A Letter to My Baby

God is SO good! the closer and closer i get to meeting S the more emotional i become. if you had asked me a year or two ago where i would be now i would certainly never imagine that i would be where i am today...expecting my first baby. a perfect baby boy.
i cant even begin to describe the emotion i feel when i think about him. even now as he kicks my ribs :) i had always imagined that i would have a little girl first then a bunch of boys...but they say if you want to tell God a joke, tell Him your plans. how true. i could not be happier than i am this day knowing that soon i will get to meet my son. the amount of love i have for him already is indescribable. just the thought brings me to tears.
i cannot wait to hold his tiny body in my arms. though i will miss having him within me. something so incredibly special that any mom understands. i felt him move before anyone else could.


sebastian,

my sweet little boy. you are so dearly and purely loved. your daddy and i couldnt have asked for a greater blessing. he always tells you good night and kisses my belly, telling me how much he loves you and how he cant wait to meet you. you have taken a man who was afraid of not being ready to be a dad, to someone who cannot wait to hold you and that smiles at the thought of you. that is the greatest gift you could ever give him. because of you we have become an even stronger family. you are so small yet what you have already accomplished is so great.
we are close to a month away from your birth and we practice every night for that wonderful event. i know it will be one of the toughest days of my life, with the most amazing of outcomes. we get to bring you, our son into the world. i just pray that your daddy will be there, for it's something i truly dont want him to miss. he always tells me how great i will be, even if he cant be there...but i know it would kill him if he couldnt see you make your first appearance into this great big world.
we have loved you from the minute we knew you were in our lives and that is something that will never change! that love will only get deeper and deeper. you are so blessed to have such an amazing man as your daddy. he is already so protective of you, touching my belly ever so gently, never wanting to do anything that could remotely hurt you. the day we were able to see your little face was such a wonderful day! you were already so handsome! and your daddy had a grin from ear to ear seeing his little boy.
you are our heart. and we are so blessed to have you.

love you forever and always,

your mama

29 weeks our last echo-cardiogram 

XOMB

Fit Mama

so in this midst of folding laundry, something im sure all you moms enjoy, i cant help but get super excited/distracted thinking about the event that is happening friday.
wait for it....
we are FINALLY joining a gym! having been a gym addict for years, it is quite exciting! ive always said that when i became pregnant i would never give up working out or staying fit, but thats easier said than done!
of course i know the benefits of being active during pregnancy but as any of you moms already know...its not always possible. whatever your barrier may be, things happen in life but the benefits of staying fit during pregnancy are huge!
better now than never!
since i am dedicated to having a natural birth this is more of a necessity than simple want. birth is like a marathon, or so i have heard, and what better way to succeed and push through the pain of a marathon than to train. a good friend of mine is pregnant as well, due just a week before i am and she recommended looking into the bradley method of birth. i cannot wait to buy the book and get started!
this method has the highest success rate of natural births. from what i have researched so far, eating high levels of protein, doing an insane amount of kegels (yes ladies there are multiple benefits to this one!), as well as some other exercises are key components to finishing this marathon.
kegels, though every woman has heard about them for their other benefits, having a kick butt birth is one most people fail to mention.
doing kegels is a great workout! (though you dont break a sweat) but what do you use to push that baby out? MUSCLES! all muscles need to be strengthened, the stronger they are the easier the inevitable will be!

now for overall fitness the fitter you are while pregnant the easier it will be to bounce back, for lack of a better term, after you have that bundle of joy. everyone has heard the wonders of breast feeding in helping you shed that pregnancy weight but what so many women forget is that the more muscle you already have the easier it is to burn the fat.

so here is the plan, not only do i want to increase my cardio (which as of now has been lacking) and get back to lifting weights (always done in a safe method, you are pregnant dont forget) but i want to start yoga. natural birth is all about how you cope with pain and how you can train your body to relax and find your zen, what better to assist in that search than a yoga class?

i truly believe that staying healthy is not merely something you deserve but something your baby deserves as well! your baby deserves a healthy mom that can keep up with everything he or she throws your way.

i will definitely report any physical changes i can see along the way.

XOMB