Where do I begin?

Today, Travis is 4 weeks old. Hard to believe that 4 weeks have already gone by since I gave birth to him. Everything went smoothly and Paul even got to catch him! He weighed 7lbs 7oz and was 21 inches long. At 2 weeks he was already up to 9lbs 3oz so I'm excited to see what he weighs at his Dr appt this coming Tuesday. It was an amazing and beautiful experience and hypnobirthing worked great :) I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is planning on a natural childbirth.

The last four weeks haven't been easy. We have had company most of the time and Travis has a very sensitive little tummy. I am breastfeeding and having to cut dairy, eggs and soy out of my diet. I can pretty much eat the same thing everyday: plain oatmeal for breakfast with some fruit, plain chicken or turkey with fruit and/or veggies for lunch and then the same thing for dinner. I never realized how many food items have dairy in them and how much dairy I actually eat! Same goes for soy... pretty much all processed foods/snacks have it in them and it's really made me even more aware and health conscience of what I put into my body. I think the biggest thing I miss is ice cream. Thankfully though, this new diet is working.

It's been pretty hot here this past week, up around 110 each day and still 90 degrees at 10 o'clock at night. We've still be trying to get out and go for walks, even though it's close to 100 it doesn't feel too bad because the sun is setting. Travis really likes the walks and loves to look around and take everything in. Now, if only we could get Joey to enjoy walks or even running for that matter...

Joey has had a good summer so far, he's had lots of sleepovers with friends, fun with family that was visiting and just plain ol down time. On Monday he will be flying to his dad's house for 3 weeks where I'm sure he'll stay busy and have a good time too. When he gets back, he and Paul are going on a father/son camping trip with a friend of Joey's to go play with airsoft guns in the woods and just sit around and be boys. That is still a month away and hopefully I've really got the hang of Travis by then and actually won't mind the weekend alone.

My time is up... Travis is hungry.

Normally...

I tend to be on the cooler side which means I don't turn my AC on until the inside temperature of our house reaches close to 90. I like warm days, it means less clothes and the sun is shining. Kind of reminds me of Hawaii. This year will be different. Extremely different.

The temps have been in the 80's and I love it. Spring is probably my favorite time of year here in Arizona. Yesterday the temperature inside the house was 77 and it was just starting to get on the warm side. I'm not sure when I'll turn on the AC, but I was really hoping for two months of a really low electric bill from lack of heating/cooling. We'll see how long this lasts...

We had our 2nd hypnobirthing class last night and it went really well. I was having more trouble relaxing during some of the hypnosis exercises. I would be fine, but then my mind would drift and I'd listen to Paul's voice, but it'd make me giggle. All we have to do is practice.

Today is the fourth day that Joey has been gone. It's quiet around the house without him here and I miss him so much. I know that he's having fun with his dad, and getting his fill of video games (since he doesn't play them here). He'll be home in a week and a half and everything can return to normal. His eating habits, extra curricular habits and even his daily hugs he gives me. It really makes me sad to see all of his friends at the end of the street playing basketball, because I know he enjoys hanging out with them.

I am still feeling great. 29 weeks pregnant and I am still working out and eating healthy. It feels so good to not have any of the problems/complications that others I know have. I feel blessed and am so excited for the coming months! I really can't wait to hold this little guy and watch him sleep.

HypnoBirthing

I knew from the beginning that I was going to sign up for some sort of birth class with my husband, just wasn't sure what it was going to be. When I was pregnant with my son Joey, I went through a Lamaze class at the military hospital on Oahu and it was great. Most of the sessions my friend Lisa accompanied me (since my ex-husband was gone a lot) and they were very informative. I pretty much remember all of the Lamaze techniques and how to breathe, so I wanted something different this time around.

I had read a little bit about Hypnobirthing in one of the many pregnancy handouts I got from my Dr.'s office and it sparked a little interest. It takes a whole different approach to natural birthing, using a relaxation technique and adopting the philosophy that pain doesn't have to accompany labor. You can read more about it here.

 Hypnobirthing

Once I found out that I may have to have a cesarean section in order to "deliver" my baby instead of giving birth to him, a lot of my excitement for classes such as these went out the window. I stopped looking in to them in fear of getting my hopes up for a natural vaginal delivery.

Today, my friend Kori called me and asked me if I'd be interested in taking a hypnobirthing class with her, and her husband. I was instantly excited and felt that with my positive thinking, maybe, just maybe I could still have the natural birth that I want. When I went on to the hypnobirthing website, I found several bits of information that it can also be beneficial to mothers who have to have a necessary cesarean section! Where do I sign up?

I'm excited to start this class, it's going to be once a week for 9 weeks. Crazy, thinking that I am due in just 17 short weeks, the timing will be perfect. It will also be a great experience to go through this class with another couple that we are friends with! (She is due just 4 weeks after me).

"When you change the way you view birth,

the way you birth will change."

-Marie F. Mongan