30 Weeks

There's no stopping that crazy outie... I'm excited to have my innie back someday.

Wowza! Only ten more weeks (or less since I enter my due range in seven short weeks)... that means I only have a quarter left. I've been living my life in quarters for the past six years ( we can blame college for that) and a quarter goes by VERY FAST! That means this baby is going to be here with us VERY SOON. Wooohoooo!

I went to an appointment this week and everything's looking good, minus the fact that I am still anemic. I'm measuring in at 31 centimeters, so she's right on track (a little bigger) and she's already head down (THANK YOU baby for being so smart already!!) So my focus now needs to be on really trying to get more iron into my system and keep on trucking, eating healthy, not stressing myself out too much, and doing yoga as much as I can. Here we go!

29 Weeks

Our daddy showing off his beer belly and my sister and I showing off our 29-week preggy bellies.

Though we're both not looking our hottest we have an excuse... we're pregnant, damn it! This summer we'll be hot and sexy again and have beautiful little girls in their teeny weeny bikinis, too!

Reminder: You're a Human BEING Not a Human Doing...

by Mastin Kipp on February 15, 2011
Article obtained from The Daily Love

Give yourself room to be today. In today’s hustle and bustle, we rarely take time to actually rest. There is a belief that permeates our culture which says “If I’m not always busy, I’m not accomplishing anything and I don’t feel valuable.

Your worth is not related to being too busy, too stressed and having a maximized schedule. Your worth, your value comes from within and is something that is there no matter how much you “produce” or get done in a day.

We have turned into a culture of “Human Doings” and forgotten that we are “Human Beings”. Take a breath today. Let yourself off the hook; don’t try to accomplish EVERYTHING, because it’s impossible to get it all done, anyway. Instead, focus on doing what brings you joy, because that is what life is truly all about, if you decide it to be. A joyful life doesn’t have to be a stressed, overworked and underpaid life.

Take time today to focus on what brings you joy. It may be a person, a creation, a flower, the sun or an idea that you’ve wanted to bring into creation. Take time out of your day today to focus on joy. Start flexing your “joy muscles” and they’ll get stronger. Remember that you are a human “being” not a human “doing”. Celebrate not getting it all done because you have finally realized you can’t and you’re not supposed to.

If you want to live a life of joy, you have to give joy room to grow in your life. If you are constantly doing, doing and doing, you are not cultivating room for joy, for happiness and for love in your life. When you get to the final chapter of your life, you won’t celebrate how many “to do” lists that you completed; what you will cherish the most is the amount of joy you had and gave away. Don’t wait until then to figure this out. Be a JOYFUL human BEING today!

Love, Mastin

I really, truly love this article. Thank you Kirsten for The Daily Love website! It seems as if daily I am in a mental battle with myself over this whole concept... I work too hard, I don't get paid, I just want to sleep and do yoga and give myself time to just be me. Perhaps I need this reminder more often: I am a human BEING; I am not a human doing. Sometimes I just need time to be me...

Baby Shopping - A Success!

Today grandma-to-be (Chad's mother) and mama-to-be (me!) successfully made two baby registries! I went to Babies R Us for the first time and I was oh-so excited to get to park in the special expectant mother parking that I had heard so much about! I was so excited that I had to take a picture of the sign (oh, and it was last parking spot left of its kind; so I really had to take it).

After spending three hours at the crazy baby store we headed to lunch and then to Target where we made another registry. I cannot believe how expensive it is to become a parent for the first time... everything is SO expensive! I have yet to hit up thrift stores but that is definitely on my agenda, especially for clothes. I am thankful for registries, however, and since I registered for my wedding I have had the opportunity to buy people things off of their registries and I realize how nice it is to have those.

And there's only one month left before my first baby shower... crap, this is going to happen fast. But it feels nice to have one more thing checked off my list!

Week 28 & Third Trimester

This weeks marks the official start of the third trimester. Wow! Time definitely feels like it's going by at a snail's pace, but to think now that I'm nearing the end this feels crazy.
I'm going to have a baby soon!

Look at this image! My baby is that big?!

Yep, baby is big. She is now between 15 and 15 1/2 inches long and between 2 and 3 pounds.

Photo and information from thebabycorner.com.

Sleep-Better Secrets

Over the past week I have had a difficult time sleeping. I have so much going on right now so I'm getting tired quicker, and I'm constantly thinking about what's coming next so I have a difficult time falling asleep. Once I'm asleep I'm usually fine though. But Chad has been coming home super late at night (well, very early morning) the past couple of nights and I find myself waking up ten minutes before he comes home. Then we talk for awhile about our days and I can't for the life of me get back to sleep! I found this list and I find that it has some great ideas.

Photo from here.

___ Snag 20- to 30-minute catnaps on the weekends and if you get home from work on the early side -- but don't snooze for much more than this. Long naps can actually make you feel more tired than you were before you started.

___ Get some exercise (we know it's tough these days, but even a walk'll do). Active gals tend to sleep more soundly than couch potatoes. Just don't work out too close to bedtime (wrap it up at least two hours before) because you'll be hopped up on endorphins and may actually have a harder time dozing off.

___ Have a small, pre-bed snack. Try a handful of peanuts and a few crackers or whole-grain cereal with skim milk. These combos of carbs and tryptophan are known sleep-promoters.

___ Keep your bedroom on the cool side. Yes, even if it's winter! Feeling overheated is so common during pregnancy -- and you're never going to rest well if you're boiling. Tend to go hot-and-cold? Tuck an extra quilt at the foot of the bed to pull up if you start to feel chilly.

___ Go to bed with a clear head. To unload any worries before you turn in, keep a notebook on the night table. Much insomnia among preggo women stems from unresolved stresses -- especially with issues about the baby (labor, how you'll be as a mom, balancing work and fam, etc.).

___ Get yourself comfy! (Okay, no position may feel that cozy right about now.) But those long pregnancy pillows you always hear new moms raving about can help -- or you can also just build a little wall with a couple of regular pillows, roll onto your side, and throw a leg over one of them. Same idea.

Checklist from parents.com.

Exercise - check! New pillow - check! Snacks - check!

Now I just need to work on clearing this dang mind of mine...

Week 27

Oh man... what a week. I'm not sure what it was exactly but this week was SO tiring! I am pretty sure every day this week was just amazing all in its own ways.

I had a great week teaching and had some break-through moments. I really starting feeling like a teacher this week and it clicked to me that I have so much power to educate these children and introduce to them so many wonderful things that they can take with them forever. I suddenly feel such a connection with my students. It feels good.

Class this week was great! Everything about every class was so informative and applicable to what I am doing. Last quarter I hated the program and now I actually really enjoy it. I'm learning a lot and I'm very thankful for that. I look forward to class each day.

I have been doing yoga as often as I can and that means about three days a week. My prenatal class rocks and my classes at the YMCA have also been pretty good. It would be cool if every yoga class I attended was geared toward pregnant women, but you know, that's just not the case. I have been able to change my mindset this week and articles I have read in my Yoga Journal have helped a lot with that.

Last night I met up with some friends who I do not see nearly enough, and that was incredible, and the day before that I met up with a former roommate and amazing friend. I'm glad I got to squeeze in time to see some of the people I love who I really wish I saw more often.

And here are the belly pictures! My love handles are getting out of control these days. Baby girl has been moving around a lot and she definitely seems to have a schedule. Tonight at yoga I was in savasana (final relaxation pose) and baby was definitely NOT in the same pose as I was... I'm pretty sure she was in an intense flow sequence at that point. She makes me laugh.

And now it's time to hit the sack! I've got a busy weekend ahead of me and catching up on sleep is definitely on my agenda!

Week 26