gina prescott

I wanted to take Bradley classes but they were not offered where we were living at the time with Max and so this time around I was really excited to have the opportunity to learn more about pregnancy, labor, birth, and how to build my relationship with my husband so that he can be my main support. We meet once a week for twelve weeks and thanks to awesome friends who babysit Max for us we haven’t missed a class. I absolutely love it.

Yesterday our teacher showed us this amazing video, she has shown us a lot of inspiring videos but this one gave me the good shivers. It’s not graphic at all. Just a woman singing BEAUTIFULLY through contractions. Her husband plays the guitar and clearly she sings a lot but what a beautiful way to experience labor. It reminds me that labor does not have to be fraught with fear of pain but can be filled with beautiful, harmonious (in both senses of the word) moments.

This video inspired me to really look into music that will help my experience. I love singing and I especially love music with inspiring messages and beautiful harmonies that I can sing along to. I have compiled a short list of artists and groups but I am curious if anyone can help think of other suggestions. Think along the lines of Colbie Caillat, India. Arie, Francesca Battistelli, Hanson (yes, that Hanson), and Mindy Gledhill.

Lately there have been little signs though, he is going through a bit of separation anxiety particularly around nap time and especially when visitors come. He nuzzles into the bit of space left I have and hides his face in my shoulder. I admit I love it. It reminds me how little he once was and how he use to spend his entire day resting upon my chest moving only to eat, coo and sleep. I used to be pretty stern about him going down for his naps and now I find myself swooping in to rescue him from his tears, I let him relax against me and I watch as his breathing immediately slows down until he is in a deep sleep. Perhaps I should be prepping him for more independence but the immense love I feel for him in those moments coupled with the pregnancy hormones is like a drug to me. It relaxes me too. It helps me cherish these moments I have with him and as he rests upon me I ponder on how I will really manage two kids, dividing me time and attention and making sure that each of my children feels loved.

Then there is the question of, “How could I love another child as much as this one?” I have thought about it but for some reason it doesn’t worry me. From talking and observing friends who have more than one child it clearly is not an issue. Plus I already feel a whole lot of love for this baby within me and I know my love for Max can’t diminish. From what I hear, your heart just grows. I have faith in those words.

On the flip side of those few moments of separation anxiety, Max is really starting to gain independence on his own terms. He enjoys exploring, playing by himself and wandering away from me even after instructions to stop. It is fascinating to watch him explore everything around him from bugs to books. He loves walking on his own and is starting to understand when he has to hold my hand (i.e. crossing the street, parking lots, etc.) The world of a toddler is a fascinating one, both for me and him.

So I guess all this is to say that we are getting ready for this new baby. It is still a few months off but I remember how quickly those months pass and before I know it there will be a new bundle in my arms. A new bundle to love and cuddle and take care of. Not with the same one-on-one attention that Max received but this baby gets the bonus of a big brother, and this baby’s big brother is awesome.

About a month ago we went on our first hike of the season. We chose a hike 30 minutes out that as promised as child-friendly. Child-friendly hikes are basically pretty flat and boring hikes, at least when the ground is still thawing and muddy from the seasons changing. We finished the hike quickly and decided that we would venture a little further. Looking at the cropped map in our borrowed library book it seemed as if we could follow the road the cars took to another hike that seemed a little more interesting. We guessed it would take another 30 minutes to get there. We set off an hour and a half later we realized we are wrongly guessed where the road was taking us. We looked at a larger picture of the map and realized we would need to walk about four more miles until we reached that other hiking spot, never mind that our car was still at the original starting point. Oh, also it was 4:30pm before daylight savings occurred so the sun was already setting. We made a plan and decided to cut across where there was no path. There was a creek/river/body of water that we hoped was dry enough at a point to walk across.

We could of panicked and yelled at each other, but instead we looked at each other and decided going off the beaten path would probably be more exciting anyways. I mean the general area we were in was not that large, and we new roughly where our car was. We still had plenty of food and water so off we trekked. The marshy water was still partly frozen at party and we got increasingly nervous that we might just have to get wet.

It all ended up being fine.

Miraculously and totally unplanned we ran into our original hike. It was easy to make it back to the car from there and this all occurred before the sun went down. We sat in the car and breathed a small sigh of relief and grinned from ear to ear. What started as a pretty boring hike turned into an all out adventure and usually I tend to freak out at unplanned adventures. They make me nervous and I try to avoid them and if they happen and I am not ready, I usually find someone to blame other than myself. But I didn’t. I think I was given the strength to stay calm and just enjoy the scenery. It wasn’t a dire situation so no need to make it one.

All of this is to say that next year will be one grand adventure. Kyle will have three ten week internships over the course of the year, which means that we will be moving every ten weeks to a new location with a toddler and an infant. At first it made my head hurt. A lot. The more I thought about it and tried to plan it, the more I could feel my anxiety rising. I prayed about it and received the inspiration to, “Embrace the Adventure.”

Next year will be an adventure and I can choose to plan and have anxiety over it all, or I can relish in unknown adventure ahead of me. I am sure it will be full of moments where I want to pull my hair out and scream at the top of my lungs but I will choose to let it stretch me and strengthen my character so that I can learn to live life with grace (divine help), humor, and no fear of the unknown. 

I love Easter. It has such happy memories for me as a child and now as a parent and with a  better understand of the true meaning of the day I love it even more. I was able to speak at church today on the topic of Easter and I thought a lot about what I knew about today. Here are my thoughts on Easter:

We finally had our ultrasound after a few scheduling mishaps. Of course I wanted Kyle there and his schedule really limits our options and then the tech got sick and so we had to reschedule but it finally happened. We finally got to make sure that it was actually a real live human life in there. I have learned that if you get an ultrasound you should try to get the last appointment of the day. They will take their time with you and print a million bajillion pictures on one long strip and there will be no rush, no hurry and you will get to be in that surreal moment of parental bliss at seeing feet kick and hands move and yawn over and over again.

When we had our ultrasound with Max is was short and quick and we got about 5 pictures including a full frontal face shot that showed a skeleton and two large hollowed out spaces for eyes. It was kinda freaky looking so we endearingly named our unborn child skeletor, because we are awesome parents. This time we even got 3D imaging which was super trippy and basically this child looks like Max’s twin.

I don’t know about you, but I think about my personal style WAY too much. At a young age I started thrift shopping at the local Goodwill that was just down the street from my home, my friend and I started by sifting through the boys section for unique t-shirts that you couldn’t find at American Eagle or Old Navy. As I grew older and far too big to snag those 99 cent shirts in the boys aisle I realized I could find some pretty nice name brand items. To this day my best finds are a sherbert orange Jcrew pencil skirt, an emerald Shabby Apple dress, and pair of Joes Jeans wide legged pants that were clearly never worn. I started going for the thrill of the find rather than need or finding something that would fill a hole in my style wardrobe.

After having a baby I felt like my style totally changed, I had to consider practicality WAY more than I wanted to. Babies make messes and need to be nursed often. Machine washable, breathable, comfortable clothing became my hunt.

Then I felt like I was sacrificing what I wanted to wear for what was “practical.” Where was the balance? In my mind I want to look simple, classic, comfortably chic. Now I don’t have the budget currently to revamp my entire wardrobe but I do have pieces there that I love and feel they fit the bill. This makes me happy. But a girl can dream bigger still right? So my dream wardrobe is comprised of beautiful, wearable dresses, skirts jeans, t-shirts, and button downs. Let me show you what I mean.

But most of all, I want Boden dresses. Have you heard of Boden? They sell amazing, easy, beautiful, simple dresses (and lots of other great stuff too!). They are everything I want to wear but while we are in grad school the dresses will have to wait (unless I find one at a thrift store…) Here are my favorites from their new summer line. Can’t you imagine not having to think about your outfit and just throwing one of these on? A girl can dream and this girl plans on achieving her dream when her husband graduates.