Wednesday, August 11th

They set up the appointment to be induced the day before. We had to call at 7:30 am to see if they had any rooms available. Luckily for us no one was even there having a baby. They had 3 or 4 women being induced that day and I was the first one there. (Yes I got up early enough to shower and do my hair and makeup. If I was going to be there in labor for who knows how long I wanted to at least feel clean). I was so excited, nervous and all other emotions that can possibly be there. I was really going to have a baby!!! I get there and go through all the paperwork, blah blah blah... Finally they get me in my room and give me my gown. I change and they hook me up to the monitors. Baby's heartbeat was great and they were registering my strange, irregular contractions. The next step was to start the labor. My doc came in and broke my water at about 8:00 am... I won't go into details but it was interesting to say the least. Then he said he'd be back to check on me around noon. They let me go for about a half hour and contractions weren't doing anything, well they got a little stronger, so the nurse came in and gave me pitocin. That really started me going. Oh it hurt. I was sitting on the bed and couldn't move. If I stood up it made them hurt worse, if I laid down... it hurt worse. So I sat, the entire time. Daniel had the tv on and I remember watching something about ancient torture methods and machines. I kept thinking to myself... "Oh this isn't as bad as that would be" and "oh people did this that long ago with nothing! I can do it". Brynn was there helping me too. Daniel and Brynn would talk to me and keep me breathing and distracted whenever I would have a contraction. They did great helping me. We had fun watching the monitor for my contractions and the baby's heartbeat. She did wonderfully the whole time. She didn't get too stressed out, and her heartbeat stayed pretty much the same. My contractions however were a totally different story. They were irregular the entire time. They double peaked and lasted for at least 2 to 3 minutes. So it was pretty intense trying to make it though 2 to 3 minutes of extreme pain like you couldn't imagine every 3 minutes. It would come on and I'd be concentrating on breathing then it would slowly start to go away and just when the pain was bearable, but not gone, it would come back even worse (double peaking). Then it would go away. I was so exhausted but didn't have any time to close my eyes and try to sleep.
By about noon my doc said he'd be back to check on me and he wasn't back yet, so I asked the nurse to check my progression. I was strongly debating getting an epidural, but I'd heard from many people that they won't give you one once you reach 7 cm. So she checked me and I was at 6cm. I asked if I could get one and she called the anesthesiologist. BUT she had just gone into a surgery! Crap!!! I was so freaked out that I'd have to do the rest of this without it because she wouldn't make it out in time. I had experienced what I wanted to and was ready to be relaxed for the rest of the time (plus I really wanted to sleep!). The nurse said that they do an epidural at 10 cm if we wanted. So I was pretty excited about that. About 12:45 maybe 1 I don't really know, the nurse came in with the anesthesiologist and I rejoyced haha! Labor had moved to the stage where you feel like you need to push and it's a whole lot of pressure but you can't do anything yet. They checked me before they started the epidural and I was at 8 cm. So they rolled me over onto my side and started the process of putting in the epidural. She poked me and couldn't get it in between my vertebrae. Brynn was watching and said she was scratching my spine and moving the needle all over. Then she decided to try again one vertebrae up. She did that one with ease and gave me a huge dose to be able to get on top of the pain. It was the strangest feeling. I really felt it spread through my whole abdomen down to my kneecaps. Then I started to shake. I remember just shaking almost the rest of the time from the drugs. They said it was set up on a slow drip so I'd have continuous pain relief. After about an hour I started feeling pressure again, so I hit the button to give myself an extra dose... it didn't do anything and I just started feeling more and more. Slowly, but surely. So I asked Brynn to check the drip line and she said there was something puddling on the floor... it was my epidural. They didn't hook up the line lol! They had told me it was a brand new system and they were getting used to it, but you would think that hooking up the drugs would be a top priority. Oh well. It wasn't to a point of extreme pain yet, so I wasn't mad, it was just kind of funny. They got it hooked up right away, but since I had already pushed the button, I was locked out for another 18 minutes still. So I was carefully watching the clock and as soon as the time was up I pushed the button. The nurse came in again and checked me and said I was at a 9, that was about 2:00 I think. By 3:02 I was ready to start pushing. The nurse gave me a crash course on the how to and I started. It came pretty easily for me. But I think part of that was because she was already so low. At 3:24 my sweet little girl was born. She started crying right away.



They took her to do the measurements and she was 8 lbs even and 20 1/2 inches long. The doc made them double check the weight because he was so sure she'd be high 6, low 7. He had been saying that for weeks now so we were all shocked when we heard 8 lbs.



Then, of course once I was all cleaned up and decent again, the family came in to see Alice. Daniel's mom was there, his dad was on the way, and my family was all there. They had all come in right after I got the epidural to see how things were going, then waited outside til she was born. They did her first bath and she screamed the whole time until they got the water on her head lol, she loved that part. It was cute. She had a major cone head full of super dark hair and my toes haha. After the anesthesia wore off they moved me into the room we'd stay in for the next couple days.

The last two weeks

Dang! I don't think I got a pic of us when I was 40 weeks. But she grew, if you can believe that. I got a lot bigger in those last two weeks. The first week of August was fun but a little bit boring. I was trying to take it easy to rest up for labor and afterward. Everyone told me not to do anything too. It was kind of nice having the "princess" treatment, but it got old. I did have my regular evening walks which was really nice to do something. But even that wore me out by the last week.
I finished organizing the baby room, hanging up clothes, putting bumpers on the crib and all that stuff. Daniel was a huge help in all of it too. We had fun doing it together.
My first appointment in August was good. Again I was hoping for some awesome news. I had progression, but not quite what I was hoping. I was now at 3 cm and 90% effaced and again the doc was pretty much shocked by how low she was sitting. He said her head was down and at a +2 station. (TMI here but +4 is crowning. So ya, she was low.) My contractions had gotten to be more regular but still not painful or regular enough. They were ranging from 7 to 9 min apart and lasted for 2 min and that was going on most of the day. I asked if that was close enough and he said not yet. Dang.
The second appointment was a dissapointment that I had to go. I was again hoping that she would decide to come earlier. But no, she was stubborn and I had to go to the doc in the second week of August. The appointment was two days after her due date. So I was pretty annoyed about it. Before he checked the progression he talked to me about how far over he would let me go. I said I didn't want to go past that weekend, the 14th. But he was going to be out of town starting Thursday on a scout trip. So we weren't sure what to do and he suggested checking progression to judge what to do. I had progression, thank goodnes! I was now 100% effaced and he said I was at a 3 still, then he corrected and said 4 cm! I should have been in labor already!!! I was so annoyed! So he said "let's just do this tomorrow! What do you think?" I immediately said yes, and Daniel had this tone of "I don't know about that". So I looked at him and said "I'm not waiting any longer, I deffinitely don't want to go past this weekend and if he's going to be gone then tomorrow is our only option." So we agreed to set up to be induced on the 11th.

38 weeks

So here I am at 38 weeks and I went to the doctor. I go in expecting to hear some more fun news about progression. So he checks me and says the exact same thing as last time. "What??" Dang. That sucks. So I'm still 2 cm and 80%. I've been doing regular walks and everything too. So I don't know what else to try but to keep doing what we've been doing and hope that something changes soon. I've been having a lot of contractions too, so I don't know how there's no change. But whatever.
So today I go get a quick lunch and on my way back to work I have a contraction. So I look at the time and I figure they are usually aroun 15 to 20 minutes apart and really random, maybe only two or three in a row. Well the next one came about 8 minutes after the first! I was very surprised. I was really excited too. I didn't want to read too much into it because I knew it wasn't labor. But it went on for almost an hour of them being so close. I was really excited. They haven't ever been that close or regular. I'm thinking maybe that's where the progression is happening. They are getting more regular and ready for labor. And of course they help dilate and efface too.
So tomorrow is my last day of work. I'm so excited but sad at the same time. I'm excited because I don't necissarily have to wake up so early anymore haha, and because it means I'm that much closer. I'm sad because it's been nice to have something to do during the day that keeps me and my mind occupied. It's been a lot of fun working there, but I'm starting to move slower and lose my mind more often. I think it's time to be done for a little while. I'll need the time off to rest up for labor, and to get used to being a mom.

37 Weeks... Full Term!

Wow, I'm 37 weeks. That is considered to be full term, even though there is still 3 weeks left until the actual due date. The baby is definitely dropping much more as the days go on. I think she might be anxious to come out or something. I am starting to get Braxton Hicks ('practice' contractions that prepare you and your body for the real deal) more and more often. I didn't mind them so much before, but as they are coming more often, they are getting much stronger. It doesn't hurt, but it definitely isn't comfortable.
Speaking of comfort... there's almost no such thing anymore. My favorite is sleeping. Laying on my side is getting old though too. I am so looking forward to the day I can lay on my stomach again lol. It's not always bad, but there are the days where I just want to be done with all of it.
So I went to the doctor again. I'm going in every week now. It's pretty crazy. Everything is going well still. He started checking the progress this time. It wasn't really a fun experience, but whatever. At least it didn't hurt for me. He said that the baby is really low, I'm 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced, and her head is a 0 station, and the cervix is very soft and ready for whenever she is. That's pretty good progress. So basically I could go into labor now and everything is ready. He seemed to think it would be this week almost. He was pretty excited. So he told me he'd see me again in a week unless I start having contractions 5 minutes apart (which is the sign that your about to have the baby and you need to go to the hospital). So I walked away thinking, "oh crap, she's coming within days!" And I was laughing in disbelief the whole way home. Seriously.
But after thinking about it now, I could stay like this for a week or more and have very little or no progress (or a whole lot). So I really still could have her on her due date. But then I think again and with all the Braxton Hicks contractions I've been getting, I still think that things are progressing and I won't be like that for very long. I think she'll come early. Too bad there really is no way to tell. I wish I knew the date she'll be coming for sure. It would make things so much easier haha.

35 Weeks and a lot's going on

Oh wow. It's been a while since I've written anything. 4 weeks left! So close and yet so far. Since my last post I've been to the doc's a few more times, nothing huge to report really. We've started a childbirth class, I'll get to that in a bit. We also have had a baby shower, set up the crib, and started cleaning out the baby room more and more. And we've had a prediction about when she'll be here.
So the last few doctor appointments have been uneventful. I mean that in a really good way. It's the same thing as ever... go in, get blood pressure checked, get weighed, get measured, listen to the heart, then Q&A if I have any. This last doctor apointment I was really curious about a few things. So I came with my list of questions. The one that I really wanted to know is how big he thinks she will be. He said he can usually guess withing 20% and that he thinks she will be around 6 1/2 - 7 pounds when she's born. That's if she stays on the growth curve she's on right now. He said she is on the smaller side of average, but is still in the healthy range. I'm thinking 6 1/2 pounds sounds good for me! I mean it's definitely no adorable chunky fat baby, but she'll fatten up. So my next appointment is next week, then it starts every week. So strange! That means it's getting really, really close. I also had a warning that they need to run the group B strep test. I won't even go into details for that one. It doesn't sound pleasant.
This childbirth class is really nice actually. I didn't know what to expect, but it's been informative. It was kind of a last minute thing for us because we knew we wanted to do a lamaze class, but that one was canceled because there weren't enough people signed up. So the next best thing was this one. It's not what I wanted, but it's something, and it helps. I feel a little more prepared for the birth, which I'm still completely freaked out about. We have been to two classes so far, and have two more. The last class it talked about newer symptoms and things that happen when the baby starts to drop. For one, you can breath easier. Oh that's so nice. We also watched a few births. We talked about epidurals/spinals. We practiced breathing techniques and talked about distractions. Distractions are going to be one of the most important things to get through the contractions. And yes... through all of these classes Daniel has been there :). What a good daddy he will be. Hopefully he will be a good labor coach first though.
So the other day after I got home form the class I sat on the floor next to my mom. As I sat down, she said "you look like you've dropped!" She meant the baby of course. I immediately thought and said, "no way, it's too soon, it's just the gravity. I can still feel her in my ribs when she moves." The next day, someone else said the exact same thing... she looks like she's dropped. This kind of scared me, if she already dropping she could come early, or I'll have pelvic pain and lower back pain for weeks! The lady then asked when she was due, I said August 8th-4 weeks. She then said "she's coming in two!" I was excited but scared at the same time. Then as I was changing for bed, I looked in the mirror and the belly really did look lower. It was a strange realization that she might already be descending and getting ready for birth. I'm prepared for four weeks, I think, but two weeks... that's so soon! I do want her to come early, I want her to be a July baby, even if it's the very last minute of the last day, I want her to be born in July. But that's only a week early, and very unlikely for first time moms... but we'll see.

Doctors and stories

So again... I went to the doctor. Like I said, it's every two weeks now. It seems like it goes by faster the more I see him. There really isn't much to report for these visits. I'm pretty certain that the last ones will be interesting though.
I have about 3 more visits of every two weeks then I'll be moving to every week. Wow, it seems so strange to have to go in that often. I'm not really looking forward to it either. But that will only be about 3 visits then she'll be here.
So far everything has been just fine. We only had that one little scare with her heart, but that turned out to be nothing to worry about. So everything is great. My test from the glucose screen/blood draw turned out just fine.
I've had people tell me I was made to be pregnant. I'm thinking that's a bit obvious... I'm a girl ;) haha. Just kidding, I know it's because I really have been very, very lucky. I didn't get too sick at the beginning, just exhausted. Oh, but I did need to eat a fiberous cereal every morning lol. The second tri flew by and I hardly even knew I was pregnant (everything seemed like my normal not pregnant self), not too many headaches, not very many of the common complaints at all really. So far into the third tri, I've been just fine. Besides the occasional-becoming-more-common back aches. Oh, and I'm starting with the heartburn a bit more too. But that really hasn't made me lose sleep or anything so I've really been just fine. Anything that I've had issues with is manageable, or barely there. It's crazy. I suppose I am pretty lucky.
So the latest and greatest is that she has found my bladder, a nice little nook right where my left leg starts, and is pushing everything upward. I get winded quicker, it's really kind of sad, and can't eat as much all at once, which is fine really and many other things. But this bladder thing... my goodness! She will sit there and push on it, then stop, then push again. I'll be sitting at work or anywhere really and suddenly I get this incredible urge that I have to go. It comes so instant and lasts a few seconds then suddenly the urge is gone. It goes on and off like that for at least a few minutes at a time. It's the best when I've just gone, and suddenly I feel like I have to go again. I'm like.. I JUST barely gave you more room there! You don't need to push on it! Then this little nook she found in my leg. Really it's like right where my leg bends, but she will just get as far down there as she possibly can and then push herself even farther. It gets so uncomfortable! She hits a nerve too and then my leg starts feeling funny. It almost goes numb. If it didn't feel so weird I wouldn't mind so much, it would be pretty funny really. But I can't walk normally when she sits there, and it's uncomfortable. The other day, she was pushing just under my ribs to push herself down in that little nook some more. It was so funny. She would sit there and push for a few seconds and my leg would almost go numb, then stop. Then push again and I'd feel it all in my leg again, the she would stop. It's funny to watch because she's so strong now and has such little room to work with that it will push my stomach out an inch or two, and everything else around it goes flat lol. It's pretty fun to watch.

31 weeks, 7 months!

Holy moley! I'm this far along????? When did that happen??!! Seriously. Time just seems like it is going so fast and I don't feel like I'm growing, but I really am... I mean she is. She's pretty much fully developed now and weighs just over 3 pounds and is 15 inches long. (According to baby sites) I have my moments where I'm so excited for her to just be here, then the exact opposite moments where I'm thinking... Oh shiz this is really happening! But hey, I'm sure that's pretty normal to be terrified and excited at the same time. It's so funny sometimes too because I've never, ever, ever, ever, ever... etc... been an emotional person, but I'll start thinking about her and about silly things like the things Daniel will be doing with her, and how much I'm going to love her, or even the things I'll take her to do and I'll just start to get all emotional and start to cry! It's so annoying to me because I don't do that stuff. It's funny though.
So I'm totally freaked out about the whole birth thing. My back has been hurting a lot more lately because of the weight of her making my back sway forward, and I'm thinking if I'm such a whimp about that... I'm never going to be able to make it through a freaking delivery! But somehow women do it all the time, which means I can too, dang it!
It's been pretty funny lately because more and more often people keep thinking it's important to tell me all about their pregnancies and kids. I'm not talking people I know... I don't mind that at all... I'm talking people I've never met, seen or will ever see again! I just think, why do you feel the need to waste my time when I'm obviously leaving and sit here telling me all about your experience and kids. I don't need to know about it. I don't have anything in common with you besides the fact that I'm having a baby. I don't care if you had a girl too. Your pregnancy is nothing like mine, I don't want to sit and compare them with someone I don't know. Especially if I'm already on my way out of somewhere. I may just be a bit irritated, because it is kind of funny. But seriously, it's kinda lame.
I suppose I should be happy about the fact that people don't just come up to me and rub my belly very often. I hear that one gets extremely old. Most people ask first, or just barely touch it for a second. It's not too bad. I'm dealing more with the stories than the touching. I don't know which would be more annoying to deal with.
So on a happier ending note... I'm down to about 9 weeks left (I really hope she comes a bit early)! We're getting her room more and more ready. That makes me feel so much less stressed because I feel like I'm getting more prepared. And we still have so much fun and love listening to her little heart beat. It's so cool.

To the doc again...

So this time it was just fine. Really nothing to report. Daniel made me ask him about going to the Backstreet Boys concert because he was a bit concerned haha. But the doctor said it would be just fine. He suggested maybe going to someone other than the BSB, but if the BSB is my pick then it would be fine.
Starting this appointment I'm going to be seen every two weeks. Oh that was really strange to realize I'm that close already! It seems like just a month ago I knew eventually I'll be starting every two weeks for visits, but it seemed like forever away. I don't know why or how this is going so fast for me, but it really is. Which I suppose is really nice. Hopefully it still goes fast for my last month... which is only in a month! Oh crazy.
So everything is going great. The baby's heart is getting louder and louder everytime we go in. Her movements are stronger and more often. It's fun... until she finds a spot that hits a nerve or something haha.
We bought a baby names book to help us decide on her name. We're having fun reading through it. We also started registering at Baby's R Us. We need to go somewhere else too to register.
It still really doesn't seem real. I don't know that reality has really hit me yet. I mean ya, I get that my stomach is growing, and there is some little person in there moving around like crazy, but it just seems like time is going by just like it always has... And then I get to the point of ...Oh, but I can't do this, and I can't do that right now. Then it seems real haha, but only for that moment.

Glucose screen test

So this appointment they told me ahead of time I will need to be there for at least an hour. So I planned for an hour off of work and went in. They had told me I'd be drinking a very sweet drink so that they could test my sugar levels and blood counts and such. It's a routine test once you reach about 28 weeks.
Well I go in, and they do the usual. Then they tell me to drink something. I take a big gulp and realize very quickly it's incredibly nasty! It tasted like over sugared, over syruped, under carbonated orange soda. I'm not a fan of soda or orange flavored things to begin with. So I decided to finish it quickly instead of slowly. So I take two more big gulps and I'm done. Then she tells me I can't eat or drink anything but a little bit of water for at least an hour. I can go do whatever as long as I'm back within an hour so that it has time to work through my system and they will be able to draw my blood.
I left, came home, then went back and they drew my blood. They told me that I would get all my results at my next appointment unless they found something wrong. It really wasn't all that bad, except that the nasty drink was nasty and made me want to throw up for the first time in months.
So I haven't heard anything from them yet. I'm guessing that's a good sign. I'll have to see what the doc says at my next appointment.

Welcome to the Third Tri!

So, here's 28 weeks, the beginning of the third tri! Crazy to think I'm that far along already. It seems like it has gone so fast, but at the same time it's taken forever. Oh my heck, she is going to be here in a little more than two months!! We still haven't officially decided on a name so we bought a baby name book to look through and see if there is one that really jumps out to us. It's a pretty fun book. It has the names' history, popularity, other spellings, etc. Plus we'll have it for future friends and family and ourselves when another baby is on the way.
So far the third tri has been not so kind as the second. Day one of officially being in the third tri, my back hurt like crazy, I had a bad headache, I was so tired... oh it was just not a fun day. And the week hasn't let up on me much. My back is starting to hurt more for (seemingly) no reason. But that is really the only bad thing. I keep telling myself... I will not complain, I will not complain. Hopefully I won't too much. I don't think it's good to start now, since I haven't yet, and I don't want to get into the habit of complaining about my little girl.
As of right now (writing this) she is about 15 inches long (head to toe) and weighs about 2 and a half pounds. Can you believe that fits in there!!! Sometimes I can't, and then I feel her move and I remember she really doesn't have that much room, even being all curled up in a ball.
There are times when she will just start moving like crazy and it just tickles. But it's so weird to watch my skin ripple almost all the way accross my belly. It's been fun to feel her more and more. It's also nice to know she's moving so much because that means she's doing well.
Anyway, that's all I can think of right now. If I think of more I'll put it in a different post. Thanks for reading!

24 weeks

Well I'm 24 weeks along now and constantly growing. I always feel hungry and want to eat. But I'm feeling pretty darn good. I'm not sick, I'm not tired, I'm not having too many aches or pains. So I'm thinking things are going pretty well.
We went to our doctors appointment a little more than a week ago and he said everything is going just like it should. We talked to him a little bit about the big day. I said I really would like to go as natual as possible, he said that is his philosophy too. So I'm glad we agree on that. Then he said if I want to do it that way then we should start thinking about taking some Lamaze classes. He said we could wait until the next visit to really start looking into that. I'll be 28 weeks by then so it will be perfect timing.
It's been pretty fun feeling her get more active. It's strange though too because it really does tickle! She still likes to hang out as low as she can possibly get, which sometimes hurts a little bit. It makes it awkward to sit sometimes. I just feel like I'm squishing her head or soemthing haha. My pants are getting tighter too. I'm still wearing my normal jeans and just doing the rubber band thing. I'm hoping I can make it all the way with my normal jeans and just not do them up. But since they are starting to get harder to sit in, we'll see how that goes.
OH!!! I found my old stethescope from forever ago when I was taking vet tech classes. I brought it home, and we tried listening to her with it. It was so fun! We could hear all sorts of movement. It mostly sounded like gurgling. But we can listen to her heartbeat with it too!!! Oh I love it! It is so cool. We've been listening almost every night for almost a week now. We are having a ton of fun with it.
Other than all that, there really isn't too much stuff that's new. Just that she's growing like crazy!

Funny stories

Alright, so everyone has those embarrasing moments, pregnant or not. I think in some ways being pregnant makes some of those embarrasing moments easier to come by. For one, the gas and/or constipation issues or extreme opposite of. For two, you tend to lose your mind easier. For three, the constant pressure on your bladder. There's so many more that you could find something embarrasing to laugh about, but I now have a story about the last one...
Just yesterday the Young Men group came by to help clean up and trim up my mom's backyard. We were so grateful for them coming by because my dad usually did all of the yard work and we just didn't even know where to start. Well, this little girl really likes to hang out as low as she can, so needless to say my bladder gets squished A LOT. So in all the fun of watching the boys cut branches and trim bushes there was a lot of irritants that came out of that and into the air. I almost felt like I was getting allergies. The stuffy/runny nose, my eyes were itching a bit. Then, it happened... I felt a sneeze coming on. I'll just say I have always loved sneezing. I think it feels so good. Lately with a stretching stomach it feels a little better to bend over ever so slightly to sneeze or cough. So I did that, I sneezed... and peed my pants!!!! LOL!! I couldn't believe it! It really wasn't that bad because I didn't have much to lose haha. But oh my heck! I was so shocked, embarrased, and upset. Nothing like that has ever happened to me before. No one noticed anything, thank goodness. Except that since I'm sharing this anyway I don't think I'd really care if any one did.
So I told my mom after everyone had gone, and of course she laughed out loud. Then immediately said you need to work on Kegals! You should be able to stop midstream. I said, I DO and I CAN!!! That's why I was so surprised it happened! lol. I'm thinking from now on, I'll be more careful where I sneeze. Except today I did and I was just fine. It must have been a fluke moment for me or something.

Alright, so now that that one is over, here's a not so embarrasing story...
Daniel and I were up really late last night talking. Or at least late for us. It was around 12:30 that we finally fell asleep. She was moving around a little bit, about as much as I'm used to so far. Just a little bump here and there for a few minutes at a time, then she stops. Well around 11:00 she started moving a little bit more than what I'm used to. I knew she is a little bit of a night owl to begin with, but this was a little more than I've felt before. That may be just because I am usually asleep through it. So 11:30 rolls around and I lay down on one side and we're still talking. She starts kicking my side. I wasn't even leaning on my stomach in any way, it was seriously my side, like between my rib and hip. I've never felt her there before! It was the weirdest thing. So it actually got really distracting so I moved over to my other side so she would stop and we could still talk and not get interrupted. Well, she decided to kick the other side instead! I was like, seriously?? Usually if I move or switch like that she stops. She must have wanted in on the conversations too. So then she starts hitting this one spot, over and over. It felt like a nerve or something because it was making me twitch lol. It almost tickled. She was moving a lot, it's like she's trying to tickle me from the inside... the funny part is that it works sometimes! So that was getting distracting too, so I sit up again. And she still wouldn't stop! She was going crazy for at least 45 minutes. I've never felt her move so much, or so strong! It was so fun. Daniel was watching and feeling her move too and was just loving it. It's a lot of fun, unless I'm trying to fall asleep. I can't fall asleep if she's moving so much. It's just not a normal thing to fall asleep to haha. Finally I decided I was starving, so we came down to get a snack. After I ate, she stoped moiving and I was able to fall asleep. It was pretty funny.

Pics from second ultrasound

GIRL!!



Her feet together. Toes pointing to the left.



A hand. It's really blurry.



Profile picture. I like this one. She has gotten so big!

Second ultrasound to double check...

So like I said a few posts back, when I went to the doctor and we talked about the first ultrasound, they found something wrong with her heart. So he sent me in to have a second ultrasound to double check things. Well I just went a few days ago and I guess I'm not worried. The doctor there said she wasn't, so I'm trying not to be.
So we get there and the tech takes us back to the room and makes sure the notes she has are correct and that there is something on the heat. I say that's why we're here, so tell me something good, please! She told us she will basically do the same thing as the first ultrasound just a little more in depth and focus mostly on the heart.
She starts with the heart and is looking at it at every angle possible. I really like how much time she put into looking at the issue. It made me feel like I was with someone who really cared and knew what she was doing and looking for. It was really awesome too because we had our own big screen to watch what she was doing so we didn't have to try to look at her monitor. She would slow it down, and zoom in, then zoom out, and zoom in again at a different angle. We saw the heartbeat in a graph (whatever that's called haha). Then she zoomed in and started explaining to us what she was seeing. So she slowed down the video and told us to watch a specific part. She showed us that is the spot where they found the hypoechogenic spot and said that it was connecting all the way so it's nothing to really worry about. Then she moved on to all of the other things to look at, like the gender shot, profile, feet, organs etc... She said that everything looks great. It was really fun to watch her try to get a shot of the legs/feet. The little girl wouldn't stop moving. She would move just a little bit then pause just long enough to make us think she was done then spaz and move again lol. We were cracking up. Finally she did stop long enough to get a cute shot of her feet both together. Then she finished everything and said the doctor would be in to do her own ultrasound and check out the heart again.
The doctor came in and said that all of the images the tech got were great and that everything looks good so far. There were a few blurry images she wanted to check out herself and then make it to the heart. So she took her time also and looked at everything in as many angles as she could. Then she made it to the heart and zoomed in and zoomed out and then back in and looked at all different angles again. I loved that they were really paying attention and trying to figure this out! So finally she started to explain everything to us. She said that when there is a spot on the heart like that usually it points to Down Syndrome. I freak out immediately of course and I ask if my baby is ok. She said that if there were more abnormalities in any other organ, particularly the heart, she would be a little concerned. But she said that everything else looked just fine. The shape of the heart, the beat, the other organs, the face... everything was perfect except that one little spot. So then she comes to her conclusion and says that it is a calcium deposite between the muscle. She zooms in on it for us again to let us look while she is explaining everything. She said that the muscle to open and close the valve is functioning fine even though that is there. Once a calcium deposit is somewhere it's there forever. I freaked out about that too. I asked if it would affect her heart in any way, or her activities. She said not at all. Thank goodness! She said that they find something like this in about 5%-6% of perfectly normal healthy pregnancies and babies. I'm still thinking that a small amount, but she thinks I'm in that small percentage. She said that it is kind of like a scar. The heart somehow was injured in some way when she was developing and the calcium is what comes to fix it, then it just stays ther like a scar. But it won't affect anything in any way. The doctor said that she isn't worried in any way and doesn't see anything else abnormal or alarming that worries her, and tried to reassure us that we don't need to be worried anymore either. Then she left to make her notes to send to my doctor and we were good to go.
But of course I'm still a little worried. I keep trying to tell myself that they found nothing wrong. But I'm still worried. Maybe it's just the maternal instincts coming out, who knows. But that's the most up to date I have on my baby... beside that she was really active today. It's so fun to feel her move. OH!!! I almost forgot, it was the coolest, strangest thing to watch the ultrasound and see her move and feel it at the same time!!! Oh it was crazy. It's like, hey I'm not just watching a movie, this is actually happening!

22 weeks!

So I swear she has doubled in size in just two weeks. I feel SO big lol! It may also be because I had just eaten, so I might be a little bigger from that, or because I swear she gets bigger at night. But really, she is growing so much. We had the second ultrasound done to double check her heart and everything. Comparing the pictures from the first to the second, she definitely has gotten thicker. It's crazy! So, it's strange how looking at my stomach and realizing that it's grown, but somehow not even thinking about it. I like watching the bump grow. And I never thought I'd say it but I like watching the weight on the scale grow too! haha! Because I know it's healthy for the baby, and she's gaining most of the weight, not me. I feel really great now. My appetite is great, I eat plenty. But I have to be more and more careful how much I eat. I seriously can feel my stomach being squished the more she grows. I have been sleeping great too! I have one extra pillow that I usually keep between my legs and it has helped a lot. Also the extra pad we put on the bed helps my hips from hurting. I was having issues with that. I don't even know how to explain it, but I would wake up with this odd pain in my hip that I was laying on. Then I couldn't fall back asleep because it would hurt so bad. Then I couldn't even walk on it. So we put on a nice comfy memory foam type pad on the bed and I haven't had much problem since. Besides that, I think everything is as normal as it's ever been. I just have a growing stomach and a little something moving around inside.

First baby thing from mom and dad!

This is the first thing I have bought for my little girl! My dad would be so proud haha! It will be a long time before she will actually fit into it. But I'm so excited, I think it's so cute.


I can just see it now with little leggings underneath and Baxter in his little U of U sweater and she will be walking him with a little red leash! haha! I love it.

20 week pic!

So I realize it's been a long time since I've posted anything, I just didn't really know what to say. But a lot has happened since my last post. I went to the doctor two weeks after my ultrasound and was excited to see what he had to say about the pictures. When I got there he was a lot nicer to me and actually the first thing he said was "so I understand you've had a rough few weeks?" I realized that this was because of the last appointment when my mom called in and yelled at them haha. So I was kind of surprised that he said anything at all. So I just told him that ya, it's been a hard few months since my dad passed away, but I didn't want to start crying so I left it at that. I also came more prepared than usual, I came with questions written down. That was a good move because it saved annoyance and time for him, and annoyance and time for me too. We listened to the baby's heart as usual and he said it sounded great. It was so loud this time! I was surprised. Then he measured my stomach for the first time. I talked to him about all my questions and he was really good about answering them. Basically he said that everything is going just like it should. Then he said it was time to talk about the pictures! I was way excited. He said that everything they saw was great. I'm measuring right where I should be. He asked me if I found out the gender so he didn't spoil any surprise and I told him it is a girl. Then he said... "there is one thing that they found that they left a note about that they weren't sure about." And I freaked out. "WHAT'S WRONG WITH MY BABY?!?!" I about screamed it. But instead, I somehow calmly asked him what they found. He said something in jibberish of course. You know, doctor lingo. So I asked him again what it was and he said they found a hypoechogenic spot on the heart. It's kind of hard to explain what it is or means, but basically it's the way the tissues and cartilage reflect the ultrasound waves. So he said that he was going to send me in to get another ultrasound done to double check everything. I was ready for like the next day, but he said two weeks. I was a little nervous about waiting if there was something wrong with her heart, but he said it's most likely nothing to worry about. I'm thinking of course he's going to say that. He said that he was going to send me to the place where they do high risk pregnancy ultrasounds because they are so well trained specifically for looking at fetal ultrasounds. So that kind of freaked me out too. Oh, great, there's something wrong with her heart and now I have to go in to the high risk place. Great. He tried to reassure me that it really probably is nothing to worry about, but he wanted a second oppinion just to be sure. So they got the appointment set up for me and of course I went and googled what hypoechogenic meant. It didn't really pull anything up. Now all I had left to do was wait.

The ultrasound!

So we had our first ultrasound and figured out we're having a little girl!!! Oh my heck I'm so excited. They gave us a CD of about 12 or 13 pictures, plus two printed out that I can't put down! It was so strange to watch the screen and see her moving and I didn't even feel it. It was also strange that the device moved from one hip bone to the other and could still see her. I couldn't believe she was so big! I mean she is stretching across me lengthwise and goes from one end to the other! Or at least she was like that at the ultrasound. I've felt her move since, so she's probably switched it up a bit. Oh my heck, I just can't stop looking at my little girl! Daniel is thrilled! He is so excited to have a daughter. He is going to be such a sucker for her lol! Anyway, it lasted a lot longer than I expected, which considering my last doctor appointment was really nice haha. I haven't heard what the Doc has to say about the pictures yet, but we're going in on Tuesday and I'll let you know what he says. Until then, enjoy the pics... I sure do!!!

This is the spine. The head is at the bottom right side.

I love this picture!! I think it is so cool how you can tell she's moving and that her hand is spread perfectly to count all her fingers. LOVE it!

Gender shot! Poor girl would probably hate me if she knew I put this up haha.

This is her! :D

This is the heart. All the valves and everything. Pretty cool.


This is a picture of the legs. The left is looking at the front of her leg and top of her foot. The right is looking at the back of her leg and her heel.

Names and colors

Alright. So if I was having a boy I already had a color scheme and name picked out. But now that it is a girl I'm all thrown off. We have a few names that we really like, but we need more ideas so that we can find a first and middle name we both agree on and love. So if you have a name suggestion post it as a comment! So far my favorite names are Alice, Eden and Claire. Daniel hates Claire, and likes Eden more than Alice. We both agree on slightly unique or old classic names for girls. When we get somewhere in the third trimester we'll pick our top favorites and have a vote up for them so be on the lookout in a few months for it!
I was thinking of colors and all I could think of was the pink and brown that everyone is doing. There's so much of that around and it would be so easy to just have that be the colors for her. But I don't like it, and I think it's way overused. And if you know me at all, I don't like to go with what's in style or the trendy thing. So I started thinking "maybe I won't even use pink at all!" I was shocked at my own impulsive decision. So I went to the internet and looked up 'color schemes'. It pulled up exactly what I needed. I found an old love of mine... Pastel colors! Then I started looking around some more and saw a picture of a light green wall with pink stuff all over. I thought it looked so cute together I decided I might do pink and green pastels/anything pastel. I am still debating it a little bit, but I think I really like it.

18 weeks

First off... vote! I put up a vote thing on the side to vote boy or girl. Thanks :)
So I'm 18 weeks here and I'm feeling pretty good. I can totally feel my innards being squished. And I can feel the weight of the baby (well really my uterus haha). I haven't had too many issues with the whole heartburn thing... yet. But I figure one reason is because I refuse to sit or lay down after I eat, I get problems breathing if I do too. Oh, and sleeping is a chore too. I have at least three pillows, and probably need to get more. I hear body pillows are amazing. I'll need to invest in one soon. I think it's funny that I'm saying all of this now and I'm not even huge yet. I keep telling myself to wait until I'm 30 weeks and then I'll see how good I still have it now haha.
It's pretty crazy to think that I'm already halfway to 'full term' and almost halfway to 40 weeks! It seems like the second trimester is going by way slow compared to the first. But then I realize that I only knew I was pregnant from like halfway through the first, so of course that one went fast.
Only 4 more days until I find out what we're having! Oh my heck, it's killing me. I'm so excited. I think when I find out I'll ask for name ideas... so start thinking :). I already have my favorite names (NOT Nigel or Virginia), but I think it's fun to throw around ideas still. Especially since Daniel doesn't like my top picks too much. He likes basic or classic names, I like original and unique names. We'll see when we find out what the little one is.
Anyway, if I can think of anything more I'll write. Until then enjoy the Spring weather!!!!

Hey Doc, how's my baby??

Just so you all know, I am very open. I have already talked about some slightly awkward things (to some people) and will continue to do so. In case you haven't caught on to that yet :) Just a fair warning. (And apparently I like to use the word 'so' a lot haha)
So we had our second appointment a couple weeks ago. The first thing that was different was that I was told I had to pee in a cup for a sample before every visit now. Of course they didn't tell me that before so I had no idea. And of course I had already went right before the appointment. So I told them I had nothing haha. They said well just see what you can do. Well, fine. So I go into the bathroom and see what I can do. Well I filled it up. One thing about being pregnant is that you can drink almost nothing, and ALWAYS have to pee lol!!! I was pretty proud of myself ;). I went back to sit down and they called me back right away. I went back and they got my weight, blood pressure and gave me a paper that the nurse said was a form for my first ultrasound! YES!!!!! AHHH!!! I was so excited!! Then she tells me I still should wait at least 3 weeks. Hah! Ya right! So she said the doctor will be in and explain more and leaves.
Right away the door flies open (yes flies open) and in struts the doctor. He starts talking immediately and I'm surprised at his entrance so I'm hardly following him. Then he starts rattling off my blood work and test results from the first visit. He says everything is good and normal. Then starts talking about my ultrasound. He said that he would really prefer if I waited until about a week before our next visit so that way the baby is developed enough, and they will have enough time to get the results to him. Then he right away said lets take a listen to the little one! I'm so excited to hear my baby again, I lay right back. He takes out his little device and puts it on my stomach, then... takes it right back off!! I was ticked! I heard the heart, but I wanted to really be able to listen. He said it still sounded good then said I'll see you in 4 weeks and walked out!
So needless to say I was pissed with this visit. I didn't know what to expect and he didn't explain anything. I was in there for 5 minutes and then was walking out. I was so surprised. And of course being already emotional from the past week (see post below) and being pregnant and even more emotional I got home and just started crying. I was so upset he wasn't nicer or that he didn't at least explain how the next appointments were going to go. So my mom called them and talked to them, since I couldn't. The nurse apologized and said that's how the next appointments are going to be for a while.
So now I know what to expect for my next appointment and I made the call for my ultrasound. I still have to wait another week. Oh, it's killing me!! I'm counting down the days haha.
OH!!! I almost forgot! I'm feeling the baby moving! I couldn't tell for a long time if it was the baby or if it was just gas bubbles or something. But everyone says they feel 'fluttering'. No, no. To me it feels like the baby is doing somersaults! It's cute to think of it that way too. It's like there is a little ball in there and it's just turning over and over. Interesting. But anyway... sorry for the uber long post. But like I said (I commented on my dad's post) I haven't been writing a lot and I needed to catch up. So there you have it.

My Dad

STEVEN DAVIS

Steven Lee Davis 06/17/1956 ~ 2/9/2010 After a short, courageous battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) our beloved Steven Lee Davis, peacefully and quietly departed from this life and returned to his Heavenly Father on February 9, 2010.Steve was born on June 17, 1956 to David Franklin Davis and Jean May Pitts Davis. He served a LDS mission in Pennsylvania where he met his sweetheart, Cookie Ponce. They were later married on March 27, 1982 in Pennsylvania. Their marriage was later solemnized in the Salt Lake Temple. Steve attended the University of Utah, where he later became a dedicated employee, as a project manager. He was also an avid Ute fan. Steve was an Eagle Scout and a devoted member of the LDS church and enjoyed serving others. Steve loved being with his family, more than anything. He took great pleasure in taking them on vacations. We mourn our loss, he will be missed by all, but we rejoice in his peace. He is survived by his wife, Cookie; children, Danielle, Brynn (Bradley) Lystrup, Elise (Daniel) Radack, Kai; brothers, David Frank (Luella), Robert, Michael B. (Susan). Preceded in death by parents, and daughter, Kira. The family wishes to thank Inspiration Hospice and the medical staff at the ALS Clinic at the University of Utah Neuroscience, for their compassion, support and love shown to Steve and his family. Funeral services will be held Saturday, February 13, 2010, 11:00 a.m. at the Alta View Ward, 1950 East Viscounti Drive (8600 S. enter from 2000 East 8600 South). A visitation will be held Friday, February 12, 2010 at the Cannon Mortuary, 2460 E. Bengal Blvd. (7600 S.) from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and the day of the service from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m. Interment Larkin Sunset Gardens. The family suggests in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the ALS Association at, www.als.org, click on donate and then gift in tribute or by calling (888) 949-2577 or donate to the LDS Church Humanitarian Fund, (make check out to LDS Philanthropies) P.O. Box 27188, Provo, UT 84602. Online condolences may be shared at www.cannonmortuary.com

Welcome to the second trimester

As of this picture, Feb 8, I am exactly 14 weeks. So I will admit that I am kind of trying to hold my tummy up a little. It's just something I've always done. But the baby is growing. I told Daniel that he can't tell me that I'm getting bigger, it's the baby that is growing and getting bigger. I bought a shirt not too long ago that makes my belly look like it's showing more than it is. I'm so excited to really start showing. I feel like I am, but it's still just a little baby bump. My appetite has definitely gotten bigger though. I'm not feeling as sick as easily. I hear that happens in the second trimester, thank goodness!

THANKS BRYNN!!!

So after the doc's appointment, well more like later that evening, my totally awesomely amazing sister decided to grace us with her presence (just kidding Brynn :) ). As she walked in I could tell she was really excited about something. I had told her about the doctor appointment already so I knew it had nothing to do with that. But she comes running up the stairs looking for me and telling me to close my eyes. I'm just thinking... "oh no, what did she do?". She got Daniel and me to close our eyes so she could 'set it up'. I'm thinking it was a cute blanket maybe that she wanted us to see. Finally we can open our eyes and sitting in front of us is a Heart to Heat monitor/machine thing! I CAN HEAR MY BABY'S HEARTBEAT WITHOUT HAVING TO GO TO THE DOC! Oh I got so excited! I'm getting all excited again just thinking about it haha! It is the coolest thing. So immediately I open it up and set everything and try to find my baby again so Brynn could hear. It's pretty nifty because you can hook two sets of headphones into it and both can listen at the same time. The only sad news is that my the baby is just a little too small still. You can barely hear it in the background. But you can bet I'll be listening for it to get stronger.

To the doc we go!

So our first doctors appointment was today at 11:00. I really liked the doc. The whole office was really nice actually, the people, the place and everything. So we didn't quite know what to expect for our first appointment... "will we get an ultrasound?" "will we be able to hear the heart??" "will he tell us we need to be doing something differently?".
Well I definitely had to deal with something uncomfortable that I was NOT in any way thinking might happen. Apparently they need to do a swab. So out came the stirrups and down went the pants. Oh awkward! Thank goodness he said it was the only time it should be happening. But then I got to thinking that this guy is going to be delivering my child. He's gonna be doing/seeing a lot more later on... might as well get comfortable with him! haha.
But anyway as the appointment went on, he did a Q&A kind of thing for us. He answered any questions we had and brought up a few points that we missed asking about. Then he moved on to the exciting part. He said I should be far enough along that the heartbeat should be strong enough to hear! So right away I lay back and I'm really excited. But then he was moving the thing all over and couldn't find anything. "Oh crap!" was the first thing that went through my mind. "I know I'm pregnant, where is it????" "Did something happen to it???" Then... there it was!!
Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! The most emotional, amazing thing I've ever experienced in my life! I can't even begin to explain what it was like. The doctor said it sounded nice and strong. Everything is good and healthy so far! I'm getting more and more excited the more things happen. This just made it seem so much more real than I realized before. I mean, I knew I was pregnant, but there is something about hearing the heartbeat, or I'm sure seeing the ultrasound that makes it more amazing.
But anyway I'm kinda rambling now. My next appointment is in 4 weeks, then he said another 4 weeks after that we can find out what I'm having. Crazy!!!
Oh, and I meant to tell you... did I say I'm getting past the nausea?? Ya, apparently I'm not. Ugh, we can add one more puke fest (sorry, for the graffic phrase haha) to the tally. I've been getting nauseous later in the day. Evening sickness, instead of morning sickness. Oh the joys haha!

Jan 20 pic

Okay, now if you couldn't see it before, there it is! You can't tell me you can't see it haha. I am getting past the feeling exhausted all the time and nausea. Still feel sick sometimes. But up til today (1/23/10) I've only thrown up twice! I'm pretty proud of that haha. Especially considering all the other things that have been changing. I usually have a pretty good stomach, but lately I get sick eating certain foods. I have always lived off of junk food... oh yum. But no, not anymore. I just don't want it anymore. I haven't for almost three months now! Oh it's so strange. And just silly other things that are changing. It's pretty fun, totally weird, but fun.

So totally strange. I'm set that it's going to be a boy. I keep having all these dreams that it is a boy, or that I have a little boy. Then Brynn... who was set that it's a Virginia... said that it could be a boy because the Chinese birth chart says that it will be. Laugh if you want but those things are scarily accurate. Either way, I'm still just excited to find out what it is.

Jan 5 pic

If you can see it, I have a little bump. A lot of people say they can't see it yet, but I sure feel like it is there! If I ever get to trying to count the weeks I'll update all of this and tell you what week I'm on. But as of right now... still not much of a difference.

So my father in law thinks it's going to be a boy. Everyone keeps asking me if I want a girl or boy. I honestly don't really care. Not in a bad way, I just am happy either way. There's always something good about having either one first. Daniel and I decided we will find out when that time comes though to save a bit of stress.

Dec. 23 pic

This pic was taken about a week after my first test. Daniel just had to take the 'baby bump' pictures. If you can see, I'm not exactly showing yet. My stomach is pretty flat. In a few more weeks I'm sure you'll see more. Or you may not, but I will haha.
OH! I almost forgot also... Brynn decided to name the baby Virginia, then Brad said if it's a boy then it will be Virgil. So that's where the name of the blog came from. No offense to either of them, but when the baby comes it's not keeping either of those names! haha.