Kick Counts - Do you do them?

Feeling Christian move has been my favorite part of pregnancy! Well, honestly, its been the only part of pregnancy that I have not hated. 

I felt my first "flutters" probably around 15 weeks and hubby started to feel baby move sometime between 17 and 19 weeks. It probably wasn't until late 2nd trimester that I started feeling baby move regularly and every day. 

Around this time, my nurse consultant suggested I start doing "kick counts." This meant counting how many times I would feel baby move during his most active time of the day. The goal is to get 10 kicks by the end of a two hour period. 

At first, it was something exciting and something for me to do, so I did it! I could usually get 10 movements within at least 10-20 minutes.  My little guy is pretty active! 

There are plenty of free 'kick counters' out there that you can get right on your smart phone! My two favorites are: 

BabyBump

My Pregnancy Today (through Baby Center)

Both of the above apps are free and have a ton of other valuable information for expecting moms. 

There is supposed to be a lot of benefit to counting your baby's kicks. Knowing that your baby is moving regularly helps you (and your doctor) to know that baby is healthy. If baby is moving less, this could be a sign of treatable problems and telling your doctor about the decreased movement could save your baby. 

While these benefits are great, I have actually stopped with kick counts. 

I'm "with" my baby 24/7 and I know his patterns. I know how often he usually moves every day and what is normal for him. Of course, on days that I don't just feel him moving throughout the day, especially if he is moving less than usual, then I will break out my phone and track some kicks. But in general, sitting and "waiting" for kicks to track makes me nervous! 

I know my baby and I know when he moves and when is enough. And I know when I need to start counting because something seems not right. It probably also helps that my baby is a mover :) 

If you have a sleeper, you may need to work harder to get your little one moving each day to be sure things are going well. Drink some cold water or orange juice, lay down and wait for those sweet little jabs! 

So do you do kick counts? Or is your baby a mover and you have you developed a sense of normal and rely on that? 

PS Don't forget to check out my Family Reunion Post and vote for us! 

If you like Mommy in the Making, 

please please please vote for me as a 'Top Mommy Blog' 

by just clicking below. 

Remember you can vote daily! 

KTIS Family Reunion Finalists!

If you are from Minnesota and listen to Christian radio, you are probably familiar with KTIS.  Every spring, this radio station holds a contest for a "Family Reunion" to take place at their Joyful Noise Family Fest in June. 

Families submit entries about themselves and what a family reunion would mean to them. The entries are then narrowed down to the radio station's top 5 families. This year, my hubby entered our family and we are now one of the top 5! 

Our story aired on KTIS last week. Now this week, voting has begun. Listeners can go to myktis.com and vote for the family that they would like to see win the family reunion. 

Here is what is included in the prize: 

20 round trip domestic flights 

10 hotel rooms 

50 tickets to Joyful Noise on Saturday, June 8th

A tent with a catered meal at Joyful Noise

I may have mentioned this before, but hubby is from upstate New York and all of his family is still there. He is very close to his family and talks to them often. However, we don't get to see them as often. Now, with a baby on the way, it has been even harder to create a connection for Baby Christian to his family in New York. 

Because we go to a big church, baptisms are only done every couple of months and they are large group baptisms, not individual. Knowing that we wanted to baptize Christian right away, we scheduled his baptism far in advance and already know that he will be baptized the morning of Saturday, June 8th...the same day as the family reunion! 

It would mean so much to my hubby and me (and Christian too!) for our New York Family (and some of my out of state extended family) to be able to meet Christian soon after his birth and be able to share in his baptism. This Family Reunion is not only a once in a life time opportunity but so is Christian's baptism and he will only be a baby for so long. 

Please feel free to share this with your family and friends! Help us win the family reunion and be able to share Christian's baptism with our whole family! 

Please visit KTIS online to read more about our story, listen to our interview, and vote for us (The Foote Family)! Winners will be chosen by the end of the week, so please vote now! 

Thank you so much for your time and your vote!!! 

VOTE NOW

Monday Madness

{The Weather}::: Can you say summer!??!?! Not sure how we went from snow last week to nearly 80 yesterday!!! But I'll take it! Except...the warmer weather really limits my wardrobe and requires me to get creative with some of my pre-pregnancy clothes trying to find something to wear. Might need to do a little shopping if the weather stays like this...but with pretty much only 3 weeks left, I'm just not sure it's worth it.... Today it should get up to 71 degrees, but the rest of the week is looking like rain and highs in the 40s....

{What's Cooking?}::: Hmmm...not really sure what we ended up eating last week, but it seems I only cooked one of the meals on our meal plan, but I know I cooked everyday...weird. So I guess we will be shooting to eat a lot of those same things again this week...at least try ha ha 

• Meatballs
• Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa and Chicken
• Lasagna
• Hot dogs, Burgers, and Brats (Cook out with small group on Thursday) 
• Broccoli Soup

{My To-Do List}:::

• Decorate my belly cast
• A surprise project for my grandma's birthday... :) 
• Start and continue to work on our wedding photo book (there are just so many pictures that it's a little overwhelming so I think I keep avoiding it...ha ha) 

What are you up to this week? 

Make it a great one! :)

 

Please vote for me on 'Top Mommy Blogs' by just clicking below. 

One click will register your vote.

 

Music Monday - Daddy Songs!

As May 21st gets closer and closer, I can't help but be reminded by how wonderful of a daddy my hubby is going to be for our sweet little boy, Christian! 

Hubby helps with the children's ministry programming at our church, Hosanna! Usually he teaches the 4 and 5 year olds (preschoolers), but yesterday he got to help in the nursery instead! He always comes home with such cute stories about his interactions with the kids and this week was no different. 

His love for the kids is great and he always makes sure to have fun interactions with all of them! 

Whenever I hear Rodney Atkins' "Watching You" I think of how kids, especially boys, watch their dads and want to be like them...I can rest easy knowing that my hubby is going to be a great example for Christian and I hope he grows up to be "just like him!" 

 

Don't forget you can vote once every 24 hours. 

Just click the image below! 

 

A Very Inspiring Blogger Award!

Wow! 

I can't believe I have been given a Very Inspiring Blogger Award from Erica over at Something Like a Fairytale!

I just checked, and my first blog post was on Saturday, July 24, 2010 back when my blog was titled "Balancing Bethel and Believing in the Best". Back when nobody even knew my blog existed. Back when I was blogging only for me. 

Since then, things have really changed! This blog has grown with me through many seasons of life and has withheld the transitions. From being a blog about balance during my hectic season of life as a student in seminary to what it is now at "Mommy in the Making" as I'm living a dream come true! 

It's only been in the past few months that I have even been regularly blogging. I still blog a lot for myself, but hope that others can find something helpful in my thoughts too! I feel so honored to have been given this award!! 

So the rules are...

1) Display award logo on blog 

2) Link back to the person who gave you the award

3) State 7 things about yourself 

4) Nominate 15 other bloggers for this award and link back to them too

5) Leave a comment on each of the nominated blogs letting them know they have been nominated

7 Things About Me! 

1) If this is your first time stopping by, you probably don't know I'm going to be a mama! Only 22 days until his due date!!! 

2) We are having a honeymoon baby! Hubby and I were married on August 18, 2012 and found out we were expecting exactly 4 weeks later! 

3) I grew up in a really small town in Wisconsin...can you say "moo"? If your family didn't farm, you probably knew at least a handful that did. My graduating high school class had 31 students. Now I live in the suburbs in Minnesota where I can easily go out and not see anyone I know all day long...soooo not possible in good ole Cornell, WI. 

4) My faith is really important to me. I believe Jesus died for my sins and it is because of Him that I can live abundantly and eternally. My hubby and I are really involved at our church, Hosanna! and lead a couples small group at our house on Thursday nights. 

5) Hubby and I are already "parents" to an almost 2 year old Jack Russell Terrier...Baxter! 

6) I stopped working when I was 15 weeks pregnant due to terrible morning sickness and a stressful job.  I'm going to be a stay at home mommy now in less than a month! Can't wait to be with our little boy 24/7...and hopefully get some me time sometimes too! 

7) I met my hubby on match.com when I wasn't really even looking to date...You can read more about this here. 

Also Nominated for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award...

A Kup of Katie 

The Chronicles of Ruthie Hart

The New Momma 

One Girl, One Beautiful Life

I've Had the Time of My Life

Mommy Justine 

God's Little Grace

Learning to be a Wife 

Life as a Wife and Mama

Proverbs 31 Girl 

Baby Making Machine

Jenni from the Blog 

First Time Mom and Dad 

Pursuit of Pink

The Adventure of Parenthood 

Posts from all of these blogs can never come often enough! I love hearing their thoughts and perspectives on life, faith, family, and parenting! Check them out :) Maybe you will be inspired by them too!

A BIG THANK YOU again to Something Like A Fairytale!!! I definitely would have nominated you too if you hadn't already nominated me! 

Show me some love and click below

 to vote for me as a 'Top Mommy Blog'

Top 10 Fears of New Dads

As a first time mom to be, there also is a first time dad to be! I'm always giving my perspective and experience of pregnancy, but sometimes its fun to get some perspective from the hubby and daddy to be too! You can check out his last post here. Today, daddy to be shares about some of the 'fears' of new dads! 

As a soon to be dad like some of you may be, I compiled a list of 10 ‘fears’ most new dads face.  Of course this isn’t an all-encompassing list, but I hope you have thought about each of these things, I know I have!  Hopefully, by reading this post and reading through these fears, you will be able to set your mind at ease a little bit!

1) How can I balance my job and my family?

For dads, this can be the biggest challenge for us.  Plain and simple, navigating that balance can be a very scary task.  You will need to practice this. It may not be super easy for you to fully transition and focus on home-life when you are home.  Have a dialogue with your wife after this so she understands that it’s not a super easy switch for you to turn off.  Make time each night for you to talk about your day at work with your wife and bring her along for the journey. This will help her understand the transition you go through from the office to home every day.

2) I wonder if I’ll ever get my wife’s attention back? 

3) And Will having a baby kill my sex life?

Soon after baby comes home, everyone is exhausted, and likely your wife still won’t feel very sexy.  It’s natural to assume the continued lack of sex (especially if the thought of sex was killed during pregnancy!) can take a toll on a guy.  Open communication about this is key.  Don’t let this be the unspoken thing that drives a wedge between you two during this crucial period of your family's life.  For us guys, apparently the sexiest thing we can do is the dishes!!???  Reducing her stress level with some of the household duties and showing her you realize all she has to complete can apparently be a big turn-on! You don’t have to be a third wheel in between your wife and the baby.  Come up with fun ways to do things as a family, like go on walks etc.  You can connect with your partner, and the baby can be along for the ride in the stroller.

4) I am not a nice guy if I don’t get my 8-10 hours a night of sleep…

Have a plan of attack with your partner.  Will one of you handle all weekday nights and the other weekend nights? From 11pm-2am will one partner handle the baby and from 2am-6am the other? Discuss it with your partner and just remember you will make it through this phase, everyone does… you will eventually get amazing nights of sleeps again..... someday! 

5) I know nothing about babies. What if I do something wrong?

Dad’s, remember when you were learning a sport? Practice makes perfect! Get in there and learn and don’t worry about screwing up!  Have you watched any little kids in elementary school play soccer or t-ball or flag football? It’s hilarious the things they will do, but they get better with…. Practice!  Your wife has lived with the little guy in here tummy for ¾ of a year. It will likely be easier for her to pick up everything. It’s important for wives to give daddy a pep talk if needed. Help him learn and them back off and let him try. Give him a shot! 

6) Can I really keep this baby safe?

Boom! You are suddenly responsibility for another human... just like that.  Take time and learn the ropes. Talk to family and friends about your fears and make sure you are educated.  But don’t throw your or your wife’s natural inclinations aside. If you think something is wrong, call the doctor, etc!  Practice holding babies of friends, babysit for a friend, etc.

7) How am I going to be able to pay for our new family?

Make a ‘baby’ budget. Plan out a rough estimate of costs you think you will incur and look at your current expenses.  Of course, with life and especially with babies, there may be unplanned expenses that you couldn’t have even dreamed of when you made the budget, but planning for what you know will help you get one step closer and will relieve some of the stress. It’s a lot easier to make sacrifices when it's for the benefit of your kid and you can see the direct correlation as to why.

8) Will I be a good dad? I don’t want to be a like my dad or my wife’s dad…

This can be another big fear.  You likely recently made the transition into married life and had to make  sacrifices, and now you have more to make.  You have a duty now to impart wisdom on this little bundle of joy.  Plain and simple, if you spend time with your child and learn as you go you will be a good father.  Know that you don’t need to be an expert overnight.  Spend quality time with your kids. If needed, do it alone. Let your wife go out for a night and face the challenge head on.  Discuss with your wife fears about fatherhood based on your experience with your dad.

9) Will my wife love the baby more than me?

It’s important to remember that so much of your wife’s time, energy and body is spent focusing on the baby and takes up a ton of her time. Of course she will still love you, but don’t compare her love for the baby to her love for you.  Working together as a team will just build your relationship and love together as a team.

10) What if our parents and family are so overbearing with giving advice?

Talk about this with your wife early on, pre-baby. Have a dialogue with your family and set expectations as well. It will be a lot easier to do on the front end versus post-baby. You will have your hands full already!  One great piece of advice is to have dedicated time specific for our parents or family members where they are the only ones with the baby, giving them their own specific time, separate from a big family function/event, etc.

Throwback Thursday! Baby Pics

As my due date nears, I can't help but wonder more and more what our little guy is going to look like! I know he will look a lot cuter and more like himself a few days after he is born, rather than first thing out, but I still just can't wait! 

We did have a 3D/4D ultrasound done in Chicago at Goldenview Ultrasound where got a sneak peak at his cute little self! 

I can't help but see his daddy in his face whenever I look at these pictures! 

Just to show you, here is Christian's daddy when he was a little tyke! See some similarities!?

He was pretty cute, wasn't he! 

I wanted to share some of my baby pictures, too. Unfortunately, I am more of a hoarder than my hubby, which means he has ALL of his stuff from his entire life at our house...in ONE tote. I, on the other hand, have an entire closet and a few basement shelves at my mom's house with all of my childhood memories...Meaning that I don't have immediate access to my baby pictures and I forgot to dig them out when we were home for Easter. 

BUT! I did use this crazy baby morphing tool on the bump (kinda creepy actually). It merged my face and hubby's face and gave me a pic of what our baby should look like. In my opinion, it looks like a baby with a toddler or young child's face and crazy hair! Not all that close to what Christian looks like in his 3D ultrasound pics...but here it is just for fun! 

This pic does look mostly like daddy too. We will just have to wait and see what our little guy is going to look like I guess! Only 26 more days til our due date! 

Please click below to show some love and 

vote for Mommy in the Making as a 'top mommy blog'! 

36 Week Bumpdate!

36 Weeks, 2 Days

Size of Baby::: About 19-22 inches and 6.5 pounds! Finally at a watermelon!!!

Symptoms::: Not much of a change from last week, 35 weeks.

• Nightly trips to the potty seem to become more frequent 
• Waking up to roll over at night
• Constant fatigue
• Constant movement all day long! Kinda fun :) And kinda weird at the same time...
• Swelling still here 
• Not many Braxton Hicks this week so far
• Lots of cramping in my back and lower belly
• Starting to get some "lightning crotch" where I feel sharp pains down below as baby pushes down on my cervix and moves more into position. This is a good sign! 

Cravings::: Not really. Nothing new anyway.

Something I Miss::: Sleeping on my belly. Rolling over while sleeping without needing to wake up to do so. Sleeping through the night...although that won't be changing for awhile...

Stretch Marks::: Still Zero!! Fingers crossed!

Wedding Ring::: Still off but going to try to squeeze it on for a little bit for our maternity pics on Saturday

Belly Button::: Still mainly flat but poking out a little...

Milestones:::

• Baby growth is slowing down now so he will be able to fit through the narrow passage to the outside world
• Baby's circulatory system is perfected by now
• Baby's immune system is matured enough to protect him in the outside world
• Baby's bones have been storing calcium and are becoming stronger but still remain flexible to help him maneuver through the birth canal
• Body will begin to absorb some of the amniotic fluid decreasing the amount of room baby has to move and his movements will feel smaller
• Baby continues to pack on the pounds and gains about an ounce a day
• Baby is shedding most of the downy hair that covers his body, as well as the vernix caseosa (the waxy substance that protects baby's skin)
• Baby will be considered FULL TERM by the end of this week!!! :) 
• Our family is one of the 5 finalists in the KTIS Family Reunion airing on 98.5 KTIS this week! One family is going to win a family reunion with 20 paid flights, 10 hotel rooms and 50 tickets the Joyful Noise Family Fest in June...the weekend that Christian is getting baptized! Would be so perfect so Jim's family from NY could join us and maybe some of my extended family too! Check out our story online and listen to our interview by clicking here. Voting takes place next week! Here are some of the pictures we took to go on the website eventually.

36 Week Surprise::: A prenatal massage!! Eeek! Sounds so relaxing! I've never had a massage, though, so I'm nervous! ha ha Scheduled for Friday, May 10th! 

Looking Forward To::: Our maternity pics this Saturday! Hope they go well and I don't look like a beached whale... 

4 weeks...

OR

27 days!!! 

Can't wait to meet you, Christian!!! 

Please remember to vote daily for Mommy in the Making! 

Just click below to vote. 

Belly Casting

For my 34 week countdown surprise, my hubby bought me a belly casting kit. 

Available at Target

My hubby LOVES my preggo belly...much more than I do. My preconceived notion of a preggo belly was that I would feel oh so beautiful and "glowing" all of the time.

That has NOT been my experience. Instead, I just feel like a whale most of the time. Far from anything attractive. 

So...needless to say, I got a little hormonally emotional when I opened this sweet gift from hubby. 

I tried really hard not to cry, but I bawled. And hubby said we would return the kit. But I know how much he loves my belly and convinced myself to do the belly cast. I didn't wan to regret not doing later when I had had the opportunity. Plus, I knew hubby would love the keepsake. 

So we did the cast! And I'm SO GLAD we did!!! 

Honestly, if you are having ANY reservations about doing the cast because you feel fat and unattractive, doing the cast actually helped me feel LESS like that! 

After the cast was done and dried, I was able to look at the belly and see it as that...a PREGNANT belly. It looks pregnant like there is a baby growing in there! It doesn't look fat. 

It was actually a real eye opener for me. And will be a super precious keepsake for us! I'm planning to put it in Baby Christian's room as a decoration...at least for while he is a baby and doesn't think its weird :)

First, a few tips! Tips 2 and 3 are only necessary if you follow tip #1 ;) 

1) Stand if at all possible. You are supposed to get the best results if you stand, but it can also be done laying down. I chose to stand. 

2) Have something you can lean up against...a couch, chair, wall. Just make sure your plastic sheet covers whatever you lean on. 

3) Wear shoes. My feet were killing me by the time it was all done. Probably an hour total of standing in one still position. 

So here is the process... 

1) Lay out the giant plastic sheet and stand in the middle and get all of your supplies ready...bowl of warm water, cut the plaster strips, have a helper if possible.

2) Slick up your belly. Your kit should come with a tub of vaseline. Rub this ALL over your belly, bust, and any area you plan to include in the casting. I would recommend going a little higher, lower and to the sides with the vaseline than you actually plan to put the casting strips. We didn't do this and ouch! It kinda hurt taking it off those spots!

3) Have your helper (for me my hubby) dip the plaster strips in water and press and smooth them over your belly and bust area, if desired. You can make your ever growing boobs look much better by wearing a bra. I didn't do this, so I'm not sure what the results would be to your bra... 

4) Stand perfectly still and let the cast dry for 20 minutes. This was REALLY hard! And also when the couch behind me came in handy. There were a few wrinkles in the cast from me moving a little too much and also some extra space between my belly and the cast from my belly expanding when I would breath. No biggie really. Can't even notice. 

5) Carefully have your helper peel the cast off of you. This is where you learn if you put enough vaseline on...so don't be afraid to over do it in step 2! Better safe than sorry! Once the cast is off, set it belly up on a towel with another towel bunched up inside the belly and let it dry. 

6) Let the cast dry for 2 days...48 hours. Ta da! The cast is done! Now you can use the mesh piece that came with the kit to smooth out the cast and can also trip the edges and paint and decorate the cast if desired. I will hopefully eventually be painting mine baby blue! 

Again, soooo glad we did it! Don't be afraid! You won't have your baby in your belly forever and this is a great way to "freeze" the moment and the memory. 

Thanks for the sweet surprise, hubby! 

 

If you are liking Mommy in the Making, 

please please please show me some love by clicking below

to vote for me as a 'top mommy blogger'.

Just one click registers your vote!

Thanks friends!