Shout out to my peeps/mamas

I remember vividly the apprehension I had when I decided to introduce myself on the "Due in October" board. I had told myself that I was just going to lurk, then told myself I would introduce myself once I had my first appointment and felt more confident about my pregnancy. I think I lasted about 12 hours after I found out I was pregnant. In fact, I think they all knew before I told Adam. :) I honestly can't imagine what my pregnancy would have been like if I hadn't had my fellow moms to interact with. I was pretty much the first one of any of our/my friends to have a baby. My youngest niece was 8, so my sister could kind of relate, but couldn't really remember what it was like to go through all the hormones and the changes. I have another mom's group that I'm very much involved with that has children/babies of all ages and they are a great group of women, but its not nearly the same as having someone who is going through what you are going through at the same time.

My DIO group did amazing things for me. They opened my eyes to so many different opinions on every aspect of life, not just labor/delivery/raising a child. I feel a huge part of the world was opened up to me because of these women. Even though I've kind of gone in "waves" of how actively I participated in our Due In board and our Born In board, not a day goes by where I don't think about them, their babies, and what's going on in their lives. Its amazing to me how connected I feel with these women that I only know via a computer screen. I know them by a screen name, maybe a real name/nickname, a picture, an attitude, a child, ect. Its such a different kind of relationship than I have with anyone else in my life. I think they are what keeps me going as a SAHM. I always worried about not having an "outside" life. Not being around other adults and being stuck with a baby all day long, but its just not true for me. I do have an outside life. I have stories of my friends to tell Adam when he comes home from work.

A few of them Adam knows by name, so I can say "so and so said this" or "so and so's daughter/son did this", but otherwise I bet you hear "one of the mom's on my board said/did . . . " at least 10 times a day around our house. They are all constantly on my mind.

This week has been a really dark week around the born in October board. There has been a lot of struggling going on and I wish more than ever I could reach out and hug these women. I wish I could tell them in person that it was going to be okay, than we're here for them, and let them know how much they and their babies are cared about.

Its so weird feeling like these people you've never met are such a huge part of your lives, but I really don't know what I would do without them. For all the laughs and tears and drama and comfort . . . I appreciate them more than I could ever explain.