Preparing for Birth

I know I've got a good way to go, but I'm already starting to get mentally prepared for this process. I delivered both girls without pain meds and as naturally as possible (we used a little pitocin right at the end with Aimee). My plan is to have a natural birth again this time. I'm looking into a self-hypnosis program called Hypnobabies. I'm really excited about it. Both previous births were wonderful...but I would definitely call them "difficult"...each for different reasons. Though I never found the pain beyond management (and no, I do not have a high pain threshold). I've been reading a lot of birth stories by moms who used Hypnobabies, and they are so wonderful. If anyone wants to read beautiful, empowering, natural, birth stories, you should check out this website. Most of the stories follow hypnobabies theories in helping mom-to-be avoid scary stories. Birth is treated as a natural process and not a medical procedure. Generally "pain" is a "four-letter word" and is written p**n or described as "pressure", you don't go into "labor" but you experience a "birthing time", and there are no "contractions"...they are "pressure surges". Just focusing on these little things has helped in my mindset and anxiety over giving birth again. Now I just want to be able to get my home-study program so I can start really practicing. This is going to be my best birth yet.

Snow day pictures!

Betty is a Sunbeam!

Ok, so almost a month late I'm getting around to this, but here is a picture of Betty on her first day as a sunbeam.

She was so excited to get to go to Primary like a big girl! She has been doing so great in there and is having fun learning new songs. I'm so proud of her!

Stuck in the snow

Well, we got snow on Sunday. What a fun day! By the time we got out to play we had enough snow to build an 8 foot snowman on our deck! We even pulled the sled out and went sledding on the driveway. I'm going to try to get pictures uploaded later today because it was so much fun! Now, however, we are stuck. My in-laws had chains for their car, so Chris and his mom can get to work, but our car is not going anywhere on that slick driveway. We have a playdate scheduled for tomorrow that we are really looking forward to...I hope we get enough melting that we can make it...

Becoming "The Belly"!

Heidi no longer exists. She was once here and people talked to her about interesting things like life, work, design, real estate, books, marriage, games, dessert...But Heidi is no more. The only one left is "The Belly!" The extent of questions asked of "The Belly" : "How are you feeling?" "When are you due?" "Are you sure there aren't twins in there?" "Is it a girl or a boy?" "Do you have a name for her yet?" These are the only questions that seem appropriate for "The Belly"...yet, I feel that Heidi is still hiding in here somewhere...waiting...for any questions addressed to her and not "The Belly"...She is not offended that "The Belly" is here...She doesn't mind waiting for "The Belly" to answer "It's" questions. But she is getting a little lonely in here...

It's done...

Well, after an exhausting weekend, we are completely moved out of our house. It was frustrating to only have a few hours every day to be in the house because of the lights being off, but we were able to get it done. My parents helped and took a lot of stuff to their house to store, and some good friends helped and stored some more stuff, and Chris' parents helped and we brought everything else back here.

How sad it was to walk through my house for the last time. Seeing all the projects we had done, and personalizing. And also looking at all the projects I had planned or unfinished. In one bedroom there were 2 small closets and I was going to turn one into a little reading nook and paint a tree in it. It was all going to be African savanna themed...I never even got around to painting that room. Then the room we had just turned into my office. We'd painted it such a nice soft blue that was perfect for me right now. And my girls "princess room"...we did pull down and keep the light fixture. We kept the one in the dinning room, too. I'd found it at a garage sale for $2, and LOVE it...I'd never find another like it, and someone else would just throw it out probably. I couldn't live with that. I also have this blue shelf that we hung in the yurt when we lived there. I'd kept it meaning to hang it somewhere someday. Chris wanted to leave it, and my father in law was also keen on trashing it...glad I'm pregnant and emotional cause I cry easily right now...especially over something that important. The shelf is now hanging on a support beam way at the ceiling of the shop and I plan to take it when we move.

Now all our stuff is in piles in our room, and the girl's/play room, and the downstairs almost blocking the entrance. My job is now to go through everything. Decide what we need out and in drawers, what we need to keep but can pack, what we can get rid of...and I need to get on it and get it done as fast as I can. I can't believe how much stuff we've accumulated!

Well, off to "phase 1" of sorting...cleaning my room, folding and doing laundry, finding room for the crib in here, and making room for the rest of the project...I think I need some ice cream...

Moving day :(

So, our house is no longer ours...and tomorrow we will be getting the last of the stuff out. We had it staged, so we will be moving all the furniture and some other stuff...mostly it is all moved except the kitchen and linens. This makes me sad that tomorrow could be my last time inside my family's first home. Anyway, if anyone has an extra set of hands tomorrow and want to stop by we wouldn't say no to the help. I'm hoping that we can have it done tomorrow, but the power is out there so we only have until dark and Chris works until 1pm. I'm planning to go over by late morning to start packing.

My sweet Aimee

So, today I was feeling a little blue, tired and unmotivated. The girls were playing nice so I decided to lay down for a few minutes to rest and see if I'd feel better. Aimee came in and asked for something...it wasn't an immediate need, so I asked if she would wait until I'd rested a bit. I told her I was feeling sad. She said "I can cuddle you!" At first I wasn't interested because she is an awfully wiggly cuddler, but I decided to take her up on it. She snuggled up in my arms and lay so still we both fell asleep, and Betty played quietly by herself in the other room...for 2 hours! What a refreshing nap that was. After we woke up, I asked Aimee if her nap was good and if she liked cuddling with mom. She said "Yeah, and I liked cuddling with the baby too." LOL. She is going to be the best big sister!

Update...

I've updated my blog so anyone can post comments to it. So, if anyone has been reading and wanting to post comments, please do! We love to see who is reading.

Selfish me!

So, in my post last night, I was so worried about how *I* would do today. I didn't even think how this was going to effect the girls! How terrible am I?! Betty seems to be OK, but Aimee is having a very hard time. She is grouchy and we have spent a good while cuddling with her in tears because she misses her dad. :( What a blessing it has been for them to get the last while to become so close to him. I hope they are able to adjust soon, but that they can continue to feel so close to and depend on their dad.

Yay for employment!

Tomorrow Chris starts training for his new job! Woohoo! It's very exciting to go from where we've been, with no income for so long, to looking forward to a regular paycheck. And it's in a field where he can and does see himself for long term. I'll let him write more about job specifics when/if he wants.

Me...well, I'm a little nervous about being the full time parent again. I'm not giving up my career at all, but I am the one with the flexible schedule that I'm going to plan on being more part-time. Last year we switched to Chris being at home...then I was sick and he took on full responsibility of family and house. So it's been almost a year since I've been the primary caregiver. And for the last few months, Chris and I have worked together at everything...and honestly, I've been letting him take on most of the responsibility out of habit. I'm worried that I won't be able to keep up with two little girls. Or that I'll be lonely with out Chris around to laugh and talk with. Or that I will simply get so stressed out at it all and spend the day yelling at my kids. It seems such a strange thing to feel stressed about; being home with my girls. But I am not sure how I'm going to do. I'm sure I'll get it before too long...I'll just have to take it one day at a time.

Almost 22 weeks

Today we went to an appointment with the midwife. The girls got to go so they could hear the heartbeat. They were so excited and cute. They are both going to be such good big sisters. Betty keeps saying she wants the baby to come out so she can hold her. Aimee is a little more patient, but is excited to be able to feel and see her move in my tummy. They both even have name suggestions for "Baby C.". Betty wants to name her Elise, and Aimee thinks she should be Pearl. We keep telling them we'll think about it, but mom and dad get to choose her name.

I'm healthy and baby looks great. Measuring right where I should too. Everything was well within the normal range on my ultrasound and blood tests. They changed my due date from May 15 to May 13. Because of my habit of going well over my due date, I'm going to keep it around the 20th in my head. I even got a friend to take my first belly shot today.

IT'S GONE!!

So, I generally take some time in the evenings to do "belly time" with my baby. It's a chance for me to sit back, talk to Chris, and pay attention to all the wiggling my little one is doing right now. I do this in my bedroom so I'll have a bare belly and use it as a chance to put lotions on it or whatever. Last night, when I looked down I noticed that my belly button disappeared! It was there the day before, but now all I have is a round expanse with a pink dot!

Reading Lessons

Aimee's goal this year is to learn to read. Sometimes she amazes me at how fast she picks things up. Today we started working on vowels. I've found the best way to work on things is to start talking about them when we are waiting for other things to happen. So during breakfast we talked about different types of letters. I told them what the vowels were then had them repeat it with me a few times. With only a few times through, I had Aimee try by herself...and she had them down! A few more times and Betty could do it to. Now we just need to keep working on them. They are so smart.

New Year Resolutions (Week 1)

My Resolutions

• Track the food I eat (eating what I should will come later this year)
• Exercise weekly (M-W-F strength work, walking every day I can) and track my exercise
• Go to bed before 11pm and be up at 8am (moving that earlier as the year progresses)
  
• Do a weekly meal plan and stick to it
• Read my scriptures daily (Personal study for me is the New Testament this year)
  
• Weekly Family Home Evening
• Attend the Temple at least 6 times this year

I think there is some kind of conspiracy among the gods of resolutions. They set out to test you the moment you start. Here we are getting sick and still in the holiday celebration mode..making exercise and meal planning very hard. I'm not expecting perfection of myself. I'm only focusing on a few of these right now and plan to work on others as I get better. My overall goal for the year is to become a more disciplined person...doing what I know I need to do, when I need to do it, and following through on what I say I will get done on time. My main focus this month is reading my scriptures most days, tracking my food and exercise, and getting to bed on time.

So, how am I doing on day 5???? Food tracking is going well. I don't hit my target calories most days and I could definitely be eating better (chocolate from my stocking first thing this morning probably wasn't the wisest choice....), but I'm keeping a record, so that's my start. Exercise...well, I track it when I do it...now I just need to do it more often to keep track. Actually I've done pretty well this week. Only 1 walk, but exercise 2 days, and I think I can get some in today. For only being on day 5 that's not too bad. Now, for getting to bed on time....I think this will be more of a struggle then I thought. I haven't hit 11pm yet...most nights it's after 12 and last night we didn't get in bed until 2:30! Needless to say, I am not getting up on time, either. This goal is going to be something I really have to work on. Especially now that I'm getting into my 3rd trimester and have to wake so frequently in the night to turn over or go to the bathroom.

So, there are my goals...feel free to ask me how I'm doing whenever you talk to me. I like the idea of being accountable for these and the more people know the more I feel compelled to follow through.

Things to do today...

So, here I am sitting at my computer in my pajamas....and it's almost noon! How pathetic am I? It's not like I don't have anything to do today, either. We need to...

• Unload the Landcruiser
• Go to the other house
• Mop the kitchen and dinning room
• Sort out what we are keeping
• Load the Landcruiser
• Set up my computer station(so I can stop stealing Chris')
• Get out an important email for work (should have been done yesterday)
• Grocery shopping
  

Then the everyday stuff of

• Getting dressed
• Feeding kids
• Bathing kids
• Playing with kids
• Music lessons
• Reading with Aimee
• Exercising

Yet, here I sit...on the computer...in my pajamas....I'm pathetic lol

The name conundrum

So, as many of you know, we are expecting our 3rd little girl on May 15th. Before we were pregnant with the first two, we knew what we would call them. So, with them, as soon as the ultrasound tech said "Looks like a girl" we were all "oh, look! There's Aimee!" or "There's Betty!" This time, though, we have no ideas. We don't even have a list of "maybe" names. Girls names just sound dumb right now. And it seems weird to have this person growing inside me and not know who she is. I guess we still have several months to figure it out...and worse case, we wait till she can talk and let her name herself. lol

Hello to 2008!

Looking forward, this is going to be a big year for our family. We have lots of changes planned with a new baby on the way, a move to a new state, a new job and career for Chris, and our oldest starting kindergarten! With all of that, plus the fast changes that happen in a family with small kids, I thought a blog would be a good way to keep up to date with our friends and family.

You won't see many pictures here yet, because of a slow internet connection, but more will come as things get settled.

So, HELLO to 2008 and all the many exciting changes and adventures it will bring!