Moran Family Adventures: musings of a boy mom

The lose weight this year resolution might be the most cliché one of all right? Am I really going to be THAT person? #sorrynotsorry ya'll but I am. I had Henry in September and got down to my pre-Henry weight in less than 3 months which was totally awesome. Woohooo, go me! I lost 15lbs in October, 10lbs in November, and 5lbs in December. UGH WHHHHYYYYYYYYYY. Sure, the Holidays probably had something to do with, and also going back to work and not having as much time to go to the gym during the day, and possibly the shorter days meaning less walks/runs because we leave the house for work and it's dark and we get home after work and it's dark. The excuses can go on for days. I could work out more when the kids go to sleep but that would mean that Henry cooperates and goes to sleep when the older two do. And that also would mean that I don't fall asleep with Henry because that's what happens 75% of the time. Unless I have homework to do, in which case, I make Matt wak...

To induce or not induce..... At my 40 week checkup, my midwife's technician looked at me sadly and said, "we kept checking the Labor and Delivery check ins to see if your name was going to show." At my 39 week checkup, they were so sure I would deliver soon. I had already been to L&D for labor pains, I was 4cm dilated, the signs were all pointing to baby coming soon. But alas, there I was at 40 weeks, still at 4cm, still waiting. I had plenty of meltdowns those last few weeks, mostly crying in the shower first thing in the morning when I woke up to my water not breaking or woke up without any labor pains. I would go to bed cramping and contracting and wake up perfectly fine! I was getting short with everyone, especially at work. A girl can only handle so many "you're still pregnant!?" comments. I mean, come on people, you think I'm trying to stay this uncomfortable and in pain? You don't think I want to meet this little guy that's clearly ...

I am so ready I have found myself struggling a lot lately. I hate to write about it because it makes me sound ungrateful, makes me sound selfish, and makes me sound weak. But I am so tired. This pregnancy has taken its toll on my body. Perhaps it was spending half of it with a spouse deployed? Perhaps it's having two toddlers that constantly need me? Perhaps it's working? Perhaps it's living in a home that I detest and can't quite feel comfortable in? Perhaps it's because it's my third baby in less than 4 years? Perhaps it's because I'm getting a Master's degree and school is time consuming and cuts into my sleep. Perhaps it's a little bit of everything that's making this one so much more exhausting- emotionally and physically- than I've experienced in the past.  I'm grateful for this blessing, I'm grateful for the gift of pregnancy and will forever acknowledge that it is a gift. That there are enough out there that struggle ...

These feelings are all too familiar  The last few nights I've been getting slightly anxious, slightly sad, and mostly hormonal. I felt this way right before Thomas was born and I was having major anxiety over figuring out how to love two kids with the same ferocity and intensity as I loved my, at the time, just one kid. Ok, well, I figured that part out. Moms have an endless well of love, and while I love my boys differently, I love them with to the same degree. Got it, don't have to worry about making room in my heart for a third kid. Now though, my anxiety lies with Thomas no longer being my YOUNGEST. He's getting bumped to the role of middle child-or as I'm going to try to make myself say- 2nd child to try to remove some of the stigma. Matt usually puts Charles to bed with a book and some cuddles, while I stay in our bed with Thomas until he falls asleep, then we move him over to his bed in the boys' room. Lately, as I've been having these end of day snu...

We Love Pictures  I think one of the things I get the most impatient about when it comes to being pregnant, besides meeting the baby face to face, is gender. It's an agonizing 16 weeks of waiting for me. And I am not a very patient person. Nowadays people can find out the gender of their babies via blood test as soon as they find out they're pregnant, but I can't seem to be part of that crowd, so I have to wait until the 16 week mark, may out of pocket to go to a 3D ultrasound place, and find out there. Paying out of pocket is fine with me, it's just the WAITING....AND WAITING... I know so many people that are choosing to wait until birth to find out. They're either crazy, or just really amazingly patient. I am crazy but not patient.   So, when 16 weeks came along, I went to the same place that told me I was having Thomas those 2 years ago. At that time, I still hadn't decided if I was going to let myself know, or wait until our photo shoot ten days a...

It wasn't just the German food... I clearly remember realizing I was pregnant and the series of events that lead up to that realization. We were driving back from Ramstein and I had the biggest craving for Diet Coke (this craving continues to this day). I had Matt pull over at the nearest gas station so I could get Diet Coke. Just a few days ago, literally 5 minutes before dinner, he ran to 7-11 for me to grab some Diet Coke. I'm telling you, this craving is ridiculous ya'll. A few days this, we were walking around a Lidl grocery store and the smells and sights were absolutely abhorrent to me. I was disgusted to a level I had never experienced before. I knew something was off. I told Matt we needed to get out of there before I became an ugly American who through up all over a German grocery store. On our way back to the apartment, I just had a feeling that we needed to stop by the PX and grab a pregnancy test.  I just felt so weird, so off, pregnancy had to be the re...

Speed it up....no slow it down!  With Baby Boy #3 making an appearance in the next month or so, I find myself anxiously waiting to meet this little man and Googling "ways to induce labor." You'd think I'd be a pro at it by now, but nope. And this time around, I feel like I need a refresher in delivery room shenanigans since it's been a whopping 2 years since my last baby was born. The gap between Charles and Thomas is so little that I felt like a pro when it came time to deliver Thomas. I'm really glad I wrote down their birth stories in this forum because re-reading them has been extremely helpful. I also noticed things I completely forgot about and I'm glad that those memories aren't gone forever.   While I impatiently wait for the aches and pains of this last trimester in pregnancy to go away, I also find myself wishing to prolong it just a little longer. As we speak, little man is doing some sort of ninja move in my belly. I'll miss th...