I’m pregnant, not fragile.

Nothing annoys me more than people treating me like a delicate flower while pregnant. The misconceptions regarding what pregnant woman cannot or shouldn’t do is endless. It seems like people are more comfortable with me sitting on the couch eating ice cream and pizza instead of using my body in an athletic manner and carrying on about my day just as I used to.

I’m not sure why people seem to think pregnancy is a time to become inactive. Clinical advice suggests that pregnant women should exercise most days of the week which will help reduce aches and pains,  sleep easier, and prevent prenatal complications. The massage therapist even stated today that I wasn’t tight or tense at all — which she believes is due to the fact that I am active and still use my body in the way nature intended.

Maternal exercise helps the babies as well. Studies have shown that babies of mothers who work out have better heart health a month after birth. It sounds like it’s a win-win.

People feel that I shouldn’t lift that much, or that you shouldn’t do squats, or that you shouldn’t do handstands (which, by the way, is perfectly safe — understanding that you shouldn’t be doing handstands while pregnant if you haven’t been doing them for a long time).

Bottom line: If you did it before you were pregnant, keep doing it while pregnant. Listen to your body, don’t go to the point of exhaustion, and drink lots of water.

It’s been nice to show people that pregnancy is not a disability, doesn’t have to be debilitating, and you CAN use your body. 

I hadn’t worked out in about two weeks before the WOD I did yesterday. Life got in the way and working out was the last thing on my mind. I had to survive finals and basically have the energy to stay awake through studying and work. Crossfit will always be something that falls to the wayside when life gets stressful and I’m completely ok with that.

My body seemed to change a lot in those two weeks. I felt bigger and slightly more uncomfortable and was pretty nervous I’d go into the box and not be able to do anything. I had no idea what to expect — and almost expected myself to fail. I was mentally preparing myself for it. Once I got there, the blood got flowing and became determined to prove myself wrong.

The WOD was very do-able for me. I love the Crossfit Mom workouts, but it’s nice to be able to do the workout with everyone else. Hell of a lot more fun that way.

It started out with Overhead Squats for the strength portion of the workout.

I find OHS pretty damn hard and good form is essential. I have so-so form, but it’s harder when you’re pregnant. It felt like my balance was off and I kept falling forward and my knees kept going inward. Both a no-no. I still got in a few good reps at 55 lbs.

I’m also enjoying this last month or so of workouts with Chad. When baby comes, I know us going together will not be happening.

The actual WOD was up next.

I’m a bad runner to begin with, so running pregnant has always been on the top of my “NO” list, so I subbed the 530 M run with a 400 m row.

DB push press also work perfectly for me right now, so I grabbed some 20 lb dumbbells and got to work.

We had 5 minutes to get the run/row in and then do as many push presses as possible within that 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes was up, it was back to running/rowing and then as many push presses as possible. This happened for 3 rounds. Your final score was the amount of push presses you got in each round.

I managed to get 117 push presses. I finished exhausted and proud of myself.

I finished off the day  with some kipping pull-ups. Each time I walk into the box, I feel like it’ll be the day I won’t be able to do pull-ups anymore. I wanted to get it on video before that day comes. I feel like I will be so much stronger after the baby because it’s like I am doing these with a  20 lb weight vest on me.

Pregnancy has made me feel so differently about my body. I’ve never felt comfortable working out/running in just pants and a sports bra. I’d always worry about my midsection not being perfect or people thinking differently about me after seeing me working out like that. However, pregnancy has changed it all. I got incredibly hot yesterday in the workout (the gym just has big fans in it) and stripped that shirt off in a heartbeat without question. It surprised me. The confidence I felt was so empowering. I was finally able to do that without worrying what others thought of me or what I looked like. I hope that continues after pregnancy and I still view myself as beautiful and strong— stretch marks, imperfections and all.

And remember: I’m pregnant, not fragile.

We all know that it’s best to get our nutrients, vitamins, and minerals from real food and real sunshine.

However, if we’re honest with ourselves, we could all use some help with that from time to time.

Pregnancy brings about an incredible amount of changes physiologically to your body. Increased plasma volume, red blood cells,  and a decreased level of circulating nutrient-binding proteins and micronutrients all come into play.

It’s obvious that pregnancy increases the demand for both energy and nutrients. Your baby is essentially using all the nutrients you would usually use for yourself.

If you want to avoid anemia, avoid health risks for your baby, postpartum depression, preeclampsia, and a million other things — you might want to start looking into supplementation to ensure you’re getting everything you need during this taxing time on your body.

Before pregnancy, I slacked on supplementing. I’d take fish oil if I remembered, but that was the extent of it.

However, pregnancy has caused me to look at what my body needs and do whatever is needed to get it.

What do I take on a daily basis and why? 

 Prenatal Vitamins

New Chapter Prenatal Vitamins

You should really begin taking prenatal vitamins before you’re pregnant to establish a good level of folic acid to help reduce changes of neural tube defects. Neural tube defects occur in the FIRST MONTH of pregnancy. You can see why it’s so important to start getting your folic acid in as early as possible. Unfortunately, I was not taking any form of prenatal vitamin before pregnancy and didn’t begin taking any until I was about 6 weeks along.

New Chapter prenatal vitamins are certified organic, probiotic, and whole. They are non GMO Project verified and made with organic fruits and veggies like broccoli, kale, and other sprouts. Whole-food folate baby!

I take three of these pills daily.

Fish Oil

Carlson Fish Oil

Omega-3 fatty acids are important for both the health of the mother and the baby. Omega-3s are long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids that are essential nutrients for health and development. Unfortunately, these are not made by the human body and therefore must be obtained from diet or supplementation.

EPA and DHA are both important in your diet and health.  EPA supports the heart, immune system, and inflammatory response. DHA supports the brain, eyes, and central nervous system.

Why is it especially important during pregnancy?

Omega-3′s have been found to important in both visual and neurological developments of the baby. They also can reduce the risk of allergies in infants. It aids in the production of breast milk, helps prevent preterm labor, lowers the risk of preeclampsia, and helps prevent postpartum depression.

The bad news is that in each subsequent pregnancy your levels of Omega-3 Fatty Acids are depleted further and further. Keep those levels up and take some fish oils.

Vitamin D

PurePharma Vitamin D

Most people are chronically deficient in Vitamin D because we simply don’t get enough full body exposure to the sun.

I researched a lot on the risks of a vitamin D deficiency pregnancy and was surprised at the many implications it has.

Women with low levels of Vitamin D are four times more likely to have a cesarean section than those with higher levels of Vitamin D. Low levels of Vitamin D were shown to increase the risk of preeclampsia by 5 times. You are almost 3 times as likely to develop gestational diabetes with low levels of Vitamin D.

It also has some scary effects on the child. Pregnant women with low levels are more likely to have a newborn in the ICU being treated for respiratory infections. Vitamin D deficiency has been correlated with lower birth weights. Heart failure, weak bones, tumors, etc — the list goes on and on.

To avoid things like infections and preterm birth it’s essential to get 4,000 IU’s daily in the form of a supplement.

I love the PurePharma Vitamin D supplement because it’s a Vitamin D3 supplement —meaning it’s extracted from a natural source, with virgin olive oil, to aid in absorption. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin and fat is needed for the body to absorb it.

Take those vitamins soon-to-be mamas. Your body and your baby will thank you.

I am thirty weeks pregnant. THIRTY WEEKS PREGNANT. I have to repeat that to myself a few times a day for it to seem real.

It feels like yesterday that I found out I was pregnant. My emotions have run from scared and unsure to pride and preparedness.

I made it through finals and ended up with two A’s and two B’s this semester. It was the toughest semester of my schooling so far. I felt incredibly busy and often too tired to handle it all. I managed to have one emotional breakdown where I just collapsed into bed and cried—and for that I am proud.

Day by day.

I have been looking forward to the month of May for months! May is the month I plan to do all the things I’ve been putting up—getting everything ready to apply for my Oklahoma RN license, getting the nursery ready, starting to plan the wedding, baby showers, and general relaxation.

I still have an online class this month and am working about four days a week, but it still seems like such a break. Mostly mental, but still very much needed.

Let’s get to strictly pregnancy and baby talk…

Baby is looking good and right on track. I measured exactly 30 weeks at my last appointment with the midwife and the babies heartbeat was good. The midwife felt the baby might be breech, but doesn’t seem concerned. The baby still has a lot of time to change positions and it generally isn’t an issue until around 36 weeks. However, I hope baby has turned in 2 weeks for my next appointment. Otherwise, I see some Spinning Babies in my future.

We started Bradley Classes two weeks ago. Honestly, the jury is still out for me. I know a lot of the information from nursing school and the class just feels slow. Let’s hope it picks up.

• How far along: 30 weeks, 4 days
• Total weight gained: 17-20 lbs depending on the day
• Exercise for the week: Two WODs planned.
• Biggest surprise this week of pregnancy: stretch marks found underneath each breast. After 5 minutes of shock, I got over it. I’ll wear them proudly. However, let’s keep them to the boobs please. I’d rather avoid the marks on the stomach.
• Favorite part of the day: Before bed each night, Chad rubs coconut oil on my belly. We dim the lights and just use that time to relax and talk.

And now, it’s time to eat some leftovers from dinner tonight.

Check out this masterpiece that Chad made.

Birthing, labor and the woman’s amazing body and its capabilities have been on my mind a lot lately since I’ve been pregnant.

It’s also help me solidify the direction that I wish to take in Nursing. More on that later.

I have two finals early in the week and no time to go into details, but I wanted to share these two quotes from Ina May Gaskin–the nation’s leading midwife.

Take care and see ya soon!

Monday’s are my only days where I have completely off — meaning no clinical rotations, no class, and no work.

I take advantage of it.

I slept in till about 9 this morning— it was a long weekend. I managed to work 24 hours this weekend. It’s hell when you’re doing it, but it’s nice when you are done and realize you have multiple days off in a row. One of the many reasons that I know I’ll enjoy being a nurse.

My morning started off with a breakfast of champions. Chad is incredibly nurturing, caring, and loves to take of me — especially through food. He does all of the grocery shopping, cooking, food prep, etc for me and I can’t tell you how much of a lifesaver (and TIME saver) that’s been.

My mom gets eggs from a guy at work who lives on a farm–nothing better than farm fresh eggs.

While digesting my food, I worked on a paper regarding the “health” of Oklahoma communities. It’s no shock that Oklahoma is unhealthy—and fat— and filled with diabetes and heart disease.

However, this one statistic shocked me.

Over 70% of the restaurants in Pottawatomie County (next to Oklahoma City) are of the fast food variety.

No wonder we’re fat and unhealthy.

The next hour or so was dedicated to Crossfit. I typically do WODs from Crossfit Mom, but the WOD that Koda Crossfit had today was completely pregnancy friendly.

I stretched for a good 45 minutes while Chad worked on squats.

And then it was time to begin.

The workout was 15 minutes long completing as many rounds as you can in that time. It consisted of kettle bell swings, pushups, and wall balls.

I didn’t go all out and stopped to rest for 30-45 seconds every 2 minutes, but still managed 9 rounds. It’s getting more difficult, but the two Crossfit workouts I do a week are really important to me. I’ve got a big goal of staying fit/strong during this pregnancy.

The rest of the day has been spent studying. I have three tests this week and two tests next week.

It’s game time.

I posted this exact post last year..but it’s an incredibly important date to me. I’ve found that there are too many people in this country who either don’t know or don’t remember the first case of domestic terrorism on the United States.

We need to remember and have a moment of silence for the individuals who lost their lives on this day 16 years ago.

If you can tell me what happened on this date, then kudos to you. To me, it’s a day I won’t ever forget.

April 19th, 1995 started out like any other day to me. I was a 4th grader. I remember sitting class doing Math when I heard a loud noise and felt a shake. My mom thought that a car ran into our house. All of us students were pretty curious as to what happened. We looked outside the window and saw smoke out in the distance. Our teacher told us she thought it was a Sonic Boom. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a Sonic Boom. It was an act of terror in Oklahoma City.

The rest of the day is more of a blur. We all went into another classroom, a room that had a TV and we were plugged to the news. School officials came and led a boy out of the classroom because his mother worked in that building and they weren’t sure how she was. It was horrible. We didn’t even fully understand the extent as to what went on.

For those of you who don’t know much about that day, I’ll give you a small History lesson.

At 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995,  a Ryder truck (filled with roughly 5,000 pounds (2,300 kg) of ammonium nitrate, an agricultural fertilizer, and nitromethane, a highly volatile motor-racing fuel-a mixture also known as Kinepak or ANFO (ammonium nitrate/fuel oil) exploded in the street in front of the Alfred P. Murrah federal building. The explosion is so powerful that it is almost impossible to imagine. Instantly, cars parked in the vicinity are crumpled, incinerated, flipped about like burning, broken toys. The 250-pound rear axle of the Ryder truck rockets through the air, landing farther than a city block away. Every building within 16 blocks is damaged in some way as the shock wave ripples through downtown Oklahoma City; distant windows blow inwards, spraying insiders with glass shards. Car alarms are shrieking for miles. The Murrah building takes the brunt of the force — the equivalent of three tons of dynamite (the truck bomb was a “shaped charge” to direct its energy in a particular direction), but incredibly, part of it is still standing. A giant bite has been taken out of it, a U-shaped section missing from all nine floors. 165 people from the building are dead or dying — including 19 children, fifteen of them from the daycare center which was almost directly above the truck bomb.

Enough glass blown into the air that shards rained down for 10 minutes, 323 buildings damaged or destroyed, investigators searching through 450 tons of debris for clues, one of the axle housings from the rented truck found 575 feet away (and that close only because it collided with a car), 168 killed in the blast and another during the rescue. So much death that 30 children were orphaned, another 219 lost at least one parent, that people had to decide which overlapping funerals for friends and co-workers to attend and which to miss, that it was estimated that one-third of the population of 387,000 knew someone who perished or was among the 850 injured.

I remember being so confused as a child as to why somebody would want to do something so horrible. What’s worse is an American did this. To his own people. To his own innocent people because he was mad at the goverment. Timothy McVeigh was caught VERY shortly after the bombing and was later sentenced to death and has since been executed. There are many conspiracy theories as to what happened, but I try not to focus on that.

What needs to be focused on was the people who lost their lives and their loved ones. What needs to be focused on is how our community came together so beautifully to support one another in this very scary time. People from all across the country fled into Oklahoma City to help with rescue missions that lasted for over 2 weeks.

They eventually imploded the building–and they never even found everyone. It was a horribly sad thing. I didn’t understand the magnitude of it until me and my mom went to the site a few days before it was to be imploded. I remember standing close to the bottom of it and feeling a sense of horror. How could one person do all this? People were in shock and crying around us. I’m glad my mom took me to see the site so I can see it myself. See what horrors man is capable of, but also see what beauitful positive things we are capable of.

Even worse, this didn’t just affect those in the building. A rescue worker was killed due to falling debris. My DARE teacher in 4th grade whom I adored eventually ended up committing suicide because he was haunted by what he saw on the scene that day.

Honestly, I still get pretty emotional thinking about even though it happened so long ago. Also, I get emotional about it because it seems like so many people have forgotten what happened.

We now have a beautiful memorial in downtown Oklahoma City located right where the building sat.

These monumental twin gates frame the moment of destruction – 9:02 a.m. – and mark the formal entrances to the Memorial. The East Gate represents 9:01 a.m. on April 19, and the innocence of the city before the attack. The West Gate represents 9:03 a.m., the moment we were changed forever, and the hope that came from the horror in the moments and days following the bombing.

Field of Empty Chairs

The 168 chairs represent the lives taken on April 19, 1995. They stand in nine rows to represent each floor of the building, and each chair bears the name of someone killed on that floor. Nineteen smaller chairs stand for the children. The field is located on the footprint of the Murrah Building.

Reflecting Pool

The pool occupies what was once N.W. Fifth Street. Here, a shallow depth of gently flowing water helps soothe wounds, with calming sounds providing a peaceful setting for quiet thoughts. The placid surface shows the reflection of someone changed forever by their visit to the Memorial.

The Survivor Tree, an American Elm, bore witness to the violence of April 19, 1995, and withstood the full force of the attack. Years later, it continues to stand as a living symbol of resilience. The circular promontory surrounding the tree offers a place for gathering and viewing the Memorial.

If you ever get the chance to come to Oklahoma City, I urge you to visit the Memorial. It’s a beautiful place with a lot of meaning.

Please take a moment to say a quick prayer to all those who lost loved ones that morning and take a moment to remember those who lost their lives that day. I know that horrible things happen every single day, but this one is of particular importance to me. I was there and I lived through it. It affected me as a young 4th grader seeing what horrible things humans could do each other.

CLICK HERE TO SEE A VIDEO of the children who survived the bombing and where they are now. It’s definitely heart-warming.

Let’s face it. I should be studying as I have three tests this week, but I am just tired of studying about plasmapheresis (which creeps me out by the way) and autoimmune disorders.

I find that when school gets busy that there isn’t a lot of room for other things in my mind. I sit down and attempt to think of a blog post, but no words come to mind. I have a million things I could write about— seeing a baby being born, my engagement, the wedding, Crossfit, Nursing school, my job, babies, being pregnant, food—- but nothing comes up.

So, instead, I’ll show you pictures. Good enough? Maybe.

My day started early this morning. I spent the day with Parrish nurses for my community clinical course. One of the things I’ve happily been getting used to since Chad moved in is having someone cook for me. I’ve always either prepared my own food or attempted to cook for others in previous relationships. Not this one. I love that Chad is excited about cooking, grocery shopping, etc. We have a lot of eggs, bacon and veggies in the morning. We also have a lot of smoothies. This morning I had two mason jars filled with collards, kale, and mango before I rushed out of the door. It was delicious— but next time, I’d like to add a piece of cinnamon toast. Nothing beats that.

Another thing that has changed since Chad moved here is having Star Wars stuff laying around. The man loves it. We have a date to play this Monopoly game this weekend. I’ve learned more about Star Wars in two days then I knew my entire life.

On my way out, we stopped to check out our garden. Look at that! A baby bok choy is growing! So glad to see these seeds sprouting. I trusted Chad in his ability, but I’m a novice when it comes to gardens and growing things, so I wasn’t sure if it would work. Thumbs up so far.

One of the great things about this pregnancy is the fact that I wear scrubs about 4-5 days out of the week. Nothing beats that. I’m 26 weeks now—and one of my scrub tops is getting a little too tight. I’m trying my best to hold off as long as I can as I think it’s silly to buy a lot of maternity stuff, but we’ll see.

The middle of the day was largely undocumented. I took a road trip with some Parrish nurses and learned about how they serve their community with their nursing degrees. Health fairs, health education in their churches, health screenings…just to name a little of what they do. It was an unexpected trip with some interesting twists along the way.

I got home around 6pm and quickly got comfortable and laid around with Chad for an hour. I have three tests this week and should’ve studied, but I needed it.

I stared down at these books for awhile wishing I could read them and then realizing that it’s not happening until May.

The rest of the night has been spent taking practice tests and reading.

Study breaks included doing handstands with Chad in the living room. They aren’t as easy as they used to be. My center of gravity isn’t where it was and I often found myself not getting up all the way because my belly would drag me down. It took a few times, but I eventually found my balance and got a good handstand in.

And now I study again….

I’m going to miss nursing school when it’s done. I won’t miss getting up at 4 am to go work for free, but I will miss all the experiences and mostly the people that I’ve met.

Nursing school is less about class these days and more about clinical experiences. That means that we don’t get to spend as much time together. We always make an effort to get together once or twice a week as a big group, and yesterday it happened to be breakfast.

I had about 7 coupons to a breakfast spot, First Watch, so that was the choice for us.

All seven of us got together and laughed for a couple of hours.

My omelette had Chorizo sausage, avocado, green chilies and house-roasted onions with Cheddar and Monterey Jack. Topped with sour cream and served with a side of housemade salsa. Delicious. And I can’t go to a breakfast spot without french toast, so I ordered some for the whole table and we all shared.

We are all in an OB rotation right now in school and my friends like to take advantage of the fact that I’ve got a growing belly. After breakfast, I got poked around a bit. Gotta practice our Leopold’s Maneuver!

The rest of the day was spent studying and prepping for this week’s clinicals (community today, OB tomorrow) and then working over the weekend.

We did manage to make it up to Crossfit Koda last night. We had a great time. It’s a down to earth box and the members have a lot of fun. Chad really enjoys trying out new gyms and so we are taking a tour of the boxes in the area.

While everyone did the WOD, I turned to a great resource, Crossfit mom, and did one of the WODS they posted. Their workouts are already modified for pregnant women in terms of exercises, volume, intensity, and weights used. I loved it and it makes doing Crossfit during pregnancy a breeze.

Last night I chose to do a modified version of “Barbara.” Barbara includes 20 pull-ups, 30 pushups, 40 sit-ups, and 50 air squats.

My version was a lot easier and definitely taken down a notch.

Before the workout, we worked on back squats. I did 3 sets of 12 reps with about 55 lbs.

This workout is great for where I’m at in my pregnancy. It’s all body weight which makes it incredibly easy for a woman of any fitness level to do. I am still able to do pull ups without assistance. I joke that I have a 15-20 lbs weighted vest on. After I get the “ok” from the doctor, I hope I’ll just fly over the bar on my pull up. Who knows though, we’ll see.

The WOD mentions knees to elbows, but I haven’t been doing those for a while. They feel uncomfortable to me, so I just listen to my body, and substituted planks for that exercise.

What’s changed in my Crossfit workouts in the second trimester?

First of all, I no longer do any exercises laying on my back. That means a lot of core exercises are out of the question. At this point in pregnancy, the uterus is large enough that it can cut off blood supply so the baby, so other exercises need to be used.

Push ups still work for me, but eventually those will need to be modified to wall push ups or elevated push ups.

Any movement involving jumping (jump rope, double unders, box jumps) should be removed from your workout due to the hormone relaxin. This causes your ligaments, joints, etc to be a little looser make them more susceptible to injury. Instead of box jumps, I just stick to step ups.

I still participate in the lifts, but at a much lighter weight. Eventually, deadlifts will be done with a kettle bell instead of a bar so the weight is directly beneath me. Also, cleans and snatches should be done for the hang position. but should be done at a lighter weight. It’s advised not to squat below a 90 degree angle due to the hormone relaxin. Shoulder presses and push presses are great exercises at this point in your pregnancy to keep you strong. Rowing and walking are also GREAT options.

To be completely honest, crossfit is a blast while pregnant. Crossfit is meant to be high intensity—but not during pregnancy. It’s nice to take it easy and slow during a workout and just focus on the movement instead of ALWAYS pushing myself to go harder or faster. It’s a nice break.

I usually do crossfit twice a week and then simply walk on other days (or just move a lot while working).

The boxes I’ve been to, especially Crossfit Native, have been incredibly helpful and supportive during my pregnancy. They’ve been willing to watch over me and keep me safe  during the workouts. It’s been appreciated.

All of these pictures were taken about 4 weeks ago when I was 20 weeks pregnant.

People seem to shake their heads when they find out I’m doing crossfit while pregnant. I get a lot of questions about if its safe for the baby and that I must be lifting too much. However, I keep it safe and keep the intensity really low. I always tell people that I am keeping myself strong, healthy and fit during the pregnancy. That’s never a bad thing.

Sundays are quickly becoming my favorite day of the week. It’s the one day where I feel like I have time to get everything done that gets pushed aside during the week.

I worked from 3-11pm on Friday and Saturday night, so a free Sunday was just what I needed. The job is going great. It’s good experience and I can make a little extra money. Plus, in terms of nursing jobs, it’s great and not too overwhelming (i.e. I don’t have 12 patients all to myself)

After laying in bed for awhile, me and Chad made our way to brunch at The Wedge. We’ve been trying to try all of the areas around town and this was a good choice.

We shared both a pizza and a salad.

The Wedge
cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, kalamata olives, fennel, herb vinaigrette 

HANG-OVER – 14
MARINARA, MOZZARELLA, HOUSE MADE SAUSAGE, PANCETTA, ROASTED POTATOES, LOCAL EGGS (cracked eggs). 

Both were delicious.

Next up was finishing up the registry at Babies R Us. That place sucks. It’s wonderful that they have so many products to choose from, but it’s so overwhelming.

The experience makes you feel like you need a million things for your baby and that’s just not the case. Babies need love, need to be fed, kept warm, and have access to healthcare. The basics.

We found out what we needed and got out of there.

The remainder of the day was something we have both been looking forward to.

I am all about eating local and organic things. But, let’s face it, sometimes life can get in the way of that. Convenience, money, or whatever can all make us choose other options.

Chad had often talked about starting a garden once he got to Oklahoma, but I wasn’t sure how serious he was. About the second day he was here, he was already purchasing supplies for it.

He went with a two 3 x 3 raised garden beds and a multitude of seeds for veggies.

We’ve got kale, swiss chard, peppers, broccoli, and cabbage.

We went to a gardening store to pick up our supplies.

(Sidenote: I was surprised when I saw this picture. I don’t feel pregnant or feel like I look pregnant–and I most certainly don’t feel like I look like that. It’s a shock anytime I see a picture of myself with a belly. Any other pregnant women feel that way?)

I was informed that it’s beneficial to include herbs in your garden because it helps to raid off insect pests and make your garden more productive. Who knew?!

The rest of the afternoon was spent preparing the beds, mixing the soil and manure, and planting the seeds. I enjoyed helping (got my hands dirty) and learning about gardening and growing your own food.

If you’re interested in learning more, I’d head over to the Smart Gardener. Great website with a lot of neat tips.

The rest of the night was spent relaxing around the house as Chad cooked some Chicken Tortilla Soup for us (he’s the cook of the house).

He cooks, I clean. I can handle that.

This ultrasound had been looming over my head for weeks! First of all, it was the first appointment and ultrasound that Chad was going to attend. I always look forward to going to my appointments with the midwife and the ultrasounds are always icing on the cake.

After my appointments, I’d immediately call Chad and let him know the babies heartbeat. I’d go over in detail everything that the midwife did or said (even though those monthly appointments are pretty standard. Not much happens at each one).

He’d ask a million questions and then we both would sigh because we weren’t able to be together in those first appointments.

I knew that I wasn’t going to go to the 20 week ultrasound without him. Therefore, it was postponed till week 22. He had only been in Oklahoma for two days when he got to see and hear his baby for the first time.

I could tell he was excited and anxious. As was I. I hoped that the baby and the experience would be everything we thought it’d be.

We immediately told the sonographer that we didn’t want to know the sex. We both went back and forth for WEEKS about whether to find out the sex. I had always thought that I didn’t want to know. Finding out, in the moment, as it was intended with your significant other, your family…that’s what I saw in my head.  That moment in the delivery room when the father can say “it’s a….!!”. Chad agreed. However, it’s different when you’re pregnant. At times, I was dying to know. I wanted to be able to start picturing a boy or a girl—start calling “it” by name and begin to form that connection.

However, I’d always go back to wanting to keep it a surprise.

Even with that decision, I was secretly hoping Chad would crack under the pressure and say “ok, lets find out!” He never did. It was incredibly hard to look at the screen just knowing that we could find out, but we held strong.

And in the words of Chad….”everything looks like it could be a penis!”

We sat and watched as the sonographer went through the babies anatomy. I was surprised at how big it was. No longer did the baby fit in the entire screen like during the 12 weeks ultrasound.

The baby looked healthy, although, we won’t hear any specifics until my next appointment this upcoming week.

I loved when Chad grabbed my hand and I looked over and saw that he had tears in his eyes.

I haven’t teared up yet at an appointment or ultrasound and I often wonder if something is wrong with me. I feel overwhelming joy and pride each time I hear or see my baby…but those tears haven’t come yet.

Regardless, it was great seeing our little one together.