I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have been going through a rollercoaster of emotions with my first pregnancy. Don’t get me wrong, I am so excited and grateful to be pregnant! In fact, I was already reading parenting books before I saw that
“positive” on the test. But now that the time is here and motherhood is nearing, it’s like I just don’t want to think about it at all. I guess the responsibility of it all just scares me to death! I mean, me, being in charge of a miniature person. It seems so weird. And my whole life will change: less sleep, less “me activities,” less dates with my husband, etc. Do I sound selfish yet? I know we will find so much joy in this new step in our lives, but I am scared. Okay, I said it. But why don’t I start preparing in overdrive? Am I just coasting through this pregnancy because I know it will be the last time I’ll be able to relax? Who knows. I guess I need to just take everything one thing at a time. Yes, I should prepare–I mean, this is only the most important thing I’ll ever do. But I also know that there are just some things I will have to learn as I go along. I have to trust myself and the decisions I make for our baby. Luckily, I have a wonderful husband who will be a support to me and has every confidence in my abilities, even more than I do in my own.

Rhiannon owns and operates a website that retails baby sling carrier.

I am a first-time pregnant woman and I have mixed feelings about all the advice out there.  I tend to overly prepare for big events in my life, so naturally I’ve read my fair share of books, articles, etc.  Yes, some information is crucial to know, but when I compare advice with fellow pregnies, it’s almost as if I was reading from some mysterious and obscure location…Like did you know that some “professionals” say that you should refrain from eating deli meat unless it is heated up in order to kill a bacteria known as listeria?  Yeah, I told this to my sister-in-law who was chowing down on a
delicious sandwich.  She had never heard of it!  And this is her third pregnancy!  It wouldn’t be as big a deal if I wasn’t craving just that.  Deli meat…mmmmmm.  On top of that, I hear that you’re not supposed to sleep on your back after the first trimester.  Conflicting information said that it doesn’t matter until later on, when it’s not comfortable to sleep on your back.  Again, not a problem except the fact that I am a back sleeper and I’ve been struggling the past week to sleep on my side, and I wake up with really sore hips!  I’m not even showing, so is it necessary this early?  Anyway, I do know there is useful information out there, but there is also a lot of conflicting information too.  I’ve decided to not read as much and to listen more to my instincts rather than those out there who claim to have all the answers.  Good luck to the rest of you pregnies and I hope you know more than I do.

Rhiannon owns and operates a website that sells baby sling carrier.