Baby Advances

Here's the latest with Plumpers:
-He's adorable. Though we still have some time before we get to see his face, we occasionally see him moving through my belly!  I feel him everyday now which is sooo exciting!  I feel way more close to him now that we can feel him moving around.  I was a little concerned for a while there because I was getting up there in weeks (21/22) and I still wasn't feeling him move.  This is a little late but fairly normal for first time pregnancies.  But during the last ultrasound, the tech mentioned that the placenta is between the outside of my belly and the baby so he really has to kick hard for me to feel it.  That was especially reassuring when I was having lots of round ligament pain from going for an awesome 1 hr run that way-laid me for all of week 20.  I thought I had detached the baby and really wanted to feel a reassuring kick or something.  I went to work at the Urgent Care which is an OB office during the day and used their doppler to hear the heartbeat. 150's. Phew!  This has become a regular treat for me now, to go to work on Wednesdays and get to hear his heartbeat.
-He's gassy!  Thank God I get to spend a lot of time at home due to school cause this boy has got "le gazzz". As in the Snake Sizzler kind, not the SBDs (silent but deadly-Willie has those).  Maybe I'm just making excuses and now have a somewhat legit victim to blame my puffs on, (our poor child!) but I've read a thing or two about pregnancy and this is one of the trade-offs. So there ya go. I knew you were wondering.
-I have Braxton-Hicks contractions- the fake ones!  This is kinda exciting to me as I have always wondered what a contraction actually feels like.  They are very typical: when I get up from sitting, I might get a little cramp.  When I've been on my feet all day and didn't drink enough water. Or just at the end of the day when I'm tired.
-Speaking of tired, my bedtime has moved up!  We reached the third trimester this week and it kinda hit me.  I am definitely more tired.  I have aimed at reading my Hypnobirthing book in bed before falling asleep but haven't managed to turn to the light. My head hits the (frozen) pillow, I kiss Ed and wish him sweet dreams, and I'm out. Not even a count down. P.s. Thank you Lord for an electric blanket!!
-I will say that I have embraced the tiredness and have claimed a perch on the couch.  The timing is quite perfect...we adopted Willie, the most cuddliest pup ever who is allowed on the plaid couch, not Grandpa's green couch.  Most nights, ok, every night for the past 2 weeks, the 4 of us (Ed, Plumpers, Moi, & Willie) have snuggled up together on the couch.  I cherish this time together at the end of each day to just relax, put my feet up, and spend time together.  Sometimes, Mallory joins the party.  Adrian came over for pad thai the other night and we all snuggled.  It was adorable.
-So the Hypnobirthing book...it's fascinating! I'm learning so much about the history of birthing and what popular opinion and practice has been and how it has changed over the years.  Now I'm on the part about breathing and relaxation techniques.  It's not nearly as weird or out-there as I expected.  When I asked the midwives (who are medically trained-not hippie trained) what non-medicated birthing techniques actually work, they have all suggested hypnobirthing, so I thought I'd at least see what it's about.  We might be leaning towards it-which I'm kinda surprised by myself.  I'm not against medicated births, btw, just want it to be celebrated as a natural process, not a disease.  If medical intervention is necessary, then by all means, bring it.  But if not, then why not try unmedicated?
-We registered at Target and Amazon.com!  At first it was fun, going through the baby isles at Target, laser-shooting diapers and bottles.  Things changed at the pacifier aisle and we transitioned from giggles to "Shitballs! What are we doing having  a baby? Lord! Help us! We're clueless!"  I think we registered for 23 pacifiers.  Is that enough?  All I know about pacifiers is that Mary asked for a pink paci for her 3rd birthday which sounds like a brilliant idea.  I'm gonna ask for a pink paci for my 33rd birthday.
-My belly is growing! Duh, you all are saying (you who actually read this silly little blog.) I think I have finally embraced the whole getting fat thing.  It's pretty obvious that I'm pregnant and not just eating a lot of donuts, though I would like to be eating a lot of donuts.  It's kinda nice when patients ask me point blank when the baby is due.  In my mind, I hear "baby, not donuts" and I'm thankful.  It is such a weird transition from trying to stay fit and slim my whole life to all of a sudden embracing my growing girth and supposedly being excited about it.
-Overall pregnancy suits me so far.  I have felt great (except for that one week of round ligament pain) and I expect things to continue as planned.  Thy Hypnobirthing book talks a lot about how fear influences pain, tightens muscles and causes cramps, and how the baby actually can sense tension in our voices.  I've been actively identifying places of fear in the pregnancy, delivery, and the 18 years after, and trying to address it and expel it by the grace of God.
Sorry, no pics this time.  I'll work on it.

Baby Moon/ Anniversary/ Fall Break

We were able to get away for 4 days down in Moab, UT.  It was the last of the Utah National Parks that we had yet to hike and we wanted to make sure that we checked it off the list before the baby comes in case we become a bit limited in our adventures :)  Moab is this touristy town in the middle of nowhere desert, Western, USA.  It is bordered by the iconic Arches and Canyonlands National Parks.  We arrived after stopping at In N Out Burger on the way and immediately hiked Delicate Arch, because, well, you have to do Delicate Arch.

Then we ate at the Moab Brewery and instead of waiting for an hour and a half, we popped into the bar and shared a table with some mountain bikers.  We felt proud of ourselves for going veggie that night.

The next day we went to Island in the Sky on the north end of Canyonlands for an 11 mile hike around Murphy's Point.  We tag-teamed with a couple from the Netherlands who we managed to bump into 2 more times in Moab over the the next couple days.  The hike was gorgeous and long, perfect for a beautiful day spent hiking.  We dedicated this day to our Baby Moon and spent lots of time talking about parenting, our hopes and fears, and praying for Plumpers.

Plumpers!

I was terrified and responded by laughing hysterically as I crawled on hands and knees.

Piece of cake for Ed.  He's so brave.

The next day was our actual two year anniversary.  We spent a lot of time reflecting over the past year, being thankful for all the friends and family that we visited with and all the amazing adventures that we were fortunate to do. We also shared what we are looking forward to in this new year, another one of major transitions.  We went down to the Needles District of Canyonlands for a "popular" 8 mile hike around Chestler Park.  We saw two other people.  It was a completely different landscape, but again, really cool.  I felt like we were in a Gaudi building or on Mars all day.

Newlyweds Forever!

Way finding via cairns

The light at the end of the tunnel

Our last day, we got up early and hiked Devil's Garden in Arches.  It was awesome watching the sun rise over the rock formations.  We saw all the arches before the crowds came and headed back home to the real world with a pit stop in Green River for watermelons.

The Great Chicken Massacre...Rated R

Since our chickens had taken to cannibalism, the only way to "cure" them was to scratch the whole flock.  So we set a date and finally did the deed.  The next night, we all reconvened and feasted.

Look at the blood-lust in his eyes...creepy

Also creepy, Ed pumping the chicken heart

Late night plucking = 2 hours of back breaking feather plucking into the wee hours of the night.

Marcus going to town on that chicken.

The feast: kale/mango salad, beans, corn on the cob, zaalouk (Moroccan eggplant dip), beer bread, mashed sweet potatoes with chilis, roasted chicken and caramel apple pie all enjoyed by best friends.   YUM! P.S., The chicken was flavorful but so tough :(