29 weeks

Jay and I went to our first wedding in Germany, and it was great! The ceremony was at a beautiful church in Geldersheim, and the reception was at a castle! German weddings are very different from the weddings we've been to in the states, but it was an awesome experience.

The belly continues to get bigger, here's a look at us in the courtyard of the Schloss Mainberg! I haven't been in a dress and heels since Megan and Gene's wedding, so I was excited to get dressed up. I paid for it later, since German receptions last past midnight and the ceremony was at 1, but it was well worth it!

Learning is fun!

What a great week for learning more about our baby! I started a new book, The Happiest Baby on the Block, and so far it's one of my favorite baby books! It's very logical, and since I'm a "why?" person, it's answering a lot of my questions. Reading more about babies makes me more and more excited to meet our little boy!

I also went to a class at ACS (Army Community Service) on post yesterday, the "OB Orientation". I thought I'd never get to it! They recommend this class at the clinic when they tell you you're pregnant and start making your appointments. It's basically an overview of your pregnancy and the German hospital system, as well as a look into all the paperwork you'll need to submit once the baby is born. I found out I was pregnant in March, and the class had already taken place. In April, I was in the states; in June, I had morning sickness. I was all set to go in July, and Jay came home early...the day before the class! In August we were on leave, so FINALLY it worked out this month. And boy am I glad it did! Much of the second half of the class was repetitive from the classes I've already done and books I've read, but the paperwork section was most helpful (and overwhelming!). There's so much we have to do once Hayden is born to get his birth registered in Germany and the United States, to get his passports, to get his health insurance taken care of, his social security card and to make sure all our ducks are in a row to move back to the states...all in three months! But now that we know exactly what we have to do, it's nice to be able to start getting it organized! I also discovered today that the German government can actually reject our baby's name on his birth certificate! They have a book of names, and if it's not in there we actually have to contact the consulate (via the Army) to get a memorandum to have the name we want put on his birth certificate. We can actually "consult the book" before he's born, so at least we can figure out if they're going to tell us no. Can you imagine such a thing in the states? What would celebrities DO??

I discovered yesterday that if we want to tour the hospital, we can do so with the Army's program for newcomers (even though we've been here two years!) or with our own doctor. One of the girls in my class has the same doctor I do, and said if we make our appointment his last appointment on a Thursday, he goes to the hospital to check on his Friday surgeries, and would be able to show us around. We're excited to see where all the magic will happen, and to pre-register to speed up the process when it's go time!

Finally, Susan sent me a great article about kids and nutrition from the NY Times. I highly recommend it for my gestating and parenting friends!

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/health/healthspecial2/15eat.html?em

I'm looking forward to finishing up my book this weekend, and starting a new one! I also made homemade chocolate chip cookies last night for my grateful husband, and they turned out great. Fall is in the air in Germany with cool temperatures and very chilly mornings for Jay to get up to at 5:30. Luckily, Oscar and I don't venture outside until much later, when it's warmed up a bit. Looks like we're in for a cold winter, so I'm getting ready to start stocking up on cold weather gear for Hayden. It gets more exciting all the time!

A little reality

Most of my friends that read this blog have kids, are pregnant or are considering being pregnant at some point. So in the interest of full disclosure and honesty, I thought I'd make you my own top ten list of things that are not so great about being pregnant.

Disclaimer: All of the unpleasantries of pregnancy are immediately outweighed with every kick, ultrasound, heartbeat and very existence of little Hayden. But let's be honest, some of this 40-week gestational period isn't so fun!

10. I can't wait to fit back into my normal jeans and bras.

9. I miss brie, gorgonzola, feta and all the other soft, unpasturized cheeses I can't eat.

8. I get up to pee at least four times at night...in eight hours, even if I haven't had anything to drink.

7. Acid reflux. It's always there, mainly when I don't eat. It has replaced its sibling, heartburn, so at least I can eat spicy food.

6. Prenatal vitamins make my hair and nails grow much faster, which means I have to cut them both much more frequently to avoid looking like Teen Wolf's sister, or at least second cousin.

5. The effort it takes to get out of the car and out of bed is mind boggling!

4. The emotional roller coaster is under control, but still exists. Those of you familiar with my personality know that bursting into tears over a shirt not fitting is not how I operate.

3. Hayden's little kicks have turned into full-scale war on my insides. Lately he likes to roll a limb (not sure if it's a leg/foot or arm/fist combo) from one side of my belly to the other, and it's weird!

2. Lower back pain. All the time.

1. Wine. Red, white, sparkling...all of it that I can't have. Technically (especially in Europe) the doctors say you can have a glass and be fine, but I figure "better safe than sorry" is a good approach.

In a few months, I'll counter this post with a top ten (or twenty) things I love about being a mom, I'm sure. But for my pregnant friends who worry that having negative thoughts about the short-term effects of the baby on their body and mind, and for my friends who want a realistic view of what it's like, this is for you!

Living green

The green craze has taken over Hollywood, so a few months ago I bought a few books on "living green" and trying to extend the life of our planet. It's amazing to think how wasteful we are as a society, and the impact we're making on the planet. It's also incredible to think of how simple it is to take steps to reduce that impact.

One of the things I love about living in Germany is that they recycle literally everything. At our house alone, we have the ability to recycle paper, plastic (including styrofoam and the milk-carton-paper-plastic that they can't in the states), metal; and we have a bio can for food (which means our trash can doesn't stink!), grass clippings, leaves and yard waste. But ON post we can also recycle glass, old electronics, light bulbs, bulk household items (like mattresses), old clothes (that are donated to needy organizations)...so really there is VERY little that actually gets thrown away in our trash can. Also living in Germany, they don't sell weed killer, so this spring I got a chance to use my homemade weed killer from my "Gorgeously Green" book.

Being pregnant I have a much bigger stake in making sure our house is more green, because it's more healthy for all of us! I don't think I'm brave enough to try cloth diapers, like the Binkleys, but I would like to try the chlorine-free diapers by Seventh Generation. Luckily, I discovered this week that shopping my registry earns me free diapers from Seventh Generation...good work, Amazon! We bought some of their wipes, now that our commissary carries the brand, but don't have a baby to try them out on yet! We've looked at a few organic cookbooks for toddlers, and have switched to many "green" cleaners in our house to reduce the amount of chemicals we're putting into the water. Thanks to all the press that "living green" has gotten in recent years, organic products have exploded onto the market and are affordable, so we don't have to be rich to help save the planet! There are also a ton of baby clothes out there made from organic cotton, many of which encourage free trade in developing countries, so really everyone wins.

Even Oscar is helping! We've looked at some biodegradable bags to pick up after him with, and his organic puppy shampoo is awesome. It's less expensive than the shampoo we used to use, it smells fantastic and gets him super clean. I picked up some eco-friendly trashbags last week, and if I could find paper towels made from recycled paper we'd be set. Luckily, I don't even have to stop using the dishwasher since we don't have one of THOSE in Germany either. There will be a lot of things that will be easier to change when we get back to the states, but for now we're doing our little part to extend the life of our planet for Baby Hayden, and his grandchildren!

28 weeks

Well somehow we've flown right to the third trimester! It's gone by so fast but we still have so far to go, it seems.

Hayden is crazy in his activity lately, bouncing all over the place. He feels much bigger as well, and continues to wake me up in the middle of the night (several times) to use the bathroom.

Next weekend is my baby shower with my Anvil troop ladies, and I can't wait! My friends are awesome, and I'm excited to spend some fun time with them amidst ducks, frogs and dinos! As a result I've been put on baby-shopping-hiatus so there's something left for my friends to buy for Hayden! We got Hayden's Itsy Bitsy Spider seat from Heidi last week, and I can't wait to put him in it. Thanks, Heidi! We also got some cute new clothes from one of Jay's soldier friends, David, and it seems like baby clothes get cuter and cuter. It's hard to resist the urge to wash and organize everything, but I'm trying to put that off until closer to the end.

Now seems like a good time to start making and finalizing lists...packing list for the hospital, our birthing plan, our contact list, etc. We've also decided that Oscar should get a new bed right before Hayden gets here, so he doesn't feel left out. It's fun getting the house ready for all my boys!

Moving around

It still startles me every time I feel Hayden move. And he is an active little fellow! He's very responsive to Jay, who likes to poke and push to make him move around. His favorite time of day is of course, whenever I lay down. I thought it was only at night, but Jay and I took a nap today and discovered that as soon as I'm laying down and still, he takes the cue to start bouncing around in there.

It's so hard to imagine that in a few months, this little guy that does all this moving will be our wiggling, breathing little boy. But it gets more exciting every day.

Oscar is definitely more protective these days, accompanying me every time I go down the stairs and especially the basement. He used to be content laying at the door, waiting for me to come back; but now he likes to trot ahead of me and look around. He's my little shadow, until Jay comes home and then he's attached to Jay. He's doing well roaming the house outside of the crate, except for a few mishaps with socks and tissues today. But overall, he's acting like a grown up!

Congratulations to Bryan and Elisabeth, who welcomed Camden Anthony Watts this week! He made his debut a few days later than expected, but I'm sure it was worth the wait!

Sleep!

Throughout this pregnancy, I've discovered sleep to be a most precious commodity. During my first trimester, I slept ALL the time. Went to bed early, napped often during the day and early evening, sometimes Oscar even let me sleep in!


Lately, there has been no good sleep for me. Jay and I have decided we definitely need a new mattress, because ours is sort of sinking in the middle which causes us to roll towards it. Besides that, I've had to get used to sleeping with a pillow between my knees to take some of the pressure off of my back. It's hard to roll over with that, and I switch sides pretty often while I sleep. Finally, I wake up about every 2-3 hours to pee. That's something that's been hard to get used to. But three more months, and it will all be worth it!

Tonight I'm up late and can't sleep (again) but I'm hoping getting back to our normal routine will help with that. We'll see!