You give up your self,
and finally you don’t even mind.
I wouldn’t have missed this for anything.
It humbled my ego and stretched my soul.
It gave me whatever crumbs of wisdom
I possess today.
Erica Jong, “You Give Up Your Self”
Pregnancy
transforms. Throughout both of my pregnancies, I was in awe of
the beautiful, subtle evolution that was taking place. It was
stunning to imagine all of the ways in which my baby was growing week
by week; and startling to realize that I was growing as well. I had
taken it for granted that my body would stretch and shift to nurture
a new life, but I didn’t fully anticipate that my perspectives, my
relationships, and my priorities would also be transformed—in a
monumental way.
I wanted to make
sense of these changes, which meant I had to find the time to
journal. This was not an easy thing to do when the exhaustion of
pregnancy can make the most basic of tasks feel like a trek up
Kilimanjaro! But, somewhere between eating crumbly mouthfuls of
saltines and euphorically throwing
newborn-sized bodysuits into the wash, I convinced myself that
keeping a journal during pregnancy was as necessary as taking
prenatal vitamins.
Why? Because when we are expecting, we tend to focus entirely on the
miraculous event of birth, rather than on the remarkable journey of
pregnancy that takes us there. We read pregnancy books, go to birth
classes, and talk to other mothers about their experiences, but we
don’t always take the time to listen to ourselves or to process
what we’re learning from others. With all of this information and
change, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Setting aside the time to
journal can bring clarity and help us realize that our very own
pregnancy experiences have so much to teach us about ourselves, about
birth, and about who we hope to be as mothers.
If you’ve been
trying to find the time to capture and explore your unique experience
of preparing for birth, join me at Luvaboos for a
BirthWrites journaling class! In
Prenatal BirthWrites, we’ll take
the time to listen to our inner voice on this journey into
motherhood, whether this is your first child or your fourth. Also
look for
Motherhood BirthWrites, where we’ll have the
opportunity to write down our birth stories, and to reflect on our
lives as we continue to learn and grow.
Don’t miss the
chance to discover that each birth writes its own story!
Prenatal
BirthWrites starts Tuesdays, May 15-29 at 7:30PM. Cost: $48/three
classes
Classes are
taught by Jana Jackle, owner of BirthWrites and Jackle
WordCrafting. Jana holds an MS in Education, a BA in French &
English Literature, and is a New York State Certified Teacher. She
loves being at home with her two boys, practicing yoga, hiking,
eating chocolate, and—when everyone is asleep—reading and
writing.
For more information
on
BirthWritesTM
classes at
Luvaboos, please contact us at info@luvaboos.com or call
us at 585.319.4981
