Five Days of What I've Learned Since Becoming a Mom-- Day 1

I read piles of books before I had Violet preparing me for what was to come.  Even books boasting, "the stuff they should of told you" or "the stuff no one told you".  All I gotta say is you have to live the experience to really fully understand motherhood and what it's all about.  I wanted to share some of the things I have learned so far...(some of you may disagree with me, I am just sharing my opinions and experiences!) So everyday for 5 days I am gonna share a little somethin' and hopefully you will learn something, have a laugh or maybe just think who is this crazy lady and why am I reading her blog.

Let's start with pregnancy... for one, being pregnant sucks big time.  It is literally no cake walk (speaking of cake walk- I won one 9 months pregnant-- happiest day of my pregnant life). Don't get me wrong, seeing your little blueberry on the ultrasound is amazing, and feeling that little leg kick you for the first time is memorable... but 99% of the time, your fat, uncomfortable, can't breathe, can't sleep and are an emotional wreck.  10 months is a long time, it pretty much feels like a life time.  Those cute little kicks your little grape fruit give you turn into knock you out punches when they reach watermelon size.  Who wants a foot in the their rib all day? Not me.  Not to mention the cellulite, the fact that your underwear (or anything for that matter) no longer fit, and the fiery heartburn burning a hole in your insides. 

I'm not even going to discuss the first 4 months of morning (all day and night) sickness.  Months 5 and 6 went pretty smoothly and were actually somewhat enjoyable.  After that though your large size makes it impossible to do much of anything.  We made the mistake of moving when I was 9 months pregnant.  Packing and  pregnancy do not go together.  In fact, pregnancy doesn't go with much of anything except donuts and nachos.  Take my advice.. move in the early months of pregnancy or after.  Really.

Food and Eating- When I found out I was pregnant I began to gorge on food.  We went to Nebraska when I was 7 weeks pregnant and they like to eat alot in the midwest.  At my 8 week appointment I had gained aprox. 10 pounds.  Seriously? I found out I was pregnant when I was about 4.5 weeks so that means I gained 10 pounds in less than 4 weeks.  Don't follow my example.  That is exactly what you shouldn't do.  After that I still pretty much ate whatever but I didn't go crazy (ok sometimes I did).  I would hold my breath at every appointment hoping I wasn't beached whale status.  I would even eat only a little snack before my morning appointments so I would weigh less.  Pathetic I know.  I ended up only gaining 32 pounds which is right in range of what they want you do.  Plus I had more amniotic fluid than 90% of the population so I'm sure that counted for something (I like to think).

Exercise- I exercised up until I was about 8 or 9 months.  At that point I couldn't walk to the bathroom with huffing and puffing.  I didn't do anything crazy and strenuous, I took pilates twice a week and walked 4 miles 2 or 3 times a week.  Some advice for walking- if you walk on a trail where there are not people around, bring a backpack or something with water, food, and a cell phone.  I wore a fanny pack (yes that wasn't a mistype) after I nearly passed out one time and had no help.  I thought I was going to be stuck out at Sierra College on the 4 mile trail until Justin came looking for me.  Not ideal.  Always be prepared.  Being prepared when pregnant means having food and water with you at all times.  Your blood sugar can drop really fast when your prego.

Some good things about being pregnant:

-your hair grows really thick and long
-your nails get stronger and grow faster (not that great if you just bite them off like me)
-people let you cut in front of them in line
-you can pig out and people understand
-you can wear sweats and stretchy pants all the time (oh wait, I always do that)
-your husband doesn't give you crap when your just "too tired"
-no period... hallelujah
-people let you win cake walks

The good thing about all of this is you seem to forget all about the joys of pregnancy and do it all over again.

See you all tomorrow for Day 2!