Joy And Sorrow

I have experienced a vast array of emotions this weekend. On Saturday, my close friends threw a baby shower for me that was absolutely lovely. It was so fun to have all of my girlfriends in one place and Anabelle got a bunch more cool stuff. I feel so lucky to have such a wonderful support system. I haven't had time to upload the pics but I will do that this week and post them.

This morning though, one of my best friends, Becca, sent me a text message that her Aunt Jane had taken a turn for the worse over the night. Becca has a very close knit family and her Aunt has been battling cancer for about the last 6 months. Since I grew up with Becca, I have spent a lot of time with her Aunt Jane over the years and her youngest son was friends with my brother, Aaron. I received another text message from Rebecca around noon saying that Jane had passed away. So, that was sad. Then I realized that tomorrow marks the 3 year anniversary of the death of my stepdad, Paul....things have just been so busy that I haven't been paying attention to the date.

Shortly after all of this, Don and I had to go to Baylor Hospital to begin our childbirth classes. The instructor started off by showing us a video of some births and it struck me as so profound that for these babies and for my baby, life is just beginning. Yet for other important people in my life, their journeys are ending. It awe struck me. But, you know, I actually feel really at peace with it all...especially during this Easter season when we are reminded that we have victory over death through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.

This was the obituary for my stepdad in 2006:

Turn Baby Turn!

So, I went for my monthly doctors appointment today. It was tons of fun, I had my screen for gestational diabetes today so I had to drink this lovely sugar beverage that made me and Anabelle vibrate for about an hour. I am supposed to get a call from my doctor to let me know if I have diabetes sometime in the next couple of days. Other than that, Anabelle is doing great and her size is right on target. I did find out a couple of interesting things though.

1. I am in fact, having Braxton-Hicks contractions. I had one while the doctor was examining me. I thought that sensation was Anabelle moving. I have been telling them every month that I have not had any contractions...oops!

2. Anabelle is still in the breech position. She was in breech during my last appointment and should be moving into the birthing position, but she hasn't started doing that. My doctor said she has another 4-5 weeks to get into position before we have to start looking at options. A c-section does not scare me, so either way, I am fine. I did, however, come home and look up ways to assist Anabelle with turning and found these suggestions, which I found to be utterly ridiculous and hilarious. These are my favorites, tell me which ones you think I should try!

- Do headstands, preferrably in a pool
- Visualize the baby turning while saying something like the following:

I am lying here in a tilt, I take long breaths and relax my body. Your head presses toward my chest. The pressure of your head makes you wiggle. Come around baby! Move your head, move your body to take the pressure off. Turn around, tuck your chin and come toward my cervix. My cervix and vagina are your opening to the world. Come close, so you will be all ready to come out when the time is right and Ill be ready to welcome you. Turn around so I can welcome you, I am giving you room to turn around

- Put my iPod in my pants and play classical music
- Place a flashlight to my skin on my pelvis and play music to the baby, which will make her want to "go towards the light" as the saying goes
- Place clothespins on my pinky toes (supposedly this is an acupuncture technique)

In other news, we had a good but fairly uneventful Easter. We went to church and gave each other baskets. I hope that all of you guys had a good Easter too!

What A Weekend!!

I had a VERY wonderful but VERY busy weekend. It all started Friday morning when I went over to Robin B.'s to see her and the precious baby Miller. He is very sweet and a really good baby. Robin has had him home for a little over a week now and she is doing an awesome job. Hopefully, I will be able to adjust as easily as she has.

From there, I drove to Little Rock for the weekend for my baby shower and nephew's b-day party. On Friday night, I had dinner with my friends Kathryn and Becca, we have been friends since elementary school so it is always fun to hang out with them. I wish that I could see them more.

On Saturday afternoon, my mom and step-mom hosted a baby shower for me. It was for family and close friends, but there were a TON of people there. My family is so wonderful, they always go overboard. So, Anabelle got her first taste of what it is like to be spoiled rotten. It took me a solid hour to open all of the gifts and some creative thinking to get them all in my car. It was a really nice shower and I got to see a lot of people who are very dear to me, including my oldest sister Sarah, who flew in from L.A. for the event. Here are some pictures of the fun:

Sunday, we celebrated my nephew Lucas' 2nd birthday. He actually doesn't turn 2 until the 14th but since they were in town for the shower, we took the opportunity to celebrate. His party was at the zoo and the kids loved it. Lucas got some really cool toys too.