39 weeks

So, I'm really not all that uncomfortable and that's crazy but I'm able to do a lot and sleep fairly well. My right leg will go numb off and on and I read its probably my sciatic nerve but I know I'm in for a whole new fatigue with a newborn ;) 

I am also really nervous about labor, delivery and recovery because with Owen it was tough and kinda traumatic. And there are still things on my list but for now I'm pretty much prepared. Kent gave me a blessing last night because I was feeling pains I would call shocks and was wondering if I was having contractions but I think it was just my pinched nerve. 

Owen has the funniest eyebrows when he scowls. Here he is saying he is not a grumpo! He just wants me to go fly his kite.

Luckily, he has an awesome dad who adores him and will spend the evening outside with him. Kent takes Owen to the park after his run and does push-ups and pull-ups on the monkey bars. Owen now shows me his push-up and his strong arms and says he is getting muscles for punching.

Countdown!

No more how-far-along posts, its time to countdown the days until Owen arrives :) So 5 weeks give or take.

All this last week the baby has been hiccuping every day and almost every night, so we thought we pretty much knew where the head was-the left side. (It's funny because I told Kent the baby is already keeping me up at night and it was such persistant thumps that I got up and tried to burp him ;) by walking back and forth rubbing my tummy!) Well come to find out at my appointment last week the doctor recorded the baby as turned, this is what the nurse told me today on the phone when I asked about an ultrasound. She said I was so far along that the ultrasound was pointless.

So when I asked the doctor what the difference between turned and dropped was he said the baby is head down and even though I have to go to the bathroom all the time now, I haven't dropped. Anyway, he did an ultrasound and he said it's for sure a boy and he is still head down. The hiccups are just the diaphram involuntarily contacting as the baby practices breathing. This past week I have felt alot of changes and I definitely feel big and ready!

7 months!

7 months today and four more pounds this month. Everything is looking good. Hearbeat has slowed from 155 bpm to 141 bpm (not that I know what that means but maybe that his heart and lungs are more developed?) I took the gestational diabetes drink the hour before my doctors appointment and then fell asleep and was twenty minutes late. But the doctor hasn't called back with high blood sugar readings or whatever so the test wasn't too messed up although I had a sugar headache on the drive their and thought great, something is wrong with my insulin. And now I have appointments every two weeks instead of every month! I am super excited. Of course he is kicking more and more and rolling and reaching out into my ribs. I haven't studied anything about birthing or breathing and I don't want to to take the 55 dollar birthing class with Kent. I would much rather just read about it. Or something.

So we have decided on the name Owen Daniel Stringam. Perfect, huh.

And I substantially look more pregnant in this months picture compared to last months picture.

Crazy? In Love? or Adventurous?

So, last Monday Kent hiked to the Lower and Upper Palisades Lakes. Seven miles up and seven miles down plus scouting around. He came back with these gorgeous pictures.

What's that you say?

Breath taking!

Amazing!

Too good to be true!

My thoughts exactly. So that is why when Kent suggested on Friday that we slowly walk up the trail to the Lower Lake and camp for the night, I said yes and got all our camping stuff ready and made tin foil dinners. (We had walked about a mile of the path earlier this month before dark when we were trying to find it and the trail is not steep at all, pretty much just a long, winding trail with shady patches). Kent came home from work and was worried about my feet, but I knew we would enjoy it so I insisted. Positive attitude, I tell ya. The hike was great for the first five miles as we talked back and forth and stayed hydrated. I even carried a fifteen lb. pack and Kent carried our tent and sleeping bag and gear. Well about to the lower lake I felt my legs and ankles getting really tired, so Kent said we would stay in the little emergency cabin for the night. It was cozy with a wood stove and the hard sleeping situation didn't bother me too much, but by morning I was reluctant to hike the rest of the way down. It was hot and I berated myself for going on a eleven (total) mile hike while being six and a half months pregnant, but we made it down after many breaks and drove home to rub icyhot on each others feet and legs. But now I can say I've been their and done that. (It was poor lighting on the way up and super hot on the way back so I didn't take any pictures.) I hiked about eleven miles in two days? Is that crazy or what?

6 months!

Yeah! only 92 days more to go! Yesterday was a check-up and little Owen's heart rate is 155 beats per minute. I have gained a total of twenty-two lbs (8 since last months check-up). So everything is going great! Dr. Z (who delivered me and seven of my sisters) said that every pregnant women's ankles are swelling right now and that I should just cut down on salt. He also said for me to do a fetal kick count everyday. Next check-up I will do the gestational diabetes test.

My aunt recommended the book, A Child is Born, by Lennart Nilsson because it has photos of babies while in the womb. Kent thinks its weird, but I love seeing pictures of a baby's development each week. So I thought I would include the six month picture.

Now we need Kamilla and Kelsey to post a belly photo!!!

How can I stay away from salt?

When Kent makes faboulous dishes like Mongolian barb-que and I eat ramen for lunch or pretzels or cheese or french fries????

I do love cherries and watermelon, and yogurt and cheerios; but a girl needs her salt!

It's a . . . .

21 Weeks or Over Halfway There :)

Friday, May 22nd marked 21 weeks, yea!!

Update

In exactly one week we get to find out if it is a boy or a girl! Yeah, not that it matters but it makes it more realistic and we haven't had an ultrasound since it was 6 weeks old and the size of a poppy seed. So, I am excited to "see" this baby. I officially wore maternity pants today, haha. Right now Kent is working full time at Melalucea and I am working three quarters time at BYUI and taking seven credits to finally be finished. On Saturday, we went for a drive around Swan Valley and ended up seeing a sign for Jackson Hole, 20 miles away. So being the crazy, random, fly-by-the-seat of our pants that we are we went and walked around Jackson Hole! The pass was so snowy and the truck chugged up the steep road at 20 mph. We took pictures by the antler arches, saw the incredible 20,000 dollar art in the galleries and visited the elk refuge. It was great!

Hair-brained and Scattered

On Monday the wind was awful even though it was sunny and semi-warm. After walking across campus having my bag, coat, and hair plastered to my body, I muscled my way into the car and said that's it, this stringy, windy hair has got to go. And within forty-five minutes it was gone. Well gone into an A-line cut.

After that, Kent and I raced to Idaho Falls to meet with our friends, Tyler and Amanda, for Tyler's birthday party.

Then yesterday, I raced around getting everything in place for our ward's Relief Society Birthday Party. It turned out really well, but I was too busy to get pictures. I had to get butter, tableclothes, plates, and ice. Then pick-up the catering from the school. Set out utensils, salt and pepper, water pitchers and every other misc thing. Then clean-up and deliver leftover meals. By the time I got home I was exhausted and what do I see? Kent had vacuumed, mopped, folded and hung up the house! And, AND he got me this snazzy hyacinth plant that smells heavenly. What a sweetie!

Also yesterday, in my "just-for-fun-stress-reliever" class we are making pillow throws and I found this awesome fabric, when it's put together I will embroider the center and put it in my house for some much needed color! One more thing, with the class we got these high-end gingher shears that are normally $60 for only $13 something! I will definitely be doing more cutting and sewing.

This Friday will be 12 weeks with the baby and I am excited for the first trimester to end. Last week we had an appointment and we got to hear the heartbeat on the doppler stethoscope. After a minute Kent says, "Is that two heartbeats?!" And the doctor says, "Yeah, mother and baby." :)

3 months

Exciting News!

I have really felt in the mood to get posting and recording what is happening in our lives. First off, yes we are expecting a baby October 2nd and I look forward to taking a gazillion photos of a wiggly smiley baby and recording it on this blog!

Also Kent has decided on pursuing the nursing program after he graduates with a bachelors in Health Science (two more semesters) and we have been looking into those programs. We will start that program probably in Fall of 2010. We are leaning towards Lewis and Clark State College in Lewiston. Nothing official but at least I can record the decision making process. Next, I am officially enrolled in the medical transcription program!!! I will graduate from BYU-I with my bachelors in University Studies (minor in English) and then end my education with the four-month online training that it takes to become certified in recording and formating doctor's visits into records for the hospital. The program will probably take me the rest of the summer though as I can set my own pace in studying and working part-time. I'm excited.Finally, I am sooooo excited for my sister and brother-in-law, Kelsey and Lance who will be expecting a baby in October! I think I have baby fever and am just so excited to see Kelsey's pregnant pictures and to see their baby!

Wednesday I was able to go to dinner with my sisters Kimberly and Kaycee and Kim got to see our apartment (she just got back from her mission in Canada). It was so fun having girl talk again (boys, work, boys, funny stories, boys), my sisters are so cute.