Updates on Baby Fohner (since it's been so long)...

Has it been 2 whole months since I updated...goodness.  Well, I do feel like I'm back in my First Trimester (exhaustion-wise), so can that be my excuse?  Really, I feel wonderful...just tired again.  I can still sleep pretty well.  Most nights I get through the entire night without waking up, which is awesome, though I'm going to bed later & later because though my body is tired, most of the time I just lay there reading for an hour or so before I can fall asleep.  I've been able to get through a lot of my Bible reading than I usually do each night (which has been so nice) & I think I'll be able to get through all my baby books before this little one actually arrives.

Currently, I'm skimming "Heathy Sleep Habits, Happy Child", "The Vaccine Book", "The Womanly Art of Breast-feeding", "Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way", "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth" & all our pregnancy books.  I reading in full "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth", "Spiritual Midwifery"& "Husband Coached Childbirth".  Yeah, I pretty much LOVE reading.  I'm trying to soak up every article, website, DVD, & book I can to be the most prepared for Baby Fohner.  I know you can never be as prepared as you want to, but I'm trying!  And we are prepared...if Baby Fohner came today, Matthew would need to go out & buy the crib mattress & sheets, but at this point, that's all we absolutely need.  As my Facebook friends can see, the nursery is done, minus cosmetic touches that we want to finish (actually putting things on the wall for decoration).

I can say that we LOVE our birthing classes.  We're doing the Bradley Method of natural childbirth & have learned SO MUCH!  I think I would be completely freaked out at this point if we choose not to do these classes.  I mean, I'm a pretty tough cookie, but just reading books, going to a weekend intensive of birthing classes, & praying that I get through it without accepting medication just wouldn't work for me.  I have nothing but the upmost respect for women who do so, but I know that Matthew & I really need to be prepared with all that Bradley offers in order to really be able to do this thing.   We've completed 8 of our 12, weekly two-hour birthing classes & are set to finish 3 weeks before Baby Fohner's due date.  I just know that if we didn't take these classes, I'd probably be able to get through most of labor, but then I'm pretty sure I'd cave.  Now that we know what we know, we're pretty determined (no surprise about stubborn me there, eh?) that we can do this & I can honestly say that I am so excited for labor.  Seeing how these amazing Bradley Women give birth in the DVD's each week, how close these husbands & wives become while going through the process together, & how healthy & alert those babies are when they're born gets me so excited for what our own birthing experience will be like & I can't wait.

Well, maybe I can wait...I have absolutely LOVED being pregnant.  Since actually conceiving was the hardest, most emotional, & trying thing that Matthew & I have ever gone through in our lives, we've not wanted to take anything for granted & enjoy this pregnancy since even though Shady Grove was amazing, we are only guaranteed this one baby.  We know that God has a purpose behind everything & we feel so blessed to have had everything work & become so much stronger through it.  We are closer than we have ever been & our faith has grown tremendously.  We would go through everything over again in a heartbeat, but we never want to take anything about the miracle that this baby is for granted.

So how's our little one doing?  Excellent!  He/she is growing strong, & I mean really growing strong.  Our midwives scheduled another ultrasound for us since instead of measuring 2 weeks ahead like I have throughout the whole pregnancy, at my 32 Week Appointment last Friday, I measured 4 weeks ahead.  Yesterday, at 33 Weeks & 2 Days, Baby Fohner was weighing 5 lbs. 5 oz. & due to arrive 8 days early. Though ultrasounds are amazing machines, they can be off anywhere by as much as a pound & a week, so even though Baby Fohner is measuring over 1 lb. what he/she should be around now, the measurements could be not be entirely accurate.  I've always known I'm going to have big babies since I was 3 oz. shy of 10 pounds myself, so we're not worried about it.  Women's bodies are designed to have babies & the way this one kicks & punches, I know he/she will fight his/her way out of there somehow  :)

Though Baby Fohner was being shy & kept his/her face nestled into my back during the entire 50 minute ultrasound, our ultrasound tech was fabulous & got some great shots.  For those that don't have Facebook, here's some of our favorite shots from yesterday...