Monument 10 K

I am a huge fan of the Monument 10K. Last year I volunteered at it and had a great time, but I must admit that part of me was really wishing I had been running in it. Rich and I had a great time running this year. The rain was forecasted and never came and it was a beautiful morning. I passed a group dressed up as characters from Monte Python and yelling "bring out your dead!" It was awesome. Some day we will have to dress up, but until then we love how everyone else dresses up.

Rich busted out this race with only 2 training runs (both of which happened 2-3 most prior to the race). I had to stop to stretch and was running behind Rich and he didn't know it. As we ran past a band playing music he started clapping his hands over his head and singing along. It cracked me up because everyone else is so focused on running they don't get as into it.
Comparing our "26 week" bellies! HAHA

If only....

I got this message at work a couple days ago:

"Will be traveling on a plane. Is there a pill to get there and back? Only needs two. Call rx into costco"

My response: I don't think I can prescribe LSD. (funny enough this is exactly what Rich said when I told him about the message)

But honestly I would be down for a pill that you swallow and you are transported to your destination.

I think this is strange

I recently found this while looking at different classes I could take here in Richmond. While the pill form seems less nauseating to me, I still feel this is a little creepy

Placenta Encapsulation

The idea of "What to do with the placenta" rarely comes up for most parents while preparing for baby. If you're planning a birth center or home birth, your midwife might ask but rarely will an OB bring it up (Note: You can get your placenta from a hospital birth as well!)... but who would ever think of ingesting it? Right?

Mothers have been consuming their placentas since the beginning of time. All mammals, even herbivores, eat their placentas and contemporary women are looking at this practice with new eyes, returning to a ritual that is older than human memory. Consuming the placenta returns valuable nutrients and life force to the mother. Birth can sometimes leave a woman feeling drained physically and emotionally, which are risk factors for baby blues and postpartum depression. Consuming the placenta is one way to reduce those risks to promote a joyful postpartum.

Some mothers choose to eat the placenta. Others choose to swallow it as a pill. Placenta encapsulation is the process of dehydrating and encapsulating the placenta after birth for mothers to consume as dietary supplements.

Benefits:

Your baby's placenta, contained in capsule form, is believed to:

• Balance your system and avoid the "Baby Blues"
• Replenish depleted iron and give you more energy
• Lessen bleeding postnatal
• Increase milk production
• Help you have a happier postpartum period
• Hasten the return of uterus to pre-pregnancy state
• Be helpful during menopause

Ingredients

The known ingredients that give placenta its healing properties are:

• Gonadotrophin: The precursor to estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.
• Prolactin: Main hormone to produce milk.
• Oxytocin: For pain and bonding, produced during breastfeeding to facilitate bonding of mother and infant.
• Thyroid stimulating hormone: Boosts energy and helps recovery from stressful events.
• Cortisone: Combats stress and unlocks energy stores.
• Interferon: Stimulates the immune system to protect against infections.
• Prostaglandins: Anti-inflammatory.
• Hemoglobin: Replenishes iron deficiency and anemia.
• Urokinase inhibiting factor and factor XIII: Stops bleeding and enhances wound healing.
• Urokinase inhibiting factor and factor XIII: Stops bleeding and enhances wound healing.
• Gammaglobulin: Immune booster that helps protect against postpartum infections.

Information regarding fees for Placenta Encapsulation can be found here.

What not to say....a tutorial

If you by chance come across a pregnant woman and you are wondering what would be an approptiate thing to say you have a few options:

1. Don't say anything at all about her body...this is by far the safest option

2. Tell her how great she looks and that you can barely even tell she is pregnant (if it is early on) or something about the cute baby bump being the only part that makes her look pregnant or you could even mention how she is rockin the cleavage...you may be lying but I think there is a place in Heaven for liars who lie solely for another's self-esteem.

3. Make comments such as, "I knew it was a girl, because of the way your lab coat was so tight over your bum and you know they say girl's steal a mother's beauty" or "your little face is getting so cute and round" (the word cute doesn't make it any better) or "oh I can tell you are pregnant because you are starting to waddle...well not really waddle it is just the way your jacket is getting caught on your butt you could tell...I mean you look cute" (I think she realized it was awkward but didn't know how to stop saying that) or "your bottom is getting so much wider" (this one was particularly awesome because I told her it didn't make me feel good and she replied...."baby got back!!")....I have heard all of these comments and I ...well I don't really know, I think they speak for themselves.

I would like to take this moment to apologize for anybody that I have said this kind of thing to...I am a fool. Please forgive me.

Also, as I was trying to prepare myself for what I would look like as my face continued to "fill-out," I discovered what I could do with my camera.

I guess I could end up looking like Jay Leno.

Feeling Lucky.

We love the Banff film festival. The shows are fantastic and make me want to hike, bike, ski and learn how to kayak. We found out that we were going to miss the Richmond showing and decided that we would have to go to Charlottesville for two nights of the film festival. It was awesome as usual, but the best part was when I had to make a mad dash to the bathroom Rich told me I must put his name in the drawing for Blue Ridge Mountain Sports. I rolled my eyes a little because we have been going to this for 3 years in Richmond (which was a smaller venue/crowd) and we have never been drawn. But I dutifully entered both of us in the drawing. Well it was our lucky day and Rich won a $100 head lamp.

Geek

Rich was talking to our friend Brad about the prediction that the world might end in 2012. That in itself was a little geeky then Rich says, "The world better not end in 2012!! The Hobbit movie is coming and I would so bummed if the world ended before I got to see it."

Okay Rich, I love you, but let's think about this for a second:

1)You are only 28 and your biggest disappointment at dying before the age of 30 is that you would miss The Hobbit movie?

2) You are graduating from four years of dental school and if the world ended in 2012 all that would be for nothing...not bothersome?

3) By the way we have our first born child coming this year...any sadness about not getting to see her beyond the age of 1?

Darling...you are a geek!

Pink blankets, dolls, tiny dresses, pretty bows, training bras and prom dresses...oh my!

"It's like my heart is a tooth, and it's got a cavity that can only be filled with children." -Gru,Despicable Me

We are excited to report that our heart cavity is being filled. Our baby is due July 8th (7 days after Richard's Bday and 1 day before mine). Lucky for us we have a connection to an ob/gyn(Richard's dad) in Harrisonburg and we got to take a sneak peek at the baby this last Saturday. Richard's mom did the ultrasound and we skyped with my parents. It was amazing! Nancy said she was 90% sure we are having a girl. She was really wiggly (I blame the diet coke I drank earlier that afternoon) and wouldn't "moon" her for the perfect view.

Rich was certain we were having a boy. Last week we were shopping at TJ Maxx for a friend's baby boy and we were looking at all the baby boy stuff and feeling sure that we would be buying little suits and ties in the future. As we were walking out I pointed out a tiny little dress that was adorable and I told Rich that it might be fun to get little girl stuff too. When we found out it was a girl Rich said he wanted to go back and buy that little dress. Yesterday he told me that he went to the store and he told me he was looking at all the little pink outfits and getting excited for our little girl. Then he looked to the left and saw the training bras. His response: "oooohhhh CRAP!" I had the same reaction when one of the nurses at work mentioned all the things that come with girls... including prom dresses. Ahhh...one step at a time...one step at a time. Tiny baby dresses first!

My mom sent us a card that said:

New baby checklist

Fancy Diaper Bag-Check

Baby Wipes-Check

Jogging stroller-Check

Car Seat-Check

Binkie-Check

Bib-Check

Diapers-Check

Crib-Check

Blankie-Check

Maturity to raise a little human being without laughing at the word "poop"-No Check

Well, nine out of ten's not bad! Congratulations!

Hilarious and so true

We are super excited.