The Grandbaby

One of the things I look forward to most is that whenever our baby comes, it will be the grandbaby. My family and I are not exactly tight, so I am not sure how that will all work out, but Matt's family is amazing. We all do not always see eye to eye, but the one thing that always exists is love. They already spoil the dogs to pieces, and Matt and I always joke how we will not be able to stop them from making our kid spoiled rotten. Matt is the only grandchild/nephew/child in his family so we have the responsibility of carrying on the family name. I love knowing that my child will have so many people who love him/her more than life. There will always be someone around teaching he/she how to grow up into amazing people like the rest of the family. Matt is too smart for his own good, and is going to be the best dad (teaching them how to be a genius like him). I hope that Poppy will get to meet his great grandchild, hes getting older so we gotta get this baby made. Nana is going to be overwhelmed with joy. Aunt L won't be able to contain herself, she already loves Matt more than anything. Uncle K will love to tell all his gross coroner stories. Grandpa S is gonna turn into a giant softie. Our family is not huge but is going to be the most loving, caring, and (I'm really sorry to say it) protective one you could ask for. I am just thankful that I know that no matter what happens he/she is going to be the it one, and have more love than ever imaginable.

My Fear

So a few hours ago we got a call from Matt's friend, lets call him O. He was letting us know that his girlfriend was going to have their baby in the next twenty four hours. I am SO happy for them, but at the same time I am SO jealous. O and his girlfriend are not like Matt and I. Sparing the ridiculous stories, not stable. His girlfriend has been irresponsible while pregnant, but who am I to judge. It just gives me the feeling of why do two people who are not put together, and not ready or wanting, get the one thing I would give anything in the world for. I have been jealous since they found out. It was right around the time I had surgery to find out what was wrong with my ovaries, and emotions were flowing...like crazy. I am glad they are going to have a new bundle of joy in their lives, and O is going to be a great dad.

After thinking for the past couple of hours, the only thing that comes to mind is my biggest fear. About a year ago I started having pains in my ovaries, after doctors appointments, and surgery, the doctors could not find anything. This was the best news, but at the same time, the pain is still here, and we still do not know the cause. It scares me that there is something wrong enough to keep me from getting pregnant, but only time will tell. My heart goes out to every woman that struggles with fertility. I can not imagine the emotions involved. I just want to move on from my fear and hope for the most.

People Who Compare Having Dogs to Kids

As I have said before, we have four dogs. They are all within a year of each other, so that means we still have three under the age of one year. Many people say to get a dog in order to hold off the baby fever, and also for some practice. I understand the idea behind this, seeing if you are responsible enough to care for another life. Now, I have thought a lot about this. I mean four dogs, there is no way that compares to four babies, or even one really. On the other hand, I do think that it does give a couple a little taste of what it would be like to look out for another life. For us, our dogs are a major part of us. They are with at least one of us all day. If we have to leave for more than a couple hours, they go to their Nana's. If we are invited to friends house, we will probably only go if the dogs can come (all of our friends love them so this usually is not a problem). I know this sounds crazy, but it is very important to us that they are always looked out for. We have to fulfill all their needs, and love them even when they chew holes in the drywall of our brand new house. I could never compare the love of my dogs to the love I will have for my child, but I can see why people say their dogs help them prepare. To me, having the four dogs has made me learn to have eyes in the back of my head, not be able to get a full nights sleep in ages, always have to make sure they are taken care of before I can do anything, and showed me that no matter how mad they make me, I still love them with all my heart.  Matt and I have had to learn how to work as a team and the dogs have made us see how we deal with things when it gets stressful. I know that this is only a very small taste of how hard raising another life will be, and could not even come close to the love I will have for my child. I do think that it has showed us that we make a great team, and gives me comfort in what will be as parents.



Kona



Indi aka Badone













Tiva



Karma





My Preparation List

I swear I have read hundreds of preparation tips to do before/while trying to conceive, but it is hard to pick and choose which ones to actually do. Of course doing them all would be best, but really, that could get crazy. After reading list after list of suggestions I have put together my own of what I am going to do to prepare.

Eat Healthier

Get Off Birth Control

Quit Smoking

Start Walking Daily

Doctors Visits

Start Taking Prenatal Vitamins

Get Baby Friendly Job (Going for testing on the 14th, fingers crossed)

New House
Take A Vacation

Check Insurance Policies
No More Parties

I am sure there are many more, and I may be missing something important. I am always open to suggestion. Of course Matt will be making some changes.  I want him to take daily vitamins. No more steamy showers. He has to say goodbye to his beer with dinner every night. We are both pretty healthy, so I will let him off the hook with some of the other things.  Even though we are not quite trying yet I feel I need to be prepared in case of a surprise.

Baby Before Marriage

To me, it is not a have to  thing to get married before having a child. Matt and I have a very strong relationship, and we will provide a loving family home for our baby married or not. Our life experiences make us view marriage as something that is not as solid as most people view it as. It has not been the right time for us to be married yet, but I would gladly say yes any day. We have told a few people about us wanting to have a baby. Every person but one said, "You are going to try to have a baby?! You guys are not married yet!" I understand why people feel it is neccessary, but in this day and age, it really is not. I understand concerns of why it is a bad idea. The couple has more of a chance of splitting up, the baby will not have a "fit" home.....I get it, I really do. But I feel like no one could possibly know what is right for your family, except you. We both feel it is the right time for a baby and that we are ready. This plays the biggest role in our lives with his family. They are Catholic, and see it as unacceptable. I understand they want what is best, but only we know. It is not like we will never get married, it will probably happen before we ever actually have a baby in our arms, but no matter what it is our choice. ( I have never dreamed of a giant wedding, something very small is more my style.)  Honestly, I am one of those I don't care too much what other people think kind of people. My main concern is to be able to love and provide for our family, married or not.

My Purpose For This Blog

Of course my main purpose for this blog is to document our journey into parenthood, but there are other reasons I would love to blog about it. I read EVERYTHING I can find about ttc, pregnancy,and babies because in my opinion you can never be too prepared. I plan to have posts on many of the topics that I research about and see if my opinions change over time. I want to communicate with soon to be moms and already moms to get advice about personal experiences. I want to use this blog to gain knowledge and also share knowledge that I learn. I love hearing what others have to say, but I am also very opinionated myself. My goals for this blog are to watch our story unfold and get help from the people who know best (all you moms out there!).

Our Story



Karma and I



My name is Abby. Matt and I met in the summer of 2008. We became great friends and started dating on October 4th, 2008. Fell in love. Moved in together in November of 2009. Marriage is in the near future, only a matter of time. We have ran our own advertising business for a year and a half. Over the last summer we built a new house, and have been living here for about two months now.







Indi,Tiva, and Kona

We have four dogs, two Rottweilers, and two Miniature English Bulldogs. We love and spoil them all to death. 





Matt and Karma



This blog is for us to write about, and share, if you care to

read, our journey to parenthood. As of last month we took a break from running our business, to find jobs more suitable for becoming parents. While this was a hard decision for us to make, it will be what is best for our future. We, well I, have been reading and trying to figure out exactly what we need to do to start ttc. I have stopped using birth control, started eating healthier, taking prenatal vitamins, and quit smoking (this is a hard one). We are not trying to conceive exactly, but are not preventing it for now. If it happens we will be prepared and excited.