37 week photo

Because I'm a little slow on getting it up here.

29 weeks.

What. Only 11 more weeks to go until the due date!? Goodness gracious, that's not that much time. I AM SO EXCITED. and nervous. and anxious. and scared... and all those feelings that everyone is telling me will only increase until she arrives. Most of all, I am really looking forward to being a mom (and meeting this wiggly baby)! 

How far along: 29 weeks! 

Weight: 173 pounds. Pre-pregnancy weight was 153ish.

Size of Baby: Butternut Squash (17 in, 3.1 lbs)

Midwife Appt: We will meet every two weeks now, instead of once a month. Next one is in about a week. 

Stretch marks: Nothing new. No marks on belly, and no new marks anywhere else.

Sleep: Lovin' my naps! 

Food cravings: Haven't had any cravings recently.

Symptoms: I honestly don't know what to put here. I just sorta stared at the screen for a while, because I feel great still. I am just still happy and healthy from what we can tell - and that's good enough for me! I'm not experiencing the pelvic pain anymore (woohoo!). Now, I'm fighting with the occasional left hip pain/burning sensation in the middle of the night (only when I'm on my left side). Luckily, I have a massage therapy ball (sorta like a foam roller) that totally takes care of that when it starts acting up, and I try and work it out before I lay in bed now.

Movement: Lots of hiccups. :)

Belly button in or out?: It's kinda flat now most of the time, but sometimes I can see it poke through tighter shirts. 

Best moment of the week: Finalizing what is going on our nursery wall (which is in our bedroom). I LOVE IT SO MUCH. We decided on a vinyl wall decal thing instead of painting. It is beyond adorable... being shipped now! Can't wait to put it up on my birthday weekend (with a little help from loved ones). Also, we got confirmation that the Hypnobirthing course will start on March 20th - we still need to officially register, but everything is working out great with that. 

I thought that I should start including front and side shots now, considering I'm growing pretty quickly these days. :) I may want these at some point in the future.

Crazy bebe!

This is Norah as of an hour ago... (It may or may not have anything to do with the chocolate glazed donut with sprinkles that I ate after lunch!) :/ 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5MR4cccABo

I'm looking forward to teaching vinyasa yoga at TUF this evening. I teach on Thursdays as of now, and am looking forward to adding more classes to the schedule. As for my own practice, yoga is keeping me sane and feeling great! I did 2 classes yesterday, as well as one this morning at Inspire... can't get enough right now. :) It will be sad when my teacher training freebies run out in just 2 days.

Also, here is a wonderful video about delayed cord cutting and lotus births that I find extremely fascinating. It is a great explanation on why it's a good idea!

http://youtu.be/SwvRUrn0p90

Belly shots

See previous bump pictures here: http://clufflife.blogspot.com/2012/11/bump-growth.html

26 weeks!

It's Tuesday, which means that we have officially reached week 26. I LOVE Tuesdays. :) Before I dive into this week's updates, I want to clear something up: People keep asking me how I'm feeling, and when I say "great!", it seems like sometimes that annoys people. Okay listen... Yes I'm young, and yes I believe that my body is handling being pregnant like a boss (lol), but that does NOT mean that I'm not experiencing aches, pains, less-than-lovely bodily functions, sleeplessness, etc. The difference is, I FREAKING LOVE being pregnant! This is such a huge gift from God, a gift that so many women out there do not get to experience. I have NO room to complain in the slightest bit about the "normal" things women go through with pregnancies. It WILL be stressful and uncomfortable, but those are internal things that I can control. Pain to one person does not equal the same pain to another. It is all relative, and I completely believe in the power of our minds. How we think about something totally defines the external outcome. There is a baby in here!! I am so beyond blessed! Yes, she kicks me in organs that don't love being kicked. I am having round ligament pain on a daily basis. If I don't do yoga and self massage every day, my right sciatic nerve shoots some lovin' down my leg every time I move. My ankles turn into cankles when I don't do enough inversions. I have about 40 stretch marks (none on tummy yet!)... And the answer is YES. Things are so great. :) So pretty please don't get annoyed when I tell you how amazing I feel. I am experiencing pregnancy just like the majority of women. Everything is relative.

How Far Along: 26 weeks today!

Weight: I'm at 169 as of this morning. Seem to be gaining steadily.

Innie or Outtie: Still goes between both, depending on the day.

Maternity Clothes: I bought a couple of new yoga workout shirts, but they are not maternity. Larges work great for now!

Sleep: Having a little more trouble staying comfortable these past couple of weeks. I find myself sorta sleeping on my back- and then I feel super guilty because of blood flow to my uterus. I don't know why I'm favoring my back. I have a GREAT snoogle pillow and everything. :/

Stretch marks: Besides the ones from weeks ago, not really any new ones. None on my belly.

Movement: She is in this awesome somersault stage right now, I love it! Turns, rolls, kicks, jumps!, and hiccups. I noticed more movement today than usual, so I took a little video.

Food Cravings: I'm not craving lemons nearly as much as I was about a month ago, and I'm not sure if I have any real cravings right now at all, actually.

Food Aversions: The thought of eating Chinese food right now grosses me out... Which is kinda weird for me.

How’s Mama? Feeling good. Happy and healthy. And maybe a little more stressed than usual... Yoga teacher training test is this weekend. :)

Size of baby: length of 15 inch cucumber. Wow!

What I am looking forward to: Getting my Birth Plan finished. I'm in the process of writing it out, and I can't wait until it's completed. I think it will really clear up my views, do's, and absolute will-not-do's on how I want this birth to go. Some people close to us seem confused about our plan for a natural home birth, and doubtful that we can do this, so I'm looking forward to having my plan up for everyone to have access to. It is really important to me that if they still do not agree with our decisions about place, style, or finances after reading our wishes, that they keep it to themselves... At that point the most helpful thing would be to just pray for us. So much of birth is in our heads. [I just want to state again that everyone chooses to birth their own way. Our opinions look one way... this does not mean that I am saying that other's views are wrong. To each their own! Informed mothers will do what is best for them and their much-loved babes.] We want to birth at home. As long as health and safety do not become an emergency, I will not step foot into a hospital to have this baby. When it comes to our family, I strongly believe that the healthiest way to welcome baby into this world from a low-risk pregnancy is outside of hospitals. God-willing, I will do everything in my power to birth naturally, healthily, and happily for the well-being of our daughter!

:)

Bump Growth

Weeks 4 to 17... Poppyseed to sweet potato!

17 weeks!

Here's the relaxed bump as of this morning, first uploaded bump picture! - (Just for the record, relaxed bump means I'm not trying to suck my abs in, but I'm not sticking them out, either) ...