Best. Daddy. Ever.

So...some gratuitous bragging is happening in this post. Fair warning.

I'm proud of my husband every day but some days more than others. When I saw this blog post, http://www.pdxkidscalendar.com/p/blog-activities-weve-tried.html, today at work. (For some reason the link won't work, if you want to read it you'll have to copy/paste) I was super proud. I didn't think I could be more proud, then I got home...

Ben's fans had presented him with a book (along with some very generous baby gifts) filled with congratulations and notes of support for our growing family. We are constantly amazed and so appreciative of the support we receive from our community. The fact that Ben is able to play music for kids for a living is truly a gift. Ben often says he has the best job in the world (he gets hugs on a daily basis) and I believe it.

Some of the sweet sentiments from the parents and their kids (I hope they don't mind me quoting them here):

"Congratulations Mr. Ben! We all know how wonderful of a papa you are going to be! Thank you being such a creative nurturing spirit in our family and in families all over." -Navae and Matais

"I can't think of anyone more capable or talented for fatherhood...what a very lucky child." -Ayla, Jason & Leigh

"Thank you for being such a consistent source of positivity and musicality for our little man." -Phil, Jamie & Eliot

"Thanks for enriching the lives of our children and leading them to love music. We appreciate all you do..." -Lesley & Calvin

There were so many other kind words. This is a book we will truly treasure. And hopefully I can get a picture of the sweet cover artwork to post at a later time. The drawing of Ben is a perfect likeness, down to the ever present argyle socks.

As we come up on Thanksgiving, I'm so thankful for my husband. Sometimes he eats my ice cream, and fairly regularly he drives me absolutely insane so now is probably a good time to list a few of the many things I appreciate about him.

-he loves me even when I'm being absolutely crazy. No easy feat. I regularly behave crazily.
-he carries things. Actually he carries everything. Some neighborhood friends we often walk dogs with were joking over the weekend that once the baby comes we'll continue our dog walk tradition only Ben will have the dogs clipped to his belt, the baby in a front carrier, a diaper bag back pack on with coffee in one hand and a waffle taco in the other. I will have my coffee in one hand (or in the diaper bag) and my waffle in the other. I'm lazy.
-he'll be the best daddy ever.

Meet Our Midwives

Our wonderful Alma Midwifery team, these are the ladies that will deliver Makai. Melissa (our midwife, next to me) and her assistants/apprentices Katherine and Melanya. And me (looking like I'm being stabbed with a hot poker of course).

These lovely ladies are expertly guiding us through the pregnancy process. We can't say enough kind words about them. They are smart, sweet and funny. Melissa has the most peaceful, calming energy of anyone I've ever met, I'm so happy she'll be overseeing Kai's birth (if all goes as planned).

We're planning a natural birth at the Alma Midwifery Birthing Center. We considered home birth but honestly I like to be pampered and the birthing center feels a little bit like a spa. Massages and menus from local restaurants to order from, that's what I'm talking about...

That's not to say that I don't occasionally panic about the "natural" part. I do. Especially lately but I try to remind myself that women used to do this in caves. By themselves. I think. I don't actually have any scientific evidence to back that up but it must have happend. Right? I guess the point is, I can do this. Women do it all the time and it is "natural".

So, if all goes accoring to plan, it's a natural childbirth for us. We are of course staying open to the fact that things can go wrong and we may have to transfer to hospital care but we're staying positive for now.

Either way, it's gonna be awesome!

28 Weeks

In my next "bump photo" I'm really going to try to smile without looking like someone is just out of the picture jabbing me with a sharp object. I do find the baby bump pictures to be painful, I don't enjoy the fact that there will be photographic evidence that I was the size of a house.

I can't believe we're already 28 weeks in! I've been feeling Kai moving since about 23 weeks but it's just been in the last week or so that Ben can really feel the kicks instead of the light fluttering that he thought he felt a few weeks ago. There's no mistaking it now. We had our first experience with hiccups about a week ago when I was jolted awake at 4 AM by kicks, punches and convulsions which seem to be coming from every part of my stomach. It lasted only 5 minutes or so but it definitely gave me the giggles.

Not much else to report. Our monthly visits with the midwives have been going well and we're really starting to bond with our team which is exciting. We start going to appointments every 2 weeks now which I guess means we're getting close.

Birthing classes start in December and Ben and I are both looking forward to them. As my thoughts begin to shift towards what's coming instead of what's happening right now I find myself more and more anxious. I'm hoping the birthing classes will answer some of our questions and ease fears a little bit.

I've been a blog slacker of late but I had a month of feeling relatively normal and there's so much to do that blogging kind of slipped way down the list.

I do have a bunch of half finished posts in my drafts folder which I'll be getting to this week so look for lots of updates coming in the next few days.