Anna's Happiness Journal

Be Encouraged

AJM — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 06:00:55 +0000

It’s not impossible to lose the baby weight but it does take hard work. Don’t be fooled by all of the celebrities who make it look so easy and set unrealistic standards. You probably won’t lose it all in the first month, or the first 6 months even. If it takes a year, that’s okay.
Eat right and exercise regularly and the weight will come off. Maybe not as quickly as you’d like, but keep working at it and don’t give up.
I find that using calorie tracking tools really help. If you don’t measure it, you can’t manage it, right? I find that I tend to be much more gracious about my intake when I am not writing down what I eat. Even if you don’t set a low caloric intake goal, just writing down what you eat will help you be more aware of how much you consume.
Finally, invest in some exercise equipment (or a gym membership if that’s what works for you) that you will really use. I perfer my water rower. It gives me a cardio workout and exercises 85% of the muscles in my body. And it doesn’t take up much space.
Give yourself the goal of working out a certain number of times each week rather than a weight goal, so that each week you feel the satisfaction of having met your goal. And if you don’t meet your goal, you get a fresh start every week!

A lap nap is better than no nap

AJM — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 21:09:26 +0000

Izzy has been having a hard time staying asleep during naps this week. Everytime I put her down she wakes up. So today, I didn’t put her down.

Playin

AJM — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 06:17:20 +0000

Favorite Napping Spot

AJM — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 00:51:08 +0000

iPhone Firsts

AJM — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 01:20:48 +0000

One More Week?

AJM — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 03:19:10 +0000

I went to the doctor yesterday and was still 1cm, 50% effaced. She did say that my cervix is now facing down rather than forward, which is some progress. So it looks like we might make it to Saturday, which is when my mom gets here…would be best if baby comes on the due date so that both my mom and sister will be here.

Kevin has setup our new family website, where photos and details will be posted as soon as they are available: http://www.morrissfamily.net/

Bookmark it!

39 weeks

Happy Boxing Day!

AJM — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 18:14:12 +0000

Well, we’ve made to Dec 26th with no sign of momodos. He/she will come whenever it’s the right time but we’re hoping for a post-Jan 3rd birth so that my mom will be here from Florida.

At my last doc appointment, which was Monday, December 22nd, I was 1cm dilated and 50% effaced. I forgot to ask which station the baby was at but I don’t think he/she was low. I’ve had some minor contractions throughout the week but nothing major. It’s a just a waiting game.

I go to the doc again on Monday. We’ll see if there has been any progress…

The Final Month

AJM — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 01:54:31 +0000

Today I started the 37th week of pregnancy.

Next week, I am officially “full term” but the baby would be fine if he/she were to arrive now.

We have 3 more childbirth classes to complete; those will wrap up on Dec 22nd. Kevin and I have been practicing our relaxation techniques pretty well though. I feel confident that he is going to be able to get me through labor and delivery without medication. He’s an awesome coach, even with broken elbows (those are doing much better by the way). If you are interested in reading more about The Bradley Method, I encourage you to check out their site. We found out at the shower that our friends Evan and Annie also used Bradley (Annie delivered their second child at a birthing center without any interventions — way to go guys!).

I’m still really enjoying pregnancy. Not too uncomfortable, though I am taking naps much more frequently. No heartburn or anything else annoying like that. Baby is getting lots of hiccups (good for lung development) and continues to do plenty of kicking, which is so much fun to feel and watch.

Here’s how I am looking at this point:

14 to 18 weeks left

AJM — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:14:42 +0000

I’m now in the 23rd week of pregnancy (wow!!). And I looked at webmd the other day to see that I am officially full term on Dec. 16th. When I think about it that way, I’ve only got 14 to 18 weeks left of enjoying pregnancy, pre-mom-hood. And I’ve got a lot of decisions to make. Important ones:

what is the theme of the baby’s room?
is there going to be a baby’s room?
if so, which room should it be?
what colors of curtains do I want to use?

So you can see, I’ve got some work to do. Thanks to Val for pointing out my neglect of the important area of theme. I had completely forgotten about that one. I’m all focused on not gaining too much weight and keeping my heart rate under 140 on the stair master…meanwhile I have completely neglected theme!!!

Seriously, the baby is kicking and punching and rolling and rocking all the time. It’s so cool. I love it! Kevin gets to feel it too and when we were in AZ over the weekend, Grandma Vicki and Auntie Kim got to feel the kicks as well.

Here’s the info for this week:

Week 23

Baby: Your baby is about 8 inches from crown to rump and weighs almost 1 pound. The body is becoming proportioned more like a newborn, but skin is still wrinkled because your baby still has more weight to gain. Lanugo hair on the body sometimes turns darker.

Ultrasound

AJM — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 01:29:06 +0000

Scheduled for Wednesday, August 6th

I’ll be in the 19th week at that point. This is the one where we should get some fun photos of the baby. No, we are not going to find out the gender. We’re going to wait. So buy gender neutral till January 6th.

Notes from WebMD for this week (17 weeks pregnant):

Baby: Your baby, now about in its 15th week of development, measures about 4.4 to 4.8 inches from crown to rump and has doubled in weight in the last two weeks to about 3.5 ounces. Fat begins to form, helping your baby’s heat production and metabolism. The lungs are beginning to exhale amniotic fluid, and the circulatory and urinary systems are working. Hair on head, eyebrows and eyelashes is filling in.

Mom-to-be: You’re showing more now, with an obvious swelling in your lower abdomen. A five- to 10-pound weight gain is typical by now. You also may be noticing an increase in appetite. <--- Note: I have gained 6.6 lbs.