So up to the time that I married Marmot, avoidance of pregnancy was a big deal. Uber-religious families, sneaky living arrangements, it all played into and IUD and pretty much always double-rainjackets, if you know what I mean.

{Side Note: I thought we were hiding the living arrangements fairly well from Queen B. because she lived on a different flipping continent, but she knew and she and my Dad messed with me, pretending they didn’t know but doing little things to wig me out- I know, how evil right? Totally going to get the cheap nursing home now.}

I was 25 when I got married, and had always planned on finishing school and all before I had kids. And being perfectly honest, I was pretty much anti-kids. {I referred to them as snot-nosed terrorists. Charming, I know.} Holding babies made me nervous, and I never thought they were as cute as anyone else did. I loved my job and wanted to do a career before kids. So during our kids talks before we got married, I always told Marmot that I was thinking maybe starting having kids when we’ve been married four or five years if at all. He would agree with me, smiling, and say maybe three years.

Fast forward to our honeymoon. All of a sudden I realize that it is totally okay for me to get pregnant. No shame! I remember this epiphany, we were in our hotel room in Mexico, Marmot was in bed recovering from Montezuma’s reign of Mexican buffet terror. He did convince me to wait to consider trying until he recovered and we got home from our honeymoon, and later conversations convinced me that waiting a year was a good idea, and maybe we should keep track of these things we want to do, and call it a Baby Bucket List! And thus the Honey B. blog was born.

But anyway, you’re probably wondering where I’m going with this. Remember the snot-nosed terrorist thing? I think I might be back there. During the baby fever that I’ve had over the past three years, I never said that. I awwwed over toddlers with pigtails, and would look at baby clothes every time I was in TJ Maxx. I thought about how I would decorate the little guest room as a nursery, and should I even bother doing it as a guestroom? We even tried to get pregnant for a few months.

But now, I have absolutely no baby fever at all. Instead I have the eerily familiar irritation of children at Target. Narrowed eyes looking for the screamer that was near my gate as I was getting ready to board a flight last month. The complete bypass of the baby section at TJ Maxx. This is the me that considered never having children. Because I really am thinking about what a childfree-by-choice life would be like.

I’m back to baseline. And I’m not sure what to do about it, because Marmot is ready. And here I am, thinking that not having kids really makes sense on a lot of levels. *gulp*

This whole Baby Bucket List has been a long process, and some days I thought that if we waited until these things were done (hell, half done) we would never have children. So now imagine my surprise at realizing, we’re just about there. And not even just about there, but we’re like in the stages of I didn’t buy wine and I’m drinking my Fertilitea because we’re that close. THAT CLOSE!

And then I think…is this really the right time, are we doing the right thing? Oh the second guessing!

But its been good for Marmot and I as a couple, we’ve not felt rushed or pressured, this has been a decision we’ve come to in our own time. We sat across the table from each other at a beautiful restaurant last week, and decided that we’re ready for this journey to begin.

Off the ice!

So we’re going to do it. We’re calling off the goalie.

So the potential plan of TTC in December or January has put me into a little bit of a babies-rabies/panic/overdrive. And like every good Type A planning freak, as soon as I felt the need to research and obsess, I went to Amazon. And here’s what I’ve found so far:

I just finished The Big Book of Birth, and I was impressed. Like way impressed. I had anticipated some hostility towards one side or the other, but this was very objective, written very fairly. Furthermore, the writing was done in the most friendly and non-intimidating way possible. I assumed that as a nurse (that did quite well in OB actually) that I’d prefer a more textbook tone in birth books. Way wrong! And she was funny too. After reading the book, I felt like I had been able to dispel a lot of the fear I’ve always had about labor and birth, and I’m actually starting to look forward to it, if thats possible? I don’t think I could recommend this book any higher.

Earlier this year, I went through Naturally Knocked Up’s fertility e-course, another pre-pregnancy recommendation that was quite simply, excellent. I am my (crunchy) Mother’s daughter, and I really wanted to learn about getting my body ready, beyond the What to Expect Before You’re Expecting book which is much like its predecessor, and had me worrying a lot about pretty much everything. The course was laid out nicely, the topics were excellent, it had a forum for participants to discuss the week’s content, and worksheets, links, and resources on each weeks topic. Look into it!

Prenatal vitamins are quite the racket. I spent no less than five hours researching the best prenatal vitamins that met the recommendations for what the vitamin provides, and also spent at least an hour researching DHA supplements (which apparently will turn your child into a genius). The vitamins that were prenatal and DHA didn’t have quite the recommended amounts of either, one of the better prenatals had concerns about the use of bean sprouts, the next best required taking two pills three times a day (gag) and the ones I’ve been taking for the past year expire in three weeks. And just in case anyone reading is in the market, the verdict of all my research is: Rainbow Light Prenatal One vitamins and Expecta Lipil non-fish DHA supplements. And the Bellybar chewable prenatals although I find chewable aftertaste to be slightly gack, nothing like Flintstones.

I’ve got a few more books in my Amazon cart, and another few stashed on my Kindle: the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy and the Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.

Are there any you would recommend land in my Amazon cart?

I have to say, its been a looooong time since I’ve been awake on this side of midnight. Voluntarily. But I’m taking it as a good sign! We’ve been through a lot in the past month, I haven’t been able to stay awake to even see midnight, let alone stay up past it.

*School trudged on during all the insanity that was October, and would have been uneventful (wouldn’t I have loved uneventful!) until a classmate tried to slide a little plagiarized content into a group project. And then was snarky about my attitude when I called her out on it. This is not like a just-out-of-high-school kid, this is an adult. And the best part? The class was Health Care Law and Ethics. *facepalm*

*We have six items that will be crossed off the Baby Bucket List in the next six months. And the rest are the fantasy-land items, like a trip to Europe. Marmot has always said he’d like a fall/winter baby, and I’ve always teased my bosses that I’d love a maternity leave that goes over Thanksgiving and New Years…so starting to try in December or January could be on the radar. WOW. December is only three weeks away?!

*And with the beginning of the first potential TTC cycle is only 29 days away, I’ve been feeling like a student behind on homework. So out come the books I’ve been hoarding/hiding for the last year, and the homework is getting caught up! More on that to come…

*But the potential shopping to prepare for a baby? That outrightly freaks me the hell out. And yet Marmot, the official Financial Freak in our house, just says ‘We’ll be fine Honey…we’ll be fine!’ Who is this man, and what has he done with my husband?!

*Last but not least, the Honey B. blog is going to have a makeover coming up soon…stay tuned for the reveal!

And I’m off to bed…hope you’re having a wonderful weekend!

It has been a long time since I’ve posted. But its been a busy long time! We got moved to WordPress, moved to a new house, got the wonky feed issues worked out, the entire house was painted, and we’re back in business!

Here is what has been going on in the meantime…

• I am in the midst of the worst case of baby fever, ever. Like epic. Baby fever to the point that YouTube videos of women having a natural labor has not brought the fever down.
• But my office upstairs is painted a shade of blue that would look gorgeous as a nursery.
• Marmot says could we please just have the guest bedroom not be neck-high in boxes before we start thinking nursery?
• Even though the guest bedroom is a disaster, the house overall has undergone a HUGE transformation. I’m working on the photo album right now, and OMG its amazing.
• The best transformation is the living room with a gorgeous Persian rug that looks like it was made for my living room- and a steal at $200 for a $1500 rug. I heart Craigslist with big BIG hearts.
• And speaking of good deals, the couches that were left in the house are awesome- we’re using them in our formal living room. I have learned that while I do have some pride, I have more cheap.
• Brewer (the new dog) uses said couches as his own personal House of Bounce, which I am still trying to catch on video.
• Max and Snooty Kitty are SO not amused by Brewer.
• Speaking of not amused, Marmot invited his entire family (four adults, one toddler) to come stay with us the last week of October.
• Yes, that would be all of us sharing the one bathroom with a shower.
• And since we lived like college students before moving here, we have to buy two more beds or the guests are sleeping on Brewer’s House of Bounce couches.
• But if we have a baby, couches used as House of Bounce is only the beginning right?
• Oh the baby fever rages on…

So what have you been upto these last few weeks??

I got to thinking about something- how much planning ahead should you do for a baby? I mean I know you should be doing some things, but I mean how far do you go with that? My SIL Belle put it out there like in April that they wouldn’t be traveling for Thanksgiving when she was expecting Baby Belle- but then regretted it when we were talking on Thanksgiving Day. I’m wondering how crazy it would be to host the family for Christmas if I had a baby in October?

So my question is- how far do you remove yourself from obligations and such when you have a newborn? Belle and her husband almost segregated themselves starting right before Baby Belle’s due date, which is great on some levels- no plans to travel, projects finished, nothing to distract them from just enjoying the first couple months of Baby Belle’s life. And yet it came off as a little ‘elitist’, if that’s even the right word. Like they could NOT be bothered by anyone or anything. They even told my MIL to come like two weeks after the baby was born, and while I’m sure they didn’t think it was outrightly rude, it was rude. My MIL never said anything, but I was insulted for her. It was her first grandbaby! I’m getting used to my SIL and her disinterest in anything family (or at least surface interest, because as a good Southerner she has to pretend to like us) but it felt like they were shutting out the world with the birth of their baby.

As it turned out, PPD kicked my SIL in the teeth and my MIL (and SIL’s MIL) were out there round the clock for the first three months anyway- but still the question remains in my mind…is closing off your little family when the baby is born a good thing? I get the concept of not having obligations, like its probably not the time you want to do a cross-country trip. But once Baby Belle’s due date came and went, they were bored and looking for even more things to finish up before baby arrived.

But in many aspects, that’s exactly what I want to do. I want things to be DONE before baby gets here. I have lists now, long before pregnancy- think how the lists will be when I do actually get pregnant?? Belle and husband had the basement done, the house projects done, big projects finished and everything caught up- and I keep thinking about how nice that would be, not having to think about what you could/should be doing. Having time to enjoy your newborn baby, who wouldn’t want more of that? Or just spend whatever time you have not holding/changing/feeding a baby on important things, like sleeping!

So what would the things be that you Would, or Would NOT want to have going on with a newborn?

This giveaway is now closed, congratulations to our winner, Kaitlin from Ah My Married Life!

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So now that we have the House of Dreams, I feel like we’ve moved out of the hypothetical planning stage and into the pre-planning stage. Yes those are real stages!

But seriously, the big hitters on the Baby Bucket List are being crossed off quickly, we’re getting closer! Which means I need to make sure my body is as ready as possible to support the healthiest pregnancy possible- which means…

Its time for another giveaway! And this one is really good!!

I’ve decided to take Naturally Knocked Up’s eCourse, 12-weeks of learning about how to increase the odds of conception through natural living and nourishing foods. And one lucky winner will get to do it with me!

The course is 12 weeks, and includes a workbook, podcasts, video tutorials, and worksheets- all the information you need on the following topics:

• Cleansing Your Body
• Natural Living
• Preparing Your Body Through Exercise
• Fertility Awareness
• Real Nutrition
• Super Foods for Fertility
• What Not to Eat
• Herbs and Fertility
• Alternative Treatments for Infertility
• Stress
• Tips for Increased Fertility
• Where to Start

For more information, check out the information page and see everything that’s discussed in the course! Its a $96 value, but is simple to win by leaving an entry comment when you do any of the following!

• For 1 Entry: Follow me through Google Friend Connect.
• For 1 Entry: Follow me on Twitter @thehoneyb
• For 1 Entry: Tweet about the giveaway (can be done daily!)
• For 2 Entries: Add my blog to your blogroll
• For 2 Entries: Add my blog button to your site

This giveaway will be open until midnight CST on July 14th, 2010. The winner will be chosen by Random.org and the winner contacted via email.

And even if you’re not the lucky winner, no worries because you can just enter HONEYB at registration and get 25% off!

Happy giveaway, good luck!!

Baby fever has hit hard. As in I have done nothing but talk about babies and planning and due dates and parenting and birth and all-things-baby for a solid week.

Part of it is because my BFF is pregnant!! I’m so excited for her, and now we have a REAL baby to be talking about!!

And the other reason? Its because I’ve found my perfect nursery. My jaw dropped when I saw it (on MLS listings actually) and I immediately stole borrowed the image for future inspiration.

Its gender neutral (I swear the walls are cream, not pink), simple, and I can get everything (except for the crib) at TJ Maxx! I know that frames over the crib wouldn’t fly once baby can stand, but I’m flexible about picture location. But I love this nursery. Love love LOVE it!!

And baby fever rages on…

I’m the only one of my friends who doesn’t have kids, and isn’t pregnant.