Our Mommyhood

Posts Tagged ‘pregnancy’

By Honey B, Staff Writer, The Honey B (@thehoneyb)

Now that Marmot and I have actually made the decision to try to get pregnant, I’m onto the next big question: How do you decide when to announce that you’re pregnant? And should you do it on Facebook?

* My BFF Junebug told me at 9 weeks, but after having a miscarriage at 7 weeks two years prior, her Mom and I are the only ones who knew until almost 20 weeks.

* My friend Mal hid it from the office until someone finally pulled me aside and asked if she was pregnant- to which I said yep, six months along!

* My sister-in-law announced to family at six weeks, and on their blog and Facebook at ten weeks.

* I have a Facebook friend who announced it (with pictures) the day she got a positive test.

Oh the dilemmas!

Before I started blogging, I had no idea that infertility was so common which can make Facebook announcements really hurtful. But on the flip side, I love hearing the latest news in friends lives (isn’t the entire concept of Facebook?) and I would be sad to miss it.

On the other hand, I have a FB friend who pregnancy-overshares. To the point that by the time we got to the 10 weeks update, I actually thought OMG we’re only a quarter of the way there and I’m already sick of her pregnancy!

But on the flip side, I don’t blame her. What an exciting time! The risk of miscarriage is so much higher in the first trimester, but who can be quiet for 12 weeks?

On the other hand, I totally see Mal’s point in keeping quiet until its just obvious; it doesn’t make it seem so long (How far along are you, should be almost time soon right? Oh, well actually, another 12 weeks to go!) and nobody needs to know you have hemorrhoids (pregnancy-related or otherwise) on Facebook. Ever.

see more Failbook

So don’t tell too early, and don’t update FB too often, but make sure to tell people so they can be happy with you and soon enough that they don’t feel like you’re hiding it, but don’t overshare. Help!

By Honey B, Staff Writer, The Honey B (@TheHoneyB)

The countdown continues, and we’re in full-scale prepare for pregnancy mode in the B. household. I’ve decided that getting ready to gestate a human being comes down to mostly pills. Well, pills and a lot of learning, which I thought I would share with you.

*Just in case you were wondering, giving up caffeine is not in anyone’s best interest. After two days of no caffeine and no Excedrin Migraine (my BFF!) because it contains caffeine? Yep, that means that my irritation level with Marmot is so high we’re likely to be delaying pregnancy for a while, because there is no dancing in this house, baby or otherwise!

*But just in case, I’m taking my prenatal vitamins. Which are, I would like you to know, a total racket. Paying $30 for a box of 90 pills because they’re prenatal is ridiculous when one shelf down a 150 count bottle of Flintstones is $16.

*Speaking of prenatals- you know that ‘great source of iron’ they brag about on the side of the bottle? Yeah well, here is what they don’t tell you: a lot of iron = pooping a brick. OMG. I was bemoaning the issue to Queen B, who told me that its good practice for the delivery, and don’t forget to breathe.

*And, you’re supposed to take DHA, to make your baby brilliant. But taking a fish oil pill makes you burp rotten tuna sandwich for about six hours after taking it.

*Another note- do not ever EVER use a carbonated beverage to wash down your fish oil supplement. Why? Because carbonation = a lot of burping which = rotten tuna fish sandwich on STEROIDS.

*Speaking of steroids, can I just swap out exercise DVD’s for steroids? I know I’m supposed to get plenty of exercise before getting pregnant but I couldn’t pick up a fifty-dollar bill if it was sitting on my toes right now, thanks to my latest escapade with Jillian Michaels and friends. Sadistical bitches.

I have a theory: pre-pregnancy planning and the taking of pills, pooping bricks, and being unable to reach your toes- its NOT to prepare you physically for pregnancy, but to prepare you mentally. How better to segue into being willing to fork down $50 for a maternity tshirt, burp constantly and be unable to tie your own shoes? It’s a conspiracy!

Any pre-pregnancy advice for Honey B. before she takes the plunge?

By Alyson, Contributor, Common Sense, Dancing (@AMLanders)

New Year’s Eve 1999  was a really big deal. After all,  the New Millennium was dawning and there was some significant angst that the End of the World as We Knew It was upon us. Remember all that Y2K stuff?

For my husband and I it was a big evening because we were going out. I can’t recall now all of the more minor details of where we going specifically, but I secured a babysitter for the evening so that we could leave 8-month-old Baby Girl and her Big 3 year old Sister with someone else and go ring in the new year with a delicious dinner. I was still nursing (and would continue to do so until she was about 18 months), but I was perfectly content to pump ‘n dump and sacrifice the Liquid Gold to a couple of good glasses of champagne.

But I was post-partum, and had gotten to know my husband again (nudge nudge), and therefore I had gotten in the practice of taking a monthly pregnancy test to confirm that our brood wasn’t growing any faster than I could manage. I hadn’t had a period in more than 18 months by that point in December 1999, and though I believed to be all-knowing about my body and its cycles I figured it was easier to pee on a stick than wonder. I had heard that women could get pregnant while exclusively breastfeeding their babies, but this was of course not going to happen to me because I was so in tune and aligned with myself, the Universe, Motherhood, etc. (Are you laughing at my naivete yet?)

So before we kissed our babies goodbye and headed out for the 4 course prixe fix meal offered at a nearby restaurant that would be blissfully kid-free, I got out the EPT test for the monthly check. Yes, I was a couple of weeks early to take it, but I figured that we could ring in the New Millennium without a fear of fetal alcohol syndrome.

From a thousand miles away you can see where this is going, right?

The stick turned pink/had two lines/the rabbit died. I was in a bit of shock, let me just say. A recap: my baby was 8 months old. I’ll help with this math: the new baby and the “old” baby would be 16 months apart when he was born in August. That’s 16 months. 16 months is not a lot of time. For yogurt or a package of cold cuts, perhaps, 16 months is a reallllly long time. For child spacing, not so much.

Uh, Happy New Year, honey. I guess I’ll pass on the champagne, dammit.

Post Script: Babies 2 and 3 are 16 months apart and the best of friends (despite #2 being a girl and #3 being a boy). I nursed #2 right through the pregnancy and through the birth (not literally; I am not that good). She laid claim to the left breast and Baby Brother was generously given the right breast. It was an interesting infancy for #3, let’s just say that. Baby #4 came around 2 years after #3, and was no surprise. The subsequent years, however, have been full of them (albeit not pregnancy related, thank goodness).

Alyson writes about where the real and the ridiculous meet up in her life over at Common Sense, Dancing. She’s been “officially” blogging in her head for more than a year, but only getting it out onto the computer since about April 2010. The four children are perfectly spaced now, as far as she’s concerned, since often times that space is at school and she’s at home on the computer.

By Lauren Connelly, Staff Writer, My Baby Clothes Boutique

As if the holiday season isn’t already exciting enough, expecting a new baby makes this time of year just that much more special. But just because you have an ever-expanding waistline doesn’t mean you can’t be fashionable for the festivities. Being pregnant doesn’t give you an excuse to throw on your stretched out sweats and leave the house looking like a frumpster. At the same time, you don’t have to sacrifice comfort to look nice. Goodness knows no woman wants to wear panty hose when they’re with child!

The key to dressing up with a bump is to wear separates coordinated with the perfect accessories. But what about a fancy dress you say? Remember, a dress requires those dreaded panty hose.  Along the same vein of thought, short skirts are out too. A few pairs of stylish maternity trousers or long skirts in neutral colors will take care of your lower half. Where you can really shine is on top! There are plenty of gorgeous, and dare I say, sexy maternity blouses out there to wear with your trousers. Avoid the granny-like appliqued sweaters and at the other end of the spectrum, anything too low-cut and vulgar. Find a happy medium and finish your outfit off with beautiful accessories, like scarves, jewelry and lovely ballet flats or kitten heels.

Being an expectant Mom doesn’t mean your days of looking stylish and glamorous are over. Be smart about how you dress and you, too, can look like a million bucks for the holidays!

By Lauren Connelly of My Baby Clothes Boutique.  Your new prince or princess is on the way, show them off in style with the baby clothes, trendy baby hats, and the most beautiful baby headbands on the market.

**Photo Credits – Isabella Oliver

By Honey B, Staff Writer, The Honey B (@thehoneyb)

As we get closer and closer to the end of the Baby Bucket List, I find myself looking ahead to the pregnancy stage and the even more daunting parenting stage.

Because I’m Type A, my reaction to anything unknown that is coming up is to read books. I already have amassed quite the collection of pregnancy and birth books (on my Kindle, so Marmot isn’t alarmed) and have been giving some consideration to parenting books.

Something that I’ve heard from so many mothers is how they were unprepared for the moment when they leave the hospital with their little bundle of joy. As Queen B. put it- is it really safe for us to just leave the hospital with this poor innocent baby?? Is that legal?! My SIL said she felt unprepared, my best friend said the responsibility hit her like a ton of bricks and Gramma B. says you should have to get a permission slip and take a baby training course before being allowed to procreate.

I’ve heard that parenting is the hardest job I’ll ever love. I’ve heard it’s the biggest challenge I’ll ever undertake and by far the most rewarding. I’ve heard that I’ll never love anything as much as I love my children and being a Mom.

But something I have never heard? That parenting is easy.

Like never. Never ever. In fact after 28 years of hearing people talk about parenting, I’ve come to the conclusion that there isn’t a whole lot that is nice about it, and that it includes a lot of crying, no sleeping, no more spending money and bodily fluids. From what I can tell, the only redeeming quality of parenting is the mysterious (and incomprehensible to non-parents) parent-child bond that makes it all worth it.

Now with that in my mind, I find it beyond puzzling that the blogosphere is full of new mothers announcing to the world their new-found knowledge that ‘Motherhood is tough!’ And every time I read that, I’m truly and honestly surprised. Didn’t they get the same warnings I did? Have we not been warned that parenting is tough?

So as I’m contemplating this mystery, I was reading reviews of the compilation work from Amalah, Finslippy, and other bloggers about motherhood, appropriately titled Sleep is for the Weak. And the first review I read said, “It is so refreshing to read REAL stories from REAL moms.”

Ok, something is wrong with that. The REAL moms. Who are the REAL moms?? Which brings me to the only possible conclusion: there are Fake Mommies out there somewhere, telling innocent mothers-to-be that motherhood is easy.

Who are the Fake Mommies that are saying that motherhood IS easy?!