{7 months} ::Pregnant Update::

How far along? 28 weeks 5 days

Overall Emotion last month? SHOCK. I can not believe how fast this pregnancy is going. With Gracelyn it felt like it went so slow, and I am sure that is because I didn't know what to expect, but it has FLOWN by!

Maternity clothes? Yes,  I can still fit into some pre-pregnancy jeans with the ol' rubber band trick

Sleep: Doing well, I fall asleep in .2 seconds but of course get up about 5 times to pee

Best moment this month: Getting a few things for Avalyn's room like painting letters for her room (see below) and getting to feel her WAY more, she is much more active than Gracelyn was.

Weight Gain: +10lbs

Movement: Oh yes, she makes sure she is known in there. I don't remember feeling Gracelyn as much as I do Avalyn, I can feel her legs and grab ahold of them when she pushes out.

Food cravings: peanut butter...and junk food :-( 

Anything making you queasy or sick: not really, getting pretty sick of Mexican type foods though.

Have you started to show yet: yes, I feel quite a bit bigger than last month.

Wedding rings on or off? still on and loose

Looking forward to: hanging things up in Ava's room, ordering some home birth supplies, and spending alone time with Gracelyn before she has a sister

One thing I did well this month? Focused on my birth plans, and prepared mentally for an amazing experience

One thing I can work on this month? Diet was not as good as last month, and I can feel it in my body when I don't eat as well. On the days I eat good, I don't even feel pregnant and could run a marathon!

Bigger/Smaller than last pregnancy: I would say about the same, maybe smaller, just for fun here is a photo of my belly 7 months pregnant with Gracelyn, what do you think??

Protein intake this month: Not terrible, but not as great as I can do, and as I did last month

How does body & knee feel? Like I said before, I feel great when I eat great, you would think that would teach me to eat great all the time, but sometimes a craving overtakes me...

Book Currently reading: Continued reading/watching positive birth stories, and reading Spirit-Led Parenting, which is a great book!




Here are the letters we painted for Avalyn's room:

A new journey, 31!

I recently attended a 31 Party and then decided to host one of my own. 31 gifts have many things that I just adore. 31 was created from the Proverb 31 women and the character and honesty of the company I find rare. The product itself I just l.o.v.e. They have a variety of different purses, bags, organizational and storage totes. Everything can be personalized which makes organizing even more fun! I thoroughly enjoyed both of the parties I had and really love the product. I love the adorable cute patterns and prints and I love that you can personalize it for your own families needs.

 Since I will be staying home with the girls once Avalyn arrives I have prayerfully decided to become a 31 Consultant. As many of my friends would attest to, I am not the biggest fan of at home parties because I hated the pressure I always felt to buy something. I NEVER thought I would ever become a consultant for something because I never would want my friends or family to think I am always trying to sell them something. This was a struggle for me when deciding to become a consultant. However, I truly value the product of 31 and the company's values and product. I loved the idea of the freedom to be able to attend different parties and have some "adult girl time" every once in a while, while still being able to stay home with my girls. I support 31 and their products and I am so excited to begin the journey as a 31 consultant.

If you would like to host a party, or even just a catalog party if you don't have time to do a in person party or don't live by me, let me know! 31 is extremely generous to their hostesses and provide awesome hostess rewards. :-)

http://www.mythirtyone.com/schwei/

Daddy of the Year!

Tim,

I don't think I truly understood how much I loved you until you became the father of our daughter. I have continued to love you more and more since our wedding day, but my love for you took on a new identity when you became a daddy. I could not have prayed for a better husband or a better father to be by my side. You continue to amaze me with how nurturing and loving you are towards Gracelyn. You truly are her bestest friend. I am honored to be able to be in this journey of parenting with you and I continue to pray that as we draw closer to God, and to each other, we would be a strong model for our girls. I am so proud that my daughters have a man in their life from birth that love them for who they are, and will show them their worth and their beauty in Christ all of their lives. I could not ask for more! I am so excited to bring another daughter into the world with you. Thank you for sacrificing daily for our growing family, it does not go unnoticed. Our girls are beyond blessed to have a model of what a loving husband is, and a model for what love and value you hold for their mother. You are my best friend and I am so thankful to be on their journey of parenting with you.  Gracelyn and Avalyn are truly blessed!

Love you always,
You wife

{6 months} ::Pregnancy Update::

How far along? 24 weeks 2 days

Overall Emotion last month? EXCITED and thrilled, so many friends had babies this month and it gets me SO very excited for my birth with Avalyn. I cannot wait to hold her and kiss her and nurse her.

Maternity clothes? Yes,  I can still fit into some pre-pregnancy jeans, but regular tank tops are gone

Sleep: Been pretty tired this month, but overall sleeping well

Best moment this month: My midwive appointment. I seriously love meeting with her. We go to her house, and G gets to play with dolls and toys and I get measured, she feels the babys positon, does weight, and BP. We chat about the homebirth, and concerns or fears I have. It is not rushed or pressured. She is calm and peaceful and calms any fears I have. She is good about helping me relax and not being so hard on myself with my diet. I just love my appointments and I loved being able to see a "doll" of a baby that is Avalyn's exact size and weight for her gestation. Awesome to get a real picture of what she looks like, and makes me excited for her to continue to grow and plump up :)

Weight Gain: +9lbs

Movement: Yes, she is an active little girl and when she is awake she loves to make sure I know she is in there :)

Food cravings: fruit....seriously, I eat more fruit than one could imagine 

Anything making you queasy or sick: chicken and eggs are getting better depending on how they are cooked.

Have you started to show yet: yes, I feel quite a bit bigger than last month.

Wedding rings on or off? still on

Looking forward to: hypnobabies class, attending weddings, working out

One thing I did well this month? I decided I really needed to get a handle on my diet. I cut gluten back out of my diet, and started my supplements back up for my GI. I feel SO much better. My protien intake has exceeded what I need daily, I took all my vitamins and supplements daily (about 30 pills!), I stretched every morning and every night,and ate awesome food and feel AMAZING!

One thing I can work on this month? Continue habits from last month (diet, vitamins, stretching) and ADD prenatal workout.

Bigger/Smaller than last pregnancy: about the same? maybe a bit smaller

Protein intake this month: AWESOME! Thank goodness. I track my foods each day with a great app called "Eating for Two" It is for the Brewer Pregnancy Diet and has helped me to stay on track with what food groups I need each day. Last weeks I got 100 grams of protien each day :D  (Pregnant women should have 80-100grams)

How does body & knee feel? SO.MUCH.BETTER! seriously, cutting out gluten/processed foods is a night and day thing for me, and eating better foods helps me feel SO much more confortable with a growing belly.

Book Currently reading: Rewatched The Business of Being Born movie (HIGHLY reccomended for everyone pregnant, soon to be pregnant, or just interested in birth!), seriously read about 100 birth stories during my slow days at work :)

My Sweet Girl Gracelyn

Gracelyn Rose,

My sweet little girl, you are almost a year and a half. I can’t believe how fast the time has gone. You amaze me every day with the things you are learning and doing. You love to talk and chatter, even when no one knows what you are saying. Your squeal of joy makes me smile, and can turn any rough day into a beautiful moment. You love to color, do puzzles and read books. Most of my evenings are spent reading books and books to you, and helping you not to get too frustrated with your puzzles that you are so determined to complete.

 Every time I walk in the door from work, I hear your little feet pattering around to run into my arms. I always pick you up and give you hugs and kisses, and ask about your day. Without fail, every single time your first reaction to be is to sign eat. It doesn’t matter if daddy just fed you; you always need to be fed again by mama. I love holding you when you put your head down on my shoulder and grasp my arms like you never want to be let go. You are growing into such a beautiful and joyous little girl.

You have moments when you remind me of myself. Sometimes you get frustrated easily when you cannot do something. You tend to quit and get mad if you don’t understand something immediately.  I do the same thing sometimes, and it drives your daddy nuts! We will learn patience together my girl, and I will be gentle with you and help you to understand things that you may not get right away. You love to make people laugh. Once you get comfortable with someone you want to be the center of their attention. You are shy around new people, or people you have not seen regularly. You tend to grip onto mommy and not want to be put down. You eventually warm up, but I will be patient and gentle with you as you adapt to new people and new surroundings.

Change is coming in your future my sweet girl. In just a few short months you will have a baby sister. My love for you will not change or decrease when Avalyn comes. I promise to still be your loving mama who holds you when you are scared, and laughs with you when you are silly. Things may be different my girl, but my love will remain and continue to grow daily. We will embrace this change together as a family. I love you my sweet girl, and I am so proud to be your mama!

Love,

your mama <3

Planning a HBAC

I have thought about writing this post for about 6 months now. I have started it and erased it about 10 times and have struggled with deciding to share this or not. I had decided upon waiting until after Avalyn was born to share this to help keep the negative comments and feedback from filling my mind, but for some reason it all poured out today. I am going to be vulnerable and share this with you, I just ask that you please respect me and not judge me. (You don’t want to make a pregnant women cry, do you?)

We are choosing to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and you can read about that choice here, where I blogged about it before. The part I left out of that blog is that our VBAC birth is also going to be a home water birth.

As I have said before, I think there are risks with any choice you make regarding your birth. I love Mama Birth’s post on risk, read it here. You have to weigh the risks and benefits for yourself, and make an informed decision for you and your baby.  I can look into the same information as a friend and we may decide upon different paths for our birth experience, and THAT IS OKAY! Just because I may choose to birth in a specific location, does not mean that I believe every woman should do the same as me. We came upon the decision to have a homebirth for Avalyn long before she was ever conceived. I have been hesitant to share this with you all because just as you do not want to be judge for the birthing path you choose, neither do I. We have prayerfully come upon this decision and I have never been at more peace about it.

I am not choosing a homebirth because I think I am stronger or better than other mamas, or because I value the “birth experience” over my baby’s safety, I am choosing a homebirth for MY BABY and my body. I want an experience that will limit unnecessary interventions and allow my baby and my body to do what it was CREATED and DESIGNED to do. I do not believe pregnancy and birth is a medical emergency. I believe pregnancy and birth is as natural as it gets, perfectly designed by my Creator. I am thankful for medical interventions and hospitals for the times when an emergency arises, but I believe those emergencies are far and few between when there are no other interventions being done and the mama takes good care of herself.

I have been seeing an amazing midwife throughout my pregnancy and feel very peaceful about her 30 years of knowledge and experience. I have decided to do dual care for my pregnancy which means that I also see an OBGYN for prenatal appointments and checkups. I chose to do dual care because if there was a medical emergency I wanted to have a relationship and foundation with an OBGYN so that the hospital transfer would go smoothly and without unnecessary fears. I do not see an OBGYN because I in any way doubt my midwife’s ability to handle my birth. My OBGYN has been amazing and supportive of all my desires for this birth experience. We have discussed and planned for the unlikely event that a hospital transfer would be necessary, and the things I would want and not want done. She feels confident with our plan and has not has any negative feedback, or concerns.

I continue to see my midwife monthly along with seeing my OBGYN. I mostly check in with my OBGYN to continue the relationship and information flow, but consider my real appointments to be with my midwife. My prenatal appointments at done at my midwife’s house. It is such a different experience from the hard, cold, rushed feelings I felt with my prenatal appointments with Gracelyn. I am encouraged, uplifted, and at peace. The appointments are calm, informative and inspiring. My blood pressure is checked, my weight is check, and my urine is check. After all of the checking turns out perfectly, she feels Avalyn’s position, size and growth. She sits and talks with Tim and me about fears, concerns, issues, and excitement. She is patient and calm. She is understanding and supportive. She is everything I want in a provider for this birth. We are planning to have a home water birth with a very experienced and knowledgeable midwife. We want our close family and friends to be able to experience this joyous and peaceful time with us.

It is such a surreal feeling to walk around my house knowing that Avalyn will be brought peacefully into the world there. When labor time comes, there won’t be a need for packing, rushing, or speeding. We will feel calm and peace as I labor throughout my own home, in my own clothes, with the people that I choose to be there. There won’t be any big bright lights, fear, chaos, or stress. Avalyn will be welcomed into my arms with peace, joy, love and family. I can’t dream of a better birth for us!

{5 months} ::Pregnancy Update::

How far along? 20 weeks 5 days

Overall Emotion last month? my emotions change every minute but last month the most common one was thankful.

Maternity clothes? Yes, not all of the time, I can still fit into some pre-pregnancy jeans

Sleep: Sleeping well, I go to sleep each night at 8:30 (don't judge) and wake up at 5:45 am for work. I  am doing okay with sleepiness, but so ready for bed by 8pm

Best moment this month: moving into our new house and getting settled into it. I love knowing that we get to meet Avalyn here :) Also picked out some adorable new cloth diapers for her and tie dyed some matching onesies for Gracelyn and Avalyn.

Weight Gain: +3.5 lbs (but if you asked me 4 days ago it was +0....don't judge I may have binged one day last week

Movement: Yes, mostly at night when I am getting ready for bed. Still hurts when she kicks because it tears more adhesions. 

Food cravings: BANANA AND PEANUT BUTTER anything

Anything making you queasy or sick: chicken and eggs

Have you started to show yet: yes, its getting to the point now that a few strangers will ask, but still a bit of the awkward scared to ask me incase I just have a pudgy tummy ;) 

Wedding rings on or off? still on :) and still big

Looking forward to: Starting hypnobabies this month (have already been listen o affirmations daily) and seeing my midwife :) Oh, and Tim GRADUATES!!!

One thing I did well this month? Listened to affirmations daily, focused on relaxing during painful adhesions, took my prenatal everyday, bonded more with Avalyn :)

One thing I can work on this month? Protein intake,exercise, stretches 

Bigger/Smaller than last pregnancy: a tad smaller I think

Protein intake this month: Just got some protein powder, hope that helps

How does body & knee feel? body feels great when I eat great but....

Book Currently reading: Not been able to read much this month with moving and working.