When raising a daughter, I am sure many of you are like me and dread the teenage years. Two out of three of my daughters have already started their periods and having that talk before it happens isn’t anything I looked forward to. You know, I don’t really remember my mom having the talk with me about periods. If I remember correctly my cousin who I spent most of my childhood with started her period before me, so I already knew what a period was before mine came. I can’t say that I was prepared because I started mine at school, but I knew what was happening so I didn’t panic too bad.

What I didn’t know until this last few months is that girls have their periods as early as 8 years old with the average age being around 12. Since I started mine when I was in junior high, I always figured girls started their period in their teenage years. I didn’t have the talk with my two oldest until right before they started junior high. I didn’t want them to start their period during school like I did and not know what to do.

Since girls can start to menstruate as early as 8, it is important to talk to them early. My youngest daughter just turned 8 this past Friday and I have already been planning on having our first talk real soon. The earlier that you start talking to your daughter about the changes that she will experience, the better prepared she will be. It is also important to have the right products for your daughter on hand before her period comes to make it less uncomfortable when the day comes she starts to menstruate.

When you have the talk it might be uncomfortable for your daughter so choose a time that is good for the both of you.  Pick a time that is stress free and try to be casual. You might want to start out with asking your daughter what she already knows. You would be surprised just how much information children can learn from other kids at school, other family members and especially their friends. You might also want to be sure your daughter has been given the correct information. Be open and honest and try to answer any questions she might have and don’t just leave this talk for one conversation. Make it many!

For those that don’t know, Kotex has a great U by Kotex Tween feminine product line that includes different pads and liners designed for the young ladies. For more helpful information about having the First Period Talk, be sure to visit: www.kotex.com/tween

“I wrote this review while participating in a Brand Ambassador Campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of U by Kotex Tween and received products to facilitate my post and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

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Growing up as an only child definitely has its benefits. I was an only child that didn’t have to share my bedroom, share my toys if I didn’t want to, nor did I have to share my mother or my father. I “almost” got everything I wanted if it was reasonable and remember liking it that way. I enjoyed reaping the benefits of being an only child until I spent time at my family’s house with my cousins where they had a larger family and they had siblings. I had always wondered what it was like to have a family with brothers and sisters.

After having my first daughter in 1997 the thoughts had gone through my mind of not having any more children. I remembered that I did enjoy being an only child and how I could spoil my daughter more if I only had just her. As the days were going by and my daughter was only getting bigger, I knew I wasn’t done. Being a mom wasn’t as hard as I had once thought and the begin thinking that I would like to have another child, so my daughter would have a brother or sister to play with.

In 2001 I was buying some food for my cat at the 7-11 gas station by my house at the time and ran into someone from my childhood as I walked into the door. That friend was my husband now who was also one of my very first boyfriends in my teen years. We exchanged numbers and immediately there was a connection. We spent hours and days together and before you knew it, we were an item and then came my second daughter in 2004. My husband had a daughter and together, we had a family of 5. That would be mom, dad and their three daughters.

(Me and my husband in 1991)

Although we were blessed with 3 daughters, there was still that desire to have a son. I had friends that had sons which made me want to have one even more. Not only did I want to have a son, my husband also wanted a boy so we talked of how we would adopt a son of our own one day. I was able to have more children, but with with my odds of having girls, I thought adoption might be a great way to not only fulfill my dreams, but also help provide for a child who needs a loving family too!

So it was the summer of 2007 and I remember one day thinking that it had been a while since I had my last period. I had remembered that my husband was the last to buy my tampons, so I asked him how long ago it had been since he had bought them. He replied with “a couple months ago I think”. I then replied with “I think we might be in trouble”. I went to the dollar store and bought a pregnancy test thinking for sure it was going to come back negative. I was indeed POSITIVE and I immediately went to the grocery store for an EPT test to verify the positive results.

The day of my ultrasound I was a nervous wreck. I was blessed to be pregnant with a healthy baby at the time, but I am not going to lie when I say that I was praying for a boy. When that doctor said there was a little baby boy inside of me, I didn’t believe him. I don’t think my husband was convinced either and I luckily had the opportunity to have a second ultrasound a couple weeks later. With my second ultrasound, the doctor made a cute little note of “boy” to show everyone that indeed there was a little boy growing in my belly.

(My second ultrasound picture)

With the news that it was a boy with my second ultrasound, I was a little more convinced. I was even more convinced once he arrived. On January 28, 2008 my family became complete and our house is definitely always full of CHAOS.

Finding out I was having a boy was my SWEET Moment! Vote for my Sweet Moment and you will be entered to win some very cool prizes from KFC.

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