Ohana clothes

Does Sofia not look just absolutely adorable? I was taking out the warmer clothes and I discovered a gem. I bought these clothes over 6 plus years ago. I was pregnant once before Noah and we knew it was a girl and even though I was not far along I had to have these daisy clothes.  I just love love the pants. They are my favorite.  She looks so cute.  Right after lunch she promptly smeared jam all over her shirt and she was so willing and happy to help me put it in the washer.  Laundry is one of her favorite helping jobs.  Ohana is the alien name of our first baby.  It brings me lots of joy to see her wear these. I love that her pigtails are crooked form pulling on them. And she is always thirsty so you usually see her with a cup. I just love my kids. Noah was acting so silly while I tried to take pictures and as soon as I had the camera out. Sofia just sat right down on the grass. They totally crack me up. My favorite saying of Sofia's right now is "Thank You" she emphasizes the You and it is so cute. Noah loves to say "Totally awesome" and "Curse those bad guys". Our house is never dull

At Last the End

taken Christmas Day, Dec 25

taken on Dec 23

Well, I know everyone, including me has been dying to know if and when I will be having this sweet baby girl. On Wed, I went to my last doctor's appt and NST before she is born. I had Kersten come with me, for I was really nervous for everything. I was a little chatter bug in the waiting room. I talk when I get nervous. Kersten could not get his National Geographic read. The office was busier than I have since it since Thanksgiving. With the holiday I am sure they had to squeeze a lot of people in. I did not feel rushed with my doctor though and that made me more calm. The NST ladies kept trying to get me in but I had to wait for that until after I had seen the doc. I have waited a LOT before so I appreciated that they were trying to get me through in less than 4 1/2 hours.

I had about 5 vials of blood drawn. I had a darling nurse that did an ultrasound. This was fun for Kerst since he has not seen Shaak-Ti in action since we found out she was a girl. The nurse was hilarious and talked me through the amnio before it began. And as she said, unlike Doctors I have actually had one and it just feels like a bad menstrual cramp. Which has been regular for me since I came into being a woman. Dr. Esplin performed the amnio. Kersten came to hold my hand and they asked him to sit down on a chair for they have had to many husbands faint or something during this. I feel really blessed to have a husband that can handle these type of situations, during my first C-section with Noah he was really excited for he had always wanted to see one of these. I love his fasination with medicene etc. Okay, ladies from my frame of reference the amnio was NOT bad at all. I honestly have had IV's that hurt more than this did. And the shot I had to have under my eye was 10 times worse than this. When it was over I was like, Oh, is that all. Kerst reminded me that I have been through a lot worse so that is probably why it was no big deal. If you haven't been through anything like this it might be worse. The baby was not distressed or anything afterwards in her NST. I was able to say goodbye to my ladies there. It seems so sad in some ways, for months I have seen these people more than weekly and to be cut off so cruelly so instantly. I thought it might seem more cruel because with the cold and a new baby I probably won't have a ton of adult interaction.

They called with the results and her lungs are mature so we will be having this baby tomorrow. The c-section is scheduled for 9:30 AM at the new Hospital on State St and 53rd south. I can't believe it is really here. I can't wait to hold this sweet child in my arms and see her finally. It totally creeped up on me this time around. This will be my last baby, it makes me a bit sad. But, I will cherish every moment as best that I can. How blessed I am to have my beautiful children. I will have Kersten post something when he finally can so that you know all the stats etc. Hooray! Shaak-Ti is almost here.

More Random Pregnancy Facts

Here are the remainder of my random Pregnancy facts as of today I am 36 weeks and 3 days and she is measuring right on as of Wednesday Dec 19th

-I have gained 30 lbs so far

Appts-I don't know if I really want to figure this out, for it might be a bit depressing realizing that I do actually live at the doctor. Okay, so far 53 times at the doc. I counted the ones I already have scheduled next week.

Food-The most consistent foods I want to eat are dairy products, mostly ice cream, milk and yogurt. I crave fried foods, which is so not good. I have stopped watching shows like "Diners, Drive Ins and Dives" on food network because I always want fried zucchini sticks afterwards. So I just avoid the temptation now.
I still have my weird thing about not wanting to eat anything very often. Today I found out and realized I am dehydrated which cannot be a good thing. So I need to step up the fluids big time before she comes and continue after for breastfeeding.

-On Wed, they did another 3D ultrasound and she looks a lot like her Daddy, at least what we can tell from the distorted images it creates. She has a cute little nose and still that chin just gets to me. It will be such a pleasure to see what she really looks like with all the speculation.

Names-Still not totally set on any name or even names. We do know what we like as a middle name but it could change to the first name, who knows. We have a list and will just have to see what she looks like when she arrives. So it will be a fun surprise for us as well as everyone.

My feet started swelling at 22 weeks and are now in a state of perpetual swelling. I used to be able to get them to go down by elevating them for awhile or sleeping. Well no more. It will be nice to have ankles again. I am just at that large, awkward phase, You know you look uncomfortable when an older lady at the grocery store looks at you like she is in pain and uncomfortable just thinking about what you are doing.

They wanted to take her today. Luckily, they took pity on me and decided to have me do more intensive testing tommrow and Mon and keep it the same unless these tests say otherwise. The fun thing was the doc I had with Noah, Dr. Draper was on call today. He just barely started working at this hospital. It was such a fun surprise. He came and sat and chatted with me while I had my NST. It was such a cool thing to see him here at the end of my second pregnancy. If she for some reason comes on the 26th he is the doc that night and would make sure he is in the OR. He is also going to come peek at my baby after she comes. Noah was a bit shy with him. He read over my chart and set up all the stuff for the next couple days of tests. So I know I was taken care of and watched out for today.

I am actually really trying to treasure each moment of this pregnancy. It is my last, for sure. I really have loved helping in creating these beautiful children and feel awed by the responsibility that Heavenly Father has given me. With our crazy life the past 4 1/2 months, I told Kersten I felt bad that I really tried to cherish the beautiful parts of pregnancy but I really don't think I was able to relish it. He made a good comment, that if we did try for a 3rd it would be even more difficult to cherish it with the added responsibility of 2 kids not just one. There is nothing like feeling your baby move inside you. You do learn so much about their personality just by being so close with their spirit. I really never thought I would have this oppurtunity and KNOW that it is a true miracle that I have carried and conceived these children.

Update: warning might be a little long

Sorry, I have not posted in days. A lot has been happening around here so I will be updating you all here for now. Warning: very long winded and long post. So, First here is an updated pic of my sweetest boy, Noah in his Sunday finest today. He had 2 penguins on his vest and had to take penguin books to look at in church. He is being so fantastic and snuggly. I feel he knows I need him to make good choices and help me. I really am a very lucky mom.

So now for our week, Tuesday Night my ward threw us a baby shower for Shaak-Ti. It was so fun and everyone was so generous. It was at this house that was decorated so darling and different. It was just fun to be there. All these cute old ladies knitted and crochet some beautiful blankets. I have missed talking and being around women since being on bedrest and not seeing women at church. I really appreciated the thought and the party. It was fun.

Wednesday was my crazy day. I had the eye doctor in the morning. Noah LOVES the eye doctor. Granted, my eye doctor lets him use his light and touch all the cool tools that he uses. This time he looked at Noah's eyes and told him that his eyes are perfect. And then said he had the most beautiful eyes. Noah kept saying "Boo Boo ful eyes", the rest of the day. He even had to call and tell Dad about his eyes. On my note, my right eye is getting really bad. It is accelerating at an alarming rate, he suggested that it would be good if the baby came early. No matter when the babe is born, I have to go two weeks afterwards for some out patient surgery. I have had it before, it is painful but only puts me out for the rest of the afternoon. I will have my mom take me and hold the baby while I have the procedure. He sent me on my way with a note for my Baby doc that I was seeing that afternoon.

I dropped Noah off at Grandma F* house for my other two appts. My doc was really busy and I was informed when I walked in that it was time for an ultrasound. That is always fun to see your baby. Even though in a couple of weeks, I can take real pictures all that I want. He had one of his partners come in and talk for a minute and then realized I had to see Dr Esplin. So I talked about my eyes, he checked all of my other fun problems and decided to schedule an amnio the day after Christmas to see if her lungs are developed enough. Apparently, the lungs of babies that have diabetic moms don't develop as quickly although they grow bigger faster. If the tests come out okay then they will take Shaak-Ti on December 28th. I then had to go have a Non-stress test. Which showed that the baby is doing fine with no stress but the mom is freaking out and going a bit nuts. This is making me so nervous and stressed, is this really the right thing for Me and my Babe.

My sisters and mom had planned a baby shower for that night. And since so many people could not come and it was just not a good day, decided the night before to reschedule a "Meet the baby" party after she is born. I am really glad they changed it. I was freaking out a bit. Kerst had to calm me down on the phone. I bought myself a fruit smoothie at Costco. I had a blessing that night that said she would come when it was right and she would be fine. Cute Noah, asked for a blessing afterwards and he looked like he felt so important and special as he got a fathers blessing. It said he would have the ability to calm his sister and they would be best friends. His made me cry.

Since we did not have the shower on Wed, on Thursday Lena came and brought this darling Shaak-Ti cake she was planning for the shower. She was so excited to make it that she made it in spite of having no party. Noah was so excited and it was the yummiest cake. Lena is so talented, it was really fun to have a surprise like this. There is a pic above of the beautiful cake. Is it not so awesome?

Friday Night we went to an Adults only Christmas Party in our ward. Emilee took Noah and he had a sleepover at her house. We had a fantastic time visiting with other couples around our age in the ward. It was a Shephards dinner but with simpler food. It was fun to get to know people better and have adult time together as a couple. I am so pregnant and tired that afterwards, I went to bed. I got to sleep in until 9. So that was heaven.

Saturday, we cleaned out our entire bedroom and moved all the furniture to fit the cradle in there. My mom came to my house 5 minutes after I woke up to help. She was tending Baby Allie and stayed for a couple hours and worked so hard to get it to a point we could do it on our own. Lena showed up to help just as my mom left. We also wore her out. We really could not do all that we need without the help my fam has given us. Emilee showed up with Noah and her kids and Kristin folded my socks for me and we finished the room and cleaned the front room.

I noticed Ernie fish was looking really sick and dark. I asked Lena as she is our resident fish expert. She and Kristin took him up to PetSmart to see if he could be saved. He has probably been sick for awhile but I have had other things on my mind. Ernie has a fungus. The tablet that would help has to be put in a 10 gallon tank. Ernie lives in a one gallon tank. So we had to find something to save the water so that we can keep it and change his water with his med water every 4 days. He seems to be better today. So that is good. I figured if something happened to Ernie, it would be a good learning experience. I am glad he seems to be doing better. To much change for Noah to fast.

I go to the doc again on Wed. I am going to go over everything with him again to make sure we are making the best decisions all the way around. It was really strange making my last appts for the doctor. I have had numerous people who saw me from Tues to Sat say I am carrying this baby different than I was at the beginning of the week. I can totally feel it.

Today I am grateful for all I have an am blessed with. I see how the Lord has a hand in everything in my life. I have such a wonderful husband and son. A family and family in law that are doing all they can to help me when I need it most. I am just grateful to be a mother. I really never imagined I would get to be and I am so blessed to be born at this time where it is possible for me. Sorry this entry is so long and drawn out. I am totally not offended if you did not make it to the end.

So close

I felt so full of wonder at my scheduled ultrasound today. Shaak-Ti is so healthy and beautiful. She is a little imp and already so full of personality. She is getting big enough now that it is hard to see all her face or anything. So we see these itemized parts of her sweet body. Her stomach, back, femur, head, beautiful heart, kidneys, brain and my favorite pic of the day was of her chin lips and nose. It almost looks like she is smirking. And she has quite the prominent chin. When Dr, Esplin came in and started looking at her, He got really excited like a boy in the toy store and asked if I wanted to see her in 3D. A new thing at the new hospital. Of course, my girl would not hold still to get a picture of her face but it was so beautiful to see her with a real skin tone and looking so much like a baby instead of the black and white images on the screen. It made me so excited to hold her little body and be closer to the end. Sorry I don't have a working scanner to post the pic of her silly chin, it is a wonder to behold.

Shaak-Ti is 4 lbs 8 oz right now and growing right on. I am now down for the count and if my conditions worsen for me in any way the Dr will just take her. He put me on some stronger meds for my blood pressure and preeclampsia problems. I go back mon and next fri for NST's and will see him Mon again so he can she how the meds worked over the weekend. We talked for a good 20 min about my birth options. I have been praying to know what will be easiest and healthiest for both of us. Today it was confirmed in my heart and with the doc that unless I go into labor on my own, we will do a scheduled C-section on January 8, 2008. Okay, now that feels really weird having a real solid date like that. I hope she waits till after the holidays. I think it would stink to have a birthday at that time.

31 weeks

Today I am 31 weeks along in my pregnancy. My, how the time flies. I know pregnancy is 40 weeks long, but my doc's won't let me go over 39. So I really have only 6 to 7 weeks left. And all those weeks have big fun happy holidays, birthdays, crazy celebrations and doctor visits and more doc visits. In other words really, really busy. This seems to be going so much faster than it ever did with Noah. I feel it is the combination of being a bit more busy and everything is not so new, dramatic and life altering. Not to say that a new baby is not life altering or a beautiful miracle every single time. I am just saying that this time I have a better idea of what is to come. Therefore, I am a bit calmer about the changes in me and my body and more aware of how it will change my everyday life once this sweet one comes.

I have talked about a lot of my irrational crazy fears and worries with this baby and I really feel that most of them are a product of raging hormones and fatique. It is much easier to worry about changing a little girl diaper than any of the big and more important things. I sometimes want to strangle doctors, diabetic educators and other people that don't have to live like I do. The reason I want to strangle them is the unsolicited facts and horror stories they pound into your head. Basically saying if you don't do everything perfect, your baby will be ruined, maimed, altered or sick for it's entire life. At the beginning of this pregnancy I had my diabetic endocrogist look at me with horror at some of my blood sugars. His voice was so demeaning and horrific as if I had caused the ultimate sin and would be sent to Hades for the rest of my existence. I was 5 weeks pregnant at the time and just found out I was in the family way. I chose after that to have some of my other very well educated and trained doctors help and do the testing needed for this pregnancy. That is also one less doctor visit every 6 weeks. So I have decided that I would rather worry about my sleep deprivation than deforming my child. All I can do is what is humanly possible for me. And so I will. I have actually been incredibly blessed with my pregnancies. I talk to other diabetic mothers and hear how their kidneys stopped working or all sorts of things and I count my blessings and thank my Heavenly Father for helping me through this and giving me the blessing of my babies.

I have decided to embrace my silly, crazy, irrational fears to replace the real ones. And fret that my bra size is now what is was when I was nursing Noah, Yes, people you read that right, when I was nursing him. So that means they will still probably get even larger. So I can fret that I will look like a freakish woman with large ample bosoms and big baggy circles under my eyes. That has a darling little boy and a little girl that has lopsided bows and just keep laughing at myself and my imperfections so that I don't go totally and completely crazy. Just stay the little bit of crazy that I already am.

All the Happenings

Life is calming down but also getting more chaotic (at least if only in my head).

Kersten started back at work part time yesterday. I think from my perspective, it was really good for him. It made him feel productive and back to the norm. Everyone at work seemed to miss him and welcome him back, happily The only down note is now he has a new boss and so far Kersten is not that happy about it. So we shall see how this all pans out. He is trying to figure out what to dress up for Halloween. It wasn't our top priority and now he needs a costume for tommrow. The rest of his team are being Nuns so he thought he could be the devil. But we can only find glittery horns, so it is not working

Noah is doing really well. He (not to jinx it or get to hopeful) has been wearing big boy underwear since last Wednesday. He has a least one accident a day but overall is doing pretty well. It is all I can hope for right now. He is having a hard time pooping on the toilet. Does anyone have suggestions for this? He waits until he has a nightime pull up on to poop. Or does a tiny bit in the toilet and finishes in his underwear. He got in trouble last tuesday after school for his teacher pulled me aside to talk to me about how Noah would not let her change his pull up when it was wet. He threw a huge temper tantrum and hit her leg. Well, we don't put up with this in our family. No hitting allowed and we respect our teachers. They whole way home I talked to him about how if he wanted to still wear pull ups he had to let his teacher change them at school. He never ever acts like that to his teacher, etc etc. Then when we got home we told Dad what happened and Noah had his dad and mom talk to him about it. He hates being in trouble. That night when it was bathtime, he just walked up to the toilet like it was not big deal and went to the bathroom. The next day he insisted that he wear Underwear. He had one accident that day as he ran up the stairs to the potty. On Sunday he used the urinals in the boys bathroom at church with his dad. He thought it was really cool that only Boys could use these toilets. I am a little hopeful that this is the beginning of the end. But, I am not counting my chickens before they hatch.

My next appt with the doc it next Monday Nov 5. This is also the week that starts my Non Stress Tests twice a week. So the insanity begins until this little girl comes. I am really trying to focus on my time with Noah right now, just us. I have been feeling lately that I will really miss him and our time. He is so joyful and fun (most of the time) and I just Love being his mom. I know I will love this little girl also. But it is kind of an idealic time with just me and my boy. And dad comes home at least for the next month a little early. So I am counting my blessings

Shaak-Ti

I am so sure all of you have been dying to know who is this Shaak-Ti (pronounced Shock Tee) that Noah thought was cool enough to name his sister after. Well in these wise words

"...and Shaak Ti's the most cunning Jedi I've met. She's even taught me a few tricks."
―Obi-Wan Kenobi

Mace Windu once described Shaak Ti "as beautiful as a flower, yet as deadly as a viper." The hollow spaces in her decorated montrals allowed her to ultrasonically perceive her surroundings, especially in bustling crowds. Unlike most members of her communal species, she was solitary by nature. She was also rewarded as one of the most cunning warriors of the Order. Windu and Yoda felt that she was one of the greatest lightsaber duelists ever, and one of the Order's most powerful members over history. Shaak Ti's lightsaber skills were almost unparalleled and she had great domain in the Force.

Shaak Ti was a Jedi Master of legendary power and strength in the Force. She was regarded as one of the most cunning warriors in the Jedi order. She was trained as a Consular, allowing her to focus more on mastery of the Force through knowledge than through physical combat. Shaak Ti's montrals helped her detect movements around her, an ability that was drastically increased beyond others of her species by her Force abilities. She used this ability during the battle of Brentaal IV, where she evaded blaster bolts instead of deflecting them. As with many Consulars, Shaak Ti had the Force ability to deflect Force lightning.

Shaak Ti's lightsaber skills were at a level few other Jedi could rival or match. She earned a reputation as one of the greatest lightsaber duelists of the Jedi Order's history. She was also known to be a skilled hand-to-hand combatant and excelled in multiple weapons practices. Shaak Ti's physical skills were critical in the defense of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine during the Battle of Coruscant, during which Shaak Ti buys time for Palpatine's escape from Grievous and his MagnaGuards by battling the entire group with her lightsaber, an electrostaff, and her bare hands. Grievous thought of her as a most gallant warrior.

She first appears in "Star Wars Episode II- Attack of the Clones" and continues on in the animated series "Star Wars-Clone Wars" and the last time we see her in movie form is in "Star Wars Episode III-Revenge of the Sith", she is believed to be killed in the onslaught or Jedi purge. But she shows up in video games and books that are approved by the creators of Star Wars between "Revenge" and "New Hope".

Well I hope this helps a little bit, Sorry, if it was a bit like an encyclopedia. I told you Shaak-Ti was cool. Noah can't wait to get his baby sister, her first light saber.

Long winded updated Information

It is not often in a mother's life when her child actually asks her to take them to Dr. Katie. I knew Noah must really be feeling yucky if he said that. He did make sure to say "No, ow" He has had a horrible cough for days and recently it sounded in his chest. He has had a stuffy nose since birth and that has just gotten worse. It keeps him up at night. So we took a trip to see Dr. Katie today. Our appointment was after lunch and when Noah finished his lunch after asking all night and morning to see the doc, he says "No more Ow. No doc. I'm Okay". Isn't that always how it works, when you finally get them into the doc, they are feeling just fine. Can I just say that I love his peditrician. I guess more importantly Noah likes her too. She is just the right kind of doctor for the kind of parents we are. She is great with Noah and it was such a relief to actually see her and not someone else.

Noah now weighs a total of 31.5 lbs. He is on antibiotics for his sinus crap and yucky cough. We discussed the whole potty issue with her and our frustrations. She thought we were pretty creative. A good sign is that he is happy and excited when he actually goes potty and felt like he accomplished something afterwards. I expressed my concern that he only went actual pee if we caught it with the timer and how he holds his poo in. He still might not be completely recognizing the signs in his body that he is going to pee, he know when he will poo cause he hides. She said his mind might be so occupied with all the adventures in his head and all the fun things he is learning that he is not paying attention to it. Plus, it has never been a concern before now and to be patient. So we are not going to stop the potty training, just scale back. Keep the timer going to remind him that he needs to keep trying and be patient. I think that is the hardest part.

She also is going to help us fight the insurance company to get them to cover Noah's speech therapy. Oh, this is a huge answer to our prayers. I know that he has needed a bit more than he is getting. She teased that we should move into Jordan District, since they have a better program. But, now we know that we have some people behind us on this front.

I feel so much better. It sounds so silly but just knowing that his doc thinks we are doing okay and that we have done all we can has quieted my mind about all the stuff swirling in my head

Baby Girl- Shaak-Ti is doing fantastic. I had an ultrasound yesterday and she is growing spot on. She was at exactly 27 weeks. Babies of diabetics usually get really big and grow to fat, to fast. So it is nice to know that she is doing so well. During my exam, after my doc spoke with me and said that another would review the results and I would see him next week, I had 3 other doctors come in and comment about how beautiful her heart was, including my doc. Oh, comfort again. I had 4 docs act astounded, I was not on full bed rest yet and commented how strange that things were progressing this way. They were all really throuogh with my chart. I am still on moderate bed rest. The only reason I am still only moderately on bed rest is that I had a blessing and the Lord is watching out for us. RELIEF and starting in 2 weeks I start going for Non-Stress tests weekly for 3 weeks, bi-weekly after that and to the doctor once a week. And I still have 2 or 3 depending ultrasounds. So the craziness has just gotten a bit crazier. The receptionists were teasing me that we will see each other so much, that we will be best friends. At least all of these appointments are at the Brand new hospital by Costco. Fun fun fun

Name Game

Kersten and I have been talking a lot since his surgery and we both agree that we have not found our favorite girl name for this little one yet. We have a couple we both like but neither of us love them. And I admit that I am a bit funny about names. First of all I know I am not going to have a lot of children so I want to absolutely LOVE their name.

Now, I personally LOVE, adore, cherish my sweet Noah Lawrence. I think his name is fantastic. It is a name that will help him become a man of integrity, strength, hard working with a bit of a sense of humor. Kersten also loves it, but it mostly came from me. For you see, with my sweet boy, a couple of months after we were married I had very vivid dreams about a baby boy that would be ours. In each of these dreams I would call him Noah. I knew without a doubt that someday that baby boy would be ours. Kersten worried a bit that he would not come. I would assure him that even if it was in the millineum that we would have this boy. His middle name is my Grandpa's name and he is an amazing legacy to have as part of his life.

Also with a girl, I want it to be very feminine. I love my name because it sounded like a princess, Laurie Elizabeth. I want it to be pretty and not to out there but not really plain either. I don't need her to be just a princess but I want her to be well rounded. She can play dolls and climb trees. We both don't like names that could be either a girl or a boy, for example, Kelly, Taylor, Riley etc. We also don't like names that could also be last names, Bailey, Jackson, Madison etc. We have a middle name we like that we could also use as a first name. We don't care if it is a family name but we want it to have a great meaning.

So I am sending out a plea to the blog world to give us ideas for beautiful girl names. Thanks for playing you guys

Random Pregnancy Facts

I have not written down a lot about this pregnancy so I am going to in honor of my 22nd week that starts today I will write some random stats and facts about this pregnancy:

THE REVELATION: My first two pregnancies I started feeling extremely sick about 2 weeks into it, so I assumed that it would be the same again. But not so. On Mother's Day of this year, I was sitting on my in-laws couch so exausted I thought I would pass out and my father in law made the comment "Yeah, you do get very tired when you are first pregnant." Of course, I had to deny it for a full day to myself and everyone else. The next day I was at my sister Amy's house and prior she had asked if I wanted the 2nd pregnancy test from her box, since it would expire before she would use it. So I picked it up and some other things and thought about taking it for a full 20 min till I could not stand it any longer. It did not take even a full 10 seconds to say positive. I stewed for about a half hour about how and when I should surprise my husband. And then he called. True to form, I could not hold it in and plus the whole reason he was calling is to see if I had gotten a test and taken it yet.

DOCTOR APPTS TO DATE: these are just the ones related to this pregnancy- 23 times and I email my baby doc, once a week

ULTRASOUNDS SO FAR: 4 times and one scheduled on friday

ILLNESS: With Noah I was nausaus and sick the entire 9 months. I think I felt good maybe a total of 3 weeks. I did not start feeling really sick with this pregnancy until about late June when the heat came. The month of July was torture and I blame everything on the heat. I felt just fine as long as I ate until it got so hot no one could breathe. I was nauseus, vomiting and wanting just to get some rest. This is also when my migraines returned with a vengance.

CRAVINGS: First one was Beef and Cheddar at Arby's for about a month, I could not get enough of these sandwiches. And the Arby's melt would not do. It had to have the onion roll. Then I moved on to delicious turkey sandwich specifically from Tasty's and that posed a problem because Tasty's no longer exists. I wanted the soft fresh bread and the exact proportions of veggies and meat that they perfected. Kersten took me to Subway and it cured me of that craving because nothing is quite the same as Tasty's. The rest of my cravings have not been as strong or frequent as those first two but include things such as watermelon, potato chips, berries of all kinds, my mom's rolls,little chickens (including but not only, buffalo wings, chicken nuggets, chinese etc)

I will keep you updated on all the craziness and joys of my pregnancy

Oh, Girl!

Okay, I am going to be completely honest here for a minute. I am absolutely thrilled, ecstatic, awed and so terrified of having a little girl. I know I am being a bit irrational and silly. But, I was kind of glad that Noah was a boy. I knew from pretty much the very beginning of our marriage that we would have a boy. I prepared myself for this ball of energy and excitment, for snuggles, trucks, wrestling and lots of toot talking from the beginning of my dreams. I felt a bit more prepared in some ways of what to expect from being this little boys mom.

So, what it really comes down too is that, I feel a bit unprepared, awed, overwhelmed and panic over having a girl. Which makes no sense to me because you would think with this being my third pregnancy and 2nd baby that I would feel a bit more calm about the entire situation. I don't think it helps that I have had quite a few people state that they think this little girl is going to be a bundle of trouble and angst. I had to ask them to stop talking about their feeling, for it was causing me a bit more stress than I could handle. Kersten has been cursed by his mother to have a child just like him, and with feeling I have about this girls personality and from the ultrasound, I feel as if Kersten already understands her a bit better than I do. I want her to be well rounded. My wish is that she will sometimes play princess with me and also climb trees and dig in the dirt with Noah. Maybe I am hoping to much.

I know all of these worries are probably unfounded and completely void of reason. But they are still there always lurking in the forefront of my mind. I am afraid to be the example that this sweet one has of a woman. This is how a woman should be, should act, should feel and treat other people. Lately, I have been seeing all my imperfections with a huge magnify glass. I will come to grips with these silly notions in my head. Heavenly Father and I have discussed them at great length. So I know it is completely me. And if I just do the best I can for this girl that is all that is asked of me and leave the rest to the Lord. So I say, HOORAY! for sweet, active, funny, giggly, spazzy, twirling little dancer, gymnast, princess, tomboy little girls.
(Thanks to Aunt Virginia who brought us the amazing cake the day we found out it was a GIRL)

The Verdict Is In

Here are Noah and I showing our bellies so you can see how the baby is growing and

IT"S A GIRL!



Now I can buy cute things that look like this and not feel guilty looking at the girl clothes. Hooray we are so excited. Noah acted like we were so silly that we were surprised. He has always known he is a having a sister.

What will it be?

Boy?
Girl?
We find out tommrow afternoon and will let you know later? Honestly, neither Kersten or I have a preference but Noah keeps telling us that he is having a sister. So we shall see!

14 Weeks

Yes, you read that right. And if you already did not know I am pregnant and today I am 14 weeks along. I had an ultrasound a week and a half ago and this baby is quite the mover and a shaker. They could not get it to roll over to see it's back after 2 1/2 hours of trying. The baby showed it's long legs and waved it's arms everywhere. And even started playing a game where it would act like it was flying and curl up into a ball afterwards. One of the advantages to being high risk is that I do get to have more ultrasounds, so I get to see the baby as it grows. It will come in January. Noah is slowly beginning to understand why my stomach is growing. The other day he tried to push it back in while saying "Back In". I promptly showed him pictures of my pregnancy with him and explained what would happen. His reaction was "Wow". Funny boy