Brenda’s Pregnancy Journal

We had our ultrasound thru the doctor yesterday. The night before I joked w/ Charlie about what we’d do if they told us the baby was a girl! Fortunetly we won’t be having to re-send out cards that say ‘just kidding’ on them, Elliot is most definetly a boy & doing very well! I’ll be scaning & posting the u/s pics soon. It was fun to actually see him and feel him at the same time! I suddenly felt a jolt & was so excited to see him jerk at the same time. Seeing the growth from 3.5 weeks ago was also very neat. We had it video taped again & I could watch it over & over & over again. Everything was super clear, we saw all 4 chambers of his heart, and she did a split screen so we could see  (and hear!) the sound waves from the beat.

Well, I got Charlie’s cold. :-(  I have a mild sore throat & general achiness, fortunetly the congestion isn’t too bad. I am at work today, but hopefully will be able to go home early & rest a lot this 3-day weekend!

We took the plunge and did decide to cloth diaper. www.diaperpages.com was really the site that convinced me I could do it. I found an incredible sale at www.nurturemama.com and my main motivation - saving $$$ - was definetly acomplished! I figure I’ll probably spend 1/3 of what I would spend using ’sposies. I can’t wait till they get here so I can practice on my cabage patch! LOL! I don’t know anyone around me that does it, but I have several friends online who are planning to do it.

We also ordered the bedding for the nursery, I think it’s really beautiful & we agreed to not really have a theme, just go w/ the colors that we liked. It’s blue, white, cream, and yellow. I posted a picture in the Nursery album. We’ll start clearing out the office this month, hopefully we’ll get it painted & ready by the time the crib & combo arrive. My sister-in-law Katie is in school for interior design, so she’ll be helping us a lot w/ the decorating.

I am still loving all aspects of being pregnant. Night before last I was woken out of a dead sleep from a VERY painful leg cramp in my calf. It hurt so bad! And it’s still a little sore, but there is most definetly a part of me that felt like I had just gotten to experience another common part of pregnancy and I was so very grateful for it. Of course, I wont’ be dissapointed if it doesn’t happen again.

We had a great few days celebrating Christmas. We celebrated Christmas Eve with brunch for my extended family @ my aunts house in Mission Viejo, then with my immediate family with our traditional dinner in the evening. Christmas morning we went to Charlie’s family & spent the day there & of course watched the Laker/Heat game. We also got some more baby time w/ our little nefew Myles - who’s smile is just the cutest thing ever. I also got to chat w/ my SIL Melinda & get some good advice on products she likes/dislikes. In the eveing we came back to my parents place for dinner & played one of the funnest - non-competitive games ever - we were giggling so hard it hurt - I’m sure Elliot was wondering when the jiggeling would stop!

We were more than blessed…and it was also fun to give. My favorite reaction was Grandma Georgia’s squeal when she opened the gift certificate we gave her to get her nails done - it’s alwasy fun to hear a reaction like that! Even Elliot got a few things. Little boy clothes are just too cute…so many people say girls clothes are cuter, and while they may have more variety for girls, I think little boy clothes are just too adorable! It doesn’t hurt that I love the color blue :-)  I got some cute Maternity clothes too - I must say one of my favorite parts of being pregnant is the new wardrobe! I am having so much fun wearing all new clothes. Charlie, knowing my love for games usually gets me at least one new one each year, he got be Boggle this year & we played last night (part of the gift was him promising to play with me!). It was a fun game…I won & I hope that losing won’t keep him from playing again

Charlie came down w/ a cold, poor guy. I’m glad he has the week off work to recuperate - I’m still feeling fine - in fact, better than ever - tons of energy w/ the appetite to match it! So keeping my fingers crossed that I don’t get sick. I haven’t gotten a cold in about 2 years so I’m hoping my streak lasts!

Well I’m at work today, while everyone else is off. but…I want to conserve all my time for my maternity leave so it will be worth it in the end.

Grandpa & Grandma Prestrud arrived yesterday! It’s so wonderful to have them here. And for the first time..someone besides Charlie got to feel Elliot move! My mom & grandma did @ the same time - he gave them a nice little kick hello!

We all went to Charlie & Danny’s game & they won, but poor Dan got sick & even though he played well, he didn’t get to play much b/c of how sick he was. You should’ve been there to see six of us adults squeeze into Charlie’s truck for the ride home!

Today I am at work…while everyone else is home. BUMMER. But I really want to save all my time for when Elliot comes…I know it’s a smart decision, and being here really isn’t all that bad.

So….I think the internet has a way of making me crunchy!! For those who haven’t heard that term before, it is used to refer to someone who does things ‘naturally’ - the term came from granola  - it being healthy & natural …and, well - crunchy.  So as I spend time on the net, on message boards, etc. and learn more & more about different ways of doing things, I keep getting interested in crunchy stuff.  Right now I am very seriously considering cloth diapering. There are many reasons to consider it, number one being saving money! They are also healthier for baby & environment, as well as the modern ones are practically as simple as disposables - with the exception of having to wash them. But because I’ll be a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM from now on) & we have a washer & dryer I dont’ think that will be a big issue. I am doing tons of reading on the topic, then discussing it all with Charlie. Sometimes I think for sure I’ll do it - other times I’m not so sure. It will be cheaper to begin with, but then w/ subsequent children - using the same cloth diapers it could literally save us thousands of dollars - I have a hard time not giving that some serious consideration. Plus, the covers on cloth diapers nowdays are so cute - they come in just about every design imaginable - way cuter than ’sposies.

Let’s see…

Friday I had my prenatal apt. - it went fine - though a friend online described the appointments perfectly - ‘wham bam - thank you ma’am’. I am dissapointed once again that I don’t have a midwife, but I’ll get over it. I gained 6 lbs! I was pretty proud of that. Don’t know if going off the Met had anything to do with that. I am measuring on schedule & we set up our ultrasound for the 29th. We copied an idea of a friend & recorded Elliot’s heartbeat on a little recorder we bought in Downtown Disney @ the Build-a-Bear workshop. Now we can go back & build a bear & it will have the heart-beat in it! 

Friday afternoon I hung out w/ my cousin Jenny & had a great time. Lots of healthy intelligent conversation about just about everything. She’s not a mother, but with 4 other siblings & having been a big baby-sitter she had some great insight into raising kids.

I spent some time in Elliot’s room praying for him. Since his name comes from ‘Elijah’ and means ‘The Lord is My God’ I read Elijah’s story in Kings. It was neat to see how the story has everything to do with the meaning of his name. My prayer for Elliot is the meaning of his name, that the Lord will be his God.

Saturday we slept in & then Charlie & Danny had a game - They lost. :-(    For some reason I can’t remember at all what we did the rest of saturday - must’ve been pretty boring!

Sunday we went to church at Village Covenant in Covina. It was fine…but in many ways we feel like we’re settling. I don’t know if we’ll find anything comprable to Grace EVF in our area. Ah, the struggle to find a church goes on.

In the afternoon we went to the big Konoske Christmas party. It’s fun every year, but I especially enjoyed it this year. It was so fun to see our 4 month old nefew Myles. He is so cute & has just grown so much. Each year the family donates money one of the members is responsible for using it to do charitable deeds. This year they collected a ton of money & had a slide show for us to see what they did. It was really neat, and made me proud of being a part of such a giving family.

Charlie’s godparents gave us the sweetest ornament…it is a little crib that says “Parent’s to be”

One complaint I have heard over and over from pregnant women is that they hate it when people rub their bellies. Some people don’t mind friends/family, some people don’t want any rubbing at all, and most of all they hate strangers doing it….

But NOT ME! I love it! Anyone and everyone is always welcome to rub my belly! No need to ask permission! I went looking on my message boards for others who feel like me…nobody responded, so I guess I’m unique on this. But to me, it’s sweet, and I don’t feel invaded at all. My co-workers take every opportunity to rub belliot!

Personally, I am pretty conservative w/ rubbing other peoples bellies - And wouldn’t dream of doing it to a stranger, but there are plenty of people out there who are willing…I think it’s kinda funny that they feel comfortable doing it to someone they don’t know, but it’s only b/c they love pregnant women & think that the baby inside is special. I’ve wanted to be pregnant for a while, and now that I’m showing, it’s fun to have people notice & take a rub.

This has been a long work-week for me. I came in on my day off yesterday to attend our annual Christmas Party. Working 4 days strait is no fun! But I get tomorrow off, so a 3-day weekend is a worthy trade.

At night Charlie & I are reading books on childbirth & currently on “Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth”  Even in the couple pages we read each night I learn so much each time. It just makes so much SENSE. It makes me frusterated sometimes @ the way the medical profession has gone, but I am really trying to focus on what I can do to counter act that. My dream is to one day give birth at a birth-center with a midwife, but financially that’s just not possible right now. But these books are really giving me the information I need to feel capable of acheiving an intervention free/unmedicated childbirth. Even before I was pregnant, childbirth was a passion of mine, and to think I am going to have the opportunity to give birth myself in just 5 months is so exciting. In some ways I can’t wait, but in others I really have a lot more to learn and a lot of practicing to do. I do my breathing excersizes & Kegels on the bus so it’s a good way to use that time. I think one success I already have is that I have no fear of the process. I’ve read and seen enough that it doesn’t scare me, it excites me and I just feel anticipation for it! Charlie is reading “Husband Coached Childbirth” and we’re both very excited about the very active role he will play that day. It’s so amazing to me how perfect we compliment eachother - especially in thinking about labor & delivery. I know his strengths are really going to be important to helping things go right. He is so good at being considerate of others, I know he’ll be much better at communicating with the hospital staff than I would. I would want to walk in & demand my way, but he’ll take a more gentler route & we’ll probably get further! I also know he’ll be great as a labor coach/doula. He is so willing to educate himself I know that he will know as much as I will going into things, and that will give me the confidence to trust him & I know he will be vital to our success.

I’m sure people worry that I’m such a fanatic about unmedicated/intervention free childbirth (for MYSELF) that if something doesn’t go as planned I’ll be a wreck. I believe that unless I have the resolve of a fanatic I won’t be able to acomplish my goal. On the other hand, I have lost two precious babies already and my ultimate goal is to hold a live child in my arms - and no matter how that child ends up there, I will be happy. It’s not about being superwoman, it’s about doing what I believe is safest and healthiest for mom & baby. I know that if we end up with epidurals & c-section & every other intervention, I will know that it was the best possible choice for the situation, and will therefore not regret it.

If things go as I pray they will, I will definetly re-start the doula certification process. I would really love to teach other women about childbirth and their bodies, and help them to have the childbirth experience that they desire.

While I don’t agree with all of Dr. Sear’s parenting philosophies, his book on Childbirth was also very enlightening. There is a terrific section on the history of birth that I found so interesting. That is probably the book Charlie & I will be reading together next.

I am just loving being pregnant, I feel so very fortunate that I haven’t dealt with much morning sickness. Elliot is so fun to feel, he moves around quite a bit, he has his quiet times & active times. I feel like I’m getting to know him already. And I love calling him by his name, I hope he’ll be familiar with it’s sound when he is born.

Friday nite we went with the Pedregons to the Pantages Theatre to see Les Miserables. It was fun to get dressed up and go out, but overall I think we were unimpressed with the play. I liked the movie a lot, but for some reason the play wasn’t very engaging. I was pretty tired & it was a late night so maybe that had something to do with it. It was probably one of the last times I’ll be wearing heals during the pregnancy!

Saturday I got several errands done & went to my favorite salad bar for lunch w/ my mom. We spent the rest of the day @ my parents place & in the evening we ordered pizza watched Elf with them. It’s always fun to be w/ people when they watch fun movies for the first time.

Sunday we threw a suprise birthday party for my Sister-in-law. It went off perfectly & she was completely suprised!!

Elliot is moving around quite a bit now, daddy gets to feel him on a daily basis. Last night while I read the Bible aloud during my quiet time he was practically moving non-stop! I finally was warm enough to leave my belly exposed long enough to watch it bump up when he kicks too! I’m loving the holidays, but I’m also anxious for them to be over b/c in January we’ll start preparing for his arrival. I can’t wait to decorate the nursery!

**I updated my photo albums w/ all the ultrasound pics, and here is me & my SIL**

Here is a pic of one of the ornaments we each made for our parents.

It has been so fun to get calls & emails from people as they recieve our card. My aunt Betsy called first and she was practically screaming with excitement into the phone. I am so glad we chose to suprise everyone this way! I feel in a way that we had been deprived of a special way to share the pregnancy b/c of our previous m/c, but I feel like this has more than made up for it. We passed out the cards @ our work, and everone is amazed. Most of the people @ my work haven’t seen an ultrsound picture since they didn’t have them when they had kids, so it was neat for them to get to see what they are like.

on another note I went to the Endocrinologist yesterday & we discussed my medication. He is such a good doctor and even called my OB/GYN during the appointment to discuss it with him. We decided (all 3 of us) to go off the meds. The main reason to remain on it right now is to prevent Gestational Diabetes, but based on my size and bloodwork I am not at a high risk, so it is most likely in the best interest of the baby to avoid any more medication. There is no evidence that it can hurt him, but without enough reason to stay on it, I’d rather not take any meds.

Tonight we are going to Charlie & Danny’s game. It is the championship game against Glendora in the Sierra Vista Tournament. I hope they win, it would be so great if they do. I have to watch myself, I get so into the games & nervous watching - I don’t want to project those feelings to Elliot. Though I do want him VERY used to the sound of basketball games!

The Secret is out!….well it should be by now since most of the Christmas cards should’ve arrived last week….we’re having a BOY!!! Elliot George Konoske is on his way! 

Our doctors ultrasound has still not been scheduled, but we did go to Costa Mesa to the Newbridge Ultrasound Clinic on Saturday, December 4. We didn’t tell anyone about the appointment, so we could suprise them if we were able to find out the sex! We haven’t kept many secrets w/ this pregnancy, telling gender & name, so this was our one little secret - but once we knew we were about to burst - we thought about waiting till Christmas day, but we just can’t hold it inside!

The technition was super nice, and it was in a very comfortable room, where we could watch on a TV screen. We also brought a video so we have the whole thing on tape. It was definetly one of the most amazing experiences of our lives. First thing we saw was him put his thumb in his mouth, definetly taking after mama   She asked what names we had picked out & then she said..”well I think it’s gonna be Elliot!” I will never forget that moment, realizing we were having a little boy. We got tons of awesome shots of him moving around, scratching his head, playing with his feet, and some crazy pictures of his eyeball!

The next morning we went to lunch w/ mom & dad K and gave them their ornament. Sylvia was funny b/c she read it and didn’t react, then she realized what it said & told us: ‘but you don’t know!’ so we said..”yes we do!”….and they were of course thrilled. They too were amazed at the video - how clearly you can see his bones, spine, face, even detailed toes & fingers. She had actually already bought me a gift - and it is a blue little boy stuffed precious moment. She had guessed boy & she was right!

We decided to break the news to everyone else in their Christmas cards, so we’ve sent an u/s pic of his profile while sucking his thumb…announcing his name.

So tired today! I’m sure it has nothing to do w/ staying up past ten cleaning house & finishing up Christmas cards! But I’m done & it feels great…mailed them today. They’re definetly my favorite ones we’ve sent to date! We’re going to the K’s for dinner tonight so I don’t have to cook!! A benefit of having great in-laws! 

I’ve been feeling baby move consistently every day now. It’s not when I lay down to go to sleep like I’ve been told it usually is. This one moves mostly when I’m sitting, and often when I’m eating. I just love the little bumps reminding me of the life inside of me.

Well I thought the morning sickness was gone - and it is really, but I threw up at my desk this morning. I’m quite sure it’s b/c I didn’t eat enough. I’m hungry often and I can be lazy about eating right away. It also might be not enough sleep. Shame on me!  I will be better at that from now on! I’m feeling fine now though - it’s just terribly embarassing to have it happen @ my desk where people are around.

I’m done w/ most all my Christmas shopping! Just a few more things…then I have to wrap it all.