A Thank You, Something Funny, and a Baby Update

First off, I wanted to thank everyone who responded to my blog post yesterday. After I wrote it, I was worried I'd get more backlash, or that I had offended people, or that I sounded really ridiculous, and I very nearly deleted it. But I got an overwhelming flood of support from people via blog comments, Facebook, private messages, text messages, and emails. It's so nice to know that I have more people who have my back than people who dislike me and my decisions and parenting style. 

So Thank you all a million times over! 

Since yesterday's post was emotion-heavy, I thought I'd keep this one light. 

Savannah has been saying the funniest things lately and I keep telling myself I need to write them down so I don't forget this adorable 2-year old stage of imagination. And since this blog is my journal, what better place to write down these memories?

So here are just a few things Savy has said over the last week or so:

"Mom, where my skateboard? I NEED my skateboard!" (And no, she doesn't own a skateboard...)

(While looking in my mouth with a flashlight) "hmmm... Lovely teeth mommy!"

 "Moooooommmyyyy! Where my pack-pack? I go to school! I NEEED my pack-pack, I go to school!!!"

"Mommy, flap your arms! Faster! Flap faster! NEED MORE POWER!!! 3, 2, 1... Blastoff!

(She bites me on the leg) "Mmmmm. Delicious!"

(She's crying hysterically over the fact that I won't give her a cookie until after she eats her dinner first) "But mommy, I'm crying!"

(Comes bursting into my room, slamming the door and breathing heavily) "I scared!" (I ask her why she's scared) "There's a dragon! (This is a recurring thing. Apparently we have a dragon in our house, and sometimes he's scary, and other times he's funny, and on the rare occasion, he rides a choo-choo train).

Waking me up from my nap, she pats me on the leg and states "Mommy, my diaper  SO bad! Yucky! It SO bad!"  (Apparently, Bryant had just changed her diaper and it was a doosey)

(After I asked her to go grab a new diaper) "Aye, Aye Captain!" Complete with a hand salute.

(While in the bathtub) "Oh no! A waterfall! Diego, I save you! Help! Help! Oh no Diego, the waterfall!" (Pretends to swim and pulls an invisible rope)

(She takes a swig of her own bathwater, and I tell her not too and that it's yucky) "No Mom, I feel much better! Yummmm!"

And finally, I thought I'd do another quick baby update. 

Today was my last appointment before this baby arrives, either willingly or by force on Monday. As soon as the doctor walked in, he said "Why are you here?! What is wrong with this baby! He should have been here already!

He told me that if I measured at a 5, he would just send me right to the hospital today. Unfortunately, I was still at a 3. I asked how much I could pay him to say I was a 5, but that didn't work... I asked him if stripping my membranes would help, and he said that it might, but I could just as easily go into labor from being at a 3 as I could from having them stripped, but I decided to have him do it anyway, because I'll try anything at this point.

We discussed my induction again. He said that where I'm at a three and basically ready to go any minute, that my induction should go very smoothly and be a breeze. He's very confident that everything will be perfect. But he told me that if I have any type of contraction pattern at this point, even if they are not close together, that the hospital will accept me. That's comforting to know that if I start contracting regularly, I don't have to wait for them to be 5 minutes apart!

I mowed the lawn today thinking that might start some contractions. I think I had one right after, and then another few this evening, but nothing consistent or painful. And now my body really hurts. But at least our lawn doesn't look like a jungle anymore!

I'm not feeling anxious about having this baby like I was before. I think part of it is the blessing for peace that Bryant gave me, and part is that this kid has an official eviction notice date. He will be here no later than Monday, which takes a lot of the stress out of waiting, and the disappointment after every day that I don't go into labor. That knowledge is helping to keep me relaxed, which is what I really needed.

But here's to hoping that I go into labor tonight! That would be pretty awesome.

The Mommy Wars Arrive on my Home Turff

If you're not familiar with the term "mommy wars", in a nutshell, its basically where mom's (and sometimes women with no children) will attack another mom for her parenting choices, usually done via blogs, social networking sites, things like that. I find this different from simply offering friendly advice, which the mom should be able to consider and either use, or disregard, to being a "my way or the highway" approach.

I've seen this on many of the blogs I read. I remember one woman posted a picture of her 2 kids playing, one a toddler and one about a year old. They were both just in diapers, which is a common thing around our house, so I didn't think anything of it, other than it was a cute picture of some cute kids. But as I skimmed the comments, there were several people who complained that it was degrading to the children, that it was inappropriate, that her children would hate their mother in the future because she had posted that photo on the internet. 

This really shocked me, and annoyed me. I mean, I'm the mom who let her daughter swim naked in a river in Zions National Park once. My daughter spends half her day in just a diaper. Were there people out there that really had a beef with this woman? 

Then last week, another blogger I follow posted a photo on instagram of one of her children on a bike, and the kid didn't have a helmet on. The bike was stationary, and the dad was clipping the baby into the carrier on the bike, so it may have been moments before a helmet was even placed on her head. But people began attacking her left and right for being careless and how a good mom would have been concerned about her daughter's safety. I felt so bad knowing that the woman would have to read through over 100 comments, the majority of which were attacking her.

Now, I've had my share of a few concerned moms (and non-moms) let me know what I'm doing wrong as a parent. Usually, it's while I'm at the store or something ("you know you're daughter isn't wearing shoes right?") and I've had a few people send me e-mails or texts to notify me of my short comings. Heck, I've even had anonymous messages left for me from people in my own ward complaining about the way I taught their kids in nursery before. 

Usually, I get a little mad, a little defensive, but I can come out of it with no emotional scrapes or bruises.

But these last couple of weeks have been rough. Like, really, really rough. I have had several people privately message me on facebook, berating me on everything from what I let Savannah eat: "I saw that you posted today that you let Savannah eat a cookie. Do you KNOW how bad sugar is for kids?! She is at high risk for becoming obese if you let her eat junk at such a young age!" 

To my decision to have a doctor-assisted hospital birth: "Doctors are crooks! You are not in their best interest. Plus your doctor is MALE which is perverted and gross! You should really do an at-home birth with a midwife, it's much safer..."

And then all hell broke loose Monday night.

I had the option to be induced this past Monday. I declined, because I wanted to give this baby until his due date to arrive at the very least. But I began feeling so drained. My body hurts. My ENTIRE body hurts. I can't take care of Savannah as well as I should be able to because I can't do anything. Just walking down the stairs to do laundry is torture. Poor Savannah hasn't been to the park in weeks because I'm just too exhausted and sore to chase her around. I can barely sit on the front porch and blow bubbles with her. It's not fair to her at all.  So I did a LOT of research, I talked to lots of people, I discussed it with my doctor, and came to the conclusion that I want to be induced this coming Monday, 2 days after his due date. I posted on Facebook how I was excited because that meant I would only have to be pregnant for one more week at the most. 

Initially, I got a lot of support on this. People e-mailed or texted me to tell me what good experiences they had being induced, how they were excited for me, things like that.

But the next morning, my in-box began flooding with people who were going to tell me exactly why I was being a terrible person for wanting to be induced. "It's unnatural" "you're forcing your body to do something it doesn't want to do" "your labor will take too long".

Thankfully, these people at least had the decency to attack me privately, rather than right on my facebook post for all to see, because it was kind of humiliating. I was really shocked. Most of these people weren't even people I knew that well. They were people who had friended me on facebook, who had known me vaguely in high school or something like that. And suddenly, I felt defeated. I tried to defend myself. I tried to let them know that I was not selfishly doing this. I was doing this for my well being, but also for my daughter, who needs me just as much as this baby does. But I got the same response from ALL of them: "I'm just giving you options, you obviously haven't thought this through..."

WHAAAA?

Do these people really think that I'd make such a big decision without researching ALL the facts first? I don't even go to a movie without finding out everything I can about it first. I just spent the last 3 days coveting a 12 dollar shirt online and trying to decide if it was something I really wanted to buy. 3 DAYS PEOPLE! (I ended up buying it, and it's super cute, just FYI...) so I definitely wasn't going to be induced without feeling well informed about it.

But I just couldn't convince these people that I was doing what I felt was best for me, my husband, and my kids. All day yesterday, I felt sad, and like I really was a terrible mom. I was second guessing myself. I was trying to decide if I should cancel my induction, just so that people would stop being so mean. I decided that I needed to go for a walk. Every evening, Bryant, Savannah and I all go for a walk as far as my body can handle. But I decided to go out on my own last night. I just wanted to put on my headphones and listen to "Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me". So I did. I didn't think about all the mean messages I had received. I just thought about how pretty the mountains were with low-hanging clouds surrounding them.

On the last street of my walk, it began to downpour. I had brought an umbrella, and I didn't mind it at all. But Bryant had been worried about me and had come to find me. He ran all the way up the street and accompanied me back down. When I got home, I told him I felt better, and he hugged me and told me that he felt I was making a good decision, and that whatever I chose to do, he would support me. Soon after, I had a few contractions, and I began to get excited. So I cleaned up the living room, put together the car seat, and did the dishes... just in case...

But unfortunately, they stopped altogether as soon as I went to bed. 

I woke up this morning at 4am. I was so frustrated. I had hoped that I would go into labor during the night. I wanted more than anything to be able to tell people I didn't have to be induced. Then they wouldn't think I was such a bad person. I couldn't go back to sleep so I got out of bed and in the shower bright and early. Just as Bryant was about to leave for work, he asked if I was ok, and out of nowhere I began crying. I had a total meltdown. I told him I was frustrated, that I was tired, that my body hurts, that I felt attacked and hated by people who only really know me through facebook. 

I asked for a blessing.

I asked him to bless me with comfort and patience and peace.

So he did, and it was beautiful.

I felt better. I felt calmer. Later, my visiting teacher came to visit. She is such an awesome person. She gave me a lesson that I really needed to hear, and we sat and chatted for a very long time. I told her about all the mean things people said to me, and she felt for me, and gave me encouragement. 

I still feel good about my decision. About all my parenting decisions. Yes, I'm a little scared. I don't want to be induced, I would rather have him come on his own this weekend. Or today, today would be nice. But if he isn't here by Sunday night, then I am ok and at peace with being induced. My mom was induced with all of her kids, and we all came just fine and dandy. I trust my doctors. I trust my instinct. And I trust that after lots of prayer and pleading, that this is the right thing to do. 

But I'd still really really like him to come today... you know, if he wants to.

And to all those mom's and non-moms who feel that their opinion is the only one that matters:

(Sorry, I just had to throw Uchtdorf in there. It was too perfect to pass up...)

Reasons this kid needs to arrive ASAP

Reasons this kid needs to arrive ASAP:

1. I don't want to shave my legs anymore with this ginormous belly in the way. Seriously, it should be an Olympic sport.
2.  I can't roll over in bed without sitting up completely, shifting my body sideways, and laying back down. It's tedious work.
3. I have cankles
4. My face is so swollen, it looks like I was attacked by bees and had an allergic reaction.
5. Heartburn... 'nuff said...
6. I'm grumpy, and people seem annoy me more than usual.
7. I'm bored, because I'm too sore to do anything like cleaning, walking, shopping, taking Savannah to the park, even sitting too long in front of the television makes my back hurt.
8. I only own 2 short-sleeved maternity shirts, and only one of them still fits. And it's too hot to wear my long-sleeved ones, and pointless to buy any new maternity shirts.
9. I want to be able to drink a mexican coke so bad.
10. I will punch my doctor in the face if he tells me I haven't dilated or effaced any more than I did last week.

But the #1 reason is because I want this baby in my arms. I want to cuddle him, and talk to him, and I want to see if he looks more like Bryant or more like me, and I want to take him home and just give him all the love and attention that I've been waiting to give him for 39 long weeks.

Me at 39 weeks, and Savannah trying to hand me a pretend cupcake she made me.

4 Years Later and Still Going Strong

Last Wednesday was Bryant and I's 4th anniversary.

Where did the last 4 years go? It doesn't feel that long. Although, we have technically been "together" for 5 years, and friends for 6. Saying that makes it seem longer.

And I am more in love with him today than I was the day I married him. And I will be more in love with him tomorrow than I am today. (Sounds so sappy, but It's true!)

Bryant had to work most of the day, and I was thinking we would just do a quick dinner out somewhere like Texas Roadhouse or Olive Garden (thats about as fancy as we get around here these days because they are still pretty kid-friendly...) 

But Bryant surprised me by getting off work a little earlier than I was expecting him, and he told me to "Dress fancy. Not 'prom' fancy, but fancy casual" (his words, not mine). Since I only have one maternity shirt that is short-sleeved and still fits, I had to go with pink stripes and khaki pants. A little too casual for a fancy dinner, but it's the best I could do.

We took Savannah to my parents house and took off. Bryant told me that the place we were going was about 40 minutes away, so I was thinking we were headed to somewhere in Salt Lake, but he headed south towards Provo. As soon as he turned up the canyon, I knew where he was taking me.

The Tree Room at Sundance! 

Ahhhh! 

I've lived in Utah my entire life and have never been to Sundance. Is that crazy or what?!? I've done half the Alpine loop several times, but never made it down the backside into Sundance, but I have heard a LOT of good things about the Tree Room.

The whole restaurant is so cozy. I felt like I was just having dinner in a really nice cabin with Southwestern decorations. The only thing I found weird, is that they sat us at a table, which had a couch to sit on, on one side, and nothing on the other. So Bryant and I sat next to each other, and had a beautiful view of the trees out the large window, which was really romantic, except that we were both in front of all the other tables and guests. Bryant told me he felt like we were at the head of a table or something. I wondered if people thought it was weird that we were essentially watching all of them eat.

The food was amazing! I always feel so awkward when I go somewhere really nice to eat, like I'm really out of place. When they asked what I wanted to drink, I asked for just a water. Then the waitress said "We have water, bottled water, sparkling water, bottled sparkling water, which do you prefer?" and I just, very dumbly responded, "um, just ice water" and she replied "so just tap water?! Ok..." 

They first brought out these weird spoon things with a tiny dollop of a pea puree, a single slice of a strawberry, a mint leaf and an almond slice. Like, the whole concoction was slightly bigger than a dime. Bryant and I looked at each other and I said "how the heck are we supposed to eat this? Do I use a fork, or do I just lick it off?" I ended up just licking it off all awkwardly. Bryant then said "Honey, we are not very good at being fancy..." No, we are not. After that weird little bite of food, they brought out a mango sorbet. Yum! I ended up ordering the peppered steak with what I think was an apricot sauce, mashed potatoes and spinach. Bryant got the buffalo with a semi-spicy blackberry sauce. We unashamedly reached over and ate off each others plates. I tell ya, we are classy...

They offered us the dessert menu to look over, but we both decided that we didn't want to pay nearly 20 bucks for a dessert and declined. They ended up bringing us 2 little chocolate tarts with a raspberry on them anyways. 

After dinner, we kind of snuck around the restaurant and the lounge next to it just to check it all out. I MIGHT have also been snooping around to see if I would bump into Robert Redford... but no luck there.

We then headed outside and walked around for a bit. There were a ton of people riding the ski lifts up the mountain and then biking back down, and we had fun watching them for a bit.

Afterwords, we debated going home and picking Savannah up. Most of the time when we go on dates, we do dinner OR a movie, so that we are not forcing whoever is babysitting to deal with our crazy, high-energy child for more than a couple of hours. But I told Bryant that we should just do the whole date enchilada and go see a movie too. So we headed back down the canyon to the theaters where we saw the new Star Trek movie! We got lucky because the theater sold out minutes after we got our tickets. Who knew Wednesdays were such a popular day to go see a movie?

The whole night was perfect! Bryant always spoils me on our anniversary. And now that we have a daughter, dates in general are far and few between, so something like this is extra special and extra romantic!

I'm so happy to be married to my best friend. I know the term "soul mates" is a little cheesy and sappy, but I truly think of ourselves that way. If you think about it, so many factors and details of our lives had to work out just perfectly for us to even meet, let alone fall in love and get married. Not to mention that I do believe that we are sealed for time and all eternity. It's not just "till death do we part" for us. We will be together forever. We are a team, and we work together in everything we do. Marriage is hard work guys, but it's so worth it if you put the effort into it. I am a very lucky woman to have married someone who sees my potential, who pushes me to accomplish my goals, who walks beside me in all my decisions. When I told Bryant I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom, he fully supported me and did what he had to do to make sure I could stay home with Savannah. And I know that if I went to him and told him I wanted to be a working mom, that he would fully support me in that too. It's a beautiful thing to have someone who loves you unconditionally, and who wants to make you happy, and I was so lucky to find Bryant, who loves me as much as he does. 

Happy 4 years baby, and here's to many, many more anniversaries!

Mother's Day

My mother's day this year was wonderful! 

It started out with Breakfast in bed. Bryant made me pancakes, but whenever he cooks, he likes to experiment, so he added cinnamon and vanilla into the batter. They were delicious, a little undercooked, but delicious. Besides, it's the thought that counts :-)

After Breakfast, Bryant took Savannah out into the living room so I could lay in bed and read all morning long. I was also able to get in the shower without a toddler trying to jump in as well, and Bryant got Savannah in the tub, and all ready for church.

Savannah was pretty well behaved in church. And by well behaved, I mean she didn't scream to high heaven when we wouldn't let her run around in the back of the cultural hall. This year at church, they gave all the women little bags of chocolates, which most women tucked away in their purses to enjoy later. You better believe I had eaten that entire bag before the 1st class even started! After classes, Savannah gave me a poem with her hand print on it that she made in nursery. It may have been the pregnancy hormones, but I kind of choked up and teared up when she handed it to me. She was so proud of it and pointed out all the hearts on it for me.

After church, I was left alone to get a good nap in. 

Afterwords, we drove up to my grandparent's house for enchiladas and gifts.

My sister and I went out and got my mom a necklace with our, and my 2 brother's initials on it. My grandma gave me some adorable earrings (which the 1st time I wore them out, I had a million compliments on!) and my parents gave me a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble! If anyone ever wonders what I like to get for gifts, gift cards for books is always a good choice.

It's hard to believe that I have been a mom for 2 years now, and will have 2 kids to mother any day now (let's hope sooner rather than later...) It's definitely been a learning experience. Some days, I feel like the world's worst mother. Especially on days like today when my daughter woke up several hours earlier than she normally does, and was a little stinker all day and I didn't have the patience to put up with her temper tantrums, so I had to use the "just ignore it" tactic. Days like today make me think "I am terrible at this. She just wants attention and I'm too tired/sore/impatient/pregnant/selfish to give it to her right now. How will I ever give her everything she needs? How will I take care of 2 kids?!" 

But then, I get those moments where she comes out of nowhere and asks me for a big hug and kiss, or curls up in my lap just to cuddle, or she brings me little treasures she finds like rocks, or weeds, or a stuffed animal. Or when I'm getting ready for the day and she "helps" me put on my makeup, takes a step back with a grin on her face and says "oh mommy, you so cute!" 

Moments like that I think "No, I'm doing alright. My wild child is happy and healthy and that's all that matters".

I think attaining that "image" of the perfect mother is even harder in this day and and age. People make themselves look as good as possible on facebook, or on a blog, or on instagram. And I love to see this perceived image of the happy-go-lucky mom who has kids that never have melt-downs, or who never make a mess. I really do because it gives me something to strive for, to better myself. But the other side of me loves that I can be a "real" mom. That there are times when cookies and chocolate pop-tarts are on the menu for dinner, that my house is in a perpetual state of dirty dishes and smelly laundry, that letting my daughter go and dig in the dirt of the flower bed is entertainment around here. I think it keeps our life interesting, and even after an imperfect day, I can read my daughter a bedtime story, tuck her into bed, and when I turn off her light, I know that she considers me her closest friend. We do everything together, and we learn together.

I like being a mom. I like it a whole lot more than I had ever imagined I would. All the tantrums, all the time-outs, all the goldfish cracker crumbs and late nights and bruised knees are worth all the hugs, kisses, cuddles, smiles, laughs, and "I love you's" a million times over.

At the end of mother's day, I watched my wild girl as she watched my grandparent's horses run around, and I felt like I should really be celebrating her. Because she is the whole reason I even get to have a mother's day. She has shaped and molded me into the person I am today more than anyone else on this earth. I love her more than anything.

And a big thank you goes out to my Mom and my Mother-in-law, and my grandmother's and Bryant's Grandmothers, and all my aunts and all Bryant's aunts for being such great examples of amazing women. You have all helped me along this still fairly-new journey of motherhood. I love you all and owe you all so much.

Wedding!

Want to know the secret to a happy marriage?

Go to weddings.

I love going to weddings because it brings back a lot of memories of my own wedding, and how happy and blissfully in love I was (and still am!). On the 9th, I was able to watch my little brother Sawyer be sealed for time and all eternity to his best friend Kenna! They were married in the Manti, Utah temple, which is the same temple I was married in 4 years ago! (in fact, tomorrow is my anniversary!) This temple holds a lot of meaning to me, not only because I was married there, but my grandma Bushell would call it, "her temple" and she loved it and would attend often.

Now it holds even more meaning because my brother was married there. It's such a special place.

Their wedding day was beautiful and perfect! 

I didn't get as many photos as I had hoped, because I was chasing a toddler around, and not to mention I am the size of a whale right now... But I think I was able to get a few good ones!

(I have more photos, but blogger is having difficulties tonight and is taking forever to load them. Also, I didn't get any photos of the luncheon, sorry mom!)

After the wedding, we did family pictures at the temple, and then we headed to the tabernacle in Manti for the luncheon. My Mom and Aunt made Costa Vida style salads for it, while I made little mason jar holders for the flowers. After the luncheon, we headed home, where Savannah grabbed a nap in the car (I tried, but every time I fall asleep in the car, Bryant thinks it's the best time to turn up the radio and belt-out a song or two... or 10... as loud as he can.) We were able to relax at home for a bit, and then headed to the reception. Their reception was so cute! And I probably ate about 5 cookies... or more, I don't really remember... And a couple of cups of strawberries and cream. I felt bad that we couldn't stay the whole time, but Savannah was getting out of control and I was just way too tired and sore to chase her around, especially because people kept trying to talk to me, and I was trying to keep an eye on her, which is really hard to do when I can't exactly run after her anymore. So I'm sorry to anyone who was chatting with me and I just took off. I wasn't trying to be rude haha!

Anyways, I am so happy and excited for these two crazy kids! Kenna fits into the Peacock clan perfectly and she is such an amazing sister-in-law (I've been VERY blessed with all my in-laws, how did I get so lucky???) Savannah LOVES her to death and is constantly asking to go play with Kenna.

Someone once told me that they felt the first year of marriage was the hardest, but I have to disagree. Sure, it's new and strange to suddenly be living with someone and you have to get used to each others habits and quirks and it can be a frustrating transition. But I think our first year of marriage was one of the best because it is so fun having your best friend with you all the time. You get to come home to them. You get to love and support each other on a whole new level. I am so happy that my brother has found someone who will make him happy, and who he can make happy, for the rest of his life and beyond.

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Peacock!

Still Waiting

 I'm officially 38 weeks, and no baby yet.

I have to keep reminding myself that we still have 2 whole weeks left before his due date. 

I went in for another appointment on Thursday, and I've progressed to 3cm and I'm still at 80% effacement, so at least I'm heading in the right direction.

But I'm getting way too excited. I wake up every morning thinking "I've got a good feeling about today", and then of course, nothing ever happens.

But I am so done being pregnant.

My mom and I were talking about how much we like being pregnant, how we both actually really like the whole pregnancy/labor/birth process, and I truly do! It gives me a sense of empowerment and strength. But as I've said in numerous posts, this pregnancy has been so much harder on my body than my first. There was always something making this pregnancy tough. First it was horrible morning sickness that lasted over 20 weeks. Then it was sciatic nerve pain, then my right hip dislocating twice. Then it was lower back pain. Then it was overwhelming exhaustion (which we found was due to my anemia, and has been somewhat resolved with iron supplements) and now It's cramping in my thighs and calves that will drop me to the floor with no warning. It's a little embarrassing being at the grocery store, or going for a walk in my neighborhood and suddenly dropping to my knees in pain. It's no fun.

I've completely lost the will to do anything this last week. I don't want to cook, I don't want to clean, I don't want to go to the grocery store. Nothing. In fact, I spent almost my entire day today in bed either watching TV, reading, or sleeping. Thankfully, Savannah was fine hanging out on my bed with me all day. We did go outside to play with chalk with her grandpa for a bit before it started raining, and I did a load of laundry. So I was sort of productive. But I won't lie and say that I wouldn't want to just lay in bed all day again tomorrow, because I probably will do just that.

But ultimately, I still enjoy this whole process. I'm very blessed to have had no problems with this pregnancy, other than some aches and pains. 

We are all getting a little anxious waiting for baby boy to arrive. Bryant texts or calls me several times a day asking how I'm feeling, if I've had any contractions, if I need anything, etc. Last week we were leaving for my brother's wedding and I told him to get Savy in the car and I'd grab some spatulas for the luncheon and be right out. But then I decided to fix a snack to take along for Savannah since it was nearly a 2 hour drive to the temple, and then I went to grab a spare dress for her, just in case. Suddenly, Bryant came flying in. When he found me in the kitchen, he let out a huge breath and said "oh, you're ok! You were just taking longer than I thought and I was worried you were on the floor going into labor!"

Then the next night, he had gone to play basketball and I was giving Savannah a bath before bedtime. I pulled the plug and let the water drain and she still didn't want to get out of the tub. So I walked across the hall to her room to grab her jammies and Bryant walked in and heard Savannah in the bathroom, so he poked his head in and said hi, then he started panicking and ran into our room shouting for me again. When I yelled that I was in her room getting jammies, he once again said "Oh good! I saw savannah in an empty tub and I thought something was wrong and you were passed out on the floor or something!"

That poor kid, his nerves are going to be fried if this baby doesn't come ASAP!

I feel pretty ready. I have yet to pack a hospital bag, but I'm slowly working on it. And I still need to wash the car seat and get it installed. But I'm all pre-registered at the hospital, and the pack-n-play/bassinet is all cleaned up and ready to go, and all his clothes and blankets are washed and folded. 

So we are basically just playing the waiting game.

Bryant keeps telling me that I need to invoke the "law of attraction". If I want something bad enough, it will happen. It usually works for him when he's looking for a parking spot, so in theory it should work with a baby too right?

(anyone got any good tricks to inducing labor? You know, that don't include drinking caster oil? I'll try anything here!)

Baby Update

Just thought I'd do a quick baby update!

I'm 36 1/2 weeks, which means he will be considered full term this weekend. That's always a relief to get to 37 weeks.

I went in this morning to see my doctor, and everything's looking great!

The baby's head is nice and low (I was worried because he was breech for so long, I'm glad he's finally turned!) and his heartbeat is extremely strong at 150bpm. The doctor said he was impressed with how active he was. And he is measuring a few weeks ahead of schedule. The doctor said that doesn't necessarily mean he will come early, it could just mean he will be a big baby! Which I kind of had a feeling he would be, seeing as Savannah was a perfect 7lbs 8oz (which is the national average) and I figured this baby would be a little bigger than her.

I am dilated to 1cm, which isn't a big deal, but I was expecting 0, so I'm happy for a 1, and I'm 80% effaced already, woo!!!

So the doctor said that this baby boy could come anytime he wants to at this point, which got me really excited! He just can't come Thursday, because that's my brother Sawyer's wedding, and he can't come on the 22nd, because that's my anniversary. But any other time, I'm ok with!

After this weekend I plan on doing a lot more walking to help get me moving a little more. I was 4cm when I went into labor with Savannah. 

We still need to find a name for this kid! Ahhh!

Trying to stay busy

We are officially down to one month before this baby is due.

That's 31 days people! 

What happened to April? That whole month seemed like a blur. Really, I didn't even know it was the last day of April yesterday until someone mentioned in on facebook. I still thought it was mid-April! Now that we are FINALLY at the last stretch of the pregnancy, I feel like I need to keep myself busy. The anticipation in killing me! It's equivilent to going on a vacation or something. I get so excited for vacations, I usually make myself sick the night before. But where I don't know the exact date our little man will be here, the anticipation is more exciting, but also worse.

So I need something to do. The problem is, there isn't really anything to do. I try to clean. I putter around the house doing dishes, laundry, picking up toys, but there isn't much to do. I even bought carpet cleaner 2 days ago and hand-scrubbed it into my living room carpets and vacuumed it all up.

I don't really have many hobbies. I like to read, but I've been listening to an audio book Bryant got me, and I feel so lazy sitting on the couch listening to it. I guess I could pull out my scrapbook from my honeymoon (4 years ago...) and finally get around to finishing it.

I do have a few things to do I guess. My goal is to have all his clothes washed, a hospital bag packed, a "sleep-over" bag packed for Savannah to take to her grandma and grandpa's house, and be per-registered at the hospital, all by the end of next week.  We FINALLY got our insurance sorted out, so that's one thing off the checklist. Hallelujah! When I contacted the insurance today to ask what documents we needed to send in to verify that the baby is born, the guy said "you can send in his footprints, or a list of his immunizations, just something with his name on a paper from the hospital." After the conversation, all I could think was "well looks like I really need to find a name for this baby asap!"

Like I mentioned before, I do have my brother's wedding next week, which I'm so excited for! He goes through the temple for the first time on Friday. That will be such an awesome experience! But I thought this wedding would keep me pretty busy, but in reality, there isn't really anything for me to help with. So I'm just sitting around, waiting and getting excited for the big day!

I'm not planning anything for our 4th anniversary, because who knows, I could end up having this baby on my anniversary (really praying that I don't though!). If anything, we will just do dinner and a movie.

I go into the doctor's tomorrow. I'm hoping this will be our first check to see if I've progressed at all. I was 3cm dilated and 90% effaced 3 weeks before I had Savannah, who came a week early, and I'd really like to be that far along again by tomorrow. But I have to keep telling myself that my labor and delivery with Savannah went so smoothly, that I can't expect this one to be just as easy. So I'm expecting the worst. Like, 0 cm and 0% effaced the entire month. I may not even be checked tomorrow, but I will for sure by next weeks appointment.

Maybe I'll get going on yard work this week to keep me busy. Who knows, maybe mowing the lawn and pulling weeds will get me a few steps closer to going into labor in a few weeks!