2 Wonderful Years

Or 4 years, counting all the pre-wedding dating...

4 years ago, Becoming friends at the FBI Acad., 2006














3 years ago, Ryan/Whit's Wedding, 2007
















2 years ago, Our Wedding, 2008
















1 year ago, Brazilian Amazon, 2009












Talking to Baby, 2010












Aaron and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary last Monday. To be fair, we were too busy to celebrate - we put it off until Saturday. Then Saturday, I was too busy to celebrate, so we put it off until this upcoming weekend. We'll have a date soon, I promise!

These last two years have been absolutely wonderful - with all the love, growth, bickering, companionship, and passion combined. I am madly in love with my husband. Plus he's super hot.

When we moved aside work on Saturday to eat Thai takeout over a couple of candles (the improvisation since the date got cancelled), we discussed good memories from the last year. For both of us, the pregnancy has filled this past year with some awesome moments - deciding to start a family, finding out it worked, seeing the first and second ultrasounds, feeling the first kick, folding all the super-cute yellow onsies. It's made our love for each other and our capacity to add another life to our home bloom.

Happy Anniversary Love!

Fears

Disclaimer: Sorry for so many pregnancy posts - it's becoming a hot subject nowadays at the Towers house.



I've started reading Birthing From Within, which I am intrigued by. So far, it is emphasizing mom-to-be empowerment for birth, coaxing the mother to trust her body and celebrate the process of pregnancy. Main theme so far is to Listen to your body and Trust your instincts as a mother.

This is just the sort of medicine I need right now. As the belly expands to new sizes, I find myself getting a little more anxious about the birth. "How am I supposed to get this baby out?" I find that I still have some fears about it, no matter how well studied I am, how many birth classes I've attended (9 so far), how many birth stories I've heard. It's the element of the unknown. Your body just takes over, so it's a bit nerveracking to relenquish control to it completely.

The book I am reading asks women to face their fears about birth. Here they are:

-Forced into medical intervention/drugs by circumstance
-Water breaking and no contractions start within the 24 hour window
-Emotional breakdown
-Perineal Tears (yick!)
-Not being able to handle pain
-Stalling contractions because I can't relax
-Super long, super hard labor
-The hospital (just has negative connotations)
-Breastfeeding, sortof - It's still a little weird to me
-Looking back and wishing we had done something differently

Things about birth I am excited about:

-Meeting Baby T
-Aaron meeting Baby T
-The awesome, lifechanging, empowering experiences Aaron and I will share
-Overcoming my fears
-Finding out the gender
-Picking out a name
-Feeling strong and womanly
-Amazing things my body can do
-The hormone rush/bonding
-Holding Baby T

What an awesome experience birth is. It is just so...important....and exciting...and nerveracking. All at the same time. You can't hear someone is in labor and not have some of those emotions. Now I need to face my fears and focus on my ability to do this.

I found this Mothering magazine article about labor pain as a nice end to my ramblings.

P.S. A new mom and dad came to talk to our birth class tonight, and she went into labor at 36.5 weeks. ACK! That's only a week away for me. Now I can't stop my brain from going into overdrive about all the work and preparations we have to do. I really need T to hold off until August.

Oh, and updates. 35.5 weeks. I'm starting to feel a little uncomfortable these last couple of days - ligaments are holding up a lot of weight, and I can't breathe as well in some positions. But, all in all, still pretty good. T is currently anterior and head down, heartbeat in the 140's - yay!

You grow, I grow

As we watch Baby T grow bigger each day, Aaron has also been growing a garden in our tiny backyard. It's been a May-July project, and something we would like little T to participate in one day. I helped with the planning, but Aaron has put in the sweat, labor, sunburns, and frustrations. But, oh, when he has a squash or cucumber to show for it, he is so proud! The roster includes tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, bell peppers, hablano peppers, and lots of herbs.

Our Square-foot Garden













We followed the square-foot gardening technique in the back, hung some flowers and a birdfeeder, and bought a small table/chair set from World Market. It's a perfect spot for breakfast. The arbor was a wedding gift from our dear friends Caroline and Joe; Joe built it as a backdrop for our nuptuals.

Arbor and Table/Chair Set - Yippee!












Hanging Plants and Birdfeeder













In the front, we planted some perennial and annual flowers, both in pots and in the ground. One flower plant bit the dust after an unfornate run-in with the window-washing staff at our complex, and another just never flourished (we think it was our poor choice of soil for that pot). We are learning some lessons for the next plantings. :)

Four Perennials in the front bed (not super-impressive - dead one is 3rd down)












Annuals in Pot on Front Steps (peeps love the red!)












Another pot on the front steps (FAIL)


Great job to Aaron, the Towers Green Thumb!

Now I can say we are "multiplying and replenishing the earth" :D

8 months later...

Here is the difference between our tiny Baby T embryo and our now 5 lb Baby T fetus...Crazy.

5 weeks (I don't even remember my belly like this!)















35 weeks (just 2 more weeks until full-term!)


Aaron and I have been busy working on setting up a little nook in the corner of our bedroom for the baby. The painting is from a local artist - Jesus holding a lamb - I love it. The shelf is for miscellaneous items and hanging clothes/toys. The crib was a gift from my parents and the afghan was a handmade gift from Aaron's grandmother. Aaron is planning on making a wooden base/holder for the changing pad, so it can stay on top of the crib as is. Behind this, we filled one our bookshelves with baskets and put in all the washed/folded baby clothes and cloth diapers. I still have yet to make the baby quilt and mobile - those are my last craft projects before T arrives. Not totally done, but close. Here is a sneak peak.

Reactions and Showers

I've been taking note of folks' reactions to the belly for the last couple of months. At over 7 months pregnant, people can definitely tell my "condition" from a ways off. I have noticed the warmth that other mamas and older women immediately show me, it's in those soft smiles of understanding. I have noticed that the college-aged young women tend to look uncomfortable - perhaps its a reminder of pregnancy scares, inevitable weight gain, or future responsibility for this demographic. Men are a mixed bag - some are very chivalrous, some avoid eye contact (maybe its that future responsibility bit again), some are just a little more kind. And, for both genders, I do love the talkers/advice givers; they ask about Baby T's due date, Baby T's gender, my readiness for parenthood, their own experience with pregnancy and childbirth. Children always have something candid and honest to say about Baby T - usually adorable. Pregnancy is really a whole different type of connection to the world around you; it evokes varied, but typically very happy, feelings for people. For this reason it is interesting being in my shoes - just to see other's react to Aaron and my decision start a family and to the huge step in life we are about to take.

In party news, we've been showered. A couple o' times. Some friends from my ward threw a baby shower for Aaron and I in mid-June, which was fabulous. In my hastiness to get ready, I forgot to plan for picture-taking, and, alas, I have no pictures (save for the awesome and artful cake Carolyn made)! It was really fun to hang out with good friends and start the Baby T collection of goods.















Aaron and I also hopped off to a recent family reunion (my Mom's side) in the Georgia mountains. It was great to get away to the small Bavarian-style village, hike to waterfalls, visit with family, eat eat eat, and, of course, gets lots of belly pats. My sweet aunts (with help of cousins) threw Aaron and I a surprise baby shower. Woohoo! Again, it was great to feel supported in this big step and get help with Baby T items.

See my basketball?


Both Aaron's and my work groups have also wanted to be involved. My work group took another pregnant work colleague and myself to dinner and got us a super-sweet baby gift. Aaron's work group is planning a small shower in a few weeks.

The generosity is amazing! Thank you to everyone who has helped us get ready for little T in some way. :)

Preggo update: 33 weeks, less than 50 days until Operation Stork. Baby T is moving all the time (or, I feel it all the time now). I am feeling great still, have not reached the dreaded 3rd Tri discomfort stage yet. I did my last pregnancy jog on Saturday (I had been slowing down and spacing out jogs since the end of 2nd Tri) - and paid for it the whole day! I could barely move from ligament pain. So, now just low impact aerobics are in order. Aaron is getting more excited as the time draws near. He just melts my heart when he talks to little T every night. T loves it too - I can tell from the kicking.