New Years Getaway

A little Queensland new years getaway is a lovely way to spend some time alone with baby. I've also been catching up with friends and exploring but since today is new years eve I'm going to spend some time alone, do some yoga and reflect on the past 12 months. I'm looking forward to 2013, so many exciting things to look forward to!

I went exploring a beautiful little creek early one morning, such a beautiful way to start the day.

My belly is growing so much!

17 weeks

Dave felt the baby move! At 16 Weeks and 4 days, late one night while watching a movie the baby was particularly active so I got Dave to rest his hand on my belly and he felt a few tiny kicks!
I've been feeling the baby move for what seems like such a long time so I'm so glad Dave can now feel it too! I can't wait until India can feel it too.

Lately I've been bothered by the fact that I've been craving chips. Food cravings can be a hard one to tackle because it doesn't always mean you should be eating loads of what you crave. My training as a prenatal yoga teacher taught me that we should look at the quality of the food we are craving in order to see if we could satisfy the craving by means other than eating. Sweet cravings are an easy one to figure out, think about the ways you can get more sweetness into your life. Snuggles and hugs are a far better way to satisfy sweet cravings than eating an entire bag of lollies. For me chips are a harder one to figure out, hot chips are warm, salty, oily and make me feel like I've eaten a meal. Considering I only crave them when I'm out of the house (or  don't want to spend half an hour cooking) it probably means I'm looking for something that will make me feel like I've just eaten dinner rather than feeling like grabbing a piece of fruit or some crackers. I also crave the crunchiness and oiliness of packet potato chips as well. I've always been big on the crunch factor and being pregnant has probably exacerbated it. Part of me also feels that because of my food problems I haven't been able to eat anything processed as well as a number of different oils for a long time until I started taking milk thistle supplements. This sudden ability to indulge in awful processed food has probably got me a little excited and on a bit of a bender. Although oily processed food doesn't give me severe abdominal cramps and bloating these days I know that overall it doesn't make me feel good and it's not good for me so I'm keen to get these cravings under control.

 Another school of thought on cravings links the craving to a lack of a particular nutrient. I found a pretty cool website on this topic http://odyb.net/nutrients/8-most-common-food-cravings-which-one-is-yours/. It says that craving oily food probably means I need to have more (good) fat in my diet and eat more regularly. It also suggests that oily cravings can be a sign of a need for more calcium. Considering now that I'm in my second trimester and the baby is busy building bones I'm sure more calcium wouldn't go astray. I have been taking a plant calcium supplement but not everyday because it's in powdered form and needs to be mixed with water so I don't always feel like taking it. I'm sure adding more good fats to my diet and eating more regular meals (which can be difficult when I'm out) would help too.

I craved doughnuts when I was pregnant with India and having since been diagnosed with Coeliacs disease I know that I was obviously not craving something that my body needed. Overall I like to use both my yogic perspective and the nutrient deficiency perspective to look more closely at why we crave different foods.

I feel really good these days, no back pain or any other niggling problems.

I've noticed that our little baby is most active during the evenings. He/She has been busy getting chubbier and practicing sucking and swallowing. The little one is about 13cm long now, no wonder those kicks are starting to feel so big!

16 Weeks

I've been busy knitting a lot this week. With a little Winter baby coming it's the perfect excuse to knit loads of beautiful little things. My plan is to have only hand made things and to buy things that are made from organic natural fibers. I kept a few organic cotton clothes and some things that I made for India so my collection of beautiful baby things is starting to come together nicely.

Yesterday we spent an hour in the car talking baby names on our way home. Unfortunately Dave and India never come up with serious names. Among India's suggestions were Rainbow Rainbow and Star Sprinkle. But we did come up with one possibility last night...

My baby has been busy with building bones this week. The first bones to ossify are the ones in the legs and inner ear. Getting bigger now at 11-12cm long and weighing about 100 grams.

Homebirth

Homebirth is something that I am very passionate about. Homebirth provides a number of benefits for both mum and bub. For starters you and your baby are less likely to die or to have an unnecessary c-section when you birth your baby at home. Homebirth also has less intervention and trauma, better maternal/baby bonding, and better APGAR scoring. Fathers and siblings are also able to be involved with the birth and mothers are more likely to be happy with the birth experience. There are many other benefits to having a birth at home under the care of a qualified midwife so it is worth looking into before arguing against it.


Here are a link on homebirth from my midwife Lisa's blog:

http://www.homebirth.net.au/2008/06/homebirth-vs-hospital-statistics-to-die.html


Another birth blog:

http://birthunplugged.blogspot.com.au/2011/06/how-homebirth-benefits-babies.html

India's Birth Story

Our midwife Lisa published India's birth story on her blog. I've re-read it a few times over the years and it makes me cry every time. It was such a beautiful experience, there are many other positive birth stories published and Lisa has a world of knowledge about pregnancy and birth (we are so lucky to be having her with us for the pregnancy and birth of our second baby!) so I definitely recommend checking it out.

http://www.homebirth.net.au/2008/04/indias-homebirth-story.html

15 Weeks

I've definitely been feeling a renewed sense of energy this past week. I have more energy for yoga and have been including more standing and strength building poses. I'm loving lunges at the moment, the stretch through my hips feels great.

I've been craving lemon a lot lately, mostly in the form of traditional old school lemonade. Fresh lemon, a pinch of organic raw sugar and loads of filtered water and ice. It's the perfect pick me up on these hot days.

My breasts feel ridiculously big and I'm so glad I invested in new bras a couple of weeks ago.

My little baby is getting bigger and is about 10cm long from crown to rump. He/she can sense light now even though the eyes are still fused shut. His/her hearing is starting to function- all the more reason for India to keep singing songs to my belly!

Oh how I love my growing belly!

 

Don't forget to meditate!

Sacred Pregnancy Movement

A little while ago I discovered this beautiful book and magazine. Reading positive things about pregnancy and birth make any pregnant woman feel good no matter how empowered she already is.

There are also links to Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to check out.

http://www.sacredpregnancy.com/

14 Weeks

Hello trimester two! I'm feeling pretty good again after that week or so of feeling a bit sick from the acupuncture wearing off. My lower back has been sore on and off but other than that I feel great.

My ridiculous appetite has subsided a little which makes trips out of the house easier to manage. It's also nice to have regular meals without feeling like all I do is eat!

I've been feeling the baby's movements more regularly and I'm loving my big round belly so much! I'm really excited about the coming weeks and months.

My little baby is now about 9cm long and now that all that important body forming stuff has been sorted out the baby will start a period of major brain growth and getting a bit chubbier. The placenta is now fully formed and functioning and will remain bigger than the little baby until about week 16.

 

This one was just too cute not to show off. India wanted to show off her gorgeous belly too!