Baby came early!

The baby came early. As with anything that happens early, we did not expect this to happen! So here's the story.

On December 10, my doctor told me I was dilated to a 3. (WOO!) But I was still feeling normal and didn't feel like the baby was coming any time soon. He did mention that my blood pressure was a tiny bit high enough that he was going to induce me on my 39 week mark. (This was also a bonus because he was going out of town over my actual due date.)

On December 11, I'd been having contractions all day, but they were random and they didn't hurt, so I was just trying to ignore them and relax. The main reason I was trying to ignore them was because that night was supposed to be our last date night out without a baby. But they started hurting right before dinner, even though they were still random and far apart. So I downloaded a contraction tracking app on the way to dinner so I could have a record to know what to do! But I knew that the hospital was a ways away - maybe even the next day.

When we got home, I decided we better take our 38 week pregnancy picture (just in case). But I wasn't going to the hospital. The baby wasn't coming yet...

We then decided to make some cookies to take my mind off the contractions. We did. And the contractions got stronger and quite close together all of a sudden. My tracker app was showing they were generally about 6 or 7 minutes apart. But there were times when they were 3 minutes apart. At this point I started to wonder if we needed to get ready to leave for the hospital, but I wasn't convinced quite yet.

After the cookies were done at about 10 P.M., I decided I'd just go to bed and see if relaxing helped slow the contractions down. Then I would know that I was right and the baby wasn't coming yet. (I have to mention that my true reasoning for putting off going to the hospital for so long was because I did NOT want to get sent home! The hospital is a good 20-25 minutes away, so coming home was not an option for me.)

Off to bed we went. Steve was soon snoozing away and I was at least relaxed. My contractions did slow down to about one every 20-30 minutes. And I only know this because I frantically looked at the clock whenever I felt one.

Suddenly at midnight I sat straight up in bed with an enormous contraction! Without waiting for another to come along, I woke up Steve and we got to packing the last minute things in our hospital bag. Contractions were coming along at a steady 4-5 minutes as we were getting everything ready.

We got to the hospital at 1 A.M. and they checked me. I was still only dilated to a 3 at this point, and my doctor wanted me to walk for an hour to make sure I was progressing. After walking around that hospital floor for the longest hour of my life (as contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes) I was dilated to a 4! We fist pumped all the way to the delivery room because we weren't going home!!!

I decided to get the epidural much sooner than I anticipated - because ummm...OW. Contractions hurt, guys! ;) Although, I felt like I was handling them pretty well. The anethesiologist, anasthesialogist, guy with the heavenly epidural came in around 3:30 A.M. and I got the epidural going. Note: That hurt more than anticipated. Everyone says it's mostly pressure, but mine was mostly pain. Not to mention that he had to do it twice because the little tube was kinked the first time so it wasn't flowing right. Ouch times 2.

After the epidural was going, it was neat to focus on my contractions and the baby's heart rate. I thought that this would be the longest part - waiting for the baby to descend. However, every time a nurse came in to check my progression, I was more and more dilated. They kept commenting incredulously, "This is your first baby??" Yes! My baby knows what's going on, yo!

At about 10 A.M. they started talking about pushing and making sure the doctor was on his way. The nurse said, "If you can, try to take a 10 or 15 minute power nap so you can be relaxed and rested when we start pushing." HA. That's funny. I just sat there and listened to the baby's heart rate.

I was also a little nervous about pushing because you hear all those stories of women that push for hours before the baby comes, or they push for hours and then end up needing a C-section. Nothing against C-sections -- that just seems like a lot of work, and then suddenly you need a C-section.

However, I got lucky once again and this baby knew what to do. We probably pushed for about 15 minutes before she started coming. I actually had to sit and wait for a moment for the doctor to get ready to deliver her. After he was ready, a couple more pushes and our little bug was here!

Bubba was born on December 12 at 10:50 A.M. She was 6 pounds 13 ounces, and she was 19 inches long. I got to do skin-to-skin with her right after she was born and she was so sweet. She even reached out and touched my face a couple times. My first thought was, My body just pushed this enormous baby out of me! I know she's not enormous, but when you compare her to the opening she came through, she's enormous. The body and this miracle of life still amazes me. There are moments I still can't believe my body helped host this sweet little one, helped her grow, and then bring her into the world.

For most women, that first moment with their little one is the most precious and emotional. Like I said, I was still amazed at what my body had just done.

THIS was my favorite moment...

Seeing him be such a proud papa and look at her with such love was unbelievable. I love this guy!

The part of this whole experience that seemed the longest and most drawn out was the next 48 hours in the hospital. I mean, it was clean, the staff were all amazing and friendly, we could bring in whatever food we wanted, etc. But I just wanted to be at home in my own bed.

Here we are finally getting ready to go home!

She is so teeny tiny in that giant carseat!!

We got home and were reminded of what amazing neighbors we have. We have been so blessed in our neighborhood. They've all shown so much love and care as they've brought us dinners, offered to help watch her if I needed a nap, and just plain shown such interest in our lives. I love our ward and neighborhood more than I thought possible!

And here is our sweet little Christmas present waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve. :)

Overall, the experience was was great and was smooth sailing. So for all the horror stories you hear about labor and giving birth, know that there is probably a normal, run-of-the-mill story like mine where things go well and just as great as anyone could hope for.

We love our little girl and all that she has helped us learn in the short time she's been here so far. She has been such a challenge and such a blessing. We can't wait to keep learning as she grows and shows more of her personality!

36 weeks :: Belly Progress

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope your holiday was filled with loved ones, yummy food, treats, and lots of relaxing. Ours was certainly low key, which baby girl and I greatly appreciated.

Here is the progress belly picture for 36 weeks. I wore a different outfit than usual, but you can still see that the belly is bigger. I can tell I'm growing, and I'm happy to announce that I'm not completely miserable yet. My back is stiffer and I'm slower, but I'm still feeling good!

The time table is starting to feel crazy! We can't believe that in just a month (or less, eeps!) we will have a cute little dino hanging out in our house with us. We've got all the clothes washed and put away, and all the gear is just hanging out in her room. We just need to do some organizing and rearranging and we'll be ready for her to join us.

The doctor is starting to check my progress and my body is starting to recognize what's going on. Hooray for my body not being completely clueless. And the baby is in optimal position for being born...as she has been for the past few months. Our shy little dinosaur hasn't looked at us for months. Oh well - I'm glad she's getting ready to come join our little family.

I hope you have a great Thanksgiving weekend!

34 Weeks :: Belly Progress

Seriously? 34 weeks?! Each day seems to move slowly, but then I look back and find an entire month has passed me by again. It's good and bad. Good because I'm keeping busy and the time flies. Bad because I realize everything I still have left to do! AH! We're slowly whittling away at the baby to-do list. We will get there.

Once again, can you tell I'm excited for Christmas because of those socks?? We're having a hard time keeping Christmas decor out of our house at the moment. But I will prevail! I just keep repeating: Putting up Christmas decorations will not make Christmas come any faster. Plus, I still have stuff to do before then!

It's finally getting colder around here. And I realized that winter coats don't fit me right now. Whoops! Steven and I came up with an amazing invention. I'm going to crochet a prototype soon and try it out. If it's good enough, I'll let you all in on the secret when it's finished. Steve is convinced we're going to get rich and retire early because of this idea. I'm a little skeptical, but we'll see how it all turns out.

Hope you are enjoying this chilly weather more than I am! :)

30 Weeks :: Belly Progress

Hey, my friends! I am here to give a quick update about the sweet babe in my belly. I know I've been a little MIA for a couple weeks. I had a block class for graduate school ending, and I've been pretty swamped at work. I think I say that a lot, but it's the truth.

Here is where we are today. Well...a week ago. ;)

And here's an update on the rest of our life - the fast version:

-Still pregnant. Still excited!
-Ended up dropping the graduate class I was going to take the second block of the semester. I've been so busy, I knew I needed to take things off my plate in order to be able to have time to get ready for baby.
-Started putting up things for Harry Potter Halloween 2014!
-Finally got blinds up in baby's window.
-Crocheting a few more things for friends and Etsy sales.
-Still working on projects for baby's room.
-Went to a birth prep and baby care class. We are so glad we did because they eased some of our first-time parent anxieties.
-We finally registered for baby things for baby showers.
-Recently my really cool brother-in-law saved our lives by fixing our bathroom. It was a serious problem, and we are so grateful for him and his quick action. Like a real-life superhero!
-Still working my buns off at work and trying to get everything set for when I leave.
-Still increasingly amazed with the step-upness (yes, I just made up that word) of my sweet hubs. There aren't enough words, so I have to make my own.


I'm proud to announce I still love being pregnant. A month or two ago I was almost ashamed to say that because so many women complain about being pregnant and all that comes with it. I didn't want to see like I was bragging. Yes, there are things that aren't so awesome about being pregnant. Yes, my back aches much of the time. And yes, it's much harder to control my gassiness. But it's worth it. I've been blessed to have a relatively "easy" pregnancy, and I'm thankful for that every single day. I'm absolutely loving feeling this sweet little parasite jump and hiccup inside me, and we cannot wait for her to join our family.

24 Weeks :: Belly Progress

It is crazy to see this belly! It happens so gradually that it just seems normal. Then when you look back at your first picture, you realize just how much you've changed. And then you realize that this is the point where you start to get even bigger. And I can't imagine it at this point. It weirds me out.

Yes, you read that correctly. We've been listening to Christmas music on a regular basis for the last month at least. Normally I'm the grinch that says there may be absolutely NO Christmas music in my vicinity until the day after Thanksgiving. However, since she's due really close to Christmas, it's all we can think about. We're just extra excited!

And in case you are like me, and somehow forget what you looked like before...here's a reminder.

I just keep thinking I'm not really as big as I think I look. But I am. It's really exciting, and I love feeling her grow in there! I just never realized the difference until I put the two pictures next to each other.

I hope you have a great week this week!

So excited for Fall!

Autumn - Fall - Halloween - Leaves - Pumpkins - Chilly - SO EXCITED!!

Every year right after our anniversary, I convince myself that it's getting cooler outside. (It's not.) I just get so excited for Fall and everything associated with it that I convince myself that the heat is still hot, but it's a cool heat. Anyone else? Or am I the only really crazy one about this? I don't care if I am. :)

If any of you follow me on Pinterest, you've noticed lately that there have been a large amount of Harry Potter party ideas being pinned to my board. I started a tradition last year of making our little entryway into a cool Harry Potter spot for the tricker treaters. It was so fun to make all the crafts and just be creative in ways I've never been before.

So, as you can imagine, I will be doing this again! I figure I'll just add bits and pieces every year. Soon I'll be that weird, crazy lady on the block that has like an entire Harry Potter land in her yard for Halloween every year. And I'm fine with that.

If you'd like to see my Harry Potter Halloween from last year, you can see the finished product HERE. Just looking at it makes me antsy to start some crafts for this year!

When I was out shopping with my mom earlier this summer, we found these!

Are you kidding me right now? Hedwig and Pigwidgeon just made their grand entrance into my life. Also, they're kind of fun to have hanging out in my craft room currently.

I'm also planning on making some spiders to either put on my house or on the yard, some colored jars for potion ingredients, some more dementors that look cooler, a more realistic sorting hat, and MUCH MORE. I also plan on getting/making some sort of silly Harry Potter pregnancy shirt. Not sure what will be on it yet. And I am going to try and do it all for as cheap as possible. I think last year I only ended up spending like $30 or so. That's a huge win considering how much I actually made.

I'm making myself too excited. I need to go do other things now that my summer semester of school is out! YAY!

Celebrating half way!

I am so excited! I was getting ready for work and suddenly realized that I was officially 20 weeks pregnant! The first half of the pregnancy has blown by. I think the main reason for that is because it's been relatively easy so far. We were waiting and waiting for sickness, and I was blessed that it never happened. I have started to get the occasional belly stretching pains, but I'm still so excited that she's growing that I can tolerate it. :)

Here is some progress! I'm really excited that I'm starting to look pregnant instead of a little chunky.

And my 20th week of pregnancy was our 6th anniversary! Woot! We decided to take it easy this year and go to a fancy-ish steak house and enjoy some amaaaaazing ribs and steak. YUM!

I certainly have loved every second of our 6 years of marriage. And I can't wait for eternity with this handsome fella.

I'm dreaming.

Last night I had a dream that I was a teacher and some guy was threatening to come and rob my classroom of all my classroom supplies. When he finally came, he ended up only taking candy and then giving me a $1,095 bill to help me buy things to take care of my class. I cried. Then I realized that it was a counterfeit bill. As if the amount of it wasn't enough evidence. I cried again.

Sometimes, I feel like I'm dreaming all day long. I am still just baffled that we are beginning our little family. It's so flipping exciting! and scary! and crazy! and dreamy. I'm still only barely beginning to feel baby move, and it all just feels unreal. Although our wait for our little one was only 2 years, and I know many others wait much longer, it felt like forever while we were waiting. It felt so far off that when it finally happened, it was unbelievable! And it's still crazy to imagine what our life will be like in just a few short months.

Again, I can't say enough about the hubs. He's my superhero.

Frostbite

Here are some of my favorite places in Indy. Of course we had to visit them all while we were visiting family...multiple times.

Steak N Shake

Monical's Pizza

Luckily the County Fair was open while we were there!

Now that vacations and camps and such are over, we are gearing up for baby. We bought our first box of diapers and wipes to start our stock pile. And we're picking out paint this week. We had an AMAZING friend give us a crib. It's in great condition and it's white - my only real requirements. Woot! We'll see what is next on our adventure!

Hope your summers have been lovely and maybe a few degrees cooler than ours has been! :)

What's your guess?

Here was our silly little announcement about the gender. Steven likes to hear what people guess we're having. Also...ummm, we're really cute babies. I'm just sayin'.

Any guesses??

On the move...

No, we're not moving anywhere. Promise.

I just feel like we're going places. Graduate school is in full swing, school is out for little ones all around, and it's getting warm! A new summer season always makes me excited to do fun things outside and spend time with family.

Also, I saw this snail on our front porch and I took this really great picture of it.

Even if it's slow-goin', keep moving forward.

Springtime beauty

I'm really enjoying all the smells and sights of spring!

Here are the words from a verse of one of my favorite primary songs that we're singing in sacrament meeting tomorrow at church. It's not in the Children's Primary Songbook, but it was from the Friend or a magazine for church/home use. It was written by Tom E. Clark and Michael G. Facer in 2006.

That Easter morn, disciples ran to see where Jesus lay;

And there they saw a miracle: The stone was rolled away!

He came for us; He died for us 

All to fulfill our Father's plan. 

On Calvary, Gethsemane, 

He sacrificed that we might live again.

It's a song with such a simple, beautiful message. I also enjoy playing it because it sounds similar to a Charlie Brown Christmas song. :)

I hope you have a beautiful Easter!

Today I'm choosing to be thankful.

I'm having a day. One of those days. A particularly moody day. However, this afternoon has been better. So in an effort to completely turn this day around, I'm taking the advice of others and remembering things I'm grateful for. Here are a few things.

Also, I just cleaned out my phone's memory. This post will probably have some old silly pictures just for fun. You're welcome.

I cannot wait to show you that finished crochet project. If you haven't figured it out, it's a doily. Now I know I'm channeling my inner old lady. And I'm fine with that. :)

And I finally got to check out The Hobbit from the library. I'm very excited to read it because I loved The Lord of the Rings so much. And Steve will be excited because then we can finally watch the movies together. Although we still might wait until they are all available.

Yes, I know it's April. But I found this pattern for wrist warmers on Ravelry, and I just thought they looked so fun and cute! So I made them. They actually turned out easier than I expected.

And just for fun, this really terrible phone picture of our Valentine's Day date to our stake dance:

And also this song. It's one of my favorites. And their outfits are super groovy. And the guy wearing the orange shirt is obviously loving life. Clearly, because he keeps swinging that french horn around and making me feel like he's going to drop it!

I hope you have a happy evening! 

What do you do when you choose to be thankful and happy?

Excused Absence :: Here's the deal

I'm really sorry for my absence from this blog for like a week. It's really not that long, but since I've been posting a few times a week, not posting for over a week seems like a long time. I've been pondering and thinking about sharing about this topic for months. I finally feel comfortable sharing this with the big ole world wide web.

Here's the deal... we're trying to make a baby. :) In fact, we've been trying to make a baby for a couple years. So occasionally I get a little overwhelmed and need to re-focus. It's been an unexpected and frustrating journey so far. I'm learning a lot about myself, my hubby, our relationship, and our faith. There have been ups and downs. However, I must say that I think we've been handling the whole situation pretty well so far.

I'm not going to go into much detail right now. But I plan to share more about this whole deal more as I sort out my feelings and thoughts on it.

Thanks for your understanding and support during this. You've all been super amazing and loving.

I could not have asked for a more patient and supportive teammate throughout this time. I love my hubs dearly for his caring.

I shared this picture on Facebook for Steve's 30th birthday. Can you even handle those sweet blue eyes?
TOO. MUCH. CUTE.

Motivation Monday :: 100HappyDays

I heard about the 100 Happy Days challenge from a blog I follow: A Beautiful Mess. They have such fun and cute stuff over there, check them out. It took me about 3 seconds to jump on this bandwagon! I love challenges and ideas that will remind me to be happy and enjoy life every day! I started this challenge on March 22, and I'm going to do my very best to do this. Even if I don't do it every single day in a row, I know it will be beneficial.

Will you try it along with me?

Here is the website and registration to the 100 Happy Days challenge. Check it out and feel some happiness! :)

Then every day we can sing this song, because it makes me want to dance every time.

Laughable Moments

You know those moments where you just have to laugh? You just think, "Did that just happen? Wha...ok..." This is a silly example, but still.

After I washed my hands in the school bathroom today, I went to get a paper towel. And this happened:

I followed the directions! And it still ripped the paper! So lame that I had to laugh...and obviously take a picture.

So next time, don't tell me what to do, paper towel dispenser! You don't know me!

Motivation Monday

So I watched this TED Talk this morning. (It's Spring Break on campus and I was all alone in the office for a few hours. I decided to learn something. Whaaat?! I know.) I suggest you watch it - it's only about 12 minutes long and it's profound. I knew some of what he said, but I learned some new things that can be quite helpful. Also, he's pretty funny.

So I'm putting something he said into practice. I don't know that it will be every day ... I'm sure it won't be every day ... but I'm going to do some gratitude journaling, and write about a positive experience I've had in the last 24 hours.


Gratitude:

1. Singing and music. I love singing - especially with my hubs. We got lucky, and our voices blend well, and we both enjoy singing for family events or church events. It's just fun and we definitely enjoy sharing our testimonies of Christ through the songs we sing. Music has an unbelievable ability to touch the hearts of people in ways that are inexplicable.

2. Rain. We have had an extremely warm winter the last few months. We really only had 2 or 3 big snows. And it all melted so fast! Living in a desert, we were a little concerned about our water supply for the summer and for our plants. Our stake (and I'm pretty sure most stakes in Utah) have been fasting and praying for some sort of precipitation to help us with our concerns for the summer. And you know what? It rained! A LOT. And I'm so glad it did.

3. A warm bed. Even though we've had crazy warm winter weather (jealous?), I still get cold. I am so grateful that I have a soft, warm bed to climb into every night.


We were asked to sing a duet in a ward yesterday. We love the song we sang. It was a great experience to share my testimony and belief in Christ with others - especially through song. I know that music has a way of reaching people's spirit that may not be reached otherwise. And when you truly believe in the message that you are singing, your heart overflows with love for Christ.

My favorite lines from the song are:
Every sorrow will be swallowed up in Him.
For in His hand is healing for the weary soul.
This I know, this I know because He lives.

There are times lately when my heart has been weary, and I'm physically tired because of my weariness. I have experienced the cleansing relief that is felt when you lay your burdens on Him. He can and will heal and mend my heart.

Matthew 11:28

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Have you read or heard any good TED Talks lately?

Take A Moment...

Sometimes I have to take a moment. Do you do that?

Since the New Year, I have felt that our lives have increased in extra activities. It's been weird. I'm used to having weeknights pretty free. But suddenly, nearly every night has some sort of activity inside or outside our home planned.

Because of this, I have needed to learn and remember to take a moment.

The stress and busy-ness get to me really quick. I am pretty introverted, so being around a lot of people constantly wears me out - so much. I get stressed, tired, and frazzled. And sometimes I forget who I am.

This last week especially, I have had to ponder on how we are children of God. So I take a moment, ponder, and remember that I am a child of God. He loves me. I don't do this willy-nilly. I sit and really imagine Him with me, comforting me, and listening to my stories. He truly loves me. When I do this simple thing for just a few moments, I regain some eternal perspective. I remember why I'm here and what I'm striving for.

So, take a moment. Remember who you are. Remember you are a child of God. You really are.

Mountain Beauty

We've had a few days straight of snow and rain. It's been great considering how little precipitation we've gotten this winter. It's been bad. We were grateful for the precipitation not only for the wet, but for clearing the grossness out of our skies.

Hello again, beautiful mountains and sky!!

Motivation Monday

Sometimes people leave you

Halfway through the wood.

Do not let it grieve you.

No one leaves for good.

You are not alone.

I have always loved the musical Into the Woods. Not only is the music amazing, the stories fun, and the whole thing hilarious, but the messages in the show are so inspiring. Certain songs and lines from Into the Woods have always spoken to me and pierced my heart. Please see this show if you haven't already!

The particular line I wrote here is from one of the last songs in the show. From the very first time I saw the show and heard the soundtrack I have never forgotten these lines. It is so true for me. And I haven't been able to get this part out of my head for a few days.

Sometimes people leave us sooner than we like. Sometimes we are separated from family and friends in distance, and we miss them dearly. But I know that loved ones that have passed, or loved ones that live far away, are always with us.

Not only that, but we are never alone. Our Savior is always aware of all the details in our lives. Always. I'm not just saying this - I know it. Every single thing we do is important to Him. He loves us, cares about us, and will always be interested in what we are doing.

Happy Monday!

Let me sleep!

I am transcribing a class that is entirely too early in the morning. Why do students do this to themselves? Stay in bed! Sleep! More importantly, let ME sleep! Oh, my life is so hard...right?

Oh well. Even though I hate the waking up part, I do enjoy the peaceful mornings. They're pretty cool. But let's be honest, the late morning after a really great 10 hours of sleeping in is really great, too. I'm making sure I take advantage of the ability to do that!

Hope you had a good long weekend! :)