26 weeks

A lot went on this weekend so I will start this off with b's progress since she really is the star of the show.

Our little princess is now 26 weeks! Next thing we know, its going to be 40 weeks(ish) in noo time. It really seems like yesterday I was announcing to everyone that we were expecting.

26 weeks
The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. She may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. She's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of her lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when she's born and takes that first gulp of air. And she's continuing to put on baby fat. She now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel.


english hothouse cucumber b.. (this one is weird, they couldn’t of found a better vegetable?!)


Virtual b



On Saturday we had dinner with my family. It was amazing that everyone actually came! We had 16 people come, which made for a really large dinner table lol

Here is a group pic, soo many people lol



Here is one of my brothers and sisters (and my camera loving nephew lol)


It was a lot of fun and so nice to see everyone. It's so hard to get us all together, and even though my mom couldn’t make it, she did make a phone call to say hello.

Jon and Alex had a nice surprise for us as we were leaving, they gave us a gift for b!

Its so cute, it has little keys and plush coins. I'm sure she will love it.


Before dinner we had gone to Lowe's to pick up paint for b's room so Jason could start painting after we got back.

He started on the stripes so they had time to dry before his sister and dad came the next day.



so excited to start on her room!


I sat by the window to keep him company (hey where did my neck go?!)



As planned, Jason's sister and Dad came over to help paint in the morning and they did an AMAZING job. Its soooo cute, I absolutely love it.

My amazing painters :)


b's rooooom!








The colors turned out perfect!! Its a little hard to tell in the pictures, maybe we will have a "b's room completion party" when its done so everyone can see it hahahaa

We bought Vinyl lettering to put on the curved hallway that goes into b's room.
If you cant read it, it says "all because two people fell in love"
I just looove it and can't wait to put it up, just seemed like it fit perfect :)




We went to Babies R Us to see if they had the border in and THEY DID!! YAAAAY!

We will probably put it up this week if possible or this weekend.

I told Jason to call the carpet cleaner (he wants the floors cleaned before putting in the furniture) because I want that furniture in the bedroom and out of the garage!! The boxes are soo sad, they are just begging to be put together :)

Danielle and I painted later in the afternoon which was a lot of fun as usual. It was a gorgeous day and decided to paint outside.



She did not want me to take a picture of her hahha she is saying "you cant get my hand and that’s it" LOL


I love her paintings, she gave me the orange one which will go great in our bedroom!



This one she has been working on for 2 years lol.. its been many many things.


I think she called this "the Chinese house"



I didn't finish mine so no picture yet :)

We have our bradley class tonight and our doctors appointment is tomorrow. I'm taking the glucose test, an I think getting my first rh shot :( I will let you know how it goes on friday :)

oxoxoxoxo

Yay for the weekend!

Happy Friday everyone! I felt like forever but its finally here.


I almost forgot to blog today, work was pretty busy and I got a friendly reminder from Jason's sister lol soo thank you Jen that I hadn't blogged yet and here I am!


Our Bradley class this week was really good. We had a lady who was in our instructors class previously come in and tell her birth story. She gave birth 6 weeks ago and wow did she look great! I hope I lose the weight as quick as she did. Back to what she came to talk about lol
She told her birth story and the whole process of it and how glad she was able to do it without medication. She actually was at the hospital for 45 minutes before she had the baby, for most the day while she had contractions she was walking around with her husband shopping and when they got intense she went home to relax and timed her contractions. Her water broke a couple hours later and they went to the hospital. She said it happened a lot quicker then she imagined but that all the walking she had done she felt helped speed the process up. She brought her daughter with her and she was soooo adorable!

we watched another video and it seems each week they get more focused on the crotch haaahahahaa its really weird. I mean really, I GET THE IDEA! I know where she is coming from LOL

Last night we went to my nephew Austin's 8th grade graduation in Jackson. It was nice seeing him, he is getting so big! I remember when he was just a little baby.. crazy stuff. Here are some pictures :)

beautiful sky!


the grad!


yes.. people still do have mullets LOL


My brother Markus and his kids, Austin and Alexis


My dad and brother Stefan seeing my bump for the first time LOL



Danielle and Austin (I just love this picture, its too cute!)


Dad, Danielle, Markus, Stefan, Gabi and meee


and of course me and Jason :) <3



Tomorrow we are having dinner with ALL of my siblings and my dad. Its crazy because getting us all together in one spot is hard! Anna is coming to town for a bit and it was her idea for us to go to dinner since she is usually the one MIA. I will post a picture on Monday. I was laughing with them about it that its about time we get a picture of all of us with me wearing normal clothes! Seriously the only picture I have of all of us is from mine and Jason's wedding, and the only picture I had of all of us before that was 7 years ago at my first wedding!! again with the wedding dress hahahah it seems that's the only way for us to all be in the same place at the same time is for a wedding to happen. Well almost 2 years later at least we can get a new one.


Next week will be interesting, we have our class on monday and my next doctors appointment on tuesday. I usually dont have many questions for them but I have A LOT this time. Ive been doing a lot of reading and I know that most of what I want during birth I will have to have in my birth plan, so they know when I arrive but I want to make sure I dont need to change hosptials. The different stories I hear about women who go without medication, the response from the staff is quite irritating. I hear a lot of women say that when they go in, the person who checks them in or one of the nurses will make a comment like "oh brave lady" or " ya we will see, you will be screaming for the meds in time" I understand that its not typical for a woman to go med free but it really seems like when a woman is there READY to be checked in to give birth they should be more sensetive to their requests. If I hear any comment like that believe me they will get their head ripped off.. thats just me in general though LOL. I think its sad that they arent more supportive and realize that some women really can go natural and women using the bradley method have a 87-94% (depending on the study) success rate of going without meds! Seriously thats a huge success rate when you think about 75% of all women use epidurals. The Bradley Method works, and the more women I run into that have used it just make me feel that much more secure about it.

I'm going off again so I will stop buuut I just have to say how excited I am that we are getting closer to b's arrival date! I really feel like we just found out and started planning. I'm hoping to paint her room this weekend!! My little princess will be here in no time and I look forward to every moment with her.. yes even the poopy diapers hahaha It's not like it will be the first time I changed one but it has been a while. I will just be happy to take care of her and see Jason with her. He is sooo cute when he talks about her. He is already an amazing husband and he is going to be such a great father, being able to see him with her will be so awesome for me. I really get tears in my eyes when I think about it. okkay lets move on... This has gotten really long so I'm going to end it now.. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!!

25 weeks!

Another week bites the dust!

Happy Monday everyone :)

This weekend was really low key for Jason and I. We ran some errands and I painted which was a lot of fun and relaxing.

We went to babies r us and we bought b the cutest little outfit!! I cant wait to see her in it!!


I just looove the little sweater with it!!

Look at this chair we found at babies r us that matches her set!! SO CUTE! I dont know if I can handle all this lol



Now lets get to her progress..

Here is her 25 week update!

Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

Rutabaga b (rutabaga looks like a turnip!)


Virtual b (getting more squishy)



I took pictures of her room and played around with paint and made a little mock up of how I think we are going to paint and set it up.. its actually pretty funny. The colors are off since each picture I had to create a purple and green, they are actually a little darker then what we will really do but its close enough for now.


This is the back left wall..



Back right wall (wall color will be similar to this one but not so bright still)


front left wall (door on right is the entry door, door on left is her bathroom)
I think we will put her name in letters above the bookcase.


front right wall (nothing special just closets lol)


Isn't that funny! Well we will see how it turns out in real life :)

We have our 5th bradley class tonight, 5 down, 5 more to go. We are talking about second stage of labor, fun stuff!

Thats it for today, lets all pray this week goes by quickly and I will be back on Friday.

xoxoxoxo

Finally Friday!

This week went by quick :) It probably helped that Jason let me sleep in two of the four days hahahaahaha Well I'm glad its the weekend anyways.

Yesterday was an exciting day for us. Jason FINALLY felt b kick for the first time!! YAAYY! She always stopped kicking right as I tried to get him to feel, so I was happy that he was finally able to feel her!

We went to babies r us to see if our furniture was in yet because they hadn't called us to let us know anything and its been a month since we ordered it. They had 3 of the 4 pieces in and we got a call today that the 4th piece is in! YAAAY! We cant set any of it up yet since we need to get the carpets cleaned and room painted but at least we have it!! We are going to pick up the last piece tonight. I don't think I can keep looking at the boxes in the garage.. its just torture to see it sitting there


So we are going to have to get a move on getting the room ready!! LOL

I also bought b's FIRST outfit last night!! Even though I wanted something a little more girly, I just LOVED this one. The little stars are sooooo cute! She is my little sweet pea!!



It has the hat and little matching booties.. tooooo cuute. love love it!

This was the runner up, its purple polka dots, with a little butterfly on the hat..


It's cute buuuuut I just wasn't feeling the polka dots..so the stars won hahaha

Well last night I stayed up kinda late studying up on the Bradley method. I know I have mentioned I was taking classes but didn't really explain why.

The Bradley Method focuses on a drug free birth and using our bodies as nature intended them. Many women do not study about birth and go into it blindly and do as the doctors say and what society is used to. The lack of proper diet, stress, fear and tension of childbirth causes more pain then the actual birth itself. Many women who know what to expect and prepare for it naturally usually have a more positive experience then those who have medication. Drugs are there for a purpose, and not all births are the same. I know sometimes medication is necessary. What Bradley teaches is to know when it is actually necessary and not just because it’s available. There was a time when it was routine to knock the mother out completely and use forceps to get the baby out. When it was discovered that method was harmful to the child because the drugs also reached the child, other options were developed. Only until they realized it was harmful to the child, they found new options. This to me doesn’t mean the new ways are the best. We are a progressive society but there is too much emphasis on altering childbirth. There is a new report out that out of ALL births 75% use epidurals and 35% are C-Sections… That’s amazing and very sad.

Although I have not given birth yet, and people can say "what do I know", currently I do not personally know BUT I am trusting the word of someone who DOES know: My mother. My mother gave birth to ALL 7 of my brothers and sisters without medication. People can joke that after one the rest are easy which in fact isn't true. The older a woman gets, more complications can arise therefore not "guaranteeing" an easy birth. Luckily my mom was very aware and informed and gave us the best start into this world possible. My mom lived in Colorado in the beginning of her first pregnancy and she went to Dr. Bradley because she had read his book, Husband Coached Childbirth and was very interested in his method. My mom was a DES baby (DES is a medication that once was said to be "safe" and was given to pregnant women to prevent miscarriages but was found to cause some reproductive problems for female babies.) Even with the complications she has encountered that may have been because of the DES, with proper diet and knowledge she received from Dr. Bradley and applying it to all her births, we all arrived into this world safely and healthy. I really have a new level of respect for my mom.

I had a huge fear of giving birth for many many years until I had spoken to my mom about it when Jason and I started talking about starting our own family. Hearing my mom’s story and advice gave me all the confidence in the world that I can do it without drugs as well. I really went from being scared to death of childbirth to knowing I can do it medication free! Commitment and support is a big part of the Bradley method. Many women may try it but if they do not TRULY feel they can cope and apply the techniques taught and do not have someone there to support her, they will cave and ask for medication. Really, to each their own. It is your body to decide what is best for you and your child. I have decided that what is best for me and my child is to not trust current knowledge and give birth as nature intended. Our bodies are so much more amazing than I had ever imagined when dealing with childbirth. Our bodies actually send out hormones to cope with the pain, but because of medical intervention and then adding in stress and tension many women's bodies do not have a chance to, making labor to be even longer. I'm so proud to be using the Bradley method, knowing all the benefits and being as prepared as possible.

Okay sorry that kinda got a little long and preachy but its just how I feel.

Everyone have a GREAT weekend!

Our weekend & b-24 weeks

I hope everyone had a great memorial day weekend!

Jason and I had such a good time at the Jazz Jubilee, its definitely pricey but worth paying for.

Here are some pics of my favorites from the day

This woman had such an awesome voice


These singers outfits killed me.. the all red man lol


Here WE are!!


This group was from Canada


These ladies were roaming around the isles dancing with their umbrellas.. SO fuunnnny!



I don't remember the names of the bands but these guys were great.






We had our friends over for a BBQ and swimming which was a lot fun. I bought a new swim suit that was super cute! I didn't really take any pictures but thanks to our friend Ryan we have a couple random ones lol..

Sitting around the table


Tony's fine food peperoni quality control..lol


Ryan and Lola :)




Here is meee and b! I felt funny in a two piece but I was with friends so its ok :) laying back hides b a little more so I just look chubby instead of pregnant lol


my favorite Suz even made it!!


Okay that's enough about the weekend, it's time for b!!!


Our little princess is little by little working on meeting us! here is her update

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts her at just over a pound. Since she's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), she cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon start to plump up. Her brain is also growing quickly now, and her taste buds are continuing to develop. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help her air sacs inflate once she hits the outside world. Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Corn b


Virtual b


We still haven't received our baby furniture which is a little sad, hopefully soon though. I think we are going to get the room painted soon. I picked out the colors at lowes the other week, its a light lavender and light mint. I can't wait to have her room all ready and even more so to have her IN it!! yaaay.

We have our bradley class tonight and I will talk about it on friday :)

Have a great day everyone!
oxoxoxo