Update: weeks 21-24

 When we came back from Chicago, we had our midwife appointment, and I was happy to hear that I finally put on some weight! Until then (or the previous midwife appointment), I had only gained 1 pound throughout the pregnancy. I was somewhat nervous because I should've gained more by then. But it finally caught up with me and in that month I had a whopping 8 lbs. of pregnancy added to me.

The night before our appointment (May 10th), Jakub felt the baby kick for the first time. I had to ask him if he felt it before he realized that that was the feeling he was looking for, but it was such a neat experience. Then the night before Mother's Day (May 12th), this little baby was kicking stronger than it ever had. When Jakub put his hand on my belly and felt it he just started laughing; I didn't even need to see if he missed it or not. It was so neat to finally get to experience it together rather than it be my own entertainment. Jakub's never felt a baby move inside of a belly before so I was so thrilled for the three of us to experience this together for the first time, each in a different way.

My mom also felt the baby kick on Mother's Day, and the baby was kicking just as strongly at that moment. This baby knows when to perform, and it was such a neat experience to share with my mom on such a special day. I'm not too keen on the holiday myself because it just sounds so grownup but I love celebrating it for my mom. And it felt like this was a present in itself, connecting us in a way that we had never known before.

On another note, somewhere between week 22 and 23, acid reflux came in full force and has been close beside me ever since. This is also the time when my new neighbors (hormones) started making themselves comfortable so this was one crazy week of changes for me (and Jakub).

For those of you who don't know, I'm planning on doing a natural water birth with my wonderful midwife, Ruth Cobb. At first we were planning on doing a home birth, but Ruth recently opened up a birth center here in Tulsa, and the tub there is calling my name! Not to mention the selection of loose leaf teas that I'm sure Jakub will be taking advantage of! Although I'd love to do a home birth, it seems like this would be the perfect place for us to welcome a baby into our family at this time.

I'm also planning on using the Hypnobabies  childbirth course for my birth. I started the course in week 23 and I am absolutely loving it! I started out studying Hypnobirthing, but this program seems to be much more complete in teaching you everything you need to know for pregnancy and birth. They also use the same techniques as individuals needing surgery who are allergic to anesthesia, so they have a higher "success rate" compared to hypnobirthing. Even if it doesn't produce a pain-free birth, it has already benefited me in changing my thinking habits about pregnancy and birth, as well as given me confidence in myself that I hadn't otherwise had. That in itself is worth the program in my opinion. 

Also, this is the week that I had to start putting effort into getting in and out of my car, getting dressed, and putting on shoes. I distinctly remember telling Jakub I never wanted to be obese because you have to put so much more work into getting around, and I like things to be as easy as they come.

 

In week 24 we had our last planned concert for the pregnancy. It was such a lovely show! Even if you don't like Bon Iver, I think you would've enjoyed the show. That could just be because my lousy "neighbors" decided to crash the party and I ended up crying through a good portion of the concert! I just couldn't take that much beauty, creativity, and spirit in one moment. I felt like a complete cheeseball, but luckily no one noticed!

I'm glad that my wild emotions don't just come out for ugly moments, when things aren't going my way. It makes me feel a little less crazy that I can feel so overwhelmed by beauty and peace, and by people enjoying a moment that it takes over me. It definitely makes me feel more human, and I feel like for this time I have a new perspective of the goodness of life and God's creativity. And for that, I can't complain.

To Grandmother's House We Go

photo via

It's time to go and I can hardly stand it. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve, fighting sleep because of anticipation of the coming morning.

In just a few short hours I will be making my way, along with Jakub, my parents, my brother and sister, and all of their kids, to the grand ol' city of Pataskala, Ohio. We'll be celebrating Thanksgiving with some of my favorite people on earth.

Did I mention Grandma Puckett will be there?! (you can read more about her here, if you are one of the few to not have heard of her yet). And on top of that, her food will be there in all its glory.

Since living in Oklahoma, holidays have been somewhat of a disappointment. I love big family gatherings, and frankly, we just don't have the numbers in this town. I love my family here but there's something about all the noise and laughter that I can't get enough of.

I can't wait to be with my cousins again, and for Jakub to see what Ohio is like. He hasn't met a lot of my family yet from Ohio so that will be exciting.

I hope everyone has a great week, and if you're having a difficult time coming up with something to be thankful for, I highly recommend you read this post. It opened up a whole new selection of topics for when you have to go around the table and tell what you're thankful for. Definite conversation starters, I'd say.

Christmas Traditions

 

photo via

I'm in the mood! Christmas is such a magical time. As a kid, I had a pretty different view of the holiday than I do now. Not just because my preferences in gifts have changed throughout the years, but I appreciate it much more.

As a kid, growing up in a small town outside of Columbus, Ohio (Pataskala, to be exact), snow was a given. Typically by Thanksgiving the first snowfall had already arrived, and for a kid, that is heaven. For the past twelve years, I've lived in Oklahoma where snow by Christmas is never certain. In fact, just about every time it does snow here, it's like the whole city shuts down for at least the first day because they don't know what to do.

photo via

When we lived in Ohio, we would all go over to my Grandma Puckett's house for homemade pecan rolls and chocolate milk. We have quite a large family there, and spending it with so many cousins and aunts and uncles, and especially my grandma Puckett, is one of the things I have cherished most about my childhood. My grandma always had the most decorated tree I'd ever seen. There were so many unique ornaments, and there was hardly a branch that wasn't adorned with one. It was always a race to find the pickle ornament. She also had hundreds (literally) of Santa Clauses. Each year, us cousins would try to count them all. My favorite was a bungee jumping Santa.

Since we've lived in Oklahoma, we still have homemade pecan rolls and chocolate milk. And we also listen to the same Christmas cd each year (Bebe & Cece Winans). There's another tradition that we hold onto. We've always had a manger scene and we would set it all out except for the baby Jesus, each year us kids would take turns placing him in his little trough on Christmas day. It was a way for my parents to help us focus on what Christmas is all about. Nowadays my nephew usually puts him in and it's always a fun thing to watch.

With everyone growing up, we've had to adjust our traditions and be more flexible. That's kind of a tough thing to adjust to for me because traditions make the Holidays special. 

But it's also exciting now to adopt new traditions. My husband and his family are from Poland and this will be my fourth year celebrating with them. I love how different their traditions are, and this year my family is joining in on them and I couldn't be more excited. Maybe tomorrow I'll write a post about their traditions because they really are so interesting and different from what I'm used to.

One thing is clear: no matter how many traditions come or go, I miss the certainty of snow. I'm heartsick for it. It just doesn't feel right without it. 

post via