The test strip in your hand speaks a clear language.
Trembling inside, you watched as the second strip appeared on the horizon of the tiny window, completely changing the view of your world from one second to the next.

Everything changes, from one moment to the next. The cards are reshuffled.
Isn't that a bit much? There were plans! Dreams! Appointments!
And the situation! How on earth am I supposed to manage this, you ask?
In the days following the news, you are repeatedly overcome by a cold shudder. Yes, the decision has been made. Yes, it will all work out somehow, you try to calm yourself down. But in the evening you lie sweating in bed and cannot fall asleep. Your body is changing. You feel different within yourself. Where can you find peace, a break from the process, if not in your own body? In a few months, you will also face the crucial experience of giving birth – whether you have experienced one before or not, it is unique every time and you suspect that it is only just beginning. Your feminine intuition senses that this is no joke and that you will not take it lightly. This situation demands everything from you. Whatever this mysterious "everything" may be.

*

The other side of your emotions also speaks to you.
A little life is actually growing inside you. Isn't that incredible? Incomprehensible? Wonderful? Through you, something can happen that is so much bigger than you. Perhaps you even feel awe. Awe of your own feminine power, which enables you to truly bring life into the world. A new human being. Through you. With you. In you. If you can do THAT, then surely everything else that will ever come your way can also happen—or can't?

What power that contains. Your body knows exactly what to do. It makes the right decisions that are good for you and your baby. Maybe you'll quit smoking. Maybe you'll feel a sudden shift within you that says: I'm finally going to clean up my social circle; it was long overdue. This relationship is hurting me, that contact isn't good for me, I'm fed up with having the same arguments over and over again. I'm pregnant now. I have better things to do.
Your hormones support you in emotional processes that are important during this time. Perhaps your inner space expands. You're more willing to ask for help or feel the desire to deepen your existing relationships. Perhaps you just want to sleep and allow yourself every free second to recharge.
Maybe you're as fit as a fiddle and want to really immerse yourself in your work – now more than ever :-)

*

Nevertheless, the questions remain. Do I have to put myself too far back? What about all my dreams? Do I have to become altruistic now? Will I become one of those people trapped in the work-life balance trap, desperately trying to reconcile family and free time? Will I be too selfish? Or will I give up on myself completely? What about the rest of my life? How will this situation affect my social relationships? Will my friends still be interested in me if I come to the meetings with a baby? What about my body image? What about the topics of Eros, love, freedom, personality?

I invite you:
This experience is a celebration of life to which you are personally invited.
Everything you're feeling right now is part of the program. Everything. Every desperate thought, every tear of joy. Anger, fear, enthusiasm, doubt, and trust.This is a rollercoaster ride – and it will strengthen your mental circulation.
If you like, make yourself comfortable as often as possible in a place where you feel safe—and experience everything that's happening inside you. Breathe in and out deeply, open and relax your muscles... make yourself wide to welcome every sensation. It's YOUR life. YOUR pregnancy. YOUR feelings. Each of them has the right to be there. No one can or should forbid you from already loving your new little miracle beyond measure and simultaneously being angry at it—or feeling nothing at all. From surrendering or holding on.
Whatever you're experiencing right now, it's right. It's good. It's YOURS.
There's no agenda for pregnancy. Pregnancy is, on the one hand, one of the most natural processes of human existence—and, on the other, an absolutely exceptional state.
You're doing well. With all your heart.

If you would like to learn more about family, pregnancy, mindfulness, nutrition or sustainability, take a look here over.

AUTHOR: SARAH ACKER