oy!

Saturday morning I did the other pregnancy workout DVD I recently purchased. Great workout, fun instructor, excellent production values. Many squats and two days later, I am one sore mama-to-be. It had been WAY too long since my legs had done that kind of work. There are muscles I apparently forgot I had. Now every time I sit down or stand up or, you know, walk, I feel like an old woman. Oh the burn! Fortunately I know it gets better and easier. So don't worry, I'll be back at it..... tomorrow. Today I'm doing yoga.

24 weeks

How your baby's growing: Your baby's growing steadily, gaining about a quarter of a pound since last week, when he was just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), that makes a pretty lean figure, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon put on more baby fat. Your baby's skin is thin, translucent, and wrinkled, his brain is growing rapidly, and his taste buds are developing. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" and cells that produce surfactant, a substance that helps the air sacs inflate easily.

I am definitely feeling more pregnant this week! My kid had a bit of growth spurt or something this week. My belly has finally passed my boobs in growth.

getting yoga

Jared took a break from writing, found me like this, and couldn't resist snapping a picture.
Please ignore the messiness behind me. Just trying to keep it real around here. :-)

My new workout dvds came yesterday, and I did the yoga one last night. I loved it! I feel like this was the first time doing yoga that I actually "got it". I've taken a few classes here and there and done other home workouts. I've never too had much trouble with the poses, found the stretching good and enjoyed it alright, but I never felt that in-tune with my body thing that yoga is supposed to provide. I never have felt like I got the breathing rhythm down either.

I'm not sure if it was the instructor on this dvd or just being more in-tune with my body now that I'm pregnant, but I really felt like I was getting it last night. The way she described breathing made way more sense to me, and I loved how she says to follow your own breath instead of always saying exactly when you should be breathing in and out.

I also loved that this was made for pregnancy because the instructor really focused on how certain positions will help during labor or will help relieve pregnancy strains. I feel like what I'm learning is a great resource that I will be able to use during labor. I was definitely able to relax and get inside myself, which is very important during labor. One of my favorite parts was a humming exercise. I can totally see myself humming during labor to stay focused.

I also appreciated that the students on the video were totally normal looking girls. They were quite large and pregnant and not tiny little things with just basketball bellies. It shows that you can do this stuff right up to the end.

I'd definitely recommend this workout to anyone who is pregnant. It's called Yoga for Pregnancy, Labor & Birth (the link will take you to Amazon where I got it).

wow, this is my life?

Do you ever have moments where you can't really believe your own life? Or you feel like some sort of an observer to your own life? Am I making any sense?

The other day I woke up and looked over at my still sleeping husband and was semi-shocked to find that I live and sleep with a boy. That I really am married. That all those girl-hood daydreams of falling in love and the like really did finally happen.

And then I felt the other boy in my life stirrin' around in my tummy, and I realized that I live with TWO boys! Not only did the girl-hood dream of marriage actually happen, but I'm having a baby too! Wow!

Life is pretty crazy. And wonderful.

Today I walked by a glass door and caught my reflection and was semi-shocked once again to see a visibly pregnant girl. This baby is a growin' and therefore so am I!

Life really is a miracle.

getting motivated

So exercise is important. We all know that. But I have had the darnedest time the past year or so staying motivated to exercise regularly. I just have not gotten into a routine. And I know it's especially important during pregnancy that I keep moving. I won't give you all my excuses because I know you don't want to hear them. I'll just show you my latest motivations--a couple dvd's I just got on Amazon with the gift certificate I won awhile ago from Nicki. (Thanks girl!) They both have great reviews and look to be appropriate for pregnancy, while keeping me challenged. And hopefully will keep my boredom at bay. (I get bored easily while working out.)

I do have a question for all you busy ladies out there. When do you exercise? And what is your method of choice? I'd especially love to hear from any working girls because I have found that joining the 8-5 workforce has been the biggest stumbling block for me finding time to workout. Basically, I'm lazy and don't want to wake up at 6 in the morning. But I am also way tired, exacerbated by pregnancy, in the evening. I need to suck it up and either get up earlier, or start working out right when I get home.

So how do you stay motivated?

23 weeks

How your baby's growing: Your baby is more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango). His skin is red and wrinkled. Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare him for breathing. He can swallow, but he normally won't pass his first stool (called meconium) until after birth. Loud noises heard often in utero — such as your dog barking or the roar of a vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze your baby when he hears them outside the womb.

*added 4/9* For Nicki, here I am looking hot with no makeup left on my face.
This was taken Monday night.

hypnobabies

Since becoming pregnant I have done a LOT of reading about pregnancy related topics. One of the most important to me has been reading about childbirth and trying to decide how I want to approach it. There are a thousand different opinions out there on the best way to birth and each one IS the best for someone. But what about me? What should I do? How should I prepare? What kind of birth experience do I hope to have?

From the beginning I have been very interested in natural childbirth. My mom gave birth to 4 out of 5 kids without an epidural. I, the first, was actually her only epidural and she absolutely hated it. I think I've always had a bit of prejudice against epidurals because of the story of my birth compared to her other children's. With my sister Lauren, her second baby, my mom prepared extensively with Lamaze and had a very fast, easy delivery. They barely made it to the hospital in time.

Now lest you think I am going to list all the negatives of epidurals, I'm not. They do exist, but I'm not going to get into them other than to say that they often lead to other interventions which often lead to c-sections. I really want to avoid a c-section. But I am also realistic. Epidurals can be wonderful things. And if you've had one and love it, that's great! But there is no guarantee the epidural will work effectively and not lead to other interventions, so I'd rather prepare myself not to get one. If I end up with some ridiculously long labor and am exhausted beyond belief, I will consider getting an epidural. But I am going to make darn sure that I have prepared myself as best I can to labor and birth without one. As long as me and my little guy remain healthy, I plan on having as normal and natural a birth as possible.

So I started doing research on various methods of childbirth preparation. Lamaze and the Bradley method are both well known, but I didn't feel like they gave enough specifics about dealing with labor. I had heard of hypnobirthing and it caught my attention. I read Marie Mongan's book HypnoBirthing and was pretty convinced this was the way I wanted to go. Her method is based on the same notion as Lamaze and Bradley--that fear and tension make the pain of labor worse and in order to diminish pain and let the body do what it needs to, women need to let go of fear and RELAX! Mongan's book is excellent and gives some great history on birth in Western culture. It is meant to supplement a HypnoBirthing class and this is where I had a problem. The only instructors in my area were an hour away and the cost was about $300 for a 5 week course.

I began doing a little more research and found Hypnobabies. I corresponded with an instructor, found some websites, and decided this is the method I would use. It also has a home study course, which due to scheduling conflicts with the instructor in my area, is what I am going to do. Plus, the home study course is half the cost of a class.

I feel really good about this decision. I feel like this is going to prepare me to have a great labor and birth experience. Amazingly, many mothers who use Hypnobabies have little or no pain during labor! From the website:

"Many of our birthing mothers who use Hypnobabies experience only pressure or tightening sensations during birth. They have their babies in a state of deep relaxation, with little or no discomfort or fear using real hypno-anesthesia. Discomfort in childbirth can be the result of the Fear/Tension/Pain Cycle (Syndrome). This begins with Fear, which produces tension in the body, which creates tightness (Tension) and constriction of the uterine muscles, which results in Pain. In Hypnobabies classes, you will learn how to relax both the mind and body, eliminating fear and therefore pain, as well as create hypnotic anesthesia, remain mobile during hypnosis and use post-hypnotic suggestions for ease of birth, recovery and breastfeeding if you so choose."

Now all this doesn't mean it's going to be easy. It's going to take practice and major mental concentration, but it sounds much more doable to me than other methods. I'm actually really excited to see how it all goes. The birth stories I've read from mothers who have used Hypnobabies are really amazing. Of course, I don't know what unexpected things might come up during my pregnancy or labor, but I will be happy as long as I am doing all I can to be informed and prepared.

Here are a couple more links for more information if you are interested:
http://www.pregnancybirthandbabies.com/hypnosis_and_childbirth.htm
http://www.tranquilbirthing.com/
http://www.birthnaturally.org/hypnobirthing.htm
http://enjoybirth.wordpress.com/

pregnant "man"?

This is some crazy stuff! If you can, watch Oprah today. It is about Thomas, a man who used to be a woman and who is pregnant! Here is the link to Oprah's website where they explain it all. Thomas took hormones for years to transition into a man. He is legally a man. He is married to a woman. But he kept his reproductive organs. His wife had a hysterectomy due to endometriosis so when they decided they wanted children, he got pregnant with the help of a sperm donor! Talk about strange--seeing a person who looks very much like a man pregnant!

trying to feel baby asher

The kids have been so cute about the pregnancy. They are really excited to be getting a little brother and already talk about "Baby Asher" all the time.
We'd be sitting on the couch and Grace would say, "There are three people on the couch--You, Me, and Baby Ashuh."
Although I tried to let them know when Asher was kicking so they could feel him, Grace was the only one who actually did feel him kick. What is it about babies that as soon as someone tries to feel them kick they stop? I guess Olivia and Isaac will have to wait until June.

playing outside

I am back in North Carolina! I must say that it felt very good to walk out of the airport and feel warm, 75 degree, humid air. It was COLD in Utah! It even snowed. But the trip was really, really good. We got to spend a lot of time with family and of course had some really good quality time with the kiddos. These photos are from last Wednesday (before the snow).