Week 34!

A view of the hall...

I am blessed with some AMAZING women in my life.
On the left is my Aunt Shirley (God-mom). Next to her is my Aunt Anne (Mom's sister), then my mom and my Aunt Rita. God truly has blessed me with amazing female role models in my life. Women of strength, integrity, and GRACE! And my guardian angels Nana (Whom Elliot is named after) and Mommom are always with me.
Hubby and I! He's wearing a sexay daddy-to-be tool belt.
I'm so blessed with an amazing husband.
Truly. Through EVERYTHING to get here... he never once...NEVER stopped believing.

BOBO! AKA Uncle Joe! Joe is one of my oldest and dearest friends.
He's Elliot's God-father. I'm so excited to have him on this journey with us! :)

And this photo is just SO APPROPRIATE!
Rocky statue! :)
Week 34! WOW! WEEK THIRTY-FOUR!

I admit... and I don't feel guilty for this AT ALL... now that I'm at week 34 and this little miracle of ours is going to be here SOON.... I have a strong urge to flip off the doctors who told us THIS was not possible. Lesson: Trust God. Always. And forever.

Sooooo I can't believe I didn't post about my awesome baby shower! Silly sneaky relatives! I could have SWORN it was going to be on the 22nd but nope! It was the 17th!

It was a beautiful event! Cakes made out of diapers, heartfelt gifts and messages in cards, love, and laughter. It truly made my day and it was just wonderful. We have all of Elliot's things put away and organized as best as possible and I'm hoping to completely finish his bedroom by the end of the month.

I've already changed my calendar to October and wrote "SAFETY ZONE" on October 22nd. I've been told that "if" I were to go into labor from that date on they would NOT stop the contractions. I have no clue when this little one will plan to make his grand entrance - but what I do know is I'm so in love with him already. Feeling him move inside of me every day and playing with him is such a joy. Yes, I said - playing! I've learned that if I drink ice cold water he does a little jig inside of me. Now I just need him to jig himself in the right position for birthing. There's still plenty of time but my OB is hoping it happens for me in the next two or three weeks.

God is so good. Never lose faith.

3d/4d ultrasound take one

On Saturday, hubby and I went for a 3d/4d ultrasound at "Womb with a View"

I'm excited to see the photos above of Elliot but we're actually going back for "take two" on October 3rd because he was being such a stinker.

How was he being a stinker? HAHAHA let me elaborate...

1. His head is nuzzled into my placenta as if he is using it as a pillow. This means he hasn't turned yet but he still has plenty of time to do so.
2. His one hand is "raisin the roof" like he's at some sort of 90's club
3. His umbilical chord is a good friend of his and it kept getting in the way
4. He discovered a fun way to show us his butt crack, balls, and penis all at once and then a few shots of just his "junk"
5. He also had his feet up by his EARS

It's no wonder I feel so many different kicks at a variety of places. He's having a blast in there! So here's hoping that on October 3rd he gives us a better view. If not - oh well. :)

We took these photos off of the DVD. Our next package will have a CD with all still images. The good news is this isn't going to cost us a thing because clearly we can't control the fact that he likes to have his ears near his feet.

Really!?!?

As some of you may very well know, I am a teacher.

I absolutely LOVE my job. I seriously do. If I were to ever win the powerball, I'd still teach ((but I might pay someone to do my paperwork)) :P

Well today I was holding conferences with students in my freshman class as we went over their journals from last week.

The one prompt I had last week was this:
"Tell me about an event in your life that CHANGED you."

Students were instructed that they could write about anything. It could be losing a family pet, gaining a family member, a new home, their first hunting trip, getting their cell phone, moving, anything as long as it was school appropriate.

In my class of 17 students (all grade 9) THREE of my girls wrote about an experience with a doctor badgering them about their weight. One girl wrote an entire page about her first diet and how it started in 3rd grade. Another girl wrote about 5th or 6th grade and her doctor telling her she was fat. And another wrote about I think 7th grade and her doctor telling her she'd have a bad life if she didn't lose weight.

I was in shock (and nearly to tears) reading these accounts. For starters, my students really don't like writing and these young ladies filled the lines with their memories.

I know living a healthy lifestyle is important and watching your weight goes with it. I just could not believe the vivid accounts these young ladies were so willing to share about their weight woes. It just made me think about so many issues regarding societal pressures and self esteem.

Kids these days have a lot on their plates. No pun intended.

Great article... as always!

Slogging!

Then vs. Now

Of course black is incredibly slimming but there is quite a difference between life nearly 20 weeks ago and now.

At 14 weeks I started feeling the tickles and flutters. At 31 weeks I can SEE him move. His kicks are strong. His personality, stronger. It's funny to see how he reacts to certain things - whether it be a song, a food, a position I'm in, etc...

I'm starting to feel a bit nesty. For example - today I cleaned out a closet in our kitchen pantry and then decided it was indeed absolutely necessary to wash every little piece of tupperware we own. It's drying right now, LOL.

And now I feel the need to go organize his book shelf in his bedroom. God bless my husband.

Stevia!

InCYST did a nice write up on STEVIA and I really like it!

See here's the deal - we cysters need to be careful about sugar intake and a lot of us go for things with artificial sweeteners if anything.

The problem is when you're pregnant, artificial sweeteners are a big no-no. Which I find kind of ironic. You work so hard to avoid "naughty sugar" and then when you're finally pregnant you need to go back to it.

Stevia is great and yummy! I was glad to discover it in the Sobe Life Waters.

An actual update!

The top picture is my bare belly... brave, yes? Yes!

Here are some things going on with my pregnancy (and life) lately. I can't believe we're at the 31 week mark soon. Let alone "65 days" away from our due date. Holy smokes!

1. My belly is defintely HARD now. Before it was quite firm but now FIRM is firmer - therefore, I say it's HARD. In fact, I just balanced a glass of almond milk on it.


2. Elliot is definitely more and more active. He sometimes has these kicks that are two, three, or even six in a row. They're my favorite!


3. Hiccups are interesting!


4. Breast milk/colostrum is here for good. I've been reading up on breast feeding as well as breast feeding for cysters with hypothyroidism. It may not be a possibility for me because of the PCOS or if it is a possibility it may not last as long as I'd like. In reality, this is a topic where truly only time will tell.


5. I've noticed that when you're NOT pregnant - and you're outspoken or simply say something someone does not like.... it means you have PMS. But if you're PREGNANT and you say something someone doesn't like or doesn't want to hear it's automatically "pregnancy hormones."


6. My next OB appointment is scheduled for the 20th. I hope I can keep the appointment. I'm feeling a smidge frustrated with planning - people have been planning things that I'm expected to attend but never tell me the date and then if I can't make it I get the "o_O" look. And no - I'm not referring to the baby shower. :P


7. Sleeping is heavenly. I sleep well for the most part and hope it continues for the remainder of the pregnancy. I am a big fan of my body pillow right now. That thing is amazing.


8. The nursery is ready for goodies.... I'm having a baby shower this month and I'm so anxious about it. I've done a stellar job at avoiding all things baby shower for years and now I'm having one. Very weird for me. But I know it will be a good time.


9. My mother-in-law is going to be watching Elliot for us once I go back to work. This is such a blessing to us. She's AMAZING with babies and understands my fear of having a newborn in daycare. Not to mention some of the "stipulations" with daycares right now (example: I could not find a daycare that is local to us willing to take a newborn who is breast fed, formula fed only... and what's weird is we live in a very Mennonite/Amish area where there is lots of breastfeeding going on) I'm so excited to know my MIL will have Elliot. He is the first grandson on my husband's side and I think he's going to adore his Grammy. She's amazing.


10. Being back to work is nice and I've been working long hours to prepare for maternity leave. The first week of school was stressful but things are calming down now that the kids have finally gotten back into school mode. I have a lot of meetings this month but the cool thing is once mid-October is over I won't have any documentation to write up until after February 10th which is nice.


11. Exercise: definitely something I still do and plan to do up until I pop. I've noticed a huge difference in how I sleep and how I feel on days following exercise. If I go more than two days without exercise, I feel it.


12. Birth plan: We skipped baby class tonight. We didn't have the patience for it. Our instructor is very nice but she definitely has her own agenda. She's anti-circumcision, and she's anti-epidural as well as anti-several other things. She doesn't say this is her stand but its clearly implied. I do plan on having a vaginal birth if possible and would like to use water whether it be the tub or shower. But the reality is whatever is best for his health is what I'll do.


13. Food/Weight: Appetite is in full force but I'm still not at the weight I was when I found out I was pregnant. I'm getting close though considering Elliot's job from here on out is to fatten up in addition to continued brain development. I'm a fan of Chobani greek yogurt, shredded wheat, bananas, and every once in a while a caffeine free pepsi. I also love my almond milk. I haven't really had any ridiculous cravings (pickles on ice cream) but when a craving hits - it HITS!


14. Feet: I haven't had any swelling of the feet which I've been warned about - but I've also lucked out with having a husband who doesn't mind giving me a foot masage or any other type of body rub down


15. Emotions: I'm still in shock over being pregnant. I still wake up every morning thanking God for this blessing and I find myself talking to Elliot a lot in the car on my way to work. He responds to his daddy's voice as well as mine and loves music. I'm so in love with this little boy - I can't wait to meet him.
    
    
    
    
    

FB gone batty

This article is BEYOND awesome.

A lot of cysters this week had a lot of issues with this (myself included) and I could not agree more with this article. I'll save the rant - this article says it all.