Smiling Through the Rain

In childbirth class this week, our instructor told us that the more detailed the birth plan someone has, the more likely they will have a c-section. Which I've seen to be true during rotations. You've got the girl who has this perfect birth all planned out in great detail who is doomed to have the worst experience ever. Aaron and I, on the other hand, have a simple birth plan. It is two-parts. The first I came up with and the second he added. 1.) Give birth via whatever means necessary to a healthy baby. 2.) Complete step 1 in a hospital. If we can accomplish those 2 steps, we will be ecstatic. Our hospital has a 40% caesarean rate. Okay. I'm not one of those who wants to struggle towards a vaginal delivery no matter what. If doc gets the slightest feeling that things are headed south, I want this baby out quickly. And I know there are lots of opinions on this, but the caesareans I assisted on were many times a lot less scary and painful than the vaginal deliveries. My ve...

I finally got my pictures uploaded. Now, let's talk about something before you look at them. First of all, this is not how my hair looked all day. I pulled it up so it wouldn't show in the pictures since my head is usually cut off. And I have not been drinking although that grin sure could suggest otherwise. I love the face in this next one. And when I mentioned it to my talented photographer (aka: Aaron), he said, "did you not want your head in this one?" Ummm.... does it look like I wanted my head in this shot? How often do you see me make this ugly of a face with that wild of hair for a picture I want to show? But yet, here I am. Posting these for the whole internet world to see. And best part is that I'm embarrassed about my hair and stupid expression, not the fact that my belly is huge and exposed and my tank top is begging for forgiveness. So enjoy! My husband has succeeded in making me look even more ridiculous... :)

Okay, I don't know why it's soooo impossible to upload pictures tonight, but I'm too tired to try any longer. So let's just say that my belly is still growing like crazy and people are starting to think that I'm due soon. I'll post a visual for you as soon as the computer will cooperate with me. Gil is 27 weeks old now which is hard to believe. I've gained 18 pounds which is easy to believe considering the way I've been eating. I still feel really good except that I'm not sleeping. At all . I fall asleep so easy just like the old days. But as soon as I wake up once due to joint pain or leg cramps, I might as well throw in the towel. And I'm not even urinating during the night, so I'd be able to sleep great. If that was possible. Which it obviously is not. Remember how I got a vaginal exam at my appointment last week due to a tiny bit of discharge. Yeah, well it turns out I have a bacterial vaginosis infection along with a yeast ...

Our first baby's due date was yesterday. It occurred to me while I was signing and dating the paperwork for our baby furniture. It almost made me feel guilty that we were out celebrating and planning for the upcoming arrival of this baby. That pregnancy still weighs on my mind. I will always wonder what I was carrying and what he/she would have been like. We were so blessed to get pregnant again so quickly, yet it sometimes feels like we are trying to replace a baby that was only with us for a short time. And it's incredible how quickly you bond to a little person you never got the chance to meet. I remember talking to my (then) very flat stomach and praying so hard that things would go well. When we learned that the pregnancy wasn't going to work out, I sobbed so hard that I was sure my body would just fall apart. And at times, I wished it had. But we have to move on. I have an even greater sense of awe and gratefulness for this baby after my loss and I will neve...

We are officially registered for baby gifts at both Target and Babies-R-Us!!! I'm so glad we started with Target since it was WAY easier. It took as 1 hour, whereas it took us 3 full hours today at BRU to get it all done. That store is gigantic and overwhelming. But I think we did a really good job and we definitely have a ton of stuff on both our registeries. Finding gender neutral really wasn't all that tough, considering I prefer tans, browns, and green. We also bought our furniture today (well our parents bought it) from BRU since it was 20% off this weekend and we (aka: they) saved a ton of money. It will take about 2 weeks to come in, so Aaron has time to get the carpet cleaned before I'm nagging him to put it together! I let Aaron control the gun for a while, although he was scanning items behind my back. :) You might notice my mom in the background proudly wearing her "Going to be a Grandma" shirt. I tried out crib mattresses. We ended up going ...

I'm a little behind on my 26 week post and I missed my 25 week altogether, so let's play a little catch-up! For some reason, my computer doesn't want to upload my 26 week photos from the memory card of my camera, so I'll show some pictures we had taken on the cruise instead! Aaron isn't known for being very photogenic so we had to buy several of the photos taken because he looked so good in them. As for my pregnancy, I'm feeling terrific . No real complaints at this time. In fact, I'm kinda praying for swelling, discomfort, and misery at some point so that I'm ready for it to end when it's time. Right now, I'm just blissfully soaking in every single kick, wiggle, and rollover that I feel which seems to be constant these days. The baby is even starting to react when poked which I guess is sorta mean, but it's so cute! Going to the childbirth class made this SO real. Walking into the Joyful Beginnings Center, knowing that in a few months I wil...

Finally , I have a minute to sit down and tell you about our trip! We went on a 7-night cruise on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas. It is a beautiful ship and is their 2nd largest. We spent the 2nd day on CocoCay , which is a private island in the Bahamas. We got to snorkel around some great reefs and ate a wonderful lunch cooked for us on the island. The water there is so clear and calm. (I don't have those pictures back yet since we used the disposable camera on that island.) We spent the next day at sea and then arrived in St. Thomas , Virgin Islands for our 4th day. We had been told that we had to visit Magen's Bay which is always on the top 10 list for best beaches. When we first pulled up, it looked a little unimpressive because the locals haven't allowed tourism to take over. So it's not fancy. But the water and sand are beautiful. And it's surrounded by huge hills on 3 sides, which makes for incredibly still and perfectly clear water. My favorite ...

Aaron and I start our childbirth classes tonight and I'm really excited. We missed the 1st one since we were on our cruise, but there are still 4 more. Here's the deal: I already know quite a lot about childbirth. I've delivered babies vaginally, watched tons of babies being born, and assisted on caesarean sections. So it's not like I expect to learn a ton about the process. The reason I'm so excited is because I get to go to childbirth classes. Because I'm pregnant!!! There were so many days that I never thought we'd ever get to this point and I feel like I'm invited to an invitation-only event. I suppose anyone could sign up, but don't ruin this for me. :) I'm pretending like it's a really exciting thing that I've earned the right to go to. Like the expectant mom parking at Babies-R-Us. In fact, when we got the letter in the mail from the hospital about our classes, I actually cried. Which is kinda psychotic. And I love showing of...

We had a wonderful trip, which I will talk about in detail once my current mood improves. We left the ship at 9 this morning, enjoyed an hour on a bus, then took 3 flights to get home (at 9 pm) all to find that our luggage hadn't exactly came with us. And even worse, the airline has noooo idea where it is. But wait, this gets better. We'd heard about some tornados in Oklahoma while we were gone but you don't see the news on the ship, so we had no idea... Apparently, we got damage from the tornados and the hail. Fun times when you come home and survey how much will need to be fixed and replaced in the coming weeks. We have roof damage in several places, almost all sides of our fence are currently being propped up, and lots of the landscaping we just worked on before we left is now decorating the neighboring town. All the while, I'll be wearing my clothing I didn't see worth packing, wearing no makeup, and possibly smelling a little since we don't have a...

We leave tomorrow for our cruise so please hold yourselves together for a week without my posts. I know it will be hard and sometimes you'll think you just can't make it through such a tough time, but I know you'll find the strength. :) Plus, I'll be back soon enough with pictures of me in a bikini which will make it all worth it!

I've made it to 24 weeks !!! This week was a huge goal of mine because it means our baby has a 50% chance of survival if born now. Obviously we are looking for many more weeks "in utero", but still a relief. You're probably thinking that I will be posting nursery pics on here because I've been SOOO busy planning and decorating and buying. You would be SOOO wrong. I've done nothing. Zip. Nada. I don't know the safest car seat on the market, or what bedding I need for my child, I haven't even registered. In fact, the nursery is still currently a guest room. Sorry if I gave the Type A planners out there a heart attack. It will be okay . After the cruise, we're going to get to work. We don't feel quite so much like it will be dooming this pregnancy now. Of course, lots of it will still have to wait until baby comes because we don't know if we're bringing home a son or daughter. In great news, I overwhelmingly passed my glucose tolerance t...

This week has been Infertility Awareness Week and I have been moved by so many of the blogs I follow. It's been common this week for people to recap their journeys. I am absolutely blown away by the strength of these women and how much they have endured. What's even more incredible is that they still hold on to hope for the future and continue trying for that dream baby even after so much heartache. At times, I don't even feel like it's fair for me to be friends with some of these girls. Maybe I didn't try long enough. I didn't have to do IVF. I only had 1 miscarriage. And most of all, I'm pregnant now. And even though I am so grateful, it makes me feel guilty at times. I will continue to read blogs of those trying because it reminds me of where I came from and how fortunate I am. And I feel so incredibly happy when those girls finally have their babies! I still have several close friends who are struggling to get pregnant. Some are farther alon...