My Prayer

This past weekend my friends from college had a baby shower for me here in town. It was wonderful to have everyone together and of course for Tara to be in town. I had a great time and got good stuff for the baby! My friends took pictures so once I get those I will post some from the shower.

One of the gifts that I got though from Tara was a cd called "Sing Over Me: Worship Songs and Lullabies." Most of the songs are worship songs you have probably heard but in a lullaby form/sound. It is just SO beautiful and peaceful to listen to. You should definitely check it out. One of the songs I had never heard on it was called "Hold on to Jesus." What a beautiful sweet song - it makes me want to cry listening to it because it is our desire for our little baby girl. There is nothing more I could ask for then for our little girl to love God and want to hold on to Him through the good and bad times. There will be hard times for her because of the fallen world we live in and I can't protect her from those, but God can ALWAYS be there and help her through. I pray for our baby girl every morning on my way to work and this has become part of my prayer. I'm posting the lyrics to the song but you should listen to it if you get a chance! Thank you to everyone who already remembers our little girl in your prayers - that's the most important thing you can do! I'll post again later because I go for another check-up today with the midwife. Here's the lyrics:

You’re a little piece of heaven
You’re a golden ray of light
And I wish I could protect you
From the worries of this life
But if there’s one thing I could tell you
It’s no matter what you do
Hold to Jesus He’s holding on to you

The world will try to tell you
That might is more than right
That beauty’s on the outside
And being good’s a losing fight
But remember what I’ve told you
Because the world will make you choose
Hold to Jesus He’s holding on to you

Hold on to Jesus
Cling to His love
Rest deep in His mercy
Whenever things get rough
Don’t lose sight of His goodness
And don’t ever doubt this truth
That when you hold on to Jesus
He’s holding on to you

Hear me dear Jesus
Rock this little one to sleep
Keep her close when she’s scared
And give her grace when she is weak
I know she’ll stumble
But I know she’ll make it through
If You hold to her just like You said You’d do
Hold her, Jesus
So she’ll hold on tight to You

Heartburn, Backaches, and Class

So my life now consists of a lot of heartburn, backaches, and hip pain. Sounds like fun, huh? The growing belly is definitely affecting my body now. Sleeping isn't too bad except for the nights when I have heartburn - the reflux is awful and keeps me awake. My back and hips by the end of the day are hurting because of sitting at my desk. I believe I'm putting on a little more weight again though unlike the previous 2 weeks where I didn't gain any. I will find out more at my appointment on Monday.

We have finally finished up the nursery (well, almost). The only thing left I want to do is to buy wall letters for her name to hang up. I'll take pictures soon to be able to post of how everything looks. I just love our bedding set and I am glad we decided to do the "girly" option!

We had childbirth class again last night. We reviewed everything we had talked about so far and the stages of labor. Then she talked about your water breaking - how it can happen, what they do if they need to break it. Watched 4 more live births - AAHH! :) The video was discussing the different types of birth - natural, epidural, c-section, twins, etc. Then we did breathing exercises and talked a little bit about epidurals. Next week is when we will really get in to that discussion and she will talk about the pros/cons of epidurals. It kind of stinks that you can't get out of bed and move around if you have an epidural, but I think the benefits of pain relief will definitely outweigh that factor.

On a side note, my sister had two embryos implanted in her uterus yesterday for the IVF process. Be in prayer for her and that at least one of these embryos will hang on and attach to the uterus! I would LOVE to have another niece or nephew! Results will be in two weeks.

Our baby girl is moving around a lot still and we're just so excited for her to get here. I can't wait to see what she looks like and hold her. It seems like the next 6 1/2 weeks are going to go by slowly!

Class and Pictures

Last night we went to our second childbirth class of the series. I think Matt is now scarred for life. :) She showed us a video of a live birth - and you saw everything! They even showed the placenta being delivered - that thing is gross. We talked about the stages of labor, reviewed lamaze principles, when to go to the hospital, and practiced breathing on our floor mats. It was interesting to note that the normal amount of time that a woman pushes for during her first labor is 1-3 hours. Yes, that is correct. So those of you who watch baby story on TLC and think it comes out after just a few pushes is wrong - they deceive you! I kinda already knew this because my sister pushed for two and a half hours (!) when she had Ava but I thought it was interesting to note. We also got some more freebies which is great!

Still feeling tired and my back and hips are starting to really bother me. It's hard to sit in one position for too long! I got around to taking some more pictures of my growing belly this week. So these are of me at 32 weeks - enjoy! And yes, as you can see from the last picture, I still have my figure from the front and back thankfully!

32 Weeks

Yesterday I just felt awful during the day – weak, lightheaded, short of breath at times. I was scheduled to see the doctor on Wednesday but called to see if I could get in sooner sine I wasn’t feeling well. The OB doctor’s didn’t have anything available but they got me an appointment with one of the midwives at the practice. So I went in yesterday to get checked out for my normal visit and to address how I was feeling yesterday. The midwife was excellent! She took a lot more time with me and explained things in more detail to me. Matt was able to go and he really liked her as well. So on that note, I think we have decided for me to see the midwives the rest of the time and have them deliver our baby. From what I understand, the midwives are usually much more involved at the hospital versus just showing up at the very end. If there was any complications or I had to have a c-section, then they would call one of the doctor’s in.

They tested my iron levels again and they actually were back up to normal – all the way to 11.9! So that was excellent and I don’t have to take the supplement anymore. I haven’t gained any weight though from my last visit (2 weeks ago) and when she measured my uterus it was still at 30cm (what it was 2 weeks ago). It’s supposed to gradually grow of course and measure according to about what week you are (I’m 32 right now). So she said that if at my next visit in two weeks, there hasn’t been noticeable growth they would want to do an ultrasound/non-stress test to make sure the baby is doing okay and growing like she should. The midwife said that it could just be due to the fact that I am a smaller person and could be having a small baby – so I guess nothing to worry about at this point. She also encouraged me to eat a lot of small things throughout the day versus just 3 regular meals. With my stomach being crunched up and smaller, it’s important to keep it full all day long since it can’t handle huge amounts at one time. We’ll find out at my next appointment how the size is going though. Then the midwife felt around my belly to determine the positioning of the baby. This was the first time they started doing this and said that if she wasn’t in the right position they could do things to encourage her to change. I should rephrase when I said they “felt” around – it was much more like painfully push all around! She really dug in to feel all the parts – it hurt! The baby is head down though which is what she should be at this point.

I think that about covers everything about the appointment. We go again this evening for our childbirth class. My list of complaints is increasing – having to pee all the time and during the night, hips/back hurting, reflux is awful during the night, and the baby always seems to kick during the night and wake me up. But despite all my complaints, I’m so excited for her to get here!

On a side note too, my hormones must be raging. I can easily cry at anything! For example, Saturday I spilled a cup of water on the floor and just starting crying because I was upset about it. Matt thought it was funny and I get a laugh out of it too! Matt's been so supportive though and helpful especially as things are getting more uncomfortable now. I have a great husband! We celebrated our 2nd anniversary yesterday and I am so happy that our children will have a great dad like him!

Childbirth Class

Last night was our first childbirth class out of five sessions. Even though they teach the Lamaze technique with the class, I took it more for educational purposes about the whole birthing process. I had a great time and it was nice having my friend Alicia and her husband taking it as well.

We talked about a lot of different topics last night so it would be hard to remember everything but some of the things we covered was the basic principle of Lamaze, true labor vs. false labor, things to expect in the final trimester, the husband’s duties during labor (things for them to say and do), what to pack for the hospital, and what the hospital provides. Lamaze is a lot about the mind – not just the breathing. The instructor talked a lot about the importance of being able to relax even through the pain.

She also assigned us our daily homework/exercises that we should be doing from now until the baby comes: relaxation technique, Lamaze breathing, kegels (20/day), and squats. I didn’t realize this – but guys are supposed to be doing kegel exercises too. Even though you’re supposed to be doing kegels all the time, they’re apparently especially helpful during the birthing process if you have strengthened those muscles. And I didn’t realize this, but the instructor said that about 70% of women deliver their babies in the squatting position. She said it’s the easiest and helps you to open up even wider for the baby to come through. Besides those exercises, she wanted us to do a “bottom check” this week – HAHA! That was hilarious when she was talking about this. She wanted the women to get a mirror and sit down on the toilet this week and really look at our crotches – all the parts, how everything looks. She said most women don’t even know what they look like down there. This will be helpful for next week when she has a diagram and is drawing the different parts so you can know how you compare. I'm sure Matt will get a kick out of that. :) She said it’s also good to know how things will change and what it should return to looking like after you have the baby. Then, the funny part, she said she had a guy ask one time – “can this be a group activity?”

Matt and Alicia’s husband, Andrew, were hilarious. During the times we were practicing kegels, breathing, and the relaxation technique, it was all quiet and we were supposed to be looking at a focal point in the room while practicing. Well Matt is cracking up during it and couldn’t keep his focus on one place in the room. Which, of course, made me end up laughing. Then the guys were supposed to be looking at us while we were practicing the relaxing thing so Andrew and Matt were staring at us trying to make us laugh. It was hilarious – but you might have had to be there!

All in all, it was really good and I feel like I learned things that I didn’t know before. We go again next week and I think we will be talking about the different stages of labor. Hope this didn’t bore you too much but hey, it’s my blog isn’t it? :) Only 9 more weeks until baby gets here!!