Ash Wednesday

Despite the threat of rain Katya and I walked to church today for noon mass. By the time we left to walk home it was raining pretty good and I got nice and wet. I did have my trusty rain coat (which to my surprise still zips up, although barley!) and Katya was under the protection of the visor on her stroller so we did okay. It has gotten even more windy since then so I am glad we got outside when we did.

My ultrasound this morning went fine and our baby is growing just right. They estimate her weight at 4lbs 15oz (45 percentile) and all the measurements were within a 32 to 34 week gestation range which is correct (I am now 33 weeks). She is head down and definitely tight on space. I have been stretching everyday for 20-30 mins in preparation for childbirth. I use my exercise ball a lot for this while watching TV in the evenings. It is nice to feel like I am doing something in preparation of the big event, whether or not it really helps I am not sure but I do know the midwives would be happy with me:0).

I was super productive early in the week, blasting through my "To do list" in 2 days. Monday I cleaned the house from top to bottom which caused an increase in the number of Braxton Hicks contractions I had that day. On Tuesday evening I was very sore and tired from all the work but I like staying so active. I want to do everything I can to encourage this baby to come a little early or on time! I am really hoping that I don't have the weeks and weeks of false labor that I did with Katya. It was so frustrating!

Poor Craig is still pretty miserable with a cold and having a hard time sleeping. I feel so bad for him and will probably sleep in the nursery tonight so that hopefully we can both get a better night of sleep. I wake him up going to the bathroom so frequently and he woke me up last night the several times that he got up.

I have not yet decided what to give up for Lent this year. I love going to Mass on Ash Wednesday because it gets me reflecting on how much Jesus gave up for us. I feel like this reflection is what Lent is all about and makes us think about giving up some of the comforts in our modern life's so that we may better serve others. This can even be as simple as holding back a nit-picky comment to our spouse. I love today's gospel which reminds us to not make a show of our sacrifices but to do these things for God and God only.

Here is a cute picture of Katya at the park a few weekends ago.