Progress?

Memory Lane: I found out I was pregnant two days before we hiked to Crested Butte last August!


Today Bryant and I had another check up at the doctor's office. It was pretty routine, but we did get some positive feedback on our progress. I wasn't checked for dilation, but the doctor did say LB is sitting a lot lower (yippy!). My blood pressure is a little high, but not quite in the danger zone, so they are going to be keeping an eye on that, too. I have also had a few other signs of early labor...which could mean today or in 3 weeks. Wait, wait, wait.

Our bags are all packed up and ready to go. We are just praying daily for God's timing and for a quick and tolerable labor.

Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers. We are so close! We have another appointment next Wednesday with the midwife... if we make it that long! :)

As always, I will update the blog with any news from babyville!

Love,

Becca, Bryant and Baby

Reminiscing

We stayed in this tent on Mumbo Island on Lake Malawi! Incredible!


Today I was telling some of the gals I work with about a few of the crazy adventures I went on while on a project team in Africa after I graduated from WSU in 2004. After we finished our conversation I googled some of the places we stayed, and was excited to see they have updated their websites. It would take me hours to tell the stories and crazy sites we saw while in Malawi, Zambia and Mozambique, but I should be studying, so to wet your palette, take a look at the following websites...

http://www.wildlifecamp-zambia.com
We stayed at Wildlife Camp in tents while on safari in South Luangwa National Park in Zambia. The first night we were there, we woke up to elephants walking between our three tents! It was so exhilerating/scary/incredible!

http://www.kayakafrica.net
This trip, we kayaked out to a private island on Lake Malawi for three nights of "glamping" on the shores of the crystal clear lake. It was so peaceful, and a wonderful experience.

http://www.eyesonafrica.net/african-safari-malawi/mvuu-imgs.htm
Our first safari was at Mvuu Camp in Malawi. Mvuu is Chichewa for hippopotimous, and the camp lived up to it's name. What an awesome trip. I think we saw over 1000 hippos in 2 days of safari!

I can't wait to go back one day, and can't tell you how incredible the experiences were!

Until the next adventure!

Becca

36 Weeks...and No Change

A reminder of where we started (about 17 weeks along, I think)

We had another check up today. The good news is that everything still looks great. The baby is still growing at a good rate, my blood pressure is fine and everything else looked fine, fine, fine. I am still a 1, which is not unusual, but I was secretly hoping to have progressed more (as I am sure most women are at this point). Bryant and I are working on our pre baby arrival punch list, and feel really ready to meet our little guy.

As always, he continues to move and shake in my belly. Sleeping has become sparse, not because of the earlier problems of not being tired, but due to being terribly uncomfortable no matter which side I am laying on. I need one of those old school lazy boy recliners for the next few weeks! :)

According to our doctor, Aspen has become babyville over the last week. The drastic change in the barometric pressure (the weather changing from extreme spring to extreme winter) has thrown a lot of women into labor. In fact, they have had 11 deliveries in the last seven days, which is a lot for this hospital.

I am fairly confident that I have a few solid weeks left of pregnancy, but should anything happen, I will do my best to keep the blog updated.

All the best,

Becca, Bryant, Baby and Burger

Walking the Halls

Last night was our final childbirth prep class held at the hospital. We both passed the class, but Bryant claims he received a higher score. :) We met with a local pediatrician and toured the OB floor. Bryant and I have both spent time on the floor, but being so close to our own delivery, we saw it with a new pair of eyes. As our instructor was walking the class through the details of a birthing room, I heard a brand new baby crying in the nursery and found myself tearing up. I can't believe we are going have one of our very own in the near future.

I am 36 weeks tomorrow. As I have mentioned in past posts, this is a milestone in Aspen because once you hit 36 weeks, the threat of landing on a jet to Denver or Grand Junction is greatly reduced. The peace of knowing we have a green light to deliver in the local hospital from now on is so comforting.

Lately, thoughts of labor and delivery have been consuming my mind. We are planning on doing everything naturally, without any drugs if at all possible. There are so many unknowns and I started to let my fear and anxiety get the best of me...however, we had dinner with some friends from church on Saturday, and one of the couples, who are about to be new parents for the third time reminded both Bryant and I that fear and anxiety are not from the Lord. So, I have claimed that for our delivery. I have faith that the Lord has blessed both my body, and our baby with the ability to persevere through the delivery. We can do this. Any thoughts based on fear or anxiety over the delivery are quickly smushed down as I remember what I was built to do. We can do this. I pray every day, often several times a day for a quick and tolerable labor (thank you Amy Jo for the idea).

We are so ready to meet our little one. There are just a few little things to take care of, such as detailing the cars, and putting in the car seat, meeting with local pediatricians, etc. All things that we have scheduled for this week.

This is now a game of hurry up and wait. Tomorrow I start taking an herb recommended by my midwife called 5w. It is supposed to help my body prep for labor. I am so excited about the next few weeks, and will keep updating the blog with any news from babyville.

All the best,

Becca, Bryant, Baby and Burger

35 Weeks and 1cm...

It was confirmed by our midwife today that I am officially not a green tomato. We had a great appointment with Nancy and she did a quick check to see if anything is progressing for baby's arrival, and sure enough I am already 1cm dilated and 50% effaced. This is exciting, but not too exciting. I could very well walk around at a one for the next five weeks, but the fact that there is some progress is reassuring. In fact, Nancy said that if for some reason they had to induce, I have enough going on, they could just break my water and not use pitocin for the induction.

This week has been pretty relaxing for Bryant and I. Although, all but one significant man in my life has had a major injury within the last 2 weeks. Cody, my 15 year old nephew had a hip reconstructed, his dad, Tait, broke his leg and ankle chasing a bad guy and had surgery, Bryant did something to his foot, and can barely walk on it, and yesterday, my brother, Trevor tore his back out. The only one who hasn't hurt himself is my dad, so I won't accept any phone calls from him for a few days! :)

We are nearly finished with the nursery, and once we get the bookshelves assembled, I will update the blog with pictures, and maybe a short video (if I can figure that out).

We have weekly appointments up until we deliver, so I will keep you posted on any exciting news we get.

All the best,

Becca, Bryant, Baby, and Mali Burger

34 Weeks...Counting Down the Days

We are officially 34 weeks now and things are still going well. I am definitely getting more and more uncomfortable physically, but the anticipation of meeting our little man is making all of the pain and discomfort worth it. The other night when I woke up at 1:45 for another bathroom break, I stopped in my tracks and visualized myself scooping up little LB and feeding him. Thoughts of waking up to the sounds of his little noises, and soothing him with a snack made me smile, even in the depths of my drowsiness.

Bryant and I put together the diaper changer/dresser last night... I should say, he put it together and I held the screws as I sat in my glider. :) We are really starting to wrap our heads around being parents and welcoming our little man into our family. I find myself analyzing all of the little boys I see from infants to toddlers to kiddos, wondering what our little boy will be like at various ages. I can't wait to watch him and Bryant walk hand in hand down the sidewalk. I can't wait to hear insatiable giggles and we zerbit his tummy and smooch the bottoms of his feet. I am totally excited to experience the special love between a boy and his mom.

Only a few more weeks...

Becca, Bryant, Baby, and Mali Burger

What a Whirlwind!

This past week/weekend was such a whirlwind, but wonderful experience! Saturday, Amy Jo hosted a baby shower in honor of baby Ragan, and it was truly incredible. I am waiting to get pictures back from her friend Jennie who did an amazing job capturing the day. The decorations were so beautiful, the food was so tasty, and the group was just perfect. We had a great time, and I couldn't have hoped for anything more.

Bryant and I also made more headway on the nursery. We are in phase II, and will hopefully have most things in place after the dresser/changing table arrives on Tuesday. My dear cousin, Katie flew down from Washington with my mom for the shower. She is an incredible artist, and she free handed a quote on the nursery wall to help tie in our Wild Things theme. I think she did a great job!

We are 34 weeks on Wednesday! How the time is flying by! We don't have another check up until next week, but I will certainly let you know if anything happens in baby land before then.

All the best,

Becca, Bryant, Baby, and Mali Burger

So Much to be Thankful For

 

Today we had a gorgeous drive into town. I am so in awe of the beauty of the Rocky Mountains and try to never take our view and surroundings for granted. Bryant and I have so much to be thankful for today. We have our health, a roof over our heads, we have had an awesome pregnancy, our son is thriving in my womb, and we are surrounded by incredible family and friends who support and love us unconditionally. Wow.

My mom and cousin, Katie arrive in Aspen today to spend the week with us. I am so excited to see them both and spend time with them. My aunt Laura arrives tomorrow and will be there through the weekend as well. It will be so fun to spend some good girly time catching up with them. They will all be here for my baby shower too, which Amy Jo is hostessing on Saturday. I get butterflies when I think about it. I have been to so many baby showers through the years, and I can't believe this one is for the baby growing in my belly. If he only knew how great he has it! :) I can't wait to celebrate him, and even more, I can't wait to meet him in a couple of weeks! I know I say that a lot, and Bryant and I are truly trying to take advantage of our rest and time together, but I am so excited to kiss my baby's nose, lips and toes. I truly can't wait.

We had our second of five childbirth prep classes last night, and although they are interesting and mildly entertaining, we are both pretty bored with them. Bryant has done a lot of reading on his own about pregnancy and childbirth, so he is actually well versed in the process for being a first time dad. He also knows Amy Jo, our doula and dear sister in law will be in the room, to guide him as well. However, last night Bryant saw the video. The one all guys quake at when they see it for the first time. This birth video in particular was pretty shocking because the first baby they delivered was white as a ghost and completely covered in vernix. The mom even exclaimed "it doesn't look like a baby!" Bryant was a little shocked, but I am glad he got to see it before our game time.:)

Today my nephew, Cody is on his way into surgery. I am not exactly clear on the details, but it has something to do with his growth plates in his hips. He just turned 15 last week, and will be on the couch for several months in rehab. We are praying for him, the doctors, and their family like crazy today. It is a seven hour surgery, and they just took him in.

The picture above is another taken by Amy Jo. She did such a great job, and when I look at them, I have to remind myself they were taken in a half completed nursery and not a fancy studio. In most of them, she or I am standing on a dining chair. She did awesome with the limited resources she had!

As I type this LB is doing his yoga routine in my belly, and kicking up into my ribs. Silly boy.

Love,

Becca, Bryant, Baby, and Burger

Nursery, phase I

This weekend we spent the majority of the time moving our house around and prepping the nursery. We got it cleaned out and painted, and we cleaned the carpets. We still have to put up the white chair rail and finish the windows, but we are making good progress. I am so excited to get the furniture set up and start organizing the baby stuff! The first picture is the crib set we will be purchasing and the second is the partial paint job in the nursery minus the chair rail, which we are hoping to get up today or tomorrow. The picture doesn't reflect it well, but the browns actually match up exactly.

Belly Pics

Today Amy Jo, my sister in law came over to take some pictures of my belly. I was amazed at how big it is when you look at it in pictures! We are 32.5 weeks pregnant today, and so ready to meet our little man. This weekend we emptied his room, painted and cleaned the carpets. Now we just need to fill it up!

Bryant hiked the highlands bowl with Trevor, Karsyn Jo (9 years old), and our cousin Tyson. From the sounds of it, they had a great adventure!

Love,

Becca, Bryant, Baby, and Burger