Patience

Those who know me best, know that patience is not my strong suit. I am perhaps the least patient person in the world. I am early everywhere I go because I just can't stand waiting around to do something, I just have to jump up and do it. I hate waiting to find out what my Christmas and birthday gifts because I just can't stand the anticipation. I am a person who hates any surprise if I know its coming because I just don't like waiting.

In normal life this exaggerated level of impatience is manageable because, well there aren't that many surprises in life that I can't some how convince some one to tell me. However being 9 months pregnant and not knowing the day that I will get to meet my son is practically killing me. Now that I am 37 weeks (full term) and I have the house ready for the baby I am so ready to meet him, but all I can do is wait.

If I could choose the day that I would go into labor I would because I just can't stand the unknown. Now I know I could schedule a c-section or an induction date but honestly neither of those are apart of my birth plan because they are not good for me or the baby, so I just have to wait it out. I am trying to fill my time with nesting activities like cleaning the baseboards and doing laundry and organizing the kitchen cabinets, I have even considered taking up a new hobby to help pass the time.

All my family and friends keep telling me that I won't make it to my due date, which is a lovely thought, but honestly no one really knows. I could go into labor in 3 hours or I could go into labor 3 weeks from now. So I am taking matters into my own hands...I am going to try everything I can to get this  baby out (within reason). Walking, squats, eating spicy food, climbing stairs and so on. But I am going to limit myself to things that are 100% safe for me and the baby, as much as I want the baby here I want him healthy more than that.

Wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed that this wait isn't too much longer!

Working Mother

I am 35 weeks 3 days pregnant today!! Over the last weeks it has really hit me just how pregnant I am. Moving around has become increasingly difficult and sleeping through the night is just a funny thought. I think what is making this part of my pregnancy harder than anything else is work.

For those of you who don't know what I do.... I work an in home care agency for seniors coordinating the schedules. This week my company purchased one of our local competitors which increased our client base by about 25%. Needless to say this has been an insanely stressful time at work and I find that working at such a stressful job while 8 months pregnant is very difficult.

Don't get me wrong I love my job most days, and I love the company I work for but sometimes trying to handle this amount of work is just too much for this pregnant lady. I honestly don't know how people do it, pregnancy is a full time job of its own. Maybe this is just preparation for how busy and exhausted I am going to be one the little man arrives :)

I am really looking forward to my weekend! Just one more day!

No One Talks about It

Every one knows that being pregnant is not always as pleasant , but the real truth is that its down right hard. Hard on your physically and emotionally, but there are so many things no one talks about but every woman should know:

1) You will not only grow in your belly, but your ass will also get huge
2) You will start to hate food because while pregnant you have to eat every 4 hours otherwise you feel sick
3) Every one knows that you ankles will swell up but for most women your hands, legs and wrists will also swell
4) You will think you have the energy to still hang out with friends through out pregnancy, but your social life will change drastically
5) If you aren't constipated then  you have diarrhea
6) Hemorrhoids during the third trimester are almost universal
7) Even if you don't wake up in the night to pee you will wake yourself up when you have to roll over since its so much harder than it was pre-pregnancy
8) Fashion will become a thing of the past because you will not have the energy for it. In the third trimester you will just be trying to cover your swollen ankles anyway
9) It can be very lonely, friends with out children don't know how to act around pregnant people so they choose not to
10) you will be exhausted every day, all the time

And yet every minute of pain and frustration is totally worth it just to feel your baby wiggle from inside, I can't even imagine the joy that comes with meeting your baby the first time! I think pregnancy is just a preview of all the sacrifices that I will continue to make for my son the rest of my life, sacrifices i will be happy to make!

3 to 6 weeks

On Tuesday I will be 34 weeks pregnant!! I can't believe how quickly time has gone by, I feel like it was just yesterday that I screamed upstairs to Ted that I was pregnant after reading the positive pregnancy test. I still don't think it has hit me all the way that in just a few short weeks I am going to be a mother AAAAAHHHHH!

I am beyond excited to meet my little man, and surprisingly the closer that I get to delivery the less nervous I am about it, I mean he has to come out some how. I think the constant discomfort and ever present back pain are making labor sound pretty good these last couple weeks ha ha. Just three weeks from now I will be full term at 37 weeks, so pretty much I could go into labor any time after that.

I am just hoping that I don't go into labor on Christmas, I will be spending the weekend down in Denver with my family and I really want to deliver at my hospital with the doctor I have been seeing my whole pregnancy. I know that even if i do go into labor while in Denver that I could probably make it the one hour drive back to Fort Collins to my hospital of choice, but I just love to worry (I feel my day is incomplete if I don't worry about something).

Babies room is almost ready, still needs decorations, and I need a few other little things before he arrives but I am having my shower in two weeks so I am trying to hold off buying the last few things until after that.

Well that's pretty much the update on whats been going on... until next time.

Today I am thankful for

Since today is Thanksgiving its most appropriate that I would write about all the things I am thankful for.

I am thankful for my wonderful husband who is the most wonderful man I have ever known and who I love more than anything.
I am thankful for my son who will be here before I know it.
I am thankful that I have had a very healthy pregnancy and my son is growing big and strong!
I am thankful for my wonderful parents
I am thankful for all of my brothers and sisters, in-laws included
I am thankful for my wonderful friends who love me despite my craziness (and partially because of it)
I am thankful that I have a good paying job, and great job secruity
I am thankful that my boss is very supportive of me starting a family
I am thankful that I have two very adorable and loving puppies
I am thankful for the many essentials in my life that are considered luxuries in other parts of the world
I am thankful for all the opportunities that have been given to me in my life that have made me the person I am today
I am thankful that I live close enough to my family that I get to spend this wonderful holiday with them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cloth Diapering

When I tell people that we are choosing to cloth diaper, I usually get some pretty weird looks and some even stranger comments. I have heard " that's a waste of time" "what for". There seems to be some pretty negative feelings around cloth diapers and I think a lot of that is because people just don't know how to do it.

We are choosing to cloth diaper mainly because it is more cost effective and because its better for the environment. The average cost for cloth diapering per month is around $20, and that's because of the water bill going up due to extra loads of laundry and because we will still be buying wipes and diaper creams etc. Compared to using disposables diapers that cost between $80 to $100 per month for new borns who need to be changed every couple of hours. Even the "eco-friendly diapers" that are better for the enviorment are still going into the landfills. So to save a few extra bucks each month and to do our little part in saving the environment we have decided this is the best route for us.

The reality is that there are so many new products out these days that really make cloth diapering easier than ever. Until about 60 years ago every one cloth diapered, and for most of history they did it with out washing machines. It might take a few extra seconds with each diaper change and an extra load of laundry every day, but it will be worth it.

One reason a lot of people do not choose to cloth diaper is because of the initial cost to purchase the diapers. Depending on what type of diapers you choose to use it can really get pretty pricey. On average it probably costs between $150 to $300 to purchase all of the diaper supplies to get started. But hey in 3 or 4 months after the baby is born you will have already made up the cost.

Cloth diapering is the right choice for us but we are lucky enough to have my husband stay home with the baby so that we aren't dealing with the hassle of daycare centers not allowing the cloth diapering. Lets just hope the lack of sleep once the little man is born doesn't change my mind about the cloth diapering...we will see!

Preparing for the Holidays

Since I will be 37 weeks pregnant (full term) on December 27th I am trying to get ready for the holidays early. I only have four gifts left to purchase and I already know what I am getting all of those people. It seems so strange to me to be preparing for the holidays this early but with a baby on the way its probably best to be thinking ahead. Its just a wild guess but I suspect that  the closer the holidays get the more tired i will be and the less i will feel like shopping. I am also not really a big fan of Christmas to begin with so its good to get this part over with early this year.

I don't like Christmas for one because I am not Christian so it seems silly to me ever year that I celebrate this holiday that i don't even believe in. If it wasn't for tradition i don't think i would even celebrate the holiday. Don't get me wrong i absolutely love spending time with my family and any excuse i have to see them is a good one! The other reason I don't like Christmas is because with divorced parents it is always a hassle having to arrange schedules with each side of the family and not to mention that my brother and sister each have significant others with divorced parents as well so we have to work around all of their schedules too. Its just  a stress full time of year for all of us. I figure the more that i prepare now the more i will be able to enjoy the time with my family, because that is what holidays are all about after all and that's what really matters to me.

 All this holiday talk has really made me think about the holiday traditions that we want to share with our children. Although Ted and do not believe in God we have decided that we will still celebrate Christmas it with our kids because lets be honest every one in America celebrates Christmas, for religious reasons or otherwise. We have also decided though that we are going to include holidays from other cultures into our yearly holiday rotation so that our son can learn about all different cultures and decided for himself what religion is best suited to him, if any at all.

I know its a little early for this guys but its on my mind today so...

Happy Holidays!

75% done

In just a couple days I will be 30 weeks pregnant...that's right 30 weeks. I can hardly believe it myself, I can't believe that in just 7 weeks my little boy will be full term. Crossing  the 28 week mark was very exciting because that is the point where if the baby is born there is a 90% survival rate with no long term side effects for the baby, but my little one still needs to keep cooking for quite a while longer.

It is really starting to become real that in less than 3 months I am actually going to be holding my son!!! His kicks are getting stronger every day, he is a feisty little fella. He is laying sideways (breach) right now so he kicks my hip bones a lot which is less than pleasant but I do love the constant reminder that he is in there growing. When he is really active I can see my belly moving where he is at and it cracks me up every time. I made Link (my littlest dog) lay on my belly so that the baby could kick her, and she was less than thrilled about the whole thing. On the other hand Gulliver (the other dog) loves to snuggle up to my belly, its actually quite adorable.

The nursery for our little man is pretty much set up, we just need to secure the crib rails and rearrange a few things then all that's left is the decorating!!! We start our birthing class this week which I am excited/nervous about. I guess I am just nervous about the unknown but I am looking forward to getting all the information and touring the birthing center at our hospital.

That's where we are at today, I just can't believe that soon I am going to be a mom and I will actually get to hold my son. I am nervous about labor, because I am a total wimp when it comes to pain but my mom keeps telling me to just think of the end result so that makes it exciting too. Until next time....

Just a little bit of Halloween fun

Halloween is absolutely my favorite holiday of the year! I just love dressing up in goofy costumes. I am a little sad that this year I didn't dress up. Being pregnant and going out to parties is just too exhausting, plus hanging around a bunch of drunk college kids is not exactly my idea of fun.. So instead Ted just painted my belly in celebration! And I still got to have some fun putting makeup on Ted in order to make him look like a zombie! I am so looking forward to next Halloween when I have my son and I get to take him trick or treating. Although the candy will pretty much just be for me!

Stole this from a good friend

1.  
2. What is your #1 bucket list to-do item? meet my son!
3. What is the worst injury/illness you’ve ever had?  I have actually never been sick enough to go the hospital or had any major injury. I guess the worst thing thing that I could consider was the summer after my freshman year of college when i got a 2nd degree sunburn on my legs. I was on Dr ordered bed rest for a week.
4. Do you collect anything? when I was younger I collected Madame Alexander dolls, and trinket boxes. Both collections I still have. Now I just collect shoes and purses
5. What is your guilty pleasure TV show? I watch the worst TV ever. Teen Mom and 16 & Pregnant might be the worst ones I watch though.
6. What is the most special thing your spouse has ever done for you? I have an amazing husband so its hard to pick. I think the most special thing he has ever done is getting me pregnant with our son!!!ha ha
7. Do you believe in ghosts? that's just silly
8. What does your exercise routine look like? Right now it looks like an exhausted pregnant stretching in the living room.
9. If you could witness an event past, present or future, what would it be? I think I would have liked to be apart of the march on Washington with MLK Jr.
10. If you could change anything about your high school/college experience what would it be? High school, I think I would have paid more attention my senior year rather than partying and for college I wish I had majored in social work and gerontology rather than history and gerontology. I Mean seriously what i am going to do with my history degree
11. What season do you enjoy most? I love the fact t hat we have four seasons, but I would have to say I love summer the most. Summer nights are just the best time to be outside!
12. What celebrity do you most look like? I don't think i look like any celebrity
13. What band/singer are you enjoying most right now? I know i am a bit behind the times but i am really starting to get into Adele.
14. Do you implement any of the things your parents taught you into your parenting style? I think I am going to implement a lot of the things that my parents taught me. I think it was important that they let me make my own decisions and thus my own mistakes. I think its important for children/ people of all ages to recognize that actions have consequences. I think that is something that Ted and I will try to instill in our son.
15. What is/are your family traditions? We have so many fun ones. Now that Ted is apart of our family we enjoy the giant caramel apple that his cousins send us every year for Christmas. I also love playing board games every family holiday. Roasting peeps on Easter is another favorite.
16. What is the best parenting advice you’ve ever received? I don't think i have gotten to that point yet where i will actually be able to put any of the advise i have received into practice.
17. What was the best gift ever given to you/that you gave?The best gift that I ever received...I think would be the money that my grandmother gave me to pay for a good chunk of my college education. That is something that I will never be able to thank her enough for or repay her for. The best gift that I ever gave would be in high school when we collected books for students at an under funded school in Denver and i got to hand each child in the elementary school
18. Have you and your spouse written a will? No we don't have one yet but we want to have one in place before our son arrives, so that if anything were ever to happen to us that our son would be taken care of by the people that would raise him the best. We have nothing valuable to give
19. If you could change one thing about your wedding day what would it be? Not drinking so much. I was so nervous so i got a little tipsy before the ceremony....ha ha bad idea.
20. What have you done that you said you’d never do as a parent? Again i haven't gotten to that point. I will answer this question again in 6 months!!
21. How long have you been married? Just over 3 years!
22. Do you want more children? yes we have always wanted 2 children, but we have always wanted to adopt so our next child will be adopted in probably about 5 years or so.

Almost third trimester???Really!!!

I just realized how long it has been since I have updated my blog. I started this blog as a place to document my journey through motherhood and so far I am doing a horrible job. I am going to blame it on the fact that I have been truly exhausted... so here is an update:

- Baby boy is doing great, he weighs about 2 lbs already and is very healthy
- I was in urgent care about a week ago for some abdominal cramps but it was just a simple infection that a dose of antibiotics cured right up
- I passed my glucose test meaning that I DO NOT have gestational diabetes which is absolutly wonderful.
- this is my last week in my 2nd trimester. I can't believe that in three months I am actually going to meet  our son!
- I have been sleeping like crap, but I hear that I will miss this sleep once the baby arrives
- Ted's cousin came into town a few weeks ago and brought us so many wonderful baby items including : clothes enough for this boy until he is 2, strollers, car seat, bouncy chair, a nice crib, rocking chair, and a cradle. Its just so amazing that they have been so genrous. Now I just need to set the room up!!!
- Our families have been so amazingly supportive for us, its just great to know that our families and friends are behind us 100%.  Its refreshing to know that our son is going to have so many people who love him.
- we are thinking to have a will put together before he arrives, not because we have anything of value but because we want to make sure that if anything happens to us both that the people we want will be the ones raising our son (more on that later)

thats just a quick update of everything that is going on right now. Ill try to better about keeping every one udpated.

just an update

Last week we went to our monthly check up and baby is doing wonderfully!!!! His heart rate is good and the results from his anatomy scan we had a few weeks ago showed that he is growing healthy and just like he should. Just puts me at ease to know that right now our son is growing and developing into a healthy little baby.
 He is getting stronger and stronger with his little kicks. At least a couple times per day he kicks me so hard I gasp because he startled me. Before I was pregnant the idea of a baby moving inside me freaked me out!!!! But now its the opposite, when I don't feel him it freaks me out. I actually prefer the moments that can feel him kicking around in there compared the moments that I can't. If it wasn't for feeling him move around I would absolutely hate pregnancy.
Every one says that the second trimester is the easiest, but my back and or my hips hurt almost every day and dealing with heart burn has become a regular struggle. I am still exhausted all the time and I am sure my husband is so tired of me complaining about how tired I am, not to mention he is bored hanging out at home with me I am sure.  Well soon enough we will have a son and we won't have any time to be bored any more.
Just four more months and our little man will be here and then I will have a whole new set of complaints to deal with, but I will have my son!

Today is a good day

    Today I went down to the medicaid office to apply for health insurance for the baby and things just worked out smashingly (is that really a word?). While right now we can afford health insurance for the baby, once the baby comes Ted will be decrerasing his hours to just part time so that he can stay home with our son. Making it near impossible to pay for insurance once our son is actually here.
      I have been stressing over how to get the insurance set up before the baby is born, but it looks like I was WAY  ahead of the game. I met with a fantastic lady at the medicaid office who let me know that as long as I apply within 3 months after the baby is born his hospital costs will be covered as long as we qualify. And since we only have to claim that months income that we are applying in, our little man will qualify for medicaid or a low cost  health insurance called CHP+. This has been weighing on me for months worrying about the sky rocketing cost of health insurance and its just a relief to know that our son will be covered.
      It doesn't help Ted out at all, who we still can't afford health insurance for.  I just wish we could have socialized medicine in America so that those of us who are not offered health insurance through our jobs would still have the same access to health care that others do. I could write another 10 pages about my feelings on  Americas health care system, but I will spare you all. After all this blog is supposed to be about my journey through motherhood. So until then, I will just continue to dream that one day all Americans will have equal access to healthcare!

Not Allowed

Just for fun I thought I would create a list of all the things I have heard to stay away from while you are pregnant, some are valid, others are just crazy. Ill let you decide for your self.

1. Alcohol
2. soft cheeses such as brie and queso fresco
3. lunch meat unless its heated up first
4. hot dogs 
5. hot tubs
6. Bath tubs over 100 degrees
7. face wash (seriously people come on)
8. moving furniture (I am OK with this one)
9. dying your hair
10. most seafood
11. sushi
12. cat liter
13. most household cleaners (this one I like because now Ted cleans the bathrooms!!!)
14. pumping your own gas 
15. caffeine
16. Sleeping on your back
17. Laying on your stomach
18. weight bearing exercise
19. wearing make up
20. most medications, including Aleeve, cold medicine, most allergy medications, pain killers, a lot of antibiotics.
21. Sports, including; bike riding, jet skiing, sky diving, soccer, basketball, football, hockey, any team sport where you might get bumped into etc.


Those are the big ones I hear about a lot. Some of those are totally valid but others are ridiculous. I think some one out there is just making this stuff up to validate the desire to be lazy during pregnancy. This pretty much cuts you off from doing much other than just kicking back and watching TV. sounds boring to me....

My Little Man

Now that we know we are having a little boy the excitement has grown exponentially. I cannot wait to meet my son. I am starting to by adorable little boy clothes because I just cant control myself. The thought that Ted and I get to meet our son in a couple of months is just amazing! I love him so much already I just can't wait to see him in person.
I also love to see how excited Ted is about the idea that he is going to be a father! Its just getting more exciting every day. Its still earlier enough in the pregnancy that I am not worried about the pain of labor yet, I am just enjoying the idea of being a mother to my son! What a wonderful feeling.

Just a few items i couldn't resist buying for my little man!

Crunching the Numbers

     So tomorrow is the big day, we will find out the gender of our baby!!! I sure hope that he/she doesn't decide to be shy tomorrow. Last time we saw our little wiggler it was only about the size of a gummy bear and it didn't look like a baby, now its baby shaped and everything! I am glad that we have plans tonight otherwise I would go crazy waiting around for the appointment.
    In other developments, after Ted and I have been crunching numbers we have decided that rather than paying for day care, that Ted is going to stay home with our little one. We will still need him to work part-time but his job is very flexible so he can do that around my schedule so that we won't have child care costs.
     It definitely won't be an easy adjustment because we will have to scale back on a lot of things, but it was going to take half of Ted's income to pay for childcare any way. We just figured it seemed silly to have him work those extra 20 hours per week just so that we can pay for childcare. Of course there will still be times we still need a sitter, if we want to go out or have things planned for the day but we have wonderful friends here in town who are willing to help us out!
     This will not necessarily be a permanent change, because as our baby gets older the cost of daycare will be less once it's not an infant and Ted might want to go back to working full time, but for now this is what makes sense to us. Sure we will have to cut back on some of the things that we want, we won't be able to go on a date every week, we are cancelling our cable, i will have to be more diligent about couponing to save on groceries and we will actually have to budget rather than just spending money with out thinking. To me these are good sacrifices, and it will show us what is really important. I am just glad that we are in a position that we can do this, and that I have such a wonderful husband that is not only willing to do this but looking forward to all of the time he will have with our child!
Gosh I can't wait until we can actually call the baby he or she, I am getting tired of saying IT!

Baby Insurance!

I am a very lucky girl...I am still covered by my step fathers health insurance until my 26th birthday so all of medical costs during my pregnancy will be covered by that. However, because I am a dependent the health insurance company will only cover the baby through delivery. Meaning that I need to have health insurance set up for our little one before giving birth.
 This seems like it would be a pretty easy task right? Wrong!!! I have looked up a lot of very afforadable health insurance programs, that would be a great fit for what our baby will need. The problem is signing up for these programs so that the baby will be immediately covered once I give birth.  In order to get insurance for a child I actually need a name and birth date, which I don't have yet, because MY BABY IS NOT BORN YET!!!!
The websites I have visited so far say that the baby will be covered by the mothers insurance for a period of time after birth, but in my situation...with my insurance the baby will not be covered at all once delivery is over. I need to have insurance set up in advance in case there are any complications (I am hoping there won't be).
I know I am only half way through my pregnancy but if you know me, you know that I am a planner and I do not like the unknown, so I am wanting to get things set up as soon as I can so I have less to worry about in the days prior to the babies birth. I am just starting my search for all of this so if any of my readers out there know of any places to look or what the next step should be, please let me know!

Wiggles

     Last time I wrote on here I was way over being pregnant and all the restrictions that pregnancy has placed on my life. And while I am still feeling that somewhat, a new development has really brightened my outlook.
     Over the last week or so I kept thinking I felt the baby moving but then I would doubt myself and assume it must have been really weird gas. Well a few days ago I had an undeniable poke, that right a baby poke. It felt kind of like a few kernels of popcorn popping inside of me, it was kind of funny to feel. At first I didn't even think that was the baby, but then I thought about it some more "if it wasn't the baby moving in there then what could it be?" So I had to accept the fact that I finally have a wiggly baby growing inside of me.
      I had been really anxious. excited about feeling the baby for the first time, I was scared that I wouldn't like the way that it felt. It turns out that its actually pretty cool, now I find myself wishing that I could feel it more often. So far I have only felt it a couple times a day for the last few days!
      Feeling our baby move inside of me has made this whole experience more real to me, and honestly more exciting .I love how excited my mom and my oldest sister were when I told them I could feel the baby moving, it made me so happy! I just love how supportive my family and Ted's family is being through this process. Ted and I just can't wait to meet our baby, 5 more months really seems like a long time.

Loving Pregnancy?

Any one who knows me is aware that I never really looked forward to being pregnant, I have always been more excited about the end result of having a child more so than actually being pregnant. Which is probably why it took me several years to come to the decision to give birth to my first child rather than adoption. My pregnancy experience has thus far brought me to the decision that any children Ted and I have after this one will be adopted.  So far for me pregnancy has just been a bunch of restrictions on my regular life and a game of giving up things I love, mixed with quite a bit of nausea.

I am no longer able to carry heavy objects or move furniture, which makes rearranging and organizing for the baby difficult when my husband works 6 to 7 days a week and can't always help me when I want him to. Moving furniture is never something I cared for but the fact that I can't do it now is rather frustrating. I can't eat a lot of the foods I love including sandwiches which are my favorite food of all time, and I am not talking a toasted panini, but a nice sandwich with cold lunch meat and all the delicious crispy veggies, which while pregnant is a big no no due to the risk of listeria in the cold lunch meat. I love soft cheeses like brie and goat cheese but again those are off limits. And I miss being able to have a glass of wine with friends or a bloody mary when out to breakfast, and trust me the non-alcoholic versions are not worth it.


Don't get me wrong here I am looking forward to being a mother more than anything, I can't put into words how much I already love my child and can't wait to meet him/her. But I always hear stories of how people loved being pregnant and they miss it as soon as they pop the baby out, well lets just say I will not be one of those women. Maybe everything will change in a couple of weeks once I feel my little baby wiggle inside of me, but right now I just feel like a more tired, moody and deprived version of myself.

Quad Screen

I am 15 weeks pregnant which means I am in the window for getting the Quad Screen done, if I so choose.  The Quad Screen is a blood test that is done between weeks 15 and 18 of pregnancy that screens for certain abnormalities such as down syndrome, spinabifada and trisomy 18  It checks for these abnormalities by analyzing four specific substances in the mothers blood, hCG, AFP, Estriol and Inhibin-A.  The levels of these substances in the mothers blood combined with other factors, including age, ethnicity, and health determine the probability of the child being born with special needs.

 I am sure that making the decision on whether to get the test or not is hard for parents.  The test does have a risk of a false positive causing unnecessary distress, but there are certain risk factors that could put parents minds at ease if the results of the tests come back negative. Some of the risk factors that would cause such abnormalities in children are: Mother over 35, excessive exposure to radiation during pregnancy, viral infection during pregnancy, use of harmful medications during pregnancy, and a family history of birth defects. Since I have had none of these risk factors Ted and I decided to skip the testing.

 This was the right decision for us because we both know that weather our baby is born with special needs or not we are going to love it just the same. We knew before becoming pregnant that there is always a risk that something like that could happen to our child and we were willing to take that risk. Although our baby is only the size of an apple and I can't even feel it moving yet we still love our child and we chose to be positive and hope for a healthy baby!

Pregnant Brain

 I have had many friends and co-workers who were expecting that worked  through their pregnancies, and I never understood why they kept saying it was so hard. I totally understand now. It turns out that growing another human life take A LOT of energy. I find that my brain no longer functions at full capacity and I am no longer as efficent as I once was at my job or really any aspect of life (actually I am better at sleeping that I was before).

Working while pregnant is a real challenge. My company is growing at a very rapid rate which means that I am putting in 10 or 12 hour days pretty much every day, and before I was pregnant that was no big deal. But now I am grouchy and my brain shuts off long before i really need it to. For all of you out there reading, pregnant brain is REAL!!!! I just hope that one day my brain will go back to normal and working will not be such challenge and I can begin to enjoy it the way I always used to.


 I desperately  wish that having both Ted and I working was not financially necessary, but in this day and age most people rely on two incomes to pay the bills.Before I became pregnant I never imagined a future where I didn't have a career, and now I imagine it all the time. Raising children is a career in itself, the most important job there is. But I wonder does the idea of a stay at home parent really exist for my generation?

First Try

     I have have recently started reading friends blogs, which got me interested in the idea of creating my own. I never felt I really had anything special to write about it, and maybe I still don't. But I figured if growing and raising a child isn't special enough to write about then what other major event in my life ever will be?
     So to start off I'll just let every one know who the heck I am. My husband and I have been together for almost 6 years, married for 3 years and I am thankful everyday that I have such a wonderful man in my life. From when we first got engaged we always knew we wanted to wait a little while to have children, and really thought we would wait longer than we did. But eventually we just said to each other "What are we waiting for?" and baam 3 months later I had a bun in the oven!!!!!!
     I am now just entering my second trimester of pregnancy and damn am I glad the first trimester is over. While trying to conceive it never really crossed my mind that I was going to have morning sickness because neither my mom or grandmother ever did, but guess what? I did. I was sick every time I ate especially in the evenings and I barfed so much I actually managed to lose 10 pounds during the first trimester (which is probably a good thing, I definitely had the weight to lose). Now that i am in my second trimester the anticipation of finding out if this baby is a boy or girl is killing me. I just love this baby so much and I can't wait to learn more about him/her.
     To conclude my very first blog ever, all I can say is that being pregnant and beginning my journey towards motherhood is the most thrilling, exciting, scary, overwhelming and joyful thing that I have ever experienced. I am sure it will only get crazier from here.