2010 Promises

I decided that for 2010, I was going to make promises, not resolutions. Resolutions would make sense if I needed to plan out some changes in my life, but 2010 is a different situation... 2010 brings motherhood, a change that I can only anticipate but not really know 100% what it's going to be like. Instead, I'm going to make promises of behavior and living, revolving around Zoey, for 2010.

1. I promise to let Zoey make her debut on her birth date, not her due date. I've never been a fan of induction or scheduled c-sections, unless one of two things happens... one, the baby is incredibly stubborn and late (Emily)... two, medical reasons that are otherwise uncontrollable. I hope and pray that I don't need the medical community to control my delivery. I hope my water breaks on its own, even if it's at work... in fact, that would be quite funny and perfect because work is a lot closer to the hospital than my house!

2. I promise to raise Zoey in diversity. She will be introduced to all kinds of people, music, and foods. I want her to be open and loving to all kinds of people. I've always told Glenn that if I ever find out she has bullied someone, she will get the reprimand of her life. I will not stand for my child to pick on someone for being different. She's going to learn to embrace all kinds of people. I hope she is an open eater, and we plan to introduce her to international flavors as young as we possibly can. I don't want to end up having a child who will only eat chicken nuggets and mac & cheese... that can't be healthy. I know I can only control so much of that as we all have different taste buds, but I am going to teach her to try things instead of turning her nose up. They say that at this point in my pregnancy, she can actually taste what I am eating so I hope she is enjoying these foods I'm stuffing my face with and not grimacing in there...

3. I promise to work with Zoey and to teach her things myself at a young age. I've seen children who can recognize many letters of the alphabet before they are 18 months old. I've seen 3.5 year olds who don't know what the color red is. I'm going to try to teach Zoey myself and work with her so she's on the advanced side of things. Education starts as early as the parent takes the time to start it... I'm not going to expect her to read by age 2, but I'm going to set time aside for her so she can get the early education she deserves. I'm going to make it fun and rewarding for her as well. She'll get to live 8 months of her life in 2010, and I hope that by this time next year I can honestly say she's learned something of value, haha.

4. I promise to lose all the baby weight and then some before New Years Eve 2011. This shouldn't be too difficult considering I'm motivated enough to want to have the energy she deserves from her mother. I plan on nursing, which helps significantly. Before I got pregnant, I would have loved to of lost the 15 extra pounds PCOS put on me... between the hormone imbalances and the medications, I gained weight faster than I knew what was happening. Even though I doubt I'll go back to ovulating on my own after Zoey's arrival, I'm going to control my hormone levels with the lowest birth control possible. There are some available for nursing mothers and I'll go on one to keep the cysts at bay and the hormones in check. This will help with the weight loss. Depending on where things go, I'll go back on Metformin... we'll see. All in all, I promise to be active for her. Even if she's born in early May, it should not be too difficult to drop all the weight I need to before the next New Years Eve. Zoey deserves a healthy, fit, and active mother to keep up with her and play with her. I'm determined to do this for her!

I'll start there. I'm not very interested in getting over my head in promises, but I think these are manageable in 2010. I hope you all have a Happy New Year and that 2010 brings more joy and happiness than you could even begin to fathom.