Well, it’s official. I’ve finally hit that stage in my pregnancy where I am forced to accept the fact that my body doesn’t move the way it once used to, and I need to slow down a little.

I discovered this the other day when I was walking to the subway with a coworker. His pace, which at one time would have been nothing out of the ordinary to me, was far too brisk for me to keep up with. I found myself getting winded and achy, after just a block of trying to  keep up.

So, I decided to wish him a lovely evening, and put my headphones in for some tunes to help me out on the rest of my journey.

What did I expect? That I’d be as active and speedy throughout my whole pregnancy as I was before…?

Ah the wishful thinking of the blissfully ignorant. There’s nothing  like your child (even unborn) to humble you and remind you that you’re only human. A growing-larger-and-heavier-by-the-day human.

I guess I just have to accept the fact that my body won’t always move the way I want it to (see: bending) or at the speed I want it to (see: city-pace) no matter how hard I try to push it – and that’s OK – it’s busy putting energy into growing our baby.

Who knows, maybe even after little one arrives, I’ll adopt this slightly slower pace… sometimes it really is just nice to stop and smell the roses, after all. My husband used to nag me often about how I was always in a hurry to get someplace… but there’s nothing wrong with simply being in the moment, whatever the pace may be.

Mamas: When did you realize that you had to slow down and take things easy?

Photo via: paddynapper, Flickr.com