33 weeks

What an exciting week! Aubri turned 2 and we had a great day celebrating her- I've got to get a post up about the festivities. She is such a crack-up. She knows exactly what she wants and made sure we knew what she wanted- down to the pink Elmo cupcakes. She had a little lunch party with her toddler cousins and a ice cream and cake party in the evening with extended family. Not to mention a Panera/Starbucks breakfast and an Olive Garden dinner (both her choices!).

Only 50 more days until my due date! With Aubri I was certain that I would go late, and went in to labor on my due date. This pregnancy I feel like I will have him early, so I really need to prepare myself in case he is late. The good news is I'm nowhere near being sick of being pregnant, and can hang in there if he decides to take his time making his appearence (lets see if I still say that in 7 weeks). But if he decides to come early, well that is great too!

I felt like we had sooo many things to get done before Ezra arrives, but thanks to Jose we got lots done this past weekend! The room is now completely painted and looks great! I loove the blue focal wall, and the tan is just the right soothing shade.

It is still a work in progress, but come in and take a look!

We got adventurous and did some original artwork. I had this football picture in mind and Jose executed it perfectly. We used paint we had on hand, and I bought the canvas 50% off. So inexpensive for a piece that we have some pride in!

Our big project was this football field growth chart. I've gotta admit I'm pretty proud with this idea I came up with all by myself. Again, Jose is the one who actually did most the work, but I still consider it a joint project! I colored matched the green in the bedding to find the perfect field color, and Jose used his new birthday power tools to cut the wood to size. Unfortunately the precision measuring,taping and painting took us a lot longer than expected, but that just might add to the sentimentality behind it. A true labor of love. Man I hope this kid likes football!

I made a banner to hang across one of his bare walls with fabric my mom and I picked out. I'm still looking for ideas to fill up this wall. Gallery wall photos? Three large frames? Anyone have any ideas??

I'm just excited the room is starting to come together! We still have a few touches we need to add- the crib bumper, new lamp, curtains, rug, frames, make the mobile....but that all will come in time (preferably after the baby showers ;-).

Other pregnancy news: no stretch marks, no weight gain this week, no cravings (unless you count junk food/sweets which I'm avoiding), no sickness, still no sign of braxton hicks, and no aches or pains. I do have lots of kicking and moving inside, a weird flat belly button, and an amazing husband who gives the best foot massages.

I started a new Bradley series! I'm teaching 3 couples who after the first week I already love. They are talkative, excited, and eager to learn. Jose is sitting in the class and we are participating along with them which is a lot of fun. I got an email from 2 more couples requesting to jump in the series, so we may be teaching 5 couples at once!

I am getting so excited to meet our little man. Glad there is only 5-9 more weeks!

32 weeks

This may be the most challenging week of pregnancy so far (and by far the worst weekly picture, blah). Not because of the pregnancy, but because of a stupid cold I got that turned into a sinus infection. For the past 8 days I've had a stuffy nose. For the past 5 days I have not been able to taste or smell (do not even get me started on how miserable, depressing, frustrating, horrible this is), and for the past 4 days I've had the worst sinus pressure and headaches. As a Bradley childbirth instructor, and a natural minded mom (at least where pregnancy is concerned) I do not use medication in pregnancy. With Aubri not so much as a single Tylenol entered my mouth. So for a week I've been eating the best I can, consuming vitamin C, drinking fluids, and even resorted to using a neti-pot. At my doctor's appointment on Monday, my midwife said she needed to prescribe an antibiotic. Bummer. However by that time I had waited it out and done what I could. So yesterday I started the first the day of treatment and am happy to say I am already feeling better today. I still can barely taste and can't smell, but there is no headache! I'm praying that I keep improving!

As far as the pregnancy, I am still doing great. The doctor noticed I lost weight and asked what happened. She was impressed it was from healthy eating! I've lost an additional half pound, so my total weight gain is about 18 1/2 pounds.

Ezra loves to somersault around and I watch my belly move like a wave. We participated in a pro-life walk this weekend (hundreds of them were happening around the nation!) and I was saddened with the thought that so many don't see my baby inside me as LIFE! The pro-choice issue is something I care very much about, and it is something I want to take a stand against any chance I get. Aubri even carried a sign in her stroller, and we explained simply what the walk was for. In her words " We walk cuz Jesus loves babies in mommies' tummies."

I learned earlier in the week that my placenta was in a normal position- thank you Jesus! At my appointment the midwife said that I can return to normal activity and there were no longer any physical restrictions on me. They never told me I had any restrictions to begin with! Thank goodness everything was fine, because somewhere along the line someone forgot to mention that with a low lying placenta there were exercise, physical, and marital ;-) restrictions I was supposed to be following.

Aubri got to "help"at my appointment again. She holds the tape measure for the midwife and gets to push the button to retract it. When the nurse put the Doppler on my stomach, you should have seen Aubri's face! Her eyes got big, and a huge smile covered her face and she said "That's Ezra! Ezra's heart!"

Our little girl turns 2 this coming week! I can't believe it. We have a couple of small things planned for her, and she's been pretty specific about what she wants ("pink Elmo cake, candles, pinata" and for "everybody come over").

I also start teaching another round of Bradley classes this week!

31 weeks

We got to see our little man again this week! He is getting big and looks great! We had a follow-up appointment to check the location of my placenta. The tech couldn't give us much info, but said it had moved up some. I'm dying to hear what my midwife has to say.

We took our parents with us to the ultrasound and somehow we all squeezed in the small room. After the ultrasound we took Aubri to the labor and delivery area so she can see where mommy will have the baby. The nurses there were all so friendly and I was reminded why I love French hospital. Since we had the extra hands to help with Aubri, we took the opportunity to pre-register. We are still 7-11 weeks away from delivery, but it feels good to have one less thing on the to do list!

We had a great trip to Big Bear lake this past weekend. We realized it has become a 30 week tradition to go to the snow (we flew to Colorado when I was 30 weeks pregnant with Aubri). I'm sure I will post much more about this weekend later.

We started eating very healthy a week and a half ago. I'm trying to follow the Bradley diet and am sticking to whole foods and no sugar. I actually lost 1 1/2 pounds- that tells you how bad I was eating before!

The uncomfortable pregnancy feeling has passed again for the time being. I guess this little guy found another way to get comfortable because I rarely feel like he is stuck under my ribs anymore. I'm glad that only lasted a week! I even sleep great without any extra pillows or support (though I wake up a little sore and stiff most mornings).


No additional work has been done to the nursery. Maybe this week we can make some more progress and I'll be able to post an update soon!

30 weeks

We have hit the every two week doctor appointment time! I can't believe it. Luckily I am finally insured so those office visits won't be so pricey (though in actuality being a cash pay client works out cheaper than paying an insurance premium!). We had an appointment two days ago and had great news and a bit of not so great news. First of all, our baby is growing perfectly, has a strong heart beat, and is already head down! He was annoyed with the stomach prodding and let the midwife know he had enough by kicking her several times! Way to stick up for yourself little man!

My lab work results came back and glucose levels and most everything is great, but I also found out I'm anemic. I need to take additional iron supplements and really work hard at eating foods high in iron. Also, after my ultrasound in October the lab never sent the results to my doctor. They finally got a copy of the results. Most importantly the report said our baby was developing perfectly with no abnormalities, but it also stated I have a low lying placenta. In rare cases the placenta can block the opening of the cervix preventing a vaginal birth (my mom had this with me!), but mine wasn't that low. I need to go back for a follow-up ultrasound next week, and we are praying the uterus has pulled the placenta up higher.

This week was the first week I've started to feel pregnant. It seems like overnight my stomach grew making it a little uncomfortable to bend down or even sit up sometimes! This little guy feels so high under my ribs! Still, I feel great and am enjoying this pregnancy. I gained a pound this week, but according to my weigh-ins at the doctor I have still only gained 20 pounds overall.


We celebrated Jose's 30th birthday! Aubri loved helping me pick out 30 presents for him, and insisted on helping me wrap them. She wanted to make sure he had balloons, candles, and birthday plates for his "party". We had a great family dinner a few days before, and an amazing brunch on his birthday. This weekend we are headed to Big Bear for a final birthday bash. Hopefully there will be a little snow to play in!

Aubri wanted to take a picture with the camera man after posing with Mama!

29 weeks

During my first pregnancy I was a sore-footed, back-aching, swollen, uncomfortable, preggo at this time. I still thought I loved pregnancy, but compared to this time that was no fun! This time I still only have minor hip pain to whine about in the morning, and nothing else negative! Woohoo! My ring still fits loosely and comes off easy- at 30 weeks I had to take it off last time!

I'm down to 4 pairs of jeans I rotate- all non-maternity! Though yesterday I had to unbutton a pair that previously buttoned just fine. Must be the couple of pounds I let myself gain over New Years. I've gained a total of 20 pounds now.

I finally got my pre-natal blood work done. Since I hadn't gone in for my early blood work (the doctors were sympathetic to my previous lack of insurance) they had to draw lots of blood in addition to the 2 hour glucose test. All in all I was at the lab for almost 3 hours, and got my blood drawn 3 times! Even though I still got nervous and my palms were sweating like crazy, I impressed myself how well I handled it (I'm really scared of needles!). In the morning I told Aubri I was going to the doctor and she was staying with daddy. She excitedly ran up to me, kissed me and said goodbye. When I was finally leaving she asked "Mommy going to push baby brother out now?" Seriously. The cutest thing ever. She thought it was time for me to have the baby and she was so excited. We had to tell her it wasn't time, and she seemed ok with that too.

Every nap and bedtime we make up stories to tell her. She often requests stories about when baby brother is coming. She knows that when the baby is big and ready to come out, mommy and daddy are going to the hospital to push little brother out. She knows she will go stay with either Papa, Tia Emma or cousin Adri, and we will call her when the baby is born.

I can't believe that is in 9-13 weeks!!!

More progress was made on the nursery! The fan is installed! Grammy's boyfriend Rigo helped Jose out (he installed Aubri's chandelier too!) and it looks awesome! Jose also painted another wall of the room once we picked the tan color. He would have painted the entire room at once, but it was much more important to us to enjoy Happy Noon Year at the Children's museum!

December mornings

A few times in December we made "special breakfast". We had snowman pancakes a few times, and even tried egg nog Christmas sprinkle waffles. Yummy yummy! Aubri was very happy to get her favorite whipped cream for breakfast.

These pictures were taken Christmas Eve morning after yummy waffles. Aubri was actually asking for her picture to be taken and telling me where she wanted to pose. I loved the laid back mornings we shared on Jose's days off!

Christmas Morning

Of all days for Aubri to sleep in, she chose Christmas morning! We were up and ready by 7:00 twiddling our thumbs with anticipation for another hour! Jose and I were both really excited for Christmas morning with Aubri.

We finally heard her call for us close to 8:00 and we ran up the stairs with video camera in hand. The first thing she did was laugh at us and tell us we had funny pants on (we were them every Christmas morning, but she of course didn't remember). We told her it was Christmas and she asked to go open presents.


Before presents Jose read to her the Story of "Baby Jesus", and even though she kept glancing at her stuffed stocking, she stayed pretty interested in the story.

She was so cute opening her stocking. I think her favorite thing was the jelly beans. She kept sneaking more in her mouth when we weren't looking!

She wasn't very expressive, but loved all her toys. She kept wanting to play with or wear whatever she opened instead of opening more. I was impressed how generous she was as she seemed just as excited to give us presents and watch us open them. For weeks she had been asking for "Two Dora Presents" so she was really happy to open her Dora toys. As soon as she saw the back pack she put it on and told us she was going to school with Grammy, and walked to the door. She said she was pretending and announced "I'm back!" and resumed opening presents!

We saved the best for last- a kitchen from Grammy! We had it covered with a blanket in the corner. Immediately she picked up the kitchen's toy phone and called Grammy, "Thank you Grammy for my kitchen!"

It took a lot of coaxing to get her away from her kitchen and into the car to go to Nana and Papa's house! We didn't even take time to clean up the Christmas tornado! We had another round of present opening at my parent's house. After breakfast and hanging out a bit, we went home to change out of our pajamas!

 A backpack to take when she spends the night at Nana and Papa's!

 Aubri loves Seasame Street so when I found this shirt for my dad I had to buy it for him against the major protests from my brothers and mom! I told them it was a joke (the shirt reads "All my homies are from the street" and that I didn't expect my dad to wear it, but they were scared he would! As soon as he opened it he put it on, and I'm pretty sure he intends to wear it often!

 After breakfast at my parents, we headed home to change out of our PJ's to go to Jose's grandparents house. All the family stopped by, and off course more presents for the kids!

 This was our first ever White Elephant exchange for the adults. It was so much fun, and I hope we make it a tradition!

 The fought after drink hat!

 Needless to say, after all the morning festivities Aubri was wiped out! She fell asleep on the way home and took a nap.

 Once she woke up we went back to my parent's house to celebrate my dad's birthday! He is a Christmas baby so we always celebrate him at night!

 Happy Birthday Dad!

WHEW!! What a day! We ping ponged all over the place. It was a great day, but at the end of it we were pretty exhausted and felt like we never got to stop too long at any place- and never got to sit and enjoy our own house. Next year with the new baby, we are thinking of ways to change it up, while still being able to visit everyone.

I LOVE Christmas, and it was so fun to see Aubri really enjoy it this year!