The Baby Shower

I was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from family and friends as we eagerly anticipate the arrival of our little bundle of joy. A beautiful day to remember. Thanks to everyone who helped and attended. :)

Opening gifts

My sister, Rhonda and cousin, Lexi.

Game winners!

Cousins!

Cortie measuring my belly .... she guessed way too big! :)

The yummy cupcakes... that looked like a cake :)

Baby's got the Hiccups

Approaching 35 weeks I am starting to feel more anxious to meet my son...and to get him out as I am getting more and more uncomfortable. But I know the safest place for him now is right where he is at, where he can continue to grow and develop.

Throughout my entire pregnancy I have felt like he would be coming a few weeks early... now we shall wait and find out. Generally doctors' say that delivering after 37 weeks is safe and no longer considered pre-term labor, so it could happen in just 2-5 weeks from now. WOW... the time is so near! I can hardly wait! ;)

Currently I am still working at the church... training my replacement part time. This has been a challenge, just because it's getting more difficult for me to get up in the mornings, get around, and focus on anything but baby... my mind is consumed and I now know what they mean by the urge women get to "nest"... all I want to do is get his room ready and prepare for his arrival.

I am thankful, however, that I can remain busy. If I were just sitting around the house, the time would go by so much slower.... so at least this way the days are seeming to fly by.

Marty and I prayed long and hard about how we could afford to survive as a growing family on one ministry income, but we both felt God confirming that He would provide for our needs and that the most important thing is that I am able to spend these precious years at home raising our little boy..we will never get that time back. So that is what we have decided to do. :)

I am really looking forward to this HUGE transition in my life. I never dreamed I would be a "stay-at-home mommy," but I am sooooo THANKFUL that God is providing a way! I know there will be challenges, but I am willing to forgo the excess and comforts I have been used to (ie. eating out regularly and shopping almost every weekend ;) so that my son can have all my attention.

I am going to continue leading worship for Shepherd of the Hills - Woodland Hills Campus and have even considered starting to teach voice lessons out of the house, once baby and I get into a solid routine. I will also be looking for any session work I can get... studio time pays well and I LOVE it! If I can get a gig here and there, that will help a bit as well.

One of the cutest things... baby has been having the hiccups like crazy lately...usually at night. When this happens, I love to put Marty's hand on my belly and watch it jump up and down. This often lasts a while, sometimes as long as 15 minutes. Doctors say this is completely normal and actually the sign of a strong breather! YAY!

My baby shower is TOMORROW and I am super excited! My mom and sister's are throwing it with the help from a few close friends. I will be updating the blog again next week and posting some pictures of the event.... so stay tuned! :)

Love to all!!!
Ash, Marty and Our little Hiccuper :)

Last B-day without Baby!

It's funny and true what they say... "be careful what you wish for!" Ever since I was a teenager I always told my mom I wanted to be 25 years old when I had my first child. I would always pick on her and say she was "too old"when she had her first and that I wanted to be a young, hip mom! ;) Well I guess God heard me, and now that it is truly happening it's almost surreal!

This week was a blast! Wednesday was my 25th Birthday and a very busy day for us. We started the day off with a doctor's appointment, where we got to see our big boy model for us on camera! He is already posing (like father like son!) ;)

We found out that he is 4.5 lbs and and although I was only 32 weeks at the time he was measuring at 33.5 weeks so he could be making his debut any time the end of February through the beginning of March. If he doesn't come by March 11, that is the date the doctor wants to educe me.

Doctor says that he also looks more like his mommy... I don't know how they can tell this from an ultrasound, but he says that the bone structure and proximity of nose to lips, etc. look more like my features than Marty's... I kind of have to laugh at that one, because I had a hard time even distinguishing where the features were, let alone how sharp his jaw line was. :) I hope and pray he has his daddy's handsome looks.

The doctor also said he had a nice strong heart beat and that his head is already down and ready to go! All GREAT news!

After our appointment we had to go to work and then had lunch with some friends at Claim Jumpers! Yummy!

That evening we went to our first birthing class, which I was excited about, but ended up being very disappointed. It was incredibly BORING! The teacher pretended to be in labor for almost 30 minutes - pushing a fake plastic baby out of a bag that she pretended was a uterus. A little strange... Marty said she enjoyed it way too much... haha! One good thing about the class - I got a relaxation massage out of it. :)

We have 2 more classes which I hope are a bit more interesting!

Friday night we celebrated by having a party at our new place with some friends and family. It was a great night of fellowship! I felt very loved and blessed by the outpouring of support and encouragement as we enter this new chapter in our lives.

Marty and I both are getting more and more excited each passing day to meet our son. Now that we are settled in to our new place we are going to begin working on putting his nursery together... very excited about that.

I appreciate your continued prayers during this time as I get more and more anxious and a bit fearful of the actual delivery.

Love to all!
Ashley, Marty and Kung-fu Baby! :)

Tummy Moving Video

10 Week Countdown!

The countdown has begun! I turned 30 weeks on Christmas Eve! So just 10 more weeks to go. I know they are going to fly by!

At this point in the pregnancy our baby boy is now 14-17 inches long and weighs almost 4 lbs. His head is getting larger and more in proportion with his body. He now has eyebrows, eyelashes and his eyelids now open and close as he responds to light outside the womb. Some researches say that if you shine a light on your stomach, your baby may move his head to follow the light or even reach out to touch the moving glow. Haven't tried this yet, but think it might be cool to see if it's true :)

Recently I have been experiencing many of the joys of pregnancy: back pain, sleeplessness, shortness of breath and exhaustion. :) I am trying to treasure each moment of it all because I know that soon will come many other joys of parenthood: changing dirty diapers and long nights awake with a crying baby.

One of the things I really enjoy the most is feeling my little boy do karate in my belly. I am often shocked at just how strong he can be! Sometime his punches startle me! :)

At night I have been taking long warm baths to relax my muscles before bed, and can see my entire stomach warp and change shape. It is truly incredible.

For Christmas, Marty got me a book of prayers and promises for our little boy. I have really enjoyed reading them to God and dreaming about what he will be like. What will his gifts be? Will he be tall like his daddy? Will he be quiet and calm, or loud and outgoing? Will he be athletic? musical? What will his favorite subject in school be? What will he be passionate about?

Only God knows the answers to these questions, but I pray that he is healthy and strong, full of light and joy, courageous and bold in His faith, compassionate to others with a giving spirit, handsome, smart and gifted with a powerful ministry. When I think that God already has a destiny for my son, knows his name, and all the joys and pains he will experience in this life, I am filled with a sense of awe, wonder, and comfort in knowing that God is in control.

This Christmas season was different than any other for me. Carrying a child made Mary's story come more alive to me than ever before. How did she ride so long on that donkey? Didn't her back hurt? :)

It was nice to be able to spend Christmas eve with my hubby and Christmas day with the family.
We had Mom, Grandma and Cortie over for Christmas breakfast at our new house (Dad couldn't make it because he was at home sick with the flu! ;( It's so nice to have a place large enough to have people over now.

I start birthing classes at Los Robles on my B-day (Jan. 7th) which is kind of special. We are looking forward to it.

Please keep praying for us as we get closer to the arrival of our little prince.
Blessings!
The Collins Family

7 Months!

I had my 7 month check up yesterday and doc said everything is looking good!

I started having Braxton Hicks contractions a few weeks ago, which are totally normal at this stage of pregnancy (just the body's natural way of preparing itself for labor). Although they are not painful, they can be very uncomfortable. A lot more back pain this month as my uterus is now the size of a basketball... a lot of stretching going on (as you can see in the belly picture below).



Thanksgiving was awesome! I was proud of myself that I didn't over eat and feel stuffed, but ate just enough to feel satisfied. I baked about 3 pumpkin pies this month and was tempted to finish them off myself, but limited myself to one or 2 slices...each :)

Marty and I cooked our first turkey which had great flavor, but sad to say came out a bit dry... but that didn't stop Marty from digging in.. haha. :)



I have tried to remain as active as possible. Continuing to exercise at least 3-4 times a week. My trainer is keeping me motivated, even the weeks I can not go.

It has been a very busy season for us, as we are in the process of moving to a bigger place to make room for our expanding family. We found a town home in Simi Valley that is everything we prayed for... praise God. We are looking forward to making it a godly home to raise our little baby boy, but I know that I need to not get too carried away with decorating...as it is a rental and just a temporary dwelling place.

He has been kicking up a storm lately and I can finally see my whole stomach move and change shape when he turns and stretches (like a little alien is in there and trying to get out.. it's really weird!) He is about 15 inches long now and weighs about 3.5 lbs.

At 28 weeks I now have doctors appointments every 2 weeks for a tummy check. I don't mind going so often, because I LOVE to hear the baby's strong heart beat. It amazes me every time that there is another life growing inside of me. Only God can do that! :)

I can't believe how fast time is flying by. Christmas is just around the corner and then he will be here in just a few short months! Please continue to pray for a healthy baby boy and that the rest of my pregnancy would go smoothly.

Love to all!
Ash, Marty and Baby Boy Collins

6 Months!

Baby Update
It's been about 1 month since my last post and our baby boy is growing rapidly! He now measures about 13 1/2 inches head to heals and weighs about a pound and a half. At 24 weeks he can hear sounds outside the womb and his brain cells are starting to mature also. He now can remember and recognize his mother and father's voice. So Marty and I have started to talk to him more and more and I have been playing music for him while I work. I have also been singing a lot, so hopefully he will be a musical baby! ;)



Registry
We took our first trip to Babies-R-Us last week and were so overwhelmed with all of the stuff babies need. We had no clue what to register for, thankfully there were very helpful employees and random mothers who offered their advice as to what products their kids liked and disliked.
We are still in the process of registering. After spending almost 2 hours in the store, we decided to finish it another day.

Birthing Classes
We are just starting to look into Hospital Registration and birthing classes at Los Robles. There are so many different types of natural birthing/ Lamaze classes now, it's hard to choose which to take.

Names
A very popular question for me lately has been "do you have a name yet?" Marty and I have decided to wait till our little prince is born to give him a name. We do have a short list of our favorites, but want to wait until we see him face to face.

Sleep?
By now the doctor said our boy should be on a good routine of sleeptime and waketime. Dr. said I should know just about what time each day he wakes up and starts to kick. Unfortunately, this time for me is the moment I lay down to go to sleep. So I have been trying to change his patten and get him to be awake and active while I am, so that I can sleep at night.

That has been my biggest challenge these past few months. I sometimes feel like a walking zombie during the day, but feel blessed that that's my only complaint. I have heard horror stories about women being sick thoughout their entire pregnancy and all the things that can go wrong, so I am thankful that my biggest complaint is that "I can't sleep."

Holidays
It is quickly becoming a busy season as the holidays are creaping upon us. Halloween was a blast. We had dinner with family and friends and took my nephews trick-or-treating. Christopher was so adorable dressed as a pumpkin, and Matthew was so cute in his Batman suit.

I am looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving, Christmas, the New Year and then my 25th B-day all in the next few months. I love this time of year with all it's festivities and meaning. What a great time to be pregnant...much better than having to go through the heat of the Summer.

Well, I guess that is it for now, please continue to pray for a healthy baby boy, easy pregnancy/delivery and that God would grant us wisdom as parents.

With Love, The Collins Family.