Brady is a natural at...

It is Melissa again. Sorry to disappoint you. Brady has another busy week as he is finishing up graduate school this week. So I am picking up the blog slack.

We had a fun week preparing for the passenger. We went to our first birthing class on Sunday. We are taking classes on the Bradley Birthing Method. The first class we had is usually one of the last sessions a couple takes, but we took it early as our little girl is due right around when our last two classes will take place.

So this week we learned all about breastfeeding, but probably the most surprising thing we learned is that Brady is a natural at breastfeeding! There are three couples in our class including us. The instructor had each father start off the class by demonstrating how to hold the baby if they were breastfeeding. The instructor went around to each father and gave them feedback on their technique. She went around to the other two dads and said that they were not doing it correctly. Then she got to Brady and said, "You are doing it perfectly!" We all started to laugh. Brady is a natural at breastfeeding! Anyways, that was fun.

We really enjoyed the class overall and felt like it was informative and will give us both more confidence as we head into the final stages of this pregnancy. Our instructor is great and had a lot of encouraging advice for both of us. Our classes will officially start in June and end right before our due date. We will see what else Brady is a natural at.

Thanks for reading! Cheers!

Momma to be writing!

Brady is out of town until Sunday and we got the pictures done just before he left this morning. So... it is Melissa here this time. Well, things are still going well. I continue to enjoy feeling her move and kick around and feel like I am starting to get to know her a little bit better knowing what times of day I can expect to start feeling her.

I am still feeling pretty good. A little heartburn has started to kick in, but nothing too severe. It is hard to believe that we are already in the 3rd trimester of this pregnancy. Time really has flown. I am sure she will be here before we know it! The other night I was brushing my teeth and casually glanced in the mirror and had to do a double take at myself--I guess I forgot I was pregnant for a moment! Sometimes it is hard to believe I am actually the one pregnant this time, a little surreal!

Looking forward to meeting her and trying to remember to appreciate each night of uninterrupted sleep and getting to sleep in when I want to!

Goodbye Second Trimester!

We are cutting it close but getting the 26th week blog done just in time. Melissa has been running through a watermelon patch as you can see. She decided to hide one under her shirt. It isn't that discrete.

We just came home from the midwife and everything is looking good! The passenger's heartbeat is strong and Melissa's belly is measuring right where it should be, 26cm. It is always nice to get a good report and hear that everything is right on track.

Melissa had a good last week of the second trimester. As of next week she will already be in the third trimester! I suppose things will get pretty interesting at the end of this last trimester... I'm just guessing.

Our little passenger may just now start to be able to open her eyes. We might also be able to start playing with her as she may now start responding to our touch through Melissa's belly! There is actually a little person in there. It is hard to believe! Can't wait to meet her! Less than 100 days!

Six Months!

We are six months pregnant! Time sure has flown by. This week has been a little harder on Melissa. She came down with a flu bug on Monday morning and spent the next two days laid up at home. We called the doctor and they gave her some advice of how to settle her stomach so that she could hopefully keep food down. They said if it didn't work by Tuesday morning she would need to come in. We were thankful that by Tuesday morning she was feeling much better and just needed to rest. Melissa noticed our little passenger moving a ton all day Monday as she was laying around. Apparently she wasn't having the gentle rocking of Melissa moving around all day like she usually does. Melissa was home alone all day, but felt like she had some company. Melissa said they watched "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" together.

Our little girl is the size of an eggplant now! She is getting big! She literally scared Melissa into a semi-scream the other night with a big movement. We have read that she can now touch and grab her feet, as well as make a little fist. Her equilibrium is also starting to kick and she may be able to distinguish the difference between being upside down and right side up.

Is she pregnant?

Sorry for our failure to take a picture last week. I am not sure why it seems hard to get that done some weeks. This week has been an exciting one for us. I finally got to feel our little passenger kicking. Melissa woke me up early one morning and told me touch her belly. She was kicking up a storm and gave me the chance to feel her kicking quite a few times.

Melissa is still feeling good. So, no news is probably good news in that respect. For those of you who do not know Melissa is substitute teaching right now which means she is at a different school most days. At almost six months pregnant, she has gotten a kick out of hearing middle and high school students whispering about whether or not they think she is pregnant, pretty much every day. It usually goes something like this, "Is she pregnant?" Then another student responds, "I don't know. Ask her." They rarely ask, which is probably the safer choice on their part, but we do find it funny that they really can't tell.

Well, that is all we have for you this week.

...Still a Girl

Well, another week another pound or five, as Melissa would say. No, really, she's the one that said that. I'm not dumb enough to say that about my pregnant wife. Our little passenger continues to move around only enough for her mother to feel her. Our little girl has been so jumpy lately that she has even startled Melissa into laughter. Melissa has noticed that she definitely moves around the most in the middle of the night.

Our little passenger weighs 1 lb and 1 oz as of last Friday. We actually had another ultrasound. Melissa's amniotic fluid was a tiny bit low at our 20 week ultrasound so they had us come back to check on it last Friday. Thankfully, everything was right on track when we went back on Friday. One great thing about having to go back was getting to see our little girl again! She was sitting (or floating?) with her little ankles crossed at one point causing a reaction of "awes" from the ultrasound techs and Melissa. They were also able to confirm again that we are indeed still having a girl! In fact, what the tech said was, "it's still a girl," to which I thought, "Was there a chance that was going to change in the last two weeks?" Still, reassuring to know that they didn't make a mistake the first time around.

Here is our prayer this week for our daughter comes from 1 John 5:18, "...that they keep your word and that your love will be perfected in them."

What's In A Name?

We are in week 22 with our little passenger. Things are going well. Melissa is busy working and drinking lots and lots and LOTS of water. I am working on finishing up grad school, Margot (our newfoundland) has been figuring out ways to escape from our yard (4 times actually), and last, but certainly not least, our little girl is busy growing! She should be almost 1 lb by now. Melissa said her movements used to always feel like gentle prodding but have begun to feel more like sharp jabs and pokes (I think she's going to be a black belt). Melissa doesn't mind though. We are both looking forward to me being able to feel our little passenger's movements as well. Melissa thinks she has felt her movement on the outside but is not quite sure.

We have known we are having a little girl for a week and a half and and she is already developing a cute wardrobe thanks to excited family and friends. Our name discussions are also progressing nicely. We have not made any decisions, but we are making headway. Our lack of a decision may be for the best since we are planning to keep her name a secret until she is born. I don't think it will be easy for us (meaning Melissa) to keep it a secret once we have made our decision. I'm a vault. I'll lock it down.

Her grandparents and us are praying a verse over our little passenger each week. The verse for this week is 2 Peter 3:18.
"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen."