Out of the mouth of babes

Well, I have a belly alright. I know, I need to post pictures. It's on my to-do list! I know this because other people are starting to say things about "the belly."

Example #1: In the grocery store the other day, the cashier said "I see you are expecting!"  From there, we proceeded to talk about babies. It was the late night shift, maybe he was trying to find things to do to keep him awake.

Example #2: While at dinner at my aunt and uncle's house last night, their littlest girl, Athena, looked right up at me with a curious look.

Athena:  "Julene, are you having a baby?"
Me: "Ya, why, does it look like it?"
Athena: "Mhm."

Bless you child.

Now comes the time when complete strangers start asking, right? When they do, I plan on looking right at them with an offended look... "WHAT baby?!?"  And walk away while they are left guessing.  Just to have some fun with it, at their expense, of course. 

Dear Baby,

It is great that you are kicking so much, but does it really have to be that hard all the time? We are on the same team!  I know that it's not Daddy who is telling you to practice those soccer legs because I am right there when he talks to you, so you can't blame it on him!

P.S: I love that in two weeks I can find out if I should start shopping for pink or blue clothes for you. Maybe for now, I will stick with the neutral yellow.

Love,

Mommy

On This V-Day

I wasn't really looking forward to today.

Not because it is Valentine's Day.  I actually didn't even really think about that much... BUT I did look forward to all the cute heart cookies I made and gave to people!

I didn't make the ones in this picture, but they looked a little something like this:

That was about as excited as I got for Valentine's Day. We just didn't really plan anything this year, and Mondays are quite busy for the both of us. 

Here's why I wasn't looking forward to today: it was a looooong day. I got up extra early to go visit my midwife who is 30 minutes away, then I came back ten minutes before I had to walk to school.  Then I was on campus all day. Then we took Chris's mom to the airport (I actually didn't mind that one too much because I got to relax and eat and have good conversations... plus I love my mother-in-law!)  Then we got really hungry on our hour drive back from the airport so we had dinner at Arby's. Yup. There it is. My Valentine's Day was sexy.  

But here's the thing...

I actually LOVED today.

I forgot about school. I was only half paying attention in my classes today. Starting my day off with a visit to my midwife was amazing. I drove in warm and sunny weather to her place, had a great appointment, and I listened to my baby's heartbeat... on Valentine's Day. Can you say cute?

Happy Valentine's Day to me

Today was also the day that for the first time, I felt the kicks from the outside.  So there I was, in class, and the baby was kicking up a storm. It's a little hard to focus on the lecture when someone won't stop kicking you from the inside. So I thought it would be fun to place my hand on my belly while the kicks were going on. Then, all of a sudden, BAM! 

This image immediately went through my mind:

I felt it on the inside and the outside. Ohhhh my goodness.  In like 2 seconds I sent a text to Chris telling him what happened. He was way excited, and one of the first things he did when he picked me up from school was put his hand on my belly.  I felt the outside kick 3 more times while on campus today.

In other news... I'm pretty sure I tore some muscle in my foot while doing yoga. When you are pregnant, a hormone in your body makes everything more flexible (to prepare for birth)... and you are cautioned to be careful with overstraining yourself. I didn't think I was overstraining myself, but apparently I was while doing this little pose....

I now have a slight limp.  I can see it now: "Hey look! The pregnant gimp!"... don't make fun. 

Side kick

17 weeks now, and the kicks are definitely more distinct. They are still too faint for anyone else to feel, but I can definitely tell  when baby's movin'.  I've noticed that it especially likes when I am rocking out to music in the car...  The other day, I was rockin out to some Across the Universe (highly recommend, by the way), and I was singing pretty darn loud (ya, I'm one of those people).  And baby was kicking like crazy.

Baby likes my music.  

It doesn't kick when we listen to Chris's music, though. Hmmmmmm...

Sometimes, when the baby kicks, It really kicks, and it won't stop.  And sometimes, after it gets tired enough to want to stop, my uterus is kind of sore. HOLY COW BABY, calm down in there! I think it has Chris' soccer legs.  Which is a good thing, cuz we were going to end up putting it in some kind of sport anyway, I guess this baby has already put his vote in for soccer.

The Dilema

Put yourself in my shoes, just for a moment, and tell me what you would do.

Yesterday, you were on campus all day. You get done with class and head home with only enough time to take a nap before you have to head off to work until midnight. Then, because you are pregnant and exhausted, you come home and eat a snack with the hubby and fall right asleep.

Today, you wake up and head to work to start your 12 hour shift. You grab all the quick snacks you could find in the fridge: a premade snack bag of red grapes, and a premade snack bag of celery and red pepper slices, and a string cheese. You also see a box of Cheezits in the pantry, and 3 peaches in the fruit bowl, so you grab those and head to work.  You haven't eaten breakfast yet, because since you were so exhausted from the night before, you decide that sleep was more important in this case (knowing that you could eat when you got to work anyway), and only made enough time to get ready.  Once you are at work, you grab open snack #1 & 2: The string cheese and peaches. This is your breakfast. You are hungry like 30 minutes later.

You realize that the snacks you brought with you are not going to hold you and the baby over for 12 hours, and realize that, under the circumstances, you have to walk across to the Wilkinson Center and get some food at the Cougareat.

The Wilk: 

The Cougareat (like a food court in the mall):

You survey your options (mind you: you are pregnant, and sometimes stuff just doesn't sound good. You also don't have endless money in your bank account).  There is Taco Bell, definitely cheap, but honestly, it's crap food. There is Subway... you've eaten there a lot recently, and you really need a break from sandwiches for a while. There is L&T (good, healthy food, but it is a wrap with mostly lettuce... you will be hungry again in like 20 minutes). There is Tomatillo's... pretty darn good Italian food, but also not cheap... but also filled with lots of carbs... good food for someone who is working all day.   

For lunch, you decide to go with Tomatillo's... your overwhelming appetite took over, and you are now $7 poorer. You eat it and realize that all these carbs and protein (from the parmesan chicken you got) are keeping you full for quite a while. Maybe it was worth the mulah afterall??

Three hours later (you are usually hungry after two hours, so good job, Tomatillo's), you get hungry again and decide it's time for dinner.  So, with no other options, you head over to the Wilk again.

You narrow your food options down to your two biggest priorities: Baby, and money.  You need to feed your baby with good food that is nutrient dense, and minimize the amount of processed food/chemicals that could reach your baby through what you eat. You also just spent $7 on lunch, and really need to try and cut back on your next food purchase, cuz you be po!

So, you decide that, based on your priorities, your options are between Taco Bell and Tomatillo's.  The cheap food and the real food. You could not justify spending the same amount of money on the very same food you ate just a few hours earlier, so you head over to the Taco Bell line...  You begin looking at the menu... 

Then you realize, who the heck are you kidding?

Which one would your baby appreciate more? The junk or the not-so-junk?

You head back over to Tomatillo's, remembering that you saw a cheaper item on the menu earlier... yep, there it is, Chicken and Broccoli pasta, with two breadsticks and a drink... for $5. 

AMEN.

They will give me just as much food as I got earlier, and I can still save $2, while eating another veggie in the process! 

Baby:1    Bank account: 0

Introductions

I want to introduce you to one of my good friends, Prenatal Yoga, the DVD.

I highly recommend doing some type of prenatal yoga for those moms-to-be. There are tons of prenatal yoga DVD's out there, it doesn't have to be this one.  But I LOVE this one.  It helps you strengthen and tone parts of the body that are undergoing changes during pregnancy, and also helps to strengthen other areas that are needed during labor.  I also feel so rejuvenated and awake after doing one of these sessions. It also helps relax me... getting rid of stress. Stress is bad new during pregnancy. 

One great thing about this particular DVD, is that it doesn't matter what trimester you are in, they show modifications based on trimester. There are three women in the DVD, each in a different trimester, and you follow the lady in your corresponding trimester. Easy peasy!

I caaaaan't wait....

This baby couldn't have come at a better time. It's almost like we planned it like that, or something!  But really, it is such a nice transition from school to home-life for me. The only problem is... I have to wait.

Don't get me wrong, I love that I can be in school and get an education, and I am grateful for the opportunity, because not too many people even have that.  I love learning, too. I just don't love standardized learning. I want to learn about things I like, not things that someone else thinks I should learn about. And I want to learn it on my own time.  Basically, I am tired of being in school. There. I said it.

This is me on the inside when I have school work to do...

And honestly... I HATE when I have to stop cooking dinners to finish a school project. I HATE it. We don't eat well around finals time.

Now that I am married, I am anxious to do what I know I would be better at. No more school, I want to be a mom and a homemaker. Take care of my kiddos, try new recipes at least once a week, keep the house clean, and teach my kids valuable skills.  It is there that I know I will contribute to society, not school.  Some people are better at being in school, and are great at challenging themselves with the next standardized test.  Some are great at going to work all day. I want to work at home. With my kids. I want to raise my kids, that is why I am having them. I'm not having kids just to send them away to a preschool all day, to be raised by someone who just wants my business. Nope.

So why am I even in school? Well, I want to finish what I started. I put in a lot of work and money into school the past few years, and I don't want to just stop half way through.  I also want to be an example to the kiddos. (Go to college, kids!)

So now that I am almost done with school (just a few months left!), I don't want to waste any time with getting my homemaking on!  To finally do something I know I will be good at!  I'm being really impatient. I want it to happen now. I just have to endure the next few months...

And then, this will be me every day...

Okay, maybe not... the heels would wear on my after a while. This will probably be me...

In Between

Last week, I had to meet with a separate midwife about some blood work. She was an awesome lady, a little frank, though.

Her:  "Congratulations on being pregnant! How far along are you?"
Me: "Thanks! I'm 15 weeks."
Her: "Oh great! Just wait till you get to 20 weeks, that's when all the fun begins."
Me: "Oh ya?"
Her: "Ya, you can start feeling kicks pretty strongly, and your belly is big enough so people aren't wondering if you are pregnant, or if you are just fat."

Once I started getting a belly, I began wondering what the heck am I suppose to do until I have a "belly" belly.

I didn't want to wear this every day...

And when you are sitting in class, with your tummy poking over your pants even more, people begin to wonder.  No seriously, true story: I was sitting next to a guy in class (who is already an extremely annoying person), and he kept sneaking glances at my belly to try to figure out if I was pregnant or not. He even did the old "pretend-to-lean-back-in-my-chair-and-take-a-really-big-stretch,-but-have-my-head-turned-so-I-can-look-at-her-belly-without-her-knowing" trick, but I was waiting for that one too. So I looked back at him and gave him a mean glare. He didn't bug me after that. 

But I don't want to go through that with everyone, I won't have any friends left!

So this is what I came up with to do in class..

Sit with my hand on my belly the whole time, and that's it. 

 Simple, but completely effective. What normal fat person caresses their belly like they love it?  Well, at least it makes me feel like its obvious. I told a couple pregnant friends about this too, and they all do it now, feeling better about their in between bellies.  

I just can't wait till  20 weeks so that I can have my hands back for taking notes! kidding, kidding, I just have a really good memory, I don't need to take notes ;)

Thank-you, Facebook

Before creating this blog, I have been posting lots of baby statements on Facebook to my family and friends.  So I decided to go back and compile all of them to this post to "catch up", so to speak. Here they are, in the best chronological order I could muster...

Dec. 27th: Julene Bateman is... PREGNANT, announcing, gonna be a mommy, expecting, growing a baby, due July 22nd, has a tiny baby bump, 10 weeks along, part of the pregnant club, a mommy in training, a grandparent maker, take your pic. Everyone announces differently, I decided to say them all! :)


Jan 2nd: (cute post my Auntie Cassie) I AM SO IN LOVE WITH YOUR PREGNANCY


Jan 2nd: Well it's official. Today was definitely my last Sunday of wearing non-maternity skirts.

Jan 3rd: Among some online shopping for clothes today, I found this little number. For the mom who can't give up that night life...

Jan 4th: (Cute post from Auntie Stephanie) Jules! I want to see your cute pregnant belly.

Jan 7th: It seems like I am always hungry nowadays. I can never eat enough anymore. It doesn't help that I can't pull myself away from the Food Network either. Solution: Eat while watching cooking shows. :)

Jan 10th: Where is everyone's favorite place to get maternity clothes?

Jan 14th: Found this while flipping through Awkward Family Photos. This makes me laugh because I know it's true (from observation, not experience). Stay at home moms do NOT have it easy.

Jan 16th: People talk about how in pregnancy you get lots of cravings... well how about LOSING cravings?! My sweet tooth is gone! That is the one thing I didn't want to see go! I really have no desire for anything sweet, I will just occasionally eat like chocolate or something to get other tastes out of my mouth lol

Jan 18th: ( a little post from daddy Chris) Here is a link to the article "C-sections more common, less healthy for baby"

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=14051541

www.ksl.com

Jan 19th: (My response to the article Chris posted) The article also indirectly explains why the c-section rate is higher than any other developed country... it's more convenient for the doctors, and it means more money in their pockets. I like what they say in that documentary "The Business of Being Born": does every apple fall off the tree at the exact same moment? No, they all develop individually, and will fall of exactly when they are ready to. The same thing is with babies. They will come out when they are ready. We are relying too much on modern medicine (which has proven to not necessarily be the best option, as is pointed out in this article), and not enough on our very own bodies! You never hear a mom say "Thank-goodness for inductions! If it weren't for them, I would still have a baby in my belly!" Modern medicine is great in certain circumstances, but since when did inductions and c-sections become the norm??!?

Jan 21st: Yesterday I had another appt with my midwife. I got to listen to the heartbeat again, but we had trouble finding it at first because the baby was kicking so much. So she pressed a little harder on my belly to look for the heartbeat, and that is when the baby kicked right back at where she was pressing haha. Sassy little thing!   

Jan 21st: (my mother's response to the above post) Sassy just like mommy!

Jan 24th: (cute post from Auntie Jeni) just thinkin' of you sissy...and hoping all is well with you and baby. love u. mean it.

Jan 24th: After not getting the ideal amount of sleep last night and spending a long time on campus today, quite a few things are helping me get through the day: I came home to a clean house thanks to Chris, Sunday leftovers in the fridge means I don't have to make dinner, Chris made sure I was able to take a nap, I woke up and did an hour of yoga, and Chris is doing dishes for me right now while I am working. :)

Jan 28th: Earlier, Chris put his head next to my belly, and in a very dramatic Darth Vader voice, said, "Baby, I hope I am your father..."

Jan 30th: You know you are pregnant when: You order "The Ultimate Feast" at Red Lobster and down the whole thing in the restaurant, along with a salad and two biscuits... and feel pleasantly full. Thanks mom and dad for the gift card, it was an awesome date :) Yum.

And there we are... back to the present! Today, Chris sang a song to my belly, telling the baby about how he will learn to like rap when it comes out..... um... right Chris. :)

16 weeks along, and I am still wearing my regular jeans!

Every new momma needs to know about the Bella Band.  To be honest, I don't really want to get maternity jeans... they just look so weird! Instead, I found the Bella Band.  It is a really elastic band that you can wear over your jeans, and no one has to know that they are unbuttoned, or even unzipped! I sound like an advertisement right now, but I just want everyone else to know about this :)

You can do a shopping search for them on Google, but I just got them at this website  

How I Told Chris I Was Pregnant

I found out in early November that I was pregnant.  We had been trying for a few months, and I actually wasn't expecting to be pregnant that month because the chances of conceiving that month just weren't that high, let's just say.  SO, when I did my first pregnancy test, Chris was at work. Prefect, because I needed to let the news sink in.  After I started realizing that there is something living inside of me, and I was going to be its mommy, I began figuring out how to tell Chris.  I am one for surprises, and having fun at the expense of others, and I was NOT going to let this opportunity pass me up.  SO,  I made a special trip to the BYU Bookstore and found a cute little "congratulations" card, and a tiny baby shirt that says "My Dad Goes to BYU" on the front. I decided to write tons of congratulatory sayings on the inside of the card (Yay! Terrific! You did it! Good job! Woohoo!... etc.), and place the little shirt in a gift bag (pay no attention to the fact that it is black, it was the only one I could find around the house). So when Chris got home from work at around midnight, he decided to relax a bit on the couch. Perfect moment. I grabbed my card, present, and camera... and the rest is history.