The Best News Ever...

Today I had another ultrasound to determine the position of my placenta and I got the best news ever! Not only is my placenta very far away from my cervix, but Payson is now in a head down position. Thank God. Those were my two biggest worries lately and I am so glad that I can now begin to focus on my drug-free labor. Paul and I are really looking forward to meeting this little guy that will change our life forever. Here are a couple pictures from today.

P.S. Payson's estimated weight is now 3lbs.11oz. Which means he is measuring a little ahead of schedule. He is going to be a big boy.

*Payson's face. Too cute!*

*I hope this doesn't offend anyone, but I thought it was hilarious. This is the baby's penis "standing at attention". It's still a boy!**Paul and the sourdough bread he made in the dutch oven he got for Christmas*

Pictures and More...

Hi Everyone. I just thought I would post a new belly picture and share some news because I feel like haven't blogged in forever. Everything with the pregnancy is going great and next week I should find out about my placenta. Paul is still enjoying his new job and we are excited to travel to Ohio for my baby shower next weekend.

Most of you do not know that Paul and I have been struggling with the choice of a hospital birth or a home birth. The common misconception is that going to the hospital is always safer, which may be true depending on the hospital. However, considering that a natural and drug-free birth is extremely important to us, a hospital is not always supportive of a patient that wants no medical interventions.

So after some research and gathering of opinions, I still came to the conclusion that I would love a home birth. It seems like an environment that I would be much more comfortable in. I believe that giving birth should be handled naturally if you do not have a "high risk" pregnancy. I literally live across the street from the hospital, so if something wasn't going right I could be there in a few minutes. Plus, I did not want to walk into the hospital knowing that I had to fight for what I want.

Unfortunately, a midwife and home birth are fully not covered by our insurance and considering how late it is in my pregnancy, paying for a midwife would be a huge financial decision for us. Money would not be an issue if I had gone with a midwife in the first place because we could spread the payments out over time. Thank goodness we had another option.

We decided to continue with a hospital birth and hire a doula. For those of you who do not know what a doula is, they are someone who is present during labor to provide emotional support, aid in pain management and act as your birth plan advocate in the hospital. Although Paul can handle all of these tasks, I feel better knowing that someone else is there just for us. Paul should not have to defend our choices to the hospital either, when he should be enjoying the birth of our son. The doula will also support Paul, which gives him a better opportunity to support me. We feel that this is a good compromise between the hospital vs. home birth issue. Now knowing what we know, our next pregnancy will most likely end in a home birth. Wish us luck with this one.

*Personalized bib for Payson*

Virginia Update...

Things are going great for us here in Virginia. So far Paul likes his new job. He will be traveling to Tucson and El Paso next week with a few co-workers. He will miss the doctor's appointment I have on Wednesday with another new doctor. I was unhappy with the first practice I attended here in Woodbridge because they don't communicate well with me, nor do they seem to support my drug-free "bradley" birth plan. They were very quick to sugguest a c-section after discovering that my placenta is still very low. Luckly, I still have at least 10 weeks for my placenta to move and for Payson to turn head down. My third trimester is in full swing. Overnight, I went from feeling great to feeling like a whale, but I still try to get out of the house as often as I can. Last week, I took the metro into DC for lunch with Paul and his long time friend, Lauren. We also took the metro in to DC for a Washington Capitals hockey game last night. Tonight we attend our weekly Bradley class, which we really look forward to.

We hope all of our friends and family are doing well. We can't wait for everyone to visit after Payson's birth. Enjoy the pictures below.

*Me and Paul @ the hockey game*

*Paul's view of the Capitol from the street he works on*

*Living Room*

*Kitchen*

*Dining Room*
*Maggie and Mylie*

Payson's Chewie...

I am excited to share pictures of the "chewie" I ordered for Payson. My friend Kristy, that lives in Illinois, has a business named Cuppy Kakes Boutique. After her baby girl, Tegan, was born she started making hand-made bows, holders and rag-tag-chewies. A "chewie" is an alternative to your baby sucking on an icky burp rag. It is made different textured fabrics and a cloth diaper. Here is a link to her blog: http://cuppykakes.blogspot.com/ Enjoy the pictures.

Plus, here is a picture of my baby shower invitation. Paul's mother, Dawn, and her friend Celeste were nice enough to offer to host a shower for me in Ohio. I didn't think I was going to have one at all because I live so far from our family and friends. I can't wait!

Baby Face...

Today, I had another ultrasound to examine Payson's heart. Thank goodness he is big enough now to see it perfectly no matter what position he is in. They said that everything looks great and he now weighs 1lb. 15oz. I was so lucky because the technician switched over to 3D ultrsound and I got a couple cute pictures of Payson's face. They didn't come out that great because he had his arm up so the machine had a hard time focusing on his features. I almost cried at how cute my baby is! I can't wait until he is born. 26 WEEKS 5 DAYS

Snowed In...

Today I was suppossed to go to the doctor, but thanks to a snow storm I was snowed in. I have never driven in the snow before and even though my doctor is basically across the street I wasn't going to chance it. I found out later that the doctors office was closed anyway. Here are two videos from this morning and a few pictures I took.

This is Kozy looking out the window at the falling snow, plus a brief shot of Mia, Maggie and Mylie.

Our First Anniversary...

Here is a picture of me and Paul on our first anniversary. We can't believe how fast the year has gone by and how much our lives have changed. We had an intimate wedding, battled through the pain of a miscarriage, gone on a wonderful honeymoon, experienced the joy getting pregnant again and we moved two different times. I'm sure this next year will go by just as fast. We are looking forward to Payson's birth, visiting with our family and friends, plus a new cousin for Payson.

Here is a very rare picture of me and MY FACE. Don't expect another one too soon!
26 WEEKS 1 DAY