Pregnancy Pics- 22 1/2 weeks

Ok, so this picture above is not a good pregnancy picture but it is a picture of our little family! This is Sophie, our dog that Ryan and I are inheriting. We were gone all day yesterday and she was very happy to see us when we got back. She has such a big personality!! This is how she really sits! Ha, it is really funny. She doesn't have doggie mannerisms...
I am 22 1/2 weeks pregnant! I am so glad that it is over half way over!! I can feel my baby's little presence more and more and it makes me want to be with her even more than I can express!!!


The back view was Ryan's idea... I posted it because it shows how much darker my hair is getting. I think I am going to become a brunette! That will be weird, but I am way to lazy and frugal to even think about dyeing my hair, so I will just have to take what nature gives me :)

A Walk in the Woods

Ryan has accepted a job!! We are very excited!! He will start working in a couple weeks so we are trying to just enjoy the time we have together now. We went for a picnic at a beautiful state park not far from where we live. The fall colors are past the prime time, but it was still a beautiful, fun trip together.
This picture above was on our walk in the woods. Our walk in the woods was actually cut short because of a....skunk!! We heard crashing in the woods and I saw something black and white run away. In my pregnancy fogged brain I did not put 2 and 2 together and we just kept walking. About 5 minutes down the trail we started to smell an overpowering stench of skunk. So we thought it best to turn around. I was starting to get a little wiped out anyway so it was good timing.
My computer isn't cooperating, so these pictures are sideways...I will try to fix it later. After we got a picture by this brilliant orange tree. I couldn't help but play with the leaves...It reminds me of growing up in the mid west and every year playing in pile of leaves. Ryan thought it was funny and took some pictures.



Yes, I am a tree hugger!!! I love trees and nature. There is no better place to experience both than in Ohio!! (In my opinion;)
The crazy thing is that Ryan is a tree hugger at heart!!! Ha, he'll kill me when he sees that, but actually he is the one that saw this tree and wanted a picture because it is such a huge tree. He thought it was really neat.
This tree up above was so pretty and my camera just didn't capture the colors right. but it kinda looked like it was on fire. I just had to get a picture.
Ryan and I enjoying being together.
This is part of the lake at the state park. It is really pretty and peaceful there. I can't wait til this summer to take my little baby there!!!!!!!

Natural Birthing Center!!!!!

I am so excited!!! I found out that just 40 miles from where I live is a Natural Birthing Center in a hospital!! This is the biggest blessing in the world!! After being a labor and delivery nurse for just over a year, I have definitely not come close to seeing it all, but I did see a lot and I did learn a lot. I feel that the whole birthing process is a miracle and in the majority of cases, the body and baby can handle everything fine. I have seen how different interventions and helps can actually cause problems to arise. I had toyed around with the idea of home births but because of a family history of issues with delivery and because it is my first time (usually first time deliveries can be very long and hard) my husband quickly let me know there is nothing in the world that would make him let me have a home birth. I agreed, he is probably right. So, I thought I was stuck with delivering in a hospital and making the OB and nurses mad at me because I would not agree with some "standard of care" procedures. Then I stumbled on this accredited natural birth center! I was so excited! There are some really neat things that I learned that they do:

1. There is a jacuzi in each room for water births (yes! I AM interested in that!)
2. The nurse to patient ratio is one to one, meaning that I am the ONLY patient that nurse has to worry about so I will get the monitoring and help I need
3. The baby NEVER has to leave the room (if the baby is healthy and doesn't need medical interventions). Can you believe that!?!?! SOOO cool!!
4. If everything goes well for me I could be out of the birthing center just 6 hours after delivery!!! That is exciting!!
5. In order to deliver at this center I have to take these birthing classes that help you learn about different birthing techniques and realize what kind you want to use (aromatherapy, hypnobirth, hydrobirth etc.)
6. For about a week after the birth post partum nurses will make phone calls asking me how breastfeeding is going, how I am feeling and so on and give advice and help.
7. Because this natural birthing center are big supporters of breast feeding they will not give a bottle or a pacifier to the baby without consent from the mom
8. the list just goes on and on and on!!!

Needless to say, I am so excited about this opportunity. I just found a nurse midwife I want to work with and I am excited to set up and appointment with her.