Motherhood

The First 20 Weeks of My First Pregnancy

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They say that the easier your pregnancy is, the harder your first years as a parent will be. I hope that’s not true. My pregnancy has been — shockingly — uneventful thus far. After seeing many of my friends going through long periods of horrible morning sickness and barely being able to keep anything down, I was sure I’d be next. Instead, I managed to gain 20 pounds in my first trimester. Oops.

The weight gain is actually a substantial issue. I started out my pregnancy right at the borderline at “overweight” and “obese.” This is more upsetting to me because less than two years ago I managed to get down to what’s considered a healthy weight for my height (5’3) for my wedding. It took a lot of hard work, a very controlled diet, and so many mornings of rolling out of bed at 6am to meet my trainer downstairs when I didn’t want to wake up.

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Motherhood

Thoughts on Becoming a Mother

by Life With InterestLeave a Comment on Thoughts on Becoming a Mother

Some girls grow up from day one ready to take on the mother role. I was not one of those girls. Although I was attracted to the idea of having children — one day — one day seemed like it would be so far off it might never happen. And, had I not met a man who was clearly born to be a father, I may have never pursued the motherhood path.

It didn’t help matters that at 15, my doctor failed to diagnose me properly and told me that I didn’t need to worry about trouble having kids — as long as I had them by age 30. It was years later when my PCOS diagnosis led to answers in this process… and more questions. Would I be able to have kids? It certainly wouldn’t be easy, even before 30. Would I want to? That was another question entirely.

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Mental Health

Is Loneliness a Symptom of Adulthood?

by Life With InterestLeave a Comment on Is Loneliness a Symptom of Adulthood?

There are the recluses of society — those who prefer to spend time with cats, nature, or intimate objects to other humans. Then, there are the rest of us. As Bob Merrill eloquently put it in his lyrics for the musical Funny Girl, “people who need people are the luckiest people int the world.” Or, are they?

Just being around other people isn’t a cure for loneliness. “Loneliness is an entirely subjective state, in which we feel socially and/or emotionally disconnected from those around us,” highlights a study in Psychology Todaythat poses loneliness may actually be genetic. The data showed significant indications of loneliness, social isolation, and depression. The depression part comes in due to the genetic factor, due to a “default” reaction to feelings of loneliness in ways that increase our social isolation and depression.

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Health & Healthcare

What is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome? September is PCOS Awareness Month

by Life With InterestLeave a Comment on What is Polycystic Ovary Syndrome? September is PCOS Awareness Month

PCOS (Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome) is a health condition that impacts five million women of reproductive age in the United States — often cited as “one in ten women “— yet, due to the personal nature of its symptoms, a confusing name, and lack of research by medical professionals, it is rarely discussed and is often misunderstood.

PCOS causes a whole host of embarrassing and upsetting symptoms including, but not limited to, irregular menstrual cycles, anovulation, depression, anxiety, excess facial hair, bad acne, sweating, weight gain (especially around the stomach), high risk for a host of diseases, and infertility.

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Politics, Etc.

Let’s Talk About Irrational Fear in the Age of Trump and Alternative facts

by Life With InterestLeave a Comment on Let’s Talk About Irrational Fear in the Age of Trump and Alternative facts

As the song goes in Avenue Q, “Everyone’s a little bit racist sometimes,” and it’s true. Every time I think a racist thought, I have a little conversation with myself that goes a bit like this — “you’re being irrational, not to mention a horrible person,” and I give myself a bit of a time to review why I think this way and address my impulse then and there. I address the root of my unfounded fears, and approach my political viewpoints and actions based on reality, not irrational fear. Unfortunately, America seems to have lost its value of logic.

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Politics, Etc.

Make America Rome Again: How Fast We Rise, How Fast We Can Fall

by Life With InterestLeave a Comment on Make America Rome Again: How Fast We Rise, How Fast We Can Fall

We’ve approached dangerous territory in the history of our nation, and we are at a crossroads which may forevermore shape our country and our future.

I’m not talking about Trump’s victory. This is not a liberal diatribe, as I consider myself a centrist, and while Trump supporters have a field day in trolling my posts with relentless passion, so do liberals who called me out for my few posts which questioned Hillary’s candidacy, likely inspired, in part, by the spread of fake news and leaked true information which found its way into public hands thanks to foreign governments that may or may not have been aided by a then presidential nominee and future Presidential elect.

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Politics, Etc.

Preparing for a post Roe vs. Wade America

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Born after 1970? It’s likely that you would not recall a time when abortion was illegal in many states across America. It appears that outside of those who fight for “women’s rights,” now take this freedom for granted — and, as we will learn in this coming presidency, it’s the freedoms we take for granted which are the easiest to lose. How fast we forget.

Thanks to a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court in 1973, abortion was made legal in all 50 states, even though many of the states fought and continue to fight this decision. The Supreme Court agreed 7 to 2 that the right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman’s decision to have an abortion.

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Mental Health

10 Ways to Survive and Thrive with Adult ADHD

by Life With InterestLeave a Comment on 10 Ways to Survive and Thrive with Adult ADHD

If you know me, and you understand the diagnostic criteria for Adult ADD/ADHD (attention deficit disorder), you know I’m a textbook case. While there are many benefits to having an ADD mind, there are also many more challenges. If you have ADHD or know someone who does, you know that every single day needs to be approached as its own game to attack, and every interaction requires the energy to be able to engage in a conversation via listening and sharing at the right time without doing too much of one or the other.

Research has proven that people with ADHD have structural abnormalities in their brains. A lot is still unknown about ADHD, but it is said that people with ADHD may use dopamine less efficiently than people who do not have ADHD. It is said that 3 to 5 percent of adults in the United States have this disorder, so clearly I’m not alone. Yet those who hone their ADHD superpowers to multi-task and approach challenges differently than more linear-thinking types can be very successful, it just requires the ability to understand your strengths, fix a few important weaknesses, and allow yourself to accept that being “normal” is not possible nor desirable.

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introversion

The Challenges of Being an Introverted Extrovert

by Life With InterestLeave a Comment on The Challenges of Being an Introverted Extrovert

On the Myers Briggs, my results typically come out an NFP with the I and E switching out depending on the test. I’m what they call an Ambivert. I long for social interaction but eventually I need to hide somewhere for a least a few hours to an entire weekend to recharge.

The great thing about being an Ambivert is that I’m comfortable in groups of people or alone. The challenge is that sometimes I get overwhelmed by social situations, but if I avoid social situations my energy gets equally drained. It’s a constant balancing act which I’ve yet to figure out.

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