Introducing.... Avery Marie Rhodes!

I remember in my blog last week Thursday, after getting my stitches removed, I wrote, "If I am still pregnant one week from now I will be in shock!" Well I just barely missed the one week mark by about 8 hours. Avery Marie Rhodes was born one Wednesday, July 18th at 11:59 pm. She was 7 pounds, 14 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. She has a full head of black hair and is of course, super adorable. :)

Here are the major events leading up to Avery's birth.

Thursday, after getting my stitches removed,  my cervix was already dialated to 3 cm and probably about 90 percent effaced (thinned out). I started having contractions, but they weren't really painfu. They gave me a pill to stop them and "ultimately" they sent me home from the hospital, thinking labor may start soon after, probably in the next day or two. I was totally expecting her to come over the weekend. I was having little contractions but they were nothing regular and I couldn't ever time them. So on Monday, I ended up calling my doctor's office and saying, "I don't think anyone expected me to still be pregnant, but I am. So I guess I should make a weekly check-up appointment for this Wednesday." I purposely picked Wednesday thinking, "Then I will be exactly 37 weeks and if my check-up starts my labor, they will consider me full-term and let me deliver." I know with both Gabe and Caleb I had a check-up the day previous or the day of their birth, so I was hoping it would speed things along!

Monday and Tuesday I was still just thinking, "I can't believe I am still pregnant." I got a lot of calls wondering if I had had her. But no. It was just the usual... taking Caleb to gymnastics, taking Gabe to soccer, seeing our weekly Summer movie in the cheap seats (it was Megamind this week...). I was beginning to wonder if she would stay in there till my due date! I started telling Gabe to pray she would come so that we could go foreward with our plan to go to Wisconsin for a visit in August. I said, "if she isn't born this week we probably won't go." That really got Gabe worried! He started including in his prayers at night that "our baby will be born soon."

Well, that must've done the trick! On Wednesday at 3:00, Diane (Josh's mom) got to our house to babysit the boys while we went to Idaho Falls for our appointment. I took my hospital overnight bag just in case. I told Diane, "I hope they check me and see that I am dialated to a 5 or 6 and decide to send me straight to the hospital to break my water." I think she thought I was dreaming because most women are in immense pain if they are dialated to a 5 or 6 and are actively labor in the hospital. But we told her we would call her from the appointment and let her know if we thought we would be back that night or not. I had a backpack for the boys to stay overnight at her house packed and ready at the top of the stairs in our house. I had this pretty planned out in my head for it to happen!

So, we got to the doctor and I had still been having little contractions but not too painful, just like my stomach was tightening. When we got to the doctor, we went in and saw Nicole because Dr. Huggins was really busy with other deliveries and stuff but I guess she was in and out of the office. Nicole checked me and told me that, guess what, I WAS dialated to what she said was "about a 5 or 6." I instantly thought, "Yes! Let's go to the hospital!" But Nicole was still reacting like, "Well, if you're not having contractions.... you can just go back to Rexburg until you're ready." And I was like, "Uh... no... I want to have my contractions monitored because I think my labor is starting and as soon as my water breaks she will be out in minutes." She finally was like, "Well, we have a room where we can monitor your contractions for a little while if you want." And I was like, "Uh... duh!" no just kidding. But seriously, I was thinking "Yes, that would be a good idea. I am glad I am telling YOU what needs to be done." So then I went into that little room where they hooked my belly up and watched me for about 30 minutes. At the end of that time, Nicole came in and got the print-out of all the little hills and valleys, indidctaing contractions, and said, "I need to go talk to Dr. Huggins and she what she thinks."

When she came back this time, she said, "I am going to strip your membranes and that will probably get your contractions going..." but then when I went into the little regular exam room again it was Dr. Huggins who walked in and checked me. She said, "I would say you are dialted to more like a 7. I am going to send you over to the hospital and come over and break your water because I am afraid if I send you home to Rexburg your water will break and you will have this baby in the car." I was thinking, "Yes, I am glad someone else recognizes that fact!" It made me really glad that I had kind of pushed it with Nicole and not just been like, "Okay, thanks! See ya next week!" and gone home.
If I would have, that could have been a totally different birth story - and a very scary one!

Then we went out to the lobby again and Dr. Huggins was trying to locate the results of my Group B strep test. I told her she wasn't going to find them because Nicole had just barely done the swab like, 30 minutes prior. They usually do that test at about 36 weeks, but I guess when I got my stitches out they all kind of forgot about it because I didn't actually go into her office that week, just the hospital.
The crappy thing about not having done it earlier was that they didn't have the results back yet, therefore they had to treat me like I DID have it, just to be safe, and put some antibiotics into my IV for at least 4 hours before my delivery. I guess Group B strep is no big deal to the mom but if the baby gets it during delivery, it can develop into a serious problem. But they can treat in by giving you penicilon for at least 4 hours in your IV before you deliver.

This was kind of a bummer because I got to the hospital at about 6:00 and Dr. Huggins was going to break my water right away, but then she realized I needed to delay it for 4 hours. So I had to just kind of lay there and wait until 10:30 when she could come in and break my water and send baby flying out! In that four hours, I was like, "Time for my epidural!!!" I really wasn't in much pain when I got checked into the hospital but I was like, "I know it will get worse, so let's get this rollin!" The epidural man came in at about 6:30 and I sat on the side of the bed while he got it going into my back. Getting an epidural isn't super fun, and it's kind of scary to be putting so much trust into someone who could make one wrong move and potentially parylize you forever, but let me tell you, this labor and delivery was so easy it was crazy. That epidural man is a genius. And God is a genius for making man create the epidural. I had told him about my experience in Wisconsin where only half of my body went numb and he was like, "Well we're going to make you a believer in Idaho medicine." He totally did. He was really funny. When it was about done I was like, "I heard some women have this special button to push when they are in pain and want more drug pumped in..." and he was like, "Yup! Here's your button!" I was so excited. I have never had a button. :)

Like, as I was laying there, watching TV and kind of dozing in and out of sleep while I could see the monitor was registering my huge, mountain sized contractions, I was thinking, "Pioneer women would hate me if they could see this labor. This is insane how calm and relazing this is." Gabe and Caleb's births were both sooo painful. Gabe's was the worst. Caleb's hurt but not as bad and for not as long. Avery's was like, 4 relaxing hours that ended with pushing a baby out in 2 pushes and no pain. So crazy. When Dr. Huggins broke my water at about 10:30, she checked me and said, "You're really close to being ready to push but lets give you some pitocin to just speed it up a little and get you there." So then I guess she had to go perform an emergency C-section on someone else nearby and I didn't really mind anyways because I wasn't in any pain. When she came back in the room it was exactly 11:55 pm and she asked, "Well, do you want to have this baby on the 18th or the 19th? Do you like evens or odds?" And I was like, "I just want this to be done so I can have something to eat!" (I hadn't eaten since lunch time! So my only pain was hunger pain!) So, we got into position (they had to lift my leg into the stirrups because they were so numb) and she told me when to start pushing during the first contraction. I did like, 3 big pushes. Then I waited about a minute for the next contraction and did about 2 or 3 more pushes and they told me she was out! I seriously would not have even know it unless they told me. Then they set her up on my belly while Josh cut the cord and nurses buzzed around getting things ready. She was covered in the white cheesy stuff and looked kind of gross but of course, I was still so excited to see her! She did cry a little bit but not a ton. I think they just needed to suction her out a little bit. They didn't seem concerned and then they took her over to the other side of the room and wiped her off and weighed her and everything. Dr. Huggins was pretty surprised at how big she was. I wasn't though. :) I grow'em big. Also, I was born at 38 weeks and weighed 8 lbs 3 oz. Josh weighed over 9. Caleb weighed 7 lbs 15 oz at 36 weeks. It was about what I expected.

Josh was sooo exhausted because he had been working night shift and then a few things during the day between court and K-9 training, so I think he was running on something like 8 hours of sleep in the past 48 hours. When the sweet little old lady nurse asked Josh if he would like to come help give her her first bath, I could see on his face he was thinking, "No... I want to sleep now..." but he lied and said, "Um... sure..." and went to help her. By the time she was all clean and things were all kind of wrapped up, it was about 2:00 am and they moved us into a different, smaller recovery room. I had fed her for the first time and she did pretty well. She nursed for about an hour but I think she was half asleep the whole time. The nurses asked me if I wanted her to stay in the room with us over the night or if they should take her to the nursery so we could get some sleep. Josh gave me "the look." I said, "I think it would be best if we got some sleep. Just bring her in to me when you need her to eat."
I will admit, I wanted some sleep too. And food. We had stopped at Subway at 6:00 on our way to the hospital so I was finally able to eat my sandwhich. So then we slept from about 2 to 5 am. When they brought her in again at 5:00, we had a little trouble getting her to eat because she just seemed so tired (like me!) But over the next couple of days, the lactation lady helped me a lot and I am hoping we continue to get the hang of it in the coming days.

We ended up coming home from the hospital on Friday at about 4:00. The hospital food was nasty and I was ready to get home so our kids wouldn't have to be babysat by Diane anymore. Josh had slept at the hospital with me that first night, but the second night I told him to stay at home with the boys and get some sleep. Funny enough, Caleb peed in the bed next to him and Gabe woke up with a bad bloody nose everywhere so I guess he still didn't get much sleep!

The first time the boys met Avery was on Thursday morning at about 11:00 and Diane brought them down. They thought she was "sooo cute!" and Caleb is prone to poking her and loving on her - but a little too much sometimes! Gabe is able to hold her with a pillow on his lap without giving me a heart attack. :) She really is a cute little girl. I was kind of worried in the ultrasound when the lady told me she had daddy's nose, but she looks very feminine and sweet. Even the nurses said, "We see a lot of babies... and she is really very cute!"

We are so happy to have her here now and I am so excited to be done with the pregnancy! I have had some soreness and some swelling, especially in my feet. My boobs have felt like rocks that past couple of days as my milk has come in and my belly is still looking about 3 months pregnant. I asked Josh, "How long do you think it will be once we get hime that one of the boys asks me why I am still fat?" Caleb asked me about an hour after we got home, "Is there another baby in your tummy?" Yup, about as long as I expected. But I know soon I will be back to normal! (I hope)

Here are some pictures of our sweet baby girl!

No more stitches!

The day finally came after waiting for what seemed like forever! I finally got to see what had been inside me for so long! I got to meet my little...... stitches! Haha. You thought I was going to say baby.  Nope! She decided to stay in there for a little while longer and keep us all waiting some more. What a diva.

I was so excited for yesterday to finally come. I was busy getting my laundry done, a hospital bag packed, I got a babysitter lined up and a back-up sitter just in case we ended up being there all night. It was totally prepared for me to have my baby yesterday. So I guess it would just figure that of course she wouldn't come.

We arrived at the Idaho Falls hospital at about 7:30 am. My neighbor was at my house waiting for the boys to wake up so she could take them to her house for the day. I was pretty nervous on the ride down. I kept thinking about stories I had read online about the stitches being removed. Some said it was no big deal while others said, "It was the most painful 20 minutes of my life, worse than labor!" I was hoping to be in the "no big deal" category. Then I was also wondering if I would be going into labor shortly after, but that didn't even scare me as much because I knew I would already be in the hospital, being monitored and under a very controlled environment. I am always more scared of the unknown and the getting to the hospital part.

So anyways, we arrived at labor and delivery and my doctor happened to be there already behind the desk talking to the nurses. I went right into a room and got changed into a gown. It wasn't too long before my doctor came in and was ready to take the stitches out. I wouldn't say it was a fun experience but I also wouldn't say it was worse than labor or that it was super painful. It was painful, but I didn't have any drugs or anything. Kind of like a really long and really uncomfortable pap smear. TMI? Girls will understand. Then after that they wanted to monitor me for contractions for about an hour. After an hour, the nurse came back in and told me I had been having contractions but they lasted less than a minute (about 40 seconds) and weren't very big. They would come regulary for a few minutes then kind of stop for a while. So she had called my doctor and the doctor told her to give me a 20 mg Niphedipine to try and stop the contractions. I kind of didn't want to take the pill because I wanted her to just come and be done with it all but the nurse handed me the pill and the water and watched me take it. It was kind of a bummer. So then they monitored me for another hour and then they decided to send me home at about 11:30. The nurse had checked me again and I was still dialated to just a 3, which is what I was even when I had my stitches still in last week (except for the section that was stitched shut.) So, no change there.

We left the hospital and decided to go to Kohl's and a couple other places. After a couple more hours we decided it was safe to go back home to Rexburg. My doctor told me she wants me to keep taking the Niphedipine pills (10 mg, 3 times a day) that I had been taking for about the past 2 months. I guess the goal is at least 37 weeks. I thought it was 36 weeks. Maybe they just keep punking me and want me to go to 40 weeks. But I guess at that hospital they have a policy about having to keep any baby in the NICU for at least 12 hours that is born at less than 37 weeks. No exceptions. So I think they are just trying to avoid that "pre-term" label that would get her any time in the NICU.

Who thinks I will make it till next Wednesday??? (37 weeks) I don't have any clue. I guess we'll see! I am laying here feeling really yucky right now. Almost like, nauseous. I think my stomach keeps tightening like it was in the hospital but I don't want to go to the hospital until I am sure it's real labor. Plus I don't want a Friday the 13th baby. Then after that it's the weekend and that's kind of a hassle. Then Josh works again starting Monday so I think I better just hold off unil next Wednesday or Thursday. She couldn't just come yesterday! Dang it.

Oh and P.S. I turned 28 on Wednesday. Happy Birthday to me. 

Squeezing in lots of Summer Fun

Another week down.... hopefully only one week left to go!

I sort of feel like a ticking time bomb right now, so I am just trying to squeeze in as much fun stuff with the boys as possible lately and get done any last minute little projects that have been on my to-do list around the house. We also had lots of notable things happen this week! Here is the list:

1 - 4th of July fun
2 - New trampoline
3 - Caleb got his training wheels taken off
4 - Gabe started soccer
5 - Caleb is loving gymnastics
6 - Dad and boys went fishing down the river
7 - Mom had her last doctor's appointment before stitches come out

Josh had off on the 4th, except for he had to work the Rexburg parade from 8 am to 12:00. Which I don't really mind because he takes our lawn chairs and claims a good spot for us and we just have to show up at 9:55 and park our car right behind his police car and sit down in our good spots. :) No one gave me dirty looks either. Maybe the big pregnant belly scared them off. Then after the parade, we went up to Ashton and ate lunch at Ben and Heather's (Josh's sister). After that, we went over to Egin Lake and let the boys and Zoe cool off in the water a little. By about 5:30 we got home and relaxed for a bit, ate dinner, washed all the sand out of our clothes... Then that night we decided to just go up to the temple and watch all the fireworks we could see from the hill. It's a pretty casual, easy way to see some fireworks, without having to worry about getting in and out of a crowded location and getting home really late with cranky kids.

Second big news: We bought a trampoline this week! I think Josh wanted it more than anyone, but it's keeping the boys entertained so I like it. So now our backyard has a playhouse with a slide, a sandbox, and a trampoline. Not to mention two dogs.... it's like a little boys' paradise. "Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled!" (Gini will laugh that up...inside joke... good times...)

Third: Caleb has had his training wheels still on his new bike since we bought it for him in May. I really think he has stolen Gabe's bike previously and rode it around without training wheels for quite some time, but didn't want us to take the training wheels off his bike because he considered them more of a cool accesory. But this week we just did it and he has been riding like a pro since. He actually enjoys riding his bike more now I think because he can go so fast.

Fourth: Gabe had his first soccer practice on Thursday night! It is totally relaxed and they don't even have goalies when they play their games. It's just enough of an accomplishment for them to get the ball down the field into the goal. Gabe is actually really good though. We have never even really worked with him, but he totally knows how to get control of the ball and kick it and run with it all the way down the field. Some of the younger kids (they have some 5 year olds and one 4 year old) just kind of stand in the middle of the field and pick their nose as the ball rolls by them. The poor coach is yelling, "Get the ball! Chase it!" and they look at him like, "Huh? What? Me?" It's pretty funny to watch. Their first game is on Tuesday and they picked the name the "Cheetahs". We'll see how good the Cheetah's do! :)

Caleb also got to choose a Summer activity from the rec department catolog. He didn't have as many choices because he is only 4, but gymnastics was one of them and he loves it! They have even more boys than girls in his little class I think. He is always showing us things he's learned, like hand stands, "table tops", and "skin the cat" on the bar at the playground. He goes every Tuesday for an hour. Here is Caleb on the balance beam!

Josh and the boys had a little fishing trip on Thursday morning. They met up with Bryan (Josh's brother) and their cousin, Brennan, who is 4,, and floated a river in Rigby. I think they caught 2 fish but threw them both back. It was the only day this week that wasn't super hot and sunny. Josh was pretty glad it was overcast and 65. He said it was the perfect temperature. The boys had a lot of fun too.

Finally, my doctor's appointment and ultrasound went well on Thursday. I went by myself for the first time. The ultrasound tech was estimating the baby's weight to be 5 lbs 10 oz, but I seriously think she is bigger than that according to how she has been measuring throughout the pregnancy, This lady was just a fill-in because the real lady is out of town on vacation. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that she's going to weigh about 6.5 to 7 lbs when she is born and she will be born sometime between 36 and 37 weeks, with lots of dark hair. We shall see!!!!

Next Thursday, I report to the hospital at 7:30 am to get ready and get the stitches out at 8:30. Then they will observe me and see what happens. The nurse practitioner that I saw Thursday (the "ultimately" lady... who only said "ultimately" 3 times in our conversation.... I counted) said that I should bring my overnight bag to the hospital just in case. There's no telling what will happen once the stitches come out, but it could start labor right away. Just my luck, it will probably be fine that whole day and then I will start contracting that night around midnight and have to go all the way back to Idaho Falls and scramble to find a sitter in the middle of the night. I could see myself going another day or two after the stitches come out, but I wouldn't think I would go another week. I am hoping she is just born on the 12th, but if it is say... the 18th and I am still pregnant, I will be in total shock.

So, that is the LONG update! We are planning to go to Wisconsin on August 4th for a week long vacation and Josh already took his days off, so I sure hope my baby is at least a couple weeks old by then!!! She better get here soon!

It's Getting HOT out here!!!

Hey everyone! I am still pregnant for those who were wondering! I am officially about.... 34 and a half weeks now. I count on Wednesdays we decided (going off a due date of August 8th) so that would make me 35 weeks next Wednesday (in 4 days).

This past week or so I have definitely been more mobile. After I wrote that last post about seeing the perinatologst, I sort of started jusrt trying to do a little bit each day. I slowly started doing things like loading and unloading the dishwasher, picking up the boys' little toys that were on the floor here and there, etc. The first few days of doing those things again after not doing ANYTHING for the past 6 weeks were pretty rough. I swear I got winded just unloaing and putting away the dishes. It was like I was so out of shape, AND then I also weighed an extra 20 more pounds than I did 6 weeks ago. Not a good combo.

Now it has been about another week and a half and I am doing more and more each day. Except now I am feeling sooooo huge and it has been soooo hot that I am just really tired and cranky all the time. Gabe even said to me after the end of this day, "You have been so mean since this baby was in you!" and I have to admit today I was pretty mean. It was like, 90 degrees and the boys and I were outside all day and I swear the second they would get out one thing, they would play for 3 minutes then leave the mess and run to a new station to make a new mess. I was constantly following them, waddling around, squating down, picking up chalk, spilled bubbles, sandbox toys, bikes, rollerskates, balls, setting up a sprinker, opening popsicles, etc. I would be exhausted after a day like today even if it was WASN'T super hot and I WASN'T the size of a whale! But those factors just made me all the crankier. Plus I swear all my neighbors are gone out of town doing fun things this weekend and Josh is just at work every single day AND I don't even fit into a swimsuit right now! I actually BROKE the straps off of  my tankini today trying to squeeze into it. That is how fat I am. I have now passed by the 150 pound mark (yes, that puts me about 5 pounds over the recommended weight gain of 25 pounds during a whole preganancy...and I am only 34 weeks. (P.S. I love how most people blog and it is like, "Look how amazing and awesome life for me is right now!" and I am all grouchy and hormonal and....well...HONEST!. That's me! Just keepin' it real!)

So, the other big news I was going to write about is that at my last appointment (June 26th, this last Tuesday) we officially scheduled my stitches to be removed on July 12th. I will be exactly 36 weeks and 1 day. The doctor was going to set it up on July 11 and I told her that was my birthday so let's wait one more day. I would be okay if she was born on the 12th but the 11th is MY day. :) I was telling my friend about all the future joint birthday plans I have in my mind already and we were laughing about how this girl is going to be like, so annoyed with me and telling all her friends, "My mom is sooo living vicariously through me! She needs to get a life!!!" ahahaha... It will be great. I can't wait! I am going to smother her so bad! :)

Anyways, this is a long post. I will post some pics of the boys at Egin Lake. We went there the other day. It was our first time this Summer. Oh! And I also had a baby shower! I totally forgot to post about that! Thank you Kristy for the amazing shower! She made all these special decorations that even said "Avery" on them and got Cocoa Bean cupcakes (my fave) and it was great! I will post a picture of all my neighbors at the shower too. It was all the "Summerfield ladies."

Happy Fourth of July Weekend!

No luck with the perinatologist...

Well, just a quick update. The visit with the perinatologist proved futile in my attempt to convince someone to remove my stitches. Everyone seems to be way more concerned with the baby's health than with mine. I guess there's officially a new princess in town...

The nice little Asian doctor lady told me that the stitches are doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing and "to take them out now would be malpractice." I told her to give me some strong drugs then so I can't feel the pain of the baby's head pushing down on the stitches in my cha-cha all the time. She told me I would have to get Dr. Huggins to prescribe them for me. So then I tried to find Dr. Huggins but her office said she was in Labor and Delivery and when we walked over there we couldn't find her, so I have just been taking Tylenol for the past 24 hours, which the nurse lady told me was okay.

Oh. and I forgot to mention the highlight of the appointment. When I went into the bathroom to change into my robe for the ultrasound, there wasn't any counter to set down my pants or underwear while I changed. So I thought, "I will just set them in the sink for a second while I put this robe on..." but ooops.... it was an automatic sensor sink and the water instantly came on and soaked my pants and underwear. Awesome. Me and the ultrasound tech had a good laugh about it. After the appointment was all over she's like, "Well, I'll step out so you can change back into your soaked pants and underwear now!" Then when I waddled over to Labor and Delivery to look for Dr. Huggins with my big belly and my soaked pants I am sure the nurses were looking at me instantly thinking, "We've got one in labor here! Her water's broke!"

Nope... just the old pants in the sink mishap.

So, it looks like I have at least another few weeks before these stitches are coming out! Then at 36 weeks they will take them out and I think they are just assuming she will practucally fall right out at that point because she is so low and her head is like, on top of my stitches. My cervix is even opening on both ends but it is just staying closed where those stitches are... hence the pain and pressure I assume. This is such a pleasant and TMI post! :) I hope the next 3 weeks goes fast!

33 weeks

Happy Belated Father's Day! I feel kind of bad because I didn't really do anything for Josh this year. I told him I was sorry about that but I think he was secretly happy because he's so cheap he gets mad even when I spend money on gifts for him. He said he just wanted to buy himself a fishing license and that was it. So that's his big present! I also told him I am growing him a present in my belly right now and that is the best Father's Day present of all. :)

But here's the little update. Basically... I think she wants to be born. She is trying to kick her way out of my body every day. Today is Tuesday and starting on probably last Friday I was getting this pain in my lower abdomin. Sometimes it was worse than others and I wondered if it was just normal "practice" contractions or if it was just muscle pain because it wasn't on a regular pattern or anything, but with every day I think it got worse. So I kind of just stuck it out over the weekend and decided to call my doctor's office first thing Monday morning.

They got me in at 10:45 for an ultrasound and I found out that my cervix had thinned from 2 cm down to 7 mm. There was also some major "funneling" again (gotta love that word by now!) So that was not good, but yet I was not surprised given the pain I had been in all weekend. I also had her check the baby's weight: 5 lbs 4 oz! Not bad! That would mean if she would continue to gain at the normal rate of 1/2 pound per week she would be about 9 pounds on my due date. Ouch.

Then I went in to see the nurse practitioner. Unfortunately, my doctor was in a different office that day so I couldn't talk to her. I spent about 20 minutes arguing with this lady about why I think the stitches in my cervixe need to come out because I think that is what's causing the pain while my cervix is still thinning and trying to pull against it. Also, in my opinion, taking the stitches out does not necessarily even mean I would go into labor. With Caleb I was dialated to 3 cm (right now I am not dialated at all, just thinned to 7 mm) but I still waited 2 more weeks to go into labor. She told me that chances are, it would start labor, and that a 33 week baby would probably still need to spend 7 weeks in the NICU and basically made me feel bad for thinking of putting my own pain above the needs of my baby. Josh said later that he thought he was going to have to come between us at one point so we didn't hurt eachother. But ULTIMATELY (Stacey has met this lady and calls her the ULTIMATELY lady because she starts every sentence that way...) she told me that they weren't going to take the stitches out of my cervix until at least 36 weeks no matter what.

I resisted the urge to not call her the B- word as we left the building... which was lucky because she was outside making a phone call as we passed her on the way to our car.

Like, on the one hand, I can understand her opinion. Yes, it is important to get your baby as far as possible in utero. But at the same time, 33 weeks and over 5 pounds is not a tragically scary preemie. Gabe was 29 weeks and weighed 3 and a half pounds and spent 6 weeks in the NICU. That is why I kind of rolled my eyes when she said that whole 7 weeks thing to me. Then she was like, "I worked in labor and delivery for 10 years I know what I'm talking about." I was like, "Wow, good for you lady." I know it is possible, but I also know it is not likely. They also gave me these magic steroid shots at 27 weeks that were supposed to rapidly develop the babay's lungs in case of an early delivery.

So anyways.... ULTIMATELY I ended up calling my doctor on her cell phone later that day (which the nurse lady told me I could do, "But she's not going to tell you anything different..." thanks!) and Dr. Huggins said she wanted to schedule me to see a perinatologist today and get a second opinion on everything. I take this as a positive step because a perinatologist is more specialized in high-risk pregnancies and early babies and I am hoping maybe he/she will agree to take my stitches out soon.

It's not that I want a baby born at 33 weeks. No one does. But I feel like I am laying here in bed, in pain when I just roll over from one side to the other, in even MORE pain when I have to stand up or go to the bathroom, and something is just not right with these stitches inside of me. There are times when she just kicks like a normal baby does and I feel like I have to grab the bed and tense up in pain because it sends such an instant sharp shooting pain through my down-there area that I feel like I need to scream! That is not normal baby kick feelings. I'm worried the pain is only going to get worse if the stitches don't come out because my body still seems to want to contract and dialate regardless of what it has to pull on or tear out in the process. I am pretty much wishing I wouldn't have gotten these stitches in the first place. They didn't keep me from bedrest, they are causing me pain, and now I feel like I am going to have to take a knitting needle and get them out myself because no one else will due to the possible risk to the baby!

So, does that make me a selfish mom? I hope not. But we'll see what the perinatoligist says. If they don't take them out soon they better give me some dang good drugs that are waaaay better than Tylenol extra strength. Otherwise I may die.

Gabe's 1st tooth!

I also had to do another post because Gabe hit a milestone this week. He lost his first tooth! I should look in his baby book because it may have also been the first tooth he got! It is one of the bottom middle ones. He had started mentioning that his tooth hurt early last week, then he said it was feeling loose. For a couple days it just kind of looked normal but then by about Friday, I felt it and it was hanging by a thread. I asked him if he wanted me to pull it out (of course he said no!) and so I told him it would probably fall out on it's own in the next few days. Then on Saturday, June 9th, when he was with his grandma Rhodes in Ashton running around at the school gym, he said he felt a hole in his mouth and it was gone! He found it on the floor and picked it up and grandma sent him home with it in a plastic baggie. It was nice that Josh got home that night so he could be a part of the first tooth fairy visit in our house! :) He got a dollar from the tooth fairy under his pillow the next morning. Is that pretty standard these days? I don't know. I think I got that when I was a kid, but you know, with the economy being what it is, they say there's not much inflation over the past few years, so I figured it was still about the same. :) Here is toothless Gabe!

Happy 4th Birthday, Caleb! (and 32 weeks)

Caleb's birthday was actually one week ago today, but we finally had his little kid birthday party that he was so excited about. I did not want to even attempt to have a party while Josh was gone, but we did have some of the relatives over for just cake and ice cream on Caleb's actual birthday, so that was good. He had picked out the cake at Broulim's when my mom was here visiting and I had Josh's mom pick it up on June 6th right before they came over. It had motorcycles on it, which I think Caleb just wanted the toy motorcycles.

Then today we had his little neighborhood party. I didn't want to try and plan any fancy games like I did for Gabe's party because A) I don't think the kids even cared and B) I was mostly watching the party from the lawn chair outside. So we just had a casual outdoor party in our backyard where we set up a sprinkler, had the sand box open (which then became a pool with the sprinkler running!), and had the kids playing in the playhouse and stuff. We also did some water balloon games and a pinata in the garage. I didn't make a cake, I just had some cupcakes instead. It was kind of a Spiderman theme so I attempted to make spiderwebs on the cupcakes. For presents he got a kite, some nerf guns, legos, a Spiderman wrist gun thing that shoots water, and more. I think it was a pretty fun day for the kids. It wasn't so fun for Josh when he had to clean up the mess, but that's the joy of having a party! :)

I also had a doctor's appointment yesterday that I was going to report on. We had a 3D ultrasound which was kind of cool. I still think it's hard to really see anything. I am constantly like, "What the heck is that?" and she'll be like, "Oh. that's her face with her arm next to it!" and I'm like, "Wow, it could have been her butt and I would not have known the difference..." haha - no just kidding. I didn't confuse her head and her butt, but sometimes I really have no idea. My cervix still looks about the same as it was last week so I am just thinking at this point I am ready to start taking it easy, but getting out of bed more. Of course my doctor would not approve, but unless she can come nanny for me I am pretty much done asking her opinion. That sounds mean of me, but I can't take it anymore! I'm not saying I am going to take Zoe for walks or anything, but I am going to load the dishwasher and get up to make the boys a sandwhich during the day and basically be a mom, but a lazy mom who still lets her kids watch a lot of tv. Maybe by week 34 I will actually start leaving the house with them again. Oh, and also, I tipped the scaled at 150 this week at my doctors appointment! Woohoo! I also took a tape measure around my waist at the biggest part, right around my belly button, and it was about 39 inches. Wow. Just for fun, I also squeezed myself into the same outfit I wore at 25 weeks and took a picture to show the difference. I would say I am definitely bigger.

Now here are Caleb's 4 year stats!

Height: 43 inches
Weight: 48 pounds
Shoe size: 11 or 12, depending on shoe
Clothing size: 5T

Favorite food: "Cucumbers." (I just asked him and that's what he said. Weird.) I would say he likes peanut butter and Jelly sandwhiches and spaghetti his favorite drink is most definitely hot chocolate. It's the first thing he asks for in the morning and the last thing he wants before bed. We've had to limit his intake after 7:00 though or he wets the bed occasionally!

Strengths in his personality: He can be so fun and so entertaining. Like the other day, I posted this on facebook, he was watching the Backyardigans and trying to sing along but it was obvious he didn't know the words so he was just kind of mumble-singing and when I looked at him and laughed, he replied, "I was singing that in Spanish." He just says things that crack me up. He also still loves to snuggle with me in his bed every night as we read stories and go to sleep and he sneaks into our room usually around the break of dawn and goes back to sleep in our bed. He is a very rough and tough little boy, which also brings me to the....

Weaknesses in his personality: He can be a scary little bruiser! When Gabe gets him mad (which Gabe does on purpose) Caleb doesn't waste any time just responding with punches. We are trying to constantly put him on time-out or something when he punches but he's just definitely got a quick temper. Usually if he gets super mad he just runs up to his room crying and slams the door and the best thing to do is to just leave him there. He'll be back in 5 minutes, happy as can be.

Favorite toys: Transformers, nerf guns, cars, and of course, video games. He has become quite the Wii and iPod addict with all the cool games. I have to wrestle my iPod away from him a lot and when I do finally get it the battery is close to dead. I should have never let him see the Ap Store cause now he always asks, "Can we download a new game???" Luckily we only do the free ones.

So that is my little (not really little...) Caleb Joshua Rhodes!

Here are some pictures of the birthday party!

31 Weeks

This past week and a half a lot (that is two words for Stacey, not to be confused with alot) has happened. My mom came and stayed for a week. She left in the wee morning hours of last Saturday. Then my two friends, Stacey and Kamrie, came to stay here. I met Stacey when I managed at Northgate and I met Kamrie through Stacey shortly after. They are definitely younger and cooler than me and it makes me feel old when we talk about things with reference to past pop culture (for example: N*Sync..... I was in eighth grade.... they were seven years old. Sad.) But other than that we get along pretty well. :) They go to their classes during the day and my neighbor or Diane usually take turns watching the boys, but then they stay here overnight just in case I need a ride to the hospital! It may also be because they are avoiding their room mate's out of town visitors for this week and a cramped apartment, but I like to think it's cause they love me. :)

So today I had another ultrasound and appointment. I never wrote about the one I had last Tuesday when my mom was here. Basically, last week I didn't have an ultrasound. Instead I got to take the dreaded glucose test. You would think there would be a better way to test for gestational diabetes by this day in age but no, they are still making pregnant women down a big glass of sugary, non-carbonated elixir in less than five minutes, then sit for an hour and prick their figure to test their blood sugar levels. Then if you are really lucky and "fail" the first one by a few points (like I did) you get to come back AGAIN a couple days later, this time fasting for 12 hours prior so your stomach is already so hungry you want to eat your own arm off, and drink the stuff AGAIN, then sit for 2 HOURS so they can just double-check. So that's what I got to do on Tuesday and then again on Thursday of last week. I have never had a problem with gestational diabetes before, my blood pressure has been fine the whole time, I am not overweight, and I am supposed to be on "strict bedrest", yet I guess they thought it was important to screen me twice. I was a little pissed about it as you can still tell.

But now that I have passed and am officially diabetes free.... I will eat whatever I freaking want! Which.... I always have done anyways so.... no big news here. But at least I don't have to feel guilty about it.

Then today I went to my appointment with Stacey and Kamrie and had an ultrasound. The baby officially weighs 4 pounds 2 ounces and everything is looking good. Well - good would be if my cervix miraculously grew back to the normal size of 4 cm, but I think it was about 2 today and she said she didn't see the "funneling" anymore so that is still really surprising and good. The only thing that I have changed in the past two weeks is that the doctor prescribed me those Niphedipine pills or whatever they are that are supposed to stop any contractions. But if that is working, I will keep on taking them! I still had to get another butt shot of progesterone today. And I think all the cervix talk made my two single friends decide not to have kids for at least 5 years. But they liked watching the ultrasound! :) My ultrasound lady said, "She's going to have hair! I can already see it!" and I jokingly asked, "What color is it?!" which made everyone laugh and she answered, "Um... from what I can tell... grey." But everything else looked good with her. Next week they scheduled me for my 3D ultrasound which is really cool because you can kind of even see facial features. I am really hoping she looks more like me. :) Everyone says the boys look just like Josh, which is fine cause they're boys, but this time it should be MY turn to have a mini-me.

I also talked for the hundredth time about my fear of the stitches tearing out my cervix, but still my doctor seems totally unfazed by that thought. She says she's had to taken a lot of cerclages out during labor and delivery and there haven't been any horror stories of them ripping a cervix. Let's hope I'm not the first!

Well, I better get to bed. It is officially June 6th now - Caleb's 4th birthday! Four years ago today I was pushing a baby out. Now here I am again getting closer! I was hoping this pregnancy would finally be the perfect, normal, boring pregnancy that most women have, but since it has still caused so much stress and I am finally having a girl, I take relief on the fact that this will very likely be my last time pushing a baby out.
Now THAT is cause for celebration!

More about Caleb's birthday later!

29 Weeks

I am officially 29 weeks! I have always counted on Fridays but there's actually a chance I am a little farther than  that because they've changed my due date a couple of times and I am still counting from the latest one, which was August 10th. But, we'll just say I'm only 29 for the sake of motivating me to keep going farther. If this were my Gabe pregnancy, my water would break this week when I got up to pee in the middle of the night. Let's hope that doesn't happen this time around!

Josh left for his 2-week trip this morning at about 6:30. Diane (his mom) has been here all day helping watch my kids for me and attempting to teach me how to crochet. I'm pretty sure she showed me at least 100 times but I am still moving at a snail's pace with this little burp cloth I am working on.

Right now, Diane and the boys are in Idaho Falls, picking up my mom at the airport. Then my mom will be here  until next Saturday. I wish Josh could just be home by then! But no... 8 days is not long enough to learn how to take care of a dog. So then the following week will be a little crazy, but with each passing week I am feeling a little bit more relaxed with the idea of having the baby. Not that I want to have it next week or anything, but at least I know at this point I am in familiar territory.

I went to the doctor on Tuesday again. My ultrasound showed that my cervix is about the same as it was last week - the length is 1.4 cm (normal length is 4cm) - which is a the whole reason for the concern/bedrest. At least it hasn't been getting worse! The baby weighed exactly 3 pounds, and she weighed 2 lbs 10 oz the week previous. So, they say a baby gains about 1/3 pound to a 1/2 pound per week at this point. I would really like to have at least a 5 pounder! So that would mean I need at least another 4 weeks. Preferably more of course, but... we'll see.

I told my doctor I would really like to have the cervical stitches taken out around 34 weeks and then go into labor naturally like a week or two later. What I do NOT want to happen is to start having contractions in the next few weeks, rush to the hospital, then have to worry about telling someone to remove the stitches while I am in labor and about to push a baby out! That does NOT sound fun. She seemed hesitant to take them out before 36 weeks though and gave me a prescription to take twice a day that's supposed to put off contractions. I was kind of like, "Well... I haven't had any contractions yet...so do you think I need this?" But   I think she's just doing anything that might possibly help. (My mom said, "She probably was just trying to settle you down. You better stop whining or she'll prescribe you Valium next time!") I had the steroid shots for the baby's lungs, I still do the weekly progesterone shots until 36 weeks, I have my cervix stitched shut, and for pete's sake my sister-in-law even "zoned" me (rubbed my feet a fancy way basically) to supposedly help close my cervix. If there's anything else left to try, I would do it, but I'm pretty sure I've done everything that's possibly out there to try. Bedrest is by far the hardest and least convenient thing, but probably the most important. So here I lay!

In other fun news though.... Gabe and Caleb are officially done with school! Gabe's last day of Kindergarten was Wednesday and Caleb's last day of preschool was Thursday. I can't believe little Gabe will never be a Kindergartner again! He had a little program on Tuesday night that Josh went to and videotaped. He read a little story he wrote and it was all about the playhouse his dad built for him and how he plays with his puppy by his playhouse. It was so cute. All the kids wrote their own little stories and read them and that's what he chose to write about. He also had a school assembly and he got chosen to go up on-stage and he came home with this big balloon hat and a cool yo-yo. He was pretty excited. Here is Gabe with his teacher, Mrs. Hill and the aide who helped him in his after-school reading club, Mrs. Snedaker. It was a great first year of school for him!

That's all the news for now!

Josh Rhodes: K-9 Officer, Rexburg PD

Well, that title pretty much sums it up. The End! Jk. Basically, to make a long story short, Josh has wanted to be a dog cop since the day he first applied as an officer in Wisconsin. We (or I specifically) did not realize it would happen this soon, but I just am trying to say, "Okay! Not the best timing in the world, but it's your dream!" It just happened kind of quickly because there were some changes in the department that filtered up to leaving two spots open for new K-9 officers. Josh is really excited because there were about seven guys that applied for it within the department and he and his friend were the two they picked.

BUT - here is the crazy part. It almost made us pull out his letter of intent a week ago because one of the job requirements is to attend a 2-week training with your dog in Tennessee! The dates for the training, which were already set in stone by the department because they had to pay for the class, are May 25th to June 10th. Yeah, that's in like... a week.

So, when I got put on bedrest Josh's immediate response was, "Well, I'm just not gonna do it. I'll tell them I can't be considered anymore." But he looked like a sad puppy when he said it and I knew he was majorly bummed. I even talked to his sergeant one night and asked him, "What is the likelihood of this K-9 spot opening up again in a year or two?" and I guess it's pretty slim. So we felt like, if he doesn't do this now, he might not get the chance again for years. So, it's crazy and horrible timing, but we're gonna make it work. My mom is going to come out for the first week he's gone and after that, we'll just see what we can do with neighbors and friends. I will be 30 weeks by the time my mom leaves so at least that's closer! Then I have to hang on 10 more days until Josh gets home. Any time after that, I will feel like I am kind of in the clear.

The new dog will be joining the family at the end of this week. It's a yellow lab, male, named Truck. I guess he is a sniffer dog only, not an attack dog, and he is very mild and well-trained (so they say!)
How we are going from just adding a baby girl to our family this year, to now 2 DOGS as well, I have no idea how that all happened. I told Josh if he so much as brings home a hamster in the next 3 years, he's moving into the playhouse, cause this house is FULL to capacity. And I mean it. Wish me luck in this crazy life we are living!

More bedrest rants... 27 weeks 5 days

Well, since I am finding it difficult to stay motivated to lay down all day and keep this baby in, I have decided to create a grading system for myself on this "Baby Growing" class I am enrolled in. I was always a good student so maybe this will somehow motivate me. The grading rubric is as follows:

Baby born at -
28 weeks: Fail                                 F
29 weeks: Needs Improvement        D
30 - 32 weeks: Satisfactory              C  (unless it is between
                                                             June 1st and June 10th-
                                                             more coming on that)

32 - 34 weeks: Good                        B
34 - 36 weeks: Very Good                A
36 + weeks: Excellent                      A+

So! It'll be interesting to see what grade I get in this class! Will someone send me a report card if I pass? :) jk.

Here's the weekly report:

I have spent since last Monday evening (May7th: The Turning Point Day) mostly laying in bed, occasionally on the couch, and twice in the reclining lawnchair outside attempting to not become albino. My kids have been juggled between two different neighbors, my mother-in-law, a couple college girls, and Josh in the past 4 days alone. At least 8 different families have brought us meals. (A silver lining! No cooking!!) I am up to 140 pounds. The weather outside has been 70-80 and sunny all week and it is killing me to watch it out my bedroom window! I haven't gotten bored enough to start reading a novel yet, mostly occupying myself with "How I Met Your Mother", "That 70's Show," the internet, and crafty nursery projects I can do in bed. I like feeling like I'm still getting stuff done, so working on a baby mobile, needlepointing a pillow, etc. are things I feel productive at. I made Josh stop at JoAnn's yesterday and get some supplies after my doctor's appt and I think he was at his max patience level.

Now about the appointment:

So last week I didn't get to see the doctor cause she was in delivery. I saw the ultrasound lady, who saw my "funneling" cervix, then the physician's assistant, who put me on bedrest and told me to come see Dr. Huggins in a week. Then she called me and said the doctor wanted me to get some steroid shots too, so I can beef up. jk. It is standard to give 2 steroid injections (in my butt) about 24 hours apart if they fear your baby may be born prematurely. This has been show to greatly improve the development of the baby's lungs quicky in utero, so they are born with a better chance in the NICU. They may still need oxygen and things but it's just supposed to help a lot. My neighbor, who had her little girl at 27.5 weeks, said she got the shots a day or two before she delivered and her baby's lungs were pretty good. She's now 2 and healthy. So that's encouraging.

My ultrasound still showed the "funneling." Whoohoo. But the stitches she did at 12 weeks are still holding so basically about half of the cervix or "baby tunnel" is unzipped and half is closed. It's hard to explain but basically the stitches at the bottom end of the tunnel are keeping my baby from falling out, even though the pressure is starting to build and the top is opening. My only fear is what if this growing pressure just causes the stitches to tear right out, like a seam ripping open on a dress before the doctor schedules them for removal at 36 weeks?  I asked her if that could happen and she replied, "It's not likely." I felt like Lloyd on Dumb and Dumber when I replied, "Sooo.... you're telling me there's a chance...." Is it bad of me as a mother to be more worried about my own possible pain and trauma than the baby's in the NICU? Maybe.... but she probably won't remember it. I would for sure remember the searing pain of my cervix ripping apart to shreads. (TMI? Sorry.)

Well that is all I will write about the bedrest right now. Caleb just woke up and wandered in here a few minutes ago so we put on The Backyardigans and he is content. Josh should be getting home from work any minute (he's on nights, M-TH). Caleb just leaned over to me and whispered, "I got a secret... come here..." Then leaned over in bed next to me and whispered (slowly, like he waas definitely not even sure what his secret was going to be yet, but just wanting to say something) "Um... Dad is at work right now.... fighting bad guys!" It was so cute. Now he randomly just said, "Know what my favorite jungle animal is? A giraffe." I never know what's going to come out of that kid's mouth next. It's crazy to think I laid in bed for him from 23 to 36 weeks, but he came out healthy and fine in the end. I guess I just have to remember it's a small price to pay for a healthy child in the grand scheme of things. I still want to throw my magazine when I see a nine month pregnant lady walk into the doctor's office able to still carry her 2 year old on her hip and her cute bag on the other shoulder, but I know I could compare myself to plenty of other women I know personally who have had struggles a lot worse than mine, trying to get babies into this world. I don't understand why Heavenly Father wants it this way for some and not others, but I guess I will ask him that someday! Until then, I'll try to stay optimistic and grateful for the two healthy kids I have.

Now onto a lighter post topic.... Dog #2 coming soon.... Save me.

Getting Comfy in Bed Again

Well this stinks. Just after I post my fabulous Summer list of everything I want to do with the boys before the baby is born, I go to the doctor for a routine check-up and ultrasound and find out that my stupid baby-making body is up to its usual tricks. Someone in church once said, "If you want to make God laugh, just tell him your plans." I agree.

Even though they did a preventative surgery this pregnancy at 12 weeks to sew my cervix shut - yes, that sounds pleasant, right? - it still wants to open and send the baby flying out into the world already! WHY!? I don't know. I thought it was behaving so well this time. When I had my ultrasound 4 weeks ago I was really nervous because I knew that I was put on bedrest with Caleb at 23 weeks because of the same cervix problem. But they said everything looked great and I kept on living my normal life this past month! Does this mean I was working out at the gym everyday? Of course not! (Anyone who knows me at all knows I would never do that... even not pregnant.) But I was taking the boys for walks with Zoe, running errands all day, grocery shopping, cleaning out the garage, etc. Well, apparently that was just too much for my weak little girly body and now my cervix is "funneling" again. This was a familiar word to me because they said it with Caleb too. It basically means that with the growing weight of the baby putting pressure on everything, the cervix starts to freak out and thinks it needs to dialate and shorten. This usually happens to regular women like, the week before you have your baby and then labor starts as usual, and you have your baby. For me, "funneling" started with Caleb at 19 weeks and then by 23 weeks it was like, open constantly to the point where my doctor was really freaked out and told me to go home and lay down and not move. But I still made it to 36 weeks! So that is reassuring. And I didn't even have the stiches in with Caleb, so.... hopefully that is comforting news that this will all still end okay.

When I was in the doctor's office waiting for her to come in and talk to me after the ultrasound (which, by the way is the worst 10 minutes ever... why don't they speed it up a little for situations like this?) I was reading this magazine article about bedrest and it said that at 26 weeks, a baby's chance of survival is 80 percent and they usually have a lot of problems in the NICU with brain bleeds, etc. But then by like 28 or 29 weeks the survivial rate is practically 98 percent and they can get by with having no lasting effects. So my first goal is to make it to 29 weeks, which is what Gabe was when he was born. Then the doctor said at 32 weeks, the baby's lungs start producing surfactant which is really important for their lungs.... so that is my next goal. Basically I can't have her before Caleb's birthday (I will be 30.5 wks pregnant by then) because A) It would be bad for the baby and B) Caleb has been knowing that the birthday order was Gabe's, then Dad's, then his for quite some time and I think he would be pretty ticked if she swooped in and had hers first. :)

So, no baby before June 6th. That's the way it has to be. The bad news is, that means I am probably looking at AT LEAST a month of bedrest ahead of me. Boo. And just as the weather is getting nice. I think Josh just went and bought me a reclining lawn chair today for my Mother's Day present so I can sit outside and watch the boys play. But my poor Summer Thrill Points list... it will have to earn a lot of stickers in the month of August maybe.

This next month is going to be a very delicate balance of babysitters and careful scheduling I think. The boys have the rest of this week and then 2 more full weeks of school left so the ride situation is a little hairy right now. Hopefuly we can make it all work! Everything I have read with the past two kids about baby's development between weeks 26 and 29 is so critical, so we have to try and at least get through these next 3 weeks! Wish us luck!

Summer Bucket List Adventure #1: Bear World

So... it officially isn't Summer until I think June 20th... but we are getting a head start. If I had to guess, I think our baby will be born sometime in the last third of July, so I am trying to cram in all our Summer fun a little early.

Gabe is officially done with school on May 23rd, which I think is super early. I think in Wisconsin we usually got done around June 6th, but they go back to school here on like, August 23 or 24th here too. So, the boys and I have been talking about all the things they wanted to do this Summer and we decided to make a list, inspired by this movie they saw about a girl that has a "Not-Bummer Summer" list where her and her friends compete for "Thrill Points" to have the best Summer ever. If we accomplish all the things on our list, we will have ended this Summer with 1000 Thrill points... and one exhausted mom I am sure.  Here is the list:

As you can see, the first item is "Bear World." This is a place that's about 5 miles south of Rexburg and we have never even been there! It has real bears - black and grizzly - and lots of deer, elk, wolves, and more. Those bigger animals are in this drive around area where you go really slowly in your cars with the windows up and hope they don't attack you. Luckily they didn't climb on our car, but I have heard stories that they have before! Then they also had a little petting zoo with goats and deer and stuff. They even had the hugest pig I have ever seen in my life. Then they had some little rides for the kids. Gabe has been wanting to go there forever, so we put it on our list and went yesterday when it was half price admission for locals because the season official opens next weekend. It was the type of place that was fun to go once but I don't know that I'd ever need to go again. So, that was Bear World! Thrill point total for the Summer so far: 20. :)

Getting ready for Baby

I have finally gotten around to taking a picture of myself with a belly. Josh has been working so much lately - including a week-long trip to New Mexico for training - that I actually made Caleb take a picture of me.  So this was taken about a week ago, at 25 weeks. I go to the doctor again tommorow for a 26 week check-up and ultrasound. I think everything is going well, as far as I know! I can feel the baby kicking as I type this and I think we have pretty much decided on the name Avery. No middle name for sure yet though.

I have been putting together her nursery already though and I LOVE it. I painted a tree mural on the wall and have her name in wooden letters hanging from the bottom branch of the tree. I still have a couple more little projects to finish though...

This pregnancy has been pretty good compared to the others. I haven't had to do bedrest yet! (Good thing too the way Josh has been gone...) The whole dog thing is keeping me a little busier than I would like, especially while Josh was gone for a week and I had to walk it and let it out all the time, but oh well. I guess we're dog people now. Josh thinks he's applying to be a K-9 officer at the police department here in Rexburg now too, which means we may even become a 2 dog family. Joy.

I said to him, "In January, I was just so excited about expanding our family this year by just one member. Now you keep wanting to bring DOGS into our family!? Why!?!" But I guess it makes him happy. I must be the best wife in the world. First I move to Idaho, now the dogs.  :)

Anyways, that's my little pregnancy and dog rant! Here is a picture of me (25 weeks) ... and the dog (about 4-5 months old...I think).