One of the best parts about being pregnant...

 

Being pregnant can be a challenge. Not that I am not grateful for this blessing every single day, but it has been challenging for me. I know women who absolutely LOVE being pregnant. I have a hard time with it. I love having kid(s), but I have a lot of the discomforts that come along with pregnancy. I did have nausea/vomiting and not appetite the 1st trimester, not as severe as with Max, but it was there. Then I had insufferable headaches the 2nd trimester, and my back and hips have been constantly hurting this third trimester.

 

However, I LOVE FEELING THE BABY MOVE! So fascinating that there is life in there and the kicks and pinches remind you of that. It truly is an amazing experience.

So in honor of the last night (hopefully) that I will be pregnant, here is a video of my baby moving!

 

Maybe Baby?

The last few months have been some of the most stressful and some of the most exciting for Chris and I. We found a house, waited for it to close, waited two more weeks for it to be finished, and then moved. All in the third trimester of this pregnancy. Not recommended. But we are so happy to be settled or mostly settled by the time the baby arrives. We love having a house and I am surprised how much little things make a difference. Like my garbage cans being right outside the kitchen in the garage instead of down three flights of stairs and across the parking lot. I also love that I don't have to climb stairs for groceries and I can successfully transfer Max to his bed from the car if he falls asleep in the car around nap time. Never was I able to do that before!

About two weeks ago I was good with maybe waiting until 40 weeks to see if she would come on her own. But the last couple weeks have been rough between my back/hip pain, Max not sleeping since we moved, and the constant energy drain I feel. I KNOW I will be even more sleep deprived when she comes, but she's coming and at this point I am looking forward to meeting her. I am also looking forward to in a few weeks when getting up and down off the floor is not so difficult. I never knew how much I got on the floor with Max until I was very pregnant.

I was supposed to be induced yesterday. My baby has been measuring big and my belly is anywhere from 3 to 4 weeks ahead. At my 39 week appointment my belly was measuring 42 weeks. And by the significant amount of new stretch marks I am getting I know she is stretching my belly even more than Max did.

However, lots of babies decided to come yesterday and so I was taken off the list. I thought at this point in time I would no longer be pregnant and have my daughter in my arms. To say I wasn't disappointed would be a lie. Maybe even a little heartbroken. But I know she is still coming. And my doctor was gracious enough to induce me tomorrow even though he doesn't normally do inductions on Friday's.

So I'm Anxiously waiting for tomorrow and meeting my little girl! Hope I don't get bumped again!!

Moving, Pregnancy, and Back Pain

You may or may have not noticed that I've been somewhat absent from my blog. I think it's a combination of a lot of things that has caused it.

I am so excited that we are closing on our house in 1 week and can move in. But at the same time I am completely overwhelmed. We are renting our condo through a property management company. And while we are super relieved that they are taking care of finding/screening/contracts with the potential renter which helps with the stress, we still have to take care of little things like dealing with the utility companies setting up landlord agreements and keeping my house clean all the time for the several different showings that I hope produce fruit (i.e. a renter) soon.

Moving. We have to pack up everything and move it. While I'm 31 weeks pregnant. I KNOW this is not the greatest time to be moving. But what do you do? I think Chris is overwhelmed by it too since he know I will not be capable of much.

I'm in my last trimester. While I feel this pregnancy was much easier in the beginning I almost feel it is getting harder in the end. My back KILLS almost all the time. I have a little relief in the morning, but by the end of the day I want to curl up in a ball and cry most of the time. I did not have this kind of pain when pregnant with Max. But I also wasn't haulin' a 35 lb toddler most of the time. I have resulted to making Max walk a lot, but I still have to lift him into his car seat, the tub, his crib. I make him crawl into his high chair which he is willing to do because he loves to eat. I am trying to take care of my back, but it is hard to lift with your legs when you also feel like your pelvis may come apart as well. It hurts too. And working full time on my feet for 12 hours probably doesn't help either.

Ugh. I don't mean to complain, but back pain is what woke me up today at 4:27. I am never gonna get the much needed sleep in prep for the sleepless marathon that is having a newborn at this rate. I've tried Tylenol, warm baths, heat packs, back rubs, resting at night. Cute Chris was getting all sorts of things for me last night so I could just lie in bed. He even rubbed my back for me. So grateful for him. I am willing to take any suggestions for relief if you have them.

Anyway, dealing with everything has been a bit overwhelming which is why I have been absent, but I hope to get some pictures up of the brand new house when we finally settle in!

Belly Pictures!

Just wanted to have a record of the different belly pics between my pregnancy with Max and this pregnancy. So here they are in all their glory!

16 weeks with baby girl Cannon

18 weeks with Max/17 weeks with baby girl

20 Weeks

24 Weeks

26 Weeks

In other news... Chris and I have found a house and we are currently awaiting closing!! It's in West Jordan and is everything we could want in a home. We are very thankful that Ivory Homes has a 3 year lease program that enables us to rent the condo out for three years and then hopefully we can sell it and not lose any money! We feel so very blessed.

It's A ...

GIRL!!

We are so excited to find out that Max is going to have a little sister! Chris and I couldn't be more happy. She looks healthy too.

Pregnancy Progression

So we have had a rather interesting week with a bout of a GI bug that ransacked my whole family, but I may have to delve into that later. It has been weird to compare my two different pregnancies.

With Max, I had so much morning sickness (week 7-24) that was barely relieved by Zofran, acne/breakouts (I was a teenager again), terrible gas (early on), constipation, sickly looking (pale, always asked if I "felt OK"), weight loss (about 10 lb's), and felt first fetal movement between weeks 14-15 and felt it regularly at about 18.

With #2 I have felt so much better. I have had bouts of morning sickness, but only vomited twice. Able to curb nausea by eating frequent small meals. No Zofran. I have had a few zits, but not more than normal, not much gas, regular BM's (sorry if it's TMI but it is MY blog), Weight loss (only about 5lb's... apparently pregnancy is my best weight loss plan), First fetal movement... jury's out, but I think it was about 13 weeks. I "might" have felt some at 12 weeks, but they still aren't regular, just sporadic.

One of the biggest differences (BESIDES the MORNING SICKNESS/PREGNANCY SICKNESS) is my belly. I didn't feel like I started "showing" with Max until about 18 weeks. That's the first time I noticed a stomach "pooch" that was more than my normal belly chub. But with #2 I swear I noticed a bump at about 11 weeks and I feel so big already and I'm not even half way there. Maybe my stomach muscles are way out of shape...

Here's photo proof. I am wearing the exact same shirt:



18 weeks with Max

17 Weeks with baby #2

The Grass is Always Greener...

Just a few of the conversations I've had this week at work have come back to the old saying "the grass is greener on the other side" and it is funny how many situations this saying applies to. There is always something we want that we don't have.

My thought process started this week when I was talking to my coworker about how much Chris and I want a house, and how we feel stuck in our Condo since the economy plummeted and our house lost value. How many homeowners 5-6 years ago (when we bought our place) would have ever thought that renting for 5 years would be more beneficial than owning a place for 5 years. Because that is the situation we are in. If we were renting, we could just leave/ not renew a lease. But No, we have to sell and most likely take a loss if we do. We feel stuck.

Then I was talking to a coworker about her life and her new purchases since she just bought the new iPad and was telling me how excited she was playing around with it. She is a single girl living with roommates making RN wages (we aren't millionaires... but we do alright) and she just got back from China doing charity work for Operation Smile. It was her second time.

As I was driving home I was thinking about all the places she has been and how she not only has the money to do so, but the free time as well. Her rent is probably 1/2 or even 1/3rd of what my mortgage is. And she can buy a new iPad if she wants.

However, that is a narrow way of looking at it. I look at her situation and see the freedoms I used to have and how I have sacrificed some of that to be a wife and mom. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE being a wife and mom (I wouldn't trade that), but there are some things you have to sacrifice to do so. I read a post on Pinterest that said, "You know your a mom when going to the grocery store by yourself is a vacation". There is some truth to that.

But what it really comes down to is looking at the WHOLE picture.

My work friend has expressed a desire to find a good guy and get married. So maybe she looks at my life and sees that? Who knows?

Maybe Chris and I's situation with our Condo isn't ideal, but there are families in my ward with 2 or even 3 kids... (with more on the way) that are in a 2 BEDROOM CONDO.... that bought their place for more than we bought ours. There are family's just barely getting by with one income. There are family's where both parents have lost their jobs and have little education to fall back on. And I'm complaining that my 3 (soon to be 4) person family is "running out of space" in my 3 bedroom condo. There is always someone in a situation worse than yours. It really puts things in perspective. I am humbled a lot talking to people in my ward.

I'm glad that we do desire more for ourselves and look to others for inspiration. That desire helps propel us forward. Without it we would never progress. However, we do need to keep things in perspective. That way we can be grateful for what we have, while we work for our dreams.