Planting the Seed: The Seed is Planted

Photo courtesy of Emily Harrington

I approached chambanamoms with the idea of writing a blog series about impending motherhood in April. On May 23 my first blog was published. Since then I’ve shared my fears, thoughts and observations on motherhood every other week with Chambanamom readers.

My intention with Planting the Seed was to share my thoughts—an atypical view on having a baby—while simultaneously “trying” to become pregnant.

Five months and eleven blog entries later the hypotheticals and future-tense situations have become a reality. Planting the Seed’s content will take on a new angle with the topic of pregnancy. I’m officially in my second trimester!

I hope to show a real, honest look at what it feels like to be pregnant, both mentally and physically. We have a lot of catching up to do since I’ve kept mum on this first three months. Chambanamom readers are the last piece in breaking the silence.

So far, not much has changed for me. I’ve been free of the nausea and extreme fatigue that most moms warn about. A slight belly bump and hunger is all that I have to show for the lime-sized baby that’s inside me. Sometimes it doesn’t feel real. I’m not really showing and I don’t feel any different. Life continues on as normal with work and home life.

I’m scared, excited, nervous and overwhelmed when I think about what is happening inside of me. This is a forward-moving train that will change my life— our lives— forever, more than any decision or event ever has before.

The moms in my life say, “You will never love anything more. It’s hard, but it’s worth it.” I’m excited to find out if that will hold true for my husband and me. Right now it’s hard to imagine what it will be like. Those same moms say a flip switches and you are forever changed. To know that our lives will be completely different on (or around) April 30, 2013 is scary.

I have to stay in the moment, enjoy the journey and focus on the once-in-a- lifetime moments like how my husband reacted when I told him I was pregnant, what the heartbeat sounded like, how we felt when we discovered the gender of our baby and eventually the emotions involved with seeing our baby for the first time.

Emily Harrington is a 29-year-old townie on the cusp of full-blown adulthood. She’s a wife still in the honeymoon stage and a mom of a borderline psychotic mini-Australian Shepherd. She has a full-time job in communications/marketing and a full-time life outside of work.