Written by Ashley
It was a cold snowy night at the ski lodge in late February 2011. We were talking about our hopes, our dreams, and our future. At that point we had been married for a year and a half and had had the talk before. But this time it was different. This time there was that spark in our smiles – an unspoken agreement that we were ready.
Ten months later we received the best Christmas gift ever – news that I was pregnant. I couldn’t believe it. It was Christmas Eve morning and I just stood there in disbelief. I started shaking. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. Wait; what?! I smiled. My husband was just as shocked as me. This is what we had been trying for and wanting for nearly a year.
After the news set in (after we announced it to our families on Christmas morning), I started feeling different. Not because my body was changing and the hormones were raging, but because I was no longer thinking about how my decisions affected me. I was now carrying and caring for another being inside of me. I had to be careful of the food nourishing both of our bodies, chemicals I could ingest from the environment, and even where I had to place my seat belt.
I haven’t had the easiest of pregnancies thus far. I’ve probably had every “you may feel” symptom in the pregnancy books. My morning sickness was horrendous and it landed me in the ER at 7 weeks (plus another visit 2 months later). But even then, as miserable as I was, I wouldn’t have traded the pain and discomfort for anything.
I am no longer making decisions for just me. Everything I do is now for the little peanut and our family. I truly believe the moment I found out I was pregnant was the moment I became a mom. Each day I struggle with pain and discomfort, I know that it is for this little one – and that makes it worth it. Isn’t that what motherhood is about anyway? Sacrifices so that our children have no pain, or heartache, or sadness. We will do anything so that they are protected. That is just what I’ve been doing for the past 18 weeks and will be doing for the rest of my life. And I cannot wait!
About Ashley
Ashley is expecting her first child in early September 2012 with her high-school sweetheart turned husband 3 years ago. Together they have a lab named Peak whom they adopted during a ski trip in Denver. She loves all things fashion and cannot wait to start shopping for her little one’s wardrobe. She is the Social Media Manager at Step2 and you may have recently communicated with her if you’ve chatted with Step2 on Facebook or Twitter.
