My Baby Hopes

I think I have always wanted to be a mother. Even when I was in grade school one of my favourite things to do was to help out in the Kindergarten class during recess. I have always had a very nurturing side and I knew from a young age that I wanted to teach young children when I got older. I accomplished that goal when I graduated from college with a degree in Early Childhood Education 10 years ago. Some people think that we are just glorified babysitters, but there is so much more to the job than that!!! We are teachers, substitute mothers, janitors, nurses and parental counsellors. We provide the framework on which children base all future learning. There is so much research now that proves just how important the first 5 years of a child's life are to brain development, but I digress. The fact is that although (on most days) I love my job, I want nothing more than to finally take care of my own child as well as other people's. I have a feeling I'll be pretty well prepared for the preschool years, but after that it's a crap shoot!
When Andrew and I first married we agreed to wait one year before trying for a baby. I would have been ready right away but I recognized that Andrew needed a little more time, and I thought it would be nice to have that first year to enjoy every moment together just the two of us. At the time I had no idea that we would eventually struggle to get pregnant, and that each passing month would seem like an eternity. The fact is before Andrew and I got married we used to perform a happy dance each month I got my period! Now each time I got my period I became more and more frustrated and sad. Although it is up to all of you out there, if you are in your 30's like us, or have a gut feeling that getting pregnant won't be easy, listen to that feeling! Don't wait like we did, or you will regret that decision over time...You never know how long it will take, it could happen right away or it could take a very long time.
P.S. Don't go pregnancy book crazy like me either, I read every pregnancy book I could find and I think it just stressed me out! Wait until you are pregnant to read those books, some of the statistics are pretty scary!