Baby Showers Can Be as Depressing as Funerals Sometimes

                Well, here I am 6 months along in my pregnancy and I still have lots of "I can't believe it's real" moments.  But I know it is real so I am preparing a nursery and getting ready for our baby boy's arrival.  I am also getting ready for the upcoming baby showers my friends and family are throwing for me.  While I am excited to gather with women I love to celebrate the impending arrival of my little miracle, I can't help but remember what baby showers felt like during the 3 years Steve and I were still struggling to get pregnant. 
                Before we decided to start our journey to becoming parents, I used to LOVE baby showers.  I loved the finger foods, loved the cute decorations, loved (and was weirdly competitive about) the cheesy little games, and I loved seeing all the cute presents that my friends who were moms-to-be received for their babies.  But then I started trying to become a mom myself and I guess you could say I "lost that lovin' feeling" when it came to baby showers.  Instead of being an occasion of joy to celebrate a friend, baby showers turned into depressing reminders of the months I had unsuccessfully spent trying to become a mom. 

              If you have never struggled on the road to motherhood, trust me when I tell you that baby showers can be as depressing as funerals sometimes.  I can't help but think of friends of mine who are currently trying to get pregnant who will come to one of my baby showers because they love me but will be struggling with their own emotions the entire time they are there.  I know there were a few occasions I couldn't even bring myself to go to a baby shower and women who are struggling with the same feelings need to hear that's ok.  It's ok to be mad or sad and to choose not to put yourself through the hullabaloo of a baby shower if you just can't bring yourself to do it.  Know that there are others out there who are struggling with those same feelings.  It doesn't make you a bad person...it makes you human.