There are a lot of things to freak out about when you’re pregnant. I personally understand the uncertainty of the first trimester, and enough Googling can send anyone into a panic attack for the entire 40 weeks. But I had to laugh a bit when I recently read a first-time-mom write, “I can’t wait until the baby is born – I can finally stop worrying!”
I know there are a couple expecting first-time-moms who read this blog, so I wanted to do some myth-busting:
The worry doesn’t actually stop when the baby is born.
At my own parenting stage, I am regularly jolted with the unpredictability of a two-year-old. Lately, she has run in the street (in front of a car), stuck a screwdriver into an electrical outlet, licked a trashcan at Costco, laid down on a public restroom floor, and attempted to eat raw chicken off the counter. Worry done? Yeah, right.
Worrying comes from the fear of lack of control. But it doesn’t make sense because we’re not in control to begin with. We can certainly attempt to create a safe environment for our children and teach them appropriate behavior. But control is really an illusion, therefore the fear of lack of control is worthless.
In short, this sucks.
The pregnancy worries may end, but the mommy worries are just beginning. The countdown til your due date is not the countdown to peace and tranquility. It’s only a countdown to the time your mind is opened to all the truly dreadful things that could happen to your child now that they’re exposed to the big scary world full of germs, sex offenders and non-organic produce.
The solution to worry? Unfortunately, I don’t have that. I just trust God and give myself regular reality checks. All you other mommas out there – please leave a comment with your best worry-busting tips!
grit & grace 
Just don’t worry about things. It’s OK to yell a little and to make them sit down for a while. Other times you should shut the door and ignore them. It all gets worked out and things are fine.
Oh my goodness, this made me laugh so hard. Maybe it’s because I’m about to pop and have been wondering lately which is better: being hugely uncomfortable with a quiet baby, or to be physically comfortable with a screaming baby to tend to 24-7. I will warn you that it gets harder to chase running toddlers and scoop them off bathroom floors when your belly is huge. I’ve learned to pray for physical comfort-because GOD ANSWERS PRAYERS. You won’t worry as much with the second, but then you’ll feel guilty that maybe you didn’t worry enough. You’ll worry that she didn’t get as much organic food as Hannah or enough pictures. The only thing that gets me through is to look for God and for the good in things…and take it a moment at a time.
This is a great blog post. Love it! As far as worrying? I struggle with it every day, and the only answer is faith :)
Non-organic food. What category does cat food, dog food, and corn for the chickens fall into? This has been in Addie’s diet in the last few weeks! The worry never stops. If you ever want a nice long list , let me know. :)
Haha, yeah, I hope everyone got that was a joke because, as you say, you never know what is going in the mouth next!
Love your insightful post! Each stage of motherhood has its challenges without a doubt.
So far I’ve only had one “worry week” where I sent Kyle a giant list of things we needed to do to make sure the house was safe :) I’ve since relaxed. And Jen, I can relate to wondering which I’d prefer…being done with pregnancy or having a crying baby…at the moment I’m leaning toward crying baby but that’s probably because I don’t really know how hard that will be!