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!