March is upon us; a time when sweet monsters come together to recognize each other, share, laugh and whatever we feel the need to do. To celebrate womanhood I want to share my first experience with you of the new me, a first time pregnant mama.
Last night as I slept in sweet slumber, dreaming of being on a boat with big waves crashing against a bow and splashing onto my face, I held a baby tight in my arms, protecting her from the dangers of what looked like a storm. At the same time, in my waking life a sticky liquid seeped out my nipples through my tank top, onto my forearm and then my cheek. I suddenly woke up hearing myself gasp for air from the cold and stickiness of this foreign substance coming out of my body. My boyfriend who thought I was having a bad dream woke up as well from my sudden movements.
It wasn’t a bad dream. It was just my first personal experience of feeling animal like and seeing for myself what my breasts were for. My breasts are carrying the very life substance that my baby will be nourished from when she comes into this world. This sticky fluid is called colostrum. This yellowish form of milk is produced prior to giving birth and carries the proteins and antibodies my baby needs to protect her from sicknesses and diseases.
The next morning I stood still in front of my mirror, in awe, looking at the slightly yellowish stains of the dried up colostrum left on my white tank top. And then I thought: Every single human on earth, once lived inside a woman’s womb for nine months. “Giving birth to a child is a transformative experience for women…and a rite of passage”- Deborah Harding. To each and every woman who has gone through this passage, we sweet monsters recognize and honour you.
To be carrying another mini being inside me, watching my belly grow and sharing my body with another life is so beautiful and also overwhelming; and it’s just the beginning. This moment in my womanhood is so intense. The new hormones, new realities and new consumption regimens, makes everything I physically and mentally do and feel a lot to handle. To ground myself, I close my eyes, touch my belly and breathe. Inhale exhale. All is good.
As I prepare for giving birth and being a new mommy I find it important to continue to listen to my intuition and those animal instincts that have never been more heightened than now. In about two months she will be here with me, my baby daughter. Today I will do what my soul desires. Take time for myself.
