the things people say....

I find it very amusing and sometimes hurtful the things that people say and the way you are treated when you are pregnant. I wonder what makes people think that if there is a baby bump visible that all caution and discretion goes out the window and its fair game! I have a few stories that I would like to rant about and I will try and keep it quick. Here are the top 5 things that have happened to me this pregnancy...and yes these DID really happen!

#5..."So any day now?"
This is a question I get asked A LOT. By strangers, friends and basically anyone who sees the bump. This question started at around 7 months of pregnancy. It wouldnt be so bad but when I say "No, not till June"..The look on their face is priceless. Mostly the response is shock like "WOW really, how much bigger can you get?"

#4 "Looks like youre about to pop!!"
I was told this yesterday by a Nurse at Emmy's pediatrition office. Usually the "any day now" question is followed by this statement. I just wonder how Im suppose to react to this? Am I suppose to say "thanks"? Also she told me that this baby is at least an 8 pounder. Man I feel the love...

#3 Buying Alcohol
My husband enjoys a few drinks on his days off. So last week he asked me to grab a bottle while I was out renting a movie. Well I just wanted to get in and get out, so I grabbed the bottle and headed for the check out. While in line I noticed I was getting very strange looks from everyone in line, including the cashier. And the looks werent just strange, they were looks of disapointment and anger. I then realized how odd it must look for a woman who is 8 months pregnant buying alcohol, and ONLY alcohol. I wanted to say "this isnt for me", but I know you cant admit that while buying it. So I bought it and as I was leaving I heard whispers of disgust!

#2 "Seeing your experience with pregnancy, adoption is looking better and better"
Its funny how women who havent experienced being pregnant, look at you with eyes like " You look miserable, I could never do that!" I have been told a few times "pregnancy sounds terrible, and I dread it"...Again not sure how to take that.

#1 Doubting the gender
When you are pregnant you will hear a lot "So having a boy?"...You reply with "No its a girl" and then they give you the look of doubt. Then they proceed to tell you the dreaded story. The story of their friend of a friend whos cousin was told it was a girl and turns out it was really a boy and they were unprepared. Now I know this story does happen, but why feel the need to put doubt in my mind? I have checked my daughters ultrasound pictures several times and I have about 12 photos to prove she is a GIRL!!


Now in closing, I know people mean well and dont mean to be hurtful. Pregnancy is a wonderful experience that I am so thankful for. Yes there are a lot of hardships with be pregnant but the moment you look at that baby all is forgotten. I really believe God made it that way or else women may not want to go through it as much as they do. In my last month Im trying just to treasure this time with my baby, and be thankful inspite of the discomfort Im feeling, and the comments!!!

46 days and a sprinkle

I am so ready for Violet to be here! Ive been pregnant for the past 224 days, and I have 46 more to go. Some days 46 days seems like nothing, other days it feels like an eternity. I really wish I was one of those "glowing" pregnant women who took pride in her growing bump, swelling face and waddling walk. But as much as I am thankful for this wonderful gift from Jesus growing inside me, I really strongly dislike the last trimester of pregnancy! Im just ready to be myself again, to breathe normal, sleep comfortable, look like myself, drink wine and eat sushi, and most importantly to meet my precious girl.

Yesterday I was so blessed by my wonderful family and amazing friends! I had a Baby "Sprinkle" and it was absolutely perfect. This time around I really didnt want a huge Shower, so I only had close friends and family there. It was a great time and Im so thankful to everyone who came! Here are a few pics from what we have been up to lately and a couple from my Sprinkle.

46 more days!! YAY!!

            A special thank you to my Mom and wonderful sister for all their hardwork! Love you both!!

28 weeks later....

Right now I am at the beginning of my 28th week. I had a Dr. appointment this past Friday and we scheduled the c-section!!  Little Miss Violet Cheri will arrive on June 17 around 7:30 in the morning! This is definitely an upside in having a c-section, knowing the exact date and time she will arrive. Ive gained 13lbs so far and I should expect to gain about 10 more till I have her. The thought of 10 more pounds of extra weight doesnt seem possible. I already feel very large and cant picture getting any bigger. Here is a pic of the bump..I feel like I look 9 months pregnant already??

No matter what I gain, or look like right now I know its all worth it for this precious gift growing inside of me. I try not to lose sight of that.

Since I will be laid up for a few weeks after Violet is born, I have been trying to keep Emmy as busy as possible. We have been doing a lot of fun stuff together!

I took her to the Highland Library where they have animals and a great toddler area. Emmy loved the birds and was a little scared of the snakes!

We have been enjoying this beautiful California weather! We try to spend as much time outside as possible!

Today we atttempted to play soccer with our Play date group. Emmy loves to kick the ball! She had such a great time even with all her drama moments

Im so thankful for this group of Mommies. I have made some great friends! Love all you ladies who help me keep my sanity.

Are we introuble??

I read an article today that Alligators are the most protective mothers in the animal kingdom when it comes to protecting their babies from harm. They will not hesistate to kill or attack when feeling even the smallest amount of threat to their offspring. I have more than often found myself relating to those alligator mothers. It seems every where we go Emmy is being pushed, shoved, slapped and knocked down by boys. It seems to be happening more frequently, you would think she has a sign on her back!

Since I will be having Violet in about 11 weeks, I want to do as much with Emmy as I can to enjoy our time together before she arrives. Today I took Emmy to the park. The weather was perfect and we had a great time on the playground. Emmy kept coming up to me saying "Mommy, I love park!".  It brings me so much joy that I get to stay at home and share these moments with her (Thank you Jesus and Daddy!).

While playing at the park, a little boy about Emmy's age and size came up and started pointing saying "pretty girl". I thought to myself, how sweet! Then he runs over and tackles her to the ground! Of course the parents of the boy didnt really react and I found myself wanting to correct the boy on my own. I also felt part alligator in wanting to harm him for hurting my sweet baby girl. Why does this seem to happen all the time? Could it be I am just surrounded by baby boy bullies??

Then I remembered what my mother use to tell me when I was little. "If a boy teases you or hits you that means he likes you." That never made any sense to me and honestly still doesnt. I then started to wonder if this is true little boys must really like Emmy! And since it seems to happen all the time, we are really introuble!  I then started picturing boys coming to the house, Emmy's first date, her first love, and even her wedding. I know all of this is years and years away but I said a little prayer with Emmy on the playground before we left. "Dear Jesus thank you for giving Emmy to us and for all the future experiences we will share together, we pray that you will be glorified in her life and that she will know you as her Savior. Amen." We then ended the prayer with " P.S. please keep the baby boy bullies/boyfriends away!"

Blessings, Thankfulness, Joys and Fears

So this is my first attempt to write a blog. So many of my friends have blogs that I am constantly reading, so I decided to start one of my own. Let me start by saying a little bit about my life. I have been married for almost 4 years now to my wonderful husband Tim Mason. He is MORE than what I had imagined the perfect person for me to be. He is so wonderful and I thank God for bringing us together every day.

God has also blessed us with our sweet princess Emmy Grace who is turning 2 in May. When we got pregnant with Emmy I secretly prayed that she would be a girl, because I always wanted a daughter. She has been the biggest joy in my life. Her little personality is already showing, and she is definitely a girl who knows what she wants. We are expecting our second daughter Violet Cheri due in June. Im very excited and nervous to have 2 kids and to begin this next chapter in our lives.

Right now I am 26 weeks pregnant. So far so good. Ive gained about 10lbs and so far no swelling which I am very excited about!  I am a little nervous about the birthing process this time around because I already know I will be having a c-section. When it was time for Emmy to come I made it to 41 weeks with no dilation, no contractions, NOTHING. It was a frustrating time because I just wanted her out. My hands and feet blew up, the stretch marks were visible, and my blood pressure was through the roof! So my Doctor decided it was time to be induced. I didnt care, I was just so done that I was willing to go through anything. They started with giving me a pill to soften my cervix. Two hours later...nothing. They gave me another pill to soften me and this one did the trick. It sent me into crazy hard labor that I was not expecting. I remember thinking I didn’t know pain could be this bad. I didn’t know this kind of pain existed. Then finally it was time for the gift from God…The Epidural! Thank you Jesus is all I could think or say. When I finally dilated to 10 it was time to push. The nurses and doctors all kept saying how narrow my pelvis was and they thought it might be too small. Well they were right! After two hours of intense pushing, little baby Emmy would not budge. I just kept hearing the nurse say “this isn’t going to happen”, but I didn’t want to believe her.  I prayed my entire pregnancy that I wouldn’t have to have a c-section.  This couldn’t be happening! Well it was and it did happen. After all I just went through they wheeled me into surgery and 15 minutes later Emmy Grace was born. I was so happy it was all over, but I couldn’t help but feel like I let myself down. I felt like I could’ve done it.

When we got pregnant this time I thought here is my chance! I will do a vaginal birth this time. Yeah this time will be different!  I was expecting to hear when I had my first Dr. appointment that  I was the perfect candidate for a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). To my surprise he told me the opposite “you are too narrow and there is a good chance what happened with your first time, will happen again”.  POW right in the stomach it hit me. I can’t ever have a vaginal delivery.  I agreed with the Dr. that I really don’t want to go through all that labor again if there isn’t a good chance, so we will be scheduling the c-section 10 days before my due date. I know there are good things to it, like not having to wait for the arrival, and not having to go through crazy contractions of pain. I just really dread the recovery time with a toddler and a newborn to take care of. I know God will get me through it with the help and support from my husband, family and friends.  I’m trying to stay focused on the precious gift that is growing inside me and that every bit of it is all worth it for my little Violet Cheri.