California, Baby Shower, 31 weeks!

Time for an update! We went to California a couple weeks ago to see my family before I pop and have a baby shower!

We broke up the 12 hour drive by leaving a night early and staying in Jackpot on our way down, then had a little 'Babymoon' in Reno on our way back! We got a nice hotel room, a good dinner, and then won a bit of money in the casino, ha. Sterling doubled his money in Blackjack and I won $28 on a penny slot. It was fun and breaking up the drive a bit made it a lot easier.

Seeing my family and friends was great! They spoiled us and Brynleigh, we got a ton of cute stuff at the shower. Bryn's room is a work in progress at the moment. Her crib is all set up, and I'm ordering a changing table and glider/ottoman set from Target later this week. Right now, the floor is covered in clothes and baby shower presents and is a complete mess. But I bought a bookcase yesterday that I'm going to get some cute storage baskets to go into, then I can start organizing! There's just really no place to put anything at the moment since we use the closet in her room for storage for other things. I'm excited to get it all together in there and looking cute!

Anyway, I'm getting huge and ready to have this baby. I'm a little over 31 weeks now! Brynleigh has been moving SO MUCH this last week. It's getting pretty uncomfortable. She's so strong! Last night she was literally going crazy in there and bouncing off the walls! Sterling couldn't believe how much she was moving. She always kicks him in the middle of the night too now when he's spooning me and has his arm over my stomach. She's getting to be a crazy little girl!

She's been perfectly fine and healthy, so we're very happy! We're SO anxious to meet her though. I'm convinced she's going to come early. Hopefully not too early, but a week or two is okay :)  Actually, a week early would be Christmas and I don't want her to have a Christmas birthday. I suppose she will come when she's ready though! We're just in the waiting game for now. 

My camera was dropped and broken in Reno (it was three and a half years old, so that's okay), so I don't really have any great pictures of the bump right now. I'll hopefully have a new one soon though! For now I'll post a few pictures from California, plus a fabulous cell phone picture from a few days ago.

Us with our presents :)

My family :)

Two of my favorite ladies :)  PS: Corina totally came all the way down from Moscow and surprised me!

Aw, Sunnymarie.

Tender moment with my sister haha

Awful mirror picture at 31 weeks. Please ignore my messy bathroom counter :)

28.5 weeks

Time for a little update! Well, I'll be 29 weeks on Monday. Everything is going great, though we did have a bit of a scare earlier this week.

Last week, Brynleigh's movements slowed down, then on Monday I went in for my glucose test. I hadn't felt Bryn move all morning yet, which had me a little worried. So then I drank the bottle of gross syrup-y sugar water, and the nurse told me that usually babies start bouncing off the walls and moving like crazy after the mom drinks that stuff, since it's pure sugar. So this had me pretty worried. I called my doctor's office once I got done with the test, but my doctor and his nurse were both out of town. I told the lady at the desk my concerns, so she said if I was really worried then I could go get checked out at the Labor & Delivery unit at the hospital.

After some crying phone calls to my parents and Sterling, they all convinced me to just go to the hospital to make sure everything was okay. So I went and they monitored me for a little bit, and everything seemed to be fine and she started moving. Then suddenly her heart rate dropped really low for a minute. They called in the on-call doctor who ordered a biophysical ultrasound so we could check the amniotic fluid levels and everything. The ultrasound came back perfectly normal and baby Brynleigh looked just fine, so after monitoring me for a little longer, making sure her heart rate stayed stable, they released me. I went to my normal doctor on Wednesday so he could check me out again, and everything was perfect. They're thinking her heart rate dropping is nothing to worry about, she must have just gotten caught in her umbilical cord for a minute or something. So I was a very relieved momma! And she has been kicking up a storm since this incident on Monday, so I am very happy. Little Girl was just being stubborn there for a bit :)

Anyway, everything else is going great. I've had some trouble sleeping, and I get some nasty back pains pretty much everyday now, but it's all manageable. I really can't complain too much. Oh, I have been getting nauseous sometimes lately. That's really not fun. For some reason, breakfast seems to cause it the most. I don't know if my stomach is just getting squished by Baby or what, but it's not too much fun. But it's not too horrible. I'm getting so huge though! Still not sure where she's gonna go for the next 11+ weeks! I am going to be SO big. Still no stretch marks though! Thank you good genetics and/or Palmers :)

I'm pretty much completely out of any of my pre-pregnancy clothes now. My shirts look funny or aren't long enough, and well, I've been out of my jeans for a good month now. So I did some good maternity shopping the other day. I found an amazing pair of jeans that I love. They're super comfy and are actually slim-fitting, which is nearly impossible to find in maternity jeans! Everything usually is like a tent in the butt and thighs. And I bought a few new shirts to get me through for awhile. 

We're headed to California this Thursday! Hopefully the drive will go smoothly and Brynleigh and I won't have any issues. And next Saturday is my baby shower! I'm excited.

That's about it for now! I'll leave with a bump picture from today :)

Finally!

Alright alright, I haven't blogged in over a month. Oops. I decided a month or two ago to blog less (I'll go into that in another post), but not quite this infrequently! So anyway, here is a long overdue update.

I'm a little over 26 weeks along now! And I'm getting biiiiig. Here are my 25 & 26 week pictures:

I

I really don't know where this little girl is gonna go for the next 14 weeks! I'm going to be toppling over forward! I actually called my dad sobbing a few weeks ago because I was so big and in pain and my clothes didn't fit and I had no idea how I was going to last until the end of December. It was a bit of a pregnancy breakdown, haha.

Anyway, I've gained 12 pounds (though it feels like much, much more) and none of those pounds have seemed to find their way to my chest yet. Sheesh. My arms are getting a little extra padding though, how nice. Oh, and I have no butt anymore. My stomach has sucked it forward or something. I'm happy to say that I still have zero stretch marks though!! That's a perk for this crazy pregnant body.

Brynleigh moves around SO much! She actually got her first nickname last week--Trout. The best way to describe how her movements feel is like there's a fish flopping around in my stomach. She seriously kicks and punches and tumbles and flops all the time. And she found my ribs, which she likes to kick and rub against while I'm sitting in class. But she's fun! I feel like she's developing a little personality already :)

I feel pretty good most of the time, but I have been getting a lot of aches and pains lately. My hips and lower stomach and lower back kill me sometimes, especially when I'm on my feet for more than 15 minutes or so! I don't know how any pregnant women exercise! I can't even make a trip around Winco without being in excruciating pain by the time I get back to the car.

We're trying to plan a quick trip to California in the next few weeks so I can have a baby shower and see all my family. We were planning on going in the beginning of November (once Sterling is done with spud harvest), but my doctor says that's too late in my pregnancy (it'd be 32 weeks) and he'd be worried about blood clots and hypertension on the long road trip. SO we're frantically trying to move it up a couple of weeks, but we're not sure if Sterling can take off time that early since they might still be in harvest, which they need him for. So I'm just crossing my fingers that we can work something out here soon. I'm really excited to go to get some good sushi and go to Apple Hill when we get there. I am badly craving both and can't wait to get there! The whole 12 hour drive thing isn't so exciting though.

Anyway, everything is going pretty well for the most part. It's been pretty tough lately because Sterling is working a TON. He's been having to leave by 4am and doesn't get home until between 8 and 10 at night, and then he has to go to sleep immediately so he can get up and start it all over again. So he's kind of a stranger around here lately and I've been having a hard time with that. BUT I just have to get through a few more weeks and it'll get a lot better.

My mom flew up last week for a visit, which was wonderful :)  She kept me company and we did lots of shopping and fun stuff. Brynleigh got a little spoiled by her Gramie! And my mom bought me my first pair of maternity jeans. I was not digging them but she convinced me. And I'm glad she did because they are SO much comfier than trying to squeeze into my pre-pregnancy jeans everyday! Now I just need another pair.

My momma and I :)

I think that's about it for now. I'll try to update a little more frequently!

Quick rant

Three random people have recently told me I don't look pregnant. Do they really think my stomach just looks this disproportionately huge normally?!

One of those people was a doctor. Yup. He thought I already had the baby 5 months ago, not that I was 5 months pregnant. This baby needs to pop out another foot or two apparently so that I can look like a real pregnant woman.

One more pregnancy rant:

I've read SO many blogs/forums about women who say their boobs started getting huge at, like, 8 weeks. Um, so when exactly is that going to kick in for me?? If people are going to think I'm just fat, I might as well have the chest to go along with it.


That's all for now :)  In all honestly, the pregnancy is going great. Just a few minor, likely hormone-induced rants!

PS: where did my bottom lip go in that picture?

20 weeks and a GIRL!

Time for a quick, much overdue update. We found out last week that baby is a girl!!! We've named her Brynleigh Grace. Here's a picture of her cute little face:

 

I'm in love with her little nose. I just think she's the cutest thing ever :)

Today I'm 20 weeks! Can't believe I'm halfway through. It's gone by so slow and fast at the same time! Here's a picture from today:

Anyway, everything is going great with Baby Brynleigh. I saw a specialist last week for my bladder and kidney issues. I'm on daily antibiotics for the next 8 weeks, along with a bunch of supplements, and then we'll see if I need to stay on them for the rest of my pregnancy. I've started feeling sick again the last few days, and I'm hoping that it's not related to the meds. Let's just hope it passes soon!

And, as promised, here are a couple of pictures from when Sterling and I went to the temple a few weeks ago:

 

Isn't he so stinkin' cute? And I get him for eternity :)


Anyway, that's all for now!

The Big City

Finally, a post on my recent adventure to Los Angeles!

So I flew down there for a long weekend July 26-29. My sister moved down there (from Sacramento) last fall, I hadn't seen her since Christmas, and I hadn't visited her in LA yet, SO it was time for a visit! Here are a few pictures recapping the trip.

Somewhere in Hollywood. The Hollywood sign is in the background if you look hard! Fun Fact: A human head was recently found up at the sign. Eeek! Another Fun Fact: The Boulevard of Stars actually isn't very exciting at all. The majority of the stars are people you've never heard of, and they're in front of sketchy porn stores. They sure don't show that on The Hills!

Getting my sushi fix my first day in LA.

The Santa Monica beach! Yeah, I got burned.

Me & Sheet in her apartment. PS: Sheet=Tara=My sister. It's a weird mutual nickname we've had for years.

Us & Matthew (Sheet's boyfriend)

At In-N-Out. You know, eating.

Sunny drove down from Santa Maria and visited us for the day!

So as you can probably guess, our main events on my trip involved food. We eat a lot. And we drove around a bunch. I saw a lot of the city. And it was confirmed that I'm not a city-person at all. I don't know how people live there! It was fun to visit for a few days, but my beloved Idaho felt really nice to be back in :)  Though I do miss being near the ocean, that's one of California's perks.

Anyway, I loved seeing my sister and eating yummy things that Idaho is lacking. And it was also nice getting my first tan/burn of the year finally.

18 weeks and a mystery baby.

Here's the 18 week picture. Getting pretty big! We had an appointment with my doctor today and we were supposed to find out the sex of the baby. Buuuut, little baby was too busy moving around and not showing us its little parts, so we couldn't find out. The doctor says his guess is a girl, but that he really doesn't know. It was the most disappointing thing. I was to just know finally!!!! My next appointment isn't for 4 more weeks. Ughhhhh.

I'm thinking I want to switch OBs. The one I have is really nice and good and everything, but he just seems too rushed and not really involved on an individual basis. Plus his cell phone kept ringing during my ultrasound today, and he didn't even silence it. Just let it ring and keep going off. Then he rushed out of the room without even asking me if I had any questions for him, which I did. SO I called another office in IF that is supposed to be great, and I have an appointment with them on Monday. I'm really nervous about this whole switching thing though. I have to have my records faxed from my current doctor to the new one by Monday, and I'm afraid that if I don't like the new guy and want to go back to my original doctor, I don't want my doctor to be mad that I've been trying to find someone new! So I don't know, I have a few days to think it over still.

Anyway, everything is going well. I've gained a pound finally, haha. I've been feeling really good and have more energy. And I want to eat everything!

That's about all for the update. I still need to do a post about my LA trip! I promise I will get to that soon.

Mean people.

Before I got pregnant, Sterling and I always joked about how crazy I would be once I was pregnant, since I'm a pretty sensitive person already. So far, I haven't had any pregnancy emotions at all really. I've stayed pretty steady. No crazy hormones and mood swings. It's really surprised me. I was just thinking about it this morning, actually.

Then I ran home crying because my mean neighbor lady yelled at me.

I was asked to post fliers for a Relief Society night event on the doors in our apartment complex. I got a list of the women who are on our ward records, so it wasn't like I was just posting church stuff on everyone's door. I was only giving it to women who are part of our church (or were at one point then didn't bother to remove their records).

So I tape the little flier on this one door then walk down the stairs to my mailbox. I turn around and this lady is running after me, waving the paper at me and yelling that she is 'sick of getting this crap on her door'. I apologize and tell her I was just assigned to do this, and she yells at me some more. I walked back to our apartment as quickly as I could, then started bawling as soon as I walked in the door.

I know I'm naturally sensitive and all, but I really hope that this isn't something my non-pregnant self would cry about. So I'm labeling it as my first hormonal experience.

And now I'm terrified to go get my mail ever again because it's right in front of her apartment.

To make myself feel better, I'm going to keep reminding myself that she's one of those annoying parents that lets her toddlers play alone in the street and leave their toys all over the place while she's busy watching Oprah inside. So there.

17 weeks.

 

Here's the 17 week bump picture. Please ignore my gooberish face. I'd also like to add that this is an official maternity shirt. Monday morning I almost cried while getting dressed because none of my normal shirts looked good on me, so I went shopping :)

Anyway, I don't really feel like doing the usual preggo survey this week, so I'll just summarize it. 

I've been feeling pretty good. I still battle fatigue most days, but rarely nausea anymore. My appetite is mostly back, so like I said in my last post, I'm just about back up to my pre-pregnancy weight. I don't know if I've had any real specific cravings lately, just food in general. Yesterday I wanted chocolate for the first time in this pregnancy, so I now have mini Snickers in my freezer (don't tell Sterling ;)  I've started feeling the baby flutter around a bit, but it's still hard to tell sometimes what's truly the baby and what is just digestion, haha. 

There's this lady in Grace (a mom of Sterling's good friend actually) who can supposedly tell the sex of your baby by looking at the veins in your eyes. She has a pretty good success rate too, I guess. So we saw her last weekend and she checked me out. She had a hard time telling on me, because of something like the vein was longer than it should be in accordance to how far along I am? But she said her guess is a girl, though she's not positive. So maybe Baby Stoddard isn't a little boy after all. We will just have to wait and see for sure next Wednesday :)

And now I'm going to go back to bed, because having woken up at 6:30am just isn't working for me today. 

PS: The background of this post is being weird. Ignore that, too.

I'm Back!

I've been MIA for almost two weeks now, yikes! It's been crazy busy and fun.

Last week, my parents drove up from California and stayed with us for a few days. I haven't seen them since Christmas, so it was really nice! We didn't do anything incredibly exciting, I just showed them all around up here. We went to Winco for their first time, and it was the funniest thing. They were so amazed by how cheap everything was!









They left Friday morning, then Sterling and I headed down to Logan, Utah to go to the temple for our first time! It was very exciting and nervewracking and wonderful all at once. I don't think it was exactly what either of us were expecting, but we really enjoyed going. And we got to be sealed for eternity, so that was very special :)  We didn't take any pictures on our camera, but other people did so we will have pictures to show soon!

We stayed Friday night in Grace, then on Saturday we drove up to Ririe to go to the Gee (Sterling's mom's side) family reunion. Since we were driving up from Utah, we took the back way and went through Wyoming for my first time! I want to live there, I loved it. Anyway, the reunion was fun. We bought some yummy fresh honey and Walla Walla onions from the auction they do.

Sunday, we were back home in Shelley and Sterling and I both had to speak in Sacrament Meeting in church. It had been such a busy week that we didn't have time to write our talks until Sunday morning even! So that was pretty stressful. But our talks both went well! Then we had to teach our Primary class for the first time! It was fun and hectic. We teach the five year olds. We had 4 boys and 1 girl. They were all so cute and fun, but boy do they have a lot of energy! It was so hard to get them to sit still and listen to the lesson. But it was really fun and I'm excited to teach them every week.

So now that the crazy week is over, I have three calm days then I leave for Los Angeles on Thursday! Haha, things don't slow down for very long lately. So I'll be gone from Thursday until Sunday visiting my sister down there. I'm excited to play with her in the city and eat real sushi  and lots of good food :)  I'm officially eating like a pregnant woman. My appetite is back finally and I'm almost back up to my pre-pregnancy weight. Now I'm just worried about packing on too many pounds! But anyway, so Sterling will be a bachelor for a few days while I'm gone. I'm a little worried since he doesn't seem to do well without me, haha. I went grocery shopping yesterday and stocked up on easy food like hot pockets, apples, and frozen pizza. I'm worried that he won't actually eat those things though and will just live off of popsicles and Diet Coke for 4 days. Goodness :)

And then after I get back from LA, we find out if Baby Stoddard is a boy or girl! Yup, August 1st is THE DAY. We're super excited.

Well, hopefully tonight we will take the 17 week bump picture and I'll do a little pregnancy update tonight or tomorrow.