26 Weeks pregnant

I have hit the 26 week mark. I'm definitely excited about it! I officially am in my 3rd trimester on Sunday. So, close enough I'd say. haha. CRAZY! 3rd trimester already. It's weird how slow it goes, yet so fast at the same time. As far as an update, we'll start with a baby bump picture.

excuse the filthy mirror, but there is the bump! Definitely growing!

So to update with with my pregnancy rash. Still miserable. The steroid cream that was prescribed isn't doing anything. I think it stopped the rash from spreading a whole lot, or at least slowed it down a loooot, and my hands aren't itchy anymore, but the rash is still there. It's mainly my leg that's completely covered with the rash along with it being on random areas of my whole body, but my left leg is what's miserable. Depending on the night, I will wake up every half hour to an hour and a half because the itch is just unbearable. If i'm lucky, I'll only wake up like 4 times, and on those nights, I consider myself blessed that I actually got a bit of sleep. It's seriously the worst thing about pregnancy yet. I would much rather be awake with a baby than be up scratching at my stupid leg. I have discovered that heat activates it like crazy, and cold relieves the itch. So I have been loving ice packs, cold water after my showers, a squirt bottle full of cold water to spray on it when it get's bad, nothing touching it whether that's no pants, or whatever i'm wearing rolled up to at least my knee, and keeping my one leg out of the covers at night. That I hate, but there's no way around it. I'm still trying to find other remedies of helping with it. I have a follow up appointment next week so I'll be sure to ask.

 I once again had a bit of a meltdown last night. Caleb was at work all night, and I had clearly overdone it yesterday. My whole body hurt, especially my hips, and feet. I was feeling just kind of overwhelmed with not knowing where we'll be living when this baby comes. Nothing it set up, my living room is the only spot to put all the baby stuff, so it's filling up and just looking cluttered and I have NO choice but to put it there for now. I think all of it was mainly just the crazy hormones. But what sent me over the edge was that, for a couple days prior to, I noticed my belly kept itching, like right around my belly button. I thought it was just my skin stretching or my stretchmarks continuing to rip, but nope, Last night I noticed the rash had now spread to my stomach which is where most pregnancy rashes typically start anyway. But, good grief! I was just mad. I thought I would be crying someday over how much weight I was gaining and how my body is completely taken over of stretchmarks and changing, not a miserable rash that I would not wish upon anyone!! Caleb got home and noticed I was a bit of a hot mess. Bless his heart, he's just sweet, and says the nicest things. He tells me funny things which always helps me lighten my mood. I promise I really am not a baby, I just like to document the good, the bad, and everything in between. I really don't have meltdowns every day. I swear. haha

As for other updates, I came down with extreme fatigue again this week. Like, one task a day nearly knocks me out for the rest of the day. I have to take lots of breaks, and once I sit, there's no getting me back up. I cannot muster up the energy. I feel like I could sleep all day long. And it's like my bones are tired. It's hard to explain. It's mainly been the last week or so that it's been so bad. I feel like an old lady that can't do anything. I feel lazy and bad because I seriously am just wiped out! 

My hips are really starting to ache anymore. I can definitely tell when I have overdone it. My body tells me so. 

I had a doctors appointment yesterday and everything looks so great. I couldn't be happier. I had to have a follow up ultrasound from the whole preeclampsia deal or whatever. All that came back as good, so that's great! No preeclampsia for me! The ultrasound looked great too. 

She's measuring right on track, moving like she should, breathing like she should, blood flow looks great, kidneys looks good, everything just is right on track. She looks so cute already! The tech said she is in the 47th percentile and 1 lb and 15 oz. So basically 2 pounds. It's always reassuring knowing that everything is good. My blood pressure has gone back down which is great, and I only gained 1 pound this last month which means I'm only up 1 pound this pregnancy. I am happy with it all! I did have to get a shot yesterday, I can't remember what it was, but I had to get that, and apparently get it again when I deliver. I wasn't expecting that, so me being alone made me nervous. I'm such a wimp when it comes to needles. I hate hate hate them! But, I survived. I also have an order to take to a lab to get my glucose test done before my next appointment. This was the test that I have dreaded from before I even found out I was pregnant. And, because Caleb is working so much right now, I will probably have to go alone to do that. It's weird how every doctor does this test differently. Mine makes me get two blood draws when others only have to have their finger pricked once. I'm PRAYING I pass this. I am more nervous that I'm gonna fail this test and have to do the 3 hour one. THAT one I know will be a doozy. I also asked my doctor about my pregnancy rash to see if she had any tips or anything. She said that she has never seen it clear up till after delivery. Gee, that's reassuring. Ugh :( Other than that, and the shot, the appointment went great! 

I FINALLY repainted our changing table. I can't remember if I posted a picture of it earlier or not so here's another one.

It came like this. It has drawers on the left hand side that you can't see. I ended up taking it out to my dad's shop weeks ago where I got it sanded and primed. That alone took a while. Then the other night I finally got to painting it.

It took me 5 stinkin hours to paint that. I had to do two coats so it took a while. I really like how it turned out though! It now matches the rest of the furniture. I'm gonna add pink knobs to the drawers and hopefully some pink or white baskets for the shelves with a pink something for the changing pad. Not to shabby for having it be free and then spend only a little bit for paint. I'll take it!

All in all, this week has come with more rash, aches, sciatica, still no relief from heartburn and acid reflux, exhaustion, no sleep, and still a heart full of love for this baby. I cannot wait to meet this little girl of ours! 

As for the rest of life, Caleb has taken over the whole restaurant basically. He's managing and running everything. He's been so busy with work and has thee busiest work schedule right now. It's stressful for him, and very time consuming. He still leaves and comes home with the best and happiest attitude. I seriously admire that about him. He keeps me laughing every single day without fail. It makes me want to be better and have a better attitude about the hard things in life. Although I miss him dearly, daily, I am truly grateful for how hard he works for us, and our future family, and does it all without a complaint, ever. He has been absolutely wonderful to me ever since our very first date 6 + years ago. I am grateful for him being so supportive and understanding of this pregnancy. I don't think I can express enough of how much I truly love and cherish him. Our anniversary is next week and unfortunately, because of the hecticness with his work, I think he'll be working that day, so hopefully we can sneak in at least a dinner out or something. I guess we'll see!

As for me, besides being pregnant and slowly but surely getting ready for this baby, I have been trying my hardest to keep up with wifely duties. Keeping the house clean, occasional deep cleaning, fixing dinners, running errands, ya know, wife stuff. Also, my week days of going and visiting my mom and younger siblings are now over since they all are back in school. So it's now just me during the day and I occasionally will meet up with my sister in Idaho Falls or something. I met up with her the other day to run some errands and have lunch. I love those days. We always have a good time hangin out. 

Libbie has been good too. She gets super depressed when Caleb leaves for work every day. Apparently I'm not near as fun as he is. She basically sulks all day till he gets home whether that's 8 hours later or 14 hours later. I try all day to get her to play and come hang out with me, but she seriously prefers Caleb over me any day. 

That's it for this weeks update! 

Niederer Reunion

Last weekend was the Niederer reunion at a cabin on Bills Island in Island Park. It's a reunion where just the immediate family gets together. Me and Caleb went up Thursday and stayed till Saturday morning. This was the first weekend me and Caleb have been able to be together without him having to work, and also the first weekend in probably a year or so that we got to get away for a bit. Even though it was with family, it was still a lot of fun. It was a very low key weekend. Lots of relaxing, movie watching, food, some went out for hikes or walks, the nephews played hard every day including playing in the hot tub, and it was just an all around good weekend. It's fun to get to know the siblings better and their spouses better by doing these kinds of things.

Me and Caleb had to cook dinner for Friday night. We ended up bringing up steak while Caleb's mom brought potatoes. While cooking the steak, the grill basically caught on fire. Haha it was nothing huge, but good thing there were people there that know what they were doing to put it out. We ended up cooking the rest of the steaks on something else.

Caleb didn't feel well the whole time we were up there. And me being pregnant makes it harder for me to enjoy a hike in the heat and what not. So, we were the lazy couple that basically sat all weekend. It was nice though!

Sleepy boy

Lots of baby snuggling. He slept on me like this for a whole movies worth. I'll take it.

Grandma is great and always brings up new toys for the grandkids. (hula hoops, balloon things, toy motorcycles) It makes for a very loud and rowdy house having 10 nephews running around playing hard.

We took a little walk on Friday morning and on our walk we noticed that we were only like 3 cabins away from the cabin my dad built up here. My family used to stay at it and it's also where me and Caleb stayed for our honeymoon. I knew it was up here but I couldn't remember exactly where it was at on the island. So, finding it and having it only be a few down was kind of funny. 

PFP=miserable week

This last week I feel like has been a bit...miserable to say the least. It's been emotional, frustrating, a bit unnerving with the whole preeclampsia thing, and just kinda rough!

The morning of the whole preeclampsia testing day, I woke up with what I thought were a little cluster of bug bites on my calf. I didn't think much of it other than I was kind of annoyed that the dang bugs got me. Well, by Saturday night It had spread all down my calf and was INCREDIBLY itchy. And when I say itchy, I mean, like make me cry I was so itchy. I was scratching it till I bled and I couldn't just NOT scratch. It was AWFUL. It was just a red, bumpy rash. Looks very similar to razor burn but way more intense. I was up all throughout the night because it just itched SO so bad. Whenever I would scratch, this rash would turn into all these little welts that made my leg look like hives. I found that any heat, or anything touching it aggravated it, and that at night was when the itch was the absolute worst. So I wore my sweats rolled up to my knees all day. By Sunday night, I noticed it had spread to the front of my leg and onto my foot. For sure this wasn't bug bites as it was growing super fast and becoming more itchy by the day. I googled different pregnancy rashes. Probably not the smartest thing to do since some rashes can I guess cause still births, problems to the baby, and sometimes the mother too. After some research I thought maybe I had PUPPS, a kind of pregnancy rash. Sunday night I took some benedryl to hopefully have it help. It did nothing. Monday when I woke up, I was first off super grumpy because I found that this rash had now spread all over my leg, up past my leg pit, onto my foot, other foot, and my hands. I got NO sleep due to the itchiness that kept me up a lot throughout the night, I was super emotional due to just hormones I suppose, I didn't feel well, and was mainly mad at this stupid rash. I was needing to head to Idaho Falls just after 1 to drop off my 24 hr urine protein test so I figured I would call my doctor and see if they couldn't see me afterwards to discuss this rash and see if it was pregnancy related. I all day was looking forward to going to Idaho Falls mainly because Caleb was going to be able to come with me. He's been working like crazy so even if it was to drop off a jug of my urine I was still happy to be able to spend some time with him. After I called my doctor, they said the only time I could be seen was at 2:45 and that it wouldn't be with my original doctor which, eh, I don't love him but I was SO happy I could be seen. I then had a small breakdown because now Caleb couldn't come because he wouldn't be back in time for his work meeting he had at 4. I was already having an emotional day and now that he couldn't come just sent my emotions through the roof. Looking back it really wasn't a big deal, but it was just frustrating. I just want a SINGLE day with my husband. Is that too much to ask for? Ugh. So after my little pitty party, I HAD to leave to take this urine to Idaho Falls. I won't lie, I pretty much acted like I was 2 and cried off and on all the way down. There's no way around these hormones sometimes other than to let the flood gates open and let it out. I got down there, dropped off my lovely jug, and had like 15 minutes to spare. I went into Hobby Lobby to browse for a second, then headed to my doctors appointment. I got there, checked in, and then waited for a freaking hour in the waiting room. I was already a hot mess, so making me sit there and wait alone did not make me ANY happier. I FINALLY got called back. They took my blood pressure which was not NEAR as high as last time which was great. Weighed me, which I have only gained 1 pound. Thank goodness. So, those both were good news. They then took me to my room where I waited another 10 min. for this doctor to come in. He asked about this rash and I told him almost in tears how miserable I have been. I told him I feel like it may be PUPPS or something. He said because it didn't start on my belly that it's not that. He then had the guts to tell me he thought it was maybe eczema and told me to put hydrocortozone cream on it. I told him that I was CERTAIN it wasn't that as this rash leaves me in full out hives and itches like the dickens and is spreading like wild fire. He didn't know what it was and said if the hydrocortozone cream didn't help that he would send me to a dermatologist. He had no answers, no clue what it was. I seriously walked out of the building crying. I didn't feel like he cared at all, didn't care how miserable this was, and just didn't take the time to really listen to me. I know he's not a skin doctor but I was SURE this was pregnancy related and because of that I thought I would have had more answers and would have been told how to fix the problem. I waited almost an hour and a half for him to tell me I had eczema. I was just mad and knew in my gut that he was wrong. I think I was just emotionally drained. I had all these plans of getting nice maternity pictures taken with Caleb. I even made Caleb a deal and gave him x amount of massages so that he would take pictures with me and now this rash was going to stop me because I don't want this ugly rash in the pictures. My outfits I had planned out was going to show this rash and now I felt this whole maternity photo shoot was ruined. Yes, I know that's a bit dramatic, but these were the things I had been looking forward to for years and this whole rash was ruining my plans. This whole thing makes me sound like such a baby but I seriously am not sugarcoating it of how miserable this rash is. Anyway, I got home, finally ate some food, then went to wal mart to pick up this cream. I put it on that night twice and it did nothing. I told myself that if this rash was still awful tonight and had spread by the morning that I was going to just go to a dermatologist and get a 2nd opinion and hopefully an answer. Well, all throughout last night I was up more than enough scratching at this rash. It was getting more severe, and had now spread to my arms, and a small area on my side. I set my alarm in the middle of the night for 8 a.m. so I could call my dermatologist right when they opened hoping they could get me in today. I wanted in today because on Thursday me and Caleb are headed to Island park for three days. I did not want to have this rash spread to my face by then and be miserable being away from home while being with ALL his family. So I called this morning and they were able to get me in at 1:40. Thank the heavens above. I seriously prayed all night that I could have an answer and a solution to this rash. When I got to the dermatologist, I immediately felt that he actually cared. He thoroughly examined it, asked me a bunch of questions, and I told him straight up how miserable I have been and what all has been going on. He seemed to understand and he said It was most definitely a pregnancy rash. He wanted a second opinion to make sure his diagnosis was right. He brought in another doctor and they both completely agreed on the same diagnosis. So, that diagnosis is, Pruritic Folliculitis of Pregnancy aka PFP aka a very rare, severely itchy pregnancy rash. It's VERY similar to PUPPS but instead, each little bump is where a hair follicle would be and it swells up when scratched and then turns the rash into hives. It's caused by the crazy hormones and changes your body goes through while pregnant. I nearly cried happy tears then and there just knowing there was at least a diagnosis and that I wasn't just crazy. He sent in a prescription and told me to also grab a couple different antihistamines. This rash may or may not go away. It may last clear till giving birth which scares the crap out of me if it's going to last that long, or it may start to clear up with this prescription. I am PRAYING it clears up. As if morning sickness, puking, loss of apatite, dry skin, heartburn, acid reflux, food aversions, aches and pains, sleepless nights, stretchmarks, exhaustion aren't all plenty enough for a pregnant person to handle, lets add on the most miserable rash a person could deal with. Ugh :( If this rash doesn't clear up I may be one grumpy person for the next 15 weeks. Seriously. The thing that is so ridiculous that it's almost funny, is that, I was reading on this, and this only happens to 1 in 3,000 pregnancies. WTH!? This would freaking happen to me. That's like less than a 1% chance of getting it. I'm telling you people, when I say I have bad/weird luck, this is the stuff I'm talking about. The "very rare" stuff happens to me. Like, back in 6th grade, It took months and months, every scan possible, multiple blood draws, dye tests, and a referral to a doctor in Salt Lake to figure out what was wrong with my hip. Long story short, what happened to my hip only usually happens usually in males and obese people. I'm clearly not either of those and it happened to me. It was a very rare thing to happen and it happened to me. Surgery happened that night. Or other times like every restaurant, or fast food place messes up on my order literally every. single. time. No joke. Or just day to day things, bad luck is out to get me I swear. I have a huge list in mind of plenty of bad luck things happening to me. Whoo, anyways, even though this rash is miserable, I'm grateful it's not a rash that puts me or baby girl at risk. I will say though, that because of it, and if she were fully baked and were healthy, I'd be totally fine giving birth now. I'm over being pregnant. It's hard. It's not always fun. I hate saying that because this pregnancy was something I wanted more. than. ANYTHING. But, pregnancy is no joke and not the easiest thing to do. Until then, I will continue to try to stay as positive as I can about it, still cherish the good times, and be immensely grateful that god is allowing me TO be pregnant and have a family.

24 weeks and unexpected doctors visit

Well, I skipped my 23 week update. Pretty much nothing had changed from 22 weeks. So we'll jump to this week which leaves us at 24 weeks pregnant.

The bump is for sure popping out and I feel like I officially look pregnant. I have been feeling pretty uncomfortable. I can't sleep. I toss and turn all night long. I can't get comfortable whether I'm sleeping or sitting or just laying down. I feel like my belly is just heavy and really tight. It makes me nervous where I'm only 24 weeks yet feeling pretty uncomfortable already. 

I had a slight issue come up this week. Lately I feel like I have been seeing floaties or little stars out the corners of my eyes. I thought for a while I was just freaking myself out because I would think I would see a bug or something just to find that nothing was there. So I seriously thought I was just psyching myself out. That has been happening a lot for probably the last 2 or 3 weeks or so. Then yesterday I turned my head and there were seriously a hundred like stars or glitter floating in front of me. It's kind of hard to describe. It lasted for just a little bit but it kinda freaked me out. Anything unusual happening to me I figure is another normal pregnancy symptom but it's hard to not be a little concerned. I'm apart of a mommy page on Facebook where you can ask any type of question you want really and I have had GREAT support and answers. And when doctors offices aren't open I often refer to this page to ease my nerves a little. I asked about my vision and that I was seeing stars and asked to see if this was a normal pregnancy related something or if I just needed my eyes checked or something. Come to find out after some responses that other women have dealt with that as well. Some girls' said it was because they were dehydrated, low blood pressure, increase of blood flowing through your body, but a few girls mentioned that they dealt with that too but because it was a symptom of preeclampsia. So because I know how dangerous that can be, I figured I would just call in the morning and ask my doctor and play it safe rather than sorry. So this morning when I woke up, I called the nurse. She had to talk to my doctor and had to give me a call back. Right as I was leaving to go hang out with my sister, they called me back and said they wanted me to come in to get my blood pressure checked just to be safe. So a 40 min drive to the doctors we went. Caleb was working a double today so my sister offered to come with me since we were already going to be hanging out together. I got there and they surprisingly got me back really quick. Turns out my blood pressure was pretty high. They checked it 4 different times and all 4 times read that it was higher than what they like to see. So they squeezed me in to see my doctor. He measured my uterus again and it measured at 25 weeks. He also checked baby's heartbeat. Both were good. He then talked to me about preeclampsia and that because I keep seeing floaties/stars/glitter, whatever you wanna call it, that he wanted to test me for preeclampsia. So, I had blood work done, had an ultrasound to test 4 different things from baby, then waited another hour in the office to get the ok and to go to another building to pick up my 24 hour urine collecter kit so they can test the protein in my urine. It's kinda inconvenient but I know It all has to be done. I hope and pray that this comes back as normal and that I can just monitor the high blood pressure. I will do what I have to but if I DO have preeclampsia, then that automatically puts me at high risk, and often times you deliver early which can be super scary. I want this baby to bake till she's good and healthy. I don't want to have to have the pressure of paying extra for weekly appointments that include ultrasounds and NSTs, or delivering early that puts me and baby at risk, NICU bills, all of that scary stuff. Like I said, I will gladly do whatever to make sure both me and baby are healthy, I just hope it turns out good. I don't really want to worry until I get test results back. So, until then, here's to peeing in a huge orange jug for the next 24 hours and hoping that everything comes back as good. 

I had a different ultrasound tech and she may have been my favorite yet. Super friendly and actually talked to me. And she printed off some better pictures than the last crazy lady. That's one plus of going through this. I got to see baby girl again! It always blows my mind how much they grow in a matter of weeks. She looks so cute already!! Can't wait to see what she looks like!

As for other news. Libbie got groomed along with a few shots. :( Poor thing. I always feel awful when I have to take her to the groomers. She knows what they do to her and she knows she wants nothing to do with them. She wouldn't walk through the front doors and was trying to take off in the opposite direction. She looks SO much better now though and she probably feels much better.

When we got home, she instantly ran to our bed and hid under the pillow and basically sulked like it was the worst day of her life.

After a few belly scratches she was doing a little better. And yes I'm aware the pink pillow doesn't match. It's the only color they had and I was READY for a body pillow. Come to find out there's really not that much room for that huge thing, plus me and Caleb. So it doesn't get used a ton. I'd rather use Caleb as my body pillow rather than boot him out of bed to make room for an actual pillow. Oh the pregnancy struggle is real people!

Trying to stay busy

Here's some pictures of a little update from the past week or so in no particular order.

My sister and BIL and son have been staying with my parents for the last almost month while they were working. So I got to spend a lot of time with my sister and sweet nephew Kash. Such a cute little boy! I love a baby all clean after tubby time. 

Who says you have to go camping to make s'mores? 

23 week baby bump and new pregnancy shirt I ordered. Growing, growing and getting pretty uncomfortable and scared knowing I still have a ways to go. Wednesday I will be 6 months prego! Woop woop!

I had made a bow/ clip holder and didn't love how it turned out. After a trip to Hobby Lobby with my mom and sister, I ended up getting a few things to re do it and am MUCH more happy with how it turned out. 

Another little craft for miss K's room!

I gave 3 haircuts on Sunday. Seems like every time I'm out at my parents that someone is in need of a haircut. I got to cut my nephew's hair and he did SO good! Turns out all you gotta do is bribe them with smarties and tootsie rolls ;)

His freaking cute new cut. Is he not just the cutest!?

So my SIL was given a changing table and didn't need it or have room for it. So she gave it to me. It's muchly appreciated being helped out with all the baby stuff we have to get. It's not my favorite especially where the drawers are on the side, but it will work great and that's what matters. I'm pretty sure it's one that was originally hooked to a crib and that's why the drawers are on the side like that. So it's meant to be used up and down rather than sideways. I will have to put it somewhere in the middle of a wall and not a corner or something so I can get to the drawers. Which is fine. I'm grateful to have it! I ended up taking it to my dad's shop so I could sand and prime it so I can paint it. My crib is black so I wanted all the furniture to match. Just a side note, I didn't think repainting something was a big deal but whooooeeee. Hours later I finally got it sanded and primed with only one wood chip to the eye and a VERY adgetated sciatic nerve. I'm such a girl. I would almost rather pay someone to do that than me do it or simply buy a new one so I don't even have to deal with it. haha As soon as it's finished I'll do an after picture. May be a while as I'm dreading painting it.

There was a huge storm the other day. We live in a basement, so it's dark. Everything was howling and creaking and I honestly was slightly scared. Caleb was at work so it was just me and Libbie at home. I made her come snuggle me so I wasn't alone. I typically like storms, but when I'm alone and there's tornado warnings with it, I get kinda freaked out.

Another baby purchase I snatched up today. I saw this on Rexburg Garage and Yardsales on Facebook. It's SUPER rare that I am able to make a deal with the seller before someone else because things literally get snatched in seconds to minutes. So when I saw this I realized no one had commented on it out of the 21 comments. So I told her I was interested and seriously a second after I posted another girl was interested. I was first though so I took it for $17 dollars. Perfect condition. I think that's a good deal. I was trying to research and see how much these were new and they were anywhere from 50 to 70 bucks from what I saw. Not a super fancy swing but it's cute and works great. Had to snatch it. 

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As for other news. Caleb has still been working like crazy. He even had to work Sunday which was a a rare occasion and never typically has to unless he has to go put in an order or something. It's been SO chaotic at his work the last while. People put on bed rest, people in the hospital, people quitting cause schools done, or whatever the reason. So Caleb's had to take on all those responsibilities and it's kept him super busy! If you need a job waitressing, go apply! I've been trying to be patient with him working a lot and him not really being home much. It's been kinda hard especially where I'm not working anymore. Parts of me wishes I were but at the same time, I'm grateful I'm not and I try to stay busy in other ways. I'm ready for his schedule to go back to normal so that I can have my husband back. We haven't been able to do anything this summer like I had hoped too. Mainly because since he works so much, when he finally does get home, he just wants to relax. Which I totally get. I wouldn't want to be going going going and never have a second to myself. Oh well, you do what ya gotta do. 

Caleb's family reunion is coming up next week. That is, IF we can even go anymore with how hectic Caleb's work is right now. We are going to be staying at a cabin in Island Park. First time we have EVER done anything like this. Since Caleb's the baby of the family we are the ones booted out to a tent since there aren't enough rooms. I'm ok with it. It will count as a camping trip/ little vacation all in one I suppose. Then the week or two after that we will be heading to Boise again. Crazy it's been 6 months already since we were there. I swear it was just last month or something. Gotta love our twice a year or more Boise business trips. I like them because It's a reason to get out with Caleb, and they are always completely paid for. But, I also don't love them since they're chucked full of meetings for Caleb which leaves me alone in a city I'm not familiar with. I used to visit my grandpa when I was down there but now that he's gone I have no family to see or anything. One can only browse the mall and store's for so long, and explore a city you've already been too. All on your own might I add. In the past the businesses we work with treat us to dinner and then usually a fun something. Like in the past we went to a Broncos game, or an ice hockey game with our own suite. Both are fun but I think this year since I'll be 7 months prego I don't know if I'll be up to walking for hours or standing on my feet for hours and hours while staying out till way way late. So, I may end up just staying at the hotel while Caleb get to go out and have fun. Kinda stinks, but, I try to make the best of it somehow. Either way, I'm looking forward to spending time with Caleb, even if it's mainly spent in the car ride there and back. 

22 weeks and a little update

I am late getting this weeks update up. But, better late than never right? So last week we had our big anatomy scan. I was super nervous for it. I have serious anxiety about going to the doctors. Even if its for "fun" appointments like these. I don't know if it's because in the past, doctors usually meant torture in one way or another or bad news or blood draws or something negative typically. Usually for days prior I am telling Caleb that I'm just super nervous to go. No matter what I do I cannot find ways to chill out. I can't sleep well, I have dreams that something bad will happen while we're there, just serious anxiety I guess. Anyway, the day finally came and Caleb was able to come with me. He wanted to be there for this one. We get to the office and I was told at my last appointment to have a fuller bladder for the ultrasound so I was to not leave a urine sample like we routinely do. A squished bladder that's full plus nerves on top of it is not fun! I sat waiting for my name to be called thinking I was going to wet my pants then and there!! FINALLY I get called back for my ultrasound. I had a new tech this go around. She was nice, but so quiet I could barely here her talk. We started the ultrasound and as always, it's so fun being able to see your little babe on that screen. I won't lie though, everyone told me that this was the best appointment out of all of them because it's an hour long ultrasound and you just get to see your baby for a long time. But, for me, this was kind of disappointing! I don't want to sound selfish but it was rather boring. Caleb was about to doze off in the seat next to me. The tech wasn't explaining much, me and Caleb both had no clue what we were looking at on the screen when she was measuring everything, and because baby girl was basically curled up in a ball and wouldn't move it took the tech twice as long to measure stuff. I was the one constantly asking what she was measuring and she just was quiet about it all. Wasn't really one to just be talkative and explain anything. I felt I was being kind of annoying asking so many questions but hello, I wanna know! Since the tech was having such a hard time measuring her because she was just curled up so cute and tiny, she had me go empty my bladder to see if she would spread out some. Thank you! That didn't work, so then she had me lay on one side, then the other, then the other again, then she had me get up and walk around the room. That was kind of embarrassing almost just because my shirt is pulled all the way up, my pants are pushed down really far with a towel tucked in, and then I had all that jelly stuff they put on your belly, plus my baby belly just hanging out while walking around. Ha whatever works I guess. Oh wait, that didn't really work much either. She moved a little but not much. She's a bit stubborn. Finally the tech gets everything measured. Baby girl looks good and healthy which is such a relief. She is in the, I can't remember if the tech said 23rd or 24th percentile. One of the two. So healthy, but just kinda petite. I have a posterior placenta which would explain why I felt the baby super super early. Oh yeah, she's still a girl too. haha I was hoping to get a bunch of pictures this go around just because family and friends have shown me their ultrasound pictures from their anatomy scan but all we got were 3 pretty blurry profile shots and two of them are like half off the screen if that makes sense. So, I honestly was slightly disappointed! We didn't get a dvd that I thought we would get, or really any decent pictures. I guess I need to stop expecting so much because I then just get kinda bummed. It's not the end of the world, and all I really cared about was whether she was growing healthy or not. But, pictures would have been nice! I am paying these people a plethora, the least they can do is print me some pictures! Anyways, after the long ultrasound, I was supposed to leave a routine urine sample, but uh, I had literally just gone. That was embarrassing. After waiting some more I finally got called back to see our doctor. Everything looks great! I still have yet to gain a pound which I am thrilled about. If baby's healthy and I don't need to gain much then great. I'm sure it will start to come on now though where baby is actually getting bigger. He answered all my silly questions and gave me some tips on dealing with some unpleasant pregnancy side effects, measures my uterus and then we were on our way!

So baby is doing great. How am I? Pretty much the same I feel like I still feel icky a lot. Some days are worse than others. I still have crazy food aversions that leave me wanting to throw up and wasting more than half my meal I just made which leaves me just frustrated. I can't stomach much, oh except french toast, frosted flakes, mandarin oranges, fruits, and occasionally popcorn. Some diet right? I'm trying to eat better but sometimes, you eat what you can and pray it stays down. And well, if that's sugary french toast or frosted flakes then so be it. Another big symptom I've been dealing with lately is leg aches! Ugh man! I haven't really had leg aches since I had growing pains back in like elementary school or after I walked on them all day at like Disneyland or something. I get them quite often anymore. I hate relying on tylenol all the time and even then, it a lot of the times doesn't help. I asked my doctor about it and he said it's common and that it's just the extra blood flow, but has a harder time moving throughout your legs. I can start taking a baby asprin a day but I don't really want to resort to medicine quite yet. Another symptom that's about to make me go crazy is heart burn and acid reflux. I swear, if this baby doesn't come out with a head full of hair, I may just be a weeee bit annoyed. Ha kidding, but seriously. It doesn't matter what I eat or do, it's there. It's awful at night especially and I notice It's always way worse after drinking any pop. I have cut WAYYY back since pregnant but I may have to cut it out completely just so it doesn't kill me over with this heartburn. Another thing that's gotten worse over time is my emotions! I'm slightly embarrassed to even admit that but it's the truth. It's worse than it's ever been in my whole life. Some days I just HAVE to cry. I cannot hold the tears back. I have NO reason to be crying or if there is, it's something silly. Like the other day I just missed Caleb. He was coming home soon but I just, I don't know, had to cry it out I guess. I can't hold the tears back if I'm in front of Caleb, family, or myself. So if it's one of those emotional days, I try to avoid everyone and all things and stay at home to just cry it out. Other than those symptoms I have just the other glamorous usual symptoms. The aches, the stretching tight itchy belly, the nausea, the headaches, the sleepiness yet insomnia, plus all the others I won't put on here. ;) It's crazy that I can feel SO worn out, tired, sore, and down right awful some days, yet so incredibly happy. I'm SO grateful and so blessed.

Just a funny side note.

When I'm ordering something online, I typically ask Caleb to look at it to make sure he likes it too. His response every time is, "yep, looks great". I don't think he really cares as long as it does the job. Well, we received our car seat and stroller combo set the other day. I was like a kid on Christmas. I was checking my front door all day to see if it had come, checking my email to track my package and what not. I got home that night to it being there. I had to assemble the stroller myself. I got it all but the wheels. I didn't know what I was doing. I had to wait clear till almost midnight that night for Caleb to get home from work to help me. He literally clicked the wheels in. Took like 2 seconds. Ha but then we both were having a hoot pushing it around, trying out all the little gadgets and making sure we liked it. I asked Caleb if he approved. His response to me was just funny, maybe because it was like midnight but he said, "yep! I approve! I like it! I just wanna test it out. I like it because it has cup holders for my coke, a little compartment for my phone and other nerd stuff, and this cool eject button!" Haha the eject button is just the button to unsnap the buckle. It's super cute seeing him get excited. He's not your typical lover of kids kind of guy so any excitement about this baby is just adorable. I think we will love this set. I'm happy we bought it! SLIGHTLY tempted to take it back and buy it again because the night we received it, it went on sale. 30 bucks savings is 30 bucks savings! We'll see. 

Onto other news. A little bit ago me, my two sisters, SIL, mom, and two nephews and niece went to the zoo. It was fun. I have been there so many times that it's getting a little old but it's always fun to see the kids get excited about the animals. 

Lookin at the monkeys with my cute nephew!

Yesterday was my cousins wedding. So because of that, we had most of our family up for the weekend. On Friday, we went up to the Pine Tree House for my cousins daughters birthday. It was more of an excuse to get all the family together. It had been 3 years since we all have been together and that was for my grandmas funeral. Now that my grandparents are gone, it's hard to have a reason for everyone to get together. So it was nice being able to catch up and see all of my cousins, aunts and uncles. The Pine Tree House is always so fun. There have been SO many memories that were made there growing up. For Friday we just all chatted, roasted hot dogs and had dinner, had a pinata for the birthday girl, and just enjoyed being with everyone for the evening. It's only like 15 minutes away from my parents house so it's perfect to just get out and go there. The next day was the wedding. I didn't go to the actual wedding, but met up with everyone for the luncheon that was held at my uncles house. After the luncheon we all met back at my parents house and hung out to kill time before the reception that night. The reception was super pretty. Very simple, yet so pretty. It was in her back yard. The weather was hot, but such a nice night. They had THEE BEST cobbler and ice cream for their dessert I had ever eaten, and it was just a lot of fun to hang out with all the cousins. It's crazy that we are all getting married and having babies when I swear we were all just like 7 years old floating the ditch, fencing with my grandpa, wagon rides, horse rides, and playing. Everyone headed back home both Saturday and today. It was nice seeing everyone and made for a good weekend. 

As for other news, Caleb has been a working machine lately. They told him that he would be working A LOT this last month and this month just because it's summer and what not. It's been great, but I am more than ready to have my husband back. I can't wait to just have a day with him to go and do SOMETHING. He's been working 6 days a week and even on Sunday he still has to put in orders or is still doing work related something. So I've been feeling extra clingy when he is here. Not too much longer and work will slow down some and he won't be quite so busy. Thank goodness! Cause I miss the guy! A lot! 

And me, well, I just am bakin this baby and being a wife. I visit my family quite a bit. But really, I hang around, run errands, make dinner, (sorta, i'm a horrible cook) clean the house, help tend my nephews sometimes, visit my mom a lot, and just taking it easy. I'm SO glad I'm not working right now. I do not think I could physically do it. Or if I was, I don't think I'd be a very pleasant girl. So I'm grateful for Caleb's job and him working hard so I can stay home.