39 weeks

273 days of pregnancy!

 

 

The question "how are you doing" has many, many answers these days. I dont think one fits the bill for more than one day, sometimes more than a couple hours!

 

So, how am I doing...Some days I'm GREAT! Other days I'm crying and grumpy. Sometimes I go between those two things multiple times in one day! But that's 39 weeks pregnant for ya.

 

My sweet husband...oh man, he is the greatest. Being pregnant really shows you what kind of man you've married. I've seen just how loving and patient and kind and caring he really is. Because those things have been so generously exercise with me lately! Thanks babe :)

 

This week I'm loving:

These cookies. Semi-not-too-unhealthy.  Lovin' them cold, right out of the fridge. like 4 at a time, YUM.

Baskin Robbins is right down the street from our house. Talk about danger zone. Lovin' that a little too much!

Our friends loaned us a baby swing to use for Copelynn! Put that $130+ back in savings, hello!

My last day @ Continuant is WEDNESDAY. I think that'll get it's own post.

Baby girl is still thriving in the womb. So grateful for a healthy pregnancy and full-term baby. But 1 request, can we not go more than 40 weeks?

Pregnancy Book Review

I thought I'd do a post about the books I've read and found helpful during pregnancy. There are TONS and TONS of books out there, but these were the ones I gained the most from and really enjoyed reading.

 

Pushed by Jennifer Block

This is basically about how jacked our maternity care is in the US. And about how other nations (like alot of them in Europe for example) approach maternity care/labor/birth so differently. It really just opened my eyes to the thought that there has to be a better way than what we're doing now and spurred my interest in Midwifery vs. OB care and inspired me to head towards a natural birth.

 

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin

This is one of the two most helpful books I read for sure. It's all about Midwifery, the benefits and joys of natural childbirth, trusting in the wisdom of your body during labor/birth, how to prevent medical intervention from being needed, what really happens during labor, natural pain releif, and best of all--1/2 the book is real stories of natural births.  Loved this book! Made me want to go visit Ina May :) She's like the mother of all midwives.

 

Sit Up and Take Notice!: Positioning Yourself for a Better Birth by Pauline Scott

The #1 most helpful book I read.  It's all about optimal fetal position and exercises to get your baby in the best position for the easiet, shortest, least painful labor.  The key is to keep your pelvis tilted forward. So many women give birth to babies that are "sunny side-up" aka face up instead of face down aka back to your back aka the most painful way to give birth, because our lives are spent in positions that aren't best for positioning our babies for birth.  We sit in relciners and bucket seats and comfy couches when really we need to be on hard surfaces (dining room chairs, the floor) or yoga balls.  This book helped me immensely with practical ways to prepare Copelynn and I for the best birth!

 

Natural childbirth the Bradley Way by Susan McCutcheon

I really just scanned this book because it was basically everything we learned in our Bradley Childbirth Class.  If you don't take the class, however, it's filled with great practical information.

 

The womanly art of breastfeedingby LLLI

Like Ina May Gaskin's guide to childbirth, this was one of my favorites to read.  I mean, it's written by LLLI so how much more pro-breastfeeding can you get!? I love how encouraging and inspirting LLLI is about breastfeeding--it excites me! This book goes over the benefits of breastfeeding and does a great, extensive comparison with formula feeding. It gives you tips and tricks of how to make breastfeeding work no matter what your situation is--going back to work full time or staying home and everything in between. It really is a great resource I'm sure I'll draw from in the future. It also has a lot of stories from real moms about their journeys of breastfeeding--which are always comforting and fun to hear.

 

Husband coached childbirth by Robert Bradley

The husbands in our Bradley Childbirth Class were assigned to read this one. Zach learned a lot from it. It was great at educating the husbands of what natural birth is all about and why they should encourage their baby's mama to go all natural and what to expect and how to be the best coach. It really gives them a role to play and empowers them instead of them being a deer caught in the headlights and not knowing what to do during labor/delivery.

 

Happy Reading!



37 weeks

The end is near! I find myself daily looking down at my belly, savoring it and remembering what it looks like and feels like and wondering if I will miss it when it is gone.  I mean, it's been around now for 37 weeks now....Thats a long period of time!

I don't know if I'll necessarily miss it as in I always want a 30+ lb belly on the front of me but I could picture myself missing the sweetness of Copelynn's kicks and turns and having that kind of intimate bond with her that no one else in the world knows or has. I get to carry her, what a blessing and privilege! But, she'll be in our arms soon enough, which I'm sure is even more rewarding than having her in my body.

I've been pondering for a couple of minutes now on how to write this update without sounding totally drab and negative and terrible. I'm not sure how to do that--so here is the honest truth update of being 37 weeks pregnant :)

 disclaimer: being pregnant is such a blessing, BUT there is some real craziness that comes along with it, especially towards the end!

-Most days I just want to hibernate.  I'm naturally a people person and have an outgoing social butterfly personality. Love people, love go-go-going, love interaction, etc...but the more pregnant I get, the more I find myself not wanting to small talk or socialize or be with or go anywhere with anyone besides a few select people (ie: Zach, my close girlfriends, my parents).  I'd like to just hibernate like a bear :) Coworkers, starbucks baristas, people in stores, cashier checking me out...I'm sorry in advance, I'm usually a more friendly person.

-My feet hurt. 24/7 everyday. Unless I am in bed, you will find me with my house shoes on with those comfy inserts in them, or my reef flip flops when I start sweating because I'm so hot all the of the sudden. I even shower with my flip flops on. or else I end up sitting down in the tub to shower and that is weird.

-its like mother nature is preparing me for having a newborn baby in the sleep department. I'm rarely not tired or not exhausted these days, yet I cannot sleep for more than like 7 hours. literally. What in the world?

On a happier note, we got a whole lot done this past weekend for Miss Copelynn! Thanks to a few wonderful friends, we got Copelynn's room all painted. Which then meant we could move in all the furniture. We already have the crib my brother made, and we bought a glider (my new favorite seat in the house!) and dressser for her room. Also got my dream diaper bag for a good deal on Craigst list! Woohoo! Unpacked all the clothes and diapers and toys and more clothes and blakets, etc. 

This week we got our Fuzzibunz diapers and I got my Earth Mama Angel Baby Breastfeeding kit, too. Woohoo!

Can't wait to see our little princess' bum in those diapers! 

We've even got the carseat in the car you guys. oh boy!

I've had a blast with all these preparations--the anticipation and excitement is really fun! If only work could feel that way for the next two weeks?

36 Weeks

36 weeks!

This part of pregnancy is interesting...I call it the limbo month because she could be here in just a couple days or like a week...or she could be 2 weeks late and still not come for awhile!  UM kind of crazy to be in the limbo of wondering whether we'll have a newborn really soon or in another month.

 

But, at my appointment yesterday they said she had not "dropped" yet, so it's pretty safe to say we've got a good amount of time left :) She was anterior and on the left side; which is perfect! You stay that way babygirl!  

The newest trend is that I am hot. like ALL the time. If I go for a walk on my lunch break, I literally don't cool down. I sweat until I leave the office. Clammy hands, clammy feet. sweat. everywhere. HELLO deodorant! And I wear my flip flops around the house instead of my house shoes because I get way to hot in the latter. Doing dishes or cleaning things up--layers of clothes come off cause I get so warm!

And in the mornings, Zach is cold in the car with a jacket on....while I have on short sleeves and still am burning up. And in bed @ night, we have the window wide open, the fan on and I'm still hot with no clothes or covers on. Mind you its a high of like 55* here. Praise the LORD I got to skip a summer pregnancy this time around.

Those placenta pills are supposed to help with this kind of thing post partum. So thank God for that, hopefully they do!

Also, I feel like the more pregnant I get the less bull%#*@ I can handle or just hold my tongue about. It's like the more pregnant I am the more feisty and un-filtered I become...the level of honesty goes way up! It's pretty funny sometimes--other times I think oh whoops, probably could've gone without saying that. It's most funny when people are like woah, I've never seen you like that before. And I realize, yep, they're not used to unfiltered pregnant Aimee. 

 

We got all moved into our new place thanks to the help of a bunch of awesome friends. I am sooooooo grateful for our new place and really love it.  Now comes the unpacking and settling in.  Copelynn's room still needs paint and to be all set up. Can't wait!

 

34-35 weeks

 

LOOK AT THAT BELLY!

 

Sometimes I have OH MY GOSH moments when I look down at my belly and think We're having a KID! What are we thinking?!

But then I think Well, I've alway been a lover of change and adventure and anything new and exciting.  And what could be more of a change, adventure, new and exciting than being pregnant and having a kid?

Well, nothing.

haha, just kidding, I don't know. But having a kid is for sure UP there on the list. No doubt about that.

 

 

@ The Midwifery this past week week my belly measured 35 cm and everything else looks great. In the next couple of weeks we will be moving (don't even ask), meeting with our doula, meeting with the lady who will encapsulate my placenta!!, ordering our cloth diapers!!!, and counting down until my last day of work and Copelynn's arrival. Exciting times!

The Weight of the Scale

I don't have any cute pictures for this post, just an update on life in the Charnock Household....so if you're not our friends or family you might be bored. If you are our friends or family, you most likely live in another state and are excited to hear about life!

 

Pregnancy is getting real. Really real. Up until now, I didn't really have any of the stereotypical pregnancy symptoms or aches/pains.  I had a growing belly, but wasn't like "get this baby outta me". But oh, things have changed.  I've reached the point that I'm guessing all women proably do...where you're just ready to have this baby. Ready to bring this little miracle into the world and out of your body.  I love that I get to carry this girl and be the vessel that she develops in for the 1st 10 months of her existence, but MAN, my feet and hands are swollen. My wedding ring won't come off. And I long to wear all the clothes in my closet that haven't fit for months and months. I find myself on pinterest and in stores dreamily looking at non-maternity clothes like they're Zach without a shirt on.

 

Speaking of Zach without a shirt on; he's lost 30+ pounds as of today! And as of today, I have gained 30+ pounds! 

 

The weight gain thing has gotten to me a few times in this pregnancy. After the scale told me how much I've gained in the past 33.5 weeks I had to have a heart to heart with myself.  It's easy to get down about it and think dear Lord, how long will it take me to look like I used to after this baby comes out. But I snapped out of that black hole just about as fast as I went in it. Because it is just a number.  Why do we let a number on a scale drive us nuts or take up so much of our thought life and cause so much anxiety?  Weight's never been a huge issue for me....I've never struggled with being overweight or wanting to loose tons of weight. But, I am still a woman and still struggle from time to time with my body image. Just like the rest of the women in the world.

 

But I find that I struggle with it when I'm not seeing myself through God's eyes. We're our worst critics right?  I can judge myself, be critical of myself, and think things about myself that'd be so ridicuously rude if I were doing it to someone else. And if I were to judge someone the way I judge myself sometimes, I'd have to go apologize real bad to them.  So why do I do it to myself then? Like I'm not worthy of the same respect and love that others are?

 

So last night in my conversation with myself and the Lord about all of this, I was reminded that I am a daughter of God 

A daughter of the most high King.

I am fearfully and wonderfully made in his image

And I need to see myself the way he sees me--perfectly made, beautiful, lovely, just right, captivating, gorgeous, stunning...

no matter what the scale says.

 

And instead of focusing on the petty things that don't matter, like weight, I need to spent my energy just being in awe of the miracle taking place inside of me.

 

When I excercise the self dicipline it takes to take every thought captive and examine it before the Word to see if it lines up with what God says or not, I am able to love myself the way Jesus loves me. I am able to extend the grace and mercy necessary to love myself just for who I am--inside and out. Even when it's a work in progress!

Placenta Wha?

Are any of you guys the kind of people that would encapsulate your placenta and take it as pills after birth? If you are, tell me who you are so we can be friends!

If you're not--its okay....I won't be offended by the weird faces you might make at me if you read the rest of this post, or that you're already making.


I first heard of placenta encapulation on another mama's blog that I follow and love and became super interested. I am all for natural remedies and anything that will help with post partum health.

Then we got pregnant and I was for sure that I'd definitley do this. Months went by and I totally forgot about it until my girlfriend brought it up in conversation one night and I was like AH OH YEAH! I'm 30 weeks pregnant, I need to find someone to do this!

So, I found a woman the only woman who does placenta encapsulation in Olympia and called her. She was super sweet and right up my alley. She is super passionate about placentas. It was awesome. Who knew someone like her existed?

So how does it work?
She'll come get the placenta at the birth center after Copelynn enters the world and then return it in capsule pill form the next day.  THAT'S QUICK! WOOHOO!

Then you take 3 pills, 3 times a day--9 total a day.  Until you run out. She said that depending on the size your placenta you get 90-120 pills.


So why would I do this?
Because the benefits are incredible! And it's a pill--you would never be able to tell it from any other vitamin if you didn't know what it was.

This is from Diksha's website:

The placenta is loaded with a variety of natural hormones and is a source of iron, protein, and more which have shown to help with:

 

increase in general energy

contracting the uterus

minimizing postpartum bleeding

decreasing likelihood of iron deficiency

quicker return to health after birth

faster healing from any birth-trauma

Increasing production of breast milk

decreasing likelihood of baby blues and postpartum 

 

 

Before Zach and I made the final decision to have this done, we wanted to get some real live feedback from people who'd done it before. So, like any modern person, i posted someone on facebook asking for people's thoughts that had actually done it. And WOW, that got a lot of feedback...hardly any of it was from people who'd actually done it or had someone useful to say, but it was pretty comical.  I expected the kinda comments people made though; thats what happens when you throw something out there so "controversial" or "new" or "not normal" right?

 

We didn't really get anything solid from that so I talked to my midwife about it and she said they see their patients do it all the time and she's never heard a mom say they regretted it or it wasn't worth it or it didn't help.

 

I guess I won't have anything to compare it to, so I won't be able to say "yeah it helped so much verses not doing it" but when Copelynn arrives and Diksha does her thing with my placenta, I'll keep ya in the loop!

                                  

32ish weeks

 

I had my 32 week apointment yesterday and Miss Copelynn is finally turning veritcal and downwards! I guess she did have some time left to start turning, but she's been transverse this whole pregnancy and I am relieved to know she's not anymore!  Her little butt was up by my left ribs and her head is down on my right side.  She loves that right side--my belly almost always is lop sided because she stays over there 24/7. 

My belly is measuring 33 cm and we're both good and healthy.

Swelling has definetly set in and its weird!  My wedding ring and shoes are getting quite tight. Flats are about the only thing that will do for these work days. Lots of epsom salt baths and elevation for this girl. 

 

For whatever reason, I was the most miserable in weeks 28-30ish.  I was ready to have this girl and ready to not be pregnant anymore--in a really antsy way. But that's faded away and I'm not really miserable anymore. I wouldn't say I'm comfortable, like how comfortable felt before I was carrying around 30+ extra pounds, but as comfortable as one can be at 32 weeks pregnant. Sleeping is probably the worst.

Other than that, I'm just ready for this girl to be here and am trying to look past the weirdness that happens to you when your pregnant and soak up the beauty that is being pregnant.

8ish more weeks to go :)

30 Weeks

I had my 30 week checkup a couple of days ago and walked out of the midwifery with my head spinning.

 

 

"she just talked about getting the carseat in the car"

"we just bought the mattress for the crib and a pack-n-play"

 

 

"the baby showers are over and we now have a list of last items to get"

 

 

"there are clothes hanging in Copelynn's closet....that she'll be wearing SOON"

"I'm buying strollers from my friends"

"I'll be joining their stay at home mom club soon"

 

This little girl will be here REALLY soon! 10 weeks or less! Time is winding down and as it gets closer and closer, I feel more and more overwhelmed. Not with anxiety or fear. Overwelmed in a this is really happening way. Overcome with disbelief and excitement and nerves and readiness for this new season. Like I'm about to get on a sweet roller coaster that will be so fun and scary and exciting (I love roller coasters, so if you don't you should just ignore that analogy).

 

The more I think about it all, the more sentimental I feel. I've been pondering the fact that we will never be here in this season ever again.

 

I will never be entering motherhood for the 1st time ever again

Our home will never house just a married couple with no kids ever again

Our family never be just Zach and I ever again

 

The last time I felt these feelings was high school graduation and our Anthem graduation.  Times in life when I was on the brink of the most change I'd ever expereinced. We spent 18 years in school with our friends and then were expelled out into the "real world" to figure a whole new life out....all while singing that Vitamin C song.

 

And then there was Anthem. We spent two years completely immersed in such a concentrated enviroment of God's presence and the church and full-blown, full-time, every second of the day ministry with the same group of tight-knit Jesus-loving people. We were stretched beyond belief, we grew, we cried, we laughed, we learned...And then we were commissioned out into the "real world" again to figure out a whole new life. 

 

Both of those seasons I found myself feeling like

-I'm so ready for what's next

-But, how can life be any better than it has been?

 

And now, here I am again....feeling those exact same things. I feel so ready to welcome all the changes into our lives that this baby girl will bring. This time around, though, I don't feel that "how can life be any better than it has been?" thing. I know that the best is yet to come and we'll think "how did we live without her."

 

Welcoming Copelynn into the world is exciting, terrifying, sobering, scary....

 

Because there are so many new things about to happen that we've never experience before. 

 

And we are bringing a little life into the world that is completely ours to take care of and more imortantly raise in God's ways.

 

And this is just the beginning of seeing God's promises fullfilled in our lives and our kid's lives.  I am excited to see what we have prayed about and prepared for for years now come to pass. 

 

And we're leaving behind the life we've known and adding someone else to our family way.  It's scary to know that it'lll never just be the two of us again. At the same time, this is also one of the most exciting things too. 

 

 

 

So, all in all, I am overwelmed with joy and excitement and expectancy.  I feel like we are so ready. I'm filled with unbelief that Copelynn will be here with us in just two months. I'm filled with unbelief that I'll be quitting my job and staying home with her in just two months. Can't wait :)

 

Daily View

This is my daily view :) lovely, awe-inspiring, miraculous, exciting, humbling, beautiful.

 

 

 

Daily life is also including some other things these days....

-achey hips

-achey feet

-heartburn. I have never had heartburn in my life, so I had no idea what it felt like. But oh boy, it's not my friend. And it's from everything--oatmeal, toast, apples, etc.

-fatigue. A coworker told me the other day that the energy a pregnant woman uses each day just being pregnant is the equivilant to climbing a mountain. I think it's true!!

 

So, I'm enjoying this belly, but if you asked me what I'm most looking forward to about having Copelynn, I'd honestly say not being pregnant. And meeting our little princess of course. I'm for sure ready to have her on the outside of my womb though.

Lifesavers for the 3rd trimester have been
-DVR. forces me to do absolutely nothing and sit down
-Zach doing Paleo. Forces me to eat healthier which in turn makes me feel better. But still doesn't stop the I want something Sweet or Greasy or Fattening urges for happening occasionally :)
- Body Pillow; couldn't sleep without that thing
- Yoga Pants! Best thing I've ever bought. I wish i could wear them everyday to work!
-House shoes with comfy shoe inserts. Oh so nice on the feet
 

 

 and Oh--shaving legs and painting toes is nearly impossible. Trying to do that was fun...

28 Week Update!

supposed to be me "steppin"

Steppin into the 3rd Trimester people!  It is crazy to say that--time really does go by quite fast.

 

These days I go from pretty exhausted/tired to energized/super motivated.  Some days/hours I'm just pooped and other days/hours I'm up and goin!

 

Sleeping is the worst.  I rotate between cuddling a full body pillow and using a normal sized pillow between my knees.  I get tired of both. Between peeing a couple times a night and my sides going numb from sleeping on them too long, each night is an adventure. My last few weeks of sleep might end up being in our recliner.

 

Haven't really had any crazy or weird cravings. Although, I was wanting cheesecake real bad and our friends were serving it for desert on Sunday.....AWESOME! Happy pregnant lady!

I had my 28 week checkup yesterday and we're both doing great! Belly is measuring exactly 28 cm and babygirl has a healthy heartbeat :) From here on out we have bi-monthlyl appointments. This is getting real folks!

As you've probably already gathered, I'm seeing a midwife instead of an OB and will deliver @ their birth center instead of the hospital.  If you want to learn more you can check them out here. I've been beyond happy with the midwives and am soooooooo excited to be under their care.  I feel way at peace and comfortable with their approach to prenatal care, labor, and delivery--exactly what I was looking for.

 

Work. ohhhhhh work...I really have to hand it to the women who work all the way through their pregnancy and even up to the point of going into labor--it is not the easiest thing in the world!  The more time goes on, the less capacity I have to handle things. The emotions are high usually and getting overwelmed doesn't take too much--gotta love those hormones right?

 

That Glucose Test...

I stumbled upon an interesting observation recently:  I seriously think Miss Copelynn was concieved while we were in Spokane on this trip in July. And if I'm right, my due date is a week off! And that'd make me a week or so farther along then we all think! WOAH. That trip was also the last time I drank. wow! Hello Peña Colada, see you in 3 months!


Another recent thing going on in my pregnant world:
I opted to not take a glucose tolerance test. Before you judge me and scowl at me, here's why: words out of my Midwive's mouth "this is optional."  I dont know what OBs do/say about this test, but I have 100% faith in the Midwives taking care of us. And with it being optional, I did opt to do it last time I was seeing them. Why not? Sure I will.

So, they gave me papers to go do it @ a local lab place. Then I didn't do. and I didn't do it. And my last chance before my next appointment with my Midwives is fast approaching---and now I've opted to change my mind. Because I did a little research and educated myself on this thing.  There are symptoms people experience with GD (gestational diabetes) and wouldn't you know, I have none of them. There is high risk, medium risk, and low risk for having GD, and I do not have, and have never had, any symptoms remotely close to what even a low risk person might experience. I bounced this all off one of my fellow mom friends and now feel confident to not fast for 12 hours, down a nasty drink, and sit in a chair for 3 more and get loads of blood taken.

If I was even an inkling close to any of the at risk signs, then yes, I'd do it. But, I've got none of them. So there ya have it; not doing it.

This is just one of the many procedures and I'm learning isn't a must during pregnancy, birth, and labor.  There are SO many it's insane. And i've become rather passionate about dispelling the myths that some of these things are HAVE TOs, when they're really not.

To seriously learn for yourself and make educated decisions about these kinds of things is empowering. I'm not cool with just doing whatever the doc tells me. I don't think anyone should be.

Just like the goop they put on your baby's eyes when they come out...this used to be used on babies where the moms had STDs.  But its routine now for every single baby.  Is it necessary for all babies? No. Do they still just do it? Yes. Can you ask them not to? Yes. Newborn babies can really only see from mom's breast to her eyes. When they get this goop all in their eyes, it blocks their vision and inhibits bonding that is so crucial between the mom and baby in the first minutes/hours after birth. I know I dont have an STDs. So I know my baby will not be getting the goop.

There are just too many processes and procedures that are routine that shouldn't be...so question them people, don't just be a robot!


There's my rant. And now it's ending. Thanks for listening :)

26 weeks

 

How far along? 26 Weeks!

Stretch marks? No, thank God

Sleep: Good! Just different. Recently got a body pillow and that helps alot! And it's way cheaper than those "maternity" pillows that the girl @ Motherhood Maternity tried to sell me.

Miss Anything? Just yesterday I had my 1st urge to drink coffee again. Missing that and sleeping on my back & stomach.

Movement: She's movin like she's got techno music in there

Favorite Moment of the Week: Favorite moment of every week has to be when Zach talks to my belly and tells me how much he loves it. He's gunna be such a great dad.

Food cravings: Nothing weird --but I did eat a whole package of pudding. oops.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope

Labor Signs: Nope

Symptoms: Lower back aches now adays, I can definitly feel the weight on this growing belly on it and also on my feet. Invested in some shoe inserts for my poor achey feet; never had to carry this much weight in my life!

Belly Button in or out? It's like neither in or out. Its basically even with my belly. weird.

Wedding rings on or off? on; fits perfect still

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy and emotional!  I get teary eyed at church and watching movies waaaay easily! And my capacity to handle difficult/stressfull situations (work) is waning as the days go on. Lord help me.

Looking forward to: my mama coming up and helping me get baby's room ready!

Squeeze Me Like an Orange

I've now been pregnant for 25 weeks.  25 weeks of a brand new season of life for myself and Zach and I.  25 weeks of the old "normals" being long gone and "routines" being shaken up.  25 weeks of constant change, change, change.  And so far, its become very apparent to me that pregnancy is as much of a season of emotional/spiritual growth as it is a season of physical growth.

Yep, this belly is streching and growing away! And there are many other crazy, bizarre physical changes going on that i'll spare you from :)  But in the midst of this, my heart and soul are growing and stretching just as much.

I knew what to expect physically, but I don't think I knew what to expect emotionally/spiritually on this journey.

It's kind of like marriage; it's this beautiful exciting thing that will change your life forever. And leading up to the marriage and wedding, you have no idea what you're getting into! God'll use that thing to change your life. In easy and hard ways.

And thus with pregnancy.

It's proven to shine through to some new insecurities I didn't know were lurking in the dark corners before. As these things rise to the surface and poke their heads out like groundhogs, I'm realzing that this is such a unique, special season of time.  A time when senses are heighted and just about everything is just more intense.  A season when God can do a lot, if I allow him to.

It would be easy to ignore these things, and try to live the status quo til this is over, but I'd like to be brave enough to let the Lord squeeze this season of life for all that it's worth; just like an orange and some juice. 

40 weeks come and go. 40 weeks of these new & weird emotional and physical things won't last forever. 40 weeks of these changes will be gone before I know it.  All of it will pass. But I don't want it to pass without God having His way in it all. 

So have at it Lord; squeeze away. And may what's left be pleasing to you.

24 Weeks

My life and mind are becoming more and more occupied around all things baby. Newborn, 1st-baby-for-us things.

This girl will be here in 16 weeks, give or take!!
 

On that note, we had our 1st Bradley Childbirth Class last week.  I'm super excited about it! Some of the "homework" is to keep a food journal every.single.day and track your protein.  Bradley reccommends pregnant women get 80-100 grams PER day. I was pretty sure my tracking would prove that I need more, but surprisingly enough I've been getting 80-100/day...probably only since I made these changes awhile back. 

 

And I am now immersed in books galore:
Natural childbirth the Bradley Way by Susan McCutcheon
The womanly art of breastfeeding by LLLI
The husband gets to read Husband coached childbirth by Robert Bradley

 

So life is filled with lots of reading and kegls and exercises and learning and food-tracking right now. I'm starting to dream about breastfeeding and labor/delivery and swings and cribs. oh my.

To top it all off, pregnancy has been treatin this girl well lately! No swollen feet or hands or ankles. No back aches
Not craving anything new recently
Uterus is now the size of a soccer ball
Belly button is on the verge of popping out (I for sure regret piercing my belly button now)
Baby girl is ACTIVE! Her kicks get stronger all the time
Did I tell you that we were watching my belly one night to see if we could actually see it move and we did?! If i already told you, then whoops! But it was sweet.

 

Week 22

This is my "I'm sick" belly picture. Thought I'd spare you all from the nice no hair no makeup get up. 

It feels like Copelynn is doing a dance in my belly these days. She is active usually in the morning and later in the evening.  It was so sweet on Christmas night, Zach felt her kick for the first time! His face was priceless. Ann and my dad also felt her that night! 

It was so fun to share my bump with my fam, I can't wait to bring her to CA once she arrives and have everyone meet her. It just gets sweeter all the time. 

-At 22 weeks she is 10.5-11.5 inches long
-She sleeps 12-14 hours a day
-She's yawning and swallowing amniotic fluid and peeing it out. Way to go baby
-My latest obsession is sugary cereal. Love me some lucky charms before bed :)

I'm feeling really good these days!  The yucky 1st trimester stuff is long gone and I'm not uncomfortably big.  I wasn't sure what people were talking about when they said they loved being pregnant, but now I get it. I'm loving being pregnant right now!  It's more and more fun as the weeks go on and she gets bigger and closer to entering the world.  

21 weeks 

I for sure cannot sleep on my belly anymore, thankfully sleeping on my side hasn't been too big of a deal like I thought it would. When you have no option, you just do it!  If I eat too close to going to bed, I have bad indigestion and burps. Due to less and less space every single day, I can only eat a little at a time and its hard to breath sometimes! Copelynn's taking over my lung space!

My mind's been pretty preoccupied with allllll the changes that'll be coming out way in 4 short months when baby girl arrives. The baby shower really made me think about it all. My growing belly and the crib and carseat and stroller in our spare room make it hard to forget life is about to get crazy! 

One thing I am soooooooo excited about is staying home with Copelynn.   It was a no brainer as soon as we found out we were pregnant.

I am super stoked for this to happen and cannot wait to stay at home with her and the rest of our babies.  I'm really looking forward to the "career" change I guess you can call it.  Besides being a wife to my amazing husband I can't think of something that'd bring me more joy than staying home with my babies. 

21 weeks 4 days 

Obviously this brings many financial changes, I mean we're cutting our income in half. But, God has always provided for us and I know he won't stop now!  I'm not worried about it, I know the Lord's the one who's paved the way for this to happen and he'll always come through for us. 

We might have 1 car for longer than we'd like, and it might take us longer to save to buy a house, and we'll eat out less and have less Starbucks, we'll cancel our cable and get slower internet.  But, all of that is more than worth it.

Cheers to our growing family and all that 2013 has in store for us! Happy New Year Everyone! 

Sacramento Baby Shower

While we were in Sacramento for Christmas my mom threw me a baby shower and it was awesome! She did such a good job; it was so perfect!  I had a ton of fun and loved everything. The food was delish and all the games and decorations were so cute. We had it a mexican restaurant to go along with my due date: Cinco De Mayo.  It was a great way to get to see everyone while we were in town, too.

Mama doin her thang with the flowers.

 

I forgot to get a pic of the table, but we had a sit down lunch with a mexican buffet.  The huge thing in front of the pic is the tree my mom used to hang the cute favors from (baby socks with candy inside).

C for Copelynn! 

Sock Monkys galore! 

 

This was so funny. Little babies frozen in ice cubes. Whoever's melted first yelled "my water broke" and won a prize.

 

 

  Pin the sperm on the egg...so funny. 

 First participant: Our waiter. Poor guy

Next in Line: my brother!

 

My cousin made the cake. Isn't it amazing!?

 

And my brother made this crib for Copelynn....all by himself..literally. In his garage, starting with peices of wood. It is incredible and we LOVE it!

 

Friends for 11 years now! Alex and Chelsea

Cousins Chelsey and Tina

Aunt Debbie

Aunt Cathy

 



Aunt Laura

Grandmas

4 Generations! Grandma, mom, me, copelynn. Notice how we get shorter as we age. haha!

 

My incredible mama! 

 My Stepmom Ann

 



My daddy



 Cousin Krissy


Miss Copelynn is already one blessed little girl! Thank you everyone for all of the books and toys and clothes (which are to-die-for-adorable) and baby things! We're grateful for your generosity!