Broken

Riding home from our friends house on Friday, I had a random back pain. By the time we got home, my back was all tweaked, almost like it was after I got rear-ended last year. LAME!

Monday I went to the Chiropractor and got everything all back in alignment. On the drive home, I felt a twinge. I was FURIOUS, I almost started swearing. By that night, my back was completely crooked again.

The Midwife referred me to physical therapy, and of course they couldn't fit me in until after my due date. But, they put me on the wait list so if there's a cancellation, then I get to go in.

Dang everything being strained and loose during pregnancy! I feel so cheated, when I've tried so hard to stay healthy and strong! Oh well. Some things you can't change.

34 weeks 9.5.12

35 weeks 9.12.12 One month until due date!

It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To

(Did you all know that there is a song that is a sequel to that song? Something about Judy's turn to cry...)
Anyway, I had my first and hopefully only breakdown this pregnancy. I think it was a combination of feeling overwhelmed with everything we have to do still, being poor and things costing so much, living so far from family and friends, and finally going to buy the crib and it having gone up in price by $10. I'm still mad about that last one.

Life can feel tough, you know! Throw into the mix hormones and changing weather and it can be just too much to handle. So when Devin came home from school one day this week and I started crying, he decided I should probably get out of the house.

He sent me on my way, and I bought myself some ice cream and went shopping. I bought a few things for the baby and tried-on some maternity clothes. Retail therapy, I believe this is called, haha. I also enjoyed a fairly tasty chicken teriyaki sandwich for dinner.

While I do not feel 100% better (all of the aforementioned issues are still issues), it was nice to have some time to treat myself and to know that Devin was worried about me.

All this being said, all in all the pregnancy is still going very well and I still have a great deal to be grateful for. And so, to help myself, I shall list some of these things that are pregnancy specific.

• We were able to get pregnant
• I am healthy. You truly cannot put a price on that.
• The baby is healthy. Perhaps even better than my own health
• I still have a few more weeks, and little one is staying safe inside
• I am getting maternity pictures on Monday. Not a big fan of the money this will cost, but I am happy to be getting them done.
• I haven't gained too much weight and I'm not nauseous anymore. Hooray!
• I can still wear my wedding rings
• Overall, I still get plenty of sleep
• I may be getting heartburn, but it is rare and at least I have an appetite now
• We finished our childbirth class
• I don't really have many stretch marks (knock on wood) and my belly button, while not being an innie any longer, has not popped -- it's kinda flat, I would say
• Some sweet ladies threw me a baby shower :)
• My sister is making Baby Girl some things, and I am so proud of her for her blossoming skills
• I got my haircut so it's not a total mess
• I interviewed a pediatrician
• My to-do-before-baby-comes list is slowly getting smaller
• I can still feel the baby move a lot, even if she is in my ribs, haha
• Devin has been able to come to all of my appointments with me
• We will get to see family when Little One comes
• Apart from the ribs and some plantar fasciitis (tight muscles) on the bottom of my right foot, I am not in much pain or discomfort.
• I have been able to keep walking/exercising

 So, despite some bleh weather, I am trying to stay positive. So try not to worry about me too much :)

33 Weeks 8.30.12 (Note Kairi's tail :) )

Baby Shower

On Saturday some lovely ladies threw me a baby shower!

We didn't take any pictures, but you can imagine cute baby girl clothes :)

A handful of ladies from our church showed up and we had a good time. We chatted and ate some yummy food. The ladies wrote down some advise for me and we played the diaper game (different candy bars melted in diapers and you have to guess which ones they are). And of course I opened presents!

Some of my friends who couldn't make it were thoughtful enough to send/give things ahead of time. My friend Emma gave me her gift when we went bowling with them the week before. Devin's old roommates' wives were sweet enough to pass around a note (which meant mailing it between 3 states before it was mailed to me) and send us a giftcard. Devin's mom and grandma even sent some gifts all the way from WA. 

Thanks to everyone who came/gave/sent me something! I definitely feel loved!

32 Weeks 8.23.12

Quarter of a Century: AKA It's My Birthday!

Hooray for birthdays! I've always loved having a birthday in August, because there are no other holidays; it's like my birthday is the holiday for the month :)

This year we had some scheduling challenges to deal with, but we still managed to find time to celebrate.

I woke up to a phone call/message from a friend in Oregon and later one from Devin's grandma :)

After Devin got back from school, I opened gifts. Devin gave me a Google Nexus 7 (small Android tablet) that he had been alluding to for months. We Skyped with Devin's mom and sister and opened their gifts of some movies, a Wii game, and a new alarm clock. I then enjoyed playing around with my new tablet for an hour or so :)

We went out to eat and got steak -- actually at the same place we went last year. We both enjoyed some mashed potatoes and salads on the side, and shared my complimentary ice cream sundae.

Later that evening we had our childbirth class. Not my favorite place to spend my birthday, but oh well. We finished our evening off by going to Oberweiss for some more ice cream :) I got a chocolate peanut butter sundae that had probably the most peanut butter in one dish that I have ever consumed in one sitting. Devin got brownie sundae that was equally yummy and large.

I enjoyed listening to my parents sing me "Happy Birthday" and they are sending me money to get a Swiffer (I hate sweeping/mopping). Karly also called and wished me a "Happy Birthday" again.

Thanks to everyone who wished me "Happy Birthday" and for all the love and support! Can't believe I'm a quarter of a century old now...

31 Weeks 8.15.12

Same day, in "the shirt"

From Scratch

Growing up, my family made things from scratch. I'm not sure that I knew that pancake mix existed until middle school or later. I still rarely use mixes, and firmly believe that things taste better from scratch. Fortunately for me, Devin also likes to cook and bake (maybe more than I do, truthfully), so we make some tasty stuff.

For about 3 months of my pregnancy, no one was doing any cooking. I couldn't because the kitchen and I were mortal enemies. Any more than a few seconds in there, and I was gagging. The fridge and I especially did not get along. Devin wasn't cooking much because he was busy with school; and most of the time if he cooked, the smell made me more nauseous. There was lots of microwaved food, salad, and going out to eat so that we both didn't die.

Many months later, we're both able to cook again! This week Devin made chili from scratch (that seriously has about 30 ingredients in it), I made banana bread from scratch, and Devin made Cafe Rio chicken salads from scratch! This latter included homemade flour tortillas, guacamole, pico de gallo, and dressing. And it was his first time attempting any of those things. I am so proud of him :)

In other news, we've started our childbirth classes and are working to prepare for the arrival of our little one. We also went mini golfing (hardest course ever) and enjoyed some Jamba Juice while window shopping. Just trying to enjoy some couple time before we need a baby-sitter :)

30 Weeks 8.7.12

Passed!

Today we found out that Devin passed his 1st part of Boards! I knew he would, but he wasn't so sure. As my friend says, we're always our own worst critics :)

And I also passed my glucose test! This means no gestational diabetes. Yay! Little one is doing well, measuring right on track. I'm not anemic (apparently a miracle for pregnant women), I have perfect blood pressure, and I haven't gained too much or too little weight. Pray that all of this stays this way!

For now, we're celebrating our blessings!

29 Weeks 8.1.12

Oh, and we made homemade French baguettes! We ate them with our homemade Italian beef sandwiches :)

Right out of the oven

Close up

Little wonky, but still tasty

200!

Happy 200th Post! This probably would have come a lot sooner if I had stayed up on my blogging last year... Oh well. Speaking of not staying up on blogging, I have just updated the blog for the last few weeks so feel free to check it out! If you don't, you'll miss out on reading about run things like our trip to Nauvoo so you should probably do it :) Here's hoping for 200 more!

In other news...GO USA! Love me some Olympics!