Field Trip

I didn't skip a post yesterday because I was still grumpy--don't worry.

B and I took a trip out of town to visit my bro, sis-in-law, and nephew.  We were supposed to visit some other friends as well, but a miscommunication botched up one visit and our other friends were super busy and tired because of Ramadan.

We had a good trip, but that is definitely the last road trip I take before Camille gets here.  WHEW!  Well, last trip that's over an hour and a half at least.  I wore my granny compression stockings to keep my feet from becoming ridiculous again, but it was very uncomfortable.  My back will take a while to get back to normal.

Great visit though--Love them.  We are fortunate enough to have most of our family other than them in town with us.  Plus they don't live too far, so we get to see them fairly regularly.  They are also expecting a baby--in December.  Wahoo!

This is my nephew with his safety glasses--he was helping his Papi build some chairs.

We took a trip to IKEA--I was thinking I'd find a chair for pretty cheap that was kind of funky to add to the nursery.  However, they were about the same price (or more) than most of the chairs I have found elsewhere.  I was big time disappointed.  I came away with a set of play ice cream and play breakfast:

Breakfast fixin's

Ice cream cones, cake, and cookies

These are like little stuffed animals, only food--and they velcro together!  They're for ages 3 and up though, so we'll have to wait a while to play with them.  I just didn't want to pass them up because they were cheap, and boy or girl, I think our kids will love these!

Our nephew, T, was much more talkative this trip and he gave us so many hugs!!!  My bro took us to a Thai place with some seriously authentic food--SO good.  We also watched Avatar--hadn't seen it--and it was pretty good.  Seems like any story that includes love makes me appreciate B more.  I guess I was supposed to take away something more political from the movie, but really I just love my husband and appreciate that he's here.  Sorry Mr. Cameron.  My bro also cooked up a serious breakfast for us this morning--pancakes, eggs, and sausage.  Wow.  Spoiled.  Then me and my sil chatted about pregnancy things.  She went natural with T, so it's great to hear about her experiences.

Now we're back--came in today and am grumpy again.  :/  I guess it's just being tired/stressed.  We officially work all week this week, but the kids won't come until Wednesday.  There go my late sleeps and my naps and my lazy days.  I have a feeling I'll be in bed around 7 every night this week.  Maybe I won't put on weight--I won't have time to eat much and I'll be busy; plus I'll be shaving some hours off of my evening by going to bed so early.

Once I have some idea of what I'm actually doing at my job I think I'll be less freaked out.  Let's hope I figure it out quickly once the kids show up.  I keep hearing "inclusion", but with gifted I just see that set up as so distracting to the regular class taking place.  I also don't want to bug all of the teachers too much by asking them tons of questions about their schedules for class and what not.  Not much way around it though...

The beautiful gown was a gift--so pretty!

Of course--who can be mean to a pregnant lady??  :D  The belly is continuing to grow and grow.  I thought I'd hit a stage where it was just big and I was uncomfortable, but it seems that you hit this stage and keep expanding.  Today I could feel her entire body and its location and what organs it was hitting.  I have two months left???!!!  I'd wager she'll come a little early (or I'll really hate myself).

Isn't it amazing how your body isn't your own when you're pregnant?  I've never felt more like I'm just occupying a shell than I do right now.  I have almost no control over my body--it's a weird feeling to have.  Luckily I still control some major functions...I'm not saying we're having THAT many problems here.   Hehehehe.

I'll stop before I further embarrass myself.

Working Out the Prenatal Back Pain

I have been super lazy as of late, and my back is definitely reflecting that laziness in the form of pain!  My goodness it's hard to go to bed when you know you'll be uncomfortable all night and wake up with one side in enough pain that you can't walk right away.  I am not sixty!

I realized that the only difference was my level of activity, so I figured I'd better bump it back up!  My good friend leant me copies of Prenatal Yoga, Prenatal Pilates (10 minute workouts), and the Perfect Pregnancy Workout.  I figured that even the heat couldn't be a good excuse not to workout at all when I have these at the house.

Perfect Pregnancy Workout (with Karyne Steben):  Hardcore, but soooo helpful!  The squats and lunges and hip circles and pelvic tilts and "keep it up exercise"--they are all bearable (even for a larger lady like myself) and make you feel so strong and in control of your body.  I highly recommend this one--skip any parts that seem too difficult, and you'll still get a great workout all around.  I like that she works out your arms too--we'll need those for when the baby arrives!

Prenatal Pilates (with Lizbeth Garcia):  Great!!  10 minute bits--do whatever you have time for and want to focus on.  There's a great segment on flexibility that helps fix my back aches and stretch things out so that I feel like that baby has more room to move (and thus--I can breathe a lot better).  Plus, they're short, so you can't really make up an excuse not to do it.

Prenatal Yoga (with Shiva Rea):  I haven't tried it.  I've never done yoga (or pilates for that matter) before, and this one requires a chair, a block, a strap, some folded blankets....I rarely want to take that much time to prep for a workout and our living room doesn't accommodate that much stuff.  It looks like it would be a good idea though.

Anywho--just after doing some of the first workout and then a the flexibility pilates I had no back pain.  It's insane how much they helped and how quickly.  Now I have no excuses to be a lazy moo on the couch.

However....that's what I did today.  B had a big interview out of town and we stayed up all night getting him prepared, then woke up at 3:30 to a really crazy lightning storm, then he left at around 5:30 and I half slept until about 8:30 when I realized he hadn't called to say if he landed or not.  (He had--whew.)  I guess the stress of his interview rubbed onto me and I've been a mess all day--unable to focus on anything.  It's over, he is pleased with how he did, and he'll be back in about four more hours.  :/  Long day!

As far as my job goes:  I have no idea what is going on!  I went to get the paperwork to fill out and will go return it tomorrow.  However, I just found out that there's a new teacher orientation at my school tomorrow.  Seems like I should be there for that!  I don't know when it starts, but I may have to go in.  This is the most unorganized I've ever been at the beginning of a school year, and it's extra crazy because I don't have a classroom and can't plan anything until I meet my students.  I don't even know how much I'll get to see them-it will vary student to student.  Panic.  We start next week.

I miss having a classroom, by the way.  It's been a long time.  I think I will do well with my gifted enrichment position, but booyyyyy what I wouldn't give to go back to teaching high school social studies in a classroom.  I genuinely feel like that is something I am very good at, and it's something I really enjoy.  It is nearly impossible for me to find a position in that field though with all of the coaches taking priority--gotta have our sports down South.  Social Studies often gets shafted, which may explain why I hated it for so long.

**Of course there are some excellent teachers that teach a variety of subjects that are coaches as well--I'm not trying to peg them all in that hole!  One of my very good friends was definitely born to teach social studies, but also to coach--and he's great at both.  I just know of certain cases where someone who was an athlete was offered a social studies teaching job without even being a certified teacher.  That is what makes me burn up a bit.  I had a science teacher and a couple of social studies teachers in high school who were just coaches (not teachers) and boy could I tell.

Black hole rant of doom over:  Let's go give these gifted kids something to think about!  Time to get ready to challenge young brains!  

Did you enjoy being challenged academically in high school??

My answer:  YES!!  But it didn't happen often enough because I didn't take any of the tough classes; I was lazy and afraid to have to work too hard and end up not doing well anyway.  I feel like that's what happens to gifted kids--they need practice doing challenging things so that they can attack things in a successful way.  I have a goal!

Hand Massage to the Rescue!

Last day of birthing classes today (yes, these were short).  We got to watch some pretty graphic natural births.  The first one was so easy that the lady was just "oooh." and done--and there was some seriously graphic ...fluids there.  Ew.  There wasn't much emotion afterwards and the mom was kissing on the dad, not much focus on the baby...which I thought was odd. 
In the second video the lady was in some serious pain and it lasted a good while, but the dad was doing some great things to help:
1. Massage techniques
2. Cold compress on face (which she batted away during one contraction--hilarious--I can see me doing that)
3. Using warm water in the shower
4. Singing "She'll be comin' round the mountain when she comes" to the mom. 
   **** Birth Coaches Everywhere:  Please do not do this unless the mom has requested it or it is a special song to you and your partner. ****
  I would have had to slap this man.

Anyway--the whole class was a great experience, and I feel empowered enough to give natural birth a serious shot.  I feel like we have a great idea of what to expect (although I'm prepared for the unexpected to happen--everyone's different) and I have some really good tools to use to combat pain and distract myself from it.  However--the most important tool I've got is Brian.  Yes, it sounds like I just called him a tool--but I mean that in a great way. 

B is going to be an awesome birth coach--he teared up with me during the second birth video.  When the mom and dad saw that baby they both started crying (the Dad was sobbing) and we were both immediately teary-eyed and both agreed that that'd probably be us.  He's also very flexible with what needs to be done, willing to try many things, isn't a quitter, and keeps me laughing when I need to be and focused and encouraged when that's what I need.  He's going to do an awesome job, and we are both going to be so overwhelmed with love when our little girl comes out that we'll probably be sobbing with joy.  Good thing there will be no cameras--it'll just be Mom, Dad, and Camille...awww.  Maybe one photo (with lots of editing).

We learned about back labor this afternoon and tried out some back massage methods:  they hurt!  Not my thing.  I recommend a hand massage technique referred to as "break the popsicle". 

 You just hold onto the sides of the hand and use your thumbs--start them in the center and slowly press and drag to the outsides of the hand as though you're splitting a pair of popsicles.  LOVE THIS! 

The other technique was a little more complex, but it basically did the same thing--spread the hand (palm side up) while your thumbs massage right around the wrist and inside of the palm.  You have to interlock your pink and ring fingers with their fingers (leaving their middle finger out) and then use your thumbs to massage the palm--hard to explain).  It is amazing how great this feels and how much tension it releases.  I couldn't find pictures, and B's busy so he couldn't demonstrate.

B's got a big job interview tomorrow in another state--we're hoping it works out for him!  Keep him in your thoughts and prayers--safe trip and smooth interview/presentation/interaction!  He's going to be practicing his presentation all night, so I'm going to do some more pregnancy pilates and stretches.  More on that tomorrow (I'll have all day to blog since B will be traveling all day)!

Breathe in...2....3.....4....

Oh yes--birthing classes!  We started today!

I feel way more equipped to birth this little nugget.  It was eye-opening.  The more I learn the more at peace I feel about labor, and I even get excited about the experience.  We are planning to go 100% natural, so we're praying there aren't any complications or challenges that would prevent that from happening.

So far everything is going well.  I loved hearing the doctor say, "her little but is up there"--meaning she's head down and hopefully will stay that way.

We practiced breathing techniques, relaxation methods, massages, and positions.  I am all about the birthing ball and the big tub (I LOVE water!).  We are also thinking of using the birthing bar--which allows you to deliver squatting.  Whaaaat?  Way cool.  The hospital bed does amazing things and goes into tons of positions, so apparently there are lots more options than there used to be.  You can even deliver laying on your side--this shocks me more than squatting.  Squatting makes sense to me...laying on your side doesn't--anyone want to explain the benefits of that?

What's really helping encourage us with natural birthing is that my sister-in-law has already done it and had a good experience, plus my best friend is going natural in December, and I have another sister-in-law planning to go natural in just about 4 weeks!  I feel more motivated to stick with it since there are a bunch of people I know and love sticking with it.

I really want to experience the high of those birth hormones after delivery too!

Today while we were practicing our breathing through a "contraction" and practicing using massage at the same time with our coaches, B was counting for my breathing and massaging my jaw.  I had my eyes closed and was focused and relaxed....and then he stuck his thumbs in my nostrils.  I laughed so hard that I think I distracted half of the class--what a goober.  I don't know if him doing that during an actual contraction will be funny or not, but it was a great distraction, and apparently all of our techniques are just distraction methods.  "Smoke and mirrors" to dilute our acknowledgement of the pain.  If distractions work, then we're set.  He definitely made me laugh at other things when I was focused--I hope that's what I need when it comes!

We're going to start packing up that bag-o-goodies for the labor room soon.  Apparently we need to include "5 or 6 pair of socks" incase they get "soiled"....ew.  I'll leave the rest of the details to your imagination since you may not want to know.

One Step Closer!

We have things on walls!  I repeat:  Things are on walls!!  Both of those nouns are plural, which makes me extremely proud and excited and I feel a great deal of relief at not having to worry more about them.

Some of the things on the walls are not finished, but if they don't get finished I won't be crushed--plus it's easier to add things to them than to measure and hang them--I hate that part!  Brian definitely helped out for this part of the work and was so proud of his hammering skills:  "Did you ever think I'd be able to hammer that fast?"....No.  No I didn't.

Those are the main walls.  We'll have her name above the crib (soon hopefully) and there's a little plaque above her closet door--I'll get pictures of those next time.  The empty frames are going to have some little nature scenes that my mom and I make out of fabric when she returns from Europe.  Maternity photos from mustard.seed.photography are going in the pink and green frame (they are amazing photos!!!).  The owls will have eyes and wings--you saw how that was going (bleh so far).  We have some super awesome and funky owl pushpins for the bulletin board, and I think I'm going to laminate an L and an R for breastfeeding help (I have no memory).  Plus we can put pictures up there (laminated) to take and use to keep Camille awake during feeding.  I don't know--we'll come up with something to put up there--it was a forty cent bulletin board--I had to add it!

It feels so good to have some actual color in the room! 

Today I picked up the packet of paperwork for my new job and mannnn what a drag.  I have to go get fingerprinted (I have done this three years in a row already...round 4!), I have to send one form to ALL previous employers, and another form to just one previous employer--and they have to return these on their own.  This wouldn't be so bad if I could fax them over and have them faxed back.  However...I don't have a fax machine and there is no return fax number on the forms.  What???  Really???  2010???  I don't have the brain capacity to keep track of everything right now, so it stresses me out a little bit.  Of course...you can imagine how I feel about a new job that provides very little structure--I kind of make it up as I go.  I am going to be making lists and carrying a calendar like an event planner.  It's madness.

Red onion breath is the worst!  Broccoli salad:  good idea; adding red onions:  bad idea!

I am starting to have a ton of trouble sleeping at night.  I had worked out a system originally with one of those study pillows that has two arm rests--you know the ones?  I had that and then a pillow ramped up to the top of it so I was padded at an angle sleeping on it sitting up.  However, that was not comfortable because I felt like I was sitting, and you know that once you actually pass out you want to be lying down.
Next rig up:  Two giant shams--one under my regular pillow and the other just below it so it was another ramp, but less steep.  Worked GREAT for a week.  Not so much anymore--my lower back is killing me when I wake up. 
Next rig up:  Regular sleeping pillow then a giant sham under my belly to prop it up.  Worked okay for a while, but as soon as I tried to roll to my other side it moved.  I couldn't prop myself up to resituate it so it was a huge ordeal in the middle of the night.  I also rolled onto my back at one point, so I was sleeping on a hill.  Very awkward.
What to do tonight?  I am pretty close to couch sleeping.  I don't want to though--I'll miss B.  Some of our best chats and laughs are while we're trying to go to sleep. 

Example:
Our nephew plays a game with B where he pulls his arms into his sleeves and pretends he has no arms.  Well, I was trying to imitate that last night to show B that our nephew remembered playing that with him.  As I went to pull my arm in my neck pocketed some air into my shoulder and made a huge fart noise.  (There's that Southern Belle Language again!)  It was so loud--and immediately B goes, "Did you rip your shirt?" and kept asking--I couldn't answer because I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe.  Mostly, I was laughing because he kept asking that so frantically.  Ooooooh it was awesome.  Once I was able to explain what happened he started laughing all over again.  It was priceless.  I don't want to miss out on moments like that!

One of his responses after all of this was, "let's workout tomorrow".  My neck really is getting that fat?!?!!  Hahhahaa--ooooh--I am glad I can laugh at that. 

Having said that (a la Larry David):  I'm off to workout.

How can a human body be this small?








It's just hard to picture an actual human child in this--especially since we'll be responsible for her safety and health.  Whew.  Scary.

Most of the baby laundry is done and the dresser's getting packed up!  It's so fun looking at all of the sweet little outfits (that smell wonderful now--yay!).  She is going to be so snuggly and adorable--I can't wait to hold her (if B ever lets me--he is an infamous baby hog; thank goodness we're breastfeeding!  That may be my only chance!).

Today I did a very small amount of research into a pediatrician.  I definitely got some mixed messages on how to go about doing that.  First I was told:  Go, meet, interview; then they will come to the hospital and check her out before you go home.  When I actually called I was told:  Wait til she's born, then call.  ???  Hmmm....maybe a sign I should find another doctor?  However, I've heard many wonderful things about this one, so I'm going to call again tomorrow (with a higher pitched voice) and ask different questions to see if I can get different answers.  I'm glad it's at least easier than I thought it would be to find one that's good and nearby.

B's quote of the day:  "Mannnn...she's going to have a buffet!"  Yes, they're big.  Yes, I'm getting big.  No--that's not necessarily what I wanted to hear, but it was pretty hilarious.  He just keeps the laughs coming!

Step Away From The Baby Clothes...

Steps--see a theme?  It's because it was recently brought to my attention that I have an obsession with my pedometer (which I haven't worn in several days, because I know I'm not getting the steps I should be getting in on a daily basis).

From what I've heard/been told (I haven't researched this at all), people should be getting an average of 10,000 steps a day.  When I was on a recent vacation in Belgium I averaged 12-15,000 a day (approximately 5-6 miles a day!).  When I got home I hadn't gained a single pound (after eating Belgian waffles, chocolates, and french fries almost daily and being 7 months pregnant).  Now that I've been home for almost three weeks I have already gained four pounds!!!  This is because I am averaging only 2,000 steps a day!  It doesn't help that Louisiana is hot like pancake wrapped sausages--all sticky and soggy.  Bleh.

Sometimes I'll walk back and forth to the bathroom just to get a couple of extra steps in.  Every bit helps, right?

Our recent baby adventure has been to get clothing ready.  I have an amazingly selfless friend who hooked us up with three large bags of baby girl clothes for free.  I was super excited, of course, to be able to save money and because a ton of the clothes are super cute.  There's even an LSU cheer outfit and a Tiger costume (Halloween--check!).  I'm also very weird about using things that aren't mine or don't come from people I know directly.  (She received these clothes through a cousin's friend....)

Luckily, another friend of mine (from birth) is pregnant and she's been having these radical successes with Oxyclean.  She managed to get a yellowed from age blanket perfectly white and get fish oil out of a shirt that had been washed already.  Excitement!

Here's how it went down:  We get the baby clothes into the tub to soak with Oxyclean and realize that the clothes smell like cat pee.  It's not too bad at first, but once you add water...it is pretty overwhelming. Luckily I'm a little congested, but my poor husband!  We soaked the clothes with oodles of powder for about 12 hours (this is just batch one).  Next we washed it with Dreft and dried it on high heat.  Batch two:  Same water, more Oxyclean--the water was still soapy.   Here's the water, post batches of baby clothes:

No, that is not Louisiana water's style.  We actually have great water here, so you can imagine how gross this is coming from baby clothes.  Please ignore our old-style marbled bathroom wall--we're still renters.

So far, the verdict is that after soaking and washing (and rinsing twice...and maybe washing just once more) that the clothes are fine.  I have deeply inhaled through some items we've dried and there is no smell left.  Whew.  I'm still thankful for my wonderful friend and for not having to buy tons of clothes that apparently only last for a wear or two.

Happier Picture: we've finished painting our corner shelf and it's in place.  We have a few little trinkets on there, but it'll fill up soon.  We've also cut out some different colored papers to try on wings and eyes for our owl shelves:

I know--they look strange.  The eyes have pencil-colored dots in the center to try to better picture them with black centers.  There will be a white circle, then a black one inside of the colored eyes.  I am also going to make the eyes bigger (maybe).  Pretty good idea of what they'll look like though.  We also have other patterns of paper to try out.

Ladies...here's a question for you.  If you are in the OB's office and aren't feeling well (possibly from morning sickness or from the glucose test), which of the following would you do:

A) notify the doctor that you have to leave because you are that ill

B) sit in the large comfy chairs right outside of the bathroom--just incase

C) sit in the waiting room with a garbage can between your legs--just incase

Well.  Considering I have few to zero readers, I will go ahead and let you in on a shocking truth.  There was a woman in the waiting room (surrounded by other women, children, and some men) with a trash can at her feet.  Sometimes she was even leaning over it rocking back and forth.  I mean...really?  She was undergoing the dreaded three hour glucose test, so I know she wasn't feeling too hot (I don't really know that...the one hour test didn't phase me at all...but I've heard it's awful).  However, does that mean it's okay to puke in front of people at a doctor's office?  How unsanitary is that?!?!!!  I'd like to think that she's in a minority of people.  What happened to Southern Ladies?  No, I'm not really one either...I did just use the word "puke".

Words of encouragement from my husband that all women should be so lucky to hear:  "oooooh mannnn, you're going to RIP!"....yes.  Yes, he was talking about during labor.  All I can say in response to that is:  He's hilarious, and probably right.  Ouch.  I'm still anti cutting; let's just see what happens.  If I have to get stitches either way, let's just wait it out incase I have a tiny-headed baby (not likely).

Stepping Up

Well, even though it's unofficial (as far as I know), I can't keep a secret and I have to announce that I have a new job.  I am going to be teaching gifted enrichment at my old high school this year!  I have finally moved out of middle school and back into the High School World I love so much. 

It's good to be back working with this age bracket (I haven't started yet, but I can just feel the difference already), but I'm a little weirded out by returning to my alma mater.  There are actually still teachers and staff there from when I attended, and it is very hard to treat them as co-workers rather than revered elders.

Also, my gifted supervisors are my mentors from years and years back and now they want to be on a first name basis.  Not going to happen.

I am excited about a new job, but it's such odd timing.  I'll be out from October to January with my little one, so I'll miss just about the entire first semester of school.  It's going to be hard to establish myself with such a wide gap.  The pressure is on.  I'm the first full time gifted teacher at the school (I think ever??), and it's my job to build the program from scratch...definitely a challenge!  I hope I can step up.

Gifted education is definitely a tricky area with a lot of teachers, which I didn't realize until last year when working with teachers who had no idea what "gifted" was.  It is not typically viewed as a necessary branch of special education by people who have not worked with gifted students directly.  However, if you know gifted students--you know the need some special services!  

I'm not sure on statistics and I did just hear this from a professor in college, but here's a little fact that scared me:  A lot of the people who are homeless and are living that way without seeking help from facilities are gifted.  Again, I'm not sure on the accuracy of that or what "a lot" means, but it made sense to me.  People who are considered gifted are just motivated so differently from most people and are genuinely only interested in what they are interested in; you can't force them to do things just because it seems like a good idea.  Then, there's also the "I'm not used to being challenged" side of things--when things get tough they might panic and not even try because they've never encountered that kind of feeling before.  I can see how those factors would lead to someone living independently on the streets and in their own little world.

That was a random aside, but I always think back to hearing that when I think of people overlooking the needs of gifted students.  They are a special group of people for sure.  Gifted adults are a whole other conversation.

Back to mamma-hood.

I'm definitely making room for my baby girl, and I've got the proof on my belly.  I've juuuust started getting little red lines around the bottom of my belly.  You would know I'd make it to week 31 without any marks, and then BAM!  Permanent skin stretching.  Dang.  She's worth it though--I'll get through it. Luckily, my husband has been great about it and is so complimentary about me that I still feel beautiful and attractive.  It's like he works magic!

Today is baby laundry day!  I couldn't be more excited about washing clothes.  I'm going to clean out the antique dresser and let it air so I can pack it full of soft baby goodness.  Also: finishing all things painted today and adding wings and eyes to our owl shelves.  My Dad cut these out for us--I love them!  Here's a look at the pieces I've got to work on...

Baby Steps

I'm baby-stepping into this whole blog journey. Stepping: that's right.

I would like to document our journey into parenthood (motherhood specifically) and life as it comes to us, but I'm not sure how to approach it or which voice suits me.

Here are some practice voices:

"Oh man, the whole idea of becoming a Mom is pretty awesome. I feel like I am almost becoming a new person and it's so exciting!"

"Motherhood is already taking over my life, and we're still two months away from the due date. I'm overwhelmed by feelings of joy and hope and love."

"How have mothers done this for centuries and not exploded with the intensity of delight and fear that builds up before baby even arrives?"

I mean....those three say the same basic things, but so differently. How introspective do I want to be? How much is just too much? I'm sure it will depend on the mood I'm in at the time of writing. Let's practice the "I haven't slept in 12 hours because Baby's sick" voice:

"Holy crap. Being a mom is hard work, but it is great."--to the point and honest; I like it.

Just to give you an idea about who I am, let's recap the last 7 months, plus a tad more:

I'm Pam, and I never wanted to get married or have kids...prior to meeting my husband, and then my nephews. These fellas all pushed me to be a more loving person and now look at me: Married and Pregnant!  I've always had a super loving family, but I've always liked being free to do what I want when I want.  I guess now I'm grown up enough to make that sacrifice.

I've loved being pregnant and we are so thrilled about welcoming our baby girl (unless there was a mistake in the ultrasound, which we are prepared for): Camille Aline to our family in October. I've never seen my husband, B, more giddy and bubbly. He's become a lover of all things miniature and pink, and he's brought me along with him. We're getting our nursery ready (a major undertaking) and we're learning more and more about natural birth in preparation for our big day.

That information should help sort out any future posts.