Well, UrbanMoms, the time has come for me to say farewell! Not goodbye, because I'll certainly be lurking around, butting in and giving my input whenever possible, but I will no longer be writing "Mom Without A Map". And I'm so sad to leave.Over 100 posts, approximately 1500 comments, amazing people, new friends, changes in perspective- UrbanMoms has given me so much over the past year and a half.  But life has taken over and I need to be focused on my new role as a stay-at-home mom to my 2 year old and 1 month old sons; a role... More »

On Thursday, June 16th at 12:32pm, William joined our family.  And he's perfection.I'll post my whole birth story as soon as I can, but until then, enjoy this beauty as much as we are!... More »

Weekend Update: No baby:(Although my husband insists I need to be more optimistic, I am being realistic and allowing my mind to get used to the fact that I will most likely be medically induced again. And not until NEXT WEEKEND (or later...bah!).At this point, about a week(ish) overdue, with everyone and their dog commenting on how low my stomach is and how I must be ready to pop (with twins...so funny) at any moment, I have taken to simply smiling and nodding and biting my tongue.  I really don't have nice things to say to people anymore. Weird how... More »

Give me the low-down. What natural induction methods work?? Here's the thing...Many months ago, while I was feeling oh-so-fab pregnant with my cute little belly and boundless energy, I had told my doctor I didn't want to be induced.  Yes. I said that. I wanted (and still do) to know what it felt like to go into labour on my own. I wanted to call hubs at work with a panicked "GET HOME NOW" and time those contractions until they were 5 minutes apart and we could jump in the car and go to the hospital. You know, just like... More »

Last night I had my first real taste of non-forced labour. The kind that just comes on all on its own, the kind I didn't get to experience with my first son because he refused to make any movement toward being born.  We really forced him out.On the way home from my sister's wedding reception (yeah! I made it to the wedding!), I started to get contractions.  Hard and heavy contractions.  They radiated right into my back, which was exactly what my labour was like with my son.  They were happening every few minutes and, to be honest, I kinda... More »

I am 38 weeks pregnant.And very grumpy:)  VERY grumpy.The doctor thinks the baby will be about 8.5 pounds-9 pounds.  That made me feel sick.  However, they said The Boy would be that big and he was in the 7 pound range.I have a ton of pre-labour symptoms (including the scoots...ewwwwwwwwwww and major insomnia) but I don't want to believe that I'll have the baby soon.  I think I'll feel too let down if he decides to come late.I am finally on maternity leave.  The last month of work got really hard because I was walking up and down huge flights... More »

I am officially pregnant and crazy.  Like CRAAAAAZY.  I'm probably a little crazy when I'm not pregnant, but the hormonal imbalance of pregnancy has made me do and say things that I have never thought of doing before.It started in January, when I woke up one day and told my husband, we're selling the house and buying something bigger.End of story- no arguing (although I think he was ready to move as well).  Within a week, we'd listed our house, sold in 8 days and bought a new house in 9 days.  Just like that.  We move on April 29th... More »

The number one thing pregnancy and parenthood has taught me? I hate Hate HATE being told what to do.  Unsolicited advice is my number one pet peeve and I guess, in  various states of sleep deprivation, I don't really handle it all that well.Let me back up.  When I was pregnant with The Boy, people started giving me advice.  What I should and shouldn't eat (yes, I was aware that fast food wasn't the best choice, but when you throw up everything else, you eat what you can eat), how I could curb my weight gain (um, aren't you supposed... More »

I could probably stop after writing the title of this post, because it kinda sums up my life.  I have entered the time in my pregnancy where all. i. do. is. pee.Interestingly, I would hazard a guess to say that I spend over 3/4 of my pregnancy in the bathroom.  The first 5 months are dedicated to "morning sickness" (or in my case, all day sickness).  From month 7 onward, it's all about the pee.  The non-stop pee.The worst part is that I don't have any convenient times to pee. It always come right when I'm in the middle of... More »

To induce or not induce, that is the question.  The Boy was induced.  He was 10 days late and nothing was happening.  NOTHING WAS HAPPENING!  I was huge, and kinda bored (I know, I know, bored...heh), and desperate for him to be born, so I bugged my doctor from a week before my due date until the day he was born for an induction.  I was so thankful when they finally decided to induce me, even though it took 23 hours for him to make his appearance.This time, I'm not so sure I'll be as quick to ask for an... More »