Weight...What?

At my 36 week prenatal check up I was seen by a Nurse Practitioner, who I had seen once in the very beginning of my pregnancy. She took my blood pressure, weight and urine sample and then we had the following convo:
NP: Well you have gained 6# since your last appointment, 2 weeks ago.
Me: oh, ok
NP: Your total weight gain has been 37#. The average weight gain for a pregnancy is 25 - 35#.
80% of your diet should be fruits and vegetables.
Me: Oh... so I SHOULDN'T have milkshakes for breakfast and nachos for dinner? Um... i'm 9 months pregnant, the deed is done.

What I took from that interaction is that I feel AMAZING and beautiful - no matter what a professional says, or co-workers, or neighbors, or family,. I gained weight, YES. Probably too much, YES. Might I regret it in a couple months feeling like a fat cow, maybe. But i'm happy now and have thoroughly enjoy this journey (including my breakfast and dinners of choice).

My Father in Law (retired firefighter) told me over the weekend "I've delivered babies and seen lots of pregnant women but never with bellies as big as yours" followed by "YOU'RE AS BIG AS A HOUSE!" This has been a great test of confidence and self security and i'm happy to report - I got lots of it and pregnancy has really enhanced my esteem despite all the "twin/house/ginormous" comments. I feel privileged to have conceived, nurture, carry and grow our precious baby in my body and i'll celebrate that with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream + vanilla almond milk shakes for breakfast!

When you look in the mirror, see the beautiful woman you are,  

 focus only on the positive in your life and

 love yourself, because you are YOU

Love in Bloom - 5 week countdown!!

 
For some reason 5 weeks seems so much longer than 38 DAYS to me!!! That's right, we have a birthday... Monday 7.8.13. After much deliberation and consultation we have decided to adhere to the doctor's recommendation and have a C-section. He had shared his concerns with us a couple months ago and it took a lot of thought and debate to finally make a decision. After our son's traumatic birth of 23.5 hrs natural labor resulting in a HEALTHY 9lb baby - he had fractured his clavicle during the process and the Doc felt that it would be safest to have a C-section this time. Although I was heart broken at the thought, I did tons of research (and griping) and really tried to figure out a way because I wanted to "try it again".  We concluded that there is a lot to risk and should follow Dr.'s recommendation. So there it is - our long awaited sweet surprise will join our family in 5 weeks!! Here is a picture from our family photo shoot we took today... of ALL days it was one of the hottest of the year. More pictures from the photo shoot to be shared soon.