The Churro's First Photoshoot

One of the many, many perks of being married to John Paul is being related to some amazing, creative Diegos.  His cousin, now partially my cousin, Olga, has camera talent for days.  A couple of weeks ago, she sent me a text message asking if JP and I would like for her to shoot some maternity photos for us; they'll look good in her portfolio, and we'll have something tangible to remember these days with.  

I jumped on the chance. 

We head over to a park in Woodstock (the Leita Thompson Memorial Park, part of Roswell Area Park) to take advantage of the 'magic hour' of lighting.  The field was full of tiny purple and yellow flowers, and Olga just made us feel so comfortable and smiley.  I absolutely adore these photos, and can't believe I thought I wouldn't want a maternity session!  

 I debated what to wear before going with this bohemian scarf dress I found for $5 at Goodwill.  It's so flowy and expands with my belly!  Love the colors with the field background.

 Keep in mind that I was only about 7ish months along at this point; the belly is even bigger now.
How amazing is this lighting?

 I hope the churro gets his dad's eyes and mouth.  And ability to grow facial hair.

You can see more of Olga's work at her blog, including the zombie engagement session she did for my sister-in-law.  She has such a great sense of humor and can seriously work with anything.  Browse through; it's fun!  And thanks for sharing in the churro's first photoshoot.  He's bound to be a cutie. 

Being Active During Pregnancy

When JP and I decided to stop not trying to have a baby (over churros in Spain, hence the nickname), I knew I wanted to be in great shape so I would have a good chance of delivering naturally.  This takes a ton of energy from what I've read and watched, and I started looking for ways to ensure that my body would be able to take it.  As you read about back in September, I trained for and ran my first half-marathon, which was an absolutely great experience to prep and know what I could physically handle.  Obviously, running and laboring are not the same things, but a lot of articles I've read have compared childbirth to running a marathon: you learn to focus inward and on your breathing, know your limits and how far your can realistically push yourself, and are confident in your body's ability to heal.
So when we found out in late November that this kid was a reality, I didn't want to just let myself go but also wanted to be able to take it easy when my body told me to.  I kept up with my running pretty steadily, even doing a 7-mile jog at week 11!  It's amazing what a run, even a 2-miler, can do for my mood and energy level, so I feel incredibly lucky to already have a great foundation for being active this far along with the churro.

I am a devotee of the app Nike Training Club, which is a free download with a ton of circuit workouts you can do at home.  It's awesome.  It's also way more intense than I could manage after the first trimester, so I've had to cut back on my squats, lunges, and mountain climbers.  Now, on days when I'm not running, I do an easy circuit of exercises, 3 times each: 'girl' pushups, some bicep/tricep reps with an 8-lb medicine ball, lunges, and wide squats.  Everyone says that your arms will be exhausted after the first week of constantly holding a baby, and my mom really thinks this kid is going to be a chubby baby (the cutest kind!).  It can't hurt to have a little upper body strength to start off with!
I also do prenatal yoga once a week at a studio here in Roswell, which has been so restorative and a great way to connect with this body that isn't getting any smaller.  I love getting together with other moms-to-be for 75 minutes and feel like this belly is normal; it's good for my psyche!
JP and I have also been doing some great 2-3 mile hikes around Roswell, and it gives us an opportunity to catch up outside of the house, be active together, and also explore our new area.  All in all, I'm active at least 5 days a week, if not every day!

When I signed up for the Mini-I Challenge (5k on Friday, 10k on Saturday morning) in Urbana, it was great to have something concrete to work toward during the wintery weather.  I knew there was a good chance that I would need to walk some of it, but knew that it was important for my own sense of accomplishment that I at least try to run both.  And I did!  It's vain, but wonderful to know that this pregnancy isn't holding me back.  With the move, a pregnancy, a break from work for a while, and working on this new house, being able to connect with my body through running, yoga, and just sweating in general has been a huge source of comfort and familiarity over the past 5 months.  I know these runs will soon become walks, which will get shorter and shorter, and that's ok.

Adventures in Pregnancy: Week 25

Well, here I am, barefoot and pregnant.  End of post.

Just kidding!  It's been a couple of weeks since I did a dedicated post on growing a person inside my belly, so settle in for some chit-chat about the my last few weeks.

 A month ago (at 20 weeks), you couldn't even really tell I was pregnant from the front.  I was thinking to myself, arrogantly, "Purchasing those maternity jeans was such a waste of money!  I'll be able to get away with holding my regular pants together with a hairband throughout this process; how much bigger can I really get?"  Ha!

 At 21 weeks, we found out the churro is a boy, and I also tried to bring back above-the-waist maxi skirts.  Not sure if that's going to work until week 40 (!), but I am positive that this skirt is the absolute workhorse of my closet right now.  It's fabulous!

 Cravings include homemade brownies...

...and lots of waffles.  Also biscuits.  Those don't stay around long enough to photograph.

 How cute is the churro's nursery?  There is obviously a lot of work to be done still, but I absolutely love how it looks so far.  That light was JP's when he was a wee one, and the rocking chair was transported here all the way from Illinois by my mom; Haley and I were both rocked to sleep in it.

There are lots of cute little blankies and teeny onesies in the black baskets by the dresser, and we're going with graphic black and white prints on the wall.  It's good for baby's eye development, blah blah blah.

Now, at 25 weeks, the churro is 13 inches long from head to toe, and weighs close to 2 lbs.  His eyes are also open!
It's not as glamorous as I thought it would be: there are stretch marks on my tummy, my bellybutton is a mostly-outie at this point, I can't sleep more than 3 hours at a time due to the bladder situation at night, and only elastic and drawstring bottoms fit.
These hormones are starting to kick in like crazy: lots of tears at the season 2 premiere of The West Wing, when I locked myself out of our house yesterday for 1.5 hours without having eaten lunch beforehand, and even when the stroller we registered for arrived today from my dad (first registry gift and it's awesome!  Thanks, Dad and Karen!).
Running is getting harder, the churro sits on my sciatic nerve sometimes, and I stupidly find myself holding in my belly when shaving my legs, as if it will help me see my ankles better.  Note to self: you can't suck in a baby.
We went bowling a few weeks ago and, on my first frame, in front of some people I knew and some I had met a 5 minutes before, I released the ball and fell right onto my hands and knees because my center of gravity is just not what it used to be.  (I fouled that frame, but did go on to win.)

HOWEVER, I cannot get over how incredible it is to have a doctor's appointment and hear our son's heartbeat in stereo.  JP and I fall asleep with our hands on my belly so we can feel him kicking us and squirming around.  I look at my husband when he's folding up swaddling blankets and smiling because the churro is giving him internal high-fives, and cannot wait to see him as a father to someone we created together.  I can't get over that this is all happening inside of me.  What a crazy time.  15 weeks to go...

Abbi's Week in Photos (well, photo)

The churro and I are bumpin' it!  I've been living with 'ice cream belly' for a couple of weeks now, so it was wildly refreshing to have a few people at work (and Haley via FaceTime) finally confirm that this is a 'baby belly.'  It feels really good.  The churro is growing and (surely) getting cuter by the day!
I bought a new phone this week and, have exactly 9 photos on it.  This is one, along with the 6 pictures I took of furniture samples in Atlanta, and 2 more accidental photos of my shoes taken this morning.  Needless to say, this has been a slow week.  Can I interest you in a brief pregnancy update?
I'm close to the end of the 14th week, and officially in the second trimester, which is supposedly the golden era of growing a person.  I will say that it's nice to have some physical evidence that stuff is happening in utero, and my mood has drastically improved.  This most likely has something to do with breaking down, accepting that my body is changing, and buying some a few new wardrobe pieces for my rapidly expanding waist and bust-line.  All of me is breathing easier now that the high-waisted skinny jeans have been put into temporary retirement.
My hormones are legit all over the place- I'm crying at Miley Cyrus songs ('Party in the USA;' something about her being okay when she hears her favorite song- dude, I've totally been there), and got emotional about this week's episode of New Girl (which should really have its own post because it was so awesome and well done).  In a moment of just 'let it all out,' I even made the mistake of watching the first 10 minutes of UP.  I'm surprised there is any fluid left in my body after all of this.
I'm starting to feel better and more confident about planning for this next chapter- looking into cribs, cloth diapering, birthing options, and lots of books.  There are currently 6 taking up residence on my nightstand, and my wonderful cousin (who happens to be a doula) is awesome about answering my probably inane questions about natural childbirth.  I'm getting really comfortable saying 'uterus' and 'lanugo.'  These next 6 months are sure to fly by.