Getting ready...

The last few weeks before Baby Boy Clark arrived, we made ourselves pretty busy :)  Besides the growing pains and aches, we tried to get the house and baby room all ready, and then take a few fun pictures together.  We also did a maternity photo shoot, waiting for those pics, and will put them up later.

Below are a few pics and happenings during July and the beginning of August.  I have to say, we weren't too worried about baby boy coming early, although we did hope so after I began to be dilated around July 13.  But, even with that, we didn't pack our bags until really AFTER the due date got here.  Not sure why because we did lots of shopping and painting and cleaning, but just couldn't get those bags packed easily.

The belly:  I really loved having our little guy inside of me.  I wrote about this already, and only at the very end did I start to understand the uncomfortableness of it all.  But I LOVED feeling him move, hiccup, kick me (ouch!), and just be the active guy we thought may come out of me someday.  I really wasn't ready to have him leave me 24/7, it has been easy to care for him and bring him along and I was just starting to imagine having to lug that car seat around and then protect him when he's not right there with me.

Photos: We tried to do a few fun photos with the 3 of us since mostly it's just been profile shots of me these past 9 months.  These shoes just melt my heart - we have them by our door with our shoes too and they just make me smile every time I come home.

The Room:  It took us all the way to the due date to get his room completely ready, but if I wasn't working 60+ hours a week at the end, it would have been easier and I would have had more time.  Below is David putting together the crib, turned out beautiful.  And also you can see the rocking chair we purchased as well, definitely going to get some use (and I even already have rocked in it before bed hoping it would calm my belly down a bit).  We actually had to return the first rocking chair but the second has been great.

Here's the bed theme, we've now hung this on the wall - final pictures will come soon.

And we also did some painting - shelves and a sign.  I feel pretty crafty.

Nails: David also spoiled me and painted my nails (on my birthday) in preparation for the hospital visit. I picked dark blue - poor D, this was his first painting experience and blue isn't the easiest to paint in the lines.  He did great as I tried to teach him from where I was sitting.

Target:  So we already love Target, but most of Jellybean's items will be coming from Target too.  After the first Braxton hicks contractions July 13, we made our list and headed to the store to get anything we hadn't gotten yet that was essential.  And really, we still didn't know what exactly we needed, but we did pretty well.  We also found his first outfit to bring him home in, awe.

39ish weeks: Here's one of the last good belly pictures before things were too busy and also just a waiting game.  Between monitoring, work and waiting - we were just ready, even if we weren't, we were ready to meet this baby boy and hoping he'd get here before David started dental school.  The pressure was on because of that one for sure.

Happy Birthday Andrea!

July 22, 2013

Still can't believe I'm 29...  Last year in my 20's, gotta make it good.  But the nice thing is that I guess I'll be able to say I am a mom in my 20's - barely made that one.  Being 8.5 months pregnant, in the hottest part of the year, makes for a pretty low key birthday party.  David as usual did great spoiling me, just had to improvise a bunch as I was unpredictable.  I took the day off of work, and pretended to be able to sleep in - just doesn't work with the belly.  And actually I woke up feeling sick so that wasn't so fun, so we skipped homemade breakfast from D, sorry sweetie.  A few family members were hoping our baby boy would be born the same day as my birthday.  I wasn't hoping for that, sorry little guy but you should get your own day and so should I :)

D took me shopping before it got too hot.  I wasn't sure what to purchase with big belly, but actually found some pants and a top for post maternity, hoping they fit ;).  We also found a baby book for Jellybean - to write down these beginnings and give to him someday.  We came home and relaxed a bit and then for dinner I got to choose and picked IHop, sounds kind of funny, but I have been craving some real waffles for awhile.  Yum.  We came home and watched a movie together, Father of the Bride 2 - prepping for what we have to come.  It was a nice day together, loving every minute with my D while I still have him all to myself.

Thanks David for making it a great birthday!  I got a Red Mango gift card and my mom sent a necklace with 3 of us.  Also, our CAMERA came in the mail today so I pretended I got it for my birthday too, even though we've been saving up for that for a very long while.  I'm just glad it got here before baby boy got here.  Now we just need to figure out how to use it.

David's family also had me over for my birthday dinner on 7/21.  They did chinese salad per my request and then a cake and presents as well.  They are very sweet and always try to make birthdays special for everyone.

Well, here's to another year.  Hope 29 goes a bit slower...  Thanks everyone for remembering me on my birthday!

4th of July Happenings

(doing a little catch up)...

For the Fourth of July we spent a bit of time outside as usual for the Murray Parade.  Jeff announced - which he changed up a bunch this year adding music to go along with each entry - very fun!  For the police k-9 he played Who Let the Dogs Out, for example, or the fire trucks - The Roof Is On Fire...  It got VERY hot but we did survive to the end to see Andy and Hailey driving the classic VW's.  It was a nice time with David though since he got work off for that day especially.

We headed to the Clark's for the luncheon, and Jan also invited us over to her house for pizza as well near the evening.  We bounced back and forth and finally headed home.  I was too hot and exhausted to do fireworks this year, so we watched them (really just heard them) from home.

That was it :)  One of the last holidays before our little guy gets here... awe.

Hailey driving above, Andy below

3rd Trimester Update

(written end of July 2013)

The 3rd trimester hasn't been that bad!  Just the last few weeks are the most uncomfy, but other than that I can't complain too much.  David is still spoiling me too and especially as I get less mobile and more tired he continues to cook, clean, and everything really.

• I've enjoyed really feeling our baby boy move a ton and a ton.  He's not shy around me, but is a bit more when I want to show him off, of course!  I haven't had to count kicks or anything because I definitely know he's moving all day.  And he really hasn't "kicked" as much as rolled or shifted from one side to the other lately.
• I got my glucose test and Tdap shot - oh the joys!
• We MOVED!  (More on that, later)  Pregnant and all I did a lot of lighter items and packing, but even a week later my belly seemed to pop out much more, limiting me much more.
• My belly button is now an out-y.
• We took a birthing class (already posted about this one).
• It's WAY hot here in Utah this year, record hot, and of course I have an extra oven in me all the time!
• Our AC unit died.
• We decided on a pediatrician.
• We took maternity pictures at week 37, a little late, we know, but it happened at least :)
• Midwife visits sped up a TON.  We visited every 2 weeks from week 28 - 36, and then every week for the last 4.  They get shorter and shorter because it's just a waiting game now.
• Baby showers!!  (more on that in another post)
• Both of my parents visited during this trimester, and attended a shower.
• We got the baby room all together mostly, finally!  As well as put together lots of gadgets or necessities like the car seat/stroller and rocking chair... and everything really.
• Had a little scare of "contractions" almost at week 37, July 11, which got me dilated to 1.5 and 70% effaced.
• We still don't have a name although we constantly get asked this.  We are waiting to meet the little guy and hope his name is on our "short list" (which has like 20+ names).

The last 4 weeks of pregnancy have brought on:
Swelling in the legs
Kidney pain
First contractions - thanks to watching a Brian Regan clip
Uncomfortableness near the end, just getting so big, waddling, and hot
High Blood Pressure = Labor & Delivery monitoring, but keep getting discharged :(

Here are the last of the weekly pictures!

 And there should be a week 40 and HERE WE GO picture... but the actual "going into labor" thing was a bit different than imagined so we didn't get to take those last pics.  More to come soon...

Baby Showers

I have some great family and friends!  I had several baby showers over the last couple months, spoiling our little guy already before he's even here!  But we definitely are appreciating the help as we figure out this road to parenthood :)

First, my two friends Megan & Courtney threw me a "friend" shower Thursday May 30.  They were concerned that it wouldn't be decked out enough since I guess one of my favorite parts of parties is decorating, but they did great!  And besides the backyard party atmosphere, it was just a very nice close friend party - so fun to catch up with some great friends from my past.  My mom also came in town for the party so she was able to come with and see my old roomies/mission friends too.  There was Megan, Court, Marlena, Honivah/Raf, Emily, Beckie, mom & I.

Next, Steph threw a family BBQ also baby shower on Saturday June 8.  It was a little hot outside already, but the food was great (loving hamburgers during pregnancy) and it was great to see the family and a few extended family members as well.  Mom was still in town so she was able to see them as well.  Besides the Evans/Speirs crew, Margaret and her sister Geraldine came with a couple of their girls (driving them), and as well as Ben & Pam Tanner (from our singles ward and related to my Aunt Nancy).  It was great to see them and Evans cousins as well.  We did a non girl shower, so David came as well as spouses and Jeff, Andy, Tony and Sean could be there too.  I asked David for some pictures during the event, but when I got my phone back, it had a bunch of just me opening presents!  Not at all what I wanted, seeing me prego over and over haha, but he tried :)

My mother-in-law threw me a party on Saturday June 29.  While it was a girl party, David still came since he would know the group, as well as my Dad & Diane came in town too!  So it was mostly the Clark family, ladies from our ward, and some cousins on my Dad's side.  It was an open house so a half hour passed by but no one had come yet, uh oh.  But there was a big group soon after and then a second wave near the end of the party - so it went an extra hour over.  I opened presents with David a few times with each group - always fun to see the tiny clothes or other good ideas that we'll be able to use.  Before the shower I went with Dad & Diane to get the present they got for our boy, a swing.  Dad said that was what he had got me and he wanted to get that for mine too.  Swings are SO different now, but that's another story - but now we have a swing, all high tech too, and hopefully he likes it :)  The shower was really nice and we were spoiled by a lot of good family and ward friends.

So a couple weeks ago we were home on a Friday night (July 12) and I went downstairs to check on David and he showed me his computer and BAM... there were 5 familiar faces staring back at me on a Google+ video chat!!!  I was being thrown a surprise friend shower!!!  It was seriously so sweet.  My sis-in-law had always said she would throw me a shower, but she moved to Texas, and besides being sad to not have her so close all the time, to be honest, I was sad she wouldn't be able to do a baby shower someday.  But she had the coolest idea to do a digital shower with some of my friends that aren't so close by.  Seriously, this was the nicest thing and just so awesome.  Near the beginning of the pregnancy when I had to figure out baby showers and who to invite to which, since a few people wanted to throw one... I just kept thinking, it's too bad some of my good friends live so far away!  Well Annie rocked, and so did her hubby and David for figuring out how to do it.  And then Lexie got some high school/AZ friends together and either gathered advise or invited them to the digital shower!  So we were all sitting at home, but in front of the camera chatting for a couple hours - catching up and hearing all about their lives and then advise for me as a new mom - all of them have 2+ kids so I have some catching up to do...  It was SUCH a surprise, I really was confused for several minutes when David first showed me the video, I wasn't sure how Annie and then HS friends could all be showing up on my screen - was it for real?  Haha, now I laugh, but if you were here you would have been shocked too, okay?  And they even sent presents (which David sneakily picked up from where they were sent) and I loved hearing all of their advise and such too.  Thanks everyone who planned and took the time to come "digitally" - seriously the coolest thing!  Below is a view of the screened event. :)

And lastly, my work threw me a shower a week before the due date!  At one point, I didn't think I'd make it, but did :).  They did a potluck lunch and presents, very nice of them.  A couple prior HR employees were going to come but couldn't so they dropped off presents before or after - so nice too.  I didn't get pics, but it was a nice thing for work to do.  I got a bathtub finally, target cards, and more cute clothes and rushed out afterwards to hit one of our last dr. appointments hopefully!

Thanks everyone who threw, came or participated in one of our showers, we feel very blessed and I'm sure our little guy will feel it soon too when he gets here!

My bad habit came back

Okay rather than make you read through the LONGISH story to find out what habit has come back, I'll give the summary.  In case you didn't know, I've had vasovagal syncope since I was 12 but since I've been married, David has really helped it - he makes me laugh and gets the blood back to my head before I pass out.  Way to go!  So it has been awhile... until now.... :(

We took a birthing class for 4 weeks from mid May to mid June.  There were 8 other couples in class with us.  I was excited yet a little nervous for these classes as I wasn't sure what to expect and know that I have a squeamish side.  Week one, the agenda was to learn more about pregnancy side effects, relieving pain and pre-term labor signs.  I was concerned, but no need - even when we watched 3 real births on video (and yes they were VHS tapes from the 80's!) I did great!  And while the birth process is a miracle and such, I didn't really like seeing another woman fully and a kid pop out!  Especially since they didn't warn us ahead of time.  So to say the least, I went home a little shocked and concerned that I'd be doing that myself soon enough - pressure!  But not on video :)

Well, week 2 went well too.  Our teacher sped through everything so I'm not sure how much was retained, but it was a good basic overview and some techniques to use during labor.  I've decided to have an epidural so some of the class didn't mean as much to me since I won't be in a bathtub or walking around after I get the drugs.  I did think about natural birth for a good while at the beginning but decided not to for now.  Knowing me, and David does too, I don't handle pain well, so it's not going to work w/out.  I mean, feet cramps bring me to tears, so that's a sign.  One of my midwives said that if I was not sure, but not really planning and preparing to go natural, that I might as well not try to stick through the pain, but find relief much earlier and get the epidural when I'm uncomfortable.  It sounded right to me, so we'll try it.  And then I hope I will enjoy this process a little more.

Class week 3 we learned about epidurals.  And we had a different teacher - who was much more long winded...  After the first hour she popped in a VHS for us to watch comparing natural to an epidural birth.  Well, I was at least a pro at watching births, but now the epidural would apply to me so I was not sure but did want to see the epidural process...  BUT, apparently I didn't want to watch or learn about the epidural.  I was sitting there watching (and it was a lot of detail) and started not to feel very well - hot and nauseous.  After a few minutes I couldn't shake it with water or anything so I told David - I was sweating a ton too.  I was afraid I may throw up and there we were sitting in the middle of the room with couples behind and all around us basically.  We were sitting in our own 2 seat section, but all in the same general area.  I didn't catch the signs till the very end when I grabbed David and told him "I'm going to pass out!" and seconds later I crashed towards his shoulder and he just held me there as I laid limp on him next to me.  From behind, maybe it just looked like I fell asleep?  I came to soon after - hearing the ringing in my ears and feeling like I've napped for hours... The movie was still going, no one had noticed, and David just got me more water and fruit snacks to eat and rubbed my arm.  (As a side note - passing out is embarrassing to me so I didn't want anyone to know why I was dripping with sweat or laying limp on D's shoulder - which is funny looking back, I should have not cared, but I did)  Well we sat through the rest of the video but David gave me my phone to distract me since the epidural part was still going and I just wasn't handling that very well.  We made it through the movie and had a break, walked around, and stayed for the next half of the class.  About 30 min after the incident, our teacher was talking (about who knows what at this point for me!) and I got the sick feeling again.  Dang it!  But I was so nauseous that I was starting to hope it was a fainting thing again.  Yep!  I pulled David back towards me just in time to pass out again, similar fashion except this time with the lights on during the lecture.  When I was up again, no one had noticed, or said anything - even the teacher!  And silly us, we just proceeded to sit there through the rest of the class.  And then we even took the tour of the hospital (we're not even delivering there) after because we got off on the wrong floor even though we tried to escape and not do that part.

We had a good laugh on the way home and it just surprised us a bunch since I hadn't done that for awhile.  But pregnancy brings back the fun, not fun! things.  The next day as I had told a few people, everyone said I needed to report to the midwives, so I called them.  Even with my past of fainting, they wanted me to come in that day and get checked out just as a precaution.  Well that worried me, but it was really just to make sure baby boy was okay.  He had been moving still, but I hadn't thought about that, so glad I called them.  My blood pressure was LOW low when I was at the office and that's really what they think made me pass out 2x - I just couldn't get it high enough.  So they've suggested iron, but other than that, just more water and sit down if dizzy.  Luckily, I did have a few dizzy spells, but no fainting!  But I can't listen to gruesome stories again and try to tune out anything so that I don't accidentally pass out again during this pregnancy.

Now the task is just to make it through delivery without going down.  The midwives know and joked saying maybe I'll need to lie down the whole labor, but sadly, they could be right!  Although, I honestly think that in real live situations with myself in pain and such, I won't have an issue - I'll be freaking out - but not passing out.  The stupid video was just a hot dark room and sitting for awhile and then just watching over and over that crappy needle and side effects - got to me.  Why watch an epidural video? Even when I get it, I won't have to or be able to watch my own!?

We graduated from our birth class, me, without learning much there the second half :).  I wasn't too concerned until I had my first contraction pains, which put me in a little panic, and so I read the whole birth booklet they had given us, which I did just fine and hopefully have enough knowledge to get me through this labor when it does come.  Ah, scary!  But excited to meet our little guy.