Adventures in a Pumpkin Patch

As a former beach-side resident, the idea of going to a pumpkin patch seemed to be a right of passage for someone having moved to a state where the season actually change. With my husband in tow, I convinced him that every pregnant woman needs to go to a pumpkin patch in order to take cute pictures of their belly with a pumpkin.So, off we went.

If you've never gone to a pumpkin patch, you should most definitely go at least once in your life. Take lots of cheesy pictures too, you can never have too many cheesy pictures.

At this particular patch, there were playgrounds and a bouncy house for the kids. A tiny train-tractor combo was waiting by a sunflower field to drive children aged 10 and under up and down one of the rows, and the attraction's line looped through the parking area. across a huge open field, where the playgrounds and bouncy house were, there was a corral with two ponies and two horses. There, kids could ride around a real carousel. (As long as they had a helmet on, of course.)

Now, many of you might not know, but horses don't always smell nice. Not even the sunflowers across the way could help the smell. I'm not sure if my super-human pregnancy smelling powers were making everything worse, but I DO know one thing: the six pens of baby animals next to the corral wasn't helping.

You may be wondering where the pumpkin patch actually was in all this. In order to get there, you had to take a hay ride. Yes, a hay ride. Once out in the rows and rows and rows and rows of pumpkins, you got to pick out which pumpkin(s) you want. For me, it took quite some time to pick out a pumpkin for my husband and one for me. Thankfully, there was no time limit.

Before I had my husband take any pictures, I made sure to inspect every single pumpkin I came across to ensure the two I chose were the best ones out of the entire patch. (They were!)

Ladies and gentlemen, if you ask your husband or significant other to take pictures of you somewhere, please be sure to tell them exactly what you want them to snap pictures of. There's a good chance that they'll take some great candid shots of you.

My favorite part of the trip was watching my husband lug around two huge pumpkins, and eating a jumbo corn dog. This wasn't any ol' corn dog. Look at your arm, and bend it normally. From your elbow all the way to your wrist was the size of this thing. HUGE and covered in ketchup and yellow mustard. Deep-fried, salty goodness all conveniently skewered on a stick. The heavens opened and the angels sung; the corn dog was better than ambrosia.

Hopefully, if you haven't had the opportunity to go to a pumpkin patch, and you get the opportunity, jump on it. Don't be afraid to take the cheesy pictures or look like a tourist. It's about having fun and enjoying yourself. And if someone snaps a candid photo that might not be exactly what you're looking for, it might just turn out to be your favorite.

Photo by: Amber

Adulting Done... Right?

The days of October are snailing by, and I'm starting to get increasingly nervous. Not too long ago, I was cramming class material into my brain in a last study effort to try and pass an exam. I would wait all semester to write a research paper until the night it was due, and hit submit at 11:59pm. The last possible second. There were even times when I would find myself in the middle of an email to fellow classmates, hoping and praying someone else was as much of a procrastinator as I was.

Now, I find myself in the third and final trimester of my pregnancy. Only twelve more weeks to go until I bring another human into this world. No, I haven't been reading any pregnancy/baby/parenting books (until VERY recently) to help prepare me for what is to come. No, I have not taken any childbirth classes or any classes whatsoever (I did just sign up for three classes; today). No, I haven't started thinking about a birth plan for what my ideal delivery is, other than to have a healthy baby. So, what do I do next?

The good news is that I've signed up for the classes I want to take in preparation for baby and delivery. Hopefully, those classes do not get cancelled on me! I've also been reading through a few baby books so that in these final doctor appointments, I can ask questions pertaining to my particular pregnancy symptoms, clarification on policies, and what happens at upcoming appointments. It's a good thing that I started looking for information on what's currently happening and going to happen to my body because baby boy is currently breech. It's early enough in the third trimester that I might be able to help him turn into the vertex position by doing some specific stretches and exercises.

If you don't know what a baby being in a 'breech' position is, it's when their head is at the top of your uterus and their butt is over the cervix. For delivery, you want baby's head down and butt up so that you're able to push baby out during contractions. If the baby doesn't move into the vertex position by a certain point in your last few weeks, doctors will usually have you scheduled for a cesarean. (If you're reading this and you're baby is breech, don't panic! Ask your doctor what you can do to help give baby room move into the vertex position.)

Overall, I'm still way behind the eight ball when it comes to preparations for baby. It's completely my fault for allowing the fear of losing another pregnancy rule me over the past several months, and now I'm paying for it trying to scramble and prepare myself last minute. Though the nursery is coming along well, and we have a lot of things baby might need, I have no idea what I'm doing as a pregnant woman getting closer and closer to her due date. Don't be me and procrastinate, prepare yourself early for what is to come! That way, when the time arrives, you can relax and reel confident that you know what you're doing, and everything will work out just fine.