OMSI with the Girls

Rolling Thunder

Yesterday we woke to roaring thunder and crashing lightniing outside of the windows and right above our roof. Then the gentle patter or rain on the skylight in our room. It was the best sound ever considering how hot it's been! It's amazing how it can be over 100 degrees one day, and then pouring rain the next. Today it rained all day again. It's much cooler and almost feels like fall already. It's supposed to continue until the weekend and then be 80 degrees and sunny on Saturday. I can't wait and I hope it's nice because Callie and my favorite girls will be here to hang out with me!! yay!

Timothy Lake and a brand new Camera!

This heat is now getting to me and making me grumpy! Yesterday we went up to the lake again and I think it was my favorite day this summer so far. This time Travis picked us up in his new boat and took us all the way across the lake where we've never been willing to paddle to before in the canoe. It was so beautiful over there and there was nobody other than a few kayakers every now and then. Then we went to this beautiful spot with rocks built up where Myles and Kerrie were doing cannon balls into the lake. The water was perfect! A little chillie for a second, but then nice and cool to hang out in on the raft. I love that lake. It's the perfect place, and having access to boat around it was even better.

Today is still hot. We bought a brand new little Sony point and shoot digi camera and I LOVE it!!! Our other one was so great, and lasted about 5 years, but the batterie finally stopped working a few months ago, so we wanted to be sure to replace it and have time to get to know the new one before the baby gets here. I have my amazing Nikon SLR, but sometimes it's just too big and expensive to be lugging around everywhere.

Callie and the girls are planning on coming down to visit next weekend and I'm really excited. There is a seamonster movie playing at the IMAX at Omsi that I have been wanting to see for over a year now, so I think we might do that. I've only seen one IMAX movie and it was so much fun. I also want to go into the museum because they have fetus' in jars for every month of pregnancy, and eventhough it seems a little morbid, I really want to go see what my baby is looking like these days =)

Hot hot HoT

Yesterday it was 100 degrees in Portland!!! Everyone was walking around miserable and whining about it. I didn't think it was too bad. Today it's supposed to be just as hot out. I have been in the office all day in the A/C so I'm not sure what the reality is out there. I know it's a lot hotter in Chico...so I don't mind the heat so much. Being pregnant does make everything seem hotter though! Tomorrow morning we are going back up to Timothy Lake to meet up with Trav and Kerry and their boat. I love it up there and can't wait to jump in the lake again. I think it's usually a LOT cooler up there on the mountain so it should be perfect! Plus it's our first time to get to check out their boat. I can't wait!!

Yesterday was the longest day ever. I got to work by 8 am sharp. Worked for 8 hours - and then went straight to the midwife's house for our appointment, and then straight down to the hospital to observe the childbirth education classes. I didn't get home until after 10:30 pm and never had a real break all day. It was nice to be busy though and I know I can handle it for now. I'm really enjoying learning so much about childbirth in general, as well as the education side of things. I hope my goals of becoming an educator are reachable after the baby is born. I know it's such a passion of mine and it's nice to know I'm finally moving in the right direction.

Indigestion is the pits!!

I have been having "digestion" issues for a few days now, and last night was an all new experience. I woke up around 1 am with the WORST indigestion I have ever felt =(
I rarely have heart burn or acid reflux etc.. but this was like really thick acid coming right up my throat. It felt like my esophagus was going to melt in half or something. I got up and ate about 5 of my papaya enzyme pills, and even those didn't help. Thankfully Myles and I just bought brand new fancy big pillows, so I was able to prop myself up into a somewhat sitting position and eventually fall back to sleep.

Sleeping seems to be getting harder. I guess it's my body preparing me for being up all night! My hips and pelvis get extremely sore, as well as my shoulders. My new King size pillow is helping a lot however, and once I fall asleep I am out like a rock!

Baby Books

I have already read a lot of books about pregnancy and labor/delivery because of my love for midwifery. Now I am reading even more, including books about babies too. I just read "the amazing newborn" and it was so interesting! I'm glad I got to read it before the baby is born, as it talks about the amazing things that a newborn can do...even within the first few hours of birth. Now I'm reading "the happiest baby on the block". I have heard things about the book and am curious to see what the big fuss is about. Of course I have no idea what having a new baby is really like, and of course I am SURE that our baby is going to be perfect and never cry or have a hard time with anything...but I still want to be prepared =) I am also reading several week by week types of books about the baby and me and how we are growing etc. And to add to it I am also studying for my own childbirth educators practice and training...so am learning a lot about the process and how birth is normal etc...
My FAVORITE birthing book is "birthing from within" by Pam England. I'm reading it now for the second time to help me with my own labor. I'm so overwhelmed with books and info, but at least it keeps me busy.

26 weeks along

Antho's house in Washington

Yesterday afternoon we went up to Washington and spent some time with our really good friends at one of their friends amazing houses. It was my dream house. Only about 40 minutes from here, but on the river with so many trees, birds, fish and nature everywhere. The air smelled good, the water was fresh. We tried out luck at fishing. Everyone barbecued and it was a really good time. I would love to live in a place like that. It was so relaxing. These pictures will not do it justice.

Notepad

The C word

It started on Wednesday morning, but somehow I made it through the day...and had to call in sick on Thursday. I wasn't sure what was wrong at first, just that I was in some serious pain and couldn't sit, stand, walk nor lay down. I later figured out that the problem was the pregnant woman's good ol' buddy Constipation. Apparently I had never known the meaning of that word before, but let me assure you I know it now. I was quite surprised, as I have been eating great, plenty of fruit, lots of water.... but somewhere something must have gone wrong. The cure that I am trying now is a few prunes a day, and psyllium seed. My midwifes recommended psyllium seed earlier on, but warned me that it's really gross and hard to drink. I went to New Seasons and got a big can of the husks and I basically mix a tablespoon in some water and drink it down. It's really not bad at all, and I think it might be working! I'm feeling a little better, but have noticed that it makes me feel a little dehydrated, so I'm making sure to drink lots of extra water as well. That's not as hard to do now that I have my fancy Swiss steel drinking bottle!

24 weeks and a day

It's summer time and the weather here has been perfect. I have to say I have been feeling really good lately. I'm hungry all of the time, and usually sore when I wake up...but I'm happy and feel like I have enough energy most of the time. I have been having issues with my pelvis (or my pubis symphasys??). Falling asleep isn't as easy as it used to be. I feel like I wake refreshed however, which is not usual for me. The pre-natal vitamins make me sick, so I have only been taking my fish oil pills, Iron, Folic Acid and Calcium. I love eating at this point and stick to a great diet, however am loving ice cream almost every night =) I haven't had any coffee since being prego, however I've been craving it and might have to get a decaff latte here soon.
I wish I had a pool to swim in because I love swimming and know it would make me feel better. I try and do yoga once a week if I can. It always makes me feel much much better. I'm so glad to be over the first few months when I was SO SICK all of the time. It was a hard thing to get through but I made it!!
I can't wait to meet this little one inside of me. We have no idea what we are going to call him or her so far... but have some ideas. I wish we had family closer, and more friends with children. I just love it here too much to go anywhere else =)

21 Weeks - I'm a hippy =)

18 weeks and finally some Sunshine!

I am still HUNGRY!

Food it such a new world now that I am pregnant. For the first few months everything was gross. I didn't really want to eat anything, and nothing tasted normal at all. I could smell everything yet nothing smelled normal either, so it was a sad place to be. I was so sick, I have no idea how I made it through that.
Now that I am well into my second Trimester I am hungry all of the time. The best part about it is that food that would normally taste good, or even okay, now tastes AMAZING! I am loving fruit and smoothies, taco's, and especially ice cream and chocolate =). The problem is that I am not creative enough to come up with so many little meals and snacks everyday. I keep dried fruit, granola bars and nuts at my desk, but I always feel better if I can eat a full meal every few hours. I need to have a giant burrito, and then a big bowl of pasta a few hours later. I can't seem to get enough food. My friend Todd bought me a giant box of granola bars at Costco, and those have helped me many times. I even eat tons of meat now, even though we led a pretty much vegetarian lifestyle before I was pregnant. I love Ribs.

20 Weeks!!

Alkaline Trio

On Sunday we went to see Alkaline Trio play at the Skate park on 82nd. It was so much fun! The park there is amazing. There is so much grass to run around on, and the skatepark even has a real pool that they have built into it. It's amazing! This was the baby's first concert! I don't think it can hear quite yet, but Myles thinks it could feel the vibrations. It's nice to be able to hang out at a show outside with our friends. Mike and Led being cool

Myles and I with A3 in the back ground!!
Led and Jones with their rad jackets and cute butts.

Organics to You

Every other Monday we have Organic Produce delivered to our door by a company called "organics to you". Most of the produce is grown locally, and all is organic. Here is what we got this week. We pay $30 for this, which seems like a lot, and I'm thinking of canceling now that the farmers markets are back. I think we can get more than this for $30 on our own, although it's fun because we get to try new things that we would never try normally.

Gig Harbor to see Callie

Oh what a fun weekend! On Friday Francis came to town and we got to hang out at Costco. At least I got to see her for a few hours! On Saturday I got up and drove to see Callie and the girls in Washington. It took me 2 and a half hours, but the drive was gorgeous! I love the Northwest. It was green and and amazing all the way up the I5. Callie lives right on the Puget Sound so there is also lots of rivers and water to see on the way, as well as trains, and I even saw a deer!

The girls have really grown since I saw them last. They are the best girls ever. So polite and so much fun to be around. We ate, shopped a little, and spent a lot of time in their amazing yard. I hope I get to see them a lot more often now that I know the drive is so quick!

15 weeks and 5 days

Help me - Baby Slings

I have been looking at the baby slings and am so overwhelmed! I think I like the moby wrap the best because it goes over both shoulders. I'm just not sure if I might like one of the Maya type ones better, or have even looked at patterns to make one. Can you ladies that have used these things let me know what you think? All of the baby stuff is so overwhelming for me!