July 1st or Bust Baby

Well, we are in the final days now... I had a doctor's appointment last Wednesday and unless I deliver this baby sometime between now and Tuesday night, I am being induced Wednesday July 1st. With my high blood pressure, our goal was to carry the baby full term, and with Tuesday fast approaching, we are thrilled to have let the baby mature and grow to this point. I also had hip surgeries as a child, and Tyson is 6' 6" tall, so there is no reason to go over too much past the due date and let the little dude get even bigger... I don't want hip surgery too!

The last few days have been full of excitement and anxiety... we are so excited to have the little guy really here, we've been waiting and waiting, but its also a little nerve wracking, I mean, we are going to be parents (gulp)... Our lives are about to change quite a bit here in the next few days, but the excitement totally outweighs the anxiousness!!!

If you guys have any advice regarding labor, delivery, coming home with a newborn, anything, I'd love to hear what you think, we've been so blessed to have a pretty normal and healthy pregnancy, thank you all for your comments and support, I love hearing from you all! We will try to keep things updated, at least a picture or two, so stay tuned! Love, Dani

7 Day Countdown

Well, it could be longer than that right? Lots of pregnancies, especially the first, go past the due date... but we officially have one week until our due date!

I've been feeling really good, I've heard from so many people that the last month is the hardest, and I think I've been lucky enough for this to not be true for me... weeks 10 through 16 were much harder. I mean, I have this huge belly out in front of me that makes comfort a struggle at times, but I am not kneeling in front of the toilet for hours each day... and for this, I am totally grateful.

I have my 39 week appointment tomorrow, after which, we are going to see the new Transformers movie... we are huge fans, and we didn't honestly think we were even going to get to go (knock on wood). Yesterday, when Tyson bought the tickets online, I told him that he has sealed the deal, I'll be in labor or we will have baby Ethan here by 11:59 Wednesday night... :)

Last night at about 2:00 AM, I got up for the second time in the night to go to the bathroom, and I didn't feel the little guy moving. I laid back down, kind of rubbed my tummy, hoping to feel a movement and be back to dreamland... but he wouldn't move! I kind of started freaking out... I got up and drank a bunch of water, ate a yogurt, continued rubbing, and nothing... this went on for about 15 minutes, and finally... a movement... and then another, and I think he finally woke up... from everything I've read, movement slowing down is totally normal at this point, but he is one active little dude, I mean, he is always moving around, so it scared me a lot. He's been moving all day, so just a little scare.

I must add that I am loving being home... I have worked full time since the summer after high school graduation, working quite a bit through high school to fuel my beast of a vehicle that got 8 (if I was lucky) miles to the gallon. Anyway, being home all day has given me time to cook up some meals for the freezer, read lots of books, watch lots of movies, write in my journal, and have lots of quiet time, a rarity in my life until the last few weeks. I have lots of time to think, and lately, I've been thinking a lot about comments towards pregnant people like, "You look like you're going to pop!"

My mother in law and neighbor insist that I'm not big enough to be 39 weeks, the baby has not dropped yet, and I'm all belly... but twice I have had the "pop" comment. Is this response proper at all? While smiling say, "You know, that's never a nice thing to say to a pregnant woman." I might just try it out if I dare go out in public in the next week or so... Hope you all are having a great week and are enjoying this amazing June weather, I'll keep this as updated as possible in the next few days to come!

38 Weeks, Home & Connected, Baby's Room, False Alarm, READY!

Wow, its been over a month since my last post... What a month!

I am now 38 Weeks along in this pregnancy that is flying by, I seriously can not believe how quickly the time has gone June 3, I was sent home from the doctor's office with orders to not return to work, so for the last 2 weeks, I have been taking it easy at home. My blood pressure has been super high, but I don't have any other scary things going on, so we are just letting this little guy get as big as possible before I either go into labor on my own (say a prayer) or my doc induces me.

My hubby set up a little office up for me at home so I can continue to do the bookkeeping for my boss, and we finally got the Internet up and running, it feels so good to be re-connected!

Here are a couple pics of little Ethan's room: (the orange paint is bold, but its pretty cute)

Monday night, I felt a little "gush" and ran to Tys and said, "I think my water just broke!" I laid down, and nothing else really happened, but decided to call my doctor to see what she thought. She had me go to the hospital and get checked out. They hooked me up to the fetal monitor and the contraction monitor just like the real thing. I've been having decent contractions and Tyson was so cute holding my hand and reminding me to breath, what a cute daddy he is going to be. But, it was not amniotic fluid that had leaked, they found out that I have a bladder infection and that caused (causes) some leakage, so we are back home on a prescription. It was a very eventful and exciting morning, not knowing if we were coming home with or without our little man...

But now we are on a 13 day countdown to the due date. I feel great, getting plenty of rest, reading lots of books, watching lots of movies. We took a lactation class and a birthing class last week, I'm a little on knowledge overload, but we are totally excited for the real thing!

33, 39, & Mother's Day

This is a few days late, but I'm finally getting around to posting...

I am 33 Weeks along, and feeling, well, um... big. I'm not uncomfortable yet, and when Ethan kicks my ribs, it still doesn't hurt. I've had a little run in with high blood pressure and swelling, and although my doctor has threatened bed rest at the last two appointments, I still am not on bed rest, just need to rest more and not cram the day so full. At last weeks appointment, my blood pressure was super high and they had me lay down for 10 minutes and then try it again, and it came right down. This week's appointment went better, its still on the high end, but not nearly as high as last week. I've been coming home early from work a few days a week, and trying to kick back and relax as much as I can. I've pretty much given up on young women's activities during the week. I have doc appointments weekly now to watch the blood pressure, the little guy is too small to born quite yet, so we're actively watching it for a few more weeks. But baby Ethan is measuring right on, and he is very active, which we are so grateful that he his doing so well.

My younger sis is 39 weeks along with her 2nd baby, and is patiently waiting for her little angel to get here, I can't believe our family will have 2 new babies in a matter of weeks, so exciting, and man, is my mom going to be busy! We have never taken any pictures of us pregnant together, so before she delivers her baby, we finally took one on Mother's Day.

Mother's Day was a beautiful day out in Vernal. We went to Leon and Gloria Mansfield's homecoming, which was so good, couple missionaries are so cute! We had an amazing dinner up at my mom's house, and then we drove back out to Salt Lake that evening. Tyson gave me the cutest little book called, The Happiest Mommy Ever, and also a Willowtree figurine. It was a great weekend, and kind of fun to "celebrate" Mother's Day.

My Baby's Baby Blanket

This was a busy little weekend, full of projects and things to do... Saturday morning I went over to my boss's house. His wife has an awesome sewing/craft room, and she helped me cut out squares and get Ethan's baby blanket pieced together. I think it turned out really well, lots of fun patterns and colors. The back is the same blue polka dot border, and we're going to tie it at my baby shower out here in the city.

I didn't take any pictures of this, but I made my first attempt of making homemade jam. I made strawberry freezer jam, and it turned out so well, I am thinking about making a bunch now, freezing it, and giving it away at Christmas to neighbors and friends... the strawberries have been heavenly this season, its been the one thing I have truly "craved."

I am officially 32 weeks along, and can't believe how quickly the last 8 months have gone, we are guessing the next 8 weeks will go by too fast as well, but then we'll have our little angel. I have had some swelling in my ankles, and I'm a little afraid of being put on bed rest, but maybe it would be good for me and MAKE me slow down a little... but I'm feeling good, baby is growing and getting stronger each day, we are so excited! Tyson is doing some shelving in the baby's room, and then we are setting up the crib, so fun!

Spring is Here!

Its been another busy few weeks... conference was wonderful, then Easter, the weather could have been a bit better, but we had a fun spending time with family.

Spring has to be one of my favorite seasons, everything is getting greener and so much more beautiful than the barren branches and dirty snow banks, maybe that's why I like Christmas so much, the lights and decorations make everything so much prettier.

Spring also is the season for new life... my sister is due in less than 4 weeks with a little girl, and I have just under 10 weeks until little Ethan is due. I remember in high school, in AP English, all of the poetry units, and the symbology of spring and new life, it was my favorite. I love the little animals being born, the new flowers sprouting from the ground, just the feel of change.

Not to dim away from what I just wrote, but my Great Grandmother Nebeker passed away over the weekend. She would have been 97 this August... she lived a long and very full life. Her husband died almost 26 years ago to the day, so although we will miss her, we always miss our loved ones, she is having the most wonderful reunion with her husband. My sister and I both have felt like she is getting to meet Reese (my sister's little girl, yet to be born) and Ethan first.

Its also coming upon the year mark since Tyson's father passed. A year ago Friday, Tyson and I flew over to Asia. Two years ago, a doctor told me it was going to be very difficult for us to have children. We have felt incredibly blessed to be able to get pregnant, and to have such a smooth and healthy pregnancy. From when the test first showed that pink line, we have felt Tyson's father's spirit so strong, and we know he is attending to our little one. One of the hardest things about Edwin not being here, is that our children won't know their grandfather, but deep down, we know that they already know him...


I have my 30 week appointment today. At the 28 week appointment, I had my blood drawn to be tested for gestational diabetes. That test came back normal, but it showed that I'm anemic, so I've had to load up on iron, but other than that, the little guy is growing each day. We painted the baby's room last week, Tyson is putting new roof on our house this week. The piano is in the baby's room, as the roof is leaking in the front room, once we have a leak free roof, I can get the baby's room put together. Thanks for reading, hope you are all having a fabulous week!

Our New Ride

Well, my worries about all the "baby" stuff fitting, is no longer a worry... We have wanting to get rid of our Subaru for quite a long time now, and Saturday, we decided to go test drive a newer 4 Runner. We both love these cars, but Tyson didn't know if he fit in the newer body style or not. Sure enough, he does! Only, we couldn't get one with a sunroof, that takes 2 inches of headroom out, and leave my hubby's head rubbing the ceiling. So we bought this beauty at a smokin hot price, our poor salesman earned his commission on this one. We are super excited, its just the right height to get carseats in and out... Can't wait!

I also wanted to thank you all for your comments on both the bassinet and carseat/stroller combo questions I had. I really appreciate all of your insight so much! My sister in law gave us a pack in play that has a bassinet insert, and we are going to use that in our bedroom for the first little while. Plus, we do travel quite a bit, and it will be nice to have a pack n' play.

Concerning the carseat/stroller combo. It seems like most of you liked yours. I'm not super stressed about a stroller, but I do want a nice carseat. I figure if it clicks into a stroller, bonus! I've thought about a jogger, but I have crappy old person knees, and running cripples me. I love to speed walk, so I think we'll just kind of wait and see. My neighbor suggested the Graco Safe Seat. It holds a baby up to 30 pounds, and it clicks into most Graco strollers. She found hers at Burlington Coat Factory for a great deal. I've never even been inside that store, but it can't hurt to go try it right?

Also, our boss is taking our company on a cruise in January to the Bahamas as in incentive. I really want a light little stroller for the cruise boat, but babies have to be atleast 6 months old to get on the boat, so if little Ethan isn't born by July 5th, we aren't going anyway I guess :) So for now, we are just playing the stroller thing and traveling to the Bahamas thing by ear...

But thanks again for all of your comments, keep them coming! Hope you all have a great Conference Weekend, I've been looking forward to this for a long time now! Love, Dani