Treat making

Last night, mom, sis and me made some yummy treats that will be included as treats on S-Day.

I've really enjoyed doing all these crafty things with my mom and sister as I get to spend more time with them. I think we should make it a regular occurrence, even after the baby. Everyone gets busy, but making time for bonding will be a good value for... The baby (I almost typed her name).

More fun to come! Two more days until S-day!

Me concentrating on making the perfect chocolate nests.

Mom and sister mixing it up!

The finished product! Can't wait to eat!

What a pain!

We had our second childbirth education class last night and it is clear now that this class is solely based on the medical model of giving birth with the only "certainty" being that there will be a lot of pain. We watched another video last night showing a woman birthing without the assistance of anesthetics and predictably she was in pain. The nurse teaching the class, was discussing comfort measures, such as massage, changing positions, etc. but would always refer back to the pain. What a pain! Is this a scared straight class? Like, this is what happens when you get pregnant! You get to hold your baby. . . AFTER the PAIN! If the goal was to frighten everyone, congratulations, you've succeeded in frightening 99.9 percent of the couples in that room! No wonder women don't look forward to birthing, or they count on the anesthesia, if they go to these classes, anyone would!

I'm the .1 percent that was not frightened. I'm looking forward to natural birth and without the use of anesthetics. I think fear is debilitating and that can enhance the pain. When you're frightened, you're tense and when you're tense you're only focusing on the pain. Well I don't think that's for me! I just started reading a book called Hypnobirthing. It is a form of relaxation techniques to "relax the mind in order to let the body work". I just started the book but thus far it seems exactly what I'm looking for! There are classes that teach the techniques also but unfortunately, they're a little out of my price range so the book will have to do, but I will let you know once I finish it how my thoughts. I only wish our childbirth prep class had a more broadened perspective that didn't only include pain because that was getting quite annoying.

Here's to a positive perspective!

S-Day is close at hand!

Well, my baby shower is rapidly approaching this Saturday. I was trying to think of something catchy to call it, you know, something like "D-Day" but more baby oriented... and I realized BS-Day for "Baby Shower Day" might come across wrong. . . so instead I opted for just shortening it to S-Day.

The past two weeks, mom Sara and I have been working hard and getting all of the details in place, food, decorations, favors, etc. So this weekend we finished up the favors and I must say, they look absolutely adorable ! If I didn't want to share them with the friends and family joining me to celebrate, I might just keep them all ! I promise, there will be pictures of the favors to be posted after S-Day. I don't want to spoil the surprise for those coming !

The games are going to be a blast! Mom and Sara have really put so much love into this and I hope they know how much they're appreciated! Sara is taking today to put a mix of baby music together for one of the games and also baby bingo cards. Mom's working on an alphabet game and food preparation. I'm working on the favor bags and will be making one of the yummy treats this week. It's going to be great!

Looking forward to seeing all who are planning on coming!

P.S. Reading over my post I see that S-Day might also come across wrong as depending on the person. . . Oh well, what can ya do?!

10-2-11: Now that S-Day has come and gone here's a picture of the awesome ornaments we created!

Our woodland creature ornaments!

Childbirth Prep Class

Well, last night we attended our first childbirth preparation class. This class is one of several that can be taken at the hospital for a cost. It is a four classes, one night a week for four weeks from 6-9 p.m. There were about 9 couples and they all seemed quite friendly. Two other couples have the same midwife as we do so I'm hoping I'll have a chance to chat with them to see what their experiences have been so far. Most of the couples there are due either in November or December. One couple is due in March but she's like me and wanted to get the information as much ahead of time as possible. :)

So the class went pretty much as expected. A discussion of the anatomy of pregnancy and how the baby grows, a get to know you portion and a couple videos. I liked the teacher who is a nurse and did Labor and Delivery for 15 years. One of the fun parts of the class was a little question sheet where each person had to answer two questions. Marc had to answer what he was most looking forward to in labor and birth and the second was what has his favorite part of the pregnancy been. He made me smile. His answer to the first was that he wants the labor over as quickly as possible... AMEN! Let's keep our fingers crossed on that one. The second answer he said it's been feeling the baby move and also my physical transformation. He told the class how he'd known me since middle school and how I've been a 105 for so long that it's amazing to see the changes I'm going through and especially in comparison to my twin. Good answers hubby!

My two questions were less interesting. The first was if I've had any food cravings. I have not, which is kind of unfortunate for the purpose of answering the question. But I have had a single food aversion which has been bacon. Don't like the look of it, the smell of it, keep it away! The second question was if I'd had any weird dreams, and again, I have not! Some of the women had some interesting dreams. One said she dreamed that she had her little girl and the little girl was talking to her and moving around like an adult but was still in an infant body! Another woman said she dreamed her baby had big sharp dog teeth. She said it was her fear that breastfeeding will be uncomfortable that probably brought that one about. Yeah, sharp teeth would definitely be uncomfortable to say the least! And finally, one of the father's said his weird recurring dream is that he's back in college and late for his exams. He thinks that his fear must be he'll be late for the birth!

All in all, it was interesting. Wish it didn't have to go until 9! But we have three more sessions to go. Hopefully it remains an enlightening experience!

Afternoon sun

I hate it when my visor doesn't block the sun!

He's not crazy!

I love everything about my husband. He's unique, makes me laugh, loves me to no end and has cute little quirks. When we first moved out together we had a few things to learn about each others "quirks". One night, I had gotten out of bed for a glass of water. I brought the water back to my night table and sat down to take a sip. All of a sudden he jumps out of bed, turns to me and says "Really!?"
Okay... what just happened? He was asleep a second ago. I didn't know what he was so upset about! Maybe he'd had a bad dream. "What's wrong?" I inquired.
"Do you really have to swallow like that?!"
I was baffled! I truly did not understand his obvious revulsion. All I did was drink my water! Well, that was my first encounter with Marc's irritation of sounds like gulping, chewing and other normal mouth noises that for some reason had only come to light at that moment. Now, I understand that there are some people that are really disgusting when they eat or drink. Just chomping and slurping and smacking. . . but me? I never thought I was one of those people.

Turns out, I'm really not. Marc just has this little crazy tick that sets him off and I just have to deal with it. It just irritates him to no end. I always told him "Oh, just get over it! I'm not even that loud!" Then yesterday, I came across this article about something called Misphonia (see article here). The article discusses how sufferers have extreme reactions to the sounds of people eating! I was beside myself! No Way! I guess he's not crazy after all! If you read the article, some of these people are quite a bit... shall we say... "quirky-er" than Marc in that they've lost friendships or started fights over it! Thankfully, Marc works on trying to ignore me or others in his immediate circle or otherwise get away from the annoyance if it's within his power. Luckily he has never come to blows over this irritation.

Just an interesting little food for thought today. Yes, I know, in our world there's always a "condition" for everything, but sometimes, it might just help put your fears to rest that you're not crazy (even if you are a little). However, if you are that random person in a line at the bank or in a public place that chews loudly, smacks your lips and slurps and gulps with reckless abandon, think kindly on your neighbor who may be misphonic and maybe eat in a bit more reserved manner. You might just make someones day a little less irritating!

Another newbie

Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to the Laboring Labor day Weekend! This weekend, we would like to welcome to the world.... weighing in at 7 lbs 12 oz, measuring 20.5 inches in length.... Colton Jonathan!

Yep, our new nephew was born this past Saturday to his happy parents and ecstatic big sister. He's such a cutie! Marc was so excited. It's a prelude to what's to come for us in about three months!

Here he is!

Proud big sister.

Uncle Marc

Welcome, Baby Colton, to this crazy place we call earth!

Less squeezable!

For those of you who don't know me, in my non-pregnant state I'm. . . Well, skinny! I'm used to being able to squeeze my way past closely parked cars, or into the elevator just as the doors are closing. . . You know, that kind of thing. When I was in elementary school, our gym was used for big non-sporting events with food and tables and chairs. When not in use, those tables and chairs would be folded up and stuck into the recessed area at the end of the gym. When us kids would play basketball or something during our P.E. class, if a ball got stuck behind the tables and chairs, I could easily worm my way through to retrieve said ball.

In another example, a few years ago when Marc and I went caving in Glenwood Caverns but before anyone was allowed in, they had to make sure you could fit through a mock up of the smallest area that we would encounter in the cave. It was almost like threading a needle for me! Well, today was the first time I tried to let someone squeeze by me as I held the door open and my preggo tummy got in the way! Now just to clarify. . . My tummy is not that big yet. I attribute this "grazing of he tummy" incident to the fact that this delivery person wasn't a very efficient cart driver (she was delivering groceries to out office). The door to the office barely opened and I hear clunk! Clunk! the door shuts slightly and another attempt is made. I hop out of my chair to help and as I push open the door she hits the wall with the back of the cart. Then I try to remain flat against the door so she can get through and thats when she grazed my tummy. See! Obviously her driving skills need improvement! Well, either way, she had to back out of the door so I could move fully out the door to hold it open for her instead of my usual squeeze up flat with the door to get by. That was as "flat" as I could go! *sigh*

Well I guess for now, I'm not as squeezable as I'm used to being!