Third Trimester :)

I am officially into the 3^rd trimester of the pregnancy! That means that the baby is due in just three months. One of the most common questions that we are asked now is if the nursery is ready. The answer is… we haven’t even started! I have two more weeks of work, and the plan is to get to work on nursery things this summer. However, we did buy a crib. It is still sitting in its box in the garage though. As we begin to progress on the nursery, I’ll post pics. Promise.

At 27 weeks pregnant, these are some updates on baby Hines...

• Weighs a little more than 2 lbs.
• Total length (from head to toe) is about 15 ¼ inches
• Eyelids have been fused shut since week 12 of pregnancy, but they start to open this week. The retina is starting to receive light, so the baby is using his/her eyesight for the first time
• I am finally feeling the baby move A LOT.
• The baby has more taste buds now than he or she will have at birth (or ever)

This is a current picture of me. And yes, I'm sure I'm not having twins.

Double the Showers, Double the Fun!

Many people know that I am a Pre-K teacher. What many people may not know is that I teach at two different schools every day. I start my day at one campus, and then at lunch I drive to a different school and teach PM Pre-K there. This can often be very challenging: twice as many classrooms can often mean twice the work. I organize two sets of materials, coordinate with two different Pre-K teams, am responsible to two different administrations, etc. However, last week, I was verrry grateful to work at two schools, because I was given TWO showers! What a blessing! Austin and I were overwhelmed by the generosity of my friends from work. These are some of the pictures from my shower at West Elementary:

the adorable baby blanket that our secretary Janet made

my good friends who hosted the shower

the cake

a bouquet of white onesies!

And these are some pics from the Liberty Elementary shower.....

the women who hosted the shower :)

the cake (my good friend Gloria knew that our nursery is going to be forest themed, so she got us a forest cake!)

the diaper cake :)

Thanks to everyone who made my TWO work showers such successes. Austin and I appreciate you very very much.

Yes, we're using a midwife. And no, we're not hippies

When people hear that Austin and I have decided to use a midwife, we hear all sorts of responses. Some people are thrilled for us, others are pretty skeptical...

"You don't need to try to prove anything. No need to be Wonder Woman."

"You know, God invented doctors and medicine for a reason."

"Isn't it dangerous to give birth out of a hospital? What if something goes wrong?"

The truth is, I agree (for the most part). I am not trying to prove anything or be Wonder Woman. I believe that God uses doctors and medicine to help and heal millions of people. I am NOT anti-hospital. If something goes wrong during labor and delivery, I will be incredibly grateful to the OBGYN that saves my life or the life of our baby.

I just believe that there are a lot of misconceptions about midwifery and the birth process. We watched a fascinating documentary on hospital births compared to out-of-hospital births called The Business of Being Born. I don't necessarily agree with everything in the film. I just feel that God designed a woman's body to deliver a baby. Sometimes there are complications, and in those specific instances, it is good to have a surgeon step in. But I believe it is unnecessary to have a surgeon deliver 100% of babies. (OBGYNS are by definition surgeons).

Most other developed countries throughout the world use midwives for the majority of births. The United States stands alone as the country that has surgeons delivering almost all babies, and we have the second worst newborn death rate in the developed world. Obviously something needs to change.

Austin and I are by no means on a crusade to get all women to use midwives and natural childbirth. There are many reasons that hospitals are the better choice for lots of women. But for us, we feel using a midwife is the right decision.

Our midwife is an amazing woman named Donnellyn. She provides all of my prenatal care. I see her once a month, the same way women visit their OBGYN once a month. She does my blood work, checks my blood pressure and pulse, checks my protein and sugar levels, checks the baby's heart rate, and feels the position of the baby in the uterus (all the same things done at monthly check-ups with doctors). She has been such a blessing to us. I have her personal cell phone number, so whenever I am worried about something (no matter how small), I can call or text her, and she gets back to me almost immediately. For anyone who wants to know more about Donnellyn and her midwifery services, this is her website:

http://allaboutbabies.net/

Nursery update

Lots of people have been asking me if we're working on the nursery yet. Mostly, the answer is no. The room we plan to use for the nursery is currently Austin's office, so until he has a new office, our nursery plans are on hold. But we do have an idea of what it will look like eventually. Because we don't know if the baby will be a boy or a girl, the room has lots of neutral colors. Probably forest themed, with reds, greens, browns, oranges, yellows, etc.

Our good friend Erin Rambo made us an amazing pregnancy scrapbook. Each page in the book has a different theme, and I am obsessed with the page in the picture below. It has pretty much become my inspiration for the nursery.

Also, here is a current pregnancy pic at 24 weeks. I think I have officially reached "bowling ball in the shirt" stage.

My Best Friend's Wedding

What a beautiful wedding! Last weekend, I had the privilege of being the matron of honor in my dear friend Katelin's wedding. The ceremony was at a beautiful cathedral in downtown Kansas City, and the reception was held in one of the most unique venues I've ever been to. These are just a few pictures from the weekend. Can you believe that the bride chose those bridesmaid dresses BEFORE I found out I was pregnant?? It is just such a reminder that God is in control, even of the little things.

Take a look at our baby...

Everything looks good on the sonogram. The baby's heart and kidneys are functioning the way they should be. The sonographer said that she estimates the baby's due date to be Sept. 2, which is 11 days after the current due date we're using. Basically, when August roles around we should have a better idea of when this baby is really coming.

She also explained that I have an anterior placenta (my placenta is attached to the front of my uterus instead of the back.) This is not a health concern right now. It just helps explain why I haven't been feeling the baby kick. The placement of the placenta is providing extra padding, but in a few weeks, when the baby is even bigger and stronger, I should be feeling lots of movement.

21 week update

I am 21 weeks pregnant, which means I am more than halfway there! A few updates on me and baby:

• baby is about 7 inches long (length of a banana)
• baby weighs between 10 and 11 ounces (not quite a pound)
• I have had numerous women tell me that I am "pretty big" or "huge" or something of that nature for only being 21 weeks. How lovely. However, when our midwife measured me at 19 weeks, she said the size of my belly was 19 centimeters (exactly on mark!) So take that everyone who thinks I'm "probably having twins."
• the baby begins to start swallowing amniotic fluid around week 21, so it becomes increasingly important to eat the right foods. If I eat a salad, the baby eats salad. If I eat an entire box of sour watermelon candies, well... you get the picture.
• the baby's heartbeat is getting stronger and we should be able to hear it soon using just a stethoscope
• the pretty green shirt in this picture was a surprise gift that my mom and sister mailed to me from St. Louis. I've already received lots of compliments. Thanks mom and Colleen!