Me at 25 Weeks

This is the first picture I've taken of this pregnancy so I figured it was about time I did it! I didn't realize how big I looked until I saw this picture! Oh well. It's fun having a baby belly!

My Day at Labor & Delivery

My Saturday started off with contractions around 8:00 am. I was laying in bed and after feeling a couple contractions, I pulled my shirt up to watch my lower stomach turn into a ball every 2-3 minutes. It would squeeze tightly for about 30 seconds, and then I'd watch it as it flattened out again. The first couple times I thought it was kind of cool. They didn't hurt so I didn't think much of it. I was being a bad pregnant lady laying on my back so I moved to my left side and continued timing the contractions as they came every 2-3 minutes and lasted 30-45 seconds each. They were mild so I figured they were just Braxton Hicks. I got in the shower and then went to lay down on the couch. As I laid there they got stronger and started to actually hurt. Nat downloaded a stopwatch 'app' on his phone so timing them was super easy. I laid there for about an hour and a half and when I started feeling pain wrapping around to my back with every contraction, I decided I should call the doctor. I called around 11:00 and the on-call doctor told me to come in to Labor & Delivery to be monitored. I didn't really want to go because I figured they would stop as soon as I got there but seeing as I'm only 25 weeks, I didn't want to take any chances. Everything I read online said Braxton Hicks contractions will be mostly painless and will stop after drinking, laying down, using the bathroom, etc. If you have more than 4 contractions in a hour and they aren't going away then you should be seen. We called my cousin who lives about 3 minutes from us but his kids were sick with fevers so we decided that Nat would stay home with Adam and I'd go by myself, still thinking I'd be sent home within an hour of getting there.

I got to the hospital right before 12:00 pm and was hooked up to monitors. Because my belly is still small, the monitor had a hard time picking up the contractions, but they were there and I was definitely still feeling them every 2-3 minutes. The baby's heart rate was good (when she was actually still long enough to get good readings....the nurse said because she is still so small, she has a lot of room to move around and they have a hard time keeping track of her heart rate). After being monitored for a while they ran urine tests, checked my cervix, and did a Fetal Fibronectin (fFN) test which tests for imminent labor. My cervix was still nice and closed, my urine was fine, but the other results took forever to get back. When they finally did come the fFN was negative so they gave me a shot of Terbutaline to stop the contractions. It worked and they sent me home around 4:00. Up until the Terbutaline the contractions were still painful and I was so uncomfortable in that stupid bed, not being able to move much for fear of messing up the monitors. They didn't have an answer as to why my uterus decided it wanted to contract regularly but they were confident that I wasn't in pre-term labor. I have a prescription for the pill version of the Terbutaline so I can take that if I start having regular, painful contractions again. I'm not on bed rest (thank goodness!) but I'm supposed to take it easy and try not to pick Adam up too often or do anything strenuous.

Being at L&D made me excited to be there 3 months from now when having contractions is a good thing, but definitely NOT until then! This baby needs a lot more time to grow before coming and I'm grateful that both her and I are fine.

Happy Halloween!!

Adam was an alligator for Halloween this year and he had so much fun trick-or-treating! After the first couple of houses he totally caught on to how great it was to get candy in his pumpkin bucket! He is quite the social butterfly so he had to talk to each person and point out their candy, their pumkins, their decorations, etc. Then he would say thank you and goodbye to their candy bowls. He has been playing with his candy ever since! (and eating some, although Mom and Dad have probably eaten more of it!)

We spent the day down at my parents' house helping them clear out a space in the unfinished part of their basement. We've decided to put the new baby in her own room so we need to move the computer out into the hallway and seriously downsize our furniture and junk. I offered to help my parents in exchange for some space to store some of our stuff until we buy a bigger house. So after a lot of hard work (mostly on the part of my Dad, Nat, and Tommy) we have a good sized space to store stuff for a while. It was fun to have my parents see Adam in his costume and to go trick-or-treating with us. We also stopped by my Grandparents house for a bit so they could see him.

He definitely understood the point of Halloween this year and is still talking about trick-or-treating. Next year will be even more fun with a baby sister in tow!

Adam's Favorite Shirt

This boy is obsessed with french fries! He thinks every time we're in the car, that we're going to get french fries. He got upset once when I drove through Subway to get sandwiches and he didn't get any fries. The minute the waitress comes to our table at a restaurant (any restaurant) he immediately tells her he wants french fries. And every time she comes back to the table, he reminds her he is still waiting for his fries with a forceful "fuh-fries!" I promise we don't get fast food or even eat out all that often but I am really feeling like a horrible mother for having a child, not even 2 yet, addicted to french fries!

His other obsession is ketchup. Actually, I should say it is anything he can "dip dip" his food in. Kethcup, dressing, sauce, and especially salsa. So when I found this shirt, I just had to buy it, which is good because it was on sale for like $5!

100% GIRL!!

I had my Targeted/Level 2 (whatever you want to call it) ultrasound yesterday and we found out that this baby is most definitely a girl! I am thrilled. It took me about a day to get used to the idea when we first suspected it was a girl 2 weeks ago, but now I can't imagine her not being a girl! We even have a name that Nat is 100% sure about but I am still only 90% sure about. I just have commitment issues even though I sometimes call her by that name. I just need a bit more time before I'm ready to announce her name to the world. So stayed tuned! :)

Here is a 3D picture of our baby girl. I love how you can see her nose and lips and how her little arm is curled up by her face. The eyes make her look a little freaky, but if you ignore that, it's a sweet picture! It's amazing how just by looking at these pictures of her, I already love her so much! I cannot wait to meet her!

Gettin' Crafty

A couple weeks ago I was hit by the urge to craft. I came across this jack-o-lantern project on a blog and thought they were so cute. I already had all the jars and Mod-Podge so all it took was some .95 tissue paper, a can of green spray paint, and black cardstock. I think they turned out cute! Especially when they are lit up and glowing. I think I'm going to have my Activity Days girls do this for a project in a couple weeks, although Mod-Podge, tissue paper, and 8-11 year old girls is kind of frightening!

While I was shopping for the supplies I came across a grapevine wreath on sale so I decided to make a wreath for the front door. I then had to buy my very own hot glue gun, which was very exciting, and got to work gluing leaves, pinecones, berries, and pumpkins onto the wreath base. It wasn't until I hung it up that I noticed how well the red leaves matched my front door! I should take credit for the lovely coordination, but I can't.

It's a.....

Probably. The stinker wouldn't quite cooperate but my doctor said she didn't see any boy parts (and neither did we) so she was saying it's a girl but making no promises. I have my actual full ultrasound 2 weeks from today so we should be able to confirm 100% that it's a girl then.

I'm actually more disappointed then I thought I'd be which is crazy becaue I really do want a daughter. I was just hoping that #2 would be a boy so Adam would have a brother to grow up with. But, a girl is wonderful and she and Adam will still be good friends as they grow up. The other issue is that we have to start from scratch with girl clothes. And decide where to put her! We either have the kids share a room or we convert our office into a bedroom and then have no where for our computer and bookcases to go. I'm choosing to not dwell on anything until 2 weeks from now when I am SURE it's a girl. I don't even know if I can start calling the baby a girl yet. It's already abstract enough thinking about the alien inside me that you can hardly feel at this point so giving it a gender and even a name seems too strange right now.

So although I wished I was overjoyed and excited....I need a couple weeks to digest! I do remember feeling this way when I found out Adam was a boy so I'm not all that surprised. I guess I'm one of those people who needs time to get used to something new!

Friends and Oktoberfest

Last week my old college roommate Shar came for a quick visit. Her husband Dan is in the Air Force and stationed up in Montana so they dropped by on their way to Orem for a wedding. They had a jam-packed weekend so the only time we could squeeze in to see each other was as they were driving through town. Adam loved playing with their almost 4-year old son Blake and their almost 2-year old son Spencer who is just a month older than Adam.

What good friends these boys would be if we lived closer!
And Shar is having another baby just a month after me too!

Cute Shar.....man I really should take more time making myself presentable huh?

Nat and I both agree that Shar and Dan would be the type of couple we would love hanging out with. Even though we only live a few miles from an Air Force base, they don't do what Dan does (missiles I think??) so there's no chance they'll ever be stationed here. :( We love you guys!


Last Saturday we headed up the canyon to Snowbird to go to Oktoberfest. Nat jumps at any chance he gets to eat German food, and Adam loves music so we figured we'd drive up and also enjoy the leaves that are just beginning to change.

Adam picked a little flower and found a pine cone and the whole way home he jabbered on and on about his flower and "pawn cone"


Last year he loved the sauerkraut, this year...not so much. But he sure enjoyed the German Chocolate Cake!


Dancing with Mama

Drunken boy after one-too-many beers from the "Bier Garten"---or a chocolate high :)

p.s. Stay tuned - we found out what we're having on Wednesday!!

Future Virtuoso

Adam started doing this a couple months ago, but I just got it filmed. He can play the correct rhythm of songs on the piano and also on his drums. Nat and I are both hoping that he loves music as much as we do and you better believe I'm making him take piano lessons! And if his obsession with drums continues, we may have to do drum lessons also. We're in for a noisy house!

p.s. My Mom will probably be horrified that I posted this video of her messy living room.....she was cleaning out the study so that's why there are boxes of books piled around. :)

On a side note....I'll be 18 weeks tomorrow.....how is that possible? This pregnancy is going so much faster than my first. I love it! 12 more days until we find out the gender!!

Adam and Pregnancy Updates

I feel like Adam has grown up so much in the past few weeks and I want to document some of his fun characteristics. He is now 21 months old and his vocabulary has exploded in the past few weeks. It seems like he's saying a new word almost every day and I'm constantly amazed at what comes out of his mouth!

Just the other morning I asked if he wanted waffles for breakfast and he responded with, "Mmmm faffles. Syrup!" I've never heard him say syrup before! Another day I was driving with him and he said, "buckle" out of the blue. I glanced back and he was playing with the buckle on his carseat. He has recently learned the colors yellow and green and gets brown and black right about half the time. He can also identify stars and circles. I would say his favorite thing to do right now is playing his drum. My brother Tommy has a drum set in his room and Adam loves to go play Tommy's drums. When he's home, he bangs on his drum and says, "Ta-Tom brums" over and over again. I've heard him say "brumstick" a couple times too.

I think the cutest thing he has ever done was just last night. We had been at my parents' house for dinner and games and were driving home around 9:30. Adam started talking in 2-3 word sentences about everything he had done. We heard, "Barney dancing...Annie dancing" (he had danced with Annie to a Barney DVD) and "Sit chair brums....Ta-Tom brums" (he had sat in Tommy's chair and played his drums). We then started asking him about things and he talked about the dogs and cats, coloring with DeeDee, and playing in the fort with Papa. I'm amazed that not only can he talk in short sentences, but he can verbalize his memories! I don't think there is anything more amazing than giving birth to a tiny infant and watching them literally transform into a person right in front of your eyes! I can't wait for the coming months and years to see this little guy grow and develop.

One more funny thing....he used to pronouce the word fork, as "fortz". Just in the past few days it has started coming out as a perfectly pronouced f-word. Dinners at our house are filled with stiffled giggles from Nat and I! What can I do though? I can't tell him not to say it because he thinks he's saying fork! So last night at dinner with my family, the table had grown a little quiet and out pops the f-word from my toddler, rather loudly I might add! The look on my 15-year old brother's face was priceless! I quickly explained that he was saying fork and everyone had a good laugh. The strange things was that later that night while Adam was playing in a fort with my Dad, he was saying a perfectly pronouced "fork" for fort. Go figure.

Now for an update on our second child. I had an appointment last Thursday and unfortunately, Nat wasn't able to come so I had to tell my doctor not to check for the baby's gender. It was so hard to resist the temptation! I made sure to schedule my next appointment at at time when I knew Nat could be there so we'll find out what we're having in just over 3 weeks! I can't wait! I'm pretty sure I am starting to feel the first little movements from this baby. They are sporadic and light, but sometimes I can feel a few little taps and sometimes it feels like a little fish flopping around. I am so looking forward to feeling the baby move every day. It is my favorite part of pregnancy! I am still trying to hide my growing belly. I know I should just embrace it but I feel like it's too early to be looking so pregnant! And if I were to wear maternity shirts, I would look much more pregnant than I am. So for now, I'm wearing maternity pants and skirts for comfort and going with the fat-look rather than the pregnant-look. That's probably not the best approach though! :) All-in-all things are going great and I'm feeling more like my self rather than a slug who can't get off the couch.

Sorry for the long, journalish post. I guess I'm just a proud Mama!