Day 3

What if we could make things easier? 
      9 months, 280 days, 6,720 hours is how long the average women will carry a baby, that's a significant amount of time! Thank goodness we aren't like elephants who carry for about 2 years! Phew...could you imagine? All the feedback I've received from my readers has really inspired me to list my experiences/ tips on what I've been doing throughout this pregnancy. Who's to say it's going to make labor and postpartum easier, but what if? Everything I will be discussing is 100% safe to/ use during pregnancy. If  you are pregnant or trying to be, maybe some of these will come in handy for you!

                             #1 Yoga
       One of my hobbies as most of you know is yoga. The way it makes me feel is the best part. Emotionally, physically,and mentally it does wonders for me. With the big news of being pregnant the opportunity of a 200 hr course of certification came up as well. I started my training not only to teach, but thought it would be a wonderful way to stay active during pregnancy. Unfortunately things got a little hard for me and felt as though I needed to slow down a bit, it's quite the effort to get your knees to chest when you are short of breath constantly. Haha! Do I believe it helped me yes, not only physically, but the knowledge I've gained alone has made me a better person. So if you have something you love don't stop because of your pregnancy, discover how it will work for your pregnancy. Since I've slowed down my certification will take longer to get than I had hoped for, but I will finish! Remember to always listen to your body as well, your the only one who can judge the way you feel. 

#2 Essential oils

I absolutely love essential oils! The oils I'm most familiar with is Doterra. If you haven't heard or used them before I highly recommend them. They are all natural and can be used for anything from pregnancy to cleaning. With various purposes you can use them aromatically, topically, or dietary. I struggled with breathing a lot with my pregnancy and using a humidifier and a drop of eucalyptus helped so much. I also used oils for headaches, sleeping, and cleaning. Being pregnant there's not many things you can take, this oils are extremely helpful and safe to use while pregnant . Ill be honest with you once you start using them you may never stop. Below are my top favorite oils that come in handy for multiple purposes...

#3 Rasperry Leaf Tea

Thanks to one of the local teas shops in town, Too soul teas co.  I was introduced to raspberry leaf tea. It is a wonderful loose tea that is known to benefit women during and after pregnant. Even if you are not pregnant it is also known to help with menstrual cramps, aids fertility, and is enriched with a ton of vitamins. If you are pregnant it is safe to.drink throughout your entire pregnancy, but in the third trimester you can increase to about 2-3 cups a day. It's known to tone uterine muscles, concentrate the effects of contractions and shorten actual labor(pushing time). Even after delivery it's known to.bring in rich milk.if.you plan on breast feeding and helps balance hormones. I've always been a tea drinker so this was a no brained for me to try. Matt call me a little hippy, but hey if it makes it easier why the heck not... 

If you buy your teas at too soul for tea (cutest place ever) they will refill it and give you 10% off. Just go visit if you never have been it supports our local community!

Have any tips or helpful hints for new mommy's to be? Please comment or message!!!

      

Day 2: Thoughts of a mommy to be
         
                 Today was a big day for us, we had our 36 week appt at the doctor, and boy does it hit home when you now have to see the doctor every week!!! Fortunately, things look great baby is growing like they should, heads turned down and the waiting time begins.....
                  I know women give birth everyday, but I can't help to feel the nerves start to rise. Please all you mother's out there tell me it's normal. I felt these nerves just at this appointment alone, going over the game plan, last minute questions, and getting checked really made me realize this baby could come whenever at this point! That's when my head was trying to wrap around what all I still needed to do? Do you ever feel fully prepared?
                    Tons of questions and even worries started racing through my head, but where do I even start? Should I have read more books? Don't get me wrong I'm good with children, I was in child care but I've never questioned my ability to care for a child until now... until it's.My own. I just keep telling myself these feelings are normal everyone goes through it, you can do it. To be honest with you it may all be sinking in right now. 

The after math....
                    Not only am I afraid of the actual labor part, but I'm somewhat afraid of what happens during the healing process. Since I've had such an easy pregnancy I feel as though ill dread the after math. Thankfully I've received great products on what to use when that time comes. Any advice you fellow mother's have out there for me please throw it at me. 

Best part of my day...
                      I can't say that there was one particular thing that made my day, because it really was an all around great day. It started out with that appointment and ended with some much needed girl time. The one thing that stood out to me the most or made me feel good was what my doctor said. He's never questioned how a women feels when she's pregnant, but he hears it repeatedly every day. Today he said to me, " you have a really good energy" I thought to myself, "I do?" As we further discussed he explained that most men discuss their military experiences/ stories, women discuss their pregnancy expeirences/ stories and a lot of it is all pretty frightening or negative. Which is true everything I've read lately or have been hearing is how bad labor was or the aftermath was even worse doesn't make it easy on the ears. I know each and everyone one of us has a different experience, but the one thing everyone has had in common is... it was all worth it. That's what matters. 

#4 Choose to focus on the good
                    One of my 2015 manifestos. 

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Day 1

    Got goals for 2015??


    It's great that we all get a new start to a new year, but why wait until the new year? I'm guilty of this because every time it gets close to a new year I set resolutions, I start strong and then it slowly fades like mid February. Sad to say, but that's the truth. That's why this year I'm trying to approach it differently, and not focusing on one particular goal. This manifesto above was the perfect approach that I needed! 
      I connected a lot with this because going into the new year approaching motherhood is going to occupy a lot of my time. #1 is crucial, not only before the baby comes, but after is just as important. I want time management to be a focus in my life. How do you manage everything, Baby, boyfriend, friends, family,hobbies and even "me" time? Well that is where #5 can come in, it's great to start the new year off with goals, but for me it might be somewhat easier to set goals or intentions each day. This will also help me stay in the "present" moment, which is difficult for me to do. I often think about what I "should" of done or what "if" this happens. By setting daily goals will help with that I'm sure, and feel satisfied with myself if I don't set my standards so high. 
         That tends to create the "best version of you", #7. Feeling satisfied with yourself brings confidence, security, and independence. All that I want and all that I struggle with. It's not easy feeling all these qualities , but do the best you can with what you have. There are so many changes that are heading my way that I feel insecure about, even this journey has been hard to feel confident. Thank goodness for the support, but it's teaching me to excel in other areas of my life that need more attention. I also want more than anything to be the best I can be for my child so he/ she knows how important it is to be proud of who you are.
            #8 Believe anything is possible. I can't tell you where my life is going, I'm now out of work, expecting a baby and for now that's what I know. I have the best support system a girl could ask for, but it's extremely scary not having a plan or what I'm going to do after. Do I have options, yes. I have to look at this time as precious. I believe when the time is right I will know, and all will fall into place. This is just a new road on my journey...
             My wish for you all this new day, new year is to just be proud of having a fresh start each and every day. It takes patience and practice to show growth. Let this year bring health and happiness your way!
                             
                          365 new days
                           365 new chances 
         

DAY 365...

  Goodbye 2014
           I decided to end 2014 with a start of a blog. To be honest with you I'm new to blogging, I may not even know what I'm doing!
          I've decided to start my own because I've been inspired by so many others, looking at others really made me think, I could do that...
I have thought and thought about what I should write about, but I'm still not sure. What I do know is, looking at other bloggers and their journeys has caused an immense amount of inspiration. What I hope to gain from this is to continue to find myself, learn my passion, and start the new year off with something I've never done before!

   Let's look back
        The last day of the year!!!! I never would have thought I'd be where I am right now, but i can actually say I'm so happy I am. My year started out by living on my own in the cutest apartment ever, I loved it. The best advice someone gave me was to live on your own at least once in your life, I can say I'm glad I did. It wasn't long, but in those six months I got to enjoy myself, learn about me, do me, when I wanted and how I wanted, that was important to me. You learn a lot about yourself when all you have is yourself.
L              I met Matt Porter.... I have no idea why I was suppose to meet him, but I'm so glad I did. When your single a lot of people always tell you,"when it's meant to be it will be" " your gonna find him when you least expect it" "it shouldn't be that hard" .  It's so true!!!!!! At least that was my experience I was always so curious about my "story" ...who,what,when,how! It's funny how things work out. Matt and I are now expecting to be parents as of 2015!

       Pregnant problems
         Not that they are problems by all means because it really is a blessing. I'm talking about what comes along with pregnancy and my experience. Things get real personal real quick when you get pregnant. There's no privacy and that was difficult for being in a somewhat "new relationship. All I can say is thank goodness Matt has a great sense of humor because he has kept me smiling throughout all these changes. Changes to your hormones, body, and life can really take a toll on a woman. Truth is your sexy meter goes down, it's hard to stay confident day to day. As I come to an end of my pregnancy it really did go by fast, and now I'm thinking about the journey into motherhood.

        A big thanks
            I just want to thank everyone who has been with me throughout this journey. I couldn't of done it without all of the support and love I received this year. I have the best family anyone could ask for. I know no matter what happens I will have them, and that alone makes me grateful. I've also gained entire new family as well, the Porter family has been so accepting and supportive which has made this even easier. I feel proud to be apart of that. My friends, with such change you all have stuck by me, which means so much. There's so many qualities that I admire about all of you. With that being said I hope to take those with me into the new year to be a better person and the best mom I can be to my child. Thank you.

            Dear 2015,
             Let this be a good year!