Pigeon Forge, TN

Last August,  We took our first big family vacation with Max. One of Seth's older brothers really wanted a family vacation with all of his siblings (8 total kids) and their parents.  He wanted this vacation to happen so bad that he offered to pay for everyone to get there (plane tickets for us because we are the farthest away) and gas money for everyone else. He also offered to rent a huge log cabin for everyone to stay in for the 5 days (during peak summer travel time...aka outrageously expensive). He also graciously paid for or rental car and our hotel room for the night that we got there because we got there a day before everyone else and before we could check into the cabin. It was basically an all expense paid trip... how could we say no?! We had to provide our own entertainment and each couple was assigned one or two meals to cook for everyone (28 of us total). Here are a few pictures from Pigeon Forge, TN that I recently ran across on my phone.

A few fun notes:

-I got pulled over for speeding the night we got there.  It was about 1 am, we were trying to find our hotel for the night,  Max was screaming and apparently I floored it when we left the drive thru.  Whoops. The officer was very nice and I told him we were just trying to find our hotel and our son was ready to be done traveling for the day.  He gave us directions to the hotel and told us to have a good night.  He didn't even ask to see our licenses!
-Seth went on a zip line obstacle course with some of his siblings,  his dad snd his 86 year old grandma.  She's awesome! !
- We took a 30 min helicopter ride over the mountains.  It was a beautiful sight.
-I was 27 weeks pregnant and it hella (who says hella anymore?!) Hot and humid but thank God the cabin had a/c.
-The cabin also had a Jacuzzi that Max and Seth enjoyed each night.
-My equally pregnant sister in law and I spent an afternoon shopping at the outlet mall and then had lunch together. (Our due dates were less than a week apart, but she ended up having her son about 3 weeks before Benjamin joined us).

-Max found a llama stuffed animal and it was love at first sight! He'd never cared about stuffed animals until he saw that little llama.  

On Labor

The weird thing about being a first time mom going into labor is that you’re unsure. At least I am. Even though I’ve read up on all the signs online, we’ve talked about them in our centering classes, I’ve read about them in the books, my mom has lectured me, doctors have quizzed me…for me, it’s still: is THIS it?

Yesterday I had my 38 week (and 2 day) appointment. Seth and I were taking bets on if I was dilated at all; we both bet I wasn’t. Well well well, what do we know! I’m 3 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Seriously?!?! I was SHOCKED to hear that. We both were. Prior to getting my cervix checked, the doctor had asked if I wanted my membranes swept…I said heck no, because I’ve been told it’s painful and it’s not a guarantee that it’ll get labor started. Once the doctor said I was 3 cm/50% effaced, she asked again if I wanted them swept. Heck no again! I’m not ready to have him! I am, but I’m not. Now I’m having a mini panic attack. (Plus, I have a long list of things I need to accomplish this weekend!) I feel so unprepared for labor. I feel like I don’t know enough of what to expect. I’m sure part of it is that it’s the first time I’ve ever done this so I’m anxious for the unknown. Right now, as I type this, baby is moving around like crazy and it feels like he’s trying to bust loose, straight out of my belly button. I went pee less than an hour ago and there was a pink tinge to it and it was more mucousy (I’m sincerely sorry for the TMI!!!). What’s that a sign of? Yep, labor. Even though it may still be a few days away, I’m wondering if this is stage one. I’m not having any more contractions than I normally have…at least I don’t think I am. Right now, my brain is cloudy on all the stuff we’ve learned and read about and I’m just unsure.

Seth is ready for him now. Last night we were talking about me being 3 cm/50% effaced already and he said he was ready to meet his son now. I asked him if he was nervous and he said no, he is ready. I'm most nervous about the birth. Ok, and I'm nervous about bringing him home and how the dogs are going to react. 

So I’m continuing to work…and blog…because I’m not quite ready (mentally, emotionally, physically…) to push a baby out. Jimney Crickets.

Pre-natal massage

I redeemed my pre-natal massage and facial last Saturday. Oh it was heavenly! The massage was great and felt sooo good. I woke up with both of my hips hurting that morning so it was perfect timing. I was on my stomach and she had a special pregnancy pad for with a hole for my belly. It was very relaxing. I’d never had a facial before and was a little apprehensive about it. I actually dozed off and on for the facial and was sad when it was over. The only thing I didn’t like during the facial was that I was supposed to lay on my back for the duration of it (90 minutes) and obviously that wasn’t possible. I kept having to turn over but I did enjoy laying there on my back for a few minutes. I cannot wait to sleep on my back again.

The nursery is done! Now we just have to do a little decorating. Pictures to come very very soon!

I have a question for you other soon to be moms out there: I’m sure you’ve heard the controversy on the whole bumper issue or not in a crib. Are you using a bumper in your crib? Just curious who is and who isn’t. I registered for one then learned of the controversy and the day I went to remove it from the registry, it had already been purchased! The family gave me a gift receipt for it and I feel bad for returning it, but I am. I’m going to take pictures of the crib with it and send it to the family and then return it. (Is that wrong?!) Plus, I actually like how the crib looks more without the bumper, and a lot of the animal cuteness on the bumper are hidden because we have a few solid crib slats in the middle of the front, so it hides a good portion of it.

I’m going to clean out my car and vacuum the dog hair out of it this weekend and then we’re installing the car seat. The baby’s bag is packed and I’ve made a list of things I want to take for myself, but a lot of what I need to take will be last minute items that can’t be packed ahead of time. I’ve started washing the cloth diapers (you have to wash them multiple times to get them to be full absorbency) so I’ve been doing a load a day.


We have friends coming next week to visit for a few days. We're going to the zoo and just hanging out. We haven't seen them since last April in Germany when the guys got back from Afghanistan. And it's our god-daughter, so we're very excited to see her. Hopefully I don't ruin things and go into labor while they're here!


Last night, I had a dream that I had the baby. Except it wasn't a newborn: it was a 5 year old, fully clothed (jeans and a striped t-shirt), talking, adopted Russian boy! He spoke English and while I birthed him, he was also adopted from Russia. It makes no sense. I think I'm anxious for my 38 week appointment this afternoon to see if I'm dilated at all. I have a fear that I'll go in there, they'll say I'm 5 cm dilated and they'll ask if I'm ready to have the baby today. I've seen it happen on TV and in the movies, so that means it can really happen!

Here’s a picture of me at 38 weeks and 1 day. One day soon, I'll post non-self bathroom pictures. I'm lame. 

(Also, I would like to proudly say, not that it's even noticeable, but the pants I'm wearing here are pre-pregnancy work pants! They are even buttoned in the picture! I don't know how they buttoned, but they did. They weren't that comfortable while I was sitting, but I wasn't wearing them for long).

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!

Aches and pains of pregnancy

Off and on for the past two weeks or so, I've woken up with a really annoying pain in my hips. It's kind of like a shooting pain and it hurts with each step I take. My lower back has been hurting a lot too. Last week I was putting a warm bean bag on it throughout the day, but that didn't help it. Then I decided to try ice one morning when it was reallllly hurting. I think that helped it, because the next day or two, it didn't hurt nearly as much. As I type this, I've got an ice bag on my hip. I hope it helps today.


But really, I can't complain. I've made it this far (35 weeks today!!) with very little aches, pains, and nausea and a relatively easy, uncomplicated pregnancy. I've only gotten three stretch marks (that are bright red, one is right above my belly button and the other two are on each side of that one, almost symmetrical), and I don't have the dark line down the middle of my stomach like a lot of women get. I've only gained 5-7 lbs, depending on the scale I use and the time of day I weigh myself.


On the bright side, for Christmas, Seth got me a "blissful experience" spa package to a day spa in Seattle. I'm going to redeem the facial portion (90 minutes!!!) of it this weekend and the 90 minute prenatal massage in two weekends. They didn't have any massage openings this weekend, so I have to wait a little bit. I already can't wait. That will be about 2.5 weeks before my due date, so it will be much appreciated at that time. While we're in Seattle this weekend, we're going to a cloth diapering store and deciding what we need to buy for that.


I've been painting my own toenails this pregnancy...and I think that came to an end yesterday. I usually give myself manicures and pedicures during my "work day" since I work from home but yesterday it was prettty difficult. Thankfully Seth wasn't home so he couldn't see how ridiculous I look.


I spent last Sunday sorting, organizing and inventorying all the clothing items we have and what we still need. We only need basics, and it really isn't that much. I'm definitely in the nesting phase though. We have the boarder/trim to finish in the nursery and then we'll be done. I bought the laundry detergent to wash all his little clothes, but I forgot dryer sheets, so I haven't started that yet. Oh I can't wait to start folding his little baby clothes!!!!

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. 

Feeling the baby move

The baby has been moving all over my uterus. It’s pretty crazy. The other night, I was lying in bed with my hands on my stomach seeing if I could feel him move from the outside. I thought I felt him move but wasn’t sure so I waited a few more times of feeling it before waking Seth up to share the excitement with him. (He had duty the night before so he passed out in bed really early). He didn’t wake up when I said his name, so I let him sleep. Then a little while later, I turned off the TV and he woke up and I told him I felt the baby move on the outside. He put his hands on my stomach to try to feel but baby wasn’t into moving and Seth fell back to sleep. He’s felt it quite a few times since then and it’s so cute to see him! We’ll be watching TV and put his hand on my stomach and when I feel the baby move, I’ll ask him if he felt it. He says, “is that him!?!?”  It’s really cute how excited he gets.

One night last week we had tacos for dinner and I made homemade guacamole. Baby sure did like it because he was all over the place shortly after I got done eating!! I had leftovers the following day for lunch with guacamole again, to see if it would have the same effect and sure enough, it did!! He was really active for a solid amount of time. Too bad Seth was at work though!

Yesterday when Seth got up for work, I kinda woke up. He said to me, “is he awake right now?” and put his hands on my stomach to see if he could feel him. Baby still isn’t big enough that the movements wake me up, so I don’t know if the baby was awake at that time or not. Sometimes when Seth gets home from work, he’ll shake and blow on my stomach and tell the baby to “wake up!! Hang out with us!!” I keep telling him he needs to NOT waking a sleeping baby; that’s parenting 101!! But he’s just excited to feel his baby boy and I can understand that!!!

Side Effects of Pregnancy

For the most part, this has gone pretty smooth and easy. I’ve only actually thrown up a handful of times (although each and every time, I cry and hate it…throwing up is just gross, regardless of the circumstances) but I did have a lot of nausea the first trimester. I constantly felt like I was going to throw up, but rarely did. And for that, I was extremely thankful. I have a friend who had to go on medication her entire pregnancy because she couldn’t keep a single thing down. No thank you!

Besides the nausea being the most common side effect, here are the other side effects I’ve been experiencing.

Constipation. By far the worst side effect. Enough said.

When I brush my teeth and tongue, I often gag. This has gotten better since starting the second trimester, but throwing up was easily triggered when I brushed my tongue. I had to proceed with lots of caution and I’m glad that I can brush it like normal again!!

Sometimes when I brush my teeth, my gums bleed. It’s mostly when I floss though.

Constantly peeing. I’ve always had a small bladder, but I definitely go more frequently now. I currently get up twice each night…I can’t wait to see how much more frequently I get up at the end of this pregnancy!

Craving wise, I haven’t had any of the weird food cravings people talk about. Just strong urges for normal things more often. I can’t drink enough milk and so I have to limit myself. Did you know pregnant women are supposed to drink 2 GALLONS of water each day? That’s literally impossible for me. I have a 32 oz Nalgene bottle that I use to keep track of how much I drink. I struggle to drink a whole one a day. I’m a really slow drinker (I was never good at doing shots!!) and I’m just not a thirsty person in general. If I craved water as much as I crave milk, I’d be doing great. I try to allow myself to only drink milk twice a day, and usually it’s only a glass. I make myself drink water the rest of the time, but it’s just not as good. I also love cheese. String cheese to be exact. And Cheese-Its. (Although, I haven’t bought a box of these in a few weeks!) Favorite fruit is apples (with peanut butter) or strawberries.

I’ve really really been liking sugary, fruity, sour candies.  Sour gummy worms? My BFFs. Skittles? I want to be BFFs with them too. Gummy worms or bears in general will do too. I don’t really buy these, but when I do get the occasional pack, I try to savor them. Ok, let’s be honest. In reality, I devour them.

On that note, I'm 22 weeks today :)

It's a.....

We found out the gender of our baby the other day! It’s a…

BOY!!!

We have pretty much settled on a name and have been calling him by his new name all weekend. I’ve also started feeling him move around and he’s been using my bladder as a trampoline. It’s awesome, yet totally weird, feeling him move inside of me. It’s surreal really. It feels like popcorn popping inside my belly. He’s pretty active throughout the day. (He’s actually moving right now – maybe he can sense me talking about him?!) The movements aren’t strong enough to wake me up at night though. We were bowling on Saturday night (one of Seth’s favorite activities) and the baby was moving around. Seth was excited that the baby seemed to like the noise of the bowling alley. 

Which leads me to....

Sunday morning I woke up with a bladder infection. Ever had one of those?? They SUCK soooo bad. I really didn’t want to go to the ER…last time I went, it was a 6 hour wait. It was terrible and people in the waiting room were annoying. Sunday evening, it was getting worse each time I went pee and it became pretty painful. And I had to go every 5 seconds, but literally it would be a teaspoon of pee. I called the ER room and asked if there were a ton of people and about how long a wait would be (apparently, I thought it was like calling ahead for a reservation at a restaurant) and was disappointed that she couldn’t give me an answer and all she could say was “it’s been steady.” I figured a bladder infection would be low on the list of priority things in an ER room. Eventually, I sucked it up and went to the ER, where I was pleasantly surprised when I checked in that I would need to go to the Labor and Delivery ER room because I’m 20 weeks pregnant and if there’s any pain in the ab or girly part areas, I have to go to that ER room. After getting lost in a creepy, quiet, dimly lit hospital on a Sunday evening, I found a janitor who pointed me in the right direction to where I was supposed to go. There wasn’t a wait whatsoever and I was in a room immediately! Hallelujah! I was feeling the baby move so I really wasn’t concerned that he was in danger, but I was in pain and that’s the only reason I went, instead of waiting to go to my regular DR on Monday morning. I got some meds, got lost in the hospital again on my way out and then was home at about 8:45 pm. I was only there for about 3 hours and I’m so thankful that it wasn’t all night long like the last time. Seth was home though, so I was bored as hell in the hospital by myself. We were in the middle of making a bunch of cookies for some of his friends that are deployed and I was making mac and cheese for dinner, using a recipe I was sooo excited for! He said he would finish the baking and cook dinner while I went to the ER.

i parked here. because i could! and because i knew it'd be dark and late by the time i left 

I saw this recipe on pinterest on Saturday morning and we decided to make them on Sunday. They didn’t turn out nearly as pretty as they are in the pinterest pic but they are very good. Very rich too. Ours turned out ugly. 

proof ours were ugly!

We put a little dab of brownie mix on the bottom of the cupcake pan, but clearly the original picture indicates just put the Oreo on the bottom. We also overfilled them so they overflowed from the cupcake pan and were really difficult to get out. Oh well, they tasted good and Seth’s coworkers are enjoying them for a while.  

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 :)