Almost There

Hello all. Kaleb is almost here. He's due on October 15th so I only have a week and some change left to go. I can't wait to see him and hold him and kiss him. Lately I've been researching alot about labor, how it works and what coping strategies exist when it comes to the pain. I really want to have a natural childbirth. I don't have anything against medical pain relievers but the way I see it is that God created my body to successfully carry and deliver a baby. Plus women have been having babies without medical intervention for centuries. Therefore, I want to do just that without any help. Since I've committed to this I've been learning all about breathing techniques, laboring positions and even aromatherapy and music. I'm trying to arm myself with as much information as I can in order to better take control of my labor and my body. I learned that fear can cause tension, which can cause your labor to slow down. I definitely DO NOT want to be in labor for a million hours. I've also been learning about how our minds and bodies are connected. For example, if something's bothering me or if there's an unwanted presence in the room it could negatively affect my labor. Isn't that crazy?! The way God made us is so amazing to me. Anyway, I've been praying alot that I'll be able to handle anything that comes and that I will control my body and not have my body control me.

In other news, since time is winding down I've been trying to finish up last minute preparations. One of these is to finally finish packing my bag (I was supposed to complete this task at 35 weeks...I'm now 38. I know, shameful) and making sure the house is organized and as clean as a whistle. Another thing I've been doing is freezer cooking. I finally got one not too long ago so now I'm focusing on stocking it up and cooking meals and freezing them so I won't have to worry about cooking once my little pumpkin gets here. So far I've made, soup, lasagna rolls and meatballs. I know, I still have alot more meals to make. But I want us all to be able to adjust easily to each other. Therefore I don't want to have alot to do. This will minimize stress. I don't want Kaleb around that kind of environment at all. I just want us to be able to concentrate our little man. Anyway, before he gets here I plan to make another pasta dish, a roasted chicken, meatloaf, vegetable lasagna, chicken burritos and season and cook some meat. I know, it sounds like alot but I'm going to take free days during the week as well as Saturday to finish it all up. Plus I need to get into the habit of doing this because I want to get into a routine so that things will run more smoothly. This way I'll have more time to spend with my family and doing the things I love.

XOXO,

TNB

Pregnancy Pet Peeves

Ugh! I'm so frustrated right now. I'm now 36 weeks pregnant and ready to evict this kid. Don't get me wrong, I love my baby boy more than life but I'm ready to see him, get my body back get him on a schedule, and get back to regular life. Therefore, I'm going to run down my list of complaints and I want you guys to feel sorry for me, ok? Ok great!

1. My feet pretty much stay swollen. Sometimes I can even be sitting down resting and they'll swell to the size of tree trunks for no reason at all. Because of this I'm forced to plan my outfits around 3 pairs of flats. For a person who loves clothing, this is super annoying. I can't tell you how much it pains me not to be able to wear my beloved heels. I'll post pics of the infamous 3 later on.

2. I'm starting to have more frequent heartburn/acid reflux. This means that I eat Tums like they're going out of style. I even have to keep some in my nightstand drawer in case I get hit with it in the middle of the night.

3. Constant peeing. Peeing is a big part of my life these days. I pee morning, noon and night. I also pee in the wee hours of the morning which really sucks. I would even debate with myself about whether I should hold it till the morning in an effort to try and get more sleep and save myself the effort of getting out of bed or just get it over with. Then I tried coming up with the strategy of restricting my intake of liquids in the evenings and peeing before I go to bed. But do you think that worked? Nope, it didn't. I always have an unlimited supply of urine no matter what I do. Oh and another thing, because of the weight my son is putting on my bladder I can be sitting down and not have to pee at all but as soon as I get up I have an amazing urge to head to the little girls room. Fun, huh? I also forgot to mention that Kaleb likes to move around alot and that his constant movement coupled with my chronically full bladder is not a good combo.

4. The last and most horrible of all my annoyances due to pregnancy is mobility. Its hard to get up, its hard to turn over, its even hard to put my pants and shoes on. Do you want to know why mobility is such a problem for me? You sure you wanna know? Ok, its because my girly parts hurt. I guess there's so much pressure down there that its sore. Plus the pressure or muscles that I have to use in order to do simple things like put on my pants or get up makes it worse. Oh and the best part is that when I told my doctor about it he told me that its completely normal and that there wasn't anything I could do about it. Oh yeah, he also said that it would probably only get worse as I get farther along. Wonderful!

Ok those are the top 4 things I hate about my pregnancy. So if you haven't started feeling sorry for me yet now would be a good time. Thanks!

XOXO,

TNB

1 Year and Counting

The second big thing that happened while I was gone was that Superman and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary! To commemorate the occasion we took a weekend trip to Virginia Beach. We had a lovely time giggling, reminiscing and spending time together. We also had a very romantic 4 course dinner that consisted of shrimp cocktail, a salad, filet mignon and a delicious Italian lemon crème cake for dessert. Oh and did I mention that I had a coupon for this four course meal that only cost us about $50? Yup, I did. Just call me the Bargain Queen. I had a great time looking to see how many other diners had the coupon based upon their meal. Only about 4 other people had found the coupon as well. This observation made me feel like standing on top of a chair and shouting my economical secret to the whole restaurant but of course I didn’t. Can you tell that I was very proud of myself for scoring us such a deal? Anyway, we proceeded to spend the rest of our mini vacation holed up in our room doing absolutely NOTHING! And you know what? It was great!

Now, if I had to sum up our first year together in one word that word would be: Easy. Most people go on and on about how difficult marriage is and how you have to work at it and how their first year was hard. I can’t really relate to this. I didn’t find it any more difficult than it was before we got married and our relationship was also easy-peasy. Don’t get me wrong, of course every relationship has its disagreements and ups and downs but I think it’s all in how you handle them. I do see how each person must put in effort but I never saw it as “hard work.” I think it’s because our transition from dating to being married wasn’t a difficult adjustment. I also think that the fact that we each knew what we expected from the other was also a big help. No one had any delusions going into it. We were both on the same page for the most part. Marrying Superman was one of THE best decisions I’ve ever made in life. It’s amazing how well we compliment and balance each other out. I seriously couldn’t do any better than him and he seriously couldn’t do any better than me. We have so much fun together and while it sounds so cliché we’re literally best friends. I can’t wait to spend the rest of forever with this man. So stay tuned, there’s lots more to come...especially as we tackle the joys of parenting together.

XOXO,

TNB

P.S. Even though technically I'm no longer a "newlywed" I'm going to keep the name because I'm still learning and I always will be. Plus, I always strive to keep the newness in our relationship.