A Post for "Your MOM" (or for you if you're a mom!)

In gearing up for impending labor and delivery, I'd like to throw a couple questions out there for those who have gone before.

What helped you most when you gave birth?

If you could do it over again, what would you do the same?

Is there anything you would do differently?

What do you wish you had known beforehand?

I really am just curious what different women's experiences have been and since there's really no way to ask everyone in person I thought I'd try it here. Please don't hesitate to ask your mom or friends who are moms and share their thoughts if you aren't one yourself--I'd like to just collect a bunch of answers and the more the better! And no pressure to answer all four questions--answering even just one will really help.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for participating, I am excited to read about your reflections on giving birth!

"I Can't Sleep!"

(picture taken at 31 weeks--please excuse the weird expression, it's due to my lack of sleep-! haha)

Here's a hilarious excerpt from a book I'm currently reading called The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy (by Vicki Iovine). It's from the chapter, "Coming Into the Homestretch." I hope it makes you smile and even laugh to yourself as much as I did!

"Being unable to sleep and stay awake were my greatest challenges at the end of my pregnancy. Being tired was no guarantee that I was going to snooze when I went to bed each night. Some Stepford Wives cheerfully told me that this was nature's way of preparing me for the sleepless nights that I would experience as a new mother. That is like saying dieting will prepare you for starvation, if you should be asked to endure it. As far as I was concerned, no nature that was capable of giving chameleons the gift of disguise would be stupid enough to think that the the cure for no sleep was more no sleep.

"No, you can't sleep for two major reasons. First, the baby is pulling or sitting on every part of your body but your face and your feet (and those are swollen from water retention). Second, you are so preoccupied with what lies ahead; labor, delivery, motherhood, that you have a hard time turning your brain off at night. (Which is kind of ironic, because you will swear that you haven't been able to turn your brain on most days lately.)

"Now is the time for a reappraisal of your relationship with your bed pillows. They will grow to become your best friends, not only the one or two that you have always known and loved, but all the new pillows you will buy (or steal from your husband) to help them in their duties. The Girlfriends and I agree that you will need at least three pillows by this point; one between your knees to keep your hips supported, one propped slightly under your pregnant belly and one under your head and shoulders. Even better, you should consider buying one of those full-length body pillows that are sold in a million catalogs these days. I bought one, and after I got over the shock of how very big it was, I gamely brought it into bed. It felt magnificent, but it created a barrier between my husband and me in the bed that would have required helium to ascend. My husband referred to my giant pillow as my "Boyfriend," and I actually named it "Phil." Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on my mood, my husband wasn't finding me particularly irresistable, so he never complained about the line of demarcation between us. If you ask me, I think he might have been grateful.

"The one difficulty about my relationship with "Phil" was the difficulty "we" had when I wanted to turn over. First I would hurl myself from one side to the other, then I would grab Phil with both arms and both legs and flip it over with me, much like an alligator wrestler might do. It invariably shook the bed so violently that my husband nearly fell out and the comforter would land somewhere halfway across the room."

Oh the joys of pregnancy!

Krazy Karneval in Koeln

translation: Crazy Carnival in Cologne (haha)

This past weekend Grady and I traveled west once again to visit good friends Eric and Jen. After arriving early Friday morning from an overnight train, we spent the day shopping, resting, and hanging out before packing up our stuff Saturday afternoon. Then we got all dressed up (which consisted merely of face paint for me...hey, I'm pregnant-!) and headed north to the city of Cologne (Koeln, in German) to experience the height of Carnival--a season beginning on Nov 11 and climaxing on Rose Monday (today!). Picture, if you will, the city center area crammed with people of all ages and the odd ones out being the people NOT dressed in something crazy! It's like a super-sized Halloween party full of parades, street vendors and a general good time. But after a few hours of walking around I was sure ready to lay in a nice comfy bed for the night! We met some nice people and saw some really great costumes and it's especially fun being in an atmosphere where there's not such a "social norm" to adhere to--everyone looks odd so that becomes normal! We even had a man ask, "Sprichst du Deutsch?" meaning, "Do you speak German?" (IN German) which really made us laugh! We're in Germany, and HE's asking us if WE speak German?! Goes to show what a mixture of people can be found there! It was a truly tradiational German celebration and we were glad to take part in a bit of it.

Beauty

We have this beautiful flowering plant in our apartment and it adds such color and delight when the rich fuschia blooms open wide. I tried to capture the essence it here, but as always, the pictures just don't do it justice.

And for a different kind of beauty (I got a real kick out of this picture...no pun intended!)...

(from www.flickr.com... not my belly for those of you wondering-!)

Thank you God for making so many beautiful things for us to enjoy!

Trade-Offs

A current picture and a humorous list!

If only you'd known you were going to trade...
• Monthly PMS for nine months of weeping
• Lacy panties for cotton tents
• Zinfandel for Ovaltine
• Birth control for laxatives
• Going to the gym for getting up to pee
• Your waist for a hot-air balloon
• Kickboxing for kick counts
• Your innie for an outie — a way-outie
• Sleeping for groaning
• Freedom for the most intense love you've ever known

Wowie!!

I know I'm turning into more of a sappy pregnant lady every week, but I'm really in awe after just reading how the baby is currently developing and I had to share! Here's what's written about week 29 (from my Baby Center newsletter):

Your baby is growing rapidly now. This week he weighs about half a pound more than he did last week (about 2 1/2 pounds total) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. His muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and his head is getting bigger to accommodate his growing brain — which is busy developing billions of neurons. With this rapid growth, it's no surprise that your baby's nutritional needs reach their peak during this trimester. To keep yourself and your baby well nourished, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamin C, folic acid, iron, and calcium. (Every day, about 200 milligrams of calcium is deposited in your baby's skeleton, which is now hardening.)

Wowie!!

Edmontonian Excitement

Landing in Edmonton was a shock to our systems as we met wintery weather for the first time this year. We took advantage by playing in the snow, drinking lots of hot beverages, and we even attempted to go skating until arriving and discovering the rental place was closed on that particular day (so we just ran around on the ice instead!). We ate our fill of good steaks and burgers, and I noticed my beverage consumption slowly increasing at every successive meal out (I mean, the refills were FREE!). We spent time with family and friends and Grady flew back to Dresden before "real winter" set in, with the worst blizzard in 18 years hitting Edmonton and keeping many people housebound. Before we knew it the roads were cleared off and life continued on, albeit in "deep freeze" conditions--the temperature was around -25C for my last few days in Canada. Then before we knew it I was once again saying goodbye to those it felt I had just said hello to and I flew back to spring-like Dresden with rain and 10C. It was a wonderful four weeks back with family and friends and our next reunion will also include the grand introduction of our new baby! We hope to see everyone again around next Christmas. And that concludes the stories from our trip, hope you've enjoyed the highlights!

Reception Part Deux

We were blessed to celebrate our wedding with another group of friends and family, this time in Edmonton. We again watched the wedding video, a slideshow of childhood pictures and circulated photo albums from our special day. It was a great time to reconnect with many of the special people in my life who I hadn't seen for a year or more. And this time it was Grady's turn to meet 101 new faces and try to keep them straight! A couple of cool tidbits: We celebrated the event on December 29th, which happened to be my dad's parents' anniversary as well! And we had it at the Wellington Community Hall which is where my parents' wedding reception was also celebrated after their wedding on June 4, 1977. So anyway, the reception held special meaning for many who attended and we were thrilled to be surrounded by so much love.