Ross finally had the pleasure of opening gifts in front of a crowd! (He managed to avoid it throughout my wedding showers.) Two families on my side now live in Atlanta, Georgia. And since we were there for Thanksgiving, they decided to throw us a surprise shower. With all of the other planning involved in hosting a big Thanksgiving dinner, I was taken back by the thought and love that went into the shower. We had a packed car on our way back!

*****

My good friend, Krysta, threw a shower that just screamed “Heather”. From carrying a unique font through all-things-paper to the vintage table cloths overlapping each other as a backdrop for the desserts to the bright pink poms that hung over my gift opening chair…it was all so pretty.

Another friend (and mom to two amazing girls whom we have had the joy of knowing through our church’s youth group) hosted the shower at her home. Krysta asked her to share some “mother’s wisdom” with me and the other guests and I will treasure it forever. Two things stick out to me from what she shared:

1. Our children were created to be independent and it’s our job as mothers (and fathers) to nurture them towards Jesus in their independence.
2. I love the idea of having cards of scripture at the changing table to read out loud during diaper changes. She may not understand a word I’m saying for a while, but it’s important to start creating habits like that early and consistently.

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Most recently, we were in Cincinnati for another shower thrown by my two best friends, Katie and Elisabeth. Elisabeth baked amazing treats (the chocolate thumbprint cookies with a dab of caramel in the center were SO good!) and her new house felt warm with Christmas decorations perfectly adorning the stair railing and fireplace. I’m told that Katie was in charge of the creative details. Guests were asked to bring a book to start Analiese’s library and I love that Katie ordered some of the same fabric we’re using in the nursery to have a liner made for the book basket. She also had “This book belongs to Analiese Chasey” stickers made. Pink and green gum balls and m&m’s were given as favors. My favorite part was sitting and talking with my best friends and the moms at the end about babies and how exciting it is that Analiese will be here so soon. 

Another fun part of this shower was getting to see my friend and one of my college housemates, Ellen. It meant so much to me that she came…especially since she had to turn around an hour later to drive back to Indy. Such a sweet friend! 

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Although the house still needs some more work, I think we’re at a point where we are naturally starting to shift gears and focus more on the last few weeks of the pregnancy and preparing for our first daughter to arrive. So, it’s been especially fun and exciting for us to celebrate her with our families and friends.

We have our second of four childbirth classes tonight. Here’s a recap from the first one:

• Instructor: She’s sweet, but a little awkward.
• Introductions: We all went around and shared our names, where we’re planning to have our babies and why, as well as some personal background information. When it was Ross’s turn he said, “Hi, I’m Ross, Heather’s husband…” *pause* … “yup!” He’s a man of few words.
• Illustration #1: Our instructor was telling us that we need to drink just as much water as anyone else – 64 oz. each day. Since we have a baby sitting on our bladder, though, this tends to increase the number of trips to the bathroom. To further her point, she went around to each couple (we were sitting at a u-shape table) with a poster board illustration of how the baby sits on the bladder…”bladder under the baby, intestines over the baby….bladder under the baby, intestines over the baby…” Once she passed us, Ross mouthed to me, “why is she showing us this??” At that point, I was so distracted by the fact that she was showing each couple individually, I couldn’t remember.
• Illustration #2: There were videos. VHS style. One, in particular, was quite graphic. I don’t think Ross was prepared for it. Shoot. I wasn’t prepared for it! (Even after watching The Business of Being Born, which, I highly recommend.)
• Q&A: Apparently, our instructor is a fan of full participation. Anytime there was an opportunity to get a response from the class, she went around to each pregnant lady and asked for a response. I was always one of the last ones and it made me so nervous. I kept thinking, “What if I can’t think of another protein? What if everyone else took my answer by the time it was my turn?”
• Exercises: We went through a circuit of pregnancy-appropriate exercises, stretches and breathing exercises. Most included an exercise ball. We have since retrieved Ross’s old one from the Chaseys. They were more than happy to give it back to Ross – those things are a pain to store! 
• Eating: We brought snacks. We were the only ones who brought snacks. Am I the only pregnant lady who’s hungry all the time??
• Sharing: There were a few other women in the class who are planning to give birth naturally at the ABC Unit. The girl next to me was curious to know why epidurals are not given at the ABC Unit. After class, I had the opportunity to share with her the ABC Unit’s philosophy that birth is a healthy, normal event that does not require medical intervention except in specific, problem circumstances. Anesthetics, which are supposed to ease the pain, lead to slowdown in the birth process, which leads to more intervention (pitocin etc.) and oftentimes to “crisis” into which the physician steps to save the day. She was really interested in researching this option further and I was proud of myself for being able to confidently share my own reasons for choosing the ABC Unit. (Obligatory disclaimer: My thoughts and feelings about this are just that – mine. In no way, by choosing to forgo an epidural and other drugs, do I think any less of anyone who chooses to do otherwise. I know this can be a touchy subject. I think no matter how you do it, bringing another life into this world is a beautiful thing.)

Overall, I think the best part of these classes are that they get us away from working on the house and allow us to start grapsing the idea of bringing a baby girl into our family. It’s exciting!