Having it all

A friend forwarded this article to me. Her timing couldn't have been more perfect as I've been thinking a lot about how to juggle my career and family. With an hour commute to my job and often not getting home until 6:30 or 7:00, I wonder how I'll be able to adjust my schedule to pick up the baby on time. I wonder how children really know that you are their Mom when they spend all day with someone else. On the other hand, I can't imagine not working or providing for our family. I can't imagine giving up something that helps me establish purpose and independence. I also want to set an example for my child of hard work and demonstrate that obtaining an education can lead to success. In other words, it's still over 6 months before we will meet our baby and over 9 months until I'll return to work from maternity leave but I've still found time to worry about this issue.

I differ from the author, as I've never had a time line to end my career (well not one that comes before retirement at 55+), rather I've had a time line by which I wanted to achieve certain accomplishments. I also didn't grow up dreaming of becoming a Mom; it wasn't until more recently that this became something I desired. Still, I find this article very useful.

The Mom in the article faced a very difficult challenge and unfortunately had to deal with her baby being injured. The article doesn't mention the outcome or how the little girl's health is now. I guess I'll have to buy the book to find out. The author urges others to take time breathe, to narrow their focus and plan for the future in order to help find balance between family and career. This is something something I certainly need to work on and I don't even have a child yet. I find this excerpt from article especially important as it relates to achieving work life balance:

"Looking back, I realize my biggest failures always seemed to find me when I was trying to do too much too soon. When I wasn’t ready to accept that I needed to choose one aspect of my life over another — or risk crashing and losing everything. Your job can be a big part of who you are, but it shouldn’t be the whole package. Your family and relationships should be central, but they needn’t be front and center at all times."

I'm looking forward to reading this entire book and hope that some other expecting Mom's will find the article beneficial.

Babies, Babies, and more Babies

Today I'm 15 weeks, as I drove to work this morning I was thinking- 25 weeks left...which seems like such a long time. I think as I close in on the half way mark, it will start to seem like July isn't really so far away. At 15 weeks our baby is about the size of an apple. He or She's lungs are beginning to develop and the legs are growing to be longer than the arms. The baby can move all of his or her joints and muscles and can sense light.

The past week has brought me back pain. I don't know if this is pregnancy related or just due to my prior back issues, therefore as I type I sit with my heating pad. My nose remains stuffed up which apparently during pregnancy is called rhinitis. I bought a humidifier which I'm hoping will help. I've also been pretty tired the last couple of days but other than these few issues, everything continues to go well.



I guess Nate and I are starting to exit the era of weddings and enter the era of babies, babies, babies. I have friends due the following months: one any day now, a baby girl due in April, a "surprise" baby the first of May, boy and girl twins the first of May, and friends who lives only couple of miles away due the end of August--I'm so excited that our baby will have a playmate close by:) At work, it seems like we have a pregnant lady or expecting dad in every other office. I'm just wondering, who's next? It great to be able to talk to my friends and coworkers about what they are going through and compare our experiences. I've also been leaning on other friends who already have babies to get advice on everything from diapers to c-sections. Thanks to all my wonderful friends for making the journey of pregnancy a little easier:)

Starting to show

I finally took a picture of my growing belly. Today I am 14 weeks and 5 days pregnant. I've gained about 5 pounds to date. All the information that I've been reading says I'll gain about a half pound a week this trimester. I'm hoping that I won't go over that. I was fortunate not to be sick at all in the first trimester but instead of losing a couple of pounds like many women, I gained. I'm still in the "proper weight gain range" per all the books.

I thought the second trimester was supposed to come with renewed energy. I haven't really experienced that, today I was exhausted and ended up taking a several hour nap. I hate napping, I feel guilty for not getting things done around the house. I'm normally on the move all the time but today I couldn't budge from the couch.

Here's a pic of my emerging belly.

Looking forward to February

So, the news is out! Most of our family, friends and coworkers know that we're expecting in July. I'm going to join millions of other expecting Moms and blog throughout my journey. I doubt my blog will be as detailed as some. For one thing, you won't be seeing any skin on my blog. I promise to only post pics of my belly where I am fully clothed. When the baby is born, you won't find any bloody and crying pics of the little one. No offense to those of you who post and enjoy these pics but it's just not my thing. I'll try to use the blog to update family and friends who don't see us all the time on the growth of my belly, baby related items, such as the nursery (which I'm dying to get started on), and other things that Nate and I experience throughout the pregnancy. Of course once the baby is here, as time allows, I'll post pics of the little one so you can all see how he/she is growing and changing.

I've had my first official doctor's appointment and everything went well. Or should I say, that in the 5 minutes that the doctor spent with me everything seemed fine. They scheduled the appointment for for the next ultra sound, which is when we'll find out the sex!. It will be February 23rd at 9:15am. So the waiting begins, in the meantime I'll just wonder through the stores looking at both little dresses and polo's with plaid shorts. It seems that little boys get the short end of the stick, there are significantly less choices in nursery decor as well as clothing for baby boys, but still many adorable things!

We also booked our "babymoon." I'm so excited!! In February, we are going to St. Martin and Anguilla. We'll be staying for 2 nights at the Radisson in St. Martin and then taking the ferry to Anguilla to stay 5 nights at Fangipani, (doesn't it look beautiful?) Both islands are known for their wonderful restaurants; perfect for a hungry pregnant lady! Anguilla is supposed to be home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I'm expecting Anguilla to be a lot like Turks and Caicos. I've been doing a lot of research on tripadvisor so that we know where to eat and what to do. A car will be a must on both islands so that we can explore all of the beaches and see the islands! The 80 degree weather sounds really nice right now, as we are experiencing high temps in the 30s here.

Here's to the end of February getting here fast; we have so much to look forward to!

Expecting a Bundle of Joy

On November 9, 2009 Nate and I found out that we were going to become parents! We decided to wait until Christmas to share the big news with our family. Although, I'm not good at keeping things to myself, I was able to make it. It was worth it to be able to give our parents gifts and watch their priceless reactions. Needless to say everyone is super excited!!

Telling the Hortons, we gave them a stocking filled with baby items. I'm sorry I don't know how to rotate this and I forget to turn the camera off so towards the end you won't be watching anything.


Grandma and Pap

Grandma and Uncle Ryan with gifts

Family picture at the Hortons

The pic I used for our Christmas cards. It was supposed to tell everyone our news. Not everyone got it, apparently some people think I just wear big bows!