Emma is my hero when it comes to labor stories. Lots of people talk about 17 hour labors, epidurals, c-sections, massive pain ... not Emma. Her birth story starts with a shower and stretching.
It is funny how your opinion of situations can change with education. When I first heard Emma's story, I thought she was nuts. Nuts for the fact that she went into labor and instead of frantically rushing to the hospital - she showered. Then when her husband told me they waited so long at home that they almost didn't make it to the hospital to have the baby and had their son like 45 minutes after they showed up.... well I just thought they were both crazy.
Since MJ has been pregnant, I have been fortunate to hear lots of birth stories. I have horror stories about pre-eclampsia, toximia, and pitosin. I have heard crazy stories about car rides, water breaking and nosy in-laws. I now know what the heck a doula is. I have more respect for my mom and my oldest sister since they had such big babies. But with all the stories I kept thinking "I want my story to be like Emma's. How can I do that?"
So Melissa and I took our first steps toward natural childbirth that I now know is not crazy or impossible (I mean Emma did it). We started taking Bradley method classes that I have heard are either "Amazing" or "Worthless". So that is nice to have a consensus. All I know is that a method that requires eating, relaxation and me being a good support for MJ can't be bad.
Now we just have 12 weeks of class to cram into 10 weeks or so. I think we can do that. I mean I don't really have to read the "diapering" section. MJ will do all that I am sure. ;)
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
28 Weeks 2 Days!
Well here is my belly shot update for week 28!
True Belly Shot...
The last couple weeks has brought on a lot of change, namely in the lay out of our home... Some of you may know that we have a bean bag room where our tv is which is now our family room. Well nearing the end of week 26 it happened, I got stuck in a bean bag and it took quite the maneuver to free myself. So the time had come for a room swap, the bean bags were rolled out and our L Shaped couch was moved in. Now our family room looks well, grown up... and I am again able to get up with some ease... not much but it is a vast improvement from the bean bag tango.
I have been craving a LOT of sweets lately not sure what that is about, but a lemon meringue pie and a boston cream pie have found there way into our fridge. On that note, I do have my glucose test this week, tomorrow actually. I am thinking positively and trying not to think about it too much, I of course want to pass... so happy thoughts.
Which brings me to my monthly check up, also tomorrow. We are meeting with another one of the doctor's in the practice... I think he is the last one. He is also the only one there who has done a water birth in the birthing tubs of the hospital. All the other doctor's in this practice allow laboring in the tubs but not the actual birth. This has really gotten my interest. I want to do a water birth something about it sounds like the best way to experience giving birth. My girl and I both agree that natural birth is what we think is best and we both have a love for the water... perhaps that is what we find so appealing... Either way it sometimes makes me wonder if this hospital is the best option for us. I really want my birth plan and I worry that hospital policy and a doctor's comfort may come in the way of that.
Nursery Update!
The chair rail and cove trim are up and it really completes the look!
Our little girl's closet. See those tubs... those are clothes sorted by age in three month intervals until 2T when it is then divided by year (2T, 3T, 4T) she has more clothes then Seana and I combined!!
Boppy pillows and our great find on craigslist a matching dresser which can also be a changing station.
We actually have a changing table that we are currently refinishing to match the crib.... sanding is tedious and takes a lot of work. I will show you it's progress in a separate blog.
At this point we still need a glider or rocking chair of some sort and another Cube Drawer for storage but that should be all the furniture our nursery should require.
Decorating... I need to hang some artwork, I have some ideas which I am thinking through. I'm leaning toward the very common theme of hanging her name up with wooden lettering and then of course putting up some safari art that matches the bedding.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Love is in the details
Love really is in the details. We have been working on the nursery. And as I was running a perfect bead of caulk along the newly hung chair rail, I thought about the details and how I wanted the room to be perfect for my little bean. Then it made me think of how I show love with details.
For example, I can make MJ the perfect cup of coffee. Not perfect by society standards, but by MJ standards. I know how it should taste before I serve it to her. I know this not because she made me learn it, but because I think it shows love to know how someone likes her coffee. Sure I can remember our anniversary, but I like to think it is the fact I ask if she wants ice cream right after she has thought about it that shows how much I love her.
My mom shows me love in details. Like making my favorite suckers, remembering saving my childhood toys, sending me encouraging emails. MJ shows me love with random notes in my lunch, making me tea in the morning, scratching my neck on long car rides to keep me from getting grumpy.
Its these little things that add up to so much. So although the bean may not appreciate the fact I also caulked the undersides of the boards just to make the job complete, I am pretty sure she will feel the extra love in the room for all the hard work.
For example, I can make MJ the perfect cup of coffee. Not perfect by society standards, but by MJ standards. I know how it should taste before I serve it to her. I know this not because she made me learn it, but because I think it shows love to know how someone likes her coffee. Sure I can remember our anniversary, but I like to think it is the fact I ask if she wants ice cream right after she has thought about it that shows how much I love her.
My mom shows me love in details. Like making my favorite suckers, remembering saving my childhood toys, sending me encouraging emails. MJ shows me love with random notes in my lunch, making me tea in the morning, scratching my neck on long car rides to keep me from getting grumpy.
Its these little things that add up to so much. So although the bean may not appreciate the fact I also caulked the undersides of the boards just to make the job complete, I am pretty sure she will feel the extra love in the room for all the hard work.
Friday, June 11, 2010
.. and we shall call her Queen Bean
Names are a tricky thing. I love my name because it is unique in its spelling for this country (it's Irish) but not odd in its pronunciation. I always knew when the teacher hit my name on a list because he/she would pause "Adam, Sarah ...... " I would promptly say "here" and properly pronounce my name so no awkward moments would happen.
Today there seems to be a trend among people to misspell their kids names on purpose or name them off the wall things. For example I have seen these three spellings for the same name "Kaeden, Kayden, Cayden" All pronounced "k-den" BTW C does not make a K sound. Let's not confuse our little ones. The last one should be "Ca -den"
This brings me to another point, most names are spoken and not written. How many times have you introduced yourself as "Hi my name is Sallie spelled Sallie" .... I am guessing never. So fancy spellings for names don't really set your kid a part in the world, they just make it harder on their teachers. You could spell it Gsallie and pronounce it "Sally" with a silent G. Sure it would be different but the kid would get the bank teller saying "how do you pronounce your name" every time she came in.
Then there is the trend of unique names. Heck a friend even knows a girl named "Unique." Sure I like the name Magnificent. I think it is fun to yell when mad, but I am pretty sure my little girl would be cursing me later in life. Super man, Cal-El, Lawyer, Treat, Priest, Moxi Crimefighter - all real names of real people. (I do kind of like Moxi). I am sure as kids they got a bunch of teasing and who knows how 'Lawyer's significant other likes yelling "Lawyer" across the store to get his attention.
Which takes me to my next point, picking a name for our baby bean. We want to minimize the name teasing our little girl could get. But it is hard - we have fallen in love with a name that has possible teasing potential. We both really like the name Maggie. Heck we even talk about her with the name, but we are both fighting trying to find something we like better because too many unkind words rhyme with Maggie - I will let you fill in the words that rhyme with Maggie now ..... take a minute ......
Plus MJ's family all has proper names and the proper name of Maggie is Margret and that just isn't happening. So we are considering Magdalena or Magdelynn (yes it is an off spelling using my middle name Lynn, but at least it is still pronounceable). I like both. And they are fun to yell when mad. Get my mom voice going.
So we will see what we end up with. All I know is Maggie isn't something I made up. It was spoken to me one day in the grocery store by the ultimate Father. And I just feel like He gave her that name and I probably shouldn't mess with it.
So back to square one.
Oh and sorry in advance if people call you Maggot. You will always be Queen Bean to me.
Today there seems to be a trend among people to misspell their kids names on purpose or name them off the wall things. For example I have seen these three spellings for the same name "Kaeden, Kayden, Cayden" All pronounced "k-den" BTW C does not make a K sound. Let's not confuse our little ones. The last one should be "Ca -den"
This brings me to another point, most names are spoken and not written. How many times have you introduced yourself as "Hi my name is Sallie spelled Sallie" .... I am guessing never. So fancy spellings for names don't really set your kid a part in the world, they just make it harder on their teachers. You could spell it Gsallie and pronounce it "Sally" with a silent G. Sure it would be different but the kid would get the bank teller saying "how do you pronounce your name" every time she came in.
Then there is the trend of unique names. Heck a friend even knows a girl named "Unique." Sure I like the name Magnificent. I think it is fun to yell when mad, but I am pretty sure my little girl would be cursing me later in life. Super man, Cal-El, Lawyer, Treat, Priest, Moxi Crimefighter - all real names of real people. (I do kind of like Moxi). I am sure as kids they got a bunch of teasing and who knows how 'Lawyer's significant other likes yelling "Lawyer" across the store to get his attention.
Which takes me to my next point, picking a name for our baby bean. We want to minimize the name teasing our little girl could get. But it is hard - we have fallen in love with a name that has possible teasing potential. We both really like the name Maggie. Heck we even talk about her with the name, but we are both fighting trying to find something we like better because too many unkind words rhyme with Maggie - I will let you fill in the words that rhyme with Maggie now ..... take a minute ......
Plus MJ's family all has proper names and the proper name of Maggie is Margret and that just isn't happening. So we are considering Magdalena or Magdelynn (yes it is an off spelling using my middle name Lynn, but at least it is still pronounceable). I like both. And they are fun to yell when mad. Get my mom voice going.
So we will see what we end up with. All I know is Maggie isn't something I made up. It was spoken to me one day in the grocery store by the ultimate Father. And I just feel like He gave her that name and I probably shouldn't mess with it.
So back to square one.
Oh and sorry in advance if people call you Maggot. You will always be Queen Bean to me.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Week 26 Belly Shots
Here are the photos from 26W2D! We have been having trouble with our internet, so although I am in my 27th week this post is for last week!
True Belly Shot.
I am definitely bigger!! Every visit to the grocery store includes a question of when I am due and if I know what I am having.... Sometimes it throws me off because Im not thinking about it and they word it in a way that is not as clear.... like "how much longer do you have?" uhh how much longer for what?? Oh yeah... they must be referring to my belly.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Nursery Update
First off there is only one more month of my 2nd trimester.... I can't believe it! Time is flying by!
All the experts (other Moms) suggest getting as much done in your 2nd trimester before the uncomforts of the 3rd trimester start slowing you down once again.
Great advice! So we have aggressively attacked getting our nursery put together.
First off, we decided to do a room swap, the room we were going to make the nursery offered more options for our corner desk and office furniture. So we swapped 'em up! Now the nursery is where the office was!
Next, we picked a paint color.... green and green (the top being: Potpourri Green; the bottom being: Stem Green)... We are going to be putting in a chair rail to separate the two different shades, as well as trim out the ceiling with cove trim. Both the chair rail and the cove trim will be white.
We have to still do all the trim (above mentioned chair rail and cove trim), but we got our free crib and I couldn't wait to see it put together! Thank you Pete and Tricia for your generosity!! It is actually exactly what we would have picked out I love when free and our taste match up perfectly!
We also got a free bed set from our friends Mindy & Scott, in fact I had forgotten about it during the several days I sifted through all the girls clothes they gave us.... did I ever mention they set us up to not have to buy clothes all the way up to size 4T!!!! AWESOME! Thanks Guys!!
So the bed set, when I discovered it in the box of baby sheets, I was both excited and worried. Excited because I thought it was absolutely adorable.... worried because it has a lot of green on it and the odds of it clashing with the wall colors we picked seemed very high.
Here is the cute factor at its peak the mobile put up and together... ahh love it.
And the moment of truth, the color clash test.... the designer gods are smiling down upon us today... because no clash!!!! And How cute is this???!!! Excuse the yellow glow that would be from our lights in the room, something else we are going to change as we are both fans of daylight light bulbs.
This brings you all up to date on our nursery changes!! More to come as we continue to put it together!
Yes I know what star fruit is
On our drive home today from a family graduation, MJ and I got to talking about everything from sports we played, how we feel about school, and our views on alcohol. As we were talking I realized that my Mom is my model for family. My Dad is my model for work success.
My mom was amazing when I was a kid. I am not sure I could work 9 hours, make a home cooked dinner every night, keep a clean house, and repeat every day without going crazy. Heck I don't have kids and I can't seem to put the dishes away consistently. I finally got to folding my towels consistently but still don't make the bed.
My mom was "green" before that term was cool and common. She had her own grocery bag, canned foods, reused items, bought farm raised milk, dried her own fruit leathers, and made yogurt from scratch. She cooked with fresh ingredients. We rarely had sweets in the house or soda. I was allowed a soda now and again but never before 12 in the afternoon. It is because of my mom that I can name almost every fruit and recognize most vegetables. I will be attempting to repeat the healthy food household like my mom did. With MJ's amazing cooking, we are well on our way!
My mom always, and I mean always sat with you when you ate dinner. Sometimes I would come home late from basketball practice and she would sit with me while I ate. She still does this when I come to visit and miss a sit down meal. I will be continuing this with my kids.
My dad is my model for work success. He was once fired for making the moral and right decision. Many times he has told me his various work adventures, things he was proud of, things he would do different - but underneath it all he follows and preaches a strict code of ethics. i try to model this at my work as well and hope to teach my daughter the same.
My dad also taught me that you have to earn things and that hard work does matter. If you want something, make a plan, stick with it and you will get there.
Not everyone has such good role models. I am glad that I did and I hope I can be the same for my daughter.
My mom was amazing when I was a kid. I am not sure I could work 9 hours, make a home cooked dinner every night, keep a clean house, and repeat every day without going crazy. Heck I don't have kids and I can't seem to put the dishes away consistently. I finally got to folding my towels consistently but still don't make the bed.
My mom was "green" before that term was cool and common. She had her own grocery bag, canned foods, reused items, bought farm raised milk, dried her own fruit leathers, and made yogurt from scratch. She cooked with fresh ingredients. We rarely had sweets in the house or soda. I was allowed a soda now and again but never before 12 in the afternoon. It is because of my mom that I can name almost every fruit and recognize most vegetables. I will be attempting to repeat the healthy food household like my mom did. With MJ's amazing cooking, we are well on our way!
My mom always, and I mean always sat with you when you ate dinner. Sometimes I would come home late from basketball practice and she would sit with me while I ate. She still does this when I come to visit and miss a sit down meal. I will be continuing this with my kids.
My dad is my model for work success. He was once fired for making the moral and right decision. Many times he has told me his various work adventures, things he was proud of, things he would do different - but underneath it all he follows and preaches a strict code of ethics. i try to model this at my work as well and hope to teach my daughter the same.
My dad also taught me that you have to earn things and that hard work does matter. If you want something, make a plan, stick with it and you will get there.
Not everyone has such good role models. I am glad that I did and I hope I can be the same for my daughter.
Entrusted from God
I have been putting a lot of thought lately into what parenthood really is. MJ and I have been talking a lot about our childhoods and things we think influenced us in positive and negative ways. We have also been talking about how some traits we have are just inherent and not inherited.
I am really starting to think that God has chosen for us a little girl who is her own being. He is entrusting us with her care. Our goal is to raise her to come to know Him, to help her find her place and potential, to love her unconditionally, and to model positive behaviors. Our reward is getting to be a part of her life. I am sure she will enrich us in ways I can't imagine.
I am really starting to think that God has chosen for us a little girl who is her own being. He is entrusting us with her care. Our goal is to raise her to come to know Him, to help her find her place and potential, to love her unconditionally, and to model positive behaviors. Our reward is getting to be a part of her life. I am sure she will enrich us in ways I can't imagine.
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