Busy busy

As in most years, late spring always seems to be a busy time for us. While we don't have the packed race schedule we've had in the past, this year is still pretty busy.

Two weekends ago, my mom and sister came over to help me with a project that has been about five years in the making. You've probably heard me talk about my future gallery wall - well it is "future" no more! Below is a picture of it right after we hung it all - some frames still need to be filled and leveled on the wall, but this bad boy is up! I've got a couple other small projects to tackle but pretty soon it's nursery time!

Last Tuesday we had our second meeting with our doula, Shawna Schmidt of Mid-Iowa Doulas. I'll try to do a post soon about our decision to try for a "natural" birth (also can be called un-medicated or with minimal interventions), but for now I know that we feel really comfortable with our choice of a doula and continue to learn more about the whole process.

Last Thursday I also attended a little conference called Bloom for new and expecting mothers. I went with a coworker who just had her second child a couple of months ago. It was fun and informative and most excitingly - packed with sweet swag! I brought home a big bag of stuff geared towards pregnant women and infants and won a book on prenatal exercise and a door prize for the sweetest little baby moccasins. The book is called The Knocked Up Fitness Guide to Pregnancy and I can't wait to read it - that is something I've been trying to research and navigate on my own - how to stay active and fit during pregnancy and how to safely return to fitness post partum. Part of our swag bag included a DVD from the same author that I need to try soon! The moccasins are freakin' adorable - something I definitely wouldn't have paid for on my own but I'm excited to order!

On Friday, I went to Omaha with my coworkers for a conference, and then at 10:30 PM (actually more like 11:00 PM), I got to see Garth Brooks in concert! I'm not much of a country girl, but I lurrrve Garth. I didn't get to bed until around 3:00 AM, but it was so, so worth it! Around 2:00 AM I started feeling some light cramps, which I'm pretty sure were little Braxton Hicks contractions from being on my feet for so long. They didn't last long and I haven't felt them since, but the next day I did look back and realize that when you're pregnant, "cramps" are called "contractions".... because they're essentially the same thing - uterine contractions. Eek.

GARTH!!

Yes, I went with my mom and dad - because I'm cool.

The rest of the weekend was spent being suuuuper lazy with Caleb, which was nice because we need to do as much of that now as we can! We powered through the rest of Daredevil on Saturday, napped, and just did stuff like laundry and cooking on Sunday.

This week will be pretty busy too. Tonight I am visiting my friend Tessa who had her sweet little boy Abbott last Monday, and tomorrow we have a midwife appointment and I'm going to try a prenatal yoga studio close to my midwife's office. Then on Thursday we leave for Colorado, our last big trip together before baby.

Below is a picture of me this morning - I probably look huge because of the baggy sweater I'm wearing.

22 weeks, 1 day

Although my weight gain is on track for where I'm at in my pregnancy, I'm pretty sure my hips and ass are starting to expand, which is just SUPER. I was ok with the boobs and belly, and I guess my narrow hips need to stretch out to fit a BABY (I still shudder to think of it), but having to source new maternity pants was not in my plan. Ugh. Luckily I've received lots of awesome maternity clothes from two of my cousins, and should be getting some more from a friend and my sister-in-law. I'm hoping to borrow as much as possible and then return the favor to others when they need it! Fingers crossed I get some more dresses soon since the pants situation is only getting worse...