Happy wife, mom and Alabama transplant. By day, communications, HR and organizational effectiveness professional. By night, writer and wannabe gratitude guru.
I knew that becoming a mom would change EVERYTHING in my life. I thought I was ready for all of the changes it would bring...but nothing prepared me for this:
On the left, my "new" underwear - on the right, my old underwear. The sad part is that I used to wear the ones on the right as my comfy drawers. Now, they cut off my circulation.
I've shared this with a few of my friends - and the ones that are already moms have assured me that I will probably never want to go back to the ones on the right...that even when the body is willing, the spirit will still opt for the fuller coverage of the ones on the left.
S cracked up last night when he walked in on me taking a photo of my underwear - but I knew that a description in words wouldn't be sufficient. Seeing is believing, in this case....
I spent way too much time on Pinterest today - and our intern, Evan, and I got into a contest trying to make each other laugh with what we found. These were my favorites:
Yesterday, we went for our latest ultrasound - the one where we COULD have learned the gender of the baby - and it was just incredible. The first thing I said to the woman conducting the ultrasound was "We aren't going to find out!", and she just smiled and said, "Well, then, at some points, I am going to have to ask you to turn your head!" No problem!
Our little one's heartbeat is going strong, and he or she is quite the mover and shaker. It took quite a while to get the images we did because Baby does NOT like laying still (kind of like me!). It looked like he or she was waving at us a few times (maybe that was wishful thinking...), and all of his or her little arms, legs, toes, fingers are working full force.
I couldn't take my eyes off of the screen - it really is just surreal to think that the images on the screen were OUR baby, inside of ME. I still don't feel anything yet - but they promised me that I would in the next few weeks. I can't wait!
My friend Mary is also pregnant - and this morning, when I logged onto to Facebook, she had posted the following as her status - some of these cracked me UP, so I wanted to share. Can you relate to any of these?? Any that you want to add??
I
hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions with
pregnant women, as failing to follow them may result in serious physical
harm.
1. The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are
having a baby is Congratulations! with enthusiasm. Any other response
makes you a jerk.
2. Through the wonders of science, we now know that
babies are made ONLY by the mother and father - not grandparents. Unless
the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there,
you may not ever use the phrase my baby.
3. On the same note, unless you
made the baby as defined in 2, the pregnancy, birth, and raising of the
child are not about you. You do not have input. No one wants to hear
your opinion unless they ask for it.
4.The body of a pregnant woman
should be treated the same as any other body. You would not randomly
touch someones stomach if they were not pregnant, nor would you inquire
into the condition of their uterus, cervix, or how they plan to use
their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove all traces of privacy from a
woman.
5. Likewise, no woman wants to hear comments on her weight ever. A
pregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is about
is pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in her
face. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she is
somehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique
your physical appearance and you may not act offended. The only
acceptable comment on appearance is You look fabulous!.
6. By the time we
are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on the fact that the
summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are not pregnant. We
don't need you to point out that we will be miserably hot before the
baby comes. Nor do we need to know how badly you will feel for us
because we will be pregnant during the summer and how glad you are that
YOU will not be pregnant this coming summer.
7. There is a reason that
tickets to Labor& Delivery are not yet sold on Ticketmaster.
Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some
women really do not relish the idea of their mother, MIL, or a host of
other family members seeing their bare butt and genitals. Also, some
people simply feel like the birth of their child is a private and
emotional moment to be shared only by the parents. You weren't invited
to be there when the baby was created, you probably wont be invited to
be there when it comes out either.
8. Like everything else in life,
unless you receive an invitation, you are NOT invited. This includes
doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor, delivery, the hospital, and the
parents home. You do not decide if you will be there for the birth or
if you will move in with the new parents to help out. If your assistance
is desired, rest assured that you will be asked for it.
9. If you are
asked to help after the birth, this means you should clean up the house,
help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the
baby more than the parents, interfering with breastfeeding and sleeping
schedules, and making a woman who is still leaking fluid from multiple
locations lift a finger in housework is not helping.
10. The only people
entitled to time with the baby are the parents. Whether they choose to
have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three
weeks to visit, appreciate that you are being given the privilege of
seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment only
encourages the parents to include you less.
This is RIDICULOUS! I have turned into the kind of woman I always
used to make fun of when I was a kid. Why the HECK do I NEED to carry
all of this???
Here's a list of what's in there (in case you can't tell in the picture) - from left to right:
- Receipts from a trip to take Chelsea to vet a month ago
- An unwrapped cough drop (with the wrapper near by)
- My Toys R Us rewards card
- Sunglasses
- Glasses case for my regular glass
- Two spoons (one wrapped in a napkin because I had used to eat yogurt)
- Two wetnaps from Dreamland BBQ
- Business cards from people I have met recently
- Hairspray
- A pen
- 3 tubes of Chapstick
- 1 tube of lipstick
- 2 tubes of lip gloss (the same exact kind)
- 2 packs of gum
- 1 container of breath mints
- A pack of my own business cards (in a very fancy rubber band)
- Hand lotion
- Allergy medicine
- A badge from a convention I went to last month
- My keys
- A key to the station vehicle (that I didn't realize I had for the past few days...whoops!)
- My wallet
- My makeup case (which is packed with other stuff I probably don't need!)
Fear drives the reason I carry a lot of this stuff - "just in case". Just in case I ever find myself with 3 friends simultaneously needing lip moisturization. Just in case, I am ever in dire need of several forms of breath freshening. Just in case I find myself in need of a spoon for an emergency bowl of cereal (I AM pregnant, so I need to eat more often). Just in case someone has an allergy attack and can't possibly get to a pharmacy.
One of my quirks is that I am constantly afraid that I won't have "enough" - or that I'll get caught somewhere without something I need. I am working on that...but my purse certainly doesn't reflect that.
The other reason is because I shove it in there and forget. Dreamland Wetnaps? Name tag? Receipts? Good grief....I guess I need to work on that too!
Am I the only one that does this? What does YOUR purse look like??
I received this from one of my favorite cousins recently, and wanted to share. What a GREAT reminder!
March gladness
Personal joy has more to do with your outlook than your state of affairs. Optimism breeds a sense of satisfaction that serves you well in good times and bad. Improve your perspective with these tips for taking delight in life:
Be present
. Hurrying from one commitment to the next can exhaust your ability to be in the moment. Stop and participate in the experience now — a shared laugh with your spouse, a warm smile from a child, a compliment exchanged with a colleague, a great dinner. Give the present its due attention, for yesterday and tomorrow can’t be touched.
Discover life
. It can be easy to sing the blues over what’s wrong in your world. But remembering that each breath is a gift can remind you of what’s right. Take stock of the good things: health, job, family, friends, or simply enjoying a hot cup of coffee or tea. There are always reasons to be grateful, and gratitude is a key that unlocks inner peace.
Find quiet. The noise of everyday existence can hinder happiness. Give yourself the gift of silence. Head to a library or a park. Feed ducks, write in a journal, meditate, or just take a walk on a trail removed from vehicle traffic. Turn off the radio and TV for a day to avoid news coverage that brings you down. Sometimes muting the world helps you hear your own music.
While sitting in my studio, I had a sudden craving for Mexican food and ice cream - so, I grabbed my keys and headed to Edgewood to satisfy both.
I had a lovely lunch (with a basket of chips all to myself!), and was able to read more a few delicious pages of Anne Lamott's new book that she wrote with her son, Sam, called "Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son's First Son." Her way with words is one of the reasons I aspire to be a writer. The way she turns a phrase and bears her soul with candor, humility and humor are both qualities I admire and aspire to have one day.
After lunch, I dragged myself away from reading - the guilt from continuing to sit at the table in the restaurant without ordering anything else started to detract from the enjoyment of Anne's words. (...and yes, I just referred to her by first name...we are friends, at least in MY head.) I headed next door to the ice cream shop for a yummy treat.
Since I was the only person in the ice cream shop when I arrived, I leisurely browsed the flavors, and did some deep breathing to inhale the incredibly decadent smell of freshly baked waffle cones. I didn't realize I was doing it, but while I was browsing, I had my hand resting on my ever-expanding belly.
When I finally placed my order, the guy behind the counter smiled and asked when I was due...and then, I watched a panic set in as it occurred to him that I might not be pregnant. (When I wasn't pregnant, I did get asked from time to time, and it was always devastating for me - and horribly embarrassing for the person that had asked. For whatever reason, I take perverse pleasure in pausing for a second these days when someone asks me about being pregnant.) After a pause, I smiled and told him my due date, and we struck up a conversation that lasted over the course of my two scoops and covered everything from a crazy encounter his ex-wife had with a gun in a rental car to what we both did for a living to my pregnancy to how to get him back into the dating world. It was a great conversation - and I was grateful that I happened into his shop at a time when few others were craving ice cream. He seemed grateful to have the chance to talk. He even thanked for talking before I got up to leave.
On the way out, the only other woman in the shop (she arrived and ordered while he and I were chatting) mentioned that she had overheard me talking about being pregnant, and then, she and I had a great chat about being pregnant. As it turns out, she hasn't lived in Alabama all that long either, so she had lots to share about what is different about being pregnant in the South vs. anywhere else.
I left in the best of moods! Filling food, stimulating conversation and compelling reading - all in the span of 45 minutes. I am so grateful for the fact that the stars lined up for all of us to be where we were and also to be open to conversation.
I know that a lot of the time, I have my head buried on my iPhone - or I am so distracted by my own selfish issues that I don't take the time to savor the moments that come along like these. Do they happen every day? Nope. But COULD they? I guess there's only one way to find out. :)
