Baby Love

September 22, 2011
32 weeks, 2 days

Last weekend I had a much needed "Girls Weekend".  The RGs (my nursing school roomies) and I met up at my rents place in Sedona for a weekend of relaxation, bonding and.....a surprise Baby Shower!  Honestly, I think I can count on one hand- make that one finger - the number of Baby Showers I have gone to.  And going to my own surprise one with only 4 people?  Fabulous!



Baby Love from the RGs


I will have it known that the RGs know how to shower love.  Games, diaper cakes, fun-fetti cupcakes, handmade onesies....and an embroidered bib that says, "I love my Aunties- H-momi, JJ and K-Dawg".  Could I ask for anything more?

We spent a day at the Hilton Spa....and I treated myself to a prenatal massage.  The masseuse did wonders to my sciatica and I felt like a new woman (until today at work....I am thinking it is perhaps the shoes I am wearing...).  I have determined that if I could I would get a professional massage daily.  Any takers?

I am, however, incredibly blessed with the most awesomest (yes, that is a word) husband on the planet.  He has been willingly abiding to my every wish and seems to read my mind at other times.  Tonight while I sat with my cankles elevated,  he prepared my hamburger for me just the way I like it.  It is the little things. 

Fun Baby Fact:  Baby has gotten so big (4 lbs!!!) that instead of jabs, I now feel rolls and waves in my belly.  I thought the jabbing was funny feeling but this new sensation is just plain amusing.  Baby has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or some sort of peach fuzz....)

Fun Pregnancy Fact: Gaining about a pound a week, at least half will go directly to Baby.  I am starting to feel my ligaments stretching and loosening - which causes mild to moderate discomfort toward the end of the day.

Rainbows

September 15, 2011
31 weeks, 1 day

I love fall.  I love the changing weather: how one day it can be deceivingly warm, as though summer is still upon us, and the next turn cool, the day filled with a chilly breeze and cloudy skies.  I love layering: breaking out my down slippers, a beanie and a down parka (because it is never too early for down!).  And I love that this year it means putting on my hubby's because my belly is just too darn big to squeeze into my coat.  I love hot cocoa as the rains pour and the skies crack down thunder and lightening.  I love baking: everything pumpkin and good so that my kitchen warms and the smells as you walk in fill your heart with love.  I love the anticipation of snow.  I love hearing the elk bugling.

I love that, for us, fall means new life.

The other evening after an incredible hail storm, I was mesmerized  by the most beautiful double rainbow shining through the heavens across the street from my house. A friend at work caught it over EMS and the clinic:

It reminded me of God's promise in Genesis 9:12-13:, "And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come.  I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth."

I feel very pregnant.  My sciatica hurts constantly, I can't sneeze or cough without holding my crotch, I waddle, I feel bloated and uncomfortable, I have cankles, I can barely put shoes on, when I do put my shoes I can't breath, I cry and laugh within seconds of each other.....So you would think, with a list like that, life would be challenging.   To be perfectly honest, I have never been so happy.  Baby jabs me in my ribs and I smile.  I take at least 20% longer on my walks with Owen in the morning:  and I thank God that I have 20% longer to be out in the glorious weather.  I race to the bathroom (since I can hold all of maybe 50 ml max) and I laugh thinking about Baby resting his head on my ever shrinking bladder.  I get up, cringe at my butt cheeks for the stabbing pain they are causing me and then gather a sense of peace knowing that not only is this temporary, but it means that Baby grows bigger daily. 

Perhaps this is a classic case of the "glass half full".  I do not know.  But, I do know that as the time draws nearer I grow more excited to meet this little pumpkin ('tis fall after all!) growing so adamantly inside of me.  As I told the little pumpkin on our walk this morning, "You just take your time.  You come out when you're ready."

I've filled my day with cooking and baking.  Chili and cornbread; pumpkin cranberry bread (in honor of my Little Pumpkin); banana chocolate chip bread.  Owey's little nose has been exploring the kitchen for scraps all morning.  What a fabulous day!

Fun Baby Fact: Baby weighs in at over 3 lbs and 18 inches long.  She is now processing information, tracking light, and perceiving signals from all five senses.

Fun Pregnancy Fact:  I had a week of what I like to call "The Lull".  A bit down, super emotional and overwhelmed with the prospect of being a Mama.  With the aid of my beloved, prayer and a few nibbles of chocolate, I feel revived and ready to conquer motherhood (ok, that may be a bit extreme....but I feel great!).  On to every 2 week OB checks-- my last one a week ago: my fundal height is at 32 cm (perfect!) and Baby's heart beat was fluctuating between 140 and 152 - a healthy sign as a variable heartbeat indicates good neurological growth.

Coming soon: An Updated Belly Photo!

Twenty-Nine

September 3, 2011

Belly 9/1/11

29 weeks, 3 days

I couldn't have planned it if I tried:  turning 29 during my 29th week of being preggie.  LOVE it.  And it was indeed a fabulous birthday.  CJ and I celebrated early and headed down to Flagstaff Tuesday night- dinner and then we got a hotel room in town and watched hours of the boob-tube.  Considering we don't have television, this was an exciting evening for us!  It is truly incredible how much time can be spent staring at a screen....but I have no complaints at all!

Wednesday we ventured out into the San Francisco mountains for a  late summer hike through the aspens and meadows.  So freakin' beautiful.  My sciatica has started acting up this past week (perhaps because I worked 6 of 7 days....which as you know is a lot for Mrs. Part-Timer) but I am managing to move through it and try stretching as much as possible.  Sciatica or not, it was a memorable pre-birthday birthday celebration.  The temperature was a breezy 75 degrees with patchy cloud cover.  Heaven.  Even Baby stirred a few times.

Baby continues on movin' and shakin'.  My right rib seems to be the location of choice this week.  Significantly better than the bladder, I might add.  It is quite apparent that Baby is nearing 3 lbs by the size of my belly.  It still amazes me that a baby is growing inside of me.  She hasn't been keeping me up at night but CJ did tell me that several times through the night he wakes up because Baby is hammering into his back. 

We got a hand-me-down baby carrier backpack.  It is CJ's new favorite toy (well that and our Bob stroller courtesy of my grandma).  He put the backpack on and was walking around the house last night with it.  Classic CJ, "This makes me excited to be a dad!"  If that is all it takes, great!

Family Photo on our birthday hike

Fun Baby Fact: Baby, who measures in around 17 inches, is mighty close to his birth length. However, this week fat, called white fat, starts developing under her wrinkled skin.  White fat serves as an energy source versus brown fat (which Baby had previously) which is necessary for temperature regulation. 

We get to start counting kicks twice a day!

Fun Pregnancy Fact: Thought you all might like a diagram of what is happening my body... Please notice the increasing limited space for organs besides my uterus: