36 Weeks

How far along? 36 weeks, 5 days but the photo is from 2 days ago. 

Baby Size: According to my pregnancy app, baby is about 6 pounds this week. Our midwife estimated she was closer to 5.5 though.

Total weight gain: 31 pounds.

Maternity clothes? All the time. And getting pretty bored with rotating out the same outfits!

Stretch marks? I'm still moisturizing after baths/showers, and the tummy is in the clear.

Sleep: I'm still sleeping well but have definitely noticed a drop in energy level over the last two weeks. 

Best moment(s) this week: Our ladies' bible study started this week! We're doing Tim Keller's study on Romans, and I'm really looking forward to it! Matt and I both really enjoyed our birth class this week also. We went over Stage 2 labor, and Matt got to practice coaching me through the pushing stage. He's going to be great! We also had a make-up class since the end of the course is right around my due date. That night we learned about different holds for breastfeeding and practiced swaddling. 

Miss Anything? I miss being able to jump up and do things. It seems like Matt is picking more and more things up for me lately. And going up 2 flights of stairs at our apartment is getting to be quite the task.

Movement: Movement has certainly changed over the last few weeks, but Baby A is still rolling around in there!

Food cravings: I don't think I've had any cravings this week. We've had a super busy week and have been gone almost every night so we've eaten out a couple of times this week.

Anything making you queasy or sick: No.

Gender: Girl :).

Labor Signs: Not yet...

Symptoms: I woke up Thursday morning and thought that the baby had dropped quite a bit overnight. At my appointment the midwife said that she's still pretty high up, so it may not be as much as I thought. She is beginning to move down a little bit though!

Belly Button in or out? It's still poking out at the top and then flat.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Mood: I'm ready to meet our little girl!! It's so hard not to think about her constantly when I can feel her move all the time. Not to mention I did 4 loads of laundry (of only baby things) this week!

Looking forward to: This week should be more restful than last. I'm also planning to get my fall decor up soon!

Remember to check out this silent auction this weekend!!

+, Lauren Aiken

Asa's Silent Auction

Today I would like to introduce you to one of my closest friends, Amy! Amy and her husband are in the process of adopting a sweet little boy named Asa. They are in the final stages and still have a good deal of money due to the adoption agency. Amy and her family have organized a silent auction that will take place this weekend. There are tons of really cute handmade items and some Vera Bradley bags, which you can bid on here today: www.32auctions.com/asa. 

The auction ends this Sunday, September 16 at 3pm EST.

Hi. I’m Amy.  And this is my husband, Nate, and our new son, Asa.

We’re currently in the process of adopting Asa and will hopefully be welcoming him home this week. 

There are a variety of reasons why we have chosen to adopt. The most salient answer is that we believe as long as there are Christians there should not be children without homes in the world. And by anyone’s statistics, there are plenty of children in need of homes in this world.

Though we knew we might try to adopt “someday”, a car-ride discussion and then many subsequent talks made us realize that we wanted to start our family this way.  We want to start this way because we find benefits for the adoptive child in being the oldest in the family. Additionally, to be honest, we worry that if we do not act on this calling now we may never do it. Whether we adopt more children or have biological children in the future, we want to be faithful now to what we believe has been placed on our hearts.

One of the questions I’ve been asked most frequently about our adoption process is “Where is he from?” You’ve read some of our reasons for adopting at all, but let me delve deeper into the choice we’ve made within adoption.

First, we went into this process assuming that we would adopt from another country.  We quickly learned though, that many countries have unique requirements for doing so.  For example, you have to be 35 to adopt from China. You have to have been married for 10 years to adopt from Haiti.  It became increasingly evident that there are very few countries we are eligible to adopt from at this stage in our lives.  So, we turned our attention to domestic adoption.

I struggled at first with wondering, “Are we really helping by adopting domestically?” I read a blog recently when I was struggling with these questions.  This family has adopted both internationally and domestically, and the woman had this to say:

“How do you “classify” an orphan? The definitions of the word orphan vary from 1)a child who has lost both parents 2)someone who lacks care, or support or supervision 3) a fatherless child.“

If you would like to read the entire blog post click here.

There’s no doubt in my mind that, yes, we’re helping. I don’t think anyone can doubt that there are people, families, mothers, and children in need in every part of the world.  No, the US mostly doesn’t have “orphans” in the traditional sense of the word.  But if our money, love, and care can go into helping one more child who might have been aborted or might have been bounced around the foster care system for his entire life, or might have gone fatherless, then, YES, we are helping.  These mothers are choosing life for their children.  They are sacrificing in what I can only imagine would be the most difficult decision in the world:  handing your child to someone else.

While international adoption may be in our future, for now, we wait to welcome our wonderful domestic gift.

We still have a good deal of money due to our adoption agency.  You can help by bidding on an item in our silent auction:  www.32auctions.com/asa

Amy's auction ends this Sunday, September 16 at 3pm EST so make sure to check out this stuff right away!!

+, Lauren Aiken

Maternity Photos

As mentioned in my 35 Week update, the weekend was spent with Baby A on our minds :). We gathered all the things we need for our hospital bag (thank you for all your suggestions!), made a list of remaining baby items we'll use right away and picked up some of those at Target, and made some more progress in the nursery. We have to do a little troubleshooting get the mobile hung, but soon it will be ready for the nursery reveal! 

We also finished up a maternity photo shoot with Matt's sister Mackenzie (after we were cut short by rain a couple of weeks ago). She did an amazing job, and they will be such a great way to remember this special time in our lives.

Here are a few of my favorites! Enjoy!

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

+, Lauren Aiken