Little Wiggler

This was taken with my iPhone. Sorry about the quality. Baby was moving so much today I was able to get a few video clips. I think I wrote before about how shocked I would be if Baby started moving (like this) and I somehow didn't know I was pregnant yet.  If your stomach just started moving like this how would you feel? :)

24.5 weeks down...

Survival Tip #18: Summer weather means summer clothes! Just because you don't live in California does not mean you don't get to wear those cute dresses and tank tops you once loved!

*So I needed to think of a Survival Tip for this post and was struggling to do so, but I found a way to make it work! In the summer it gets warmer, even in Washington, and the longer you live her the more acclimated you become. So with that warm weather comes the opportunity to wear summer clothes! It's this pregnant woman's dream! I love being able to throw on a dress and leggings for the day! Way easier to get into/out of than jeans, and it just adds to the feminine feel of being pregnant. So there, the tip is done, and now I can add a baby update without trying to connect it to WA living.*

5 Months Down! Took this a few weeks ago now...

When I checked this picture to see if it was blurry I was shocked at how big I'm getting! Oh my goodness! And it's just going to keep growing too... And I went to Target to look for this shirt in a bigger size so I can keep taking pictures of it in October... and they didn't have it! Eek! Let's hope it's stretchy enough, or comes back in stock!

I have this funny back-and-forth feeling about being pregnant. I feel a little bipolar. At times I love it so much, and then sometimes I hate how uncomfortable I feel. It is odd because one moment I will find myself hating the heartburn and thinking "How can I do __ more weeks of this!" and then Baby will move and I forget all those feelings in a blink.

I love feeling Baby Girl move around inside of me. She is big enough now that I can touch my stomach and know she is right under my hand. For example, right now I have the laptop on my stomach and I can feel exactly where she is. And she literally just kicked to prove to me that is true :) Baby definitely responds to pressure (will touch where pressure is applied) and some times I wonder if she is doing this to say "Give me space!" or perhaps she is trying to snuggle up to the pressure source. I hope I'm not giving her a complex, touching my stomach all the time. Anyways, I more often find her on the left side of my body and she likes to touch my belly button area. Two new developments in movement: I can now feel her kick/punch/whatever in multiple spots simultaneously AND she has started doing this funny thing that feels like she is pushing her foot/fist/whatever along my stomach. From the outside it feels so alien-like, if I did not know I was pregnant I would freak-out. When Vander felt her moving this way he looked almost scared. Even though it can be freaky, I love feeling her move.

At my last Doctor's appointment we found out that Baby is totally healthy and measuring in the 80th percentile for weight and 90th percentile for all her limb lengths. This means she is measuring big, just as we expected. The NP who saw me (I'm trying to find a new doctor because mine is moving to TX with her re-stationed Army husband), said that sometimes they will do ultrasounds to see how big baby is closer to the due date and possibly recommend C-Sections or inductions if the baby seems to big. I really hope that isn't what happens for us. I want to give Baby and me a chance to do everything naturally, and I really don't want to be told I can't have a baby vaginally because she might be too big (btw: ultrasounds are not a great way to predict birth weight as much as limb length). If my mom had my sister and I (10lb 4oz babies) vaginally, I think I should be able to try. And the reason my mom needed a C-Section with brother is because he was 24 inches long and was basically too long to move into a birthing position, but even then she still tried. And I don't see my desires as a prideful thing, but rather I just don't want to take care of a baby and a C-Section scar. I'm just practical I guess. :)

As for me, I am still throwing up occasionally. Since the last baby post I had one week where I only threw up once, and then got food poisoning the next day. Cruel. Besides that week, my average has been 3 pukes a week now, and it is way more manageable! When I throw up it isn't followed by constant puking the rest of the day, and because of this I haven't taken my Zofran in two weeks! Yay! I love when people ask how I'm feeling to see how they react when I respond "I am only throwing up 3 times a week! I feel great!" Something that has become tricky is now when Baby wiggles around it sometimes feels similar to a queasy stomach feeling. I just try to calm myself down when this happens and remember I have thrown up a million times now, what is one more if it does happen, and to appreciate feeling her move.

Well, that is all for now. I'll try to keep updating more regularly, especially as we get closer to the EDD!

Pictures of Summer: A post without words...

Summertime in Washington: Go Big or Go Home!

Survival Tip #17: Summer is beautiful here. This is one of the best reasons to live in Washington, so don't let it pass you by!

So, before I visited Washington for the first time I remember wondering in the world would anyone live up here? My friend Eric (a Californian, turned Washingtonian, then returned Californian) would talk about missing living in Washington and I thought he was crazy.  I mean, what is the point of living where it rains so much when you can enjoy the warmth and sun virtually year round? 


To be truthful, I was so ignorant living in California that I did not even recognize our lack of seasons. In the Bay Area we get a mild Winter with rainy and cold days, but the closest we get to feeling wintry is overcast skies and a couple frosty mornings. Spring arrives and passes in a blink and then Summer hits without a rainy day from July to October. Then the weather cools enough for the leaves to turn brown before it rains again, signaling Winter's return. I remember complaining if it wasn't warm enough to wear shorts by June. I genuinely thought my skin was brown because of my natural complexion. Now I have come to see this was just 20 odd years of base tan building up. 


Living in Washington has virtually stripped me of any remnants of said tan, but has developed a lot more character in its place. In California when it rained I raced to cover myself and begrudgingly hid inside, waiting for the clouds to pass. In Washington, you cannot do that. It is literally impossible. I remember being shocked seeing people jogging in the rain (perhaps even with their kids in strollers!), walking without hoods in the rain, even barbecuing in the rain, with little care for the precipitation they were being subjected to. Now, I understand that just because the weather isn't ideal, doesn't mean life stops. One must find a way to make the most of circumstances. I noticed that a lot of my Survival Tips sound something like "If the weather is bad, Do this..." Sounds repetitive, but it is just life. If you can't do something you would ideally want to do because it's raining, find something else to focus on.


All that being said, when it is Summer in Washington, I find myself thinking of a quote from Arrested Development:

"When life gives you the chance to be with someone special you just... grab that brownish area by the points and never let go no matter what your mom says!" -Buster

Buster wasn't wearing his glasses when he met a girl (who happened to be his mom's neighbor) at a party, and I love how this translates to Washington Summers. We go all out, and even if it does rain (because that happens here in the summer), we keep going hard! That being said, summers are absolutely gorgeous here! All that rain keeps it green here through most of the summer. The weather gets warm but generally not sweltering except for a week or so sprinkled throughout to keep things interesting.  And Washington seems to be a land of a thousand lakes. If it strikes your fancy your can go for a dip in a lake, or in the Puget Sound if you can brave the cold, salt water. And really, what sounds better than spending a summer on a lake? I love it.


In WA it seems you can't count of summer arriving until July 5th, but we have had a lot of nice days this year. We already took our annual June camping trip and had a mix of rain and sun. There have been several opportunities to wear cute flowy dresses (my pregnant body is grateful!) and when it gets cool/wet, I've just slipped on leggings and a cardigan. There have been several fun graduations and graduation parties to attend, and a wonderful wedding to participate in (Congrats Nate and Shawna!!). The weather was not ideal for many of these events, but it was hardly even mentioned.


As June, my MIL, says we have all Winter to hibernate and recuperate. Why waste a sunny minute of summer?


I've done so much writing I don't want to add too much more, so look for pictures and a baby update soon! (and soon doesn't mean in a few weeks).

Bump Pictures and Gender Revealed

 Survival Tip #16: A picture really does tell a thousand words.

So, here it is! My bump pictures! In honor of tomorrow marking the half way point of my pregnancy, I thought I would finally share our pictures with you. Vander has been taking a monthly picture of me and I finally uploaded all of them and made a collage. This has been a bit difficult because I hate using the flash on my DSLR because it washes everything out, but it has been SOOOO continually cloudy this spring there was not much sun to help things out. So forgive me for that :). Anyways, let's start with month 1.

Month 1

I had no clue that if you find out you are pregnant the day of your missed period, you are already 1 month along! Crazy. So this is a few days after we found out. Look how happy I am!

Month 2

Ugh. Can you see the look on my face how sick I feel. I tried to smile, but look how pale I am. That is not just Washington weather. That is constant puking for you. I had actually lost 6 lbs at this point. Boo.

Month 3

Okay, feeling a bit better. This was actually a week into the fourth month. I had been on Zofan for one week and it was remarkable! I was finally able to eat and keep food down. At my 3 month appointment I had lost another 5 lbs. so there wasn't any gain in padding, but I had just popped a bit. It was funny because it just happened all of a sudden. I thought it would be a slow, progressive thing, but one day I was really bloated, and then 2 days later the bloated feeling went away and the bump stayed!

Month 4

Remember what I was saying about everything just popping up? Yeah, that continued this month. It feels like every weekend I get a bloated feeling and then I get bigger. I LOVE my bump! It makes me feel more maternal, even though it is a totally physical thing, and it not related to how I interact with the baby. It makes me feel more pregnant, and not just sick.

So here is the collage of all four, to see them side-by-side.

Gender

   And the results are in! We had the best ultrasound appointment. Last Wednesday the anatomy scan took us an hour and we soaked up every minute we got.  Before the scan I had been feeling like we might be having a girl, but I thought that was probably just because I am a girl and I don't understand what it is like to be a little boy :). Then we got the appointment and I started to think we were having a boy. I mentally began to think of the baby using the terms "he" and "his". We found out the gender pretty early in the appointment. I was looking at the screen and thought I saw some boy parts, and started to get a little anxious.  While I was staring at the screen the tech said "See right here (gesturing with the cursor to an area I was not looking at)? That means this is a little Girl."(Did the pictures give it away for any of you?)

    I instantly burst into tears. It was such a primal, out of body urge to cry. Later a second tech came in to confirm the first tech had all the right photos and get a few more. She was looking at Baby and said "Oh yeah, that's a little girl!" At one point I looked over and told Vander that I thought he was going to be the best dad to our little girl. He looked at me with the saddest face and said "I just know she'll break my heart some day." It was so sweet and tender. I really can't wait to see him parent our daughter! 

    We are going to keep her name a surprise for as long as we can, hopefully until she is born, unless we let it slip. Please pray for our daughter as she continues to develop. We cannot wait to meet her!

Baby Update

Survival Tip #15: Take time to slow down and reflect.

First I will So things with baby seem to be going well! We're 4 months along now, or 19 weeks. (I'm counting by 4.5 week calendar months by the way, not 28 day menstrual cycle months. I can't stand the idea of thinking I'll be pregnant for 10 m.c. months!) I finally really popped and have moved from not looking pregnant to having a fair spare tire or "food baby" right in front. I am loving wearing things that show off the bump! It makes me feel so feminine in a whole new way. And to top things off, Vander is so sweet and says he loves the bump too :). I just bought a bikini to wear this summer until stretch marks rear their ugly blotchiness, (I am trying everything I can to prevent them, but you can't fight genetics so time will tell).

We have our 19 week anatomy scan tomorrow and we hope to find out if we are having a boy or girl. I cannot wait to know! At our last ultrasound Baby was measuring about 8 days ahead, but we did not change the due date. I think were are just destined/doomed to have a huge baby. Have I mentioned before that I was 10lb 4oz when I was born? Or Vander was 9lb 11oz? And both my siblings were 10lb+? Yeah, I think Baby Corley is just going to be large and in charge. I was nervous about having my scan at only 19 weeks (which can be early) but with Baby measuring big, I feel more confident the tech will get some good images.

I've been confidently feeling the baby move for about 3 weeks now. I love it soooo much! Sometimes it feels like a kick, other times like a flip and yesterday I finally felt what my mom described feeling: almost like the baby was rapid-fire karate chopping my abdomen. Weird. And wonderful. I have loved every nudge. And I'm so thankful to feel so much movement, especially considering some women don't begin to feel movement until now.  The baby seems to respond to pressure. For example, I will feel it kick at my waistband on my jeans when I sit down. Sometimes I can simulate this pressure with my hand and the baby will kick it. Vander hates when I do this. He's scared I'm going to "pop the sac".

Two last pregnancy things: nose bleeds and puking. I am still experiencing both. I had never EVER heard of pregnancy nose bleeds before getting them. I haven't had one for a few days, but sometimes when I blow my nose (did you know pregnant women make more mucus too?) or when I throw up, I get a nose bleed. It's all about pressure on the sinuses. And I am throwing up but my Dr. prescribed Zofran for me about a month ago and it is fabulous! I am finally starting to put on weight instead of losing it. If I start to feel like I'm going to throw up or already have, I can take a pill at it will usually (99% of the time) stop me from vomiting. I don't know how it works but praise God for it. My doctor decided to run some tests to make sure I am just experiencing unfortunate morning sickness and not a liver/gall bladder/thyroid malfunction. I am at a point where while I detest vomiting, I feel like I could go like this for the rest of the pregnancy. It is weird though to throw up or bending over like that with a growing baby bump. Vander is making me promise to bring a chair into the bathroom when I puke so that I don't squish the baby. :)

So that is all the baby news for now. Pray the ultrasound tech is able to get clear pictures of Baby tomorrow and that if there is anything wrong with the baby that we should know before they are born that it will be apparent. Hopefully Baby will be relatively perfect, but if that is not that we will be accepting of God's will.

Easter and California Baby Shower

*Updated thanks to Josh: 

Survival Tip #14: 'Everything in moderation...including moderation'

Lordy, Lordy! Over a month since my last post! Geez. And it's not like I even have the excuse of being busy at work anymore. Did you know I struggle with time management? Well, I do. It has almost made being at home more difficult, because now all my time is free to my discretion and not structured for me. To top it off, I'm unorganized and a procrastinator. I am working towards getting better at this, but have a feeling this won't be the last time I do such a poor job at keeping my blog updated, but here goes!


So today I'll talk about Easter, and tomorrow I'll give a pregnancy update. From there... we will see how things go.


We were able to go to CA for Easter! It was so nice, not only to be warmer, but to visit with family and friends. Most of the time when we go to my home we are so focused on trying to spend time with family that friends are neglected, but not this time! My sweet step-family threw me and Baby a shower (with a "nesting birds" theme), and I was able to spend time with so many friends I don't get to see often enough! I would have been just as happy if no one brought a single gift and we were able to just eat and chat, but Baby and I were extremely blessed with some great gifts too!

Colleen, Natalie, Alia and Ashley. First visit with them in years!

beautiful decorations

It was funny to register because we are going to find out if we're having a boy or girl, but 1) don't know yet and 2) don't know much about baby things in general! I was able to read some websites (lucieslist.com is awesome), read friends' reviews of products, and ask for a bit of advice, but still have a lot to learn! Tomorrow I have my four-month check up, and from there we will schedule the anatomy ultrasound that will tell us if we are expecting a little girl or boy! It will be so great to be able to envision our baby in a new way, not  that we will know his/her hair or eye color or things like that; I just imagine it will be different.

Back to California. We were also able to spend LOTS of time with family. It is amazing how fast life changes in so little time. The niece and nephews are growing up so fast! I woke up Saturday morning to little Jackson babbling away "Uncle Vander. Uncle Vander. Where's Uncle Vander?"So cute! Melanee was visiting from New Zealand to work on wedding things and visit family. I also really enjoyed bonding with my family as a pregnant woman. Lots of good advice was shared (I wish I had a tape recorder)! Stacey is about 8 weeks ahead of me in her pregnancy, which is fun and exciting!

Can't wait to put this on our sweet baby!

Another highlight, I was able to eat LOTS of yummy food! It is amazing! I indulged in everyone one of my pregnancy cravings I can't get in WA: In N Out and King Eggroll! I pity the people who have not experienced the yumminess. After consuming 6 eggrolls and three #3s in a weekend, I am so glad I do not live in CA anymore; I would certainly be HUGE by the time October rolls around.

*quick aside: I am typing this while watching The King's Speech. It makes me want to use proper language as I type. If I slip into using a voice that does not sound like my own, now you know why.*

We had a lovely Easter. We were able to attend church at CCCM, the church I went to (and worked at) when I lived in CA. Afterwards we picked up Jesse (my brother), had a pizza lunch, and headed off to Rita's for celebrating. More yummy food, the kids had an egg hunt and then the grown ups had a hunt of their own. This year, for the first time, we hid eggs for the grown ups that either had money, candy we didn't want the kids to eat, or nothing in them. It was fun and we actually got Marshall to participate :).

On the way home we were able to grab coffee with my mom in Redding. It was nice to see her and catch up, even if it was just for a little bit.

It was too fast a trip, as always, but it was really fun and we came home feeling really blessed. I didn't take too many pictures this trip, but here are a few more from the shower! It is hard to think to take pictures when you feel crummy.

Melody!

Kim and I in our prom pose