The required, and dreaded, first post...

It's the first week of the new year, and this year is going to be a year firsts for me.

This March, we're expecting our first little monster. But rather than doing a blog focused solely on the little creature, a friend of mine said she'd rather hear about me and my journey into motherhood. I've thought about it for a few days, and I can't seem to get the idea out of my head, so here it is.

The Goal: At least one weekly post about me and my life in reference to being a new mom.

J.D. and husband
Walt Disney World, FL
January 1, 2013

A little about me first:
I'm 27 and I'm an Independent Author- which means I mostly work from home writing fiction stuff. I married an equally geeky husband in December 2008, and we first found out we were expecting in July 2012.

The pregnancy so far: has been an interesting experience.
First thing I noticed before even taking a pregnancy test, well besides my missed period, was the need to pee - frequently. Seriously, I thought that if I wasn't pregnant, I'd still need to go to the doctor for a UTI.

I spent my first trimester, and a decent part of the second,  struggling with morning sickness. I lost a total of 20lbs during that period just from being too nauseous to eat.
I also spent a good part of those weeks sleeping. The exhaustion seemed never ending.

I've only gained somewhere between 5 and 10lbs back, and I still struggle with food. Mostly I feel like a 5 year old: I'm very picky, I eat very small portions and I'm hungry every 20 to 30 mins. A fun fact for you, I've almost always have two or three packs of peanut butter crackers in my purse.

I'm now 31 weeks and 3 days along. Our little boy is due March 4, which is less than 9 weeks away! I'm going stir crazy with all that needs to be done, and since I'm in FL away from home and all my projects, I might as well tell you about them.

The big To-Do list - in no particular order:
- get organized
- clean out Monster's room
- paint Monster's room
- attend baby showers
- organize gifts and send thank yours
- buy furniture and left over registry items
- put furniture together in Monster's room
- attend baby classes
- decorate Monster's room
- wash and put away all of Monster's clothes
- fill freezer with homemade frozen dinners
- get car fixed and cleaned
- install car seat
- buy last minute items and PJs for hospital
- pack hospital bags
- last deep cleaning of house (whether I do it or pay a service)
- spa day

I am sure I'm forgetting some items from that list, but I'll update it as time passes and other things pop up.  I hope you all had a wonderful New Year!

Until the next post,
J.D.