Auralia's Photo Shoot :)

So my amazingly talented neighbor, Brenna King, took these absolutely beautiful pictures of Auralia on Monday! Brenna also took our maternity pictures (see post below) and did a remarkable job with those. She's so fun and easy to take pictures with and she makes it effortless to get great photos! I would recommend getting your pictures done by her...she does all kinds of pictures! Check out her website: http://brennakingphotography.blogspot.com/

Kicking Myself

So it's late at night but I can't sleep because I've been so upset today about not getting pictures! I can't believe that the last picture I took of myself pregnant was at 34 weeks!! What was I thinking?!?! I meant to get a 38 week picture, a 40 week picture, a 41 week picture, and a picture the day I went into labor. Didn't get any of them... not a darn one! Stupid, stupid, stupid! I kept telling myself to just quickly snap a picture, but I never did. And on top of that, we did NOT plan pictures or video of the labor well. Why didn't we have someone take pictures and document the day? Especially once we were at the birthing center, why didn't we capture her being born or her on my chest for the first time? Why didn't we take a picture of me with her? Why didn't we get video of her being weighed & measured? Or my family seeing her for the first time? I don't know how many times I'm going to cry about this today, but it just breaks my heart that those opportunities are gone and I can't get them back.

Baby Is Here!!

Auralia Jane Jensen

Our ray of sunshine was born on Tuesday, June 21, 2011 (Summer Solstice!) at 10:53 pm. She weighs 7 pounds 8 ounces and is 20 inches long. She has dark hair, beautiful skin, and the cutest facial features! We are absolutely obsessed with her! I'll be posting my birthing story soon :)

This is a picture of her 9 hours after she was born. She is in her adorable take home outfit!

Her with daddy. Taken 2 hours after birth!

A little late... but the maternity photo shoot pictures!

So these are the amazing maternity pictures that Brenna King took for us. I love that she also got lots of pictures of Tyron and I (and baby) instead of all of me. She does great work! I would highly recommend her for any special occasions/moments you want captured!

34 weeks :)

Almost there! The good news is that the baby finally turned! No longer in the hot dog position! She's head down but still isn't settling into an anterior position. She seems to get in the weirdest positions throughout the day...still head down but all over the place.

Also, we decided to hire our hypnobirthing instructor (Laura Curtis) as our doula, including placenta encapsulation! Yes, she does everything birth related! Check out her doula website! Tyron and I decided that with this being our first baby and not knowing how I'll experience birth, we wanted to have her there to help us and to relieve Tyron when he needs breaks, etc. Also, Laura is amazing at helping you feel calm and peaceful and helping you feel 100% capable of birthing. It's easy for me to focus on her voice & instructions and she is full of so many helpful tips including comfortable positions for birth, repositioning the baby, etc.

So why placenta encapsulation you might ask? Well I've done research on it and felt that it was a great option to try! My placenta is chuck full of amazing things that has been nourishing the baby, as well as hormones that play a vital part in helping a mother during birth. Many claim that saving the placenta and having a little bit of it (in capsule form) each day can help decrease/eliminate postpartum depression, help your milk come in faster, and speed up your post-delivery healing. If it has these benefits, why not give it a try???

We also decided that we won't be having family or friends actually in the birthing room. They are more than welcome to hang out in the waiting room, but we just want the experience to be very intimate instead of some spectacle for all to see! Especially when you can't predict what peoples reactions are going to be... if I heard someone freak out or gross out or make a negative comment, they would have to suffer my motherly wrath. And let's be honest, no one wants to experience that ;)

Baby Shower!

March 15, 2011

My mom & sister and Merryn, Shayla, and Dani threw me a fantastic baby shower that I'll never forget! It was on a Tuesday night which really pulled a great turnout. And it was perfect timing- Merryn was here from Las Vegas (thanks for making the trip here!) and Heidi was here from Virginia for a wedding!

I was amazed at how gracious everyone was. My mom provided lots of yummy food and went the extra mile with party favors and even bought a piggy bank bottle that she filled with money and asked that I start a savings account for the baby! My sister went to town on buying the cutest decorations she could find! Merryn, Shayla, and Dani put together all of the games, sent all of the invitations, and made the cutest (and hugest!) diaper cake. And friends & family who attended were so thoughtful and giving...I was completely blown away by all of the wonderful gifts I received. I have the greatest family & friends. Thank you to everyone who worked hard to put it together and to all those who attended and joined me in the celebration of this baby girl and my exciting transition to motherhood :)

3o weeks :)

Made it to the 3rd trimester! Started noticing how much more tired I am and getting more achey- especially my lower back & hips. I read that your pelvis is 4 bones that are connected by ligaments & during pregnancy the hormone relaxin causes these ligaments to, well, relax. And so things are shifty and sore. It also doesn't help that the baby has been laying sideways and very low like a little hot dog! It's a position called Transverse Lie and if she doesn't turn, it almost always results in a c-section- which I want to avoid at all costs! I found this awesome website called Spinning Babies that has great info about turning a baby. Also, I learned during my hypnobirthing class that it's best to keep a forward leaning position (create a hammock for the baby) so that the baby will turn head down and be anterior, which is the best & easiest way to deliver. It's been hard being at work in a chair all day, but I try to sit forward and not slouch. I brought in a birth ball to sit on periodically throughout the day. And on my breaks I go into an empty room and get on all 4's and do some pelvic tilts. I also do NOT lay on my back and I avoid bucket seats & reclining positions. I hope it helps turn her soon because the bigger she gets as she's sideways, the worse my stretch marks get! I started getting them around 26 weeks and was shocked! I didn't think they happened until well into the 3rd trimester/close to the end. Good thing I absolutely love this little girl and don't get upset about her hot dog position :)

25 weeks :)

Over halfway- YAY! And out of the 1st trimester:) The 2nd trimester was awesome. I felt great and wasn't too big to move around & sleep comfortably. I really focused on my health the 2nd trimester. During the 1st I took people's advice to "eat what I want to", "eat for 2", "give the baby what it wants." Let me tell you, it was the dumbest advice ever as I gained 10 pounds. I have really quit listening to everything people want to tell me about their birthing experiences and pregnancies. It's rarely helpful and instead just scares you. So after taking the hypnobirthing class, I focused on my health. I was more active (although I wish I did a lot more) and ate very well- lots of fruits (seriously- Costco sizes of everything!), lots of protein, lots of water, and lots of whole grains. Nothing worse than being constipated and pregnant! I tried to cut out processed foods & sugar as much as possible. Nutrition is a really big part of your pregnancy & birthing experience!