Let's Talk Expectations:

"Mommy Kristy Says:" is a new category in the Birth Day Suit Maternity Blog. Co-owner, Kristy, is a new mom of an 8 month old. In this section, Kristy will speak candidly and, often comically, about a variety of things from a first time mother's perspective. She will address pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, product reviews, and what life is like with a new baby!

Keep your eyes peeled for an additional category called: "Doula Kathryn Says:"- where the other half of Birth Day Suit Maternity (Kathryn) weighs in on similar topics, but from a totally different point of view! These topics of discussion will be much less formal than other areas of the blog, giving you the chance to get to know the fabulous gals of Birth Day Suit Maternity and help you relate on a more personal level.

As suggested by the amazing force behind our Birth Day Suit Maternity professional photographs, let's chat about EXPECTATIONS. In life, we are faced with expectations for any scenario we are about to encounter. With something as unique as pregnancy and all involved thereafter, you are bound to have some expectations. I know that I had TONS of preconceived ideas about how my pregnancy would be, what would happen during labor, what I swore WOULD NOT happen during labor (Hint: Starts with a P, ends with a P and has a couple O's in the middle), how breastfeeding would be, and what my life would be like as a mom.

I can tell you that most of how I thought things would play out....were wrong. So, is it better to go in to such a delicate situation with no expectations to alleviate the risk of disappointment? Or is it OK to have day dreams of how you think your birth, for example, will be.

I want to hear from you! If you are pregnant, what do you expect your birth to be like?- other than looking super stylish in your Birth Day Suit Maternity hospital gown, hehe. If you have recently had a baby, how has your new role as a mother been different than what you expected. These topics are so great to think about because it can 1) Help other moms relate that they are not alone if they feel let down by their expectations, and 2) Aid in your own journey of motherhood by realizing that sometimes what we think should happen won't go as planned but life will still go on.

I will elaborate on such topics in further posts, but as a brief beginning, here are some things that I had expectations of:

1. Getting Pregnant- I expected it to be easy. It wasn't.
2. Going in to labor- I expected to "just know" when I was actually in labor. I did not expect to wonder if this was it so many times!
3. Breastfeeding- I didn't have tons of expectations going in, except that I was convinced I wasn't going to like it, but I was going to do it anyway. Who knew I would fall in love with it so much, despite it being the second most difficult thing I've ever done in my life thus far (Number 1 being actually pushing that baby out!)

OK- Your turn! Tell us some things that you currently have expectations about or did you have expectations regarding mom things that turned out to be right or wrong?

-Kristy