Week 31- The Final Countdown

We are in single digits people! 9 weeks left! This week Taylor got a job! I have been working as a nanny since we moved here while Taylor was in school, but of course I knew that I would have to transition out of it before the baby came. We've been trying to figure out this transition for the last little bit as we looked for a job for Taylor since the summer following the first year of optometry is freed up so he has no other obligations. We are also going to be moving to a new apartment next month to prepare for our little girl! It's interesting how Heavenly Father has a plan for us that we can see through the little details in our lives. We found our current apartment only about a month before we moved here, and because we had never seen it we felt good about and decided to lease for only 11 months just in case it wasn't what we wanted. We ended up loving our apartment (we are so sad to leave it), but the timing worked out perfect that we will only have one month (June) overlapping where we will be paying rent at two places, which will actually make the move less rushed and a little more easy going which is nice since Taylor will be working full time, and I'm...well, pregnant and not quite as agile as 8 months ago :). Another thing that (surprisingly worked out) was Taylor's job. Taylor finding a job was stressing me out for a while because I wanted to be able to tell the family I nanny for when I would probably need to be phased out, but I didn't want to do that until I knew we would have another source of income, but I did want to give them notice in enough time. Taylor was contacted about one job about a month ago and we thought it was 100% perfect and the one for him. However, it took a while for us to get details on the hours he was eligible to work, what he'd be doing, etc. The day that he finalized his hours and the pay (neither of which were horrible, but not what we were hoping for since I would have to stop working when the baby comes), he received an email about another possible job opportunity. Had all of the details gotten figure out when he was initially contact about job #1, Taylor would have been working for about a month (we probably would have taken the job despite the pay and hours), developing rapport with the doctors and clients he would have been working with, and then ending up leaving for a better job (which we felt good about), which could have severed some ties with people whom he would like to work with in the future. 

It's crazy how everything has worked out, but now one of the three things (job, housing, and last minute baby preparation) that have been causing me stress is settled. 

This week we also took a trip to Ikea (actually on our way back from Taylor's interview for job #2--which he was hired for on the spot by the way!). It was so fun to look around at things we will actually be needing (and using!) for our sweet girl in just 59ish days! We don't have much yet for her but we did get a dresser and a few frames for some prints I have for her room. 

Taylor and I have teased each other about whether our girl is doing soccer drills or dance moves in my belly because she has been fairly active since about 17 weeks. Of course I'm biased because I grew up dancing, and Taylor says soccer since he loves sports and his sisters and nieces did/do soccer. Of course our daughter will be free to choose whatever activities she wants, but it's fun to picture her as a "mini me". But she has really amped up her movements this week. Like, I'm talking it tickles, it hurts, and she catches me off guard with some of her movements now. We can now just sit and watch her really move more than we have been able to in the past. It is so neat to just always have my little buddy in there. Although, I'll be honest, sometimes it's really painful because she really really likes my right side and my right ribs only, it is so neat to be able to feel her growing and developing stronger and stronger each day. I'm going to miss being able to have her with me physically 100% wherever I go no matter where I am. 

Week 30-Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day! What an exciting and event-filled week it has been. 

Being pregnant on Mother's Day is kind of weird because you feel like a "mother" because you have this little relationship with this baby inside you, but you kind of don't feel like a mother because you haven't met your baby yet (outside the womb--I feel like I know this little girl's personality, habits, etc. already!). Either way, my sweet husband woke me up with homemade crepes ready (a skill he mastered in my first trimester when crepes were the only thing that sounded good) and a sweet card and gift. 

This week I feel like I've gotten to "know" our little girl a little more. She DEFINITELY favors my right side. She is always just chillin on my right side, rolling around, and playing in my ribs apparently. It has been pretty uncomfortable and sometimes painful because I don't have a very long torso (just long legs which is where my height comes from), but it's fun and kind of funny to notice her tendencies that she doesn't veer away from very often. There are certain times of day where she is more active and I feel like a mom when Taylor will ask if she's moving and I can tell him that she's usually resting at that time and when she'll probably be active again. Let's hope she maybe has a consistent schedule when she's born.. :)

This week we decided to go out for Cinco de Mayo since Taylor is out of school and since we only have two months left to go out just ourselves whenever we want! It was fun to have a mid-week date, and the food was amazing. I have never been much of a Tex-Mex fan until I moved here! We also saw the new Avengers movie (wasn't a huge fan sadly) this week (two dates in one week---it was pretty fun!). That day I was getting worried because I hadn't really been feeling as much movement, and as I mentioned, our girl usually moves a decent amount and on somewhat of a schedule. I was worried all day and kind of didn't even want to go to the movie because I was just so worried. We ended up going since sitting around worrying wouldn't do anything and since I didn't feel like I needed to call the Dr. yet. The movie was really loud since it's an action movie, and that made our girl move like crazy. There was one point in the movie where it was super loud and my hand was on my belly and felt and then saw a big bump (maybe her back hunched over or her bum) come up and move. It was crazy. Needless to say I was pretty grateful we went to the movie since she ended up moving (lots) again. It was pretty humorous to see/feel her reaction to louder noises. 

                      

Being pregnant has probably only given me a glimpse of the love mothers feel for their children. I just wanted to share a little bit about my mom and my love and gratitude for her this Mother's Day! My mom currently works for EFY (Especially For Youth) at BYU so a lot of younger people my age who are counselors or work for EFY love my mom and think "Phyllis is awesome!" (what people tell me when they find out she's my mom). But what a lot of people who know her now and just recently met her don't know is the kind of mom she was to her kids as we grew up. 

My mom has always and will always put her children first. I know all parents are different and have different styles and needs, but my mom has never been one to just take some "me time" (although I wish she would because she never does anything for herself). I think she's just always too busy to stop and think about herself since she's been working full time since I was in 8th grade and adjusting to being a single-parent since my dad passed away 8 years ago. 

My mom has always made it a priority to make sure her children have opportunities to learn and grow and develop their interests, talents, and hobbies. Money hasn't always been plentiful in my family, but my mom has always somehow found a way to provide these opportunities for us, and for that I am so grateful! Growing up I was able to play the piano (even though one teacher told me my fingers were just "a little bigger"...who says that??), dance, play the cello, and participate in a lot of other extracurricular things to help me figure out what I wanted to do with my life and which things were really things I wanted to pursue. And not only did she provide these opportunities for us, but she was always there at our performances, she chaperoned one of my orchestra tours, she was there to cheer me on at the spelling bee in 4th grade (so what if I got out on my 1st word. I bet you're wondering what word it was now huh? :)), dance concerts (even when I'm sure I looked super awkward in my leotards. I have proof, so no I'm not exaggerating), etc. 

Something else my mom has always taught me through word and by example, even if I haven't always been good at practicing it, is to not care what others think about you. I have always been one who is self-conscious about what I look like, if I worded something wrong, or if people don't like me for whatever reason. Luckily I had my mom who would always encourage me to be kind and do my best in everything, but to not let what others think or say get to me. I think a phrase I heard a lot growing up was to "tell (enter person's name) to jump in a lake". I have teased my mom about this because it just makes me laugh since I don't think I even knew what that meant when I was younger, but having a mom who was able to brush off anything negative, mean, or not worth-while that people said about her helped me to try to be more confident. 

Even though my mom has always been confident and strong herself, she has always been willing to listen and try to understand when I (or one of my siblings) wasn't feeling quite that way. I remember when I was in third grade and going through an unfortunately long period of an awkward stage (go stalk my Instagram for proof. You'll find a gem from a while back), I felt just ugly and bad about myself at the time. My mom took me to get a haircut (I don't remember if I requested it or if it was her idea) just to give me a change to help me refresh how I felt about myself. I remember I felt so much better about myself going to school the next day even though it was just a haircut and even though my mom could've just given me a pep talk and hoped I felt better the next day.

My mom has always been very strong with her testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I remember when I was younger walking in countless times as she was on her knees praying or reading her scriptures in the morning. My mom always (and as of the last time I was home for Christmas still does) requires that we all watch the animated Mormon stories movie about Christ's birth before we would go downstairs to open presents. I'll be honest, we've all always kind of hated that (if you watch the movie now it's a little silly with the animation and voices, but the sentiment and message is there), but it was a lesson to focus on what was really important that day. My mom has always stayed close to the gospel and had faith especially through the many trials she's faced in life. I haven't really shared this before, but the night my dad passed away I went and asked my mom if she was okay as she laid on her bed. She told me that she was ok but that she just wanted to make sure all of her kids were ok. Her strength in that moment has always been an example to me that I can get through hard things with the Gospel just like she has. 

Throughout this pregnancy my mom has constantly been praying for the things she knows we are concerned about, the things in our lives that are causing us stress, and just for our baby in general. She will always listen when I just need to talk, and as an emotional pregnant woman that's kind of a lot :).

I could go on and on and on and on, but then I wouldn't get to eat dinner and I'd end up with mascara all down my face as I think about all that my mom has done for my siblings and for me. I will leave you with this memory: in third grade my mom took me, my older sister, and her friend to a Backstreet Boys concert. Since then I've known what all the people who meet my mom nowadays tell me: "My mom is awesome". 

I'm so grateful for my mom, and I'm also so grateful for my wonderful mother-in-law! I've been teased before about the fact that I get excited when my mother-in-law comes in town or when we are going to visit because that's not the stereotype that usually goes along with mothers-in-law. She is the most generous and kind woman. She and my mom are very similar in that they spend all of their time and energy on their children! She never fails to make us a warm breakfast each time we visit, and she is constantly sending us care packages in the mail and cards just for fun and for each holiday. She will text me and Taylor every morning with a thought or scripture to help uplift us and get us started on the right foot. I'm so glad our little girl will have two amazing women as her grandmothers. 

Week 29- RIBS..& Done with Year 1!!!

This week was a little crazy knowing that it was the end of the '20s' and that after this week everything was going to count down to our little girl's arrival! Luckily this week my back pain was totally gone! I had about 3 nights of legitimately good sleep and it very much welcomed! Unfortunately it didn't last the whole week, but it was nice while it lasted. 

As mentioned, our baby girl LOVES my ribs. But not just my ribs, she only resides on my right side, and my right ribs. Occasionally I'll feel movement in the center of my belly, but literally 99% of the time it's the right side. I love our girl, but it is exhausting sometimes!

This week was so nice to have a relaxing weekend with Taylor now that school is done. It's only been a few days so far but it has been so nice! He is in the middle of figuring out a job for the summer (we have one that is in the works and we are crossing our fingers it works out!), and I am in my last few weeks nannying before I have a month to get ready for our girl's arrival. I am really going to miss the kids I nanny. They are so sweet, and I have learned so much from their sweet family. But it's also very exciting knowing that I'm about to have my own little family to learn from and create traditions with. We are also going to be moving apartments in the next month, which will be around second move in 8 months! 

To celebrate the end of year one of school, we had a little BBQ and pool party with some of our friends in Taylor's class! A couple of them couldn't come so it ended up a party with our Mormon optometry friends! There are 4 Mormons total in Taylor's class. Of the 3 who are married, all 3 of them have had expecting wives since near the beginning of the school year as I mentioned here . We were expecting us all to be here, but our friend Melissa delivered two weeks early that week during finals for the guys! We were so happy for them but definitely missed them at the little party. We got together literally just a couple hours after the guys' last final and I don't know if it had even hit them yet that they were done. But we pregnant women sure enjoyed the food and freedom from our husbands having to take any more tests until the fall! The guys took a total of 52 tests throughout the school year. Crazy! 

Week 28- Third Trimester!

The third trimester!!! I have said this so many times, but things are getting real here! I have been blessed with a fairly "easy" pregnancy (in comparison to others' I'm sure), so some weeks have gone by really fast. Making it to the third trimester though still felt like a breakthrough because this is the last trimester! My next milestone is making it to full-term. 

Although this pregnancy hasn't been too bad, this week I felt really "welcomed" into the third trimester with super sever back pain and I almost wanted to take back saying I'd had an easy pregnancy simply because of this week! Of course that's kind of dramatic but this week I was definitely feeling overwhelmed. I have had lower back pain problems for the past few years and I've just learned to deal with it, but this was totally something different! I later talked to my doctor and figured it was probably sciatica, but luckily it has been getting much better! 

Something that I was really excited about this week was that I made it to my third trimester gaining just under my goal weight-gain for this point in my pregnancy. I know everyone has told me to not worry about the scale, to eat what I want when I want, that I'm "eating for two", etc. but let's be honest, that's way easier said than done! I don't care so much about the number I see on the scale as I do gaining a healthy amount of weight rather than just going crazy with the carbs (the thing I'd rather be doing on most days!) It was such a small "victory" for the week, but it's the little things that count because sometimes when I'm eating a green smoothie (occasionally :)) when I really would rather have a donut, it's nice to know it pays off (whether or not you're pregnant)! But don't be fooled, I did request some donuts in celebration of this small victory. A little ironic, I know :).  

This week I felt our baby girl totally roll over or turn over or something like that. It was like this big wave of movement instead of the normal jabs or movements I feel. It was almost a little freaky, but totally exciting.  

This week I also hosted a shower for my friend Sarah who is due a week ahead of me. It was so fun to put together a fun celebration for her and her little girl. I'll post pictures soon!

Week 26- Still No Name

Excuse my silly face here. Sometimes the husband catches some pictures of how I'm really feeling in the moment or my reactions to the things he says to try to catch a natural smile. Taking these weekly pictures is something I wanted to do to remember everything later, but I'll tell you taking pictures is not always my #1 thing I want to do being pregnant. This week I think I really started feeling my body fully take on pregnancy. There are times when I'm just really uncomfortable and times I just don't feel like myself. I'm super excited and grateful for this opportunity, but it's still new to me!

We are still working on a name. But I think I've mentioned before that I don't plan to have a name totally solidified until I give birth. We probably will have a few names picked out but maybe decide once we meet our girl. 

Baby Girl's Update Pictures!

So this whole pregnancy people have asked to see pictures of my "bump" and asking how I'm doing, but I thought it would be fun to show the progress of the little one who is the reason for the changes in my body and life--our baby! I'm not the only one getting bigger in this body!

I know each clinic does things a little differently, but I was surprised to find out that generally, there are only a few ultrasounds done throughout the entire pregnancy for most women! However, we've had one or two more than some people get up until this point for various reasons, and I've been so grateful because it's so fun to see her grow!

~7 Weeks:

This was from my very first appointment when we went to to confirm pregnancy! I was so nervous because at the time I didn't "feel" pregnant--I was just going off of what a little stick said, so I was hoping it was really true! They took us in a little room and did the ultrasound. The nurse had to point out what I was supposed to be looking at (the little 'bean' inside the sac) because it was so tiny and I didn't know what I was seeing haha. Even at just under 7 weeks, we could see a little heartbeat beating quickly. It was so exciting to see this little tiny life that was already so real no matter how small. 

10 Weeks:

Can you believe the difference in this ultrasound just three weeks after the first one?! Obviously you can see they zoomed up a little in this one, but you can actually see her body formed and even her little hand! Since I wasn't quite as far along as I thought I was at the first appointment (I thought I was 8 weeks but was actually just under 7), they had me come back once more just to double check the pregnancy looked good and healthy! This was my favorite picture forever because, again, she was tiny but she was a real baby and you can totally see that in this picture. 

20 Weeks: 

OK I'm sure everyone is sick of hearing how excited I was for 20 Weeks , but this was the best! At the anatomy scan they go through and measure baby and make sure everything looks on track! It was incredible to see her progress since the last ultrasound 10 weeks earlier. At this ultrasound they told us our girl has long legs (like her mama!). It was so fun to be able to see her development since all I normally see is how I'm affected by it on the outside. I love the bottom ones where we see her little feet. 

24 Weeks: 

As I mentioned here , my doctor wanted to follow up on a couple things from the last ultrasound (everything looks good :)), so we got to get this extra ultrasound. It's not shown in one of these, but we got to see her little face and she has chubby cheeks! It was adorable! In the third picture down you can see her foot is up by her head, which makes my argument of her being a dancer a little stronger :). The bottom picture is her foot and she totally has Taylor's feet.

I loved sitting yesterday and comparing all these ultrasounds as I took these photos. It is crazy to think about our girl's development since her very first "photo".  There is a lot of debate today about whether or not abortion should be legal, or if and when a fetus is considered a live human being. And I have to say I have never felt more strongly that sweet little babies are live human beings all the way through pregnancy. I'll just be a little real here and say that I have always been pro-life for multiple reasons, but watching our baby girl's heartbeat for the first time at just 7 weeks, and now being able to feel her kick like crazy and very strongly (she made my laptop move on my lap yesterday!), I personally believe the life of an unborn baby is just as valuable as that of people who are born. I'm so grateful for our sweet girl. She gives me so much hope when life gets hard, and I just can't wait to meet her and raise her. 

                                                     

Week 25- Pregnancy Brain

Don't mind that I look tired in this picture...because I have been very tired lately! This pregnancy is honestly flying by! I always felt like time passed quickly when I had friends who were pregnant, and occasionally I'd say "wow, that went by fast" when it was time for their delivery....and later I'd realize it probably didn't go by fast for them and they probably wanted to smack me haha. But really things have gone by fast for me! I think I've just become used to being pregnant and not being the only one affecting what happens with my body, so time just flies by. 

Lately I've found myself getting tired more easily, and I have to take a break off my feet if I've been on them all day (generally I am because I nanny). Houston is also heating up quickly, complete with the retched humidity (I miss my dry Utah!), so that's made my hands and feet swell sometimes. I am still hearing "oh, you don't even look pregnant!"...which, again, confuses me. But really, I get it in that sometimes if I'm not wearing something that definitely shows that I'm pregnant, it's not super obvious because I don't have a petite body so it doesn't stand out as easily. But something I've learned about pregnancy, or rather something that I've been reminded of, is that we all have different bodies, and our bodies know what they need! So for me, this is how my body adjusts for pregnancy! 

This week I was driving to a girls night so naturally I had my music turned up since it was just me in the car, and I started feeling baby girl moving like crazy! I thought it was just a coincidence, but later when I turned the same song on and played it loud (I did this one or two other times) and she did it again! Taylor and I argue about whether she is practicing her dancing or doing soccer drills. I guess only time will tell :). 

Side note: as mentioned below, pregnancy brain is 100% real. I have so many moments where I forget little things, can't think of a certain word I want to use, etc. which drives me crazy! I have to make sure I write things down and keeps lists otherwise I will forget them!