Today my son turns 3 months old. The journey to becoming a new mom has been an interesting one. With hormones out of whack and routines changing, it's important to have an outlet. I found that outlet in several places, but one of them was a group of ladies who were in the same boat that I was.
I have to admit that I stole the idea for today's blog from one of those ladies. But her blog was so accurate, that on this 3-month milestone of my son's life, I felt it appropriate to be thankful for those who helped me through my journey.
I had always heard of the book What to Expect When You're Expecting. It is probably the most popular book for pregnant women. Now they have a What to Expect (WTE) iPhone application that tells you almost everything you need to know about pregnancy. I'll be honest, I never bought the book, and if the author read this, she would probably start charging for the app. But through this application and the website that goes along with it, I found a message board with ladies from all over the world who were expecting a baby in August just like me.
During my pregnancy, I was almost always on my iPhone. Rob would come home and ask if I was on facebook or WTE. It was always one or the other.
It's so exciting to share your experiences with people who are going through the same thing that you are. It was especially important before I told my family that I was pregnant (we waited until after the first trimester to tell), because it gave me a way to get the excitement out without giving away the secret.
Over the past year, I have established great friendships with these ladies. We have gone through a lot together. One of the posters lost her house and all she owned in a fire a mere week before her due date. To make things more complicated, she had been planning a home birth. During that trial, the WTE ladies banded together to provide care packages and money to help her get back on her feet before the baby arrived. Luckily the baby was a few weeks late, so she had more time to get things ready.
That's just one example of the things we have gone through as a group. We shared our stresses (PPD, significant others, work, etc), our joys (ultrasounds, birth stories, pictures of our little ones when they were born), and our losses (one lady lost her baby at 33 weeks gestation and another lost her 11-week-old to SIDS). We have a sounding board for questions about milestones. We have something to keep us occupied during those middle of the night feeding/pumping sessions.
I am so thankful for these ladies and how they have helped me stay sane throughout this life-changing experience.
To see what others are thankful for today, visit:
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