Pampered

Wow. I have a fantastic Mother-in-law. (or out-law...) She is so kind, and sweet, and wants nothing more than to help those around her. She's one of those cute ladies who just loves babies and wants to spoil and help everyone. She's a lot of fun.

She and her husband came down from Idaho yesterday, and it was a wonderful day. First, she took me to Evans' beauty college where we spent 3 1/2 hours getting completely spoiled. Nails, toes, facials, hair... it was awesome. We both almost fell asleep during the facials... and the pedicures! Oh, my, I'd forgotten how much I love having my feet massaged. Jetted tubs, warm water, epsom salts... it was amazing.

Then, we made and ate lunch. It was a simple affair, but fun to have everybody sitting around our kitchen table. I was glad they let us provide the food. :)

They brought materials down for us to make 72-hour kits, with the coolest little camping stove you've ever seen! We actually made it right there in our living room. It's a paint can filled with toilet paper and alcohol poured into it and soaked into the toilet paper. It burns clean, lights easy, and costs less than any propane stove. Plus, you can take a larger paint can, put holes around the bottom, turn it upside-down over the flame and that makes the stove. Coolest thing ever! Ryan and I were way excited about it.

Ooh... and she got us baby clothes! Several little outfits, and blankets, and a nursing cover... so fun!

To cap it off, we went to Babies R Us, where we looked at strollers. We ended up getting one that was soooo cute! It's brown/gray with light green plaid, which will work very well for our little girl now and any boys (or girls) that might come in the future. It has all the latest features... storage, sippy cup holder, cup holders for mom, wheel locks (both brakes and turn locks), a car seat/baby carrier, one hand fold and unfold capabilities, and a very cool button on the top that tells the time and the temperature! How awesomely cool is that?!? I love it. We don't have the baby yet. Heck, I haven't even had my baby shower yet (so, technically, I don't know the stroller exists because it is a gift for the baby shower), but we got it set up last night and it's sitting in our back room and I'm just so excited!

Thank you Susan and Rod!!! We love you!

I swear I'm pregnant!!!

So, on a normal, day-to day basis, I wear loose clothes and, if you didn't know any better, you might just think I'm chubby. I've been there before; it's not fun, but whatever. In 2 1/2 months I'll lose a lot of weight really fast.

But last night, I was at the gym swimming with my hubby. I was sitting on the edge of the pool in my swimsuit and talking to the nice girl who teaches water aerobics. I mentioned some interest in the "fit-to-be-mothers" water aerobics class, and she asked me if I'm expecting. When I said yes, she told me she couldn't tell. Wow. I'll be at 30 weeks on Monday. That's 3/4 of the way through this thing. On the one hand, I'm excited that I don't show very much. On the other hand, there is something going on in there! I swear it!

Baby Talk

First for the cuteness:  A few nights ago I was laying down and started talking to my baby.  I told her about myself, and about Ryan, and about some of the good things in this world, and about what it means to be a fairy princess.  I talked for several minutes, and, when I stopped, she kicked me.  I laughed and started talking again, and, again, when I stopped, she kicked me.  This happened four or five times, and finally I called Ryan in, told him what was happening, and asked him to talk to her.  Same thing.  He put his hand on my belly and could feel her kicking whenever one of us stopped talking.  It was so cute!  "Hey!  Keep talking!" she seemed to be saying.  "I like hearing your voice."  I'll bet she's smart.  I'm excited to meet her for real.

And now for the more serious stuff that's been on my mind for the last few days:  Tuesday was my Doctor's appointment.  After last month's post about liking my doctor, I've been doing a little bit of research and trying to figure out what type of things I want in a doctor.  I intended to go ask him about some of these issues before push came to shove (literally) and he was doing things that I didn't necessarily want done in the delivery room.  I quite naturally had questions about inducing labor, episiotomies, and his philosophies in general.

The appointment took 2 hours.  Granted, he was off delivering babies, and I opted to wait for him, but that's a long time to wait to interrogate your doctor.  :)  He did his quick little checkup, and then I asked him questions.  His basic philosophies are these:

After being one week overdue, we will talk about the dangers of your baby being stillborn and growing too big.  (Read: I'll put pressure on you to induce labor.)  After two weeks, if you still don't want to induce, then we will part ways and you'll have to find another doctor.

An episiotomy?  If you need one, you'll get one.  Chances are you'll get one because it's your first baby.  

And by the way, don't let other people's bad experiences determine what you do and don't do. I see the mistakes made by midwives and those who don't have the medical training, and it's sad. It really is.  Stick with me.  Everything will be okay if you stick with me.

I asked him about not having an episiotomy if I didn't want one.  He painted horrific pictures for me.  I went home and did research and discovered that those horrific pictures don't occur in 90% of cases.  Throughout the interview, I felt that he was (probably unintentionally) trying to bully and scare me into putting myself unquestioningly into his care.  He wants to cut me!  Ew!  I came home quite upset and wanting to be completely put under for the entire experience.  (For those of you who don't know, I really don't like the idea of being put under.  I had local anesthesia to get my wisdom teeth taken out, thank you very much!)  And I really don't want to be put under, but neither do I want to put myself in the care of a doctor who is so eager to tear me up and who doesn't seem to really care what I want for this birth.  But I'm afraid that all doctors will have the same sort of mentalities.  Really, my two biggest issues are the inducement and episiotomy things, and it seems like the attitudes he held are pretty widespread.

At this point, I want to check into seeing if their are midwives who deliver at the hospital.  (I would like to be there just in case something goes wrong.)  Or, perhaps there is a general practitioner somewhere around who would be more relaxed and more willing to work with me.  Regardless, I am the one paying for this care, and for the insurance, and I have the right to stick up for myself and what I want from this experience, right?  Even though it flies in the face of all medical expertise, at least I am taking responsibility for what happens to me in that terrifying room.  Both my mom and my mother-in-law support me in this, but it's still weird to stick up for myself in that sort of an environment!

Death Week and a New Computer

Two weeks ago, my car died.  It was very strange.  There I was, trying to come back home from the one class that I had dragged myself out of bed at 7 AM for just to wait for a teacher who never showed up, and when I stuck the key in the ignition, it wouldn't start.  We had to pay to get it towed, then wait 3 days for them to finally figure out what was wrong with it.  Apparently, something had gone wrong with the computer inside it, and the thing had to be re-programmed.  Very silly.  But that was two weeks ago.  This post is actually about last week.  The car dying does set the stage nicely, though.

Sunday comes, and I think, "Huh.  I might be getting sick."  I make mental plans to eat healthy and take it easy until the cold goes away.  We went to Church, where things just kept getting worse.  Halfway through Sacrament Meeting, I was sick.  I asked Ryan if we could go home.  He was so good, and we left without questions or hassle.  It was a good thing, too, because 10 minutes after we got home, I (this is going to get graphic.  I apologize profusely!) yes... I threw up.  Just once.  We think it was food poisoning that started it off.  But it got worse from there.  We didn't have a thermometer, but I'm fairly certain that over the next few days I had a fever, plus the coughing, sore throat, grogginess, and sore muscles.  It didn't help that the weather turned cold, which exacerbated those symptoms.  Plus, with the pregnancy, I don't have my normal amount of energy anyway.  It was... not fun.  In Ryan's words, "It hits like a freight train!"

On Monday, we found out that Ryan did not get accepted to OSU.  It was disappointing, but at the same time liberating.  We know at least one direction in which our lives are not heading right now.  And, heck, we could go anywhere in the world right now!  Fun times.

On Tuesday our computer died.  Instead of spending $300 to fix it, we decided instead to buy ourselves a new computer- something we'd wanted to do this year anyway- and wipe the old computer completely clean and start over.  The computer we wanted, of course, was not in stock and our names were put on a list as some of the first to get one when they came in.

Wednesday was death day.  I had a bunch of homework due, and no computer to do it on.  I not only had to shower and make myself look presentable, I also had to spend several hours on campus working on homework, getting it turned in, and trying to figure out the computer issue.

Thursday, our TV died.  We don't actually watch tv, so for the most part this was acceptable.  However, when one is sick, there is little the mind or body are capable of, and so we watch movies.  Until Thursday.  

Friday, Ryan got sick.  Poor guy.  I know exactly what he's going through, but he's so tough.  He keeps telling me he's okay, and even though this thing hits like a freight train, he still gets up and goes to classes and stuff.  He's amazing.  But he coughs, and it tears my heart out.

By Saturday, I was feeling better enough to finish some of the homework I'd dropped over the week, and also to teach a riding lesson, so that was good.  

Blessings:  We got our computer today!  It's a shiny new macMini, and I'm totally in love.  :)  (Poor Ryan's reading this right now, and totally jealous of the computer.  Heehee.  Don't worry, Love.  I'll always love you more!)  

Baby's still doing well.  She kicks and rolls around and keeps getting bigger.  

We still have my old mac laptop (by old I mean 7 years!) and we can watch DVDs on that, so we're good until Ryan gets better!

And so, that is life right now.  The semester is almost over, big projects are almost due, we're stressing right now but see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Well, I'm pregnant!

I've discovered that this is a viable excuse for almost anything. For example:

"My clothes don't fit me today! Well..."
"I walk so slow! Well..."
"I want another cookie. Well..."
"I didn't do anything useful today. Well..."
"I really shouldn't have that scoop of ice cream. Well..."
"I'm hot! Well..."
"I'd rather watch a movie than do my homework. Well..."

It's rather fantastic, and at the same time quite frightful. Seriously, what am I going to do when the baby is actually here? Be responsible? Bah!

;)

How important is it to like your doctor?

Normally, I don't really care. They generally don't end up helping me anyway, so I've lost whatever trust I may have ever had in doctors.

However, the guy I'm seeing now is supposed to be there for one of the more pivotal events in my life, Ryan's life, Baby's life... and I'm not terribly impressed. He's not good at communicating- at all. Heck, Ryan called him an airhead. He tries to be nice and friendly, but I still end up walking out of his office after every visit thinking that one of us is very stupid. This month I drew the short straw. Last month he did. Regardless, I don't trust him very much.

So, at six months pregnant, I'm wondering if I should go through the hassle of trying to change doctors... or of exploring the midwife option. I've done some research and am fairly impressed with what I've seen, but is it worth the effort and the money?

To Help the World

So... there are many things I want to do with my life. Ironically, school is not really one of them, but here I am. :) All of my life, I have wanted to be a wife. To me, that is the drive behind much of who I am and what I want to be. And so, here I am! Yay!!! I also wanted to be a mother, and that will come very soon, as well. I'm excited and grateful and I love my daughter very much. I'm excited to meet her.

But there are other things I want to do, as well. I do want to continually learn. I want to be healthy. I want to sew, and garden, and cook, and be creative in all these pursuits. I want to own, train, and work with horses. I want to be somebody that my dog loves.

Of course I want to write. That has always been one of my passions. I'm currently working on a writing project that may or may not turn into something really cool.

I also want to do something to help the world... to make it a better place for the people who live here and who will live here. To this end, I have several ideas.

I would love to impact people with my writing. I think this is a good way, if I can be successful, of reaching many many different people, of fulfilling my own passion, and it is something I can do in my own home, when it is cold outside and I am struck with an idea.

Ryan and I intend to go on missions later in life, which means that I would like to, in the meantime, build up enough savings to allow us to do that comfortably.

I'm sure I will impact the world through my children, but I would love to teach them by example as well.

Micro loans are incredible. I saw a special on BYU-TV about them once, and the idea is simply phenomenal. I would love to contribute to that effort in some way. It not only helps people; it helps people to help themselves. What an amazing gift to give someone!

When I was younger, I read a story about a girl who had a goal to help the world somehow. She didn't know how she would do it, but she was always looking for a way. Then, she saw the beauty of the flowers around her, and decided to perpetuate that. She started carrying seeds with her, and simply scattering them when she walked. I think it was lilacs, or something like that. She became known as the flower lady, and everywhere she went, flowers bloomed. It was so cool! I'd like to do something like that... to spread greenery and beauty and make the world prettier.

A few days ago, I came up with a new idea. See, so much of the news we hear and see is negative. It makes the world look so very bleak. And so, what if I were to begin another blog, and on it post something that is good news, either in our hometown, or in my own life, or in the world... I figure, at the very least, it would help me to see the good that is out there, plus, it would help to further the cause of goodness by putting more of it out into the world, which is really the best way to fight evil, I think.

I went to google and typed in good news, and came up with several different websites. This one http://goodnewsdaily.com/ has some advertisments, which is annoying, but also doesn't require a fee, which is good, and it seems to be a very good website for seeing good news. I approve.