+ Choose Joy +

This past month has been a life changer, to put it simply. The birth of our daughter has made me change in ways I didn't know possible and I am so thankful for it. I didn't know how to prepare myself for becoming a mother other then stocking up on diapers, baby clothes and making sure the nursery is ready. I don't think any amount of physical preparation can bring you to a place of complete confidence after you have your baby. Life instantly became a cycle of feeding, burping, rocking, getting the baby to sleep and trying to find a balance in this new lifestyle. The lack of sleep has been a challenge and I didn't think that this would affect me as much as it has where I don't remember feeding Bri in the night. My mind seems cloudy and I forget things all the time, it's 100% worse than when I had pregnancy brain! Knowing myself I need to take more naps so that I can properly function during the day and at those early morning feedings. My physical recovery has...

It has been a crazy 3 weeks since our daughter Brielle was born! I know I have been really lacking in the blog post area but it's been an absolute whirl wind and I'm struggling to find a new sense of normal in my life since it has changed so much in the last little while. Today I want to share my birth story with you. I think this may also be a little bit therapeutic for me as I really haven't shared every single detail and I know that some of you might be able to relate! So to give a little bit of background to my story.. my pregnancy was very low risk, I had absolutely no complications the entire time which I am beyond thankful for. So since I had no complications I had felt like I was somewhat pushed through my doctors appointments, this was especially true for my third trimester in which I was referred to an OB. I was told everything was normal and great every appointment and was never given any information about things I needed to be aware of late in my pregnancy. Go...

So I just realized that I completely forgot to do an update for 38 weeks so since I am now at 39 weeks I will just combine the two updates together! Not too much happened during the past week leading up to becoming 38 weeks. I did get a lot of time to rest and nap which has been very nice! But yeah I honestly cannot really remember what all happened which means there wasn't a whole lot going on. haha So moving onto me being 39 weeks! One week until my due date people! I am so happy that I am finally at the end. :) This week baby is the size of a watermelon, 7lbs and 20 inches long. So anytime little one... the sooner the more appreciated! haha My body is feeling.. just done. Everything is hurting and I'm just ready for the pain to come and for me to have our sweet little babe in my arms. I want to finally meet her, know her and to actually see her!  I did have an OB appointment in which went well. Everything is looking really good according to my doctor with my blo...

Officially full term this week! 37 weeks! Baby is the size of a romane heart 19 inches long and around 6 lbs. I have really felt more and more uncomfortable as these last few weeks have gone by. I definitely feel ready to have this baby! I have everything ready to go and now it's just a waiting game which in a way means I can just rest until her arrival. At my OB appointment everything is looking good and I am most definitely considered as low risk as they come according to my doctor which is very good news. One thing that I totally forgot to update on weeks ago is that I can no longer wear my wedding rings! I'm not sure if you have noticed in any of my pictures but now my fingers are a bit too swollen for them to fit which makes me sad because I love them. Hopefully my hands will shrink back to their original size.

Only 4 weeks to go! I am officially in my last month of pregnancy (hopefully)! 36 weeks is here and baby is the size of a large honeydew mellon and weighs around 5.8 lbs and is 18.5 inches. This week I have for sure felt like baby has grown and others have noticed too! My belly button has for sure popped out a lot more which i find is so weird haha. I still do not have any stretch marks which is something I am thankful for but if I continue to grow like I have this past week, I know they should be showing up very soon! My body has really felt awful this last week, with stronger braxton hicks, back pain and other new pain in my abdomen I am feeling ready for this baby to come out. No matter what I do I am constantly uncomfortable and something new this past week is that it feels like I have arthritis in my hands especially in the morning. I will go to open a door or grab something and I have trouble even doing simple tasks because my hands cannot function. It is extremely frustrating ...

This pregnancy is really coming to an end. I am now at 35 weeks and for some reason this week made me realize there is not much time left at all! Baby is the size of a small spaghetti squash and is about 18 inches long and 5 lbs! She is getting bigger and bigger! Again I am feeling more uncomfortable this past week as my back has really become a pest even more then it has been. It's more stabbing like pain instead of soreness which i will just have to endure! We're almost done so I think I'll be alright. I did have another OB appointment this past week and everything seems to be going along normally. Baby's heartbeat is a study 140bpm and my health is great. She is still head down! I did also mention to my OB that my braxton hicks contractions have come back but they have nothing to do with stress this time since I'm not working or anything. She said that most likely my baby will be born early. since my body is already showing signs of getting ready for labour. ...

34 weeks has arrived and I could not imagine feeling more uncomfortable then I am right now. Whatever I am doing; standing, sitting, laying down, I just cannot get comfortable. My body is definitely feeling the weight of our growing girl. She is now the size of a cantaloupe and is around 17.7 inches and 4.2 lbs. For this next stretch until birth she will be gaining around .5lbs per week. Yikes, I can't imagine getting any bigger then I am now! Haha! This past week was kind of a crazy one. Not too much has changed since last weeks post with the baby or me but my work situation has now changed. I am officially done work! I was asked to on my maternity leave early; early as in starting today, April 25th. I actually will not be starting my maternity leave officially until May 13th which was my original last day of work. So I will be getting paid my normal wage until then! :)  Leaving work was for sure bitter sweet for me. I do really enjoy working with those people and not seei...