Birthing Classes

On Monday, we had our first birthing class. We have chosen to go to Bradley Method classes, which is basically to prepare you for a husband-coached natural childbirth. I would really like to and believe I can give birth naturally. We are hoping these classes will give us some great tools and prepare us for the painful unknown. It was so strange to be a part of the class. Everyone was in a pretty different place in life and philosophy etc. The one thing we all have in common is that it is all our first pregnancy. Through the course of the class we will be watching different birthing methods. We started with a tub birth. To be honest, it freaked me out. I have never seen a birth before and really had no good concept of what it looked like or anything and it FREAKED me out! I am a pretty modest person so watching another person naked in a tub giving birth with all sorts of people around and being videotaped....AAAHHHH! I am hoping and hearing that I will feel different about the situation when I am actually participating in bringing this new life into the world. The course is 9 weeks and we are excited to be learning so much and getting prepared for this new life coming in just 3.5 months.

Jake has been moving around a lot. He doesn't really have a pattern except to kick a lot when I am trying to go to sleep. His movements are getting more pronounced and definitely stronger. Instead of feeling like a bubble popping inside me, it feels like some kind of alien creature trying to push its way through my abdominal wall!

Dan and I have finally figured out the whole registry thing and have completed registering at Babies R Us. I think that is the only place we will register. It is so overwhelming and crazy to try and figure out what you need for a baby, especially when you have never had one. I think it was a ton easier to register for our wedding than for the baby.

Dan and I have been talking about what our paternity and maternity leave will look like and we have started really working on what happens when we go back to work. We have some ideas in our head but we will see what we decide. We are hoping a friend of ours will be Jake's childcare provider. She is an at-home mom with 3 kids of her own and I would love Jake to be in that kind of environment. Plus she is such an amazing mom and it would also not cost as much as a daycare facility. We just keep praying that the Lord will lead and guide and grant us wisdom as we move forward. This is His child more than he is ours and I have to learn to let go of all these unknowns that freak me out. (easier said than done:-))

Well there is the update for now. Hope you are all doing well and I can't wait to meet our little Jacob and have him meet all of you.

Traveling

Dan and I spent last weekend in San Jose. Dan's mom picked us up from the airport on Thursday evening and we spent that first night with her. It was fun to catch up after so long. For the rest of the weekend we stayed with Uncle Larry and Aunt Sue. Dan was the best man so he had a few responsibilities for the days leading up to the wedding. I was able to spend time with Uncle Larry and Aunt Sue and just relax. It was so delightful.
Friday we had the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. The dinner was at the Cheesecake factory - soooooo good! Cheesecake makes me melt into happy land! Saturday was a day of leisure for me. We ran a couple of errands but that afternoon and evening I spent time in the pool and had dinner and just relaxed. Dan met up with the guys for a bachelor party and I spent my time getting to know Sue and Larry better. It was so wonderful.
Sunday was the big day. We started the morning at the local Farmers Market and had breakfast. Then Dan was off and running again. I took a nap and then got ready for the wedding.

The wedding was held at the Eagle Ridge Golf Course. It was beautiful and seemed to go off without a hitch. Dave and Kerri looked so happy. It was such a blessing to be a part of their big day.
Break for a funny story---I was told to sit in the family section (the first three rows), well I sat down and realized NONE of the rest of the family were sitting there. I looked around and sure enough they were all seated several rows back. It took me a minute to convince them all that they were supposed to be in the family rows but once I did, they all moved up and I was no longer sitting alone in the family section. Thanks Aunt Sue for helping me get everyone moved into their family seating!

The reception was a blast. Everyone danced and it was a great party. Congratulations again Dave and Kerri, we wish you all the happiness and love in the world.

Monday was breakfast and some goodbyes and then back to the airport. I was stung by a bee in the airport for the first time since Jr. High. It flew in while we were in line to check in and landed on my head. Without really thinking I went to swipe whatever was tickling my forehead and my finger met the stinger of a bee. I, of course, yelled out and made a little bit of a scene which caused Dan to whip around and wonder what the heck was happening. I was crying! It hurt, what can I say. By the time we were checked in and made it through security my finger and hand were swelling up. We found the first vendor we could and asked for ice to I could try to get the pain and swelling to go down. Behind us in line was one of the flight attendants for our flight. She took such great care of us. She got me a bag of ice (to replace my cup) and some anti-sting cream and a Benadryl. I really felt so taken care of. It is cool to see how Jesus provides just the right people to help you when you need it. It was such a small thing but to have one of our attendants right behind us and offer to help was so good for my heart. Anyway, the rest of the trip was delightfully uneventful. It was a great time with family!

Next week we start birthing classes!

Adventures

At 5 and a half months pregnant, I thought it would be so fun to participate in a family backpacking trip. Originally all 7 of us were going to go, but due to work obligations, Dan and Daniel could not join us. So mom, dad, Nathan, Livvy, and I all set out for our little adventure in the Sierra Mountains. We left before the sun came up on Wednesday morning, all 5 of us in the folks Toyota. It took about 6 hours to arrive at the base of Kennedy Meadows where we would hike in. The minute we stepped out of the truck we were attacked by "millions" of mosquitoes. It was crazy. Fortunately Nathan had brought Deet along and we all sprayed ourselves like crazy. The hike in should have been easy since it was mostly downhill, but alas we only made it about 2.5 miles before we had to stop and set up camp. My fault....I pushed myself too hard and ended up in too much pain to continue you forward. Dad scouted out a beautiful little area surrounded by Forrest and meadow. It was perfect. We all set up and had dinner. There was definitely plenty of soreness and a little dehydration to go around but we had a wonderful evening together. All five of us piled into a 3 man tent to play cards before heading off to our respective tents to sleep. It was a time full of laughter. Day 2 was beautiful. Mom, dad and I took the day and hung out at camp. It was a day full of relaxation, so needed. Nathan and Olivia headed off to Jordan's Hot Springs. It was about 7 miles round trip for them. They were so beat once they returned. Pour Nathan suffered from some severe dehydration and was miserable through the night. Friday was another beautiful day, especially after having rained during the night. We were planning to stay until Saturday but mom got sick and it was time to pack up and head out. I have been saying that this trip was good and a bit of a disaster all at the same time. I loved being with my family and laughing and playing cards and relaxing. I was not so much a fan of the pain and the bugs. Glad I went but do not plan on backpacking again, at least while I am pregnant! :-) Thanks family for a fun trip and taking most of the weight in your packs. I love you!

He is all BOY!

The appointment went well. The tech said everything looked to be right on track and our due date is still reading as October 29th. These are all the pictures that they printed out for us at the appointment. It was so fun to see everything and see the heart move and count his fingers and toes. I am so excited to meet our little boy. Now onto the fun part of registering and birthing classes.

What's up?

Have a confession to make....I had Dan take a belly pic a few weeks ago and I didn't like it so I deleted it. I think I have decided belly pics are not for me. Sorry folks. I have been told that I am starting to look pregnant or my belly has popped or something. I am thankful to a dear friend for providing me with lots of maternity clothes. I have so much happening over the next month that I am wanting to curl up in bed and sleep through it all! I have my 3rd prenatal appointment on Monday and then our ultrasound is Thursday. I am really hoping to find out the babies gender. We have my brothers birthday celebration and a couple of Father's day celebrations planned. We also have a family backpacking trip that I am super excited about. Pretty nervous too but excited. It has been a long time. I really hope it works out for everyone to go. Then we have my brother-in-laws wedding. Yay for Dave and Kerri! I am excited to see everyone up there and relax and enjoy their lovely wedding. I am not excited about the plane but we will just deal with that when it comes. We start Bradley method classes in July and I am looking forward to being better informed and somewhat prepared for this baby. Friday is 19 weeks, almost halfway there!

Appointments

Well I had my second prenatal appointment. It went great. I had no idea what to expect since I never really asked and I have not done this before. It was a pretty quick in and out appointment. I was able to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time and it was going strong. I had lost about 10 pounds from my bought with the stomach flu but all things are still looking good. Honestly I can afford to lose a few pounds. The morning sickness is ebbing which is fantastic. I hit a wall at about 2pm and all I want to do is take a nap but I am making it through pretty well. My next appointment is June 7th and then on June 10th is the big appointment! We have our ultrasound scheduled Thursday June 10th to take the babies measurements and check on his/her progress and also to find out if we are having an Emma or a Jacob. Super excited about that appointment.

Our summer season is rapidly approaching at work so things will be picking up again and also get pretty warm down here. Excited to see all the summer groups and see more homes built.

We have a family backpacking trip coming up this June so I am excited and nervous about that. It should be great to go back to where we use to go when I was a kid.

Then in July we have a wedding to attend. My brother in law is getting married! So excited for Dave and Kerri and can't wait to see the family up there.

Blessings~

Sharing

A friend of mine has a blog that she updates regularly. I have been really challenged by many of her entries and blessed to hear about her life of ministry. Anyway, I just read this particular entry that really caught me. I want everyone to read it. So here is a link to Cari's blog. Check it out!

http://carijenkins.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/my-life-says-eh-whatever/