4 out of 5 Women are Pregnant...

Not in the world, mind you.  I'm talking about my workplace!  There are so many pregnant women at my workplace.  I just found out about two more today!  I was shocked!  (And giddy with excitement!)

So, in honor of them and in light of my new information, I decided to post a few things relating to pregnancy and babies.

FACT:  You'll never be the kind of parent you imagine you will be.  I am not intending to sound mean here, this is just the cold hard truth.  Whatever daydreams you had, you'll get into situations you never imagined and have reactions you couldn't have planned for.  There will be times when you feel like the worst parent in the world!  There will be times when you'll cry because you miss your kid(s), and you don't want to leave them.  Then there will be times when you wish for nothing but twenty minutes away from your kids... or even two days.  The point is, you can never anticipate how it will be to be a parent.  It's as foreign as being in love before you ever were in love.  No one can say anything to truly prepare you for it; it just is what it is.  Don't worry so much!

MYTH:  There is one parenting style that 'works.'  There is no way that you HAVE to do things.  There is no way that you SHOULD do things.  There is only what works for you, your spouse AND your kids.  Yes, your kids will partially dictate what you do as a parent, whether you want them to or not.  In my opinion, you WANT to tailor your parenting toward the kid that you have... but again, that's just an opinion, and you don't have to do it!  Just relax and do what's best for you all at that moment.  Don't worry what anyone else thinks (even your own mom), or how it looks, or what your mom would do, or what your preconceived notions would tell you to do.  Don't put up those walls!  Just relax and do what is best for your family at that time.  It'll all come out in the wash.

FACT:  You will get dirty.

FACT:  You might not be able to shower as often.

MYTH:  You can't do the same things that you did before you had kids.  The truth?  What my mom always says, "You can do anything with kids that you did without kids; it just takes longer."  Obviously I'm not saying you should necessarily do things in the COMPANY of your kids, but anything you did in your life before, you'll be able to do when you have kids if you just make the effort.

MYTH:  Childbirth is scary and painful.  This is going to sound strange.  I LOVE giving birth.  Okay, strange, but true.  One of the crowning (har har) achievements of my life was giving birth to my girls.  Both times.  I loved it!  It was great!  And at the end, everyone was happy and I had a great little baby in my arms, looking into my eyes.  I would do it again, and again, and again... if I didn't have to be pregnant every time.  I seriously think fondly on the actual active labor and birth of both of my daughters, and that is part of why I would like to have more kids: just to give birth again!  It's an amazing experience, unlike any other.

FACT: You will get sick more often with kids in the house.

FACT:  Kids fill your life with joy.  Even on the bad days, you'll never be able to imagine what your life was like before the kid came along.  It'll be like a distant dream...  HA!  Sometimes that's not so good!  But really, the joy far exceeds the annoyance or any pain and suffering.


Well, that's all that I'm going to bombard you all with at the moment.  I think I'll post some more information soon about health during birth, labor, infant-stage babies, etc, so if you're interested in that, be looking for it!