Tuesday Tag-Along

I am happy to be participating in the First Tuesday Tag-Along!  (with a post a day late!!)  Enjoy your visit!!

Wordless Wednesday

Beautiful Blogger Award

Here’s something to brighten my day.  The Girl nominated me for a Beautiful Blogger Award.  Imagine my surprise when I was reading her blog today and saw ME at the bottom!  Yay–thanks Girl!!

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to their blog.
2. Copy the award and paste it to your blog.
3. Tell us 7 interesting facts about yourself.
4. Nominate fellow bloggers that you love and link up to their blog.

Now, on to the 7 interesting things…hmmmm….It’s hard to think of things outside of being a mom these days!!

1.  I played soccer from the age of 7 through college.  I was All-state in high school (Massachusetts) and I was all-conference in college.  I haven’t really played since and I miss it a TON.  It seems like anytime I do play, I simultaneously pull my hamstring and my quad when I kick.  As a PT, I can tell you this is quite a feat.

2.  I am an orthopedic physical therapist.  When I graduated grad school, orthopedics is the last thing I wanted to do, but I took the first job I could find because I was desperate for money.  Now, 7 years later (minus the last 4 months of maternity leave), I really enjoy orthopedics and working with athletes (also minus the part where I want to be a stay-at-home mom). 

3.  I LOVE blogging.  I don’t know what it is about it, but I love it.  Especially since becoming a mom.  I think there is something to putting your feelings out there.  It is nice to hear from other moms who have experienced the same things and it is nice to think that maybe a mom is getting relief reading what I experience and knowing she is not the only one.

4.  I want to run a half marathon.  There.  I said it.  I have been afraid to put this out there, because once I do…well…now there are a bunch of you to hold me to it.  I think this is a good post-baby goal.  My plan is to run the Niantic Bay Half Marathon on Sept 26th.  I am definitely looking forward to running and racing again this year after not doing it last year.

5.  I have known my best friend since she was 2 and I was 3.  She was the maid of honor in my wedding and I am the maid (matron?) of honor in hers.  I don’t know too many people who have had a friend for as long as that!

6.  I am very excited to make my own baby food!  I feel I need to take a little more responsibility for how my family and I eat.  Although if introducing solids goes anything like the bottle, I will probably be breastfeeding this kid until college.

7.  I do the Sunday crossword every week.  I have completed it only once.  I don’t think there is any hope of that happening again any time soon because I have become significantly less intelligent since having my son.  I don’t know what that is all about, but this little boy is sucking my brain along with my boobs!

I don’t think I have to many bloggers that read my blog regularly.  I would love to renominate The Girl because I just love her blog, but I think that is against the rules.  Soo…..I nominate:

Us and Poppet

Bebehblog

The Battle Of The Bottle: A Pictorial

Here is Carson, wrestling the bottle away from his mouth: 

BLOCKED!!!

And here is what Carson looks like after the bottle: 

I HATE THE BOTTLE!!!!!!!!!!! GET IT AWAY FROM ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Oh yeah, and here is Carson the other day telling me how the bottle makes him feel:

BLECH!

And here is what Carson looks like after the boob:

Mmmmmmmm.....Boobs.......

Yup, that about sums it up.

Shameless Self-Promotion

I am trying to get my blog out there in the MommyBlog world…Can you help me out?  I need your votes to move my blog up the ladder and hopefully get more readers!  Just click here and find my blog on the list (“I’m Thinking Too Hard”–I am pretty low on the totem pole, so look carefully!!) and give me a Thumbs Up vote!  Thanks for your help!

Shoes Like Mine

I have started reading a couple other “mom blogs”.  It’s a therapy of sorts.  I don’t know what it is about motherhood, as opposed to anything else, that I need to know that other women feel the same way that I do.  Turns out there are many moms out there with the same message as me, just in a different voice.  It’s comforting to know that a woman in Indiana, whom I have never met, also cried on her computer as she wrote about going back to work.  It makes me laugh inside when I read about a mom in Boston who’s bad day just snowballed out of control–not because it is “funny”, but because I have had those days. 

Prior to having my son, I didn’t need to know that other people had the same thought/ideas as me.  I was content to go about my day, thinking my thoughts, and thinking them alone.  Now, knowing that I am not the only one who cries at night because I am another day closer to going back to work is reassuring.  Knowing that I am not the only one who dreads Friday because that means another week has passed makes me think maybe I CAN do this.

My therapy involves reading a comment from a stranger on my blog saying “I understand what you are saying”.  I feel there are some people in my life who say they understand, but unless they are in my shoes (or shoes that look a lot like mine) they don’t fully get it.  It’s nice to be connected to the people in shoes like mine.

I Just Want To Be a Mom

I think I want to retire from my previous profession and become a full-time mom.  I didn’t think I would be that person.  But here I am, about 6 weeks away from returning to work, and I am hanging on to every precious second.  I think being a mom is the most important job there is.  I think it sucks that finances dictate that I quit that job to return to one that isn’t nearly as rewarding, fulfilling or satisfying. 

I am taking 4 months of maternity leave.  To do this, I paid into short-term disability, I saved every second of vacation time from 2009, I used every minute of sick time I was allowed to accrue since I started my job in 2005, and I took a bunch of time unpaid (all of which, coincidentally, leaves me with nothing when I go back).  Our lovely government does not share my opinion that mothering is the most important job and did not help me out at all, except to say that my job will hold my job while I’m busy doing this other thing with my son. 

So here I am, every day enjoying watching my son grow and change.  And here I am, realizing this time is waning.  And here I am, making myself sick about it.  I am insanely jealous of stay-at-home moms.  Heck, I am insanely jealous of the woman I am going to pay to take care of my son.  I don’t know how I am going to do it.  Everyone says it will get easier…and I am sure the routine of it will.  I am not sure that missing him will.  I am choosing to work four 10-hour days to have extra full day with him.  That means there are 2 days a week where I very likely will not see him from 8:15 a.m. when I drop him off until wake-up the next morning.  I will rarely, if ever, be the one who gets to see his smiling face when we pick him up from daycare. 

This is just the start of my long road of Mommy guilt…but the start is a doozie!

Who would want to leave this little man?

Things you shouldn’t say to a pregnant woman: A review

I’ve read these lists in various books and internet sites about the things you shouldn’t say to pregnant women and I laugh, thinking to myself, “People don’t really say these things!  Ha ha!  Hee Hee!”.  Well, news flash–people DO say these things.  I offer this blog as a lesson of sorts.  Please don’t ever say these things to a pregnant woman.

1.  DO NOT COMMENT ON HER WEIGHT!!  This one seems obvious, but apparently it is not.  Here are some examples of how this conversation could go down.  Purely rhetorical, of course!

Uninformed person (UP): “How’s married life?”
Prego: “Good!  I’m pregnant!”
UP: “Well, that is kinda why I asked about your married life.  I know when my marriage was falling apart I got fat!”

The tricky thing about people indirectly (directly) calling a prego fat is that she usually won’t see it coming.  The logical response to this conversation would be “Congratulations!” but instead you get a fat comment.  One of two feelings will rise to the surface for the prego–rage or overwhelming desire to break into tears.  Neither one of which you want to be around for.  TRUST.

Let’s look at another example:

UP: Why can’t you take any medication for your allergies?
Prego: “Because I am pregnant!”
UP: “I thought you were looking a little pudgy.”

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME??

Again, these are rhetorical situations.  Any semblance to a conversation you have had with a prego are purely coincidence.

2.  DO NOT ASK “WERE YOU TRYING??”  Since when is it OK for relative strangers to talk about their sex lives?  It’s not like I go around to non-prego’s and ask “Did you use protection last night?”  Here’s the thing–I’m married and I’m pregnant–YOU DO THE MATH!!  And what is the right answer to this question?  Does anyone know?  I am thinking of screwing with people.  Some answers I have come up with:
–”Trying for what?”
–”I was trying, but my husband wasn’t.  In fact, I should probably tell him.”
–”I’m actually a virgin.  I’m heading to the Vatican tomorrow.”

There are other things that tend to get a little tedious 20 times a day.  This is not to say that you can’t ask these things, just know that the prego may be (REALLY) sick of these questions.  I will give you my answers here to save you from having to ask me later.  If you can, try to come up with some more creative things to talk about.
–”Do you know what you are having?”  I am only 15 weeks here, people.  If we do find out, it won’t be until June, but we haven’t decided yet.
–“Do you know what you want?”  I want a baby.  Need I say more?
–“Do you have any names picked out?”  Nope.  And depending how close you are to me, there’s a good chance I won’t share them with you when we do.
–“Are you excited?”  Ummm…really? 

Ok.  I hope this little review session helped with any questions you may have.

All Your Burning Questions…Answered.

So, the blog has taken quite a hit with this whole pregnancy thing!  Basically because it has been the only thing going on in my life but I couldn’t talk about it.  So, I am going to answer all the “typical” pregnancy questions in one shot.  Also, I apologize for all those who do not want my blog to take this turn…but to be honest, this kidney bean (that will make sense soon) is pretty much consuming my life already…so…baby talk it is!

“Wow, how exciting!!  How far along are you??”

Thanks for asking!  I am 8 1/2 weeks along (as of April 1st).  

The baby is currently the size of a kidney bean.  Last week, it was the size of a blueberry.  If you ask me, going from a blueberry to a kidney bean is kind of a downgrade.  I think I liked the kid better as a blueberry.  That’s just way cuter.  Plus, if you had  a choice between a kidney bean and a blueberry, which would you pick??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“How are you feeling?”

Wow, you are so caring!  Actually, I feel pretty good, all things considered.  I have not been nauseous at all!  Yay!  I am ravenously hungry.  I would say I am hungry about 75-80% of my waking hours…and probably about 25% of my sleeping ones.  Eating has kind of become a chore and I am getting a little sick of it.  If you have any suggestions for healthy, tasty and filling snacks, please let me know because I need help getting through my work day.  Sometimes when I wake up to pee in the middle of the night, I can’t fall back asleep because my rumbling belly keeps me up.  I usually eat a granola bar in the middle of the night so I can fall back asleep.  Talk about annoying!!!  The crushing fatigue is no joke either!  Just as a heads up–being a PT is not a pregnancy-friendly job.  It is hard work pretending to be on your A-game when you just want to push the patient off the table and curl up for a quick nap!  My body pretty much shuts down around 2-3pm.  On the weekends I curl up for a hour and a half snooze.  Weekdays, not so much and I just keep on keepin’ on with a fake smile plastered all over my tired face.

“Are you going to find out what you are having?”

It amazes me how EVERYONE asks this question.  I do not want to find out, but my husband does.  People are shocked about this because of my OCD tendencies…but how many TRUE surprises exist in life?  I was wavering after my sister-in-law’s shower seeing all the girl stuff she got and thinking WHAT would people buy you if they didn’t know what I was having.  Then I realized that was silly.  I also laugh when I tell people I don’t want to find out and then they ask “Well, how will you be prepared??”  1.  I am pretty sure either way you cut it, it’s going to be a baby.  2.  No matter if I push out a boy or a girl, I am not going to be prepared.  

“Do you have a preference?  What about your husband?”

We are hoping for a baby.  You know, the kind with two arms, two legs, 10 fingers, 10 toes…the works.  

“Do you have any names picked out?”

Are you kidding me?  There are days when I don’t even know MY name. 

So…yeah…babies.  It is awesome, scary, overwhelming, and amazing all at once.  This week I found out the kidney bean has knees!  KNEES!!  That just boggles my mind.  Something tells me I have a whole lifetime of things that will boggle my mind with this kid, and I can’t wait  (although somedays maybe I can!  Those are the scary, overwhelming days!)