Bump Watch: Week 21

It's been five weeks since our last bump progression photo!

What a difference FIVE weeks can make.

I'm HALF way there! I can't believe time has flown by so fast.

Our little baby is the length of a carrot this week!!!

Conrad came along with me for my baby bump session with Kacie.

I think I might try to include him in the series from time to time!

My belly sure has grown!

I've been feeling great lately. I am SUCH a different pregnant woman with this baby. I've had strangers come up to touch my belly and I'm all over it. I love it actually, whereas before, with Conrad, I was annoyed and felt violated. It blesses me knowing that my growing belly and this precious baby bring a smile to others, even strangers. I welcome the questions, "How far along are you?" and "Is it a boy or a girl!" Lots of folks think I'm crazy for not finding out the sex, but I still feel really excited not to know.

I've been eating a really strict protein diet which has made me feel SO much more energetic and my weight has stayed right where it needs to be. Dustin cooked me 3 different kinds of chicken last night (ten chicken breasts total!) You would think that was a lot, but last week alone I ate 8 chicken breasts and ran out...I haven't gotten sick of chicken yet! He's been SO supportive of me trying to be as healthy as possible. I'm keeping a food journal also which has helped me feel empowered, knowing that I am resisting the junk and being kind to my body.

This baby is SO lazy compared to Conrad though. I don't get much action. Not a lot of kicks. Just here and there.

I'm hoping this might be a sign that our little carrot is mellow and not a spaz like me.

{Bump at 11 weeks & 16 weeks}

Mothers, Don't Leave Your Rights At The Door!

Nurse Called Police/CPS on Parents over Jaundice

BABY HELD AT HOSPITAL, NURSE CALLS CPS WITHOUT CAUSE AFTER PEDIATRICIAN GIVES OK TO RELEASE BABY

 

Las Vegas, NV – A mother laboring under the care of Certified Professional Midwife April Kermani was transported to Summerlin Hospital Tuesday for stalled labor. Dr. Donald Roberts assumed care, and the mother gave birth vaginally to a healthy baby girl about 7 hours after admission. On Wednesday the parents,  were told they could not be discharged without a blood test for jaundice, a common and typically harmless condition among newborns. The test results came back with slightly elevated levels of bilirubin, indicating a mild case of jaundice.


 {Conrad loves Breast Feeding Mommies!}
The nursing staff told the parents they would have to place their daughter in isolation to undergo phototherapy and not allowed to nurse, but fed artificially with formula instead.  They refused the treatment since newborn jaundice will usually resolve itself within two weeks. The AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) recommends that jaundiced newborns continue to breastfeed regularly, as frequent feedings help remove bilirubin in the body.  They were told by the attending pediatrician they were cleared to take the baby home and follow up with their midwife and pediatrician over the next several days.

A pediatric nurse then reported these parents to social services and the police, for unknown reasons. Their baby was held against their will at Summerlin Hospital for well over 24 hours.  “We are being treated like criminals,” says the distraught mother.  The CPS social worker calls the case “ridiculous.” Lilia’s bilirubin levels were back within the normal range very quickly.

Jaundice and Treatment Information: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001559.htm 

We went to a rally today in support of this mother and any other mothers who have felt like their voice was muted by doctors or nurses in hospitals. It was great to see the birthing community out in support of this mother. The street was lined with about 50-75 moms and their little ones smiling and holding up their signs in front of the hospital. A few news stations were also out to get the scoop and we had a few cars stop to encourage us and cheer us on. 
It makes me angry & sad to see just how far a person might go to prove that their way is the best way and that a mothers research or intuition is invalid. Often times we take the advice from these professionals because their vast knowledge & experience is greater than ours, but taking away a mothers right to make the decisions for her baby is absolutely wrong. I get that hospitals want to cover their butts against law suits, so they must follow certain protocols when it comes to the baby's safety, but this fact that the nurse went above the Dr's head is downright nasty. Maybe she had some sort of point to prove. So do we!


Whether a mom wants to feed her child formula or breast milk, her choice should be supported!

Mothers, listen to what your gut is telling you when it comes to your kids. Don't let anyone take away your voice.  Your motherly-god given intuition is so precious. Stand up for what you believe.

The Birthday Boy!

We threw Conrad a breakfast-PJ-birthday party Saturday. (My friend Erin was pregnant with her 2nd when her first was turning 2 also and gave me this idea.) I was thinking it would be "less" work but I ended up being just as exhaustedas I usually am when I go ALL OUT with cutesie little decorations and all of the attention to detail that I usually like to incorporate. 

I'm pregnant, I'm consumed with work and I have a 2 year old...

Here are a few photos from his party:

Emilee & I in our pj's:                          Dustin, Conrad & I:

My Mom & Dad with Conrad.

The night before the party Dustin and I found ourselves shopping like crazy people at Walmart for the party. At one point after arguing over the cheesy lame-sauce Elmo cupcake cake or the cake with doggies on it, OR Dustin's choice of a nice cake at Whole Foods, I ended up breaking down and crying in the deli department over the stress of why it had to be such a big ordeal! I was in tears because I was feeling overwhelmed and the whole point was to NOT get crazy with this party, Dustin was trying to keep our child from punching dents into all of the cake lids all while the elderly gentlemen manning the bakery gave his best effort to try and write "Happy Birthday Conrad" on the cake when he's a deli slicer guy and not a baker..... Needless to say, after we were handed our god awful cake that was hard for even us, Conrad's parents to make out what it said, we decided not to take the cake. We're jerks, I know. The sweet old man seemed not to mind. 

My whole goal was to do as little as possible for his party. I normally wouldn't buy frozen pancakes or store baked cakes, but I'M PREGNANT! And to be honest, I've had a lot on my brain as far as this bun in the oven is concerned. Dustin wasn't happy about the frozen pancakes, but he agreed that it's better to be practical rather than fancy with a 2 year old's party! He had intended on making everyone homemade crepes. Next time honey!

Even after just inviting our families and Conrad's close buddies, we still had about 25-30 people attending, but at the end of the day, It didn't matter what we ate or if we had hand crafted decorations on the walls. It mattered that Conrad was in a room full of his best little buddies and felt loved by his family.

We made a breakfast casserole, eggs, had bagels, muffins, Krispy Kremes & all of the toppings for yummy pancakes! All of the kiddos and most of the adults wore their Pj's which made the party even more fun! Instead of games, I read Goodnight Moon to the little ones. 

We used our Condos community clubhouse instead of hosting at our house which was nice not to have to deep clean for the event! Conrad got a lot of neat new toys and clothes. He got some really cool big boy underwear and a potty seat! Guess it's time to start potty training....EEEKKK!!!! 

One of my favorite gifts he received was a photo session 

with my dear friend Sarah. 

I will post a few of his 2 year old photos later this week!

Thank you to all of the friends and family who came. 

I know you helped make our little guy feel special on his birthday! 

Weekly Surf:

You know you are filled with contentment when...

Breakfast + a new baby = bliss

Be willing to let go

Am in love with this video

Totally adore these black and white vespa looks from gap (perfect for a boy or girl!)

How I feel about my baby daddy

Imagine how gorgeous baby bedding would be if it were made out of this quilt (with a black and white striped wall....shut up!)

I'd like these in red please

Sweet lil' baby bum

Baby bump progression from week 20-38

Waiting for my friends sweet baby to make his/her appearance

This image melts.my.heart

This suit is super adorable

A lovely bob

Can't wait til' he/she is finally on the outside

A pretty song

My little man looks SO grown up with his serious expression,

wearing his hat just like Dad.

{Please pardon all of the adorable gooey baby goodness that has been bombarding my weekly surfs lately. It's all just too adorable not to feature & really, babies make me super happy! I can't resist.}

We are throwing our TWO YEAR OLD a breakfast/Pj birthday party tomorrow morning! I am very excited for him to be surrounded by all of the people who love him & all of his buddies.

Hope you all have a splendid weekend.

Waiting with Great expectations

My expectations are high because I have confidence in a god who Still does miracles, who still wants to give me the desires of my heart, & whose ears are open when I cry out. I have confidence in Him alone. I am eagerly waiting on him, knowing he has great things in store for me, for this baby, for my birth.

(Conrad & Dustin at the park when he was a lil' dude. Photos shot with my 1976 Mamiya film camera.)

Psalm 37

¹ Do not fret because of evildoers,

Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.

² For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.

³ Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
⁶ He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

⁷ Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
⁸ Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.

⁹ For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the LORD,
They shall inherit the earth.
¹⁰ For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
¹¹ But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

¹⁶ A little that a righteous man has
Is better than the riches of many wicked.
¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
But the LORD upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The LORD knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
¹⁹ They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
²⁰ But the wicked shall perish;
And the enemies of the LORD,
Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.
Into smoke they shall vanish away.

³⁹ But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
He is their strength in the time of trouble.
⁴⁰ And the LORD shall help them and deliver them;
He shall deliver them from the wicked,
And save them,
Because they trust in Him.

6:12PM ON A FRIDAY NIGHT:

While your Dad celebrated his birthday with a nice cold birthday beer watching UNLV, we sort of gave him some peace and quiet by watching a movie & having a snack in our room.

I watched you as you watched Monsters Inc. 

You kicked your legs in the air and enjoyed a cookie or two.

You cuddled up into the blankets.

You shoveled more cookies into your mouth.

Your lizard watched the movie too.

The movie was starting to get real good.

After a while, you got restless, so we jumped on my bed.

You pounced on the pillows and hid between the sheets-giggling, waiting for me to find you.

I would say, "Whhherres Conrad?" 

And you would answer with a giggle and a foot in the air.

 Then, you snuggled down under the sheets and squealed with delight when I finally found you.

 You posed with a hand on the knee like a professional underwear diaper model. Your chin dimples were melting my heart as I peeked through my lens at your beautiful, boyish features.

 With your lizard gripped tightly in your hand, you shouted for more as I jumped up and down on the mattress making you bounce with each jump.

 You gave me that squinty-eyed smile where your nose crinkles up and makes my heart 

beam with adoration. I SO treasure you, my sweet little 2  year old boy.

{I can't believe you're turning TWO this week!}

Our Baby @ 19 Weeks:

We got to see the baby today!!! 

My friend Sarah & her baby came along to help wrangle our rug rat & share in this amazing memory with us.  She took a little family shot of the 3 of us as we watched our precious baby floating around in my belly on the TV screen. AND she helped feed Conrad Gushers to keep him quiet! 

When I was pregnant with Conrad, he was always so active, and this baby just sort of sits there like a little tiny blob. Maybe that's why feeling him/her kick gets me so excited. It happens so seldom. 

I've got a really lazy little baby, but that's OK with me.

I hope the baby's nose isn't so flat in real life. 

(I'm sure it was just the angle or something but dang, what's going on with that nose?!)

Seeing our baby's tiny toes, fingers and spine really made me grow so much closer to this little person. I am in total awe that my body can sustain life. Everything I put in my body goes towards forming this precious person's organs, head, lips....It leaves me in awe that a person is growing within me. Even though I've experienced it once before, it seems so new and miraculous to me again.

We were all taking predictions during the ultrasound whether the baby was a boy or a girl. 
I really didn't get a girl vibe or a boy vibe, so we'll have to just wait and see.
The Doctor wouldn't budge and spill the beans.

*I go back in 6 weeks for another ultrasound since they found a cyst in the baby's brain. They want to see if it's going to dissolve on it's own or if they need to do further testing. The doctor said they usually go away in the latter part of the 2nd trimester, but we're going to keep praying for our baby's growth and development and stay confident in our God, knowing that he works out everything for our good and for his glory, no matter what happens. We know he has a beautiful plan for this little life. 

The excitement & joy is growing by the minute!

Weekly Surf:

Summertime baby bumps makes me smile

I'm in love with this song, this week

Pretty ways to beautify your walls with frames

Wallpaper for the nursery? Yes please!

DIY super cute bunny ears

This Inspires me to go outside and have a picnic

Outfit lust

I need to re-do my photo wall and do this OR this instead

The baby needs this

Does anyone have an Ergo? We used our Bjorn til' C was 14 months old.

It's not very comfortable though. I'm thinking I'd really like an Ergo this time around.

Hair love

How sweet is this?

What's for lunch? Funky cuteness!

Fun in the sheets

Ice cream covering his little shirt.

This weekend my mother in law and I had a great yard sale. It's always nice to get rid of clutter and make a little cash!

I got rid of 5 trash bags of clothes! Wowza, and a ton of other junk.

I sat at a busy park this week and shared an ice cream cone with my little almost 2 year old boy. He would take a lick of ice cream and then run behind me and climb on my back yelling, "NAY!" Because usually at home, I give him rides on my back and take him around the house pretending that I'm a horse... needless to say, we didn't play horsey at the park, in public. He did this a few times going back and fourth between eating his ice cream and climbing on my back trying to convince me to get on all fours trotting around in the grass. At one point, he climbed into my lap and planted a big wet ice cream kiss on my lips and threw his arms around my neck. Good thing I was wearing sunglasses because I immediately burst into a pathetic weep fest during this exchange of affection. Just when I think having two kids is going to change the dynamic between Conrad and I (in a bad way) and having a baby will make him hate me, he shows me love. (Maybe he'll hate me for a few days and be jealous, we haven't crossed that bridge yet, but I'd like to believe he'll always be my little kisser man and love his mommy forever!) THEN, last night as we were finishing up our books and talking about what we did for the day, and as we were finishing our night routine by saying our prayers, I asked Conrad if we should pray for the baby and he got this excited grin on his face and quickly lifted up my tank top to talk to the baby and squish my tummy. Then he folded his hands and shouted AMEN! Ugh, Sometimes I just want to squeeze his little self until his head pops off!

Today we get to see our little tomato at my 5 month ultrasound. I.AM.PRAYING I have the strength not to beg them to tell me the sex! That sweet surprise when the baby is born will be so worth it. I need to remember that.

So many times we forget how truly blessed we are. We're not blessed because we have money in the bank or because life is easy and the trials are few, we're blessed because in the trials, in the hardships and the uncertainty of this life, our god is STILL faithful to show his goodness and love. This truth, I am starting to gain a better understanding of. To not put my trust in money, or tomorrow, or people, but to trust God alone.

{Happy Thursday!}