33 weeks and 6 days to be exact. That’s exactly how long my little girl has been able to camp out and grow. This has been the longest I’ve ever carried a baby!! When I took that pregnancy test over 6 months ago, I never expected it to say positive or to have even carried this long.

This pregnancy has brought on a lot of trials and anxiety, but I am thankful to be at the point I am today! Everyday I wake up and feel excitement as I feel her grow and move, but I also have feelings of exhaustion, pain and fear of the unknown. As I am older than I was during Brodie and Cooper’s pregnancies, I feel a lot more. My body goes through a lot more. At 21 years old, of course I felt huge and dealt with the morning sickness, but the aches I feel now remind me, I’m not a spring chicken anymore. I’m not that tiny little post sorority girl that could bend and snap. I’m almost 28 years old. In math if I had to round my age, sadly it would be up. Having a baby closer to your 30s is nothing like having one in your EARLY 20s, especially when this is the third time your body is going through these changes. I am at a point I can’t do as much as I could before. I get winded, I am slow, I hurt and I am tired.

Imagine being 6 weeks from your due date and still trying to keep up with an ACTIVE little boy who is getting closer to 7 years old everyday. One who is ready to eat as soon as his feet touch the ground and has enough energy I think he could power my house. Although he likes to be very independent, you can’t rely on him to do everything he needs to without a little bit of assistance.

So with that being said, I have fear of how to handle two kids at once. Which I know some will say is silly and I should be thankful to have been able to have another child, and don’t get me wrong I’m very thankful! The things I’ve had to go through to make sure she stays in as long as she can is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. But in all honesty, I’ve not tended to a baby in some time. Brodie has been a “big boy” for a while. In today’s society, moms are judged tremendously on what they feed their baby, how they dress their baby, how big their bows are, how you manage your life with a new baby, how your emotions are after birth, etc. It’s so much worse now vs. when I had Brodie. As a “people pleaser” type of person, I have to remember not all babies are the same and to not let others words and actions get me down. Because people can be cruel.

I hope that as a new mom, again, I hope can lift up other moms to not feel discouraged or worried about what others will say. Let’s work to lift each other up and not tear each other down.