8 months...geeez!!

"This stuff is gettin' REAL!"

That's a quote from my husband :)  Last week we had a tiny scare that involved a hospital visit -it was a false alarm and everything is still going really well, but this was the quote that came out of it.  And it's true, it really kind of hit home after that.  We're really going to be parents, and REALLY pretty soon.
I mean, we're at eight months now.  8 months?!  Actually, 33 weeks tomorrow!!  We're gonna have a teeny tiny itty bitty widdle baby in our arms within the next seven-ish weeks!  ho-leeeee cow!

Luckily, we learned some important lessons during our hospital visit.
1.  We feel even more secure in our choice of hospital.  The nurses were awesome, and they were very straight up with us.  They answered our questions and weren't afraid to tell us the best and worst possible scenarios.  I appreciate that- why do they keep you guessing sometimes?

2. When I do go into labor, our drive should not be within the hours of 4 and 7 in the evening.  It took us an hour and a half to get there with rush-hour traffic!!  That's not so conducive for a crazy lady in labor.

3.  Pizza my heart is right down the street.  We know where to get grub when it's all said and done.

Now that we have those valuable jewels of knowledge under our belt, we're ready.  We got this. What else could we possibly need to know ;)

Can you believe this is my workout DRESS??  It's very much a shirt these days :)

I couldn't decide which one I looked fatter in.

What else??...Oh, stats and updates!!

• Baby-us is the size of a honeydew melon!!!  17-19 inches (roughly) and 4.5 lbs!
• All the books and websites say the kiddo is running out of room to move around, but I think it missed that memo, because it's still walking the rim of my left side at night.  Which leads to...
• 3rd trimester insomnia.  I've got it super bad.  And it's SO frustrating.  If the baby is not kicking me, then it's the darn Braxton Hicks contractions keeping me up.  I try to go to sleep around 8:30 or 9, but I end up getting up and reading or something until the Sandman shows up between 11pm and 1 am.  
• Although I haven't gained any more weight, my fingers look like they have.  I'm thankful this is the only part of me swelling (I have nightmares of cankles), but it means that I can't wear my rings anymore.  I'm trying to convince John to fly back to New Zealand to have the jeweler make me another custom ring in a bigger size...but he's not game.  Although he may change his mind if he had extra time to climb and surf while he was there...

Finally, I must admit that I have a new obsession.  Nesting.  It's like the rest of life has completely fallen to the waist side and all I can do is get ready for the future President's arrival!  I'm organizing (and reorganizing) all the babies things, I've put together every baby contraption I can ...stroller, co-sleeper, baby seat, etc.  and I've begun making a rug for the nursery.  Not that our kid even has a nursery, but it will someday.  Hopefully when we move in December it will get a room.  It's a bit ambitious, but I wanted to make an eco-friendly rug, so our baby could crawl around and not ingest fumes of formaldehyde and pesticides.  It's made from t-shirts from our closet, friends, goodwill, etc. How's that for reusing? :)

So this is it (well, the slow beginning of it):

This is about 6 shirts..and 1 1/2 weeks of work! 

Yeah, I have a long way to go.  Maybe it'll be done by the time our kiddo is 10!

$.02 on the chicken sandwich

I should preface, this post has nothing to do with our baby.

This post is my two cents about this whole Chick-fil-A craziness, and why it makes me insane and happy all at the same time :) Insane, because although I believe this to be an important issue in this country right now, it has completely taken over my news feed.  More than the Colorado massacre, more than the Olympics, more than Joseph Kony and the LRA, more than the upcoming election.  It is all about the leader of the chicken sandwich and his views?!?!?!

So I saw this picture on a friend's facebook page and I felt that it truly explained why this whole thing actually makes me pretty happy.

Finally, the American people are willing to put their money where their mouth is!!  It doesn't matter where you stand on the issue of gay marriage, people are either supporting chick-fil-a financially (with record numbers on August 1) or not supporting them at all.  WHICH IS AWESOME!  Either way, people are actually feeling passionate about a cause and working for or against it!  Proof that it can be done!  My hope, as Willy Wonka is mentioning here, is that more Americans will boycott what they think is wrong!  Why are we giving money to companies that support something we hate?! 

I've talked about this before, about how every purchase you make is a vote and people are voting on chick-fil-a and this issue.  Why aren't people voting about these issues???:

• Discrimination against African Americans- Wonderbread (They make bread, Twinkies, etc.)
• Discrimination against pregnant employees- Verizon (check your phone, most likely you support them)
• Unnecessary animal testing - Proctor and Gamble (they make everything:  Clairol, Tide, Gain, Gillette, Pampers, Iams, Downey, Cascade, Bounty, Tampax.  Seriously, everything, so check your labels.)
• Child slave labor and aggressive takeovers of family farms- Nestle (time to pick a new chocolate, folks. As well as Gerber foods, Coffeemate, Dreyer's and Haagen Dazs ice cream, certain bottled waters- they are all made by Nestle.  All contributing to child slave labor.)
• Involvement in plastic toy sweatshops and cause for rain forest deforestation abroad- KFC (Chicken again)
• And many, many more!

I'd also like to point out that these aren't just companies that SAY how they feel on these topics, these are companies that actually ACT on these topics.  They've all been sued for these acts and yet, the American people just keep right on supporting them with their hard-earned money.  

So please, continue to boycott companies that you feel you don't agree with!!!  But please don't stop with politics or religion.  Boycott the companies that are actually physically hurting people and the environment as well. I believe August 1 showed that when the American people put their money where their mouth is, no matter what side you support, we can make a difference!

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.  :)