It is so exciting to be approaching the last 10 weeks. I cannot wait for our sweet little baby to be here. So a lot has happened in the last 8 weeks and I will try to catch you up...
First of all, we found out we are having a baby GIRL!! We are so excited. I almost fell off little ultrasound bed when the technician told us! We have also decided on a name, but are waiting until she is here to announce it. BUT we are sharing her nickname.... Ellie! It is so fun to have something to refer to her as! We also started our Bradley natural birthing classes about 5 weeks ago. We are so blessed to have this time together to learn all about pregnancy, labor, delivery, and the postpartum phase. I really really REALLY love the environment and the curriculum. It is just such an encouraging time to be reminded that God has designed my body to do this and given us so much information to be able to go into this experience informed and prepared. I know I will need His strength to get through a natural/non-medicated delivery, but I know that He has equipped me and made my body to be able to do this. I can't tell you exactly why I first decided to go natural. Really, it is just what made sense to me. And the more and more I have learned, the more confirmation I have that this is the best option for me and for Baby Ellie. We also have put down a deposit for our Bradley teacher to be our Doula for the birth. I am SO excited! She is nothing short of a God-send. Not having family here in GA, it has been the biggest blessing to have an older/wiser woman connection that has lots of experience with natural births. As a Doula, she will basically be an assistant coach to help Patrick (the coach) and I through the labor and delivery. She will be there to remind us of all the things we have learned in class and also offer her tips/ suggestions as different situations may arise. I am just so excited to have her- words cannot explain the peace and comfort it has already brought knowing we won't be going through this alone!
BABY: She is now approximately 17 inches long and 2.9 lbs. Her kicks have become stronger and stronger. I notice the most movement at night time (like for instance last night, when she was having a dance party at 3am for almost one whole hour! HA!).
ME: The last week or two has been interesting. I have had lots of headaches (not migraines) and the nausea has come back. Nothing like the first trimester, but just an overall queasy feeling all day. This has totally killed the little motivation to cook that was coming back. LOL. Oh well, we are on the final stretch now so I am not going to stress out about it. Another funny thing, my puppy Watson has also been acting more clingy lately. He is always right by my side or trying to lay right on my tummy. He also has been constantly licking me (not sure what this is about). I have also been prepping him for Ellie's arrival. I now refer to the guest room as "Ellie's room" to him. The other day we were in her room and I was on the floor organizing some stuff. I pointed to the crib and said "This is Ellie's bed" and he did the cutest thing ever... he went over to the side of the crib and stood up on his back 2 legs and looked inside like "Where is she Mom?" I cannot wait to see how he does with her. He loves kids and especially babies! I know she will get lots of love and attention from him and I just can't wait to see how they bond!
So prayer requests for the next 10+ weeks...
1) Pray that Ellie flips into the proper head down position. They say its not a big deal that she hasn't yet and she has plenty of time, but after watching my sis go through the whole breach baby ordeal, I would really love it if she cooperated on her own. And I know that with the military, if she remains breech I will have a Cesarian delivery.
2) That I would daily trust the Lord... I am so thankful Patrick is here (and not deployed), but having him in school right now has been interesting. I already know that he will not be able to take the 10 day paternity leave the military usually gives. And lately, I have been tempted (and given in at times) to imagine worst case scenarios. So please just pray that I would trust the Lord with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding. As my old pastor once said, The future is not my domain, it is God's. So I will leave that up to Him.
3) that God would continue to prepare us to be the best parents for Ellie that we can be in His strength
4) that Ellie would continue to grow healthy and strong
5) that through this remaining time and the arrival/birth He would be glorified and honored.
HE is the One who creates Life and deserves ALL the glory, honor, and praise!!
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| Ellie's crib with her bedding |
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| Patrick picked out her first bathing suit! |
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| Getting bigger... 28.5 weeks! |
