If you have been reading along then you already know this is my first time being pregnant and first time even having to think about what to pack in my birth center bag and Claire's going home from the birth center bag. It has been pretty cute reading through so many blogs, looking at all the adorable outfits and finding a diaper bag that not only would do its job but look cute too!

Now that I have my bag I guess I should start trying to figure out everything that goes into it - I have three lists: one for me, one for Ryan&me and one for baby Claire Olive.

My bag
1. Comfy maternity top - I am not going to pretend that I will be losing tons of baby weight right after she comes out.
2. Only the sexiest maternity underwear.
3. Leggings, I am not usually a leggings as pants wearer but this day I might make an exception. I might end up in Ryan's basketball shorts. Who knows.
4. Dermoplast - pain relieving spray, it has been an amazing friend for the last few months and I hear I will only be leaning on it more after the birth.
5. Socks, I am gonna want to be comfy.
6. Nursing bra
7. Hair ties and a brush
8. Slippers, I will probably go home in sandals though but we will see what the feet swelling is like.
9. Nipple cream, I just keep hearing that I will need it and thankfully I have been gifted some, so that is going in the bag.
10. Pads. Lets take it on back to jr. high.
11. Chapstick, any brand will do but I do love me some Burt's Bees
12. Make up bag, I am gonna need to freshen up for all of these photos.

Our bag.
1. Camera and charger, we have not decided what kind of photos we will be wanting. Crowning or not. But I know I will want a lot taken. Thanks in advance mom :)
2. iPhone and ear buds. I might also need to buy an iDock if I want everyone in the room to hear my affirmations and my birth play lists [I need to make these by the way]
3. Charger, if my friends are like me they will be blowing up my phone for news, we will need to charge our phones.
4. Bathing suit for Ryan in case he decided to get in the birthing tub with me.
5. Toothbrush and toothpaste, we will be practicing hugs before drugs so I don't want my breath to scare him away.
6. Traveling cooler, we will need this to bring my placenta home for the encapsulation. 

Claire's bag.
1. Newborn car seat. She should come home with us I think.
2. Boppie or My Breast Friend - I haven't figured out which one would be better to bring for her. Opinions welcome.
3. Little mittens for her little hands & socks for her little feets
4. Aden + Anais swaddle blankets, they are so cute and I have heard the best things about these blankets, we have gotten so many adorable ones. I am looking forward to practicing with them
5. Going home outfit, this will be tough we have been given the cutest baby clothes I have ever seen. I will take a look at the newborn sizes and see what would be just perfect.
6. Diapers and wipes, for her first little bowel movements.

Now this list isn't perfect - maybe it is too much or not enough and I would love any thoughts and suggestions. Just wanted to get it all written out for us so we can feel a lot more prepared.

Have a great day
xo
Nikol

I am pretty sad that we have only one class left with Livy's Heart Birth Services, both Ryan and I have really been comforted and have really really enjoyed all of our classes. So much so that I plan on speaking to Roxanne after class tonight to find out what her doula pricing is, I would love to have her at the birth center instead of whatever doula is on call. She has a way of bringing me into a deep relaxation that I have not been able to achieve without her. Even Ryan can't believe how much her voice is now a relaxation trigger for him.

Class last week was just us two and we had it on a Friday and it was a perfect start to a full weekend, I really enjoyed it being just the 3 of us [and you can hire her to do personal classes to so if that is something you would be interested in I would definitely take a look into that]. We did the fear release that I mentioned in the last blog, it was pretty awesome, I have a little bit of trouble with the longer relaxation practices, even while totally into it and relaxed once it gets past a certain point my mind starts to bounce around in the scene. I would go back to the beginning or get lost somewhere in the middle, but by the end I was actually able to see what my fears were on the "stage" in my mind and I was able to move past them. Also during the guided relaxation we wrote down our fears in a notebook and slowly tore out the pages and got rid of them. Before this class I would have considered that to be a little silly but it honestly worked. I really enjoyed it. It may have worked more than planned though haha that evening I had dreams of so many more fears that I had not even considered yet! She said she would happily do more fear release exercises with us free of charge [which is so nice] I might take her up on it because dreaming about my baby as a puppy who falls in a pool, or getting in a car accident leaving the birth center and tripping over the baby and stroller the 1st time we go on a walk are very exhausting.

During class we went over the anatomy of labor. I had no idea what the stages of labor were, what efface meant and the stages of presentation. I loved it! I realized I have read about this in my books but learning about it one on one left me feeling much more prepared and ready for the day Claire decides she would like to join us. I am excited that I know how to tell how long I can stay at home before needing to head in to the birth center, I am feeling very calm about the birth and I think Ryan is going to be an amazing birth partner. He has really taken to learning how to anticipate what my needs will be, learning how to read my body and be able to tell when I am having a surge, taking control of the room in case I were to need something to change, always reminding me to drink and use the restroom and just being there for me as much as he can.

Above is our home practice for the weekend, we have talked about it a lot but I have yet to sit down and write everything down so I thought I might as well just do it here. It was really nice to sit back and think about when early labor actually begins how I would like to spend the time with my husband, staying calm and becoming ready to meet Claire. My first thought is when the surges begin and follow the 311/411 pattern [1 minute surges that are 3 or 4 minutes apart that last for an hour] I would like to go to the beach, I first pictures Seal Beach but maybe staying closer to home is a good idea, I think we would head to the Long Beach bluffs and watch the waves and walk the stairs. I would need to remember to use my calming breath and balloon breathing to work through the surges and be able to remain relaxed and work with my body. I started to visualize this last night and will continue to do that for the next 7 days.

Ryan and I will work on the prompt cards that I have attached below and we will continue to use the language we have learned, it has actually really helped with the thought process and I really am using them as often as I can. I should up the Rainbow Relaxation though and Ryan and I need to work on the guided practice more often, we still have about 8 weeks so we will load up on those soon.

I will let you know how our last class goes, have a great day!

Last weekend consisted of TWO 3d ultrasound appointments! Our Friday date night/appointment went like the past ones went - Claire was sleepy, wanted to suck on her toes and did not want to let us get a clear shot of her teeny chubby little face. Lucky for us Meet Your Baby worked with us and let us come back for a 4th time! I know I complained about the facility a few posts back but really they worked so much with us so that we could have a good experience and actually see our baby. So the next day they suggested I drink hot tea and eat a lot of sour candy before coming back in. Went to Sweet Factory and bought waayyy too much candy haha ate it all and then had a sugar crash but during that time we finally got a few amazing pictures of Claire! So excited. I still cannot decide who she looks like, I see a lot of the both of us which is just too cute to handle. I think she my nose and lips but Ryan's forehead and eyes, looking forward to meeting her and being able to see her yawn in person - check out the yawn picture - its my fave. She also stuck out her tongue at us a few times but we weren't able to get a clear shot of that. Beautiful baby girl.

This week has been a little bit tough in all new ways. The blood vessels in my nose have swollen to the point where I am now a disgusting mouth breather. I hate mouth breathing, it sounds awful and it hurts the throat. During the day it just feels like I have a bad head cold but at night, oh man, I cannot sleep and when I do fall asleep I wake up constantly to cough from the mouth breathing or try and blow my nose to get a little bit of air flow. Even sleeping sitting up was not helping at all. Thankfully I tried Breathe Right strips last night and plugged in my humidifier. They helped so so much and I feel so much better today. Can't wait to go back to bed tonight and try it again. We have also been diving into the small print of paternity leave, not as cool as I was hoping and trying to figure out everything I need to do for my disability/maternity leave and all the steps I need to take to make sure I file all of that correctly, to say the least I am confused. I still have a few weeks to get it all in order and I will chat with my midwife at our Friday appointment.

Our hypnobirth class was canceled on Monday due to a birth at my center, I was pretty bummed but she has rescheduled and because that new date/time is tonight while we are both still at work she is giving us a private class on Friday night! What an awesome situation, I think Ryan and I will be able to get so much more from a private session. At this class we are supposed to speak openly about any of our fears and hesitations before we release them so that we are ready for the birth, being just the three of us will really make it a better experience and I hope to be able to work with our relaxation techniques and get to an even deeper level.

This Saturday is Claire's second baby shower and I have a hunch it is Winnie themed, eee. I am so thankful to Teresa, Sara & Morgan for throwing this for us and I know that it is going to be so so much fun. We are so loved and lucky sometimes it can be overwhelming. Before the shower, we are taking our maternity photo's and then continuing that photo shoot at the shower. I am thrilled that we are going to have awesome photos to  look back on and remember this exciting time in our lives.

Hope you have a great rest of your week & weekend!

Hi Claire!
All of the babies in tummies around you have been being born a little bit early, that leaves me wondering what your time table is. You have been getting the pre labor surges going so who knows who you will decide to come hang out with us. I can't wait though! Are you excited to see your mom and dad instead of just hearing us? We talk to you all the time and we love how responsive you have been, I can get lost watching you roll around. Sometimes I still can't believe that I have a little human inside of me! You will be here soon with all of your likes & dislikes I can't wait to learn them all. Last weekend your dad and I took a baby care class so that we would know how to swaddle you, diaper you and bathe you. We both have also already practiced on Chip! [Thanks Chip!] we both think we just did ok so we won't be too proud or anything but I think once you arrive we can all just work it out together. I love you Claire, hope you are feeling good!
xo
Mommy

For Mothers day we thought it would be fun to surprise my mom with a professional photo shoot. The last one had been about 6 years before and we all were matching and it was time to get them updated. I knew I wanted to hire Nick Charrow because he has shot with us a few times before and we have LOVED them. He did my bridal shower, our wedding, and our 1st Christmas card pictures. We went to Placerita Canyon and it was a great day, we love them all! I am glad that we were all able to get together, with how crazy everyone's lives are it will be nice to have these to look back on.

thanks Nick & happy Mothers Day mom!