Monday, July 1, 2013

No Excuses: It is what it is...

I don't know why I have gotten into the bad (or maybe good) habit of saying "it is what it is." Let's just say it's been over a year since I last posted on this blog. Um...It is what it is. Who knows why it has taken me so long to get back to it or why I am feeling the sudden urge to do so? Who cares.
A great deal has changed over the last year. Let's just say most notable is the fact that I am writing this with a bowl of organic vanilla ice cream next to me and not a glass of organic red wine. Hint, hint. I am with child — have a bun in the oven — and for the sake of unpleasantries, let's just throw in the mix "knocked up."
14 weeks pregnant. The bump is MUCH bigger now. 
Our baby girl is due sometime in early September, which puts me around 30 weeks pregnant or for those of you who haven't experienced counting your life in weeks ... 7.5 months pregnant. We have 10 weeks until the due date. Before I was pregnant, I was under the impression that at the cusp of month nine you have a baby. Turns out that is not the case. Really, a woman is pregnant for more like 10 months — give or take.
Pregnancy is a funny thing. First of all because it is so amazingly different for each woman. Second because even when it is happening to you, right before your very eyes, it is still inconceivable what is occurring within your body. No amount of reading or confering with women who've been through it can prepare you for the actual thing. It is, and always will be no less than a miracle.
I have been SO lucky. No morning sickness, normal weight gain, no stretch marks (so far), blah blah blah about all of the icky symptoms I have read about and prepared for that I have not had to endure. If it weren't for the fact that I am slightly winded after just one flight of stairs, that people (politely) assume I am incompetent of carrying my own groceries to the car and, of course, that I miss my nightly glass of vino, I might actually go as far as to say I have really enjoyed pregnancy.
I sleep more (kinda), I eat better, I drink more water and I feel important to someone other than myself. That is pretty darn cool. What is not cool is the influx of information an expectant mother must weed through for guidance and preparation.
There are so many schools of thought on how and why to do things when it comes to pregnancy and parenthood, that even as an "over-researcher" I got to a point of just choosing to ignore most.
I still refer to "What to Expect" for the summary of what is going on from week to week, mainly because it's sitting on my night stand and it's kinda fun for a quick reference. I do browse the internet if I have a random silly question (but I try not to stay on it too long). I read "Active Labor" in preparation for an attempted au-natural birth and currently I am reading "Bringing up Bebe" at the recommendation of a fellow pregnant friend. This book hits home. I am not going to go into detail on it and I don't agree with 100% of how the French do it, but I'd like to think that I will take away a great deal of insight as to how to raise my child. Most importantly, my hubby agrees with all of the things I have shared with him from the book, so we seem to be starting off on a solid co-parenting ground.
Now, the only thing left is to look into this whole breastfeeding thing. I mean, I get it, but I don't, so a little guidance is necessary.
I hope to keep up my posts from here on out and will attempt to make them much shorter than this, but there is no guarantee on either fronts...sorry people,  it is what it is!