One More Week Waiting for Baby

My patience has officially run out. Our due date is too close (4 days away) and I am too excited and anxious to be patient any longer! I am not the only one though...I get daily calls and texts from friends and family asking how I'm feeling, if anything is different and if I think the baby might come soon. I love that everyone is so excited with us, but all of their excitement just makes me more anxious!

Last weekly Belly Bump picture...39 weeks, April 22, 2015

I feel pretty good; about the same from day to day. I can tell our baby is growing bigger because I feel like I have less and less room--especially when he stretches: I feel like I have to pee and can't breath all at the same time. I am also feeling more and more pressure down low and my hips are very achy, achy enough that I wake up every hour to "roll" (it's a step by step process with a belly this big) to my other side because my hip on the side I am laying on is throbbing.

I have also noticed a decrease in energy in the last few days. A week ago I was itching to leave the house and get out to walk around, but now a quick trip to the grocery store is more than enough moving for one day. They say walking can help bring on labor, but if I walked too much I would need a four hour nap to recover! In fact, on Thursday I did basically nothing: took a LONG soak in a warm bath followed by an hour nap on the couch--I know...I have a rough life.

We have had several appointments this week to keep us busy in between making sure our house is all clean and ready (mostly...again, no energy means cleaning shortcuts) for Ryan's family who arrived Friday and will be staying with us for the next week. On Wednesday we went in for an ultrasound and Non-Stress Test (NST). Because of my gestational diabetes, my doctor is keeping a close watch on my amniotic fluid levels. The ultrasound showed that my fluid level is 24.4 cm. The normal amniotic fluid index is between 5 and 25 cm, so I am just barely sitting in the normal range, which is good. Baby Dean also performed perfectly on the NST, moving just enough to elevate his own heart rate just the way they wanted.

Relaxing during the Non Stress Test

On Friday we had our last weekly appointment with my OB. First we had to drop our other baby--the furry one, Saisha--off at the vet to get her teeth cleaned. For those who don't know, doggy teeth cleanings are a little more serious than human ones and are done under anesthesia, so it's like sending my baby in for surgery. Saisha HATES going to the vet and acts horrible and aggressive every time, so I try to stay calm, but it stresses me out too!

On Friday the vet tech that was supposed to take her back was afraid of her so she had me walk her through the back, past the procedure tables and exam areas, to put her in a kennel where she would wait. I already felt guilty when she was so excited to go on a car ride, not knowing where we were taking her, and now I had to leave her locked up all alone in a cage in a scary place, making me feel like the meanest mommy ever! Last year she had nine teeth pulled and she needed three more pulled this time. She came home with pain medication, an anti-inflammatory, antibiotics and instructions to feed her only softened food (soaked in water) for a couple of weeks until her mouth heals and her stitches dissolve. Once home she whined non-stop and wandered the house, seeming lost...then kept me up all night with her constant crying. By 7:30 I was so tired I wanted to cry!

Excited in the car before she knew where we were going...and recovering at home after

As much as everyone loves hearing about our dog, I am sure you are likely reading this for baby updates, so back to my appointment. I am still holding strong, dilated to one whole centimeter. However my cervix thinned a little more and I am now 80% effaced (only up 10% from last week, but it's still progress). I am measuring right where I should be and I have lost a little more weight; in the last two weeks I have lost three pounds, but the baby is still growing and I am still eating (just healthier and smaller portions as my blood sugar levels get higher and baby takes up more space). My blood sugar has tested high three or four times this week and I had glucose in my urine at my appointment Fridday, so we will still go back for another fluid check and NST test on Tuesday, just to make sure everything is good. My doctor said if my fluid is high, even 36 hours can make a difference in baby's health.

We clarified with the doctor exactly what will happen if I don't go into labor on my own by Wednesday, which is my due date. The hospital will call and give us a time to come in that evening. She said she always hopes for a time between 5:00 and 7:00 in the evening, but depending on how busy labor and delivery is it could be anytime between then and the next morning. Once I get there, a doctor will place a balloon in my cervix to try and get it to dilate more on its own and if needed start me on a pitocin drip (low dose overnight--or for the morning if we get in late) to hopefully kick start my body into motion. Then we basically wait and see what happens. If none of that works then they will slowly up the pitocin to fully induce labor. No matter what we will have our baby by sometime Thursday or Friday at the very latest (if they don't get us in Wednesday night). Will we have an April or May baby? Of course, I am still hoping April and in the next couple of days!

I seriously am so excited to meet this boy of ours that I cannot wait! I did make one teeny, tiny mistake this week and watched some labor shows online. I admit they kinda freaked me out and I probably should not have done that so close to the end of my pregnancy. Go figure I did not watch any easy birth stories: I saw women pushing for hours, exhausted, in pain (even with an epidural), one even begged for a C-section because she couldn't take any more...but I am trying not to think about that. My labor won't be that hard--or that's what I keep telling myself so I can get through it!

A Different Kind of 2-Week-Wait

I feel like I'm in another 2 week wait...I am SO excited for our baby to be born! This is a little different than previous 2-week-waits I've experienced, when waiting to take a pregnancy test. The one similarity in both cases: I am obsessed with pregnancy--right now it's literally all I can think about.

In the past, the 2-week-wait was all about looking up early signs of pregnancy and waiting to take a test to see if I was or wasn't. I spent the time hoping I wouldn't get my period and feeling so nervous, excited and a little scared, not knowing if I was going to get good news or bad.

Now I'm a little less than 2 weeks from my due date and I'm starting to feel anxious. There are no early symptoms of impending labor to look up or wonder if I'm feeling, so my only choice is to wait. This time there's no wondering what kind of news I'm going to get--I know I'm going to have a baby! I admit I do have some nervous feelings thinking about his birth: I just hope he's born strong and healthy. I have no reason to believe he won't be healthy, but I still won't feel completely at ease until I'm holding him in my arms.

Because he's my first baby I am still trying to be patient. I know he'll come when he's ready and some babies need a little more time than others. I'm trying to keep busy, but some days I feel like I run out of things to do...those days feel a little long. I'm usually really good at finding ways to stay busy at home, but lately I've been feeling too antsy and not very easily entertained; I guess I'm just too distracted with all these baby thoughts, looking forward to busy days to come.

The 2 things that seem to make the time pass are counting down the weeks (I look forward to Wednesday every week as that is when my weeks change) and the more frequent doctor appointments. We have appointments every Friday to check my progress and thanks to a little condition called gestational diabetes we now also get weekly ultrasounds to check the fluid level with a Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor starting next Wednesday. If the fluid is too high it that indicates that the baby is peeing too much which means my blood sugars are not being controlled as well as we thought. If the fluid is too low, that indicates a problem with the placenta. In either instance it they would induce me early. Even though being induced means knowing when baby is coming, I would still rather he come on his own time.

Still Growing...38 weeks, Wednesday April 15, 2015

At my appointment this week I was still only dilated to 1 centimeter, but now 70% effaced, so I'm still making progress. I'm measuring five days ahead at 39 weeks, but it seems I've fluctuated between right on and five days ahead the whole pregnancy, so that's nothing new. Basically we are still just waiting. Our doctor said she usually lets patients go up to a week overdue, but with me it will all depend on my blood sugar levels, the ultrasounds and how fast I progress (my cervix thins and opens). She doesn't want to force my body into labor before it's ready, but there's a possibility it could be necessary to keep the baby safe...we just have to let them keep monitoring me and waiting to see what happens.

Another way this is different from the 2-week-wait to find out if I'm pregnant is that this time around it's really 2 weeks, give or take. Very few babies are born on their actual due dates. Our baby could really come at any time. We might not have to wait the full two weeks, but there's also the possibility we will have to wait longer than 2 weeks...or so I thought until Friday afternoon!

About an hour after we got home from our appointment, our doctor's office called and said our doctor has decided that in my case she thinks it will be best if I don't go over so if our baby doesn't come on his own before then, I will have a procedure called cervical ripening done on the 29th and that doesn't kick me into labor, I will be induced on the 30th! One advantage of IVF is that we know our due date is exactly right, so I am sure that is why she is comfortable inducing before 41 weeks. I have also measured exactly on or ahead the whole time and have the gestational diabetes, which can get worse (and has...I have had to be more and more careful with my diet the further along I've gotten) and put me and baby more at risk for complications the longer I am pregnant.

We are so excited to have date to look forward to! Of course every day Ryan and I both wake up and hope today will be the day (and I am sure we will continue to do so). Every night I go to bed thinking I could wake up to labor pains or wet sheets. Whenever this boy of ours decides to come we are ready!

If You Want to Meet Our Baby

I don't want to get into a debate about vaccines. I know that nothing I say and no amount of research on my end will sway anyone with a strong opinion against vaccinations any more than their own research and opinion will sway me. I feel it is important for me to discuss this topic because of the recent heated debates about it and because I do feel strongly, but I also do not want those close to me who disagree with me to feel like I am judging them--I am not. What I want to do is share with you where my fears come from and why I feel the way I do, especially now with a new fragile infant coming into our life, and then make a request of my friends and family--both those who are unvaccinated and as well as those who are vaccinated. PLEASE READ THROUGH TO THE END.

First of all let me start by saying I never thought it would be so difficult to bring a life into this world. I always expected that I would be like most mothers and become pregnant easily as soon as I was ready to start a family. But something happened to me that I never expected: no matter what I did or how long I tried I could not get pregnant. That harsh reality brought with it many emotional, physical and financial trials that I never thought I would experience in my life. Because of that unexpected bump (more like small mountain) in the road I now don't take anything too lightly. Bad things happen. Just ask my little sister who is a widow at 29. Sometimes there is nothing you can do to prevent bad things or tough situations. I no longer have the attitude of "that could never happen to me."

That being said, I am very aware of the reality of the risks associated with many vaccine preventable illnesses. If history teaches us one thing it's that there's a reason society felt the need to prevent certain diseases and the harmful side effects and risks associated with those illnesses. Parents who grew up in a time when illnesses like polio and the measles were common, rushed to get their own children vaccinated as soon as vaccines were available because they did not want to risk their children dying from or suffering permanent damage from the side effects of those diseases.

I also understand that just like with anything, there is also some risk associated with vaccines. I don't have a problem with parents choosing not to vaccinate their children--it is their choice and they are free to do what they feel is right for their family. But I do have a problem with it when their choice puts MY family at risk. I feel that parents who choose not to vaccinate have a great responsibility to their community to make sure their children do not spread these highly contagious diseases if they do contract them. That means it becomes more important for parents of unvaccinated children to keep their kids (and in some instances, especially in cases of the measles, themselves) home, and away from others who might not be vaccinated (whether by choice or for a medical reason), any time they are sick. Many deadly illnesses start out just like a common cold and in the beginning stages a parent may not realize that their child actually has a highly contagious illness like the measles or whooping cough.

There are people out there who cannot be vaccinated for legitimate health reasons and depend on herd immunity, an immunity that is compromised by those who simply just choose not to vaccinate. The largest population depending on herd immunity is also that most at risk: infants. Babies under one year are more likely to be hospitalized or DIE as a result of contracting a vaccine preventable illness.

I know there is some risk involved with vaccines, but vaccines do not kill people the way complications from the illnesses they prevent do and have, so for me the benefits associated with vaccines outweigh the risk. If my children are healthy and able to get vaccines they will be vaccinated on schedule.

There is risk in anything. I'm sure my mother never expected the cough syrup prescribed to me by my doctor as a child would cause more harm than good, but I had a severe allergic reaction to the codeine it contained and spent several days with my body covered in hives and my dad sleeping next to me on the floor to make sure I didn't stop breathing in the night. Years earlier I had a similar reaction to penicillin, an antibiotic to which an allergic reaction is more common than are serious complications from vaccinations, but parents don't hesitate to give their children antibiotics when needed.

My choice for my family is to vaccinate and until my son is old enough to be vaccinated I'm going to be a paranoid mama! I feel especially strong about this because of the outbreaks of measles and whooping cough in recent years, both of which have been known to KILL infants. I don't think it's a coincidence that cases of these diseases dropped drastically after vaccines were introduced or that they have started coming back more and more as more people refuse to vaccinate themselves or their children.

I know that even vaccinated people can carry the measles on their clothing or skin or in extremely rare cases even develop a mild case of it themselves, if exposed, and pass it to others. I also know that vaccinated people can in very rare cases contract a mild case of pertussis, which in a vaccinated person feels more like a COMMON COLD, but they can still pass it to a baby who could die from it. So that is why I would like to ask this of all my friends and family:

If you or someone in your household has experienced any of the following symptoms in the last TWO weeks and have not been treated with antibiotics by a doctor or if you are not vaccinated and have been exposed to someone suffering these symptoms in the last THREE weeks (time due to incubation and contagion periods) please stay away:

• Fever (even a low one)
• Cough (even a mild one) 
• Runny nose 
• Sore throat 
• Swollen lymph nodes 
• Diarrhea 
• Red sore eyes 
• Spots in mouth 
• Rash (this seems like an obvious one)

Ultimately, for their own health and the health of our son, I would prefer that all of our friends and family make sure they are up to date on all their vaccines--especially the MMR (which requires a booster if you received your first shot before 1989) and the DTaP or TDaP (for which immunity starts to wane after about 5 years)--before coming to see our new baby, but I know that is somewhat of an unrealistic request. I know other new parents who have just plain not allowed unvaccinated people to come to their homes or be around their children at all until they were old enough to be vaccinated (up to 2 years), but that is not what I want. I want all of our friends and family to have the opportunity to meet our new baby and spend time with him in his first months of life, but not if it puts his health at risk. Just please stay away if you have any of those symptoms, even if they are mild. There will be plenty of time to meet him when you and your families are well.


***Below is a link to a very informative video by NOVA that aired on KUED. It is educational and contains interviews with parents on both sides of the debate, the history of vaccines, the risks of the illness themselves as well as the side effects of vaccines (and even some side effects that were later learned to be genetic illnesses that only presented sooner because of the fevers sometimes caused by vaccines), stories of outbreaks and also stories of those who suffered complications after being vaccinated. I think it is pretty neutral in how it presents the facts and information. I was crying 5 minutes in...the tiny baby with whooping cough at the beginning broke my heart (and scared me--whooping cough is the one that scares me most with infants because it has such a high mortality rate). 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/body/vaccines-calling-shots.html

Why the THIRD Trimester is the Best

Everyone knows the first trimester of pregnancy sucks...you're exhausted all of the time, you feel like crap and if you're like me you have back pain you can't take anything for (my expanding uterus put pressure on my lower spine for the first few weeks until it rose up out of my pelvis). Not to mention the daily progesterone injections I was lucky enough to get through week 10. You feel bloated and pregnant, but you don't look pregnant--and many couples wait to tell anyone about their pregnancies so then on top of all the symptoms, you might not be able to talk about it.

Next comes the second trimester: the honeymoon trimester, as it is often referred to. I looked forward to this trimester! Once I got there I did not know what all the hype was about. My energy improved a little, but I was still feeling pretty tired a lot of the time. Sure, I wasn't feeling nauseous all of the time any more, but I also wasn't feeling my baby move yet for the first part--it wasn't until the last couple of weeks of my second trimester that I started feeling him move regularly. For me this trimester was hard because I was constantly worried if my baby was okay. At least when I was nauseous I knew it was a good sign he was still growing. The only exciting things to come out of the second trimester are that I started showing and we found out we were having a boy.

Now that I am in my third trimester, I am loving it. There is no longer any question as to whether or not I am pregnant, so I don't just feel fat, and it is kinda fun watching my belly get bigger from week to week. Our baby boy moves all over the place and I am not getting sick of it one bit. I love watching my stomach bounce and bulge and feeling the kicks and punches. Sure I get tired-I have days where I have absolutely no energy-but I had days like that in the first and second trimesters too.

Baby's shoulder poking out

Sleeping is hard, but not because I am getting bigger or more uncomfortable...I have developed insomnia in pregnancy. In fact I have had a hard time sleeping since the initial exhaustion (when I could not stay awake) of the first few weeks wore off. It is not unusual for me to wake up at 4:30 in the morning and not be able to go back to sleep. I have always peed 1-2 times a night, sometimes 3 times in the first trimester and now I'm usually up 4 times a night. The difference between being pregnant and not is that now that I am pregnant I don't easily fall back asleep after I get up to pee.

It is getting harder to stand up, roll over, bend over (shaving is a big challenge) or stay in any one position for too long, but that doesn't bother me so much because I know it's all part of keeping our baby cozy and comfortable (and not squishing him in instances of bending). Even my weight gain has slowed way down (which is probably due to my having to watch what I eat because of the gestational diabetes-the only bad thing to come in this trimester). I do occasionally get to indulge...for example on Friday I helped myself to some delicious chocolate cake. Of course after that I could not eat anything else for two hours because of the risk of my blood sugar levels rising too high, so I was starving before I could eat again, but sometimes it is worth it!

37 weeks, Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Housework is getting tough too, but I'm not going to complain about not being able to vacuum more than a room or two at a time...it's a good excuse to get Ryan to do it for me! My father-in-law actually vacuumed the whole house while Ryan's parents were here visiting the weekend of my baby shower. This is one time in my life when I will graciously accept any help that is offered! I am keeping up just fine though; I just make sure to divide up household chores so I don't do too much on any one day.

Another fun thing about the third trimester is preparing for the baby. I packed my hospital bag, had my baby shower and got to set up the nursery. I have also been shopping for the baby quite a bit. With our due date getting closer I feel like we need to be prepared. Shopping for baby stuff-even burp cloths and soap-is fun. I have never in my life had so many people offer to help or give me gifts! Now that our due date is getting so close I have had several friends stop by to visit and give me baby gifts. I love hearing how excited so many of our friends are for us!

An unusual thing has happened for me this trimester: My pregnancy is starting to go by faster. Maybe it's the increasing frequency of doctor's visits or all of the prep work keeping me busy...who knows. Either way, I'm not slowing down; whatever makes the time pass and keeps me from feeling any more anxious is a good thing. Each week it seems more and more fun things come up. I already have a full week of plans for next week too: eyelashes and nails, babysitting, lunch with friends, doctor and a baby shower. This week, I had my sister's girls over to play on Tuesday and Thursday (since I'm going to miss a few weeks once the baby comes I want to get my time in with them now).

This week I spent the first part working on getting our tax paperwork ready and preparing for my lecture on Thursday. A few weeks ago a professor of mine from college, who happened to write me a letter of recommendation for the mediation graduate program I completed, contacted me asking if I would be willing to be a guest speaker for her class. So Thursday morning I lectured in a business class at the University of Utah about mediation and how to use it in the workplace to resolve disputes between employees. It was a really great opportunity and fun experience! It felt so strange to be looked at by students as an expert on something--that was definitely a first for me. Ryan drove me there and made some work phone calls outside while I was lecturing then we went to lunch and he went back to work.

After my first experience teaching, I felt great. So I went shopping...but not for fun things. I am now all stocked up toilet paper, frozen meals and other little things we might need while I'm down after the baby comes. Ryan picked my sister's girls up from school and showed up at home right after I finished unloading all the groceries by myself (perfect timing, right?!) We took the girls to Walmart and bought them (and Ryan) bikes. I watched them practice then I finally squeezed in a little nap while they went for a bike ride through the neighborhood (like a several mile-hour-long bike ride!) My dad came over just before my sister picked up the girls and we had dinner with him and watched a movie: "Interstellar" (if you haven't seen it, watch it!)

New Bikes!!!

Friday I had lunch with Ryan at his office (I got to have lunch with him twice this week!) then we were off to our doctor's appointment. My regular doctor is out of town, so we saw her Physician's Assistant. I am measuring right on, at 37 weeks, baby's heartbeat is around 140 and everything looks good. More fun third trimester stuff: changes. I am dilated to one centimeter and 20% effaced! I know it's not much, but it feels good to know that my body is slowly progressing. Hopefully those numbers keep going up!

Our fun did not end there...Friday night Kenzie slept over at our house. Poor Brinlee was sick so she couldn't come, but she got a night home alone with her mom. We ordered Chili's takeout for dinner then watched "War of the Worlds" at Kenzie's request. Surprisingly, as tired as she was she was the only one who stayed awake through the entire movie!

Kenzie took this, but I am sure Ryan will kill me for sharing it! He looks so sweet though!

I got a glimpse into Ryan as a parent: he's too much fun and I think he might have a problem saying no to kids! Instead of sleeping in one of our guest bedrooms, Ryan let Kenzie sleep on an old spare crib mattress on the floor in our bedroom on his side of the bed next to the patio door. She didn't want to sleep at the foot of our bed because it was too close to the bedroom door. Thankfully I loaded her up with enough blankets that she didn't freeze when I opened the patio door halfway through the night because I was too hot to sleep (as usual).  

Saturday morning Kenzie went to work with Ryan then our brother-in-law took them boating with 2 of our nephews. I felt pretty great Saturday, but didn't feel comfortable going boating this pregnant (and didn't want to scare the crap out of our moms) so I stayed home and cleaned. All 5 bathrooms (on 3 floors...I walked the stairs a lot) are now spotless and all our rugs and towels are clean and ready for our house guests after baby comes. Of course my back was not too happy about all that work! After Ryan and Kenzie got home from boating I assumed we would take her home, but she wasn't ready to leave so of course Ryan told her she could stay and hang out longer. So we took her out to dinner. Ryan has such a great time hanging out with his nieces that I think he's often sad to see them go home. He definitely had a fun day hanging out with Kenzie!

Fun day of boating with Uncle Ryan

I don't know why so many women complain about the third trimester. So many uncomfortable symptoms have been around from the beginning (although thankfully the nausea subsided) and all of the other changes have happened so gradually that this trimester does not feel horrible and uncomfortable like I thought it would. I've gotten so used to the uncomfortable parts by now that ️pregnancy feels more normal than it did a couple months ago (although I do really miss being able to reach my toes)! I have been enjoying my last days without a baby and looking forward to the changes that will take place when the baby comes. He could come any day and each day he doesn't come is one day closer to the day he does! For me this trimester has just been an exciting time with lots of fun things happening. I can't believe my due date is already less than three weeks away!

Our Conference Birthday Easter Weekend

We had a very busy weekend...I'm still not sure how I survived it! I had some moments of such sheer exhaustion when I did not think I could push myself any further, but somehow I made it through. Our weekend started bright and early Saturday morning...thanks to insomnia my morning started before 5:00 a.m.

My great aunt and uncle from Alabama are serving an LDS mission in downtown Salt Lake City (doing real estate and genealogy research). They were able to get seven tickets to the Saturday morning session of General Conference downtown and invited Ryan and I to go. They also invited my mom and my sister's two daughters. We had to leave the house at 7:30 in order to pick up the three of them and be at my aunt and uncle's apartment by 8:30, where Aunt Mellanie had quite the spread of breakfast snacks laid out! She even introduced me to a new low carb (and low calorie) bread--I can eat toast for breakfast again!

They live less than a block away from the entrance of the conference center so they made arrangements for us to park at their building and the seven of us walked over to the conference center together. We had pretty good seats right in the middle on the balcony. I must admit that this was probably the first full session of conference I have ever watched all the way through in my adult life. It was interesting though and such a cool experience to be there in person. I stayed awake, despite my lack of sleep the night before, and only had to take two potty breaks from the time we sat down until the time we left--I call that a success!

I especially enjoyed a talk on marriage and men as husbands and fathers by the General Relief Society President Linda K. Burton. She talked about the struggles men face in our world today with the messages of what it means to be a real man and how a real man is not solitary but part of a partnership with his wife in raising a family and how important it is for him to fulfill his roles of husband, father, brother, uncle, etc.

Our walk over and the view from our seats

After conference, we walked back over to Aunt Mellanie and Uncle Kenneth's apartment where Mellanie pulled out a bunch of different options that she had prepared ahead of time for lunch (teriyaki chicken, tuna salad, chicken salad, deviled eggs, fruit, veggies, chips, chocolates...). Ryan and all of us girls packed ourselves lunches and walked downstairs to a little park out behind their building while Kenneth stayed behind to take a nap.

Lunch and some Frisbee playing

We had a little picnic next to a small fenced off cemetery where former LDS prophet Heber C. Kimball along with several of his family members are buried. It is a beautiful little area with lots of flowers, a few trees that are in full blossom and a memorial to the Kimball family. After our picnic Ryan took the girls to walk round the memorial and then we all played Frisbee on the hill above where we ate lunch.

Some pictures around the memorial and driving home (Brinlee fake sleeping)

Just before 2:00 p.m. we walked back up to Kenneth and Mellanie's apartment and talked for a little bit and then headed home. I was so tired I could not wait to get home! Once we got home after dropping off my mom and then our nieces at their homes (and a quick trip to Walmart) we spent the rest of the night relaxing on the couch and preparing for Sunday. As tired as I was after all the walking, stairs and Frisbee, I am so glad we were able to go to conference, see where my aunt and uncle are living and spend some time with them (they only have a few more months here)! Thank you so much to Aunt Mellanie and Uncle Kenneth for taking us to conference and spoiling us with all that yummy food!

Somehow we didn't think to get a picture with these two on Saturday. We love them so much!

My dad's birthday is April 6, so my family came over on Easter Sunday to celebrate. It has been a while since we all got together so it fun to have us all in one place! Our nieces and nephews got spoiled for Easter. The Easter bunny paid a visit to their houses that morning then grandpa made sure the Easter Bunny also left them some surprises at our house (and bags of candy for the adults). My dad came over early with baskets, stuffed animals and candy, then we filled plastic eggs with candy and hid them around the backyard for the kids to find when they arrived. Grandma did not come empty handed either...she brought eggs filled with candy and money for the kids and extra candy for all the adults. I think my parents miss our childhood days!

My sisters' kids having some fun on Easter!

I baked a ham, Ryan's favorite potato casserole (which I am proud to say he said was as good as his mom's) and corn to serve for lunch along with the rolls Kenzie and Brinlee helped me bake earlier in the week. We all sat down together and ate as a family. Dylan even tested out our new high chair...our little nephew has now approved our swing and high chair. An hour after dinner it was time for cake and presents. Instead of cake we served my dad's favorite white chocolate cherry pie from Village Inn--it was delicious (I just wish I could've eaten more than a sliver).

Happy Birthday Grandpa/Dad/Dave!

After pie and presents we all talked, played and laughed for the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. Overall the day was a success. I can't wait for our little boy to be chasing all the other kids around the house at family gatherings! Little Dylan needs a buddy...poor boy can't quite keep up with the girls (that will be our little Dean soon) and just squeals and giggles every time the girls run by.

After Saturday I suspected our baby had dropped, but Sunday I was sure he had. My belly feels heavy and there's so much pressure down low from the time I get up in the morning instead of just feeling heavy later in the day and I swear I have to pee any time I move. Plus baby's movements have gotten a little more painful; any time he moves around a lot it feels like he's pounding to get out--ouch! My mom even commented on how it looks like I have more space up top before my belly starts poking out.

We had a great weekend, busy but so much fun! However I don't think I can handle another one like it until after the baby is born (although we have our share of plans popping up). It's so much harder on my back to move around so much with all this extra weight in front, and I get so tired so fast these days! I need to save my energy for cleaning and prepping for baby Dean's arrival sometime in the next three weeks. I can't believe we're finally so close!

Parenting Practice

I've had several people this week tell me to enjoy resting while I can--believe me I am! I sleep until I wake up then lounge in bed until I feel like moving--usually I have to move because I start feeling so hungry that I need to eat right away, which happens pretty quickly! I soak in a warm bath once, sometimes twice a week. I lounge around on the couch and watch TV whenever I'm feeling particularly low in energy. I can't handle more than one errand a day because just walking around a store (and trying not to waddle) uses up all my energy. Sometimes I take naps, but I try not to because then I don't sleep well at night. My point is I am treasuring my time relaxing and doing what I want when I want because I know that very soon a small person will be controlling my schedule...and waking me up to feed him every 2-3 hours...ALL NIGHT LONG.

Relaxing...

I'm excited for this controlling little person to come into my life. The good news is another month has passed and we are now in April-the last month I will spend pregnant! By the time we turn our calendar to May, I will likely be holding our baby in my arms! In my tummy he keeps a pretty good schedule, seeming to know the difference between day and night...hopefully he adjusts well to life on the outside and keeps that schedule. (Wishful thinking?)

On Thursday I had some mommy practice. Once a week I have my sister's 2 daughters with me all day (Brinlee, 8 and Kenzie, 10). Lately I've been struggling because I just don't have the energy to do anything and I really hate to have them just watch TV all day since that's what they do at home every other day while their mom works. They don't always love it, but I try to save some errands to run with them, have them help me clean or work on projects around the house and get them outside when possible. I consider anything that reduces their screen time and gets them to do something different a success.

I came into the room a few weeks ago to find them giggling and playing a game together

A couple of weeks ago I paid them to pick up dog poop in the backyard while I worked on some things on my laptop out on the patio. Then I walked the yard with them to check their work (and have them pick up all the piles they missed). Next we watched a movie and then I let them watch TV while I cleaned my bathroom (and snuck in a little down time...I was exhausted) before I took them home.

Don't worry...they wore gloves for the dirty part!

They love craft projects, so any time I have something I want to make for the house I let them make something too. About a month ago I painted letters for the name "DEAN" to hang in the nursery. I also bought a "B" and an "M" so that Kenzie and Brinlee could each paint their initial to hang on their bedroom doors. It took me a while to figure out how to attach something to each letter so I could hang them without damaging the doors in their apartment, but I finally figured it out and helped them hang them when I picked them up last week. That day they helped me frame some pictures to hang in my house--including our maternity pictures. They are good little helpers. They helped decorate the nursery last month too. They are so excited to have a new cousin! Every time I tell them the baby is moving they are there in seconds with their hands on my belly.

Feeling baby kicks and door initials (After 2 painting sessions, they came out really cute!)

On Thursday we did a lot! I took them to the craft store for supplies for a couple of projects, then Target for a few grocery items and candy for one of my projects. When we got home we ate lunch (I made them help me finish off some leftovers!) then they helped me make the dough for rolls for my dad's birthday dinner this weekend. While we waited for the dough to rise we started our fun Easter project. I bought some of these plain white plastic eggs at Walmart that you're supposed to be able to dye...well they don't stain well; I learned last weekend that trying to dye them was a waste of time. Instead we used glue and glitter to decorate them. The girls had fun being creative with their designs and using all the different colors of glitter. I decorated some for myself too! Next we rolled out the bread dough and they helped me shape it into rolls. We left them to rise while I cleaned up the glitter mess on the table they watched a movie.

Yesterday's finished products

Brinlee was extra energetic so I had her run laps around the backyard twice. She bet me she would still have just as much energy...after, I told her she was right, but she did seem a little more calm after the second lap! They always get excited for Ryan to come home so he took them with him to get the car washed after work (they still love going through the car wash!) When they got home they helped me finish dinner then we all ate together when their mom got there to pick them up. After they left I cleaned up the dinner dishes and the kitchen and before I knew it it was eight o'clock. I was exhausted after my long day, but shortly after going to bed I learned my parenting practice was not done yet. 

I was so looking forward to a good night's sleep after my long day! My back was killing me from being on my feet and I was so tired, but we ended up with a sick baby...the dog. Around midnight, Saisha started getting up and whining. Each time, Ryan would tuck her back into her bed, but she would be back to whining by his side of the bed within 10 minutes. After a little while she followed him downstairs to fill up his water glass (the next morning he told me he had actually taken her downstairs to go outside). When they came back up she went to sleep...until about 3 a.m. This time Ryan slept through it and I took care of her. She was up every 10 minutes--whining or wandering from the bedroom into the bathroom--for almost and hour. She has done this a few times in recent weeks, usually because she's hot or cold or her blankets are messed up. I kept trying to make her comfortable, turning her heated blanket off and on, turning the temperature down and turning it up, but nothing kept her in bed.

Eventually she started whining at the bedroom door. I was so frustrated that I opened the door and just let her out of the bedroom. Then she started whining from the bottom of the stairs. So I went down and let her outside. After we went back up to bed she seemed fine again, but I couldn't fall asleep! It was 4 a.m. and Saisha was whining in her sleep while Ryan was talking in his sleep and I wanted to cry! Just as I started dozing off--finally--she got up AGAIN!! I couldn't take it! I was so frustrated! I wanted to sleep so much and my back was still hurting; getting out of bed over and over wasn't helping. I angrily got her back in her bed and tossed her blanket over her. Thank goodness Ryan heard her get up the next time--he was much more patient than me and went downstairs to lay on the couch so he could let her outside and I could sleep. Turns out she booked it out the door as soon as he let her outside...she must have had an upset tummy.

The next day I felt guilty for being so impatient with my sick baby girl...so I let her nap with me on the couch she is not usually allowed on (don't tell Ryan). Poor girl was exhausted and extra cuddly today. I was pretty tired too...I guess this was good practice for the sleepless nights ahead of me!

Saisha sleeping on my feet

We had our big 36-week doctor's appointment on Friday: ultrasound, Strep-B test and cervical check. Our baby boy is head down and my cervix is thinning, but still closed (so not dilated quite yet). He still has plenty of fluid for now, but we will have another ultrasound (our 8th one) in 2 weeks to check the fluid again (and his size) because of my gestational diabetes. In Friday's ultrasound we saw his perfect round head, kindof saw part of his face (I had a hard time making it out), got a good close up of his boy parts and even saw his little hand balled up into a fist. We didn't get any pictures this time around, but he's so big now that you can't see much of him at once. I've only gained 0.2 pounds in the last 2 weeks (still lingering just under 170), which the doctor said is normal around this time for someone watching their diet like I am. I am measuring at 37 weeks, which is 5 days ahead of where I am.

36 weeks, Wednesday April 1

Overall everything looks good and normal, so now we just wait. I will get the results of the Strep-B swab next week. If I test positive that just means I will just need an antibiotic by IV in the 4 hours before birth to make sure baby doesn't catch it on his way out (untreated it can cause life a threatening infection in babies). I had never heard up this, but apparently it's fairly common and somewhere between 10 and 30% of women carry the bacteria during pregnancy.

Lastly we went over the reasons to come into labor and delivery:

• I start leaking fluid continuously 
• I have painful contractions coming every 3-5 minutes
• I don't feel the baby move as much as normal

Our doctor said not to call, to just come in; if I think i might be in labor I probably am and if I call they will just tell me to come in anyway. Talking about this with the doctor makes it all so real and exciting that we are really this close. I can't wait to start feeling changes and seeing some progress! We will be meeting our baby sometime this month...it's weird to have the timing of such a big change just up in the air like that, but we are ready!