Prepardness

When I got pregnant in January we had been preparing for five months. In August after a family vacation we decided that after being married 3 years we were ready to start a family. Instead of rushing into things we decided to take the next couple of months to prepare.

One of the biggest things I wanted to do was get my weight under control. Since getting married I had put on over 20 pounds. At my peak I was close to 170 pounds, which on a 5'6" frame is considered overweight. I lost most of the weight by watching what I ate better and by becoming a vegetarian, well pescatarian. It was truly a game changer and by January I had lost 20 pounds.  I thought I was ready.

Looking back, I still think we were ready but now that the time has come to try again I think we are even more ready then before.

On a personal health front, I've started going to yoga, which is something I'll be able to do all throughout pregnancy. Regular exercise hasn't happened for me in years and so this is a really goog thing. I'm also taking my vitamins and even more aware of what I am eating.

And perhaps most importantly, my friendships and marriage are stronger.

This time has really taught me a lot. For the first time in my life I can truly say I have a best friend now. This friend wasn't even in my wedding 4 years ago but because life has taken us on similar paths our friendship has grown into something truly amazing. I trust and value her more then I even knew. Other friends have also really stepped up and it's brought us closer together as well. It's also made me realize who I would tell earlier the next time around. That support system is something I'll never take for granted again.

And then there is my marriage. My husband and I have always been very open with each other but it's been taken to a whole new level. Sure, there were times in this process I was less then pleased with him (like when he went on a boys trip a week and half after my d & c). But in general I think it's made us stronger and our expectations of each other more clear. 

Tomorrow, I'll take my first ovulation test. I toyed with the idea of seeing if it could just "happen" again without peeing on a stick everyday but since my cycle is so out of whack (it went from being 31 days to 25) we've decided that it's better to just know this time.

Let's do this. We're ready.