My friend Stephanie had a baby today. And my cousin and his girlfriend are expecting their first little one any day now. A handful of other very good friends of mine have very recently had babies {I’m talking about you Heather, Allie & Sheri!}. This makes me so freaking happy!!!

Our little bean? She got her first tooth a few days ago. Things are really happening and she is GROWING UP.

"soooo big!"

But not that long ago, she was a tiny little newborn. Crazy. So with these friends and their babies in mind, I’m finally getting around to posting our birth story here for you. It is long, but I didn’t want to leave anything out. I hope you understand.

Disclaimer/warning: this is a somewhat graphic account with photos. I wrote it just a week or so after she was born and I haven’t really changed much, except taking out some names to, er, “protect” their privacy. Please be nice if you leave a comment… This is, of course, a very personal event, and I’m posting this in hopes of helping other women who are going or about to go through this life-changing event, not to gross anyone out. I think the more we talk about it, though, the more normal it will become. It is one of the most amazing and normal and healthy processes we can go through as humans.

And yes, we had a planned at-home water birth. We had a team of amazing midwives with us, as well as a few close friends in attendance. It was totally non-medicalized and intimate and amazing and I would definitely recommend a home birth as a safe and healthy option for anyone with a complication-free pregnancy. There are also ways to deal with various complications and still have a home birth. Really, it was the best way for us and I’m so happy we did it. I think I will do another post with resources I used to come to this decision, but one of the best is the movie “The Business of Being Born,” If you haven’t seen it yet, well, what are you waiting for?

So, enjoy.

********

Natalie’s Birth Story

Born at 41 weeks, 6 days; 8lb 6oz, 22 inches; lots of dark brown hair, big blue-brown eyes

It all started with being patient. Then a sudden need to not be patient anymore. She was a week late and showing no signs of coming out. We were planning a home-birth and had been working with a team of four midwives, and at this point they started to push me to get going, since at 42 weeks we would end up in the hospital with a chemical induction.

41 weeks

At my appointment tuesday (pre 41-weeks) they suggested getting more acupuncture (had had some monday with my regular acupuncturist, she opened some channels but didn’t do induction points; I had been sensitive in some of my back points and my right hand point where I hadn’t been before) and scheduled a date with a bottle of castor oil for Sunday. I made an appointment with her for Friday, but the appointment ended up having to be canceled. I also made an appointment for a biophysical profile/ultrasound at the hospital for Monday. On Friday I had a craniosacral treatment with only stillpoints, which felt great but didn’t seem to do much. My craniosacral therapist set me up with an appointment to see another acupuncturist to discuss an acupuncture induction — I saw her that afternoon and we made an appointment for Sunday morning.

Saturday morning I woke up with my bloody show, like a heavy period with lots of mucus. I called the midwife on call, pretty excited. She said that was great and to still plan to do the castor oil and acupuncture on sunday, but to let her know if I had more bleeding or contractions. I had been having some low pains, but not at regular intervals.

So I headed off with John to see some family in from out of town, including lots of babies. We discussed babies, labor, induction. Everyone kept saying maybe seeing all those babies was what I needed to get things going. Later that day we headed to my mom’s to make dinner for Mother’s Day. Eggplant parmesan, which is supposed to induce labor. Well that night I started having contractions, about every 5 to 15 minutes long. I was able to eventually sleep through them but they were starting to be pretty uncomfortable.

Sunday morning I ate breakfast and made up my castor oil (1oz.) and orange juice shake with ice. I could barely get half a dose in before my 9:30 acupuncture appointment and was supposed to have had 2 doses by then. I gagged and it was just such a snotty texture, plus the orange juice first thing in the morning, just wasn’t happening. We went to acupuncturist #2’s practice up the street, and got down to business. She had me lay on my left side, and did points in my ears first for relaxation, then my back, on my hands, in my ankles and on my feet. She connected the electrical stimulation from one hand to one foot. I was pretty tense and it was a little uncomfortable, and I was still having contractions every 5-10 minutes that demanded my breath and attention a little more. The point in my right foot and my left hand really hurt, like chewing on tinfoil. It sort of felt like the longest treatment ever, and she kept saying that she’s usually very gentle but this didn’t seem like the time for gentleness. She then had me lay on my back and did some points on my legs near my knees and applied little magnet gold ball stickers to the points she had done on my hands and feet and ears for pressure points. John also got some work done on his face and ears for relaxation and for his sinuses. He wasn’t sold.

We went home and I took the rest of my castor oil dose, talked to the midwife, and she said to take the other doses a half-hour apart. If it worked, she didn’t want me to be laboring through the night. My lovely friend Sarah came over around lunchtime and hung out for the rest of the day; we watched tv on the internet, took a quick walk (I couldn’t walk too far from the house b/c at this point in my pregnancy I had to pee way too frequently), I took a hot shower, and dozed a bit but didn’t really nap. Things didn’t really progress for a while, but eventually the contractions became closer together and a little stronger. The midwife had me start taking an herbal labor tincture which did make them longer and farther apart for a little while, but didn’t seem to last long. She had me take it more frequently and it did get more intense so she decided to come over to check me. She arrived around 9:30pm after her 1.5 hour drive. She checked me, did a “stretch and sweep”; I was 1cm. She had me stop taking the labor tincutre and go to bed. She slept on the pull out-in the basement, and planned to leave at 4am to get her kids off to school, and Sarah slept on the couch in the living room till 6am and went to work. At right around 4am I was woken up with some pretty intense contractions that were harder to sleep through. I would have two or three before I could sleep. I felt like my body knew I needed to sleep. I thought about stopping the midwife from leaving, but I decided it was best to just get some sleep if I could. I honstly don’t remember what I did monday. Had contractions all day… oh right, went to Baystate for an ultrasound! She was definitely a girl and also had her hands up near her face, which is her favorite position for sure. We also got to see her little feet that I knew the shape of so well. They said everything looked great and the placenta showed no signs of age or anything, so we were safe to wait a few more days for labor to start. Contractions were anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes apart lasting from 20-40 seconds, but not super strong yet.

Tuesday went a little differently. My mom drove me the hour to my midwives’ office, to have an exam and an acupuncture session with their in-house practitioner, who specializes in fertility, birth and such. We bought more castor oil on the way in. We also got to see the one midwife who wouldn’t be at our birth, which was really great. I had the exam, another “stretch and sweep” with evening primrose oil. She said I was 3 cm which was huge progress from Sunday night and very promising. We talked about my homework to do some ritual/ceremony with John on Wednesday, when I was planning to take more castor oil. Opening the windows to signify opening everything, and making pasta and watching a movie was the plan. Never got around to it!

Acupuncturist #3 did her magic and gave me an intense acupuncture treatment with needles in similar spots to #2’s treatment; my thumb/forefinger webbing, my foot, ankles, and back. She, however, put the electrical stimulation on my back. It kind of felt good on my back. My mom just hung out during the treatment and we talked a little bit. I had contractions through it but not too bad. After the treatment (about an hour) #3 put little stickers on the points on my back, hands and feet– these stickers had little needles in them, though! Ouch. On our way out we had a talk with the midwife who was not coming to the birth — we discussed “rewriting” our family’s story, which my mom (who had four C-sections) loved. It was a nice moment.

When I first sat back in the car after stopping at dunkin’ donuts to pee, I felt the needles in my back — yowch! But as #3 said, my regular movements would stimulate them, so it was all good. On the way home my contractions became more intense and I wasn’t able to talk to my mom as much. They were kind of taking my attention and breath. They were about every 2-5 minutes, lasting anywhere from 20-40 seconds.  Mom took me home and hung out with me till my lovely friend Jaclyn showed up. Even thought I loved having her there, I was actually relieved when my mom left because I had sort of been controlling myself in front of her, not wanting her to see me in distress. I didn’t realize this at the time, but as soon as she left things got much more intense. I decided to call John around 4:30 and have him come home and skip his last class (his school is about 45 minutes away — this was a review for the final he had to take on Thursday). Jaclyn brought movies and stuff but I was pretty distracted. I called the midwife on call to tell her and she decided to send the apprentice midwife to come check me. My mom came back with our dog, who had spent the day at her house with her dog while we were at my appointment, and she saw that things were progressing. She didn’t stay long. John and Jaclyn and I tried to visit a bit and I decided we should try watching a movie. We put the Italian Job on, but I really couldn’t pay attention. The contractions were making me want to drop to my knees. I was using the balance ball and swaying back and forth on the floor with each one, trying to breathe. Midwife A (heretofore know as “A”) showed up around 9:30pm and started setting things up. She could see that it was really happening and she wanted to get things ready. I kept asking everyone why I was doing this, why I didn’t just go to the hospital and have drugs, and A reminded me it was pain now or pain later. That helped me remember why I wanted this and that it would be better in the long run, and helped me want to keep going and be proactive.

Jaclyn stayed downstairs and A brought me upstairs to our bedroom to try to help me rest. She had me sit on the ball and lean over onto the bed onto a bunch of pillows. It was nice in the breaks to lay down on them and rest, but they weren’t happening that much. The contractions were pretty close together and she was helping me breathe and stay on top of them. I started to make some sounds, and she helped me remember to keep the sounds low-pitched. I got on the bed at some point, but the pillows weren’t enough and I liked the movement of the ball. I was already totally exhausted. I had John stand behind me and I leaned back on him during each contraction, moaning a low sound and swaying back and forth on the ball. He was so solid and it was so perfect to have him close and strong, supporting me. He left at one point and I had so much more trouble dealing with that contraction.

Jaclyn had called my friend Stephanie by that point to come help, and they and John were trying to set up the tub. Sarah was going to come, too, but she ended up having to leave for a trip to Paris the next morning, and she lives many hours away. That was sad, but I was so happy to have spent the day Sunday with her, too. So… Jaclyn and Stephanie couldn’t figure out how to attach the hose to the faucet and I heard John in the tub (the floor creaking) and I went in to pee and asked what they were doing. I was in a daze but I managed to figure out that there was a gasket in the hose connector that needed to be removed and then it worked. I decided to pee while they were in the bathroom working on it, at that point I didn’t care. A had me take off my pants and tried to find a skirt for me. We used a sarong but it didn’t really stay on. I went back to my ball and leaning on John. He was giving me sips of water during each break from a blue glass and a yellow straw. I don’t know why I remember that or why it’s significant, but it kind of stuck in my mind. I guess I was pretty familiar with it by the end of the night.

Then I started to feel nauseous. I think midwives B and C were here by then but maybe just on their way (they arrived around 11:30pm). The tub was being filled. John ran to get a bucket and A said “you have approximately 3 minutes to get a bucket” — and it might have been even less than that, when he came back and I filled the bowl. I didn’t know a person could throw up that much. It was like my body was taken over and everything was contracting so my belly had to be emptied, too. I wasn’t done but the bowl was full so he had to leave to get another bowl. I hated having him gone, he was so strong and a peaceful presence, rubbing my back and giving me water, holding me up. They switched out the bowl and I filled that one. I climbed on the bed to have A check me and I was 5 cm. Ready to go in the tub! I was excited but still nauseous and tired. I filled another bowl. John held it and me and helped me into the baby’s room, and into the tub. The water felt hot at first and they asked me if it was too hot but it instantly made me feel better so I said it wasn’t too hot. It felt soooo good. I didn’t have the sari on at this point, just a tank top. I wanted to have bare skin to hold the baby in her first moments, but it felt good to keep it on, to keep my chest and shoulders covered. Jaclyn or Steph (or both?) got the job of pouring water on my back to keep me warm, as I ended up just leaning over the side of the tub during the contractions.

I also thought I might be sick again and I needed to keep the bowl close. At first I kept changing position, moving from one side of the tub to the other, kind of swimming around and leaning back in between. I was happy in between because the water felt so calming and almost pure. It was right where I needed to be.

The room was dark, with the salt lamp glowing in the background. A was sitting in the armchair coaching me through. John was kneeling by me, rubbing my back and giving me water in between. At one point, though, John was kneeling on a pair of pillows Sarah made and I told him not to because I didn’t want to get water and puke on them. That was pretty much all I said in the last 5 hours of labor. They asked if they could take pictures and I said yes. I also agreed when B asked if I was comfortable taking another tincture — to help with vomiting and make contractions longer and farther apart. It seemed to help with both, which was such a relief. I was stretching my legs out with each contraction, sort of kicking the tub walls.

Our cat and dog kept coming in to check us out, see what was going on. At one point I remember noticing amidst all the chaos and my loud noises, the cat came in and rubbed up against my hand that was hanging over the side of the tub, which I took as sort of “it’s ok, I’m here if you need me” signal. Pretty sweet.

The contractions got much more intense and I ended up staying in pretty much one place for a long time.  I think B checked the baby’s heartbeat with a doppler a few times, which was sort of uncomfortable. She needed to check through a contraction so I had to lean up on John so my belly was out of the water. The heartbeat was fine each time, which was great news. Jaclyn was holding the flashlight and turning it on during each contraction so they could see what was happening (I found out later) and Steph was taking pictures. A was coaching me to stay on top of the contractions, to breathe when I felt one coming and ride it like a wave. She said I had been letting them take over me, like a wave crashing on top of me. It was true. So each time I was able to breathe and stay on top of it, with her help, I was much more able to cope. It was still the most intense sensation I have ever felt, but I wasn’t as helpless or hopeless during them with this technique. She also said her baby was moving a lot (she was 6 months pregnant) and it almost never moved much. Around then I started wanting to push and was a little bit. I was making loud, low sounds, really guttural and in my throat. The contractions really hurt and I wasn’t sure I could keep going. I know I said “no” and “I can’t” through two or three contractions, and I know now that this was my transition. I think that was when they decided to check me and I was 10 cm (fully dilated)! They were all really excited and asked me if that was good news. Of course it was and I was happy, too, though definitely in some other world, not knowing what was going on, just wanting to get this baby out! I started pushing while still leaning over the side of the tub, but with my feet under me, sort of squatting. B had to hear the baby and that was really hard to get up enough to let her. All sounded good and I was well on my way. I pushed through a bunch of contractions and A and C kept reminding me to bare down and use the power instead of letting it out in a sound. This helped a lot and I was able to concentrate on pushing, which did feel kind of good and like a certain kind of relief. It was what my whole body needed to do.

They started telling me that when the baby came out I had to put my leg over the cord and pull her up, and not to raise my butt above the water because she could breathe air and then be back under water and breathe water. I was a little confused and worried and decided I could change my position, I said I could lean back and they were thrilled at this. I leaned back and started pushing more. They told me to reach down and feel her head — it was so squishy!! like a balloon filled with sand — with hair! I couldn’t believe she was so close and ready to come out, that I had gotten her this far, and they told me just a few more pushes and she’d be here! I was told at some point to slow down and not push as hard, to save my perineum. It seemed to work because I didn’t tear at all! C told me I had to keep my legs apart and that my instinct would be to put them together because of the pain. It was burning and I did just that. So John was holding my arms and maybe one of my legs and she held the other.

The baby’s head was born and everyone cheered. John says he thought I was reaching down to push her back in. I was doing no such thing! Someone told me now I just had to birth her body and I was so frustrated at that point, I had really thought her body would just slip out and I had done so much hard work why did I have to keep going? But I did and her body was out in just a few pushes! B caught her and she and C carried her up to my chest and she was perfect in every way! She was looking RIGHT AT ME. She was born at 1:23 am Wednesday, after four days of contractions and 7 hours of labor.

Her big beautiful eyes were so alert, but her body was quite limp and a bit blueish. C quickly rubbed her with a towel to warm her up and I had a few moments with her and John and just exclaiming and bursting with joy and relief. Someone was about to cut the cord but I said John should do it — he asked if it had stopped pulsing and it had, so he cut it. He asked if it would hurt and I and the midwives all said no. They decided to take her to warm her up which I was fine with. I was so happy and relieved. I kept exclamiing no way, oh shit, What? holy cow. WHAT? (Jaclyn said she was expecting me to exclaim “No I di’int!”) They said she was fine and asked if I wanted to stay in the tub. I wanted to be with my baby! So John helped me out of the tub, I had to hold the clamp and umbilical cord, and someone held a towel under me and over my shoulders. I got in the bed and saw the baby again, she was so beautiful. So perfect. I laid down on some pads A had set up, and she coached me through birthing the placenta. I asked Steph, who has two babies, what it was like and she said just like a big octopus. It was! I asked if the plastic was still under the sheets and it was, so I just relaxed and A had me push and there it came, like an octopus! All slimy and no bones but still a bit uncomfortable. B checked me and there was no need for any stitches, no tearing at all. Everyone was amazed because it had all been so fast. They had been ready to camp out until the next day.

Everyone cleaned up so quickly and John got to hold the baby for a while. C had held her while he was helping me from the tub and I think she was great at warming her up. She had pinked up just fine. They put her on a heating pad and measured her and checked her stats. They weighed her and she was 8lbs 6oz., 22 inches! C guessed her weight right before they weighed her and she was right spot on!

Steph and Jac left first, I think, saying they’d be back in the morning. John called my mom and I asked him if she was coming over and he said he hadn’t asked her to and I said call her back she wants to come, and I feel like she arrived instantly. It was so good to see her and we were all so happy. She was in love with the baby and was crying just a little bit. So sweet. This baby was really perfect. Gorgeous skin, lots of dark hair, long skinny legs and arms. I was able to nurse her pretty quickly and she seemed to like it and latch on pretty well.

I thought I was bleeding a lot and really had to pee but was so dizzy I couldn’t get up. I tried to pee because I knew it would help me stop bleeding. B decided to give me a shot of pitocin to help the contracting/lessen the bleeding. We discussed cytotec, too, which she left with me. I didn’t want to take it but she assured me that it was definitely safe once there was no baby stretching my uterus or any pushing or heavy contractions going on. The pitocin shot was funny because I knew I had just given birth and handled it but I was still afraid of the shot! A tiny needle and it wasn’t so bad — in my left thigh. A gave it to me and my mom held my hand. It was nothing, though. A also gave me some oxygen and I felt a lot better. I had the baby on me at this point and she felt perfect.

I asked my mom and B and C how you help from worrying that she stopped breathing, and they all said “you don’t”. ha ha. They said, you’re a mom now, you’ll worry. she’ll cry. So, as everyone was leaving my mom offered to stay. I hadn’t thought about it before that but YES I wanted her to stay. I think she slept on the couch, but just knowing she was there in case anything happened to the baby was so comforting. We slept a little bit, but not much. Too much adrenaline!

My dad came around 7am on his way to work, he brought donuts and simply said “good job, Laur.” A little later (around 10?) my Mom left, but came back for the afternoon and John’s parents came, too.  I was nursing the baby every time she was awake, and she seemed to like it, but the positioning was awkward. I tried feeding her lying down and it sort of worked but I worried about falling asleep, and my shoulders and arms hurt. Well, everything hurt. My hips and my sacrum, my bottom muscles, my upper back, my wrist. My puffiness went away in my chin and arms and feet pretty instantly. My hands felt half as big and just looser in the joints, but my wrist was killing me. My chiropractor came for a home visit on Tuesday of the week after, which was amazing.

B came back the evening of Day 1, and helped us find some other positions for breastfeeding (the football hold), and checked us all over, deeming us all healthy and good. I hadn’t bled too much but had had a few large clots and she was sure that was why I had bled so much. On the third night I had a panic attack and thought I was bleeding too much and the blood wasn’t getting to my head and I was going to die. John googled low blood pressure, gave me some orange juice for low blood sugar and made me sleep. I felt better in the morning, but for days I was still having trouble falling asleep when I’d get the chance. Again we tried new breastfeeding positions on day 3 when midwife D and A came to visit. We seemed good and healthy but they noticed some jaundice and said to put her in the sun for 20 minutes a day and that once my milk came in that would help, too. It did — came in on Saturday I think and by Friday of the next week we went to the pediatrician and she was 9lbs. 6oz.! Gained one pound! She said usually they’re happy if the baby is back to their birth weight by this time, so she was doing great.

{more notes from that same second week} This little bug likes to smile and gaze right at people, right from her very first moments. She started laughing in her sleep at about day 5. I call her a bug or a hungry caterpillar and she loves to read that book, looks right at the butterfly. She loves looking around and out the windows and loved her first car ride. The umbilical stump came off when uncle Thom was here on Monday. He was supremely grossed out.  She also pooped on uncle Brian when she met him, and slept in uncle Ed’s arms for hours. Daddy thinks her poop smells like cheesecake, but Grammy disagrees. Her little body and head smell like heaven, though, and I love just holding her and smelling her littleness. She is almost too long for newborn clothes already, but thankfully she mostly hangs out with her legs curled up. She loves sleeping on a person or in someone’s arms, but we started the rocking carrier today and she seems to love it (been asleep in it for almost 3 hours!). She has had a long stretch of 6 hours of sleep almost every day, and it has started happening in the night which mommy and daddy love! She is beyond her age in so many ways, and this has to be our favorite… though the smiles are a close second.

I just had to pop in and finally announce the arrival of our daughter, Natalie May Coyle!
She came into the wold with an early morning waterbirth at home, with the help of an amazing team of midwives and friends, last Wednesday May 12th at 1:23 am. She has sparkly big eyes and her papa’s brown hair; 8lbs 6oz, 22 inches. She was 13 days late, and is already surprising us with smiles and coos, and gazing back at us from her first moments.

We are now spending our days and sleepless nights gazing at the adorableness of this starry-eyed little one, mostly in disbelief, really, that we created her. I’m sure I’ll be back soon enough with more stories; I promise I will share some of the story of her birth eventually, which was definitely the most amazing, intense, challenging and profound experience of my life. I must say that I am so beyond happy that we chose to have her at home, and I think a tub full of warm water is a wonderful place to come into the world.

(we're so in love with this hat from Cloo Gifts Etsy shop)

With lots of blissed out love,
xoxo
Laurie

needing some distractions…

today is our “due date” — but no real signs of this baby coming our way soon, so I’ve decided I need a little distraction, and I also decided it needs to be positive and send goodness into the universe, so here’s a little grateful list for today, Thursday April 29, 2010, in no particular order:

• the fact that I am about to become a Mama any day now

• having had a healthy and easy pregnancy, the prospect of a healthy and easy birth

• a gorgeous new nursery and new studio, all ready and waiting to be used

• a green couch!

• the beautiful washer and dryer in our new basement bathroom (and the washer works on hot AND cold water!)

• birds, bears, bunnies and other creatures of spring

• leaves on the trees, even tiny ones

• our Curly Willow tree that has grown from a twig to a 15-foot tree in 4 years

• daffodil bouquets from my hubby

• offers for distraction and fun from friends

• HappyDog’s unbridled passion for squeaky toys

• sea-salt brownies (I KNOW, right?)

• pre-sliced mangoes and pineapple

• imagining my hubby as a papa — and all the joy he will bring to this little one’s life

• imagining our HappyDog and the little one as best friends; we imagine it is inevitable.

I also want to thank you for holding us in your thoughts today, on our official due date, and for hanging in there with us as we stay patient and wait for the little one to decide when she (or he!) is ready to greet the world. We will of course keep you updated, and will post something here soon after the birth. {But, you know, not too soon. We are planning to take it easy and revel in the beauty of this new life; thanks, I knew you’d understand}

Just in case you were wondering….

36 weeks & 4 days — due April 29; we all can’t wait to meet this (not-so-little) little bean!

Also, it is spring!

That’s my very first crocus of the year! We planted these bulbs last fall during the big wall-building/porch renovation project, and it seems they like it here. Spring is a little later to arrive here up on the mountain, but it’s happening!

Not like you wouldn’t have guessed, but I’m taking a little break from all things web-related. I’m also going to be putting my Etsy shop in vacation mode in the next day or two (meaning it’s closed to new orders, but you can still see things that have been sold, contact me, etc., and you can sign up to be notified when it re-opens), and I’m not sure if I’ll re-activate it before the baby bean is born or not. We’re in the middle of project basement right now, and my entire studio is going to be moving down there in the next week. Since I probably won’t know where anything is or have access to everything for a while, I figured it’d be best to put the shop on hold for a while.

So, if you have any shopping you’ve been meaning to do in the Laurie Coyle Designs Etsy shop, now’s the time to do it! If you order something in the next few days I’ll be sure to include a super special free gift, too! yippee!

As for this blog, I’m just going to let myself off the hook, ok? I miss you, but I also feel bad when I don’t post, and that’s just no good for either of us. So I’m here to officially say that until I get into a routine with the little one, I’ll probalby not be here much. There may be no noticeable difference from the current infrequency, but who knows. I totally love you, though, and appreciate all of your encouragement and kind words and your interest in my work (and life!). It really means a lot to me, and I’ll be sure to keep you updated on baby-progress, as well as any new work that comes out of the new studio. I’m also planning a big before-and-after reveal of the basement space, but the project is definitely not done. Not quite yet. So until then…

xoxox

She’s been kicking up a storm these days! She was particularly active this morning during an acupuncture treatment. Wonder if I was just noticing it more because I was lying quietly, or maybe she just really liked it?

taken with my iPhone yesterday, Jan. 9th, just over 24 weeks. It was maybe 13 degrees?

No, my head isn’t really that small… but my belly is indeed getting increasingly larger, which is kind of fun. I’m feeling lots of kicks and punches, too. It’s still difficult to feel it from the outside, but I get to feel it myself through most of the day and especially when I’m trying to fall asleep.

In other news, I’ll be revealing the winner of the calendar giveaway tomorrow! See you then.

{I have been secretly hoping to use this image (from the best ever cake-tastic website Cakewrecks) for this exact post for my whole pregnancy.}

It’s true, we’re having a girl!

…Well, as long as the ultrasound tech’s “guess” is right. We’ve had that guess twice now from two different trained professionals, so we’re going with it. Neither said they were 100% sure, because the little bean wouldn’t stay still long enough to get a “good look” — so we have a hyperactive girl! The photo they printed for us today looks pretty right-on, according to all the google-ing I did today. So… we’re making it official:

“it a gril!”

This was today, at almost 22 weeks (5.5 months).

my cup runneth over. for reals.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my parents’ with 20 family members and friends, followed by some visiting with John’s family.

Then a second round on Friday with a gang of friends at our house for our “Annual Day-After Thanksgiving Leftover Feast”. Yum! Just writing about it makes me want more mashed potatoes… seriously.

A few things I am grateful for this year:

• my family
• my wonderful husband
• our growing baby bean (almost 5 months!)
• our dry basement
• craft fairs, loyal customers and awesome fellow crafters
• art, craft and doing-it-yourself
• furry friends
• my tribe of fantastic human friends
• mashed potatoes (can you tell I’ve gotten my appetite back?)

I don’t know if this is creepy and crazy pregnant lady stuff or not, but I know I like seeing them on other people’s blogs, so here’s our first real photo of the baby bean:

It’s a profile. Can’t you tell? Those are two little arms/hands poking up! He/she was waving at us and doing quite a qymnastics show for the first half, then settled down and wouldn’t turn around toward the end. We got a good look at his/her side, though.

They weren’t able to tell the sex today, and are sending us back in a few weeks. But they were able to tell that everything heart/brain/skeleton looks good and healthy, and there are 10 fingers, and two cute feet, long legs and a sweet little face with an opening and closing mouth! All good news, making me feel very relieved and happy.

I guess it’s normal, but as the day of this appointment got closer and closer I started to imagine all the things we could see that could be wrong. 3 arms? 1 leg? 3 eyes? I know… it’s silly, but that’s how my mind is working these days. I didn’t REALLY think that would happen, but I almost wanted to not see it, just in case. So I’m happy to say all is well. He/she seems to be measuring a little smaller than the age we thought it was — but only by a few days, so they still keep the due date the same (4.24.09).

All is well in baby-bean land.

***happy dance***