It's a Girl!

IT'S A GIRL!

The Old Wives' Tales called it! 

Lucy June was born at 7:42am, 

weighing 7 lbs 6.5 oz, 

and measuring 19 inches long.

7 Things That Have Made This Pregnancy Better

I'm over at my other blog discussing fun topics like vitamins and bladder control!

Happy Easter!

I'm linking up with Like Mother, Like Daughter for {Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}. And since there is a wholelotta {pretty, happy, funny, real} going on around here, I'll let you choose what is which.

So, remember this gem?

a.k.a. my issues with committing to a paint color

After much weeping and gnashing of teeth, I finally committed to a color. Easter was our goal (which we thought we'd meet easily...ha...haha) because we were hosting family from both sides for the weekend and Easter lunch. We managed to get the trim and two walls painted. At least, the walls that did get painted were the ones that had the paint samples on them. They were starting to make us twitch. Of course, now that they're gone, I'm starting to lose motivation to finish the other two walls.

Ah :) no more paint swatches :)

I think that I've mentioned that we've started milling our own wheat? Well, I tried using our wheat for my Easter cake, which calls for AP flour and I didn't do any research, yadayadayada and....

almost completely hollow but tasted good

I was pretty determined to make the cake since it's a family recipe, and I don't have many of those, and I knew my family would love it (which they did), so I hacked around some forums for about 10 minutes (which I should have done anyway), and after braving a three-and-a-half-our-priest-skimps-on-nothing (including using full-sized drink pitchers for baptisms)-vigil-mass with our two year old and getting to bed around 1 am, I got up early and made cake #2.

Ah, much better. 

We had a blast with all the family, ate our traditional lamb, risotto, homemade bread, salad, etc meal (my husband is a beast in the kitchen; I did the cake), and then enjoyed watching the kiddos hunt for eggs.

hunting for eggs

My niece and her Easter stash

Grandma hid them well in the bushes

Mommy getting in on the action

My nephew and his eggs

hustling to find more eggs

adorable

Cousins 6yrs, 3 1/2 yrs, and 2 1/2 yrs.

Cousins with babies at 37, 22, and 17 weeks gestation

Grandparent and Great Grandparent love

After all of the egg hunting and the food eating we just enjoyed hanging out together. So what do you get when you cross one entertaining cousin with a deliriously silly cousin?

We got to enjoy some low key time with my sister's family after everyone else left. The kids had a blast playing in the yard (watched by us through the window). Before we realized what they were doing, the cousins had discovered a fun way to go down a small hill in our yard.

We hope your Easter was as wonderful and joyful as ours! Happy Easter from my family to yours!

Big Announcement and The Gory Details

Linking up with Like Mother, Like Daughter for Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real and This Ain't The Lyceum for 7 Quick Takes.

All you wanted to know, and some you didn't, with a few gratuitous pictures thrown in for good measure. 

~ 1 ~

Happy

In case you missed it, we announced our big news on social media earlier this week!

He only has 6 more months to practice reading for baby brother or sister. He's gonna be a great big brother. ‪#‎beingpromoted‬ 

~ 2 ~ 

But if you did miss the announcement or just saw the video and were confused, you were not alone. Apparently the power outage and my serious lack of social media skills prevented several people from hearing our great news. The Hubs posted the above announcement right before the power outage and then when I shared it so it would be on my Facebook wall, I didn't realize it would not share his comment as well so the people that did see the video had no idea it was a pregnancy announcement. My bad.

Pretty!

~ 3 ~

We had been putting off announcing it because we wanted to do something adorable and fun like last time to announce the news, but it took a while for us to come up with an idea. We had recorded the heartbeat at our appointment and was going to share on Valentine's Day a picture of us all with paper hearts on our chests and one on my belly, along with the recording, and the caption "Growing our family by one heartbeat", but capturing a good family picture by ourselves with a squirmy two-year-old is quite a challenge these days. So alas, our announcement ended up as above and got trumped by the power outage. The second kid always gets the shaft.

~ 4 ~ 

So now that you know, some of you have been asking all the questions. So to the answers. Matthan is going to have to share quickly because Baby is due in August. Matthan says he is very excited to be a big brother. He is strongly voting for a brother. You all with have to wait along with him to see if he gets what he wants because we are not finding out the gender until Baby decides to make an appearance. Same with names. Some are in the running from last time, some are new, but nothing has been decided on for sure. We're taking name suggestions.

Funny - Little rascal isn't allowed on the coffee table but tried anyway

~ 5 ~

I'm now into my second trimester, the using-office-supplies-to-hold-my-pants-closed phase. The first trimester was similar to last time with some debilitating nausea. I finally googled "pregnancy nausea" came up B6 deficiency, popped a multivitamin and drank some Vitamin Water, and was playing soccer with my nephew that evening. I'm keeping that one in the tool box for any future pregnancies.

I'm pretty much past any nausea but now I've entered the weird-smells-send-me-to-make-sacrifices-to-the-porcelain-gods and food issues stage. On the list of no-no smells include poop, brussel sprouts, sour cream/Greek yogurt type smells, bad breath, and anything that strikes the nose as weird in the moment. I have a hard time eating anything I've cooked, but can eat the same foods if someone else cooks them for me. The first couple months, cold foods were awesome.

Lent began this week

Real

I eat about 4-5 peanut butter and honey sandwiches a week, not because I particularly like them, but because it's one of the only things I can get down that will help me sleep through the night, otherwise I wake up in the middle of the night dizzy, shaking, with elevated blood pressure which I assume is due to low blood sugar. This kid better not be allergic to peanut butter.

The only major food craving I've had was for Doc Chey's, an Asian fusion restaurant we use to go to in college. The craving went unsatisfied for a couple months until at last week's doctor appointment where I discovered there was a Doc Chey's a mile from the office. I might have teared up a little with excitement...I'm blaming it on the hormones.

~ 6 ~

There have been a lot of similarities to my pregnancy with Matthan, including people's oh so encouraging (eye roll) statements of "You're due in August, you're going to miserable in the heat!"...Thanks...you can go away now. I don't think there is ever a time of the year when being nine months pregnant is comfortable, and I prefer my nauseated stage to be in the cold months, thank you very much.

I've had a touch of heartburn already like last time. I don't remember being quite as tired last time though. Symptoms have hit around the same times as last time, but in varying degrees.

He wants snow, me too.

Matthan has been sweet and helpful. I had my head in the sink the other day, and he asked if I was ok. I asked him to bring me my water bottle and when he couldn't find mine, he brought me his. He has helped me keep from wallowing in pregnancy symptoms :)

~ 7 ~

And since the other takes weren't quite so quick, here's the first belly pic.

Half the bump is baby, the other half is peanut butter sandwiches.

Monday Musings (vol. 5): NFP and Being Careful With Our Words

Yes... I know it's Tuesday.  Thank you for not pointing that out.  I really tried to post yesterday, but none of my musings were coming out coherently, and I was not in the state of mind to sift through all the pictures we took this weekend.  And I'm just not ready to post about how I'm absolutely failing at our keeping Sunday holy resolution or how motherhood has been kicking my butt the last couple weeks.

So instead, I plan to distract you with gratuitous pictures of my kid while I share something with you that has been on my heart, i.e. Natural Family Planning (NFP).

When we announced our pregnancy to our friends back in January 2011, our news was met with the utmost elation.  At the time, we had been married four and half years.  I was chatting with a friend about the exciting news when she interjected our conversation with the statement,

"...We (another friend and her) were just talking about you guys the other day.  I was getting ready to call you and tell you that y'all were doing NFP wrong."

(Now, I did not take this statement offensively at all.  I felt like I could safely assume that this came from a loving place.  This friend was really excited for us when my husband and I got married and had been super excited at the thought of us having kids, because she loves us and wished all the grace and blessings that come from parenthood upon us.  Plus she knew that our baby would be super scrumptious and adorable, and I'd say we did a good job, no?)

Before I go further, here are a couple notes for clarification:

1) Natural Family Planning (NFP) is the observation of the naturally occurring bodily signs and symptoms of the fertile and infertile phases of a woman's menstrual cycle.

2) NFP Methods are sets of rules used to interpret the signs and symptoms recorded in order to achieve or postpone a pregnancy.

3)  "Responsible Parenthood" is the choosing to achieve or postpone a pregnancy by using the knowledge that comes from NFP.

It was natural for my friend to expect us to have children after we got married.  That is, after all, how God designed it:  For when a man and a woman come together in holy matrimony the natural order is that a baby would follow.

"That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become on body.  "  Matthew 2:24

Planning your family, means that during the fertile phase of a woman's cycle the couple either comes together to achieve pregnancy or abstains to postpone a pregnancy.  See, what my friend was implying (whether she meant to or not) was that (according to her) we had been abstaining too long and possibly without just cause.

While the teachings of the Catholic Church on love, marriage, and procreation are extensive, deep, and beautiful, and if you get some time I highly recommend you dive into them; they are very hard to summarize in a blog post.  But when it comes to postponing pregnancy, the Catholic Church gives this guideline:

"For just reasons, spouses may wish to space the births of their children." - Catechism of the Catholic Church

I've also heard other words such as "grave reasons" or "serious reasons" used. The Church doesn't list out anywhere what those grave or serious reasons are for postponing a pregnancy.  What this means for me is that every month that my husband and I choose to abstain during the fertile time of my cycle, we do so with prayer and discernment in regards to what God's will is for our family.  That means that every month, at least, we give thought to if God is calling us to have a child.

This teaching was easy for me to understand, but really difficult for me to live out.  What I mean is, it was easy for me to understand the idea of inviting the Author of Love into my marriage bedroom, that He has plans to give me a hope and a future, including in regards to having no or lots of children.  But taking that step of faith and saying "Not my will, Lord, but YOURS be done" was, and still is, a struggle for me.  Cause, you know, I like to control my life.  This means that I acknowledge that my body is not my own, it is His creation, and that I strive to submit to His will for me.  It also means that He will provide the knowledge and wisdom, if we ask it of Him, to discern whether or not we should try to conceive a child this month.

Which brings me back to my friend's statement that "we were doing NFP wrong."  I think this reflects a big misunderstanding that I have experienced from people of all belief systems.  The reason the Church doesn't list out those "serious reasons" is because they are different for everybody.  What may be a serious reason for us may not be a just reason for her and her husband at our current states of life.

I have heard judgements (and, unfortunately, have probably thought them myself) such as "they have seven children, they're such a good Catholic family" or "shouldn't they be having children by now?" or "when are you going to have children?" or "they have a large family, they MUST be Catholic" or "they don't have many children, they're using NFP wrong" or "they have too many children, they're not using NFP right".  I've heard these in various forms from various people of all walks of life.  Some of these may not even seem judgmental to you.

What people don't understand or think about when they say things like this, is that child-bearing is a very personal thing.  They don't know that the person they're asking (often with a combination of joking and seriousness mixed together) "shouldn't you be having children by now?"  may have been trying to have a child for a few years, but is struggling with infertility with every month being met with disappointment and grief when the pregnancy test comes up negative.  And that question, which is so prevalent in our casual conversations, is striking at the deep wound.  Or, the person that they ask, or imply, that they should be having a second child by now is really struggling in the marriage, or that having another child is a topic of tension in their marriage.  Or that person that they have deemed as not practicing "right" because they have "too many" children, has actually chosen to have that many children based on their wisdom and discernment, and not because NFP has failed.

So instead of judging other people's families, let's pray for them, that they would be open to what God wants for them.

And while you're at it, we'd love yours prayers too! :)

Certainly sons are a gift from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb, a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the sons born in one's youth.

Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them.

He will never be shamed

for he will destroy his foes at the gate.

Psalm 127: 3-5

If you would like to read some testimonials about NFP, NFP methods, NFP and infertility, etc by women from different walks of life, go here.

41 Weeks

I am 41 weeks today and it seems that Sprout is quite content to stay in there.  I had an appointment today and they did a non-stress test and everything came back looking great...so we're continuing to wait for Sprout to make his/her debut.  I have an ultrasound scheduled for Monday but I'm really hoping that I don't have to go :)  In the mean time, I have various house cleaning and projects to keep me entertained.  Per the Hub's request, I learned how to crochet baby hats.  He requested "something that looks like an old man sleeping cap".  After a handful of attempts to just make it up as I go... I caved and got my inspiration and pattern from here.  YouTube is a wonderful thing (that's how one learns to crochet when their Grandma doesn't live close by).

The first one turned out so stinkin' cute (and I finished it so quickly) that we decided we needed to make a girly pink one too.  

40 Weeks ~ D-day

I am 40 weeks pregnant...with no signs of the little one wanting to make an appearance.  However, knowing that it is very common for first time moms to go past their due date (which is really the estimated due date), I took my sister's advice to leave projects for the end to keep me busy.  Ok, Ok...truthfully, I'm a giant procrastinator, but it this case, it has served me well and I'm having fun working on stuff instead of staring at my belly waiting to go into labor.

40 Weeks

The nursery isn't 100% finished...I'm not sure it will ever be...but it is done to my nesting satisfaction.  You can see some "before" shots of the nursery here.

Changing table and little bookshelf

The little bookshelf given to us by a friend worked out perfectly.  I way over estimated the paint I needed to complete the painting on the nursery wall, so the little bookshelf got a spruce and I think it turned out pretty darn cute.

Books and Pooh

Larry the moose... named by Tim

My SIL brought us a glider and ottoman, and it rocks!  (harharhar).  It is really comfy and houses the adorable quilt made by my MIL.  You can see a better picture of the quilt here.

And without further ado...the finished nursery wall painted by yours truly!  Ta-da!

The canvases were also done by me, inspired by a couple different pictures on Pinterest.

Our adorable crib stuff that started the whole thing.

So, there is the nursery!  It's ready for an adorable baby, don't you think?  I think Sprout might be a little too comfy in there...if only he/she knew how cute their room was... :D

Tim's favorite toy.

A Lot of Pregnancy Info - With Baby Shower Pics

On Wednesday, our coworkers at Red Clay Interactive threw us a baby shower!  It was a "What's It Going To Bee?" theme.  We were so blessed by all of the little details and by the generosity of everyone.  There was adorable bee decorations, great food, and cards for people to guess the gender and suggest names for the baby which they read out at the end.  

(I should probably mention, because I can't remember if I already have or not, that I'm currently working as the front desk receptionist for Red Clay.  They needed a temporary person, and I was cool with a temporary job, win-win).

So while I share baby shower pictures (taken by our coworker Greg Cruce), I thought I'd share all of the pregnancy info and answers to frequently asked questions that I've slacked on sharing thus far.  

yummy yummy food

How far along are you and when is your due date?  As of this past Wednesday, I am 38 weeks along.  My due date is August 9th...but I'm counting on the little one to bake past that.

Was the pregnancy planned/Was this pregnancy a surprise?  I find this question incredibly amusing.  My common response to this question is "it's not like we didn't know what we were doing!"  LOL.

Is it a boy or girl?  We don't know, we're choosing to go the surprise route.  Our doctor and midwives don't know either.  The ultra sound tech does not take pictures of...you know... or write it down when you don't want to know so that the doctor does not mess up and tell you.  For now, we refer to him/her as Sprout.

Do you have a hunch as to the baby's gender?  I'm leaning towards a boy...but of course this is not based on anything.  It could be that I have an easier time picturing us with a boy.  

A coworkers mom made these, aren't they cute?

Do you have any pregnancy symptoms?  Besides pregnancy brain (this is a real thing people!)...This has changed throughout my pregnancy.  The first couple weeks (we figured it out very early) I felt great, was eating salads every day for lunch, no problems.  Then several weeks of nausea set in.  This was one of the worst things to me.  Then the nausea went away and the throwing up commenced.  Trash cans have not been my friend.  I could just be standing there and all of a sudden throw up too.  That lasted several weeks.  (In my opinion, the throwing up was not half as bad as the nausea...I HATE being nauseous).  I've had a few incidences where my blood pressure drops, I've gotten really light-headed and almost passed out.  Luckily those have been few and far between.  As of the last couple months, I've had raging heart burn and we've had to elevate our mattress with textbooks.  I've also had a lot of back problems and pelvic pain.  I see a chiropractor and that significantly helps.  I also was sleeping GREAT until a couple months ago and then that sadly ended.  I cannot fall asleep (of course having someone squirming and hiccuping inside of you right when you want to go to sleep doesn't help), and often do not fall asleep until my body just sort of gives out.  The frequent trips to the bathroom don't help either.  I consider this practice for tending to a newborn.  So, exhaustion is on the list of symptoms.  Naps do not help because it makes the not falling asleep at night even worse.  I've also had very bad restless legs and some leg cramping, also at night, but that (knock on wood) has improved some the last couple weeks.  Oh, and I have a hard time breathing...you know, compressed lungs and everything.

Do you have any food cravings/intolerances?  This has changed some throughout my pregnancy.  When I was really nauseous, most of what I ate was a cheese and cracker diet.  Coke has been my go-to when I don't feel well (which is very unusual for me).  I wanted nothing to do with any meat except fried chicken (like chicken strips from Chick-fil-a or Zaxby's).  This has somewhat normalized now.  One day I wanted a Zaxby's sandwich with a side of Taco Bell soft taco.  There was one night that included a donut run (Dunkin Donuts... my cravings are very specific).  I want all my usual favorite foods but with a great intensity.  For the few weeks it has been anything sugary and cold.  I LOVE popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, and even ice.  I've never been an ice chomper until now.  I've loved fruit especially watermelon and strawberries, and have had a serious disinterest in vegetables, except green beans.  The vegetable thing has improved and I'm trying to eat them... in between popsicles. 

Have you been moody?  Yeah.  From my point of view (you can ask my husband his opinion later), I've felt relatively sane throughout this pregnancy except for a few days sprinkled here or there....until this month.  I cry very easily these day which I chalk up to being exhausted, uncomfortable, and hormonal.  Because of this, well I already knew but it has been confirmed several times, that I have the most patient, loving husband ever....I'm tearing up now. 

Miscellaneous health things:  Other than the above, the pregnancy has been very smooth.  I'm measuring where I should be every appointment, Sprout's heart beat is good, I passed the glucose test and Group B Strep test.  I'm slightly anemic but we're trying to fix that.  I have an appointment every week now.  

Have you had any strangers rub your tummy or say/ask you anything weird?  No, I haven't had strangers rub my tummy but other people have and it doesn't faze me.  My girls (I help lead a high school girls Bible study) have been doing it since the moment they found out I was pregnant so I'm just kind of immune to it.  I can't think of anything weird that people have asked me but my girls call me "Baby Momma" and Tim "Baby Daddy" which I think is funny.  Nobody has said anything offensive (that I can remember).  The only thing that has gotten on my nerves (and ever so slightly) is when people have found out I'm due in August they proceed to tell me how miserable I was going to be with the summer heat (so offer me your pool people!).  And, between popsicles and AC, I'm happy to report it hasn't been bad.  I'm pasty from lack of sun, but hey, it's better than melting.

How is Sprout doing?  Good, I assume, LOL.  No indications otherwise.  He/She has a future as a yoga instructor as indicated by the stretching and odd shapes my tummy takes.  If you push on my tummy, he/she kicks or pushes back, usually.  Sprout moves a lot (especially at night when I want to sleep), and can be encouraged to boogie when I eat a popsicle.  Tim can hear the heartbeat when he puts his ear to my tummy, and I love that.

"This is how I roll" bib

Not sure what to make of Nick's, interesting, card

Are you nesting?  I didn't think so until my sister and SIL informed me a couple weeks ago that my intense desire to have our house completely organized and decorated was in fact nesting.  So, yes, I am.

UGA onesie - starting the kid out right :D

Do you have names picked out?   Yep.  We have a couple options for each gender.  

Are you telling people?  Nope. :) 

A bunch of people chipped in and got us our car seat!!!

Anything new or any other current happenings?  I'm currently working at Red Clay which means Tim is around the corner, literally.  This has been a great blessing and we love eating lunch together.  I'm really cherishing this time.  My pregnancy is continuing as smoothly as it has been.  I have weekly appointments that are uneventful (which is great!).  We're trying to keep up with all the things that come with homeownership...our AC broke last night...it's fixed now... as well as our normal church commitments, and getting our ducks in a row for Sprout to arrive (car seat in the car as of this week!).

Laughing at the name suggestions, some were quite creative :)

Is there anything we can pray for?  Yes!  Please pray for us as we transition into the world of parenthood.  For a smooth, healthy labor and deliver, and for us to continually keep our eyes on God and his blessings as we experience the ups and downs of the journey we're on.

If you have any other questions you'd like me to answer, put them in the comments and I will try to answer them.  :)  I'm going to run to the restroom now....again.