Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Early Bird

Today at my doctor's appointment the ultrasound still confirmed that the placenta is low and covering the birth canal, AKA placenta praevia. If I were to go into labor or have contractions then I bleed to death and baby also dies. So bad news is I have to have a c-section. GREAT news is that my due date is moved to the end of October so I'll be pregnant 4 weeks less! YAY!!!!!! The baby is measuring and weighing in right where he should and is as healthy as we could expect. I loved the ultrasound today because we got to see more of his face......boy has he got the Cox cheeks! They're so round and plump and cute, I couldn't quit smiling.

We're down to the end, two months left and now I can mentally prepare for a c-section. I can't wait to meet this little baby and since we've shed off the last 4 weeks, I'm much more excited!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Ready or Not

This week I'll be 27 weeks along, almost to the third trimester and less than 100 days to go. The past few weeks have been both up and down (mostly down) as I've had to deal with the sharp rib pain, uncomfortable pressure from the baby moving and having nowhere else to go, morning sickness for a week which turned out to be an infection, and starting to wear maternity shirts. Ahhhh maternity clothes, God bless you and your utmost comfort! I don't know why I put off wearing them for so long although I have yet to buy some pants because they're too dang expensive and I refuse to buy pants for $30 on sale and only wear them for a short while. Call me cheap but I call myself practical.

I am sick of being pregnant and especially on days where I don't feel good, just want to get the baby out. But ultimately, with only 3 months and 1 week left I've been trying to prepare myself mentally. I keep seeing all these moms who make it look so easy and effortless. Then I think to myself and ask the basic questions: Can I go grocery shopping by myself and my baby? How will I handle going into the mothers room to nurse with other women in there? What if I'm in public by myself and can't get the baby to quit crying and screaming? Do I know how to bathe a baby? What about all the newness and pain of nursing? How will I function on such little sleep? Some days I'm confident in myself and have no problem at all with the prospect of being a new mom. Other days I doubt myself and am scared to death with all the unknowns. I'm hoping that as a new mom I'll just know what to do hour by hour, day by day, and trust that Heavenly Father will guide me in taking care of this new spirit just sent to earth.

Ultimately........I'm excited! I get to start a new chapter in my life. I get to quit work and do all sorts of wife things that I never did before like pack a lunch for Lance, get the laundry done before noon, and have dinner on the table at 5:30. I'm sure it'll be the biggest adjustment of my life but ready or not it's coming. Mostly, I'm so excited to see Lance bond with his son for the first time. I'm excited to count all his fingers and toes, breath in that good fresh baby smell, give him kisses all over, feel his uber soft skin, cradle and sing him to sleep, and just stare at what a miracle he is.

Graduation Celebration

Last night we had family, friends, and Lance's coworkers over for an ice cream sundae bar to celebrate Lance's graduation. He's got a few diplomas, certificates, and now the official license; he's completely done. I'm so proud of him! I wish I would have thought to take pictures of the evening but I was busy scooping ice cream. Thanks to everyone for all of their love and support through the years of this journey!

Photo Tour

For those requesting pictures of our new and first house, here is the uber spacious kitchen. Obviously we need to paint and do a little cosmetic updates but it will come with time.



This is the formal living room. See the end tables I refinished?
Technically this is the dining room with french doors to the back yard. But there's just the two of us and plenty of room in the kitchen for our little table so we're using this as the living/tv room. Notice the original hardwood floors Lance refinished before we moved in?

My 26th Birthday: The Good, The Bad, and The Yuck

A week before my birthday as my gift Lance took me on a surprise trip. We went to Boise to the Michael Buble concert! Luckily this is our second time going and it was just as FANTASTIC!!! That's the good part.

The bad part is that my morning sickness mysteriously appeared again out of nowhere. So I wasn't feeling too great for this trip.

Our seats were right in the middle of the row, about 15 chairs on either side of us. Luckily nobody was right beside us but it was still a trek to cross people to get to the stairs which lead up to the aisle/lobby area in the arena. About halfway through the concert I knew it was coming. I assessed my situation and quickly decided I didn't have time to cross all those people, hike the stairs, and then run to the nearest bathroom. I didn't want to cause a scene and certainly didn't want to throw up on anyone so I got my hospital barf bag out of my purse, told Lance to put his arm around me to cover me up, and put my head between my legs so nobody would see me. It was my only option, thank goodness for those handy hospital bags! Nobody heard a peep out of me because the music was so loud in there and nobody knew the wiser, I was quite discreet. Lance followed me up to the bathrooms after I was done and we sat in the back for the rest of the concert. I felt much better after that.

Unfortunately, it didn't stop there. I threw up in the car after the concert and again at his sister's house where we stayed for the night while they were out of town. (Don't worry J, I didn't miss the toilet and it's not contagious)!


Just us and me showing at 25 weeks.

Monday, August 1, 2011

23.5 Weeks

This shirt isn't even maternity but it works. For some reason I was actually ok with my belly that day. It wasn't weirding me out like it usually does. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful that I can have a child and witness this miracle that's squirming around. It's just so weird to look down and have this volleyball sticking straight out. Pregnancy is weird and I haven't quite come to terms with my belly yet, it's weird to look at myself. But on this day, I was ok with it and this is more for family that keeps asking about how big my belly is and what it looks like.

It's Been WAY Too Long!

One of my best friends from Charleston was passing through to visit her folks in OR and she stopped by for a little picnic and chat. It's been far too long since we've seen each other and even though it was only 30 minutes or so, well worth it! Miss and love ya!!