Livin' the Dream in Lima

Poppyseed is almost 4 pounds this week! (Well, supposedly.) I had my 32 week check-up on Tuesday, and all is going well. I have been really blessed with a healthy pregnancy on Poppyseed's side of things... he has been doing GREAT. (Just his momma who has to deal with all the side effects, haha.) Luckily, my back has been feeling a lot  better. It's just more general lower back pain vs. the super sharp pain in my SI joint. I can definitely handle general muscle/joint soreness.  Busted out the leggings this week! I actually love this outfit. Nothing super exciting happened this week... pretty much a boring week in the pregnancy world. I definitely do not forget that I am pregnant though - he is moving all the time . I have also been having a few Braxton Hicks contractions, which are a little uncomfortable, but really not a big deal. They give me an excuse to go lay down for awhile. ;) Our friends had us over one night for a bonfire and wienie roast. Let me say, I

This week was an exciting one! Poppyseed is growing like a weed and I can definitely feel it. My belly is constantly itchy, and it is stretching like woah. My SI joint pain has decreased significantly, but my back and hips still hurt a lot in general. It is SO much more manageable though... I can handle this level of pain for another two months. Last weekend, I got to head home to IL for a baby shower to celebrate Poppyseed's arrival. Two of my aunts threw it for me, and I was very blessed by all the friends and family who came out to celebrate! Three of my college girlfriends even came into town, and we got to spend the whole weekend together. We kicked it off Saturday with the annual Pumpkin Classic 10km at the Pumpkin Festival. This is one of my favorite  races to run, and I was so happy to get to share the experience with my besties.  Talen, Michelle, me, and Jen. Michelle totally rocked it out and WON the race! So proud of her.  Unfortunately, I wasn'

Woah, it seems a little surreal to hit the big 3-0! The last decade of pregnancy (hopefully). After a somewhat heavy post last week, this week it's back to the usual. There hasn't been anything too eventful to report about, but I couldn't stand to skip a week. :-P We did have our childbirth class on Monday which was kinda fun. We had the option of doing an all-day Saturday class or a shorter night class, and I'm glad we went with the shorter version. The class was led by an L&D nurse, and she showed several videos and answered questions.  I will give props to the couples in the videos - they pretty much shared everything  with the cameras when it comes to childbirth. We saw laboring methods, contractions, epidurals, vaginal births, c-sections. All while feasting on a meal of pizza & pop. (Glad I don't have a queasy stomach.) The thing that freaks me out the most about childbirth is the possibility of an episiotomy. I am hoping to go natural (

Ok, I'm gonna get real here for a minute. (Or ten.) Pregnancy is not what I expected it to be. It's definitely not all rainbows & butterflies like I imagined it would be. Don't get me wrong, I am definitely NOT taking this pregnancy for granted. It was not easy for us to conceive, and I thank God daily for this gift of life. I love feeling his rolls and kicks and movement, and I cannot wait to meet him in a few months. However, pregnancy has been physically and emotionally difficult. I have had a lot of lower back pain (particularly in the SI joint) over the past 2 months. I thought I had it pretty much under control until last week, when my left SI joint completely flared up again and I could barely walk. I am still having pain with every step and movement, a week later. And yes, I've seen the chiropractor. Yes, I've done all the stretching & strength exercises that he's instructed me to do. I have never felt pain like this before in my entire l