SAHM confession - It can be lonely!

I have a confession to make... Being a stay at home mom can be very lonely.

This has been on my brain the last 48 hours and I debated blogging about it, because being a stay at home mom is a wonderful blessing and I don't want to give off the wrong impression. I know many are not lucky enough to be able to stay home so I don't want to seem ungrateful for the circumstance that I am lucky to be in. But it's the truth. And after reading several articles that have been circulating lately about what a mom should or shouldn't do I feel compelled to elaborate on my thoughts.

I am a social person. I always have been. I love to be around and chat with people about anything and everything. Before I had kids I worked full time in various jobs that still allowed me to be around people a majority of the time. On long draining days I dreamt of being able to stay at home when I had kids and how much 'easier' it would be to do so. But suddenly you become a mom and it's just you and kids 24/7 and a long list of things that need to be done around the house. Again, not such a horrible thing, but it's not always easy either.

Often during the day I find myself watching the clock for when my husband will get home. Yes, sometimes it's because I am desperate for a break and a little bit of 'me' time. But it's also just the fact that in a few hours I will have another adult to converse with. Or even simply to sit next to! Someone who doesn't require me to wipe their nose, change their bottom or entertain them. Plus, when it's my husband it's someone who loves me very much and who I dislike being away from.

I have things that I do to keep myself distracted or from getting too lonely. Play groups, phone calls, church activities and home schedules that I follow. All help combat that feeling of having no one to talk to but your toddler. Yes, even facebook helps to get in bit of 'social time.' And It's not like I am sitting around with nothing to do all day! Trust me, it's quite the opposite! That is where part of the battle comes in! I find myself thinking, "hmm, I should invite so and so over for tea." But then I either convince myself they'd be too busy for me anyways or else I think about the state my house is in and drop the idea. But there are still some weeks or days where it gets hard. And I know I am not the only one who feels this way.

Every moment of our day is dedicated to our families. It's our calling and we are happy to do it. Most of the time I love it! But I just had to throw it out there in case others aren't aware or in case mothers with grown up children have forgotten (because I am sure they felt this way then too!)

It can be lonely.

Video footage!

Today Matt and I did some reorganising and cleaning of our downstairs office. I guess you can say we've been doing spring cleaning because all weekend has been like this. We also have been going through our computer files and uploading/organising that stuff.
 I've gotta say, I am sure grateful that we had a video camera when Noah was first born! All those little video clips are priceless and I know I will treasure them when he is much older. I wish I could watch video footage of my childhood like he'll be able to do!

I decided to go ahead and make our youtube video channel public. Before it was all private and I would have to send anyone a specific link to show them something. This makes it a lot easier for friends and family to watch our clips (if interested.)

Anyways, here are a few gems we came across.

 

Hello spring!

What a gorgeous day here in the fraser valley! We opened up the windows to let in all that fresh spring air and Noah got to enjoy lots of outside time. Matt rearranged our living room furniture back to the spring/summer format which frees up the glass sliding door for BBQs and playtime on our deck.

We did a Walmart run this morning and bought our 3rd or 4th container of strawberries this week. Oh, and we already ate most of them. Fruit does not last long in this house! I found it difficult to walk this morning thanks to pain around my pelvic bone, so I spent a majority of Noah's nap time with my feet up on the couch. That must have helped a lot because by 3pm I suddenly turned into a cleaning machine! I honestly don't know what got into me (maybe that fresh air?) but I was all over the townhouse cleaning this, dusting that and organizing rooms and cupboards. Perhaps nesting is kicking in early! It was wonderful to feel like I had energy for a change! I am consciously eating more so maybe that's helping too.

Matt and I had a delicious BBQ steak dinner; Noah does not like BBQ food. I don't know what's wrong with that child. But he quite happily polished off two bowls of plain Cheerios with milk (I certainly wasn't going to cook him a separate meal!) I even made brownies for dessert which we look forward to enjoying later with some ice cream and a movie.

All in all, a great day! We were hoping to maybe get out to the zoo, but both Noah and Matt are fighting off a bit of a cold so we figured we'd hold off for another time. Hope you are all having a great weekend - and don't forget to change your clocks tonight!

Ps - a big congrats to the Tanis and Voros family, who both welcomed little baby boys to the world over the past 24 hours! Seriously... 2013 is the year of boys it would seem!!!

Help us win Noah a customized toddler blanket!

Hi friends!

If you have a moment of free time and would be willing to VOTE for us on Facebook we'd greatly appreciate it :)

We've entered a Mommy & Me photo contest to win Noah a customized toddler blanket (I really want something curious George themed...) We've been wanting to get him one but it just hasn't been in the budget, so winning a free one would be amazing!

All you have to do is follow this link, LIKE the picture and LIKE the companies page. You need to be signed into facebook to do it.The person with the most votes wins!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=514160351958335&set=a.513266625381041.1073741825.485487654825605&type=1&ref=nf

Head down?

Had my latest prenatal checkup this morning! We've been booking them for first thing in the morning so that I am the first appointment of the day (usually around 8:30am) This works out great for us because Matt can take Noah over to the McDonald's play place during my appointment and pick me up half an hour later. It makes it a lot easier since this way Matt misses minimal work. I go every two weeks now, which means I'm getting closer to delivery, yay!!!

I'm doing pretty good! My blood pressure is excellent, I passed my gestational diabetes test and they've recently upped my thyroid meds. During my GD test they also checked my iron levels which I failed. Not surprising as I was anemic with Noah. So they are sending me off to test that again just to make sure it wasn't a result of the fasting I had done. If I fail again ill go onto extra iron supplements. Not a big deal.

My doctor did a good feel of baby Asher's measurements and based on my paperwork of where I was with Noah at this point, she thinks this guy won't be as big! I'm not measuring as large nor have I gained as much weight. This could of course all change over the next 2 months if he starts really packing on the pounds, but she's predicting a nice 8 pounder. We'll see!

And now for the big question... Is he still breech? As I said, she did a very good feel of my belly and his positioning. As far as she can tell he is HEAD DOWN! Yippee!! She is not 100 percent certain, but believes that it's his butt that I've been feeling sticking up. It would also make sense since his hiccoughs have been low. Of course he could still flip around into another position and they will check again at my next appointment, but they think he'll be good to go. Best news I could ask for really.

She also brought about the renal dilation reflux thing again and assured me that she sees it all the time in boys and that she doesn't anticipate it being an issue at all. She said the last time she actually had a baby born with this kidney issue it was a girl and the measurements during the ultrasound were quite significant. She told me not to even give it a second thought, so that's comforting.

All in all a great checkup! I will be seeing my family doctor next week for a checkup since I haven't seen him since December. Noah will also be getting his 18 month shot at this time, and Matt's coming, so I can leave the room haha.

You know you are in your third trimester when...

You know you are in your third trimester when...

* simple things require such effort. Putting on socks, shaving your legs or getting off the couch to get a glass of water.

* baby items begin taking up space in your home (again...)

* rolling over at night becomes a huge ordeal. Now every time you do switch sides you feel the baby flop over in your belly to whatever side you are leaning on.

* your maternity jeans are getting tight.

* you are hungry constantly!

* you begin thinking about (or remembering) what labor is/was really like.

* you start to dread the lack of sleep you know is coming.

* the exhaustion from first trimester has kicked back in and you find yourself laying on the couch with your feet up a whole lot more often.

* bending down to get something requires a full squat. And even then you can't necessarily reach what you are after.

* you forget what it's like to not be pregnant.

* you jealously eye the 'non maternity' stores wishing you'd fit into those clothes.

* EVERYTHING gives you heartburn.

* you get SUPER EXCITED to meet that little baby who you've been growing for the past 7-9 months!

Pregnancy and body image

This has been on my brain a bit lately as I have many many friends who are currently pregnant or have recently had children. Body image. It's something a lot of us struggle with from a young age and it never seems to go away, it just changes.

I know that there is the occasional woman out there who totally embraces pregnancy with confidence, feeling gorgeous and not worrying about her size, weight, or whatever else is happening to her body. But for a lot of us it's something that bothers us at least a little. People start commenting on how large you are, asking if you are carrying twins or act shocked when you tell them your due date. Yeah, it's not exactly a confidence booster!
Many of us also have the joy of dealing with stretch marks, swollen hands and feet, and stuffy or bloody noses. Doesn't exactly make a girl feel beautiful.

My belly is getting big. I'm in week 29 of pregnancy and that precious baby boy inside me currently weighs anywhere from 2.5-3 pounds (so my app tells me.) He is floating around along with a bunch of other extra things adding to the weight like water, placenta, blood, etc. I'm not worried about my weight gain as it's still sitting around 12 pounds. I had no problem losing it last time and I plan to do whatever I can to lose it again this time.

I got stretch marks from Noah at the very end of my last pregnancy, around week 38/39. Then I had gallbladder surgery and received a few more scars including a larger one around my belly button (and the gallbladder problems were due to pregnancy in the first place.) This time around the marks I have have gotten darker and because of my operated on belly button area I have already gotten new stretch marks around those scars. If I end up having to have a csection from this little guy being breech I'll have another scar added to the collection.

I know skin eventually tightens up after pregnancy and there are exercises/stretches to help with it, but for most people it never fully goes back to the way it was. It'll always be looser then what it was.

What's my point in all this? I've just decided not to care about it so much anymore and embrace it all. Yes, I'm getting large. I'm suppose to. I'm growing a human being inside my body and it's no easy task. The scars aren't fun to see, but I'm considering those my battle scars. They represent what I've accomplished and what I'm doing. So what if I never wear a bikini again! My husband could care less and still thinks I'm beautiful, even in a one piece. Would I trade my children for a smaller tighter hotter body? Never in a million years!!!

So next time you see a pregnant woman, do her a favour and avoid commenting on her size. Tell her how beautiful she looks growing that baby. Believe me, you'll make her day!