Sunday, July 27, 2014

Bumpdate: week 32


How far along are you? 32 weeks  
Maternity Clothes? Yup, mostly.
Stretch Marks? No. But baby seems noticeably heavier. She still has 3-4 pounds to grow, and once she drops, I'm sure I'll get those stretch marks. 
Sleep: Decent. 
Best moments: Attending our first Bradley class! It's an 11 week class, so we'll miss the last 2-3 sessions, but I've already learned so much about what I need to do to prepare for natural labor. It's so nice to have Ryan involved with this. It's one of the things that I've feared about labor- Ryan not knowing what to do to help. 
Missing Anything? Wearing high-heels. 
Movement? Yes. And sometimes it hurts! 
Food Cravings: Cereal. Maybe because it involves no preparation/cooking. 
Symptoms: My ribs hurt sometimes and it's getting hard to breathe. 
Belly Button in or Out? Out. 
Happy or Moody? Happy. 
Looking Forward to: Scrapbooking/making a baby book- my form of nesting since we don't have a nursery for baby. I've filled out a handful of pages already. I'm including these weekly updates in there, so hopefully this would be something she'll have interest in reading when she's older. 

So, the Bradley method. Also known as husband coached birthing. It requires eating a lot of protein and exercising those birthing muscles. Squats and eggs have consumed my life. Ha. My squats are weak but my scrambled eggs are not. (Follow these rules for perfect scrambled eggs. It'll change your life.) It's recommended that pregnant women eat like, 100 grams of protein a day. I'm eating a lot of chicken since it doesn't gross me out like beef and pork do. I was a pescatarian for 7 years before finding out I was pregnant. I can only have tuna and other fish sparingly, so chicken it is. Sorry, not sorry. Confession, though: I ate an In-N-Out burger shortly after we moved to Arizona, just to see what the hype was all about. I've had one before, but it has been years since then. I failed to remember how salty they are. Super salty! Maybe that burger was a fluke? I may or may not eat one again. 



Sunday, July 20, 2014

Bumpdate: Week 31

How far along are you? 31 weeks  
Total Weight Gain: 23 pounds 
Maternity Clothes? Yup, mostly.
Stretch Marks? None on the belly. I'm finding more on my thighs and hips. These hips don't lie... 
Sleep: Pretty dang good. I'm giving in to naps like nobody's business. 
Best moments: Talking about co-sleeping with our baby. I didn't think it would be a thing that Ryan would want to do, but he brought it up while we window shopped for a bassinet. (Maybe he just doesn't want to spend money on one, hah!) 
Movement? Yes. And sometimes it hurts! 
Food Cravings: Ice cold watermelon. 
Symptoms: Just the usual aches, fatigue, thirst, hunger, heartburn, and constant urge to pee. 
Belly Button in or Out? Out. 
Happy or Moody? Happy! 
Looking Forward to: My sister-in-law called to say she'll be in Phoenix on Labor Day. Woohoo! She's planning on going to a concert and asked if I would/could come. I'll be extremely pregnant by that time, with only a couple of weeks until the baby arrives. I think I'll opt out this time, but hey, I can still see her. 
We were given a DVD from the birth center to watch this week. It's about natural birth and the stages of labor, all that good stuff. There was a bit about the history of different birthing methods around the world. I saw the most horrifying things- there was a clip from the 1930s of a woman "giving birth", completely unconscious. I won't go into it.... Watching babies being born isn't the cutest thing. It makes me think, "What the heck am I doing??!! Why is this so gross??" but our midwife explained that watching it happen to other people, complete strangers, is completely different than experiencing it. My baby may look gross to other people, covered in all that nasty stuff, but hopefully she'll still look super cute to me. Plus, I'll have all these endorphins running! 

If you're a mom, feel free to tell me your experience of first seeing your baby in the comment section. I just really like these stories and they give me confidence :) 

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Maternity Photos

They're here! My maternity photos! I obviously love how they turned out- so dreamy. If you ever find yourself in southern New Mexico, don't pass up the opportunity to visit White Sands National Park. And if you live in Albuquerque, don't pass up the opportunity to book a photo session with Ashley Rose Hamilton Photography.  

Friday, July 18, 2014

My Baby Shower

I loved this day. I loved this day. My family and friends are just the bee's knees. My favorite parts were those raindrop cookies (sooo delicious, along with all the other foods) and decorating onesies. My sister took these photos for me. 
My mother-in-law made this beautiful blanket. She picked up crocheting only about a month ago. Yeah. 
A special special thanks to my main girl, Holly, for offering her home and talents. Love you! Love you all.