essential pregnancy reads.

Now that I’m in week 31 (whoa!) of my pregnancy, I’ve done quite a bit of researching and reading. My Bradley Method birthing classes have been so informative, but I’ve found that seeking out my own information (with varying perspectives) has been such an important part of my own birthing preparation process. There’s no shortage of pregnancy books out there, but these are my very favorite and have been essential reading in my pregnancy so far.

1. 

Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy: From Doctors Who Are Parents, Too!

This book is a great alternative to What to Expect When You’re Expecting. The Mayo Clinic Guide is strictly medical, with no alarming anecdotes. This book breaks down what’s happening in your body, week by week, with a helpful “symptoms guide” in the back. This was the very first book that I bought, and I’m glad I did. The most helpful portion of the book is the “How to Respond” guide (p.80-81) that lists out various signs or symptoms and when to contact your care provider depending on how far along you are.

2. 

The Healthy Pregnancy Book: Month by Month, Everything You Need to Know from America's Baby Experts (Sears Parenting Library)

I like how this book breaks down your pregnancy month by month and includes a pregnancy journal component for each month. I checked this one out from the library, but if I were earlier along in my pregnancy, it would be a must-buy. (Maybe for the next one?). This book is more holistic than the Mayo Clinic Guide, and I especially appreciate the first section, the “Healthy Pregnancy Plan” that’s a great complement to the Bradley Method curriculum. It’s a big book, but it’s straightforward, easy-reading.

3. 

HypnoBirthing: The Mongan Method: A natural approach to a safe, easier, more comfortable birthing (3rd Edition)

I definitely plan on incorporating Hypnobirthing techniques into my labor even though I’m not currently taking Hypnobirthing classes. This book was a good overview on HypnoBirthing and having a positive outlook on birth, and the accompanying CD is particularly useful for meditation practice.

4. 

Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn (4th Edition): The Complete Guide

I would agree with the tagline on the back of this book that if you buy one pregnancy book, this should be it. This book is the encyclopedia of pregnancy books. It breaks down pregnancy and labor into different stages (rather than a breakdown by weeks), and it does a great job of charting and comparing the different options that you may have. There are a couple chapters on options for pain relief and comfort techniques, which I think is really helpful if you’re considering a natural, unmedicated birth. The chapters on labor complications, interventions, and birth planning are also much more comprehensive in coverage than in other books.

5. 

The Birth Partner - Revised 4th Edition: A Complete Guide to Childbirth for Dads, Doulas, and All Other Labor Companions

This is book that I discovered later into my pregnancy, and I wish I would have gotten it just a little bit earlier. Such a great read for your dad-to-be, especially. This book focuses on the last weeks of pregnancy and the labor and birth. I see it as kind of a handbook for the actual day of labor and how your birth partner can help with the day-of process.

6. 

Mind over Labor: A Breakthrough Guide to Giving Birth (Penguin Handbooks)

It's a teensy bit dated, but Dave and I have been reading this book out loud together as part of our class, and it’s just such a refreshing take on the labor and childbirth process. We practice the relaxation techniques in this book together every week.

Also: 

Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way: Revised Edition

This book is also dated, but if you’re planning on the Bradley Method, it’s a step-by-step manual for how to approach labor, with specific instructions for the “coach” in your life.

And my pre-pregnancy go-to: 

Taking Charge of Your Fertility, 10th Anniversary Edition: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health

Whoa, was this book enlightening. There’s so much I didn’t know about my body until I read this book. It's essential reading if you’re even thinking about getting pregnant sometime in the future. I’m a big advocate of letting things happen on their own time, but this book provides great background on "timing" and "trying." (side note: If you do decide to chart, I highly recommend the

Kindara

app).

Mamas and mamas-to-be, what made your essential pregnancy reading list?

our summer love.

This is our last summer as just Dave and Ruth.

I want to soak it all in, just the two of us preparing to be parents. It seems so fitting that this season of our lives would come to a close in summer when, 5 years ago, we started our season of forever togetherness on a warm and breezy July day in North San Diego. And just like at our wedding, we’ve been showered in love by our family and friends, so supported as we take the next step together.

Summer is the dreamiest with its glowing, cotton candy sunsets, sparkling blue pool water, warm sand beaches. I want to live it up. Hang my legs in the jacuzzi, sipping on sparkling water until the pool closes. Go for spontaneous late nights runs to the grocery store for Jeni’s ice cream. Long walks at dusk. Beach bonfires with s’mores every weekend. Krispy Kreme drive-through donut runs. Sharing a bowl of the tiniest, sweetest, organic strawberries with a bowl of homemade vanilla bean whipped cream on our patio like it’s our favorite restaurant, with twinkling globe lights and the breeze just barely coming in from the ocean, a little furry at my feet begging for one more strawberry. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

This is our summer, the summer of our growing (literally) love and expanding family.

The last summer of us two, and the first summer of us three.

I can’t wait for fall, for the cooler temperatures and the hot apple cider and the comfort foods that I’m sure I’ll so desperately need and want, and most of all, for the tiny, snuggly baby boy I’ll hold in my arms. This fall will, I’m sure, be a dream. But it’s just around the corner, and I want to hold onto every late summer night that I can.

john & lauren.

Two of my favorite people are celebrating SEVEN years (and a happy, little announcement) today! We took some photos a couple weeks ago, and these are a few of my favorites.

shifting gears (23 weeks).

This pregnancy is flying by. Actually, these months are flying by. It blows my mind that we're almost halfway through the year and that I'm more than halfway through my pregnancy. With each passing week, I've felt the need to be more and more intentional about this pre-newborn time. We're looking ahead to our birth plan right now – I use the term "plan" loosely – we're fully cognizant of the fact that 

anything can happen

. I spent the first half of my pregnancy: 1. half-trying to disguise fact that I was pregnant (hello, job-hunting), 2. loafing around on the couch trying to convince myself that if I could just focus a little harder, I could actually be productive, and 3. eating all the Mexican food I could get ahold of. Now that the reality of this baby is starting to sink in, with more frequent kicks and movement, I'm starting to shift gears, slowly. 

We recently reserved a spot in a

Bradley Method class

, and I couldn't be more excited about this.

The Bradley Method

came highly recommended and so did

this class

in particular. Learning more about the different approaches to childbirth, this method resonated the strongest with me because of its emphasis on holistic wellness (nutrition, fitness, meditation) and husband-coaching. Knowing that there will probably be some crazy times ahead, I'm especially thankful for this opportunity to be intentional about practicing self-care and growing closer together as a couple. Even though we don't start our class until June, just learning a little bit about what the Bradley Method entails has pushed me to take inventory of our lifestyle habits.

For a few weeks recently, we were eating out almost every night, and it was exhausting and frustrating. I felt incredibly unhealthy and frustrated that we were hemorrhaging money on something that made me feel so ungrounded and out of balance. So we started a 

CSA subscription

 to a

local, organic farm

, which we are loving. It's a commitment, but I feel great about the cause we're supporting and its role in furthering our health. Our goal is less frozen, more fresh; less takeout, and more veggies. I still need my  Panda Express fix every once in awhile, but overall, I've felt 

great

 with this change in diet and consumption. Cooking is time-consuming, but I feel so accomplished having whipped up a meal from scratch. On the same note, I've started a 

pregnancy journal

 to keep track of what I'm consuming, especially protein & sugar-wise. 

I'll be the first to admit that I was a lazy bum for the first trimester of this pregnancy. I wasn't ever nauseous, but the 

fatigue

 killed me. Now that we're much more settled into our new place, Dave and I have made it a priority to take advantage of all the amenities our complex has to offer: complimentary yoga/pilates classes, saltwater pools, hiking/walking trails, and tennis courts. I especially love the 

yoga class

 I've been going to where the instructor went out of his way to make sure I had modified poses, and the long night walks that we take around the complex have been good for the soul, too.

{the things we make this little guy go through}

The last gear shift for me has been the most difficult: 

learning to embrace rest

. Dave jokes that when I'm cranky, he should either feed me or make me take a nap, and there's more truth to that than I'd like to admit. I've struggling the most with wanting to do more, more, more and embracing the days that I have off to re-center, recalibrate, and just rest. As much as I want to work like crazy, the days that I have off in the middle of the week provide me with so much balance. I'm learning to embrace the downtime, anticipating that in just 4 months, I won't have many more of these wake-up-late, sip-coffee-on-the-patio-all-morning, do-whatever-I-want kind of days. We've been a lot better at keeping our weekends low-key and plan-free for the most part. I usually go into the weekend thinking about all the errands I need to run and all the fun things there are to do, but 

too much of a good thing is not a good thing

. Sometimes, time to catch up on a

book

, pore over a

recipe

, or just hang out with my boys, no agenda, is just what I need on my calendar.

{Sunday family walk}

We're taking baby steps towards being more intentional with our time, money, and health, and I like where we're heading.

It's been awhile.

It's been awhile! We moved back from China in December, and it's been a whirlwind of holidays and celebrations, starting new jobs and finding new jobs, taking the GMAT, moving and moving again, finally setting in our new home that we're in love with, and the biggest event for us – finding out that we have a baby boy on the way! Dave said that this is the year of our dreams coming true, and I believe it. 

And now it's MAY and almost 5 months to the day since we landed at LAX. We're almost halfway through the year, and there is just SO MUCH. So much happiness, so much to be thankful for, so much to write about and live. I'm still soaking in all the goodness and blessings. There have been some lows over these past months and some struggles, so I could not be more thankful for where we are right now. I've quoted this before, but I think it's worth repeating. My theme verse for the year: "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." - James 1: 17.

So here we are again. Side note: blogger hasn't been the best to me, so I've kind of been avoiding it. Pictures are so cumbersome to resize and upload on here, formatting isn't the best, and in terms of looks, my blog isn't exactly up to par with what I want it to be. But better done than perfect, right? You'll be hearing more from me soon.