Almost There!

So, I passed up the third trimester mark. I only have about two and a half months left!! I am supposed to start having appointments with Suzanne every 2 weeks now. Baby Jacob has grown so much and I can't believe I am already to this point. Everything I have been reading talks about how he is pretty much all done, just getting fatter!! I think he is a big baby but I guess we'll see! He is very responsive to touch and to noise. If one of the kids or Justin talk to him, he wiggles like crazy. I have seen a few Halloween things in stores and it makes me realize how soon he will be in my arms! I am excited to have him here but I am also enjoying building my relationship with him now. I feel like I know him better every day. I start a HypnoBabies class in about a month and I am so excited for that!! I think it will be just the preparation that I need to feel confident and ready. I get more excited every second!

Burping My Baby

I have a pregnancy journal that has different bits of information about pregnancy each day. Today under the section Parenting Tips it reads: "When you hold your baby to your shoulder to burp it after a feeding, put a towel on your shoulder to catch dribbles. If you're not comfortable holding the baby at your shoulder, try laying it on your lap, tummy down with it's head turned a little to the side. Rub it's back from the bottom up or pat gently. You can also burp a baby by sitting it on your lap, placing a hand on it's chest, and leaning it forward while gently patting it's back." These are all positions that I have used so many times to burp my babies. I could picture holding baby Jacob's little chest and patting his back so easily. I think I avoid thinking about the kind of interactions I will have with him because it gets me SO excited and I know I still have some time left before I can snuggle him! I can't wait to hold his cute little cheeks in my hand and smell his perfect baby breath.

Charity's Birth Story

It was a muggy July evening. My home was heavy with moist heat that made my perspiring skin shine. Despite the thickness of the air I felt light, detached. I softly floated off to dreamland, filled with images of a sweet, soft girl, tightly snuggled against my breast. An hour later I was awakened to the sharpness of my busy uterus flexing, releasing, and then flexing again. I’d had sensations like this before; after making love, working hard, or sitting in a cramped position. I assured myself that tonight was not the night, and then concentrated on the image of my beautiful baby again. More flexing, releasing, flexing again. I knew how to soothe the intensity. I rolled toward my sleepy husband and whispered that I would be in the bath; he could sleep if he wanted.
The hot water instantly calmed me. I scooped it up in my cupped hand and washed it over my ripe belly. My husband soon joined me, a look of concern crossing his brow. “Do you want me to call your sisters?” he asked. I pondered the question and discovered that I just didn’t know. I wasn’t sure how to release the tension that squeezed at my belly, my hips, my thighs, and my back. “I guess so,” I answered hesitantly. When my three older sisters arrived I felt relieved, confident. They brought wisdom, experience, and power. We sat close together on the couches in my tiny living room. We talked about what I was feeling and compared it to how they had felt. We laughed. With each tightening of my uterus the room fell silent. The concentrated effort was not mine alone. I could feel my husband and sisters meditating with me.
A few hours later we called my midwife. My husband began to fill our birthing tub with warm water. When it was filled, we sat together in the tub. Each time I felt my tummy tighten my husband would push harder into my back. The pressure took the focus away from my pain. Low, primal sounds came from my throat, opening my cervix and giving me control. When I felt uncertain I would look into the eyes of my beautiful and wise midwife. I saw steady confidence in them. She told me to reach down and feel the bag of waters surrounding my baby. It soon burst and I could feel her soft head covered with fine hair. I felt my bones shifting to make room for her.
At the most intense moment I remembered that I was not alone. I believe in a loving God who is intimately involved in the details of my life. I called on him for assurance and instantly received it. I knew that women had been giving birth this way since Mother Eve. My body was divinely designed to provide bodies for God’s spirit children.
After only ten minutes of all-consuming pushing my daughter was born. I felt so contented, restored, and gratified. Although I was surrounded by my mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law, my own mother and three sisters, my 4 month old nephew, whose birth I had attended, and my midwife and her assistant, I could see no one but my beautiful Charity. I heard the sobs of joy from my husband as he encircled us in his loving arms. Charity Lucille Barlow was born on July 11th, 2003 at 7:37 a.m. in my home in Orem, Utah. She weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. and was 20.5 inches long.

Changing My Mind

I am six months pregnant with my third child. I spend the first several months of pregnancy barfing my guts out or wanting to. I get super depressed and spend lots of time laying around, hiding from the world and my responsibilities. It is a long and painful time. Then the second trimester begins and things start to get easier. I stop feeling sick and start having more energy. It seems like along with that energy I would have a brighter outlook and get a lot more done. Sadly, at that point, I have formed some really bad habits. I have gotten into a negative thinking rut. I have spent way too much time being pregnant and hating it! Well, today I realized that having a positive approach to pregnancy is up to me. I only have a few more months till I will be going through labor and giving birth to my son and I want it to be a positive experience! I can't expect that to happen if I can't think positively. I want to remember all of the reasons that pregnancy is beautiful and sacred. I want to use this blog to focus on that. Hopefully I can look back at it during future pregnancies and have a more positive experience from the beginning. Pregnancy is a beautiful and wonderful time and it only lasts a short while. I am learning to enjoy it!

An inspiring poem from the book Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Your Growing Latter-day Saint Family

Praises for a Mother's Body

Lord, I thank thee for this wonderful body
Which walks in wooded forest and splashes in crystal water,
Sees color bright flowers and sweet baby smiles,
Hears heavenly music of choirs and sings in reply.
Speaks words of wisdom from thy sacred book,
Savors honey dripping juice of fruit.
Touches love's soft skin in tickles and sighs,
Which feels a thousand emotions of opposition to know joy.
Lord, I thank thee for this mother's body,
Which thou hast blessed with miracle of godly creation.
An embryo of innocent spirit and new flesh made complete,
Swelling woman's belly and soul to overflowing.
Senses peaking in work of agony and ecstasy,
Bring forth in mighty forces of strength,
Precious child of this wonderful body,
Who came from me and thee.

Kathleen Tooley Johnson