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! *