Ode to the best husband in the world! :)

Ok normally I'm not the type to express my undying, mushy-gushy love on the world wide web. But this is going to be the exception because my awesome husband deserves some public recognition!!

I'll be the first to tell anyone how very unenjoyable I have found pregnancy for the most part. I envy those women who love, enjoy, and have never felt better than while they were pregnant. I am just definitely not one of them. While I am so thankful to finally have been blessed with being pregnant. And I definitely can't wait for our little buddy to be here. The road up to this point has been less than pleasant for me. And unfortunately, as much as I have tried for it not to, has made life less than pleasant at times for poor Miche.

It has been 10 months of morning sickness, insomnia, cravings, uncomfortableness, lots of crying, and being oh so sore. And through all of this unpleasantness, Miche has been SO great and supportive and taken care of me every step of the way. I think all too often I take for granted how good he is to me. So here is a list of all of the wonderful things he has done for me over the last 9 months so you all know how much I have to be thankful for.

• Not once have I ever been left wanting for something I have craved. Miche always insists on making sure that I get whatever sounds good to me. No matter how far out of the way. Lots of nachos, buffalo wings, mexican food, bacon, strawberries, tons of fun dip :), soda, cookie dough ice cream, sausage biscuits, among many others. He has let his diet be dictated by whatever my hormonal body is craving without any complaint. He can be as tired as can be from a day at work, and just wanting to stay home and relax, but still jump up and gladly take me to get whatever craving strikes at whatever time.
• He not only has been so willing to go out and get me what I want, but also to make anything I want when I just don't have the energy, or my morning sickness won't allow me to do it myself. I don't even think I could take a guess as to the many POUNDS of hashbrowns he has made for me these past months. And every morning he is home on the weekends he wakes up and asks "What can I get you for breakfast?" He gets up, and makes me anything that I want, or goes out and gets me anything that I want, to try and help me ebb the morning sickness.
• There were several times that I woke the poor guy up in the middle of the night because I was so hungry it hurt, and regardless of having to catch a bus or carpool as early in the morning as 5 a.m., he would wake up and make me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, heat up some leftover pizza, or pop in a frozen something or other so that I wouldn't get sick before I could get it down.
• Every morning for the first at least 4 months, he would bring me up some french bread or crackers, and some ginger ale or lemonade, so that when I finally woke up in a few hours that I would be able to eat something before I got up and not get sick.
• There were nights when I was so tired and crying from not being able to sleep that he would sit up (so he didn't fall asleep first like he usually does), snuggle me, and scratch my back until I fell asleep before he would let himself fall asleep.
• I have got my backed scratched and/or rubbed every night throughout my entire pregnancy. Without fail. :)
• When I am feeling huge and so unattractive he is always quick to tell me that I am pregnant, not huge, and that it is cute.
• When I have been unable to sleep in bed, I have been on the lookout for a recliner. But with the baby coming I can't justify spending money on one. So one night he came out and made me my own recliner on the couch so that I could sleep better. :)
• Towards the end of the day sometimes, or even when I am just havin' a bad fit of fatigue, he will jump up to get me a drink, snack, blanket, or just anything else I can't reach from where I am so that I don't have to get up. I know that makes me sound super lazy. But he is so good to do it to help me be more comfortable.
• He gets poked and rolled over so often during the night when I am having trouble sleeping. I know it gets so annoying to him and he has had to sleep on the same side for months which has to get uncomfortable. But he says he's more than willing to do it because as he says "I need my sleep more than he does". I'm not sure how correct that is seeing as he has to go to work the next morning, but that's what he says and therefore moves where I need him. Even the few times that has meant going out to the couch.
• Stairs have gotten more and more difficult the huger I get. Miche will get behind me and help push me up the stairs to make it easier. :)
• I consider cleaning the house to be my job because I am a stay at home mom. But I have been such a slacker with it through the entire pregnancy while I've been so sick and tired. So despite the fact that he works all day he will still come home at nights or on the weekends and help around the house, doing dishes (especially when the smell of them makes me sick) and straightening up the house.
• He is always willing to let me drag him around the baby section of any store we are in everytime we go. And even all around to tons of different stores just so I can keep a look out in the clearance sections for anything we might need. The poor guy has been dragged around so many baby stores these past months. He even drove me clear down to Ikea in a BAD blizzard because I was stressed about ordering a crib before we checked there.
• And not only is he sweet to come with me, but as the end has gotten closer he has been so dang excited for the munchkin to get here it is the cutest thing ever! He has loved picking out cute little outfits for the little guy. Finding cool toys. He searched all over the internet for a pirate flag "jolly roger" blanket because he wanted one for the little guy.
• He has been just as excited about getting the baby's nursery all decorated and helping with it. He waited so impatiently for all the furniture to get here because he could hardly wait to put together the crib, changing table, etc. He's designing and printing giant vinyl safari animals to put up on his walls that match his bedding (that Miche found and loved by the way :) ).
• He's been so willing and insistant, even sometimes more than me, that we make sure the little guy has everything he wants or needs, and that it's super cute, regardless of how very expensive everything is. He gets just as excited as I do about spoiling the little guy.
• He has put up with SO many hours of "baby talk". It has been pretty much all I have talked about through the entire pregnancy. And I know it can get tiresome but he always is willing to listen and indulge me. :) Even when some of the pregnancy related things I choose to tell him may be WAY more information than he really needed.
• He gets so excited to feel and see the little guy move in my belly. And when he does it gets him so excited to meet him. Several times, he has even hugged my belly and said "can we just have him now?". It's so sweet. :) He's gonna be an awesome dad.
• I'm sure I'm missing much more of the awesome things he has done for me. Big and small. But lastly I just wanted to mention what he said last night and this morning to me as things have gotten super hard for me pregnancy wise. He told me how much he appreciates me going through all this so that we can have a healthy baby boy. After all that he has done for me, he is thanking me. :) He is THE best husband in the world, and the sweetest guy, hands down.

I am so lucky to have you sweetie!!! You have been so great to me through this madness! Thanks for making things so much easier on me and helping me keep things in perspective. I can't wait for our little boy to get here! And I am so excited to get to watch you be a daddy to him. You're an amazing husband and you are going to be an amazing dad! I can hardly wait!!!! 8 more days babe until baby time!!! Yeah!!! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!

Look what I made!

Look how cute! :) I made it! It's a baby wipe holder for the diaper bag. So boutique chic don't you agree? lol It was so fun! I think I'm totally going to start making them for baby gifts! :)

Two weeks to go....

Thank freakin' goodness. I'm done. That is all.

19 days and counting!!!

Hey all!! We just got back from the doctor's and we are so excited! He unfortunately hadn't flipped yet. Which is a bummer, and was really upsetting weeks ago. But I've come to terms and now I am just excited! We were able to schedule our c-section today for March 24th!!!! So that is the official baby day! And while I am a little bummed about not going through all the anticipation and surprise of going into labor, it is so nice to have a plan and know what's for sure going on!! I am such a control freak, so it's kinda nice to know what to expect. We figure either way he is going to be here so it's all ok! :) The doc also said that he does have the cord up kinda goin' across his face, so that might be why he isn't able to turn. So this is probably safest for him. Tho...I am a little nervous about the whole, being sliced open business...not so fun! But it will be worth it! :) So there's the scoop! I hope it goes quickly! I am going to have to keep myself busy so it won't drag on forever! Woo hoo!!!

OH! I will also post the latest 3D pictures we have. They were from our appointment at like 32 weeks I believe...the doctor tried to get more today but the little guy wasn't cooperating at all. He wouldn't move his little arm from in front of his face! So maybe next week! :) OH! And the only other news is that he is about 6 lbs. now (I think the count was a little off last time) But that should put him right around 7 lbs. by d-day! :) Perfect size! Everything else is going great! Both me and the baby are super healthy. And without further ado...Baby Terry!

Poor little guy looks kinda squished huh? lol Not too much longer little buddy!

Baby Update!

I thought that time was passing slowly until the baby got here. But I guess if it has already been 5 weeks since my last post that maybe it's not passing as slowly as I thought. A lot has gone on in the last few weeks. We have almost got the baby's room finished. We just need to get his dresser in there and get the fun stickers up on the walls! :) I have also had 2 baby showers! Both were a ton of fun! The first my cute sisters did for me. And the second my sweet Grandma through for me. Thanks again for coming and for all the cute stuff to those that came! And I am so excited I have another one on Thursday that Jess and another cute lady from my ward are doin' for me! :) It's gonna be fun.

We've had 2 doctor appointments since I last posted. The first one was rather uneventful other than getting some cute 3D shots of his face. :) I will hopefully post those tomorrow if I can remember to have Miche take them to work and scan them for me! But other than that we just saw that the baby was still breech, and were told not to worry that there was still time and we just had to wait it out. I of course stressed and worried in the weeks to follow. Reading up on anything I could do to make this little guy turn around and about what our options were if he didn't. Miche thinks I'm crazy to read all over the internet about stuff like that because often times I just end up scaring myself. But I have to be prepared. And not knowing scares me a lot more than reading all the gory details! So anyways, wait we did. I tried a few of the things I found on the net to try and turn him. But all were very uncomfortable, and quite honestly I don't think had any effect on him at all. (Stubborn little fellow!)

So I read up on what our options would likely be if he didn't decide to turn on his own. One of the things that I found was what is called an External Cephalic Version. Where they try and turn the baby from the outside while he is still in your tummy. Oh man did that not sound like a good time to me!!! Not only did it say it was OH so painful, but it is also risky to the baby, they may up having to do an emergency C-section anyways, it can throw you into labor, AND it only works about 50% of the time!! So I talked it over with the Michie and after much deliberation over a few days decided this was not the route I wanted to go. Too risky! So...from what I read, that left us with either a c-section, or I had read about some doctors being willing to try to deliver a breech baby normally. But, after reading up on THAT some more, and hearing some not so fun horror stories about babies being hurt in the process, I had pretty much decided against that too. So! Without doc's diagnosis of course, this just being through my own (pathetically extensive) online research. I had pretty much got it into my head that unless the doc insisted differently, it was either to have the little guy finally decide to turn on his own, or just plan on a c-section.

So I anxiously awaited our doctors appointment. It had to be 3 weeks from our last one this time instead of the usual 2 because our doc was gonna be out of town. So I had to wait for what seemed like FOREVER! But when Thursday finally rolled around, I was so relieved with what we heard!

First off, the baby had unfortunately not turned yet. He was still very much head up. I already knew that because I can see his little head poking up by my ribs all the time. But the doc confirmed it with the ultrasound. So I asked what we were gonna do. He checked my fluid and said that there is still plenty in there, so he has room to turn if he decides to. But he did not sound hopeful. And to be honest, I still have huge doubts. People keep sayin' "don't worry, there is still time." But please, he has been in this same position for at least 10 weeks now. And he doesn't move around that much as it is. I will be really surprised if he decides to. So, the doc mentioned that some people try to turn them from the outside, but to my relief he said that he didn't recommend it. It was painful, and according to him, only worked about 4o% of the time, and that included when it was tried on women that had had multiple kids and had very stretchy uteruses (sp?). And in his words "if it was me, I wouldn't do it". So that was a relief! So he said that we will just wait it out another week or so to see if he turns, and if not, just have to end up doin' a c-section. And if that's the case he said there is really no reason to wait for me to go into labor and that we could schedule it as early as a week before my due date. So for now that is the plan!!! And really, as much as I'm scared to be sliced open, and as bummed as I am not to be able to try to have him normally, it is kinda of nice to have a plan. To know when and where and how and be able to be prepared. I'm a control freak. I like to know what's going on!

That was the more part of the appointment. But I was also tested for Strep-B. And he checked me for the first time also to see if I was dialated yet. (that wasn't the most comfortable thing I have ever done.) And it was a no go, still a very tightly closed cervix. We saw on the ultrasound that the little dude had grown a little bit of hair! :) So that was exciting! Still not a huge amount, but at least that's a start! The doc also measured him with the u/s thingee and said that he was still pretty little. Just over 4 lbs approx. So instead of being around 7 3/4 lbs, he said it's going to be more like 7 at most! Probably in the 6's. So just tiny. :) That will be fun! And should he decide to flip, that will make delivery a lot easier! I was terrified of a big baby after my sister Carly's nearly 10 lb. little guy last year! We're excited to have just a tiny little fellow.

Other than baby stuff nothing has really been going on. We're just tryin to enjoy the time we have left together before he gets here and the craziness starts. And making sure we are all ready to go. Bags packed and all! (I had the most terrible nightmare the other night of going into labor and not having ANYTHING ready or packed...the next day we started packing.) But it's looking like unless he does a grand old flip he should be here in about 3 weeks! :) so exciting! I can hardly wait! Our next appointment is Thursday, so I will be sure to update after that with all the new stats as well as news from the baby shower! :)

9 weeks to go!!!!

Hey all! As of tomorrow we have officially 9 weeks left until our due date! It feels so close yet still so far away!!! We are SO ready for him to be here. Miche is getting so impatient it's almost as bad as trying to make him wait until Christmas to open his presents. :) It's fun that he's so excited tho. We're gonna have a blast with this little bambino!

We had another appointment last Wednesday. It was so awesome! Usually we end up waiting AT LEAST 20 min. (OBGYN's tend to be busy. Babies needing to be delivered and what not, we understand :) ) Our record is actually just over an hour and a half lol. But anyways, they were ready and waiting for us when we got there. And we were in and out in like 15 minutes! It was great. But anyways! I was going to try and post a pic from our ultrasound, but we were in the room with the crappier ultrasound machine this time (it's still fantastic, our doctor's office has AMAZING machines), so the ultrasound is a little fuzzy and unless you can actually see the video, you can't really tell what you're lookin' at. But we did get a good look at his little face. (note: his arm was yet again up by his face! He gets that from his dad. :) ) The doc measured his head and belly and his head was about a week ahead of average and his tummy was right on track. I asked the doc if he could tell if he was a big baby or just average and he said that as far as his head goes, that of 100 people with babies due on our due date, 40 of their heads are bigger at this point, and 60 are smaller. (statistically speaking of course) So it's a little big, but not huge. He also said the machine read the baby as weighing 3 lbs. 5 oz.! (again, awesome machines I tell ya) So by the time we go in next (February 4th by the way) he should way over 4 lbs! Growing fast! And he estimated that the little guy will probably be about 7 3/4 lbs. when he's born. Which sounds just about perfect to me! :) Also, the little guy is still in breach position with his head up in my ribs. But the doc said it could take a few more weeks before he turns. So no worries there. :) All in all a good appointment. Next appointment we get to do another 3D ultrasound! I'm excited!

In other baby news, we changed course on what we are doin' for his nursery. We went and registered at Babies R Us after our appointment and found the CUTEST bedding! Here's a pic!

Isn't it fun?! The picture really doesn't do it justice. The comforter is all different kinds of fabric and SO soft and fluffy :). He's gonna love it. We found a cute black crib and changing table to go with it so it should be so super cute! :) But MAN! Can I just tell ya, baby stuff is EXPENSIVE!!! I know people say that all the time. But it really does add up. Lucky for us we have some great family and friends that are helping out not only with getting stuff but with throwing a couple showers too :). It helps so much! I can't imagine buying everything alone with no help! But anyways, back to the nursery! Michie is gonna print off some big vinyl wall clings of the animals and grass and leaves to put up all around his room. (Living in an apartment that's a better option than painting...lol) It's going to be SO cute! :) We're hoping to get most if not all of it done in Miche's week (not this week but next, I'm so excited!) So I will be sure and post pictures of the actual nursery then! :)

We have really started having fun with all this baby stuff. It's so exciting getting ready for the little guy to get here. We're having a blast with it! :) And it's not much longer now! We're so excited!

Baby Update! : )

Hey all! I have been getting requests for a baby status update so here ya are! :) Nothing too incredibly exciting really. We went in for our 4D targeted ultrasound the first week in December and that was AWESOME! :) It was way fun to get a good look at the little guy. They checked all his organs and everything too and said that everything is looking great! :) They counted all his fingers and toes also and he's at 10 and 10! :) So basically everything is going wonderfully developmentally. Here's a few pix from the ultrasound. I know these things are kinda hard to make out sometimes so I'll try to explain them :)

Ok, this stupid program is being stupid, I was trying to put explanations next to the pictures but apparently it's not letting me! :P so I'll just give you an overview. If you can tell his little hand/arm is up in his face in all of them. lol He wouldn't move it for anything! They were poking and proding and shaking my belly and flippin' me on my sides and he just wasn't gonna move it! lol I think it is so cute tho. But that's the reason you can only see half of his face. Miche thinks he has my nose and cheeks. :) So we'll see. There's also a couple in there that he is frowning. After they had poked and prodded and tried to hard to get him to move his hand, he apparently didn't like it because they got that pic. :) So cute! So sad, but so cute! One of them is also his little foot. And another is proof that he is definitely a boy! :) So hopefully you can make them out. I know these things are kinda hard sometimes if you don't have someone pointing out what's what.

So there ya have it! He's even bigger now because this was 6 weeks ago. But these pictures are so much better than the regular ultrasound ones that we get every month. Our next appointment is tomorrow, and after that we see the doctor every two weeks until the last month and then every week! It's getting so close! I can hardly wait tho! :) Don't get me wrong...I'm scared as all get out for labor...but I'm excited to have him here! We also get another 4D ultrasound in about a month. So I'll be sure and post any good pictures we get! :)

I also have a couple baby showers comin' up. My cute little sisters are doin' one for me mid February. And then my cute friend upstairs, Jess, and my visiting teaching partner are gonna do a ward one for me. :) What sweethearts! I'm so excited to start celebrating the little guy and stocking up his nursery!

Speaking of nursery...That business is proving harder than I thought it would! I think we've finally decided what we want to do for him. We're getting black nursery furniture, and then we're gonna do bright fun colors with it, red, blue, green, and yellow mostly. For those of you that have had the pleasure of browsing Ikea, the more part of the stuff they have there is all bright and fun like that, so it was kind of our inspiration. Along with Fisher-Price. lol It should be fun! The only problem is I have not been able to find any crib bedding even CLOSE to what I want. So I think I'm gonna end up making it! Which is a little scary...lol. But I'm hopin' to get some help from my Mom-in-Law. :) She's good with that stuff and super excited to help me make some baby stuff for her new grandson! :) So as it comes together we'll be sure to post some pictures of the baby's new digs! ;) Michie has been so sweet and such a big help too. He's even taking off the first week of February from work to stay home and help me get the little guys roomed cleaned out and hopefully somewhat together! :) We decided we really need to get it together in case he decides to make his appearance early. I've been stressin' about it! (surprise, I know! lol) We also want to have somewhere to put all the cute fun things people have been giving us. :) Right now it's just in a pile in his room...lol along with all the boxes and stuff we haven't unpacked yet. lol

Well there ya have it! all is going really well. Oh, as for me I suppose, I am unfortunately having to deal with Morning sickness again...that's a treat let me tell ya! :P I got a bit of a break from about 5 1/2 to 7 months, but it's back and better than ever again. lol But at least it can't go much longer than 10 weeks or so right? lol It helps that the end is in sight! The little guy has started kickin' me so dang hard too. We've actually been able to see my belly jump around as he kicks and moves the last month or so. So that has been lots of fun! :) My belly is getting bigger and bigger every day. But thank goodness for my longer-than-most-torso! It's preventing me from really getting too huge I think. :) I definitely don't feel as big as I think I should at this point. Still a month and a half or so of growing to do tho I guess right?

Pregnancy has definitely gotten more enjoyable as I've been able to feel him move and kick around. A constant reminder that he is there and doing good. We did actually have a little scare this last week tho. He hadn't moved much at all for 2 days and I got super nervous because he has been SO active lately. So our sweet doctor had us come in for a "Fetal Stress Test" (they just strap an ultrasound type thing to me and track his heartbeat and movement), and the second they pushed that thing in my belly he started kickin' at it like crazy. lol It was funny. He definitely doesn't like anything invading his space. lol I can't even rest anything on my belly or he tries to kick it right off. lol so cute! But anywho, everything they said looks great. And so I of course felt like a dumb worry wart. But the nurses and our doctor were really sweet about it. He told us he would rather us come in and make sure everything was ok then be stressed about it or miss something wrong. So he was way sweet. We have a great doctor! :)

Ok, for real this time, I think I'm done. :) We'll keep everybody posted as it gets closer! We're on the home stretch!