The Birth Story.

( I decided I wanted to share our birth story. I know some people don't like such a thing. So just skip this post if that is you but I'm a believer that hearing positive stories about childbirth is only positive, especially in a culture where childbirth is scary and feared.)

One month ago at this time I was in labor.

I had sort of been in labor for weeks. Baby low as could be. Dilated to numbers that my pregnancy book stated were in the "active stage" of labor, "*except for in a very small percentage of women," it said.

For weeks Dashing Boy and I were prepared for an early arrival. Bags packed and in the car. House immaculately clean. During the days I could feel my body changing, preparing. And at nights Dashing Boy and I would fall asleep both secretly thinking we might wake up to "This is it!" with a wild, exciting, middle-of-the-night drive to the birthing center.

But morning after morning arrived, uneventful.

"You know we can stir things up if you would like," my wonderful midwife had mentioned on and off for over a week. She said I was a highly favorable candidate for doing so.

And so we filed that away and instead went on long walks every night and waited and decided we really wanted our baby to come whenever he was ready.

The due date passed, no big deal, except for everyone reminding and inquiring about such an event. And then a few days passed and I was UNcomfortable. Very much so. And it seemed like our boy was doing his part in making his grand entrance. He was ready. And we were too. And so we decided to stir things up.

***

We visited my midwife on a Friday morning. She stripped my membranes, I drank some cohash. Then Dashing Boy and I went out to breakfast and on a nice long walk. We came home, I took a nap. Then at the very end of the day we headed back to the midwife's to assess where things were at.

"Well you guys can get comfortable and settled in because there is no way I'm sending a woman home when she is a 6."

It looked like stirring things up tipped me just over the edge of the labor dilation threshold! Could it really be?! It didn't seem like I was at a 6, based on how I had heard other women describe being at that place. But we were there!

We decided to strip my membranes once more to see how that might speed things up. And then Dashing Boy and I went to the mall to walk around. And I'm not kidding, it was pretty fun to walk around there with this giant fun secret that I was in active labor the whole time. Things were getting more intense. I thought it would be fun to purchase a little outfit for our baby on the way and we excitedly did so.

Back at the birth center, Mom came and we ate Vermont cheddar cheese with crackers and popcorn and Dashing Boy read me poetry as I went through contractions. It felt like a sleepover party, for real.

During the pregnancy Dashing Boy and did hypnobabies classes which were great. I listened to some hypnobabies during this time of the labor but mostly I chatted with mom and my midwife and Dashing Boy.

***

Later in the evening my midwife thought it would be beneficial to see where my progress was-- almost none. She suggested breaking my bag of waters.

Throughout the final weeks of my pregnancy she mentioned this quite a few times as she had suspected it might be the trick . But this seemed kind of invasive to me. Also, I was worried that it would bring things on with a rapid intensity all at once instead of gradually building up to things and that scared me.

I decided to wait one more hour, then see where things were and decide at that point if that was the best course of action.

***

One hour later and we decided to do it. I was feeling awesome. La la la la la. Isn't the labor sleepover party so fun! And now we're going to break my bag of waters! Party party party!

Holy Moley it was not even five minutes after that (she did say my bag of waters was very strong!) things instantly became extraordinarily intense. My goodness, it hit me like lightening and all the hypnobabies and relaxation techniques in the world had no chance of catching up. My fear was right.

Dashing Boy was awesome. Right by my side. And Mom was too. I got in the tub and during contractions Mom poured water over my back which was so nice and Dashing Boy held me.

I remembered a wonderful cheesy mantra from hypnobabies:
"In between my wonderful pressure waves I smile and feel very happy," and advice from Ina May to savor and enjoy the breaks between contractions. And so I smiled! I was very happy! This was really happening!

And then a pressure wave would come, gracefulness would fly out the window and it would all be very intense. My midwife kept saying "Alright Jenny 60 seconds. You can do anything for 60 seconds." And while I would be in the middle of a contraction I would think to myself "Hey I'm probably 30 seconds into this! I only have 30 seconds left!" That advice helped immensely.

Even in the most intense part of things I remember thinking how happy I was that I didn't have an epidural. (That is not to say that I don't understand why others want/need an epidural, every labor is so different. Everyone knows and does what they feel is best for them and that is just how it should be.)

Finally a little over an hour and I looked up and announced to everyone that I was done and I just wanted to go home and take a nap.

And then that phase was over.

And suddenly it didn't hurt at all anymore.

***

The most extreme focus and concentration I have ever experienced came over me. I was a completely different person from the previous hour or so. In total, one hour of trying my hardest for controlled pushing.

When he crowned my midwife got a mirror and asked me if I wanted to see, wanted to touch his head. I was so focused that I did both of these things so quickly then went back to hyperconcentration. I could hardly grasp really that I was actually having a baby.

Pushing did not hurt as badly at all as it had been built up to me over my entire life of hearing about childbirth. Don't get me wrong. I'm not superwoman, I definitely felt it. Maybe in my head I had imagined much worse. Maybe the hypnobabies techniques had seeped into my being. I don't know. But my honest reaction was, "this is it?! I can do this."

***

2 hours and 20 minutes after we broke my water... and these beautiful words: "Alright Jenny, Here comes your baby!"

I could hardly believe it. I reached down and pulled my beautiful boy up to my chest. He was covered in beautiful vernix. Seriously I think that stuff is beautiful and amazing. Right away he let out some cries. Dashing Boy leaned in and we sat there in awe staring at our baby. My goodness. It's just such a miracle!

For the next 3 hours we stayed up loving our baby. The birth center was wonderful. My midwife made hot cinnamon rolls for us that night and fresh breakfast the following morning. Truly it felt like a bed and breakfast.

As far as the recovery goes, I think however you birth, you'll pretty much feel like you've been hit by a truck afterwards. But then you have this awesome beautiful little baby there and there is no question how worth it it all is. I did feel substantially more normal by 9-10 days postpartum (aside from our breastfeeding saga-bah!)

I can't believe our boy has been with us an entire month! He is such a blessing in our lives. Being a mom is wonderful and hard and I feel so privileged to be here!

So here is our little monkey at one month. We couldn't be happier with him!

The Baby Marriage

When Dashing Boy and I became engaged 5 years ago (today!) a thought came into my mind "Sure, I'm excited about the wedding but mostly I am excited about being married." And so in the months leading up to our wedding I spent more time daydreaming about life as a wife and less time dreaming about all the little details that accompany a wedding. In the end, the wedding itself was beautiful and indeed fulfilled my dreams, but it was driving away from the temple with Dashing Boy- a marriage begun- that was the most poignant part of everything.

When I became pregnant with our baby, daydreams did fill my heart and days as I thought about what it would be like to have a baby in our home. But also, it was something that seemed so abstract. And before the baby would be in our home, I would have to bring him here. And so I focused my efforts on the birth. I read Ina May's Guide to Childbirth highlighting helpful passages the whole way through, then re-reading those passages (absolutely most helpful thing I did). Dashing Boy and I attended six weeks of hypnobabies classes and practiced scripts and such with each other.

And then the birth day arrived. And it was wonderful! I loved it in fact. I had prepared myself going into it. I think I might tell more of our birth story another day, but it was everything I had hoped for. A beautiful experience and entrance to the world and our family.

In a way, it was kind of like the wedding part of the whole experience. Surreal. Wonderful. Powerful love emotions everywhere.

Our baby was here. The birth wedding was over and now it was time for the marriage part- the new family life. While I had prepared for the birth so well, it seemed like this part would come so naturally-- and a lot of it has. But somehow in all my preparations, my daydreams of this new time did not include one very vital detail.

When I first nursed our baby and in the first two days everything seemed to be going as expected. My nipples hurt, but I had heard that would most likely be the case. But then they hurt so much that I made an emergency phone call to a friend who just had her third baby. She rushed over to my house, took one look at me, gave me some vital tips and kindly asked if she could help me correctly latch my baby. (Yes! Please do!) Goodness was I ever doing it wrong. My daydreamed, not-ever-having-closely-watched-someone-breastfeed image of nursing was enabling me to breastfeed my baby by letting him suck on my nipples and not breasts! Oy! No good. Who knew?!

With my newfound latching knowledge we were off to a much better start. But then about a week in, our little boy started throwing up. It seemed as though he was throwing up entire meals (this hasn't happened since). We of course were very concerned. So we called the pediatrician and went in to weigh our baby the next day so we could have some peace of mind that everything was fine.

It wasn't fine. One week after his initial weight loss and our boy hadn't gained back any of his birth weight.

And so, out came Mama Bear. I sprung into action. I went to a lactation store. I rented a hospital grade pump so I could increase my milk supply. We fed him a little formula. Bought bottles supposed to be like breasts (they aren't). Used the SNS system with my pumped milk. Kind friends came over and gave me helpful advice and encouragement.

Let's just say this last week has been operation feed baby.

I have never shown so many people my breasts in my whole life. And I think I am getting resigned to just going shirtless at home now. It is just so much easier. I feel like the African women in Babies- what is the point of covering up?

This process has been extremely emotional for all of us here. Actually mostly me and Dashing Boy. On the cusp of a huge breakdown on Friday a wonderful lactation consultant came over. Our calm little guy is just very sleepy and instead of letting us know when he is hungry he just resigns himself to sleep (his active alert times slide away to sleeping time when he eats despite our best efforts, go figure). Keeping him awake through an entire feeding is like a circus act I tell you. She showed us all kinds of tricks.

She also rented us a milk intake scale so we can monitor his progress from home- a huge help. Between all the things we've been doing, I'm exhausted and all I can think about is milk. That's pretty much all I'm doing right now- and it is hard. I now understand why breastfeeding support groups exist.

But seeing that he got a full meal, and holding a milk-drunk baby with a milky white tongue and a satisfied expression on his face-- well that makes all this hard work worth it.

Indeed, those moments have been some of the most poignant we've had with our baby to date.

B is for Birth Day.

(beyond awesome alphabet letter cards made by the extremely talented Candace for a sweet dinner she and her family hosted for me and my family! I very much think she should open a shop!)

My mom just told me I need to write another blog post. And if there is one thing I know, it is that it is wise and good to listen to your mother.

I have been talking a lot to my baby recently.

You see, tomorrow is my birthday and I've been asking my baby when he wants his birthday to be.

I of course let him know that any day he chooses is perfect. But I've been reminding him that if he wants a May birthday there are only so many days left. With a May birthday you can bring cupcakes to school on your actual birthday, I tell him.

And then I wonder to myself, will I be 25 or 26 when I have my baby?

I am pretty sure he is listening to me. Both in my womb and heaven above. Because, you know, it is wise and good to listen to your mother.

Yes. He is listening. Listening and taking it all in, and then listening some more. Day after day until the month of May is nearly over and his momma will be 26.

Because beautifully for him, he gets to carve his own path and make his own choices. Beginning with the day of his Birthday.

And so sweet baby, I will tell you, there are great things about being born in the month of June too. Like how it is nicely tucked in the middle of the year. And how the sun comes out even more, shining its happy rays with breezy touches.

I know this June in particular will be very very special.

Bump. 38 Weeks.

Here we are 38 weeks! I can't believe it! People are asking me now if I am "so ready to be done?" and I guess I have to say that mostly I am so ready to meet our baby. I get so excited thinking about it. Pregnancy has been such a part of me these last nine months. It seems like I will just keep on being pregnant forever now. Which if there wasn't this awesome sweet little baby to meet would be ok with me. For the most part :)

So here I am 38 weeks:

feeling very roundish

indeed.

We love you baby and can't wait for your arrival!

Parents-in-Waiting.

I think it's safe to say that my mind is very very very one-track right now. Truly, it could still be weeks away, but Dashing Boy and I are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our baby and upcoming parenthood.

I used to look at pregnant women and couples as they were approaching their birthing times and think to myself, "Wow, their life is going to change so much." I would think about silly things like how currently their life was very mobile. Like how she could get in and out of the car quickly and run errands, go to movies, etc. But within a day or a week or so that would instantly change.

Last week Dashing Boy said he wanted to go to a movie in the movie theater. I guess we sort of figure that in the beginning that won't be such an easy thing to do as parents. We saw Dragons in 3d. It was pretty cool, definitely.

But I kind of thought what was even cooler was how giddy we were to be going to a movie together before we become parents. That thought made going to the movies even more exciting. And as we were watching the movie and I turned to my Dashing Boy staring at the screen in his 3d glasses I was overcome with love for this man (wonderfully nerdy sometimes) who is going to be the greatest father.

Don't we look like we could be/are dorky parents in those glasses? I think so, and I think that is very exciting.

Nesting Times

This weekend I went to the DI and had one of those "hit" kind of days. It began with a perfect, inexpensive little bookcase for the baby's room, then next, this awesome retro little school desk that had me excitedly talking to myself out loud, and it ended with a lone gliding ottoman for the cheap.

It was just a little too exciting to have such a successful thrift store day all in one store, so I called Juju. Because if anyone can understand the thrills to your soul of great thrift finding days, it is Juju. I do believe going to the DI is one of her relaxing joys in life.

I wanted so badly to sit in that desk. It just looked fun, you know? Well that is a pretty dumb idea when you are almost 9 months pregnant. And I was defeated very quickly. Dashing Boy however, did get to try it out. And then he said, "He is going to love it Jenny." Which was very nice of him, as he could see my excitement and eagerness for him to approve random DI purchase.

Seeing him test that chair out and be excited made my heart melt a bit.

It is a bit riveting for us, transforming our house for our baby.

I seriously can't believe it.

Yesterday I made a long to-do list. The to-do before baby comes list (although none of it is really that important if it doesn't get done).

I'm feeling ambitious, And Dashing Boy has told me that he thinks I am in that "nesting time" everyone talks about.

But really I know the truth. The truth being that I can tell my productive energy is quickly sinking into I-would-just-love-to-watch movies and take naps and imagine our baby and process just a little bit this transition from me to motherhood.

Mothers (and Fathers) Will Protect Their Babies.

Last night we had a crazy wind storm.

Dashing Boy and I had just gotten securely, safely inside our house after being out when I remembered something important.

The little birds nest in our front tree. Perfect and sweet with 5 blue eggs nestled inside. How were the babies coping in this storm? Had they come out of their shells yet? Would they be ok?

I ran out the front door and peeked inside. I couldn't see anything. It was so dark, the wind was howling, and the little tree was swaying back and forth.

"Do you think they are ok? Do you think they're still in there?" I asked Dashing Boy.

And then I ran inside to find a little light. Nothing too bright, just something to check with quickly.

Just like Dashing Boy is very gentle and gingerly whenever he feels our baby moving around in my stomach ("Don't push hard!" he'll say. "We don't want to hurt him!") he was protective of the little birds too. He wondered if shining a light was really the best idea.

But I was already in action. I had grabbed my cell phone (often a handy flashlight) and headed back out to the nest. I opened it up, held it close. And I realized my face was about two inches away from Mama Bird. She was there, of course, protecting her little babies.

It was a beautiful sight. There she was, all ruffled out, covering her little ones as the wind tossed the tree back and forth, back and forth. She was with them, weathering the storm.

I knew I could go back inside and sleep peacefully. Mother bird had it covered. And mothers know just how to make the world safe for their babies when things are windy and rough.

As I was falling asleep, feeling the movements of our little baby inside me, I thought about the wind. Thought about it howling over our house. I thought about how we were safely nestled inside our home and our baby was safely nestled inside me. No idea of the storm that was outside. Safe and protected.

My mom knows just the ways to make me feel safe and loved in all types of life weather. And now I am a mom. It is crazy, exciting, and sometimes scary to think about.

But one thing I know for sure. I love our son so much, and will be there for him wholeheartedly. Like a Mama Bird.

Baby birds this morning

Bump. 34 weeks.

In the last month I think my stomach has doubled in size! Now I can feel the baby's movements really strongly. Only except feeling like kicks they feel like long stretches out. I feel (and see) his little heels and bum poking out all throughout the day now and once I even felt his hand stretch out in my belly. I instinctively put my hand right on top of it and it was so obvious it was a hand. Pretty amazing!

Dashing Boy has pointed out recently that the 5 shirts I rotate wearing around are all worn out on the belly because I rub it so much. I didn't even realize how much I was doing it, but looking at all my shirts it is true! The materiel is matting up right where baby sits. I guess I'm pretty content just rubbing my belly all day :)

Which when I think about it, if I don't even realize my belly rubbing, it makes sense how random people rub my belly also. The growth of a baby in the womb is just pretty darn amazing. Luckily I have only felt slightly awkward once by someone touching my belly. Mostly I'm just so excited to have a belly poking out.

I feel like I have so much to do before baby arrives! I can't believe how close that will be! Nothing like having a new addition to the family to motivate me to get things in order!

Dream Vacation

Dashing Boy and I are visiting our old abode this week. I asked Dashing Boy if it is a little stressful having me join him on the trip because instead of coming back to the hotel and resting after work, I have all sorts of social things and such lined up for us.

It is wonderful to have friendships that are still maintained and cared for even when distance becomes part of the equation.

And so I went with Belle's mom to pick her up from preschool today. And she ran out to greet us with the sweetest shy expression. She was shy with me for five minutes and then she was full of crazy energy all afternoon, so excited to talk and show me her life.

Goodness, if I feel this much love as a former nanny I can only imagine the amount of love I will feel as a mother!

It is exciting thinking of this as being our last trip before we have a baby! I get so happy thinking about it.

When we first found out we were pregnant I asked Dashing Boy if there were any big trips or things he wanted to do before our baby arrived. "No, not really at all," he said. I said the same thing back. We couldn't think of a dream vacation (hypothetically of course :)

Because mostly I think that dream vacation in our heads is time at home with our baby and families. And camping trips with our children, and some late night cuddles on the couch.

I am sure that it will evolve a bit, perhaps to a chocolate tour of Europe or something :) but for now I'm grateful to take a short little trip to Montana then head back home to our dream vacation.

Bump. 30 weeks.

Third trimester!

Lately people are asking me how far along I am and I always answer in weeks to the response of confused faces. Like 30 weeks? what does that mean? It does sound silly sometimes but it means 10ish more weeks to go!

Never do I ever count other things in weeks but each week of pregnancy feels like such a milestone. So 30 weeks it is. 7 months.

Somehow I thought my stomach would be huge right now like in Juno. I definitely feel very big lots of the time. And lately on occasion I get up and realize that I am waddling! Crazy thing that sometimes can and can't be controlled.

The baby is hanging out low and I am measuring right where I should be. It was so fun yesterday to have my midwife feel my stomach and be able to tell me exactly where his head, bum, legs, and arms were positioned.

I'm so happy. I love pregnancy. I know I say it all the time but I think it is really amazing and something to be cherished. And boy do I plan on cherishing our little one come 8 or 10 or 12 more weeks.

I love you baby.

Every morning I wake up and lay in bed for an extra ten minutes or so just so I can be still in total silence and feel my little baby move around.

I wake up and say "Good morning baby, I love you." And if Dashing Boy is still in bed (which he usually is not) sometimes he says I love you back. And I think how wonderful it is to have two different "babys" in my life.

My sister Juju is graduating this spring as an RN. She is going to be amazing.

Just the other day she said to me, "Jenny I honestly can't even imagine it, myself as an RN. I can't believe that I'm going to be one in just a few months." And I told her that was completely normal-that when something has been our focus and we've worked so hard at it for a big period of time, it is hard to grasp when suddenly it is almost here.

There are beautiful, exciting times when I can imagine myself as a mom, of course. But in general it is really hard for me to wrap my head around. The time is counting down, months are passing by, stomach growing. And soon I will have a baby. My baby.

I look at my breasts and think really? Really there will be milk flowing?

I walk by his room, becoming so bright and cheerful and think that soon his personality and brightness will fill it completely.

I dream of what he will look like (it is different every time) and I wake up and think with a rush of excitement, "Wow. I can't believe I am going to have a baby."

It is a wonderful cusp to be upon. One I am so, so grateful and awed by.

And so I'll keep imagining and daydreaming about our little family. Sometimes with painted daydreamed images, but mostly with abstract excitement and wonder. And love. Love for my baby laying next to me and love for our baby soon to be here on this earth with us.

Bump. 26 weeks.

Yay! I can't believe we're at 26 weeks! Lately I've been bumping into things with my belly! My space perception of my own body is a bit off. I once worked at a wonderful bakery and my pregnant boss always had a large strip of flour across her stomach. It was awesome and now I can see how that can easily happen.

Here it is from the front. Dashing Boy laughs at me when I go in to hug him because my belly gets there before the rest of me.


I've been enjoying the second trimester. Our little guy has been moving around a lot and I love it. I feel so much love for him. I think I just might overflow with it when I get to meet him in a few months.

fleece-nesting.

This weekend I made my first baby clothes purchase.

I walked in to Patagonia and let my heart melt imagining our little guy in all kinds of cute fleeciness.

melt and melt.

Hopefully I got the potential sizes right.

At 40% off the lowest price I got a $100 coat for $23! And that lil' vest is so darn cute.

It was exciting and a bit indulgent shopping for the baby.

Mom has been telling us that she thinks our baby will be born wearing a hat. She's convinced that we'll have him in one the majority of the time. This is because Dashing Boy is a hat-wearing guy, he almost always has one on in the winter. And my hat wearing has increased exponentially since I've been with him. Mom gets a kick out of how were usually in hats when she sees us.

So she has contributed two hats already to the baby's stash.

After seeing the latest I think she's right!- that is if he will keep it on his head!

(Thank you everyone for your nice comments on my last post. They were so nice.)

I have a confession.

I am scared to be a mom.

I hope I am a good mother. That's what I am thinking about lately.

I am so excited to have a baby. So excited to be a mother soon. I can't believe it! I am so amazed.

And I am so emotional.

Lately, I find myself crying (or feeling like I have just been crying) often. I'm feeling a bit nervous to be a mom. Is this normal? I sure hope it is.

I love this baby so much. And I want to be such a good mother to him.

My mom told me this morning that the only time you don't worry about your child is when you are making him. And then from that point on, the moment you know he is there- you are worrying.

It's good- very good to know, that I am not doing this on my own. I am so grateful for Dashing Boy, my mom, family, friends and most of all The Saviour, who helps me in times of worry and who has the ability to cast out fear and turn it to faith. What a blessing that is!

Bond.

Yesterday morning I woke up to something so nice.

Dashing Boy was laying next to me and as I turned to greet him for the day he said, "I've been feeling the baby move."

"Really?" I said. I couldn't believe it!

Feeling the baby move is my favorite part of everyday. It's amazing to imagine this person there, growing and developing that I get to carry with me everywhere right now.

During moments where Dashing Boy and I are sitting next to each other and the baby is moving, I always reach for Dashing Boy's hand. I love feeling our son move and connecting with him, and I want "dad" to be able to have that time with his son too.

And then we all lay there, connected to each other and loving each other.

I have lots of moments where it is just baby and me.

So when I woke up and heard Dashing Boy talk about his time with baby that morning it made me smile. I can't believe how deeply I am sleeping despite getting up multiple times every night and having the most bizarre dreams I have ever had. While I was sound asleep, Dashing Boy had his bonding time too-just baby and him.

It's so fun to get to know this little guy.

Laughter Makes the Day.

Every day Dashing Boy and I spend a good amount of time laughing our heads off together.

I love it.

I have a bit of a lame sense of humor. Like yesterday Dashing Boy was reading something and he said "nevaw" instead of "never" on accident. And the other day while reading something he read "We are a step-TEE-ahm," when it really said "We are a stepteam." (He had just been speaking Spanish earlier so perhaps that is why?)

Anyway things like that make me laugh and laugh. I am giggling away even as I type this. Silly Jenny, and her lame sense of humor.

Laughter is a tried and true mechanism that Dashing Boy experiences in lots of situations. He just can't help it. I have seen it happen many, many times in both appropriate and awkward situations.

Always I end up in laughter too, especially as his laughs become increasingly higher pitched and uncontrollable. (also when he's tired- those are the jackpot laughs).

Pregnancy has provided no shortage of these moments.

Like: a few random emotional moments for me. These include tears over mostly nothing. While I am crying, Dashing Boy is laughing. He is still trying to be sensitive with me, but the laughter is what overwhelmingly comes out. Then I am cry-laughing.

The other day when I left for my pregnant women water aerobics class he started laughing as I was heading out the door. "Why are you laughing at me?" I asked him.

"I just think it's fun to imagine you at water aerobics with a bunch of other pregnant women!" he said. It is pretty funny- that class.

One day I was in the bathroom looking at my changing stomach excitedly chatting away to him and pointing out some new developments-- and his facial expression looked a bit horrified (Dashing Boy says "baffled")- shock at how much my stomach had grown in a short amount of time. And then we were both laughing so hard and I was telling him that he better hide his bewildered facial expressions during birth because then it might not be funny.

It's good to laugh with each other.

I think I could use even more laughter everyday, so I've started writing down funny quotes from Dashing Boy and things that have happened.

I look at it often and laugh and laugh.


And so if anyone has lame humor like me here is a recent one for you to laugh at today (provided with Dashing Boy's approval):

Dinner prayer offered by a very hungry Dashing Boy

Dashing Boy: (begins prayer) "In the name of ..."

Me: (laughter bursting out but trying very hard to hold it in and be reverent).

Hungry Boy: (does not think it is funny) "oh never mind."

We have been laughing about this one for days now.

Baby Bump.

(22 weeks)

Sometimes I look in the mirror and I can't believe it is me. Me with a pregnant belly.

You know how they say men think about you-know-what every 8 seconds or something crazy like that? (this of course, is not truly true) Well, pretty much that is how often I am thinking about the baby.

And yet it still takes me be surprise when I see myself sometimes. It is just so amazing, the miracle of life. I continue to be enthralled and humbled by it. I hope I always will be.

I am so happy to be pregnant. I think the faint linea nigra forming on my belly is awesome. Come stretch marks or less perk, I am in love.

Craving My Husband.

This last week I was all by my lonesome as Dashing Boy was out of town for business.

I cried like a baby when he left. cried and cried. Pregnancy-related?... I don't know, but I hated having him away. I love him so.

Before he left, even before he knew he was going, we laid in bed talking one night. "I want I Hos," I said to him (one of our favorite restaurants in Montana). "I want I Hos so bad," I said. We fell asleep as we joked about traveling there just for some Korean food.

Perhaps it was a pregnancy craving? I don't know... are those really real? Dashing Boy has been dutifully waiting for such cravings to occur. I have seen him laugh his head off at the watermelon and chop suey scene in Lady and the Tramp.

Needless to say when Dashing Boy headed in that direction this last week I did mention our favorite little eatery.

How on earth that food would travel I had no idea. But even if he could go eat there while he was there-- well one of us would be enjoying such yumminess.

Dashing Boy came home with I Hos in his suitcase. Which was very bold and brave because it isn't exactly a pancake or something. I Hos has the potential to saturate into every crease and cranny inside checked baggage.

I asked Dashing Boy why he didn't carry it on. He said, "That stuff smelled so bad."


He had gotten it all prepared in his suitcase- extra measures by putting it in a rubbermaid container and bagging it up. Then he said he stuck his entire suitcase in the refrigerator so in the early morning he wouldn't forget to bring it.

This man makes me smile every day. He is such a dream.

Also brought home: chocolate. oh dreamy dreamy chocolate.

I tell you what, it was like Christmas morning.


with most of all Dashing Boy's return to home as the most wonderful thing to wake up to.

His and Hers: Books on Pregnancy

Yesterday Dashing Boy and I went out on a much needed date. After dinner, shopping, and some ice cream we ended up at the bookstore. Bookstores make wonderful date spots.

We left with these books:


I've been wanting to get my hands on Ina Mays Guide to Childbirth for quite some time. I'm so excited about Ina May. Two years ago when The Business of Being Born came out, I learned about her for the first time. She is amazing. Now that I am feeling like childbirth is something I can focus on I am ready to jump right in to her book. I started it this morning, and so far love it.

Dashing Boy is by no means a caveman. But as I was sitting in the middle of the aisle looking through all kinds of pregnancy books my eye caught The Caveman's Pregnancy Companion. I got it off the shelf and handed it to him, very jokingly seriously.

This one is for you, I said with a silly smile.

A few minutes later Dashing Boy was laughing away at pictures like this:


And he said it actually looked like a good, albeit silly, book. And then he said he wanted to evolve from a caveman to a fully supportive pregnancy companion :)

Which he already is, I mean, he already knew who Ina May was, but it's pretty dang cute to catch him reading it.

It's a...

Sweet baby

BOY!

we are very excited and love you so much!

here is one of my faves (from a little bit back)

just hanging out.

you keep doing that.

and then we can hang out together

and I can kiss those little legs.