For Grandpa

But you can watch too... even if you're not Grandpa. :)

Exercises

A friend of mine is interested in birthing without an epidural for her second child and has asked me for any info I have that could help her out.

Since I don't know when the next time is I'll be able to see her to borrow some books from me, I thought I would post something on here for her to start with.

These are the exercises every pregnant woman should do every day. They open the pelvis, keep everything limber, strengthen the pelvic floor and just plain, make you feel better.

You should do at least 20 cat/cow stretches 2-3 times a day and they are especially effective at night to help me relax right before I go to sleep. Tailor sitting as often as possible can help the baby get into the easiest birthing position where the spine faces your belly button. This position also helps stretch the muscles around your pelvis.

Pretty much all that applies to tailor sitting

applies to squatting with the addition that squatting is a position you could actually labor/birth in. You can do this one with a partner if your achilles tendons aren't very flexible.

The last one you need to know about is Kegels... and I can't post a picture of that. Look them up. Do them. At least 100 a day. Your pelvic floor will thank you. :)

Let's Party!

My baby shower is this Sunday! I'm very grateful to the girls that have organized it for me and I'm pretty giddy about cake and other goodies and celebrating what may be my last child's impending arrival. And parties are just fun. I need to take Page Hughes' advice (speaker last week at MOPS) and start planning more myself... after I get a handle on being Mommy to a 2 year-old and an infant.

Only a little over a month to go and Arielle will no longer be causing my belly to itch, my feet and hands to swell and my gastrointestinal tract to.... well, have issues. I think I'm the least nervous about the actual birth. I'm more nervous about trying again to breast feed and also just managing the day to day stuff with two. It's definitely a concern based on just plain not knowing what it will be like or how well I'm equipped to handle it. I know God's got it (if I just give it to Him), but my emotions often get the best of me anyway.

I'm not really motivated/organized enough right now with one to cook, clean and do other wifely things and still keep her satisfied without depending greatly on the TV. Actually, I don't really have that option because if I tried to sit her down in front of it and walk away to be productive, she would be into something the minute my back was turned. The point is, will we even have clean clothes to wear after Arielle arrives? Will we eat any home-cooked meals? Will I ever shave again? *shudder*

I know it's all possible. I've seen it. For the challenged moms like me, though, I can understand a need for something like Mother's Morning Out. I'm going to be looking into that starting January. Of course, I'll still have the Y to take a break from the babies while burning off that baby fat, but that doesn't clean my house. Maybe I can organize a house-cleaning baby drop-off schedule where at certain times of the week friends drop their baby off at another's house, go clean for a couple hours and then come pick them up. I would be tempted to go home and sit in my tub or take a shower... but that's cleaning, right? :)

If you are inclined to, lift me up in prayer. I need God's help to get this housekeeping thing down and I'll need some extra supernatural intervention to figure it out with two.

Go Me

I was just reading over old posts and noticed my list of things to do at the end of my Aug. 31st post. I've done 5 out of 8 things I listed and I feel I deserve a pat on the back. :) Pat, pat, pat.

Our Typical Morning

I wanted to capture Eden in her brand new Rabbit Moon outfit that Meme and Papa got for her. It's just a bit big, but I had to see how she would look in it. Adorable, of course.

It was raining this morning and Daddy had gone to get some gutter materials at Lowe's. We were left to entertain ourselves.

Fun, huh?

Belly Shot: 33 weeks

I know I usually skip a week, but I felt like taking another pic. It isn't very good at all. I thought the lighting in my bathroom would be good, but no. Oh well.

This week is different than last week, which is why I felt another pic was warranted.

My hands are feeling constantly swollen now. I've definitely noticed my belly keeping me from sitting up because it totally rests on my thighs. I'm having to get creative when I read Eden a story at night because there's hardly any room on my lap.

It's FINALLY cool here in Jackson. It still gets warm during the day (high 70's), but I haven't had the air on constantly. I've been able to just open the windows and get some nice cool air flow. It's absolutely HEAVEN at night. Like right now... I'm sitting on the couch in shorts and a tank top next to an open window and the cool air is feeling wonderful on my skin. I actually slept with a little bit of the comforter on me last night... for part of the night. I usually just have the sheet on me, or not even the sheet.

The cool air is making me happy.

One New Helpful Habit

I have decided to tell God out loud every time I'm frustrated with Eden. I've done it for one day and it really seems to help. He already knows, of course, but to just tell Him what I'm feeling instead of keeping it to myself really seems to release some tension and give me some perspective. Just hearing myself say what I'm feeling helps with perspective. It also makes me take a second to think about how to word what I'm feeling (equivalent of counting to 10?). All in all, I think a great habit to get into before Arielle arrives.