Enjoyment is in the Belly of the Beholder

The other day a friend of mine who is due with her second child in a few weeks was telling a group of us how glad she was that she was almost done being pregnant. She said, a few times, "I just do not enjoy being pregnant." I believe her. She has complained about every aspect of being pregnant the entire time she has been pregnant. I asked if there was anything she liked about it. She said no. I pointed out that when I have been pregnant I have loved the idea that I was growing a new life, and later in the pregnancy, I loved feeling the baby move all of the time. She looked at me like I was crazy. I told her that I would practice a lot of mindful meditation, concentrating on the baby inside me. She said she was not the meditating type. She also laughed at me. I truly feel sad for her. She does not yet I know I am pregnant, so she may have easily thought that I was remembering only the good things about my pregnancies, the most recent of which ended two years ago. The truth is, I feel horrible most of the time. Thanks to Zofran I am no longer throwing up on a regular basis, but I am still nauseous to some degree constantly. I am so tired that sometimes I cry. My body aches, especially after bathing my girls. But I am still enjoying my pregnancy. I think about my growing baby with awe and gratitude. Sometimes I am lucky enough to have a rest in the afternoons and I meditate before dozing for 15 or 20 minutes. As I breathe slowly and deeply I concentrate on my baby. I don't picture him or her as s/he is now (a translucent, blood vessel covered alien looking thing), but as s/he will look as a newborn: a small, soft baby with a fuzzy head and eyes that look up at me. Knowing that I am carrying this baby right now has an amazing calming effect on me. In spite of all of its pitfalls , I ENJOY pregnancy. I can't imagine not enjoying it.