What should I do with my hands?

I recently read an article with tips for "Mommy Bloggers", and one of the tips was to always use a catchy, "must open and read NOW" title. Is that ^^^^^ a catchy title? :) Okay, so it can determined that I am not very creative, ha!

Here are my Belly Shots/Self Portraits for pregnancy week 25! Taken in front of one of the walls in our very colorful school room! (It's actually the "dining room", but since the kids do school work in there, we decided to make it a bright and colorful learning environment!) I do have some regrets about our color choices, but colorful walls do make for nice photo backgrounds, and that's not the point of this blog anyway... :)

So here we go: 25 weeks



(Geeky photog talk here: All photos shot at ISO 1250, F 1.6, SS 1/160 and 1/125, self timer of course)


Now about the posts title...
I never know what to do with my hands! Doesn't everyone have that problem? I have people (that are in front of MY camera) ask me the very same question ALL the time, and I seem to always have an answer for them. But when it's just me and my tripod (or makeshift tripod, or chair, or table, or floor...), things can get a little awkward!

Side story: K (my oldest daughter) saw me and asked why I was taking pictures of myself! I wonder if my kids think I am just vain? I answered that I really wanted to remember having a pregnant belly, and am going to try to take pictures as often as I can. And that answer satisfied her just fine. And it's true!

Back to the hands... so then I tried this:



No, too high, it looks a little weird/awkward, right? Hm, try lower:



Aw man! Now I look like I have a tummy ache! Agh!

Anyway, haha, the whole pregnant belly thing is a toughie. You want to come across loving, but sometimes a gentle caress against the belly looks funny enough and awkward in front of the camera, and of course I am extra picky about how my hands look (i.e.: "Is my thumb sticking out?" or "My fingers look too fat in this one!" or "Hm, crooked finger angle...", yeah, I already know I'm weird.)



But does keeping my arms straight down seem cold and uncaring? Or do I just look stiff?



I am finding it harder and harder each time, and don't want to have too many of the same photo where my hands and arms are doing the same thing. Anyone want to offer some suggestions? Remember, I am not the creative type here, so I welcome any and all suggestions. I may not try them all, but welcome them with open arms, and hands, ;) indeed.

ETA: All photos were processed just a tad differently. Just because I can. :)

Pregnancy Experience, Fourth Edition

So after my initial "pregnancy" blog post (with the belly shot at 20 weeks), several people mentioned they wanted to know exactly what was so different, and for more details, as I had so briefly and vaguely mentioned. :)


I am all about sharing and being open and transparent, but wondered if a post with such personal information (and that isn't on a mommy forum like mothering.com or diaperswappers.com) might be crossing the line of a little bit TMI? :) But I thought, why not oblige and transcribe my thoughts and feelings onto, well, not paper, but digital paper? For all the world to see? Well alrighty then, why not?! Here goes! :D


BUT, this post is not very "man friendly", so I figure with fair warning to any male readers (although I doubt there are many, if any at all), I will go ahead and open up a little about "Pregnancy Experience, Fourth Edition", ha!


So HERE is your warning! Men, and/or easily grossed out, squeamish people, you might want to close this blog and/or browser window, and not read any further! You have been fairly warned! :)


For a little background, here is a brief history:
My first two babies were complete and unplanned surprises. Blessings, but definitely surprises! The second two, we were blessed to have planned. I was 19 with my first baby, 20 with the second, 23 with my third, and am now 25 (but will be 26 when he is born) with baby #4.


With the first two, I was super young and in such great shape! I was a dancer my entire childhood and teenage life. After the birth of my first baby, when she was 2 months old, I took up martial arts and LOVED it, sticking with it even through my second pregnancy and halfway into my third. I started to miss classes here and there, and then stopped altogether. The reason being a busy schedule and lack of baby sitters, not by my own choice. :(


I did gain slightly more weight during my third pregnancy, than I did with my first two. Coincidence? I don't know. My third was also my biggest baby, weighing in at just over 8 lbs. (Pretty huge for my small 4' 11" body). But I still dropped all of the weight and got back into shape quickly (thank you BREASTFEEDING! :D Hahaha!), so who knows.


Which brings me to my current state of 25 weeks pregnant with baby #4! 


I feel so blessed and privileged to be expecting yet another baby. I realize there are many families who are hoping and praying to be pregnant and for a healthy baby, and have not had that opportunity yet. One of those families being my best friend, so I do not take pregnancy for granted in the least. And I am thankful for having that to keep me accountable, and remember to be thankful for everything we have been blessed with. 
And I have always loved being pregnant, despite all of the discomforts.


That being said, this time around has truly been the hardest (and at times the most painful) pregnancy yet, even though I am barely over the halfway point. And with my history, I'll probably go a couple of weeks past my due date anyway, so I've still got another 4 months to cook! :)


The reality of it is I think this pregnancy is really taking it's toll on my little body, which is barely 4'11", and about 105-110 lbs. normal weight, so small framed.


One symptom I have experienced without fail, all four times, is severe morning (all day) sickness. However, it did seem so much worse this time. Maybe I blocked the old memories of it out, or maybe just the daunting reality of caring for a (very high maintenance) toddler and homeschooling two kids while trying NOT to puke on the floor in front of them took its toll on my weakened, exhausted body? I don't know, but I felt like this time was so different. 
I lost weight with each pregnancy, thankfully this time it was only about 8-9 lbs., because I worked diligently to stay nourished and hydrated, which is way easier said than done, as any other "throw-upper" pregnant mama can attest to!
And of course, I have thankfully gained it all back, and then some, thanks in part to Christmas tamales. :)


I experienced some varicose veins behind one knee with my third pregnancy. They showed up well into things that time, around 25-30 weeks or so. Pretty mild, nothing I worried about, and they disappeared shortly after I gave birth.
This time around, they showed up at 9, yes, 9 weeks! I was still in losing weight, super sick mode! I know, weird huh? It's only in one leg (my right), which I find kind of funny, but I've come to find out that is normal for varicosities during pregnancy. They were incredibly painful, but my wonderful and amazing midwives have me on a great homeopathic regimen of White Oak Bark and Hamamelis Virginiana, which is essentially witch hazel taken internally. In just over one week of taking them, the pain has been relieved almost completely, and they are decreasing in size, purpleness, and "bulge", haha, but are still incredibly ugly. I can't stand them. I pray that these too, will go away after the birth, or I vow to never wear shorts again. Ever. Booo!


See? Not very "men" friendly, so if you are a man and still reading, I recommend you close this browser now. :)


Okay, moving on...
My butt hurts. :P


No really, my pelvis and tailbone hurt! Like, seriously aching, sometimes hard to walk, sometimes piercing pain, hurts. This is a first for me, unless it is one of those blocked out memories I didn't want to remember. :)


Did you ever fall hard on your bottom while playing (for example, skating?) as a kid, and then have a sore tush for a few days afterwards? Well that's about what I can best relate it to! :) This is a recent development, right around 21-22ish weeks, so it is due to the wonderful hormone called Relaxin, which loosens up the ligaments to prepare for birth, as well as from the increasing weight of the uterus and baby, lying upon my coccyx. Very sore hip flexors are right there with the sore tailbone.


In addition to the above, I am feeling that very familiar sharp, shooting, numbing, tingling pain, a.k.a, pregnancy induced sciatica. Yet again, a literal pain in my butt, and legs too. :)
I did experience a taste of it with my first two pregnancies, and a good sample with my third, but of course, this time it is much more severe. This is also directly due to the weight of the uterus and baby pushing on/pinching my sciatic nerve. Lucas sometimes calls it my "Psychotic nerve", hahaha! Thanks for the sympathy babe! :P


On top of those, my lower back is beginning to feel the strain. I have not had back "issues" in any of my other pregnancies! At least nothing severe enough that I could remember. The pain and aches I am experiencing make me feel just about out of commission. 


BUT, any other mama of 3 (or more!) will tell you being out of commission is NOT an option! :) And mama doesn't get any sick days or days off, so you just suck it up. :)


Alright, enough of my "complaining" and venting. In all honesty, pregnancy and birth really truly is, I believe, one of the most wonderful experiences a woman can endure, and a God given "right of passage".  Also, I find it totally neat and interesting to find that 1 Timothy 2:15 says: 
^"15 But women will be saved through childbearing, assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty." (New Living Translation)


I am not claiming or even going to pretend to be a biblical scholar (or any kind of scholar for that matter, haha!), but taking that scripture for it's face value, I think we, as women, truly have a great calling, and I think it's pretty awesome!


Yes, pregnancy is hard, 
puking is never fun, 
backaches and pelvic pain are a (literal) pain in the butt, 
and getting through the days that seem to drag on forever is tough.


But once I feel those first flutters, and then the big kicks, and then the somersaults, and yes, even then when it looks like an alien is trying to escape from my stretched out, seemingly paper thin skin, I am in LOVE! I love my baby, I love that my body can grow a baby, and I love that God felt we are fit enough parents to even deserve another one! Because even I sometimes totally doubt I am mama material, haha! But I know I am blessed, I say I am blessed, and I believe I am blessed.


Psalms 127:3 Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them!


And, that is all. For now. :)

Just because we think he's cute...

VID00001, originally uploaded by MonicaYB.

And so will his grandparents and aunties (and maybe even uncles too)... :)

Here is Mr. Muffin (21 months) greeting a Woody doll hung in the boys room. When he says it it sounds like "woo-wie" or even "weewee", hehehe! After prompting from Daddy, Muffin asked Woodie if he would like some lemonade (sounds like "luma-numana"). 

It's probably just us, as his doting parents, hehe, but we can't get enough of this guy. :)

It's so funny because he is by far the farthest behind in his verbal skills (I have vids of Izzy speaking in full sentences at 19 months...), but Muffin sure seems to be in no rush. He also has made up much of his own language, both verbally and signing! Seriously! He is one interesting guy! :D
We have learned that he is incredibly stubborn, and somewhat lazy when it comes to speaking. :) I have also learned that you cannot rush things such as this, and to just soak it all in and enjoy the cuteness. AND to take lots of video because they don't sound like this for long! :)

20 weeks (halfway!) Belly Shot

WM RS 20 weeks-6186 ED, originally uploaded by MonicaYB.

So... I am pretty late in posting this, since I am now 23 weeks, hehe, but if you know anything about me, you know that I tend to be late for all kinds of things, and you'd also know that I take so many photos, and then they stay forever on my hard drive, never to be seen or heard from again, :(

Here is week 20 belly shot (from 12/15/2010), shot in my "famous" yellow/orange kitchen (my kitchen has the best light in the house, so there will be many more photos in the yellow orange-ness!), with my fav buttery lens, 50 1.4, shot at (get ready, here comes geeky photography talk...) not quite all the way open, at F 1.6. (ISO 400, SS 1/250, for anyone who cares).

I shot it at a horrible time of the day, late in the afternoon, so the shadows are harsh, and I didn't spend much time processing it, but you get the idea, and it's "dramatic-y", :)

The jeans I was wearing, as you can see, still button all the way and in fact are still pretty loose everywhere but the waist. :) I'm still at that "awkward" point where my regular clothes are fitting a little tight, some uncomfortably so, but maternity clothes seem to swallow me up, and just make me feel frumpy.

This pregnancy (#4) in general is so different in so many ways! I am still savoring and enjoying it as much as I can, knowing there is a good chance that it may be (but hopefully not) the last time I am pregnant. :(
I have always enjoyed being pregnant, despite my severe sickness (which is just starting to end now at 23 weeks!), and aches and pains associated with it. There is just something wonderful and magical about carrying a precious life inside of you! But even this one has thrown me a couple of unexpected "curve balls", and things I had never experienced even the other three times!

Regardless, I don't forget how blessed I am, and I feel privileged to know God chose us to be parents one more time!

A kind "stranger" lady randomly said to me the other day, something along the lines of "I love seeing pregnant women! That's how we know God has not given up on mankind!". I never thought of it quite like that, but I love it, and realized it is true!

New year, new blog...

It's amazing what can change over the course of only two years! I decided to go ahead and keep my old blog and blog url, but am pretty embarrassed to see my previous entries and photos! Sheesh! I am surprised at all of the things I've learned over the last two years, and the changes that have taken place in our lives.

Please do me a favor and DON'T scroll down to any previous entries. But, IF you do, be forewarned that I do not take any responsibility for the horrible photos, or what I wrote, simply because I do not remember. ;)

Here's an update (about two years past due...) of our lives and some things you might expect to read if you so choose to "Follow" me...

I am a stay/work-at-home Mommy; I homeschool our kiddos, and I have my own (very small!) lifestyle photography business, specializing in babies, children and families. My husband of 7.5 years is the associate pastor of our church, which is totally home away from home, and we are blessed beyond measure!
In my last post (in 11/2008, Oh. My. Goodness!), we were still a family of 4, but we are now a family of 5, and soon to be 6! We added our third baby and second son into the world on March 18th of 2009, at the San Antonio Birth Center. That was one of the most amazing and best experiences of my life,  but that needs it's own blog post, haha! We are now expecting our 4th child (3rd son!) sometime in May 2011! Our EDD is May 5th (Cinco de Mayo!), but I have a tendency to go late, so I am thinking more like mid May. And this baby will be our first homebirth, with the hands and help of our wonderful, amazing midwife! I suppose I'll have to ask her permission before I post her name, hehehe.

Some things that I am passionate about, and that you will probably read about on my blog, if you don't get bored too soon, are, in no particular order:
My family,
Photography,
Babywearing,
Babies in general, :)
Natural birth,
Natural parenting,
Attachment parenting,
Organic/healthy eating and lifestyle,
"Green" living,
Cloth diapering and E.C. (Elimination communication, a.k.a. infant potty learning),
Homeschooling,
Midwifery,

And that's all that came to mind in these last few seconds. :)

I can not and will not make any promises to post every day, every week, or even several times a month. Just as often as I can! I'd love it if you would follow me, but also know that I will totally be posting links to new blog posts (on Facebook) as I publish them.
Be blessed and happy new year!