26 week update

I am a little late on this update, mostly because I have been focusing on myself and my own well-being as this time of year has been very difficult (everyone and their dog having babies which reminds me how I am not giving birth to my second angel baby). This was also the time of year I was pregnant for the first time...I can't believe how naive I was back then...but I do wish I could go back to how wonderful I felt in that pregnancy, no matter how short lived it was.

July 10th is my first angelversary (the day we officially lost our first baby). I am looking forward to getting past that day. May, June, and July suck, but once I get past Collin's angelversary I can breathe a bit easier because Nathaniel's due month will be in sight! I don't care when he comes, except there is one day in September I hope will not become his birthday (luckily it is at the very end of 42 weeks gestation so the chance is slim...fingers crossed).

Update (currently 26w3d):

I am feeling pretty good minus a small new problem that has put me on a "lay down a couple times a day for a few minutes" schedule. Hey it's better than normal bed rest!

I had a terrible visit with a nurse late last week. I am still angry about it. You do NOT check someone's cervix at 26 weeks when there is no medical reason for it and especially NOT without consent (I did have to get something else checked so maybe she thought she could slip in a cervical check as well, but she did not give me the opportunity to express my opinion on early checking). My last scan (at 24w3d) showed no abnormal thinning of my cervix so there was even less reason for the check.

My wedding ring and my angel baby ring are both still fitting perfectly on my hands, though if you don't see me wearing them it just means I have been outside a lot and the heat is now making me swell (I don't want my rings to suddenly get stuck from the heat!) or I just didn't put them on since I am home all day. I am grateful that we live in an air conditioned home so when I overheat I can cool down easily.

Daniel and I have been wanting to go on a small trip somewhere close in Utah for a few days, but we don't have the expenses right now. We feel we need a vacation after all we have been through but it is looking as if we won't rest until Daniel can get time off at his new job once we move to Wisconsin. We might go see the Manti Pageant one last time since we are moving out of state. We will also hit up the gardens and the zoo as well.

I have been motivated to do small crafts for "the nursery" but with moving soon after the baby is born we don't want extra stuff to pack...plus...honestly, nurseries (unless you live in your own home) are a bit pointless to me. I feel like they are more of a rite of passage for moms these days. Maybe when Daniel and I have our own home we can put time into something as materialistic as that. I do think it is neat to have crafts for when the child gets older and he can keep them. I also see the fun in dreaming and creating a nursery. When I was pregnant with our first I had planned on an elephant nursery and had a color scheme and crafts all planned out, now I am just thrilled to finally be blessed with a successful pregnancy. I will be excited to help him create a theme for his bedroom when he is older though!

I am really enjoying our hypnobirthing classes. I knew before I got pregnant for the third time that I was going to go by this method and I haven't been disappointed. I have been curious lately as to how my miscarriages have prepared me for giving birth to Nathan (since I did experience mini labors). I also feel like hypnobirthing has helped with father/baby and mother/baby bonding as well as husband/wife bonding. It has especially helped since multiple angel moms often have a difficult time bonding with the baby for sometimes weeks after the baby is born (and lots of angel moms end up with PPD). I know I can trust my body to do what it needs to do when the time comes since I was blessed with being able to miscarry naturally twice (some women can't and need assistance).

Other than that, Nathaniel is an active and seemingly happy child and we are eager to finally meet him!