This week marks my 37th week. That means my son has reached full term. It is still so surreal to me. I almost forgot all the hassle and pains we went through to just try to get this pregnancy viable. I don’t even recall the number of times I had my blood drew for measuring progesterone.

All I do everyday is to watch my baby movement, count his kicks and the random contraction (even during sleep). That’s all matter to me these days. At least, it is my sole responsibility before pushing him out.

Aside from the outpouring kind words and congratulations from friends and family members, I do (occasionally) receive pregnancy advice (!) from men and women who have never gone through childbirth before. It added weight to me at the beginning but now, I just learned to take with a grain of salt. And secretly, I would just whisper to myself “they are idiots!”

One guy has repeatedly telling me that I have to walk as long as I can before labor. He claims that he walked with his pregnant wife for at least 90 mins every day prior to labor. I don’t really want to do any fact check but even if it is true, I applause to his wife’s physical strength! But folks, please remember that every pregnancy is different. Let alone every human body is not made the same. My baby likes to swim between my cervix / uterus area and stomach. I get lucky to walk around ONLY if he isn’t sitting on my bladder, adding 6 lbs+ pressure to my vaginal canal. I also don’t know how much babies weight do other carry. But imagine you are carrying a bowling ball (>5 lbs at least) inside your tummy that is connected to all your organs and you try to roll for 15 mins. Simple physic would tell you that your upper body muscle, especially stomach area, would stretch to the point that it would feel like being torn apart. Thanks to gravity and yet, the pain won’t go away by simply holding up your bowling ball  belly.

A 40 y.o. woman who has never pregnant before also asked me to be ‘physically active and walk more’ to help the labor. I appreciate the thoughtfulness but who gave you the credentials to coach other pregnant women?!

Showing a kind gesture to others does not mean you are obligated to give them advice or a ‘to-do list’. All I am asking is to trust that we (the one that are going through this) are totally capable to assess our abilities to care for our bodies and babies. This is just simply called ‘mother’s instinct’. And if we speak up and ask for help, you better believe in us as we know exactly what’s going on internally.

I welcome and am forever grateful for all the caring and warm wishes. All I am asking is to trust us.