Today is the last day in our pregnancy series! I trust it has been an encouragement and help to you.

Since this is our final day, we will discuss – How do I prepare? :: steps to prepare your body, mind, & heart for a new life.

• Physical Preparation

If you’re like me, you probably have a list of things you want to get done before baby arrives. That’s all well and good – depending what’s on your list, how intent you are on finishing each task, & at what point in your pregnancy you make it. The most important thing you can do for your baby is to make sure that your body is ready. Because, really – if the nursery isn’t totally remodeled, he/she won’t even notice. Promise. If, however, you are stressed out and tired before baby has even made its appearance, then labor and those first weeks are going to be even tougher on your body. The 2 biggest things you can do to prepare physically is to rest & continue your physical exercise. If you have other children at home, work to get to bed early {or if they take naps, use their nap times to rest!}. You can also involve them in your exercise by taking them with you on a walk or encouraging them to do your workout DVDs with you. It’s certainly much more entertaining when my 1 & 3 year old are doing yoga along with me. 😉

• Relational Preparation

For me, this means squeezing in an extra date night with my husband {or better yet, getting away for 24 hours!}. For this baby, my daughter is old enough to understand what’s going to happen and we’ve talked about how Mommy is going to be tired and in pain after the baby arrives. We’ve also talked about how the baby will cry a lot and need Mommy to hold him/her. Over the last several weeks, I’ve been making an effort to spend extra time just playing with and reading to my kids. Anna Grace & I also went out for lunch and just had fun together 2 weeks ago. Times like that are what I want to stock up on before baby comes. I’ll work to get them in after baby comes too – but it will be a little while before I’m back in the swing of things. Use the time before baby to spend extra time with those you love – especially your hubby and kids!

• Spiritual Preparation

I don’t know about you, but each time after I have a baby, my brain feels so fried from getting up at nights and going through the healing process that my quiet times with the Lord are not optimal. I usually get so tired that I’m not able to focus for very long before my mind drifting off to things like zzzzzzzzzzz…wait, what was I talking about?

I loved going through this devotional book after I had Nate and plan to read it again after this baby is born. But in addition, this time I also spent some extra time alone with God. Just me + my Bible & notebook + hot tea. I figured I try to spend extra time alone with Jonathan & my kids before baby comes – so why not do the same with God? Best. Decision. Ever. It was such a blessing to spend extra time soaking in the Word.

• Mental Preparation

There are some things you just can’t totally prepare for because you have to experience it yourself. I would put marriage & childbirth in those categories. There are 2 reasons for this: 1) every experience is different & 2) you can’t fully explain something that’s life-changing. Having said that, there are some ways you can mentally prepare for a new baby. If you’re a new mom and have ever dared to breathe the words, “I’m just ready to get back to normal” in front of an older mom, I’m sure you heard an earful. “Oh honey, things will never get back to normal! Never!” thanks for that.

And there’s truth to that statement of things never going back to normal. Once a momma – always a momma. But, the best thing you can do now mentally is to prepare for a new normal. Your sleep schedule will be interrupted, you may feel like a human feeding machine, you will wonder what happened to your body, and your husband might wonder where this hormonal creature came from. But guess what? It’s not going to stay like that forever. And it’s during those first few weeks when things seem the hardest that your tiny little blessing is changing the most! So, don’t wish things “back to normal” so soon – just take each day as the gift it is. “Normal” will return. Prepare yourself mentally both for the struggles that will certainly come and most importantly, for the tiny blessing that will come with them. It’s so worth it.

Don’t miss a post from this series!

• I’m Prego…Now What? {Introduction}
• Your Body Communicates
• Nutrition during Pregnancy
• Exercise during Pregnancy
• How to Talk to a Pregnant Woman
• Preparing for Baby
• Making Meals after Baby