I meant to update this earlier in the week but as always, grading made every evening full. Last Saturday was my baby shower and it was such an incredible blessing. Just a recap:
Friday: I took the day off work, graded papers and tidied up my house for our guests (my three best friends from college were driving in from Pittsburgh.) In the evening, I graded papers and my sweet husband took over the cleaning. Since Megan, Diane and Jen got a late start, they were not expected to arrive until after midnight. I wanted to be awake for them, so Allen let me sleep from like 10-12 while he made the house beautiful. He is such a blessing! My friends arrived safe and sound around 12:30, and it was so amazing to see them! They had not seen me since second tri, so I looked quite different. They just kept touching my belly and talking to Lorelei and trying to feel her kick- we just spent and hour at least hanging out in the nursery and talking. Eventually we went to bed.
Saturday: My shower was at 10:30 a.m. so I got up sometime between 8 and 9 and got ready. I wore a cute blue dress from old navy and some black tights and a scarf; I felt nice and pregnant but still cute :-) My friends got ready and we piled into my car to drive to my church for the shower. My dear aunt Lisa and cousin Kayleigh thew it for me, and I had known it was coming for a long time. I had a lot of involvement in the guest list and requested that it was held at church to be more centrally located for everyone, but other than that, I knew nothing about what it would look like. I walked in the room and was greeted by hugs from my aunt and cousins, and saw my 40ish guests all seated. There were so many sweet touches all over the shower. Potted roses were on each table and the favors were little plants to grow (to remind people to pray for Lorelei's growth.) There was a HUGE pile of gifts covered in pink paper, and two gliders next to the pile. The cake was so pretty and personalized with Lorelei's name and there was a display of Allen's and my baby pictures beautifully arranged on a table.
After aunt Lisa welcomed everyone and prayed over the meal, I ate one of the BEST breakfasts of my life (it was a brunch shower.) There was quiche and strata and french toast and scones and granola- ALL homemade by my Aunt and cousins! It was so delicious. After that, I sat in the glider for about an hour opening gift after gift. I was so blessed to receive pretty much all of my "big" items (like the pack n play, infant carseat, breast pump, etc.) I got a TON of little girl clothes and a bunch of pink blankets. I also got some really special personalized items. Some of my favorites were a homemade diaper cake and bag of special toys from Kelly (the toys were either hand-me-downs or favorites from her sweet daughter Karlyn, who I adore,) a HUGE basket of goodies from my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and brother-in-law's girlfriend, including a blanket/pillow set handmade by my sister-in-law, a beautiful quilt from my mom's best friend Joan, and my BEDDING! Aunt Lisa, as if throwing my shower wasn't enough, also made my bedding for me! We started the bedding process before she asked to throw my shower, and we picked out fabric together and designed what I wanted. Even though I knew about it, I was still in shock over how beautiful it is. I will post pictures when the nursery is totally done, but just trust me when I say it is beautiful!
During the gift exchange, they had one quick game where every table had individual members spell Lorelei's name correctly :-) I thought it was pretty creative and useful, as the little one has a complicated name :-) I was very proud of the amount of people who knew the spelling! After the gifts, I tried very hard to greet and spend a little time with everyone. I was so blessed by the people who attended; both my grandmothers, mom, sister and some cousins were at my table. There were also a couple of friends of my mom, a whole table of family from Allen's side, my three college friends, one of my best friends from work, some church and home group ladies and a couple of dear friends who I have known since I was very young. I also loved having some kids there, including babies to hold and get sweet pictures of :-) I am so thrilled to have ladies who have impacted my life and will be in Lorelei's as well!
Allen came at the end to say hi to people and pick up gifts. We had SO much! We filled my SUV AND Heather's (Allen's sister's) SUV to capacity! After everyone left, we took off for home to go through everything.
Even though we were exhausted, Allen, Diane, Jen, Megan and I sorted through everything, sorted receipts, put away cards and set up the pack and play. Allen and Megan moved the PNP into our bedroom (!!!) and then we went to the nursery to sort all the new clothes and hand-me-downs. Lorelei is going to be one well-dressed kid! She has enough clothes to change three times a day for the first three months and then it tapers off a bit; I hope that she is born a bit on the petite side! Diane, who is a nanny and has a child development degree, knows TONS about babies and helped organize the changing table and clothes in the most logical way. With all that accomplished, we were able to rest!
Sunday: We went to church and spent time with my family at lunch. After we came home so the girls could pack, my dear friend Megan (former roommate and AMAZING singer) took some time to sing to Lorelei in my belly. I hope Lorelei grows up knowing her Aunt Megan's beautiful voice, so it was a big deal :-)
This is super long so I wont add much more from this week. No major milestones, just growing bigger and loving my girl more. She is very active, but in such a different way, stretching and moving and jamming. We are now snowed in all weekend with another massive storm, and just relaxing. Tomorrow I will write thank you notes and maybe clean some more nursery stuff. And on Sunday, I will hit the famous 35/35 mark! 35 weeks down, 35 days to go! For the first time ever, when someone asked me when I am due, I said "next month!" (and got the response "whoah you look good!") So soon!!!
I do not have shower pictures yet loaded onto my computer, but check this website for some awesome shower pics :-)
www.flickr.com/willowimagery
Friday, February 5, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
33 weeks tomorrow!
I can't believe how far I am, and yet it still seems so far away! Counting things in weeks is very deceiving I have found. Once you hit the 30s, you think you are SO close, but in reality, the time between 30 weeks and 40 weeks is almost 3 months! If Lorelei makes it to 40 weeks, I have about 7 to go. It could be earlier or later, of course. I am honestly really praying to go into labor naturally at about 39 weeks. Here are my reasons:
-I want a natural birth REALLY badly. And by natural, I mean NO medication. None. I know you may think I am crazy, that I have no idea what I am getting myself into, blah blah blah. But I have done tons of research and let me assure you, this is not about a girl power "I went natural because I am awesome" thing. I am all for medication when it has a real significant reason. But I have genuine fears and issues with the "standard" procedures and medications that are given to mothers with normal pregnancies. The process of getting an epidural and/or a c-section terrify me more than labor pain. Pitocin can increase your need for an epi/c-section so that is a big no-no on my list as well. I thought about iv drugs, but those can make the baby groggy. I believe with all my heart that God designed a woman's body to give birth naturally and He can give me the strength to accomplish that. I am afraid that if I go much longer than full term, my doctors will try to convince me otherwise, and the farther I am, the harder it will be to resist. So if you read this, please pray that I go into labor on my own around 39-40 weeks so that there will be no induction or c-section pushed on me. Oh and in case you think we are going into this blindly, we really aren't. Allen and I have made ourselves aware of hospital procedures with a class, are taking a natural birth class at a local birthing center, are contemplating taking a more intensive 2 day breathing/meditation class, and I have done a lot of research between reading and talking to other natural birth moms. And kids, they did not get epi's...and they did not die from the pain!! I can do this too!
Oh and to add: I COMPLETELY understand that in some cases, a natural birth is not possible or there is a real reason to induce or give a c-section. And I know that if I do have either of these, the baby will most likely be fine. God is gracious and can work in any situation. I am just saying that I feel natural is the safest way to go in most cases, and I am praying that is the case for me. I have no judgment for those who needed inductions/c-sections, and like many things, this is an opinion of mine.
-I have basically been given the request to have this kid between March 5 and 14 by several people. My daddy is going to be in Europe until March 5. My brother is going back to college on March 14. My best friend is going on vacation on March 16. These are all people I would like to have meet Lorelei within her first day of life! I know this is really trivial and silly and she probably will come super late because people are asking her to come at this time, but I can dream, right?
-I want to meet this little person! I love her so much and cannot wait to get to know her!! I want her to cook long enough to be healthy, but I know my obsessive, impatient self and I am sure that once I hit 38 weeks I will be READY for her to come out!!
Anyway, moving on. My wonderful hubby and I went to DC last weekend for a mini baby-moon and it was so wonderful. And you know, it was just really relaxing and not terribly exciting; but perfect for us. We left Saturday around noon and drove to our inn, which was perfectly lovely. We checked in, had a quick lunch and then I napped in the room for a while. Saturday night I got dressed up for one of the few times ever this pregnancy and we had a nice dinner at a sushi/tapas restaurant in Adams Morgan. Then we came back to the inn to just spend time
together
Day 2: we had our complimentary breakfast (delish!) and then drove down to the mall to go to the Smithsonian. We spend 45 minutes parking (boo) and then walked 3 blocking pouring rain to the Natural History Museum. Walked that for about an hour or so, ate some lunch, then did the American History Museum. I got pretty tired and had to sit and rest next to Abe Lincoln's hat for a while, but overall it was still fun. After that, we came back to the inn to rest (jacuzzi!!!) and had Thai food for dinner.
Day 3: yummy breakfast, back to the room to clean and watch project runway, then checkout by 11! We were home by 1 and had plenty of time to chill around the house before work the next day.
You may read this and think "gee what a boring last hurrah" but really it was perfect for us. Allen is my best friend in the world, and I have come to realize over the past 8 years that we have been such good friends that we really do not need to be entertained to enjoy each other. We never run out of things to talk about, and we are perfectly content to just cuddle together or watch a movie together or just enjoy good conversation over an inexpensive meal. I am so thankful to God that we got to go on this trip before Lorelei gets here and hope we can keep dating each other as she comes, and as more children come.
Well this is really long and I need to put some clothes in the dryer. A few pictures though!
Allen's favorite part of the Smithsonian
Me feeling huge!
Together
Our pretty room
-I want a natural birth REALLY badly. And by natural, I mean NO medication. None. I know you may think I am crazy, that I have no idea what I am getting myself into, blah blah blah. But I have done tons of research and let me assure you, this is not about a girl power "I went natural because I am awesome" thing. I am all for medication when it has a real significant reason. But I have genuine fears and issues with the "standard" procedures and medications that are given to mothers with normal pregnancies. The process of getting an epidural and/or a c-section terrify me more than labor pain. Pitocin can increase your need for an epi/c-section so that is a big no-no on my list as well. I thought about iv drugs, but those can make the baby groggy. I believe with all my heart that God designed a woman's body to give birth naturally and He can give me the strength to accomplish that. I am afraid that if I go much longer than full term, my doctors will try to convince me otherwise, and the farther I am, the harder it will be to resist. So if you read this, please pray that I go into labor on my own around 39-40 weeks so that there will be no induction or c-section pushed on me. Oh and in case you think we are going into this blindly, we really aren't. Allen and I have made ourselves aware of hospital procedures with a class, are taking a natural birth class at a local birthing center, are contemplating taking a more intensive 2 day breathing/meditation class, and I have done a lot of research between reading and talking to other natural birth moms. And kids, they did not get epi's...and they did not die from the pain!! I can do this too!
Oh and to add: I COMPLETELY understand that in some cases, a natural birth is not possible or there is a real reason to induce or give a c-section. And I know that if I do have either of these, the baby will most likely be fine. God is gracious and can work in any situation. I am just saying that I feel natural is the safest way to go in most cases, and I am praying that is the case for me. I have no judgment for those who needed inductions/c-sections, and like many things, this is an opinion of mine.
-I have basically been given the request to have this kid between March 5 and 14 by several people. My daddy is going to be in Europe until March 5. My brother is going back to college on March 14. My best friend is going on vacation on March 16. These are all people I would like to have meet Lorelei within her first day of life! I know this is really trivial and silly and she probably will come super late because people are asking her to come at this time, but I can dream, right?
-I want to meet this little person! I love her so much and cannot wait to get to know her!! I want her to cook long enough to be healthy, but I know my obsessive, impatient self and I am sure that once I hit 38 weeks I will be READY for her to come out!!
Anyway, moving on. My wonderful hubby and I went to DC last weekend for a mini baby-moon and it was so wonderful. And you know, it was just really relaxing and not terribly exciting; but perfect for us. We left Saturday around noon and drove to our inn, which was perfectly lovely. We checked in, had a quick lunch and then I napped in the room for a while. Saturday night I got dressed up for one of the few times ever this pregnancy and we had a nice dinner at a sushi/tapas restaurant in Adams Morgan. Then we came back to the inn to just spend time
together
Day 2: we had our complimentary breakfast (delish!) and then drove down to the mall to go to the Smithsonian. We spend 45 minutes parking (boo) and then walked 3 blocking pouring rain to the Natural History Museum. Walked that for about an hour or so, ate some lunch, then did the American History Museum. I got pretty tired and had to sit and rest next to Abe Lincoln's hat for a while, but overall it was still fun. After that, we came back to the inn to rest (jacuzzi!!!) and had Thai food for dinner.
Day 3: yummy breakfast, back to the room to clean and watch project runway, then checkout by 11! We were home by 1 and had plenty of time to chill around the house before work the next day.
You may read this and think "gee what a boring last hurrah" but really it was perfect for us. Allen is my best friend in the world, and I have come to realize over the past 8 years that we have been such good friends that we really do not need to be entertained to enjoy each other. We never run out of things to talk about, and we are perfectly content to just cuddle together or watch a movie together or just enjoy good conversation over an inexpensive meal. I am so thankful to God that we got to go on this trip before Lorelei gets here and hope we can keep dating each other as she comes, and as more children come.
Well this is really long and I need to put some clothes in the dryer. A few pictures though!
Allen's favorite part of the Smithsonian
Me feeling huge!
Together
Our pretty room
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
I already sense that I am going to be bad at this and these updates will be weekly at best. I just wanted to throw in a pregnancy update. The big things: last week was our 3D ultrasound re-take and it was INCREDIBLE! Allen and I are so in love with little Lorelei (as are her grandparents.) She is so cute and funny and stubborn :-) And I can already see myself in her! It is so amazing how God made her in His image, but lets her bear our images as well.
Today I spent some time in triage getting monitored. I did not want to go when I called my OB with a general question (they sent me; I did not ask to go!) It turned out being good that I went since now I am getting treated for some infections and apparently am dehydrating. But the single coolest thing was getting to lay there and listen to my little girl's heart for two hours. I also heard every move, hiccup (I swear she gets them 4 times a day!) and kick. I did not bring a book with me so I really had nothing to distract me; I just got to listen to her be alive. I am still in awe that I am carrying a life in me. How very blessed!
Here is a common pregnancy survery for fun :-)
* How far along?: 31 weeks, 2 days
* Total weight gain: about 15 lbs
* How big is baby?: I think the last thing I read said about 3ish lbs...maybe more.
* Maternity clothes?: I still have *some* non-maternity clothes that work, but nothing that needs to button or anything :-) I love my maternity clothes!
* Stretch marks?: chest and my appendix scar
* Sleep?: interrupted all night. Still getting about 6ish hours because I go to sleep as early as I can.
* Best moment this week?: our 3D ultrasound. Incredible! And hearing her heartbeat for several hours today.
* Movement?: Pretty much all day. But more rolling and jabbing than kicking. And the poor thing gets hiccups all the time.
* Food cravings?: chocolate ice cream
* Labor signs?: no, thank God!
* Belly button in or out?: finally out :-)
*Sex? still very much a girl :-)
* What I miss: ?? Sushi. And not feeling exhausted all the time.
* What I'm looking forward to: Allen's and my "babymoon" this weekend!
* Milestone: now in the single digit weeks!
Today I spent some time in triage getting monitored. I did not want to go when I called my OB with a general question (they sent me; I did not ask to go!) It turned out being good that I went since now I am getting treated for some infections and apparently am dehydrating. But the single coolest thing was getting to lay there and listen to my little girl's heart for two hours. I also heard every move, hiccup (I swear she gets them 4 times a day!) and kick. I did not bring a book with me so I really had nothing to distract me; I just got to listen to her be alive. I am still in awe that I am carrying a life in me. How very blessed!
Here is a common pregnancy survery for fun :-)
* How far along?: 31 weeks, 2 days
* Total weight gain: about 15 lbs
* How big is baby?: I think the last thing I read said about 3ish lbs...maybe more.
* Maternity clothes?: I still have *some* non-maternity clothes that work, but nothing that needs to button or anything :-) I love my maternity clothes!
* Stretch marks?: chest and my appendix scar
* Sleep?: interrupted all night. Still getting about 6ish hours because I go to sleep as early as I can.
* Best moment this week?: our 3D ultrasound. Incredible! And hearing her heartbeat for several hours today.
* Movement?: Pretty much all day. But more rolling and jabbing than kicking. And the poor thing gets hiccups all the time.
* Food cravings?: chocolate ice cream
* Labor signs?: no, thank God!
* Belly button in or out?: finally out :-)
*Sex? still very much a girl :-)
* What I miss: ?? Sushi. And not feeling exhausted all the time.
* What I'm looking forward to: Allen's and my "babymoon" this weekend!
* Milestone: now in the single digit weeks!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Let's try this again...
In 2008 I kept a blog: selah419.blogspot.com. I could just continue to keep that one, but I like the idea of starting fresh with a new year.
(And I can't access my old email account it was attached to...oops.)
So here we are again.
Why did I choose this (maybe corny) name this time?
Honestly it just popped into my head. I was trying to think of words from songs, and the song "Above All" kept playing. There is a line that says "Like a rose trampled on the ground, You took the fall and thought of me above all." I want to use this blog primarily as a reminder of the goodness and grace of my Savior who was trampled for my sins. I have so much growth to do in this area, and hope that having a place to write will help me direct my thinking more toward Him.
Roses are also special to me because of my love, Allen. Obviously roses are the most symbolically romantic flower, but they mean even more to me. Allen has always given me roses, I carried roses on our wedding, we have shared songs and movies that mention roses and the very concept of a rose itself reminds me of our love. Timeless, pure, simple, not without thorns, but beautiful. I adore him so much and he is (after Jesus) God's greatest blessing to me. I am going to warn you that this blog may turn out to have sappy moments where I just gush about how in love we are and how special he is. You have been warned.
Roses also remind me of new life, like the precious one God is forming in me. This baby is the highlight of my year, the greatest gift my husband and I could have been given and the best thing we have ever done. Some may think we are a little crazy for wanting a baby so soon, but after being married to this wonderful man, I wanted nothing more than to be the mother of his children and to begin this dream job as soon as we could. Lorelei Rose (there it is again!) is due on March 14, about a month before our 2 year wedding anniversary. I love being pregnant and could not be happier to welcome her into our lives. I love how I feel and look with my 7-month-pregnant belly. I love feeling her kick and roll around inside me every day. I love that I can tell when she gets the hiccups. I love that she refuses to be cooperative for ultrasounds (though a nice picture would be fun sometime, sweetie.) I love hearing her heartbeat at the doctors' office every two weeks. There are things that I don't love (like the no longer sleeping through the night and the constant pee breaks and the times when I just cannot find a position where I can breathe) but I would do it again in a heartbeat for my little one. Oh I cannot wait to meet her! I will try to document as much as possible in regard to her life and mine here.
So I guess this is the beginning of a new year, a new life...and a new blog. Stay tuned!
In the meantime, here are some of my favorite Christmas pictures:
Allen and I at my aunt and uncle's house:
My cousin and I:
(And I can't access my old email account it was attached to...oops.)
So here we are again.
Why did I choose this (maybe corny) name this time?
Honestly it just popped into my head. I was trying to think of words from songs, and the song "Above All" kept playing. There is a line that says "Like a rose trampled on the ground, You took the fall and thought of me above all." I want to use this blog primarily as a reminder of the goodness and grace of my Savior who was trampled for my sins. I have so much growth to do in this area, and hope that having a place to write will help me direct my thinking more toward Him.
Roses are also special to me because of my love, Allen. Obviously roses are the most symbolically romantic flower, but they mean even more to me. Allen has always given me roses, I carried roses on our wedding, we have shared songs and movies that mention roses and the very concept of a rose itself reminds me of our love. Timeless, pure, simple, not without thorns, but beautiful. I adore him so much and he is (after Jesus) God's greatest blessing to me. I am going to warn you that this blog may turn out to have sappy moments where I just gush about how in love we are and how special he is. You have been warned.
Roses also remind me of new life, like the precious one God is forming in me. This baby is the highlight of my year, the greatest gift my husband and I could have been given and the best thing we have ever done. Some may think we are a little crazy for wanting a baby so soon, but after being married to this wonderful man, I wanted nothing more than to be the mother of his children and to begin this dream job as soon as we could. Lorelei Rose (there it is again!) is due on March 14, about a month before our 2 year wedding anniversary. I love being pregnant and could not be happier to welcome her into our lives. I love how I feel and look with my 7-month-pregnant belly. I love feeling her kick and roll around inside me every day. I love that I can tell when she gets the hiccups. I love that she refuses to be cooperative for ultrasounds (though a nice picture would be fun sometime, sweetie.) I love hearing her heartbeat at the doctors' office every two weeks. There are things that I don't love (like the no longer sleeping through the night and the constant pee breaks and the times when I just cannot find a position where I can breathe) but I would do it again in a heartbeat for my little one. Oh I cannot wait to meet her! I will try to document as much as possible in regard to her life and mine here.
So I guess this is the beginning of a new year, a new life...and a new blog. Stay tuned!
In the meantime, here are some of my favorite Christmas pictures:
Allen and I at my aunt and uncle's house:
My cousin and I:
Showing off the belly
With my daddy (or Papi to the little one :-))
There is nothing like being pregnant at Christmas...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)