On the nightstand

Yes, that is a lot of books to be reading at once. I just cannot get enough though - so much to learn, and so little time! And the strong, passionate, raw birth stories are awesome. I'm soakin' it up.

I'm never far....

from the BATHROOM. So I pretty much plan my day around where my next bathroom stop will be able to be. It's kinda out of control. I love water, love being hydrated but do NOT love having to use every bathroom in the bay area. (Did you know Baby Gap has a bathroom? That was one of my best finds thanks to my friend Sara.)




I recently upped my water intake to about 90 ounces of water. That's kinda ridiculous.... but it does make me feel good and I have noticed that awful swelling that was happening to my ankles not occur as often. (Did you know that water helps flush the body and reduce water retention? Seems odd, but it's brilliant really.)

Okay, but let's go back - NINETY OUNCES of water. That's over 2.5 liters. Then, let's remember that my bladder is currently being crushed by a three pound (give or take a bit) princess. No wonder why I pee so much.

My girl

I can't believe how long it has been since I've posted about Kaira! We continue to have play dates and I'm so amazed but how much of a little girl she is now. She is so fun to be with, getting more independent and just LOVES being with me and Geoff!

Today we had some lunch with our friends Trip, Joy and Kieran and after a long walk we hung around the house playing with all the hand-me-down toys that have been given to us! Love her!

3rd trimester!

We're sailing into 3rd trimester and I'm feeling great! Baby girl continues to be doing her somersaults and staying active. As the weeks go on I'm feeling much more pregnant (I guess this is a good thing!) and have to just laugh at myself when I do things like nearly fall over when picking up one foot to put my pants on. Thankfully not much to report - feeling good, healthy and energized.

Here we are; 27 weeks! (Geoff said "give me attitude in this pic". I think I gave him my best creeper look!)

Census

Check it out. Fun to see what's goin' on in your 'hood!

http://projects.nytimes.com/census/2010/explorer

So impressive

My nephew is amazing! What a little man! Can't WAIT to see him in February.

http://absolutelyabo.blogspot.com/2011/01/porter-skiis-and-loves-it.html

Our crib!

I came home the other day to a wonderful surprise ~ hubby was putting together baby girl's crib! We bought it way back on Cyber Monday because it was on major sale and it ended up being a wonderful Christmas gift from Geoff's mom and step-dad. Sweetest. It had been sitting in the box cluttering the room for almost two months so it was so lovely to come home to this surprise.






It's finished!



And as you can see we have a nice pile of hand-me-downs and gifts awaiting baby girl's arrival. I can't wait to get this room in order and now we are one step closer!

Growing baby

Baby and I are doing great! Feeling really good - infact, I have very minimal to report on. For awhile my hip and back were bothering me and after meeting with my midwife and going over my posture, I'm happy to report that I'm feeling much better. As long as keep focused on good posture and walking correctly I notice that my body feels a TON better.

I can tell baby girl is growing and getting strong everyday! Some days I wonder if she sleeps AT ALL because it feels like she is constantly moving around. I must say I absolutely love it! (Except for what seems like a good elbow to my vagina ~ I could live without those!)

Geoff feels her all the time and we watch her dance around. She especially loves when I talk to her and when her dad tells her secrets. :-)

Here's a shot of me in all my glory - a day at the beach. She LOVED the sun, just like her mama!



A pic before going out last night (25 weeks)

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Sleepy Beckstroms

After getting home around 11pm on Sunday and waking up at 6am on Monday we knew it would be the start of a very long week ~ and we were right! It was busy at work and we just never seemed to catch up on anything. Luckily we had some free time this weekend to pay the bills and get the house organized a bit. I was finally able to go through all of the ADORABLE and sweet Christmas cards from friends and family. Thank you everyone! As you probably figured out, we didn't send a card this year. We figured we'd save a tree or two and wait to send out our well wishes with our baby announcement once our little princess joins us! Anyways, it was nice to have a weekend at home to get our heads back on straight and catch up on some sleep.

Last night we met up with our dear friends who were in town for one short evening. It was great to have dinner together and we really wish Brian and Steph lived here! Great people.



Brian, Geoff & I at dinner

What a vacay...

We had 2 blissful weeks in Mexico and we're happy to be home and back to the grind - well the working part sucks, but being home sure is nice.

We spent the first week exploring inland and REALLY loved soaking up Mexican culture, the people, food and the sights. A beautiful part of the country and a perfect place to explore.





The second week was mostly relaxation - my dear friend gave us a week at her time share and we were living in style in our one bedroom apartment. We did more exploring, beach laying and of course, eating.






All in all it was a GREAT trip and a perfect way to finish our travels with just the two of us. Geoff was making a list of things we want to remember to bring on our next trip and he added "baby". Cute.

I'll post more about how baby and mommy are doing...

Virgin margarita, por favor

I've spent the last 3 hours in my room sorting through borrowed maternity clothes to find some clothes (that fit and flatter the bump) for our VACATION! We're headed to sunny Mexico on Saturday ~ it has been a whole of 5 months since we last left the country so we're both getting the itch. The trip has come at a perfect time! I feel energized and healthy, ready for some sunshine and excited to spend time with my husband, just the two of us with no other responsibility.

I had a self photo shoot the other day. I found my picture quite artistic. Geoff laughed at me.

(A little shout out to my friends who passed on bags of maternity clothes ~ it really helps a lady feel better about herself when she can do a shopping spree without spending a penny.)



Almost 22 weeks

Half way cooked!

Baby girl is half way baked and she's celebrating this morning with lots of kicks! Definitely a party in my belly - how fun!

To celebrate our Baby Is Half Way Cooked Day I put the maternity jeans on for the first time and documented it with a picture ~






So, how DO you stand to take the best belly pic? Hand up? To the side? Hmmmm....

(That really wasn't the best place for a photo for many reasons, including showing the mess. Sorry fans.)

Maternity Jeans

OH MY GOODNESS! Yesterday I spent a good three hours at the mall and it was like learning how to walk again. So many new things to learn!

At nearly 20 weeks my regular jeans are just NOT working for me. The bella band and the rubber band move were cool for awhile (a very short while), but I'm sure my co-worker was sick of looking at my crack so I figured it was time to jump into the maternity jeans world. I had NO idea there were so many options! I walked away with one of everything for a few reasons - 1, it was 50% off at the Gap and 2, I have NO idea what is really going to work for me.

We have three types of panels to choose from ~

No Panel: These are meant to go under the belly. They don't have a visible panel, but the waistband is elastic and will stretch with your growing bump.



Full Panel: One thing I noticed is that Gap's Full Panel is MASSIVE, while Old Navy's Full Panel is not as long.



The Demi-Panel/ Under Belly Panel: Hugs the bottom of your belly. Kind of gives me a case of the muffin-top, but I think it might be nice not to have the big panel on my belly sometimes.



And then there is the CUT of the jean. All ladies know how many options out there for a cut of a jean - almost too many, but of course never the perfect one, right??

The other stress of yesterday's shopping extravaganza is that I really do not know how I'm going to grow from here on out, making it difficult to find just the right size. Obviously I know the belly is going to pop (which there will be plenty of room for with my new pants), but are my hips and butt going to follow suit or stay the size they are now? Hoping for the latter, obviously ;-)

Speaking of which, off to the gym now! Have a great weekend!

Weeks 15 - 18

Not much to report in Prego Land, which I see as a great thing really! The biggest change over the last month has probably been emotional. Each day that passes and as I watch my belly grow I get more excited to hold my little miss. I find myself day dreaming about what she's going to be like, what kind of mom I'll be and what kind of family we'll become.

No Fun: Not fitting into my regular clothes very well, but being too small for maternity clothes. Oh, and the bella band, totally over it. People saying "you don't look pregnant!" Really, well, I've put on weight and it's going somewhere, so I must just look fat. Great. :-)

Loves: Feeling my baby kick/stretch/punch... whatever it is she's doing in there! Now, I must say I'm like 98% sure it's baby girl I've been feeling... but sometimes I wonder if it's just gas or something. Hmmmm.

Aversions: Still not enjoying meat all that much, but it has been a lot better. Chicken is probably the only real no-no at this point. Stinky people is still high on this list as well.

IT'S A....

GIRL! A sweet, precious, healthy baby GIRL!


Let me back up....

A few days ago we had our 18 week Ultrasound and it was AMAZING! We were absolutely in awe of our little baby girl squirming and moving all around! She is perfectly healthy and measuring exactly to date (even her head size, yay!).

When we went in we really did not know if we wanted to find out the gender. We KEPT going back and forth and so we decided to have the tech write it down and seal it in an envelope. Going in we had three options set; 1. Open that evening, just the two of us sharing the moment together. 2. Wait and open on Christmas morning! 3. Keep the envelope sealed.

I am so happy we did it this way. We were on such a high after the ultrasound just for the fact that we could see our little one moving all around and that everything looked just as it should! It was so special and great to ride that out while awaiting another great surprise.

So that evening, after dinner, we looked at each other and decided we REALLY wanted to know! Our ultrasound was all recorded and given to us on a DVD so we decided to find out that way. It was really a great moment. Baby girl was very cooperative and appeared to spread eagle when the tech went down south. Cutest little vagina ever! :-) BTW, I knew it was a girl all along... she let me know early on :-)

(My ultrasound pics are on PDF and I can't figure out how to post them... I'll work on it.)

THE bella band

Today was a big day for this mama-to-be. I wore the BELLA BAND for the first time! It was official this morning when my jeans would not comfortably button (and my student told me that I looked like a football player yesterday...), I knew it was time to put it on.

It's GREAT! It is basically a stretchy band of material that fits around your regular jeans concealing the unbuttoned top button and making an all around better fit. I mean, who wouldn't want a bella band - pregnant or not! Indulged in Halloween candy? Had a few too many servings at Thanksgiving? Can't fit into your wedding summer jeans (yes, this is me.) Try the bella band!

So, nearly 18 weeks into this pregnancy I think it's time to switch up the wardrobe!

My favorite nephew

I get to see this little man this weekend.... how lucky am I!?

Go Giants!

What a great season! Geoff is number 1 Giants fan, so when I found this shirt I had to get it for our baby-to-be. Kaira broke it in for our new little one, which I think is now lucky since the Giants TOOK IT ALL this year!

Lands End

Yesterday Geoff and I woke up early with nothing planned for the day (a rarity) so we decided on a date day in SF! We stopped by the library, picked up a few San Francisco guide books, and hit the open rode (ok, just 101).

We went on a walk starting near the Presidio around Lands End. It was a beautiful day, great to get exercise somewhere new and lovely to spend time together. Our goal over the next 5 months is to do as many spur of the moment activities as possible, since those opportunities won't be nearly as easy with a little minute in our lives. (That's what I called newborns - minutes - not sure why, so don't ask!)

After our walk we stopped at the beach for a snack picnic and rest. Beautiful!

It was a great day in the city!

Summary: Last 15 weeks

I have been a happy prego mommy, that's for sure.

I've had very little symptoms and been feeling pretty dang good. I try not to complain about anything, since there is so little to complain about, but I have been exhausted and recently found out that I'm slightly anemic - so that explains that! I have been taking an herb called Yellow Dock and I'm starting to really notice an increase in my energy level and proud to say I can now keep my eyes open past 8pm. Yay!

Let me break down the 1st trimester for ya!

No fun:
Exhaustion, gas (really bad - poor Geoff), heartburn (from about weeks 7-10)

Loves:
Cottage cheese, veggies, tofu, thai food, prenatal yoga, Geoff telling secrets & kissing baby, talking to baby in the car/shower/gym - wherever really, sharing our news with family & friends, listening to the heartbeat, feeling my belly grow - oh man, the list goes on!

Aversions:
Meat, especially chicken (this is getting a little better - thankfully) & stinky people.

The day we found out! August 14, 2010

Today we went in to meet our referring doctor (more on that later) and the nurse offered to do an ultrasound. Since we hadn't had one yet we decided to go for it and it was the most AMAZING thing ever. All my lady friends told me it would be, but I didn't really understand until I saw it. It was breathtaking, emotional and seeing baby overcame Geoff and I with pure joy. I have to say, he/she is definitely the cutest 15 week old baby EVER, especially when the little one stretched, moved around and gave us what looked to be a high five. :-)

I hope you follow me as I share my adventure with you!

Halloween 2010

For Halloween this year our costumes not only showed off our creativity (!) but also announced something VERY important and fabulous!

First try and guess what we are....

Did you get it?

A sperm and an egg!

And we're happy to tell everyone "it worked"!!

Baby Beckstrom

Due April 24, 2011

More info to come... :-)

Student reaction...

I wrote this post a while back, but never posted it!

______________


This afternoon I announced to my students (only half the class were there and I only chose this time to share the news because I needed to somehow kill 20 minutes!) our good news! It was very exciting and I loved the reaction from some of the students. Of course, to make it a teachable moment, I immediately asked "how did I get pregnant?". They blushed, squealed and told me that they couldn't answer that question because it was their teacher that did "it"! So, I changed it to "how does a woman get pregnant?" and they were happy to give their answers. I got some great ones, including "the guy puts their thing with the girls thing and POW" ~ Yup! Doesn't get much clearer than that.
So after a good lesson about the birds and the bees, including how they can help me be more comfortable during pregnancy (hey, teachable moment!), we asked them to brainstorm a list of baby name ideas. Here is their list. Gotta love em.


Jeohna & Suji are the King & Queen of Korea ~ definitely top of the list! But really, some of them aren't too bad and possibly even in the running!

Welcome Fall

I am so happy that Fall is finally arriving here in Cali! This year more than ever I've really been looking forward to the cooler temps and changing seasons.... and it's here!





I love Fall for the same reason that everyone does, really.... Evenings on the couch under blankets, crisp fallen leaves outside, long walks where your insides are warm but your skin is chilled, warm food (welcome back Crock-pot) and cute boots. :-) This year I am especially fond of most things pumpkin, which now that I've opened my world to that I've noticed it is EVERYWHERE. I even heard Krispy Kreme has Pumpkin Spiced Doughnut Holes (thanks Holly!) so I've been tempted to take a trip there to see for myself.

Here's to a fabulous Fall!

A sleepover with Auntie

Kaira had her first sleepover at our house last weekend! We had a great time and she just LOVED spending time with us, away from mom and dad. :-)

I told Kaira that if she signs "eat" than I'll give her....

Cake and Mimosas for breakfast!!!!


(Just kidding, it was eggs and water. It was tempting to give her sugar for the first time...)

Zeke & Adina's wedding

We just returned home from a weekend in Carmel to celebrate with Geoff's cousin Zeke, who married his high school sweetheart, Adina. Geoff was the officiant for the wedding and did a beautiful job.... he reminded me a lot of how elegant, well spoken & thoughtful my brother was as he officiated our wedding. The wedding was held at a beautiful home in the hills of Carmel. When it cleared the view was amazing, but even with the thick fog the scenery was absolutely stunning. The bride and groom were glowing and their love shined through all evening ~ so much fun to watch.

Geoff & I before the wedding

What a romantic!

The officiant (handsome husband), best man (cousin Nate) and groomswoman (sister Monica) all looking lovely as they wait for the bride and groom.

Such sweet love!

Officially Mr. and Mrs. ~ Relaxing on the beach this afternoon.


Congrats Zeke and Adina! We love you both!

Larios' Visit

Our dear friends Erica, Hector and Noah came to visit last week and we enjoyed a nice (HOT) evening playing and BBQ'n. Geoff and I decided that they live WAY TOO far away and need to move back to NorCal, pronto.

Noah and Geoff has a great time together ~ he is a sweet little monkey, that's for sure.

Why is pretend sleep so fun for kids??

Ohhh Uncle Geoff, you are so funny!

Ohhhhhhh Mexico....

How about a dip in a cenote?


Or a tour around the ruins of Tulum?

Or how about just relaxing, romantic moments with my husband?!

YES PLEASE!

Mexico... December... Two Weeks!

Well, it's not our cat....

We put signs up just to make sure our cat doesn't have another home... and it turns out she DOES!  So, it was a sad day when we got the call from the cat's owner, but we were really happy that we put the signs out so we didn't adopt him and then find out later!
The kitty still comes for loves every day and MUST spend more time with us than she does with her owner.  I must say, I like it.... she comes for alittle TLC and play time, but we don't have to feed her or change her litter!

Is this your cat?

A few weeks ago this kitty adopted us... he was so thin and wanted love so bad!  He obviously is somebody's pet because he has a flee collar - but he appears to be lost and is trying hard to be "ours".  We recently began buying cat food and feeding the poor little guy, but we also posted signs in our neighborhood so little Suzy can have her cat back - but to no avail.  So, it's looking like we have a cat now!  We are trying to decide if we are going to allow him inside or just keep him an outdoor kitty - but he REALLY wants to come inside!  If Geoff had his way, this cat would probably sleep in our bed.  He is in love.

Hallelujah!! Pictures are uploading!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY to my sweet love Kaira Moon! 

It is hard to put into words how much I LOVE this little girl - she is good for my soul, that's for sure!  Each day that goes by I love her more and more.... she's learning so quickly and becoming such a fun little person. 

Enjoying Fro Yo on Auntie's birthday!

At her party!  They even let her have cake - okay, it was sugar free!