Yes, I said Natural Childbirth!

Saturday morning we spent at our Bradley Childbirth Class, which I am finding very informative and helpful!!! So many people give me that crazy look when I tell them I'm going to try to have a natural childbirth. Are you serious, they say??? YES, I'm gonna try, so don't be so negative. I am prepared for intervention if there is a medical need, otherwise I want to give my body the opportunity to do what nature intended, no pitocin, no c-section, no epidural.

I have faith in my body; I was made to give birth. I've been reading about the mind/body connection and it is quite amazing how much our minds can affect our bodies. If our minds are fearful, our bodies will follow. You are probably thinking, oh, Tonya, come on. I am strong and I at least have the right to try!!! I might change my mind, but I just might surprise you!!!

Sunday afternoon I tried a Yoga for Pregnancy & Childbirth Class at The Yoga Center of Huntsville. I have attempted Yoga in the past and not stuck with it. I tend to favor more "active" type exercises like running or circuit training where you can play loud music, move around a lot and work up a healthy sweat. I decided to give Yoga another try to help me with relaxation and focusing for childbirth. I went and the first few minutes, I was thinking, ok, not coming back. But, by the end of the class I was hooked. I found I have to be in the right mindset- breathe slowly, let go and listen to your body.

So, I am staying positive and practicing my relaxation and exercises daily. In the end a healthy baby is what we want, but there's no harm in trying for a natural childbirth! :)

So, in a nutshell I am trying to say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"! :)

Birthdays & Summer!

We went to St. Louis last weekend for Mom's (my grandmother) 95th birthday party and it was so much fun! The party was awesome and I got choked up a couple times just thinking about how amazing she is...I hope Miss V. has some of her Great Grandma Virginia in her! We also hung out a lot at Aunt Carole's house- the kids played at the park, the men drug out the old Atari and the women chatted! Of course I ate too much, but I thoroughly enjoyed the Ted Drewes frozen custard and birthday cake...yumo! It was a nice visit and hopefully we'll get to see everyone again at Christmas! Oh, I almost forgot- the book was a big hit...shew, pressure off! :)

Joel also had a birthday this week; the BIG 32! It was really three days of celebratory eating: Monday we went out for Italian with my parents. Tuesday Joel and I went to Monte Sano (our engagement spot) and had a nice picnic and then went for a short hike. We came home and I made fruit & pudding parfaits at the birthday boy's request...they were quite tastey I must say! Wednesday Joel's parents came up and we went out for Seafood. Shew, a girl can only eat so much sometimes. :) Needless to say, we ate a small dinner at home last night.

In other thoughts, I am so glad that summertime is here, although in another month I may be cussing myself for saying that...haha! I haven't gotten too hot and swollen yet, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. Tonight we are getting together with some of Joel's friends from college. We are going to eat at Sam & Greg's, a little place downtown that serves homemade pizza and gelato! After that we are headed to the movie in the park! We already have our chairs and blanket packed in the car so we will be ready to go.

Ah, I love outdoor events! We are hoping to do a lot of fun activities this summer since we won't be traveling very far anymore. I've been looking and there are concerts in the park, movies in the park, concerts on the mountain and concerts at the gardens...I want to do all of them this summer!!! :)

The 4 Door Sedan and Other News

Thought I'd give an update. We bought a new car this weekend; it's a new Toyota Corolla! We traded in Hubby's truck for 4 doors and fuel economy! It's gonna be our city car to cat around town in...big enough to put baby and stroller in it, but not too big that it sucks down the gas. We are both used to big cars, so it's a nice change to zip, zip around town. I'm sure our wallets will thank us too!

In other news, my Grandmother's 95th Birthday Party is this weekend and all the family is heading up to STL for the weekend! I made a book for her through blurb.com with photos and letters from the family, but it hasn't come in the mail yet so I'm a little nervous. I hope to get it today though. The party should be fun! Hopefully we'll get to see some relatives we haven't seen in a while. I'm sure I'll eat too much at the party and then go to Ted Drewes for their famous frozen custard. Like I used to tell my Moma, my dessert stomach is bigger than my meat stomach! :)

In preparation for "The Big Day", we have signed up for Bradley Method classes starting in a couple weeks. I'm very excited about this, as I plan to have a natural childbirth...that is if everything proceeds normal. So, Hubby will be coaching me through all the "discomfort"! :)

Other than that, Daddy-to-be, V. and I are all doing well. Daddy is playing ultimate frisbee this summer...staying fit to keep up with Miss V. when she gets here. If she's anything like she is in my tummy, she's gonna be a busy one! I'm walking some and doing prenatal water aerobics...watch out, I just got my preggo lady swim dress...haha! :)

One more thing, Miss V. leaves you with a kick! She must have liked the strawberries and blueberries I just ate!