Today's Think It question is: what has completely surprised me this year?  I know this seems to be a running theme with me, but since it's a major part of my life now I would say motherhood.  Truthfully, not being around infants prior to my pregnancy, I didn't know what to expect or what type of mother I would be.  The sleepless nights in the beginning were extremely hard.  I've always had anxiety but parent anxiety is a new level of anxiety that surprised me.  I am responsible to keep a tiny human being alive!  Yes, I was surprised at how much harder the beginning seemed than I expected, and there are still trying days, but I can't describe the love you feel as a parent unless you are one.  It really is a rewarding experience to watch your child grow and hit milestones!  I also love the baby snuggles;)

Another surprising thing that happened this year was having to have my gallbladder removed.  Late May, I started having a lot of digestive issues and upper right pain in my rib.  My tests were coming back normal so doctors didn't suspect my gallbladder being the issue.   I felt so horrible that I had a short hospital stay in June and a few ER visits for the pain.  Still, ultrasounds were showing no gallstones in my gallbladder so they automatically thought it was ok.

Finally in September, I met a gallbladder surgeon and explained all my symptoms to him.  He said sometimes patients can have a diseased gallbladder with normal tests.  He agreed to go in and look at my gallbladder and take it out if there seemed to be any disease.  I was so desperate for the pain to go away that I agreed to have surgery 2 days later.  Sure enough, I had a very bad gallbladder without gallstones.   It was scarred over from how bad it had gotten.  I was glad to finally have an answer after suffering all summer, but recovery was painful for me and it was frustrating not being able to pick up my baby for a week!  I'm glad that thing is out, though.  Who knows how I'd feel today if I hadn't had it taken out!