33 Weeks...

Well...doctor's appointment went well yesterday. Adalei was moving like crazy (which isn't odd for her)--even managing to cause some surprise with the doctor at how well he could feel her shoulders through my belly.

I found out the the little internal "pinch" that I feel only when I'm running or cleaning house is really just a frustrated little baby girl pushing down on my bladder. The doc said it may cause some incontinence (such a nice way to put "pee your pants")....I laughed and told him it was something I'm not really a stranger to (see post on doing speedwork pre-pregnancy). He didn't see the humor so much. UNCOMFORTABLE. Layla was with me and asked me a million questions about--"inconstanance" (ha) to which I just responded that sometimes mommies need diapers too. At least I got a laugh out of her. As a side note, I can no longer bring Layla with me to appointments. Two weeks ago, the OB that I go to had FOUR moms show up with sick toddlers...sick like flu sick! Incredible. In an OB of all places!

ANYWAY...

Weight gain is good....looking very similar to how I did with Layla--probably will gain the same amount of weight as I did with her. The doctor I saw yesterday seems to think that there is no reason why Adalei will not be around the same birth weight as Layla was (6 lb 8oz), which he said would make for a rather easy and speedy delivery--SWEET! My belly is actually measuring the same at this point as it did with Layla--30 cm--so that was the best indication of Adalei's size.

He read my charts with Layla and was really surprised that I only pushed 4 times and didn't tear. I told him God made me especially for having babies and that I intended to fulfill my purpose and have LOTS (again--although I kind of thought I was being cute...no sign of humor in the ol' doc). All that being said, he seems to think I'll have no problems with labor this time around and will be fine to do it without any medication--unless Adalei is coming out in some weird position or if something happens to cause them to have to do a c-section.

SO...all was good. Layla enjoyed the visit--and got a cupcake from Whole Foods out of it. DUDE, the looks I got strolling through Whole Foods at 10am while my little redhead ate a mini cupcake (chocolate of all things) was PRICELESS! No, it wasn't granola or fruit, but she's well worth a mini cupcake for morning snack every now and then....and yes, we were both wearing leather shoes and YES...I threw my trash in the landfill trash bin by accident. Obviously, I do NOT belong in the aisles of Whole Foods :-)

updates...

SO...guys...WOW has the past few days been amazing or what?!

Yesterday we went live with the website for Run 4 Revolution--and the response was incredible! Within hours, we had EIGHT new runners on the team, two nice BIG donations and countless requests to be added to the mailing list! I guess for me, the incredible part was seeing God work in such a GIANT way. I can honestly say that I have never felt such a unique sense of joy in all my life...in fact, for a while today I was wondering what exactly it was that I was feeling. I think it must be a very nice combination of being humbled, blessed and overjoyed by what God has already done in just 24 hours with Run 4 Revolution.

If you haven't done so yet...stop by the website and sign up for the mailing list...I probably will not be posting anymore about R4R here as the website sort of serves as a blog as well.

In other news...

I am just now getting into my 32 week of pregnancy! WOW it has gone by so fast. I'm blessed by being able to get out and run, but I am opting to run in the early AM before it gets light out so as to avoid the crazy looks I get from fellow Lexingtonians :-) So I'm still doing between 5-7 miles each day and my long run is around 8.5 on Fridays.

Dad is going to be doing my "maternity session" next week and I am so excited about the fun pictures we are going to be taking....I can't wait to post them. I went ahead and had him take a picture the other day for my baby shower on Sunday and here's what he came up with...I think its perfect! I wanted to have something that everyone could sign to go in Adalei's little room. I think she'll like this :-)

I think that's it, for now....I need to post some video of Layla...she's getting funnier by the day and has become quite the chatter box. Looks like mommy needs to get the Flip camera out :-)

Run 4 Revolution

Glad I caught your attention with the title :-)

So what is a revolution....

Derived from the Latin word "revolutio", revolution means "a turn around". I like that. And you all know I love running. What most of you may not know about me is that I have had this ache in my heart, for YEARS, for those sweet little innocent children (over a million of them) all over the world who fall victim to sex trafficking--children who are ripped from their homes and sold into forced prostitution, some as young as 4!

Without getting into to much of a back story, one of my great friends (who many of you know), Lindy Thompson, contacted me several weeks ago regarding a burden that had been on her heart. She wanted to find a way to combine running (a passion of hers) and her desire to help the the millions of children that I mentioned above. And wow...after a few emails--okay so close to 100 (some long...some very short---she's a missionary in Kenya so I've found that African Internet requires A LOT of patience) Run 4 Revolution was born. Oddly enough, we both have been reading some of the same books and have had something stirred in us to actively support ONE specific organization that addresses human trafficking like no other organization we've found. Who would have thought! Its like the perfect storm of "passions" really!

SO, Lindy and I are starting what we hope will be a monster of an organization that works like a worldwide track club where members sign up to run races and raise money for the International Justice Mission's effort with human trafficking under the banner of Run 4 Revolution. If you have not heard of the International Justice Mission, please take some time to check them out. If you haven't met my dear friend Lindy...please check out her blog here.

Adalei and I will be running the Ardmore 5K in Winston Salem on October 17th to raise money---wanna contribute to Run 4 Revolution's efforts even if you can't run....leave me a comment expressing your interest and I'll get you details on how to contribute to one of the best causes I know....seeking justice for children sold into forced prostitution.

I hope you all can tell I am beside myself with excitement. I can't wait to see how God uses this...I will be sure to let you all know once the website if up and running. Lindy and I just couldn't keep it to ourselves any longer!

In the meantime, some other ways you can help...

~Educate yourselves on human trafficking

~Read books on human trafficking. I recommend "Terrify No More" by Gary Haugen

~Pray about joining R4R- EMAIL US if you would like to learn how to get started or get involved.

~Help us get the word out

~Tell your friends who run or want to get started

~Most importantly, start running/walking several minutes a day. Use that time to focus on praying for these victims (I LOVE this one)

~And stay tuned as the next few posts reveal more about how you can help

nonsense...

Neil is in Savannah this weekend, leaving us girls here to fend for ourselves. I normally get really excited about having the house all to myself for a day or two--turning the baby monitor up as loud as it can go (I like to know I can hear Layla from anywhere in the house---still a little neurotic, I guess), sleeping in my full flannel PJs, watching the latest and greatest smut on TV without having to share, and reading books in bed until late. BUT, this time is different. I miss him already and he's only been gone for three hours. Heck, I missed him before he walked out of the door this morning. I miss him in the pit of my stomach--like someone just told me I'd have to live on rice cakes until Sunday. I guess missing is a good thing...I know how excited I'll be when Sunday rolls around.

So Layla, Adalei and I are off to my mom and dad's for the night...which should be fun as long as Layla goes to sleep at a decent time :-) Its been a long time since I've had the pleasure of crashing at their house for the night--probably since the last time Neil went to Nashville. So this will be fun. Fixing dinner with mom....movie night on the couch with dad, popcorn and peanut butter crackers and the COLDEST Pepsis in Thomasville. YIPEE!

LAYLA AN...

She's getting funnier by the day. She's become quite adept at stalling tactics and is constantly picking up something new. Her latest thing....she wants to "shoot the breeze" about EVERYTHING. She even interrupts prayer time for clarification on where each person mentioned sleeps and whether or not they sleep in a crib or a big girl/boy bed. It literally takes us a good 10-15 minutes to get through one night-night prayer. I inevitably leave something or someone out and at Layla's request, have to start over. Nice! She's started saying most of the prayer by herself but then asks that I chime in somewhere in the middle because she "forgets". Obviously, I don't do a great job at remembering either :-)

She's learned how to spell her name, she learned her address (even the city she lives in), and we are working on writing letters. Yesterday she wrote "Ls" and Ms" all day, but I've got to get started on a preschool type letter book. Any recommendations would be appreciated. Her daddy has successfully taught her that Glen Beck is a very smart man :-) She watches "dat man" with daddy in the evenings while I'm getting dinner ready. It is so darn cute to see the two of them snuggled on the couch watching the news. Her attention span is rather short for grown up talk, so she often interrupts with a request to draw or cut paper and Neil obliges--turning the TV off. I'm a lucky girl--I have a really great husband (who still, by the way, insists that I am "hot as fire" even with my belly...yeah, I definitely got more than I deserved when I married him).

Nothing new with baby Adalei...still kicking like crazy--really crazy....she's much stronger than Layla was at this time...UGH OH...I don't know what that means?? She's seems kind of funny about being disturbed....like she really kicks back if Layla starts pressing on my tummy or if I'm doing something that scrunches her up :-) hummmmm?

Thanks for taking the time to read my nonsense. I should be posting something REALLY great coming up...starting something new with a friend that is really starting to allow me to work with two big passions of mine...YAY...can't wait to share with you all!

You're reward for sticking with me...a picture of Layla...I know, you're welcome :-)

decision time

SO, I have talked it over with Neil--at great length--and we've decided that if all goes well (meaning Adalei isn't breached or there aren't any uncontrollable circumstances that would require a c-section) I will deliver without an epidural. There. Its out. Now I'm committed for sure :-)

As funny as it sounds, one of the BIG things that I missed shortly after Layla was born was the labor and delivery process. I LOVED being in labor with her (perhaps there's something to that and my love of long distance running). So I knew that I wanted to experience the miracle of childbirth in its entirety--pain and all--but I wasn't so sure about Neil. I can imagine how difficult it must be for a husband to watch his wife in pain and not have the ability to take it away or make her feel better. But, after a lot of research and knowing that my low blood pressure may create a problem with the epidural, we decided to go for it. AND I CAN'T WAIT!

Hopefully I can use this blog to keep up with the things that I'm learning...both before, during and after birth. I hope to keep track of how I do during the whole process, along with Adalei, Neil and the doctors. It will be interesting trying to do natural childbirth in a hospital setting. I know with Layla I didn't really do a birth plan because they seemed so silly to me, but I'm thinking this time I will do a really flexible, tiny little birth plan--so I'll make sure to post that too.

I'm looking forward to this, guys...looking forward to learning some new things and experience life in a way that God reserved just for me...

Air poops--and belly pictures

Okay, so two COMPLETELY unrelated items...but I had to share this story about "air poop".

SO...sweet little Layla had WAY too much fiber yesterday between the oatmeal for breakfast and apple for afternoon snack. She was much too busy to try and potty--so the result was a gasy little Layla. Last night as she was jumping on our bed and enjoying a nice game of tickle monster, she proceeded to let out at LEAST 4-5 stinky air bubbles from her tummy. Layla calls them "air poops", which I'll give her this---it makes a ton of sense. Anyway--I couldn't help but laugh and ask her where she got all that air in her tummy. She looked at Neil and I very matter-of-fact and said, "I filled up at the gas station." I laughed harder at her than I have in a long time--tears streaming down my cheeks and everything. She was so quick on her feet with that one--gas in her belly must come from a gas station, right?

HA!

Okay...and finally---here's a picture of little Adalei--I'll be 28 weeks tomorrow--only 12 more weeks to go! Boy, this pregnancy has gone by WAY too fast. Neil suggested taking the front view because he insists that my belly looks bigger from the front--HA and I took it as a huge compliment :-) The funniest thing is that you can see how Adalei is all the way on my left side (the right side of the picture). For some reason, she seems to spend most of her time on that side, even though I encourage her to move a little--because it feels WAY strange to have all of her knotted up on one side....

still here....

So I'm sitting here just tap tap tapping on the keyboard. I know I have something on my mind...just nothing seems really noteworthy. I've been taking mental inventory of what's been going on each morning while I run HOPING that something would jump out and be blog worthy...but sorry folks...there's nothing.

Layla is continuing to put me in stitches with her antics and make me proud of her for the way she's growing up. Neil is finally experiencing what its really like to father a daughter (or at least for now...not sure what middle and high school will hold). Layla has started crying for random reasons--mostly because she just feels a little "off". I can empathize, but poor Neil isn't so privy to the spectrum of female emotions. I finally developed a new house rule (for my sake and Neil's) that only one member of the Broere household is allowed to be whiny/grumpy at a time. I'm thinking of further limiting it by developing a "whine" pass that can only be used once a week and when necessary. Once the "whine" pass has been used, it will be locked away until the next week. Should a member of the family whine without the pass, they will not receive even the smallest amount of sympathy :-) HA...okay so maybe that's taking it a little too far. Can I just say that I really REALLY have a hard time mustering up any sympathy for whininess...I just can't take it--but I'm trying.

Baby Adalei is doing great...she starting to have those really BIG movements where my entire tummy shifts. The other morning at around 3:45 I had to get up with Layla and Adalei decided she'd join the party--much to Layla excitement. After I put Layla back in her bed, I laid down only to experience Adalei stretching out length way in my stomach. I looked down to see my tummy resembling a pancake...strange. And, she had her first set of hiccups the other week---adorably annoying when it happens a 4am :-) I had to fight off giggling for fear of waking up Neil, but it was just so darn cute (for about 5 minutes). She's started reacting to Neil's voice and his hand on my tummy--and I think she really enjoys hearing Layla giggle and talk (that seems to be when she gets REALLY active). I'm seriously considering/almost decided to have a natural childbirth with little Adalei--just to get the full experience of labor and what God created my body to do. I'll keep ya'll posted on that.

Running is still going great...I've yet to cut back on it, but it'll come. I'm still feeling really great--except for those 10 minutes when my alarm first sounds that I have that mental battle to be lazy. A little old lady at the track by my house (the same one I've seen walking there for the past year) informed me just the other day that I, "really shouldn't be doing what you are doing". Interesting. I briefly entertained the idea of stopping to introduce myself and argue my point, but decided it was a lost cause AND that her intentions were probably good--misguided, inappropriate, but good :-)

All in all--its been a great couple of weeks. Neil still hasn't started on the kitchen...and I've stopped holding my breath for new counter tops....maybe for my anniversary next year :-) Layla is doing great--and so is Baby Adalei. Whew. Done...and you guys know that we are still alive and well over here.

OH-and I'll update this with a new belly picture as soon as Neil gets in.