Mommy 39

Back in the Baby Business

Babies are a blessing and they smell good but there is so much preparation and energy that comes with this wonderful gift. First of all, if you’re like me and have a huge age gap between the first and second-15 years, you have the opportunity to pretty much raise two children from two different generations. For instance, my first was born in 1999 during the Y2K phenomena and the next one is due in 2015. So many things have changed from 1999 to 2015 like car seats and pacifiers (some you can squeeze food through i.e.: bananas). Organic food choices are more accessible and more ways to manufacture from home.

Aside from the technological advances and creative “new” parenting aspects, we have to address the mindset of older parents. Becoming a mother again at 39 is challenging on the body and mind. At 39, you have concerns that were not present 15 years prior. The medical community will kindly place you in the “high risk and elderly” category. If you didn't already feel old, you will after leaving that first pre-natal appointment. Overall, I’m pretty healthy, hardly ever catch colds and occasionally suffer from seasonal allergies. However, with this pregnancy, I have felt every symptom ten times more than I did the first time around. The bodily functions are more exaggerated like flatulence and aching breasts and I don’t have any shame when I let loose or go bra-less. I have never felt so liberated! On top of all of this, the doctors strongly recommend genetic testing. I guess for some it gives the option to discontinue the pregnancy if certain genetic markers are found. For us, it didn't matter what the tests revealed, we were prepared to take the pregnancy full term.

The approach with the second pregnancy felt more routine, with no surprises. With our first, the sex wasn't known until the birth. We literally, came up with a set of names for both sexes the night before giving birth. With this pregnancy, we wanted to know the sex right away. I guess knowing the sex did make it easier to decide on a name by eliminating one of the sexes. With our first, I didn't consider the name as factor leading to discrimination. We choose a name and meaning that we liked not really projecting what the future would/could entail. Post September 11^th attacks, we had to consider if the Arabic name we have chosen will have any undue repercussions. We all get questioned about our heritage but I think our newest offspring will endure more questions and assumptions. We decided to keep our Arabic name and like our first child, this child will be taught to be a proud citizen no matter what.

Gratitude

Sometime ago, I started keeping a gratitude journal. I decided to keep the journal because I was heavily into Oprah and she stated she was keeping one as well. I was also working with a family that suffered a traumatic accident and I had to stay positive to make it through the day. In addition to work, I had read sooooo many self-help books and each one had an underlying theme of gratefulness. So, long story short, I have a gratitude journal. Initially, I was journaling every night before going to bed. I slowly, got out of the discipline of journaling nightly. My journal is carried over year after year, which chronicles my sporadic attempts of tracking what I appreciate in life. I wouldn't say that I'm an ungrateful person and I would also not say that I haven't taken anything or anyone for granted. I would say, however, I do try to appreciate and try to control what is within my power. I understand that I may not like what the circumstances or situations reveal, but I know that nothing is always permanent and there is a lesson to learn and appreciate in all situations. I was told once by a wise and spiritual woman to "count it all joy". I didn't fully understand that statement twelve years ago until I got further on my journey of life. I not only found joy, but also found sorrow and strength. Strength helped me power through the storms too see the rainbow (joy) on the other side.

Through it all, I remained standing. Today, I am challenging myself each day to find something/someone that I am thankful for. Especially, when I am not happy or satisfied about something out of my control. Share your thoughts about gratitude or a story that may illustrate acts of thankfulness :) Sharing is caring!