Pregnancy Number 2 at 34 Weeks!

I'm long overdue for a blog update! Things are going super well on pretty much all fronts. I'm 34 weeks pregnant with my first boy, my twin girls are a complete joy (until bedtime, of course), I have a supportive husband and great career. The one cloudy spot is the death of my grandmother. She had been going through a battle with cancer and it finally overtook her. It's sad to lose her, this will be the first post of mine that she won't read. I think of her often during pregnancy, she birthed nine babies and was the ultimate mama. Over the past few months she spend quite a few weeks staying with my Dad and it was great that Zoe and Val got to be around her so much, I'm very glad of that. Until we meet again, G-Ma!

My pregnancy has been so wonderful so far! I sometimes experience some pretty intense braxton hicks contractions, but they've always gone away after I rest and drink water. This has been such a lovely pregnancy that I'm getting a little sad that it's almost over. This will probably be the last one! Not to mention having a newborn is far more difficult than being pregnant, haha. Ugh, I don't know if I'm mentally ready for the sleepless nights and baby crying.

One thing I've loved loved loved during this pregnancy is my yoga classes! I try to go three times a week. Sometimes it's slow and stretchy, and sometimes it's a workout! I couldn't go to yoga for very long with my twin pregnancy because of the bed rest situation, so this time I'm doing as much as possible! One of the best things about yoga class is being with the other mamas. It's good to share experience, fears, and joys with other pregnant mommies!

Zoe and Valentina are VERY excited for their baby brother. We've been talking about him often to get them used to the concept. I encourage them to talk to their brother in mommy's tummy, and it's the cutest thing!! They always say "Hi baby brother! I'm Valentina!" (or Zoe) and then go on to explain whatever they're doing ("we're swimming!" or "we're playing toys!" or sometimes just "this is my mom!") One of the things I'm most looking forward to is introducing baby brother to his sisters in the hospital after birth. In fact, I expect it to me one of the best moments of my whole life, all of us coming together as a family for the very first time.

My work had a baby shower for me last week and it was so nice! That's one of the best things about the place I work, the people are great! John and the kids were invited as well, and we got some cute things for the baby :).

We only have around 6 weeks left!! I've got a fairly good idea of what I want in my birth plan but I still need to write it down. I want to finish this pregnancy strong so I'll continue yoga classes and will maybe add some extra exercises on the days I don't go to class. One thing I heard was helpful for labor and delivery was eating dates during the weeks prior to delivery. Apparently they help with the hormone responsible for dilation, so mommies who eat alot of dates supposedly have faster and easier labors. So I've been making date smoothies/shakes, and they are actually really yummy!

For those curious, we have not chosen a name yet, but we have a short list of ideas.

Cheers!