As Seth was reading my previous post he mentioned that when I talked about being pregnant I would type that I was pregnant for Grace, instead of saying I was pregnant with Grace. He thought that it sounded weird and that next time I might want to change the wording. I know it sounds weird. I always used to say that I was pregnant with Grace (or Gideon or Jericho). But there is a reason for my wording.
One of my close friends, when talking about her pregnancies, would always say, "When I was pregnant for ______ " (fill in the blank) and then go on to finish her story. I noticed that some of my other friends would say it this way too. I always thought it sounded weird (I'd never hear it till I moved to NY) and wonder why they said it this way. At first I thought it might just be because of location and the difference of how people word things (You want to come with? Right Elizabeth! Sorry inside joke that my sister-in-law, and I always get made fun of for because we, northerners, married southerners)
One day I decided that I was sick of wondering all the time why my friend said she was pregnant for instead of pregnant with her children. I was just going to ask the reason (if there was one) behind the for. I found out that there was a reason behind the for. She said that when she's pregnant the choices she makes eating, exercising, resting, ect.... many times are made for the baby's sake more than her own. I know she takes care of herself when she is not pregnant but if you've ever been pregnant, I'm sure you can relate to what she was trying to say. Most women I know are much more conscious of what they are putting into and what they are doing with their body when they are pregnant, I know I was. My friend went on to explain that for 9 months her body was not her own, her body was her growing child’s, what she did with it, she did for them.
I'm glad I asked. I'd never thought of it that way before. It made me look at my pregnant body differently, I was pregnant for Jericho at the time. I had hard pregnancies and was told to do (more like not do) things by the doctors that some women would not have done (I unfortunately know women that have been told to go on bed rest and they chose not to, it was to inconvenient) Bed rest is not easy, it is not fun, but when the doctor tells you it could make the difference of your child making it to term or not, or even making it at all, to me it seems like an easy choice. A choice I whole-heartedly made for my children. Most women don't have to make the kind of decisions that I did but because of my experiences and the choices, I did make this whole concept made complete sense. With one tiny word it so simply explained why I made the choices I did. It was for my babies.
One of my close friends, when talking about her pregnancies, would always say, "When I was pregnant for ______ " (fill in the blank) and then go on to finish her story. I noticed that some of my other friends would say it this way too. I always thought it sounded weird (I'd never hear it till I moved to NY) and wonder why they said it this way. At first I thought it might just be because of location and the difference of how people word things (You want to come with? Right Elizabeth! Sorry inside joke that my sister-in-law, and I always get made fun of for because we, northerners, married southerners)
One day I decided that I was sick of wondering all the time why my friend said she was pregnant for instead of pregnant with her children. I was just going to ask the reason (if there was one) behind the for. I found out that there was a reason behind the for. She said that when she's pregnant the choices she makes eating, exercising, resting, ect.... many times are made for the baby's sake more than her own. I know she takes care of herself when she is not pregnant but if you've ever been pregnant, I'm sure you can relate to what she was trying to say. Most women I know are much more conscious of what they are putting into and what they are doing with their body when they are pregnant, I know I was. My friend went on to explain that for 9 months her body was not her own, her body was her growing child’s, what she did with it, she did for them.
I'm glad I asked. I'd never thought of it that way before. It made me look at my pregnant body differently, I was pregnant for Jericho at the time. I had hard pregnancies and was told to do (more like not do) things by the doctors that some women would not have done (I unfortunately know women that have been told to go on bed rest and they chose not to, it was to inconvenient) Bed rest is not easy, it is not fun, but when the doctor tells you it could make the difference of your child making it to term or not, or even making it at all, to me it seems like an easy choice. A choice I whole-heartedly made for my children. Most women don't have to make the kind of decisions that I did but because of my experiences and the choices, I did make this whole concept made complete sense. With one tiny word it so simply explained why I made the choices I did. It was for my babies.
4 comments:
It's a very good way of looking it - because pregnancy does more to make you realize you're a selfish than anything else - well maybe 2nd to marriage. I probably didn't choose enough "for" Joshua and Oceana... but it's motivating for the next time around. Things like taking vitamins (I hate vitamins) and cutting down my coffee intake (agonizing some days) are hard sacrifices - but easy at the same time. I wish I'd made a few more...
That way of looking at it makes so much since. Thanks for sharing.
It's very true. I know I live for my babies when I am pregnant. I do so much differently when I know I am supporting another life with my body.
-Andrea
I've never heard it that way before. I always thought it was how New Yorkers said it because I'm not originally from here either. That makes me want to say it that way the next time I'm pregnant! :) BTW, Jericho is getting cuter and cuter with each picture!
Post a Comment