I know, it's been FOREVER...

It's taken me forever to write another post, and the only excuse I have is I've been too lazy. There, I said it.

As of today I am just shy of 28 weeks pregnant. The remainder of the 2nd trimester was great and I am already feeling the third trimester woes. At my last appointment, the doctor informed me that my glucose levels were great (yay! No Gestational Diabetes), but I am dealing with some major anemia. This means 2 iron pills a day on TOP of my prenatals, and a stool softener. Great.. just when I was getting regular again. I guess this baby is sucking up all my iron. That's okay.. he needs it :) The nausea is coming back and it actually feels worse this time around than it was in the first few weeks of pregnancy. Heart burn has it me at full force, and I am always tired. My back aches, and my ankles hurt (although no cankles yet so I'm happy). Had enough of my complaints? Okay, I'm done. I actually feel bad complaining when there are women who have gone through symptoms far worse than mine, or women who would give anything to be pregnant right now.

Even through the small trials of this pregnancy, I feel so empowered to be carrying this sweet little boy. The idea of actually growing a child inside my body is mind-blowing. Sure, we all think about being pregnant, many of us have been pregnant (some of us several times), but sometimes when I stop and think about the miracle that is taking place, I am completely stunned. What a blessing, and how exhilarating it is to have such an important role in this life.

Axel's kicks are getting so strong! Sometimes I wonder if he is a really big baby, or if I'm just getting big. I feel like I'm growing more and more each day, and his movements get more obvious every day. My favorite thing is to lay on my side in bed. He must be losing his balance or something because he will always wiggle around and try to find a position. (That's what it feels like at least). I can even SEE his little body moving inside me like waves. The other day I pushed my thumb gently into my skin and he kicked me! It was so weird, but put the biggest smile on my face. Some days it feels like he doesn't stop moving and on these days his kicks start to feel a little uncomfortable after awhile, but I try to embrace them as I know I will miss it when he's not inside me anymore.

I can't tell you how lucky I feel to have a husband who is so comforting and supportive through everything. He may not understand why I get so excited about baby clothes and setting up Axel's room, (we'll be getting a crib next week and Jordan thinks I'm crazy to want to set it up right away..I disagree hehe), but he is my best friend and this pregnancy brings us closer and closer every single day. He's finally able to feel Axel's kicks and movements now and the look on his face when he feels that little bump is something that melts my heart completely. He is so supportive and helpful when I am in pain, or feeling the hormone blues, and he loves my pregnant body which makes me feel so beautiful! Sorry if that sounds corny, but c'mon ladies.. we all know that we get hard on ourselves.. even when we know we're supposed to be getting bigger and the scale is supposed to be climbing, it can be a hard adjustment on some days.

Throughout the pregnancy I've been toying with the thought of a natural birth. Towards the beginning I wasn't sure if I would be able to do it. I've heard so many people talk about how they really wanted to, but ended up having an epidural, and having never gone through anything like labor before, I have no idea how I will react, but I really want to try to do it natural. I've been doing a lot of research on hypnobirthing and am purchasing a book with cd's tonight on amazon.com. Some friends of ours used it for their last child and said it is incredible. If you haven't heard of hypnobirthing before, do not be weirded out by the name. I'm sure you're picturing Jordan standing over me with a swinging clock haha, but it's nothing like that. It's all about relaxation and meditation techniques to help you manage your pain. One article I read today said that we condition our minds to prepare for certain events. Unfortunately we pregnant women get to hear a lot of horror stories about labor and delivery. Sometimes it seems like other women can only one-up each other as they talk about how painful their deliveries were. When this is all we hear, it creates fear in our minds and the thought of labor/delivery without the aid of an epidural impossible. Again, I'm not saying I am iron woman (well, obviously not if I'm anemic) and that no matter what.. I'm doing it natural, but.. I am really hoping I can prepare myself to do it that way.

Anyways, that's pretty much all the news I have for now. As this pregnancy comes to an end (only 12 weeks left!) I'm sure I'll be posting more often.