36 Weeks.

This is me literally holding up my belly cause of how much it sags, lol.......If I let go, it is really low and saggy.

There are so many things I want to post about, but I can't seem to organize my thoughts lately. Pregnancy brain, I guess?? Lot's of things are going on. We just got back from a long trip, one of our cars died and we are in the process of buying another one, my sister is getting married in 2 weeks, my other sister is having a baby about the same time as me, and I am just trying to get things done. I will post about the other stuff later, but for now, I guess I'll just give my 36 week update.

First of all, the baby is great! He is still head down (waaaaaaay down) facing my right side and is quite active. As far as we can tell, everything is good. As for my health, some things are better, some are worse. I am happy to report that my back is much better. After several nights spent sleeping sitting up and taking it easy during the day, Kevin offered to give me a blessing. Seriously, the next day, I was almost completely healed. I can't explain it any other way other than that the blessing worked. When I went to my next appt, my midwife asked if I went to see the massage therapist she recommended. I told her I didn't even get a chance cause I healed so fast. I told her how and she thought that was pretty cool. Anyway, so that problem is solved. My only health annoyance lately (other than general 3rd trimester stuff) is that I seriously feel like I have been sick this entire pregnancy. Anyone who knows me knows I am NEVER sick. Like maybe a slight cold once a year. I haven't had the flu since I was a kid and I have always been super healthy. This pregnancy has really taken a toll on my immune system, I guess. I eat well and take a couple supplements, but it has still been bad. I have had an almost constant cold for months, with symptoms coming and going. It really drags me down some days and makes me feel groggy. I hope it goes away after the birth. Hopefully, the lack of sleep after the birth won't make it worse!
On the positive side, I am actually smaller and have gained less than I did with Josie. As I said in my last update, I thought for sure I would plump up immensely by now like I did with Jos. I have gained about 5 pounds less so far than what I gained with her. It's probably all the chasing and carrying I do trying to keep up with her. I also have been measuring consistently a week behind (well, behind the average anyhow) so it seems this baby will not be a big one. I measured behind with Josie but had caught up by now with her. She ended up being 6 lb 12 oz at 38 weeks and looked plenty plump.
For about a month now, people have been asking me if its "any day now" or suggesting I look like I will pop tomorrow. They look a little taken back when I laugh and tell them I still have another month or so. Then they say they assumed that because I look like I have "dropped." I totally understand what they mean. Truth is, I suppose I have dropped, but I was never carrying any higher. This baby has been that low since he was heavy enough to hang down. Not to be gross or too personal, but I literally can feel his head down there. If I sit a certain way or am on my feet to long, I seriously feel like the head might pop out at anytime, lol. It has kinda freaked me out a couple times, but everything is fine and I hope it just means he will have an easier time coming out.
As far as preparations go, things are coming along but there is still a lot to do. I have gotten plenty of baby stuff and anything left I buy will probably be a want and not a need. Some friends here threw me a baby shower yesterday and it was so fun to just focus on the new baby. It's been hard this pregnancy to really think about the fact that a new human being will be joining our family very soon.
That's all I can think of as far as a baby update. I am writing a labor/birth related post that I will probably post tomorrow. All in all, things are progressing just fine and he will be here before we know it!!

19 1/2 Months- A Typical Josie Walk

At 19 1/2 months, Josie had her first real illness other than runny nose/ slight fever from teething and a couple minor colds. A week or so ago, as I was starting to have my back problems, Josie started coming down with something too. She was definitely not herself and I knew it was not teething. My first thought was ear infection cause she has never had one and I keep waiting for it to happen. I took her to the doctor, they checked her out, and told me she looked fine, was probably teething. I think I probably took her too early cause the next day, she was definitely sick. I'm pretty sure it was croup. She had a "croupy" sounding cough and you could hear congestion in her chest when she cried and talked. She had a minor fever and runny nose, but mostly, I could just tell that she felt crappy. She laid around all day, slept for a total of 4 or 5 hours in naps, cuddled a lot, and was really short tempered. It was sad. Fortunately, it was at a time where I felt crappy too so we both laid around together. She didn't eat much and had a hard time sleeping at night. In typical Josie fashion, she was back to her normal sweet, smily, energetic self in a few days. Glad that's over for her.

At the appointment, we found out she weighs 24 1/2 pounds. Much smaller than I thought. She still has some nice baby fat in her arms so I always assumed she was bigger than that. If you care about averages, that puts her right about in the 50th percentile. Here are a few things Josie does and likes at 19 months:

*can do almost any puzzle you give her. It's crazy how good this girl is at puzzles.

*says "thank you" almost more than anything else. She thanks everyone for everything.

*takes ONE NAP during the day!!!! Hooray!!! Her sleep schedule is seriously awesome. I gave up on trying to force her onto a one nap schedule and just let her do whatever she felt like and it worked. It's always been that way with Josie. If I ever tried to force her onto some schedule, it would usually backfire on me and she would let me know it didn't work for her. She is fine doing it on her own, in her own time. That's why I never forced her to sleep through the night before she was ready. (Hope I can be that patient with the next baby!) When she was ready, she just naturally started doing it and it's been great. Her current schedule is about 12-13 hours at night and 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours during the day. It's glorious. She wakes up at about 8, which means I don't feel like a zombie in the morning, takes a nice, easy nap around the middle of the day and is in bed around 7:30 or 8ish.

*is learning how to say prayers and be reverent. She is very good in Sacrament meeting and I don't remember the last time I had to take her out. She mostly just reads her books, observes the congregation, and snacks. I think she likes sitting on the pew with mommy and daddy. When we say it's time for prayer, she folds her arms, closes her eyes, and starts muttering gibberish. It's SO CUTE!!! I will tell her it's prayer time and she immediately smiles and does this. I think she probably thinks it's a game. I sometimes peek during prayer and have been pleased to see her quietly folding her arms like everyone else, trying to be reverent.

*is learning how to "be soft" with other kids, animals, babies, etc. She will gladly demonstrate the difference for you. She will hit one of her stuffed animals, shake her head "no" and then pet it softly and snuggle it. She doesn't have a problem with hitting kids or animals or anything, I just think she likes having me tell her how to be nice. It's cute, but now we just need to cut out the hitting part before baby brother comes.

*is starting to make friends and is very nice to the other kids in nursery. She has been sharing very well lately.

*She's just her normal, pleasant self!!

We try to take a walk daily, at least just around the neighborhood. We usually start out in the back and walk down the alley way. These were taken this afternoon right after church.

Deciding where to run first:


Exploring in the alley:

Seeing if Bailey the dog wants to come out and play:

Of course, we have to stop and smell any new flowers that have come in:

Stuffing the blossoms up our nose so we can smell them as much as possible:

Picking some of the neighbors wild strawberries and trying some. They have more than they know what to do with so they are always bringing us some. Yum!!

And off to the front yard!:

She decided she wanted to take a rest on the other neighbors porch. She loves climbing on and sitting on stairs. She motioned for me to sit with her but I had to snap pics first:

That's enough sitting!! Off to explore so more!:

Last but not least, some Josie videos!!!

This video is a few weeks old (you can tell by the wounds that she has on her face it was at least 3 weeks ago), but here is some typical Josie. Here we are in the playroom trying to get her to talk to Grandma and Grandpa on tape. It's me trying mostly unsuccessfully to get her to do a bunch of things. Typical. They never perform on queue. This must have been right after I gave her that horrible hair cut, too, haha.....

I haven't put some Josie giggle on here in a while. Again, must have been a while ago since we are still wearing warmer clothes.

32 Weeks

First of all, I had no idea Kevin posted something until someone sent me a sweet email about it. I love when he does surprise posts!! I must clarify something. I love Kevin to death, but there were several inaccuracies in his post. First of all, Josie and I love tagging along to work events!! Not many people get to travel and see as much as we have together. Work has taken us to China, Europe, all over the U.S. and to some of the nicest hotels in the world. We have hung out with lots of cool, famous people too : ) True, Kevin's work sometimes requires a lot of time, but he is SO good at putting us first and making sure he is there for everything. In fact, he usually takes no lunch break (makes his own lunch in the morning to take with him and eat in his office) so that he can leave by 5 or 5:30. He is also very good at leaving work at work. When he is home, he is completely ours. Fortunately, he doesn't travel nearly as much these days. No more China trips, Germany once a year, and a couple weekend trips. Everything else, we tag along. Plus, without his hard work, we couldn't afford to have me stay home with Josie. I feel very fortunate to have a husband that makes a good living and puts his family and the gospel first. I love you, Kevvy!!!

Now, about me............

It begins. I must have forgotten how yucky the last trimester is or maybe it wasn't that bad last time. Probably both. Between gaining a ton of weight, being super active, and carrying Josie around everywhere, my body is now really mad at me. Especially my back. If you have been reading this blog a while you may remember I had back issues last pregnancy too. I have scoliosis which apparently makes my back injure easily. This time around, I started having very severe pain in my back and chest and it hurt when I breathed. My lower back has now started hurting and cramping as well. After not being able to sleep or do much of anything, I decided to go see my midwife and see what my options are. Not much you can do that is safe during pregnancy, but they referred me to a good massage therapist and told me to take Tylenol PM. I have had to sleep sitting up and I still can't bend over or hold Josie. Because of the severe pain when I breathe, I am planning on going to get checked out more thoroughly in case it's something else. I have even considered maybe it's a cracked rib or something. I am going to see if it gets any better in the next couple days. Otherwise, I've already paid my deductible, so I might as well take advantage of my insurance, right? Anyway, I hope it's just a torn muscle or something and nothing else.
My belly is really feeling heavy and the worst part is I know I still have a while to go. Ugh..... I love being pregnant, but I have to admit, I am starting to look forward to the finish line already. I hate to say that cause I know I'll miss it, but the last couple months are not the best. Also, the thought that I was extremely uncomfortable at 38 weeks and didn't even have to experience past that makes me a little nervous. I completely realize that this pregnancy could go 40,41, or even 42 weeks. Who knows? I know someone who had their first at 38 weeks and their second at 42 1/2 weeks. I hope I can hold out for as long as this baby needs. Also, I have pregnancy congestion again. My last pregnancy, I had constant congestion for the last month. This time, I have had it over a month so far and it will probably continue. It's no big deal, just like a slight cold, but it's annoying.
On the bright side, baby brother seems to be doing great! I am measuring right on and he is very active. He has stayed head down and is in the same position as Josie was. This is good, cause I had a dream about him being breech at one point. It was one thing that made me nervous cause it's hard to find a doctor that will deliver breech. Don't think I have to worry. Also, Kevin and I have pretty much decided on a name, but it won't be official till we meet him. There are some other possibilities, but this one is special to both of us. Of course we are not sharing : ) but it is a name that I believe had some inspiration.
So far I have gained about 30 pounds. I was hoping to gain less than the 40 I gained with Josie, but I kinda gave that up. Oh well. Hope it comes off that easily again. 40 doesn't seem that bad, but when added to someone who only weighed 95 to begin with, it's quite a transformation. And no, it's not all in my belly. I totally have the pregnancy fat face, big hips, etc. Trust me.
I hate to complain though, cause there are many who can't have a baby or have babies that are not healthy so I know I am very fortunate. Plus, as much as I am looking forward to meeting this baby and not being pregnant anymore, there is still so much to do!! Hopefully, I will have more done by my 36 week update!

"It's interresting what a young man recollects...."

I am sure that Emily has posted the photo to the left on the blog before. To me, it is one that is typical of our life: Emily and Josie ever-patiently making good use of time in some remote location while daddy is off carousing with some rock star. Emily is looking radiant through the patience she is forced to exhibit. Josie is tired but glad to be out of the car seat.

I have been told over and over again that family and Rock n' Roll don't mix, and have set out to be the exception by trying to combine family outings with work events. With the number of times we have tried it, you would think that both of us would be use to it by now. But as is typical with life, we often leap into situations thinking "this time" will be different, when it rarely is.

From the beginning, ours has not been the typical LDS love story. In our seven(plus) years together, as I have dragged her across this country in various ventures and forced her to forfeit her personal aspirations in pursuit of family, Em has been the pinnacle of patience when it comes to my profession. In my unique line of work, there are often times where attention is needed beyond standard work hours, as was the case this weekend in Indianapolis.

This time, I left a very-pregnant Emily and tired Josie to fend for themselves in a sub-par hotel room while I tried to attend to one of the artists I work with at a pre-Race party on Monument Circle downtown. This event ran the gamut of modern human existence; from the rich and powerful, to Hollywood A-Listers, to the lowest common denominator of Hoosier trash.

Bear in mind, this was no Sodom and Gomorrah and was fairly tame in its scope, but witnessing this pageantry of sloth and poor plastic surgery is enough to make anyone wonder what the point of all of it is. As I viewed it all from behind the velvet rope, one word made it all come into focus: desperation.

Our world is filled with desperate people that are grasping at straws attempting to find the one thing that will bring them fulfillment. Whether through substance, or companionship, or desire, or power, it is a truly sad state of affairs in the mind of one who thinks they know better. But then again, pointing the finger of disdain is so easy to do, isn't it? Am I any better than them for sacrificing time with those who are most important to go what I view as the extra professional mile?

Driving back from said event was an interesting exercise in self-examination. Rarely have I been so grateful to have a knowledge of the fullness of the Gospel, a beautiful and patient companion and best friend, and a daughter that -for now- just likes having me around. And yet, rarely have I felt so guilty for dragging these two amazing ladies into an arena that did not provide them every comfort. We always say that our worst times together are better than our best times alone, but she believes it enough to actually do it! I am such a dirt bag.

I am sure I am making it all sound worse than it was, but I am hopeful that my Father in Heaven will bless me with an eye for balance in being a faithful Disciple, a sensitive EC, an attentive father, a worthy provider, a decent friend, and an adequate employee. I guess that is what we are all hoping for, right? I also hope our next outing proves to be better than the last..."this time."

I love you, Emily!