Ellen's Mother's Day Show

A few weeks ago I realized I would be pregnant during Ellen's famous Mother's Day Show! If you haven't seen the show in the past the entire audience is filled with pregnant women.  The show is essentially a day of baby give aways for new moms. I envisioned myself winning tickets and getting everything we would need for Penelope, all thanks to Ellen. After looking into the contest details I realized that an essay was needed in order to submit my application. What I mistakenly read limited the essay to 1,500 words, while in actuality it was limited to 1,500 characters. This is a huge difference. Since I was only able to share 1,500 characters of my essay with Ellen I figured I'd share all 4,588 with you. The prompt simply said "Tell us about yourself:"

My name is Emma Sanders.  I am twenty six years old and I currently reside in Austin, Texas.  I moved here five years ago, and it is where I met my wonderful partner, Aaron.  Aaron and I have been together for four years, and they have been the happiest years of our lives.

A look into our relationship will reveal that on the surface, Aaron and I represent the meeting of complete opposites.  I am an only child born from a middle class family.  I was raised in a West Seattle suburb, enjoying most of the benefits a child could hope to enjoy.  Aaron, on the other hand, was born of two migrant field workers who migrated to the United States from Mexico when he was three years old.  He, along with his three older brothers, were raised in poverty in Anthony, New Mexico.   Coming from different cultures and socioeconomic levels, you would think Aaron and I are completely different, but we are actually one and the same.  We have bonded in a way that neither of us thought could ever be possible.

Realizing the incredible bond Aaron and I have, we’ve known we want to get married for several years now.  However, our finances will not allow it.  I’m ok with a courthouse marriage, but Aaron keeps insisting that he wants to give me the wedding of my dreams. (Secretly, I think it is the wedding of his dreams).  Despite not being able to get married at this point, it has not stopped us from starting our own family.  With us we have our four “babies” – all adopted.  They are Zeus, our big, lazy hundred pound Argentine Dogo; Louisa, our sweet, spunky 7 pound Chihuahua; Rooney, our bipolar cat who demands to be loved on her terms; and our other cat, Tilly, who only asks that we feed her and leave her alone.

Aaron and I are both returning college students, so our family of six was plenty big for both of us.  Between school and our restaurant jobs, our little family seemed to be all we could handle – both financially and time wise.  However, on November 15, 2011 it all changed.  We found out we were pregnant! While this came as a surprise, it was a surprise we lovingly embraced together.  Immediately our thought process switched from us as a couple to us as a family.

Working in the restaurant industry I am not fortunate enough to benefit from health insurance.  Immediately after finding out we were pregnant I applied for Medicaid for pregnant women, which I was denied, saying I made too much money.  I then applied for a different program that provides medical coverage to women with higher incomes, this I was also denied, due to making too little money. I once again applied for Medicaid and never heard back from anyone.  This deeply disturbed me, as someone who truly needed these benefits, that there are thousands of cases per year of those abusing the Medicaid system.  After considering our options we ultimately decided on becoming patients of Austin Area Birthing Center.   Our decision was based solely on the health of our baby; financial aspects came into play later. Additionally, we understand that there is anecdotal evidence attributing a child’s brightness to a natural birthing method.  But even if it’s anecdotal, why would we not make that effort? I want no medical intervention; I want to be present for the birth of our first child, not drug induced.  While this method seems odd in the American culture, it is the norm in most cultures worldwide.

As a way to inform my family, as well as Aaron’s, neither of which live close, of the progress of our pregnancy I started my first blog.  It has been a lot of fun to sit down, formulate my ideas, and publish them for our friends and family to read.  Plus our families enjoy the growing belly picture updates, as well as photos from our one and only ultrasound.

One of the downsides of not having family nearby is the lack of support.  In four weeks Aaron and I will be moving thirty miles north of Austin to Georgetown, home to his Southwestern University. While this small town seems to be an excellent place to raise a family, I can’t help but have some apprehensions.  Aaron and I both work in downtown Austin, and I attend college at St. Edwards University just a few miles from my work.  This move forces us to commute long distances as a means to support our family and continue my educational goals.  We cannot afford to put our baby in daycare so we have arranged our college and work schedules around each other.   Aaron is my best friend, and I fear that with this new adjustment I won’t be able to spend necessary time with him.  And ultimately we won’t be able to spend time together as a family unit.

As first time parents, Aaron and I are extremely ecstatic.  Our thoughts and actions revolve around our baby girl, who is set to arrive in three months. With what little money we do have we find it impossible not to buy her adorable baby clothes and books. We have spent many nights awake having conversations with my belly. Aaron has even started a journal with the intention of giving it to her on her eighteenth birthday. He frequently writes in it hoping to provide insight into our daily lives.  However his main intention is to have an additional conversation with her.  He wants his journal to function as an additional medium to provide her with advice and communicate his hopes and dreams to her.

Despite the challenges that lay ahead Aaron and I are committed to providing the best possible upbringing for our daughter, Penelope.  Although our finances are limited, we are confident that we will provide her with what is most important- a loving household, an enriching environment and a concern for her fellow man. 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the small quarter of this essay I was able to submit will win me tickets to LA and all the goods I could never need for baby Penelope. Keep those fingers crossed for me, I need all the luck I can get.