30 weeks!

All I can say is Wow! I still can't believe that I have reached 30 weeks. It still seems like just yesterday that I was crossing my fingers and praying for a positive pregnancy test. Now I am 3/4 of the way done... the end is in sight!

I haven't posted any pictures in a while, so I decided I would play a little catch up. The nursery is still rather pitiful (more like a disaster zone), so I will wait to post pictures when we get it cleaned up a little bit.

Here is my 30 week belly (sorry for the pajamas, I am having a lazy day today!)

These are signs I had made for Kael's room. Jenni Silverman from A Beautiful Blessing made these for us, and I could not be happier with how they turned out! They are so special and make me tear up every time I look at them.

This is just a potion of Kael's clothes. We actually got these from another Coast Guard family. The bulk of them are newborn, 0-3 months, and 3-6 months. We have more clothes than we know what to do with!!

And for all my fellow Texans... a snow shot! This is our front yard. The mountain in the background is called "Old Woman" and that is what our awesome little coastie 4-plex looks like. I really hate our house, but I keep trying to make the best out of what we were given. But I have learned very quickly that I was not made for the snow! It is nice to visit and play in for a week or so, but living in it is a completely different story. It is way too much work!

So there you have it... my little photo update. Hope you enjoyed!

Now onto what has been going on with me:

1. I am fed up with my doctor! I am currently looking into switching doctor's offices. I STILL haven't received the results from my glucose test which was taken over a week ago, and after my last appointment I have just been very frustrated with the lack of time and information I am receiving.
   
2. I am sleeping so much better! I have actually ditched my maternity pillow too. It is just too big of a hassle when it comes to my tossing and turning. Not to mention, it takes up half the bed and Kevin really doesn't appreciate hanging on for dear life all night long. I'm not sure if it is just the fact that I am feeling more tired these days, but I am sleeping through the night for the most part (except for when I get up 1-2 times to go to the bathroom), and I am not tossing and turning very much either. I think the lack of tossing and turning has to do with the fact that it is so hard to roll over!
3. I am up 18 pounds- yuck!!
   
4. The nursery is slowly but surely coming together. We have ordered nearly every "big" item we need and within the next week or two, we should have it all. We got our dresser this past week, and are just waiting for the hutch that will attach to it. Kevin's mom is ordering the crib this week, and we already have the mattress. Our bedding should be arriving this week as well. Once the bedding arrives, we will pick our paint and get that on the walls next weekend! :)
   
5. I have started to have some major anxiety. I seem to worry about the same things over and over again. Labor, maternity leave, and money. I am really starting to freak out about having to get this little guy out!! I also wont get any pay while I'm on maternity leave (my vacation time was drained when we took our trip to Texas) so I continue to debate on if I will take 8 or 12 weeks off. And then of coarse- our finances. Getting by during my maternity leave without my pay, the $600 we will be paying for day care once I go back to work, all the added expenses of having a baby, and still trying to save for us and set up a college fund for him. I have read this is very common (to worry about money), but I hate feeling like this. It takes away from the fun of buying all the baby stuff,and replaces it with worry.
6. I am still having lots of braxton hicks contractions. I drink as much water as I possibly can, but still have them all day long. I'm ready for my next doctor's appointment so I can get some questions answered.
7. The birthing class we were supposed to take next weekend got canceled! boo... so now we wont be able to take our class until February 20th.
   
8. I was chosen to attend a conference in Anchorage the first weekend in February, and I can't wait to be able to eat some real food!! And not to mention I will finally be able to go to Target! It will be nice to pick out some last minute baby items in person, rather than online. AND I will get to get some maternity clothes. I need to find a few tops for our maternity pictures, and want to get some nursing tank tops and more bras that might actually fit!
9. I find myself more and more anxious for Kael to get here. I am constantly wondering what he will look like, what her personality will be like, how Kevin and I will be as parents, and on and on and on. More than anything I'm just ready to finally hold him in my arms!
10. Last but not least is just a little funny story. Kevin and I went to have Chinese food the other night (January 9th to be exact). Kevin's fortune stated, "Remember today's date. 3 months from today you will receive a nice surprise." Well.... 3 months from that date would be April 9th. My doctor's office still considers my due date March 30th, and wont induce until 10 days past due- which would be April 9th!! CRAZY!!! So Kevin is now convinced that Kael is going to be very late. I guess all we can do is wait and see!! :)
    

28 Weeks

Hey... better late than never, right?!?

So let's see. Where to begin? I guess the obvious and most exciting part about hitting 28 weeks is the fact that I am officially in my third trimester! Minus a few bumps in the road last week, I am feeling great. I still have a good amount of energy, and nesting is really starting to hit full force! I think more than anything, I am really starting to get that feeling. You know... the one where I am finally realizing that I am going to be a MOM! And what is even scarier is the fact that I know the next few weeks are going to fly by!

So here goes my attempt at a 28 week update on my symptoms and emotions.

1. I am starting to feel HUGE! I took a picture to compare to my 24 week pictures, and don't see much of a difference, but I know there is some definite growth.
2. My belly button has become a part of some strange alien! It has disappeared, and now is just flat with the rest of my belly. It has been doing this for a while, but now it is pretty much stretched to the max! If I push on the sides of it, it pops out- and it is not a pretty sight! It really grosses Kevin out, and the first time I saw it I screamed!
3. I still don't know my exact weight gain since my doctor's appointment isn't until tomorrow, but my guess is that I am up 15-16 pounds.
   
4. I am still having braxton hicks contractions throughout each day, but drinking tons of water really helps keep them further apart.
   
5. I have suddenly developed an obsession for pop-tarts... which are pretty much the most unhealthy food item on the face of this earth (but I can't stop eating them!)
6. I have my doctor's appointment and glucose screening tomorrow
7. I have become extremely emotional. I find that nearly anything will overwhelm me and set off the waterworks. I especially worry about how I will handle going back to work once he is born.
8. I have started doing my research on specific aspects of having a baby. The main three I have been focusing on are breastfeeding, making my own baby food, and using the book "Baby Wise" to develop a good schedule for him. I am still in the "research" phase of all 3, but I do know that I really want to put a large emphasis on these since I feel they will provide huge benefits for Kael.
9. Kevin and I have signed up for our birthing class, and it is January 23rd!! I can't believe it is already time to start thinking about this kind of stuff!!
10. I found out yesterday that the girls from work will be having a baby shower for me at the end of February. I am still in disbelief that they offered to do this for me. It just really means alot since we are so far away from family. It feels like I have a whole new support system that I had no idea existed before this week.

So there you have it... all the updates that I can think of at this point in time. I have my last "monthly" doctor's appointment tomorrow!! After tomorrow I will start going every 2 weeks! Ahhhhh... all of these "little" milestones make the end seem so close I can already smell that sweet baby aroma!

My New Best Friend

Why Hello 2011! I hope everyone had a wonderful New Years Eve and is enjoying 1-1-11! Last night was the first night in a week that I have actually slept... and it was all thanks to my new best friend (pictured bellow)!
Thankfully there is a small children's boutique in town, which also sells a few maternity items. I went in desperate for some relief and this was the one and only maternity pillow they had. I immediately purchased it, and ran home to try it out. My nap was unsuccessful and I began to second guess my purchase, but I gave it another shot last night. I figured out if I fold the top part that is supposed to go under my head over and use my own pillows, it works perfectly! It is really an amazing pillow because it is easy to squish and move around to make it work exactly how you want it to.

Overall, it was amazing! I actually slept in 4 hour intervals, only waking up to use the restroom twice! My belly didn't ache, my hips didn't hurt, and it didn't feel like the springs in my mattress were digging into my waist and legs. And the cherry on top of a good night's rest is the fact that I don't feel sick to my stomach today! Thankfully the feeling must have been due to a stomach bug and not third trimester morning sickness (which apparently is much more common than people let on...).

Which reminds me... I will be 28 weeks tomorrow, but I feel like celebrating it today. Mainly because I would love to bring in the new year with a new trimester- which so happens to be my last! I still can't believe how far I have come, and that in just a few short weeks I will be holding my baby in my arms and no longer in my belly.

But before I get all sentimental, I better wrap this up! I will post again tomorrow with my "real" 28 week post, so for now, I hope you have a very Happy New Year!

Rough Week...

Thank God it is Friday- and I'm OFF today!! What does everyone have planned for New Years Eve? Can you believe that we are about to say good bye to 2010, and ring in 2011? I must say, I am so anxious for 2011, and just know that it is going to be a GREAT year!

A few things I have to look forward to in 2011:

• The birth of my first child!!
  
• My mom, Bruce, and Lauren are coming to visit in April
• The in-laws are coming to visit in May
• :Fingers Crossed: Kevin and I will both be receiving promotions (or at least pay increases)
  
• We will hit the "one year" mark of living in Kodiak- which means only 2 more!
• Kevin and I will celebrate 3 years of marriage

Ok... I know none of that is SUPER exciting (minus the whole giving birth to my first child), but I have to find little milestones to look forward to. I've realized that if I can find a little something to look forward to every month of so, it seems to make time go by so quickly! And lets face it... I am ready for time to fly by! I'm so ready to meet this little guy, and to be done with pregnancy! And don't get me wrong... I have LOVED being pregnant, and have felt pretty fortunate about how easy it has been- with the key word being HAS. Which brings me to why I started this post...

This week has been a reoccurring nightmare! There has literally been something wrong every day! And all I can do is hope and pray that this is not what my entire third trimester is going to be like. This is how my week has gone thus far:

• Monday- Dizzy and light headed. It was bad enough that I actually went home from work. I also started having 1-2 braxton hicks contractions every hour. They aren't painful, but pretty uncomfortable
• Tuesday- Left work at 2 pm because my contractions had increased. By the time we got to the hospital I was having them every 7-10 minutes. They flushed me with fluids and monitored me and Kael for about 2 hours before letting us go home. They felt the cause was dehydration, so I have strict orders to drinks an ungodly amount of water every day.
• Wednesday- pretty typical day at work. When I got home, Kevin and I went and had dinner at the pizza parlor on base and then rented a movie. Halfway through the movie my back started hurting so bad, I was in tears. I took a hot bath to try and sooth it, and went to be bed around 8:30. Around 10:30 I woke up, to run to the bathroom to find myself extremely sick. And it continued until 4 am!
  
• Thursday- I had a short day at work, and only had to go in from 9-3. Thank God I was able to sleep in a little after being up all night, but I was still extremely queasy and tired. I managed to get through the day with the help of Sprite and Chicken Noodle soup. I went to bed around 7:30 that night, and continued to wake up EVERY hour to go to the bathroom. I am seriously on the verge of buying Depends if it means I could sleep through the entire night without getting up to pee 10,000 times! I also toss and turn like a Rotisserie Chicken with how uncomfortable I am. I am shocked that Kevin and the dogs have stuck around this long!
  
• Friday (today)- I woke up at 6:30 am... on my day off! Enough said. I am feeling less "sick" but still feel tired and run down. My goal for today is to try and find a maternity pillow because all I want is to SLEEP! Oh, and Kevin works nights all weekend, so I will be celebrating NYE all alone, and to be completely honest, I will probably be in bed around 8.
  

So there you have it... my rough week. A horrible last week for 2010, but hopefully it will all turn around.

Have a Happy and Safe New Years Eve!!

Hello Again!

Well long lost friend, I must admit I have missed you greatly! Please understand it has been much longer than I ever expected. Life just seems to hit these little pot holes that keep things interesting, and seem to leave me with a huge lack of free time. But don't worry... I will do my best to fill you in, and pick up right where we left off.

Let me begin by stating that if you are also a follower of my TTC blog, I will be removing it within the next few days/weeks. As you can tell, I can barely manage to find the time to blog, so keeping up with two is just a little ridiculous.

I figure it is easier to lay things out in a numerical sequence to keep things short, sweet, and simple.

So where to begin...

1.) For those of you who didn't already know, I am still in pursuit of my degree. The main reason I have had a huge lack of free time is because this semester I was taking the last course I need to graduate... STATISTICS! ouch...

2.) The good news is- I kicked statistics butt and I am DONE!

3.) The even better news is that I should receive my diploma in MAY if everything goes accordingly. You see... besides needing the stat class, I had everything I needed from A&M except a high enough GPA. After a nasty letter from my dad, A&M has offered to work with my situation, and I will able to hopefully raise my GPA without taking anymore courses. This has been a huge blessing, and although I am still waiting on the verdict, I am saying some huge prayers that everything works out in my favor.

4.) This was our first holiday season in Kodiak. Halloween was a cold and nasty night. We got a whooping 3 batches of trick-or-treaters, as we sat and watched Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin. Needless to say, we had LOTS of left over candy!

5.) And speaking of left over Halloween candy- when I went to my Dr. appointment after Halloween I was told that I was at risk for kidney stones and was given a list of foods to stay away from. The number one item on that list... chocolate! Talk about torture...

6.) As most of you know, Kevin and I were able to make it to Texas for Thanksgiving. It was a MUCH needed vacation from the remote island life (and work!). It was a whirlwind of a trip, and went by WAY to fast! Lets see if I can do some sub-bullets here...

• We left on a Wednesday, arrived in Houston Thursday night. We had dinner at Olive Garden with my dad, mom, and sister- and stayed with my dad at his new house (in which he made an AWESOME room for me, Kevin, and Kael.)That night I got really sick and was the first time I actually threw up this entire pregnancy.
• Friday morning we woke up, flew to McAllen, and that night there was a surprise baby shower.
• We spent that weekend at South Padre Island. The 85+ degree weather was AMAZING and I sat in the water the whole time!
• We had family pictures taken (with my in-laws)
• And celebrated Thanksgiving with Kevin's family and my dad's side of the family.
• Black Friday we flew back to Houston- and that night was "girls night" with my mom and some of her friends (mini bachelorette party if you will...)
• Saturday was her rehersal and my baby shower
• Sunday my mom got MARRIED!!
  
• Monday Kevin and I went to College Station and had lunch with Kelli, Kelly, and Eli
• We had some lazy days
  
• Lauren took some maternity pictures (I was 24 weeks)
• And when it was time to leave, I just couldn't handle it

7.) We got back to Kodiak December 3rd, and to be completely honest, I was very depressed for about a week and a half. After being up here for 8 months, it didn't seem that bad- but after going home and seeing everything and everyone that I miss, it was very difficult to get back into the swing of things.

8.) I guess I probably need to back track a little... at 20 weeks we found out we are having a BOY! His name will be Kael Liam O'Connor, and my heart just melts thinking about that little guy! I love him so much already!

9.) I have put in my application at the Child Development Center that I work at, for the Assistant Director position. It has been a roller coaster, but I haven't given up hope. I just keep praying that God will put me exactly where I need to be to provide the best life possible for Kael. And worst case scenario... if I don't get the promotion, I get to stay in the infant room and work directly with Kael (which I can't complain about).

10.) Kevin had surgery on his wrist about a week ago. He had a cyst removed, and hasn't been able to use his right hand at all. It has been interesting, but he is progressing quickly, and will get his stitches out January 3rd. Pray for a quick recovery because I can't keep shoveling all this snow!!

11.) The day of Kevin's surgery, we experienced our first BLIZZARD! They even closed down the base! After Kevin's surgery, we came home and put our pajamas on, had pizza, and watched movies. The next morning was the big surprise... snow up to our knees! After work that day I came home and had to shovel snow- in which I got yelled at for. Apparently shoveling snow can bring on preterm labor- so I haven't shoveled since! (I'm sure our neighbors HATE us).

12.) Needless to say... we had our first WHITE Christmas! It even snowed on Christmas Day (and hasn't stopped...)

13.) Speaking of Christmas- this was our first all alone. And to be honest, it was much more difficult that I thought it would be. Family is such a huge part of our lives, and not being around them was really tough. Christmas Eve seemed to be the toughest for some reason. I think I was shocked at how quickly Christmas snuck up on me in general. I didn't get to enjoy it like I was hoping, but Kevin did a great job of trying to cheer me up. Don't get me wrong, we had a wonderful weekend, but I must admit that I am glad Christmas has come and gone- and we can move past it. But mark my words... next year will be different!

14.) I am 27 weeks pregnant now...can you believe that! This is my last week of the second trimester, which just seems unreal. And as we speak, I am exactly 90 days from my due date! I can't decide if that seems really close or really far away. I am so anxious to meet him already, and find myself day dreaming of what he is going to look like, and what his personality will be like.

15.) My next doctor's appointment is January 6th. I will have my glucose screening test as well that day. After that appointment, I will start going every 2 weeks rather than once a month. As far as symptoms go, here are a few more bullets:

• I have gained roughly 13 pounds so far (my big weight gain came after our trip home!)
• I am having a harder time finding a comfortable position to sleep in
• I am feeling lots of movement, and felt my first set of hiccups on Christmas Eve
• I still haven't had any major cravings, although I really enjoy my bowl of cereal every morning (and I usually have seconds!). I have also really been enjoying salads, pickles, and sprite.
  
• I have started having Braxton Hicks Contractions. It started with maybe 1 or 2 a day, and at first I thought it was Kael repositioning himself very low. After doing a little more reading I realized what that feeling actually was. They aren't painful, but definitely noticeable-it is like a very sharp tightening in my lower stomach. Today I have had roughly 10-15, typically 1-2 an hour. I've read this is your bodies way or preparing for the real deal, but as long as you don't have more than 4 an hour you are ok. Even though I've read this, I'm anxious for my next doctor's appointment so I can talk to him about this.
  

And if you have made it this far... you are a sweetheart! I know that was a little lengthy, but hopefully you are feeling a little more caught up. And I promise I will do a better job of posting more often!!

It's Offically Fall!

As of this past Thursday, it is officially Autumn! This is the beginning of the holiday season, and I can already smell and feel it in the air.

This past week was a rainy/foggy one. The weather was miserable and after having weeks of sunshine, it was not welcomed. Friday morning things seemed to change. The rain and fog was gone, the air was cool and crisp, and all the green that had been covering the mountains was beginning to turn brown. Autumn really is here!!

And let me tell you... it is already WAY colder than what I am used to! The high's are back down to the 40's and 50's and we have been warned that by Halloween the ice and possibly snow will be here- so we have about a month of "Fall" before it is Winter.

But to prepare myself, I have the aroma of Spiced Pumpkin and Autumn Wreath candles wafting through my house. I have pulled out my Jack-O-Lantern Scentsy warmer, and I'm just waiting to order and receive some holiday scents to fill it with!

And of coarse, I can't wait to get our pumpkins this year. We plan on getting 2 large ones and 1 little one to represent our growing family! I am already looking forward to roasting the pumpkin seeds, and watching Halloween movies.

But the best part about Fall is Thanksgiving... and we will be in Texas for that! And I can't even begin to express how excited I am for that trip!!

The Big Reveal...

After keeping my mouth shut for what has felt like an eternity... Kevin and I are so excited to announce that we are expecting a baby March 27, 2011! After a long and bumpy road, we are so thankful and blessed to be where we are.

As of today, I am 12 weeks and have been lucky enough to see our little one on 3 different occasions- the most recent being this past Wednesday. He/She is beautiful, has a strong heartbeat, and loves to wiggle around (even though I can't feel it yet!). I never believed in love at first sight until this past ultrasound. Watching the baby wiggle around and look at it's little profile made me melt instantly. I am already so eager to meet him/her.

If you would like a brief recap of our "bumpy" times, click here. That is actually the end result of what we dealt with, so if for some reason you feel the need to read through the whole process, simply click on September 2009, and scroll through the posts. (Crazy to think that was a year ago!!)

But if you would rather read about our current situation from the beginning, click here. You will need to start from the bottom and work your way up if you wanting to read everything.

I'm still trying to keep the two blogs separate, although I realize I have been neglecting this one. To be honest, I am so exhausted by the time I come home from work I sit on my butt and can't possibly think of anything creative to write. SORRY! If I can't seem to keep up the two, I will eventually merge them together. Until then, go ahead and start following me here, so you can keep up with how the pregnancy is going.