Family Musings

Today I was blessed to have a second baby shower. This one was thrown by the ladies at my church . It was a lot of fun and I was definitely showered with lots of gifts for Baby Sabin! In typical baby shower fashing, we received lots of great advice too. Because I've not posted a blog in over a week, I'll give you lots of good ideas and laughs by posting all of the advice I received. I promise to come back later and give you some more updates and details about Baby Sabin! Talk to your baby about Jesus. - Dixie G. Always take some time for yourself. - Becky B. Talk to your child about everything, even if it is uncomfortable. - Cindy W. While it's too late to say run, so pray! Don't be afraid to ask others for advice and help. - Tina S. Get lots of rest, schedules are a must, and crying is okay. - Anonymous Be always loving, always consistent, always a good example. - Linda S. Be consistent with discipline. - Kori R. Rely on friends for help! - Angela T. A baby can never g...

Thank you for your prayers this afternoon. They have been answered and the current solution appears to be even better than what we had originally planned for. I posted an update for today on our dome website. Today’s photos and comments are on page 3. I know several of you responded personally to my e-mail earlier and I do intend to get back to you… but for tonight I am beat. I hope you don’t mind waiting a day or two. Thanks for your prayers and encouragement! Click here for Dome website

Good afternoon Friends. I hope you won’t mind my asking, but would you please pray for Bruce and I and the people constructing our dome, especially over the next few days. We had a rough time this morning with the arrangements. The boom truck we were supposed to use got stuck in the sand. Fortunately, we were able to get it out, but we won’t be able to use it due to the site conditions. After lots of fervent prayer ourselves and several phone calls we were able to find a piece of equipment that will work on our lot and it should be delivered in a couple of hours (it’s called a lull and is supposed to be all-terrain). However, we’ve lost almost an entire day or work and we still have to pay the laborers for all the standing around and head scratching that was done. Lucky for us, our head scratching is free at least. J I must have lost my skills for handling stress when I left Allstate because this is wearing me out mentally and emotionally more than I expected. I know several of you hav...

I haven't had a cold since the day I found out I was pregnant in November. Just last week I was thinking how good I was doing not having a cold in over 6 months. I spoke too soon. It is still in the early stages so I am trying to stay hydrated and rest a little. The hydrated part isn't a problem, except I am having to go to the bathroom even more than I thought possible, and I didn't think that was possible! Resting is a little harder since we begin construction on the dome tomorrow and there will be a lot to do. I did take a nap today and that helped some, but I will definitely be going to bed early tonight. If anyone has any ideas for stopping a head cold (that might be something more with my sinuses since my eyes are also sore), let me know!

I know it has been more than a few days since my last post, but I have a good reason. We have been very busy. You see, in just another 2 days, construction of the dome shells will begin! We were set for tomorrow, but today it got pushed back one more day until Wednesday. There were a lot of errands and last minute arrangements that we have had to work on over the last several days. Remember, you can always check for dome updates online. As for Baby Sabin, he or she is still growing very well. I asked the doctor last week about how I was growing in shape and size and she was perfectly satisfied with my progress. I think I've mentioned how there are a couple of ladies who seem to not be able to get over the fact that I don't look like how they think I should. Well, my doctor said not to worry and then just the other day I read in What to Expect When You're Expecting that there are many acceptable shapes during pregnancy and I have one of them. So no more problems there... w...

Today was a big day for the Sabin family. We took Baby Sabin to his or her first theme park - Universal Studios. What a day it was! I am beat and my legs are killing me. We arrived just before they opened at 9 am and stayed until 4:30 or so. Following our tried and true theme park advice, we went straight to the back of the park and started with MIB. Things were so slow back there, we were able to ride 2 times in a row and achieved Galaxy Defender status both times. Frostproof Aliens better watch out! Our Galaxy Defender status aside... I want to talk a moment though about how much my legs hurt. The pain reminds me of how my feet and legs hurt before I lost a significant amount of weight last year. For those who don't know, or remember, in January 2006 I weighed about 211 pounds. A day of walking around nearly killed me. I'd have to take an anti-inflammatory and soak my feet just to make it through the next day. When I started losing weight through Weight Watchers that started ...

I have found a really neat site for DIY called ThreadBangers. There, I was inspired to take an oversized t-shirt (from my pre-pregnancy days) and convert it into something I could wear at 7 months pregant and not look like I was in a moo-moo. I'd much rather look pregnant than fat (trust me, I know looking fat... I was there once). Here is the result: I basically cut strips on the sides and double-tied them together. The bottom was trimmed (I'd leave a little more length next time, and I would make it more rounded), as well as the sleeves. I bunched them up and tied them off with a piece of t-shirt from the bottom. It isn't perfect but I learned some things that will make the next one even better! By the way, I started having practice contractions on Monday. They lasted for about 5 hours and came very randomly, everywhere from 5 to 15 minutes apart. Some were small but others just about stopped me mid-sentence while I tried to figre out what this new sensation was. I have ...

We are into the single digits here people! There are ~9 weeks left in my pregnancy. That is the same as one -quarter of a school year. Bruce told me saying it that way made it seem further away. But that was because we had very different teaching experiences last year. I think each 9-week period went by super fast. I have mixed feelings about this coming 9-weeks. I want it to go quickly when I am feeling uncomfortable, but I also really enjoy feeling the baby move around inside of me. Except when I can't fall asleep at night that is. :-) There isn't too much to report about changes in Baby Sabin, just continued growth. Here is what Baby.com says: Your baby weighs just over 3 pounds and is a bit more than 16 inches long. She's probably moving more than ever before, too, so you may even have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and rolls keep you up at night. If you're having this problem, comfort yourself with the knowledge that your baby is active and healthy...

I hope you'll indulge me for just a few moments as I try to explain how being pregnant has led me to love my husband even more. To see him spontaneously stop me as I walk into or out of a room and just hug me, rub my belly, and start talking to Baby Sabin makes my heart swell. I feel like it could just burst to begin to see how much Bruce already loves our child and takes the time to play with Baby Sabin. Play usually means rubbing or patting my belly while asking Baby Sabin silly questions. I know that when Baby Sabin is born, he or she will recognize Bruce's voice because Bruce spends so much time talking to him or her. Apart from feeling Baby Sabin move around inside of me, this increased love for my husband might just be my new favorite part of being pregnant! I love you Bruce. I think you'll be a great father!

I followed the link Erika sent me and the results were pretty conclusive. I am glad to know the issue is settled. You are carrying the extra weight out front, so it's a boy. The hair on your legs is not growing any faster during your preganacy, so it's a girl. Boys are carried low. You are going to have a boy. Sleeping in a bed with your pillow to the north indicates that you will be having a boy. Your feet are not colder than they were before pregnancy. You are having a girl. You refuse to eat the heel of a loaf of bread. You are having a girl. Dad-to-be is gaining weight right along with Mom-to-be, which means that you'll have a boy. The maternal grandmother doesn't have gray hair (dyed or natural), so a girl will be born. You didn't have morning sickness early in pregnancy, so it will be a boy. You are looking particularly good during pregnancy. Therefore, it must be a boy, because girls steal their mother's looks. Your chest development has not been very dra...

Wow, I have only 10 weeks left (roughly) until I get to meet Baby Sabin face to face. These past 30 weeks seem to have flown by. I have a surprise for those of you who are still reading my blog. I went in last Friday to have a 3-d ultrasound and have a picture to share with you. It may be hard to understand what you are seeing at first, so let me try to explain. Just imagine that our baby is wearing a hood that is casting a shadow over his or her face. There is a black spot in the middle which is where the right eye would be, except that we are looking at Baby Sabin from a funny angle. You can make out the left eye, nose, lips, and 1 little hand. I hope you like the picture. We tried hard to get a better full face shot, but again, Baby Sabin didn't want to pose for the camera. In more baby news, Bruce and I attended a Baby Care class at the Regency Medical Center, where I plan to give birth. The nurse, Karen Hall, was a great presenter and helped us understand what the he...