lately

38 weeks.  I can't believe it will only be a few short weeks before we get to meet Ariella Love!

My carpal tunnel has been so bad that I've had to take a break from typing, literally.  That's why I'm a little behind on updating y'all on things.

The good thing is that it's causing me to have an extremely sporadic sleep schedule.  Between getting up every 1-2 hours for a potty break, then my hands and arms falling asleep and aching, this is totally getting my body and my mind ready for the sleep deprivation that will likely happen when sweet baby Ari gets here.

Did I mention that we are so blessed?  Sometimes, I don't think I say that enough.
So I'll say it again.

We are SO blessed!

My friend Tiffany really wanted to host a baby shower for us so she created a virtual Facebook baby shower.  I think it's just so cool what you can do with the internet and social media these days.  We receive a surprise parcel in the mail almost daily from family and friends all over the world and it always makes me cry tears of joy.

 | Look at all the books that have been sent to Ariella!  And the precious outfits..OH MY! |

| Dresses from Granmamma |

| Ariella's toy box, so full of goodies! |

| I LOVE the color of these burp cloths from Jessica! |

| Ariella's very special book from her amazing God-mother, Dani! |

| Miracle blanket from Tiffany!  I like how it says "the gift of sleep" :) |

Our Voyager family also threw us a surprise baby shower!  Brent and I had absolutely no idea and it was the first surprise party that anyone has ever thrown for either one of us.  All I knew is that we were having a Women's Fellowship Event and it started at 2pm.  We got there at 2:04 pm and it was so odd to see so many cars already there.

Living on an island means you go by what's called "island time," meaning you will most likely be around 30 minutes late to everything.  (I'm so glad that there's an actual term for this considering I've been late to everything the majority of my life.  To think, all this time, I was just prepping for the island life!)  Anyways, the fact that so many people were there already was weird but we didn't think much of it.  So to our, well, surprise, everyone yelled surprise when we walked in and I immediately got so emotional!

It was the best surprise ever!  Look at that watermelon baby carriage, amaze!

 Robert and Aries' home was so beautifully decorated and there was so much love, food, and presents!  Truly overwhelmed with blessings.

Wanna know the even more amazing part?!

We had yet another baby shower that Brent's coworker Ross and his wife Kimber hosted at their house that very same evening!  I wish I had photos, but we got so excited while stuffing our face with delicious food and opening more gifts, that we left the camera on the table :(

Double feature baby showers :)

I ate ALOT that day, yum!

Thank you so much to everyone that is a part of our lives and has this overwhelming joy and love for Brent, Ariella, and me.

Every day, I am reminded of what love can do.

Love conquers all.

well...it Depends.

Pregnancy is a beautiful, incredible blessing.  It's important to always remember that not every one gets the privilege of experiencing it.  Some don't want to (which is perfectly fine) while others simply cannot, despite trying.

Some people in the world don't think that miracles exist.

I'm thinking, regardless of different faiths and beliefs, HOW could one NOT believe that they exist.  Even if you put aside some of the other amazing miracles that I believe happen on the daily, I just think of the billions of women, starting with Eve, that have given the gift of life.  That's enough to remind me that miracles still exist to this day.

Riding around Queenstown, NZ, 2 days before the big news!

Even before I became pregnant, I thought it was just the most amazing thing to see a beautiful pregnant woman with a large baby belly.  I would find myself staring in amazement, almost a little embarrassed.  Like, is there an alien in there?  Could there really be a little human growing inside of her?  Is it squishy?  I wonder if she can feel the baby?  I wonder what it must feel like?

At the Ice Bar, 1 day before the big news.  I had a virgin bloody mary in every single bar we went to!

I flash back to a part in the first Men In Black movie where a woman gives birth on the side of the road...to an alien squid creature thing.  Remember that?  It always kind of freaked me out a little...but then intrigued me at the same time.

As soon as I met Brent, I fell in love with him so quickly.  Before I knew it, I was envisioning having his baby.  After we got married, he admitted to feeling the exact same way about me!

Of course, they had special fireworks JUST for us on New Years Eve! :D *4 weeks & 2 days*

*8 weeks & 1 day* Our first wee Kiwi baby ultrasound! 

Ok so this might weird you out even more...but here's another confession. Sometimes, when I ate a lot (usually Mexican, those dang chips and salsa get me every time!), I would pretend like I was pregnant and stick my belly out as far as I could just to see what it would feel/look like.  Granted, it was only a food baby.  But still.

I look at this & laugh because I thought I was so big, surely everyone could tell I was pregnant!

Did anyone else do this?  I'm totally ok with being the only crazy one by the way.

So anyways, let me get right to the point.  Some people make this blessing look strikingly easy.  At least that's what I thought from afar since I have never really been around a pregnant woman for an extended period of time.

You just grow a baby for 9 months, you look fabulous the entire time, time seems to fly by, before you know it you pop that baby right out, your body goes back to looking exactly the way it did before you became pregnant, the baby coo's and is always cute, and every one lives happily ever after.  Right?

I ordered my birthing kit the other day which is what inspired this post.  Here are some of the items that were included in the kit:

-Basic Underpads
-Deluxe Underpads
-Large Protection Plus Classic Underwear
-Enema

Needless to say, I freaked out.  Just a little.

Large Protection Plus Classic Underwear is just a nice way of saying, get you some Depends!  I mean, apparently, the baby isn't the only one that will need diapers!

Enema?!  I guess pooping hasn't exactly been on the top list of my priorities lately...

The underpads are for when you are laboring and don't want to leak amniotic fluid everywhere that you sit or lay.  Think of them as puppy potty training pads (actually I think that's exactly what they are).

*sigh*  You know, at the end of the day, none of this really matters.  Our bodies are doing something so incredibly amazing that all of the gross stuff that comes with it will seem so petty.

However, I do think that it's important that you have an honest, transparent view of some of the things that come along with this miracle.

You might pee yourself a little.  Brent laughs every time I sneeze, because quite frankly, I could have probably used a supply of Depends starting about..7 months ago.

Some women don't get stretch marks, while other women (like myself) still get them despite slathering themselves with oil all day and night.  You just can't escape the power of genetics.  Tiger stripes.  They scream "I grew a baby y'all!" and I shall wear them proudly.

Some women may gain exactly between the 25-35 pounds that the textbooks seem to find appropriate, while other women (again, like myself) may gain 43 pounds and counting.  Are you eating healthy most of the time?  Are you exercising and staying active?  If yes, then that number is just a number.  Move on.

Your uterus can take up to 6 weeks and beyond to fully retract to its original size.  Meaning, some women actually do go back to their previous size almost instantaneously, while most women do not. This is why I love Kate Middleton so much.  She wore her post-baby belly so beautifully.

{Photo courtesy@thehollywoodgossip.com}

Doesn't she look radiant?!  And I read she had an all natural birth. 

The greatest thing for me throughout my pregnancy has been the unconditional love and support of my amazing husband.  It has brought us closer in more ways than I could have ever imagined.  When I tell him about my fears and concerns, which are mainly focused on my own body image as I wrote about in this post, he tells me how beautiful I am and how much more he loves me every day for carrying our daughter so gracefully and bringing her into the world soon.

I am so thankful that we communicate about everything, including the potential use of Depends post-birth.  At least I won't have to get up to pee so many times throughout the night! :)

Happy living y'all! 

34 weeks & counting

Wobble wobble.

Shake it shake it.

If you're from my generation, you know exactly the song that I'm talking about...from middle school perhaps?  Geez I'm getting old.  Oh and by the way, my 10 year High School reunion happened a couple of weekends ago.  So weird.
Anyways, if you don't know that song...consider yourself lucky.  Your generation probably had better music.  Brent and I should have been born in the 60's-70's era. *sigh*

I digress yet again.

So back to that annoying rap song...it basically describes exactly how I'm walking now-a-days.  Can't really help it and I don't know if I want to :)

We had a midwife appointment on Wednesday and everything is still looking great.  Ari's heart was beating at 150 bpm and it always beats faster when she hears our voices which makes me so emotional! <3  Love this little girl so much!

Don't you love this apron?!  T.J. Maxx :)

34 weeks & 5 days // My belly dropped this week, can you tell?

Her little booty is all the way on my left side and her arms and legs are on my right.  At our last appointment, she was fully sunny side up so I've been doing these lower back exercises that Dr. Lori recommended to try to turn her a bit.  Either way is not bad but it's usually easier to birth babies that are turned and facing down.

The crazy, most surreal thing is that we're already at that point where it really could be any time now.  Dr. Lori wants to make sure that we are at least as prepared as we can be for anything to happen from this point forward. Of course, we want her to stay in my uterus as close to 40 weeks as possible so that her lungs and systems are fully developed.  Basically, she just needs to stay there until she decides that she's ready to come out.

Symptoms that have really been apparent lately are urinary frequency, fatigue, and pregnancy induced carpal tunnel syndrome!

The first few nights where my hands and arms kept falling asleep were so horribly painful.  I would get up to shake them out and it wouldn't really work.  Then when the blood would start to circulate again, it would hurt so bad.  I cried.  For me, I know the pain tends to accumulate and get worse as I get more and more sleep deprived, so Brent and I stayed home all last weekend so that I could catch up on sleep during the day when the symptoms weren't as bad.  I got some wrist splints and they really seem to be helping.  Dr. Lori also recommended I take Vitamin B6 to help with the cramping.  Even if it's just placebo effect, the B6 seems to be helping.

Just a little fun fact about me, I have a mild case of narcolepsy.  I've had it since I can remember.  Not like where I spontaneously fall asleep.  Although that would be kind of cool.  Well probably more scary though now that I think about.
Mine is more of the kind that if I get really tired, I have to go to sleep right away or else my whole body starts cramping really bad.  It's just weird/boring, neither cool nor scary.  It used to happen to me all the time when I was in Pharmacy School pulling all nighters.  It would get to the point where I had full body spasms, everything would hurt.  Sleeping was the only remedy.

Dr. Lori knows this and she has officially prescribed mandatory daily naps from now until I go into labor.  We're afraid that I may start cramping/spasming from fatigue if I end up having a long labor without any rest.  She said not to skip a day because if I do, then that will most likely be the day that I go into labor...

I took a 4 hour nap today.  Doctor's orders :D

Brent grilled out for me since I've been having to rest so much with this carpal tunnel business and nap time.

Goodness, he's such a hunk!

Our building has a nifty little grill and picnic area

Ari and I really enjoyed this hamburger.  Especially since we didn't have to make it.. :)

 The other part of this weekend was spent at the Dragonboat races.

The Surf Riders!

Show me your game face!

The Surf Riders won 1st place in the Chinese Division (the only one that really matters since China invented this sport) haha

It's hard to believe that yet another busy week has passed.  

I can only imagine that life will be a little like this, except times 1 million when there's a sweet, gorgeous, adorable, poopy, snuggly, little human added to the mix.  Brent and I can't wait to meet her.

Happy living y'all.