Birth plans

I worked on writing my birth plan this weekend. I was following a guideline that the hospital provided to us with check boxes of what we want and don't want to consider adding to our birth plan. 


In the "episiotomy" section, Seth asked something (I can't remember what exactly) but the next thing I know, I'm google imaging "episiotomy."


Please, learn from my experience: do not, under any circumstances...pregnant, not pregnant or trying to conceive...whatever, DO NOT google image an episiotomy. Just don't. Take my word. 


Consider this your warning!

Good news!

I just had a phone conference with my boss and got some good news! He has me budgeted in to be working 20 hours per week starting July 1st (after I take maternity leave). Last we talked on the phone in February, June 30th was my last day, so I've been slowly and sadly counting down how many paydays I have left. Seth and I both have a habit of stressing big time about money, but we both know deep down we could do without my income, it'd just be an adjustment. Worrying about finances has kept me up late a few nights recently and has woken me up in the middle of the night and kept me up then too. Preparing for a baby is EXPENSIVE WORK. Holy crap. Let's not talk about how much money I spent this weekend. 


Speaking of this weekend, we got a lot accomplished baby wise:

• Finished painting. Just need to finish the chair railing in the middle, which will hopefully be done this weekend.
• Bought a bunch of big items for baby: car seat, stroller, pack-n-play, baby bedding and the crib and dresser. We ordered the crib and dresser last weekend and paid half at that time, so we paid for the other half and Seth put them together this weekend! It actually looks like a nursery in there now! Pictures to come soon, as soon as the chair railing stuff is done in the middle :)
• We also got a few smaller yet still important things such as the changing table mattress, changing table sheet, a hanging toy for the car seat and some clothes. I feel like I'm missing some things, but I can't think of what right now.

Thankful for productive weekends! Oh, I'm 34 weeks today. Holy crap, where does the time go?!?! He's also been having the hiccups quite a bit lately! I've felt the feeling before and wondered what the heck it was. Last week, I finally realized it was the hiccups! I haven't found a food or drink that seems to give him the hiccups yet, but he sure is very very active when I eat guacamole. Which is good, because I love me some guacamole. 

It was also the first Memorial day that Seth and I got to spend together and I'm thankful for that, too. We've been together for 4 years, and this was the first in the 4 years that he's been in America for this holiday. Iraq, Germany, Afghanistan, Germany and now finally Washington. 

Baby stuff

We painted more of the baby's room yesterday and I love how it turned out! No pictures this time because it's not done, but once we get it finished, I'll definitely post them! It's a really light blue on top, with a darker turquoise blue on the bottom. We're going to put a crisp white railing around the room which will tie in very nicely with the white crib. We ordered the crib and dresser last Saturday and I can't wait till it arrives at the store for us to pick up and put together! 

Ironically, Seth loved this crib and dresser set from the first time we went to Babies R Us to look at things but I didn't want white furniture. It seems kinda girly to me and I wanted an espresso colored crib. After a long time researching cribs, we settled on one and went to order it in the store. We had decided then that the "french vanilla" color of the crib would match best with the bedding. However, when we got there, we were told that the dresser no longer was made in the "french vanilla" color. I don't like mismatching furniture - it would drive me crazy to have a dark dresser and a vanilla colored crib in the same room. So back to the drawing board. (Mind you, this was after a long day of volunteering for Armed Forces day - I was exhausted and was excited to finally order the crib, only to be very disappointed that it wasn't possible). We wandered around for a little while and looked at our choices, looked up reviews online and then finally settled on this one. 

This is the bedding we got to go with it. Oh I can't wait to set it up!

In other important baby news, he's been moving around quite a bit. Last night we were watching TV and he was moving around so much you could see my stomach moving all over the place while I was sitting still. It's a pretty bizarre feeling. Last night, I was laying on my right side (I know, I know, you're supposed to lay on your left side...I toss and turn all night long) and I kept getting sharp pains in my uterus. If I rolled over, he would calm down and I wouldn't get the sharp pains. I read in one of my books that he's getting so big and the amniotic fluid is diminishing so I'll start having more painful kicks and punches (because the fluid isn't there to cushion the blow, so to speak). I woke up this morning with really sore hips. My buttocks hurt pretty bad too, like I had done 20390 too many squats. I had this same feeling frequently during the first and second trimesters and it was just him going through growth spurts. I get up to go pee 3-4 times during the night and when I sit up, there is an intense pressure on my bladder and I feel like I'm going to pee the bed right then and there. Luckily, I haven't done that, but it feels like I can. Sometimes right around my belly button (which is going to pop any day now, I think...) it gets reallllly hard and it's a little tiny foot or heel or knee or something right now. I can't make out body parts yet, but hopefully soon we'll be able to! I pushed back on it a few times and then it moved away. 


I'd like to go on record right now saying that I plan on going into this delivery (in 7ish weeks, holy crap) intending to do it natural. I want to give it my best shot without pain meds. We aren't taking birthing classes (they're not covered under TriCare and they don't offer any classes of any sort at the hospital). I bought a few books and DVDs on Amazon and we're going to start watching and reading those in the evenings. My mom said all the women in our family have had really fast births, and haven't even had time for an epidural. Here's to hoping I can keep with that tradition! 


We're going to be cloth diapering (I really need to order those...gah, so much to buy!!!) and I will be breastfeeding. I'm getting more and more excited each day to meet this little guy and I know Seth is too. 


Now, I must go tend to a pathetic dog (Woody) who got neutered today and is still pretty high on drugs. Poor Patrick, he so badly wants to play with his big brother, but he can't. Patrick has been in his cage for a few hours now and has been crying the whole time. I let him out and held him to Woody's face so they could  kiss each other (like they always do) but I know if I let Patrick run free, he'll be on Woody's back, biting his neck, wanting to wrestle. And poor Woody is in no mood (or shape) for that yet. 


I wonder if we have another boy if they'll be like the dogs and just wrestle all day. 

News train - a first class ticket!

We got approved for the house AND they accepted our offer!!! We close in a few weeks. I never thought I’d be so excited to move, but I am!! I just want to be moved in and settled and have separate, designated rooms for an office, a guest room and a backyard for Patrick!!



Also, while I’m on the news train and it’s Valentine’s Day, I should also mention that I’m pregnant :) We’ve known for quite some time (ok, a long time…early November!), we only told family our exciting news. I was too scared/nervous I’d jinx it if we told everyone right away. I’m now 19 weeks (as of today!!!) and in a safer zone and we feel more comfortable telling people. I really want to start blogging more regularly so I can document it as the time goes on.


So far, it’s been a fairly easy pregnancy. The first trimester, I constantly felt like I was going to throw up, but I only threw up a handful of times (thankfully). I have higher levels of iron than the average woman, so I haven’t been nearly as exhausted as all my pregnant friends said I would be. We are going to centering classes at the hospital and they’re fun! Tomorrow is our second class and I’m excited for it. It’s a monthly 2 hour class and the spouses take our vitals (blood pressure and weight – that’s always fun….not) and then we get to hear the heartbeat. The class is with other people who are due right around the same time (we’re all due in July) and we have a reunion class after we all have the babies and the babies get to meet each other!! We also talk about regular topics and as we get closer to our due dates, we take a tour of the labor and delivery rooms, apparently get on the table and practice labor positions (I already told Seth I’m SO volunteering to do that!! I may or may not be joking).


When I first found out I was pregnant, I immediately thought it was a boy. I don’t know why, but I just did. Everyone on Seth’s side of the family (except one of his sisters) thinks it’s a boy. Everyone on my side of the family thinks it’s a girl. At the suggestion of a friend, I held my wedding ring (and engagement ring and promise ring all at separate times) over my palm with a strand of my hair to see what it reveals. Going in a line suggests it’s going to be a boy, going in loops suggests a girl. Each time I try this, it consistently goes in a line. The Chinese calendar (based on my age when I conceived the baby, and the month that we conceived) suggests it’s a girl. We have names picked out for each gender that we’re pretty firm on, but we’re not going to share them until the baby is here. (Enjoy the suspense!!) We will be finding out the gender though, and we can’t wait for that. We go in 10.5 days for that appointment!!! We went to Lowes (right after our offer on the house was accepted) and picked out paint swatches for a boy and girl’s room (no, I’m not having twins…we just have the colors picked out for whatever gender it is), our bedroom, an accent wall in the entry way, the living room and possibly the office.


It’s going to be a very exciting year and we can’t wait!!

(also, if we are friends on Facebook, I haven’t ‘announced’ it on there yet, so if you could not mention it, I would appreciate it. K thanks!!!)

Happy Valentine's Day :)

Babies!!

Lately we've been talking about babies and when we want to start trying for a baby and all that fun stuff. There's a little thing called a deployment preventing us from trying right now, but one day in the near-ish future, we will be trying. It got me thinking what traits I'd like our future babies to get from me and which traits I'd like our kids to get from him. So, with that said (in alphabetical order) here are some traits from each of us that I'd like our kids to have. :)

Athletic ability -- definitely Seth
Brains -- definitely Seth (not gonna lie on this one....I'm a total blond sometimes)
Compassion -- Me
Courage/Bravery -- definitely Seth
Determination/will power -- Seth
Eyes -- either of us. We both have bright blue eyes so we're destined to have beautiful blue eyed babies!!!
Hair -- me :)
Metabolism -- definitely Seth
Patience - definitely from me
Sassy-ness -- definitely from me :)
Sense of humor -- either of us
Quirkiness - me!

What features do/did you hope your children have from you and your spouse?

Friday night date night!

Fall is in the air for sureeeee!! My new thing is fantasizing about date night with Seth. Here's what we'd do on this windy and chilly fall-like night:

This weather is perfect for going to the hot tubs!!! We'd cook a warm and yummy dinner together: baked ziti with french bread and wine. We'd relax after dinner and then go to the hot tubs after dark. We'd spend an hour in the tub relaxing and talking.

After our time is up, we'd take a quick shower together and put on comfy clothes and hop in the car to come home. He'd want to watch a movie, and I'd be really sleepy and just want to go to bed. He'd convince me to watch a movie, and he'd pick one and put it on, and we'd be on the couch with my head in his lap. I'd fall asleep while he's running his hands through my hair and he'd keep waking me up after he realizes I'd fallen asleep yet again. He'd get really annoyed that I keep falling asleep and I'd have to tell him, "told you so!" that I really did just want to go to bed. After the movie, we'd go to bed, and I'd have taken a nice little nap and then I'd be awake and he'd be annoyed because now he was sleepy. haha We'd compromise on the me being awake and him wanting to sleep thing by trying to make a baby and then we'd both fall asleep shortly afterwards. (It's true, we really would try to make a baby).

Oh man, I can't wait to go on a date with my babes. Only a few more months....

"What Kind of Contraception Are You Using?"

In exactly one year, I will be walking down the aisle to the man of my dreams. I celebrated this fact by making a trip to my annual lady bits doctor. Not the kind of action I was hoping to get on the one year anniversary till our wedding date, but hey, I’ll take what I can get, I guess.

The nurse first asked me “what kind of contraception are you using?” My answer? “He’s in Afghanistan so that’s a non-issue currently.” Alrighty then, that’s settled. When my doctor came in, we had a nice quick catch-up chat. She asked what kind of contraception we’re using, and I told her he’s deployed so we don’t have to worry about that. I told her we’re now engaged, and planning the wedding, and she said that if we’d both be ok with a surprise baby, we don’t really need to use condoms even, unless we want to, and we can use the (dare I say it in my blog?!) the “withdraw method.” I told her we would definitely both be ok with a surprise baby whenever, so that’s not a problem. She asked when we will really start trying, and I told her that I don’t think we’ll not try, but I don’t think we’ll try either. He’ll be just home from a deployment after we get married, and let’s be honest: after deployments, after not seeing each other for 12 months, after no sex for 12 months, we’ll be doing it like bunnies. (Blogs are supposed to be honest, right?) I told her we’d just let nature take its course and we’ll have babies when we’re supposed to have them (unless I don’t get pregnant for a while after trying, then we’ll do some research. This might be a possibility). She said that I should start taking pre-natal vitamins or, at the minimum, folic acid about 2 months before we get married, so in case pregnancy happens right away, I can build up my vitamins in my body to carry a baby. She also had me to go the lab to get some blood drawn to see if I’m still immune to Rubella…if I’m not, I’ll have to get a vaccine for it. I’m really hoping I’m still immune to it, but I’m guessing I’m not. It’s been a really long time since I’ve had any immunizations, so I won’t be surprised if I need to get it. I just hate shots and needles, and I’ve already had both my arms poked in the last 24 hours!

I told Seth what she said and he was very pleased to know we don’t have to use condoms. He thinks a surprise baby would be pretty sweet too, and he agrees that we’ll have lots of sex upon his return.

That’s probably a little too TMI for a blog, but since I have no (public) followers, hell, I’m saying what I want.