Week 21

Julee and I loving the warm weather and fall colors!

Hot pink toenails compliments of Ladies Spaaaaaah Day!

21st week



This is the stretch of the Snake Rive where Jacob proposed . . . not SO long ago!



Strrrreeeeeetttch!

“Growth is the only evidence of life.”
― John Henry Newman


I'm stretching. Not in the good yoga or Pilate's way, but my body is definitely a-changing. This week I noticed the first hints of stretch marks. They are on my hips! So far, my anti-stretch-mark regimen has been organic macadamia nut oil (purchased from a sustainable farm in Guatemala) before bed, a morning shower rub down with Mojito Mint Salt Scrub made locally by the fabulous Kelly C. at (click here to see all the fabulousness!) Kaycee's Naturals, and some Trader Joe's lavender lotion before school. I also toss in an occasional round of cocoa butter with vitamin E. This Sunday, I'm looking forward to some home spa pampering with my gal pals, and I know there are a million wives tales and home remedies out there, so what other suggestions do you have for me?

Week 20

Making-room-for-baby-sale!

Before-A

Before-B

After!

Fun Fact:
the blueberry experiences the food I eat through the flavor of the amniotic fluid

20th week! Half way there!

Baby Rio!

Meet Me Halfway

We crossed another important milestone this week. The blueberry is half-baked, uh rather, the pregnancy is halfway done! In addition to lots of emotions this week, I've also had some lyrics bouncing around in my head:

In a lifetime
Made of memories
I believe
In destiny
Every moment returns again in time
When I've got the future on my mind
Know that you'll be the only one

Meet me halfway
Across the sky
Out where the world belongs
to only you and I

Meet me halfway
Across the sky
Make this a new beginning of another life.

In a lifetime
There is only love
Reaching for the lonely one
We are stronger when we are given love
When we put emotions on the line
Know that we are the timeless ones

Meet me halfway
Across the sky
Out where the world belongs
to only you and I

Meet me halfway
Across the sky
Make this a new beginning of another life.

(Thanks Kenny Loggins and Hart to Hart.)


Question of the week:
Does the first half of the second half go by faster?

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Here are a couple of quotes from school today:
Student A, "What's a 'doula'?"
Student B, "A doula is the one who helps the mommy, cause when the baby comes out, it hurts A LOT."

Student C, "Kjera, your belly looks bigger than last week."
Me, "You're right, it IS bigger than last week."
Student C, "Yeah, it looks like Betsy's at the end of the year."
(Note: Betsy was nine months pregnant at the end of the year.)

Student D, "Hey, I really like your new haircut."
(Note: My last haircut was in May, but I guess healthy, shiny hair is one side effect I can live with.)

Colleague A, "You are totally looking pregnant today."

There you have it!

Week 19

A wedding celebration at the stunning Linn Ranch!

Guess what? The blueberry is now the size of a cantaloupe!

19th week

Well, hello in there!

I'm going to let you in on a little debate going on in the Strom-Henrie household. The theme is "Can you feel the baby move?" According to the many sources piled up next to the bed, I should be feeling the first baby movement anytime now. Of course, I've had a variety of different responses from real pregnant people. The books (and websites) state that the first movements are little flutters and can be confused with gas. Considering that pregnancy has gifted me with more gas than ever in my life, if the blueberry has been moving around in there, I've definitely confused it with GI issues. Here's where the debate begins. Jacob truly believes that HE can feel the baby moving. I am not a doctor, but I have to believe that the mom is going to feel baby movement first. Sorry dads out there. But, then again, I could just be in the slow group with the majority of women already feeling their little ones squirming around. So, go ahead and cast your vote, is it possible that Jacob is feeling the baby and I am not?

Let the gushing begin!

Hola bebe!

See the little hand up top?

The spine totally facinated me!

Does the blueberry look more like Jacob or Kjera?

Smile!

Smile. Cry. Ask lots of questions. Make some inappropriate jokes. Get goop all over the only summer skirt that still fits. Drown in curiosity. Marvel.

Yep, yesterday we had our ultrasound. Here we are in the 19th week, and, as obvious as it is that something is going on in there, it was absolutely astounding to me to get the guided tour of my uterus and catch a glimpse at the most special baby in the entire world. Although we had to wait about 45 minutes for our appointment, once we were in there, I loved every minute of it! Now, I know that looking at the pictures, the blueberry looks just like every other baby, but when I think about that fact that that little face and that complete spine is swimming around in there . . . it's just a miracle. BTW, my uterus is now the size of a honeydew and the doc said the baby is about 12 inches long and REALLY skinny. Naturally, that makes me thing of a carnival foot-long hot dog (yum!). The ultrasound process felt a lot like the Magic Eye posters where you're just supposed to let your eyes relax and everything will become clear. That didn't really work for me, but when the doc first brought up the image, there was the blueberry, mouth WIDE open. Later, s/he was sitting breech and cross-legged (or as mom would say, "Kerplunk"). Every once in a while a tiny hand or foot would breeze across the screen, A-MAZING. Besides a somewhat low placenta, everything else is totally on track for our healthy baby. Finally, although Jacob has his guesses after "seeing" the ultrasound, we stuck to our guns and did not find out the gender of the baby. (Tesha, please don't call and harass the doctor, we warned him you might be calling.)

Question of the week:
Seriously, what do you think about ultrasound photos?

Week 18

Post Fit-4-Baby workout!

Baby's first Willie Nelson concert!

Oh oh! My pants don't fit!

18th week (this time for realsies)

Back to School

Here's a surprise bonus blog for my loyal followers!
We're now two days into the 2010-2011 school year. A year that is sure to change my teaching (well hey, my life) forever. It's been a great joy sharing my pregnancy news with the Journeys School students and families. It started with a "get to know your teachers" activity where we each shared two truths and a lie. Mine went a little something like this:

1. If you need to find me, my office is in the back of the Teacher Learning Center. (FALSE! That was true until this summer when I did a major book purge and moved over to the elementary school classrooms.)
2. My husband, Jacob, is a wild land firefighter who rappels out of helicopters and gets to launch flame balls from the sky. (TRUE) 
3. I'm pregnant and going to be having a baby at the end of January. (TRUE)

. . . And I totally stumped them! Also, I've been asking the students if they think the baby will be a boy or a girl. I feel like kids and animals must be more closely in tune with our natural rhythms, so I trust them. The votes seem to leaning toward girl and one little gal explained that "everyone wanted Betsy's baby to be a girl, so it was." My highlight of the day was from a little Kindergarten dude, who's face is covered in road rash from a crash the night before school started, who (quite confidently) declared that my baby would be a "Super Baby!". Awesome.