Inquiring

I have been doing some research on breast pumps.  I have been looking at the Medela In Style, Ameda Purely Yours and the Avent Isis IQ Duo.  I would love any info, opinions, tips and recommendations!

Too Good Not To Share

Dr. Bronner's Soap is AMAZING.  It is expensive, so I will only buy it when I can find a really good deal but it is extremely concentrated so a little goes a very long way.  Here is a trailer for a documentary about the man behind the soap masterpiece.

I'm curious, has anyone used it?  If so, what did you think?

On Being Pregnant

The latest pregnancy update includes:

a ton of new hair growth, right where my forehead ends and my hairline begins

some flutters/bubbles in my stomach (I'm assuming is the baby moving around, or maybe not)

its getting a little harder to do normal things like bend down

thankfully I'm not so tired but I still need more sleep than usual (9-10 or 11 hours is best)

I saw this somewhere, it made me laugh.

I am currently reading Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way by Susan McCutcheon.  It is a great book and I've gotten a lot out of it.

We find out what we are having one week from today on June 12th!  We will keep you posted.

Personal Applications

"Feel your heart beating.  Feel it pumping through your chest.  Duh-dum.  Duh-dum.  Duh-dum.  About once every second, 60 times every minute, 360 times every hour, it beats without your awareness.  Feel it beating right now, pumping away as if you don't have a care in the world.  

Your heart is a muscle, squeezing blood in and out, circulating it throughout your body and brain.  It is also a muscle that is wearing out.  This very second, as it continues to beat, it is slowing, inevitably, wearing out.  Each of us is allocated only a certain number of heartbeats before the heart just stops beating altogether.  

Now think about all the heartbeats that you give away when you're bored and wile away time as if you have all the heartbeats in the world.  But you don't.  Maybe a hundred left. Or a thousand.  Or even a million.  But the number is finite.  

So the question remains: What do you intend to do with the precious few heartbeats you have left?  

What choices are you making to become more intensely involved in living and to accept  responsibility for your decisions?"

-Jeffrey A. Kottler & David S. Shepherd in Introduction to Counseling, Voices From the Field

This is an idea and a question that has been on my mind since I moved here to San Francisco.  Im still in the process of answering it and most of the time I feel rather stumped.  The other day, Timmy asked me what my perfect day looked like and I couldn't imagine past breakfast.  Im on a quest to figure out how to decide what to do with my life, day by day and how to make it worthwhile.

More Thoughts on Pregnancy

My dreams have been frequent and vivid since I got pregnant.  I am dreaming about people I haven't seen for years!  Im dreaming about kids I babysit, or used to babysit 15 years ago.  For awhile another weird common theme in my dreams was water.  Often I was by an ocean or in the ocean or in a swimming pool.  I dream and remember my dreams almost every night and often have several dreams in one night.  

My pants don't fit anymore.  Even rubber-banding them together leaves me feeling uncomfortable.  Shirts are starting to not be long enough.  Maternity clothes, here I come!

Once I start eating, I don't want to stop.  I just wanna eat, eat, eat!  I haven't had too many actual cravings...just random ones that happen infrequently (licorice and deli sandwiches).  One night Timmy came to the rescue and took me to Molly Stone's deli.  I had never heard of it before but it hit the spot and we ate our sandwiches while watching the sunset.  It is one of my favorite memories of living in San Francisco.

 A few things always taste good to me: eggs, yogurt, tomatoes and red, yellow or orange "bell" peppers. Oh and most fruit esp grapes, oranges and strawberries usually sound good too.

I just finished the book Hypnobirthing: The Mongan Method.  It was a great book and I got a lot out of it.  I'll probably read it again before November.  P.S Thanks for all of your book suggestions.  I went straight to amazon and ordered them!

I am making a list of stuff I think we will need for when the baby gets here.  There is SO much baby stuff out there, and it is expensive.  I've been semi obsessed with trying to figure out what stuff we will need and what stuff I can just get cheap/used versus what stuff I should get nice and new.  So far we have a crib, baby bjorn (baby carrier), and a pack n play--mainly for traveling.  Luckily a lot of people sell their gently used baby items so it was easy to find that stuff.  

I am still very sensitive and emotional.  I already am anyway and pregnancy has completely amplified that!  My poor husband!

As of last night, I developed a back ache.  I hope its just cause I slept funky and not a permanent fixture...ouchie!

All in all I am loving it.  It has been a wondrous and blessed experience.    

  

Experiences in Pregnancy

I want to keep track of my experience being pregnant.  I'd like to think I will just write it in a journal but I am not the best at journal writing.  Lest I don't record it anywhere, at all, the blog seems to be the answer!

I am 15 weeks pregnant.  My due date is Nov 3rd.

In list form this is what I have experienced.

In the beginning:  first 3 months

sore stomach muscles (like I had been doing sit-ups)

a lot of restlessness at night

tired, tired, tired

 some nausea in the afternoon and evenings (nothing major)

hard time eating anything because nothing appealed to me

Now:

so thirsty all the time

much bigger appetite

still tired

hips ache at night periodically

did i mention thirsty?

very sensitive, i cry at the drop of a hat

We just finished our Bradley Method birthing class.  Our instructor was amazing.  I learned volumes of information about pregnancy and birth, it was great!  I would like any suggestions about helpful pregnancy books!  

It's True

Having a child is surely the most beautifully irrational act that two peoplein love can commit.

-- Bill Cosby

We are pregnant!

What a great day its been. We just went in for our first doctor's appointment. We were able to see the baby and hear the heartbeat! It was one of the greatest moments in our lives so far. We both loved seeing the little baby move around inside. It became all the more real!

I was telling Timmy that I could have watched the screen all day long. His reply, "I wonder what an ultra sound machine would cost."

We cant wait for the next time we get a little peek!