Just a Pleasant Thought

This feeling that I've been having may or may not have valid roots. Maybe I'm just rationalizing the decision about having a child, but recently I've been feeling that my Heavenly Father is very happy with me being pregnant. For several months before the fact I felt like I really wanted this, and though it may be difficult, it would be worth it. Now that I am pregnant, I've felt like God has made it really easy for me, and therefore maybe He's blessing me for making this decision.

That may not really sound like a lot of sense, but look at it from this perspective. When Mark and I were moving to Boston, things went so smoothly for the transition- 1)plane tickets went on sale for $89 each way non-stop, 2)the apartment that we got is a 2-bedroom that costs less than some 1-bedroom apts cost, 3)we saw the apt the morning that it was being put on the market and were able to sign the lease the very next day before flying back to Utah, 4)Mark's parents were able to drive out our moving truck, so we didn't have to worry about what to store and what to bring with us and we didn't have to fight the moving crowd on the same day. Since being here in Boston, we've felt that we are here for a reason, and though we may or may not know that reason, we've felt that we are where we are supposed to be.

Now, looking at how Heavenly Father had placed good things in our path with the move here, He's also blessed us with good things so far in this pregnancy- 1)first trimester was a piece of cake compared to many women's, 2)I found lots of baby gear for a great price, 3)I have a job that will give us good insurance even through my maternity leave, 4)I've received more support from work than I was originally anticipating, 5)everything has gone well and we're both healthy and where we're supposed to be. Really, I just feel like Heavenly Father has really blessed me so much in this pregnancy that He's probably not upset about the fact. Not that it couldn't be easy if it was a wrong decision...or that it would be hard if it were a wrong decision...or even that there is a right or a wrong decision.

All I know is that when Mark and I considered getting pregnant in the past, it did NOT feel right. I remember talking with my sister-in-law about my "baby-hunger" before getting pregnant, and she mentioned that one of her kids was a "nagger", referring to recognizing that someone was waiting to come to the family and that it was just time to have another baby. I realized that this was probably the same thing I was feeling. Maybe those months of "baby-hunger" was actually a prompting, over and over again, that it was time for this little one to join our family. There were moments when I felt like the hunger would dissipate as I thought that maybe I was just experiencing peer-pressure...I wanted to show that I wasn't going to do it just because everyone around me was doing it. I wanted to start our family when we were good and ready and that no one else had an influence on our decision...but really, it eventually felt like maybe I was just tuning out what might have been a prompting from the Spirit, and that I had better straighten up and pay attention. I think I will deem this first child a "nagger" too!

That was a long way of stating it, but basically all I wanted to say was that I'm very happy with this pregnancy, and I feel like God has given me His blessing too. We will have troubles to overcome once Baby Dahl gets here, namely child-care issues when I go back to work, but these are all things that we can eventually work out. I'm excited to see what life will be like when the baby is here. I'm excited for...well...all that's included in being a mother. Mostly, I am excited that there will be more opportunities for me to grow spiritually once the baby is here. I thank my Heavenly Father for the many blessings He has given me.