getting closer :)

So I haven't really updated anything other than my belly (which is still getting bigger by the way!). Bubba's room is coming along very nicely, we've received and assembled the gliding chair. The storage for clothes and things is done in the closet and we're just trying to figure out shelving. Grandma Stehr (cams mom) has made Bubba's curtains and is finishing his/her baby blanket for the crib. The car seat is out and awaiting a cleaning so it can go into the car this week. My hospital bag is on the dresser awaiting a few more items before its ready to go! And the cradle has been moved from the garage to our living room for Bubba's nap times. Equipped with a mattress, sheet and soft blanket.





Yesterday we had our maternity photo shoot done by a friend of mine who is SO talented and has started her own business.
Check out her website here:
http://www.ellahausphotography.com/
So we are very excited about that! Angela will also be doing our newborn photo shoot when Bubba gets here.

I've been feeling good lately, I am very grateful for an amazing husband, parents, family and a fabulous doula! My doctors are AMAZING! And I can't wait for this little one to make an appearance. Not only do I finally feel ready enough in terms of preparation in our home for Bubba to be here. But I feel ready emotionally to take on the beautiful challenge of labor and birth my child naturally.


SO swollen!!! hands & feet :)

I must say; it is imperative that I keep my mind focused on positivity and my absolute natural ability to labor without meds. I hope and wish that friends and family will continue to support me by agreeing to be positive alongside me. Thank-you!

Happy Easter everyone! We've had a fabulous weekend and look forward to spring and all it has in store!

Until Tuesday :)
N.

35 weeks pregnant!

How far along: 35 weeks! Next week I'll be 9 months pregnant.

Size of baby: large cantaloupe
(19 - 22 inches & 5.5 pounds)

Weight gain/loss: the scale went up again, 3.2 pound gain. So that's a total gain of 21.8lbs this pregnancy. I honestly had a really hard time with this number this morning. I've been having a tough time with the whole weight gain process in general. The only explanation other then baby growing is the sudden increase of dairy I've been consuming. I feel the need to do some extra pricking to keep me accountable.

Maternity clothes: nothing new, nothing to update. My jeans are getting uncomfortable so I'm in my tights a lot.

Movement: so much movement! This baby is very very active and I'm now feeling the hiccups on a regular basis which is a lot of fun.

Sleep: some nights it's great, other nights not so much. So it's just depending on my exhaustion level and my heartburn. I'm giving up on the pregnancy pillow most nights and my trick is to massage my feet before bed to try and avoid the spasms.

Cravings: something to drink other than water & raspberry leaf tea. I get carbonated water but it would be nice to have a great glass of wine or juice.

Symptoms: lately I've had huge swollen feet and hands. It's horrible!! (could be contributing to my crazy weight gain). I'm VERY hormonal and quite sad, that's been hard considering I really am happy in life. I'm still nauseous on occasion and just feel REALLY really big at all times. I'm actually measuring 38 weeks but that's partly because Bubba hasn't dropped yet.

Best moment of the week: seeing David & Carley Iwai last night was great! We got our gliding chair delivered today, my taxes are finally done (yes!), we got a couple "to-do's" crossed our list and we fine tuned our baby name choices. So progress is being made and I'm glad for that.

Tonight I need a relaxing warm bath to pray and get things sorted out in my crazy prego mind.

Until next time :)
N.

simply uncomfortable

You know that time in pregnancy where your "baggy" shirts become tight, you feel absolutely enormous and bloated and you're out of breath after just walking up one flight of stairs? Yep! That's where I am about now... It hit me recently like a sack of bricks! Just BAM!

I am definitely looking forward to labor and holding this baby in my arms. I'm ready! Did you hear me Bubba? Mammas ready, so you can come anytime now! But I guess we should wait until full term, so anytime after April 9th okay sweetheart?!

N.

34 weeks pregnant!

How far along: 34 weeks! 8 1/2 months, wow it's gone by so fast.

Size of baby: pineapple (19-22 inches & 4.9 pounds)

Weight gain/loss: I was scared of the scale this morning, I know my belly got bigger (I can just feel it) so naturally I thought I gained big again. Yet, the scale went down a tiny bit! Just by 0.2lbs but that's ok by me. So that's a total gain of 18.6lbs this pregnancy.

Maternity clothes: I keep trying to put new outfits together, my tights are still the BEST!

Movement: babe was moving a lot when I was baking cam cookies this afternoon :) I think Bubba also enjoyed my raspberry leaf tea this morning! (and yes I got the go ahead from my dula to drink the tea)

Sleep: it's still a struggle for me to get a full nights sleep but I'm surviving and allowing myself to just be lazy on days that I need it (like today) without any guilt. Also, Zantac is AWESOME!

Cravings: I still want candy, ice-cream & all the Easter goodies that are out. Especially paska! Mmmmmmm..... paska!

Symptoms: legs that spaz, Braxton hicks, cramps... you know, the usual third trimester stuff. It's ok though because soon I'll have my gorgeous babe in my arms.

Best moment of the week: I'm honestly not sure, I had some great days spent with my mom this week. Cam and I went to ikea and bought stuff for the house to make it feel more like home. I saw a friend yesterday who I haven't seen in a while which was SO fun! Things are going great, I'm really happy! & I'm really excited!

Happy Tuesday!
N.

33 weeks pregnant!

How far along: 33 weeks!

Size of baby: honey dew
(19 inches & 4 pounds)

Weight gain/loss: the scale went up again, 3 pound gain. So that's a total gain of 18.8lbs this pregnancy. I honestly FREAKED! That's a big gain and I had no idea why until it dawned on me that I've been eating extra everyday cause Bubba is pushing up on my stomach causing me some serious heartburn and nausea. I've been eating to try and make the uncomfortable feeling go away. I'm going to definitely be tracking my food intake again to make sure I don't jump that next time.

Maternity clothes: nothing new, I checked a couple stores today but just felt like I couldn't make any decisions so I left it. I need nursing bras but will wait until I'm 36-37 weeks before I get a few.


Movement: so much movement! This baby is very active and I LOVE it :)

Sleep: I feel really tired a lot of the time so I must be waking up often during the night. The heartburn really gets me at night but the doc today told me to start taking Zantac twice a day, so I'm starting that tomorrow.

Cravings: Cam made cookies again a couple days ago, need I say more?

Symptoms: the heartburn and nausea is the worst right now. I'm still struggling to keep my eating under control so that my sugar readings stay low. And my legs freak out on a regular basis, that's the worst when I just want to sleep or relax on the couch.

Best moment of the week: meeting with Kortney (our dula) and going over a bunch of stuff concerning the labor and what I can expect will/might happen.


This pic was taken in the elevator on our way to see Kortney! Cam took it and he was pretty excited about it! Can you see him??

Until next time :)
N.

I can do it!

Tonight I'm seeing my dula and I'm very excited about it! I'm really fortunate to have a dula who is also my friend. She's been a friend since early high school, I never thought (back then) that she'd be present with me at the birth of my first child. But I am incredibly thankful that she will be. I feel very strongly that I'll need the extra support and just knowing that I'll have a team helps my anxieties.

Now that I'm at 32 weeks pregnant the reality that labor is on its way has really started to sink in. I'm beginning to understand that it has a lot to do with ones mentality. That if I believe I can do it and make it through then I will. If I believe that my body has been created to do this, then I can put my trust in my natural abilities. I haven't done Lamaze or yoga, I didn't want to (in all honesty). Prayer has always been my source of strength, no matter my circumstance I have prayed through everything. I know I can search within and pray through this experience as well. And with the guidance of my dula I can figure out what will work for me. Don't get me wrong, I know that prayer won't make my pain magically go away. I also don't believe that God will suddenly make things easier, even if I beg. But I believe that it'll be what helps me focus and for me that's what matters.

At this time however, I feel very unprepared for labor and I'm not sure why. If it started today I may start freaking out!! Maybe it's because I keep coming across in my researching/reading how women should be going to Lamaze, yoga and practice breathing techniques but I haven't done any of that. Maybe it's because I'm nervous, I know it's going to hurt and I want to do it all without drugs but I don't know how I'll be able to handle it. I remember my menstrual cramps before my surgery, they HURT! BAD! And I'm expecting labor to basically be like that, but with the end result of pushing out a baby. I know I'll need lots of encouragement and positive feedback to succeed and not crumble under the pain.

So maybe I should just start saying "I can do it!" "I can deliver Bubba!" "I have the ability to birth my baby" "I believe that I have the strength" "I'm capable!"

Because I am!

N.

32 weeks pregnant!

Technically this photo was taken yesterday but I really liked what I was wearing so I took a picture!

How far along: 32 weeks pregnant! That's EIGHT months!

Size of baby: head of lettuce
(18.5 inches & 3.9 pounds)

Weight gain/loss: the scale finally went up again, 2 pound gain. So that's a total gain of 15.8lbs this pregnancy. As long as I stick to a 20-25lb gain in total then I'll be a happy girl! Seems as though the dietician I need to see for my diabetes is ALWAYS more concerned about my weight than my doctor and I. It's rather frustrating since I'm doing my best and by golly I thought I was doing quite well! I'm really not all that worried about it.

Maternity clothes: I bought pregnancy tights... they are THE BEST EVER!!! Every pregnant woman needs pregnancy tights & pregnancy underwear, they are equally amazing!

Movement: lots of movement, it's "violent" movements too! Not just pretty fluttering/rolling type sensations anymore. My belly moves around and I can feel that there is an actual baby in there.

Sleep: did you know that pregnancy insomnia is an actual thing that affects 70% of pregnant women? Yah, neither did I until I stopped falling asleep at night because my leg started freaking out and my heartburn went crazy out of control. Then once I do finally get to sleep I inevitably wake up an hour after to pee!

Cravings: Cam made cookies last week, so now when I'm home at lunch all I think about is chocolate chip cookies. And 5 cent candies, I REALLY want candy!

Symptoms: my diabetes machine is apparently fine and after I started paying much closer attention to the way I was handling how I pricked, my numbers went significantly down!! Therefore, my doc said I can prick less!!!! Like every OTHER day! So I'm much better with what I'm eating, when I'm eating and how much. Plus, I'm walking every single day for like a hour.

Best moment of the week: my amazing bible study friends threw me a baby shower last night! We chatted about a whole bunch of baby stuff, ate great food, they gave me amazing gifts and crowded around me to pray! I felt incredibly loved and blessed! THANK-you :)

*yawn* I'm tired, nap time!
N.