I’m having some trouble wrapping my head around the fact that Prim will be one in less than a week. Last year at this time my maternity leave had just started, I was swollen beyond belief and oh so pregnant and uncomfortable. I remember feeling ready to give birth and meet her, if only so my poor feet could get a much-needed reprieve, but also feeling a little conflicted about the end of pregnancy.

I know a lot of people who don’t like pregnancy, which I totally get. Your body is transformed beyond recognition and you have little to no control over the changes. There’s also a slew of glamorous side-effects like near-constant nausea and puking (which can last months, yay!), swollen extremities, joint pain, oh yeah, and the long list of everything you’re not allowed to do while pregnant.

But despite all that, and the fact that my pregnancy was certainly not what I would characterize as “easy” given that I had severe morning sickness for 10 weeks straight and then suffered from intense swelling at the tail-end thanks to a sudden onset of preeclampsia, (oh yeah, and let’s not even dive into the insanity which followed the actual birth) — despite that, I really loved pregnancy.

There’s a certain unmatched intimacy to pregnancy. Your body is doing something amazing, and while you’re pregnant you know that baby growing inside you better than anyone. While I was pregnant KC asked me, “What do you think she’s going to be like?” and I remember telling him, “I feel like she’s going to have a ton of personality. I don’t know why, I just feel like she’s going to be this little firecracker.”

And you know what? I was right. This girl is so funny and never stops talking. I can only imagine what she’s going to be saying when she has more than 4 words in her vocabulary!

Much like the end of pregnancy where I was ready to meet her, but also wanting to have her all to myself just a bit longer, the milestone of Prim’s first birthday is similarly bittersweet. I’m so excited to celebrate the end of Prim’s first year and beginning of the second, but also feeling that twinge of “already..?”
I think that most parents feel this way as their children grow up. It’s amazing and wonderful to watch them learn and change, but you just can’t help wanting to keep them little just a little bit longer. ♥