Bump watch: Week 37

The big bro came along for our little "bump watch" photos but I didn't intend to have him in the photos....Notice the Cheetos on his shirt and face? Before Kacie started taking the pics, I realized he was a hot mess and was like, screw it. It is what it is. This is us, Cheetos on fingers and shirt! This is us!

We've had a really great week this week. My energy levels are great in the early morning, which is why it's been so easy and enjoyable to take a good long walk each morning. I've been trying to walk 30-40 minutes a day. By the end of the day though, I'm soaking in Epsom salt baths and doing pelvic rocks to get this baby off of my back and relieve the pressure and pain! The morning sickness has come back with vengeance. If I breathe really slowly, and drink ice cold water, it seems to help. I guess that's just a 3rd trimester perk, dry heaving and such!

They say to "help the baby come out",  you should do what got the baby there in the first place... BUT I'd like to meet this woman who gets her swerve on during the last few dreadful days of being friggin' HUGE and shake her hand. Good Lord, it's no easy task these days. There is NOTHING sexy about 3rd trimester boning. Let's just be real honest here. It's a chore, it's no longer a sexy-fun time! It's not attractive....it's like, let's do this now and get it over with as quickly as possible because I WANT THIS BABY OUT! My poor husband feels used and abused I'm sure. Am I right ladies?

Anyway. So there's that.

I'm back to consuming copious amounts of jalapenos. Raw ones too. With goat cheese. Sandwiched between two slices of bread and pressed in the panini maker. I haven't had heart burn AT ALL this pregnancy! Crazy huh? I found a great site for birth affirmations. (I figured my other pregnant friends would enjoy some of these or would want to write down the ones that spoke to them to bring with them to their births.) I have literally 7 friends who are all due the week I'm due! Crazy! Also, this book has been SUCH an incredible tool in helping me get ready.

My friend Tirzah shared her birth story on her blog, along with some gorgeous photos! Her baby was born en’ caul {in the water bag, water never broke} Pretty amazing. They say it's good luck if  your bag hasn't broken and the baby is born in it.... Give her story a read. (My midwife, April delivered her baby. It's neat to see her in action!)

{Click HERE to see the previous "bump watch" photos!}

Wading...around.

Last week we grilled and swam at my in law's house. 

Conrad insisted on swimming in his birthday suit....
Because really, who doesn't enjoy a good skinny dip or naked cannon ball?

His dimply little butt was so cute jumping into the pool over and over. 

Dustin took a few photos of the {three} of us splashing around.... 

Aw, I said "the three of us...." because, yep, the baby was there too. 

Just chillin', being big & cute in my belly. 

P.S. Underwater, grainy photos make me really happy. 

P.S.S. Being pregnant in the summer doesn't suck as bad as they make you think.

In A {Really} Good Place:

We're nearing the home stretch here folks! I'm 38-ish weeks this week! 

Thank God it's almost over! 

{I'm SO ready for it to be OVER!}

I thought I'd share where I am right now, where my heart is at this point before I have this baby
 and share a few photos....since I haven't posted a blog in a while.

Last week when my midwife checked me, I was already dilating, my cervix was feeling soft and she said she wouldn't be surprised if I had this baby early! I'm hoping to go into labor at 39 weeks but I'm prepared for 42 weeks, but praying for 39. Eeeekkk! We've been doing a ton of walking, stretching, squatting, birth ball sitting, raspberry leaf tea drinking, practicing relaxation daily and visualizing a peaceful, complication free birth. Mostly though, I'm just waiting on the Lord and prepared for whatever He's got in store for me. I've been going through a process of letting go of my desire to be in "control" and not putting any sort of expectations at all on myself or the baby's birth. I know I need to surrender to my birth and not hold so tightly onto any sort of expectations, knowing how unpredictable it can be. That being said, I am also expecting the Lord to do great things and I am VERY excited.

Through this  process of releasing my control, It seems as though the Lord is giving me one topic to ponder (infant mortality, a child with disabilities, a child with *my strong willed, opinionated personality! A repeat cesarean, trusting my husband to be able to comfort me & say the things that will help bring me encouragement in labor, and trusting my body). NO ONE ELSE is having this baby but me! I have to trust myself and have confidence. Each week I seem to be pondering a new topic or conquering a new fear. One by one, I'm handing them over to the Lord to deal with, to dissolve the fear, bring me peace, discipline me, heal me & show me His love. After one topic has been dealt with, tears have been shed and prayers have been prayed I get handed another "what if" to consider. Something new to learn to trust Jesus with.

He's also given me a ton of really great things to consider other than the scary "what if's".

At church a few weeks back during worship, i was praying for the birth and I felt as if he was saying to me, "Haven't I given you everything else you've asked? I.am.capable Chelsea. Trust me." Then during our walk today, I was also praying for the baby & birth again and noticed how gloomy it was out and how thankful I was to walk in gloomy weather rather than walking painfully up the hill as the hot Vegas weather beat on us! It started to rain and I remembered how Dustin said that he would love for it to thunder and storm during our birth (being that we're in monsoon season!) Then I started to giggle imagining God giving us rain on the baby's birthday and how sweet that would be of him. I was praying out loud and praising god saying, "Thank you Jesus for this rain! For this beautiful walk!" and when we got into the car, Conrad kept saying, "Dank you, Deezus for da yayn!" as it beat on the windshield. I just kept crying and laughing. They're like little parrots at this age, I swear. What a great gift that rain was.

At the beginning of my pregnancy, I was still wrestling with how we were going to birth this baby as I was considering attempting a VBAC, I was really anxious about it. Will I rupture? Is it safe? What if this? what if that.... During a woman's worship service, in the beginning of it as we were singing, I was praying about uterine rupture and about this strong desire of mine to not be cut open again, and immediately I got this picture in my mind, an image of God's hands woven tightly around my uterus holding it securely, preventing it from rupturing. I immediately fell to pieces. Just at that moment my girlfriend Dotty put her hand on my stomach and leaned over towards me so I could hear as she prayed for our baby and birth. That affirmed to me that my heart was in alignment with God's and that's when I started getting really serious about delivering the baby at home. I realized that he cares about my desires. Dotty had no idea that the Lord had given me that little picture of his hands holding my uterus. She probably had no idea what I was praying for at that moment. That was another sweet reminder that he is in control. Not me. And He could be trusted.

Part of this process has actually been quite painful at times. It's painful to realize, when He, In his great love for me convicts me of my pride, my desire to take control and do it MY way and when he shows me my arrogance. When god holds up a mirror to me, showing me how ugly my sin is, how it grieves him, it's freeing when it's handed over and I'm no longer captive to it. I'm no longer a prisoner to it. That's the thing though, birth is SO unpredictable. If I don't lay down my desires before my god and my will, pursuing his greater plan, In the long run, I'll be disappointed with the outcome. His way is better than my way. And he cares about my heart being right. He also cares about my desires and has given me nothing but affirmation after affirmation to birth our baby at home. I have to rest in that.

There are greater things to be dealt with right now in my heart than the fear of baby being "too big to fit" or the pain being too much. My friend told me this week, "If you have to go to the hospital because it hurts too bad and you want the epidural, just get it! No one gets a purple heart for laboring naturally!" I know it will be too much to bare. On my own, the pain will be too much, but asking that my heart of stone would be replaced with a heart of flesh, having ears that are sensitive to God and being teachable through all of this is so vital, I'm realizing. I'm prepared for the pain. Another friend who delivered her baby at home told me that pain purifies the heart. Pain shouldn't be feared. She said that she kept repeating, "This pain brings life!" During her labor. I like that phrase.

And I will give them a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in them; and I will take the heart of stone out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 11:19 

It's funny the things people say to you before you're about to have a baby. OR before you're about to attempt a home birth. They think It's so crazy to opt out of drugs, but woman have been birthing babies  without drugs for how long now? I certainly have nothing against epidurals. They often help a mother rest who is exhausted, epidurals can help her dilate and relax when they're done properly and she still has sensation, the use of forceps and vacuums don't need to be used when they're done properly. So epidurals aren't "bad" but the whole thought of being numb and not feeling my butt and only knowing when I'm having a contractions by looking at a monitor to tell me seems counterproductive (for me). Another friend recently told me that she's not a "big fan of pain." She's not a masochist like me. (Her words.) But does experiencing natural child birth and being able to feel what your baby is doing, being able to responding to your baby mean that you're a masochist? I certainly don't enjoy pain. I pop a Tylenol at the first sign of a head ache, believe me, I'm no fan of pain. 

Someone recently said to me, "Wow, you're SO brave for doing what you're doing." I wrestled with that statement for a moment and thought, "You know what? I AM brave!" There is no fear attached to my birth this time, there is no one to blame or be responsible for having this baby, it's all me. No one will force me to go against my intuition or instincts. I'll listen to my body, to my baby, to my god, to my midwife, follow the lead of my husband and as a team, we will work together to bring this baby into the world as gently and peacefully as possible. I like that definition of bravery. I trust that if we have to go to the hospital for whatever reason, it will be a great experience either way. I've come to peace about this topic as well.

I've really come to peace with this whole thing. It feels good. I feel like I'm at a really comfortable, confident place and I'm ready to surrender my will fully. There's nothing I want more than to give this baby the gift of a peaceful entrance into this world.

{Photos Credit}

What Are Your Thoughts On The Matter?

My friend Laura showed me this letter she received from a well known, (highly recommended by my pediatrician) baby formula company.

You may have heard of them. Similac. No? Doesn't ring a bell.... 

As a parent who supplemented with this formula, I certainly would never judge another mother's choice  to feed their child whatever they feel is best. I never questioned this company's ability to provide top of the line powered milk for my son's growth and development. In the same token, knowing that beetle parts and larva (shivers) were in these cans of formula make my stomach churn. Not that beetle larva can kill my child, but dude! Grossssss!!!! Seriously Similac? For as gosh darn expensive (boobs are free...) and for the fancy shmancy name & packaging, you'd think they'd provide a product that was fool proof. Makes me wonder how often these man made formulas are contaminated. Makes me want to show this piece of paper to the mother who argued with me that the formula companies "almost" have all of the ingredients that breast milk has and that it's practically the exact same thing.... My boobs don't produce beetle larva last time I checked. 

I'm not a formula Nazi. Believe me. I used this stuff myself. But after reading {this book which totally changed my life, no kidding.} being around other nursing mothers, knowing how amazing my milk is compared with formula, my thoughts on breast feeding have completely changed. This whole thing really grossed me out. It makes me more eager to want to give breast feeding my best effort this time and not give up so quickly with it. Dustin said that he wants me to just forget that formula even exists so that I don't turn to it when the rubber meets the road and my nips are falling off and bleeding or I'm in pain from being engorged.... fun times.

I found this letter extremely disturbing to read, having been a mother who fed this formula to my first child. 

I don't mean to open up a can of worms..... but seriously, what are your thoughts? 

Did you use formula? What was your experience?

Did you breast feed? What was your experience?

***What is your advice for a mother (ME) who struggled with nursing. 

Would you ever consider giving your baby another mothers milk if you couldn't breast feed?

Whatever pearls of wisdom you successful nursing moms have out there, spill it!

What is the secret?

Jelly Fish, Stingray's & Sharks, Oh My!

This picture makes me laugh because we both have our hands on our hip. *I do it to help my arm not look fat. And I also love that Conrad has his little hand on my stomach. I could die. 

Please excuse the poor picture quality (My Nikon is broken. Sad day. so I used my point and shoot Canon.)

We took the little man to the Shark Reef this weekend. I've been trying to plan fun big boy outings for Conrad before the baby comes. I want him to feel special and get to do a few fun things and make memories with us before we become 4. Becoming FOUR.... It seems like although there are only 3 of us right now, this baby is already such a part of the fabric of our family. I can barely wait to have he/she out so Conrad can meet this baby of his. He has been very vocal about the baby being, "My baby Mom! Mine!" Which makes me so happy. I hope he's still singing the same tune in a few weeks..... 

Conrad & Dustin's favorite animal at the Shark Reef was the octopus. Mine were the Jelly Fish. I swear I could sit and watch them for hours. They are SO beautiful. We're hoping we can hit the zoo before the baby comes. Dustin also said he wanted to park at the air port where you can watch the airplanes take off and land and have take out in the car with Conrad. I know it sounds boring, but to a 2 year old, to see air planes that close up would make his day. 

Just a few more weeks!!!

( Eeeeeekkkk!!!!! )

This Week:

-This reality TV couple was in our birth class this week. My midwife is delivering their next baby!

-This week, while walking down Seven Hills, during our morning walk, Conrad & I got attacked by a giant hummingbird sized beetle (which i swore had a stinger) and while swatting at it and yelling at it to go away, I caused my son to freak out too and start crying. I grabbed him out of his stroller and put him on my hip, and continued to fight off this monster sized beetle-wasp bug. All of a sudden I realize a white Escalade pulling up. The guy asks me if I'm OK in a squeaky, high pitched voice and I notice that it's MIKE TYSON?! He asks if we needed a ride because he saw I was pregnant. When he drove away, I noticed that my shirt was half way up over my huge ol' belly. I was pretty shocked that Mike Tyson stopped to help me but also pretty embarrassed.
-This week, I reflected upon this blog post when I was 27 weeks preggers with Conrad and it made me smile.
-This week I ate a spinach salad with a can of tuna on top and half a can of garbanzo beans every.single.day for lunch. It was heaven.
-This week, Dustin cut my toe nails for me since this baby is so big and my feet are out of reach.
-This week, I was introduced to my friend Laura's new tandem bike named Edward. He's all white and sparkles in the sun! (She loves Twilight just as much as I do!)
-This week, Conrad played a little game, his new favorite game called, "Show baby this" where he puts toys, food or whatever he wants to show the baby on my stomach. It's pretty darn adorable.
-This week, while playing play doh together, the dudes made mommy.

We're going on a "Baby moon" tonight! 

It's not your typical baby moon I guess, but it works for us. We're not actually "going" anywhere....

Ideally, we'd spend a weekend at some fancy bed and breakfast or go to the beach, but we'll be staying home enjoying a quiet house without our toddler. It probably won't be this quiet again for a very long time, so we're going to enjoy it! One day (when student loans are all paid off....) we'll take a much needed trip to the beach. For now, we'll just pretend.

{Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!}

One Of My Least Favorite Pregnancy Questions AND Some Thoughts On Inducing Labor:

When are you due?

I hate this question.

I mostly hate this question because (no matter who you are) if you're pregnant and people think you're supposed to be smaller than you are, and you say, "I've got Six weeks left!" they usually reply with, "REALLY? ARE YOU SURE!" or my personal favorite, which someone said to me this weekend, "Are you sure you aren't having twins!?" It's like, seriously? Who says this to a pregnant woman?

This time around, when people ask me when this baby is due or how far along I am, I simply reply,

"Who knows! Whenever the baby decides to make it's grand entrance!!"

"Only a few more weeks!"

or "Yep, I'm about to POP any minute! Watch your shoes. My water might burst all over em!"

Then I hold my belly and chuckle like Santa as loudly and obnoxiously as I can.

I don't know when I'll have this baby. I sure hope I don't stay pregnant forever. The goal is for our child to walk down the stage during graduation OUT of my stomach! That's the goal. I'd like he/she to come out before the age of 18. That'd be great.

I was at a VBAC birth circle last week listening to other woman share their birth stories. I was encouraged to listen to how they were able to birth vaginally after having had a previous cesarean and was relieved to know that it's normal to go well past my due date. One lady finally went into labor at 42 weeks, the other went into labor at 43 weeks (both delivered with my midwife). Their advice was to totally throw my due date out the window. One girl shared her birth story (which ended in a cesarean) and shared the pressure she felt to deliver her baby at 40 weeks because her doctor said that she had no choice, he was inducing her at 40 weeks because after that point, the baby is in "danger".

When did we subscribe to this thinking that our babies and our bodies don't know how to birth without synthetic drugs? This topic angers me so much mostly because I was forced by my doctor to induce labor with Conrad and knowing what I know now about inducting, I credit my induction to my emergency cesarean.

Instead of getting anxious about going over my due date, or wondering when the baby will come, I've been trying to say affirming statements about birth to myself.
-God has equipped me to birth this baby. My baby will be the perfect size to fit.
-The baby will come when it is ready to come.
-My body will nurture this baby until it is ready to arrive.
-There is no reason to stress over when it will come.
-Trust your body, trust God, trust your baby.

"Inducing labor means to force it to begin. It is sometimes necessary when the continued pregnancy itself is a threat to the mother's life, as in the case of a diabetic mother whose pregnancy is too stressful, aggravating the diabetes into a life threatening situation. This would be a medical reason and the proper use of induction. Such cases are rare. (There has been a dramatic rise in the labor induction rate in the last 15 years. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the rate of inductions was 9.5% in 1990. In 2003, the rate more than doubled to reach 20.6%. Imagine where it is now! The world health organization suggests a rate no higher than 10% induction, world wide.)

The majority of inductions are done today for what can only be termed "frivolous" or very questionable reasons. Induction for convenience or because the woman has gone past her "due date" with no other medical reason for induction is highly questionable and oftentimes dangerous.

Forcing labor to Begin is usually a rough business for the woman. An artificial hormone, contracting the uterus, is dripped into her arm intravenously.

The effect it can have on the uterine muscles is alarming. Your own natural hormone contracts the long muscles of the uterus progressively from the top downward toward the cervix in a wave like action. The contraction builds slowly to a peak of it's strength.

Induction can cause violent contractions which make the muscles contract all over at once. It feels like a big crunch. It feels stronger and it cuts the uterus off from circulation longer than nature intended. That blood supply to the uterus is also the baby's oxygen supply.

(No wonder babies often times don't react well to induction and need to be delivered another way....)

A forced labor is an extremely hard labor. It is difficult for the two of you to work with it. The woman in a forced labor often starts with a self doubt emotional signpost and stays that way for the entire labor (this was my experience with Conrad.) She is apt to feel overwhelmed. If both of you are looking forward to an unmediated, enjoyable labor experience, then you should know that an induced labor makes your goal difficult. Most woman feel it is an extremely painful experience.

Induction is a risky business. " Natural Birth The Bradley Way.

And people often look at me like I've got a third eye when I say I'm opting not to birth in a hospital, or with the help of drugs. I've been there with an induced labor and it's not pretty. 13 hours on pitocin without an epidural. I'll take all of the pain in the world over my previous situation!

HAZARDS OF LABOR INDUCTION:

First-time mothers have approximately twice the likelihood of cesarean section with induction compared with natural onset of labor. This risk is due to the procedure itself, not any reason that might have led to inducing labor. Inducing labor at 41 weeks in a hypothetical population of 100,000 first-time mothers will result in somewhere between 3,700 and 8,200 excess cesareans and cost an extra $29 to $39 million.

Women who have had prior vaginal births may increase their chances of cesarean section five-fold if the cervix is not ready for labor, and they are given cervical ripening agents. Inducing 100,000 hypothetical women with prior births at 41 weeks will result in between 100 and 2,300 excess cesareans and cost an extra $25 to $26 million.

All induction agents can cause uterine hyper stimulation (contractions too long, too strong, and too close together and higher baseline muscle tension). Uterine hyper stimulation can cause fetal distress. This means that, paradoxically, inducing labor because of concern over the baby’s condition may cause the very problem the induction was intended to forestall while the baby might have tolerated natural labor.

Induction of labor involves the need for other interventions — IV drip, continuous electronic fetal monitoring, usually confinement to bed — that also can have adverse effects.

Rupturing fetal membranes, a routine component of labor induction, can cause fetal distress and increases the likelihood of cesarean section. It may also precipitate umbilical cord prolapse (a life-threatening emergency for the baby in which the umbilical cord slips down into the vagina). Forty percent of all full term births involving cord prolapse were induced labors, rising to nearly 50% of births involving prolapse at 42 weeks or more.

Induced labors are usually more painful, which can increase the need for epidural analgesia. Epidurals introduce a higher probability of a host of adverse effects on the labor, the baby, and the mother.

Women with prior cesarean sections have a slightly increased probability of the scar giving way with Pitocin (oxytocin) induction (8 per 1,000 vs 5 per 1,000 with spontaneous labor onset) and greatly increased risk when prostaglandins (24 per 1,000) are used for cervical ripening or induction. Prostaglandins include Cytotec (misoprostol), Prepidil (prostaglandin E2), and Cervidil (prostaglandin E2).

Pretty interesting stuff right?

In all honesty, I was really hesitant to break up with my doctor, which is why it took me so long to switch over to my midwife at 20 weeks. When my doc said he had planned to induce me a week before my due date because he was going on vacation, I decided that my intuition about birth was going to be thrown out the window and I needed to RUN! With all of his vast knowledge, and his lack of patience, he had his own agenda to keep to. Whatever I had planned or hoped for, was the least of his worries.

Going "natural" for me, is not about how tough I am or about proving a point, it is more about not being induced with synthetic drugs. I don't want any kind of restriction at all to prevent me from having the freedom I feel is necessary to labor the way I want, this time around.

With that being said, LOTS OF WOMAN get induced every single day and have wonderful, enjoyable labors. But then there are woman like me, who didn't.

I'm being very conscious not to cling too tightly or have any expectations at all about my "due date" and trust my baby to come when it comes. To enjoy the last few weeks of pregnancy and not to agonize over the days passing or counting down the days until I have my baby. I'm finding much more comfort this time around in knowing that there isn't a day to watch.

But when my friend said to me recently, "You've only got about 4-6 weeks left to go...."

I was like, "Oh god, you're right! What if this baby is stubborn and comes at 42ish weeks....?!"

God help me!

Conversations In The Car With My Boys:

Our plans to take Conrad to Bonny Springs to see the animals Sunday didn't really work out due to the rain we experienced, but we decided to brave the weather anyway and headed to Trader Joe's for fresh cherries. To our surprise, once we got in the car, the rain cleared up. The trip to buy cherries was well worth it though. When we got home, Dustin got out his French cook book and whipped up some delicious cherry custard. I pleaded and begged him not to bake it, but he wouldn't listen..... Needless to say half of it is gone now. (See, HE'S the problem with my "eat right pregnancy plan". It's not ME, it's HIM!) I'm such a sucker for his baked goods, but whatever. Only a few weeks of being pregnant left! I might as well indulge a bit, right?

I'm 36 weeks this week! Eeeekkk!!! We had a really great weekend though. Saturday morning we went in search of baby essentials (a travel swing that fits in our tiny condo) with my Mom, and found some great deals at the garage sales we hit, but no swing. Then we had breakfast at Sunrise Cafe. I had an egg white omelet with chicken, avocados, chicken wing sauce and cheese. On the way home, I had to pull over to throw up and a security guard saw me and came to see if I was ok. My Mom said she was going to try to stop me from eating my entire meal, and half of hers, but I couldn't be stopped. At this point, it's like, if you eat too much, expect to see it come back up. Over-eating is really just not a cute thing to do when you're this huge.

Dustin took Conrad's baby car seat apart and washed it this weekend which is making this all feel way too real!

Can't wait for the baby to get here in a few weeks! 

StrEATS:

-A gazillion delicious food carts all lined up down town, ready for this pregnant girl to come'a knockin'
-Live music.
-Local artists.
-Yummy iced coffee, garlic fries, shaved ice & a big red fire truck serving pizza.
-Conrad suggesting we, "Give baby some snow cone Mommy!" While trying to lift up my shirt. I die. His concern for this sibling of his (that he has yet to meet) just melts my heart. It never gets old.
-Hanging out with my brother Vinni & being in the company of good friends.
-Teaching my toddler how to catch rain by sticking his tongue out....
-Conrad's excitement over a neon horsey.
-Admiring how cute my hubby is as he pushes the turd down a busy street buzzing with excited people, all ready to party as the Vegas sun goes down and the casinos neon lights shine bright. We hurry to the parking garage with our 2 year old knowing that showers still have to be had and books are waiting to be read before ni-night time.

But staying out past our curfew every once in a while is really a lot of fun! 

When there isn't a place for your butt, you can always use Mom's legs as a chair.

Pointing to the horsey shouting, "Horsey light up!"

{A Perfect way to end our Saturday.}

This Week...

-This week, while sipping raspberry leaf tea, sitting on my birthing ball in front of my computer, watching THIS video, my husband walked into our room, shook his head at me and said, "In a few more weeks, I can finally have my wife back!" Then he started watching the video along with me, eyes glued to the screen and just as the baby was delivered, I see him wipe away a tear as he walked out of the room disgruntled at the effect these videos are having on him, & shouted, "Damn these birth videos! Damn them!" I Love him.  I love that he has the same heart as I do about this topic and doesn't think I'm totally crazy. 

-This week, I felt like a kid again as I watched my 2 year old son marvel at the magic and beauty of seeing fire works for the very first time. It was well worth letting him stay up past his bed time. He kept saying, "BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! POP!" It was all too adorable.

-This week my husband made chocolate chip cookies, twice. The second batch was baked at 10:00 at night right after the first batch was consumed.

-This week, I shot these photos of my friend April who is just a week behind me in her pregnancy. She is hoping to have a water birth, unmediated in a hospital! Go April! I'm so excited for her birth! 

-This week, I finally feel like we could have this baby today and I would totally be ready! (sort of). I dug out all of Conrad's "gender neutral" new born clothes and washed them, the baby's room is painted, crib is still being sanded and everything is starting to feel really "real". I didn't wash any of my girl clothes though. I don't want to get my hopes up or anything. I kind of feel like I'm SUCH a boy Mom too. Like, even though we're trying to be as gender neutral about the nursery as possible, It still looks way more boy-ish than anything AND (just in case it's a girl.....) I purchased a cute peacock blue head band from Etsy for when she is first born. Not pink, but blue. Go figure.

-This week, I loved reading this article quoting a Vegas midwife who helped deliver my friends baby during her home birth which I had the privilege to photograph! Go natural birth community! Go Sherri! 

-This week, I found an adorable necklace and I just have to show you!

Hope you're all having a wonderful, short work week!