As of last night, I have officially entered the "I can't wait" stage of this pregnancy. Allow me to clarify--I am truly fine with whenever this baby comes into the world, but I am also getting really excited to meet him or her! Who will he/she resemble most? What will be his/her personality? What will Hannah do? How will Hannah respond to the baby's first look at her?
I can't wait to enjoy the water birth center experience, and it brings tears to my eyes to think of the loving, warm nature of my midwives & apprentices who will be attending the birth. Each of them are so devoted to their practice, and I really feel blessed to have that dedication pointed towards our family.
I look forward to seeing Keith in action during my labor. I think this time around will give me an even deeper appreciation for our relationship, and I pray that we are both able to absorb many new things to love about one another through this birth!
I am praying for continued calm, even into the active stages of labor, and I am trusting the Lord for His steady hand to be upon our family & this new little one over the weeks & months to come!
See you soon...
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
Better late than never...
Well, as usual, I'm posting something on here months after my last entry, and although I'm sure I could have come up with some interesting topics, I just never have the motivation to sit down and do that. :) Checking other people's blogs or looking on Facebook is so much quicker, and then I can be entertained by their clever quips & comments. Anyway, I figured since my last post was regarding the fairly recent news that I was pregnant and now I am at 36 weeks, it was about time to post again.
My thoughts about the pregnancy so far (in one-word descriptions): fast, challenging, emotional, daunting, fun, joyful, sentimental, exhausting, hot, blessing.
Over the last few months, we have successfully day-potty-trained Hannah, and she rarely has accidents anymore! We attempted night-training for a couple nights, but after washing the sheets two days in a row, I figured it was probably more hassle than necessary at this point. Let's face it--I'm going to have plenty of laundry to do in a few more weeks, I don't need to add more right now!
We also moved Hannah into her big girl room, which is complete with a pink polka-dot queen bed & a cozy pink bean bag chair.
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She really likes the room, and although it has been quite the struggle to get her to stay in bed during nap & bedtime, we are hopeful that the transition will be complete before baby gets here!
Hannah is also generally becoming quite the little girl to have around. She absolutely adores playing with her dolls (especially "Baby Anne," which is an old cabbage patch doll of mine), and she is also into imaginative play in her kitchen set & around the house. She repeats a lot of funny phrases & sayings, and she loves to sing "Bingo," "Jesus Loves Me," "Twinkle, Twinkle," "The ABC's", and "Happy Birthday," as well as various other songs from The Fish radio station (Christian music.) :) She seems to be understanding what will be happening in a few weeks in terms of the baby being born, and we talk a lot about the baby--where he or she will sleep, what he or she will eat, and who will take care of him or her (all of us!) Hannah has come to almost all of my midwife appointments, so she is pretty familiar with feeling my tummy, listening to the heartbeat, and checking my blood pressure. :) This last time I decided to bring along Hannah's doctor kit, so she was checking my vitals right alongside the midwife!
Speaking of midwives, we are still completely thrilled with Andaluz and their wonderful services there. Our midwives, Tracy & Adele (Tracy is our primary, the one who will most likely be with us during the birth) are both lovely, calm, confident women who really seem to have an invested interest in our family. During each visit, there is plenty of time for questions, and they also take special care to interact with & get to know Hannah and us on a more personal level. It's just a great place! It probably sounds weird to some, but I am actually looking forward to labor because I know I will get to deliver at this awesome place! My friend Lisa delivered there a couple of months ago, and her experience was exactly what Keith and I have been dreaming about: a quiet, intimate, peaceful birth with very little hub-bub or unnecessary stress. We found out yesterday that the baby is now head-down, after a number of weeks of him or her being in breech position. This was a huge blessing, and we are praising the Lord for His hand on our baby! :) Now we are basically set to go--we've got diapers washing in preparation, the basinette is set up, the infant tub is on standby, and the carseat is ready to be installed next to Hannah's. Pretty soon, we'll be a family of four (plus dog & cat.) :)
With Valentine's Day coming up this weekend, we have some fun things planned. Tomorrow morning we'll head to Mom & Dad's for their annual Valentine's Day brunch, and then Hannah will stay with them through Sunday morning. After my morning piano lesson & a massage (!), Keith & I will have a quiet dinner at home together, and then we will head out to a movie. It sounds delightful! Although I am really trying to enjoy every last minute with an "only child," I am also looking forward to tomorrow's day off! :)
So many great and wonderful things have happened in our family since having Hannah, and it would take way too long to list them all. I would just like to make a note (to myself, more than anything) that although Hannah has her will of iron that can make the days long & challenging at times, it has mostly been a great joy & blessing to raise her so far, and she has taught me a lot about patience, flexibility & unconditional love. I know that she is going to be a wonderful big sister, and I am so excited to see the bond that will develop between her & this little one.
I have also thoroughly enjoyed watching Keith grow & develop into an amazing father over the last 2 & 1/2 years. He has always been good with children, and so it didn't surprise me that he moved into the "dad" role so easily. His patience and gentle manner encourage and move me to be a better mom, and it is such a delight to watch him interact, play, and laugh with Hannah. I feel so blessed to be able to start raising another little one with him, and I can't wait to see him with his two children on his lap! :)
Thanks for letting me share my thoughts & (somewhat personal) revelations. It felt good to get those typed out, as I'm not sure when I'll have time to sit down again and update....Let's face it: it could be at the baby's first birthday...
My thoughts about the pregnancy so far (in one-word descriptions): fast, challenging, emotional, daunting, fun, joyful, sentimental, exhausting, hot, blessing.
Over the last few months, we have successfully day-potty-trained Hannah, and she rarely has accidents anymore! We attempted night-training for a couple nights, but after washing the sheets two days in a row, I figured it was probably more hassle than necessary at this point. Let's face it--I'm going to have plenty of laundry to do in a few more weeks, I don't need to add more right now!
We also moved Hannah into her big girl room, which is complete with a pink polka-dot queen bed & a cozy pink bean bag chair.
.JPG)
She really likes the room, and although it has been quite the struggle to get her to stay in bed during nap & bedtime, we are hopeful that the transition will be complete before baby gets here!
Hannah is also generally becoming quite the little girl to have around. She absolutely adores playing with her dolls (especially "Baby Anne," which is an old cabbage patch doll of mine), and she is also into imaginative play in her kitchen set & around the house. She repeats a lot of funny phrases & sayings, and she loves to sing "Bingo," "Jesus Loves Me," "Twinkle, Twinkle," "The ABC's", and "Happy Birthday," as well as various other songs from The Fish radio station (Christian music.) :) She seems to be understanding what will be happening in a few weeks in terms of the baby being born, and we talk a lot about the baby--where he or she will sleep, what he or she will eat, and who will take care of him or her (all of us!) Hannah has come to almost all of my midwife appointments, so she is pretty familiar with feeling my tummy, listening to the heartbeat, and checking my blood pressure. :) This last time I decided to bring along Hannah's doctor kit, so she was checking my vitals right alongside the midwife!
Speaking of midwives, we are still completely thrilled with Andaluz and their wonderful services there. Our midwives, Tracy & Adele (Tracy is our primary, the one who will most likely be with us during the birth) are both lovely, calm, confident women who really seem to have an invested interest in our family. During each visit, there is plenty of time for questions, and they also take special care to interact with & get to know Hannah and us on a more personal level. It's just a great place! It probably sounds weird to some, but I am actually looking forward to labor because I know I will get to deliver at this awesome place! My friend Lisa delivered there a couple of months ago, and her experience was exactly what Keith and I have been dreaming about: a quiet, intimate, peaceful birth with very little hub-bub or unnecessary stress. We found out yesterday that the baby is now head-down, after a number of weeks of him or her being in breech position. This was a huge blessing, and we are praising the Lord for His hand on our baby! :) Now we are basically set to go--we've got diapers washing in preparation, the basinette is set up, the infant tub is on standby, and the carseat is ready to be installed next to Hannah's. Pretty soon, we'll be a family of four (plus dog & cat.) :)
With Valentine's Day coming up this weekend, we have some fun things planned. Tomorrow morning we'll head to Mom & Dad's for their annual Valentine's Day brunch, and then Hannah will stay with them through Sunday morning. After my morning piano lesson & a massage (!), Keith & I will have a quiet dinner at home together, and then we will head out to a movie. It sounds delightful! Although I am really trying to enjoy every last minute with an "only child," I am also looking forward to tomorrow's day off! :)
So many great and wonderful things have happened in our family since having Hannah, and it would take way too long to list them all. I would just like to make a note (to myself, more than anything) that although Hannah has her will of iron that can make the days long & challenging at times, it has mostly been a great joy & blessing to raise her so far, and she has taught me a lot about patience, flexibility & unconditional love. I know that she is going to be a wonderful big sister, and I am so excited to see the bond that will develop between her & this little one.
I have also thoroughly enjoyed watching Keith grow & develop into an amazing father over the last 2 & 1/2 years. He has always been good with children, and so it didn't surprise me that he moved into the "dad" role so easily. His patience and gentle manner encourage and move me to be a better mom, and it is such a delight to watch him interact, play, and laugh with Hannah. I feel so blessed to be able to start raising another little one with him, and I can't wait to see him with his two children on his lap! :)
Thanks for letting me share my thoughts & (somewhat personal) revelations. It felt good to get those typed out, as I'm not sure when I'll have time to sit down again and update....Let's face it: it could be at the baby's first birthday...
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