Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Antenatal class is a hoot.  Our leader, Ali, is a genuinely wonderful person and tells us many things about babies and birthing and all sorts of other things.

I find much of this fascinating.  I'm overwhelmed that a person, an actual real person, is living inside of me.  This person will grow up healthy and strong (hopefully).  Who knows what this person will be like? Or achieve? Or become?  He or she will probably be a little bit odd, but that's genetic.  Seriously, have you met his or her parents?

Not only is this small person growing inside me, but the umbilical cord/placenta takes exactly what it needs from my body and gives it to the small person.  Even if I were deficient on something, baby would get it by finding new ways of getting it out of me.

When little person is to be born, it shuffles its way along and even is supposed to turn a couple times, just spontaneously for the easiest exit strategy.  I'm pretty sure baby hasn't been reading any medical books, nor could it see the diagrams.  This is just what it knows to do from creation.

That's something strange too.  Baby used to be nothing.  Even smaller than a twinkle in Adrian's eye.  It became.

And after baby's out, my body is supposed to do the most incredible things.  I always thought I was a freak for blushing with my upper chest, but apparently women's bodies are designed to do that.  They warm up so that baby stays warm while being fed as babies aren't great at heat retention.  There was even a lady who had one twin colder than the other and via heat sensors they determined that the side of her chest that the cooler baby was on heated up more to make up the difference.

In between contractions, endorphins are released to combat the pain so that women can continue.  Just the very act of nursing causes the uterus -which has grown up to 400% it's usual size (I believe it's that high of a number, but now can't find the reference) - to clamp down and prevent hemorrhaging.  And breast milk changes in consistency from thinner to thicker to satisfy thirst and hunger and the content of the milk changes according to baby's growth and needs.  Cool, eh?

I've reread Psalm 139 a few times lately.  It's always been one of my favorites, but the idea of baby being knit in my womb is just so much more powerful right now.  I'm glad I'm not the one in charge of knitting.  I'd be terrified to drop a stitch.  It's incredible how truly fearfully and wonderfully made we all are.

Do me a favor and look at yourself in the mirror.  Study briefly who you are and how your incredible body is made up.  Scratch your face and watch your body compensate.  How many tremendous things go on inside us most complex of machines that we're unaware of?

Sure, it's going to hurt when baby comes out in awhile. No, I'm not looking forward to the pain. I'm just ecstatic that I get to hold our baby after this.  I'm just thrilled that I got to be on this side of the creation process.  I hope you get/ have gotten this opportunity too.