35, 36, 37 Weeks...

We're in the home stretch! Emphasis on stretch. This baby is running out of room and I'm pretty sure it's already bigger than it's big sister was this far along.

Baby, I'm looking forward to not referring to you as "it" for much longer. I'm not stressing out that your room is not perfectly put together. The blankets & onesies are washed, and that's good enough for me.

Still no name, but I'm not stressing out (too much) about that either. There's a list and I trust that seeing your sweet face will determine the winner.
Physically, I'm feeling pretty OK. Not really sleeping through the night anymore, but at least the back pain is at bay. I definitely think all that prenatal chiropractic work has paid off.

I've also adopted a (loose) regimen of essential oil usage, date fruit eating, and relaxation techniques that will hopefully prompt this baby to arrive earlier and more easily if possible. A little more on that:

The oils—I've been using a mixture of Young Living's "Gentle Baby" diluted with olive oil for "massage". I've been instructed to add Fennel oil to the mix at 38-39 weeks, which will hopefully jump-start things. Click here for the recipe I am referencing.

The 15ml vessels may seem pricey, but I'll be able to use the "Gentle Baby" on baby for rashes/ discomfort and the Fennel for B-feeding.

Date Fruit Consumption—Have you heard about this? Apparently, women who eat 6 date fruit pieces a day during their last 4 weeks of pregnancy are less likely to be induced. I've stocked up on the dates but have done a poor job of putting them down every day. Re-reading this article has me feeling motivated again.

Relaxation—I've been reading a bit about hypnobirthing, and though I'm a little weirded out by the technique, there were a few takeaways I've been putting into practice now and up to the actual labor/ delivery. Those include visualization, reassociating discomforts with pressure, and some deep breathing exercizes.

I've also been using YL's "Peace & Calming" oil for relaxation at bedtime and have a list of meditation verses to memorize/ focus on for the big day. Lots of prayer too:)

So, those are some of the things I'm doing to prepare for the coming event! And at this point, I'm hoping it comes sooner rather than later...xx

[Editor's Note: There is no editor. Just this lady with some serious pregnancy brain. So please have some grace if you come across any horrendous typos/ grammar in this post or previous ones. Thank you.]

Jason & Sara's Wedding Weekend

This past weekend kicked off the first of a handful of weddings we'll be attending this year, half of which Wayde will be attending as a groomsman. Yep, my husband is a pretty likeable guy.

Jason has been a friend of Wayde's since high school and Sara we've got to know & love through Jason and church. The festivities took place around Burlington, IA.

The wedding day got off to a rocky start (for me, at least). I discovered after putting on the dress I had bought weeks before the wedding that there were some unslightly black streaks all over it. My only assumption is that is must have got shut in the car door on our way out. Thankfully, I had a backup ensemble, even though it was a little more casual than I would have preferred for a wedding.

That incident was followed up by Ruby taking a tumble on the sidewalk outside of our hotel room. There was blood. There were tears. There was a monster fat lip. I remembered that lavender oil was good for such abrasions, so I applied it to the site of Ruby's crash. I would say that within an hour, the swelling went down so significantly that the only visible indicator of what side it occured on were the little scrapes from the actual fall. My first real essential oils testimonial?

Jason & Sara couldn't have hoped for a more beautiful day. It was sunny—not too warm or windy. The weather was PERFECT.

“We are all a little weird and life is a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.” - Dr. Seuss (a quote read during the ceremony)

Sara has such ecclectic & quirky taste (which I love), so I was really looking forward to how she would put special touches on their big day.

The tables were numbered with the covers of vintage Harlequin romance novels and name cards were old library withdrawal slips.

The cake looked like it was straight out of the pages of a 1960's Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. Selections included chocolate, lemon raspberry, and Nutella. It was DIVINE, as you could imagine.

Our sweet Ruby stealing the show:) She did such a wonderful job of sitting still through the ceremony & making friends with guests at the reception. To know her is to love her, truly.

Thanks, Jason & Sara, for letting us be a part of your special day! xx

30, 31, 32...

With weeks left to go in the single digits, my prenatal & chiropractice appointments are increasingly more frequent now. Baby seems to be doing well, but this Mama continues to have her share of back & hip pains to endure. Don't get me wrong, I understand this is for such a short time and for such a great purpose, but "ouch".  

Add in a 20+ lbs almost 2 year old who likes being carried around by her Mama, and well, you get it. I just can't resist Ruby's sweet little arms reaching for me while pleading "I WAHN CHOO". 

Otherwise, I'm doing pretty well. Trying to take care of myself. I put on enough weight between prenatal appointments for the Doctor to tell me to cool it on the snacks. Since then, I've been experimenting with a whole foods/ low sugar diet that hasn't been terribly strict, I must add. So far, it's helped to give me a little more energy and a lot less weight gain.

I have also been experimenting with some natural remedies, more specifically, Young Living products. A few people in my world have already been using them and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Wayde got me the Everyday Oils Kit for Mother's Day and I've been using at least one or two every day since. Maybe I'll write a review at some point...at least they smell nice.xx