Pros & Cons of Being Pregnant

Trying to look cute/happy/energetic while brewing life in my belly...

Here's what I think about being pregnant.

Weight Gain
Pros: the bigger that baby bump gets, the harder it is to see that tiny number, 4 1/2 feet down, on the silly, silly scale. The baby bump provides a nice shield if you will.
Cons: If you can see that number, it keeps growing, despite your "best intentions." Let's get real (and oooh, I hate this before I even type it! but honesty is important so here goes...) I've gained 30 lbs. so far. I have 13 weeks to go. Oops.

Food
Pros: you can eat what you want (as long as you let yourself) and really enjoy it. When I am not pregnant, I love food. When I am pregnant...it literally fills me with joy if I am able to find that perfect thing that I was craving, and devour it.
Cons: if you eat what you want, you'll probably feel like a fat cow. You might even feel like everyone in the entire restaurant is watching you polish off that plate of Pollo Gorgonzola pasta, and that's a definite con. You may find yourself wiping sauces/dressing/toppings off the baby bump (& thinking, "When did that get there?!").

Shopping
Pros: there are a LOT of cute maternity clothes out there! In this day and age, no longer are you limited to Motherhood Maternity. The opportunity to look adorable (as you gain weight & eat lots of food) is right there in front of you, everywhere you turn (or click, if you are an online shopper :)).
Cons: You'll probably spend a LOT of money, because you "need" maternity clothes, because your body is growing exponentially (by the hour?) and you don't want to look ridiculous. Your husband will say "of course you need that honey! go ahead!" (if he is smart & wants to sleep in a bed, instead of on the couch) but then you'll regret many of those purchases in a few months because those items will not fit anymore.

Interest (by this I mean you are a person of interest)
Pros: Kind & loving people will smile, hold the door for you, let you go in front of them in the bathroom line, etc. Moms will offer encouraging advice, as they attempt to support you in this "exciting" time. Children will look at you in precious awe, and ask you cute little questions about your baby and when it is going to come out, and how big it is, etc. etc.
Cons: Strangers will stare at you and that big, ol' baby bump. Sometimes they say really weird things, really odd things, really rude things. Since you are pregnant, you may find yourself avoiding the logical response because you are unsure of whether interacting with these people will make you laugh or cry (which brings me to this next one).

Hormones
Pros: (1% of the time/if you are lucky) Your hair will look better than ever! Your skin will glow, your nails will shine, and generally you will feel like a goddess, growing life within your own self. You go girl!
Cons: (99% of the time?) You will feel like a really different version of yourself - like sometimes you want to cry for no reason, or for a really small reason. You'll be sensitive. You might have a strange brown line on your tummy, blemishes on your face, hairier legs, etc. 

Siblings (if your unborn child has them I mean)
Pros: They are so, so cute about "da baby!" At daycare this morning, Jack saw a baby doll and wanted to help it go "nigh nigh." His teachers wrapped the baby in a blanket so he could rock it and put it to sleep. So adorable. He melts my heart every time he rubs my belly and yells "BABY!!!!!"
Cons: The baby bump looks like a comfortable seat/perch for your older child...it is not. Your older child wants to run/play/jump/punch like usual and you are a slow-moving, +30 lbs. version of yourself. Difficulty ensues.

Husbands
Pros: Mine is great, and always there to take care of me! He is on, 200% of the time, especially when I am pregnant, and I adore him. No matter what I need, what I think, or how I act, he is by my side, in word & deed.
Cons: He is by my side, in word & deed! Asking me questions, making comments, wondering about this or that. Let's just say foot in mouth syndrome is a life-long disease and it may or may not exacerbate this woman more when she is pregnant. :)

Alright mamas...add to this list by commenting below! I know you've got some good things rolling around in your head.

Five Favorites!

I love link ups! And I love Camp Patton. What can I say...link ups are so fun and I'm rather boring so I need to share other people's great ideas instead of my own. :)

Here are mine:

1. Downton Abbey

We started watching it 2 years ago (or whenever it first came out) and after a few episodes I was SO bored, and quickly gave up...but then after hearing so much about it from friends (some of them even hosted themed parties which led me to believe that the obsession was well-founded) we picked it up again a few weeks ago, and quickly blazed through all 3 seasons. I LOVE THIS SHOW! I was devastated two nights ago after the season finale (season 3) when we realized that season 4 doesn't make it's debut until January! What the WHAT?! I mean that is so far away...what are they thinking?! I mentioned to John that we won't even have time to watch it then, because baby #2 will have arrived, and then he reminded me that oh yes we will, because I'll be on maternity leave (which means aside from sleeping, nursing, rocking baby and minimal housework, I got time on ma hands!). So now I am counting down the weeks until the holidays with even more motivation.

2. John Frieda's Dream Curls Spray

I bought this forever ago (and interestingly enough, just like Downton Abbey, thought I hated it!) but rediscovered it in a drawer this weekend when my curling iron broke. (Let's take a moment to reflect on this...this is a curling iron that I've had for over a decade...it's made it's way through college, Europe, 3 dorm rooms, 2 apartments, 3 houses, and was finally laid to rest after years of labor on my crazy, crazy mop.) Anyway, back to this hair product. It's weird because it's not a mousse or gel, it's a watery spray, but it works SO WELL if you are looking for soft, bouncy curls (like me, and I'm not naturally blessed with those curls.) At $5 a pop...doesn't break the bank either.

3. Baked Potatoes!

Sounds crazy, but remember, I'm pregnant (and I love to eat even when I'm not!). This weekend our stuffed pork tenderloin (see how I said "our" and gave John some credit for all of his hard work? :)) turned out AMAZING and with it we enjoyed some delicious baked potatoes courtesy of some of my favorite friends (hint, hint, Steve & Ashley!). Lucky for me we had leftovers so I've been enjoying baked potatoes for the past few days (we even mixed some chopped baked potato into breakfast burritos this morning...so tasty!). Also, I found a really easy way to make them in the crock pot! Anyway, I'm hooked on them and I'm sure that's because the baby needs exactly the vitamins & minerals that baked potatoes contain, so, you're welcome, baby #2.

4. This guy....

One of my favorite pictures of Johnny because it makes me laugh. This was the day after Jack was born when we were leaving the hospital. I was so crabby and uncomfortable (18 hours of labor...practically gave birth naturally since my epidural fell out and no one noticed...newborn baby that was very small and scary to me, etc.) and he was being goofy and wanted to pose in my recovery room hospital bed. This guy!

Picture first so you know who I'm talking about. Since this is my first Five Favorites link up, he has to make the list! I am just so appreciative of him lately. I was talking to a friend about my daily schedule and how we make it all work and realized that honestly 90% of our success (in regard to our family life) is because of him. He wakes up early to make me tea (Baby #2 doesn't like coffee, so Irish Breakfast tea it is), and breakfast, packs me a snack & lunch if I need it, prepares Jack's breakfast...and this is all before 7am, with a smile on his face. He's there to check in on me throughout the workday with calls or texts when I need them, helps me with drop off & pick up of Jack when he's at daycare, assists with dinner (as sous chef but sometimes executive chef!), helps with everything around the house (bathrooms, laundry, I mean everything, that man is a saint), etc. etc. etc. He eats healthy, works out, prays with us & for us, and the best part...he is happy. I mean cheerful, joyous, and fun. He doesn't get "crabby" like I do, and I hope & pray daily that Jack will learn how to behave himself from John, and not me. Basically he's the best. I've been feeling this way (that he's the best) since last night when we were folding 4 loads of laundry together (which we finally got around to since Downton Abbey is now sadly on pause...the Bachelorette was just boring enough that I realized I could multi-task, wahoo!.) He is just the best teammate I could ever ask for and sometimes I think it is so crazy (wonderful) that we get to spend the rest of our lives together, raising a family!

5. Diapers.com diapers

The reason this is making my five favorites list is because diapers are important! And expensive! Since we ran out of all of the diapers we received as baby shower gifts when Jack was 3 months old (and therefore had to spend our hard-earned money on them) I've been on the hunt for the best diaper. When I say best, I mean convenient, a great value, and high quality. Hard to find, let me tell you. Pampers & Huggies are great quality...but expensive, unless you let your kid hang out in a soggy diaper for hours (we don't). Target diapers are cheap, but gave him a rash (not cool) and they just feel flimsy to me. Costco diapers (Kirkland Signature brand) are near perfect, but we don't have a Costco card anymore so I always have to bother my mom to pick some up for me (she's amazing and doesn't mind, but I do hate bothering people!). We tried cloth diapering for 24 hours and both hated it. And when both of us hate something...we normally don't follow through on it for too long. I know the concept works well for some people but I just like to get rid of my kid's poop as quickly as possible...I don't want to spray it off, wash the diaper, dry the diaper and hope there aren't stains on it, carry around a wet bag, use a special detergent, etc. etc. etc. Just not my speed. Anyway, I asked around and no one I knew had tried diapers.com diapers, and they are really affordable (and delivered to your door step in 24 hours normally) so I assumed they were too good to be true. But after the cloth diaper fiasco, I decided to give them a try. I really like them! So I thought I would share in case you mamas out there have wondered about them as well...it's nice to know when something is tried & true before you invest $ in it. And I love most of the stuff that diapers.com has to offer (errr...wait...I love that they deliver to your door step...I mean what can be better/easier than that in those early postpartum weeks?). If you were expecting me to share my favorite martini recipe, just remember, although Bacon Mama leads a very exciting life, my #1 job is to be a mama, so I care about things like affordable diapers!