5 Things My Pregnant Daughter Should Know

It’s your body, your baby, your life. You don’t have to ask permission to take a nap, take a bath, take a break, and take the baby out of the arms of anyone at all when he is happy -just because you want to smell him.
It’s okay to ask for the help you really need. I promise, I can still: wash dishes, wash laundry, sweep a floor, slip you some cash to buy carry-out when you just can’t cook. I can call before I stop over. I can stop at the grocery and buy you bananas, meat, milk, diapers, and some kind of sugary candy that will rot your teeth, but give you great comfort in the meantime. Even though I live far away, I can still hop on Amazon and have any number of amazing things delivered to your door in 24 hours. Yes I can. I won’t judge. Remember when I was the pregnant one and there was a midnight run for some kind of Chinese take-out? It happens.
Your parenting and child rearing choices and decisions are just as valid as mine. We don’t agree on everything. Your daughter drinks unsweetened almond milk (bless her) and you don’t vaccinate or use toothpaste with fluoride. That’s ok. We’re ok. You just have to forgive me when I sneak her the bubble gum flavored toothpaste when she’s at Grandmamas. It does not have fluoride either, and it tastes way better than that stuff you sent. Also, I am sorry I laugh heartily at the funny, yet smart alack things she says from time to time. I know better. I really do. Just the exhaustion from raising you and your five siblings has not worn off yet, and I have no filter.
You are not wonder woman. Your body is being stretched and molded and moved. You are about to enter the time of LABOR- which is a heck of a lot of work. Take care of your body. Take the sitz baths. Take the naps. Drink lots of water. Eat the healthy food. Eat an occasional piece of cake. But also, take your vitamins. And if you are hurting, there is not any shame in taking something to help you over the hump. You’re not Eve, after all.
You are absolutely adored and loved as much as that little bundle of joy you are about to present to the world. I know you joke about being just the grandbaby maker, but the fact is that I have loved you and adored you since before you took your first breath. I marveled at every new thing you did- and I still do. I stood in awe as you took your first steps, read your first letters, had your first dance, sewed your first dress, wrote your first blog post, and became a mama for the first time. I love hearing you laugh and seeing you grow, and hearing your quirky comments to all my crazy ideas. We’re quite a pair, you and me. And now that we get to share this joy they call motherhood, I love you in a whole new way. Oh, and thanks for making the grandbabies. I am kinda attached to them, too.