Pregnant? Where to go from first positive...

Congratulations! You're pregnant! Can we just take a moment and totally bask in the miracle of life??? How incredible is it that a little human being is cuddled up inside of you?


Everyone is different with each pregnancy. Some women have fantastic pregnancies where they keep this wonderful shape of a body with a little basketball sized belly. They go about their day like it's no big deal and gush about how much they LOVE pregnancy eating whatever they want and frolicking in the fields with no worries.
But let's talk about the stuff you don't hear much about and wonder how you missed it all those years you dreamt of what motherhood would be like...yeah, that thing called reality.
Pregnancy is fantastic, don't get me wrong. But it's messy, hard, confusing, stressful, challenging...you get the picture. Don't get discouraged. God does this incredible thing with your mind after having a baby in which He seems to almost erase the bad parts of pregnancy and labor. You forget how much pain is involved and move on to thinking about how cute the next baby could be...
Don't freak out. Just breathe and realize you CAN do this. Let's talk about some of the basics


1. MORNING SICKNESS: 
So misunderstood. It's not morning...it's all of the time. And if you're one of those people who doesn't get sick...count yourself stinkin' blessed. But remember every pregnancy (not just person) is different. Morning sickness is anytime of day and can come at any moment. You can feel fine for a little while, see a sandwich or just hear about one and want to barf all over your new maternity clothes that you just had to buy but don't actually need yet. Or mabye you're the person, like myself...throwing up all the time with nothing in the stomach left to even consider as food. You feel like you're on a roller coaster from H-E-double hockey sticks and can't get off for a long, long, long time.
What do you do? HANG IN and HOLD ON! It's tough, it's rough and you just have to keep reminding yourself it's worth it. Believe me...and you'll just have to trust me on this one...it won't be so bad later on. Your memory will fade.
What to do in the meantime? Well, saltine crackers MIGHT help you...but if you're like me, that gets old and doesn't always work.
You can try ginger ale, too. I don't drink soda so I actually went to the store and picked up some of those ginger chews to suck on.
Peppermint tea can be a gem, too. Just be careful with tea...they are not all alike and some are safer than others when it comes to pregnancy. Stay away from green tea.
When it was really bad...and I mean like not keeping anything down, I would eat chicken broth and some toast. That seemed to be light enough to keep down and easy enough to try and keep eating. Find something that works for you. It might work one day and not another. Just keep at it. Your body will tell you what it needs.
I wanted to be so natural and not take any meds but it got to the point to where I needed to keep food down. So I talked to my doctor who put me on some medicine that is actually used for morning sickness and even chemo patients to help with the aftermath of radiation. It makes the brain think you aren't sick. It helped so much and made a world of difference. I am still glad I took it!


2. STRETCH MARKS:
My little brother once described my expanding stomach to my grandmother with the words, "it looks like a tiger attacked her". Seriously. One day I was congratulating myself on no stretch marks and then the next day, they were just... there. They started to appear in one day...and took over. After about 6 months post pregnancy, they started to fade but they are deep and still evident. But it's okay...I look at my little one and realize how incredible it is that my body was able to hold that sweet pea and I know it was worth it.
Some things you can do:
Make sure to put lotion on your stomach, thighs, arms, etc. Keep them moisturized...I like to use extra virgin coconut oil...I stress extra virgin because it makes a difference.
You can try all types of different things for stretch marks but it comes down to genes. If you get them, there was nothing you could have done to avoid it...it's just a battle scar.


3. COMMENTS:
Comments. Cute, rude, funny, sweet. People can't help themselves! Everyone feels like they need to give their opinion and prepare you for parenthood. They also feel like they must talk about your belly all of the time. So as soon as you are done talking with one person about your belly, the next person you talk to seems to want to have the same exact conversation. And you'll almost always get the people that want to take "fun" pictures of you and your growing front side. Sometimes even with other people standing around you with balloons or basketballs tucked under their shirts. The thing is, after the picture is taken, everyone else removes the balloons and you're left looking the same as before.
Yep, people are great. And no...once the baby comes, they won't get better. Just think of it as your way of getting the chance to grow stronger. As a parent, you're going to have to make decisions that won't always go with the flow of public opinion and definitely not with your teenager. So, learning to hear what others say and decide what to do yourself is an art. People will unknowingly help you do that.


4. HUGENESS:
Your third trimester will keep you from even thinking about whether or not "hugeness" is a word. You'll know you embody it. It creeps up on you usually after the first maternity clothes shopping day and before the baby shower. Maybe you're rare and find that it's fun but most of us just feel plain crappy. You grow to hate the word "cute" and vow to take down the next person who calls you that with your protruding mountain that's strapped below your double domes of what used to be the front of your body. Shoes may begin to feel tighter, your breath sounds like a 60 year old trying to run a marathon without training, and your pelvic bones may feel like they've broken in two. Yeah, no one likes to mention the pain part of pregnancy before the actual labor. I guess everyone wants grandchildren.
But even if those kicks in the ribs wake you up at night, you'll be kissing those same little toes for days at a time once they make it out of your tummy.


These are just a few of the basic things to look out for as you start your journey. Try to embrace it...realize this is what women were made to do even when it feels like you're the only one in the world that can be feeling the way you do. You'll learn a lot about who you are and what you're capable of after this. Persevere...

Where do I start???

I have so many favorites after many sleepless nights on the internet and a hungry baby. Here's a quick beginning list to starting your wild web wars:

www.babysteals.com : Check every day! This is an online "deal of the day" website that lists fun things for sale at a very discounted price. Their company has 3 different sites: babysteals, kidsteals, and scrapbooksteals...they are all fun to look at. Just make sure you look early or everything will be sold out! (updated 9AM MST everyday)

www.diapers.com : LOVE them! What a helpful website when I'm cooped up in the house and need a stash of diapers pronto! They will deliver in 1-2 days free if you order $49 or more. They have a sister website, soap.com, that has a bunch of bath and home products for stocking up on things like dish soap and bandaids. They're customer service rocks, too!

www.amazon.com : Do research on the products you think you want...There have been so many times where I thought I found the product of the century, only to read reviews or real customers who say otherwise...If you take the time to read what others have experience with that "must have" item, you can save a lot of money...and sanity. Many times, people will suggest any even better product than the one you are actually looking up. Amazon tends to have the most reviews and a plethora of products to read about. 

www.ebates.com : Sign up for this now. It's free and gives you a percentage of what you order online just for going through their website. Pretty much, they're paying you to shop through them. All you do is go to the ebates, look for a participating store (i.e. diapers.com), click "shop now", and it takes you to the website you want to buy something from. Then, it tracks your purchase and gives you a percentage back by check. No stupid ads or gimmicks involved. Just cash.

There are sooo many things on the internet for parents like us. But this is a good start for the beginner...and maybe a suggestion to some of us who have too big of a list. Time to simplify?

Sigh

Sigh. Can I start a blog off like that? It's really a word that encompasses so many meanings: worn out, relaxed, slowing down, preparing, reflecting. Isn't that parenthood?
If you're a parent, you probably have found yourself sighing a lot these days. you might be a new parent and up in the wee hours of the morning trying to figure out just why you've decided to breastfeed. Or maybe you're a seasoned mom surfing the net while the kids take a nap...a five minute nap, of course.
This blog is to reflect on all stages of parenthood...from first pregnancy test to well, forever. Cause once you're a parent, you're in it for life.
So let's band together and take a sigh...but let's be thankful we get to sigh. It's hard work being a parent but ALWAYS worth it. From the dirty diapers, salty tears, bubbly smiles, first words, grade school projects, high school drama, college adventures, and "adult life"...we have the privilege to help shape a human being...and let them shape us.