Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Mama Lessons Don't Wait till the Kid Pops Out



I am STILL unable to get to our whiteboard wall to create a beautiful little diagram of baby's size and recent cravings and such but our house remodel is ALMOST done.  My dear family will be finishing painting while I am in Denver visiting my cousin next week, THEN I will show pictures and get back to our whiteboard.

These last few weeks have been very exciting.  We got our first little peek at the little one, who was VERY active and had a hard time cooperating with the ultrasound technician in order to get adequate pictures (clearly this kid takes after their father, NOT their mother).  Because of this and because my placenta is being a bit rebellious and hanging out somewhat close to the great cervical opening, we will be getting another little peek around 28-30 weeks to make sure all is go for delivery.

One thing I did not expect to happen so soon was the "mama worry brain" to set in so quickly.  Throughout the course of prenatal care, as is common for many women, we have been given various ratios and risk factors for different disorders.  Though I'm grateful for the medical world's ability to provide information and early intervention, if necessary, an unplanned side effect of these ratios is that most mamas already have a threshold of worry for their child and if you tell them there's a .001% chance of something, they will believe it's a done deal and start planning for the infant apocalypse.

The most frustrating thing about the medical testing world is that it sends the message to mamas like me that we can't handle the unknown.  We MUST know and we MUST find answers.  In reality, we cannot possibly know or predict everything that will happen and (dare I say) it's GOOD for us to get used to that as soon as possible.  Our kid could break their toe, have asthma, fall off their bike, get punched by a bully, or even become an ultra-conservative republican - eeps! :) - and we have NO CONTROL of that.

What I do have control of is what I chose to focus on.  Most of the times I chose to focus on the joy, newness, celebration, love in our household, love in our families, etc... but there are those times when hormones win and before you know it, I've googled myself into anxious oblivion.  From what I hear, this is a struggle for any mom whether their little one is in utero or roaming free. What has helped me stay sane is yoga, Dan, my dogs, taking up crocheting (yes, believe it folks), and trusting the wisdom of Bob Marley that every little thing is gonna be alright.  And for the love of Jah friends, take it from me, Google is not a doctor and does not have children.

My kid is kicking like crazy right now so I think that means that they agree with me...

Much love to you all from all 5 of us!  Here's some fun things...


Bump at 21 weeks.  Not the best lighting and seen through a dirty mirror but you also get a sneak peek at our new wood floors!

Baby is currently the size of a pomegranate
Currently loving cereal, specifically Rice Chex
Currently tolerating wanting to eat a lot but running out of room
Currently listening to Justin Timberlake The 20/20 Experience - AMAZING
Currently reading flash cards to prep for my MFT orals in a couple weeks

ONE MORE THING! Since I tend to be very outspoken (what? me?) I have been contacted by WCCO to give some insight regarding my view of medical testing during pregnancy and what the process is like for pregnant women.  I'll keep you all tuned regarding when/if this airs and whether they chose to have my voice in the final cut.  If not, you can bet I'll find another platform somewhere!


1 comment:

  1. Yeah, I found it a lot harder to control the worry my first time around. But, we're capable mamas with good common sense, and in most cases, that covers all bases :-) It only gets worse after they're born. haha. You look great and I'm glad you're feeling good!

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