Aside from the occasional upchuck or feelings of nauseous, I am feeling amazing. I hit 14 weeks as of yesterday, and I am in such a great place in this pregnancy. Justin's OCT training happened at the perfect time, because I can actually keep up with my toddler and maintain a good amount of energy. There are several things that I started doing since entering my second trimester, so I wanted to share some of those things with you guys. In an effort to prep for birth, I want to do as much as I can to take care of my body as well as this miracle bean of ours. I started up prenatal massages this week, I started drinking organic raspberry leaf tea, and I will be starting prenatal yoga here shortly. The goal is to keep my muscles and core strengthened, my pelvic and uterine muscles toned, and to keep myself as relaxed and peaceful as possible through the coming weeks. I didn't do any of those things with my pregnancy with Ava, and truthfully, this time around I am aware of so much more.

I didn't really think of the importance of contributing to myself during a pregnancy because my sole focus was on what I needed to do to be healthy for baby/to keep baby healthy. Going through a deployment didn't really aid in trying to stay relaxed, but I did exceptionally well given our circumstances. With a husband that is stateside, a mind full of even more knowledge than before, and ample time to really allow myself to dive into all things pregnancy/birth... I'd say this is a perfect recipe for this mama to really indulge and take everything in at my own pace. I've even been thinking about what to pack for my hospital bag (no judgement, I like doing these sort of things), and thinking about what kind of personal touches I want to have during this pregnancy. One of those personal items is a gownie with a matching pillow set. Because hospitals can be so... "non personal" I want my birthing room to be US. I plan on decorating the room in happy birthday decor (just like I did with Ava), having my own pillow, and bringing my own hospital gown. We are most definitely bringing a camcorder and we will be having a birth photographer... Can you tell I've been jumping the gun with this pregnancy? I'm just so excited, happy, and feeling extremely blessed! I can't contain myself.

You just never know how many opportunities you will get to carry a child, or bring new life into the world. This is something to be celebrated because it is the most beautiful thing you will ever do with your body. That is the major reason why I am going COMPLETELY overboard with this pregnancy. Justin will be home, Ava will be right alongside us, and I am in my home state with family all around. Even writing this out, I am full of tears. This pregnancy happened at such a perfect time for us, and I am thrilled/blessed/ecstatic/overthemoon/elated/happy/feelingwonderous that we have been given this babe of ours. I am currently in the middle of messaging one of the birth photographers I took an interest in, and it looks like she has availability for the month of January! She's pretty well known around our area, so I'm extremely excited to meet with her and converse some of the ideas I have for our birth experience. I don't think I mentioned that as of about 13 weeks, I can distinctly hear baby bean's heartbeat on a fetal doppler? It will never not get me emotional to hear my baby's strong heartbeat. I remember how i felt when I heard Ava's heartbeat on my own for the first time. It is truly the most beautiful rhythm in the world.

So, I know this is jumbled, and not really in order, but I just wanted to update you guys. Pregnancy highlights will only be coming in 4 week increments, but I feel like a lot of things happen on a weekly basis around here. Stay tuned for the next blog, I'm making my first video post for this pregnancy!

Happy Wednesday all!

♥- Leilani

22 weeks

I can't believe I'm more than halfway done. The first thing I see in the morning, is my baby center app. It's actually pretty useful. It tells me how big Ava is, what's she doing in there, and a lot of other informational things. This week she weighs almost a pound. Her sense of touch has kicked in and she may be sucking on her thumb, or touching her face now. She's the size of a papaya.

It's bittersweet going through this pregnancy with my husband away. To keep him included I send weekly heart beat videos that I take while using my pocket fetal doppler. Anytime I get an ultrasound, I send him copies. I upload belly photos to our networking sites so that he's included every step of the way. One thing that makes me feel really good, is that my husband acknowledges the effort I am making. He's always commending me. Telling me how strong I am. How proud he is. It's in those moments, that the bittersweet feeling diminishes. No matter how far away we are from each other he will never stop being the man that makes everything better. Even in the bleak situations. Ava and I are two very lucky girls. Today is perfect !