Recipes

>> Two new recipes to enjoy! Tested and loved. On the path to all natural and healthy! Find them on my recipe page.

8 months

>>I am somewhere between 35 and 36 weeks.... the oblivion. My doctor went ahead and decided to confuse the hell out of me last week when discussing when my actual due date was. I guess I have two. One for state disability purposes and one that is more likely the babies true arrival.... or something like that. (I was under the impression that I was due February 7th, but that was just a date based on his size at my first ultrasound). Either way, we found out our little Mr. is head down and low in my pelvis, which is a good thing. He certainly is a heavy bug to carry around these days. We are pretty much ready to meet him :)

symptoms:

belly button: out

clothing: yoga pants (not even a true pant) are all I can pull off, even sometimes in public. although i have been caught rummaging through ben's sweater pile, and staring oddly at his pants only to quickly catch myself considering a third degree fashion offense.

mood: look out! swings from sweet n peachy to ragin cajun. but mostly pleasantly enjoying my little beeb all bundled up in my middle.

cravings: continue to be sweet in nature. i dream of super-sized cupcakes in all shapes and flavors....

not enjoying:

-the medical aspect of childbirth. dont get me wrong, i am in awe of the bounds and leaps we have made over the years especially in the realms of cancer research, care, and prevention. but i somehow recoil when the needles come out, the gloves go on, and a stranger in teal scrubs is the first to handle the being you've been sustaining in your own body for the last year. but more than anything i am at odds with the popularity of pushing reliance on the system. over weight? theres a pill for that. trouble sleeping? pop a few of these. or... how about stop shoveling garbage down the ol chute and live a healthy lifestyle. which by-golly might not be EASY, but  fast-forward a few months, or years, the hard work was really worth it, right? so much of it is common sense that it seems like being a patient means you walk mindlessly from one appointment to the next like a darn sheep. eat fruits and vegetables, get exercise and sunlight, find humor, hug someone, get pleanty of sleep, drink water and you will find a great independence from the medicated world.

the bottom line is, is it SO much to ask for a little support with the decision to take on childbirth the natural way? the fact that it is quite possibly the hardest moment in a woman's life should instate a little encouragement. not part of a doctors agenda these days i guess. 

here's my take on childbirth.

i feel like it is the very first opportunity you have to give everything you have to your child. it hurts, a lot, and it basically tests your strength in every way possible. your patience, your spirit, your physical body. and i find it important to fight through it in order to bring your little one into the world. (here is where I would go off on the effects of the epidural injection on the baby, but i wont). i think it prepares a woman for the many tests she will face as a protector and nurturer of her offspring. in the end i would give my left leg, no meds, if meant my child would get by unscathed. and maybe one day they will find that commitment and that kind of love invaluable. not to mention the fact that men don't ever get to experience birthing, so why take it for granted? experience every moment of it. we are capable of great things, we just have to trust in GOD to get us through. 

loving:

-baths. mostly just sitting in a little hot water so my legs can float after feeling like they have been holding up an Orca all day. 

-yogurt and fruit parfai's

-a clean house. walking in to an orderly room almost makes me want to kick off my shoes and dance.

-this last bit of being pregnant. the entire thing has been smooth sailing. i continued to work a pretty physically demanding job, probably did a little too much, but my body never failed me. i actually found that i liked to emphasize my preggie belly rather than try to tuck it under a tent. somehow i managed to avoid many of the horror-stories i was unwillingly elected to hear, which i am grateful to have dodged. it has been a fun adventure for ben and i. we have been able to find little moments that i wont forget. 

t-minus

28 days

35 weeks

>>

35 Weeks 2 Days

Well, its a new year, the year my baby is born :) T-minus 4-6 weeks until we meet our little babe. I am relaxed actually. For the first time in many years I am not preoccupied with the strains of everyday life. Although this is a time for preparing as much as we can for the life and first weeks especially of our child, I am still able to do everything on my time. Where has the time gone? 8 months... gone? 

I remember trying to dream up an image of a baby inside me. Trying to picture what the end of pregnancy would be like. 35 weeks seemed so far away and hard to grasp. yet here I am. Waddling around with a beeb hangin on my tummy all day and all night. Yet there is just another month of the hardships before we have a 3rd piece of our puzzle.

Id like to note how far we have come. I look around our cozy home and find so many luxuries I would have never imagined we would be able to have. Just a few years ago a paycheck went straight to bills and just bringing home a healthy load of groceries seemed like Christmas. Even in just one year we have come so far. 2013 has been a slow but steady climb. Starting with a pregnancy in May :) I feel completely blessed and thankful to GOD and the universe for holding us so close for so many years. 

I am so ready for this journey.