Thursday, January 8, 2015

What No One Ever Told Me: Pregnancy

I am going to begin a series of posts titled "What No One Ever Told Me." I am pretty sure this phrase sums up my entire experience of pregnancy, labor and delivery, and now parenting.

Photo Cred: Blythe Parker

My first post will begin at the beginning: pregnancy. I know almost every woman in the history of the world has been there done that, but for those of us who have not been there yet, these posts will be for you. I was absolutely clueless about everything. You know the saying "you live and you learn?" That just about says it all for me!


Pregnancy does some crazy things to a woman. On one hand you feel amazing because the thought of your own body growing a human being inside of it makes you feel invincible. On the other hand, the side effects of growing that little human can become quite uncomfortable. Nausea, vomiting, heartburn, constipation, having to pee every 5 seconds, can't sleep, can't breathe, can't get comfortable, not to mention the crazy emotional roller coaster - the list goes on and on. No one ever told me it would ACTUALLY be like this. Or maybe my problem was I just don't listen. Yes, some/all of these things might happen to you if you are pregnant. Yes, you will hear EVERY pregnant woman complaining about some/all of these things. But at the end of the day, you, my dear sister, are GROWING a human being inside of you. I know all of those side effects may sound pretty lousy, but just remember that you are experiencing one of the most amazing gifts/blessings known to mankind. You are the lucky woman who gets to experience the first kick, the first movement, the first hiccup. Yes, the kick may be in the rib or the nether region, but it will be the most amazing kick you have ever experienced.

I know there are two types of women - 1.) women that like to be pregnant and 2.) women that hate to be pregnant. No matter which category you fall under, let me put out this word of advice. No matter how you feel or how uncomfortable you get or how much time you spend hanging your head over a toilet, never ever complain about the experience that has been gifted to you as a woman. I know this sounds cheesy, but pregnant women are notorious for complaining. Most people think they kind of have a right to, but I think women need to change their perceptions of what pregnancy is actually like. Change your negative thoughts into positive ones. Tell people how amazing being pregnant actually is. Stop getting caught in the rut of just whining about your back hurting or how many pee trips you took in the middle of the night last night. Because at the end of the day, your body is doing something amazing, and you should be celebrating the beauty of what your body can actually accomplish.

My dear women, love your body and the amazing things it can do. It will surprise you how much you enjoyed being pregnant when it is all over with, especially if you take hold of a positive attitude.



Those are my two cents for now. Stay tuned for more posts about how to make it through pregnancy.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

On The Other Side

Have you ever felt so entrenched in a season of your life that you think it will never end?

That is how I have felt for the last 2.5 years of my life.

My life has been CRAZY... well when it comes to being busy.

I have finally made it through my master's degree in order to become a Nurse Practitioner! I thought I would never be able to say those words, but now I have!

So many things have changed since I began this journey. All for the better. And some for the best.

1.) I no longer work night shift.

Wow! This is a total life changer! I was a night shift worker for over 2 years before getting to lead the life of a normal person. It put a lot of strain on me as a person, on my family, and friends. Just everything. After starting school, I worked on days for about 8 months before going back to nights for several months. It wasn't the worst thing in my life since I was only working 2 shifts a week, but it was still nights. The reason I am not longer working nights is because....

2.) I work at a different place.

I LOVE MY JOB. I will not disclose where it is that I work, but I LOVE MY JOB. I have had this job for about 1.5 years now (crazy), and I am so glad God has brought me right where I am. I was working part time while in school, but now I only work 2 days per week because....

3.) I have a BABY!

Everyone! Meet Baby Judah!

 Photo Cred: Blythe Parker





















                                                                        
This is my sweet, sweet baby boy. He no longer looks like this, because he is almost EIGHT months old! WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?!
Anyways, this little guy is really why life has been turned upside down. And my life has been changed... for the best! No one can describe the joy brought to a parent by a child. Although the last 8 months have been extremely challenging, I would never take them back for one second. I have gone through having a baby, trying to figure out the whole breastfeeding thing (not a piece of cake by the way), up all hours of the night, trying to get school work done, going back to finish my clinical hours for school full time when he was only 5 weeks old, working on some days that I was not at clinicals, etc.
It has been HARD but so REWARDING!

So now that I am on the other side I will have some time to do things that I want to do (alleluia!), and not be so bogged down by my schoolwork. So you might actually see some posts on this old blog now and again. I am not going to make any promises, since the last time I did that was September and you have had lots of silence since, but I will do my best.

Cheers to making it through seasons of life and looking back and thinking "how in the world did I just do that?!"