truly plan, and to truly take action. Now is a good time to think about where you are in life and where you want to be. Of course you have to balance that with the fact that you’re going to be a mother. But now is a good time to set your priorities straight and to figure out just where you want to take yourself and your baby (and even your family, as is my case).

It’s amazing how such a tiny little being as a baby, such a tiny sensation as baby kicks can set off such intense thought and self-evaluation. But it’s also a valuable time. Use it – toy with those thoughts and think about the future you’re going build.