videos: slow hugs and fast hugs, 2-year-old eating at Subway

My husband started this thing with the kids called "S l o w hug, fast hug." When one of them hugs him slowly she also has to say it slowly.

One day last week our little family ate lunch at Subway. I am thrilled that I got this of 2-year-old L chewing her sandwich.

our girls' bedroom curtains

For a while I have been wanting to make curtains for our home, especially for the children's bedroom. I was waiting to find out whether our baby was a boy or a girl, because all three kids will share that bedroom for a few months (once the baby is about 8 weeks old, if she's like her sisters were). If we were going to have a son I didn't want to make the curtains girly.

So the kids I went to ReStore this past weekend to search for rods for the two bedrooms and/or the living room. There was just one that would work, and the woman at the cash register told me I could just have it! It's not real attractive but the plan was to have the top of the curtain cover it up anyway. I was willing to pay a few bucks, but it was free!

The next step was to buy fabric. Shboogoo and I went last night to JoAnn with a 40% off coupon and one of the pillowcases that we needed to coordinate with. Here is what each comforter and pillowcase looks like (Shboogoo was in the bed when I took the picture); the bunkbeds are white wood.

It was hard to pick a fabric (I didn't want it to be too colorful or too pastel, and I didn't want pink), but this green and white floral one was the winner. It cost me less than $7, which means that this whole project cost less than $7.

I had measured the window, but it turns out that I should have bought two cuts of fabric instead of one, because the width that it came in was only 43". The curtains don't cover the whole window, but they will be okay. I washed the fabric, started and finished the project pretty quickly today! I'd never made curtains before but they're just a rectangle, so they're a lot easier than diapers, training pants, and jumpers. It was nice to be able to cut straight lines using the edges of a row of flowers. I folded the sides and bottom edge over just 1/4 inch and sewed with a zigzag stitch. I used lavender thread but that color really isn't noticeable. At the top I folded it toward the back without measuring -- it was maybe two inches but I just picked a row of flowers and pinned it in place. This was for the curtain rod to go through. When I sewed it I also sewed through a pink ribbon (which I had in one of my craft drawers) to add an interesting detail. Finally, I put the rod through the panels, hung it up, and tied wide yellow ribbon on the ends to cover the rod's ugliness. All done! I'm glad our girls' room can be a little darker now when they sleep.

rod before (blurry picture, sorry)

rod after

the first half of my third pregnancy

I have passed the 20-week mark! To my husband, this pregnancy may feel long because he will be living with me the whole time. Hooray! Because of deployments, he had to miss the first half of my first pregnancy, and the second half of my second pregnancy except for the last few days and the first few days of her life.

I have been feeling good. In July I started going to a chiropractor twice a month to keep my pelvis aligned. Doulas, my midwife, and others recommend chiropractic care because it can help the mom feel more comfortable and help the baby have room to develop and to be in the best position for birth, which can make labor and birth easier. I exercise most days. Some days I walk on our treadmill or outside (I still run but only a little, because the chiropractor said that it might cause or worsen a headache), and the other days I use the Prenatal Fitness Fix DVD I bought in 2006.

My only pregnancy complaint that isn't minor is that I feel more tired. I need more sleep -- sometimes I nap, and I usually sleep eight to nine hours at night, even though I'd like to be able to get up sooner. I had minor morning any-time-of-day sickness in my first trimester but there was only one day when I threw up. It was actual sickness for about 24 hours, accompanied by a bad headache. I only get heartburn when I'm pregnant. Thankfully I've had it a lot less often and less severely during this pregnancy compared to my other pregnancies. 

These are the vitamins I am taking and plan to take while breastfeeding (read here to find out why they do not contain any folic acid. I do eat foods that naturally contain folate.):

As you can see below, my uterus has grown, although at my last appointment I still had not gained any weight. We took belly pictures at 10 and 14 weeks, but they must have been on the phone that was stolen when I accidentally left it at the library. Around 14 weeks I heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time, my belly button "popped out," and I started to feel the baby's movements. I feel movements more frequently now, reminding me that there's really a person inside of me! It is amazing.

April 27, 2011: almost 6 weeks pregnant, or

3 or 4 weeks since conception. (I took a test 

April 18, just two days after running the 

half-marathon, and it said I was not pregnant,

which disappointed me.)

6 weeks pregnant, holding my belly in.

 I adore these maternity jeans and

I want to have them on for each

belly picture that we take.

I think I have more than 20 weeks of pregnancy left. {With my first pregnancy, I went into labor on my estimated due date. However, it was at 41 weeks since my l.m.p. After seeing the baby's measurements from the ultrasound, my o.b. moved my due date to a week later. With my second baby, I went into labor 2 days before the due date.} Baby number three is measuring a little small and may be born closer to January 2nd instead of December 27th, according to the ultrasound tech. We had the ultrasound on August 3rd and brought both of our girls with us. Even though it is our third baby, the ultrasound was really cool to see, as the baby bent its leg, moved its arms up by its head, and swallowed amniotic fluid. The heart and all other body parts look normal. The spine is one of my favorite things to see. We also wanted to find out the gender. Scroll down and you will see what it is!

arms (crossed) and face

 left arm and hand, face (couldn't capture a profile)

foot and calf

leg, bum, and spine

Girl parts . . .  we'll have three girls!
Now we have to settle on a name.

I chose different midwives this time because I don't want to go to a hospital. A new friend of mine has given birth to four children at home, and she gave me a couple of phone numbers. I plan on letting my labor start spontaneously, not leaving home too soon, and giving birth vaginally (a VBA2C, which means vaginal birth after two cesareans) in the beautiful birth center that I go to for my prenatal care. My husband and I are going to attend Hypnobabies classes there starting when I am about 28 weeks pregnant. One of my midwives said I have a good chance of having a VBAC if I can fully relax (hence her Hypnobabies recommendation) and if I use Spinning Babies to encourage the baby to be in the ideal position for birth. I have not done any Hypnobabies (or Hypnobirthing, which is different) before, and I knew about Spinning Babies during my second pregnancy but didn't read or use much of that information. Maybe this daughter will be born in the birth center's nice deep tub. What will we name her? Will she be born in 2011 or 2012? I don't know those answers, but I'm excited.