BABY NATHAN IS HERE!!!!!!!!

Hey Everyone! I'm A MOMMY!!!!

Baby Nathan David Fullerton was born on Tuesday August 27th 2013 at 5:49pm

(38 weeks +3 days gestation)

He weighed 8lbs 2oz and was 20 inches long at birth.

When I looked into his face I instantly knew I was going to love him for the rest of my life...

Everyone is doing great!

We are getting used to the little third member of our family and enjoying every minute of it!

I will be writing a separate post about my labor story. We were discharged from the hospital on Thursday and are just taking it one day at a time, we're happy to say that Nathan seems to be a pretty patient baby so far!

So excited for the wild ride ahead!

Bump it: 37 Weeks

Hey everyone! I'm 37 weeks along!

OFFICIALLY FULL TERM!!!!!

I can't believe that I'm full term with this pregnancy. I feel like I have been waiting to say that for...well..9 months! Now this baby is pretty much fully cooked and just waiting to greet the world when he's ready. We are so excited to meet him!

He still is moving constantly and getting the hiccups daily. I was told by my buddy who delivered a few weeks ago that her son had hiccups in-utero a lot and now her little two week old still gets hiccups all the time. I think this little man will be the same way. 

Kyle and I have settled on a name and we are excited to let you all know what it is.....after the baby is born of course!

I have still been feeling pretty good but the exhaustion is finally kicking in. I have been **gasp** actually taking naps in the afternoon. On Friday I actually slept for almost three hours before dinner (anyone who knows me knows how weird and uncommon that is for me)

Well I do have some interesting news to share....

My doctor did my first cervical check this week at my regular appointment and.......

I'm already 4cm dilated and 100% effaced!!!

When he told me that I almost fainted from surprise! I seriously couldn't believe it especially since I have had ZERO contractions (even brackston hicks "practice" contractions, none, seriously!!) and no pain really at all! I almost didn't believe him and he had to repeat it a few times to get it to sink in. He's guessing that I won't make it to my due date of the 6th, which frankly is OK with me because I am ready to meet this baby!

My doctor was out of town this weekend so I took it really easy and didn't listen to any of my hypnosis tracks because I was nervous about going into active labor without him here (even though I have herd a lot of good things about the MD who covers him) so far so good...

I'll keep you guys posted, this baby could come at any time!

Bump it: 36 Weeks

Hey Everyone! I'm 36 Weeks along!

We are getting down to the wire now!!!!! AHHHHHHHHH

I'm constantly oscillating between feeling so excited and anxious to meet my son and feeling terrified about motherhood. Despite all of these crazy constantly changing feelings I am actually feeling somewhat ok about the labor. I am working hard on my hypnobabies training every day and that has helped me to feel a lot calmer going into this experience. I have no idea how I am going to feel when it's actually happening but I do feel like the hypnobabies tracks are helping me relax. 

The baby is getting so big that I don't feel "kicks" at all any more, I only feel him switching positions or moving from side to side. I guess he doesn't really have enough room to really kick me anymore. ;-) The little man weighs in at about 6 lbs and is about 18 inches long. He's pretty much fully "cooked" and is now working on gaining weight (at the rate of about one ounce a day) and finishing up the final details of his lung development. My total weight gain to date is 28lbs and I'm feeling OK about that. It's all for the baby after all...

We pretty much have everything together for the baby. I went on a huge target run for baby wipes and last min supplies and I ordered my diaper bag! I had settled on a ju-ju-be bag months ago but I wanted to wait until this week to order it because the fall patterns were coming out and I wanted to see them first before I decided which one to get. I decided to go with cobalt blossoms

I really love the pattern! I am so addicted to purses and I haven't gotten a new bag in almost a year. (hello withdrawal!) so since I needed to get a diaper bag anyway I figured I would splurge.

Had another doctors appointment this week, the first of my weekly visits. We're all pretty much just marking time until the baby comes. Patiently waiting (well sort of!)...

One more week until I'm term and then three weeks until my due date!! 

Bump it: 35 Weeks

Hey Everyone! I'm 35 Weeks Along!

I have been getting sooooo TIRED lately it's not even funny. I have totally lapsed on my workouts and I actually have been taking naps in the afternoon. I am slowly turning into "really pregnant lady" and it's getting pretty difficult for me to be ok with her. I feel guilty every day I go without a workout and every day I feel like I get nothing accomplished. What I need to do is stop listening to the little voice in my head making me feel guilty and instead listen to every other person on the planet who is practically screaming at me to REST!!! ENJOY THESE LAST FEW WEEKS!!!! PUT YOUR FEET UP FOR GOODNESS SAKES!!!!

I have been noticing that the baby has been getting hiccups practically every night. For awhile I thought it was just him punching me in the pelvis since I can only feel it on the lower right side of my hip but it was so quick and rhythmic that I'm guessing its hiccups (which apparently is pretty common, who knew?) 

We installed the car seat bases in the car this week and I started my cloth diaper stash. I am planning on doing a 80/20 hybrid system with the diapering (80% cloth and 20% disposable when traveling etc) and we'll see how it goes. I'll probably write another separate post on that soon because just getting ready for this has been quite the process. 

Only 2 weeks until I am full term!

Your favorite happy mama!

Bump it: 34 Weeks

Hey Everyone! I'm 34 Weeks Along!

This week was very productive in terms of preparing for this baby. For all practical purposes the nursery is completed and ready for use whenever this little one want to make his debut. There are only a few things left to do which will be done in the next few days (get the carseat bases installed in the car, pack the hospital bag etc...) and yes I will be posting pictures of the nursery soon!

Friday we went back to the hospital for our pre-admission interview. I filled out all of the paperwork for my registration and got all the paperwork for the hospital squared away so they don't bombard me with questions durning my birthing time (labor). Saturday Kyle and I had our child birthing preparation class which went really well. I am glad we had an opportunity to attend a live class since the hospital I am going to deliver at only offers an online class. This wasn't my first experience attending such a class since I was required to go to one for my Labor and Maternity Nursing class back in college but at that time I was only half paying attention (well maybe only a quarter...). Since now I am on deck to go into labor anytime starting at the end of this month (or earlier) I made sure to pay better attention this time!

I think the best part of the whole day was seeing Kyle really pay attention to what the doula was saying. I loved looking over and seeing him focusing, it looked like he was really processing the information (or at the very least faking it incredibly well haha) It was a long day chocked full of information but I think we both really got a lot out of it. She spent a lot of time talking about the appropriate time to go to the hospital which I appreciated since I want to stay home for as long as is safe (possible). We went over the stages of labor, pain medication options and steps for coping with contractions (hello hip squeeze for back labor!) I hope I remember the information when my birthing waves (contractions) kick in!

3 more weeks until I'm full term, YIKES!!!

Until next time I remain a happy (and excited!) mama to be!

DIY Nursery: Adjustable Crib Skirt with Box Pleat

I am really happy with how this crib skirt came out. It was a coordinating fabric that was grouped in with the fabric I chose for the Roman Shades I sewed for his window. I liked the pattern because instead of one complete skirt it is 4 separate pieces which are secured to the spring base for the mattress with velcro. It will make it very easy to adjust when I move the mattress lower when the little man starts trying to sit up and escape.

Here is the "naked" crib

and here it is with the skirt attached...

I do think it looks soooo much nicer don't you??

I am a little regretful that I spent the extra time sewing the box pleat into the front because the crib slats totally hide it, oh well...

Check out the pattern brought to us by {adorkable}duo here! 

DIY Nursery: Car Seat Cover

 There is a lady in my neighborhood who goes on walks past my unit several times a week with her little one and she had the cutest car cover for her car seat. When I see her walking past as I am sitting feet up on the coffee table watching Mistresses on my DVR with a bowl of cherries balanced on my ever growing belly I wonder "hmm that is so cute! I want one for my carseat! I wonder how much those cost?" Ya like 50 bucks.....WHA???????? Not only are there about 1 million things I can think of to spend 50 bucks on that don't include a glorified blanket but I knew I could sew one myself without spending oodles of $$.

I did a google search and found a fairly simple pattern for the cover and sewed it in about 4 hours over a few days. The pattern I found used a rounded corner style with frilled trim but I thought that was a little feminine so I decided to go with a mitered corner border in a lime green to match the inside of the carseat. The mitered corners were the hardest part of the whole thing so if I had skipped that I bet this project would have only taken me about 2.5 hours. I lined it on the inside with a nice fleecy fabric so it can work as a nice blanket in a pinch

I ended up purchasing the fabric online to save a few bucks and I was so happy to see that the lime green I picked matched the inside of the carseat perfectly! 

For those of you who are interested I used the pattern that was lovingly supplied by the ladies over at DIY Divas. Check it out here

I used this YouTube Video to learn how to sew the mitered corners for the border.

Now I can be strutting my stuff around the neighborhood with my nifty car seat cover when we go on walks together!

Bump it: 33 Weeks

Hey Everyone! I'm 33 Weeks Along!

I can't believe it, I'm over 8 months pregnant! When did that happen!?

This week we had another doctors appointment and everything seems to be checking out normally. My belly is measuring within the normal range and the baby's heartbeat usually is dialed in at around 140 BPM every time the doc checks it. Way back when I was thinking about getting a doppler so I could listen to it at home but most of them were about $75 and I just couldn't justify the expense; especially since now the baby moves so much that I don't even need to hear his heartbeat to know he's in there!

I got a giggle out of my doctor this week too when he asked me how I was sleeping:

Doc: So how are you sleeping?

Me: HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

::doc laughs::

He told me that one theory behind the lack of sleep is that your body is preparing for being up with a newborn. If you ask me I think my lack of sleep has more to do with the fact that I have a 4 lb little person River-Dancing on my bladder all night long, but I'm no expert ;-) He is sticking with my original due date of September 6th so we'll see what happens! I do have a feeling that he will be late but that's just a hunch. I asked him about going past 40 weeks and he said he has no problem going to 41 (good to hear) and he doesn't induce unless there is a strong medical reason to (even better to hear)

I finished my carseat cover this week and i'm really happy with how it came out! Watch for a post! I'm continuing my Hypnobabies training and starting next week I will start my maintenance therapy with a different hypnosis track each day until I go into labor. Or as hypnobabies puts it "until my birthing time begins!" Very zen-positive way of looking at it huh?

Until next time I remain a happy (but sleep deprived) mama to be!

Bump it: 32 Weeks

Hey Everyone! I'm 32 Weeks Along!

Sorry I have been MIA for the past couple of weeks I was buried alive under a pile of toxicology emergency flash cards in preparation for my Certified Emergency Nursing Exam which I took this week and PASSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank GOD that is over with! I am so happy to have that done with but even more happy that I decided to go ahead and get certified. I know that having that credential will come in handy when I decide to go back to work again. 

Pregnancy wise this week has gone by pretty easily. Except for the fact that a full night sleep; well sleep for more than 3 hours at a time, is becoming more and more of a rarity I'm still feeling pretty good. I've been keeping up with my exercising but have found that I need to work out literally as soon as I wake up in the morning. The likelihood of me working out goes down exponentially in relation to the time of day. If I make it to 12 noon or later the chances of my exercising are pretty much absolutely zero! Oh well. I guess I can afford to take a few days off to let my body rest right?

Next MD appointment is next week. The nursery is still in shambles but I have been hard at work sewing some projects for the nursery and I hope to have most of them completed in the next three weeks. It will give me something to do since I didn't die of suffocation under all of those index cards :-)

Until next time I remain a happy mama to be!

Hypnobabies Week 3

This post is a review of my third class using the Hypnobabies at home study course for hypnosis in labor. I finished class three a while ago but haven't had a chance to blog about it yet. The theme of this week's class was "birthing choices" mostly revolving around interventions typically used in hospital birth. They lay out most of the interventions that you typically see in a hospital setting and explain the risks and benefits of each. Since this is a course which is meant for women who are seeking a natural birth it is a somewhat biased approach against the interventions. Having said that I do think the way they present the information is a little more tolerable than other "pro-natural delivery" people I have talked to or things I have read. I have come into contact with people and literature that literally try to scare women into following their advice on natural labor and advocate for women to "demand" and "refuse" and "don't trust the hospital staff." Scare tactics like that really leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Speaking as a medical professional myself I have a different perspective on hospital birth than the average person. I understand that a medical focused model is what I am going to get in a hospital. I understand the rationale for many of the things that they do and why they do it. All that being said I do still want as natural a labor as possible with as little interventions as possible. That is the best choice for me but that doesn't mean that I don't want access to advanced care should something change (which it does). When you walk in the door not wanting to work with the staff and your doctor you are setting yourself up for difficulty. To be honest these women who honestly don't want ANYTHING and are not willing to compromise shouldn't be giving birth in a hospital. You have the option of a birthing center or a home birth, both of which are viable options if you do it the right way and keep it as safe as possible. Ok i'll get off my soapbox now....

I am planning on having a written birth plan for the nurses and my OB (we have already talked about this) but I understand that birth is a dynamic and constantly changing experience and I am willing to bend and flex as need be. The readings of Class # 3 helped me start to think about how I want to word my birth plan and they stress working WITH the hospital team and that THEY ARE NOT THE ENEMY (Amen!)

The hypnosis tracks were

Creating Anesthesia
&
Deepening

I am loving the time out I take every day to listen to my tracks. It's 30 min of total relaxation and I think it's working, I'm feeling more and more relaxed each time I do it. Next week is when my "birth partner" a.k.a. Kyle will get integrated into the process. I have given him the head's up that it's coming; he seems skeptical but he knows it's important to me so he said he'll do whatever needs doing.

Good man!

I'll let you know how it's progressing in my next hypnobabies post!

for more information on hypnobabies check out their website here

Bump it: 31 Weeks

Hey Everyone! I'm 31 weeks along!

This week was a tough one. It kind of caught me off guard since I feel that I've been taking most of my pregnancy symptoms in stride. However I was introduced to a wonderful new (for me) side effect this week:

uncontrollable crying (ugh...)

It happened the first time when I had a setback while studying for my CEN (certified emergency nursing) exam. I scored lower than I thought on a practice exam and as soon as I graded it I started bawling and I couldn't stop for 15 minutes. By the time I finally got myself together I had even forgotten what I even was crying about. I remember thinking sometime during this event that I wanted to stop crying, but I seriously couldn't. When I told my mom about it she wisely told me "oh THAT'S the baby" to which I replied "ooohhhhhhhhhh." I honestly had forgotten that way back in my first trimester I read that this was a symptom of pregnancy but since It never was a problem for me before this week I had forgotten about it. 

There were a few instances during the week where I got really weepy for no reason which to be quite honest I'm finding really freaking annoying. I hope that this doesn't continue for the next 9 weeks otherwise I'm in trouble... However the good people at Kleenex will rejoice.

The rest of the week (besides all the crying) was very enjoyable. Kyle was off of school for his mid summer break so we had a  lot of time to spend together. We spent the 4th volunteering at our Church's hot dog booth at the downtown parade and festival then we BBQ'd with our neighbors. Next week we take our hospital tour!!! 9 weeks to go until we meet our little man!

Until next time I remain a happy (but sometimes weepy) mama to be!

Bump it: 30 Weeks

Hey Everyone! I'm 30 weeks along!

I can't believe that I have made it to 30 weeks. In many ways the time has gone by so fast I can't believe I'm only 7 weeks away from being term with this pregnancy!! 

I have had so many thoughts and feelings running through my mind over the last week. I am a little nervous (well actually a lot terrified) about parenthood but at the same time I am so excited to meet my son and to be a mom. I find myself day dreaming about what he's going to look like and what his personality will be like.

I know many of you are anxious about what our name choice is for this baby boy and I gotta be honest with you; I am still on the fence. We have narrowed it down to two choices and I fluctuate between which one I like more by the hour. Today before dinner I was convinced that I was sold on option 1 then by the time the dishes were in the dishwasher I was thinking more about option 2. I have always been so indecisive about everything; I can't even decide what I was to eat at a restaurant! How am I supposed to choose a name for this kid???? Kyle likes both, I think we might just wait until he's born to see what he looks like. 

And no; I'm not telling what the two options are ;-) You're going to have to wait right along with me until this baby comes!

I had another doctor's appointment today and the baby's heart rate was a strong 150 BPM and the baby's head is currently facing down (right on top of my bladder...joy joy). I'm pretty sure it's too early for him to go head down and stay there but I hope he does do that when the time comes. My husband was a breech baby and even though I want this child to be just like his daddy; he can skip that part please :-)

Until next time I remain a happy mama to be!

Bump it: 29 Weeks

Hey everyone! I'm 29 Weeks along!

This past week I have been knee deep in studying for my Certified Emergency Nursing Exam which I am scheduled to take in a few weeks. I have been drilling myself with practice questions and review modules online and it's been a nice way to keep in touch with that nursing part of myself. It's an advanced credential in ER nursing that I want to have on my resume when I try to go back to work after baby!

 I am determined to have all of my nursing certifications renewed and current by the time the baby comes. So far my basic life support, advanced life support, and trauma nursing credential are current through 2015. I am taking my pediatric advanced life support in two weeks and I'll renew my RN license in August. My goal is to go back to work part time when we move next summer; by that time the baby will be 8-9 months and I can go back to work (most likely nights) and kyle can be home with the baby. I have always wanted to by a stay-at-home mom when my child was young but the more time goes on the more I miss working and miss ER nursing. I am so happy that I will be able to go back and hopefully make my schedule flexible so I can be home with the baby too. 

The pregnancy is progressing normally and the baby is moving more and more. Now the baby is big enough that when he's rolling over I can feel it (so WEIRD!!!). I am feeling hungry ALL THE TIME and I'm seriously considering installing a revolving door in my bathroom. Two nights ago I rolled into my back in my sleep and woke up with the worse leg cramps EVER. The weight of my uterus cut off my venous blood return to my legs (ouch!) and caused massive cramps. 

Ah the joys of pregnancy...

7.5 months next week. I can't believe it! 

We are starting to put the nursery together, watch for nursery posts!

Until Next time I remain a happy mama to be!

Bump it: 28 Weeks

Hey Everyone! I'm 28 Weeks along! 

I had my last monthly appointment with my OB this week. Now I switch to bi-weekly appointments for awhile until my last month I think then I go to weekly appointments until I pop. My heartburn is still as fierce as ever but one of my friend suggested using oranges as a natural remedy. When I feel it coming on I peel an orange and smell the rind; I know it sounds kinda weird but IT WORKS! (thanks Kathryn!) I tried it for the first time yesterday and it seriously helped my stomach. Less TUMS that way I guess.

The little man has been moving around and kicking a lot! There were several times this week when I would wake up in the middle of the night to pee and then he decides it's time to have a dance party; needless to say it takes me a little while to get back to sleep after that!

At my appointment I started talking to my provider about my desires to attempt a natural, unmedicated childbirth and I was happy to find that he was totally on board with that. I told him that since I am a medical professional myself I understand that sometimes interventions are necessary and I will totally bend and flex if things change, however If I am ok and the baby is ok then I wish to avoid interventions and see how I do. He was very receptive to that which I was very happy about. I feel that if we enter this working as a team with mutual respect I will have a much higher chance of getting what I want out of my birthing experience (maybe, it's up to the baby not me after all.... :-) )

I'm still working on my cable knit baby blanket and next week Kyle and I are going to start to tackle the nursery (yikes!). Otherwise things are business as usual with the pregnancy. I consider myself very lucky that these weekly reports are boring and repetitive because it means mom and baby are doing great! 

Until next time I remain a happy mama to be!

Hypnobabies Week 2

So this week (27 Weeks knocked up) is my second week of my at home study course on hypnosis for childbirth called hypnobabies

The Title of Class 2 is "Having a Great Birth Starts with Staying Healthy and Low Risk"

The workbook reading this week was centered around healthy pregnancy diet and exercise. It reinforced some things and introduced me to some new concepts that I am planning on incorporating into my last trimester (i.e. more protein in my diet). My exercise regimen has been waining over the last several weeks due to my own laziness (If I must be honest) but I have been trying to be diligent about doing my prenatal exercises at least three times a week as well as going for walks as often as possible after dinner with Kyle.

There were also some readings about hypnosis as well as an introduction to the self hypnosis skill used in this program. Each day the program recommends that I listen to a hypnosis track as well as my "joyful pregnancy affirmations" track. 

The hypnosis tracks I listened to this week were

Day 1: Learning Self - Hypnosis

Day 2: Deepening

I have loaded each CD onto iTunes and put them on my phone in individual playlists to make it easy to listen to. They stress that you should NEVER listen to them while driving (or operating heavy machinery haha) and I and understand why. Usually I am so relaxed about 10 minutes in that I can't imagine focusing enough to drive a car. Each track is about 30 min so I have gotten into the habit of making myself comfortable on our spare couch in the early afternoon and take a "time out" for 1/2 hour to listen to my track. For the first day or so I just focused on listening to the suggestions and trying not to take it too seriously. The program emphasizes that it will work for you in the way that is best for you. So even if you're not feeling "hypnotized" your inner mind is still benefiting from the positive messages.

(ya ok....)

All the more reason to just relax and see what happens.....

 Kyle took a pic of one of my sessions this week :-) I just need a kitty sized pair of headphones for Alex!

I haven't really felt any of of "hypno-anesthesia" yet that they talk about but I HAVE noticed that my general attitude surrounding my pregnancy has really improved. I no longer think about my pregnant body as fat or ugly or think about my birthing time as scary nearly as often as I used to. I really believe that those attitudes are due to hypnobabies. I hope that continues!

Next week I'll learn about "creating anesthesia" 

Read my post on my first week of hypnobabies here

Bump it: 27 Weeks

Hey Everyone! I'm 27 Weeks along!

This pregnancy just seems to by flying by! I was looking through my flickr pregnancy photostream and It's unbelieveable to me how much my body has changed in the last few months! 

Remember this? 

This was one of my first belly shots, 8 weeks! That was over 4 months ago!

Here's a side by side

8 Weeks	27 Weeks

 I can't believe how much my body has changed since then. Even though there are times when I don't love my new body as much as I should Kyle still makes me fell radiantly beautiful and I know that I'll be that 8 week size lady again! My body is now doing exactly what it needs to do to make sure my son is developing healthy and strong. Even though I am trying to enjoy every minute of this pregnancy there are definitely a moment or two when I feel excited about eventually getting my body back :-)

Things this week have been pretty uneventful. My heartburn still flares up now and again, usually about 30 minutes after I eat. The annoying part is it will happen regardless of what I eat. I can eat chili with gallons of hot sauce and I get the same heartburn I would get if I eat a banana, no better or worse. It's kinda weird since I was taught that you can really help heartburn by changing your diet but maybe pregnancy is a special circumstance; or maybe it's just my pregnancy that's a special circumstance haha. 

I have another doctor's appointment next Tuesday and I'm going to start talking to my doc about my thoughts about how I want my labor to go. Even though I am seeing an OB-GYN he is very pro-natural childbirth. I have met several women who have had him assist their births and and the only c-sections (in the women I met) were for legit medical reasons (i.e. pre-eclampsia). I know that there is always a chance that I might need a c-section as well and if that happens, that's ok with me but if I am progressing normally and the little man is doing well then I'm going to do everything I can to try and birth naturally. 

Thanks for tuning in!

Until Next time I remain a Happy mama to be!

Bump it: 26 Weeks & Hypnobabies Week 1

Hey everyone! I'm 26 Weeks along!

Hey all! Everything is still progressing normally with this pregnancy, I feel so blessed! The baby is moving around more and more each day; it's incredible to feel someone else moving around inside me. At first he was only moving at night but it seems like I'm noticing a kick or two during the day as well. I love feeling those kicks; I feel like it's the baby's way of letting me know that everything is going well! "All's good in here Mama!" My belly is getting bigger but no stretch marks yet ::fingers crossed:: I have been slathering my belly every day after my shower with Burt's Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter in my vain attempt to prevent stretch marks. So far I have been lucky but I realize that in reality it's a crap shoot and based a lot more on genetics and less on how many pounds of cocoa butter I apply to my body at any given time. My belly button is still an innie (but a really shallow one); I figured that I would certainly have an outie by now, I know by the end of the month it will have popped out :-)

This week I started my self hypnosis at home study coure called Hypnobabies (c) 

I had never herd of self hypnosis much less hypnosis for pregnancy before I was introduced to this program from another Navy Wife. She told me that a natural childbirth was really important to her and that this program really helped make that a reality for her. I was immediately intrigued and ordered the home study course from Amazon. I figured I would give it a try and at least it would give me some "tools in my toolbox" for my labor. Best case senario it helps a lot and I get a baby; worst case senario it doesn't work at all and I get a baby, either way I don't lose! 

The course is divided into 6 parts with 5 classes lasting one week each and a 6th "Maintenance Class" that I continue until I deliver. I got a huge packet in the mail with lots of paperwork and the workbook and 6 CD packet (shown in the picture). Each week you have to read the lesson and each day listen to the CD "assignments" 

The Tracks for week one are

1. Your Special Safe Place

2. Easy, Comfortable Childbirth

They also recommend that each day you listen to another track; Joyful Pregnancy Affirmations which is a 30 min track filled with positive messages about pregnancy and childbirth. It has really helped me feel much more positive about my pregnant body and my ability to give birth naturally.

So far I read the week one portion of the workbook and listened to each track once. It is actually a nice routine to get into each day because each day for 30 minutes I can check out completely and just focus on myself and be completely relaxed. I think I'm going to enjoy this course

I'll update you as I move through the program

Check out the Hypnobabies website here

Ok, that's enough of my rambling!

Until next time I remain a happy mama to be!

Bump it: 25 Weeks

Hey Everyone! I'm 25 weeks along!

Howdy! I'm sure you realize that I'm back home and back in front of the nursery closet for my weekly photo shoot. I apologize that I didn't get any true "bump photos" while I was away but things were just so crazy that in all honesty I completely forgot about them :-)

In really good news this baby has finally started kicking! It really started (or I really started noticing it)  while I was home in Rhode Island. There were several instances late at night that I would be laying in bed and I would feel a distinct "kick" from the baby. There were a few times when I would pull my shirt up and I could actually see my belly shaking! Unfortunately he was only active late at night so on one else really had an opportunity to feel it. When he gets bigger and really starts moving around enough that I can take a video of my belly I will post it up for you all to see!

When I was traveling I also experienced my first illness of this pregnancy. It was only a cold but I really got hit hard with a runny nose and dry cough. I attribute it to being in the airplane with all the recycled air and the constantly changing weather of New England. I didn't realize how much of a bummer it was to not be able to take any medications when you are pregnant! I usually get a mild to moderate case of sinusitis at least once a year and I usually just grab a box of Advil Cold & Sinus and call it a day. This time I just had to suffer through it but luckily it only lasted about a week. 

Every day this week it seemed like I had a box on my front stoop from amazon! I can't tell you enough how thankful I am for everyone generosity in helping us get ready for baby!

Things keep progressing wonderfully in my pregnancy, I can't wait to be a mom!

Until next time I remain a happy mama to be!

Bump it: 24 Weeks

Hey everyone! I'm 24 weeks along!!

RI Baby Shower!!!!

This week I had a great time visiting with friends and family in Rhode Island! The week ended with a fabulous baby shower co-hosted by my mom (blue on my left) and my mother in law (blue cardigan on my right). It was so much fun and I got to see a lot of wonderful friends and other mothers that I don't get to see all that often. It was a "bring a book" baby shower with a winnie-the-pooh theme and I was truly overwhelmed with how generous everyone was! I came home with a second suitcase full of baby supplies and my mom and I packed up 7 USPS flat rate boxes that shipped out the day I flied home. 

My friend Haley came with her 7 month old son Henry and it was so much fun being able to visit with him. I have to be honest I have been going out of my way to spend time with other mothers and as such have been exposed to more babies in an attempt to get more comfortable interacting with little kiddos. I have some limited experience working with kids at the hospital but I figure only having experience with kids when they are sick and pissed off isn't really very accurate. The point is little Henry was such a little sweetheart and it makes me excited to see my son smile at me the way Henry was smiling at his mama.

Anyway here are a few more pics...

My Aunt Claudia had this 3-tier diaper cake made for me. It was covered in toy rings, toys and baby spoons. I was quite a showpiece!!

My mother-in-law Lynn was responsible for the yummy desserts. We had snicker-doodle, lemon and chocolate cupcakes!!

she also quilted this for the baby, what a multi talented lady!!

I had such a nice time at my shower, and I think my little baby enjoyed the food too!

Until next time I remain a happy mama to be!

Bump it: 23 Weeks & Kelly's graduation!!!

Hey Everyone! I'm 23 weeks along!

I know I know you can't even see the bump at all but this is literally the only pic I got of myself the whole week,
baby bump fail........

So this week has been pretty busy. I had my spring concert with the Monterey Peninsula College Wind Ensemble which went pretty well. I was nervous because since the group is short clarinets my teacher was hired to play for the performance; and ended up sitting right next to me! She did have a lot of nice things to say though which was very reassuring. 

I had my first experience playing in a small wind group too which was really fun! I played in a sextet (that's six musicians - in this particular instance it was a flue, oboe, contrabass clarinet, two french horns and a clarinet, played by yours truly!) We played movement II of Sextet, by Carl Reinecke. You can listen to the rough recording taken by Kyle's iphone here. Hope you enjoy!

The next day we were off to Gettysburg PA to watch my sister in law graduate from college! (when did Kyle get that OLD? I however haven't aged a day....) It was a wonderful weekend full of Fullerton family fun. We got to meet my brother in law's girlfriend for the first time too; she was really nice and fun!

Here are a few other pics from the ceremony!

The graduate and her proud brothers!

Nice looking family!

So pregnancy wise I am still anxiously awaiting some movement; I'm pretty sure I'm feeling *something* late at night but it's so hard to tell if that is the baby or if that is just me wanting it to be the baby. Ugh, I know that it's hard to differentiate when you are a first time mom but seriously little boy give your mama a good kick; she's asking for it!!!

Until next time I remain a happy mama to be!