Just an idea...

For those of you that want to actively participate in my pregnancy, I would welcome some little affirmation/inspiration/meditation cards to put around my house (as mentioned in the previous blog). It would be nice to see your handwriting, and it might even be really fun for you! You could use little cards, like index cards or even halves of cards, and accompany the sayings with stickers or collage them with magazine cut-outs or paint on them or whatever. Just an idea.

I could've used those cards today. I felt pretty ill all day. Nauseous and sick, and I still had to work for 11 hours. Yes, a full day plus a meeting after work! It wasn't too bad, but mentally I was trying to remember some positive things to say and remind myself of. Ugh. I'm still not too interested in food in general, but again, I ate... albeit a little bit. I would LOVE to be hungrier because I love eating. Oh well.

P.S. I'm now reading a book about lovely birthing stories.

Well Adjusted Babies by Dr. Jennifer Barham-Florani

This is my favourite baby book so far. Ok, so it's the only one I've fully read, but it's a good one! I'm reviewing good ideas I read in the book-

"Your thoughts have a direct physical effect on your body. Affirmations are a useful method for improving physical and emotional well-being."

Some affirmations for pregnancy:
-I welcome the changes occurring in my body and I feel radiant.
-I listen to my intuition and am guided each day on how to nurture my body with good food, rest and exercise.
-Today I express health and peace of mind
-I am centered and ready for our beautiful birth
-My body is designed to carry life and give birth.
-I am a wonderful mother. (Yippeee!)

Those are just some, but I'm sure I'll incorporate my own meditations full of praise and thanksgiving and receiving God's peace. I do think this is a wonderful step in preparing my mind and spirit. I want to write these affirmations/medidations on little cards and stick them around my house.

'One of the most common complaints for new mothers is that they feel that they are not encouraged enough during the pregnancy to plan ahead for motherhood and that too much focus is placed on the birth itself. As a result, many women feel completely daunted during the first four to six months of motherhood.'

Hmmmm. Do you mom's out there agree? The book suggests things to do to connect with the baby... allowing myself time to be 'still,' nurturing myself (even every evening!) with things like a candle-lit bath, evening walks, etc.. Again, the purpose of these times being to slow-down, relax, and think about/connect with the baby.

Lastly,

'Plan a pre-baby holiday...'

The book suggests that around 30 weeks Mark and I should take a mini-holiday... to reflect on our relationship (as once the baby is born she says it takes tremendous effort from each partner to focus on the relationship). She says 'indulge in the romance now and tell each other stories of what it's going to be like to share your world with a baby.'

I'm already thinking about where we could go, but of course, money is always an issue. Well, if we have a car by then... we can find somewhere to go. This is where house-swapping can come in handy. Sometimes it's nice just to be in a different environment.

This is all so exciting to me, although it still doesn't feel completely real. I continue to feel tired and achey, and not too interested in food, although I am eating. I haven't had any unusual cravings, although I try to listen to my body... is it thirsty? hungry? for what? Today when I got home, sparkling water sounded good and I'm still drinking it now. I unfortunately have been eating a lot of Rice Bubbles (Crispies) and Corn Flakes, mostly because of convenience... and I guess the blandness appeals to me too.

How my baby's growing:

New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from my baby's hands and feet, his/her eyelids practically cover their eyes, breathing tubes extend from their throat to the branches of their developing lungs, and their "tail" is just about gone. In their brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. The external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether I'm having a boy or a girl. Either way, my baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting (wow!), though I still can't feel it.

8 weeks today!

Hooray! I'm 8 weeks pregnant today! Each day it feels more real. We are both touching and kissing (well, Mark is) my belly these days, embracing the fact that we have one more to our family now. I'm not sure how Bella will take it. She is a very jealous cat, always wanting both of our full attentions. Often she'll sit between us, with one paw on each of us! We do love her =) Back to the pregnancy... The past few days the tiredness has really set it. I've been working a lot though, so I'm not sure how big a role that is playing in it. Anyhow, I'm tired. Strangely, my hunger hasn't picked up as I thought it would. If anything, food doesn't sound good. I'll be hungry, but I won't want to eat anything. I'm settling into a routine though where I usually eat porridge for breakfast, have soup and sourdough bread or salad for lunch, maybe a berry, OJ, and sheep's milk yogurt smoothie for a snack after work, and then who knows what for dinner. That's the hardest one since I'm too tired to cook, and Mark's not usually up for it either. Last night we had pizza. That actually does sound good right now (although I'm trying to avoid wheat). [Yaah! There were some leftovers in the fridge. I just grabbed a bite.] I really haven't been in the mood for veg like I usually am, but what's been helping is having my lunches (my soups or salads) at Boah's Organic Grocery Store and Cafe. It's just down the street from where I work at Starbucks. It does mean eating out every or every other lunch, but it's not too expensive, the portions are so big to me I often each just half and save the other half for the next day, it saves me heaps of time that I would've had to spend preparing my own lunches and shopping for the food, it tastes good and I feel so good knowing that my baby is getting organic veggies! It been a great lunch-time option. Mark and I are also quite fortunate... we get to have lunch together 3 times a week! How many other full-time working couples get that?? That's all for now...

Belly Shot #1

I'm only 7 1/2 weeks pregnant now, and as thin as I am I don't think I'm showing yet. I'd like to think I was showing, to feel more pregnant, but when I asked Mark his opinion he basically said my stomach has looked this way ever since I've known him! Ouch! Nonetheless, we can all pretend this is a pregnant bump... it's at least the beginning of one =)


This blog was inspired by my friend Leigh who joyfully wants to share in my pregnancy/birth/motherhood experiences to come. I'm sure my mother will appreciate it as well.

I don't seem to have time for much these days, and I can only imagine that time will dwindle even more as my energy levels decrease. Hence the name, 'Running through my head,' I think my thoughts on this blog will be just that.

I mentioned before wanting to feel pregnant. Initially I 'felt' pregnant... I had 'the sypmtoms.' Then they just sort of all seemed to go away. I guess I've been blessed not to have morning sickness. I feel slightly generally ill at some point every day, but it's more flu-y feeling... tired, achey, sick (though not particularly nauseaus). Not that I want morning sickness... I just want reassurance that I'm still pregnant and everything is fine. I even took another pregnancy test last week just to make sure... yep, still pregnant. So that's that.

Today my concern is: are hot baths really that bad for the baby? They're my weakness. I absolutely LOVE hot baths. I read that it's OK to bath for 10 minutes. What about 11? What about 15? I was in the bath for about 20 minutes today. Eeek! I'm guilty, I admit it! But I figured that after 10 minutes the water had cooled down so much it wasn't dangerously hot anymore. Should I be sticking a little thermometer in the bath water with me??