Big Belly Photo Shoot!

This weekend my friend, Star, came to visit. She is in the process of starting a photography business and wanted to take some "big belly" pictures of me for my birthday present. How awesome is that! I haven't really looked into it, but I'm pretty sure that the kind of on location, personal photo shoot we did would cost me a fortune. She just sent me this...the first picture!

I actually look really cute! I know, some of you will say I always look cute, but we all know that isn't true. In fact, in pictures, I rarely look cute. I wouldn't say that I love having my picture taken, and I tend to make strange faces or "try too hard". Star and Josh both noticed that it takes me a while to relax.

My photo shoot with Star, though, was really a lot of fun. We took pictures at and around my house, with and without Josh. Start did a great job of coaching me and making me feel cute, sassy, and even sexy and beautiful. It helps that the focus is not really on me, but more on my big belly.

My only regret is that I'm not a month or so further along. Oh well, these pictures will still be great! I'll post more when I get them!

Baby Item Survey!

I'm trying to put together our registry, but I feel like it's hard to know what to register for before you've tried things and know what you like. I know that a lot of my readers have recently had babies, and if you have a few minutes and could respond to the following questions or offer any other advice for registering, that would be awesome!

1. Strollers - What type of stroller do you have? Do you like it?
2. Car Seat - What type of car seat do you have? Do you like it? Why or why not?
3. Did you use a baby bjorn or sling? How do you feel about it?
4. What gear is a must have for nursing? Any good bottles you recommend?
5. How do you feel about a pack n' play?
6. What type of baby monitor did you have? Did you like it? Why or why not?
7. Where there particular baby care items (shampoo, lotion, diaper cream, thermometer, nail clippers, etc.) that you loved or hated?
8. Did you use cloth or disposable diapers? Why? What type? Why?
9. What did you use all the time and love?
10. What did you get, but never use or was disappointed because it didn't work?

P.S. Some of you will also be getting this in a personal email...that means I really value your opinion! :)

Wow! 23 Weeks.

Have I mentioned that I love these weekly updates? I can't believe she looks like that! That looks like a real baby in there!

Newborn!

Tonight I visited with friends and their eight-day-old little girl. She was sooooo precious! As she snuggled against my chest, baby Hall gave a pretty strong kick! It was so cute. It was almost like she was saying "Hi!" to her new friend. Or maybe she was saying, "Get off my mom!". Who knows. I'm hoping her personality is more the former than the latter!

I can not believe that in a few short months she'll be here to snuggle just like their little girl. I can't wait! I certainly do not want her to come too early, but still, I sometimes wish it was September! Not that we are ready in any way, but I am starting to feel more motivated to take care of all of the many things we need to do. Hopefully I'll be able to use my break in June to figure out daycare, register, decorate, plan a shower, etc!

Back in the 'Burg

This weekend baby Hall made her first trip to Williamsburg. This is the town where Josh and I went to college and it holds many special memories for us. Last night we had an impromptu photo shoot around campus, had dinner at a nice restaurant on DoG street, and sat on a bench eating Wythe chocolate and people watching. It was wonderful! I have to admit that I had a few sentimental tears, which I'll blame on the hormones. We have so many memories here and I can't wait to bring our little girl back and build new memories with her!

A Much Overdue Picture!

I've been promising baby bump pictures for a while, but just didn't find time to take them. The other night, Josh casually snapped this picture.

21 weeks and growing!

Next week my friend, Star, will be here and we are planning a real photo shoot! I sort of regret that we didn't take more along the way, but I vow here before you and all of the blogosphere to take them more frequently between now and when she makes her arrival!

30 - A Year of Change

This week, I'll be 30 years old. Tonight we celebrated with all of the people I hold dear. It made me feel so special to have so many people come to share my special day. Thank you to all of you who came to celebrate!

One thing was very clear to me tonight. My life is about to change! As I looked around the party at all of my friends in my house, I was shocked at how many children were present. When I went out for my 25th birthday, just five years ago, there were no children. Tonight, there were gaggles of them and at least four more on the way. In some ways it's delightful. Nothing is quite as cute as two-year olds holding hands and dancing!

But then 7pm rolled around. That's right, 7pm! There was much talk of bed time, a few tears, and a mass exodus of parents and children from the party. Please don't misunderstand. I am not upset about this, in fact, I understand completely, but it's just so different than parties of a few years ago. I have to admit, I have a bit of fear. Am I really ready for that? For leaving parties at 7pm, for spending parties keeping my little girl from doing things she shouldn't, for worrying about potty breaks, for not finishing adult conversations?

I think I am ready. I am 30 after all! When I was young, I always thought I'd have several children by the time I was 30. I've had quite a few years of fun, late nights, and, to be honest, I was getting sort of tired of them. I guess it's all part of a new stage and a new adventure. I just hope we're ready.

The Shortest Medical Appointment Ever

Today I had one of my normal monthly check ups with a midwife I haven't seen before. I'm used to these being pretty short, but today's was seriously less than ten minutes. It went something like this:

Midwife (CNM) enters
CNM: So, have you felt the baby move yet? (notice no name is use, nor is a greeting)
M: A little, but not much. I thought I would be feeling her more by now.
CNM: Well, she is still small, you'll feel her eventually.
CNM: Let's measure your belly. You should be one centimeter for each week.
CNM: Exactly 21 centimeters, perfect.
CNM: Let's listen to the heart beat.
CNM: 145bpm, great.
CNM: So, do you have any questions?
M: Well, I have been having weird pains in my hips and leg cramps at night.
CNM: The hip pain is normal. Try heat or cold, whatever works. For the leg cramps take a magnesium supplement.
CNM: Any more questions?
M: Does my weight gain seem good?
CNM: (looking at chart for the first time): You've gained seven pounds, that's fine. (note that the previous midwife said she would like to see me gain 10 by 20 weeks, but I guess this isn't a problem)
CNM: Here's your check out sheet, see you in a month. (door)

Now, don't get me wrong. I am glad that there is nothing wrong and that everything seems to be totally normal. And I did choose the midwife practice because I didn't want anything too medical. But this midwife was not my favorite and this appointment seemed very rushed and impersonal. I feel like she should at least ask me about what I'm eating, if I'm drinking enough water, how I'm sleeping, etc. This is why I went with the midwives, to get more personalized care. So far, two of the three midwives I've seen have been surprisingly impersonal. :(

I guess I just want to feel like I'm cared about as a person, not just another appointment to get through so the medial professional can go home for the day. Is that too much to ask? Perhaps I'll schedule my appointments earlier in the day over the summer and see if that makes a difference.

Feeling Movement

Like pretty much every mother to be, I've been anxiously awaiting those first little kicks and feelings of the baby moving. When we went for our ultrasound at 18 weeks she was definitely moving around and kicking up storm in the there, but I didn't feel it at all. I've read that with your first baby, it takes a while before you can feel it. Apparently it has something to do with all of those tight uterus muscles. My midwife told me not to expect to feel it until at least 20 weeks.

Well, I'm almost 21 weeks and I'm still not 100% sure what I'm feeling. I do think I can sometimes feel little flutter like feelings at night or the morning when I'm laying still and quiet. It's still very subtle, so subtle in fact that it's easy to think "maybe it's gas or my heartbeat being redirected". Yes, I've actually thought that. Still, I'm pretty sure it's her moving, and I love when I can feel it.

The bad thing is that now that I've started to feel it, I've started to get a bit nervous when I don't feel it. I'll have a morning or night when I can feel it pretty clearly, then a day or two will go by and I won't feel it. That is when I start to get anxious. I can't wait until it's a regular and strong feeling. Although strong kicks in the ribs or bladder may make me take that back in a few months!

I'm looking forward to my check up later this week, so I can hear her precious heart beat again. I think they make you have an appointment once a month for your sanity!

Mother's Day

Let me start by saying a very Happy Mother's Day to all of the mom's out their, especially mine!For the last couple of years Mother's Day has been a strange holiday for me. Don't get me wrong, I have an amazing mom, Josh has an amazing mom, we both have amazing grandmothers, and we welcome any chance we can get to celebrate them. But, for me personally, it has been a rough day. I couldn't help but think about how much I wanted to be a mom, how if things were different with my first pregnancy I would be a mom. It was sad.

This Mother's Day is different. I certainly don't have that sadness. Instead, I feel hopeful, but it is still a strange day. Many people have asked Josh and I what he is doing for me to celebrate Mother's Day. Several people have commented about how this will be my first Mother's Day and have told me Happy Mother's Day. I'm not sure how I feel about this.

I'm not really superstitious, but something about it feels a little to me like celebrating the victory before the game is over. I know that at this point, the chances of something going wrong are slim, and I certainly don't believe that celebrating early will cause anything to go wrong. Still, I can't help by be a little cautious. I think I'd rather focus on looking forward to how amazing next Mother's Day will be, and spending this last one as just a daughter celebrating my mom.

Choosing a Doula

After much thought and consideration, Josh and I decided that we do want a birth doula to help guide us through this whole process. I feel fairly certain that I would like to have a birth with as few interventions as possible, and I think that having a "personal trainer" of sorts who is an expert in birth will be an important part of helping us understand what is going on and how to best respond.

Thus, we began the search for the perfect doula. I had spoken to several people who had doulas assist at their birth and they advised us to interview several because personality was really an important part of the relationship. It was also important to us to find someone who offered private birthing classes. Between "band practice"*, gardening, tutoring, and hanging out with all the people we love, we knew there was no way we could fit something regularly into our weeks. Several people suggested finding a doula who was also a birthing instructor so that we could use that time to build more of a relationship with the doula. This all sounded reasonable, so we began our search.

I was given a few names from some co-workers and friends, and began to do some Internet searching. I sent out several emails to people that seemed like a good fit for us. Some of them did not respond. Right away, that took them off the list. I knew that email correspondence would be important to me. Some responded with a general "come to my event" response which did not address the questions in my email. Again, off the list. I think making a personal connection will be important. Two doula's responded that they would like to set up a time to meet face to face.

Josh and I met with the first doula in our house. She was scheduled to come one night, but didn't show up. I called and woke her up. Apparently she had been at a birth all night. The fact she didn't call was a bit of a red flag, but I understand how being up at births like that could make for a crazy schedule. Plus, I know if it was my birth, I'd be glad that she was there with me. So, we rescheduled. She showed up on time and was very nice. We had good conversation and seemed to see birth in the same way. When she left, Josh and I both agreed that we liked her, but I felt like there was a little something missing. We agreed that we would meet with two more doula's before making a final decision.

The second doula met us at a coffee shop. Although I was having pregnancy and hormone induced craziness (see the post below), I really liked her. She was a bit more professional than the first doula, which I appreciate. At the same time, she was very sweet and personal. She was very familiar with the Spiritual Midwifery book, which I find fascinating, and I loved that she talked to Josh as much as to me. She had a very calming way about her and we both left feeling like she was the one. In fact, we decided to not meet a third doula. There is one small glitch in that she is going to be out of town starting September 30th, but we'll just pray that our little girl makes her appearance before then! In an emergency, she does have back up doulas on call, and we'll have an opportunity to meet them before the big day.

I feel am glad and relieved that this one big decision is taken care of, and I'm excited about starting our birthing classes and getting to know our doula better!

*I'm not sure why I put that in quotes. Band, don't be offended.

Maternity Clothes and the Kindness of Friends!

Well, it's official, I've outgrown all of my pants! I do still have several tops the I can make work, but none of my pre-pregnancy pants or skirts will fit. I spent many a day the last few weeks in my closet lamenting that I had nothing "cute" to wear and feeling ugly in the outfits I did put together. :(

Luckily, I have some amazing friends who have helped me out. I want to use this post to officially thank them. Please pardon the name dropping. Angela, Thank you so much for all of the t-shirts. I wear those solid colored maternity t-shirts almost every day. I've not gotten to the nursing bras yet, but I know they will also come in handy! Brandy, Even though we don't really know each other, you were very generous to me. I appreciate all of the jeans more than you will know. And I LOVE the floral sun dress. I was also able to pass along some of the more wintery things to a friend who is due in November. Crystal, Girl, you are amazing. I don't know what I'd have done without that little black skirt you handed down from Rae. I know I'll wear it once a week. I can't wait for an occasion to wear that very bright dress! The jeans, capris, and tank tops are also wardrobe staples! THANKS!

Wow...you (or Josh) might say...with all of that generosity, I'm sure you don't need to buy a thing. Well, that's not exactly true. Even though I've had many friends be very generous I still had to invest in a few work pieces and a cute swimsuit! But I feel sort of set.

Hooray for a new wardrobe!

And...Yes...I do actually have the adorable watermelon t-shirt. So appropriate since I've been eating a ton of watermelon! Thanks to Josh!

Fertile Soil!

I have decided that our new house must be on very fertile soil. I'm serious...in some way, it has been blessed with fertility. Of course, the obvious connection and evidence is my own growing baby bump, but that is not all. There is also our garden.


A few weeks ago, Josh and I decided to plant a garden. We both love having fresh vegetables, but could never get anything to grow at the town house. This spring we built some beds, planted some seeds, and began to wait**. I have to be honest, I did not have much faith in the seeds. For some reason, it was hard for me to imagine that they would actually become plants. The fertility of our soil proved me wrong. In just a few short weeks we have tons of plants, and I can't help but think we'll actually have vegetables in a few more, but that's not all. There are also the turtles.
On Saturday morning, there was a little painted turtle from the lake behind the house laying eggs in the yard. It was cute and cool and we marked the spot so we could watch for the hatchlings. Then she left and we were afraid we had scared her away. Later in the day, she came back, or so we thought. Then, on Sunday morning, there was another little turtle laying eggs (or was it the same one, we weren't sure). This morning there were two more turtles, one of which was at least a foot long and a different type (snapping, maybe) of turtle. After taking some pictures of them, I started looking around the yard and realized there are lots and lots of little holes and mounds of dirt. I think that our fertile soil is a turtle nesting ground! Things should really get interesting in 72-85 days!

Maybe it is the previously mentioned pregnancy hormones, but I am, at times, overwhelmed by how amazing all of this new life is. How cool is it that things (seeds, eggs, babies) grow!

**Read more about our gardening adventures on Josh's new blog - burbgarden.com

The Pregnancy Hormones...Continued

I wanted to give an update to all of my loyal readers. FYI, the pregnancy induced (at least that's what I'm claiming) craziness lasted most of the week. Josh and I were actually supposed to go to the beach this weekend, but all week I couldn't decide if I wanted to go or not. I would get excited and look at hotels, then get stressed about the money, get excited about time alone with Josh, then get stressed about things I needed to do at home, have wonderful visions of walks on the beach at sunset, then just want to lay on the couch and watch TV all weekend. I wrote and printed lesson plans to be out Friday on Wednesday. On Thursday, I threw them away. Thursday night, I wrote other ones and printed them thinking I'd call my teaching partner and have her set things up. Seriously...I was crazy.

My amazing husband just continued to say "whatever you want, love, is fine with me". Of course, then I'd be upset that he wasn't just making the decision or feel like he really did have an opinion, but wouldn't tell me. None of this was helped by the fact that we both had a very busy week with work and social after work commitments. We never really had time to have a serious discussion before 10pm at which point I'm not even sane when I'm not pregnant. We finally decided not to go to the beach at around 6pm Thursday night, which is roughly the time we should have been leaving to go. Yep...crazy.

Today, though, I think we made the right decision. It was really nice to sleep in, wake up "snuggling", go to breakfast (I was craving Waffle House...whatever...I'm still not quite back up to my pre-pregnancy weight due to those rough first months, so I enjoyed my Texas toast melt!), do some much needed work around the house, go to a mid-day romantic comedy at the local theater, and have dinner with friends I've been missing. All in all, it was a great day, and I'm feeling much more sane. The cure for crazy = down time.