A Post from Jules- Big Changes

I'll say again how terrible my mom is at blogging. She is finishing her degree online so any time she can not be at the computer- she isn't! Sorry the blogging has suffered because of that! She has just been enjoying every second with me:) I'm kind of irresistible.

Well.. lots has changed in the last while. My dad has started his first Master's degree (Predictive Analytics from NorthWestern University) and will be finished hopefully next fall-ish. Meanwhile he has been working ~70 hours a week downtown at his consulting firm as well as applying to grad schools for a 2nd Master's degree- an MBA, for next fall. All of the schools my parents are considering are back east, so we will most likely be back there in a year. Needless to say any free second he has my mom and I snatch up in a hurry! My dad thinks school is fun or something.

But, we love how ambitious and hardworking he is. He is an incredible provider and daddy for me.

My mom has some big plans too, doing her undergrad through BYU and then will get her Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy/Psychotherapy along with all of my daddy's grad school plans over the next few years. 

It is a little harder for them now that I am around, because all they want to do is spend time with me:) my mom and dad do homework every night from about 9 p.m. to 12 a.m.(sometimes 1.. or 2 or 3..........) after I go to bed. It's their bonding time:) ha ha.  My parents must love me a lot.  A lot of people think they are crazy, or ask my mom why she bothers since her main priority is me and raising me, but they are big believers in the idea that the more education parents have, the better off the kids are. My mom says she is doing it for me and to set an example of how important it is to obtain as much education as possible. So, they'll keep being crazy busy and meanwhile I'll announce some big news that we have!

Yep, in 1 month I am moving to Memphis, Tennessee. I will have a chance to grow some little southern roots. We are going for 10 months as a pre-MBA fellowship for my dad to help start up a charter school district. It is an incredibly selective process and I am seriously SO PROUD of him for getting it. He is basically a rockstar.

It is kinda sad to move away from my grandparents and family (okay, actually really sad), but I am excited to have an adventure down south for a while! Plus I'll visit a lot. We will probably be moving a ton the next 3-4 years so I might as well get used to it and enjoy it. My parents really like moving around and living in different areas of the country so I think it'll be a good experience for us all!

Memphis is right on the Mississippi River and has a subtropical climate- basically that means it doesn't get quite as cold as Utah which my mom is real happy about. It gets humid and hot (not even as close to as hot or humid as it is in south Texas where they lived last year, thank heavens). There's lots of barbeque - which my dad is happy about- and you know, southerny things I guess! My parents are going next week to find us a nice little place to live.

I am real excited to see Memphis for the first time and make some little baby friends! Currently my favorite things are plastic water bottles, squash, daddy's tickles, playing with my uncles, crinkly things and definitely not napping.

I'll try to tell my mom to blog a bit more... but you know, all I can really say right now is aaaaaaarrraaaallaaaaaaaayyyaaaaaa. 

Xo,

Juliana.

Refrigerator Oatmeal Jars

So I posted our one of our breakfast staples on instagram the other day and lots of people have been asking for the recipe! I love it! More and more people are accepting the weirdo gf//organic way of life;) ha ha welcome!!

Anyway I decided to post the recipe here with my modifications. 

Sorry I have been a reeeeaaaallly bad blogger since Juliana was born. I don't like to be on my phone or computer a lot now that I have her and when I do have to be on it, it is for research for school and such which I feel like I am already on it enough from! Also naptime is precious time that I have to basically plan out to the second- hurry and do the laundry, throw dinner together, somehow rinse myself off in the shower in about 5 nanoseconds, or do a workout, etc... you get my drift.

So, follow me on instagram if you want to keep up with us more often! It is much easier for me to just post pictures there. Also I apologize for definitely becoming a crazy instagram mom. I literally don't care and I am obsessed with my little bebes!!! ;) Ha ha ha


Speaking of, I might as well post a picture of her from this weekend :)

She was blessed last Sunday, and this was at the luncheon afterwards. She clearly loves her grandpa more than anything. He kept kissing her little neck and his scratchy face would send her straight into a giggling fit. Most darling thing ever.


I got the idea from here and tweaked it a bit to make it my own. She has lots of different ideas of combos to make:http://www.theyummylife.com/Refrigerator_Oatmeal 


Here is the recipe


You will need:

• half pint mason jars (I do 12 at a time)
• old fashioned rolled oats 
• Greek yogurt (low fat)
• coconut milk (we get vanilla/sweetened) (you can use almond, soy, etc.. even regular milk if you're into that)
• chia seeds
• fruit of your choosing (I think raspberries taste and blend the best)
• some kind of sweetener (optional) such as agave or honey
• granola (optional)

I get all of this at Sprouts. It is a one stop for everything you could need. It is also our go-to grocery store. LOVE.

First of all. A small schpeel on chia seeds. Those things are TINY little powerhouses of goodness!
They have a completely neutral taste, so you can't say you don't like them! They take on the flavor of whatever they are mixed with. They start out as a seed consistency- little and hard. As they soak in the oatmeal they become like jelly! I looove the texture. They slow your body's conversion of starches to sugar therefore balancing your blood sugar, are extremely high in protein and antioxidants (among tons of other things) and are a better source of Omega 3 fatty acids than most seafood or flax seed!

Here are the proportions for the ingredients for each jar:

• 1/4 cup of the uncooked old-fashioned oats
• 1/3 cup of coconut milk (gives it such a light yummy coconut flavor)
• 1/4 cup greek yogurt
• 1 1/2 tsp chia seeds
• 1 tablespoon agave
• 1/3 cup raspberries (my absolute favorite for this recipe but you can use anything!)

The order I put them in the jar is: coconut milk, oats, chia seeds, yogurt, agave, fruit. I just found thats easiest for stirring evenly. It is kind of hard to not make a mess and stir it all up! You will see what I mean! It is pretty thick and also full to the top of the jar.

These things can sit in your freezer until the day before you want to eat them. Pull it out and thaw it in the fridge. They can also stay in the fridge for +/- 4 days! Such a yummy, healthy grab and go snack or breakfast.. even maybe lunch with something else! Make sure to eat it cold. I love topping it with granola, but don't do it until after you open it to eat it or else the granola will get soggy.

There weren't any raspberries at the store this week, so I made due with strawberries which is still super yummy.

There are so many variations you could do. I saw one lady added cocoa powder and did one with bananas. That looked delish!
 

We eat gluten free (I have celiac) and largely organic. Every time I do a post a lot of people want to know the recipe. It is getting a lot more popular to eat this way and that makes me happy! I wish I had more time to take pictures of our food and post more and then write out the recipes... and I also don't know exactly what people think would be good or not, like I said, we eat kind of different! So feel free to comment or ask me about any specific recipes or anything you'd like to know, or would like me to post.


XO

Birth Story- Juliana Kalai.

Her name is Juliana Kalai.

And we have never been so in love.

Some Utahns love to say Juli-aannna.... it is pronounced Juli-ah-na, just so everyone knows. I just had to do it. Ha ha it is becoming my biggest pet peeve when people say her name wrong:)

These announcements were just ordered and haven't been sent out yet.. so don't be offended that you haven't gotten one yet.
PS, if anyone wants announcements designed, shoot me an email @ kailinbeck@gmail.com. I'd love to do one for you!

Our sweet Juliana Kalai Beck was born on Sunday evening, February 23rd, at 6 pounds 14 ounces and 20 inches long. I was 39 weeks pregnant to the day.

My water broke Sunday morning at about 10 a.m. It was like any other Sunday, we were getting ready for church.  I was beyond lucky- most women have contractions first and rarely experience their water breaking long before birth. Because I went into the hospital at already over 3 centimeters dialated at 80% effaced, combined with my water breaking, I had an extremely fast and easy labor. I really lucked out.

We got to the hospital at around noon and they admitted me right away. To be honest, I didn't know if it was my water that was leaking or if I had somehow peed myself! I was going to die if the latter was the case. They ran a test and said yep, this is definitely your water! You are going to have your baby today! You should have seen Mitch's face. 2 minutes later while laying in the hospital bed, there was a gigantic, unmistakeable GUSH of amniotic fluid. Okay, I was convinced now!

Because we didn't know if I was going to really be in labor or not when we went to the hospital, I hadn't brought any of our stuff with us at all. I had convinced myself that she would come late, so that I wouldn't sit and anticipate her so much and drive myself crazy.  So off Mitch went. I delivered at IMC, and we live only 5 minutes away luckily. He went home and facetimed me- running frantically around the house getting last minute items. He was a legit wreck. It was hilarious. He was frantic.

Meanwhile, he texted me nonstop. My water had broken and I hadn't started having any painful contractions at all so I still felt fine and was kind of in denial that it was even going to happen- even though I knew that once your water breaks they make sure that baby is out in 24 hours to prevent infection, etc.

So I sat there and because I was already progressed relatively well and my water had broken, combined with the fact that her head was SUPER low, I gave the OK for the pitocin to get the party started. There was no point for me in going through a pitocin induced labor without an epidural (pitocin causes very unnatural contractions) so the anesthesiologist was in my room in a jiffy. I laid on my side, curled in a ball like they tell you so that your spine sticks out, and I felt one 'pop' and that was it. Mitch went stark white and said that made him more sick than the actual delivery. ha ha ha. I guess it is bad to watch? So easy to get though! Do not be scared of epidurals at all- they are awesome!

So I literally felt nothing - no pain at all or discomfort whatsoever the entire process. My legs were completely numb. It was hilarious. I would try to move them and I couldn't. Or they would fall off the bed randomly. Ha ha ha. I had to pick my legs up with my arms and move them where I wanted. Or mostly Mitch had to and the nurse:) I still had a big preggo belly and couldnt bend over let alone move now that I was numb waist down! I wish we had recorded that. I thought it was the funniest thing.

3 p.m. 

Notice my face is still normal size.. ya watch what happens ha ha ha

I came in at a 3 at noon and was at an 8 by 7 pm. The nurse came in an hour later and said I was a definite 10 and ready to push!  I looked at Mitch and was like wait.. seriously?? I was expecting at least a few more hours. I didn't feel ready! This was too big of a moment and I felt I wasnt prepared for it. I started pushing at 8 o'clock pm.

Too much IV fluids anyone??! HA HA HA holy swollen!!! This was the first time my whole pregnancy I experienced swelling.. I guess I deserved this! But I love this picture because it is our last one before we had her... Just minutes before!! All about the sentimental value.. no judgement..;)

I remember asking the lady how long it would be before Juliana would be here. She said probably to expect a couple hours since she was my first.

3 pushes later (two words.. kegel exercises), 8:19pm rolled around and there she was. The most perfect thing I had ever seen in my life. More than her face, I remember her cry. It was so familiar though I had never heard it before. I knew she was our baby. She felt ours.

I remember the look on Mitch's face. Tears streaming down, his hand covering his mouth. He said it was the most special experience of his life.

They put her in my arms and once we started talking to her, she immediately stopped crying. The cord stopped pulsing and Mitch cut it.

Everything in the whole word was right. I have never been so happy in my life!

Despite all things to come later on, oxygen, feeding tube, everything, this girl has ALWAYS been a good eater. She literally started nursing 3 minutes after being born. All by herself. Mitch held her too and he also took the pictures. I wanted it just me and him in the room besides the hospital staff. Our parents were both out in the waiting room. They got to all hold her and see her once we were transferred to the next room. We just sat there as a family for a while. Mitch and I kept looking at each other and then at her. We kept saying, "I cant believe this is HER. That little ball that was inside!! That was HER!"

We had never felt a love like this- not only for this new little creation, but for each other. I have never loved Mitch so much!!!

Little did we know this was the easiest part of the next 5 weeks - with 4 hospitalizations between me and her! She was sooo worth it.

There is nothing like this experience. Nothing to adequately describe it - it is something you have to experience:)

Here are a few more pictures from our delivery/hospital stay (#1 ;) )

Me, Mitch and the baby were in my hospital bed all the time just cuddling and watching shows. (we brought our ipad and connector to the TV... best idea EVER). Those were some of the funnest days of my life. We got to lay around for 2 days straight, meals delivered, and do NOTHING but cuddle together as a family and not worry about a thing. 

My very best friend Krista got to come see her. Loved that!

Sweetest scowl I have ever seen:)

Going home.. thought this 0-3 month outfit would fit her... HA HA HA. Not even close. The feet were not lying 3 times too big. She was soooo teensie:)

We love our Julsies and that she is ours forever.

My dad reminded us though, that she really is not ours- she has only been entrusted to us.

We love this girl.

http://www.mormon.org/faq/mormon-families

The Story

Our sweet Juliana Kalai Beck was born on Sunday evenining, February 23rd, at 6 pounds 14 ounces and 20 inches long.

I will get into her birth story later on but for now I wanted to update all of you sweet friends and family about our situation we have come about over the last week.


Juliana and I had the easiest, most peaceful pregnancy ever. Zero morning sickness, ever. Little fatigue. Almost a second wind of energy and happiness for 9 months. No swelling, not too much moodiness:), and just an overall wonderful, awesome experience. I think it was just plain luck of the draw. We had it great.

I always joked that because our pregnancy was soo awesome and easy, my delivery would be terrible or something to make up for it.

This wasn't the case either.

My water broke Sunday morning at about 10 a.m. Again BEYOND lucky- most women have contractions first and rarely experience their water breaking long before birth. With about 3 pushes/15 minutes... she was out. Perfect, beautiful, healthy, and so calm and awake. She nursed within 30 seconds of being placed on my chest, I looked up at my sweet husband and he had tears streaming down his face. We had never known a love like this-  not only for our new little creation, but for each other.

We left the hospital right on time and had a magical 3 days at home with no concerns - just pure bliss.

Juliana never cried- she would slightly whimper and make little squeaky noises when hungry and that was literally it. She is the most patient, sweet baby I have honestly ever seen- and I'm not biased just because she is my child:)


We had been into the pediatrician 3 times her first week home because she had some jaundice when she was born and they were just monitoring it. it turned out just fine and she didn't need lights or anything.

38 Weeks

Baby Beck:

[according to my app]

>> 38 weeks old
>>the size of a watermelon!
>>19-22 inches long
>>around 7 pounds

>> doctor estimates she is around 6.5 pounds

>>ready to come out!

How far along? 38 weeks

This was at 37 weeks.. I am soo not motivated enough to get up and take one today!

Contractions? Just more frequent Braxton Hicks. I have had them since 20 weeks, and they have just gotten more and more frequent and stronger as I get further along. But they do seem to be helping things progress:

Labor Signs? I am 3.5 centimeters dilated and almost 80% effaced already:) Because I have been progressing like this for a few weeks already, my doctor says she thinks that I will have a very fast labor when it does start. That's good at least:)

I LOVE MY DOCTOR. I had an appointment with her today and after she checked my progress, she asked if I wanted her to strip my membranes and I of course said YES PLEASE! I am really lucky because a lot of OB's wont do it until you are 40-41 weeks/overdue. She is one who says it is WAY healthier for mom and baby to have a baby a week and a half early than a week and a half late. 

 I completely agree and I am praying that the membrane sweep works and jump starts something over the next couple days!

She said it will either work within 48 hours or not at all. Everyone can go ahead and start praying for us that she will come now... especially since Mitch gets home from his AZ business trip in 2 hours!! Hurrah!!

As of now I am just feeling slightly more intense/frequent cramping but we will see what turns out.

I legitimately went out a few weeks ago and bought an exercise ball for the sole purpose of bouncing on it:

bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce

Weight Gain? Ohh you betcha! It is scary seeing the scale climb up and up every week even though you know it is from the little bean inside! Ha ha! Baby should gain 1/2 pound every week now. I should end up around 25 pounds or so by 40 weeks. Whatever makes baby healthy is good with me:)

ps, I don't know if any of you have ever wondered, but I certainly have! WHERE does all of that 25 pounds go to? Here is a sweet breakdown that I found a few weeks ago, for a 30 pound pregnancy:

Holy shiz! Isn't that crazy to see? I have always wondered where the extra 20-25 pounds goes besides the baby. Now we know:)

Stretch Marks? Somehow still no! Lots of lotion around here. But I hear it is mostly genetics.

Sleep? It was bad for a while- I could never get comfortable. However now I have found the perfect arrangement of about 6 pillows I surround myself with every night so now I am good:) don't worry, Mitch still has a small corner of the bed for himself:)

Name? We have 3 that we love, mostly 2, that we will decide between when we see her. We just can't name a human being without even meeting her first! This is like honestly the hardest thing of my life!

Belly Button In or Out? Really just beyond out. Beyond.

Mood: Really happy! Starting to get really tired but very content and happy. I feel like everything is set and ready so now I am just waiting for little miss.

Labor Plans: I plan on having an epidural, just as late as possible in labor so that it doesn't stall it and make it last forever (that is one drawback of epidurals). But I want to enjoy the whole process so I do plan on an epidural for sure. I have read a lot about how IV/pain meds can make babies really, really drowsy (some reports of that with epidurals too, but it is actually mostly from pain meds), and they also can effect their breathing when they are born. So I am going to try and avoid pain meds (fentanyl, or whatever they use there) if possible and just stick with the epidural.

The thing I have learned by working in the hospital/surgery/healthcare industry for almost 5 years is that really.. doctors know what they are doing. And there is NOTHING more annoying and frustrating to me at my work than when a patient thinks they know more than those who are taking care of them and won't let us help them or do what is really best. So I am going to try and be a very nice and easy to work with patient.. since I know how it can be otherwise!

It is my opinion that it is best to be informed, be educated and aware, but trust those who are taking care of you and understand that things like epidurals, vaccines, newborn procedures, etc have come about for a reason!  So I trust my OB and those who will take care of us 100%. As my OB said, there is a reason why people don't walk across the plains anymore. We take planes and cars and trains. Same principle.

So, while I have a plan of what I would like and wouldn't like, honestly I am flexible and open to whatever needs to happen:)

Besides the fact that IMC (the hospital we are delivering at and the hospital that my doctor's office is actually in) has just received multiple awards. It is such a great hospital and has an extremely low intervention/cesarean rate. 

I feel like we have been way fortunate to have such great care already from them, which is something that is really important to me.

Baby Prep: We are SET officially! All is purchased, washed, sorted, packed, etc:)  

Speaking of prep, here is little miss' going home outfit:) eeeeeeeeeeek

WE ARE READY!

And I am ready for this man to come home in the next 2 hours!! I have sooo missed my best buddy:)

Any of you have any success stories on jumpstarting labor? You can comment or private message me on FB, whatever, I am super interested to hear if anybody has any experiences:)

35 1/2 Weeks

I cannot believe that in a week and a half she will be considered technically full term (37 weeks). 


...where
has
time
gone???


It is kind of freaky. I'm like in a huge, dreamish time warp. 

Baby Beck:

[according to my app]

>> 35.5 weeks old

>> 18 inches long

>> about 4.75 pounds

>> the size of a large cantaloupe

>> 4.5 weeks left (maybe)

How far along? 35.5 weeks

Contractions? I am currently laying on my couch after coming home from doing surgeries early this morning because I had such bad Braxton-Hicks. I have more surgeries to go to this afternoon and can't even stand up without having the contractions so strong that they take my breath away and don't go away! They are crazy. So I am taking it easy for the afternoon.

>> I've had Braxton-Hicks since about 20 weeks so that is nothing new, but this new intensity and frequency sure is. It's like my stomach is constantly hard, like one solid contraction that doesn't go away, accompanied by period-like cramps. My doctor told me to try to not overdo it and to just lay down and drink a lot. Sooo, since I get really bored just sitting.. I decided to do a blog update while I was at it.

Labor Signs? I don't think so. Just those Braxtons and cramping. My body is definitely slowly getting ready for it, and my OB thinks it is likely I might go a bit early, and I agree, but that probably won't be for a few weeks from now. 

Weight Gain? Yes! I will have around a 25 pound pregnancy by the time I am 40 weeks if I continue gaining the way I have been. I measured a bit under last week but my doctor wasn't too concerned considering how we eat and baby is measuring well! 

Stretch Marks? Somehow still no! I make sure to keep my skin really moist but I hear stretch marks are mostly genetic.

Sleep? Hmmm… this area has changed for sure since last post! It is so hard to get comfortable- and stay comfortable! Poor Mitch. I make him switch me sides of the bed multiple times, pillows over and over, prop a pillow here, do this and that- ha it is a real struggle! My back is constantly hurting but yoga helps a bit when I do it before I sleep.

Routine: get home from work, change out of scrubs into husband's old tshirts and basketball shorts. This is the reality of the 3rd trimester… 100% about comfort and I don't even care. Ha ha

Gender? Still a little miss

Name? We had one pretty much decided on, until someone pronounced it wrong… like way wrong (it's a pretty simple name) and the way they pronounced it sounded so awful that we almost didn't even like the name anymore. It made it like a different name entirely. Bleh! Like it was so off from the name we chose that we don't know if we can handle people calling her that and mixing it up! Name is still a secret for now, but let me just say it is something only Utahns would mispronounce. So that is sad! Ha we don't know for sure. We will decide when we see her for the first time. 

Belly Button In or Out? OH my gosh. I used to have a definite innie - and since the last trimester, it has become a complete and total outie. Ha ha it is so weird to me. I'm like… is this even my body?!?  Ha it is so different. It makes me almost laugh every time I take a bath or see it poking out. It's hilarious.

Mood: Happy! Really happy. But I have noticed my emotions are on the rise for sure! Note - do not watch birth videos when you are emotional - you will bawl like a baby and your husband will come in and ask what happened.

>> My mood also varies with how I feel about school and how I am doing with it.. ha ha.. says Mitch. And I just got an A on my neurology exam so that must be partially why I am so happy:) I am just taking 2 classes this semester since she will be coming in the middle of it. I LOVE BYU online… have I said that before? :) Online school totally rocks my socks.

Labor Plans: I have been reading a lot about natural birth, hypnobirthing, etc… I have found it way interesting. I have learned a lot more than I thought. Before I got pregnant, I used to think girls/women who did natural birth were just out to get some sort of award and put themselves through misery for no reason but vanity - turns out there is a lot I didn't know about it. There are genuine benefits to natural birth that I disregarded earlier.  Anyways, I still want to enjoy the experience, per say, so I plan on getting just a spinal block epidural (you can still walk around, etc, you're just numb there) and only late in labor, and also to avoid pain medications, etc. So somewhat of a hybrid/mix of natural/traditional birth. That is my plan for now. I'd love to hear your birth stories and experiences!!

>> Also, if you have seen my Facebook recently you'll notice I've been posting a lot of vaccine articles (namely TDaP - Pertussis) because they are things I have been researching a lot and find super important. It is going to be really important to Mitch and me for visitors to be up to date on their pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine in order to hold little miss before she is 8 weeks old. Just a forewarning! :) 

Baby Prep: My mom helped me make a cute car seat canopy, and a blanket that I love! They match and also match her carseat/stroller set. Matching things make me so happy :) 

the carseat cover is a salmon color with white swirly things, and the inside of the carseat cover is grey, and so is the little blanket we made.
also yes, those white frames in the background are empty still:) ha ha I wonder if they will ever be filled?

The only things left to really get that are necessities are a dresser and a baby swing. There are other small odds and ends but those are the last big things we need, so we have made great progress overall with all my parents help with setting our nursery up and all of their hard work and generosity! It has been sooo fun working on it all with them. 

Little monkey's crib is all done thanks to all the help to mitch and my dad for building it, and my mom for helping me make the decor:)

>> Also I have an app that tells me little things to prepare {totally love it}, and last week it told me to install the car seat base in the car. Can I even tell you how much joy that brought me?? Ha ha. I like sit there and just stare at it. And it makes me so happy.

>> Oh and I am definitely 'nesting' Mitch says- I am a cleaning mad-woman. 

>> I have also been making lots of freezer meals. It has been so hard to find some that are organic, gluten-free, and healthy! A lot of the ones on pinterest are unhealthy and have a lot of processed stuff that we don't really like. So I've had to get a bit creative and make up some of my own! It has been kind of fun!

>> As for Mitch, he put in an 85 hour work week last week and worked 40 hours by Wednesday morning this week. His work upped some deadlines for projects for clients and he just dug in and got it done, no matter how long it took. He is the hardest worker I know. That man doesn't stop - project after project for work and he is a total champ beyond the point to where I would have just given up. He is such a good example to me and provider for our family. L O V E  him.

>> This weekend we have our second to last shower and I am so excited. I already loved baby showers… make it a baby shower for my own baby and it makes it way fun!!

>> I have started packing the hospital bag… any good suggestions of what you wished you had in yours/what you were glad you brought? I would love to hear!

33 Weeks

Baby Beck:

>> 33 weeks old

>> 19-22 inches long

>> about 4.9 pounds

>> the size of a pineapple

>> 7 weeks left

How far along? 33 weeks

Maternity clothes? of course! i usually stay in my scrubs most of the day, but on days i don't work i will wear leggings and loose shirts a lot

Stretch marks? no thank heavens!

Sleep: really good still. it can be kinda annoying to get up a lot and go to the bathroom but the actual sleep is good!

Movement: when is she not moving?! she is so crazy! she can tell when mitch has his arm or hand on my stomach or when i am cuddled up to him, she'll do the same and kick and rub against his hand. its so cute.

Food cravings: i haven't had a ton of cravings lately. i've felt pretty normal that way the last few weeks.

however some favorites are spaghetti squash (still a fave), halved and semi-roasted avocado and an overeasy egg on top (also still a longtime pregnancy favorite), and broiled grapefruit with a little agave on top! sooo yummy. 

Symptoms: Braxton Hicks like craaaaazaaayy. i've had them on and off since i was 20 weeks and they seriously are intense now! i don't know if that may mean she will come earlier or not, but man i get them a ton. 

besides that, i feel good! i get a bit more fatigued at night but nothing crazy. my doctor did say i am slightly anemic which i'm sure contributes to that fatigue. loading up on extra iron and vitamins and that should help real soon.

Have you started to show yet? i should probably delete this question! HA! clearly i am showing! i feel like a beached whale. my scrubs are getting tighter by the day:

Gender: a little missy

Belly Button in or out?  Boh this totally is something that has changed! I noticed at about 26-27 weeks my previous-innie button was now flesh with my stomach. it is now totally an outie. it is weird to see your body change in ways you have never seen! ha! 

Mood: i totally confess to getting moody when i haven't eaten for a few hours. before pregnancy i was already hypoglycemic (my body just goes through sugar really fast, i need to eat often!) so then you add pregnancy and a little person inside to feed, and you know how that goes! ha ha

Best part of this week: 

-school started again! so happy. i am just taking two classes this semester since she will come in the middle of it. 

-my brother had his farewell on sunday. i don't know if that qualifies as a good part of my week because i am going to miss him so much!

-he and mitch and i went to the jazz game on friday! love those two

-we got two bookcases i have been wanting to organize aaaallllllll of mitch's books. we outgrew our smaller one long ago and it was time to get two nicer matching ones. oh the weird things that bring me joy. things that are symmetrical, matching, and new:)

everyone can go ahead and start praying now that baby beck will come a little earlier than march 3rd! we are ready to meet her!