Was Your Pregnancy Planned or a Surprise?

It's only fair to share...

*This post originally went up in September. I’m re-posting because it’s a great discussion I’d love to continue!*

Hello Mommies!

Today I’d love to hear how your pregnancies came about!

My pregnancy was a super surprise! My husband and I had only been married for about 18 months, and were coming off of a very difficult financial time. The plan was to enjoy our new financial stability and ‘live selfishly’ for a while before becoming parents. We talked about our ‘5 year plan’ and decided that my 29th birthday would be a good time to start ‘trying’ for kids. Imagine my surprise when, at age 26, I found out that I was pregnant.

To be totally honest, I was kind of devastated by it. Life had been so hard for us, and we were finally catching a break, and I felt like that having a child would plunge us right back into ‘hard living’. When I went for my first prenatal appointment, I confessed my fears to the midwife. She was very compassionate and non judgmental. She presented termination of pregnancy as an option. But she also told me to consider two things; firstly, that roughly 50% of all pregnancies are unplanned, and secondly, that humans are resilient, and always find ways to survive and thrive.

Her words changed my perspective, and I realized that I could take on the challenge of being a mother — for the sake of my unborn child. I’m about a year in to being a mom, and it is very tough, but I’m glad that I gave my son the gift of life. I’ve also been delighted to discover that his arrival hasn’t compromised the quality of my life, but enhanced it. I’ve become more professionally focused and emotionally mature. I’ve put renewed effort into building my home and strengthening my marriage, and I’ve ended many unhealthy relationships. I don’t think I would have done any of that (or at least not as quickly) had I not been anticipating the arrival of a child!

Alright ladies, what about you? Were your pregnancies planned or a surprise? And if you had a surprise pregnancy, what made you decide to go through with it?

About Leila

Leila is the founding editor of Baby and Blog. She splits her time between editing hair and culture site, Black Girl with Long Hair, whipping up butters at BGLH Marketplace, and writing here. She adores her husband and two kids, her parents and her friends. But she hates Chicago weather although she is slowly coming to peace with it...

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