Happy Birth Day, Juliet Rose!

As it has been 3 weeks now since Juliet's Birth Day, I'm going to update the blog in three parts. This is Part One- Juliet's Birth Story. Part Two will be on our two weeks in the NICU, and Part Three will be on our homecoming.

I had planned on writing a post on Monday, the 11th of January, and letting everyone know how the previous three weeks of twice-a-week non-stress testing went, and the results of the follow-up growth scan that took place that afternoon. Basically, the non-stress tests were mostly normal- I was hooked up to fetal monitors for 30 minutes, where the baby's heart rate was followed closely, making sure she was healthy and reacting to a stimulus when it was presented. They also watched for contractions. At one appointment, I was having contractions every 1 to 2 minutes, and was sent to labor and delivery to make sure I wasn't going into preterm labor. Thankfully, we learned 3 hours later that I wasn't. Other than that, the testing was relatively uneventful. Every appointment brought us a few days closer to the growth scan, and I was getting more and more anxious about it the closer it got. I was really hoping that she was continuing to grow at a healthy rate, but knew that if she wasn't, we would have to talk about delivering her early.

On the 11th, I woke up pretty late, played with our new puppy for a little while, and then started getting ready for the appointment. I was so nervous and excited to find out how our girl was doing! Before the growth scan I had another non-stress test, and let me tell you- that was the longest 30 minute appointment of them all! Finally, it was time for the growth scan! The ultrasound itself took about 45 minutes, and it was the same sort of ultrasound as our 20 week diagnostic. The tech took all of her measurements, checked her heart, brain, kidneys, major veins and arteries, and so on. As she was taking the measurements, I was paying close attention to the numbers at the bottom of the screen- they pop up with the actual measurement and the corresponding average age. I was 34 weeks and 3 days into the pregnancy at this point, but all of the measurements were saying 30-32 weeks. I became more and more nervous with each one. Once the tech was done gathering all of her numbers, she went to her computer to do the math and find out what percentile little Juliet fell into. At the last appointment she was in the 15th. Anything under the 10th percentile usually means there is a problem somewhere, and that's when the doctors really start to worry that there may be a problem. As it turned out, we were in the 8th percentile with an estimated weight of 3lbs, 14oz. As soon as I heard that number, the tears started flowing. I just lost control, I was so scared for my baby and didn't know what was wrong or how it happened or how I could fix it. It took a while, but once I calmed down, the tech took the results to the perinatologist to get her opinion, and she came in shortly after to talk to me. She said that Juliet was no longer following a normal growth curve, and that her growth rate was slowing down to a point that she felt it would be safer for her to be delivered, and given the nutrition she needs through my milk instead of the umbilical cord. The whole conversation seems like a blur to me at this point. Anyway, after telling me that she felt an early delivery was necessary, she told me that because Juliet was still in the breech position, the delivery would need to be via cesarean section. She said that the baby was too small, and I was too small, to attempt to flip her and deliver her vaginally. The whole time I was just nodding my head, slowly taking in what she was telling me. I felt like everything I had hoped for (a natural birth, no pain meds, a low stress atmosphere, and so on) was over. A cesarean was everything that I didn't want. At one point I remember asking her when she wanted to deliver her, thinking I would have a couple of days, at least, to prepare. She responded by asking me when the last time I ate was. I think my heart stopped at that point, as I realized she wanted her out that night. Of course, I broke down again, so scared for Juliet, who was being born 5 and a half weeks early, and scared for myself to have major surgery (I had never had surgery before, and was now only a few hours away from the operating room). I just wasn't prepared for it. I had known it was a possibility, but I never thought it would actually come to that. I was given a few minutes to get myself together and call Matt before they had me check in at Labor and Delivery. I called him, explained what was going on, and told him everything I needed him to bring to the hospital. He was just as worried, scared, and caught off guard as I was. Once we got everything figured out (which took a while, since we were both in so much shock over what was happening) I went to check in at L&D. I filled out some paperwork, and then went to the waiting room while they got my room ready. While I was in there waiting for Matt to meet me, I spent most of my time on the phone with my mom and my big sister, and texting a few other friends to let them know what was happening. Everyone seemed to be just as shocked as I was. Once Matt met me in the waiting room, we were moved into our room to wait until it was time for the surgery. I think we were in there for about 2 hours, but it felt like only 5 minutes. I changed into my gown, had my IV put in (quite painfully), and then signed several consent forms for the surgery. My mom called the room to wish us luck once more before we went in, which was really nice! I know she hated being so far away with everything that was going on, but I'm so glad I got to talk to her as much as I did before the surgery. Several doctors and nurses who would be in the operating room stopped by to introduce themselves. It felt like an endless parade of people whose names I had forgotten by the time the next doctor arrived. Then we were left to wait for about 30 minutes. Honestly, it was all very overwhelming, and went by in such a blur.

The surgery itself didn't last long at all. I was wheeled in to the operating room, sat on the table while they gave me the spinal anesthesia, and then I layed down while the team of nurses and doctors set up all of their equipment and hooked me up to several different monitors. Then they started pinching me to make sure the anesthesia was working. It wasn't. I could still feel pain from the pinches, especially on my left side, and so they ended up taking down the curtain, and sitting me back up to give me another round of the spinal anesthesia. This time it did work, thankfully! I was really worried I was going to feel it when they started cutting, but I didn't even know it when they started! They brought Matt in as soon as they were ready to start, which helped me calm down a lot. The anesthesiologist thought I was cold because I couldn't control my shivering, and kept offering warm blankets, but it was just nerves. As they were doing the cesarean, I could feel the pressure of them pushing and pulling and touching my skin as if I wasn't numb. It felt just like it would if someone were pushing on my belly right now, but I couldn't feel pain from the incision at all. It was such a strange sensation- I don't think I'll ever forget it. At 8:15pm, Juliet was born, and I could actually feel it when they pulled her out! I was surprised by that, and relieved, because I felt that by having a cesarean, I was missing out on the whole birthing experience. They brought her over to a warmer that was over my left shoulder, and I could catch little glimpses of her in between the doctors who were working on her. Matt got up and went over to see her and cut the umbilical cord and take a few pictures. After what felt like forever, we heard her cry for the first time, and I immediately teared up. I had been holding my breath waiting for her to cry, and as soon as I heard her, I relaxed and started breathing again. It was the most precious sound I had ever heard. Once they made sure she was ok, they swaddled her and handed her over to Matt, who brought her to the operating table so I could see her and kiss her before they took her to the NICU. I was in the operating room for another 15 or 20 minutes while they finished everything up and cleaned me off, and then I was wheeled to the recovery room for about an hour. While I was recovering, I learned that our baby girl weighed in at 4lbs 0oz, and was 17 inches long. She was long and skinny, just like I was when I was born! Just as soon as I could move my legs (which was surprisingly soon- less than an hour, considering I had had two rounds of the anesthesia) they wheeled me to my room in the Mother-Baby unit. We stopped by the NICU first so I could see Juliet. She was so beautiful, even hooked up to a million machines. I was so happy to see her, and also a little sad that I wasn't able to hold her yet and that she needed so much support. I didn't know it at the time, but she apparently needed a lot of help- more help than I realized- in those first moments, which I hate.

Throughout my pregnancy, I felt very strongly about having a natural birth. I didn't want any pain meds. I knew it would be painful, but I also knew I could handle it, and that it would be worth every minute of it when I held Juliet for the first time. I didn't want to worry about side effects from an epidural for me or the baby. I also didn't want the longer recovery that can come with a medicated birth. I was so frustrated and scared when I learned that I'd be having a cesarean. I didn't want the spinal anesthesia. I didn't want the incision or the scar from it. I didn't want the pain after the surgery, or being unable to move around easily. Once everything was said and done, the surgery wasn't as bad as I had expected. It only lasted about 30-45 minutes, instead of going through hours of labor. And as I said before, I still felt it the moment she was born. I recovered insanely fast after the surgery- I was walking the next morning, and had stopped taking the stronger pain meds within a few days, and was only taking ibuprofen. Within 5 days, I had stopped needing pain meds all together. It was still a little tender, and I was a little slow-moving, but nothing that needed medication. And believe it or not, I really like my scar. It's only about 5 inches long, and it's not very noticable at all. But really, I just like that I have it as a marker of Juliet's birth.

I still have moments where I feel like I missed out on a big part of the birthing experience, and that's a little hard to accept at times. I get frustrated when I think that someone else just decided she needed to come out early, and took that experience away from me. I also feel like I missed out on the last month of being pregnant. I really loved being pregnant (for the most part) and I do miss it. I really miss feeling her wiggling around inside me. But at the same time, I get to feel her wiggling in my arms now, and I get to watch her smile, and make faces at me and Matt every day. I love that we get to watch her grow, and we can get to know her sweet personality already. We were given an extra month with our sweet angel. She's still 2 and a half weeks away from her due date, but I can't imagine what it would be like not to know her yet.

Before I wrap up this post, I want to say a quick thank you to all of our family and friends. It has been such a crazy adventure the past 3 weeks, and your love, support, and generous gifts have made all the difference in the world! It would have been a bit much to handle without you all.

I also want to thank Matt, who was the most amazing and supportive husband through it all. He was by my side the entire time, helping me do the things I couldn't do for myself at first, walking next to me from my room to the NICU at the slowest possible speed (I think I managed to move about a foot a minute after the surgery), and telling me I looked beautiful when I felt at my absolute worst. I couldn't ask for a better husband and friend.

We love you all so much, and can't wait for you to meet our sweet baby girl!

Stress

Oh, where to begin...

Today we are 31 weeks, 4 days into the pregnancy- 8 weeks, 3 days to go!

The past week has been absolutely insane! I feel like I haven't stopped moving at all.. As I've mentioned several times in the past, we have been on a waitlist for a new house closer to where Matt is now working since July. After our wonderful vacation home, I decided to give the housing office a call last Tuesday to see what the deal was, and if there was a chance we could speed up the process. I'm getting bigger by the day now, and really didn't want to end up moving weeks before Juliet is due, or worse, right after she's born. As it turned out, Teresa, our leasing agent, informed me that she actually had a house available for us, and could show it to us the next morning! Knowing that we were only eligible for a 2 bedroom home, and that most of those homes were much older than the beautiful new 3 and 4 bedroom homes, we didn't have high expectations for the house she was going to show us.. We were quickly proven wrong when we arrived! Our new neighborhood is about 5 miles from where Matt works, and only 7 miles from North Shore, and it is literally in the middle of huge pineapple fields! I love it because it is so quiet, nothing like the busy, over-crowded Honolulu area. Plus, it only takes Matt 10 to 15 minutes to get to work, much better than the 25 minutes to an hour from our old house! The house itself is gorgeous. It was just renovated, and we are the first to live in it since. There are hardwood floors everywhere except the bedrooms, which are carpeted. My kitchen is HUGE and beautiful, I love it! The bedrooms are big, and the bathroom is completely new and shiny! The living room area is huge and open, which I really love! The best part about the new house- we have air conditioning!!!!! It's amazing! Our windows are real windows, instead of the ones we had at the old house that were just 4 inch slats of glass that cranked open like mini-blinds. That means that I don't have to deal with nasty red dirt blowing in the windows and covering everything we own! I honestly can't express with words how happy I am that we no longer have to worry about that! So after seeing the house, and how perfect it is for us, we signed the new lease that same day! We picked up the keys Thursday morning, and had until today (Tuesday) to be completely cleared from the old house. Because we weren't expecting to move so soon, nothing was packed. We hadn't even finished unpacking from our vacation!! That gave us only 5 full days to do everything, so needless to say, we were incredibly busy! I really can't complain though, because their policy is to give 72 hours, and they did give us a couple extra days. Somehow, we managed to get everything done (with a lot of help from our friends, of course!). Anyway, the house is still cluttered with boxes and whatnot from moving, but just as soon as everything is put away, I will take lots of pictures to show everyone our beautiful new home!

Sunday was our one year anniversary, and we did some shopping for the baby (we bought the crib and dresser for the nursery!!), and then we went out to dinner at a little italian restaurant we found. The food was delicious, and it was so nice to get out and spend time together without dealing with the chaos at either of the houses! I love my husband with all my heart, and have honestly had the best first year of marriage that I could have imagined!

But because we had been so busy and stressed (I'm assuming) the evening was made all the more interesting with my first taste of false labor. I've been having Braxton-Hicks contractions for a while now, usually just 2 or 3 a day, not very close together, and nothing more than a little discomfort. Sunday night was different though. I started having contractions back to back, ranging from every 11 minutes, up to every 2 minutes, and these were pretty painful! I also had a horrible 'pushing down' feeling that just wouldn't let up. As soon as we got home, I got comfy on the couch and put my feet up, and everything stopped, much to my relief! Matt and I kept joking that little Juliet could not be born on our anniversary, that's our day! She would also be 2 months premature at this point, and while she would still be ok, that's much earlier than I would be comfortable with!

I also wasn't too worried, knowing that my 32 week appointment was scheduled for the very next morning, so I could tell the midwife what had happened and make sure everything was ok. That appointment came along with lots of news that I hadn't expected. Every appointment up to this point has been incredibly simple- show up, take vitals, measure belly, listen to heartbeat, go over any questions, make appointment for four weeks later. Not so much this week. I showed up and took my vitals. As usual, these were all normal. Then I went back to the exam room, talked with the midwife for a little while about the contractions, and how they were most likely a result of travelling and then moving. She felt around my belly, and told me that she was not head down (she had been at the 4D ultrasound a few weeks earlier). That got me worrying, even though they say babies have until 37 weeks to turn head-down. Then she got out her measuring tape to measure how big my belly was. For those of you who don't know, they measure from the pubic bone to the top of the uterus, in centimeters. The number of centimeters should match the number of weeks pregnant you are. Being that I was 31 weeks, 3 days at that point, we expected 31.5cm. After trying several times, she was only getting 28cm. She looked a little concerned, and decided to have me go in for an ultrasound to measure the baby's growth and make sure everything was ok. Then she checked Juliet's heartbeat, which was still a strong 150bpm. That made me feel a little bit better. We left the exam room and went back to her office, where she called up to the Antepartum Diagnostic Center to see when they could squeeze me in for the growth scan. After quite a bit of persistence on her part, they got me in at 1pm that afternoon. I called Matt, who had been at the old house taking care of the pre-inspection to move out, and he met me at the hospital and we had lunch before going up for the ultrasound. I hated the idea of possibly getting bad news, and being by myself, so I was so thankful he was there! As it turned out, the Antepartum Diagnostic Center had messed up a little, and didn't schedule me for the growth scan, but instead, a non-stress test and fluid level check. I felt so bad, because they didn't even let Matt in the room for the non-stress test, so he had come to the hospital for nothing. Fortunately, everything was great with the test, and my fluid levels were good. They measure the fluid in centimeters also, and anything between 5 and 25 is considered ok, but they prefer the number to be in the double-digits. I was measuring at 14. Because of the scheduling issues, I had to wait until today for the growth scan. The ultrasound tech checked everything again, like they had at the 20-week diagnostic ultrasound, and she is breech at this point- frank breech actually, which means her butt is down, and her head and feet are up. While everything looks good and healthy, they only measured her at 2lbs, 15oz, which is average for a 28 week baby, not almost 32 weeks. Based on the measurements of her belly, head, legs, and so on, we learned that she is in the 15th percentile for growth at this point. I don't like that number at all, but they said that anything between the 10th and 90th percentile is technically normal. Because she is measuring so tiny, and I have no real reason for that (smoking, high blood pressure, malnutrition, etc), they are concerned that the placenta isn't doing its job, which is causing her to not grow as fast as she should be. Because of this, I have to go in every Monday and Thursday until she's born for the non-stress testing and fluid level checks. I also have another growth scan scheduled 3 weeks from now to see how she's growing. I'll be 34 and a half weeks at that point. As the ultrasound tech said, if she's still measuring small, they'll consider at that point "whether or not to let you stay pregnant." I don't know if it's the way she worded it, but that scared me. That phrase has been running through my head all day. "Whether or not to let you stay pregnant." I know, of course, that if for some reason they do induce labor at that point, it's because it will be better for the baby, but I'm still a little freaked out about it all. I just keep telling myself that she's ok in there, because even though she's tiny, she's still super strong, and very active! I'll keep you posted on how everything goes!


Aside from all of that, I'm looking forward to Christmas. We're having some good friends over on Christmas eve for dinner, and then on Christmas we're planning on heading up to North Shore! It should be a lot of fun! And after that, I'm planning on doing nothing but getting unpacked, setting up the nursery, and resting as much as I can.


Merry Christmas everyone, we love you!

Sweet Juliet

It's hard to believe, but we're now 30 weeks and 3 days pregnant!! I feel like hitting week 30 is a major accomplishment, and it seems like the remaining 9 weeks and 4 days (Only 67 days!!) are going to be gone in no time!

Because of our vacation in Florida, an entire month has gone by since I last posted! I'm not sure where to begin, so much has happened! The day before my birthday was my last day at work, so now I've got tons of time to fix up the house and get ready for our baby girl! I've got big projects in mind that I'm super excited about! My birthday was awesome! Matt and I slept in, and then went and had sushi for lunch- the first time since we became pregnant! Delicious! After lunch, he went with me to the fabric store and Babies R Us while I wandered around collecting ideas for the nursery. He's such a great husband, I'm sure he was bored the whole time! After shopping, we went to Whole Foods and picked up some great steaks for dinner. Unfortunately, I had been slowly developing a cough throughout the day, and by the time we got home and had dinner cooked and ready to eat, I was feeling pretty miserable. I went to bed early that night, and woke up the next morning feeling worse than I had in ages! I spent the entire weekend on the couch doing nothing, which drove me crazy, because I had so much to do before leaving for Florida on Thursday! I even ended up in Labor and Delivery at one point because my fever had gone so high that I was worried about it hurting the baby. Thankfully, she was doing great, and I was given some medication that was safe to take and definitely helped me feel better! After I got back on my feet, I was super busy getting everything ready for our trip, and for our Thanksgiving dinner that we had a day early. Somehow, everything managed to come together, and our Thanksgiving turned out great! I even roasted a turkey for the first time, and while it was a little nervewracking, it was delicious!

My 28 week appointment was on Tuesday of that week, and overall it went pretty well. The baby was still growing right on target, and her heartbeat was still a strong 155 beats per minute! My weight gain was a little lower than normal, but only because I had been so sick just a few days before! I also had my one hour glucose tolerance test at this appointment. I had been feeling a little nauseous that whole day, so unfortunately I had to take it on an empty stomach, which wasn't fun at all! I had to drink this orange flavored sugary drink really fast, and then wait an hour before they checked my blood sugar level. After not eating all day, the sudden rush of nothing but sugar gave me a horrible headache and made me pretty jittery. Unfortunately, the results from the test came back abnormal, so I have to schedule another test this week. This time, I have to fast for 12 hours, drink even more of the orange flavored sugary stuff, and wait for 3 hours, while the lab tech draws blood every hour! I'm really not looking forward to that! Those of you who know me, know that I don't handle not eating very well! The results of this test will let us know if I have developed gestational diabetes, and I'm really hoping that everything comes back normal!

On Thanksgiving Day, we left for our two week vaction in Florida. It took two flights to get there, the first one being almost 8 hours long! Let me just tell you, being pregnant on a plane for 8 hours, overnight, is miserable. My hips hurt, my back hurt, I couldn't sleep, and so on. At least the restrooms on that plane were gigantic, so I could stretch out a little every now and then. After such a long night, I was completely exhausted by the time we arrived. Our vacation was great- it felt so good to be around our family and friends again for the first time in almost a year!

The first Saturday we were in town, I was surprised with a baby shower! It was at Mum's house (Matt's grandmother), and I had been told we were going there for Thanksgiving dinner, that the family had waited until we were in town so we could all celebrate the holiday together. As we were walking through the front door, Matt whispered in my ear "yes, I knew all along" which got me very confused, but only for a few seconds. That's when I saw the pink 'Baby Shower' banners and decorations and a cake and pile of gifts! Matt then left with the rest of the guys and the girls and I had a great time! Aside from a bunch of awesome, small-in-size gifts, we were given mostly giftcards since space in our luggage was very limited. I was so thankful that we didn't have to worry about how to get everything home!! And I'm super excited about the shopping spree I get to have! So a HUGE thank you to everyone who attended the shower or sent gifts, you guys are the best! An even bigger thank you to Kathi and Sarah, who pulled the whole thing together, and managed to keep me completely clueless about it!!

While we were there, I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Jere, a chiropractor who has been the family doctor for Matt's family since he was just a little boy. After meeting him, I can definitely see why Matt's family has been going back to him for so long! He's such a great guy, and really knows about how the body works and how to keep healthy! I had my first adjustment ever, and I was truly amazed by how much better my back and hips felt after just one visit! I even commented to Matt at one point after shopping all day the next day that my back and hips weren't aching at all, when normally they would have been! We were able to go see Dr. Jere 3 times total over our vacation, and he really taught me a lot! He even gave us a gift on our last visit- a book called Disease-Proof Your Child- as a going away/baby gift! It's a great book about childhood nutrition and it's effects on short-term and long-term health. I only wish we were closer so that we could continue to see him! Thank you, Mum, for setting up our visits! You're the best, and we love you!

The rest of our vacation was pretty busy, I think we met up with a different friend or family member for every lunch or dinner over the entire two weeks! We loved being able to spend time with everyone! We miss you all already and can't wait to see you again, whether that's the next time we're in Florida, or if you make it out to Hawaii!

We decided to share our baby girl's name while we were home, even though we are still deciding on a middle name! I was really excited to be able to share it with everyone in person! Anyway, for those of you we didn't get a chance to see, her name will be Juliet. For a middle name, we're deciding between Marie, Rose, and Coral. We'll let you know once we decide!

While we were in town, we had a 4D ultrasound done, and got to see our daughter's sweet face! The first time we went in, she was being very camera shy, and refused to show us her face, but they let us come back for another try! I'm so glad they did, because at the second ultrasound she was so active and playful, and we got some great looks at her! Now that I have an idea of what she looks like, I'm even more anxious to have her in my arms!! And in case you were wondering, it was confirmed again that we are, in fact, having a baby girl! Some of our favorite pictures are below:

I know that there was a lot more I wanted to write about, but this post is already pretty long, and I can't seem remember everything! I guess that's what happens when a whole month goes by between posts, and there's the pregnancy 'forgetfulness' on top of it! I'll update soon, after the next glucose test and appointment with the midwife!

We love and miss you all, thanks for reading!!

As the second trimester comes to an end...

We're now 26 weeks pregnant! That means only 2 weeks until the third trimester, and 14 weeks until our little girl's due date! The countdown on the right is actually under 100 days to go!! It seems so strange that in such a short amount of time, I'll be kissing her chubby cheeks!

I'm so happy the last week is over, it was not much fun for me or Matt. We took turns passing some sort of chest/head cold back and forth to eachother. Poor Matt definitely got the worst of it, too. I have always heard that being pregnant makes a woman more susceptible to illnesses. Take that, along with the fact that there aren't any cold medications that are safe to use (or that I feel comfortable using) during pregnancy, and you would think that I would have had a much harder time with it. Fortunately, I only had a cough for a couple of days and a yucky headache! I must really have an awesome immune system! I think the baby felt a little under the weather when I was at my worst, too. She was so calm, she hardly kicked at all. Once I got feeling better, she was back to her usual super high level of activity!

Speaking of her amazing activity level, she hasn't stopped her crazy kicks one little bit. I can tell she's running out of room in my belly pretty quickly too, because now I can feel every little squirm or stretch on top of the kicks! She actually woke me up a few days ago pushing her little arms and legs up against my body pillow, and tickling my ribs so much I actually laughed! I didn't even change positions to try and get her to stop for a while, I just smiled and enjoyed her playing. It reminded me of my best friend's little girl, Addisyn. She'll be 2 years old in March, but I remember how every morning when she was a tiny little thing, she would wake up smiling and giggling, so excited to be awake and see her Mommy! Thinking about Addisyn made me so excited about playing with my little girl in the mornings! I can't imagine a sweeter way to start a day (Especially if I wont be able to sleep in again once she's here! Haha!).

I mentioned that I can feel her running out of room.. Well, along with that comes a lot of the uncomfortabilities of pregnancy I've heard so much about. I've begun to have that awful ache in my low back, pretty much all the time. Its been making it pretty difficult to get comfortable at night, and keeps me tossing and turning (and keeping Matt awake). My hips have also been aching when I stand for too long, and I've had problems with my sciatic nerve. Thanksfully, taking a bath before bed usually helps. It worries me a little that these symptoms are starting already- I've always heard that they came along with the third trimester. Hopefully they won't be too bad...


Matt and I took our tour of Labor and Delivery this afternoon. It was actually really exciting to see where I'll be giving birth, and where we'll stay before we bring her home! The delivery rooms are really, really nice! They're really big rooms, with the bed for me, a chair/pull-out bed for Matt, a bathroom with a jacuzzi tub, and so on. They are decorated really nicely, and designed to be a comfortable place to deliver. The rooms in the Mother/Baby unit are smaller, but have more comfortable beds, for the Mom's anyway- Matt's stuck with the pull-out. There is no nursery, so the baby will stay with me in the room the whole time we're in the hospital. I absolutely LOVE that! I don't know how I'd feel if they took her away.. They also showed us the room where they'll take her for blood work and all the routine newborn tests they perform, and when I saw that room, I had my first painfully overprotective moment.. I don't want them to take her and stick her or take her blood or make her cry (even though I'll be there with her, too). I was so sad thinking about that, but I know the tests are necessary. All in all, I'm really excited about it all, and I'm looking forward to the whole experience. I'm also very glad we chose to use the Midwife Service! The nurse giving the tour informed us that the patients under the care of the midwives are able to get up and walk around, use the bathtub or birthing ball, and even eat small snacks while in labor. Patients under regular OB/GYN care are mostly confined to their bed the whole time, with the fetal monitor strapped on. I really feel good knowing that I'll have many options available to help me be as comfortable as possible while I'm in labor, especially since I don't want to use an epidural.

And now for the most exciting part of this post!!!

My husband is the best. Really. My birthday is next Friday, but he surprised me with my birthday presents last night (He's going to be gone next week for work, and wanted me to have my presents before then). I'm actually writing this post on my brand new computer!! My computer died last week, leaving me incredibly frustrated (Those of you who know me well, know I don't handle that type of frustration well- especially when pregnancy hormones are added into the mix). So now I have a brand new Toshiba netbook that is perfect for everything I need (internet, bills, basic documents, etc)! I LOVE IT! He also put together an awesome baby bag full of things to pamper me while I'm in the hospital in February, and it all came in the diaper bag I wanted! There are so many fun things in there, several of them I would never have thought of myself! He took the time to research online, and ask friends and family for suggestions on things I'd need and things I'd want. He came up with:

Receiving blankets
An absolutely adorable outfit to bring the baby home in
Socks for the baby
Socks for me (one of the things I wouldn't have thought of)
A hooded towel for the baby (so cute!)
A book to read to the baby called Little Bear Hugs
A new Nicholas Sparks book for me
Diapers and wipes
Baby lotion
Mommy lotion
Travel size toiletries (all really nice brands, too!!)
A new toothbrush
A new razor and shave gel
Hair ties
Chapstick
Pads (the hospital kind aren't very nice we hear...)
Nursing pads
A watch to time my contractions
A yummy assortment of candy
My super neat diaper bag that I love!

We're still missing a few things like pj's for me, pillows, and whatnot, but I am so amazed at how thoughtful he was when he made the list and went shopping for me! He's such a good husband, and I can already tell that he's going to make an even better daddy (I've always known that about him, but things like this definitely prove it true!). This is definitely one HUGE thing off of my "Getting Ready for Baby" checklist!

Next on the list: Preparing the nursery! And I've finally realized exactly how I'm going to decorate it! I mentioned several posts ago that Matt had fallen in love with the blue sailboat theme (again- BOY!!) and was a little sad when he realized that we would not be decorating the nursery in blue, or in sailboats. I spent quite a bit of time over the next several weeks looking up different ideas and color schemes, and when I came across 'the one' I knew it instantly! We're going to have a nautical themed nursery, but instead of using blues and whites, we're using pale pink, yellow, and sand tones. It's not going to be a cheesy beach theme or anything, but instead a very light and airy 'Cape Cod' type thing. I've found a ton of awesome (and very affordable) ways to decorate using large seashells, sanddollars and so on. I'll be able to make the crib bedding and curtains very easily, and I'll make storage boxes and shelves and give them an awesome sanded-down (no sharp edges or splinters!!), worn look after painting them pale pink and yellow. We can use one of those really fun toy nets that we had when we were kids, made out of something that looks like a fishing net. And we'll have lighthouses and, yes, even sailboats. Matt and I are even talking about building a model sailboat for her! I am SO excited about it, I can't wait to get started! I can even use a bunch of the leftover decorations from our wedding!!

Our vacation is coming up very quickly, we'll be in Florida in TWO WEEKS!! I can't begin to describe how much I'm looking forward to seeing all of our family and friends! I'm trying to get some sort of a rough schedule made up so that we can make sure to see everyone and do everything we want while we're there, or at the very least, make a list. I have been calling a few places for ultrasound prices, and now just need to pick a date for it. It's something I REALLY want to do while we're there! I'm so excited to see her little face!

Once we get home from our trip, I'll probably start working on the nursery a lot more, and hopefully packing up our house to move! We've been on the waiting list for a house on the other side of the island where Matt works since July!! He has to commute 20 miles each way, and if he's driving during rush hour, that can take over an hour and a half sometimes! That's just too much when he's already working crazy 4pm to 4am shifts! Plus, I'll be done working as of November 19th (YAY!!) so we won't have to worry about me having to commute instead of Matt. Anyway, after several months of waiting for a new house, we're finally down to number 30 of 200ish on the waitlist, and the number goes down by 5 or 10 every week or so. I have this nagging feeling that they're going to call us about a house when we're in Florida, but hopefully they'll wait until we get home! I plan to go in and talk to them about our trip before we leave anyway.

So a lot of exciting things are coming up- our vacation, a new house (hopefully), preparing for the baby girl, the holidays, Matt's birthday, and on and on... I think this is a good time to be starting the third trimester (which most moms say goes by really slowly) with so many things to look forward to. I think it will help keep me busy and make time go by faster!

Now that I've rambled on and on for this long, I'm going to go make a batch of pumpkin muffins!

Thanks for reading! See you guys soon!!

Being Pregnant is Fun!!

Well, here we are, 24 weeks and 4 days! The past couple of weeks have been super busy and have gone by so fast!

Our 24 week appointment was this past Monday, and our little girl is doing great! Based on the size of my belly, she's growing right on target for how far along we are. Her little heartbeat is very strong, beating at 156bpm, which is pretty consistent with the past few visits. I love being able to hear her heartbeat! I'm tempted to buy one of those at-home fetal heart monitors just so I can listen to it at home too, but I haven't found any that were affordable and had very good reviews. So I suppose we'll save the listening for the doctor's office! Our next appointment is on the 24th of this month, right before our vacation. I'll have my glucose test that week, so it'll be a long appointment, but hopefully everything will be fine.

As for me, I've been feeling great lately! I've had lots of energy and a huge appetite to go along with it! I've started to out-eat Matt, and yet the only place I seem to be growing is in my belly. Matt actually called me 'Budda' today as he rubbed my belly! But don't worry, I'm not complaining, I've actually grown quite fond of my pregnant self. I've added the latest pictures of the 'belly bump' at the bottom of the post. :)

Matt and I were able to get into the sailing class I mentioned last post, and it was a blast! The course was over two weekends, and we just finished on Sunday. We're now certified to take out the boats whenever we want and sail around Pearl Harbor! So the next time we have visitors, we'll be able to take you out for a day of sailing- fun!

We also got a great deal on our plane tickets to Florida! We'll be in town from November 26 through December 11! I'm so excited to see everyone! I've been wanting to have a 3D/4D ultrasound done while I'm in town so we can bring the family to see the baby before we head back home. I know there is a place in Oldsmar that has a theater room so a bunch of people can be in the room with us when they do the ultrasound, so maybe we'll arrange something like that! I would love for everyone to be able to go! I've heard that around 30 weeks is the best time for them because the baby's face looks about the same as it will when she's born, and there is still enough room to get in and see her. I am so excited to see what she'll look like!

I've been playing around with the Babies R Us registry, and although it still has a long way to go, it's coming along pretty nicely. There are a few things I haven't added yet, only because I'm clueless to which type I should get. Especially bottles. There are about 5,000 different types of bottles, each claiming to be the best for your baby, and I have no idea which ones really are best. I've tried reading reviews, and it seems like there are people who both love AND hate every type for various different reasons. So frustrating. There should just be one kind, so that a new mom, who has no experience raising a baby, can say 'I need bottles, blankets, diapers, etc' without having to do Master's level research to figure out which specific brand, model, and so on. Anyway, that's my rant for the day.

After trying, and failing, to find a nursery bedding set that I really loved, I've decided that I'm going to make my own. I've got a bunch of ideas in mind, along with the color scheme, and I'm planning to make the bedding (bumper, dust ruffle, etc.) curtains, and cushions for my rocking chair by myself. I'll need to buy a sewing machine, but even with that and the cost of the materials, I'd still be breaking even, if not saving money on buying a set already made. And I'll like it better, and have the sewing machine for future projects. I'm pretty excited about it, and I think the nursery is going to look great!

Today has been a great day! It was a cold rainy morning, and I slept in, and then made myself waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, which I brought back upstairs and ate in bed. Once I got up and got moving, I went to the fabric store to look at some of my options for the nursery, and then to Babies R Us to wander around and kill some time. After a quick lunch, I went to the Salon/Spa and had an absolutely wonderful hour long prenatal massage (Thanks, Matt!!), and then got a haircut. Now, I'm about to cook one of my favorite dinners and relax for the night.

I hope you all are doing great! Thanks for reading, and we'll see you soon!

It's been a while since I've posted, so I thought I'd update everyone on how things are going lately! I'm finally starting to have a lot of fun being pregnant (for the most part anyway) and Matt and I have been enjoying some of the newer pregnancy symptoms and experiences we've had the past couple of weeks.

We're 22 weeks and 2 days into the pregnancy now, and it seems like time is just flying by! Our little girl is growing so fast, and she gets stronger every day! She is so active, and I've noticed that she has started reacting to loud noises, which is really neat! Matt and I went to the movies today, and during every loud scene, she started kicking away. The same thing happened when I had the hand mixer going while making mashed potatoes tonight! It's so exciting to know that she's listening to us in there! Speaking of listening, Matt talks to her almost every day, which I absolutely love! Most of the time he's telling her jokes about how silly or crazy her mommy is, but I don't mind, I love that he talks to her. She'll recognize Daddy's voice as soon as she's born! Her kicks have also gotten strong enough to bounce the TV remote off my belly! It's so much fun! I'm not sure if it's in my head or not, but I feel like she knows when I'm thinking or talking about her too! Without fail, every time I think to myself "Hm, I haven't felt the baby kick in a little while" she will start wiggling or kicking within a minute or two. It may just be that my body feels her starting to wake up before she really gets going, which makes me think about the last time she was moving around, but I like to think that she's letting me know she's in there and doing well!

I seem to have gotten past a lot of my older symptoms (thankfully) and developed a few new ones in their place over the last couple of weeks. At my last appointment, the midwife told me that most of my problems (rapid heart rate while resting, shortness of breath, dizziness, etc) were most likely due to mild dehydration. Nothing that would require IV fluids or anything, just not getting quite enough water (she says 3 liters a day). I had also been pretty bad about taking my iron pills every day. So since then, Matt has been making sure I always have water with me to drink, and he reminds me every day to take my vitamin and iron pill. I honestly don't know if I've ever been well hydrated. Ever. I am amazed at how much better I've felt since we started really paying attention to this. I'm not sick when I wake up, unless I wait a really long time to eat breakfast, I very rarely get worn out anymore, and my headaches and dizziness are gone for the most part. This is such great news, because it means that Matt and I can make plans to go out on the weekends without worrying if I'm going to be alright that day or not.
In place of the headaches, dizziness, rapid heart rate, and so on, are a few new symptoms that I think are a little more fun. I've had some pretty nasty heartburn every now and then, but that's really the only negative thing right now. My belly is growing by the minute, and my poor belly button is so stretched and on the verge of popping any second. Matt seems to really like my new belly button, he plays with it all the time! I don't think I even remember what it used to look like, but hopefully it'll go back soon after the baby is born, because I think it looks pretty funny right now. Along with the growing belly comes tight skin, which at times feels like its just going to rip. Matt's been really helpful with that, too, though and rubs cocoa butter and lotion on me every night so that it doesn't feel so stretched. My favorite of these new pregnancy symptoms is hiccuping! I have hiccups all day, every day. They're not normal hiccups though, the kind that come regularly for a little while and then go away. Oh no, mine are completely random, only one or two little hiccups at a time, and they always make this awful squawking noise. Matt has said that I sound like a baby dinosaur, or like a raptor giving his mating call. I think I like the baby dinosaur better.. Anyway, this happens every day, and it always gives us a good laugh!

Aside from laughing at the funny noises I make, Matt and I have been having a lot of fun out here lately! Last weekend we went to Waimea Valley and walked about a mile in to a beautiful waterfall and had a picnic lunch there before walking back out. It was such a pretty day, and it felt great to get out and get a little exercise and fresh air! We couldn't swim that day because the waterfall was too strong, and the lifeguards were worried it would be too dangerous, but hopefully soon we'll be able to go back and swim at the base of the waterfall. The pool at the bottom of it is so cold and clear, it feels great to go for a swim after a walk in the sun! We'll be sure to bring our camera when we go! We're also going to start sailing soon! I'm so excited, I've never been sailing, and from what Matt tells me, I know I'll love it! We've found a place in Pearl Harbor that offers FREE sailing lessons for military!! Next weekend we're going to try to start the classes, so long as they have room for a couple of walk-ins. The classes last two weekends, for 4 hours on Saturday and Sunday. I am so excited that we found sailing lessons, especially for free!

Thanks to my amazing husband, I now have a new wardrobe of maternity clothes! I'm really excited about it, because I was really starting to have issues with my clothes no longer fitting me! This morning after my shower, I think I tore my entire closet and dresser apart trying to find something that looked decent and was still comfortable to wear. Of course, I've got about 2 pairs of jeans that I can still wear, and only if I use a hairtie to keep the button closed, and even then, they're not very comfortable. To top it off, most of my shirts were tight fitting before I got pregnant. If I can still manage to get them on now, they are so tight that they constantly ride up my belly and drive me crazy! After about half an hour of trying to figure out what to wear today, Matt came upstairs to find me curled up in the bed, in the middle of one of my meltdowns. I was so frustrated I just gave up on finding clothes and started crying. My poor husband is so sweet, he crawled into bed with me and asked what he could do. "Fix it." That was all I could think to say. So we managed to find me an outfit, and he said I looked great in it. I'm not sure I believed him, but I love how supportive and understanding he can be when I get into one of my moods. Once we left the house, I cheered up a bit, and we had a good time running a few errands, stopping by the marina, and grabbing lunch. Afterwards, we stopped by the Motherhood Outlet to see if I could find any good deals. A plain white t-shirt, marked down 50%, and still costing $36 is not my idea of a good deal. As I began to feel frustrated all over again, Matt pulled out his phone and checked craigslist for used maternitly clothes. He found several new moms selling their maternity clothes, and after making a few stops, I had an entire new wardrobe. $60 later, I have 3 dresses, 2 pairs of jeans, 3 pairs of shorts, several pairs of capris, and about 15 super cute tank tops and shirts! And we met a really sweet couple who has a 6 week old baby girl and gave us tons of 'new parent' advice and stories! I'm so thankful to have a husband who understands my crazy moods and meltdowns, and will do anything he can to make things better! He really is the best!

Also, I think we've almost decided on our baby girl's name! We're not sharing until we're 100% sure though!

A while back, I think I mentioned that we were planning to visit Florida early in December sometime. Now it looks like we'll be arriving in Tampa on Thanksgiving, and staying until December 10th or so. I was really surprised, but I found that plane tickets are significantly cheaper if we fly on Thanksgiving! Plus, I'll be hitting my third trimester on Black Friday (I'm telling you, time is flying by!!), and I don't want to be travelling too much later than we already will be. So as long as Matt's leave is approved for those days, you can expect to see us before the end of November! I'm really excited, it's been such a long time since we've seen most of our family and friends, and we miss you guys so much! I can't wait!

Anywho, it is now way my bedtime, and the baby is starting to kick saying she's sleepy too, so I will have to say goodnight! Thanks for reading, we love you all!

"Wild Thing"

Today we had our 20 week ultrasound at Tripler, and it was great! Our little girl (confirmed again!) is already weighing in at 11oz! It feels like we were just measuring her weight in grams, not ounces! Before long, it'll be pounds! This ultrasound lasted about an hour, and they checked everything! The tech took all of her measurements, counted all of her fingers and toes (and the number of bones in each finger and toe!), checked all of her organs and major arteries, looked at all the different parts of her brain, made sure there is no cleft lip, and so on! I was amazed at what we could see! And our little girl is just perfect! Everything is right where it should be, and just the right size!

We had fun with her during the ultrasound, she was so active and moved around so much! We could see her stretching and rolling and kicking all over the place. And she had such a little attitude! She would roll over and stick her butt out at us, and of course she showed us her middle finger! The tech called her many things during the ultrasound like "fetus with attitude," "wild thing," and so on! She always seemed to be hiding the parts that the tech wanted to look at, and instead showing her a different part. When we were checking her heart, the baby decided to show her spine. She's taking charge already! Hopefully not a sign of what's to come!

My favorite part of the ultrasound was looking at her feet- I love her little feet and toes! As soon as the tech saw her feet, she asked us "Ok, which one of you has the long second toe?" Of course, they belong to me. She has my toes already! I can't believe that we can already tell which one of us she gets her features from (or at least, that particular feature).

After the ultrasound, I had a checkup with the midwife, and everything was good there, too! My belly is measuring perfectly and the baby's heart sounds great! We could even hear her kicking me!

So everything is great, the baby is doing great, and I'm feeling good most of the time! Hopefully we'll be moving soon, and I'll be able to start working on the nursery!