6 Weeks Left... The Home Stretch

34 Weeks

I can't believe we are only 6 weeks away from our due date! (April 7th) Time is going by even faster now, although this is the point in pregnancy when one starts to feel big and uncomfortable. However, good news~ We are feeling a sense of accomplishment as we tackled the stroller goal- we decided to get the attachments to turn our single into a double. Uppa Baby makes a Piggyback standing board and Rumble seat that hook on to the chassis that we test drove last weekend with Sophia along. She LOVED the PiggyBack standing unit and calls it a "really fun ride!" We also located a great double running/ jogging stroller online that we bought on Craigslist (again, thanks CL!) It's a Mountain Buggy side by side that will be perfect for hitting the trails and getting outside when spring rolls around. It even came with a bassinet for the baby to ride snug in, which I hadn't seen before in a running stroller, so it was an added bonus. A real encouragement to get out and be active :)

I took a Hypnobirthing refresher course @ Blooma last Tuesday and reviewed the breathing techniques:

• Calm breathing- Done in between surges, inhale to 4 and exhale to 8
• Surge breathing- Done during surges and goal is to be loose, limp and to imagine uterus contracting the baby down- long and slow breaths
• Birth breathing- Mother-directed bearing down, short inhale via nose and all energy goes down to baby in the shape of a "J" to get baby out and down

Thankfully, the Braxton-Hicks have already started so I'm getting good practice in here and there. I had another prenatal appt today and the baby is OP occipital posterior, meaning she's facing out- aka- sunny side up- so the hope is that she turns before labor and delivery. There's a spinning babies class coming up this weekend to learn techniques and movements on how to encourage baby to flip and rotate and turn. Interesting pregnancy comparison to last time, there is a 10 lb weight difference and 2 cm difference in measurements. I thought that was pretty interesting to note that every pregnancy is very different!

Nesting is in full force in our house! We're gearing up for baby in every way possible- Sophia and I took a trip to the laundromat to wash all the baby gear in the big heavy duty machines last weekend. Also started washing and putting away all the little clothes in baby's nursery. It was somewhat of a sentimental/ emotional process remembering all the memories with Sophia when she was just a newborn. Oh they grow SO fast!

I need to start writing down the funny things Sophia says- on Sunday Paul took her sledding in the backyard and she got a minor injury but is totally fine. On Monday morning she woke up, walked in our bedroom and said "I got hurt sledding yesterday. It's not funny, but it's Daddy's fault. I'm okay, just in case you were wondering." in a very matter of fact voice. Then today she told me that she will be potty trained later this summer when she's 3 (holds up 3 fingers)... Oh my my! The things they come up with! :)

Looking forward to the next 6 weeks of pregnancy and hoping + praying that they are healthy and productive!

32 Weeks DOWN, 8 Weeks to GO!

Feelin' like I'm on the home stretch here- but I know that there's still 8 more weeks and that the bigger one gets, the slower time seems to pass... Luckily and thankfully, it feels like this pregnancy has been a whirlwind moving at a super-fast lightning speed! Some changes/ updates and highlights from the past few weeks:

• Burst Training after 30 weeks is NOT recommended. I learned this the hard way! After a super inspiring health conference "Rev It Up!" featuring Dr. Pompa who spoke on Burst Surge Training, me, Paul and Sophia had a silly burst training session including mountain climbers, high knees, jumping jacks, running in place and other crazy moves that might not have names- going full out at 100%... Let's just say that I'm thankful my water did not break and that the baby stayed inside. 
• Walking and jogging are good, sustainable alternatives now thru the end of the pregnancy
• Protein goal is 60-80 grams daily is the goal
• Birth plan is done and in the hands of the midwives- that is a relief/ accomplishment! (But I will admit that I modified the one from Sophia's birth and updated it so it made that task much easier!)
• We toured Abbott's brand-new Mother Baby Center... One word- AMAZING! You do not feel like you're even in the hospital but more like a swanky hotel with frosted glass doors, remote controlled room darkening shades, flat screen tv's and iPod docks... Oh my! The modern day amenities...
• We scored 2 new pieces of nursery furniture thanks to good ol' Craigslist! A rocker/ glider with matching ottoman and a changing table with cabinet and drawers.
• The nursery is underway- have a vision of what it will look like when it's done in my head and my mom will come over and help with the little details of pulling it all together. The theme is something like shabby chic meets simple relaxation. I'm so thankful that we have all of Sophia's clothes that just need to get unpacked, washed and put away. 
• Excited to invest in a Moby wrap- thanks to a friend whose sold me on all the benefits of having one- baby is close to you, it's comfortable and can grow with baby- have a feeling it's going to be a staple baby gear item this time around.
• Next mission is to figure out the whole double stroller thing- there are a couple that I have in mind but want to have Sophia try them out- thinking of either a Bob duallie, City Select with both kids facing out, or just getting the accessories Bumble seat to make our Uppa Baby into a double.
• Our current prayer is for Sophia's heart to be prepared to having a little sister and that she'll be a great helper. She's done really well with sleeping in a toddler bed and has given the nuk up to only nap and bed time. The whole potty training thing has been an uphill battle that will just come when she's more ready. We encourage her all the time, but she has her reservations for using it so instead of engaging in battle, we're going to let it be what it will be for now with high hopes that she'll be potty trained by the time preschool starts in September!
• Which leads to PreSchool! We toured a preschool on Thursday that we're praying about sending her to two days per week. She would have stayed all morning if it were up to her! We may tour another one before committing to it. Most importantly it is a Jesus, bible-based preschool.
• Names- we are still loving Grace yet there are a couple others that we're considering and putting Grace as a middle name... Still figuring that out.

And last but not least, dark chocolate never tasted so good! :) Oh the joys of being pregnant! *

28 Weeks

The Gestational Diabetes test was Friday and I already received the results this morning over the phone. The type of testing my midwife does is the fasting 2 hour test:

My experience with the new test:
1. I fasted for 10 hours before the test. Only water was allowed during this time. Ate a high protein dinner.
2. My blood was first drawn at 9:20 am to determine my “baseline.”
3. I was then asked to drink the glucose solution (75 g) within 3-5 minutes.
4. My blood was drawn again at 10:20 am while I was meeting with the midwife for a routine prenatal visit.
5. My blood was drawn for the last time at 11:20 am

Coming from a girl who does not do well with blood, this was a stretch getting blood drawn not once, not twice, but three times; not to mention one arm had to be drawn from twice. I'm so thankful it's over and done with and hopefully there will not be any more blood involved in the prenatals going forward :)

So the results... In parenthesis according to the draws-
First draw (Fasting) -Numbers should between 65-91 (78)
Second draw- Like the see the number less than 180 (85)
Final draw- Under 153 (78)
Hemoglobin (Iron) 11.5

All in all, I would definitely do this test again because it seemed to be the most accurate. Especially since one does it fasting for a 10 hour period of time-- I would imagine the false positives occur when a patient has been eating their regular diet and then goes in for the testing with nutrients and sugar already in their system that it can easily throw the numbers off and make them look more elevated.

Abbott's new maternity ward is set to open next month and we'll schedule a tour to check it out. Excited to see their water birth facility and check everything out. I'm a visual person and need to be able to mentally deliver there before the actual labor and delivery process happens. It helped to be able to visualize the labor process when delivering at St. Joe's. The birth plan is to labor naturally without medication/ intervention unless absolutely necessary using hypnobirthing method (More info here: http://www.hypnobirthing.com/howitworks.htm) and delivering baby in water again. Of course, it's easy to say that is the "plan" but we know the One who is really in control!

Nutrition wise- aiming to consume 60g of protein daily now. The midwife doesn't love the idea of protein powder, so I'm trying to stick with natural sources:

• 22g Salmon, Halibut (3 oz) Good fats too!
• 10g Applegate Turkey Breast(2 oz) - {I know lunch meat is not 'technically' allowed but I always buy Applegate's natural nitrite-free line}
• 10g Nuts (1/2 cup)
• 6g. each -Eggs- cooked or hard boiled
• Kale, broccoli, beans, avacado
• Greek yogurt, cottage cheese
• 5g. Goat cheese medallion
• Peanut/Almond butters

Looking forward to turning the corner and heading into the third trimester! I'm truly amazed at how fast this is all going. WOW!

27 Weeks + A New Year!

A New Year! Already feeling grateful for what 2013 has brought thus far and loving the thought of all the big changes and blessings that are on the horizon! All to God's glory of course! Welcoming a new babe in a few months, growing + adjusting to a family of four, remodeling + updating Rev, scaling back my work schedule, changing churches, continuing to serve in BSF, Sophia starting pre-school in the fall, and much more...!

On Baby Names...
We've gone through probably a dozen names-- Isabella, Charolette, Rose, Gabrielle, Gabriella, Lucy... I'm probably forgetting a few. These were all names that we just picked because we like them! However, we've been praying about our baby girl name and both are beginning to have a peace about her name. Well at least her first name. (Drum roll....) We love Grace, and even have a praise report to share that both Paul and I have had the Lord confirm to us in some really neat ways in the last week. Last week, against all odds, I made it to prenatal yoga @ Blooma, and the last part of class, the instructor played "Amazing Grace", then today, we sang "Amazing Grace" as the opening hymn at BSF! "Grace" was also the doctrine in the bible study lesson this morning. Hmmm... This is just one of many little "God-confirmation" moments of the week (so far! I know He's probably got some more lined up that I happily anticipate!). What peace I've had from this is that the Lord knows this child- He created her- and He already knows what she will look like, her personality, His will for her life, the whole story of her life... EVERYTHING, so who better to ask what her name should be than her Creator! I truly believe His desire for her name is clearly being reflected in everyday life this week and it just makes me so thankful! Thank you Lord!

New Years Day 2013!

Health + Pregnancy Updates
Feeling big! The bump is taking over, in a good way of course. I'm starting to feel like taking a full breath is a little more challenging that it was even last week. Also have had the slightest acid reflux in the last two days, which is common at this point in pregnancy- and it reminded me what remedy I did last time around- Chiropractic adjustments with a diaphragm pull down. The last two weeks of getting adjustments have been extremely helpful in keeping up with the pace of life! Current frequency is 2x/ week and I don't think I could go any less. I love doing traction in the morning too. Striving to drink more water than usual (half body weight plus some...) to combat swelling and edema. We took a road trip yesterday to Iowa and by the time we got home, I noticed my ankles and calf were puffy from sitting in the car all day. Gestational Diabetes test is on Friday morning to determine what that looks like. 1-2% of women have GD during pregnancy so I'm hoping that I'll pass without any glitches.Continuing to want to stay active- maintaining 1-2x/ week at LTF, and last week finally got a prenatal yoga class in for the first time this pregnancy. It felt relieving to be there and learn ways to get comfortable and find new positions with a growing baby inside. Nutrition wise- staying away from sweets all week long as a personal challenge and for Friday's appt. Making smoothies is back in business (after running hot water on the base to clean it, only to find out I basically killed since that's where the motor/ brain of it is located! Now it's working and back to life!) Current go-to is peanut butter, banana, spinach w/ pro-biotic and protein powders... Rediscovered Bistro's grass-fed mini-burgers and have to say that I could live on those for life. So good. We went on Thursday and can't wait to go back again :)

On our 'two-and-two-third year old' {according to Paul}...
Sophia is officially sleeping in her toddler bed as of Friday! Win!
Potty training is off to a successful start- thinking the key to this will be consistency!! Highlight, bold, underline... The other day, motivation for her to "hold it + go IN the potty chair" was for her to wear a costume. (!! The things they come up with) So it was a flower tutu dress. This costume may be coined the potty training ticket. We'll see. Also using Whole Foods yummy gummies in apricot (just one) for each time she successfully goes in the potty.
Chiro adjustments are back in business! For a while, she was refusing- until we cleared some emotions (shock, panic and anxiety) and now she's worked her way up to getting adjustments on the floor (not table) and referring to them as "frog adjustments" full on with hopping around and "ribbiting" sound effects. Hey, whatever will work, right?!
Working on memorizing Genesis 15:1. The Post it note in her bedroom has helped her associate the bible verse and being comforted. "Do not be afraid (Sophia) for I am your shield, your very great reward."

Hope that I'll have some good news to report next time- praying all the bloodwork goes well as having blood drawn is my least favorite part of pregnancy. I would rather polar bear plunge into a freezing lake! :)

25 Weeks + CHRISTMAS!!!

25 weeks is here- I quizzed Paul the other morning while we were getting ready to see if he knew how far along I was and his guess was 3 weeks off. I was slightly disappointed for a split second but realized I even have a hard time keeping track of what week, let alone day, I'm at in pregnancy. It was also a good time to remind him of our to-do list of things that need to happen before baby #2 makes her entrance into the world :) Feeling good still, with a minor slip up- decided to take all my prenatal vitamins on an empty stomach first thing in the morning last week, and they ALL came back up after showering- including the fish oil and garlic. Haven't had that happen in a long time... Think I'll just stick with taking them at night.

Hope you had a WONDERful time celebrating the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, with your family, friends and loved ones. Christmas was more special this year because we had the opportunity to "re-live" it through the eyes of a two-and-a-half year old. This post may be better captured through pictures rather than words and I know it will be fun to look at this next year when we're gearing up to celebrate Christmas again. A highlight this year was talking to Sophia about the big birthday party we were having at our house for Jesus with a cake, candles, dinner, family, presents...! We sang "Happy Birthday to Jesus" all day!We're making new traditions and carrying on others...

We did some Christmas shopping @ the Galleria--stopped at People's Organic for a special gingerbread man treat...

Paul + I took Sophia to the 8th Floor Macy's display after music class last Friday. She absolutely  loved it!

Excited to meet Santa for the 1st time ever--!

She told him she wanted "a purple present".

 Out to lunch with Daddy afterwards...

Making cookies for Santa...

 

 

 

Paul + Sophia were part of an "impromptu" Christmas pageant at church on December 23rd.  

Sophia was a little lamb, Paul was a shepherd. She was fearless and loved playing a part in the story- Luke 2:1-20!

Ringing bells again- same place at last year- Macy's @ Ridgdedale

Christmas Eve with Papa!!!

...and Mama!!

Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus with her two very special aunts and cousin!!

Another exciting part of Christmas was the surprise of Santa coming to our house- he brought a pretty cool new car and baby bear hat...!

Hope your celebration of the birth of our Lord and King was special and memorable too! Here's to a happy, healthy, NEW year! Looking forward to the many exciting things the Lord has in store for us as we grow to FOUR. Wow. Blessings!

24 Weeks

Another week has flown by! Did I mention that the 2nd pregnancy has gone by so much faster?! It's amazing how one day turns into the next and then a week goes by and it only feels like a day. I am enjoying every day of this pregnancy and trying to take it all in because it's flying by! By the way, I don't think I mentioned this before, but I have three close friends that are also expecting! (One expecting her 2nd, one her 3rd and one her 4th!) It is so great to have that support and prayer system to journey through the ever-changing pregnancy high's and low's together. It is a gift!

The last prenatal visit went very well- we chatted about the results of the ultrasound- everything looked good and baby is in the 52nd percentile for her size and weight at this gestation. All things looked great from the ultrasound including brain, heart, amniotic fluid, etc... We discussed the dairy sensitivity, and it actually is pretty much no longer any issue, praise the Lord! The next prenatal in January will include blood draws for gestational diabetes. This time around, I have to fast for 10 hours and then go in the next morning to drink the sugary beverage and wait 1 hour to have blood drawn. I'm planning on working on bible study while waiting in between the bloodwork, and Paul is going to take Sophia to music class that morning!

In other news, we are preparing for Christmas! Last Friday, my mom, sister and sister in law all got together to spend a day baking Christmas cookies and treats. It has become a tradition that we started a couple years ago and we look forward to every year! We each bring ingredients for 2 recipes and make a huge mess and have fun. We made chocolate peanut butter cups, nut/ seed bars with chocolate topping, gluten-free almond thumbprint cookies, peanut butter blossoms, chex mix, gluten free banana bread with walnuts, fudge, and wreaths with M&M's. While the cousins were playing, we were baking away in Santa's workshop in our elf hats and red/ white aprons courtesy of Suzy and Katie! It was such a fun day and I just treasure that time together. It is such a joy!

We quadrupled each recipe to send everyone home with lots of goodies to share!

Glamma's little helper making the thumbprint cookies :)

The cousins!!! Sophia (2 1/2) Emmett (9 months) Ethan (19 months)

After church this morning, we spent the afternoon with Paul's parents, sister and great, great aunt celebrating Christmas a little early. We had a wonderful time relaxing and in fellowship. His great, great aunt is 97 years old and shared some of her favorites Christmas memories and traditions. We concluded our time singing several Christmas Carols: Away in the Manger, Joy to the World, O Holy Night, O Come O Come Emmanuel, Angels We Have Heard on High and I Saw Three Ships. It was a special time and loved that it really set our hearts in the Christmas spirit!

We're excited to continue our family tradition of bell-ringing for the Salvation Army and will ring on Christmas Eve at the Ridgedale Macy's in the morning. We were tuckered out and went home and immediately got into our pajamas and spent the rest of the day relaxing fireside. It was a still quiet evening and end to the week. Beyond thankful for a day such as this :-) We are blessed.

22 Weeks... and counting!

 Overall, the pregnancy is status- quo and things are continuing to go really good, thankfully! In the last two weeks, however, I've developed a dairy sensitivity to cow's milk, cow's cheese, and cream. It all started when I noticed some red dots on my stomach, right over baby bump- which because itchy and irritating to the point where I decided this was something food-gut related if it was showing up on my skin. The wonderful Meg muscle tested me at Rev for a food sensitivity that might be causing this reaction. She tried all sorts of foods, because originally I thought it may have been from our Thanksgiving meal where we ate a ton of food we don't normally eat, however not the case. Turned out to be cow's dairy- I'm off all cheese and cream. Which actually isn't hard at all because I don't really drink milk to begin with and am substituting cream for soy milk and coconut milk and regular cow cheese for goat cheese. I've also been taking activated charcoal to bind the toxins out and a weed botanical (Usnea Lichen) to get rid of the associated mild blood infection it caused. I can see a difference already as the red spots have pretty much completely diminished. The hard part about this sensitivity is that it came right in between the holidays, so I can't indulge in the heavy whipping cream with coffee and pie like I was hoping to :-) But thankfully there are a lot of wonderful alternatives!

Thanksgiving in Taylors Falls- enjoying the Lighting Festival!

Activity wise- still going on the usual LTF journey 1-2x/ week. I'm hoping to try a prenatal yoga class in January, after Christmas is over to get into the swing of that on an occasional basis. I'm also hoping Paul and I can register for Hypnobirthing at Blooma or take a refresher course. I've been listening to Rainbow Relaxation every night and it has brought me back to some good times and memories! For anyone who has listened to that CD, you will understand :)

I have to admit that I'm feeling a little more tired these last couple weeks- I don't know if it's because it's the holidays and a busy time of the year that would make anyone tired- or if my body is just wanting extra sleep. Two naps this past weekend were splendid and I'm thankful I was able to lay down without feeling guilty like I should be getting other things done. I am one to struggle with listening to my body on when to slow down and rest, I'm usually pushing to the max.

We're slowly but surely starting to gear up for baby-- Paul finished a project he started last month of storage racking in the lower level to make room for me to move my office downstairs in with his. We'll be using what was my office for the nursery and need to start furnishing, unpacking the baby gear, and decorating to make it into a bedroom. The girls rooms will be just 2 doors away from each other, making it super convenient.

We're thinking of names and have our favorite, but we're not 100% sure on it quite yet. Still praying about that since it's a very big decision and would love some confirmation in our Spirit about it. The next prenatal visit happens this upcoming Tuesday afternoon- just a routine appointment and will go over the findings of the ultrasound. Will definitely update on any highlights!

On a side note, Sophia's finger is completely fine now but she does tell me everyday that "a door closed on my finger and it hurt...but it's just fine now!" She also loves giving the baby kisses, hugs- and even tried to share her hot cocoa with her today after sledding! It's pretty cute. We are excited to see her as a "big sis"!

Our little powder pink puffin- she LOVES snow!!!

Sledding fun in our backyard- can you tell who is having more fun?!

Capturing the moment with a 'Bou in hand :)