Tag Archives: pregnancy

My Plan for Maternity Leave and Work After Baby

6 Mar

Back in November, I started working out what my maternity leave and return to work plan would be. It has just recently been approved. Glad I was so ahead of the ball!

So here’s my plan:

Since Emma has a 50/50 chance of coming on or after her due date, I’m planning to work right up until then, meaning my last work day will be April 5. Ideally, I’d be able to take more time off before she comes but because my time off is limited, I’d rather use it after she comes. If she comes early, I’ll start my leave early (duh).

If I work through April 5, 12 weeks of maternity leave would put me coming back on the week of July 4th. Since my FMLA leave won’t start until May 7 (when I’ll have worked at my job for 12 months), I’ll be actually taking 13 weeks instead of 12. Six of those weeks will be covered by short term disability at 80% of my pay, and 6 of those weeks will be unpaid. If I end up starting my maternity leave earlier than April 5, I’ll cut my leave to 12 weeks total.

When I return to work, I’ll be coming back part-time 3 days a week (Tues – Thurs). My boss is awesome and really fought for me with this arrangement. Apparently, transitioning to part-time is very rare where I work. My three immediate supervisors are kind of making an exception for me and offering this arrangement on a 6-month trial period. They want to make sure that the workload isn’t too much for being part-time. I had originally requested to work 2 days half the year and 3 days a year half the year (since our workload tends to be very seasonal) but they didn’t feel comfortable with only 2 days.

Until recently, I had always planned on being a stay-at-home mom once we had kids. I’m not a career-driven person by any means, and until recently, my job had bored me to tears about 80% of the time. But things at work have really turned around, and Travis and I both agree that it would be nice to be able to pay off some more loans while we only have one child, so that my staying home in the future (when we have more kids) will be more feasible. I also have a pretty well-paying job right now and we have a good friend who is going to watch Emma for a very affordable rate. So we really do come out ahead with me working.

I’m still not completely sure how I feel about going back to work 3 days a week, or what I’ll think about it in July. But I’m willing to try it out for a month or two. I try to remind myself that just because I’ll be a mother doesn’t mean I have to only do mothering things. And it’ll actually be beneficial to our family if I keep pursuing my own goals and dreams. Maybe that means working part-time. Maybe not. It’s another one of those questions I’m hoping becomes more clear once I’m living the reality.

……………..

And just something kind of funny, I got this in the mail yesterday:

20130305_202242My report date? April 9. I think I’m going to be able to get out of this one.

 

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Pregnancy Update: 35 Weeks

5 Mar

20130305_083039Last Monday (8 days ago), I had another prenatal appointment. The doctor said that everything looks perfect and confirmed that Emma is head down. I go back next Monday for another appointment (during which they’ll test me for Group B Strep) and then I start going in every week! The reality of the situation is really starting to set in – I’m really going to have to give birth and we’re really going to have a baby. A child! It’s craziness. But very exciting.

This past week, I have been a productivity machine. I wouldn’t call it nesting so much as stubbornness and the determination that I will get this stuff done before she comes. The bathroom we remodeled is so close to being done! All Travis has left to do is put up the trim and baseboards, and I just need to buy a couple new towels and figure out what to put on the walls. But since the bathroom is now clean and functional, it has dropped way down on the priority list.

I also got the nursery organized with everything we have so far, and bought dye- and scent-free laundry detergent to wash Emma’s clothes and blankets. I updated our list of things to buy so that after my baby shower this weekend, I’ll be ready to get whatever else we need. I still need to decide if I want to buy baby hangers and size separators to organize the closet, vs. folding things. Thoughts?

What I spent the majority of the weekend doing, though, was deep-cleaning our house. The bathroom remodel project nicely coated everything in dust, and I hadn’t cleaned in about a month so it was majorly disgusting. I was able to deep-clean both bathrooms and thoroughly dust and vacuum/mop the entire house (including the tops of door frames and behind the washer and dryer, which was GROSS – so much dog hair). It doesn’t sound like much but things take longer when you actually clean off shelves, move furniture and scrub walls. I may have overdone things on Sunday a bit – it was ridiculously painful to move around in bed that night and the next day I felt old and decrepit. Lesson learned (sort of). I mostly only have the kitchen left to focus on (the refrigerator, stove and microwave all need help). Even though I hate cleaning, I LOVE having a clean house. I told Travis that this is the cleanest our house will ever be.

So you can probably guess that my energy levels are still pretty good. (Nothing motivates like a to-do list.) I’m still having a TON of Braxton Hicks contractions. I probably have at least a couple an hour, all day long, if not more. Some days I even time them to see if they’re coming more often than every 15 minutes (in which case, it’s recommended you call your doctor) but they end up only being every 20-30 minutes. It definitely feels more frequent! It seems like they’ve increased in intensity too, which I’ve read is normal. And annoying. Seriously. I just hope that since my uterus is getting all this practice in, it’s more efficient when the real thing comes along. Practice makes perfect, right?

……………….

My workouts last week:

W: 20 min prenatal pilates

S: 1.7 mile walk + 3-4 hours cleaning

……………….

Symptoms: Braxton Hicks; hip pain (at night); zombie mornings; swelling of ankles, feet, hands and wrists

Cravings: Sweets of every kind, specifically froyo and Australian licorice

Emotions: Excitement! and I’m ready to be done with work (my last day is a month from today if Emma doesn’t come early!)

Weight Gained: 2 lbs (29 lbs total)

Rings on or off: Off

Belly button in or out: Just flat, I don’t think it’s going to ‘pop’

Stretch marks: Maybe one right above my belly button? I’ve never had stretch marks so I’m not sure. It looks very shiny.

Baby purchases this week: Medela Breast Pump in Style with On-the-Go Tote (I paid $216 before shipping), baby books from the thrift store

What I Miss: Wearing regular clothes, feeling skinny, sleeping on my stomach, running (last night I actually dreamed that I was running a 5k pregnant)

Best moment this past week: Having dinner Saturday night and lunch Sunday afternoon with friends – enjoying it while we can easily do so!

Looking forward to: Baby shower with friends this weekend!

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Diapers: Cloth vs. Disposable

1 Mar

diaperingBefore I got pregnant, I had heard all of the success stories and “It’s so much cheaper!” testimonials about cloth diapers and just assumed that of course, we would cloth diaper. After all, I was going to be a stay-at-home mom and doing a few loads of diapers every 2-3 days seemed doable, and totally worth it to save money and not send thousands of diapers to a landfill.

Well, then I started hearing the other side of the story. Cloth diapers use more water and electricity in the home than disposables. Cloth diapers leak more. They require the diaper to be changed more often. It’s hard to find the right fit.

And my plans for after maternity leave now include working 3 days a week (which I will post about later). Is it reasonable to 1) ask the daycare provider to use cloth diapers and 2) expect to have time to wash cloth diapers when I’m working 8 hours a day?

Suddenly, the disposable vs. cloth issue isn’t as clear cut.

After a little more online research (and without the benefit of being able to conduct my own), I have concluded that yes, cloth diapers, from a sheer financial perspective, are way cheaper on the whole. The upfront costs are steeper, and your electricity and water bills may go up slightly, but even with buying 24 of the more expensive bumGenius All-in-One diapers ($18 each), the diapers pay for themselves within 6 months when compared to disposables. Then you’re only incurring the slightly increased utility bills (if that happens at all – some people say their utilities didn’t go up when they started cloth diapering).

I’m not going to get into the ‘which is greener’ environmental issues. Besides liking the idea of not filling up landfills with diapers, my motivation for choosing cloth diapering would be financial, not environmental. (It doesn’t seem like anyone will win that debate anyway.)

That leaves mainly the feasibility question. Is this realistic? At the very least, I’m willing to give it a try.

So here’s what our loose plan is:

We’ve heard from many people that cloth diapers, even the all-in-one One Size bumGenius diapers that we plan on buying (they fit from 8 – 35 lbs), don’t fit newborns very well. And I don’t want to buy newborn-size cloth diapers. There’s also the whole “figuring out how to take care of a newborn when I’ve never even held one before” thing. So until Emma is about 9-11 lbs, or for a month or two, we’re going to use disposable diapers.

After that, we’re going to *try* cloth diapers. I had initially planned to buy the recommended 24 diapers to have enough for 2-3 days, but now I’m thinking that maybe 5-10 is enough to get a feel of how we like cloth diapers. Do they really leak a lot more? Do they fit Emma well? How feasible is it to wash them in time?

I’m also toying with the idea of going half and half – cloth diapers on the weekends and the days I don’t work, disposables on the days she goes to daycare. But maybe that’s even more complicated than just choosing one method and running with it?

Edited to add: If we decide to stick with cloth diapering at least part of the time, I’m hoping to also use reusable wipes. It seems fairly easy – you can either spray your baby’s bum with a cleaner and wipe off with a cloth wipe, or soak your cloth wipe in the cleaner and put in a wipes warmer, and then you just wash the wipes with your diapers. There are ready-made ‘bum cleaners’ that you can buy, or natural ones that only require a few ingredients. I’ll probably start off with a ready-made cleaner, and then transition to making my own. I’m really trying to not set a bunch of lofty goals having no idea what being a mother is like. Baby steps people.

On this side of motherhood, making decisions like this seems thoroughly overwhelming. But I’m sure (at least I hope) that once Emma is actually here and I start to get the hang of things, the right choice will seem clearer and more intuitive than it does now, when I’m trying to work through hypotheticals without knowing the reality.

What kind of diaper do you use/plan to use? Why? Are you satisfied with your choice?

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Florida 2013

27 Feb

Every 2 years, my immediate family goes on vacation together. This year, my aunt and uncle were also able to join us. Usually, we go to an all-inclusive resort in Mexico, which is wonderful. But since I was pregnant this year and my nephew is only a year old, we decided to stick to the States. We were a little worried that maybe the weather wouldn’t be as nice, or we wouldn’t like having to cook our own food, or renting a private property wouldn’t turn out well, but I’m happy to say that the whole vacation went great!

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Except for the first day that we were there, it was sunny and high 70s every day (which was plenty warm when you were sitting in the sun!). The house we rented (through the VRBO website) had a great pool and hot tub (once we figured out how to heat it) and it was a lot of fun having a common area to hang out as just our family, instead of staking out lounge chairs and deciding where to meet up every morning. It also allowed my sister-in-law to hang out with everyone while my nephew napped – something that would have been tricky, if not impossible, at a big resort. Who knows what we’ll do in future years, but for this year, Florida was perfect.

IMG_4205 (Large)The pool and hot tub

IMG_4241 (Large)The canal that ran behind our house

Just like our Mexico vacations, we spent almost every day just relaxing, mostly around the pool. Every morning started off with coffee as strong as we could make it and a delicious breakfast, usually prepared by my mom. A treat my brother and his girlfriend shared: egg, sausage and sharp white cheddar on an English Muffin with blueberry jam. Delicious.

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IMG_4234 (Large)My nephew loved that little blue truck.

We also went to the beach a few times, but it was usually pretty windy so we preferred the pool.

IMG_4209 (Large) IMG_4224 (Large) IMG_4283 (Large) IMG_4286 (Large) IMG_4301 (Large)It was fun to see how much my nephew improved in his walking ability just in the week that we were there. Kids learn so quickly!

IMG_4302 (Large)856686_10100734809113852_1519118560_oOn Wednesday, we went mini-golfing, a favorite pastime of ours.

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It was definitely a little hard to bend over for the ball with this belly!

Another notable happening was a trip to Trader Joe’s – my first time ever! I discovered the amazingness that is Crunchy Cookie Butter. Seriously, if you love peanut butter, try this. On the whole, I can see why people like shopping at Trader Joe’s but I found that it’s very similar to the Sprouts stores we have in Colorado. So I feel less like I’m missing out on things. Although, once a TJ’s opens here, I will be going to buy more of that Cookie Butter.

We also went out to eat a few times – my brother had an insatiable craving for fish and chips so we walked to the Old Salty Dog for dinner one night. They were apparently pretty tasty. I had some tasty shrimp since fried food gives me really bad acid reflux (and it did even before I got pregnant). After mini-golfing, we had lunch at the other Old Salty Dog location, which was right on the water. My fish tacos were a little disappointing but other people got the Grouper catch of the day and liked it.

856547_10100734804053992_1784737307_oAs I mentioned in my pregnancy update yesterday, I’m pretty sure I ate ice cream every day we were there. One day, I ate it twice. How I only gained a pound in 2 weeks is really beyond me. (And for the record, Crunchy Cookie Butter is delicious on ice cream too.) A couple of times, we got ice cream from a shop called Big Olaf. If you’re ever in Siesta Key Village, check them out.

Friday evening, my brother Chris, Travis and I headed to the beach about 45 minutes before sunset to take my maternity pictures. Right before sunset, everyone else joined us down there for a family picture. I’ll post those pictures once the photographers post them (aka my oldest and youngest brothers, and uncle).

And that’s about it for our Florida trip!

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Pregnancy Update: 33 and 34 Weeks

26 Feb

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Our Florida vacation went by way too fast! And… we came back to 8 inches of snow. But I’m not too sad about being home because I have a lot of fun baby preparation stuff to do. 🙂 Emma could be here anytime in the next 3 – 8 weeks!

The last couple of weeks have been fairly uneventful pregnancy-wise. Traveling to both Minnesota and Florida went beautifully. My feet and ankles definitely swelled up (but I didn’t wear compression socks like I heard recommended) and I tried to only carry on my purse and a book but otherwise, it was just like flying not pregnant. I expected to get a lot of weird looks from people (a pregnant woman flying?) but besides the one comment I got when flying home from Minnesota, everything was perfectly normal.

I’ve still been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions. They’re kind of annoying even though they don’t hurt. And if I have to pee at all, a contraction makes it 10 times worse.

Emma has been moving around like a crazy girl lately! Maybe it’s because she’s bigger, or there’s less amniotic fluid in there, but it feels like she’s constantly kicking, moving, poking and squirming. And almost all of her movements are visible from the outside, which is fun to watch. I keep trying to show Travis her antics but it seems that she always settles down once daddy is watching. He did get to see it a few times though.

While we were in Florida, Travis and I slept in a room that had 2 queen beds. After a few nights of uncomfortable sleep, I decided to try out sleeping in my own bed. It was wonderful. I got a lot of great sleep on vacation. I’d go to bed around 9:30/10 and get up around 8:30/9. I wish I could do that every night! Now that we’re back, I’ve discovered that my body pillow actually makes my back hurt worse than sleeping without it. So I’m switching to just a regular pillow, mostly to go under the belly. Much better!

Something else I’ve noticed lately is tiredness settling back in. It’s not the first trimester coma feeling but I get worn out very quickly. I can’t stand or walk very long before needing to sit down. I frequently feel out of breath doing nothing but standing. My workouts have pretty much dropped off completely. I walked 2 times during Week 33 and did a little walking last week on vacation, but that’s about it. I want to keep working out at least 3-4 times a week but it’s hard when there are so many other things I’d rather do (like organize the nursery)! Once I recover from vacation (and the snow melts), I’ll try to get back into my morning workout routine.

I was expecting to have gained a bunch of weight from vacation (hello ice cream every day and no exercise!) but in the last 2 weeks, I actually only gained a pound. I’ll take it.

……………….

Symptoms: Braxton Hicks,  tiredness, increased body temperature, swelling

Cravings: Sweets of every kind, juice

Emotions: Excitement mixed with feeling a little overwhelmed by my to-do list

Weight Gained: 1 lb (27 lbs total)

Rings on or off: Off

Belly button in or out: Mostly just flat

Stretch marks: None so far

Best moment the past 2 weeks: Spending time with my family at the pool in Florida! And having my maternity pictures taken – I’ll post them once I get them.

Looking forward to: Time with friends this weekend – soaking it up before Emma comes!

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Minnesota Baby Shower

15 Feb

A week ago, I flew out to Minnesota for a baby shower. I got in around 3:30 pm on Friday and we had some time to kill before having dinner with my brother and sister-in-law. I was still searching for a shirt to wear for maternity pictures so we went to Macy’s at Southdale Mall. Their maternity selection was awesome! It was about three times as big as the maternity selection at the Macy’s in Denver. I found 3 shirts I liked – one I wore for the shower that weekend and another I’ll wear for maternity pictures in Florida. And with that, I think I’m done maternity shopping. Thank goodness.

My parents and I had dinner with my brother and SIL at a restaurant called Faces and then we drove up to their cabin about an hour north of the Cities. We stopped at the grocery store on the way and even though I was exhausted by the time we got to the cabin, we turned on the first episode of Downton Abbey (my parents haven’t seen it). I slept through pretty much the whole thing.

The next day, we slept in until 9 and then had French toast for breakfast. It’s especially delicious when you put blueberry pie filling on top. Mmm… Then we just hung out. I helped my mom put together a simple website for her business (using WordPress), we ate lunch, picked up the centerpiece and groceries for the shower on Sunday, got a pedicure, and then ate dinner at Pizza Pub in Pine City.

Sunday morning, my mom woke me up at 7 am because we had an issue – the cabin plumbing had frozen where it leaves the house, meaning we couldn’t use the shower or toilet. Enter Plan B. Luckily, my brother is nice and was willing to let us take showers at his place. So we packed up all our stuff, grabbed breakfast at McDonald’s and hit the road.

After getting ready at Chris’ house, my dad drove my mom and I to Travis’ aunt’s house where the shower was. It had started snowing/sleeting and there was a lot of slush built up on the road, making the drive a little sketchy. We started to wonder if people would decide not to come, or if we should even cancel the shower. But that seemed so sad since I had flown out just for the shower. So we decided to play it by ear.

An hour later, the snow was really coming down:

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I think it ended up snowing around 5-6 inches, which isn’t too bad for Minnesota, but it was the slush that made the roads so treacherous. Nonetheless, everyone who RSVP’ed for the shower showed up, minus 4 of my college friends and one of Travis’ aunt’s. I was very appreciative to everyone for venturing out in such weather! My aunt Sharyn even drove all the way from Rochester (about 2 hours away)!

Once everyone had arrived, we had some coffee and punch while chatting and then played games. For the first ‘game’, everyone had to say their name, how they knew me and give me either parenting advice or a story. There were lots of great suggestions!

The next game, my mom had packed my diaper bag full of essentials for a newborn to 3 month old and we had to guess what they were. Whoever guessed the most won. I got a lot of good ideas from the answers, but didn’t even get close. My friend Brittany, who isn’t a mom herself, actually tied with my cousin-in-law Laura (a new mom herself) for the most right!

Another game we played was matching things in our purse to the first letters of Emma Grace. Brittany and my aunt Sharyn won that one!

The final game we played was a word scramble – all the words related to baby stuff. It was actually pretty tough! It didn’t help that my brain seemed to have stopped working.

After the games, we went upstairs and dug into the goodies.

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Gourmet cupcakes from Cupcake in St. Paul

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The candy bar

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The awesome diaper cake (made out of diapers, so it’s not edible) that my MIL made – she did a great job! I even brought it back to use at my Colorado baby shower in March.

We also had cucumber sandwiches (one of my favorites), cheese and crackers, fruit and dip, and a delicious, easy punch – raspberry sherbet and ginger ale. Try it.

Once we were full, it was time to open gifts! My very generous family and friends gave Travis and I lots of great stuff, including:

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Diapers

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A cross-stitched blanket made by one of Travis’ aunts

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Plus a carseat, diaper pail, pack-n-play, swing, bath tub, baby outfits, blankets, baby monitor, baby bath stuff, and some picture frames for the nursery. I was able to fit everything in the two suitcases I had brought along, minus a box of diapers, the diaper pail and the bath tub (the other big things were shipped directly to our house). My parents will bring the stuff that I left behind with them when they drive out when Emma is born. We won’t need it before then anyway.
MNBabyShower 035 (Large)The group

By the time we said goodbye to everyone and packed everything up, it was past dinnertime and we decided that driving all the way down to Rochester just to drive back up in the morning was a little ridiculous. So we rented a hotel room, had dinner with Chris and Meg again, and then hit the hay. I was so relieved to not have to sit in a car for a couple of hours. My back was hurting. (Though I know a lot of it is my own fault – I have even worse posture pregnant than I normally do!)

The next morning, I was able to meet up with my 4 college friend who hadn’t been able to make the shower on Sunday. We met up at Panera and it was so fun to see them and their kids!

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MNBabyShower 052 (Large)It was a little more chaotic than the previous day’s shower but all our church friends have kids, so Travis and I are pretty used to the mayhem. It was so much fun to see my college friends. My friend Jen gave me handmade burp clothes, plus a bunch of other baby stuff. Katie gave me a really cute little outfit, Samm bought us loads of diapers, and Holly gave me stuff for breastfeeding plus baby care. We’re getting closer to having everything we need!

After everyone left, we had an awkward amount of time to kill. My mom and I shopped for some baby clothes at Carter’s next door (so much fun!) and then we just hung out at Panera until it was time to go to the airport. Despite the weather, my flight was on time and the airport was pretty much dead, so it was a breeze checking my bags and getting through security. I arrived back in Denver around 6 pm.

It was a great trip! My parents made the weekend so special, and it was fun spending time just the 3 of us, knowing that it’ll probably be the last time for a very long time!

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Speaking of trips, Travis and I leave for Florida this coming Sunday!! I probably won’t be posting much (or at all) the week that we’re gone, but I’ll be back with lots of pictures and stories once we’re back.

 

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Pregnancy Update: 32 Weeks

13 Feb

32w2dMy 32nd week of pregnancy brought with it an increased feeling of being pregnant. I feel bigger, my rings no longer fit, I officially have cankles, and I have been informed by a few different people that I now do the pregnant waddle (at the speed of a grandma). Sweet.

I’m keeping up with walking the dogs, but my 1.7 mile walk this morning actually wore me out. I also have noticed my energy lagging a bit the past few days but maybe that was due to traveling?

Sleep continues to be a challenge – between acid reflux, an aching back, sore hips, and inner thigh pain each time I roll over, I’m amazed I get any sleep at all. Some nights are better than others, but I am SOOO ready for this part of pregnancy to be over. I’m kind of thinking 9 hours of crappy sleep isn’t any better than only 2 hours of good sleep.

Emma continues to kick away, though she goes through periods where she does hardly anything. When I was in Minnesota last weekend, she was hardly kicking around at all. Maybe a growth spurt? I did gain 3 lbs this past week so we’ll go with that (and also water weight from swelling).

Overall pregnancy is still treating me well, but I can see why so many women say they’re ready to be done by the end of it. It just gets old dealing with all this stuff.

Anyway. My workouts last week:

Su: 1.55 mile walk

T: 1.15 mile walk

W: 20 min prenatal Pilates

Th: 1.15 mile walk

F: 1.15 mile walk

………………

Symptoms: See above

Cravings: Frozen yogurt – which I satisfied at the airport on my way to MN!

Weight Gained: 3 lbs this week (26 lbs total)

Rings on or off: Off – even a ring that’s usually too big for me is too snug now. I could barely get it off the other morning! So now I’m completely sans rings. *sigh*

Belly button in or out: Mostly just flat

Stretch marks: None so far

Baby purchases: I went to Carter’s with my mom in the Twin Cities and bought Emma some cute little outfits. I can’t wait to dress her up! I also got a lot of baby stuff from the shower (duh) but I’ll post about all that stuff when I recap the weekend.

Best moment this week: My baby showers in Minnesota!

Looking forward to: Flying to FLORIDA on Sunday! I’m excited for warm weather, sun and spending a whole week with my family.

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Pregnancy Update: 31 Weeks

4 Feb

31w0d001Last week, I wrote about all the not-s0-pleasant side effects of pregnancy. So this week, I thought I’d make a list of all the pleasant, exciting and fun parts about pregnancy (yes, they do exist!).

Here is what I’ve loved about being pregnant:

– seeing the miracle of my body growing another human (it’s amazing how it knows exactly what to do!)

– getting to hear our baby’s heartbeat and see her via ultrasound

– decorating the nursery

– shopping for all the cute baby stuff!

– spending more time with Travis (he’s gone to the grocery store with me more often in the past 3 months than the previous 5 years)

– having an excuse to take a nap whenever, to eat whatever I’m craving and to forget things (“Hey, I’m pregnant!”)

– having all of our friends and family excited about the baby with us

– looking forward to having at least 12 weeks off work (I’ll post more on that later)

– the excitement and anticipation of getting to meet Emma, discover her personality and love her to pieces!

The benefits of pregnancy are definitely more emotional than physical. Pregnancy is not something that every woman gets to experience and I feel very privileged that God has allowed me to not only be a mother, but to also experience this miracle of life. I don’t want to take it for granted.

And as a side note, in the past week, 4 of my friends/acquaintances have announced that they’re pregnant. So exciting!

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I had another ultrasound this morning and they said everything looks great. I’m measuring 31 weeks and Emma is estimated to be 3 lbs 11 ounces and 19 inches long. She is head down (yay!) and facing slightly to the right. As far as the technician could tell, she has not presented any indication of being a boy. So we’re still banking on Emma being Emma, and not Emmitt. We also got to see her yawn! 

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My workouts last week:

W: 20 min prenatal Pilates

Th: 1.15 mile walk

Sa: Race setup/teardown (I volunteered at one my friend’s races again)

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Symptoms: Pelvic/inner thigh pain, CRAZY DREAMS, back/hip pain – still feeling pretty energetic though

Cravings: Still loving sweets like ice cream

Weight gained: 2 lb this week (23 lbs total)

Rings on or off: Off – they get pretty tight by the morning and I don’t want to wait too long, so I just took them off this morning

Belly button in or out: Starting to poke out!

Stretch marks: None so far

Best moment this week: Feeling Emma kick/punch like crazy – what is she doing in there?!?

Looking forward to: Flying to Minnesota on Friday! Baby shower is on Sunday.

 

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Review: Prenatal Workout DVDs

31 Jan

At long last, here’s the prenatal workout video review I said I’d do.

I’ve always enjoyed the variety that having a few good workout videos provide so over the course of this pregnancy, I’ve been on the quest to find some good prenatal ones. Below are the ones I tried. I rated them on a scale of 1 to 5 (1=would never do again, 5=awesome, bought it) with hearts instead of stars, since WordPress doesn’t give me a star option:

prenatal pilates10-Minute Solution Prenatal Pilates – ♥♥♥♥♥

I love this video – it’s actually the only one I bought out of all of these. It has 5 workouts that are each 10 minutes long, so your workout can be as short or as long as you want it to be. The 5 workouts are: Standing Pilates, Core Pilates, Pilates for Buns and Thighs, Pilates for Flexibility, and Total Body Pilates. The Standing Pilates workout is done standing up, and actually got my heart rate up nicely in the 2nd trimester (it might be a little too intense for the 3rd). The other workouts are done either laying down (on some pillows), on all fours or kneeling. The instructor is very clear and easy to follow. I really liked this video because the workouts weren’t too challenging or intense, and yet I finished feeling like I got a good workout. It might be a little easy for a 1st trimester workout, but it’s great for the 2nd and 3rd trimesters.

fit n firm pregnancyDenise Austin Fit & Firm Pregnancy – ♥♥♥♥

If you’ve ever done a Denise Austin video, you know that she’s overly peppy and enthusiastic (but not annoyingly so in my opinion) and that her instructions can be a little hard to follow the first time through. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this video. There are 3 30-minute workouts – Cardio, Strength for 1st & 2nd Trimesters, and Strength for 3rd Trimester. The cardio workout is mostly aerobics and while the moves were fairly straight-forward (walking up and back, mambo, step-touch, etc) and not particularly challenging, the workout did get my heart rate up. The strength workouts involve basic moves and show a few variations so that you can make the workout easier or harder.

The main reason why I wouldn’t buy this DVD is that you have to listen to Denise talk for about 5 minutes before you even get to the menu to select which class you want to do. You can’t even fast forward past it! Since a workout video is meant to be used over and over again, this would get very old.

yoga mamaCrunch Yoga Mama – ♥♥

This was a relaxed, slow-paced yoga video and a good upper body workout for someone like me who hadn’t been doing yoga or strength regularly for a few months. But I only gave this video 2 stars because the instructor talks a LOT about preparing for labor, connecting with your baby, etc. Since you pretty much end up memorizing what the instructor says during a workout video, I found her comments excessive and annoying. (If I wanted a labor video, I’d watch a labor video.)

yogadownload

Prenatal Yoga #1 (free online video) – ♥♥

This was also a very relaxed slow-paced yoga video but again, I found it to involve too much talk about labor/delivery and baby stuff. If that’s your thing, definitely check this out (it helps that it’s free and online!)

38f32ce9b2944893_prentatal-yoga-dvd.xlargerPrenatal Yoga with Desi Bartlett – ♥♥♥♥

This was my favorite yoga video out of all the ones I tried. Even though she talks about connecting the sky and the earth and other “yogi” phrases (which aren’t really my bag), it’s not excessive. She does mention how certain poses will help in labor or with your baby, but only a few times. The 40-minute routine is done mostly standing, using the warrior poses and goddess pose for the main workout. I liked that instead of completely altering a yoga routine from what a non-pregnant woman would do, Desi uses a lot of the same moves and adjusts them appropriately for pregnancy. If I wasn’t getting to the end of my pregnancy, I might be tempted to buy this video.

wk-237_1zPrenatal Fitness Fix with Erin O’Brien – ♥♥♥♥

I was very surprised by this video. First, I expected it be like any other workout video – taped professionally in a workout studio. Instead, this video looks like Erin recruited a friend who knows a few tricks with video editing to record her doing the workout in her living room. It was a little off-putting and I thought about just turning the video off, but I stuck with it and ended up really enjoying the workout. Erin is funny and talkative and keeps you entertained. The 45-minute workout consists of a warmup, cardio, strength and cool down. Out of all the prenatal workout videos I did, this was definitely the most intense workout – a little too intense for me at 26 weeks. I would recommend this to someone looking for a sweaty workout in the 1st or 2nd trimesters.

41KKWRDXE6L._SL500_AA300_Leisa Hart’s fitmama Prenatal Workout – ♥

When I first got this video from the library, I was pumped to see that there were several different workouts, including a salsa cardio routine and a yoga segment, both about 20 minutes long. But I have to say, when I tried out the yoga portion, I was very disappointed. I wasn’t a huge fan of her teaching style, the weird breathing she had us do, and the routine repeated for too long – I was ready to move on long before she did, and then the workout was over. I was so over it that I didn’t even try the other workouts (that and the video was due at the library).

…………………

There are other prenatal workouts I would like to try but these are the only ones I could check out from the library for free. And based on the lack of success I had with these, I’m glad I saved my money. I am still really enjoying the 10-minute Prenatal Pilates video though.

Have you tried any of these videos? Which prenatal workout video(s) is/are your favorite?

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Trusting God in Pregnancy

29 Jan

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Yesterday, I talked about the physical discomforts of being pregnant but I think one of the biggest challenges of pregnancy is not letting my mind run wild with scary possibilities. We’ve all heard stories and known women who have experienced loss, and it’s hard not to freak out about every little change or thing that is probably normal, but might not be.

When I first got pregnant, I thought that I would feel more peaceful once I was out of that first trimester window of risk. But no, I still found things to worry about.

Just recently, I had some bleeding and while it stopped on its own and Emma continued kicking around in my belly, I called and talked to a nurse (a week later) at my OB office. She was very concerned and wondered why I hadn’t called earlier. She said that she would feel better if I came in on Monday instead of on Friday, which was when my next appointment was. In the meantime, I should avoid exercise and the activity that caused the bleeding. She was very nice, and I wasn’t too concerned about it.

But then I was watching TV one night and Emma wasn’t kicking around like she usually does. I timed her kicks and technically, I felt her move 10 times in less than an hour, but some of those kicks were really weak… could I count those? What if she wasn’t ok?

Another night, I went to bed and felt nothing. No kicks. Emma always kicks as I go to bed! And my mind started racing with all kinds of very unproductive and worst-case-scenario thoughts. But I woke up in the middle of the night to her doing her standard karate chopping, so she really was fine.

I had my appointment on Monday and sure enough, everything was fine. There is an explanation for the bleeding (I won’t go into detail here) but it’s nothing to be worried about. And Emma seems to be fine – her heart rate is normal, movement is normal and good overall, I’m measuring right on track, etc. So all of that worrying for nothing. (The doctor did have me schedule another ultrasound for next Monday, just to be sure there’s not another explanation.)

Another day at work, I was just sitting at my desk and all of a sudden had horrible shooting/stabbing pain in my pelvis and belly. Like so bad I couldn’t stand up straight. It came and went for about 30 minutes. And because I hadn’t felt Emma move much throughout the morning, my mind started racing with thoughts of preterm labor and having to have a c-section at not even 30 weeks. After eating something and going to the bathroom, it got better for the most part, but I still called the nurse because Emma still wasn’t moving much. The nurse said told me to drink something sugary and lay down for an hour to count Emma’s kicks. And that as long as the pain went away and the baby was moving enough, they didn’t usually worry too much. I left work early to work from home for the afternoon and sure enough, after a glass of OJ and laying on the couch, Emma was fine. (I’ve since had more belly pains like that and I guess it’s just things stretching out down there? It’s definitely not pleasant, whatever it is! I also assume Emma wasn’t moving a ton because she was exhausted from storing up her little baby fat!)

Pregnancy continues to remind me of how not in control of things I am. I can research and worry and overthink and panic until I’m blue in the face, but what do I change with all of that? I only manage to destroy my own peace.

What I really need to do is trust God – and acknowledge that God has given me this gift of pregnancy and motherhood freely, unmerited, and I must hold it with open hands.  That’s where having an eternal perspective is critical – it reminds me that this life isn’t “it”. I can wholly surrender all of my dreams and expectations, including motherhood, because a better life is coming. And there are purposes to things that happen here that are bigger than we can presently understand.

I go back to my theme verse – “The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD.” Being meek means accepting all things, even the hard ones, from God’s hand. It means not demanding that things go a certain way. I’m not saying that’s easy to do, because it’s not. But if I really want joy, real joy, I must fight to surrender.

So I’m praying for wisdom to know if/when something really is wrong, and for peace to trust that God is good and loving, no matter what happens.

Do you have a hard time trusting God for anything in your life?

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