29 weeks... and a bump in the road

Well, so far this week has been about learning to not take things for granted. Chet and I were just recently talking about how easy this pregnancy has been and what a blessing that has been. Things have really been moving along very smoothly. I haven't had any major physical complaints, have been able to keep working and exercising and baby seems to be growing well. Sounds great, right?

Over the weekend, we headed over to Leavenworth for a nice weekend away. I probably got a little dehydrated from exercising and then packing in the morning but everything seemed fine. On the car ride over, I noted some non-painful contractions. It didn't seem like a big deal so we watched it and I drank water. By that evening, I was having 4-6 an hour. After talking to the midwife, it seemed like likely it was related to dehydration and traveling so we discussed drinking a ton of water, relaxing and seeing if things improved. It seemed to get better and I was able to sleep. 

The rest of the weekend, there were periods where it would be worse and better. I was starting to get a little concerned as they seemed more regular and my abdomen just felt consistently tight while walking around. I was drinking about 4 liters a day of water so I knew I wasn't dehydrated too. On the way home, they were happening every 5-8 minutes consistently. I tried a bath, drinking water, laying down... but they kept happening. In my mind, I was oscillating between fear of preterm labor and going in for something ridiculous and minor. Eventually, as they were persistent, the midwife said to come in to the hospital to get it checked out.

Well, not quite what I wanted to be doing on my days off but I'm thankful it worked out that way. We headed in and ruled out an infection as the cause (UTI, etc). But, because the fetal fibronectin test came back positive (negative equals less than 1 percent chance of delivering in the next 2 weeks, positive equals about a 16-17 percent chance of delivering in the next 2 weeks if there are symptoms). So, we did a cervical ultrasound which showed some shortening and softening. With those two strikes putting me at slightly higher risk for preterm labor, it was felt best to try a shot of terbutaline (which is quite painful and didn't really help much), do some IV fluids (1 liter? I could have easily drank that much but it made sense to try) and observe overnight with the OB seeing me in the morning. 

Luckily, after seeing the OB in the morning and watching, things didn't seem to be getting worse and I wasn't dilated so we got to go home to rest and follow up in a couple days. No work this week though while we are sorting this out and seeing if it is anything to be concerned about. It seems a bit better today after doing a lot of nothing so I am hopeful this will just be annoying contractions that cause me to slow down a bit and not preterm labor that results in our little girl coming early.

There have been some blessings in this and some learning... First, I can't see the midwives for care until this is cleared up but the OB I am going to see the gynecologist I saw a year or two ago a few times and loved. She is a great mix of practical, evidence based, intelligent and very personable. Second, I had more days off this week already so it wasn't as big of a burden on my co workers. Third, we once again are humbled by God's strength when we are weak. As Chet wisely reminded me when I was fearful about our baby girl coming early, she belongs to God and is in His hands. She is a gift for us, not ours to hold tightly to. This is definitely an opportunity to trust that He has all of us in His hands... and He knows our future whatever may come. I can't fill my mind of worries about having a premie, grieve the loss of the rest of this pregnancy, etc... instead I need to trust and give this up to God. The likelihood is that it will be fine and the rest of the pregnancy will be okay (maybe with me just taking it easier and moving a bit slower) but this has definitely brought us back to reality and that each day is a gift. We'll see what tomorrow brings at my follow up appointment.

Nursery Progress and 28 weeks

This last weekend, my parents gave us an amazing gift... the gift of their time and painting the baby's room!!! After much debate all week about color and bringing home pretty much every single gray paint chip possible from all surround paint stores, we had to have a decision by Saturday morning when my parents were coming to paint. It is a good thing also because I may have just continued to waver on my decision for weeks! I never realized that picking a gray paint color was so difficult!

As all the trim in our house is white but I planned to use some light brown tones in the room as well, I wanted a warmer colored gray. Not overly warm so that it looked like brown but not a super cool, blue or purple gray. After 5 paint samples and much debate, Chet and I decided that we liked Behr's Dolphin Fin and went with that. 

My parents showed up to paint and did a fabulous job! I got kicked out of the room and went to do some yard work while they painted the ceiling a fresh coat of white and the walls with the Dolphin Fin gray. Chet updated the trim to match the rest of the house. 

It took most of the day to do it all (there was some football watching involved as well) but it looks great! Now we can start getting more furniture and things in the room! Adam, Brenda and Eli came down for dinner and I think Eli approved of the room too. Either that or he liked all the tools in there.

I love the color with the natural tan colored curtains... it has a nice feeling of warmth. Now to cover up the 90's hunter green fabric of the glider. :)

The following Monday, I hit 28 weeks. I still don't have a huge bump but I love feeling my little girl grow. It is definitely a difference from the prior pictures. We took these pictures in the baby's room also and you can see the gray color with natural lighting.

The other thing we started this week was the armoire! As our house is from 1949, it has limited storage space and closet space. Chet needs the closet in the second bedroom for his clothes but we wanted some place to store the little dresses and jackets we have for the baby. So, we did some searching and found a pine armoire on Craigslist for $25.

The armoire is definitely not the heaviest piece of furniture but it will work really well. The top will have the doors on it and already has a bar to hang clothes. The bottom had a broken door so we took that off and will have a shelf with baskets on it for storage.

I really wanted to try the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint... especially the Duck Egg Blue Color. After running to Kirkland to pick it up, Chet primed over the knots in the pine for better coverage...

And then I painted! The paint was so easy to apply and has great coverage. It isn't quite dry in this picture and looks more blue green when it is in the actual bedroom but it is a great color and I love it! We just need to do some touch ups and wax it before getting it into the room.

As for a dresser, I think we are just going to go with the Ikea tall 6 drawer Hemnes dresser. I keep looking on Craigslist but haven't quite found what I am looking for. It is exciting to be getting the furniture ready for the room! We have had offers of borrowing things for the baby but haven't had a place to put it all until the room was painted and had some storage. Ahh, the fun of a small, older house.

26 weeks

Time seems to be going faster now! After a busy couple weeks of work, traveling down to visit Brianne's brother, Jordan, and his wife, Kylie, in Eugene, Oregon and starting to rearrange our house in preparation for the nursery, we hit 26 weeks! Yay! Things are still going well and now that fall has almost hit, it is starting to feel like our little girl will be here in no time.

I also had the fun opportunity to go with my mom and my nephew Eli to the zoo one day. It was his first trip to the zoo and he loved it. I think he was most intrigued by the giraffes. After that, he may have enjoyed eating Cheerios in his stroller the most. He is such a cute and curious little boy that it will be fun to do this again with them in the future!

We were also quite lucky to see the baby giraffe. The baby giraffe was born in August and it is amazing how tall a baby is (probably 7-8ft tall already). It was neat because the baby was outside... often times you have to go into the barn to catch a glimpse.

 In other news, we are starting to put together things for the nursery. I've been so excited about this but wanted to wait till after 24 weeks to actually get things rolling. Everyone asks what "theme" I'm going for... and it is kind of tricky because I'm not really into the cutesy baby sets but would rather have a nursery with soothing colors and a little bit of a vintage feel. We found a great crib on Craigslist... a Land of Nod crib that would sell for $700 new and is made in the USA. It is in amazing shape other than a few little bit marks and is super sturdy... and we got it only for $150. It is totally the style we wanted and is perfect for what we need! It starts to feel real when a crib is in the room.

24 weeks

Throughout this pregnancy, I've been setting little mental milestones of what to reach next. First it was 12 weeks where the risk of miscarriage goes down, then it was 20 weeks where we got to see if our little peanut was healthy and next up was 24 weeks, the age of viability (not that I would want out little one born at 24 weeks but it seemed like a good next marker to have). 

Everything continues to go well... no illness and I definitely have more energy than the first trimester. I have a great appetite but not to the point that I am eating a crazy amount and feel like I've been gaining weight appropriately. Other than chocolate (which I love no matter what), I don't really have any food cravings or aversions. I still am able to work out. I tend to life weights, do some cardio and other functional fitness type moves. I love the website Crossfit Moms for ideas of workouts during pregnancy and good modifications. I haven't had to miss any work and, other than not eating or going to the bathroom frequently enough on busy days, feel like it is going well. All in all, no complaints and we feel so blessed this has been an easy pregnancy!

It is exciting to feel our little girl growing. She is active and busy... and I love laying back and watching my stomach roll with her kicks. It is such an amazing miracle to have her growing and developing!

On a sad note as well, Chet's grandpa passed away after aortic aneurysm surgery. He was an amazing man of God who prayed for all of his family daily. We know he is with the Lord now and filled with such joy but I'm sad that he won't be here to welcome our little girl in December. He was so excited when we told him and Gram the news a few months ago.

We did get a chance to see everyone though which was wonderful. Our nephews are getting so big and have such fun personalities!

22 weeks... and camping at Mt. Rainier

It ended up being a bit of a busy summer between work and everything else but we finally were able ot schedule in a camping trip! We rung in 22 weeks pregnant by sleeping on the ground in a tent while camping near Mt. Rainier. :)

We had beautiful weather and definitely enjoyed our time away. We didn't backpack or anything because of me being pregnant so car camping it was. We were so lucky to find a campsite without a reservation and had a great weather throughout our trip!

We ended up doing an easy hike along the river to a water fall and old growth forest area. It was nice to get 5-6 miles in without a lot of elevation gain. I think I would be have been pretty winded if we did that up closer to Mount Rainier at a higher elevation.

Chet picked some huckleberries for us.

A little bit of a baby bump. The river and falls were beautiful.

After we got back around mid-day, we couldn't resist swimming in the river at the camp site. It was such clear blue-green water! But, it was freezing cold. Definitely refreshing and a good way to get cleaned up after hiking!

Late afternoon, we headed up to Paradise at Mount Rainier. We did a little bit of hiking but just sat and enjoyed the view mostly. I love all the alpine flowers and the view of the mountain.

It's a...

So... we had our big ultrasound. First and foremost, baby appears healthy and growing well. That is certainly a relief and the best news. But, of course, then everyone wants to know the other big questions... it is a boy or a girl!

I have just assumed we would have a boy for a few different reasons... like the time of conception, my lack of nausea/morning sickness and because there are a lot more boys in our family than girls! I always wanted at least one little girl but just assumed we would have more boys. So, as a result, I was in a little disbelief when Chet and the ultrasound tech announced it looked like a GIRL at our ultrasound! I made her go back for another look!

We are pleased to announce that we are expecting a sweet (and active) little girl this coming December. Chet looks pretty good holding pink balloons, right?

Montana Trip and 19 weeks

It had been 8 months since we lasted visited family in Montana. It seems hard to believe that time passed that quickly but we had asked for time off in July to go out and make one of our bigger Montana, "visit the family" trips which includes seeing both sides of the family. We were definitely excited and managed to cram a lot into a week!

We have given up eating fast food while traveling so now we have started discovering new places to eat. We looked online and found a place in Spokane that serves locally grown food with a Southern vibe. Um, and we are in love with this restaurant now! Casper Fry is in a neighborhood that is being revitalized. You can tell it got rather run down over time but now hip new restaurants, a farmer's market and other events are common there. The farmhouse wedge salad was spectacular and the atmosphere was very cool.

There was a big fire in Superior on our way to Missoula so we stopped and watched the tanker helicopters for awhile filling up with water to fight the fire. Their efficiency was impressive!

It was quite warm in Missoula while we were there... hanging in the 90s during the day and cooling down to the 60s overnight. This was a little much for me (I'm a Western Washington Weather Weenie for sure) but the sun plus the smoke from the fire produced beautiful sunsets. We floated the river one afternoon, went to a choral concert and hung out with friends. It was nice to just get to relax a bit.

Then we headed east to Hobson, Lewiston and Great Falls to visit my extended relatives. Unfortunately, I was bad with photos so don't have any of that time. We got to see aunts, uncles and cousins and catch up a bit. And, we spent a fun afternoon with Grandpa and Flo at his retirement housing playing cards. That certainly was something I wouldn't trade for anything.

After that, we headed west to visit Grandma in Kalispell. We went the scenic route on the south side of Glacier Park. One of these days when we have more time, I would love to actually stop and camp/hike in the park but we always seem to be too busy visiting while we are out there! It was a beautiful day though and the wild flowers were out.

We saw Grandma, Chet's aunt and uncle and my aunt, uncle and cousin in Kalispell. Lots of nice visiting.

I made it to 19 weeks on this trip! Baby keeps growing though it still doesn't show a ton.

On the way home, we definitely took the scenic route on smaller highways. It was beautiful but took us so long to get home! One place we stopped was Kootenai Falls... absolutely beautiful and worth the stop.

Overall, it was a great trip... but I think we arrived home more tired than we left after the long drive home! Sometimes I think that we need vacations from our vacations. Very excited for next week when we get to find out if our little one is healthy and if it is a boy or girl!

18 weeks

Due to timing, I'm just going to be posting pictures every couple weeks. Life is getting busy for sure!

I am noticing a growing belly though I think others still don't notice. People at work don't necessarily notice on their own but I am happily sharing the news at this point. When I wear certain shirts, my growing belly certainly shows but other clothes hide it quite a bit. It probably looks like I just ate too much. :)

I am happy to be able to be active and have more energy while exercising. I tried to run a couple weeks ago (I've never loved running but thought I'd try to continue it intermittently) and developed horrible hip pain so that my have to not be continued. I won't complain as there are other types of exercise I enjoy more.

I'm noticing more and more flutters and little baby kicks. Amazingly, Chet has been able to feel a few of them if he is very patient. Our little baby must be a pretty active one as I know a lot of husbands can't feel movement for awhile!

It has been a beautiful summer in Seattle... really warm weather. My good friend, Mindy, was out visiting so we took a ferry ride over to visit some other friends on the 4th of July and have a BBQ. I also got to spend some time at my parent's house... cutie nephew Eli went in his little pool and entertained us all with his splashing. I sure hope our little one enjoys water as much as him!

We are headed to Montana next week so hopefully the heat won't be too bad. We have lots of miles to cover and family to visit and it will be my first longer trip in the car while pregnant. Good thing I don't seem to have to urinate frequently like some do (maybe all those years of being a nurse?) but who knows when you are sitting the care for hours on end.

16 weeks

I'm not sure who all will be interested in weekly posts, but I think Chet and I will enjoy looking back on changes that are happening in our lives right now. This is a unique and special time for us. I actually hadn't taken any belly photos prior to last week because I didn't feel like I looked different but now I kind of regret not taking some to show before and after!

Things are going well and the weeks are starting to go by faster. It is nice to have our extended family know and to not be keeping the news a secret at work anymore. This is especially good because I feel like I have been working a lot (or just a lot of a day on, a day off, two days on, one day off without any stretches of time off).

I think it is kind of fun to journal a few memories of the weeks as they go by and so will try to use some of these questions each week.

How far along: 16 weeks

Total weight gain: gained 6 lbs total

Maternity clothes: Not yet... using a rubber band and the Bella Band. And I have 2 pairs of work pants that still fit fine so I'm using those a lot.

Sleep: Sleeping fine as long as my schedule for work doesn't flip flop between days and nights too much... and as long as the fan is on because it is so hot here right now!

Best moment of this week: hanging outside in the evenings around our fire pit with the hubby, dinner with friends, sharing news with family and friends

Miss anything: my clothes fitting, having the same energy during workouts as before.

Movement: Thought I may have felt something while laying down to fall asleep but not sure yet. Hopefully soon!

Food cravings: Trader Joe's dark chocolate covered almonds with sea salt... and fruit. :)

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope!

Have you started to show yet: To me and Chet, yes... other people don't seem to notice as much.

Gender: TBA late July or early August

Happy or moody most of the time: Doing pretty well except when I discovered the neighbors pruned our side of the lilac as well as theirs without asking... :(

Looking forward to: Two days off in a row at the end of the week! Having friends over this weekend.

Pregnancy Announcement Photo Shoot

 Here are some of our other favorites from the photo shoot that my brother, Adam, did for us. He did a great job and we loved how the photos turned out! The sunshine was still kind of bright (not quite golden hour at the start of it) but the filters we added in editing make the photos look just like we were envisioning. It was fun to send the photos out to family and friends! It helps it to feel a bit more real now!