If you are pregnant, planning on it or have been and know anything about painful joints or that nasty pinched sciatic nerve please hear me out. I am also recording this so I don't forget next time around.
SO my story is that I have really suffered this pregnancy and found myself spending almost every evening stretching on my family room floor during the day and before bed, or even after being on my feet for a while. The muscles in my lower back and hips would just seize right up and my sciatic nerve and
muslces would ache and send a shooting pain down my left leg/side. I went to the chiropractor and received some valuable stretching tips but it only seemed to be temporary relief from this on going pain. I would constantly hit, rub do ANYTHING to numb the achy muscles on my lower left side.
I started to think, "okay, I just have to put up with this, and suffer until the baby comes." Your hips and joints make some serious changes over the course of a pregnancy/pregnancies. It really becomes so crucial to give your body what it needs because a baby will take everything it needs from you if you don't supply enough for the both of you.
Your body actually slows down in absorbing calcium after the age of 25. This being said you don't absorb and build strong bones the way you did prior and when you are pregnant and can't supply enough calcium in your diet or through supplements for your baby, it will get pulled from your supply, or rather your bones and given to the baby. One sign of this is nasty legs cramps. I suffered from those when pregnant with
Brooklynn and I thought I was getting enough calcium through my diet, but I have almost doubled up this time around and haven't had to get out of the bed once to stretch out a nasty charlie horse! There is NOTHING fun about being woken up spontaneously with shooting pains down your leg, having to work/ stretch it out and then go
back to sleep. IT SUCKS.
Another thing I came across this time around was fish oil. I took some with
Brooklynn but I just started taking it regularly (every day) this pregnancy and it has almost made my sore joint issues vanish. The results were instantaneous. I am still a little sore in the lower back due to that extra weight but feel
soo much better and I don't wake up sore on my left side, rely on constant stretching and massaging. The change has been astonishing. I have to admit I was pretty ignorant about this stuff and probably because I don't like anything fishy. I ended up, almost
flukishly coming across some great and basic info through a friends blog. I learned some valuable tips (thanks Jen) through some discussion and simply reaffirmed why I needed to take these supplements. I always thought I would get enough Omega 3 through flax, eggs, etc but that type of Omega requires a conversion process and breakdown through certain enzymes. If you don't have enough enzymes to break it down, you don't get the benefits. As a family who lacks/ dislikes a lot of fish in our diets I figured I needed to step it up a notch and give this baby those precious omegas. Omega 3's in fish oil don't need to be broken down and your body uses them right away, they are also an anti inflammatory. Most proteins we eat build up a lot of acidity in our joints and fish oil can counter that. THUS being an answer and solution to my issues during pregnancy.
I basically want to conclude that I'm sharing this info/ research because I'm acknowledging how blessed I feel to have found this and felt prompted to make certain changes in my diet. So make sure you get lots of calcium, not just through milk but a good supplement you take with your meals and Fish oil. I purchased a brand from
Norweigan Gold at Planet Organic. All I need is one a day and they have a great amount of
DHA for me and baby.
If anyone finds this info valuable I'm so happy for that and if not, I'm recording it for myself to remember because this
prego brain ain't what it used to be and I don't want to forget what has helped me so much this time around!
Either Brooklynn isn't impressed yet, or is scared at what she sees... I think it might be the latter.
I'm pretty sure Amanda is wiping her tears in this picture. We were in hysterics.
Brooklynn and Jenn are going to take over the world with those brains. Oh, and looks like Brookynn gives this a "thumbs-up!"
I think this one is soo cute in a rather weird distorted way...
And last but Not least, a normal looking one we took tonight. I LOVE that little grin!
A summer trend... Naps did not come soon enough after having fun outside.
Her first Stampede expereince. She was blowing kisses to all the animals in the Agriculture building. 
She was pretty much in heaven.
I thought this was the funniest looking bird!
Having some lunch before we went and saw the Super Dogs show.
We played that gmbling game where you put money on a certain month of the year. Anyways they roled April (her bday month) and we got to choose a prize. Very exciting to win right off the bat!
At the airport waiting to board our plane.
She was soo spoiled there the whole time. I was too actually. I have never had soo many hours of the day with my hands free, and not to mention sleeping in!
Back to me being spoiled. This is a breakfast that my dad made me- how cute!
Mini Me, you complete me.
Going to the park with Grandma.
Bedtime stories with uncle Steve.
Cuddles from unlce Matthew
Ottawa was so much fun for the both of us. We look forward to visiting again in October.
Swimsuit, shoes and cover-up on and ready to go spend the day in the sun.
Most of our time outside consisted of hanging out on the dock with all of our family. Brooklynn enjoys the kidding pool filled with lake water, and also drinking shovel fulls of lake water, yuck.
She also enjoyed this baby swing. She spent hours and hours in it the summer before and for some reason I think she thought it was still hers to enjoy even though she is definitely too big now.
Oh and she also enjoyed the baby arch again but preferred to manhandle it this around.
We had the chance to master stairs out at the cabin. We are not so fortunate to have them at home and it was high time that she got used to them so I felt a little more at ease when she was near them. 
On the boat with mom.
She was daddy`s little helper out at the cabin. She loved steering the boat with him,
and helping him do work in the canoe.
We also had out first and LAST (for a while) happy meal.
Mmmmm, grilled cheese and orange juice!
Enjoying lunch on the patio.
We hung out on the patio a lot and Amanda had purchased Brooklynn her own special chair and she loved it! Sometimes she was successful on her own or we w would help hoist her up into it, she would then place her sippy cup and just relax. She looked like such a big girl.
These were the nasty hot springs, or rather Indian bathtubs we ventured to one evening.
Sorry if you have sensitive eyes but Jason+water+summer= SPEEEEDOS, and if you ever vacation with us in the summer you`ll get used to it FAST!
On top of the hot springs, we were overlooking part of the valley and I snagged this cute shot of dad and his girl.
``Little Bubble Chaser Brooklynn``
A new found summer activity that we love, blowing bubbles.
Just a shot of the lake and mountains off in the distance, beautiful BC!
Playing in the sand with Auntie Jenny at the beach.
Taking it all in I guess... this little girl is such a water baby! She was throwing rocks, and after that she plunked herself down and forbade us to remove her from the water. When we asked her if she was all done she would pout and then sign to us that she wanted ``more``.
