A Husband's Perspective

Hi Everyone…..Andrea here.

I am officially in the home stretch I guess. I can now see the light at the end of this pregnancy tunnel. Here I am in week 35 and absolutely shocked that I will meet my baby boy in only a matter of weeks. I cannot wait. Who is this little person that keeps me up at night with his kicks and stretches? Will he have a lot of hair? Will he look like his Daddy? Will he cry a lot? How much will he weigh? Finally – I will have answers to all these things that every soon-to-be parent wonders about.

So I was going to write about my complaints with this pregnancy and how I can’t wait for this kid to come out already. However, after reading how Ginny has PUPPP’s, I think I’m going to keep my mouth shut, because really….my sore back and hips do not compare to an extremely itchy rash on my body. I consider myself lucky that I’ve gotten off so easy.

On that note, I had to think long and hard about an interesting topic to write about. It dawned on me while sitting beside my husband Chris, that maybe getting “a husband’s perspective” on this whole knocked-up business could be enlightening for the blog readers…and also for myself. So I whipped out the pen and paper and began to “interview” my husband on pregnancy. So without further adieu, here is what he has to say on the matter:


A Husband’s Perspective

Q: How does it feel to be on the brink of having your second child?

A: I am totally excited. Can hardly wait. It’ll be fun to have a baby around again. From our first experience, there are a lot of things and moments we’ll know to capitalize on and really cherish because we now know how fast they grow up.

Q: Do you ever wish you could be the one that’s pregnant and get to experience childbirth?

A: No. It’s just not in a man’s mindset to do that. But I do wonder how you feel having a little miniature human floating around in your belly. (Note from Andrea: “Floating around in your belly”….hahahahaha…..only a man would say that…the last time I checked, a belly and uterus were two different body parts…no? Bless his heart).

Q: Is it strange seeing me with a big belly?

A: I get a totally different perspective of what a woman is and what she’s capable of doing. I realize how truly difficult being pregnant can be and at the same time how amazing it is. I hear you complain a lot about the hardships like a sore back and then I hear you talk about the great things in the same breath like the baby moving, the baby being able to hear my voice, etc.

Q: Do you find me attractive with a big belly?

A: Yes I do. I am just as attracted to you physically and emotionally. (Note from Andrea: I wonder if he would have the same answer if a non-biased third party was asking the question and not his very pregnant wife? Good answer Chris. You are a smart man.)

Q: What things have you enjoyed so far about our pregnancies?

A:

1. When you told me you were pregnant
2. Finding out the gender of our children early on in the pregnancy
3. Watching you change from my girlfriend, to my wife, and ultimately a mother
4. Watching you take an active interest in being pregnant. I admire the way you research and read about it.

Q: What things have you not enjoyed about our pregnancies?

A:

1. You hogging the bathroom and the bed
2. You wearing my underwear (Note from Andrea on this: Yes, it’s true, I wear his boxer shorts as pj’s sometimes because they are so comfy. Don't worry - I only wear the clean ones).
3. Your unpredictable mix of emotions.

Q: What is it like watching the birth of your baby?

A: Out of the top five things you’ll ever experience in life, it’s got to be #1. It’s the most emotional, most endearing, most human experience you’ll ever witness.

Q: What’s the hardest thing about having a newborn baby?

A: Realizing the daunting responsibility that you now own. You don’t know what responsibility is until you have a child.

Q: What is your take on driving a mini-van?

A: Why do they have to make them so ugly? I’d rather drive my parent’s 1972 station wagon that had wood paneling and chrome bumpers.

Q: What advice can you give first time Dad’s-to-be?

A: You can either be right or you can be happy when it comes to the heated and emotional debates you are guaranteed to have. Choose the later. (Note from Andrea: Please. Mother’s know best. That’s the way it’s always been. We can’t help that we’re right all of the time.)

So there you have it. That is what my husband Chris has to say. My plan now is teach him the difference between a belly and a uterus and their respective purposes.

So my last day of work is this Thursday! Yay! I’ll have three glorious weeks to relax before my son makes his debut. Don’t get me wrong – I actually have a long list of things I need to get done before September 28th (the big day), but it’ll be nice not working, you know?

On any note, I am so excited to finally get to meet my son. A new person to love. What beats that?

I’ll leave you with this great quote I came across:

“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” – Elizabeth Stone

Ginny’s itching to give birth…

Literally, I am itching to give birth, specifically between 12 midnight and 6 am each night. What I thought was a heat rash on my belly and thighs is actually a rare pregnancy related rash called pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy, or better known as PUPP. Unfortunately the only cure for this terrible prenatal rash is birth. The itching and formation of new itch bumps occur mostly at night and I have been sleep deprived due to the itching and scratching. At 37 weeks, birth can’t come soon enough for me!

PUPP usually happens to 1 in 150 to 250 women during their first pregnancies, appearing in the third trimester around the 35 week mark (mine appeared at 32 weeks). It starts off on the belly and can spread to the hands and feet. They say most women who get PUPPs give birth to boys (I’ll have to wait to see if I fit this statistic as well). Those who suffer from severe cases are sometimes induced to provide relief from the rash. The itch has been compared to chicken pox or poison ivy. Scratching from one area to another also spreads the rash, so I am always washing my hands after applying cream or a scratch attack.

My PUPPs has spread to my hands, feet, back, butt, legs and arms. My husband no longer cuddles me because having him touch me aggravates the itch (unless it’s to help me put on cream in places I can’t see or reach anymore). I was taking Benadryl to help me sleep at night and to reduce the itch but it wasn’t working well. My OB has since subscribed me sleeping pills and so far I’ve gotten five hours of solid sleep without waking up to scratch. Baking soda cold baths and ice packs temporarily soothe the itch. I have a steroid topical cream and a soothing moisturizing methanol cream (both by prescription) but the relief is only temporary (I’m talking 10-15 minutes temporary!)

I am not a morning person, nor am I a person that can survive happily with limited sleep. Having a baby and being awake at all hours was a concern for me. I feel like this rash that keeps me sleep deprived is nature’s evil way of helping me adjust to life with baby. I felt like an itchy zombie most days when I only got 45 minutes of sleep between itch attacks.

Also, on Wednesday, Aug 11 my OB had put me on medical leave effective Monday, Aug 16, which gave me 2.5 days to finish up loose ends at work. This was two weeks earlier than my intended last day of Aug 31. The combination of elevated stress, sleep deprivation, severe carpal tunnel, PUPP rash, and hemmies was enough for her to decide I need to stay home and relax. I’ve worked all my life and have been busy with work, outings, hobbies, etc. The thought of staying home to relax almost stressed me out! It took days of adjustment and I find myself bored silly most days. I can’t cook or bake because I can no longer reach and I can’t sew or make jewellery because of my carpal tunnel. So far I have watched five Harry Potter movies and a lot of mindless television. The less I have to do the less I get done, or the less motivation I have to do anything.

So add together all the issues I’ve had with this pregnancy plus the boredom and sense of cabin fever… I am SO ready for this baby to make its debut! Even just so that I’ll have someone to hang out with during the days! My alternative title for this blog posting was “Pregnancy sucks!”

…only 3.5 weeks more to go… must keep positive…

The Woes of Pregnancy and other Facts

Hi there….It’s me – Big Mama. Oops! I mean Andrea. My husband now refers to me as Big Mama all of the time, so I guess I’m starting to believe that is my actual name. It’s pretty believable actually once you get a look at me.

I’m now in my 33rd week and feeling pretty large. I’m also feeling like this pregnancy is starting to get the better of me. Things have gone a bit downhill in the last three weeks.

Gone are the days when I can walk around and climb stairs pain-free. Instead, I now have severe lower back and hip pain. I have a pretty high threshold for pain, so I know it’s bad when I actually feel like crying because the pain is so intense.

Moreover, I am the lucky recipient of melasma, otherwise known as “the mask of pregnancy”. The skin on my forward and cheeks have become very riddled with dark brown spots and blotches (I totally sound hot huh?). This skin condition has also been compared to resembling a raccoon. Nice eh? Thankfully I have a tan that hides this hideousness (at least a little bit); however, I’m a little worried what I’m going to look like once this tan fades. Apparently, “the mask” can fade a few months after birth….let’s just hope that it does, because I don’t think I’ll be cool with looking like a raccoon for the rest of my life. On the bright side, I can dress little Gracie up as a raccoon for Halloween this year and we’ll have matching costumes – how cute would that be??

So I’m happy to report that all of the hot weather we’ve been having hasn’t really been bothering me. I’m sure it helped that I was fortunate enough to be up north in cottage country on our recent vacation. Whenever the heat was too much, I just jumped in the lake. However, doing this made me realize that I’ve been lied to. Have you ever heard that women are more buoyant when pregnant? I’ve heard that a lot! Well let me tell you right now that it’s a total myth. It took all the energy I had to keep my head above water – I was an anchor sinking to the bottom! Needless to say, the good ol’ “pool noodle” came in very handy. The only difference though is that I had to jam six noodles under me to stay afloat rather than the usual two. I am dreading my next “weigh-in” at the doctor’s office.

Not only did I learn that pregnant women do not float, but I also learned that I am not the prettiest sight in a bikini. Firstly, my huge guns hardly fit into my XL size bikini top and my belly is starting to drop so low that it pulls down my bikini bottoms. Luckily, our neighbours are far enough away that my r-rated bathing suit probably didn’t offend them too much. I opted to purchase a larger size regular bikini over a maternity bathing suit because quite frankly, the maternity bathing suits I have seen are absolutely hideous – especially when you consider the cheapest one I have seen is $80.

So now that the end of this pregnancy is finally in sight, I am mentally preparing myself for the “baby blues”. Going into my first pregnancy, I had no idea what this was…because it was never mentioned to me. Eighty percent of women experience this after giving birth apparently. It’s caused by a drastic shift in hormonal levels and I think I could have coped a little bit better if only I had known what was happening to me. On that note, let me shed some light on this “baby blues” business for all soon-to-be first time mothers. Here’s what you can expect if you get the “baby blues”, and you probably will to some degree:

Two to three days after giving birth you will cry uncontrollably. The crying fits will likely happen multiple times throughout the day and last a couple of days. There will be absolutely no reason why you are crying – you just will. This in turn will make you think you’re going crazy, and your husband will likely start to wonder too…but rest assured, this is normal…it’s just the good ol’ baby blues. It’s so confusing when this is happening because you expect to be floating on a cloud of happiness after welcoming your first born into the world. This “baby blues” business will only last a few days. I think it’s when it gets to be weeks and months that post-partum depression becomes a concern so stay on the look-out for that.

Well folks…I just visited a farmers market and have a pecan tart waiting for me. This is very important business that I must attend to. Please note that this will be the second pecan tart for me today…but it’s very easy to justify eating two of these tarts because I’m not a selfish person, and the baby should have a tart too right? Of course he should.

Pregnancy is SO unsexy….

Hi it’s Ginny again… So the purpose of this blog is for us to share our real life experiences right? Well, here goes some very real but personal details I’ve been experiencing lately. I’m now 33 weeks into my pregnancy and 40 pounds heavier! Before I got pregnant, I used to think it must be so sexy and womanly to carry a baby…. Yeah perhaps during months five and six in the second trimester, before and after that are just hellish. Anyhow, even if I make one person laugh or one pregnant person appreciate this sharing, it’ll be worth the embarrassment. But then a girlfriend recently said, ‘funny how nothing's embarrassing anymore once you've been through pregnancy and child birth.’

The Stay Puft Marshmallow Man…

I didn’t think it was possible but I have swelled even further since my last posting. One morning this week I woke up with my hands and feet so fat I couldn’t make a fist. It was painful and I now have carpal tunnel in both hands and my feet hardly fit into my rubber flip flops. I feel like I look like the Marshmallow Man from GhostBusters! Soaking your feet in cold water and ice packs really do help.

Grooming, or lack thereof…

So as with most pregnant women, I haven’t seen my bits in weeks or months! It’s very hard to groom it when you can’t see it! My husband thinks it’s funny and doesn’t help me when I ask, so I have to beg and nag. The last time I went for a bikini wax, which was way back during week 20, I ended on the aestheticians table in fetal position practically begging her to stop. She kept saying, ‘but I’m not done and you’re lopsided!’, I said I didn’t care it hurt WAY too much to continue. I was actually in tears, and I wasn’t doing anything crazy like a Brazilian, just a normal bikini cleanup. With the increased blood flow to the region due to pregnancy, waxing is SO much more painful and bleedy. Yuck.

Carrying low…

Since week mid-twenties… can’t recall exactly which week… I have been carrying quite low. So low that I can no longer close my legs when I sit down, which wasn't such a good thing since all my skirts were knee length. My purse or laptop bag was always strategically placed between my legs on the subway. I had to go find some maxi dresses (aka more stylish moo-moo’s) in a hurry! But that’s not the bad part… a rash has developed where my thighs and belly rub together when I sit. I know, nice hey? It’s probably a combination of this heat and humidity, the chafing my skin is not used to and the non-breathable material a couple of my dresses are made of. So add to the cellulite a nice rash and you’re feeling sexy. But wait, that’s not all…

This is the real icing on the cake…

Hemmies…

Hemmies is an endearing name I’ve made up this week for something really gross and embarrassing that I kept reading about in the prenatal books, usually associated with constipation which I have not suffered from (probably the ONLY pregnancy symptom I’ve escaped!). So how I found out about my hemmy… it’s been SO hot in Toronto I sleep naked, which most people do anyways. Except two nights ago I was moving around on the bed and my husband said, “What’s that hanging out of your ass?” I laughed and figured he was joking. He said he wasn’t kidding and there was really something sticking out. I still didn’t believe him. I didn’t feel anything strange or unusual and figured he was just trying to freak me out. He went and got a big mirror so I can see my own behind and I screamed, “OMG! IT'S A HEMMY!!!!” …a hemorrhoid! Yup there it was - a small, pink round thing sticking out of my butt hole! I had no idea it was there, it didn’t bother me and I didn’t feel it. A buddy of ours recently told us how he got hemorrhoids doing some heavy lifting but he felt a “pop” and wondered what happened. He was also in pain and found it very uncomfortable to sit. I didn’t experience a pop, nor do I have pain or discomfort but just knowing it’s there makes me feel icky. The baby books said you can get them from increased pressure from the baby, and with my baby so low, that’s probably how I got it. (I attempted to find an appropriate image for this section but no go! It was gross what Google Images came up with and I’m not prepared to post that part of my anatomy!)

So fat swollen extremities, cellulite brought on by pregnancy, chafing heat rashes, and hemmies… yeah, I totally feel like a smoking sexy beast right now! Someone shoot me next time I think of having a baby over the summer months!

Oh yeah, and two other lovely prenatal words to leave you with… perennial massage. This topic does not appear in the baby books until month eight or nine and is highly recommend for first time pregnancies to prevent tearing during birth. (For those who have no clue, it’s done ‘from the inside out’). It is also recommended your partner help you… well duh!, a partner is mandatory because you can’t reach the required parts anymore unless you’re built like an orangutan with super long arms! Anyhow, it was weird, awkward and absolutely nothing sexy about it. I internet researched it the day after and so many other women said they either couldn’t reach themselves, it wasn’t worth it or totally strange no matter how open minded you are. Another non-sexy item no one tells you about to add to the growing list as I close in on my due date of September 19th.

Third Trimester Trials...

Hi everyone, it’s Ginny. I can’t believe it’s been 1.5 months since I last blogged. Time is flying by faster than I want it to! I’m now in my 32nd week… that’s less than 8 more weeks of freedom!

Shortly after my last blog, I was really into reading Harry Potter #6 and #7. It was a goal of mine to finish all the Harry Potter books before the baby comes but I got so into them, I did little else. I even stayed up way later than I should have on weekdays to read, only to suffer the next day while at work. Now I’m in Harry Potter withdrawal. I can’t wait to read the books to my kid when they get older.

A few weeks ago, in my second trimester, I was feeling great. I was doing so much and working long hours again. I managed to finish a classic Winnie the Pooh quilt/play mat for our baby to be. I was working, cooking, cleaning, reading, crafting… life was great and going by very quickly. I lost track of time and what week or trimester I was in.

This is the front of the quilt. The back of the quilt is all Winnie the Pooh fabric you see running across the front in bands. I hope baby will love it!

Then suddenly out of nowhere, I was hit with this incredible exhaustion one night. I thought it was the gross Toronto heat and humidity that was wearing me out. (I’m originally from Vancouver where humidity is non-existent!) I swear, the first day it was 40+ degrees I swelled like a balloon! I figured I’d sleep it off and get back to my busy life again.

Day after day I patiently waited for the exhaustion to lift trying to sleep it off. A few days in, I realized it wasn’t going away. I was now in my third trimester and the third trimester tiredness must have hit. I read about it in my baby books figuring it’d come on gradually and that I’d be able to ‘fit it into my life’. NOPE, it hit me like a tonne of bricks. Sucks because there’s so much I still want to do before the baby arrives.

To make matters worse, as of the past two weeks, I can’t sleep at night. I either lie awake thinking of all the stuff I want to get done or I’m up every freaking hour to go pee! People and books say it’s my body getting me ready for the baby’s arrival and all the sleepless nights ahead of me. HELLO!? Isn’t this the time I should be storing up on sleep?!? Shouldn’t nature allow you to store up your sleep a-la-hibernation-style BEFORE those sleepless nights arrive? It’s really not fair.

Speaking of books, let’s talk about all the pregnancy symptoms we all suffer that books just don’t tell you about in detail. I have both of the more popular excepting tomb-of-a-book and both have only dedicated one paragraph (if that!) on prenatal gas! Yup, farting. I have polled other expecting mothers and all have agreed pregnancy makes you fart a lot but no one ever talks about it! These books don’t do justice to this on this potentially humiliating, uncomfortable, but very natural subject. Some nights I think it’s a good thing I don’t have the energy to go out because my gas is so bad I wouldn’t want to go out anyways! So far, no expecting women or mother has disagreed with me when asked.

And as Andrea mentioned… the middle of the night leg cramps! Holy cow, painful! I would wake up in the middle of the night screaming. The books don’t tell you how bad it is! I told my husband it’s like someone jabbing you with a knife in the calf while you’re sleeping! I would have lined the whole bed with soap had I known! Thank goodness, they’ve gone away in my third trimester, good riddance!

What I am starting to appreciate and somewhat enjoying about my third trimester is playing with the baby in my belly. My baby positioned itself head down about a month ago and has stayed there since (below I further describe that weird experience). I now often see little knees and feet rolling around or jetting out of my belly, top right corner. I either grab them or push them back in. I said 'somewhat enjoying' because sometimes it hurts like hell when it kicks into my ribs or stretches its arms straight down! It’s kind of creepy but also amazing to think there’s a tiny little human inside of me. A good friend just told me that someone told her ‘a child will never love their mother the way a mother loves the child’. She also told me to enjoy and appreciate having the baby inside of me because one day I will miss it.

So about a month ago my baby readjusted itself from lying left to right to head down. My tummy was really hard and cramped all day and evening. I woke up the next morning and realized I had more elbow room! I went from wide to narrow and I looked skinner from behind as well. Then I turned to the side in the mirror and my belly looked huge sticking out in front of me.

The best pregnancy tip I could give someone would be to go for prenatal RMT massages. Find someone that specializes in prenatal care and you’ll be in bliss! I go to Cindy McNeely on Dupont between Spadina and Bathurst and she’s amazing. I would highly recommend it for every expectant mom. I often threaten to steal her RMT pillows and wedges because they fully support you, it’s so comfortable and relaxing. I still haven’t been able to duplicate the same comfort and support at home with normal pillows. Coming towards the end of my prenatal massage sessions makes me sad!

Well, with less than eight weeks left I know I definitely won’t be missing the back ache, the sweating and overheating, the tiredness (but I guess different tiredness comes on), the headaches and the feeling of heaviness with every step I take on my swollen and sore feet and ankles (which I often refer to as elephant feet). I told my husband, if I can help it, this is the last baby I carry through the summer! Next time, it'll be a spring or winter baby when all this extra body heat will help keep me warm vs. make me suffer! I'm SO done being pregnant but at the same time trying to savour the last few remaining weeks. It's such a love-hate experience, its amazing millions and millions of women keep putting themselves through it over and over again...

Tarts, Wonder Soap, and Minivans

Hi Everyone….Andrea here.

Well I am now in my 28th week of pregnancy. I am still feeling pretty good. Although, I’ve recently started feeling like my belly is starting to get on the big side (lets not even talk about my boobs!). Walking up long flights of stairs is now a little taxing, shaving my legs is harder than it used to be, and getting in and out of the car is a little more difficult….you get the drift.
So I had an appointment with my OB in the fourth week of June. Like every appointment, I stand on the scale as soon as I get there and tell the secretary my new weight.

Well, this particular time, the secretary didn’t seem to believe me when I told her what I currently weighed. She asked me “Are you sure?” In my head I was thinking “Weird. I must have lost weight. Why would she be in such disbelief?” I look at the scale again and proudly say “Yes, I am sure….Why?” She responds with “Because you’ve gained 10lbs”. What the?!?!?!?! That’s right folks; I gained 10lbs in one month!!!! Ooopsie!

Either this is going to be a super-sized baby, or my chocolate and pecan tart cravings are really getting the better of me. Honestly – I have become so obsessed with pecan tarts that I have actually succumbed to “googling” places in Toronto that have the best pecan tarts. Obviously, my little search isn’t doing me much good. But hey, if I look on the bright side – I have found a place that sells unbelievable tarts.

In my last blog entry I wrote about how I was plagued by those very painful Charley horses at night. Well – I am happy to report that much has changed. Most nights now, I don’t have any and the nights that I do, they are not as intense. This is all thanks to a little bar of soap that I put under the sheets with me in bed. No – I am not crazy (at least not yet!). This solution is an old-wives tale. A bar of soap under the sheets = no more Charley horses. Can you believe that one??? I know – it’s totally laughable, but I was having such a bad time that I would have tried anything at all. I have researched this old technique, and surprisingly, it seems to work for most people who have tried it. Strange but true. I give credit to a very wise Aunt for telling me about this.

With a little under three months to go before my son makes his big debut into this world, I already have quite the collection of clothes for him. Shopping for baby clothes has definitely become one of my favorite pastimes. I live and work near a Baby Gap so every time I walk by it (which is at least once a week) I am forced to check it out.

However, I have to say that I always bypass the regularly priced clothes (which in my books are way too expensive) and head straight for the sale rack. It’s amazing the deals to be had there. A couple of weeks ago they had a 40% off sale on the sale items! I bought this kid a few pairs of jeans for $10 each! Deal! I walked out of there with a huge paper bag full to the brim with amazingly priced super-cute clothes sized anywhere from newborn to two years.

With this being baby #2, I have noticed that everyone and their brother asks Chris and I if we will be having anymore kids after this one. I was never asked that with Grace because people just assumed we would at least have two. I guess people are now curious if we are crazy enough to throw another one into the mix. Well let me answer this question once and for all for everybody – I have no idea if we will have another one. We’ll decide that after we see how we handle two little balls of energy in our life.

Plus – we’ll also have to see if there is a car available on the market that will hold three kids plus all the stuff that we’ll need to cart around for these three kids. I know a minivan will do the trick….but that is just not going to happen – EVER. I have made that promise to myself and thankfully Chris is on board with this. This promise was made at the age of 16 when I obtained my license and only had the option of driving my parents Lumina van around. Embarrassing! When you are desperately trying to look cool (even though you’re not!), a minivan doesn’t cut it.

(For all those mini-van drivers out there - just for the record, I know how handy these family-fun filled vans can be. I also know that they probably make your life easier, as they would mine...but I just can’t do it.)

So unless something blog-worthy happens in the next couple of weeks that I think you may want to hear about, I won’t be posting again until late August. Chris, Gracie, Number 2, and myself are hitting the road and escaping the city for some cottage life up north. I will blissfully be far away from a computer or cable TV. With all of that time on my hands, I’m sure it’s going to hit me that this baby is going to be here lickety-split! When I return from my vacation, Number 2 will be making an appearance in a little over a month. It feels like I just got pregnant yesterday. Where has all the time gone??

A Tribute

Well, here I am in my 24th week of pregnancy…already! I am still feeling pretty good. I’m not at the stage yet where my belly is gigantic, so day-to-day life is still manageable.

I cannot believe how fast this pregnancy is going by. Compared to last time, this one is whipping by at mach-10 speed. I have a feeling it’s because I have a very active 18 month old girl to contend with. My little Gracie is keeping me busy enough that I seriously forget that I’m pregnant sometimes. However, I can always count on her to graciously remind me by poking my now very noticeable huge boobs and saying “boobie” (the newest addition to her vocabulary) or giving my growing belly a nice hard “love tap” and saying “baby”. Here is a picture of my little rascal along with the belly and myself.

So I have a new symptom to report: Charley horses…..they started a couple of weeks ago. I wake up in the night to find that one of my calf muscles is completely locked up in searing pain. They are so bad that I cannot move my foot at all while they are happening. They are so painful! I remember I had them with Grace near the end of my pregnancy, but don’t recall them being this bad. These are not regular Charley horses; rather, they are like Charley bucking broncos or something! I find it so odd that these are an actual symptom of pregnancy. But really….there are so many odd things that happen to your body during pregnancy that I’m starting to get used to these strange happenings.

So I’ll be taking a year off to be home and look after my new little man and then will be welcoming going back to work next year. From experience, I can surely tell you that going to work is far easier than being at home with a baby (not as rewarding though!). It’s really like being on vacation. During this maternity leave, my little Gracie will continue going to her fantastic babysitters….for her sake and mine. I can’t imagine how bored she would be if she suddenly found herself at home with me and a newborn baby everyday rather than playing with her friends and going to her classes at the YMCA. Also – I can’t imagine how busy I would be with a toddler running around and a newborn wanting to be fed every couple of hours. In other words – I would surely lose my mind and likely have to be committed.

Knowing this makes me think of my mom and my mother-in-law. It makes me want to pay them a little tribute…so here I go:

They have super powers. I am sure of it. Both women stayed home and raised three and four kids respectively (all of which were approximately 18 months apart) without the help of nannies…..and they are both still sane….AND all of their children are sane (at least I think)! But wait for this one……they both used cloth diapers! Not the kind that we throw in a Diaper Genie and never see again….oh no…they scrubbed and washed them! Gross!

They surely did not get the credit they deserve. They took it upon themselves (with a little help from our Dads of course) to raise their children with minimal help everyday…all day! They created happy childhood memories and shaped their children into who they are today….and they did this all while keeping their house clean and cooking healthy meals for their family….while hardly ever getting a “Thanks” and never getting paid for what they do. That is incredible.

You are both amazing women. I am sure that neither of you have heard this enough in your life.

So Mom – Thank you for being so great at what you do. Thank you also for raising me to become the person I am today and being such a great role model. I only hope I will be as great a mother as you are.

To my Mother-in Law, Pam – Thank you for raising Chris to be the man he is today. He is such a great father and husband and you played a big part in this. You did a phenomenal job.

Ok – I don’t know if it’s the pregnancy hormones or what, but I am sitting here tearing up as I write this…so I must stop here. Perhaps in my next blog entry, I can talk about how sappy and emotional this pregnancy is making me.

On that note, I will leave you with this quote I came across that is true beyond words:

“It is when I had my first child that I understood how much my mother loved me.” – Author Unknown