Week 31

I feel like I'm on an emotional roller coaster lately. Pregnancy hormones are no joke. I'm up and down and I cry at the drop of a hat. It's crazy...and a little embarrassing. But hey, it comes with the territory. I know it's temporary (well, actually I've always been a little moody) and I have a very understanding husband who deals with my insanity quite well. Kudos to you, Mr Acevedo. I'm also tiiired a lot these days. I would be perfectly content to just sit around dozing in and out of consciousness...but there's so much to do so that's not really an option.

Liam is quite the active little guy. Sometimes his jabs are a bit painful. That's when I tap my belly and say, "Calm down in there, be nice to mommy!" But it's also comforting to know that he's good in there. Sometimes Alex and I will watch him move around in my belly...it looks like he's rolling from side to side and it's kinda creepy, not gonna lie. We can't get over it. Is it crazy that I still can't believe I'm going to be a mom soon?!

For this week's photo we went down to Curtis Park on 31st St. This is a great little park not far from home. There's a big open field, a playground for the kiddies, and now that summer is here the pool is open. Glory! I need to make quite a few trips down there to enjoy the water. Who's with me??

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

I've been slowly making my way through Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and I can't even begin to tell you how much of a blessing it has been to me. I have really felt comforted, empowered, and encouraged reading this book. If you don't know, Ina May Gaskin is an incredible midwife, but she's also so much more. She really advocates for the best maternity care women can receive and doesn't believe in ever making a woman feel "less than." The experience she has gained throughout her years as a midwife is really invaluable. She owns a midwifery center in Tennessee called The Farm and their stats speak for themselves. Before the first C-section was necessary they had 186 births and the second C-section wasn't necessary until the 324th birth. Compare that to the rate of C-sections in US hospitals, which is between 30-40%...ridiculous!

I'm just really thankful for Ina May and her experience with childbirth. The lady really knows what she is talking about. She is so reassuring in her view that women can birth healthy babies without the need of medical interventions. Our bodies are capable.

I hope that this blog post (or any of my other posts on unmedicated childbirth) don't come across as snobby or insulting in any way. Believe me, that is not my intention. I believe that women can make their own choices...and if you really want to have  an epidural or other drugs to help you cope with the pain of childbirth, go right ahead, no judgment here. I just find it annoying that so many women practically laugh in my face when I tell them of my plans to go unmedicated. I'm not dumb or naive. I have done the research and I believe in the body God gave me. I understand the need for medical interventions, but I also am concerned with the rate of women who are consenting to medical interventions unnecessarily because they haven't done the research or because medical professionals are making them feel pressured or inadequate. So this is just my little post to say that I have found great encouragement in this book by Ina May and if you are even the slightest bit curious about unmedicated childbirth you should pick up this book and read it.

Serve Denver 2011

This week our church has been serving Denver. We have been partnering with various organizations to help this amazing city we live in. There are several different service projects going on with schools, churches, and homeless relief efforts. We even had several churches from North Carolina fly out to help with this week of service. It's been nice having all these people in the city with us and helping out in any way they can. Thanks everyone!

I decided the best way I could help was to document it all with my camera (because at 31 weeks pregnant I'm not very useful when it comes to manual labor). Here are just a few photos from this week.

Week 30

Just about ten more weeks (or so) until Liam makes his grand entrance into the world. I can't believe it. Our sweet boy will be here before we know it. I had my 30 week midwife appointment and she said everything with Liam is just perfect. He's in the 58th percentile for growth and his heartbeat is steady. And I'm at 135 pounds now so she said I'm doing great with my weight gain. The only bad thing I discovered this week were....stretch marks. They're small, not very noticeable at the moment, but they're there. *sigh* Oh well, it's a small price to pay for a healthy baby boy. 

For this week's photo we went to the intersection of Larimer and 30th, to the Block Building. This is where our church has been meeting. It's such a great space. It used to be an art gallery and is now an architecture firm with an event space that they rent out on the weekends. It's right in the heart of the RiNo Art District. I love that we get to have our gatherings here every Sunday night. Our church has really been blessed. If you're in Denver you should definitely come check us out. 

birthing class

Yesterday Alex and I attended our first unmedicated childbirth class at our hospital. I have to say that I really enjoyed it. The teacher seems really nice and knowledgeable. She's been doing this since the 70s, so she knows what she's talking about.

For our first class we did a lot of discussion of what our fears and expectations are for labor and delivery. It was really helpful to just get everything out there and have the teacher respond to each of these points. She also talked a lot about what exactly happens to our bodies during pregnancy and childbirth and what the first signs of labor are. I'm excited for the next few weeks when we discuss pain management, etc. I'm really happy Alex and I signed up for this class.

I'll let you know my review of the class once it's over!

Anniversary Picnic

Alex wrote a post about our wonderful day yesterday celebrating our third anniversary. Check it out and marvel at the beautiful photos he took. The man is talented!

I love living in Denver and I love being married to this amazing man. :-)

Three Years

Alex and I are celebrating three years of marriage today.

I was thinking that three years doesn't sound like a very long time at all. But in those three years we've done so much.

• We traveled overseas together all on our own.
• We moved to North Carolina and lived in two different apartments together.
• We started paying our own bills, cooking our own meals, cleaning up after ourselves. This is huge considering neither one of us had ever lived on our own before.
• We survived our first snow together.
• We traveled to Mexico on a mission trip together. 
• We decided that we wanted to be a part of a church plant.
• We have traveled together...Miami, Orlando, DC, the NC coast, Denver, etc.
• We have learned what it means to be married and how to best honor each other...this is a lifetime lesson.
• We have worked together on photo shoots and other creative projects. He inspires me.
• We adopted an adorable little schnauzer. Our fur baby.
• We survived being a one-car family for a while.
• We moved to Denver, CO in order to live in community with the Summit Church. 
• We bought a house. We're homeowners!
• We got pregnant and are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our Little Man. 

All this in just three short years. I'm so blessed to experience life with this amazing man. Since we first met (at just 15 years old!) I have seen him grow and mature into the God-fearing, hard-working, loving, kind, gentle, strong man that he is today. When I first laid eyes on him in high school, I would never have dated him. When we met again after high school and started dating (we were 20 years old!) I could see the potential in him. And when he asked me to marry him (we were 22 years old!) I knew that he was the one for me...and I'm glad that he saw the potential in me and decided I was the one for him. Life together just keeps getting better and better. 

Happy Anniversary!

Mustache Tee

I saw a cute maternity shirt on Etsy a while back that I just HAD to have.
But money is tight and I thought, "Surely, I can make this on my own."

My first attempt was with an iron-on transfer. I failed. Mostly because I didn't have the directions for the transfers and I messed up a step along the way.

Thankfully, one of Alex's co-workers screen prints t-shirts! So I gave him one of my Hanes V-neck undershirts and he made it happen. I love it.

Liam is definitely a Little Man with a cute little mustache.

Week 29

The closer we get to Week 40 the more I freak out. On the one hand I can't wait to meet my Little Man...on the other hand, I feel sooo unprepared. We really need to get organized. I'm hoping over the next few weekends we can finish fixing up the dresser and get all his clothes and crib bedding ready.

As for how the pregnancy is going, I guess I can't really complain. I'm not sleeping as well as I used to. But hey, that's pregnancy. My pelvic pain is probably here to stay but I just need to do stretches to help me in that department. God has truly blessed us with this pregnancy and I'm glad it's been smooth sailing so far.

This week we went to Fuller Dog Park on 29th Ave. Jaxon just loves going to the dog park. It's so cute to see him running around with the other dogs. We always say he's like the Patrol Dog because whenever some dogs are rough housing he has to go check it out and bark at them...and as soon as they stop he trots away all proud of himself for "breaking up the fight." Hah. I love our pup. We usually take him to Josephine Dog Park, it's a bit further away but we just like it more. Fuller works in a pinch though.

By the way, maxi dresses are the best invention of life! I was hesitant to try this trend out but Alex kept insisting I get one, so I finally picked this one up at Macy's. SO comfy. It really is the perfect pregnancy dress. I feel like such a hippie mom wearing it, hah, but I love it. 

Belly Laughs

I've heard such good things about Jenny McCarthy's book "Belly Laughs" that I decided to check it out from the library. It was definitely worth the read. Jenny is hilarious and does not hold back on any of the more embarrassing details of pregnancy. I was literally laughing out loud at some of the chapters. I was reading it in our hotel room in Texas a couple weeks ago and Alex had to walk over to see what I kept laughing about. Reading this book made me feel like I'm not alone in some of the things I've experienced in this pregnancy and it also made me very glad that I haven't experienced some of the things that she has (so far no stretch marks and no peeing in my pants, woo-hoo!).

So if you're pregnant go ahead and give this book a read, believe me, you'll appreciate it.

Growth Ultrasound

On Tuesday morning I had to go in for a growth ultrasound to make sure our Little Man was progressing properly. My belly is a bit on the small side so they wanted to make sure he was growing and getting adequate nutrition.

Well, I may have a small belly but I certainly don't have a small baby! Liam is actually measuring about a week and a half ahead and is weighing in at a little over three pounds already. Yikes. I have to say, I'm not really surprised. He was measuring big at my 20 week ultrasound as well and I've always felt that he may come a little earlier than expected. But hey, I'm just a first time mom, I'm no expert.

The U/S tech could even see that Liam has some hair! How crazy is that? Alex and I were both born with heads full of black spiky hair so Liam may take after his mommy and daddy.

I'm thankful that Liam is so healthy and that he's growing. Alex is especially proud and keeps calling him his Big Boy. Hopefully he isn't TOO big upon delivery...ouch.

Liam at 28 weeks, 7 days. 

P.S. Don't forget to check out our maternity photo session on Maloman's blog. The photos are so sweet!

Maternity Photo Session

While we were in Miami we decided to have a maternity photo session with Maloman Photographers. Stephan and Candace shot our engagement and wedding. They also did a "just-for-fun" session for us back in December (that's where we got this image to announce my pregnancy). We love their work and trust them fully to capture all of these important milestones in our life together.

They posted a blog post with some of the images from our maternity session on their blog and I love them! I can't thank Stephan and Candace enough for taking these photos. And I can't wait to order some prints to display on our walls.

Click here to check out the photos and leave a comment letting them know what you think.

Baby Shower!

It must be said that I absolutely loved my baby shower. I am still astounded at how beautiful everything looked and how many people came out to celebrate Little Liam. The theme was owls (of course!) and the colors were yellow and gray. I did absolutely nothing to help pull this off. My mom, sister, and mother-in-law lovingly planned out every detail and several other family members contributed their talents to help make it memorable. My dad, grandmother, aunts...everyone had their part and I feel so blessed. All I did was show up and it makes me happy that so many people love this little baby already.

I just want to thank everyone who helped...thank you Mami, Papi, Abuelita, Danibel, Reima, Patty, Mima, Mercedes, Maria Elena, the Ortegas, my Tios...everyone. I know it was no easy task but you all did an amazing job! And thank you to everyone who showed up. It really is weird not living in Miami anymore but still feeling all the love and support from our friends and family there. I know we have not been forgotten and that you all still think of us and will even buy presents for a baby you won't be able to see and enjoy everyday. It really amazes me how much love we feel from all of you. It's humbling. And I really can't thank you enough for contributing to Liam's nursery...diapers, clothing, bottles, toys...he has all of these things because you are generous enough to supply them. I promise to post many photos of him enjoying his gifts...and we will be visiting as often as possible. We will definitely be coming by Christmas time so that you all can meet him and we can meet my new niece or nephew who should be joining us by that time (yay, Danibel is pregnant!). And our door is always open to anyone who wants to visit us in beautiful Denver, Colorado. We love you all and miss you. Again, thank you!

Week 28

Third Trimester!
I can't believe how fast the time is going. I'm already in the final trimester of this pregnancy. Before we know it, our Little Man will be out in the world with us. It's an exciting yet somewhat stressful thought. I don't feel at all prepared. We have a crib and a dresser that's still being worked on...and a few other things...but man, I just really need to get organized and make sure we have all those newborn essentials.

This week has been great. We were in Miami for the big baby shower weekend. I'll write a separate post with pictures and everything but for now let me just say that I had an amazing time. I have the best family and the best friends in the universe. Liam is so blessed.

Okay, so we cheated with the location for this week's belly photo. I know we're supposed to go to 28th street in Denver but while we were at the beach yesterday we couldn't help ourselves. We had such a wonderful time in Miami and the beach is so beautiful that we decided to take the Week 28 photo there. Who knows when we'll be able to go to the beach again, so I hope Liam enjoyed his first time there. ;-)

Ain't No Mom Jeans - Feature

I have been featured on the very lovely blog: Ain't No Mom Jeans, as part of their Mom Street Style series. I am so honored that they liked my Belly Series pictures enough to put them up on their blog. It's been so much fun taking these photos every week and it's nice to know that others appreciate it too. So if you have a minute click here to check out the feature and leave a comment with your thoughts.

Thanks Ain't No Mom Jeans!

A Very Special Day!

Today is my 26th birthday! I don't know about you, but 26 sounds like it'll be a good year to me. I have a midwife appointment this morning, then I need to get some work done, and then I'm pretty sure Alex has a little something up his sleeve. ;-)

Also, I am officially in my third trimester for this pregnancy! Third trimester. As in, the last one. As in, it won't be long until Liam is here and we'll be celebrating his birthday.

I praise God for bringing me this far...both in my life and in my pregnancy. He is truly good.

[image via weheartit]

[image via my phone!]

Brooke Fraser

As I mentioned in my previous post, Alex and I were able to see Brooke Fraser live at the Bluebird Theater along with a couple friends. It was such a great concert! I believe it's our first show here in Denver and I do love a good show. There's just something very special about live music. In fact, I hope Liam likes live music as much as we do because I'm determined to get him these so we can bring him along with us while we enjoy our favorite bands.

Anyway, I really enjoyed seeing Brooke Fraser live. I haven't been a fan for very long but when I finally got around to giving her music a listen I fell in love. Her voice is phenomenal and it sounds just as great in person as it does on her records. Plus, she's hilarious. Admittedly I could not always understand her accent (she's from New Zealand) but her personality and sense of humor are so quirky and lovable. I'm really happy Alex and I were able to get out and see her.

Week 27

This week's post is going up a little late but I'm sure you'll forgive me. Alex was in Fort Worth all last week for work purposes, and since my parents live in Dallas they flew me up on Wednesday to spend a long weekend with them and my hubby. Alex and I were able to stay at a hotel and while he was working I hung out with my mom and we would spend the evenings trying out new restaurants. It was great. We also saw Bridesmaids...hilarious! It was so nice to get away for a little bit and relax. [And hallelujah, I was finally able to cut and color my hair!] We came back yesterday and were able to see Brooke Fraser in concert at the Bluebird Theater. Amazing! More on that later...

Not much going on this week in terms of the pregnancy. Sometimes I think Liam is trying to escape my uterus via my belly button...little does he know, that is not the way out! He's about the size of a cauliflower now and should be weighing in at about two pounds.

For this week's photo we paid a visit to the Barleys who live on California and 27th, just a five minute drive from our house. We love Bryan, Megan, and Penny. They are such great friends to us and they're the ones who convinced us to move out to Denver. ;-) Bryan is the pastor of our church out here and we really appreciate everything they do for us. You can keep up with their "little urban life" at Megan's blog.

[hah, check out Penny's jumping skills...she's a beast of a dog at 95 lbs. but she's also as sweet as can be]

Birthday Countdown

Every year I know my birthday is just around the corner when I receive my 15% discount card from Anthropologie. Joy of joys! I love that store but don't shop there often because it's a tad bit out of my price range.

While I was visiting my parents in Texas this weekend my mom and I made a trip to Anthro to see what we could find. I scoured the sale section and found a beautiful pleated skirt. It was marked down from $100 to $20 and with my little 15% discount I was able to purchase it for just $18. Happy Birthday to me! I was so excited about the new addition to my wardrobe that I wore it to dinner that evening.

[handsome husband]

[having dinner with mama and papa]

My birthday is coming up on May 18th! Can't wait. I'll be back tomorrow with this week's belly picture. We just flew in from TX this morning so I'm a bit behind. Happy rest of the weekend to all. 

Mom-To-Be Day

I love my husband because he celebrated yesterday as my first Mother's Day. Even though we still have a few months to go until Liam arrives he figures I'm already a mom because I am caring for our baby each and every day. What a guy.

So we had a great day of waking up way too early (6:40am! What were we thinking?!), opening cards and a gift, eating a delicious breakfast at Snooze, a trip to the dog park, and relaxing at home. We bought a dresser for Liam's room at a thrift store. It's in pretty good shape so Alex is just sanding down the top and we will paint it. He started the sanding process yesterday, it looks tough but it's a labor of love. We also went to church in the evening and had dinner with everyone at Wahoo's. I love our weekly dinners.

It was a great first Mother's Day and I can't wait until next year when I can hold Liam in my arms.

The original Mildred Pierce. It was good! I want to see the Kate Winslet version to see how it measures up. 

Also, Alex made a mini-documentary about my pregnancy. He wanted to get in some practice on doing video and this is what he came up with. I really love it. The very end brought a little tear to my eye. Check out the video on his blog and leave a comment letting him know what you think. 

Sorry the pictures look so fuzzy...I didn't take the time to properly size them for the blog...my bad! I'm still recovering from an awesome Mother's Day yesterday so I figure it's okay to cut a few corners. ;-)

Happy Mother's Day!

It's Mother's Day! I had to come on here and wish one very special lady a wonderful day, my own mother. Now that I'm beginning this journey of motherhood I realize more and more each day the sacrifices my mom made for me. She is an immense blessing in my life and I can't imagine doing everything I do without her. She is a constant support to me and I know she loves me. Even if we don't always agree she is respectful of my decisions and is always willing to help me and give me advice.

Thank you, mama! Thank you for everything you do. Thank you for helping to shape the woman that I am now. Thank you for always striving to be a better person and for loving me. Thank you for all the thoughtful scrapbooks and family vacations and prayers for protection. I love you!!!

That's me in my mama's belly and my sister helping to carry the load.

Mama and Baby Me.

Mama with her daughters last summer.

Week 26

Last week I was complaining about the too cold weather in Denver, this week is a whole different story! It's so nice to wear a skirt and tank instead of squeezing on some pants and layering up.

I had my 26 week midwife appointment this week. Heard Liam's heartbeat again (160) but he was being extra shy this time. He kept trying to get away from the doppler and even kicked at it once. The midwife had a good laugh when that happened. She also told me that she wouldn't scold me because I'm so tiny but that I should watch my weight because I've already gained 20 pounds (eek!) and if I keep going at this rate I will have gained 50 pounds by the time I hit 40 weeks. Yikes. So I need to slow it down and eat more fruits and veggies and less bread and crackers. It's difficult because I'm hungry all the time! Really. All. The. Time. But I should make healthier choices. Also, I did the glucose test for gestational diabetes. Drinking the orange stuff really wasn't that bad. I finished the little bottle pretty quickly and after an hour they took my blood and I was good to go. They said they would call if the test came back abnormal. So far, no call, so I'm pretty confident that I passed. In any case, I have my next appointment in two weeks! I'm going from monthly appointments to seeing the midwife every two weeks. This pregnancy is just flying by.

For this week's picture we headed to our favorite little coffee shop on 26th Ave, Coffee At The Point. When we first moved here we frequented this place almost everyday for the free wifi and delicious hot chocolate. Also, our church was meeting there on Sunday nights for a while before we started meeting at our current location. We really love this coffee shop. Everyone is so friendly and remembers your face and it always feels inviting. And seriously, the hot chocolate is out of this world. This morning I had a coffee date with a new friend at this place and decided to try their cold chocolate milk and it was every bit as good.

birthing classes?

The time when Liam will make his appearance in the world is getting closer and closer! Since I'm hoping for an unmedicated childbirth experience I thought it would be wise to take a birthing class (especially with this being my first one!). I checked on some options and finally settled on a class that is offered by our hospital that specializes in natural pain coping strategies (we start June 2nd!). I originally wanted to do a Bradley Method class or maybe a Hypnobirthing class, but they're just too expensive for us. So I'm hoping that this class will give us some basics and maybe we can read books on more specific methods to help us out.

I know you can't exactly plan out your birth and any number of unexpected things can happen...and I'm okay with that. I'm okay with not having a specific birth plan and being flexible. But I believe in my body and I believe that it is capable of birthing a child without the use of medical interventions. So I wanted to ask any mamas out there what advice you have? Did you find a specific method helpful for you? Did you just take bits and pieces of different methods to help you cope with the pain? Help me out, mamas! And thanks in advance. :-)

First Rockies Game

Last Friday Alex and I were able to attend our first Rockies game! We went with a few friends of ours and it was really a lot of fun. The stadium is incredible. You have a perfect view of the mountains in the distance and everyone there seems like real hardcore fans.

It seemed like a fun night for a ball game except it was SO cold. It even started flurrying in the middle of the game. I'm talking legitimate snow flakes falling from the sky in late April. Insane. We ended up leaving during the 7th inning stretch.

Even with the snow we had a lot of fun at the game and will definitely be going back to Coors Field for more Rockies games. Though I'm thinking next time should be in the middle of June when the sun is shining and I can wear shorts and a t-shirt.

Week 25

Week 25...just about 15 weeks to go! Time flies. I was finally able to buy a few new clothing items that will hopefully work with me for the remainder of my pregnancy. Some of it is maternity, some of it is just a little loose-fitting or stretchy or one size up. I don't want to fill my closet with maternity clothes with only a few months to go.

Liam is now the size of a rutabaga...whatever that is. And my baby book tells me that my uterus is the size of a soccer ball! Alex was in disbelief when I told him. I feel Liam rolling around in there a lot. That's the only way I know to describe it. It's less of a kick (though there's still plenty of that) and more of a rolling motion, like he's changing positions or swimming or something. It's really weird...but good to know that he's still there and seemingly happy.

This week we took a picture on the pedestrian bridge over I-25. The bridge connects the Highlands neighborhood (by far my favorite neighborhood in Denver) with Downtown Denver. There's also this big red sculpture right beside it...I'm not sure what it is. As I told you in last week's post Denver is just full of funky art installations.

Oh yeah, and spring has all but disappeared in Denver! I've had to layer up lately because of the frigid temps. I'm hoping as we welcome in May that we will also welcome in some much warmer weather.