Anna, a college friend of mine, is here today to tell us about her surprise entry into motherhood and how she balances being a mom and working full-time.  Anna and her husband are also raising their son in a residence hall.  I had to laugh at her hubby’s reaction to her positive pregnancy test – that was Hubster’s exact reaction as well!  Thank you for being here, Anna!

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Hi, I’m Anna, a wife, first time mom, and full time working professional. My family lives in Ripon, WI. My husband is a hall director at Ripon College. We live in a 2-bedroom apartment on campus all year long. Our son was born in July of 2011; which was the best surprise ever.

My husband and I were not trying to have kids; however not preventing either (we will say).  I never thought I would be raising a child in a residence hall; however my life quickly changed.  An October morning, I woke my husband up early to come see the results of the pregnancy test.  Yep, there it was on our bathroom sink = POSITIVE. He hugged me and went back to bed.  Gee.. thanks for the chat and guidance. I guess I will continue to get ready for work and carry on.

My pregnancy was healthy.  I gained a lot of weight; however my doctor never said anything and it all came off now J I had awful morning sickness that lasted the first 4 months.  Otherwise after my 2^nd trimester, I did great. (besides a co-worker calling me a whale; due to the amount of weight I gained). I was doing well until July 11^th (my son’s birthday).

I had gone in for my 40^th week check up to have an ultrasound and see my doctor. However, after the first few swipes of the ultrasound on my belly; we found out my son was frank breech. I went from being a full time working professional (I was suppose to go to work the next day) and wife to being a mom within hours. I was supposed to see my doctor at 3:30pm; instead I was being prepped for a c-section. At 5:07pm; my son was born. My husband describes the event as “NASCAR pit stop.” It was absolutely crazy, between the nurses, phone calls to family and work, other medical staff coming in, and prep for surgery. Off I went down the hall….

Hello Motherhood! The best part of my life!

I spent 3 months home with my son before returning to work. It was a difficult first month for me. I was recovering from a c-section, breastfeeding and hormonal changes.  I cried one time when my husband was trying to open a garbage bag and it woke our son. I was so mad, because I had just spent the last 15-30 minutes try to get him to sleep (I love hormones). By the end of the 3 months, I was ready to return to work.

I work at a nursing home that is about 20 miles from our apartment in Ripon.

I had babysitters from the college coming in and out of our apartment. I developed a schedule to cover from 9-5pm every day. I had 6 girls that rotated and divided up the hours to care for my son while my husband and I were at work. He got 1:1 attention and never had to leave the home. The college girls loved the break from schoolwork and enjoyed watching my son grow up.  My husband would stop in throughout the day, so if any problems he was around.

I felt comfortable leaving my son home. I never had to worry about him having enough food, diapers, clothes and etc. I continued to breast-feed; I knew he always had extra milk in the freezer if he had a growth spurt that day and ate like a pig. It worked for us and that’s what mattered to me.

My son is now 10 months old, the school year is complete and my husband is off for June and July. He will spend his days with daddy now and will be going to daycare in August. I want him to be around other children; exposed to germs, learn to share, interact with others, and have fun.  I feel okay about this next transition; as he is older now. I have given him a good base.  I breast-fed for about 8 months and kept him healthy through it all (only 1 cold); he has been exposed to different people on campus; and got the 1:1 attention he needed for that first year. It’s now his turn to explore and learn.