Pregnancy Update

Welcome to week 26 and a quick pregnancy update. 

 So, baby was more cooperative with our second ultrasound (well third if you count the dating ultrasound).  We were able to see all the things that the tech wanted to see and find out that everything is still going well with baby.  

During our monthly appointment this month we found out that baby is still over achieving on growth. The midwifes have knocked my appointments down to every three weeks from every four. Also, I found out that I'm going to have to take my glucose test before/after the next appointment. Yummy, flat lemon lime soad-ish drink? I suppose they were nice enough to give me a choice of flavor and to tell me to chill it before drinking.

This month we also had our first inperson meeting with our doula, Christy. Lunch was productive and the yummy food was from Panara. The meeting went well which means that birthing classes are signed up for, contracts are signed, and checks have been written. 

Mommy group has been wonderful! I miss the interaction and other moms so much when I have to miss one of our Monday morning get togethers. It is so helpful to hear other moms talk about birth, diapering, breastfeeding, spouses, and life. I learn something at every meeting I get to, but am still hoping some other soon to be moms will join soon. I hope this so that I can start to get to know a few others who are in my boat. And we can talk a little more about the planning for baby and help each other to sooth some of the natural anxiety that comes with being a first time mommy.

Also, new this month the nursery has it's final coat of paint and is ready to start having cute baby things added to it! We painted it a mid gray color, a lot like the Behr color Pewter Mug #770E-3. This will hopefully be a nice neutral base letting either a little boy or little girl thrive as they grow up. We also got the screen door hung to keep the animals out of the nursery, but allow them to see into the room.

Pregnancy: First Trimester Tips and Tricks

Since posting about our pregnancy, I realized that I now have a lot of tips and tricks that I have tried and thought I would start up a new series to share some of what has been working for me.

First Trimester tips and tricks.

So, I want to start at the beginning of pregnancy and give you tips from there as we go along. 

Please remember that these are all things that worked for me but, may not work for you.

All medical and health advice should be run past your health care professional of choice.

So first things first, if you are looking at that positive pregnancy test do yourself a favor and take a quick photo. You may or may not ever show anyone that photo, but a photo is a better way to capture that memory than keeping a stick you peed on. And the stick fades after about two weeks anyway (don't ask how I know). This frist tip helps cut clutter right from the get go and your not buying a "preservation kit" for you pee stick (yes, they do exist).

Next, do not run out and buy stuff. Yes, for most of us this is the first instinct. There are really only a few things you will need right now. 

I managed my (admittedly, only intermittently and slightly) upset tummy with ginger-ale that had real ginger and with a small box of pregnancy tea. I also kept some crystalized ginger candy on hand but only used it a few times.

One of the top items that I found handy to have stocked at home and in my purse were tums. You may want more than one bottle as I used 2 bottles. 

The first thing I had to go buy for myself that I didn't have on hand was cranberry pills, this was due to the fact that at the very start of my pregnancy I had a urinary track infection. These pills, real cranberry juice and medication from my midwife took care of it nicely.

There were a few other things that did end up being handy those first few weeks. 

First of all, I could not breath at night those first few weeks without nose strips.  But, I would suggest only one box till you know if your nose is going to continue to be stuffy. Mine thankfully cleared up quickly. 

Which lead to my next issue. It seemed like after I swelled I leaked, in ways no one ever told me pregnant ladies can. So for that I used lots of fresh underwear (at about twice my normal rate) and wipes because I personally can not stand disposable panty liners and getting cloth was going to be supper expensive. Then when I wasn't leaking, I was having other bathroom issues those fist few weeks and ended up getting the okay and a schedule to use dulcolax from my midwife.

Two of the few other things I couldn't live without this pregnancy have been my reheat able hot pack and my ice pack.  I used the later to the point I'm going to need to replace it and have put it on my registry.

The only dietary changes I made once I knew I was pregnant was to change my daily snack to a protein bar and start drinking two extra cups of water. Bringing my total daily cups to 10.

To keep my skin clear I maintained my normal skincare routine. Morning cleansing followed by  moisturizer with sunscreen. Evening cleaning followed by my timeless skin moisturizer.

For that ever growing belly I started moisturizing at night before bed with one of my two normal body lotions. I recently was given a free 10 day trial of Mama Mio Tummy Butter and fell in love, but am saving up for a small container for my third trimester when I will be doing the most stretching.

That's it for tips and tricks in the first trimester! I'll try to be back with another post on second trimester topics soon, and then move on as I'm hitting the third!

New Year, New Life

Oh my, so much has happened since I last updated... lets see if I can catch everyone up quickly with this post and then try to be more regular in posting new content shall we?

The last time I updated content here at Graceful Pathways we were just starting our parenthood journey and we were unsure where it would take us or how long the trip would be.

We got very lucky was our answer.

On our first try in August of 2012 we conceived our first little one. 

However, we were unsure until late September that we had been successful. 

We then contacted our local midwifery group and a doula who had been recommended to us to get on their schedules. Our first appointment was made with the midwifes on October 2, 2012. 

The appointment went well and we were scheduled for our dating ultrasound on our 2nd anniversary, October 10, 2012. 

This was the day that we got to find out that we could expect our first little one around

May 18, 2013.

Hearing that first fetal heartbeat and seeing that tiny being moving around in my tummy was the most moving moment I have ever experienced. Until that moment life was all about me, my hopes, my dreams, my life. Now without question I was living and sustaining myself for another being. Seeing that tiny person inside me changed me and my outlook on life. It changed the way I saw my husband, our house, our animals, our life. We had truly created life. It was an amazing evening realizing we were truly on the road to becoming parents.

In November and December we had our normally scheduled monthly appointments with the midwives. I asked questions, got answers, got to hear the heartbeat on the doppler and enjoyed watching my belly grow.

In January we had our monthly appointment and our first anatomy ultrasound. The ultrasound was on January 2, 2013. This was the first time we got a sneak peek at the little ones personality. Baby is stubborn! The baby curled up tight in the upper right corner of my uterus and refused to move no matter what tricks the tech tried. This ment that although we got to know the sex of our baby we would have to come back to finish the scan with another ultrasound, hopefully on a day when baby will be in a better mood.

During our monthly appointment this month, with the information we did get from the scan, we learned many things. First of all my body has grown a very large uterus, it looks to be very healthy with plenty of extra room for our big baby. You see baby is in the 88th percentile for growth and is measuring about a week ahead of it's due date peers. So far that means a big, happy, and most likely healthy baby!

This month was also the month that we decided it was time to register for all that crazy baby stuff. There was an amazing variety of items on offer and tons of decisions to be made. Doing this and making these choices definitely made us feel like parents. 

Currently our plan is to breastfeed and cloth diaper, which helped us cut down on some of the items people seem to think that a baby will need.  

Also starting this month I joined a mommy group put on by our doula. I had a wonderful time meeting other new mommies and babies. I made me excited to get to meet my own little one in May. While things were a little awkward to start with it is to be expected with it being a brand new group. And without question there is tons of potential for some long term friendships. 

My first steps into motherhood

"Making the decision to have a child it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go outside your body" ~ Elizabeth Stone

We have been blessed and lucky.

We are expecting our first child sometime in early May if everything goes well.

Being all of eight weeks pregnant I have little advice to give others, but I sure do have a long list of things that I wish someone had let me in on prior to getting pregnant.

Like:

Why did no one really explain the aching tender masses that my boobs would become?

Why did no one tell me that my uterus would take over my lower abdomen by force causing pain in every smooth ligament I own there?

Why did no one mention the overwhelming need to sleep a gazillion hours a day?

Why did no one tell me that despite this sleep I would still feel tired all the time?

And Why didn't some one tell me that the first appointment would include my pap and a blood draw?

Lucky for me I was able to get into my first midwife appointment already and confirm that everything seems to be going fine. However, I was disappointed by the literature that I was given. It had an extremely condescending tone which was the opposite of the words and actions of my midwife. Guess that I will be buying a few of my own baby books and using the internet for information.

Also I will be going for a dating ultrasound soon. This is so that we can have an accurate "due date".

I have long cycles of 39-47 days, meaning I also don't have the same ovulation schedule as those who have regular 30 day cycles. We know the date that I was likely ovulating and our midwife is currently using that date instead of the start date of my last period to give us our "due date". At least until we get our dating ultrasound in.

Here is to our new adventure "Motherhood".

Out with the Old ...

In with the new mindset.

So, here I am on the cusp of the thing that I have wanted most from the time I turned 16.

Motherhood.

That one word means so much to me. To me it is the center of what I want my life to be. To be blessed with the gift of children. To raise and love the next generation. 

But, I will admit it is one of the things I fear most. Personal demons keep me paralyzed and waiting. What if I'm a bad mom, what if I can't conceive, what if there isn't the money for baby...

However, personal demons aside, my husband and I have come to the conclusion that it is time to start this new chapter in our lives together. We have been preparing for the last year; finances, better job, buying a new house, vitamins, exercise, trying to lose weight and get healthy. We have checked all the boxes we really wanted to off and now we are believe we maybe ready to take the irreversible leap.

We are now trying to conceive. 

Home

We are finally settled into our new home!

 This is our 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, saltbox style dream on 31 acres in Western New York.

Now it is time to start personalizing.

Progression

The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.  ~Henry David Thoreau

I have been learning a lot on this leg of my journey. We have made offers, been both accepted and rejected, inspected and most of all waited. Because of all this I have determined that buying a house is the single longest and most patience wearing experience I have had yet. 

Part of that is because there is no given out come and there are so many possible hold ups and jumps, hoops, and loops to go through. All while your hopes, dreams, and wishes sit and wither with little information to feed them.

So far the house we are currently offering on has accepted our offer and passed inspection. Now it just has to pass appraisal and a water flow test. Then we will hopefully go into closing on May 29th!  This would get us into our new home before June.

 Who would have thought when we started on this course back in September with an interview that it could take this long to reach our first real resting space.