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You are here: Home / Marriage / A Letter To My Pregnant Self About Marriage
A Letter To My Pregnant Self About Marriage

July 20, 2015 By Alana 16 Comments

A Letter To My Pregnant Self About Marriage

To: My Pregnant Self,

 

Congratulations on making it this far without killing anyone.

REALLY.

You’ve had a lot on your plate over the course of this pregnancy and even though you may have been more sensitive than usual, all of your loved ones still love you and you still love them. I could have seen this going very differently.

 

The room is ready for baby. I think you got everything realistic that was on the checklist. You’re good to go!

 

Only thing is Baby isn’t here yet and hubby is already worried about displacement. You laugh it off because you’ve heard so many women say it before; men feel cast aside once Baby comes. You understand why, and so you don’t give it too much clout.

 

I know what you’re thinking, this baby is the realization of one of your biggest dreams. And, you have an idea of how all-encompassing a newborn can be. So his feelings seem a bit inevitable, albeit silly. Hubby will be fine. Plus, you said you two would make sure to go on dates once a week.

 

So it’ll all work out.

There is so much I didn't know about being a new mom. After the baby arrived, my marriage got put on the backburner. Little did I know how a little

 

Well, you know what they say about a road paved with good intentions? Ya. Though your relationship isn’t going straight to the inferno, you also haven’t really thought this one out. And you know what? It isn’t your fault. You haven’t walked through it yet. And neither has he. And, for that matter, neither has the baby. You don’t know if this little one will start off with his or her days and nights mixed up and if you’ll reside in a sleep-deprived haze of oblivion for the first few weeks. You don’t know if he or she will be colicky. Heck, you don’t even know what colic really is. And in terms of that weekly date? Well, remember for it to actually be a date, you kind of need a babysitter. And if grandma is keen, and Baby is good with a bottle, it may be all good.

 

But there could be times where a sitter would be needed and it just isn’t in the budget, or you may not know of someone good with newborns. It could be recovery from a c-section or healing from a particularly rough labour may postpone date-night. Then baby going through a fussy spell. Then teething. Then separation anxiety. Then a bad sleeping phase. It could all be fine, but life certainly can get in the way of scheduled, orchestrated fun.

 

But even if you do make it out of the house sans-bébé once in a while, one last factor you may not have considered is how it will feel to have a little someone almost leeching off of you. When Baby is finally in his or her bassinet, you getting distance from anyone but yourself may be the only thing on your agenda. And hubby will be left wondering where any form of intimacy has gone. Your thought may be that it is unreasonable for anyone to want anything more from you as you just. don’t. have. anything. left to give.

 

I’m here to tell you, acknowledging your limitations is okay. Not honouring those best-laid plans, that’s okay too. Even if you renege on every single plan you and your husband made about preserving your marriage after the arrival of Baby, I implore you to communicate what you’re feeling, let him be heard, and try.

 

If Baby is down for night the next few hours. Take that breather. Have a shower. Get into clean pajamas (there is a chance you may not have changed), pour yourself a glass of wine or a cup of chamomile, and then lean into him. Touch him even if you don’t want to be touched. Because even though your coupledom will have inevitably changed, your commitment to one another and strength of your relationship will more important than it’s ever been.

 

Your marriage is part of baby’s foundation, his or her secure base on which to build his or her development. Your marriage is the realization of many dreams including Baby. And, in truth, when Baby is grown, your marriage is still there. Try and remind yourself to put in the effort now so that it grows with your family and remains healthy throughout.

 

Life is about to get exponentially more beautiful and exponentially more exhausting. Don’t forget your partner in the process.

 

Love always,

 

Your very sleep deprived, coffee reliant future self

 

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Filed Under: Life Lessons, Marriage, Positive Parenting Strategies Tagged With: Marriage, marriage after kids, marriage with kids, newborn

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Megan VW says

    July 21, 2015 at 12:11 am

    Very true! It is hard to be pregnant because ech persons journey is so different.

    Reply
  2. triciathegoodmama says

    July 21, 2015 at 12:11 am

    Love this post! There’s really nothing anyone could say to truly prepare someone for when they become a parent. It’s definitely something you just have to take as it comes and learn on the go. haha The only thing I would warn my pre-baby self is to enjoy sleep while I still can.

    Reply
  3. workingmommagic says

    July 21, 2015 at 3:50 pm

    haha love it, so true!

    Reply
    • Alana says

      July 23, 2015 at 1:35 am

      Thanks, Lauren!

      Reply
  4. goodenufmommy says

    July 21, 2015 at 1:49 pm

    Great post – I absolutely agree. So much changes when you become a parent – especially in your marriage! It’s so important to keep the lines of communication open.

    Reply
  5. Jaya Pandey says

    July 22, 2015 at 2:30 pm

    Alana such an honest post and so true, no one can prepare new parents for what is to come and no one can chart a plab out. Lovely post. Sharing it

    Reply
    • Alana says

      July 23, 2015 at 1:34 am

      Thank you so much, Jaya!!!

      Reply
  6. dirtandnoise says

    July 22, 2015 at 2:48 pm

    Great post. I commented on the other site, but just wanted to congratulate you on such an honest look at parenthood. This would be great for any expecting couple to read.

    Reply
    • Alana says

      July 23, 2015 at 1:34 am

      Thank you so much, Shann!

      Reply
  7. Mommy A to Z says

    July 23, 2015 at 1:50 am

    Some good advice! It’s hard to realize all the profound changes your relationship will experience until you’ve been through it! It’s a lot!

    Reply
    • Alana says

      July 23, 2015 at 2:05 am

      I couldn’t agree more!

      Reply
  8. The Trophy WifeStyle says

    July 23, 2015 at 2:21 pm

    Relationships totally change when your preggo and have a kid! Its so much to take in especially if it’s a newer relationship…. I was an emotional wreck most days when I was preggo. I’m actually suprised you don’t see more preggo girls in the news for killing someone lol…. So looking back I kind of feel bad for my husband for having to deal with me on cloud 9 one minute and then balling my eyes out wanting to murder everyone the next ?

    Reply
  9. Alyssa from The Sparkly Life says

    July 24, 2015 at 8:21 am

    Always love your writing! And I wish this piece had been around back when I was pregnant with my first!! also, congrats on being published on Embrace Health!

    Reply
  10. Christine - The Choosy Mommy says

    December 8, 2015 at 5:56 am

    This post is spot on. After having a baby practically attached to me all hours of the day, the last thing I really want is for my husband to be all over me but it is important to remember that we both need each other and that the kids won’t always be attached to me. So I make the time for cuddles with him too.

    Reply
  11. kchiavarone says

    December 8, 2015 at 12:24 pm

    Great advice! I’m the worst pregnant person ever!

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Alana. When I'm not nursing cold, stale coffee, I usually can be found with the baby on my hip, barefoot, and racing after my two older kids. Thanks to a degree in psychology and a free-range childhood backing onto an expansive evergreen forest, positive parenting and play-based learning are my passions. Read more here.

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Though there are countless people who understand t Though there are countless people who understand the importance of positive, responsive parenting, the idea that young children should self-soothe remains a prevalent belief.

Though this ideology is well-intentioned, it actually goes against what we know about human development.

Babies come into the world highly dependent on responsive caregiving not only for nurturance and protection but also to foster social and emotional development.

While it may seem that leaving a child to cry will help her learn to cope, it actually floods her brain with cortisol. She doesn’t learn to self-soothe but instead to shut down.

Though it may seem counterintuitive to some, independence is fostered through responsive care. The less stressed a child feels, the safer he feels to explore his world. The less stressed he feels, the more appropriate his emotional responses become.

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So often independence and attachment are thought t So often independence and attachment are thought to be mutually exclusive.
However, research shows that in order for children (and adults) to be independent, they need to feel safe and secure within their closest relationships. In childhood, this means having caregivers who respond to distress and both emotional and physical needs.
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"This year, I changed my assessments by adding a p "This year, I changed my assessments by adding a piece of paper at the end, asking, 'What else do you know about the topic, that I didn’t ask you about?'

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Answering the question is completely optional, and when students do show more understanding on the sheet than they did on their assessment, I’ll point it out to them. Sometimes I’ll write, 'The learning wasn’t shown in your assessment, but I can see you do know this from what you wrote at the end.'

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I love what this change has done. This strategy has made my assessments more inclusive. It helps me communicate to my students: When I assess your understanding, I’m looking for what you DO know."
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