Shot by Cupids Arrow?

Not unless Cupid is a doctor and his arrow is a needle.

We had a bit of a scare yesterday, on Valentines day of all days. To make a long story short, at around 11:30am I started cramping and at around 6pm I started bleeding. Not a good sign if you're over 20 weeks pregnant. It wasn't horrible bleeding but definitely obvious, bright red. I was terrified, or course, that something was wrong with my baby. So terrified that I was shaking and due to rush hour it took us 20 minutes to get to the hospital. On top of that we had to register when we first got to the hospital which is something that is usually done a few weeks before your due date so that you don't have to wait and do it on the day you are rushing into the hospital with a baby's head poking out of you. The good news is, apparently Valentines day is a great day to have an emergency. There was no one there so we didn't have to wait in any lines and we were seen immediately.

As soon as we got up to Labor and Delivery the nurses hooked me up to a machine that monitored the babies heart rate and any contractions I might have had. It took the nurse a minute to find the heart rate which scared me to death but was relieved when she found it and I was having contractions about every two and half minuets. I now know what contractions feel like which I am excited about but of course they weren't nearly as intense as they will be when I go into labor. After hooking me up to that machine and asking a whole bunch of questions, the nurse then poked me with a needle to draw my blood but missed the vein and had to re-poke me. To her surprise she got the vein but went right through it. She felt horrible and said she had never done that before so to put me at ease she brought in her friend to poke me and thankfully she got it on her first try. Did I mention I hate needles? No? Well I do. I hated it but luckily it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

They gave me another ultrasound which was the highlight of our day because we got to see our baby boy again. He's doing great! The doctors don't know why I was bleeding but they have put me on strict bed rest for the next two days with bathroom privileges every two hours and I can't work out for the next two weeks. Before we left the hospital the doctor gave me a shot which made me shake violently and my heart race for a few hours in hopes that it would stop my contractions and cramping. It did.

So now I am sitting in bed. Bored. Feeling lazy and writing a blog post about our Valentines day which includes no pictures. Lame. But our baby is doing just fine and I've stopped bleeding and cramping. I plan on writing up another post in the next day or two with a picture of my ever growing belly. Hurray for 23 weeks!

Week: 23 and one day
Cravings of the Week: Everything!
I am so hungry I could eat my kitchen cabinets!

It's Just a Bee Sting ...

... A very, very large bee sting!!

So three days ago Preston took a picture for a belly update but it was right after I had worked out, I had no makeup on and I didn't realize how bad my hair looked. I didn't feel comfortable letting the whole world see that photo so today I asked Preston to take another one. Okay, so you see the photo a couple of posts down at 19 weeks? Well, my belly looked exactly like that in the picture that was taken three days ago. Not exaggerating one bit. And today I look like this....

I'm pretty sure I have officially "popped"!

Week: 22
Cravings of the Week: Raspberry Lemonade
(I think I officially have a real pregnancy craving!)

Peanut's Debut

We got our official 20 week (even though I'm almost 22 weeks) ultrasound done today. It was so awesome! The technician gave us a 15 min video on DVD of our session plus a bunch of pictures. She even gave us a few 3D pictures for free! She said she liked us so much and thought we were so cute that she wanted to throw them in. Hurray for us! We're cute! haha. I guess any doctors office you go to will charge for 3D pictures. At least that's what I've heard. The pictures are pretty cool.

I'm only going to post a few of my most favorite pictures because there are just way too many photos to post.

Our little Peanut is healthy and strong. I guess for his age he is two days ahead of schedule which would move, for the time being, my due date to June 11th. About a month ago I had a dream that my baby was born two days early, on June 11th. Crazy! I guess we'll see if my dream comes true.

During the ultrasound, Peanut yawned for us and we got it on video. It was so adorable!! Our little guy is so stinking cute and I can't WAIT to meet him!!

I've been meaning to take another picture of my belly so I could show all of you how I'm progressing but I keep putting it off. Maybe tomorrow I'll have Preston snap one and I'll post again. I'm really seeing a difference and I really show when I wear my baby doll dresses. I had someone ask me at church on Sunday if I was pregnant. Yay! I'm so glad she noticed but she is a brave women to ask that sort of question. Thank goodness she was right.

Peanuts Big Debut!!





I love his little feet and long legs!
I think he's going to have Preston's sexy long legs :D

Week: 21 and four days
Cravings of the Week: Raspberry Lemonade
(especially the Raspberry Lemonade Freeze at Olive Garden)

OOOOhhh We're Half Way There ooooOOOO...

Yes, I'm singing Bon jovi! Today marks the half way point of my pregnancy. 20 weeks along and I can see my baby belly growing more and more everyday.

I can't believe Preston and I just found out 4 short months ago that we were expecting. Time has flown since then but it hasn't flown fast enough. We are both so anxious to hold our little guy. We have a lot to do to prepare for him so I guess it's a good thing we have more time.

I'm so lucky to have so many people in my life to prepare me for becoming a mother. A special shout out to Amanda Nilsson (my cousin-in-law) who is an amazing Douala and has studied and knows so much about parenting. She is an incredible mother and I'm so lucky to have her by my side to guide me during this exciting time in my life. My own mother and sister-in-laws have also been giving me wonderful, helpful advice that I can't wait to put into action. Preston and I are so blessed to have our family and friends. I couldn't ask for more loving and inspiring people in my life.

This week Peanut is supposed to be six and a half inches long from head to toe. That's the size of a cantaloupe! It doesn't look like something the size of a cantaloupe is in me. He's kicking ALL the time. I love not just feeling my tummy but watching it too. It looks so weird when he kicks! Peanut is also tasting the things I eat now which means I'm forcing myself, whenever I have the chance, to eat tomatoes. I HATE tomatoes but I really want my baby to like them.I haven't been experiencing any pain which is wonderful and I attribute that to my daily work out. Since I've drastically reduced the distance of running I do down to one mile, I've decided to run five days a week instead of just three. Okay, okay so I usually end up going only four days a week but I need to tell myself that I go five that way, hopefully one day, I might get up the stamina to actually do five. Preston has helped me with a little weight lifting as well. Doctors suggest not to start weightlifting during pregnancy but I've got to build a little muscle in these weak arms before my baby arrives. It's mild lifting and I don't feel like it's strenuous but I also feel like I'm getting a descent workout in my arms. It's great! I want to encourage all of those who are pregnant to do some form of exercise. From my own experience I don't think I would be feeling as great as I am without it. Hurray for staying healthy!

Week: 20!!
Cravings of the Week: Raspberry Lemonade

How Well Do You See Color?

Did you know that 1 out of 255 women and 1 out of 12 men have some form of color vision deficiency? Does this prove that women see color more accurately then men do? I think so! ;)

X-Right recently put out a test online that you can take to check how well you see color. If you're a photographer, designer or just curious as to how well you see color, take this test! All you do is arrange tiles in hue order. Here is the link to the X-Right Online Color Challenge.


I quickly arranged the tiles and only missed 4. Not bad for being legally blind in one eye. I may try it later with my larger monitor which has more accurate coloring and take my time with it.

Baby Bump

Obvious outward signs are starting to appear.
Our little Peanut is growing and so is my belly
... FINALLY!



This last Tuesday I came home from running and noticed that my bump was starting to appear. I can still hide it in most outfits but there is no hope when it comes to my spandex Capri's and white t-shirt. My jeans don't fit anymore so I'm always wearing my workout clothes, leggings, dresses or PJ's.

I finally went shopping yesterday for some maternity clothes in efforts to find pants that fit but instead I walked away with 5 new shirts that I can't wear until my belly grows a bit more and two more pairs of leggings, one of which I may return. Maternity clothes are expensive, especially pants! Does anyone have suggestions one where to shop? I hear the Forever 21 in Salt Lake has a Maternity section and their pants are really cheap. I'll have to find some time to head up soon and check them out.

Week: 19 and five days
Cravings of the Week: Meat, Orange Julius
and Raspberry lemonade

Before

I found this video on my computer today. Preston and I made it right after we were engaged. How fun! I completely forgot about it.

I love that Preston totally misses his pool shot and right after bowls an awesome round. Gosh dang my husband is the best! I also love that Wayne randomly pops up twice in the video with his "good luck booty shake".

We had so much fun back then but nothing compares too how much fun we have had every day since. I cherish every moment I have with Preston. I'm so blessed to have found such a wonderful, fun, loving, perfect for me, man. He puts a smile on my face everyday :D I'm so lucky he picked me!