Psychology Assignment Thoughts - Conception and Birth

I learned today that a child, when conceived, gets half of its chromosomes from its mother, and half from its father.  And wouldn't you know it, the male chromosomes determine whether the baby is a boy or girl.  Isn't that just like a man?  :)  It's actually all quite fascinating, how a baby develops.  By week 8 the little life has a brain, heart, and other vital organs.  Just like that!  It brings to mind the debate about abortion and when exactly a zygote/embryo/fetus becomes a real person. It must be before birth, right?  I myself can attest to that.  Why else would the baby inside me respond to my fear, joy, and sadness?  But when is the "exact" moment?  When does the brain start working, and the little being actually functioning?  

I don't know what the answer is, but to me the baby is alive as soon as it's conceived.  In that moment, a real person's vital organs, characteristics, and beginnings of a personality are created.   I could never kill off that person's chance to live. 

Thoughts on Being a Mom

I can't believe it's been a year!  Everybody always told me how fast the time goes, and I never believed them. 

We've gone from tummy time and nursing to crawling and solid foods, to walking and talking!  I feel so proud of this little guy I brought into the world.  

I love hearing him talk to me as if he's telling me a story even though it's just sounds like random syllables. 

I love how his face lights up when he sees me, and how he falls over becuase he's trying to get to me so quickly. 

I love it when he toddles over with a toy, sometimes big, sometimes small, that he holds out and shows me with such a sweet smile becuase he knows I'll be excited about it.  

I love when he takes the toy and puts it in my lap because, of course I want to play with it too.  

I even love the way he throws his toys around so it looks like a tornado went through my house at the end of the day.

I adore how he's realizing he can choose, whether it's what food he eats, what toy he plays with, or what story he wants me to read to him.  

I laugh every time he wakes up from his nap and pounds on the wall because he knows I'll hear and come get him.  

I love (even though I get angry about it sometimes) that he wants to come color with me when I'm doing my homework and that he tries to help me out by turning the pages of my textbook. 

And I especially love hearing the word "mama."  I think "he knows me!  I am that person to him, his mommy, the one who loves him and takes care of him." 

And then I realize I've done pretty well at being a mommy so far.  Sure, I've had my ups and downs, and maybe I wish sometimes I'd done something differently or that he'd turned out a different way (why, oh, why won't he eat beans or potatoes!).  But I wouldn't change one second of what's been one of the best years of my life. 

My Life Story So Far

I finally decided I should start blogging.  You know that feeling when you want to be doing something but you have no idea where you're going to fit it into your busy life? But then I got to thinking.  What happens when I die and nobody knows what my life was like?  A hundred years from now, my children's children are going to want to know about me.  So here goes.

I grew up as the oldest of six children, with the next in line being 10 1/2 months younger than me.  We fought all the time!  I graduated from high school knowing that I would absolutely NOT get married until I'd gotten my degree.  I was going to be graduated by the time I was 22 and then maybe start thinking about men.  Surprise!  I met my husband in February when I was 18 and married him in June, about a month and a half before my 19th birthday.  I know, I know, laugh all you want.  

After getting married, I continued my studies in elementary education.  I had wanted to be a teacher since I was old enough to boss my brothers and sisters around.  That's where the tough part comes in.  I became pretty depressed, and basically being a wife, employee and a student was overwhelming.  I had little motivation to do anything.  I ended up dropping out of school for awhile, though I kept my job.  Then I got pregnant on top of it all.  Suddenly I'm having crazy mood swings, craving everything under the sun, and depressed on top of it.  I decided that I needed to take some action.  I went to a therapist who helped me figure out myself, who I am, and what I really want to do with my life.  I won't kid myself; it's still really hard sometimes to get out of bed and function like a human being.  But I have the personal strength to do it.  It was such a great revelation to me!

Of course, then my baby boy was born.  My whole life became this not-so-tiny thing that needed me constantly to live.  Another layer of meaning was added to my life.  A few months after having Wil, I decided to go back to school, but not for education.  I wanted to do accounting.  Many people said that it was such a drastic change, but so far I am absolutely loving it.  So here we are, at the beginning of my story...