Introducing....

The newest Pace addition!

Our new sweet squishy baby boy was born at 42 weeks 2 days gestation on March 30, 2013 at 5 pm in the bathroom of our home.

And the announcement everyone has been waiting for... his name! It took us some time. We wanted to get to know him, see what fit him well and let it settle in slowely without rush. So, without further ado, I would like to introduce you to:

 

                                                         Marsden Adonis Pace
                                                                    aka baby "Mars"
We love that he can go by Mars when he is younger, it really suits him and is what we had nicknamed him throughout the pregnancy. We really wanted a first name to incorporate Mars in it, in a unique way. Marsden really stuck and fits his wise old soul. Adonis is the handsome greek god  of love and fertility, and he fits right in with his brothers Atlas and Orion. :) So say hello to our new Pace family member. He is awesome! So excited to get to know him better and watch him grow. 

He has the most wrinkly hands and feet.
His head is amazingly soft, I cant stop feeling it.
He drinks milk ALL the time, and just loves to sleep and snuggle!

My next post is going to be more about everything leading up to his birth story! Excited to share his story with everyone, it truly is and was amazing and perfect!!!! 

33 week update!

Whew! The final stretch is just around the corner. I may be such an odd person but I want it to SLOW down, I do not want to rush these last few precious, amazing, and sacred weeks I have with baby number 3 growing inside my belly. I am feeling closer than ever bonded to baby, the kicks are so strong and responsive. I will bullet point some tidbits so it is easier to read :

• I close my eyes and can see where baby is positioned and I feel amazingly in tuned to him/her. Baby is head down right now, I am certain I can feel hiccups very low. The back and bum are against my left side and I feel kicks and jabs and movements everywhere. 
• I have started pulling out all the newborn clothes, and getting "new" to us clothes from wonderful friends.
• We also have a pretty nice cloth diaper stash building up for the sweet baby bum. 
• Maternity shirts are a pain and not much looks very good on me, belly is higher this time, but lower too... I cant explain that very well. My belly is stretched out more so its not tight skin round belly that is lower, it is more jiggly ;). Baby is sitting higher up though, which makes my pelvis happy. 
• My gums are bleeding insanely every time I brush. This is not abnormal for me. 
• I dream of taking a bath in some soothing body lotion such as shea butter or something similar. I have these intense dry spots especially on my elbows and knees that I can not fix! 
• I can still reach my feet pretty well, though Zack was so wonderful and painted my toes for me the other day!
• I am starting to feel the dreaded pubis symphysis pain in the front. Its a sharp stretching pain. Im trying to get up with both legs together at the same time to try and minimize it. 
• Lincoln and baby Mars. I do not even need to say more, other than I HAVE to video his amazing conversations to and about the baby. He is incredible. He talks to baby every night, he tells me about baby being born in the water and how he can not wait to hold baby in his arms when he/she grows big enough to be ready. We talk about everything! He is very fascinated with the umbilical cord and how it becomes our belly buttons. 
• Still searching for a comfortable sleeping position. My body pillow does help some. 
• BUBBLE OF PEACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My doula Chelsea read to me a hypnobirthing script about my bubble of peace and it hit home so hard. I have my protective shield up finally, and am only allowing the positive stories in and shielding away any negativity! 

Not finding out my baby's sex

      The first thing I always hear is "Oh, I could not do that, I just have to know. I am such a planner."
But my question is what really needs to be planned for a newborn that depends on their sex? Why does it matter so much? So you can put your girls in pink, and your boys in blue? Who cares? The babies absolutely do not care about that stuff, even at 4.5 years old my son does not care about specific colors for boys vs girls or what they are supposed to wear. I am on pregnancy number three and have not found out the sex for any of the babies I have had, and I would not change it for anything.
       Let me tell you about the MOMENT. The first instant I got to see my first born child when he was pulled from my stomach and shown to me. I did not know his sex, and I was waiting with such anticipation to   see what life I had been growing inside of me. I will never forget how BREATHLESS I felt as I waited and they showed him to me, and I saw that I had a little boy. I literally could not breath and felt my whole body swell with this intense powerful emotion that I can only compare to a religious experience. Pure perfection and joy. It was then that I knew I will always wait to find out the sex of my babies. Because that moment made it all worth my wait.
        Making sure that I love my baby no matter of their body parts is important to me. I feel like society, family, and friends pressure me with asking things like, "oh, maybe you will finally have your girl" or something like that. I am tired of hearing it. This baby is awesome and already proves its cool little existence by playing little kick games in my belly and flipping around all the time. I could sit here and scrutinize all the little pregnancy details trying to guess the outcome of baby's gender but I am not going to do that. I am going to revel in the fact that I have a perfect little creature growing inside of me and that I do not need a specific color clothes, cloth diapers or baby swing to be prepared to care for them outside of my womb.

Hearing our baby's heartbeat

Watch "Baby Pace #3 Heartbeat" on YouTube

I had to record hearing our baby's heartbeat for the first time. It never gets old. That sound is one if the most soothing and comforting sounds in the world and I love it. I wish I had gotten my face too, I was smiling ear to ear. Its wonderful to hear and know your baby is strong and healthy.  The midwife was awesome and our appointment was great. This is the practice I am doing co-care with until I find a midwife to attend my homebirth. :)