Pregnancy Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Natalie Young

Nursery Inspiration

February 28, 2017 1 Comment

It’s finally starting to sink in that we’re having a little girl. I’ll soon be kissing my daughters sweet little toes and smelling her soft newborn skin. July can’t come soon enough. I was holding off on any nursery plans until we found out the gender and now that we know, it’s GO TIME! Even though we still have a good 4 months, I know time is just going to fly so reno’s are in full force. We’re currently using our third bedroom on the main floor as an office/art room for the boys. With our decision to homeschool them next year, we’ll be creating a functional school space downstairs and so the majority of the furniture/supplies in the office will be moved down there. Ron is currently replacing the floor, putting up new dry-wall etc., so once that space is complete which should be in the next week or so, we can officially get moving on the nursery!

The photos below are ones I’ve pinned to my nursery board and their sources can be found here! As you can see, there is a common theme of white walls (my entire house now ha!) lots of plants, lots of wood, and of course pops of PINK.

To make the best use of space since the room is pretty small, I think we’re going to just have a make-shift change table on top of a dresser as pictured above. Ok, that oversized plant might be a bit much for the room but you get the idea. 😉

How sweet is this print?

More green and and white and pink! I have toyed with the idea of doing a super soft pink accent wall or something two-toned like this but I’ll likely just stick to white for the walls and pull color in elsewhere!

I want to find a similar rocking chair to the one above and I just love all the girly-ness of this room!

Adore that huge wreath! Love the warm vibes in this photo and we’re getting that same crib from IKEA.

Where can I find a cactus like that one?!?!?!

Can’t wait to start working this nursery! Thanks for reading.

Pregnancy

Baby Girl!

February 25, 2017 No Comments

We are beyond ecstatic! We’ll be welcoming a baby GIRL into our family in July! Skyler and Bryson guessed right. Sky was convinced from day 1 it was a girl and he wants to name it “Hunny Bunny Bunny”. We’ll have to work on that one. Either way, we couldn’t be more thrilled and are super excited to share this news with you!

Thanks to our amazing and talented friend Sophie for capturing these precious memories for our family! And my bestie Britt for taking the video! Moments we will treasure forever. xoxo

Pregnancy

15 Weeks

February 3, 2017 No Comments

How Far Along: I’m 15 and a half weeks and can’t believe how fast the time is going! I remember the weeks going by so slow before we announced and now it feels like our babe will be here before we know it! We heard babies heart beating loud and clear at our midwife appointment this morn. The twins were so excited to finally be able to hear it, and of course I was too!

Size: The baby is the size of an apple and definitely growing every day! My belly is pretty small when I first wake up in the morning but get a good breakfast in there, and I am SO pregnant.

Weight Gain: Ok guys. I feel really hesitant to post this here because I’m slightly embarrassed by it but I’ve already gained 12 lbs just in first trimester :S :S ugh. See I think I’m frustrated because I had worked so hard the past year to get in shape and was so ambitious and excited about having a fit and healthy pregnancy. I had planned to keep up with my workout routine and maintain a healthy balanced diet. Well that worked out well for the first 5 weeks? And then it went downhill from there. And Christmas didn’t help. As I mentioned in my last pregnancy post, I had aversions to most veggies, meat and even some fruits for the longest time. Things are starting to get better so I hope everything balances out (including my weight ha!) I’ve been slowly getting back into a workout routine a few times a week and trying to bring all the healthy greens back into my diet because I know that’s important for both me and baby. But it definitely hasn’t gone the way I planned and I just have to be ok with that.

Sleep: I’ve been sleeping fine (except when the twins still wake me up once and while). And then I sometimes have trouble getting back to sleep.

Symptoms: I get morning sickness the odd day here and there but I haven’t actually been sick yet. I’ll just feel super nauseous while putting on my makeup or making the twins breakfast and I’ll have to grab a glass of water and just lay down for a few minutes until it passes. Sometimes the smells of certain foods make me feel sick but again not the point of actually being sick. The biggest thing I’m still battling is the migraines. I seem to get about one a week that lasts around 3 days. 🙁 We think it’s mostly tension related as I have A LOT of tightness in my neck and shoulders. So I’ve gotten two massages this week in hopes that it will start to relieve some of that and Ron has me doing a daily stretch routine as well. Hoping they let up soon because it’s not fun caring for noisy two three year olds while your head is non-stop pounding. I think that’s it for symptoms except for being exhausted. I’ve made it past 8 pm a handful of times the past couple weeks though so I think I may be starting to get some of that second trimester energy back woot!

Movement: Yes I’ve already felt movement! I started to feel little flutters for the first time around 12.5 weeks but wasn’t sure if it was just gas bubbles or I was just imagining it. But the flutters have been pretty consistent since then and my midwife told me today it’s totally possible as you feel it much sooner in your second pregnancy. Ron even felt a little kick on the outside the other night when we both had our hands on my belly in silence for a while. So surreal and probably my favourite part of pregnancy…feeling that little life inside of me move and kick around.

Food Cravings: Mostly still sweet things. I was definitely having too much chocolate in first trimester so now I’ve started to replace it with a bowl of fruit or an apple and peanut butter. And ok total disclosure here: I went through a about 2 weeks of eating Mcdonalds. Like full out big macs and fries you guys…totally gross and not like me at all. I don’t even know what got into me but I literally couldn’t stop myself from driving through the drive through and ordering. Thank goodness that is over. Our family has actually been moving towards a plant based diet since then and I’ll be sharing more about that in another post!

Stretch Marks: Just the same old ones as last time, becoming more pronounced as my belly grows!

Names: We don’t have anything definite yet but we do have a running list which we will probably nail down as soon as we find out the gender…which is in just 3 WEEKS! EEEEK!!!

So I think that’s about it for 15 weeks. I’m so anxious to get working on the nursery and have been reluctantly resisting the urge to buy all the cute baby things. Can it just be July already?!?!

haha thanks so much for reading!!!

Pregnancy

First Trimester

January 4, 2017 No Comments

My pregnancy with the twins (strangely enough) was a breeze. I kept waiting for the dreaded pregnancy symptoms and they never showed up. I absolutely loved being pregnant during first and second trimester. My skin was the softest and clearest it had ever been, my hair was amazing… I had so much energy. I never experienced morning sickness and other then not being able to drink coffee for a few weeks, I didn’t have many aversions either. I guess I was one of those “lucky people” that round and so I totally assumed it would be the same for me again. Boy, was I wrong. I’m starting to think God let me off super easy the first time because He knew what was ahead for me. Or maybe it’s a girl this time?! Thoughts?! Who knows.

All that to say, this pregnancy has been ROUGH you guys. I’m talking being awake for 3 hours in the morning, doing one errand with the twins and feeling like I ran a marathon. I just want to nap constantly (not a near possibility with two very active 3 year olds), I feel nauseous constantly and I’ve had a few cases of the worst heartburn I’ve ever experienced. Not to mention I’ve had aversions to literally everything healthy (couldn’t even think of stomaching raw veggies or a salad for a number of weeks there). Give me all the white carbs please …pasta, french fries, bagels (ugh!) is pretty much all I’ve wanted to eat…not like me at all! Oh and SWEETS! Everything sweet! eeeeek! First trimester of this pregnancy has not been good to me friends, but I guess it was about time I experienced what most women do huh?

Oh and another thing to mention about your second, third, fourth pregnancies. It’s no joke when they say your bump pops SO early after you’ve already had kids! I was horrified to see how big I was one morning at just around 8 weeks along. I wasn’t sure how I was going to hide it and alternated between my two baggiest sweaters for the next 3 weeks. We announced at 10 and half weeks because I was feeling so self conscious about my expanding body. Ok ok, also because we were super excited and couldn’t keep it to ourselves any longer! But mostly the first.

While it’s been a rough start, I really, truly couldn’t be more grateful and thankful to Jesus for this amazing life growing inside of me. I shared about our miscarriage a year and half ago. It was a very difficult thing to experience. You just never think it will happen to you, at least I didn’t, until I realized how common it really is. I guess because I carried two healthy baby boys to term, I figured my body could easily do it again. I was nearly 8 weeks along when it happened and it was the hardest thing. We didn’t try again for a whole year and half. I just didn’t feel ready and there was a period where we really questioned whether we wanted to have any more or not. I was also scared. Scared it would happen again. Scared to experience the heartache all over again. But this past fall, after several long discussions and a lot prayer, Ron and I decided we were ready to start trying. There was a message that spoke to my heart deeply at church back in the Spring. It reminded that my children are not really mine, they are His. He has given me such an important responsibility and the biggest honour of being their mom…being able to love them, nurture them, and raise them. But they are ultimately His. While this wasn’t a new concept for me, (we did dedicate the twins to the Lord a few months after they were born) it was just the reminder I needed. It truly is hard to come to terms with the fact that my babies aren’t all mine when I think about it. But at the same time, it’s so freeing and it was key for me in placing my trust in His plans for each of my children’s lives, even any future children that weren’t born yet. It wasn’t long after that I began to feel a real peace about growing our family again.

This sweet gift growing inside me has been covered in prayer from the very start of it’s being. There were many nights those first weeks when Ron and I laid hands on my belly praying for this rainbow babe and thanking Jesus for it. We still do. So, here we are, almost through first trimester. There are still days when fear grabs ahold of me but I just keep giving it back to Him, trusting that He is in control and His plans are good.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Love that verse.

I’m looking forward to second trimester, hoping that I gain even a little bit of energy back and can eat a good salad again! I’ve started to excercise in the mornings again (I just had no energy to the past 4 weeks or so). Just walking for now but hope to get back into running soon and a low impact workout routine. The twins are so super excited. They kiss and hug my belly every morning and night before they go to sleep and they keep asking me if it’s ready to come out yet? Sorry boys, it’s gonna be a longgg wait. haha!

Thanks so much for reading you guys.

Family, Pregnancy

The Twins Birth Story

October 4, 2013 No Comments

We couldn’t believe the day was finally here. On Friday night as we lay in bed snuggling close, I had that butterfly feeling. Part of me felt a like I used to feel the day before a big exam in university. Anxious, nervous, wondering if I was ready. But a bigger part of me felt like I did the night before Christmas. So excited, so much anticipation, joy, happiness. I couldn’t wait to meet them, to see what they looked like, to hold them and kiss them. I got up so early that morning and made myself eat some toast and orange juice. I was being induced and we were to expect a call anytime between 6:30 am and midnight to go the hospital and begin the process. It was difficult not knowing when the call would come. We tried to keep busy. We ran a few errands and dropped off Marley at a friends house. I got the same stares and comments I had been getting for the past month, only this time when I was asked when I was due, I could smile and say ‘TODAY!”. Was such a surreal feeling but the more I said it, the more real it felt. After grabbing a light lunch, we headed home and put on a movie to keep ourselves distracted. We were about 20 minutes through it when the call came. I think my hands shook a little as I picked it up. I knew from the private number display that it had to be the hospital. The nurse said “well, are you ready to come have those babies?” This was really happening. I said YES and we packed some last minute items before getting into the car and heading across the city towards the hospital.

After checking in, we sat in the waiting room for a while and then were escorted to a big, bright private room where the nurse asked me to put on my hospital gown and get comfy on the bed. I was hooked up to monitors that were strapped to my belly. One for each of the babies and one to monitor my contractions. They started by putting me on an oxitocin drip to get things going and a few hours later, one of the residents came in and broke my water. I tried to remain calm and comfortable and the nurses kept saying they couldn’t believe how relaxed I seemed. My contractions started to show up pretty regular on the monitor but I didn’t have any pain for about the first five hours. Around supper time, I suddenly wished I had eaten more that morning. I was starving! I was only permitted to have fluids, or jell-o or popsicles which thankfully tied me over for now. Around 10:00 p.m. I started to feel my contractions quite strongly all of a sudden. The nurse told me that was great and she said that when my pain level got past a 5 out of 10, it should probably get the epidural. That didn’t take long and I was so thankful for the relief after it began to kick in. The nurses predicted I would likely go pretty slowly this was my first time giving birth and the average rate for dialation is about half a cm per hour and I was measuring about 4 at that time. Ron went to tell my parents who were waiting out in the waiting room to head over to our place and get some rest for a while as it would likely be a while. The next couple hours went by pretty quickly as the epidural allowed me take naps during contractions. Ron stayed by my side the entire time and tried to get a little rest on the cot beside my bed but he said he was too excited and anxious to sleep. The resident came back to check me at about midnight and I was a good 8 cm dilated. I couldn’t believe how fast that went! One hour later I was completely dilated and they told me I was ready to start pushing. Ron called my parents to come back as we figured our boys would be born in the next hour or so.

They wheeled my bed over to the OR as this is protocol for multiple births in case of emergency surgery for one of the babies. With the way things had progressed over the past 3 hours, we expected the next events to happen A LOT faster then they did. But instead, I pushed for a long hard 4 hours with only slight progression. Those babies were just too darn comfortable in my belly! The only thing that kept me going was the encouragement from my nurses and midwives and having Ron at my bedside cheering me on, while holding my hand and feeding me ice chips. I found myself napping on and off between contractions and at around 5:00, they suggested I take a good rest. When I got up close to 6, I still felt like I had just run two marathons and had no strength left to take another step. I gave it another go but I did not have much left in me. Our OB came down to discuss our options. There were two. A c-section or delivering the babies with the help of forceps. I cried a little as I didn’t think I was in the right state of mind to make an informed decision. I didn’t want to give in to a c-section after all I’d been through in the past hours but I also didn’t want my little babes to be harmed in anyway through the optional procedure. After a lot of reassuring and with everything I had left in me, we went with the second option, the forceps. Less then an hour later, Skyler Kenneth and Bryson Michael were born at 7:01 and 7:26 am on September 22nd, the first day of fall. As I heard their little cries and saw them for the first time, I couldn’t believe that they were mine. It was a very long and difficult night but worth every moment when we got to see and hold and kiss our little babies. They were perfect. So perfect. After family and visitors had come and gone later that night, I looked at our boys and cried and cried. I couldn’t believe that we had been blessed with this most precious gift.

We went into the hospital the day before with no expectations of what was to come in the following hours. We had prepared ourselves for the unexpected we knew about the possible complications that could arise with a twin birth. All we had hoped and prayed for was the safety and health of our precious baby boys as they entered the world. We thank the Lord for answering our prayers.

We stayed in the hospital for two nights as I had lost a lot of blood during delivery and they wanted to make sure I was stable before we went home. When we left the hospital with our two precious bundles in our arms, it didn’t feel real. Today, they are almost two weeks old and it still sometimes doesn’t feel real. We often just stare at them together in awe and wonder, wondering how our hearts could be so much more full then we ever thought they could be. There are definitely challenging moments. Moments when we wonder how we’ll get through the day. But life with our beautiful baby boys is still more wonderful then we ever imagined it being. We are blessed.

Thanks for reading our story. Check back for more updates as the twins grow!

Photos by Raw Footage Photography.

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