Yesterday, I became the mother of a...

...17th month old!

At one point in my life, I wasn't even sure that was possible! I have always wanted a family and have always wanted to be a mom. My career was important to me and I have been successful and fully believe in education (I have both a bachelor's and master's degree), but more important than any of that, to me, was becoming a wife and mother.

In my early 20's I kept thinking it was going to happen and I just never met the right person. In my late 20's I began thinking that maybe I wasn't supposed to be married and realized that I was just happy being me and being alone, though I didn't give up...I just became happy with me!

In April, before my 30th birthday, I met the man who would eventually become my husband and have never looked back. We married a year later and I can honestly say, he was worth the wait! He is everything I could ever have imagined for my husband and so much more!

The fact that it took me a little longer to find "the one" (than most of my friend's anyways) was only one reason I wasn't sure I would ever be a mom. I also have PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome...learn more about PCOS at The PCOS Foundation) which can make getting pregnant difficult for the women who have it. Not only that, but now I'm a woman in my 30's. Many woman are now having babies in their 30's, but the reality of it is that our bodies are better equipped to having babies in our 20's and there is a shelf-life to women having babies. If I were a "normal" woman (a woman without PCOS), it wouldn't have been that big of a deal, but now I was in my 30's AND I have PCOS. So - two strikes!

On top of that, when we started trying to get pregnant, the job I was working required travel. When you're having to be very methodical about getting pregnant, being gone at certain times of the month...not always a good thing! :-) Strike three!

Fast forward 4 years and 2 months, and I have a 17 month old!

 

I took steps to make this happen - I quit my job and began working from home (read about that journey in my Major Changes in the McDaniel Household post from August 25, 2009), my wonderful OB worked with us for about a year (including giving me medication to help), and I destressed as much as possible. I quit my job in July 2009 and didn't find out I was pregnant until August 2010. There were ups and downs - lots of tears - moments when I wanted to give up (there are a lot of kids who need good homes, right?), but in the end...

 



She was totally worth all of that, don't ya think! :-)

 

By the way, to capture just a few good pictures such as these, I had to take a lot of pictures that looked something like this:

 

Those of you who are or have been mothers of 17 month olds know what I'm talking about!! :-) I wouldn't have it any other way!

 

 

Hailey - thank you for making me the mother of a 17 month old!