It hit me today that I have only 2 weeks (and 1 day) left of being in my twenties! CRAZY! I don't feel like I'm going to be 30. I still feel like I'm 25. Maybe that's because my husband and all our friends that we hang out with regularly are 25. It just sounds so old to say that I'm 30. Is it really possible that I could be that old?
My view of being 30 has definitely changed over the years. When I was younger 30 was definitely OLD. Then I graduated college and moved to NYC where many of my friends were already 30 (or nearly 30) and so my view switched to where 30 wasn't that old and there were a few times that I accidentally said that I was 30 when I was asked my age. Then I moved back to Utah, married a younger man, and started hanging out with people 4-5 years younger than me (since most people here my age have been married for years and have a bazillion kids). Now I feel like 30 is old again.
I want to go back to my NYC days when 30 was young!
But throughout the years I have always had a couple of goals that I wanted to accomplish before I hit this milestone. Namely be married and have at least one kid. And guess what folks...I've done that! It might not seem like much of an accomplishment to all you out there who got married at the typical Utah Mormon age of 20. But I've never been a typical Utah Mormon so it's not much of a surprise that I didn't follow in that mold either.
Anyway...I digress. My 30th birthday.
This year I wanted to do something special and super fun for my birthday since it's kind of a big one. So needless to say I was VERY excited to hear that Lady Antebellum was coming to SLC on the day before my birthday! In fact, I was so excited that I made sure that I got my tickets during the pre-sale offered by a local radio station so that I could make sure I got tickets to the show.
But of course you know what they say about the best laid plans... A few weeks ago I got an email saying that the concert had been rescheduled for January 22! But don't worry...my tickets will still be valid. I wanted to cry! I probably wouldn't have spent all that money for a concert in January. This was going to be something special to do for my birthday. But alas...it's being delayed by 2 months.
So instead of going to a concert for my birthday now...we are going to MOVING! That's right. We are going to be moving back into the house that I bought back in 2010 and have been renting for the past couple of years. So maybe not as fun as a concert...but definitely exciting!
I'm not sure what the purpose of this post is...I'm just kind of rambling and wasting time. So there you have it. My ramblings about only being in my 20's for 2 more weeks :). As much as I'm not looking forward to being 30, I think this birthday will actually end up being pretty awesome!
Friday, November 8, 2013
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Cameron
Oh hey there! Yes it's been a long time since I've written on this blog. And that's mainly because I've been writing on another blog so this one has been neglected. When I found out that I was pregnant with Cameron, I decided that I was going to carry on my Mom's tradition and write letters to my babies. So that's where I've been spending my blogging time. But I figured that I should give an update on Cameron on this blog now that he's FIVE MONTHS OLD!
Whoa! I can't believe that he's already that old! Time has flown by so quickly! And looking back, my life has changed so much with this little boy of mine. He truly has become my world. I wish that I could spend every day with him, but sadly I have to work. But luckily I only work 3 days a week. I love my Tuesdays and Thursdays when it's just me & Cam. And I REALLY love my nights and Saturdays and Sundays when Brant is there and we get to be together as a family.
Anyway...enough of the cheesiness. Here are some updates on Cameron and what he's doing now:
Cameron is a very active boy. If he's awake, he's moving. Constantly! He doesn't sit still for long. He loves playing and jumping in his saucer, standing, going for walks and playing with toys.
Cam is starting to tolerate being on his stomach a little more, but only for a little while. He gets very frustrated and starts to grunt. Then those grunts turn into a cry which quickly develops into a scream if we don't help him. He's rolled over from his tummy to his back quite a lot, but sometimes he forgets how and makes us help him.
Cam has also recently learned how to roll from his back to his tummy which makes changing his diaper a little challenging at times. But as much as he doesn't like being on his tummy, I can tell that he really enjoys rolling around.
Cameron surprised us all one day when he decided that he was going to sit up on his own for a few minutes at a time! Now he sits up on his own and plays with his toys all the time. It's so nice! He loves to be up and able to see everything around him. And this gives me a bit of freedom during the day. So it's a win/win situation.
One thing for sure about my boy is that he loves his independence. He loves sitting on his own and is quickly learning how to hold his bottle all by himself. The times that I have him feed himself definitely take a lot longer, but he enjoys it. And I love seeing him learn and grow.
Cameron is a very social boy too. He loves being around people and out of the apartment. I love that he has a cousin his same age that he can play with. And lots of other fun cousins that will play with him and help take care of him. I love living close to family for this reason.
Cameron is a very happy baby. He only cries when he gets hungry or is tired. Or when he hits himself REALLY hard with a toy. I say REALLY hard because he hits himself all the time! When I hear a thud from a toy hitting Cam in the head I expect for him to start crying. But he rarely does. It's usually only if he's tired or hungry that those hits even phase him. He's a tough little boy! Good thing too because I have a feeling he's going to be getting hurt a lot as he gets older.
I love seeing Cameron grow more and more every day. It's so fun to see how much he learns each week. I know any day now he's going to start crawling and then life will get REALLY busy. Once that boy learns how to move around he won't ever stop. Good thing we're going to be moving into our house soon so that he'll have a back yard to run in.
I love my little guy so much! And I love him more and more every day. He's such a joy to be around!
Whoa! I can't believe that he's already that old! Time has flown by so quickly! And looking back, my life has changed so much with this little boy of mine. He truly has become my world. I wish that I could spend every day with him, but sadly I have to work. But luckily I only work 3 days a week. I love my Tuesdays and Thursdays when it's just me & Cam. And I REALLY love my nights and Saturdays and Sundays when Brant is there and we get to be together as a family.
Anyway...enough of the cheesiness. Here are some updates on Cameron and what he's doing now:
Cameron is a very active boy. If he's awake, he's moving. Constantly! He doesn't sit still for long. He loves playing and jumping in his saucer, standing, going for walks and playing with toys.
Cam is starting to tolerate being on his stomach a little more, but only for a little while. He gets very frustrated and starts to grunt. Then those grunts turn into a cry which quickly develops into a scream if we don't help him. He's rolled over from his tummy to his back quite a lot, but sometimes he forgets how and makes us help him.
Cam has also recently learned how to roll from his back to his tummy which makes changing his diaper a little challenging at times. But as much as he doesn't like being on his tummy, I can tell that he really enjoys rolling around.
Cameron surprised us all one day when he decided that he was going to sit up on his own for a few minutes at a time! Now he sits up on his own and plays with his toys all the time. It's so nice! He loves to be up and able to see everything around him. And this gives me a bit of freedom during the day. So it's a win/win situation.
One thing for sure about my boy is that he loves his independence. He loves sitting on his own and is quickly learning how to hold his bottle all by himself. The times that I have him feed himself definitely take a lot longer, but he enjoys it. And I love seeing him learn and grow.
Cameron is a very social boy too. He loves being around people and out of the apartment. I love that he has a cousin his same age that he can play with. And lots of other fun cousins that will play with him and help take care of him. I love living close to family for this reason.
Cameron is a very happy baby. He only cries when he gets hungry or is tired. Or when he hits himself REALLY hard with a toy. I say REALLY hard because he hits himself all the time! When I hear a thud from a toy hitting Cam in the head I expect for him to start crying. But he rarely does. It's usually only if he's tired or hungry that those hits even phase him. He's a tough little boy! Good thing too because I have a feeling he's going to be getting hurt a lot as he gets older.
I love seeing Cameron grow more and more every day. It's so fun to see how much he learns each week. I know any day now he's going to start crawling and then life will get REALLY busy. Once that boy learns how to move around he won't ever stop. Good thing we're going to be moving into our house soon so that he'll have a back yard to run in.
I love my little guy so much! And I love him more and more every day. He's such a joy to be around!
Monday, July 1, 2013
Changes
As I'm sitting here tonight, I have an overwhelming feeling that I need to get down some of my feelings about a recent change that will, I believe, be forever marked in our history. Last week, our US congress decided that they it would be unconstitutional to not recognize same sex marriage. They left it up to each state to determine if same sex marriage would be legal or not. But the US government will now recognize these marriages.
As a Mormon who has grown up in Utah (traditionally a very conservative state), I've had trouble coming to terms with how I feel about same sex marriage. I know that marriage is supposed to be between a man and a woman. I know this. I believe this. But just because those are my beliefs, why do I need to force those beliefs on others who don't believe this. Also, what is so wrong about letting my gay friends be legally married to the man/woman of their dreams? They are capable of loving one person just as much as I am - so why should I stop them from being with them for this life?
As a Mormon, I also believe that marriage should be done in the Temple of the Lord by the hand of someone with the proper authority from God. This marriage is sealed for time and all eternity. That is the marriage that I am in, and one that my religion believes is correct. So, that being said, should I be against any marriage that doesn't occur in one of our Temples? Because, in my mind, a marriage between a man and a woman outside of the temple and a marriage between a man and a man or a woman and a woman fit under the same category.
So, in the midst of this controversy, I want to note my definitive opinion on the matter. I think that same sex marriage should be legal in every state. I think that a person should be able to be legally and lawfully married to the person they love - no matter the sex of their partner. It feels so wrong to me to discriminate against these men and women just because they are different from me. They are still people.
I think back to the time when blacks and whites were segregated in our country. We look back on that time and think how wrong it was. How could those white men and woman look at a black man or woman and not see an equal human being. It makes me sick to think that our society still has to deal with type of prejudice. To say that a man or woman is less of a person just because they aren't your same skin color is so wrong. And I like to think that most of our country now sees that.
My hope is that someday, our society will look back on this time in our history and wonder how we could ever have made same sex marriage illegal. It really is just a different form of prejudice with the same foundation - fear of those who are not like us.
As hard as it would be for a child of mine to struggle with same sex attraction (because of my religious beliefs), I sure hope that if that were the case, by the time he or she wanted to get married that they would be able to marry whomever they want. My hope for this country is that we will one day get past this prejudice and learn that people with same sex attractions are just like you and me.
I know what my vote will be if I ever get to take part in the decision whether same sex marriage will be legal in the state of Utah.
Just wanted to share my feelings.
As a Mormon who has grown up in Utah (traditionally a very conservative state), I've had trouble coming to terms with how I feel about same sex marriage. I know that marriage is supposed to be between a man and a woman. I know this. I believe this. But just because those are my beliefs, why do I need to force those beliefs on others who don't believe this. Also, what is so wrong about letting my gay friends be legally married to the man/woman of their dreams? They are capable of loving one person just as much as I am - so why should I stop them from being with them for this life?
As a Mormon, I also believe that marriage should be done in the Temple of the Lord by the hand of someone with the proper authority from God. This marriage is sealed for time and all eternity. That is the marriage that I am in, and one that my religion believes is correct. So, that being said, should I be against any marriage that doesn't occur in one of our Temples? Because, in my mind, a marriage between a man and a woman outside of the temple and a marriage between a man and a man or a woman and a woman fit under the same category.
So, in the midst of this controversy, I want to note my definitive opinion on the matter. I think that same sex marriage should be legal in every state. I think that a person should be able to be legally and lawfully married to the person they love - no matter the sex of their partner. It feels so wrong to me to discriminate against these men and women just because they are different from me. They are still people.
I think back to the time when blacks and whites were segregated in our country. We look back on that time and think how wrong it was. How could those white men and woman look at a black man or woman and not see an equal human being. It makes me sick to think that our society still has to deal with type of prejudice. To say that a man or woman is less of a person just because they aren't your same skin color is so wrong. And I like to think that most of our country now sees that.
My hope is that someday, our society will look back on this time in our history and wonder how we could ever have made same sex marriage illegal. It really is just a different form of prejudice with the same foundation - fear of those who are not like us.
As hard as it would be for a child of mine to struggle with same sex attraction (because of my religious beliefs), I sure hope that if that were the case, by the time he or she wanted to get married that they would be able to marry whomever they want. My hope for this country is that we will one day get past this prejudice and learn that people with same sex attractions are just like you and me.
I know what my vote will be if I ever get to take part in the decision whether same sex marriage will be legal in the state of Utah.
Just wanted to share my feelings.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Cameron Brant Carpenter
Welcome Cameron Brant Carpenter!!!
Born: April 29, 2013
Time: 12:57 am
Weight: 7 pounds 8 ounces
Length: 20 inches
Here's my {long} story about his birth:
Three weeks before I was due, I went into early labor. I was having contractions that were consistently 3-5 minutes apart all day. And so that afternoon Brant and I went in to the hospital fully expecting to have our little boy that night. But sadly, I wasn't very dilated and wasn't progressing, so we got sent home with the hopes of returning that night or the following morning. Well...that didn't happen. In fact, not only did it not happen, but the contractions stopped completely for the next month! That's right... I didn't just go full term (40 weeks), I actually went over my due date by a week! Not cool!
On Sunday, April 28, Brant and I headed to the hospital bright and early to be induced. We got checked in to our room just after 7:30 am and around 8 I got hooked up to the pitocin with the hopes of meeting the little one in a few hours. Cameron didn't respond very well to either the labor or pitocin and his heart rate became a little worrisome, so the nurse wanted to get internal monitors put in me instead of the external ones. So the doctor came in and broke my water and put in the internal monitors.
Not too long after, the contractions got progressively stronger, so I got an epidural. I'm not one for going the natural route. If that works for you, great! I'm impressed. But I know myself enough to realize that I'm not that strong. Anyway... The contractions were getting strong and very close together. Cameron wasn't responding well to that at all so the nurse cut down my pitocin from 4ml to 2 (side note: most people get around 15ml of pitocin or more. But apparently my body reacts quite well to that drug and the highest we ever got was 4ml. Most of the time it was at 1-2ml or off completely). For the next few (read many) hours, the nurse was constantly changing how I was laying and the amount of pitocin I received to try and get Cam's heart rate to be normal. It's normal for a baby's heart rate to go down before and during a contraction, but Cam's heart rate kept going down after the contractions. They were quite worried about it and we were on constant watch.
Around 6 pm, we started discussing the possibility of needing to do a c-section because Cameron's heart rate just wasn't responding well to labor. At one point it got down to 60 bpm (it's supposed to be between 120 and 150 bpm - so scary!!!). So we got all prepped to do the c-section. My doctor came in, the anesthesiologist gave me the full epidural to numb me completely from the waist down, and the OR was prepped and ready for us. My parents even came to the hospital (against my wishes I might add) because they didn't want to be far away while I was getting the procedure done.
Because my doctor is a family practitioner and not an OB, she had to call in an OB to do the actual procedure. When the OB checked the monitors, she noticed that Cameron's heart rate had become normal and was now only going down with the contractions, and within the allowed parameters. So we decided to wait it out and try for a vaginal birth. So back to more waiting. At this point I was dilated to a 5 and progressing slowly (obviously since I'd already been in labor at this point for over 10 hours!).
As we were passing the time watching Psych, I noticed that I was starting to feel the contractions more and more. And not just noticing when I was having contractions, but actually feeling the pain. So I hit the button on the epidural machine to get more medicine, but nothing changed. In fact the contractions just got worse and worse. I hit it a couple more times but still nothing. Finally it got to the point when I couldn't hit it any more because I was in too much pain to do anything besides squeeze the heck out of Brant's hand. The nurse was in the room at this point and when Brant pushed the epidural button he asked what the error message on the machine meant. The nurse came over to look and found out that while they had hooked me back up to the epidural machine after deciding not to do the c-section, they forgot to turn the machine back on. So the epidural had run out and I was feeling every bit of those contractions.
They immediately called the anesthesiologist in get me back on the good stuff. But since it takes a while for the medicine to fully set in, I got to experience natural birth for a good 30 minutes. And let me tell you...I will NEVER go natural after feeling that pain! Oh...and I should add that they had upped the pitocin again and so my contractions were coming every 1-2 minutes. Yeah...I didn't even have time to catch my breath between them. It was awful!! But luckily, after almost squeezing Brant's hand off, the medicine kicked in and we got back to less painful waiting.
I think the nurse thought I was being a big wimp because according to the monitor, my contractions, though very close together, weren't very strong. But when I described how intense they really were, she decided that my internal monitor must have gone bad and needed to be replaced. Once they put in a new one, the monitor showed how really intense my contractions had been.
By now it was 9:00 pm and I was still only dilated to a 5. My doctor hadn't been too worried because the monitor showed that my contractions weren't very strong. But once she saw how strong they had been for the past 3 hours, she told me that she'd give me another 30 minutes to dilate more. If after that I hadn't progressed any, then we'd be doing a c-section. So they upped the pitocin again and we waited the 30 minutes. Well...I guess my body responds well to threats because in those 30 minutes, I went from a 5 to a 10! That's right. When my doctor came to check me, I was fully dilated and ready to push! So I began to push.
My doctor said that Cameron was still pretty high up there and so I had the choice of waiting to see if he'd drop on his own or to continue pushing. She said that if I continued pushing I'd probably be pushing for 4-5 hours. So I decided to wait a bit. 30 minutes later, the doctor came in to check and Cam had indeed dropped - a little. So we decided to push. I pushed for an hour before they (the OB had been called in to consult at this point) told me that my pelvis was too small and that most likely, we'd have to end up doing a c-section. They told me that I could continue pushing for another hour or so to see if he would fit through if I wanted to. By this point I had been in labor for 16+ hours and was so tired. I told them I wanted to throw in the towel now and just do the c-section.
So I stopped pushing and we got prepped for the procedure. They called in the anesthesiologist, but he was currently with another patient. As I waited for him to come, the pain and pressure from my body wanting to push became so overwhelming. I thought that those contractions I'd felt earlier were bad? Nothing compared to the pain that I felt at that time. I honestly can say I've never been in so much pain in my life and hope to never be again! Maybe the fatigue and exhaustion were factors in how I felt, but either way... WORST PAIN EVER! I had never been so relieved to see someone as I was when the anesthesiologist walked in the door. I told him that he was definitely my favorite person in the room right then :).
Well...after the full epidural kicked in and I was once again numb from the waist down, they wheeled me in to the OR and started getting everything ready for the c-section. Overall, the procedure went very well and was pretty quick. The only bad thing that happened was that I got the shivers so bad! I was shaking and shivering horribly! I don't know what the lower half of my body was doing as it was behind a curtain, but my entire upper body was shaking! The doctor said that it was completely normal after all the medicine I'd had pumped through my body. Plus I was losing a lot of blood and so my body was in a bit of shock. And I'd also been in labor for 17 hours and I was exhausted! He assured me that it would go away eventually. Thankfully Brant was by my side the whole time and so I was able to hold on to him for support. It wasn't the most enjoyable thing I've been through.
After about 30 minutes of surgery (at 12:57 am!), I finally heard my baby's first cry. It was magical! I wish I hadn't been so tired so I could enjoy that moment more, but all I could really think was how much I just wanted to sleep. They took Cam immediately to the nursery to clear out his lungs and do other stuff. So I wasn't able to hold him immediately after he was born. But we were able to get a small glimpse of him through the window as they worked on him and the doctors stitched me up. I wish I could have held him in my arms, but I guess it's a good thing that I couldn't because I was still shaking pretty badly.
Once I was all sewn up, they wheeled me back to my room where we waited to see our little boy. Cam had a little trouble breathing at first, so they needed to keep him in the special care nursery for a few hours before they could bring him to us. As much as I wanted to meet the little guy, I was OK with the few hours of sleep I was able to get at that point. I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open as the doctors tried to tell me what was going on. I'm not exactly sure what they told me at that point.
So after bout 3 hours, the nurse finally brought Cameron in for us to meet for the first time. Holding my baby for the first time was something I hope I never forget. Yes, I was still so tired, but I was also so happy to have my little boy in my arms! I got to hold him as they wheeled us to our recovery room and they played the lullaby over the loud speakers (LDS hospital does that for each new baby - so fun!). Then Brant was able to hold him for the first time when we got to our room. I knew then that Brant was going to be the best dad. I could see the love he has for our little boy and it made me so happy.
I received a short lesson on breast feeding and then tried it out. Cameron latched on pretty well and I was able to feed my little boy for a bit. But after, we let the nurse take him to the nursery so we could get some much needed sleep.
The next day (or actually later that day), was filled with friends and family coming to visit. It was so fun to have people come and share in the excitement of our new little one. The nurses would come in every so often to check on me and the baby and to see how we were doing. On one of these visits, they did a blood test on Cameron (it was his second one) to check to see how he was doing because I had gotten a fever while I was in labor with him and they needed to make sure it hadn't gone to Cam. Well...the blood test came back and showed that he had a slight infection, so they would have to give him an antibiotic via IV. He'd only need it for 3 days though, so we'd be able to go home when expected.
Well...to make a long story short (too late!), instead of getting better, the infection got worse that night and so Cameron would need to go on a stronger antibiotic that would take 7 days. So we knew we'd be in the hospital for at least a week :(. And he was having a bit of trouble breathing, so they had to put him on oxygen as well. That meant that he could no longer be in our room with us - he'd need to spend the whole time in the special care nursery. We could go visit him anytime we wanted, though - thank goodness! So we spent a lot of time in there holding and feeding him over the next week.
But that wasn't the end of our worries. Cameron became really dehydrated and didn't really want to eat much. And he didn't have a wet or messy diaper for 24 hours! That's scary!!! So they had to put him on an IV to make sure he was getting enough nutrition. It was so sad to see my little boy hooked up to all those monitors and IV's and oxygen. It was heartbreaking! Also, in order to try and figure out where the infection was, they tried 3 times to do a spinal tap and was unsuccessful each time. Luckily they gave up after the third time. I don't like having my baby go through that!!
So many prayers were said on Cameron's behalf by our friends, family and ward members. Not to mention Brant and me. Thankfully, Cameron took well to the antibiotics and after a few days, his infection had gone down significantly. Eventually he was able to get off the oxygen and was able to spend some time in our room with us! This also just happened to be the day that I was discharged from the hospital and moved in to what they call a "hotel stay" where I was no longer a patient, but we were able to stay in a hospital room for free while Cameron was in the special care nursery.
Over that week time, Cameron became strong and healthy and we were able to leave the hospital and bring our baby home on May 6, 2013. It was so fun to be at home as a FAMILY for the first time! It was a very long week in the hospital and we are so grateful to be out of there.
Recover for me hasn't been easy. I wasn't sure what to expect with a c-section since I didn't think I would need to. I still don't feel like I can be a mom to Cameron because bending down, getting out of bed, moving around the apartment, and pretty much every other day to day activity is difficult to perform. Luckily my mom is close by and can help me every day. I'm just looking forward to when I feel normal again. Or at least like a mom. It's hard to take care of myself, though, when I have this adorable baby boy to think about.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
He's Coming!!! Oh...Just Kidding
Monday was a very exciting, happy, boring, frustrating, then disappointing day. I woke up around 8 (yes...I can't get out of bed before then lately...don't judge) and while getting ready for work started having contractions. I started timing them on the clock in the bathroom and they seemed to be roughly 5 minutes apart. So I pulled out my iPhone and started to actually track the contractions.
Over the next few hours at work, they stayed consistent at around 6-7 minutes apart on average. Around lunch time they started to get a little closer together and a bit stronger. Not like in the movies where the woman is clutching her stomach and screaming. Just enough to take my breath away for a few seconds. But they were now consistently coming every 3-5 minutes. And that is what my doctor had told me to look for. I called her just to make sure that I should head to the hospital and she gave me the green light.
So I called Brant and told him to meet me at home. We were going to meet our little boy that night!! We were both so excited! We got our bags packed and everything ready to go. We turned in our taxes on the way to the hospital (yes...this tax accountant turned in her taxes on April 15). We drove to LDS Hospital and excitedly told the receptionist that we were there to have a baby. My contractions had been getting stronger on the ride to the hospital and we KNEW it was the real thing.
They put us in one of their large delivery rooms, I got changed into the little gown and we got ready for the good news that our baby was coming.
About 40 minutes goes by before a nurse comes in to hook me up to the monitors and check my progress (they were short staffed when we got there and someone was delivering a baby down the hall). I was a bit frustrated at this point because the contractions had seemed to lessen since being checked in to the hospital. They were still coming, just not as strong or as close together.
Then the nurse gave us the disappointing news that I was only dilated to a 1 cm. But they would monitor me for an hour to see if anything changed. We watched a movie on Netflix on my iPad during that hour and I TRIED to keep my mind (and eyes) off the monitor showing my contractions and my baby's heart beat.
After an hour (or more), the nurse came back in to check my progress. I was now at a 1+ (like there is that big of difference between a 1 & 2). But they wanted to keep us at least another hour because my baby's heart rate had gone down after one of my contractions and they needed to make sure that everything was okay with him.
So for this hour we watched Psych (and the monitor). After which we got the news that nothing had changed and that most likely I was just in "early labor" which could last a while. My contractions were still consistently at every 3-5 minutes, just not super strong yet. So most likely we'd be heading home to wait it out, but she needed to talk with my doctor first. 30 minutes later, we were sent home with the reassurance that we'd be back in later that night or early tomorrow morning.
Three days later...I'm at work. Having very few contractions. Still at a 1+ (we went to the doctor yesterday afternoon). And thinking this baby is never going to come. People keep telling me that my body is getting itself ready for the real thing and that any day now we'll be welcoming our little boy home. But I'm losing hope.
Tuesday was probably one of the hardest days I've had. The contractions had pretty much completely stopped and my hope of getting my baby that day were shattered. I couldn't face going to work, so I called up my mom & sisters and spent the day with them at my mom's house. It helped so much to be with them all day where we just talked, ate lunch, and baked peanut butter bars. Brant also made it clear that he was having a hard time dealing with it, because after an hour of work he called me to say that he was heading home but that I should stay up at my mom's and he'd see me that afternoon. I guess we both just needed a day to wrap our minds around the fact that our baby was playing tricks on us.
The past two days have been better though. I've come to terms with what happened and am dealing with the fact that I'm still pregnant. Don't get me wrong...I'm still anxiously awaiting my baby's arrival and hope that each day will bring on contractions and/or my water breaking. And I still hope and pray that I don't make it to my next doctor appointment or my actual due date (the 23rd). But at least I can function like a normal person (well...normal 9 month pregnant one).
So wish me luck! And keep your fingers crossed that this little boy of mine comes sooner than later.
Over the next few hours at work, they stayed consistent at around 6-7 minutes apart on average. Around lunch time they started to get a little closer together and a bit stronger. Not like in the movies where the woman is clutching her stomach and screaming. Just enough to take my breath away for a few seconds. But they were now consistently coming every 3-5 minutes. And that is what my doctor had told me to look for. I called her just to make sure that I should head to the hospital and she gave me the green light.
So I called Brant and told him to meet me at home. We were going to meet our little boy that night!! We were both so excited! We got our bags packed and everything ready to go. We turned in our taxes on the way to the hospital (yes...this tax accountant turned in her taxes on April 15). We drove to LDS Hospital and excitedly told the receptionist that we were there to have a baby. My contractions had been getting stronger on the ride to the hospital and we KNEW it was the real thing.
They put us in one of their large delivery rooms, I got changed into the little gown and we got ready for the good news that our baby was coming.
About 40 minutes goes by before a nurse comes in to hook me up to the monitors and check my progress (they were short staffed when we got there and someone was delivering a baby down the hall). I was a bit frustrated at this point because the contractions had seemed to lessen since being checked in to the hospital. They were still coming, just not as strong or as close together.
Then the nurse gave us the disappointing news that I was only dilated to a 1 cm. But they would monitor me for an hour to see if anything changed. We watched a movie on Netflix on my iPad during that hour and I TRIED to keep my mind (and eyes) off the monitor showing my contractions and my baby's heart beat.
After an hour (or more), the nurse came back in to check my progress. I was now at a 1+ (like there is that big of difference between a 1 & 2). But they wanted to keep us at least another hour because my baby's heart rate had gone down after one of my contractions and they needed to make sure that everything was okay with him.
So for this hour we watched Psych (and the monitor). After which we got the news that nothing had changed and that most likely I was just in "early labor" which could last a while. My contractions were still consistently at every 3-5 minutes, just not super strong yet. So most likely we'd be heading home to wait it out, but she needed to talk with my doctor first. 30 minutes later, we were sent home with the reassurance that we'd be back in later that night or early tomorrow morning.
Three days later...I'm at work. Having very few contractions. Still at a 1+ (we went to the doctor yesterday afternoon). And thinking this baby is never going to come. People keep telling me that my body is getting itself ready for the real thing and that any day now we'll be welcoming our little boy home. But I'm losing hope.
Tuesday was probably one of the hardest days I've had. The contractions had pretty much completely stopped and my hope of getting my baby that day were shattered. I couldn't face going to work, so I called up my mom & sisters and spent the day with them at my mom's house. It helped so much to be with them all day where we just talked, ate lunch, and baked peanut butter bars. Brant also made it clear that he was having a hard time dealing with it, because after an hour of work he called me to say that he was heading home but that I should stay up at my mom's and he'd see me that afternoon. I guess we both just needed a day to wrap our minds around the fact that our baby was playing tricks on us.
The past two days have been better though. I've come to terms with what happened and am dealing with the fact that I'm still pregnant. Don't get me wrong...I'm still anxiously awaiting my baby's arrival and hope that each day will bring on contractions and/or my water breaking. And I still hope and pray that I don't make it to my next doctor appointment or my actual due date (the 23rd). But at least I can function like a normal person (well...normal 9 month pregnant one).
So wish me luck! And keep your fingers crossed that this little boy of mine comes sooner than later.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Signs of Labor/Easter Weekend
This weekend was supposed to be a lot of fun. On Saturday, my family planned a shower for me and two of my cousins' wives (Trish & Sarah). Then after, Brant's family had their traditional Easter party where they do a big scavenger hunt, eat yummy food, and hang out. Then Sunday my family got together for a big Easter dinner at my parents' house. Doesn't that sound like such a fun weekend?
Well...while all those things did take place, and I heard that the activities on Saturday were a great time, Brant & my weekend was a little different than that...
I went to bed on Friday not feeling the greatest. We had gone out to eat at a Mexican restaurant for dinner and I figured I had probably over ate a bit. But nothing to worry about - the heartburn and overstuffed stomach feeling would go away with the help of Tums and rest. Right?
WRONG!
At about 4:00 am, I woke up and realized that the sick feeling just wasn't going to go away laying there in bed. Figuring that it might help if I sat up, I went out to my big white chair to "sleep" sitting up. Brant joined me around 4:45. Shortly after, I succumbed to the signs and barely made it to the bathroom before all my dinner came up. (Sorry...that's gross)
Well...to make a long (and gross) story short, I spent the next 10+ hours visiting the bathroom about every hour to...clean out my system. I couldn't keep anything down. I tried to drink as much Gatorade as I could, but it didn't stay in my system for very long.
***Side note: I never throw up. To me, it is the worst thing I could do, so I suppress it as much as I can. I honestly can't remember the last time I had thrown up before Saturday - I never even did at the early stages of pregnancy. So for me to throw up 7 times in one day...let's just say has never happened to me.***
Needless to say, we missed ALL the fun activities on Saturday - even my own baby shower!! Luckily, around 3:30, I got a Zofran from my sister and the nausea stopped. So that night, though I didn't feel 100% better, I was actually able to keep down a little bit of bread, some saltine crackers, and even 1/2 a bowl of soup! And I was completely better on Sunday - enough to even enjoy some chocolate at my parents' house! So at least we got to have SOME Easter fun this weekend.
I'm 90% positive that I didn't have the flu, as I didn't have any other symptoms (no aches, no pains, no fever) - just an upset stomach. Maybe it was something I ate at dinner. Maybe it was my body getting rid of all the wast in preparation for child birth (see below). But whatever it was, it was awful!!
Most websites I found said that vomiting and diarrhea are signs of early labor. Add that to the fact that for the past two days my contractions have sure kicked up, and things are looking like my baby might be coming soon!! Honestly, I'm surprised that I didn't go into labor on Saturday with all that my body was going through. But I'm glad I didn't. I want an April baby :). And as of today I'm 37 weeks - so "full term"!! So...come on baby!
Well...while all those things did take place, and I heard that the activities on Saturday were a great time, Brant & my weekend was a little different than that...
I went to bed on Friday not feeling the greatest. We had gone out to eat at a Mexican restaurant for dinner and I figured I had probably over ate a bit. But nothing to worry about - the heartburn and overstuffed stomach feeling would go away with the help of Tums and rest. Right?
WRONG!
At about 4:00 am, I woke up and realized that the sick feeling just wasn't going to go away laying there in bed. Figuring that it might help if I sat up, I went out to my big white chair to "sleep" sitting up. Brant joined me around 4:45. Shortly after, I succumbed to the signs and barely made it to the bathroom before all my dinner came up. (Sorry...that's gross)
Well...to make a long (and gross) story short, I spent the next 10+ hours visiting the bathroom about every hour to...clean out my system. I couldn't keep anything down. I tried to drink as much Gatorade as I could, but it didn't stay in my system for very long.
***Side note: I never throw up. To me, it is the worst thing I could do, so I suppress it as much as I can. I honestly can't remember the last time I had thrown up before Saturday - I never even did at the early stages of pregnancy. So for me to throw up 7 times in one day...let's just say has never happened to me.***
Needless to say, we missed ALL the fun activities on Saturday - even my own baby shower!! Luckily, around 3:30, I got a Zofran from my sister and the nausea stopped. So that night, though I didn't feel 100% better, I was actually able to keep down a little bit of bread, some saltine crackers, and even 1/2 a bowl of soup! And I was completely better on Sunday - enough to even enjoy some chocolate at my parents' house! So at least we got to have SOME Easter fun this weekend.
I'm 90% positive that I didn't have the flu, as I didn't have any other symptoms (no aches, no pains, no fever) - just an upset stomach. Maybe it was something I ate at dinner. Maybe it was my body getting rid of all the wast in preparation for child birth (see below). But whatever it was, it was awful!!
Most websites I found said that vomiting and diarrhea are signs of early labor. Add that to the fact that for the past two days my contractions have sure kicked up, and things are looking like my baby might be coming soon!! Honestly, I'm surprised that I didn't go into labor on Saturday with all that my body was going through. But I'm glad I didn't. I want an April baby :). And as of today I'm 37 weeks - so "full term"!! So...come on baby!
Friday, March 15, 2013
Getting Closer
I've reached 34 weeks! Only 6 more to go! I sure hope it's less than that though. I'm shooting for 4. But we'll see. I'm sure ready to have this little boy here!! Well...kind of. There is still A LOT to be done before I will actually be ready. Right now, his room is full of boxes and bags and random things from our move. We don't have a crib yet - my mom & I are going shopping next weekend for one. {Did I mention how my parents are back from their mission?!?!?!} The bassinet is up at my parents house & needs to be dug out from storage still. I don't have any bedding for the baby. I need a diaper bag. I need bottles, binkies, and other baby supplies... Yeah...I've got a lot I need to do/get in the next few weeks.
I hope the last 6 weeks go by fast though! I'm starting to get a bit uncomfortable as my belly (and the rest of my body) get bigger and bigger. {How come your face, arms, butt, and legs all have to get fat along with your belly? One mystery of pregnancy that I just don't understand.} I always hoped that I'd be one of those lucky women who don't gain weight all over...but I'm not. Oh well. This little dude will be worth it.
My sister had her baby yesterday and we were able to go see her in the hospital! Holding that little girl made me even more excited to hold my little boy!! It's hard to think about anything else. I've been pretty ineffective at work. I'm getting so anxious for him to be here! I really just want to hold and kiss him. I warned Brant last night that he's going to have to pry his son from my arms in order to hold him.
Well...I'll give a quick update on the rest of our lives.
We moved into our new place and though it's small, we like it. It's a nice place and we are happy with it. Though I have to admit that I've recently had a STRONG desire to move back into my house in Woods Cross that we are still renting out. We've been talking about it a lot lately and we're hoping that either by August or next April we can move back there. But who knows. All I know is that I've been dreaming of having a house again so I hope it happens for us sooner rather than later.
My parents got back from their mission last Thursday (March 7). Just in time for Kacee to have her baby girl who came 3 1/2 weeks early! Everyone was very relieved. It's great to have my parents back! It's been so fun meeting up with them and especially having my mom here to help me with the final preparations before my baby comes. I'm so thankful they were able to serve a mission. I know that it blessed many people's lives - including mine! They are such wonderful examples for me. I love them so much!
Brant got a new job! He's working for Salmon Electric where he is going to pursue a career as an electrician. It's a good company to work for and he's liked it for the month he's been there. I'm glad that he's finally chosen a career path! And I think that he'll be happy doing this which I'm also glad about. Brant is such a hard worker, I think he'll make his way up in this company pretty quickly.
I think that pretty much sums up our lives right now. Maybe my next post will be to welcome my new little guy.
I hope the last 6 weeks go by fast though! I'm starting to get a bit uncomfortable as my belly (and the rest of my body) get bigger and bigger. {How come your face, arms, butt, and legs all have to get fat along with your belly? One mystery of pregnancy that I just don't understand.} I always hoped that I'd be one of those lucky women who don't gain weight all over...but I'm not. Oh well. This little dude will be worth it.
My sister had her baby yesterday and we were able to go see her in the hospital! Holding that little girl made me even more excited to hold my little boy!! It's hard to think about anything else. I've been pretty ineffective at work. I'm getting so anxious for him to be here! I really just want to hold and kiss him. I warned Brant last night that he's going to have to pry his son from my arms in order to hold him.
Well...I'll give a quick update on the rest of our lives.
We moved into our new place and though it's small, we like it. It's a nice place and we are happy with it. Though I have to admit that I've recently had a STRONG desire to move back into my house in Woods Cross that we are still renting out. We've been talking about it a lot lately and we're hoping that either by August or next April we can move back there. But who knows. All I know is that I've been dreaming of having a house again so I hope it happens for us sooner rather than later.
My parents got back from their mission last Thursday (March 7). Just in time for Kacee to have her baby girl who came 3 1/2 weeks early! Everyone was very relieved. It's great to have my parents back! It's been so fun meeting up with them and especially having my mom here to help me with the final preparations before my baby comes. I'm so thankful they were able to serve a mission. I know that it blessed many people's lives - including mine! They are such wonderful examples for me. I love them so much!
Brant got a new job! He's working for Salmon Electric where he is going to pursue a career as an electrician. It's a good company to work for and he's liked it for the month he's been there. I'm glad that he's finally chosen a career path! And I think that he'll be happy doing this which I'm also glad about. Brant is such a hard worker, I think he'll make his way up in this company pretty quickly.
I think that pretty much sums up our lives right now. Maybe my next post will be to welcome my new little guy.
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