Getting ready for Labor ?!?!

Tonight Eric and I went to our 5th Bradley Method class.  For those of you who don't know, we are going to attempt to have this baby naturally (no I'm not crazy and yes I know that it's going to hurt).  The Bradley Method is also referred to as "husband coached childbirth," so Eric comes with me to classes every Sunday afternoon. In yesterday's class we had a first-stage labor rehearsal. The mommies laid on their sides in our relaxation pose and tried to relax through a series of 60-second contractions.  The contractions were mimicked by submerging our hand in a bowl of freezing ice water - much more painful than it sounds. 

The 1st contraction we had to relax by ourselves - very difficult . For the 2nd contraction the coach was allowed to tell us how much time we had left, on the 3rd he was allowed to touch and massage us and for the 4th he could add words of encouragement and instructions on relaxing. It was amazing how much easier it was to relax when your husband was able to really help you.

On a side note - Eric got reprimanded by the teacher for making me laugh.  When he was able to speak, he told me to imagine swimming in icy cold water which caused me and the mom and coach next to us to burst out laughing.  Eric thought he was pretty clever, but the teacher was not impressed with our relaxation for that contraction.

Then we got to switch positions :)  Eric couldn't keep his hand in the water the first few contractions, but he could also agree that my "help" really made relaxing easier. I think the whole process made an impression on him.  He commented to me last night about how nervous he was about labor.  He just assumed that it would be similar to what you see in the movies, but realizing that he's going to have to watch me go through pain for hours at a time is going to be really hard for a man who wants to "fix" everything.

My third trimester began today.  We have 13 weeks or so until the "big" day arrives.  And although we're both nervous about what will happen on Owen's birthday, I'm very thankful we have these classes to prepare both Eric and myself and that he's going to be by my side helping me through whatever happens.

Surfs Up!

This weekend two wonderful ladies I work with spent quite a few hours helping me scout out decor and bedding for Owen's room.  I had zero luck finding cute, pre-made "surfer" bedding online and was a little anxious about finding something that would be "just right."

Earlier in the week Eric had stumbled across a poster at Hobby Lobby he really liked and this became our inspiration.  After looking at several stores we ran across some great options at Target.  The only hitch - it was "adult" bedding, not kid-sized. Luckily one of the ladies I was with is a fantastic artist and really enjoys sewing and craft projects.  She assured me that we could make a baby quilt and crib bumper out of the adult quilt without much problem.  Success!

With the all important bedding question solved it was on to accent colors and the accessories for the room.  Thus far most of it is living in our heads, but I'm so excited about the cute and colorful room we're designing for Owen.  We're sticking with blues and turquoise as the main colors - with punches of apple green and bright orange accents. We're going to be making quite a few things ourselves - beside the bedding we have plans for a pillow, curtains, possibly a lamp shade and some really neat wall decor ideas.

I'll have to leave you in suspense as to the details - it would be hard to put down in words.  But hopefully between now and Christmas we'll make some progress and I'll be able to post our results on the blog. 

Below is the poster that was our inspiration, and few swatches of fabrics we're planning on using in the room.  The rest will all be revealed in time :)

Now on to the Nursery!

For those of you who don't know we've chosen a beach, "surfer" theme for Owen's room.  Even though the boy is stuck in Texas, doesn't mean he can't experience some of his SoCal roots :)

Apparently surfer themes aren't very common and I'm having a hard time finding things for the room.  Luckily I have some great friends who are willing to help me scout out some possibilities.  If you run across anything surferesque send me a link!

Owen Lars

We're having a boy!  Owen Lars (named after his grandfather, great grandfather and daddy) is due March 8th.  He's a busy boy, moving and kicking constantly - reminding his mommy that he's here.  He's also big for his age.  At 24 weeks the ultrasound tech put his weight at 2 pounds and he was measuring about 10 days ahead of schedule.  We are so excited about our son and are getting ready to start planning the nursery.

Here's a shot of Owen at 12 weeks and another at 24 weeks.

Update

As I'm rapidly nearing the end of my 25th week, I thought I'd take a moment and chronicle the few pictures we have up to this point.

I'll be the first to admit that Eric and I are horrible at taking photos (I think we took maybe 7 during our entire honeymoon). This experience has been no different. Here are my "weekly" baby bump shots - or at least the three we've managed to take so far.

The first is at 17 weeks - I had just got back from my 30th Birthday weekend girls trip and I was just starting to show (I also felt Owen for the first time that morning). The next is at 20 weeks, I was carrying really low and just felt like I looked fat.  The last one is 24 weeks - I definitely look pregnant now and have started getting comments at work.