So, today was a very busy day. Doug & I got both rooms cleaned out, carpet ripped up, swept clean and ready for new carpet next week! Woo! Also, I've had some time to research a few child birth methods, and have become very interested in a method called "HypnoBirthing". This is a method that uses hypnosis to achieve complete relaxation, comfort and relief during childbirth. Now, one thing that's important to realize is that "hypnosis" really refers to a state of deep relaxation - similar to the feeling you get when daydreaming, or lost in a good book.
How Does it Work?
Hypnobirthing uses relaxation scripts, positive affirmations, visualizations and mental imagery to teach a woman to relax her body, guide her thoughts, and control her breathing.
The Benefits of Hypnobirthing:
•It is teaches comfort and relaxation during vaginal childbirth.
•It alleviates stress and fear.
•You remain alert and awake.
•It eliminates the need for drugs that affect you, your baby, and your milk.
•Labors are often shorter since the body's muscles work effectively.
(information from givingbirthnaturally.com)
I purchased a book about it and if it turns out that I don't think I'm going to like it, well, I'm only out $15. I told Doug that I'm not ruling anything out! I'm not superwoman, I'm not gonna say that I won't take pain medication (and I'm not gonna say that I definitely will). Anything is possible. I just want to know my options.
Also, I've been doing research on cloth diapers. I believe I'm ready to make a few small purchases on them. I've read that using prefolds with covers are great for newborns. Also, I've decided that I don't want to purchase a whole bunch of them before our little man is here. I mean, I don't know which ones will work best for us. I plan on having a nice little stash of a mixed variety. After we discover what works best for Wolfie (and Doug & Myself), we'll get more ordered in whatever brand that is.
My next Dr. appointment isn't for a couple weeks, but I'm already looking forward to it. Dr. Cox wasn't going to be in on the day I was able to go, so I made my appointment with one of the Midwife's at the office. Midwives try to help women have a healthy pregnancy and a natural birth experience. They are taught not to medically intervene unless necessary. So, I'm very excited to meet with her.
Oh, and one last thing...I love, love, love feeling my little boy shakin' and movin' in my belly! I am so totally in love with him, and I look forward to meeting him (of course, I want him to wait until at least 37 weeks to make his big appearance!)
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Friday, May 14, 2010
22 weeks down - 18 to go!
At 22 weeks, Mr. Wolfgang is now 11 inches (the length of a spaghetti squash) and almost 1 lb. His lips, eyelids and eyebrows are more distinct, and he's developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums. He's just doing so much growing! I'm such a proud momma already!
It starts to hit me more and more each day that Doug and I are going to be parents. Holy Moly - DOUG AND I ARE GOING TO BE PARENTS! When did we grow up?! Where does the time go?!
I've gone from wondering what little Wolfie will be and thinking about how to do the nursery to looking into birthing methods and thinking more and more about how much life is going to change. (a GOOD change, but still a BIG change!) I've been reading up on breastfeeding. Hoping and praying that when Wolfgang arrives, I'll be able to provide for him in this way. I guess this is the way it is will all expectant mothers. At first you are day-dreaming about what your're having, wondering what your pregnant body will be like, and thinking about a snuggly newborn baby. Then, as time passes, your belly gets bigger and you realize that the number of weeks you have been pregnant is greater than the number you have left. Your mindset just naturally starts to change - you have to think about the reality of everything.
My reality is that I need to start preparing myself mentally and physically for not only childbirth, but for the wonderful yet stressful time soon after. Having a baby is not an easy thing. There is so much that people don't tell you about childbirth! God designed a womans body pefrectly for this. But, I definitely want to help myself by picking a birthing method that is not only right for me, but for Doug also. Looks like I'll be doing lots of research in the next few weeks, and talking with my Dr. about all my options.
It starts to hit me more and more each day that Doug and I are going to be parents. Holy Moly - DOUG AND I ARE GOING TO BE PARENTS! When did we grow up?! Where does the time go?!
I've gone from wondering what little Wolfie will be and thinking about how to do the nursery to looking into birthing methods and thinking more and more about how much life is going to change. (a GOOD change, but still a BIG change!) I've been reading up on breastfeeding. Hoping and praying that when Wolfgang arrives, I'll be able to provide for him in this way. I guess this is the way it is will all expectant mothers. At first you are day-dreaming about what your're having, wondering what your pregnant body will be like, and thinking about a snuggly newborn baby. Then, as time passes, your belly gets bigger and you realize that the number of weeks you have been pregnant is greater than the number you have left. Your mindset just naturally starts to change - you have to think about the reality of everything.
My reality is that I need to start preparing myself mentally and physically for not only childbirth, but for the wonderful yet stressful time soon after. Having a baby is not an easy thing. There is so much that people don't tell you about childbirth! God designed a womans body pefrectly for this. But, I definitely want to help myself by picking a birthing method that is not only right for me, but for Doug also. Looks like I'll be doing lots of research in the next few weeks, and talking with my Dr. about all my options.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Feeling good about what's been done
Wow - I had a busy day today! Well, busy internet shopping that is! I have purchased our crib, dresser, bookcase and glider with ottoman. The crib and dresser are backordered, and won't ship until the 31st, but that works out perfect, since our carpet will be installed just right before that.
Also, we got our baby bedding yesterday, and last night went to Lowe's to get some paint color-matched. This evening, I painted the wall that the crib will be on teal blue that's in the bedding. Now, all that's left to paint is a large stripe (dark brown) across the walls. :)
Finally, I believe that our baby registries are completed (for the most part). I decided to register at Target and Babies 'R' Us. We started the Target registry in store, and I finished it online. And did the BRU registry completely online. I worked for quite a while on them trying to mostly put items that are available in the Joplin stores so people don't have to order online. There are still a few items that are only available online, but for the most part, I'm very pleased with how they turned out. It may look like I registered for quite a bit, but the truth is that I will get a certain percent off of items left on the registry - which means that I'll be saving some money! :)
It feels good to have these things marked off my "to do" list. Now I just have to be patient and wait for the carpet and furniture to arrive. I can't imagine how much more real it will seem to me when I walk down the hall to an actual nursery. I'm so looking forward to it!
Also, we got our baby bedding yesterday, and last night went to Lowe's to get some paint color-matched. This evening, I painted the wall that the crib will be on teal blue that's in the bedding. Now, all that's left to paint is a large stripe (dark brown) across the walls. :)
Finally, I believe that our baby registries are completed (for the most part). I decided to register at Target and Babies 'R' Us. We started the Target registry in store, and I finished it online. And did the BRU registry completely online. I worked for quite a while on them trying to mostly put items that are available in the Joplin stores so people don't have to order online. There are still a few items that are only available online, but for the most part, I'm very pleased with how they turned out. It may look like I registered for quite a bit, but the truth is that I will get a certain percent off of items left on the registry - which means that I'll be saving some money! :)
It feels good to have these things marked off my "to do" list. Now I just have to be patient and wait for the carpet and furniture to arrive. I can't imagine how much more real it will seem to me when I walk down the hall to an actual nursery. I'm so looking forward to it!
Monday, May 10, 2010
21 week pictures
Please ignore the fact that these pictures are not very good! I came down with bad head cold Saturday, and I wasn't feeling the best.
My belly is really starting to "get out there"!
This past weekend was a busy one for me! On Saturday, I walked a 5k that our church was sponsoring with my mom and some of her friends. It was a beautiful morning for it, and I think everyone had a great time. I believe that over 100 runners/walkers participated in the M4M5K, and hopefully it will only grow in the years to come! When I got home from that, Doug & I finally went to Carthage and picked out carpet! It will be here on the 20th! Woo! I'm so excited to get it installed, and get our furniture put up (which, I'll be ordering this week!). Then, I went shopping with Amy. It's so fun knowing that Wolfie is a boy! I found some great clearance items for our little guy at Old Navy and The Children's Place. It was a great day, but a very busy one!
Yesterday was Mother's Day - and I got to spend my first Mother's day with my wonderful husband, my beautiful momma and my family! It was a great day! Doug surprised me with flowers! I love them! Also, my mom & dad got me a very cute picture. I'm looking forward to next year when our little man will be here! I am so blessed to have such a wonderful mom and mother-in-law, and I want to wish them both, one more time, a very happy Mother's Day!
The flowers my amazing husband got me for my "Expectant Mother's Day"
The gift from my mom & dad. Can't wait to hang it in our son's nursery!
Some track pants for my little guy. They'll be perfect for next Spring!
I had to get this little rain coat for him! It was too cute to pass up! Another item for next Spring :)
And my favorite purchase so far - little polo shirts that look just like a couple that daddy has! Daddy loves polo shirts, and I'm sure our son will wear quite a few also...they'll be quite the handsome pair!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Finally starting to get things done!
Hallelujah! Doug & I are FINALLY getting our butts in gear and getting our lil' guy's room started! We're going to get carpet tomorrow and hopefully it'll be installed next week! I've got the crib, dresser and bookcase picked out and ready to purchase, and I have a slight idea how I want my boy's room to look. Wow, that's a pretty big deal for me!
Doug & I are heading to Joplin tonight to start our registry. I'm hoping to register at Target and Babies 'R' Us. I've been looking online a bit each day, and writing down the items I like. Unfortunately, at Target, there's only so much that can be purchased in store. The rest has to be purchased online. I'm not really happy about that, but I understand that they can only have so much in the baby section in store. Oh, and I say "we're" going to register...but what that really means is that "I'm" going to register while Doug walks around behind me with the little "gun" and acts like a BOY! haha! If it's anything like when we registered for our wedding, (that was a blast! - we had no idea what the heck we needed, or what half the things we asked for were. Oh the joys of getting married at 18 and never having lived on your own before :), Doug will have to scan everything and not even let me hold the "gun". But, that's ok with me. I'm sure we'll have a great time, and hopefully not make too big of fools out of ourselves :)
Also, today and tomorrow I'm hoping to get to a couple garage sales that have some baby gear and lots of baby boy items! Yes! Hopefully I'll find some good deals!
Now, for our 21 week veggie:
Wolfie is not the length of a carrot, about 10 1/2 inches long! And, at our Dr. visit on Tuesday, he weighed 12 ounces. Keep on growin' little man! (I Love saying that - my BOY!)
Doug & I are heading to Joplin tonight to start our registry. I'm hoping to register at Target and Babies 'R' Us. I've been looking online a bit each day, and writing down the items I like. Unfortunately, at Target, there's only so much that can be purchased in store. The rest has to be purchased online. I'm not really happy about that, but I understand that they can only have so much in the baby section in store. Oh, and I say "we're" going to register...but what that really means is that "I'm" going to register while Doug walks around behind me with the little "gun" and acts like a BOY! haha! If it's anything like when we registered for our wedding, (that was a blast! - we had no idea what the heck we needed, or what half the things we asked for were. Oh the joys of getting married at 18 and never having lived on your own before :), Doug will have to scan everything and not even let me hold the "gun". But, that's ok with me. I'm sure we'll have a great time, and hopefully not make too big of fools out of ourselves :)
Also, today and tomorrow I'm hoping to get to a couple garage sales that have some baby gear and lots of baby boy items! Yes! Hopefully I'll find some good deals!
Now, for our 21 week veggie:
Wolfie is not the length of a carrot, about 10 1/2 inches long! And, at our Dr. visit on Tuesday, he weighed 12 ounces. Keep on growin' little man! (I Love saying that - my BOY!)
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Frogs and Snails and Puppy-dogs' Tails...
That's what little BOYS are made of! Yep, it's a boy! We have a healthy, adorable and very active little boy!
Get ready, because this post is gonna be a little long :)
It's no surprise that I couldn't sleep very well last night. In fact, I spent most of my time yesterday day-dreaming at work about how the ultrasound would be. When Doug got home last night, it's pretty much all he heard about. He was looking forward to it, but I can't say that he was as 'over the top' excited as me! We decided to head to bed at around 10 p.m., and I layed there for about 2 hours just thinking about our little one and praying that our little Wolfie was completely healthy, and that everything would look normal. As much as I was looking forward to finding out the gender, I was more excited to get a glimpse of our little one and hear that everything is going just as it should.
I woke up at about 6 this morning feeling pretty rested and ready to get the day started! My appointment was at 9 a.m., and I did not want to be late! So, off we went at a little before 8 so we could get some breakfast on the way (I ordered a nice, big glass of orange juice to get the little one hyped up on some sugar! :) We had to wait about 10 minutes after we arrived at the Dr's. office. Those were some of the longest 10 minutes I have EVER spent! When we were called back, I started to get nervous. I'm not sure why. The ultrasound tech didn't waste any time, and right after we stepped into our room, I was lying on the table with super cold goo on my belly and Doug at my side.
The tech explained what it was she was doing, and what we were looking at. We got to see little Wolfie's head, his little legs, tiny tush, strong arms, cute little hands and feet and a very strong heart! It was all so amazing to watch - to see this baby that is a part of both Doug and myself, its almost unreal. I'm not sure how someone can look at a life that's being created and not think that there is a God. When I see this, all I can think about is that it's all because of God! He has given this gift to us! That's the bottom line, it's all because of Him!
The tech checked with us one more time to make sure we wanted to know the gender. She then showed us that little Wolfgang is not shy at all, and was very happy to show us "his goods"! She told us that she'd been getting some pretty good glimpses of his little "peppy" during the ultrasound, and pointed it out to us (not that we could really tell what it was!). After she said "it's a boy", Doug said, "really?" We both thought that we were having a girl - just goes to show that a woman's intuition is not always right (at least not mine!) We got some pictures printed out, and have quite a bit of the live ultrasound on DVD.
After we were finished with the ultrasound, I had a normal check up, and was told that everything is looking great with both Wolfgang and myself. Good news! As soon as we got to the parking lot, we decided to call Paul and Deb, and let the know which package to open. Unfortunately, Paul wasn't around at the time, and we needed to call back in about 15 minutes. So, we decided to head to Target and buy our first little boy outfit! After we made our purchase, we headed back to the parking lot to make our second call. Paul & Deb were ready to know, and we told them to open the red package! I wish we could have seen their faces. It was so fun to hear their excitement of our news of a new grandson for them!
After our chat with them, we decided to head to Lamar to tell my parents. They were more than ready to know when we got there! We didn't waste any time, and gave them the green gift. The looks on their faces were priceless! Then it was time for calls to our brothers and sister, and to stop by grandparents. I don't think that anyone was really too surprised that it was a boy (they tend to run on the Banta side!) The only one's really surprised were us.
Today has been one of the best days of my life! To find out that we're having a healthy baby boy is wonderful news! I couldn't ask for anything more!
Now, it's picture time:
3D of baby's face
He has his little fist in front of his nose :)
His little fist in front of his face again.
Here's what was inside of the gifts for the grandparents (it was the same thing, only pink in the other package)
And, here's our little man's first 'boy' outfit!
Get ready, because this post is gonna be a little long :)
It's no surprise that I couldn't sleep very well last night. In fact, I spent most of my time yesterday day-dreaming at work about how the ultrasound would be. When Doug got home last night, it's pretty much all he heard about. He was looking forward to it, but I can't say that he was as 'over the top' excited as me! We decided to head to bed at around 10 p.m., and I layed there for about 2 hours just thinking about our little one and praying that our little Wolfie was completely healthy, and that everything would look normal. As much as I was looking forward to finding out the gender, I was more excited to get a glimpse of our little one and hear that everything is going just as it should.
I woke up at about 6 this morning feeling pretty rested and ready to get the day started! My appointment was at 9 a.m., and I did not want to be late! So, off we went at a little before 8 so we could get some breakfast on the way (I ordered a nice, big glass of orange juice to get the little one hyped up on some sugar! :) We had to wait about 10 minutes after we arrived at the Dr's. office. Those were some of the longest 10 minutes I have EVER spent! When we were called back, I started to get nervous. I'm not sure why. The ultrasound tech didn't waste any time, and right after we stepped into our room, I was lying on the table with super cold goo on my belly and Doug at my side.
The tech explained what it was she was doing, and what we were looking at. We got to see little Wolfie's head, his little legs, tiny tush, strong arms, cute little hands and feet and a very strong heart! It was all so amazing to watch - to see this baby that is a part of both Doug and myself, its almost unreal. I'm not sure how someone can look at a life that's being created and not think that there is a God. When I see this, all I can think about is that it's all because of God! He has given this gift to us! That's the bottom line, it's all because of Him!
The tech checked with us one more time to make sure we wanted to know the gender. She then showed us that little Wolfgang is not shy at all, and was very happy to show us "his goods"! She told us that she'd been getting some pretty good glimpses of his little "peppy" during the ultrasound, and pointed it out to us (not that we could really tell what it was!). After she said "it's a boy", Doug said, "really?" We both thought that we were having a girl - just goes to show that a woman's intuition is not always right (at least not mine!) We got some pictures printed out, and have quite a bit of the live ultrasound on DVD.
After we were finished with the ultrasound, I had a normal check up, and was told that everything is looking great with both Wolfgang and myself. Good news! As soon as we got to the parking lot, we decided to call Paul and Deb, and let the know which package to open. Unfortunately, Paul wasn't around at the time, and we needed to call back in about 15 minutes. So, we decided to head to Target and buy our first little boy outfit! After we made our purchase, we headed back to the parking lot to make our second call. Paul & Deb were ready to know, and we told them to open the red package! I wish we could have seen their faces. It was so fun to hear their excitement of our news of a new grandson for them!
After our chat with them, we decided to head to Lamar to tell my parents. They were more than ready to know when we got there! We didn't waste any time, and gave them the green gift. The looks on their faces were priceless! Then it was time for calls to our brothers and sister, and to stop by grandparents. I don't think that anyone was really too surprised that it was a boy (they tend to run on the Banta side!) The only one's really surprised were us.
Today has been one of the best days of my life! To find out that we're having a healthy baby boy is wonderful news! I couldn't ask for anything more!
Now, it's picture time:
3D of baby's face
He has his little fist in front of his nose :)
His little fist in front of his face again.
It's a boy!
Here's what was inside of the gifts for the grandparents (it was the same thing, only pink in the other package)
And, here's our little man's first 'boy' outfit!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
20 week pictures
Well, here I am halfway through!
I hope that they are curious to find out which one is which! And there better be no snooping!!
Less than 2 days! Oh my goodness, I feel like a little kid! I can't contain my excitement!
I had planned a way to tell our parents the gender for quite a while. I'll share exactly what we did after we find out ;) But, I'll say that I have wrapped two gifts for both sets of parents. And we will have them open one of the gifts to find out the gender. I have been working all week to get the gifts prepared (nothing like waiting until the last minute!) and had to wrap Grandma and Grandpa Stefan's gift to travel. They will be on vacation and sadly we won't get to see them open their present. But I told Doug that it wasn't going to stop me from still telling them the way I had planned. So off they went this morning with their two packages stored in the carry-on so that they'll be with them on Tuesday when we call. I got Grandpa and Grandma Blackford's gifts ready to take over tomorrow, and I just wanted to share the pictures of the finished products. Like I said before, I'll show the pictures of what's inside each package on Tuesday after we find out!
The "travel size" package for Doug's parents
And the "full size" package for my parents
I hope that they are curious to find out which one is which! And there better be no snooping!!
Less than 2 days! Oh my goodness, I feel like a little kid! I can't contain my excitement!
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