30 Weeks

Wow we finally hit 30 weeks. I am a little stressed that really I need things to be ready at 37 weeks for this baby and nothing is done. I am going to ATL this week and when I get back I plan to get crazy busy! I can't wait!

I got my glucose test results back and all is well. I was not worried but it's still nice to know. She said it was perfect. My platelets did drop some so I am taking a B complex vitamin and Alfalfa along with my prenatal vitamin. That should do the trick! I'm hoping!

I'm getting more and more excited by the day to have this little one. I can't wait to meet him/her and start our family of four! I really feel Ayda will do great. I am praying she embraces this little one with love and kindness. That she won't feel threatened by him/her. I feel peace that the transition will go smoothly!

Until next time...

Time is Flying!

I didn't realize that the last time I blogged here was when I was 12 weeks. Yikes! Now that I am entering my THIRD trimester I guess I had better get caught up on the second trimester. Sheesh!

Fortunately it was very uneventful! I started feeling our sweet baby around 15 weeks and it was very obvious that is what it was. This baby, like Ayda, did not leave me wondering "was that it?". Kevin felt him/her at around 16-17 weeks. Ayda loved to show off her kicking for anyone but this baby seems more shy. As soon as you put a hand on my tummy the kicking immediately stops. It is really funny.

I have felt great through the second trimester as well. There were several weeks that I said if I didn't feel the little kicks throughout the day I would forget I was pregnant. I had wonderful energy, no nausea, no sciatica, and no other aches. I have exercised way more with this baby and even been able to jog some. I feel great. My weight gain is the only thing frustrating me. I have gained way more weight already than I did with Ayda. It stinks but I also know I am eating healthier on average than I did with her and exercising. So I don't know why the weight is coming on so much but I feel healthier so I am going with it. I'll worry about the pounds after the baby is out.

I hit 27 weeks yesterday which is hard to believe. I feel like the next three months will go so fast and the baby will be here. I decided to do the glucose test again this time around because our midwife has a more holistic approach to it. I originally said I wasn't going to do it again because I was negative for gestational diabetes with Ayda and I felt like drinking a super sugary drink is not the healthiest idea for me or baby. But our midwife prefers I eat a very specific diet of protein and carbs and then have the blood drawn an hour after. I'll have to be very prepared that morning to eat such a breakfast and then jump in the car and get to the center but I was ok with that. I feel like it is easier on my body to test that way. After that test in a couple weeks we won't be testing for anything else. We'll just wait till I go into labor!

We opted out of using a doppler to hear the baby's heart beat after the 12 week appointment. So we didn't hear the sweet sound at 16 or 20 weeks. But alas at 24 weeks we finally picked it up with the fetoscope!!! It was around 150. I have been able to hear it with my regular stethoscope a couple times since which is neat. I counted around 150 both times again. Consistent baby!

I think that gets me caught up! I'll really try to blog after my appointments from now on. At least then I'll have something to say perhaps!

12 Weeks!!

Wow! I hit 12 weeks yesterday! I'm so excited. I have a midwife appointment on thursday and then we will FINALLY make our announcement and I will publish these posts! I can't wait!

This has definitely been a different pregnancy. I was not expecting it to go this way at all. I was so yucky feeling with Ayda. This go round I am definitely nauseous and tired but I eat like no other! I crave things all the time. I have been a big consumer of Hamburgers. Which if you know me you know I do not eat hamburgers on a regular basis. Maybe twice a year I will want a good ole hamburger. The rest of the time I am quite content with chicken or fish. Not the case the past several weeks. But my midwife did say my iron is exceptional for being pregnant! That's a plus I guess...no risk of anemia here. I also have taken an interest in wings. Another completely random thing. I am not sure when I last tried a wing out but boy they are good!!! Kevin is loving this new side of me...actually he is proud that this baby is more like him! With Ayda I wanted Mexican food, fruit, yogurt, etc. More healthy options. This kiddo is going to kill me before he/she is born! I am hoping as I enter second trimester I can regain my normal eating habits back! It is getting better already. I can get in the more healthy food options. At least I know I am knocking out the protein requirement!

We are excited for our appointment on Thursday. We don't do ultra sounds because we just don't feel they are safe. There are studies that have been done that show evidence that they can warm the fluid the baby is in or displace cells (which I don't want to displace cells that are trying to become a liver, heart, lungs, etc). We do feel that when medically necessary, it is a technology that is nice to have. So anyway, we don't get ultrasounds but we will let our midwife do a quick doppler on Thursday at our appointment. After thursday we will only hear our baby's heart beat through a Fetoscope in order to keep the radiation out of there. Then when I am in labor they have to use the doppler again to monitor the baby which is fine. It is the most accurate compared to a fetoscope and I want accuracy when we are at home! I'm very anxious to hear that sweet swish swish swish sound on thursday. It will be a family affair too...my mom, kevin's mom, kevin, Ayda and I will all be there! And our midwife of course! She will get her first taste of what she is dealing with. Our family is a HUGE support system for us and we are thrilled it is that way! Just might make the room a little crowded! I wouldn't have it any other way though!

Hopefully on thursday or friday I'll be publishing these posts! I can't wait!!

I see the end...

Of the first trimester!!! I always love thinking about all that is happening in the first trimester. It is truly the time of setting up the foundation for this little baby. But...I am also very anxious to get into the second trimester! Feel the sweet movements, not have nausea anymore, regain some energy. I must admit this pregnancy has been so different than my pregnancy with Ayda was. I have not been nearly as sick!!! I have nausea if I don't eat every 1-2 hours which is interesting, but it is manageable. I am so thankful. Poor Ayda was very disturbed the one time (so far) she saw me throwing up so perhaps it is for her sake that I have felt good!

I met our midwife last week for my first appointment. I was super nervous about having a different midwife for this baby but I really liked her. Debbie took such good care of us in ATL but I have full confidence that Robyn will take good care of us here in Florida! And of course, we are planning for another home birth. After our experience with Ayda I could not even consider anything else. We have the birth center option here in Florida but that would be a step backwards for us.

We have not, and don't plan to have an ultrasound again. I will admit it is tough seeing friend's show off their pics of their growing babies but we just feel it is best to not do them. I remember when I finally saw Ayda and held her in my arms it was amazing because I had NO clue what she looked like. Not even something as simple as does she have an over bite...which she does! It was a neat feeling to know I only imagined what she would look like and had no sneak peaks. So the same will be with this little one as long as there is no true medical reason to do one.

I started another Bradley series which will be so neat to teach knowing I have to do everything with the couples as well. I told them to hold me accountable as well. I have practiced my relaxation a lot already simply because I know it helps me to unwind. It has helped ease a bad case of nausea, headaches, and even some of the fatigue. I love it! I hope to get one more series in before the baby is born and then I'll take a little break to enjoy the newest addition to our family! I just can't wait for March to come!!!

More in a few weeks!

The Joy of Life!

Kevin and I are very excited that we are pregnant again. I am planning to journal my walk through this pregnancy and I am so excited. By the time these first several posts are actually published I will be into my second trimester because we plan to keep things quiet till then. So...

Kevin and I decided to start trying for another baby about 4 or 5 months ago. I thought for sure we would get pregnant on the first month of trying but that was not the case. I then began a journey of letting go and letting God. Each month it got easier to learn we were not pregnant. Not because I wanted it any less but because I was finding contentment in the life God was blessing me with. Kevin and I have had time together, we have a beautiful daughter that I can spend so much time with and we are busy with Kevin's business.

So this past week when I knew my period was due to start I thought nothing of the possibility of being pregnant. Until I had some spotting a few days before I was due to start it had not really crossed my mind. I was actually annoyed that I had that because I was ready for another cycle to start and us to keep moving forward and pregnancy was on my mind again. Once I was a couple days late I decided to get the test. I dread taking those things. I feel like a negative result is such a slap in the face. I was SO excited and shocked when I took it and the two lines popped up right away! I immediately said a prayer for the little life inside me. I can't wait to start this journey again!!

Kevin and I plan to have another home birth. He will keep a very close eye on me to be sure I don't need an adjustments so that my body is working at it's best for the baby. No drugs. No unnecessary interventions. Just us having a baby. If you would like to follow along with us we would love it. There may be times there is too much detail so beware! I am excited to journal this time in our lives. I am even excited for the first trimester blues because I know right after that I will feel my sweet baby moving around inside me and that is totally worth it. And in March of next year we will hold our little miracle in our arms and become a family of FOUR!

Bradley Classes

I am starting a new series for Bradley classes!!! They will begin mid August either Thursday or Friday evenings from 7-9pm! Still working on nailing down which day! If you are interested email me at rlnaturalbirth1@gmail.com! Classes are taught in Clermont FL!

The classes are great and the time will fly!!!

Spanking: Good or Bad?

Before I start I would love feedback on your views regarding the subject!

One thing I love about Kevin and I's relationship is that we are so often on the same page before we even discuss the topic. Soon after Ayda was born I mentioned discipline. I was curious how he thought he would discipline our children. We immediately realized we were thinking the same thing...we would not spank our children. The only thing with that was, how would we discipline? I was spanked, he was spanked, pretty much everyone we know spank their kids. So what would we do in order to not have a disrespectful, disobeying child? Our convictions, though, were that we felt spanking typically happens while the parent is angry with the child. I did not want to react that way in anger. Also I struggled with spanking my child for hitting, kicking, biting, etc. I felt I was disciplining a wrong with a wrong.

Now jump forward 18 months. We still stand strong on our way of disciplining. We have not had to spank Ayda once. Don't get me wrong, she has certainly made me mad plenty of times. But because I am not going to spank her I have to take a second, cool down, and talk to her. She does go into time out as well. I feel like that also gives me the chance to take a deep breath and decide what my next action should be. She sits in time out, sometimes cries, and looks at me. I then have the chance to talk to her and teach about apologies/forgiveness or figure out what is wrong and where we need to go from there. Kevin has taught me SO much about patience. He feels like we need to see the whole picture when it comes to her side of things. She cannot vocalize to me or him what she is truly feeling. If she is pitching a fit because I took something away from her (perhaps because it was dangerous), I need to see past the temper tantrum and see that she is mad something was taken away. She does not know it is dangerous. I need to teach that. I would be mad if someone grabbed something from me without explanation. So Kevin brings that type of thing to my attention so often. I also accept the fact that she is going to get mad, she will likely try to hit me, or scream. If I react in anger and raise my voice back I am teaching nothing. Instead I have found that if I lower my voice, come down to her level, acknowledge her feelings, and explain my reasons she actually calms right down and is ok. We then find something she can play with and have fun again.

Anyway, I am pleased to know that spanking is not the only way to discipline. Ayda is very well behaved, listens very well, and it is very rare that we have melt downs throughout our day. I also have figured out she is very likely to get more upset if she is tired or hungry, just like pretty much anyone! So you will always find Whole Wheat Ritz Crackers or some sort of easy snack in my car/diaper bag and I make sure she has plenty of time to get her sleep!

Again, I would love to know your thoughts on this!