47 days to go!

Picture taken on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia near Wintergreen.

It's been a while since my last post and many events have taken place! I celebrated my 28th birthday on June 24, Shawn and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary on June 27, and we embarked on our babymoon to Wintergreen in Virginia from the 24th through the 27th. Our friends Caroline and Andrew came along -she is due 6 weeks after me! We had a very relaxing time, but did go on a few hikes which ended up being a little too strenuous. Probably the most difficult hike I've been on since Peru when Kate and I hiked up a mountain on our hands and knees at altitudes high enough to take your breath away.

This past weekend I had my 32 week appointment which went well, as expected. I have been told I am one of the most boring pregnant patients they have every seen -not me, my pregnancy! But that is what I want to hear! On Saturday, Shawn and I went to a breastfeeding class where we got to practice with dolls and watch informative videos. My boobs did not look like any of the boobs on the video, so I'm wondering if my body even realizes it better produce some milk??!!?? It doesn't look too hard, and I wish everyone would stop telling me their horror stories about breastfeeding and birth! Is having your child really that much of a pain in your ass? Why did you have kids then?? Please shut up and allow those of us that are first time mothers to have the best experience possible and the kind of experience we want to have - a NATURAL one! Yes, I'm not an idiot, I know it will be painful, but I also know what I want and what my body is capable of going through and no two pregnancies are the same so how can you compare mine to yours? Childbirth is the one experience in a woman's life that she will never forget - even if she is plagued by alzhiemer's disease. So, why harp on that being such a negative experience? I certainly will do whatever I need to do so that I have a positive experience and can share that with other women instead of "don't try to be brave"!

I am really looking forward to not only bonding with our new baby but bonding on a completely new level with Shawn. His training and life coaching skills will come into play majorly!! We've already started practicing and I can't thank him enough for putting me through the physical training necessary to prepare my body for childbirth. He is the most motivational, supportive husband I could ask for and I am so lucky to have him in my life.

On Saturday, we went to our first 3 hour Prepared Childbirth class. We have three more sessions to go. The women in my class are great and it's nice to share stories and experiences with other first time mothers. I love the instructor, Kara, who has had two children of her own. We watched a couple of DVD's of natural childbirth and it is absolutely NOTHING like what other people say or what you see on tv. Both births did without any drugs - lots of movement and walking around, moving into different positions, no screaming, crying, yelling, or punching, cussing. They were both very quiet pregnancies - painful, but quiet. It was definitely a confidence builder and empowering - however, I'm a bit concerned at my ability to "stretch" down there for a freaking baby head to push through! Hopefully my pelvic area is wide enough - geez louise!

How far along? 32 weeks 5 days
Total weight gain/loss: 25 lbs
Maternity clothes? Nothing new to report - getting really bored with what I do have.
Stretch marks? No new ones to report - none on the belly!
Sleep: Still sleeping pretty well. I wake up about 2 times a night right now to use the bathroom - I'm still super hot when I sleep and don't use covers much until Shawn leaves in the morning for work. I am fairly comfortable - but if I do too much exercise and get sore it's hard to roll over.
Best moment this week: Childbirth class with Shawn!
Movement: Brighton is moving ALL THE TIME!! It is not painful at all unless she bounces around super low - kind of a shooting pain. She moves a lot at night and in the early morning hours, and consistently throughout the day. I can see more body parts "poking" out of my stomach. She is still pretty low - nowhere near the ribs yet - not sure that she'll A: get that big or B: move up that far with only 7 weeks to go.
Food cravings: None - once again - such an excuse for women to eat while they're pregnant. I usually don't have much of an appetite and there is nothing that I truly desire or even want to eat.
Gender: Everyone I see asks if I'm having a boy because I am carrying so low. It's my long torso people! The baby better hope she's a girl or he's going to be in lots of girlie colors for a year!
Labor Signs: Nope - thank goodness - early labor is not such a good thing! Don't want to have the baby prior to 37 weeks. If I do go into early labor it can be stopped if caught soon enough.
Belly Button in or out? Flat
What I miss: Just being able to move around freely.
What I am looking forward to: Meeting our new baby!
Weekly Wisdom: YOGA is amazing for a pregnant woman! I felt so much better after an hour of yoga two days in a row. According to my childbirth teacher - "preparing for childbirth is like preparing for a marathon!"
Milestones: Taking our breastfeeding class and first of four childbirth classes! They were both very informative and I learned a lot!! And...my butt just keeps getting bigger...