It has been a very busy year! And while I must admit that I've enjoyed working full-time, I'm very much looking forward to being a stay-at-home mom in a few short months!  Hopefully keeping my blog more up-to-date as well, granted the baby allows me enough time to do so.

 

I've begun to realize that motherhood is a journey that starts the minute you find out you're expecting!  While you have to patiently wait 9 months to see and hold your little one, the preparation and self-discipline begins right away.  Prepping a nursery can be all-consuming, and instinctive!  Keeping the home clean becomes even more important, as well as trying to eat healthy for your growing baby.  Everything I do now incorporates our baby.  From knowing my new physical limits, disciplining my eating habits, and practicing patience in almost everything I do.

 

Dogs are a good prepping tool for patience.  Our little dog loves to be treated like a baby, and can constantly test my husband's and my patience.  We simply look at each other and laugh, when we think of how much more love and patience a baby is going to need!

 

Expectations are also something that can be thrown out the window once you enter Motherhood.  I expected to live by the toilet my first trimester, and was pleasantly surprised to have very mild morning sickness.  I expected to start showing by 4 months - I finally started showing around 5-1/2 to 6 months (and I still can hide my bump with a sweat jacket!).  I expected to have a baby boy - God has blessed us with a little girl!  I'm sure that once she's born, any remaining expectations will fly out the window!

 

Overall, pregnancy has been a beautiful and strange experience.  I love feeling the kicks and movements, but it's also strange to see your stomach move!  I love that I'm starting to finally look pregnant, but there's definitely numbers on the scale that are foreign to me!  Probably my favorite part of everything, has been the bonding experience.  I'm so in love with this little person I have yet to meet - it's a miracle to me to experience the beginnings of a new life!