Life as a pregnant lady

Memory Problems

For some reason, it's pretty hard to write about life. Not because I don't have a lot to say... I always have a lot to say... but I just forget what it is I want to say. I have noticed especially recently, I am about to say something or about to write something and then I TOTALLY forget what I was thinking. It is so strange. I saw flyers for a BYU memory experiment on pregnant women and wanted to do that, but I just emailed them too late! That would have been an interesting study to participate in!

Recent Accomplishments

Baby is 30 weeks today! She has motivated me to change more than I could have pictured. On Sunday, I couldn't help but share one thing that she has taught me in Sacrament meeting. She is a very physical reminder of how Heavenly Father loves his children. She kicks me a lot most of the time, but she seems to kick me at the times when I especially need strength. She is my belly cheerleader. It always gives me persepctive when she does her kicking thing because I think about how I have a life inside of me that needs my nurturing. It doesn't really matter if I don't do well on a test in the big scheme of things. She also helps me not to act just on emotion, but she helps me to think before I act, and when I think before I act I am more likely to have the Spirit with me. I have noticed this strength especially within the third trimester, mostly because I can definitely feel her move. She helps me to remember Heavenly Father and he helps me to act and think with more patience and love than I could do on my own. And it makes me think how this is only the beginning. And it makes me so excited! 

The influence of moms

This week has been a successful cooking/eating week, I would say. Lots of Soymilk, oranges, bananas, green smoothes, healthy grains, water... Visiting home was a very good reminder of eating healthy. I guess nausea was a good thing because it made me eat lots of fruit, cereal and yogurt. Sugars didn't phase me much. Chocolate made me sick. Now that I can eat chocolate again, I am beginning to remember the principle of self-discipline. However, thinking about the baby though really motivates me to stick to healthy choices. I've been trying to get my veggies in recently... last night I made stuffed peppers! It reminded me of dad because the recipe called for ginger. Its funny how food brings our family close together :)

Well I do have a confession. Mom, years and years of advice has paid off. You thought you didn't get through.... but I was listening the whole time! ;) Thanks for instilling in me good eating habits. It makes the self-discipline thing so much easier because I have a good example to follow. Your good example doesn't just extend to healthy living, but I think of you often when I think of my baby. I want to be in her classroom as a homeroom mom, to be the mom that all her friends love too, to be the one she confesses her bad actions to. I remember one time when I said something bad with my friends and I could only tell you because I was so ashamed. But I only told you because you noticed something was wrong. And the times when you text or call exactly when I need you. You have a mother's intuition that I really aspire to. I know that I will be my own kind of mom with my own kind of quirks, but I can go into motherhood with a kind of confidence that comes from watching and observing your good example. Your influence runs deep in my thoughts. 

Motherhood: An Eternal Partnership With God, Mormon Message http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WbYLKVgwztY#!

She's getting bigger...

22 weeks today!!! Our dear baby is definitely getting bigger. I cannot put my socks on standing up anymore because my stomach's too big! I figured that out yesterday. My arms couldn't get past the bump to reach my feet. I can't believe it.

Another realization I had yesterday was walking home from school. I felt quite explosive. Sometimes the skin on my stomach feels like it is literally stretching. As I was walking down the hill, I held my stomach because it was uncomfortable walking with an explosive stomach.

After these realization I may have had slight anxiety. I knew about baby since she was 1 month old, and especially during the nauseating times, but now..... now it feels like I am actually having a real life baby. I don't exactly know how to describe it..... feelings of utter amazement mixed with shear terror. For one, my body can nurture a fertilized egg to a fetus...wow. Second, this fetus is a human being! Third, this human being is inside of me! What?! I think this is one of the reasons why a baby takes 9 months to grow. The shock never goes away, but you just learn to cope with it better... you get used to it. And by the time the baby actually is welcomed into the world, you are better able to handle crazy things, like a baby. Anyways, class now.

12 weeks

22 weeks

Sophie is wild!

Today Josh and I went to the temple. Yesterday we magically picked a name. This is a big deal. There have probably been hundreds of names that one of us suggests that the other doesn't like. I don't know how we will ever name another child. And today we made sure it was the right one for our baby girl. We can't tell anyone because I want it to be a surprise. Someone taught me that surprises are fun....mom :) Well, as I was sitting there, it was like creeper crawlers all over my insides. I put my hands on my tummy just to see if I could feel it from the outside, and I thought I felt it from the outside, she was moving so much. That's the most baby's ever moved! I was looking at mom quotes today. And I thought this captured my thoughts very well today.

I noticed that this week, especially since after the ultrasound, I've been pretty cheery. Not even football can bring down my spirits. Our baby makes me so happy! I feel like I am always thinking about her, especially because recently it feels like my stomach is turning, fluttering, and crawling way more often. I can't ignore her presence anymore!

I just like this one a lot.

20 weeks!

Sophie is 20 weeks tomorrow! Yesterday was my first ultrasound. I admit that I was very anxious and apprehensive because it would be Sophie's first checkup. When I was younger, I never thought I would have been such a worried mom. Robyn was our ultrasound technician. I am really grateful we had her because she was ultra-nice and very good at reading the pictures. She showed us the main body parts first like the head, body and legs. One of the first pictures was a snapshot of the bottom of Sophie's foot

My heart may have skipped a beat. It was a real foot!!!! It even looked like a foot. When Robyn showed us Sophie's face... it didn't look like a face... it looked like a skeleton baby.

Then Robyn showed us the bones, like the leg bones and arm bones and spine. I loved the position of Sophie's arms with one over her head and one near her mouth. It just seemed very fitting for a baby. When I was sleeping last night, I was thinking about how my sleeping position probably jostles the baby, like moving side to side. I can't imagine running a marathon pregnant.

The spine looks like the size of the body.

She said the baby was healthy in her development and a day off from her due date. Then she showed us her organs like kidney and stomach. Without her pointing them out, I would never have guessed they were the organs besides the heart because I could see that pumping. they just look like black and white spaces. She said that any black space was fluid. She showed us the placenta and said it was in the right place. thank goodness! Every time she told us about where something was suppose to be or suppose to be doing and Sophie was doing the right thing, I was so relieved and happy. She also showed us Sophie's bottom! She asked us what we thought the baby was? girl or boy? Well, I didn't see anything that would make the baby a boy so I guessed girl. And it was right! We are having a baby girl!

We also looked at the baby's heart. She let us hear the different heart beats of each ventricle or atrium. They were all so different. It was so cool to hear.

I was amazed how well this technology worked. It was really neat to see different angles and shots of the baby from Robyn's clicking of the computer. Like she showed us a bird's eye view of the baby. However, the prodding of her device was uncomfortable. She said that our baby was wild and very active because she was moving so much. She was constantly moving the device on my stomach to catch a shot because the baby would be moving all the time. At one point, we were trying to look at the brain from a downward angle to see the different lobes of the brain but Sophie was making it difficult because she was looking up instead of forward or to the side. Robyn said that there was some kind of unilateral cyst in her brain, but that it was normal for this stage of development because the brain is still developing. She said that if it was bilateral it would be more of a concern so she reassured us that it was fine, but that a doctor would call if it was a problem. at first that made me nervous, but considering all of the baby's developments and healthy status, I am just really grateful that Sophie is doing so good and healthy. I am even super proud of her high activity levels! Woohoo! thats our baby!!!!! Another funny thing, once Robyn knew that Josh knew anatomy and that he was going to med school, she amped up her simplified language and spoke quite anatomically. I was proud of my Josh. I can't wait for our little family to be... Our tres leches family!