Welcome to the Third Trimester!

It is hard to fathom that I am already in my third trimester...the home stretch!  

We are so excited to meet our little boy, but, I have completely different emotions concerning my pregnancy coming to an end this time than I did with my daughter.  When I was pregnant with Taegan I was so anxious to meet her and be a Mom!  The mystery of discovering the unknown (which at the time I thought I understood) was fascinating.  I counted down the weeks, days, minutes (okay maybe not the minutes but almost) until my due date and googled "natural ways to induce labor" starting the day I was considered full term!  

However, this time I am not in a hurry.  Don't get me wrong, I'm sure by the time the 37 week mark rolls around and I am enduring the humid July heat I will be ready to have this baby but I want to treasure each day I have left with Taegan being my only child.  I'm positive the pregnancy hormones have something to do with it, but I get tearful just thinking about all the ways her little life is about to change.  I have always heard the best gift you can give your child is a sibling and I honestly believe that to be true.  My sister is my best friend and I cannot imagine my life now or my childhood without her.  Although, at 2 1/2 years old I am not sure Taegan will consider her baby brother a gift right away.  She is already concerned about the fact that he will be "taking" her crib.  The transition from crib to "big girl bed" will be a whole blog post in it's self I'm sure.  Sometimes when we talk to her about the baby she is excited and tells us how she is going to rock the baby and love the baby.  Other times she will simply respond with "not that baby, I'm the baby."  I am praying for God help us through the transition from a family of 3 to a family of 4.  But right now I am enjoying snuggling with my little girl, taking bubble baths together,  painting our nails, coloring, and giving her my undivided attention as much as I can.

Questions.  Pregnancy and motherhood in general seem to grow bunches of them.  Trying to navigate through all the information, opinions, bias, and choices out there can be overwhelming to say the least.  Especially, when the decisions you are making are so precious.  This is a picture of some of the books stacked on my nightstand right now.  

I have never been able to understand why women are so hard on each other.  Being a MOM is a tough job, in my opinion the toughest, yet, most rewarding one out there!  We should support and encourage each other, embrace our difference as what makes us each unique. However, often that is not the case take a quick stroll around Facebook and I promise it won't take you long to find heated debates on breast-feeding vs. formula, stay-at home moms vs. working moms, natural vs. medicated childbirth, homeschooling vs. public vs. private education, and the list goes on and on...

I have made some of my choices and continue to research and make others...some of my views 2 1/2 years ago when I gave birth to my daughter have changed and that is alright it doesn't mean my decisions then were right and the ones this time are wrong or vis versus.  It is all about what is right for you and your child in that moment!  Enough of my rant.  I look forward to sharing more of my decisions and path to making those decisions with you another time.