Our birth story

Saturday night:
The start of early labor. In denial about entering this stage, since I was only 38 weeks along, I didn't think much of it. I called the midwife after something changed in my body and strong contractions began happening every ten minutes. Again, didn't think much of it because I had been experiencing strong contractions and frequent Braxton Hicks for a few weeks.

Sunday:
Third day in a row I had the sudden urge to clean. And not just a normal clean, but scrubbing things down and organizing till about two in the morning. We also went to the grocery store, which made me happy because I felt the need to shop for last minute baby items. Contractions were now 7-9 minutes apart. Again, still in denial. Store clerk sarcastically asked when I was due, then followed with an answer of 'yesterday' making me feel super fat, but I digress.

Monday:
Stronger contractions. Still thinking it was false labor I went about the day till I could no longer ignore the pain. We set up the nursery for our water birth, prepped the bedroom, and made sure the bath tub was super clean. Contractions were now 5-6 minutes apart. I had my mother come over to make some homemade lasagna. Still enjoying the leftovers.

Tuesday morning:
After midnight the contractions became close. By 3 am we had the midwives arrive and the contractions were now 3 minutes apart. After getting into the birth tub they slowed down, making me believe this was still false labor and I had called the midwives in the middle of the night for no reason. In my mind there was no way this could be it- my 39 week mark wasn't until Wednesday! It wasn't until a couple hours before delivering that I actually believed he was going to be here.

After sixty hours of labor with no interventions whatsoever, I naturally gave birth to our son in our bed at 9:59am. He is so handsome! He weighed in at 8 lbs 6 oz and 19.5 inches long. The midwives also let us know he was actually full term so my whole pregnancy I was a couple weeks longer than we had originally thought :)

I'm supposed to be resting, but all I want to do is hold and look at my wonderful son.

This is easily the greatest day of my life!!

Panda Watch!

12 MORE DAYS!!

i seriously cannot wait until he is here

♥

Daily Smoothie

It never fails: I always start my days with a smoothie. At first I would make the smoothies my mother would make for me as a child, then I started pulling up recipes with fruits and veggies I never had in a smoothie. After that I would just kinda throw together anything really.. from avocado smoothies to papaya smoothies.. and they always came out tasty, even the ones with tomatoes in it. I hate tomatoes in general so it was pretty surprising.

Here is today's smoothie.

Can you guess the main flavor for today? That's right..

KALE!! It's been all I've been craving as of late. I think my little unborn son loves his veggies :]

 I ended up forgetting the pineapple til after I started blending so this picture is kind of a lie..

 Fresh strawberries. I even made a little side dish of cut up strawberries with a little bit of sugar water in it. My taste buds are funky- sometimes they really love these false fruits, other times they can't stand the taste of it. Today is a good day though :]

 I always pour in the juice last before blending. Today's juice was pomegranate.And to make it thicker I throw in ice cubes as it's blending. Habit I guess.

My little food buddy loves breakfast time.. because he always gets to lick the yogurt spoon when I'm done :] For those that follow me on IG know that I have a weird little kitty on my hands: we enjoy midnight snacks together, cantaloupe being his absolute favorite!

sooo that's it for my daily smoothie today :]


PANDA WATCH:
I'm 38 weeks pregnant now and today we are off to see the midwife. Let's hope this little one doesn't come til his due date or afterwards.. I've been having a lot of close contractions! Fingers crossed <3

My Kale Obsession

I've been on a kale kick lately!

Today I had a smoothie made mostly of kale, Greek yogurt, bananas, cantaloupe [I ran out of fruits earlier lol], and pomegranate juice.  Whether it's raw, on a burger, a taco topping, or made up in a smoothie I CAN'T GET ENOUGH!!

My favorite, however, has been kale chips.. YUMMY.

vague directions:
-wash the kale
-pour about a tablespoon or so of olive oil over it
-sprinkle some Himalayan pink salt over it
-pop it in the oven
-enjoy!

been substituting junk food with different concoctions, such as this wonderful thing.

before baking

I don't know if it's just because I'm pregnant and craving it more and more, or if this is something that's gonna last. I hope it does; my diet lately has really impacted my health in a better way. I think I'm going to go enjoy a kale salad since I can't sleep..

And it begins!

Countdown 'til our at-home waterbirth!



I am extremely excited!! No, I'm not scared. It's something that I want to do. Plus the hypnobirthing classes got rid of any fear or anxiety I had deep down.

I'm even more comfortable knowing I have not one, but two professionals present, one being our midwife, and the other a doula & midwife in training.

My husband and I have some final purchases before we are all set: birth kit, a bunch of towels, and a shower curtain. Other than that I'd say we're pretty much on top of it all!

I've been taking evening primrose oil daily, but I think I'm gonna stop for now and start again in a couple weeks. I've been getting more Braxton Hicks throughout the day and I think that EPO may be the reason. We'll see I guess!

And finally after some convincing my best friend is throwing me a little baby shower. I'm not one for baby showers, bridal showers, bachelorette parties, big weddings, basically anything traditional that girls tend to go overboard with. But I have a feeling I'm going to like this one.

We already have hundreds of outfits so we don't need clothes. We already have all the disposable newborn diapers, then cloth diapers and waterproof covers to last us until he is 35 lbs, so won't be needing changing needs. Already have a 3-in-1 crib, changing table, drawer sets, swing, playpen, bassinet, carrier, Moses basket, car seat, stroller, high chair, glider, and ottoman so no need for any furnitures. I think all I really want is to just spend some time with close friends, maybe own faces in Mario Kart, eat some chicken from Raising Cane's, and have me a whoooole lotta cupcakes! Also the hostess/my bff's boyfriend is a mixologist and is making me my very own mommy mocktail! Super excited :)

I don't know what else I was going to write. I got distracted by the giraffes on the tv. Science channel or I Love Lucy. Every night. And pregnancy brain fog. Prego problems.

Excited for Ethan!!

I have to share all the baby stuff we have so far for Ethan! Less than three months until he is here!

I know the pictures wont be in order, thanks to blogger mobile. But whatever. Doesn't matter.

So far we have Eddie Bauer playpen/bassinet, stroller/car seat, high chair, and diaper bag. (my birth pool is in the bottom half of the playpen at the moment.) Got an espresso crib with a matching changing table/drawers. Over sixty outfits, hygiene needs, burp cloths, receiving blankets, Baby K'Tan carrier, moniters, mobiles, nursing necessities, swing, Moses basket, and even have a scrapbook started with some ultrasounds. Nursery is almost complete!!

trying to type on my phone

It's hard.
Turns out I'm part of the 20% of pregnant women that gets CTS!! Constant pain for three days nonstop. Nothing I can do, but cold/hot compresses on not just one, but both of my hands and arms.

So to sum everything up, I've been sick most of the pregnancy, congested since conception, worsening of migraines and headaches, and now CTS. We planned for baby Ethan, but i did not plan on my body completely failing at life!! October, please come sooner. I need you NOWWWW!!!

frustrated 😖😖😖

5 months pregnant!

Baby Ethan has been kicking aaaallllll niiiight long. Every night. I don't get to sleep til about 3 am. Hopefully his sleep schedule will change by the time he gets here!

Pregnant lady picture time!

Follow me on INSTAGRAM:
AshleaWhatever

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PS
Was anyone else disappointed with the Awake season/series finale?! So sad they canceled it :'(

Wands out, Harry!

hey there :]

i originally stopped using myspace because of all the spam and clutter. now that facebook is slowly morphing into something similar i've decided to deactivate both my personal profile as well as my main profile. however, deleting these did not affect my page. dex and i will be using it to share updates from his youtube channel, this blog, and sites & bands i am affiliated with.

here are some places you can still find me:

PATH - search Ashlea Fabulous :]

HIPSTER - http://www.hipster.com/people/ashlea-2

INSTAGRAM - @AshleaWhatever

TUMBLR - http://the-fabulous-life.tumblr.com/
TWITTER - http://twitter.com/AshleaWhatever

back to reality..

this pregnancy so far has been whooping my ass physically. i seem to be glued to the couch, no energy whatsoever, and have had more sleep than i've ever had in my life. it's a bit frustrating that i can't work, or even clean, without getting dizzy and tired. i can't not be active, so it's been a struggle in a sense. i know this will go away in a couple weeks, and it will all be worth it in the end, i just felt the need to bitch :]

my mom and her husband took my husband, little brother, and my future sister-in-law out to see This Means War on V day. predictable obviously, but still funny nonetheless. that was my first time out of the house in forever. my second outing was last night; my good friend and her hubby took my hubby and i to a wranglers game. i've never watched hockey before, but i was obsessed with roller hockey as a kid. GAME ON!!! game off.... GAME ON!!!! needless to say i'll be ordering the nhl thing on direct tv and will be attending more wrangler games. hockey fuck yeah.

harry potter is on abc right now. i've been watching it all weekend. i'm a Pott-head.

<3 ash

***because of imposter profiles, I reactivated my main profile. Gayness in the anus, I know.

Week 10

So we definitely had a scare yesterday. We spent all day at two different urgent cares. The first place feared we had an ectopic pregnancy, but after the ultrasounds at the second location ectopic was ruled out. They found a large cyst and said Tylenol would be the only thing I could take to stop the pain. I am actually allergic to the active ingredient so I have to go through this whole pregnancy in pain. I hope it subsides.
I also have had a food allergy to dairy, but since we became pregnant my allergy has worsened. I can't even enjoy almond milk without getting itchy. Not dairy, but the nuts... Giggity. Soy milk, here I come.
Because of my health issues, most I refuse to go public with, I will be heavily monitored throughout the pregnancy. My biggest concern is being out of breath. I have to coach myself on breathing since I've already had issues stemming from my birth defect, pectus excavatum. It's scary, but I have a wonderful team behind me: my husband, family, friends, midwife, and doctors galore.

Well I'm off to the dentist, and then outro to the midwife.

Hope you all have a wonderful day!
Baby, we can't wait to hold you!!

Spawning minions!!

It's true: WE ARE PREGNANT!! We are the happiest we have ever been!

Visiting our midwife in a couple days. Yes, we are doing a natural birth, water to be specific. Yes, I have been given strange looks and ridicule for my decision. It's just sad to see how many people are so misinformed with all the information available out there. Oh well. To each their own =)

Baby, I can't wait to hold you in my arms!!