Topics that REALLY get people going about pregnancy and childbirth

I’m actually terrified to even mention these topics. Especially now knowing what a hot topic strollers are and the sensitivity around them. So, I dare you, go on to any pregnancy blog board and write “Breastfeeding is for losers” and see what happens. These preggo mamas are not messing around nor are the mamas with kids. So, I figured that I’d gather all the “touchy” topics and answer them myself to get them out of the way for future conversations/arguments.

Hot Preggo Topics.

1. Breastfeeding

2. Vaccinations

3. Homebirths

4. Epidurals

5. And of course dying your hair

ME:

1. I will attempt to breastfeed but if my nipple starts to fall off , yeah I may take a break. Or if my baby is starving then maybe I’ll try a different technique. I will never knock someone for making the best choice for themselves or baby. Everyone is different and every baby is different so lets get a grip.

2. We won’t be vaccinating our children at birth because I don’t like the idea of them doing it all at once and I think it’s better to do your own research and not jump on the bandwagon, H1N1 anyone??

3. I won’t be doing a homebirth but I don’t think it’s a bad idea. I’ll more than likely be doing a water birth so you can capture that image in your brains.

4. I say now that I won’t do an epidural but let’s just cross that path when we get there.

5. I’m fairly certain that every time I go to my hair salon every single person is pregnant. I’m pretty sure hair dye makes these girls fertile. YES, I will be foiling my hair. No I won’t be eating it or rubbing the dye all over my body so I think I should be good.

Phew…glad we got those topics out of the way.  Please begin your judgments…now...

"Is Butter a Carb?.."

Alright, get ready to pull out your absolute smallest violin for this blog. I’ve been a worry wart since the beginning of this pregnancy about everything. I worry about what I’m eating, the lotions I’m using, the places I’m going, the activities I’m  doing, everything. Apparently a lot of first time mom’s are like this. Even though I’ve heard “He/She’s” heartbeat twice, seen the heartbeat on an ultrasound and have had no miscarriage like systems, I’m still a nervous wreck.

Well, my worry of today is that I’m not gaining enough weight and basically look the same as I did at 10 weeks pregnant.. Yes, as I said, you can now pull out those tiny violins. It seems like such a silly thing to be worried about but if anyone knows me, you know having a small baby to normal size baby is not my goal. I’m looking for a meaty, thighs touching, not sure if their eyes are open or closed kind of baby. Mainly because that’s how I was and so was my sister. Big ol babies with tons of hair.

Of course, I would be happy with a healthy baby regardless of the size but it does concern me that one day I look like I’m carrying triplets and the next I again look like I’m just coming home from KSC after my freshman 15. I’m 3 weeks away from the halfway point with this pregnancy and have about 30 more lbs I can healthily gain. 

So I’ve been telling myself I should enjoy the time I have left being a mobile human being. Because at some 

point I could potentially be like one of these celebrities…

Poor Jenny McCarthy...80lbs! Someone needs to say something before I reach 200. For real and then make sure I can fit in a little black bikini shortly there after. 

Seriously, Kris Jenner...lock it up...

Last but not least, the queen of baby weight gain..Ms. Jessica Simpson

The Baby Boom

When you are pregnant, you look around and see that there are A LOT of other pregnant people in the world. I never really noticed this before. When my husband and I sat in the mall waiting to get our tire changed we counted all the pregnant women we saw. I think we counted 5 or more and at least 10 questionable ones. It’s CRAZY. I didn’t notice that I was part of the new baby boom. Not only that but I’m riding the baby trail with some of entertainment's finest, Nicole Snooki Polizzi,  Vanessa Minnillo, and Kristen Cavallari. Just like anything else, now that I’m pregnant everything is about pregnancy. Even when I’m watching TV all I see are pregnancy movies. So I thought that my top 5 of the week would be my all time favorite pregnancy movies.

1. Lifetime movies:  OK yes, I know this isn’t a movie but having me pick between “Fifteen and Pregnant” with the performance of a life time by Kirsten Dunst and the informative and edgy “Pregnancy Pact.” You may as well be asking me to choose between Thin Mints and Samoas. Never gonna happen.
2. Father of the Bride 2:  If you think about it, being pregnant  with your mother has to be a huge bummer but I’m going to look pass this as I think it’s one of the cutest movies ever and gave all us girls an unobtainable vision of our baby nurseries.
3. Rosemary’s Baby: Yes, this movie is terrifying and still gives me nightmares but I think all us pregnant women need to watch this and truly think to ourselves “Yeah, I may be uncomfortable but at least my baby isn’t Satan’s Spawn.” I think this truly puts things in to perspective.
4. Knocked Up: I don’t know what is more pathetic, the fact that I truly find Seth Rogen sexually attractive or “Swing” by Savage is still making an appearance on my iPod.
5. Juno: My all time favorite pregnancy movie hands down.  If this movie doesn’t make you smile then I’m fairly certain Mia Farrow birthed you and you have no soul. 

Have a good weekend!!! 

The Name Game

When I was in high school, I boldly stated to all my girlfriends that when I got pregnant and I had a girl I would be naming her ARIES. That’s right, an astrological sign. This is mainly because I was a pseudo-hippie. I was only a hippie in the sense that I bought astrological books, had two grateful dead t-shirts and burnt incense. The worst thing about maintaining friendships with people from High School (Megan Johnson) is that they remember these embarrassing tidbits. Despite my original decision we will not be going with this for the name. Since my husband doesn’t want to play the name game with me until we find out the sex I’ve recruited my friend’s and family. Here are some names that were suggested…

Girl: I’d like to use “Ann” as the middle name after my mom.

Cameron: This is the front runner. My friend Ali text me not knowing that this was my favorite to say “how about Cameron?” so at least someone else likes it. Her nickname would be Cami.

Chloe: Kat’s suggestion. Even though I like it..naming my kid after a Kardashian may be a  regret someday

Madison: Which I also thought was cute. This was another one of Kat’s suggestions

Xotchitl: My sister’s suggestion. Inspiration came from Flava of Love…though I’m fairly certain she was kidding, I wouldn’t chose it on the fact that the kid would never find a name magnet, ever

LeConor: My brother Conor suggested this one. I’m not sure if he intended this to be a girls name but it sounded about right. Again, no name magnets for this kid

Boy: I’d like to use “Paul” as the middle name as it’s the name of my father in law and my husband’s middle name.

Scott: My husband likes the name Scott and it’s one of the only names he has contributed. HOWEVER, I dated a Scott in 7^th grade and I’m fairly certain he is currently in prison now and my good friend Andreo and I almost stopped being friends over this awesome catch so I’m going with a big hell no on this one

Striker-My sister came at me with this gem after 3:30pm. She was really testing my mood then.

Sawyer: Ali’s suggestion. Yes, one of my favorites as well. And no, it’s not only because one my favorite characters in LOST was named Sawyer…just a very neat coincidence

Holden: Ali’s suggestion and yes very “Catcher in the Rye” but I love it!

Conor, Connor,  and Conner: All very great and well thought out suggestions from my brother Conor…I’m not sure where he gets his inspiration but we will definitely take these names in to consideration!! J

Names I’m not allowed to use by request of Sadie Stone: Jude, Leif, and other hippie names I will need to run by her first.

ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS?! 

Why must I cryyyy….

Everyone knows that when a woman is pregnant, she is usually hormonal. No one truly understands the true mental instability of a pregnant woman unless you yourself have been pregnant. I’m going to let the crazy out of the bag. Just in this week alone here are the top 5 things that have truly made me cry or have put me on the verge of tears….

1. I miss my friend’s in the Carolina’s a lot and they make me laugh via text which in result makes me cry…this is not a joke.
2. Why can’t the people on the Walking Dead catch a break, why?? Yeah, I wasn’t a huge Shane fan and Dale was a pain but seriously!? This show should not be making me cry
3. Finding out that BJ’s my favorite ice cream shop is opening up this weekend for the season and the thing I normally get “Cookie dough ice cream cyclone” is not on my pregnancy menu due to the cookie dough being homemade. WHY!?! Summer is officially ruined.
4. I jumped on the bandwagon and watched Kony 2012 because I thought he was a rapper we were trying to get out of jail, I didn’t know I would be a blubbering mess by the end of it.
5. Last but certainly not least,  I didn’t cry but I would have had my husband not fixed it. We came home from CT to find out that NONE of our shows were recording on our DVR except for Letterman. Ew. Thank god he fixed it and we only had one casualty but this would have been a tear fest to end all tear fests had it not been fixed so quickly.

So on that note, I’d like to thank my husband for dealing with me and all the crazy that I have to offer. I can understand why you are currently out playing poker this evening. You deserve it! Now, if you run into a Carvel cake on your way home do what you think would be best. J

Maternity clothes..goo

I’d like to start off this blog by giving a shout out to Kohl’s for being the worst place to buy maternity clothes EVER. I truly appreciate the one rack that you have given me that consists of mainly shirts with horizontal stripes. Yes, I’d really like to dive into a horizontal stripe shirt at this stage in my pregnancy. Can I also say that I really enjoy how you strategically place your maternity section next to the petite section. Makes women feel awesome to know that all the cute clothes that are being featured they can’t fit into. Yes, this isn’t my first choice of clothing stores, however living in Sabattus, Maine this is it until Freeport, Augusta or Portland.  . Or I could go to Maurice’s but I’d rather not look like I was heading off to “Sister and Dates” and/or a basement fraternity party. With that all being said, I did go to Kohl’s because I desperately needed a pair of jeans since I only had one real pair of maternity jeans (Yes Rebecca Sullivan, maternity jeans are a thing and I’m not wearing tights under my pants.) and it is a joke to try and fit into my pre-pregnancy pants unless I was running for “Queen of the Muffin Tops” . That’s really all I needed at this point.

I’m “lucky” that my stomach is/has and always will be my “problem area” Yes, me and about a billion other women in the world. However, this is now working in my favor. Granted, I have had to wear maternity jeans since my 10^th week  but I don’t have to buy shirts at all! This is mainly due to the fact that I’ve been rocking Flowey Empire cut shirts for years even though I’m certain they went out of style in 1994. If the baby doll dress came back I’d be back on that wagon as well. I know there will be a time that even my vintage 90’s outfits will no be able to contain my ever growing belly and I’ll either have to sew them all together or bite the bullet and go to “Motherhood” to find an overpriced white T-Shirt.  On that note, I’d like to take this moment to thank my friend Katherine Mihalek for buying me a gift card to this store. Especially since before I opened the card I said to her face that I would never be caught dead in a store like that. Thanks, Kat for laughing at me and being so nice as I awkwardly opened your present which was a gift card “to one of those stores” you are the best!  J

Cookies, Cadbury, and Carvel, oh my...

Some days I sincerely get nervous that I’m actually not pregnant and just getting really fat in my stomach and I have my own little panic attack that I’ll never fit in to any of my clothes again. That’s why I was thrilled that before I had a nervous breakdown we went to the doctor’s on Friday for our checkup. Here are our stats...

15 weeks- baby is about the size of an orange

My stomach is measuring 15cm (which apparently should equal the amount of weeks you are so I was pretty excited I wasn’t at 20cm at only 15 weeks.)

Heartbeat is 150

My Weight: 134 (I guess it’s only healthy to gain 25-35 at my height and starting weight so I get about 29lbs left before people will start judging me)

And Blood work looks good!

Based on this information there is a baby in there and I’m not slowly becoming a future contestant of “The Biggest Loser” so I’m completely at peace at this point. I’m glad I found this out before I went home to Simsbury where my mom greeted me with 1 box of Samoas Cookies (apparently they aren’t called Carmel Delights in other areas?!), 3 Cadbury eggs, one bag of Pirate Booty and a Carvel Ice Cake. So, I wanted to take a moment to say THANKS MOM! And I’m happy that I’m pregnant and could enjoy these delicious treats without feeling completely guilty that summer is just weeks away.  Anyways, I figured I’d take the time to give a breakdown of where we are at as our next appointment is not until April 12 and at that time we will hopefully be scheduling our 20 week Ultrasound to determine the sex and will have much more to report then!!