Our Parenting Journey - Where it began!

In my short time blogging I've met some fantastic fellow bloggers. Through reading their blogs I've laughed, cried and most of all I've been inspired. My inspiration was spurred more recently with the Irish Parenting Blog Awards. There was a lot of reading to be done to vote for those I wished to go forward to final shortlist. 
Since then, I've made a greater effort to read more fantastic blogs and it has inspired me to share a little bit more about me with you. As you know my blog is about the "Clucks and Downs" of a stay at home mum and with that in mind I'd like to share more with you about my parenting journey and I hope it is something you will enjoy. 

So, where did our journey to becoming of family of four begin?

Well, like a lot of little girls we dream of a fairy tale life. For me I hoped to be lucky enough to meet a wonderful man and we'd have two children. I wanted a boy and a girl in that order with about 2 to 3 years between them. As I grew up and as the years passed I've been lucky enough to have met and married my best friend and we have two beautiful children our son and daughter in that order and low and behold to top if off, there's two and a half years between them! My fairy tale came true but as we know in many fairy tales, there an be some bumps along the way. 

When my husband and I married in 2009, we began our journey to parenthood. We were "trying to conceive"! Words as I read them even now put fear in me. For some trying to conceive can be the easiest thing in the world and for others as we know its a journey of being prodded and poked and medication in the hope they are lucky to conceive.  

http://northvalleynews.org/2013/the-clock-is-ticking-down/

For us we were taking the "let's see how it goes approach". As the months passed and as I saw another birthday nearing my mind and clock were ticking! This in turn drove me crazy charting in my mind, check dates online and of course reading everything you shouldn't online in hope I'd find a miracle answer. 

I still remember to this day a conversation my husband and I had in our dining room after nearly two years of trying. We agreed that maybe it wasn't to be for us, maybe it's just meant to be. For me, and my husband also, this was that hardest thing in the world to admit. While we cried, I knew it was a decision that had to be made for ourselves and our relationship. With this harsh acceptance came a relief knowing we were so lucky to be the couple we are. I know some people may thing this is early to "give up" but we always knew if there was an issue, we weren't going to go down the route of medication etc partially because of the cost but also as we know what a strain this could be. We're a strong couple but we're believers in what is to be will be. 

After that tough conversation, about six weeks later I took my first ever pregnancy test at the age of 34 to see a BFP - Big Fat Positive! That morning, put the biggest smile on our faces and also the biggest fear! We were on a journey to becoming parents! We are no longer going to be just us, we are going to be responsible for another little person. That feeling while it brought fear it brought a new love into our hearts that we never knew possible. All going well, after another 8 months we were going to hold our baby, OUR BABY, for the first time.