30

It's funny how some weeks nothing notable really happens and others I have so much to say.  This week is the latter.

I'll start with our baby stats :

• Baby Colette or John weighs 3-3.2 lbs!
• The size of a head of lettuce!! (one site says 15.7 in. long another says 18.  Sounds like a pretty big difference to me!) 
• As of today we have roughly 9 weeks and 1 day to go!
• Brain development is HUGE right now; as of this week our baby can perceive info from all 5 senses.

Last week was a pretty busy week baby-wise.   We met with our future pediatrician AND had a breastfeeding class (well, I did, John was exempt).

Interviewing the pediatrician was awesome!!  Not necessarily the interview, but finding someone like-minded to be our baby's doctor was wonderful!  The doc specializes in pediatrics and preventative medicine.  He believes in treating illnesses naturally before rushing to prescribe antibiotics; the idea is to prevent diseases rather than create immunity to medication.  He also has a wonderful schedule for vaccinations and pointed out that they are negotiable and that we should decide as parents what is best for our children. 

I already know what you are thinking and before you flip out, yes, we are going to vaccinate our child. (Well, except for the Chickenpox vaccination, that seems unneccessary to me)  We are, however, going to follow a more extended schedule.  Especially since I have a close family member with arthritis.  (Vaccines are linked to autism, ADHD, and rheumatoid arthritis).  Research has shown links to autism and vaccines, and after working as a behavioral therapist for children with autism, and witnessing how hard life can be for them and their families, I just can't justify the risks.  I realize that this could just be one small portion of the equation, along with eating food with pesticides, watching television before the age of 3, giving an infant Tylenol, or taking it while pregnant, having a large number of fetal ultrasounds during pregnancy, etc., etc.  Children in the military have the highest rates of Autism (I believe 1 in 8 boys now), and no one is sure why.  This tells me that I should just take more precautions.

He also gave me a list of supplements to take and things to not use.  The list of items to avoid include:

• Ammonia
• Chlorine bleach
• Teflon
• Aluminum
• Plastics
• Microwave

If you don't know yet why I LOVE this doc, then I you haven't been listening to my rants for the past couple of years :)  These are the same things we outlaw in our house, except aluminum, that's a new one for me.  

Anyway, on his list of supplements he suggested that pregnant and nursing mothers eat 2 eggs a day (among many other things).  I mention this because, the idea of eating eggs is the most difficult for me.  I don't think I've ever eaten an egg not hidden in a chocolate cake or something.  Besides the fact that they are nasty chicken abortion, the smell and texture make me gag.  But as John reminded me (with a devious smirk), it's for the baby.  So far I have gotten up to one egg actually eaten alone.  I tried scrambled, but half-way through I just about tossed my cookies.  The next day I somehow managed a whole hard-boiled egg (strategically washed down with a giant gulp of juice after each bite).  I'm sneaking them in more and more with fried rice, baked goods (such as lemon bars- which was the recipe that used the most eggs in my cookbook), and french toast.  I'm open to any suggestions you may have!!  I have deemed this one of the biggest challenges of pregnancy I have faced thus far.  Yes, it is right up there with the carpal tunnel and surviving migraines with no pain meds!

This weekend we are celebrating our birthdays and baby moon (ie. one last getaway as a 2 person family) in our old stomping grounds, Mammoth Lakes!!  I can't believe we're already at 7 1/2 months!!

29

Twenty-nine weeks today, and 3 1/2 weeks until I turn 29.  Man, time flies!!

I guess I should tell you what baby us and I have been doing since my last update.  First, we had a "Hey girl" weekend with my bestie Linds, while my husband dragged her husband up a mountain in Yosemite.  (Typical ;) ).  It was pretty great just eating good food, having some girl time, and watching Ryan Gosling movies.  If you haven't seen this Ryan Gosling fad of "hey girl" you should check this out.  It's my favorite :D

Ryan Gosling on Cloth Diapers

Some are a tad inappropriate, but I love the last one :)

I've also started swimming, which is INCREDIBLE!!  I mean, I've always loved swimming, but having the feeling of being weightless when my belly feels so crazy heavy all the time is great! And it's hilarious watching the visual responses when I get out of the pool and people realize that I'm pregnant.  I guess it's hard to tell in the water??
 It's also been a great way to get me doing something.  I've been pretty down since school (work) has been out.  I really miss my kiddos and I miss the fulfillment of teaching.  I feel this way every summer, but it's harder knowing that I won't be going back in August.

I've been keeping busy by working on my classes (I'm just taking one towards my doctorate right now...and it's pretty boring), and reading a new parenting book each week.  Last week was Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman.   It was a fabulous read!  It wasn't like most parenting books, it was written more like a novel and really fun.  I read the whole thing in a day.  The book compares American moms to Parisian moms and investigates why (largely) American children whine, have less patience, are demanding, etc., whereas Parisian children seem to have much more self-control and patience.  It turns out, after reading the book, Parisian moms are just like Southern moms.  I should thank my mom for being so tough.

Last week I had a very interesting OB appointment.  My doctor first wanted to talk to me about how we plan to space out our children.  This seemed random to me since the first one is still in my belly, but we discussed the current research about the negative effects for mom and baby to get pregnant too soon in-between.  (Risks of obesity, Autism, etc. if a year or less apart).  We really don't have a plan, but I'd like some serious time to get a grip on this whole mom bit first.

Then she wanted to discuss breastfeeding.  And not in the typical, it's-a-good-idea way, but in her total Santa Cruz hippie way in which she believes breastfeeding should be done very openly, very often.  She advises against covering up, or excusing yourself in public at all.  I totally respect her passion and I, of all people, want to support advocacy for a good cause.  Women shouldn't have to cover up or be discreet at all, it's a natural thing.  I think it's awesome how supportive she is of that!! However, I couldn't help but smile and remind her that I'm from the South.  Today I saw one of my pastors from church at the pool and I couldn't even go talk to him because I felt it inappopriate that I was swimming in my bikini!  How will I ever be at the comfort level she's talking about?!

Anyway, moms that can be the change for breastfeeding women, I admire you so very much!  However, I have already ordered a "hooter hider" for use in public places.

Last, but certainly not least, the baby stats!!

• 29 weeks today (I think we covered that), but that means we should have a baby within the next 11 (or so) weeks!!  Eeeek!  I can't wait!!
• Baby-us is the size of a small cabbage!!
• Roughly 17 inches 
• Around 2.9 lbs.
• And we've finally, I'm pretty sure it's final now, decided on names.  Boy:  John Lincoln; Girl: Collette Marie (or Colette..I dunno about the spelling yet)

26

Baby stats this week:

• The baby is the length of a cucumber!!  Around 15 inches long!
• Weighs between 1.7-2.2 lbs.  (and feels like it, geez!)
• Our kid is the next Mia Hamm..or Muhammed Ali.  It really digs kicking and punching me at the same time.
• It's so big that I can actually SEE where it is in my belly sometimes! Last night you could see it's head sticking out of one side of my belly and feel the bum near the bottom.  How CrAzY is that?!

26 weeks is 6 1/2 months.  I read that this week our baby could actually survive if it decided to meet the world, although it would have no fat on it whatsoever.  That's a fear of mine, the baby being premie.  I actually had a nightmare about it the other night.  I've been having lots of dreams about baby us and labor and the like, but this was just kind of lumped all my fears into one.

I dreamed that we went in for our next appointment and they admitted me to the hospital because I went into labor.  I ended up passing out from the pain and they couldn't wake me up.  The doctor assumed the pain was too much so she gave me an epidural.  Well, that made me so loopy and out of it that I couldn't push, even when they told me to, so they did a C-section.  I was still so drugged up after they took the baby out that I couldn't even focus enough to hold my own precious baby.  They told me it was a girl (which was shocking as everyone tells me it's a boy these days) and asked me what I wanted to name it.  I could barely even remember what names we had decided upon.  It was so horrible!!  

I know that I need to have real expectations for birth.  I know that it may not work out exactly as I have planned. So maybe these dreams are to prepare me for varying scenarios.  Regardless, I just hope that I have confidence in myself enough to make the safest decisions for my baby.  I don't want to be clouded by the temptation of medications or let my fears convince me that my body that it wasn't made to do this, because I was.  I know that.  I was wonderfully and fearfully made.  Jesus tells me so :)

Oh, and here is this week's pic (or what I like to call evidence of the baby-growth explosion!)  

Holy Cow...6 months!!

Ohhhh man, I am so behind on this blog (as to be expected).  In my defense, the last two weeks were pretty stinkin' hectic!  We went to San Diego for our wedding anniversary and had an AMAZING time!!  We went to our favorite museums, soaked up some sun on the beach, and visited with some friends :)  We were only home 2 days before we packed up and traveled home to Tennessee for my brother-in-law's wedding.  That trip was also incredible, but for totally different reasons.  We were able to visit with so many wonderful family members and friends!  Some of which I hadn't seen in YEARS!  My mom threw us a baby shower and I was just overwhelmed with the love and blessings from the people in my life!

This was our lunch on our first ever, 1st class flight we took traveling to TN.  (We were totally the annoying Beverly Hillbillies riding up there)

Needless to say, by the time I got home I was joyfully exhausted!  Traveling is MUCH more difficult pregnant!  When I got home I slept every minute that I wasn't at work for two days.  (And I ate a salad for every meal.  I love southern food, but lordy I think I ate 4 lbs. of bacon while I was there ;)

Since then, it has come to my attention that I'm going to be having a baby pretty soon.   In 3-4 months soon.  When did this happen?!  It seems like I was just complaining about how long this process was taking and now I'm like, "Whoa Nelly!!  Slooooooow down!"  One minute I'm finding it frustrating that my favorite jeans don't button and all of a sudden I look like this:

That hump there is 24 cm!  Inside the baby is about the size of an eggplant (or loaf of bread depending on which website you read), it's about 9 inches and 1.7lbs.  and grOWING!!

We had our 24 week appointment on Friday and it turned out to be really awesome!  Our midwife was super positive!  She said that we're right on target for progress, the baby is doing great, and that it is so lucky to have parents like us :)  That was the sweetest part!

I have to admit, I can't really have any complaints (although you all know that I do from time to time). Largely, I just feel so blessed.  I couldn't ask for a healthier baby or pregnancy so far.  The weight is right on track for me and the baby, it's loving life kicking and doing acrobatics (or sometimes punching and kicking at the same time- which is a seriously wild feeling!), and it is surrounded by such blessings and love that it won't want for anything when it arrives!

The carpal tunnel stinks, but it doesn't effect our baby in any way and John has really been awesome through it.  Hey, how else would he have learned to do ponytails on girls if he didn't have to do my hair when my arm flares up?  It's great practice if we have a little lady :)

Today we had a meeting with our doula and she gave us all kinds of resources to look into for childbirth and breastfeeding classes.  It seems silly that women have been doing this since the dawn of time and now we have to take classes for it.  But, I'm not gonna lie, I want all the info I can get my hands on.  So, I'll let you know how that goes :)

twenty-one

The highlight of week twenty-one so far was the wonderful shower/get together that I had with my preschool moms last night!  We all had dinner at my favorite place in Carmel and cake from my favorite bakery and I got to hang out with my favorite moms!!  What could be better?!  Any teacher will tell you that they understand their kiddos better after meeting their parents.  The same is true of my kiddos this year.  It is so obvious why they are all so amazing, they have amazing parents!!

So now we have even more awesomeness for baby us.  And the best part- almost every gift was a wonderful hand-me-down or organic gift!  Our baby will be leaving a tiny footprint on the Earth with it's tiny feet :)  Thanks moms, for supporting our weirdness :D

Other than that, nothing notably cool has been going on.  We're getting pumped about heading to San Diego to celebrate our anniversary this weekend.  Three years of marriage!  It's crazy how it seems like yesterday that we got married, but at the same time, it's like this is how it's always been :)

Today I began (trying) to organize some of the baby stuff in our tiny apartment.  I began by gathering a HUGE box and labeling it "Clothes Jessica can't wear until she's no longer pregnant...and is sick of looking longingly at" and filled it with just that.  It really opened up a lot of space in the closet!!  So that section is being filled up with sweet baby clothes and gifts from friends and fam :)

Here are some pics to illustrate my reasoning for limiting my closet:

I can't help but laugh at my own crazy face in this pic! haha, I took this one before work one morning to send to my mom :)

And a more close-up look.  

I've now gained 11 lbs. since I got preggo.  Someone told me today that I shouldn't worry because my legs still look like toothpicks (uhhh....thanks????), but I'm not too worried.  I figure that's about right for half way.  Anyway, I've got a cantelope (or camelope as one of my all-time fave kiddos would say) in my belly.  :)

Twenty!!

Week twenty started off with a jolt.  Literally. I was stopped at a redlight on my way to work and was rear-ended.  The car is fine (because Elly, the Element, is a beast), but I was completely freaked out about baby us.  I was super nauseated (I found out later because of the adrenaline) and after the police came and the insurance info was exchanged I drove home and just sat in our parking lot for a minute.  I put my hand on my belly and baby us started to kick.  I couldn't help but smile and cry and start praying.  I thanked God that we were okay and that He showed me once again that I should be trusting Him, as He is in control :)

The weekend just got awesome after that!  I graduated, or so they tell me, on Saturday.  That was another one of God's gifts.  There's no way I could have gotten a two-year graduate degree in one year while working 2-3 jobs AND pregnant if it wasn't by His grace....and John's patience with me losing my mind at times :)  To celebrate we went to San Francisco with our friends and toured Alcatraz before having a wonderful dinner overlooking the city.  If you go to Grandviews, I highly recommend the crab cakes!

Hubz, me and my big ole belly

A super-cool pic John took in our hotel

For Mother's Day my husband surprised me with some TOMS sunglasses!!!  As you may know, I love, LoVe, LOVE TOMS shoes.  The company gives a pair of shoes to those in need when you purchase a pair, they call it one for one.  Well, their sunglasses work in much the same way.  When you get a pair of shades from TOMS they give sight by means of surgeries, glasses, etc. to someone in need in a poor country.  Sadly, I'm one of those people that break sunglasses on a regular basis, so I couldn't justify spending the money (they're not cheap!) on some TOMS.  But Huberoosky did.  He used the money he's been saving from selling off his sports gear he no longer uses and then sneakily had them sent to a friend's house so he could surprise me.  I was pretty shocked, as we had agreed not to get each other Mom and Dad gifts until after the baby came.  You know, that whole "we have a baby and a house to save for" bit. The best part was the way he wrapped it all up :)

My TOMS shades!!

My card, folded into an origami flower.  Can I say coolest Hubz EVER?!

Monday we had our 20 week appointment.  To be honest, we didn't get any great pics.  There's one of his or her foot that is pretty cute if you can figure out what it is.  I found this pic on the internet that just wowed me so I thought I'd share it instead.  This is a baby that was born at 21 weeks and actually made it!! What a miracle!! And look how tiny it's little feet are!!

 For those of you that were anticipating the ultrasound pics so that you could decipher for yourself what the sex is, it wouldn't have done you any good anyway.  Baby us had its knees pulled up to its chin so even the doc doesn't know if we're having a boy or girl yet.  But the good news is she said our baby is perfect!! :)

In other news, the preparation is coming along swimmingly!  Our living room is currently filling up with awesome gifts from friends and family and we've just got the information packet from our diaper service we're planning to use!!  It turns out that not only is using our diaper service going to be way better for the planet, it's going to be cheaper than using disposables too!!  Yaay for a healthier baby, healthier world, and healthier wallet!!  Here's a pic that was included in the packet.  It really hits home!!

You probably can't read the sign, but it says, "2 years worth of disposable diapers 6-10,000 diapers for 1 baby over a diapering period vs. 2 years worth of cloth diapers for 1 baby.  YOU DECIDE!"  It's crazy if you think about it.  Most people these days don't potty train their kids until closer to age 3, so that right side pile would be even bigger!  Of course, the cloth side would stay the same because you only buy them once :)

I often get a lot of "interesting" :) comments from people when talking about my future parenting choices, such as cloth diapers.  For those questioning whether cloth might be right for them here is an awesome post I found about how unhealthy disposables can be for your kiddo http://allaboutclothdiapers.com/why-choose-cloth-diapers-health-reasons/  

19

Baby stats this week:

•  Kicking!!  The baby is kicking like crazy now!!  Hubz has gotten to feel it as well!  So far it seems that baby us loves music and southern food.  At least, this is when we get the most baby action going.  Last night I cooked one of my favorite country meals and baby us did an actual FLIP in my belly!! (It was cool, but kinda hurt!) So let's get some fried potatoes on the table and Elvis in the background.  This is truly a child after my own heart :)
• Fruit size:  Mango, but only for a couple more days.  Friday, (2 more days) I think we are supposed to hit cantelope status!!!  Right now it's 6 1/2" long and 10 oz!
• Monday we have our 20 week appointment!  We have the option to find out the sex, although we won't.  (Man, it's tempting sometimes).  However, I am excited to see our kiddo again!

Mommy stats this week:

• Carpal Tunnel is better!!  This is completely due to the power of prayer!!  Last week I had no issues with my hand/wrist/arm and was able to finish the last of my papers for school!  I did have one incident when I got up in the middle of the night and my whole arm was numb (I had a real time trying to use the bathroom and wash my hands at 2 AM with one numb arm!!) and yesterday the other arm started hurting. Ugh.  But at least I was able to get work done!!  Praise God!
• Belly- Comments range these days from "Wow, starting to show huh?" to "Teacher Jessica, your belly is getting so BIG and FAT!!!"  (gotta love 4 year-olds).  I still have one pair of yoga pants that fit, so that keeps me happy.
• Baby stuff!! We've already been getting awesome gifts for the baby delivered from friends and family!  We feel SO thankful and SO blessed!! I don't know about you, but when I first saw the list of stuff you have to buy to have a kid, I wanted to cry!! (I'm pretty sure I did, but we'll blame it on hormones).  Now we have boxes piled up in our tiny living room just waiting to be opened upon the arrival of the future President (that's what I've been calling baby us lately). 

Overall, week 19 has rocked!!  I can't wait to see our baby in week 20 and introduce him or her (or at least introduce my big belly) to our family in week 23, when we get to visit Tennesseee!!