December 30, 2014

Week 2: Life with J

Life with Jaden

We made it! We survived the first 2 weeks.  Jaden actually has made it pretty easy on us first time parents, I've been the one who has made it hard on myself. I worry. I worry about everything, I worry that he is sleeping too much or not eating enough, I worry that he isn't breathing or that the soft spots on his head are too soft. I worry that the circumcision procedure he had on Friday will scar him for life or  I haven't done enough to help in his motor development and he is going to be a 4 year old learning to walk! He coughed once and spit up and after extensive googling I was convinced he had whooping cough. I cant believe I have become this mom, I have lived most of my 28 years of life fast-paced, adrenaline-seeking, adventure is around the corner kind of lifestyle...worrying about my sons color of poop or number of wet diapers everyday is the last place I thought I would be. I saw myself as a laid back mom that lets her son "tough it out" or "cry it out." Truth is, I'm a sucker, this little boy has me wrap around his finger. I can't believe how much I love him already. I've got to find a balance in this whole worrying business because it is starting to stress me out.  Logically all my worrying is completely invalid, he must be eating enough because  this boy has constant wet diapers (and walls and furniture and everything else he can aim for and wet when his diaper is off) and of course when he is in the jr high locker room he will thank us for the pain of the snip snip he had to endure for a few days! As far as motor development, I think I need to watch more episodes of Teen Mom on MTV or take a stroll through Walmart to see all the crazy people who somehow learned to walk, and  breath a bit because Jaden will learn to walk and if he doesn't....then I can look forward to some fantastic wheelchair racing!

All in all there is a lesson that God is teaching me about trust vs fear. Currently, Im in the Trusting 101 class and I have failed most of the test so far, but I'm determind to keep taking the class because I know this is a lesson that will follow throughout Jadens life. I want to be able to give up control and allow him to make mistakes, allow him to explore the world outside, and let him be free to be himself. Right now I'm not ready to do that, I want to protect him and keep him safe! I know with everything in the world right now I can't protect him forever. So for now I am learning my place, my job is to ultimately show him where to run when pain comes and introduce him to the ultimate comforter and healer.

(Still trying to figure out how to load photos from my phone onto here)

December 19, 2014

He is Here!!

Finally, Jaden Lee David has made his entrance into the world!

Born December 15, 2014 at 5:27pm
Weighing 8lbs 14oz and 21 inches long!
  

We went in on December 14th to get induced, fully expecting a 12/14/14 baby, but who was I kidding, this baby has shown from the beginning that he will come when he is good and ready!

The waiting game:

November 9th, my sister Jacee came in from Texas to help organize Jaden's room and get us set up with a full on hospital emergancy kit, full of snacks and starbucks gift cards and all the fun things we might need to survive a few nights in the hospital.  We went to the baby doctor to see how Jaden was progressing.  Doctor told us "the head his in position, you are 1cm dialated and 40% effaced, that baby could come at anytime."  I was excited because at 37 weeks, I was getting a little uncomfortable, so I didn't mind if he showed up a few weeks early. I started preparing everything at work, so if he came, I would be prepared to pass on my client list.  I was ready, but dear ole' Jaden Lee had other plans. 

November 25th, I was nearing my due date, and still no baby in sight! I went to the doctor, and guess what...1cm and 50% effaced! In 3 weeks, I had advanced 10%, no matter, we weren't at the due date and I still had a few things I wanted to wrap up at work.  The guys at work began a betting pool on Jaden's due date and weight, most of them were November 29th - December 3rd, with one guy betting on December 10th. I laughed at the December 10th guy....No way, buddy, you are way off, I thought. 

Thanksgiving came and went, November 30th showed up, and I started having contractions...THIS IS IT, I thought, come on baby!! The contractions never progressed, but I thought, this baby is coming soon! December 2nd, we went to the baby doctor, 1cm dialated and 50% effaced?? SAY WHAT?? After all those contractions and a month later we are still in the same centimeter, my doctor was nice and said, it could have been 1.5cm. Then the circus began, I googled every theory out there that is suppose to induce labor naturally. Many of the things I read, I would think to myself, this is ridiculous, no way does hoping around on one leg induce labor, but low and behold, minutes later I could be seen hoping around on one leg. 

December 10th came and went and that guy who bet Dec 10th, was the one laughing now.  The comments that use to be funny like "when's that baby coming" and "you are still pregnant" and "what are you still doing here" and "I guess he will come when he is ready" started getting old. I went to the doctor with the news of 1cm and 50% effaced, I started questioning her measuring ability and wondering if she has the right ruler.  She told me that she would be scheduling the induction for December 14th, and I thought, I have 4 days, surely he will come before December 14th. I should have learned from all that waiting that "he will come when he is ready."

DECEMBER 14th, INDUCTION DAY

My parents were on their way and Kyle and I enjoyed the morning with coffee and a drive through Red Rock.  I was excited because 12/14/14 was a perfect birthday date! Wrong again, Dondi, "That baby will come when he is ready." We checked into our room, got settled and they started Cervidil at 4:00pm which is suppose to ripen the cervix before pitosin. I was ready, let's do this!! I started having contractions every 7 minutes around 8pm, and was ready for the journey. At 4am, they came and checked me...guess what...there was that freakin' 1cm and 50% effaced words again.  All that pain and sleepless night and I was still at the same spot I began. You have got to be kidding me, I thought!! They decided to do another round of cervidil instead of inducing with Pitosin, because they weren't sure I would be able to deliver vaginally if I went straight to pitosin.  At 7am, Kyle and I have a friend that we go to church with who works in Labor and Delivery at Summerlin Hospital and she came in for her shift!  It was awesome to have someone I knew be my nurse.  We are now closer than ever because we no longer have any secrets in our friendship. 

So here we go, another round of cervidil and not even a .5cm advanced.  Our nurse friend Mary, started dancing around our room as a joke doing the "cervix dance."  Funny enough, we can now add a new "natural induction" method to the list, have someone do a "cervix dance!" Around 7am, I started having contractions every 3 minutes apart.  Before this journey began, I thought, it would be cool if I could have a baby naturally without any medication...well that funny little thought quickly faded as the labor pains intensified.  Labor isn't a joke and any women who can do it without medication is my hero. At 11am after being in labor for 19 hours, I was checked and finally advanced to 3cm dialated and 60% effaced. FINALLY something besides a 1! Anything is better than a freakin' 1!! I still had 7 more cm to go and contractions were about every 2 minutes, so I threw in the towel, Met my new best friend, the anesthesiologist, who gave me God's 2nd greatest gift of grace, the epidural!  I sat watching the monitor after that as the contraction would come and go and laughing because I couldn't feel a thing!  I went from 3cm at 12pm to fully effaced and 10cm at 5pm!  YES FINALLY!!!  My doctor was in the middle of a c-section and told Nurse Mary to have to push a few times to get the baby in place.  I pushed once and Mary told me I needed to stop because one more push and she would be delivering my baby.  When Jaden finally decided to come, he came! The doctor arrived and few pushes later, the greatest moment of my whole life finally happened!

He's Here!

Kyle was on my right holding my leg and nurse Mary was on my left, and as I pushed, I looked over at Kyle and he was crying, he had seen Jaden's face for the first time.  They brought him up to my chest and I finally got to look at my son for the first time.  He is beautiful and perfect!  Here is the back story on all that, I have never been a "baby" person. When there is a baby being passed around to hold, I'm usually the first to say, that's a cute kid, but I'll just look from a distance. Everyone always said "it's different when it's your own."  I was skeptic until that moment at 5:27pm when Kyle and I's whole world changed.  I know it sounds cheesy and cliche, but I fell more in love with Kyle then I have ever been and fell in love instantly with this tiny human that had no idea who just turned on the light and stole his blanket. His cry was perfect, his face was perfect and even his cone head from traveling down the birth canal was perfect! In an instant our whole life has changed.  Turns out we have a miracle baby, Jaden was born with a true knot in his umbilical cord which apparently only happens in 1% of pregnancies and many of those do not survive.  I believe that he came at the right time in the right circumstance with the right people helping him arrive.  God knew the perfect time for Jaden's birth and we are so thankful!

4 days later, here I am reflecting on that moment crying with joy. Side note: this whole crying stuff has to stop, my mom has been here helping kyle and I get on our feet by cooking, cleaning, running errands, taking the night shift so we can sleep, and even turning all the pink onesies I created from a bad washing experience back into white onesies.  I cry everytime I think about her leaving tomorrow.  I spent about 30 minutes yesterday crying because my mom cleaned our bathrooms spotless. I know alot of it has to do with the perfect combination of hormone crash and lack of sleep, but one thing that I know is that my mom is just taking care of me like she has since the first day I was born.  That's what mom's do.

How are things going?? So far, we are only 4 days in and things have been great.  Jaden is just as laid back in person as he was in the womb.  He picked up breast feeding really quickly and sleeps, eats and poops without putting up too much of a fuse.  With my mom here, Kyle and I have been able to sleep more than a normal person with a 4 day old baby. Kyle is the best dad ever and I have enjoyed watching him love our son the way that he does, he has had the week off from work which has been awesome for us to figure out this whole parenting thing.  We have learned the struggle of putting on a onesie, giving him a bath and covering his little penis so he doesn't pee on himself. I know that just because things are good now they may not always be so easy, check in with me on Monday when my mom has traveled back to Texas and Kyle has to go back to work.  For now, I'm confident that when things do get hard, we have an amazing support group around us that have shown us so much love.

I'll post pictures as soon as I can figure out an easy way to transfer them from my phone to my computer.  For now, I just wanted to write my perspective on the whole thing so I can look back in few years on that moment when life changed forever.

October 2, 2014

Week 28

THIRD TRIMESTER!!!!

Size of Baby: Baby D is over 2 pounds and 15 inches

Baby's Heartbeat on last visit: 155
Maternity Clothes:My friend passed on some great comfy clothes that I have worn through this week and have no plans of changing the routine!
Gender:Tiny Baby Boy!
Name: several possibilities- Jaden Lee David
Movement: Lots of movements, he has started doing flips and loves listening to music (or hates it, depending on what those violent kicks mean.)
What I Miss: Running!  I thought I would never say that because I hate running, but during my walks I attempted to run and it lasted about 10 yards, I felt like a lineman feels when he finally gets the ball and starts running toward the goal line as fast as he can.
Cravings:Coffee!! Although I heard that if I want to drink coffee while breast feeding then I need to start drinking coffee now otherwise the baby wont tolerate it! I'm reluctant to research this in case the answer is that this information is false, I want it to be true!
Symptoms:I had a cold all week. I've heard it is common in the later part of pregnancy, but it made me miserable! No sleep, tissues everywhere, and no medication to make it go away.  My friend is a pharmacist and his answer was, sleep and water.....great, thanks buddy!
Best moment of the week: I found out that my sister is having another baby girl!! I really don't think it's fair to the world for her to have another girl because all the other girls won't have a chance, Caroline is already the cutest...so double cuteness is taking over.  It's also exciting because I love that I get to be pregnant at the same time as my sister and that the cousins will be close in age!! I like that I am close with my cousins and it made family vacations adventurous and hilarious,

September 11, 2014

Week 26

Size of Baby: Jaden now weighs 1.67 pounds and 14 inches long {the size of a head of lettuce} 
Baby's Heartbeat on last visit: 147

Maternity Clothes: Wearing all maternity clothes and T-shirts size Large and up...that baby bump popped out of nowhere!

Gender: TINY BABY BOY!!

Name: Jaden Lee David

Movement: I was lounging on my couch with the remote control on my belly and baby kicked so hard, he knocked the remote off my stomach. I thought...ohh cool trick and tried to recreate it, but I think he got shy under pressure.

What I Miss: Getting up out of bed or a chair without having to strategically think and plan out how I'm going to roll out without straining myself!

Cravings: The other day I looked down and noticed I was eating pickles and ice cream together...I am officially living up to the pregnancy stereotypes! 

Symptoms: Charlie Horses and terrible gas pain...YIKES!

Best moment of the week: The youth group that I help lead a senior girls bible study kicked off this week after being on a break for the summer.  We were expecting 150 students and had almost 300 show up!  God is up to something in Vegas!

August 30, 2014

Week 24



Size of Baby: Jaden now weighs 1.3 pounds and 1 foot long {the size of a sonic footlong chili cheese coney} 

Baby's Heartbeat on last visit: 147

Maternity Clothes: Had to get new shoes because I can't seem to rock the heels all day like I use to!  

Gender: TINY BABY BOY!!

Name: Jaden Lee David

Movement: I am feeling him kick all the time now, and I love it!  Before I just had to trust that he was doing ok in there, but now he lets me know through out the day and it's a nice peace of mind!  He has started to get the hiccups about once or twice a day!

What I Miss: Sleeping through the night.  I have to wake up, get a snack and pee around midnight and 3am every night...I guess I'm getting prepared for Jaden's late night feeding sesh!

Cravings: This week I haven't craved anything specific, just craved everything edible because I have been so hungry every 3 hours!  

Symptoms: My arm goes numb and falls asleep every night...at least my arm is getting some sleep. The doctor said that is normal for pregnancy, I am starting to learn about so many random pregnancy symptoms nobody talks about.

Best moment of the week: First, we looked at a house on Thursday, put an offer on it on Friday and were approved on Saturday!! We bought a house in 3 days!  We have plans to close by September 19th! SO EXCITING!!!
 Next, Our friends from England came to Vegas for the weekend!! We had so much fun hanging out with them and I realized how much I miss England! 

August 17, 2014

Week 23

Size of Baby: Baby D now weighs a pound!! {the size of a spaghetti squash} 11 inches

Baby's Heartbeat on last visit: 145
Maternity Clothes: Wearing mostly maternity clothes, but as soon as I get home from work everyday, I jump into my men's XL pajama pants!  BEST THING EVER!
Gender: TINY BABY BOY!!
Name: Jaden Lee David
Movement: That baby is enjoying his space right now, and loves stretching out and kicking me along the way.  Kyle can feel slight kicks from the outside, but Jaden is getting stronger by the day so it's only a matter of time.
What I Miss: Sleeping on my stomach. I am done with this whole side sleeping thing, and I still have like 3 more months of it...booooo!!
Cravings: Chili Cheese Hot Dogs!! Sonic had $1 Chili Cheese Coney's on Thursday last week, so you can guess what this girl had for breakfast, lunch and dinner!  Technically, I'm not suppose to eat hot dogs, but Jaden really wanted them.
Symptoms: Heartburn finally snuck up on me.  I have heard horror stories of heartburn from my sister and friends, and thought I had missed out on it, but it attacked me a few times this week.  Also, gas pains....yikes! That stuff isn't fun for anyone, including Kyle...probably need to invest in a gas mask for that guy.
Best moment of the week: Kyle and I had such a great week!  Last Sunday we watched all three Lord of the Rings, Monday was the beginning of Shark Week, Friday Kyle's parents returned from Boston with lots of souvenirs for us and Baby Jaden, and Yesterday.....WE WENT HOUSE HUNTING whooo hooo!! We haven't found the one yet, but we will look at another 5 houses today!!  It's funny how different the house search looks with a kid in mind....what school is the house zoned for, where are the parks, how much room is there for the kid to run around in...stairs or no stairs? The process and mind set that changes when you are going to be parents is so weird!

July 29, 2014

Week 19

Size of Baby: Baby D is 8.5 oz {the size of a heirloom tomato} 6 inches

Baby's Heartbeat on last visit: 155
Maternity Clothes: Got my first maternity swimsuit which I used swimming in the ocean this weekend!
Gender: Will find out 7/28!!
Name: several possibilities- We have a girl's name set in stone, but no idea on a boy name.
Movement: I think I might have been kicked, but I'm not sure.
What I Miss: Meat and Chicken!  This baby has turned me into a vegitearean!! I force myself to eat meat most days because I know I need the protein, but it is a struggle! I just don't like the taste or idea of chicken or meat these days!
Cravings: Chocolate and sweets all the time
Symptoms: Watched the Parent Trap with Kyle the other day, ended up crying at various times through out the movie...Hally finally meeting her mom in London...that moment really got the best of me!
Best moment of the week: Went to California for the weekend and watched my best friend Brittani compete in the CrossFit Games.  Which is basically the top 50 teams from around the World competing for "fittest people in the world."  My other best friend Bekah was there watching as well, so we made a poster and yelled from the stands....I much perfer yelling from the stands on this one.  There was not a whole lot about what they were doing that motivated me to get up and try it, except for all the free stuff they got!  Brittani got 6 pairs of reebok shoes and tons of shirts and shorts all in one day and she was on ESPN! It was so crazy!  I was proud to know her! I really enjoyed the excitement of the Crossfit Games!!  Kyle was in heaven with all the paleo food trucks, it was delicous!!  Also, My sister Jacee got Kyle a Chick-Fil-A gift card for Father's Day, so we had to celebrate the dad to be! 4 meals out of the 5 meals we ate on our trip were Chick-Fil-A, so I would say that is a California Win! Thanks Jacee!! Other highlights from our trip is we also got to watch the sunset at Huntington Beach and we stayed at a super budget hotel that smelled like Urine.  This California trip rounded out my month of stateside travel, Texas, Utah, Arizona, and California all in a month!  This little baby is already destined to be a traveler!

July 23, 2014

Week 18

Week 18
Size of Baby: Baby D is 7 oz {the size of an bell pepper} 5.5 inches

Baby's Heartbeat on last visit: 155
Maternity Clothes: Wearing all maternity clothes or larger sizes...gaining weight is not so fun, but I'm happy the baby is happy.
Gender: Will find out soon!
Name: several possibilities- We have a girl's name set in stone, but no idea on a boy name.
Movement: Flutters all the time!! whoo hooo! Can but can't wait to feel with being "kicked" is like.
What I Miss: going longer than 2 hours without having to pee
Cravings: SUSHI!!!!!
Symptoms: Got a bladder infection this from that little baby growing and laying on my bladder. Maybe this is too much information for a public blog but my sisters and mom are the only ones who read it anyways.  Don't worry mom, antibiotics are doing their job!
Best moment of the week: My best friends who worked on the Olympics "Forever" sports team
with me both came into town this weekend!!! And they brought along their men!!  Rebecka and Burra came all the way from Sweden to check out the Vegas lights and Lisa and Steve came from Lancaster County, PA to see the Grand Canyon!!  We got to do both!!  Friday, we toured around the las vegas strip at 110 degree weather, I thought the swedes were going to die of heat exhaustion because the hottest it gets in Sweden is 80!!  That night we went and hung out with the David's, we had a pool party and BBQ, we had plans of seeing Vegas by night but we ended up talking and laughing for hours and hours at a picnic table at the David's.....those memories were so much greater than Vegas nightlife could offer.  The next morning we woke up and Kyle drove 4 hours to the Grand Canyon, we watched the sunset, and he drove us 4 hours back!  What a trooper, it was so much fun having great conversations and seeing stunning creation at it's finest!  The next morning we dropped Lisa and Steve off at the airport and took Burra and Rebecka out to the desert to give them the opportunity to shoot their first gun!!


July 14, 2014

Week 17!!

Week 17 Baby D is 5 oz {the size of a turnip} 5 inches
Size of Baby: 

Baby's Heartbeat on last visit: 155

Maternity Clothes:
loving all my new clothes! 
Who cares about electricity and sliced bread... Maternity pants are the best invention in the history of the world..
Gender: Will find out soon!
Name: several possibilities- We have a girl's name set in stone, but no idea on a boy name. 
Movement: I feel tiny little movement!! I thought it was gas, but learned that that is actually "flutters" whoo hooo!!!
What I Miss: Sleeping peacefully on my stomach!
Cravings: Ramen Noodles and Hot Cheetos.....this kid is prepared to be a broke college student.

Symptoms: Round ligament pain, slight pain that jabs every once in awhile

Best moment of the week: I had a great week! I am really loving my job....most people would be bummed that they have to work on the 4th of July, but I absolutely loved it!  We were able to serve over 300 veterans and people in the homeless population of Vegas!  I was in charge of serving the apple pie! They had the music playing and "God Bless America" came over the loud speaker...I started getting teary eyed...maybe it was the fact that I was surrounded by men that had served our country or the whole pregnancy factor, but either way it was an amazing time!  After the bbq was over,  my friend Stefani and I drove up to Utah to meet our families who had gone up the day before for a weekend of camping!  It was a weekend with the David's and Scheppman's full of fishing, camping, s'mores, and fireworks! The best moment was hanging out with everyone sitting under a blanket outside and watching it rain.  Such a relaxing and peaceful weekend!

July 3, 2014

Week 16

Week 16
 Size of Baby: Baby D is 3.5 oz {the size of an Avacado} 4.5 inches

Baby's Heartbeat on last visit: 155
Maternity Clothes: My sister, her sister-in-law,  and my best friend Bekah all contributed to clothing me for the next 5 months!! I went to Texas this weekend and brought a giant empty suitcase to fill up, I will be living out of this suitcase!!
Gender: Will find out soon!
Name: several possibilities- We have a girl's name set in stone, but no idea on a boy name.
Movement: I feel tiny little movement!! I thought it was gas, but learned that that is actually "flutters" whoo hooo!!!
What I Miss: fitting into my old clothes!
Cravings: chick-fil-a!! but the closest one is 200 miles away…woo woo is me!!
Symptoms: this was my first week at my new job and the first week in my whole pregnancy that I had constant morning sickness! I'm sure the nausea was all a combined effort of stress, lack of sleep and a growing baby...but what the hey, I thought I skipped out on the whole throw up stuff after the first 12 weeks!!
Best moment of the week: Thursday through Sunday I had a girls reunion with all my best friends from college.  It's amazing because we all met our first week of college as Freshman and did everything together for the next 4 years! We were all in each other's wedding and now we reunite once a year because that friendship is so valuable to us and incredibly hard to come by.  We stayed up late talking most night and at one point or another we all took turns crying, life is tough sometimes and it is nice to have a safe place to talk and have great friends to rally around you!! On Sunday before I got on the plane to come home, I was able to stop in with Kyle's best friend and his wife's house for some waffles!  They are always so encouraging…I got on the plane headed back to Vegas wishing Texas wasn't so dang far away!!  On Monday, I started my new job and as a celebration, my mother-in-law and future sister-in-law, all went to a show on the strip! It was called "Le Reve" and I highly recommend it!! So all in all I had a lot of best moments this week! I have so much to be thankful for!



Wonderful week!

Week 15
Size of Baby: Baby D is 2.5 oz {the size of an apple} 4 inches
 
Baby's Heartbeat on last visit: 180
Maternity Clothes: My Mother-in-Law took me on a shopping spree!  I got 3 pairs of pants....why didn't anyone ever tell me about the gloriousness of maternity pants? I would have been wearing these years ago!
Gender: Will find out soon!
Name: several possibilities- We have a girl's name set in stone, but no idea on a boy name.
Movement: I feel tiny little movement!! I thought it was gas, but learned that that is actually "flutters" whoo hooo!!!
What I Miss: Sleeping on my stomach :(
Cravings: chili cheese dogs, pickles, and citrus fruit! YUM Let's combine them all!!
Symptoms: slight ligament pain, but besides that, I'm feeling great!
Best moment of the week: I got my dream job!!!!  I have been searching for the perfect job for the last year and a half, and I received a call on Friday offering me the position as the Permanent Housing Case Worker for US VETS! This means my job is getting to help get homeless veterans off the street into housing and begin to get the help and healing they need to live a stable lifestyle!  Las Vegas has the 4th highest homeless population in the country and that's not ok! I can't believe I am going to get paid to do this!!

June 18, 2014

Week 14

Week 14
Size of Baby: Baby D is 1.5 oz {the size of a Lemon} 3.5 inches
Baby's Heartbeat on last visit: 180
Maternity Clothes: Got my first pregnancy shirt from my friend Christy! I've worn it two days in a row because it is so comfortable!! "Keep Calm and Carry Baby" 
Gender: Will find out soon!
Name: several possibilities- We have a girl's name set in stone, but no idea on a boy name.
Movement: Not too much movement this week, unless you count the ongoing flatulation as a gaseous movement, Whoops, sorry Kyle!
What I Miss: Cooler temperatures!  This week it has been about 105 - 110 degrees outside! People give me that "yay, but it's dry heat, so not so bad" I don't care who you are...110 degrees is still 110 degrees!  If you can fry an egg on the sidewalk, it's too hot even if it is dry heat! I left my pre-natal vitamins in the car for about 4 hours and came back to vitamin goo and a warped plastic bottle.
Cravings: All I want is a chili cheese hotdog! It's what I think about and dream about all day!

Symptoms: slight ligament pain, but besides that, I'm feeling great!
Best moment of the week: We went out for all you can eat sushi to celebrate Ryan's fiance graduation from college at Belmont University in Nashville!  I have been wanting sushi for so long, but I have heard it is a big pregnancy no-no, so I did my research beforehand and loaded up on the cooked and baked sushi rolls! I loved every second of it.  Baby David is going to be born into a sushi loving family, so he/she has no choice but to embrace the deliciousness!  

June 11, 2014

And the countdown to Baby David begins!

Week 13

Size of Baby: Baby D is 1 oz {the size of a pea pod} 3 inches
Baby's Heartbeat on last visit: 180
Maternity Clothes: Not yet but most days I wear my jeans unbuttoned and am quickly turning into a big fan of elastic waistbands.
Gender: Will find out soon!
Name: several possibilities- We have a girl's name set in stone, but no idea on a boy name.
Movement: I know exactly when the baby moves to a napping position on my bladder...I'm glad one of us finds that comfortable. One ounce baby already calling the shots.
What I Miss: Not crying at random episodes of "The Office" or Disney movies
Cravings: I want sweets all day, everyday.  I have strategically placed all sweets and ice cream at my In-Laws house, so if I really really want something bad enough, I will make the trip over.  Laziness usually wins over the cravings.

Symptoms: Finally in the "honeymoon" period of pregnancy, most nausea and tiredness is gone. 
Best moment of the week: Went camping with some great friends of ours! Started off the trip right at Chick-Fil-A on the way up to Utah and the weekend just kept getting better from there!  We hiked, camped, and fished.  I usually come out empty handed on fishing trips but with the help of some excellent power bait, I caught over 10 fish! We fileted the fish and roasted marshmallows for smores over a fire...I had seconds on the smores...for the baby of course!










June 4, 2014

ICE, ICE....Baby??

Yo, morning sickness, Let's kick it!

Ice Ice Baby, Ice Ice Baby
All right stop, Collaborate and listen
David family announcing our brand new addition
Something grabs a hold of me tightly
dealing with nausea daily and nightly
Will it ever stop? Yo – I think so!
Baby belly in sight and I'll show
To the extreme kyle rocks a dad joke like a vandal
Light up a stage and while wearing socks with sandles.

Ice Ice Baby (David), Ice Ice Baby (David)
Ice Ice Baby (David), Ice Ice Baby (David)

and just like that....2 becomes 3!!! Kyle and I are excited to announce that Baby David is scheduled to make his/her appearance in this world December 12, 2014!!  (and if they can hold off an extra day...we might have ourselves at 12/13/14 baby!! Wouldn't that be fun! Maybe even take it up a notch to be born 10:11am at 12/13/14...the possibilities are endless!!

February 3, 2014

Suffering and Joy

I just wanted to write the journey of the last few weeks my family and I have been on, so I can remember what God has done and what we have learned! Like remembering that it is in the dark that God is passing by. The bridge and our lives shake not because God has abandoned, but the exact opposite: God is passing by. God is in the tremors. Dark is the holiest ground, the glory passing by. In the blackest, God is closest, at work, forging His perfect and right will. Though it is black and we can't see and our world seems to be free-falling and we feel utterly alone, Christ is most present to us.

January 4th, Kyle and I were watching "The Office" I started getting emotional on a Pam and Jim scene and then ran to the toilet from Nausea...yep, red flag!  We went and got a pregnancy test and found out I was pregnant!  I was so scared, "Can I be a mom?" "Our life is about to change" "I'm about to gain so much weight"....Kyle was amazing! He was excited and helped me change those negative thoughts to positives  "There is going to be a tiny baby that we get to love." "This is the greatest adventure we have ever got to be apart of." It took about a week for me to come around to an incredible joy and excitement for a little one!  I was learning so much about the very miracle babies truly are.

Fast Forward January 18th, the heart breaking moment with the first sign of blood and cramping.  We were able to get into the Doctor right away and got an ultrasound and blood test, it was confirmed that I was miscarrying, but they needed to check my HCG levels to be sure.
Many people have gone through this, but no one can really prepare you for the emotion of it all.  Things I want to remember about this time, is that God is very near to the broken hearted....I know that through the years of being a Christian, so many verses have lost their meaning because of overuse or the weird Christian phrases and tshirts that pop up all over the place.  "As the deer pants for water, so my soul longs for you." As a deer is searching and yearning for water because it's about to die without it, it is the same with my soul, I am needing to drink water that satisfies and I need it soon or I will not survive.

Now we move forward to January 29th, my 27th birthday, and we find out that my HCG levels have been slowly rising indicating that I have an ectopic pregnancy.  Meaning that the fetus has attached itself to the wall of my Fallopian tube and had started growing outside the uterus. Many people don't find out they have an ectopic pregnancy until they are hovered over in pain in the ER because their fallopian tube has burst and they are bleeding out.  I am so lucky that the doctors were able to catch it in time before it became deadly to me. So, January 31st I had surgery to remove the fetus from the tube. The doctor said that it was very close to rupturing but they got it in time and saved the tube as well. So currently, I'm sitting here, 2 days later, hyped up on pain medicine recounting the past month.  I am remembering it because there are lessons God is teaching me that I would not have learned any other way.

I am weary, I am tired, this journey has been unlike anything I have ever gone through.... I would like to say that I never once doubted God, I never once said "why me?" but it's not true. I go through high moments of strength and excitement for the Lords plan and Gods character and then moments of low, weakness and doubt and discontentment and ready to be done with all this.... Even now, there are days I want him to come and redeem, I want him to come and restore things, but if I'm honest, I really just want him to come so I'll be comfortable. I want to be out of pain. In this I wrestle, because I fail to want him for who he is. My entitled little selfish heart wants all the pain to go away instead of wanting God, instead of looking at him as the object of my hope. 

The biggest lessons I have learned are about joy, hope and suffering  In the world's eyes these are extreme opposites, but with God, there is peace in suffering and joy and hope in pain.  Don't hear me wrong....happiness and joy are two different things. I'm not happy to be going through this, I'm not happy that I'm in pain, but I have hope of things so much greater than what I'm going through and so much greater than my pain that my hope results in joy. I am joyous that the one who goes before me and walks beside me is strong enough to hold me.  Strong enough to handle me doubt, strong enough to lean on.  I have peace and joy because I know that seeing God here and now, is better than anything this world has to offer.


 As long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible. Joy is always possible. Whenever, meaning—now; wherever, meaning—here. The holy grail of joy is not in some exotic location or some emotional mountain peak experience. The joy wonder could be here! Here, in the messy, piercing ache of now, joy might be—unbelievably—possible! The only place we need see before we die is this place of seeing God, here and now.

February 2, 2014

Birthday Fun!

My birthday seems to be happening all week!  My favorite place to eat in Vegas is an All-You-Can-Eat Sushi bar....and Kyle's parents took us out on Friday and after we ate all that we could eat...we took a few laps around the restaurant and went for round 2!
Then, Monday, My friend took me to watch Mystere a Vegas cirque du soleil show!!  It was so cool because she works for Le Reve and we got to go before hand to do a tour of the set and see all the behind the scene things of the show! No photography....but you know what a rule follower I am!
 Then for my actual birthday day I woke up around 4am to the smell of pancakes cooking, Kyle rushed in saying he had to go to work early and would make up forgetting my birthday to me later in the day. He made pancakes so I should be thankful for that right?  I grumbled and shook it off because I didn't have much expectation for the day anyways. I proceeded to get phone calls and text messages and videos and flower deliveries and edible arrangements all before I headed to work for the day...I was blown away by all the love...thinking to myself, who cares if Kyle forgot, maybe this day won't be so bad after all!  Then as I was driving to work, I noticed all these white posters taped to the light poles down the major street I drive everyday....my curiosity got the best of me....turns out my husband didn't have to go to work early and he didn't forget my birthday, he was up at 4am posting an entire poem...one word in bubble letters on each poster down the entire block. It said "4 years ago we said yes to maybe, 1 year ago we said yes to I Do, Dondi, my love, happy birthday to you!"  Yay, he won the game. He proceed to just surprise me all day with notes and my favorite food and a movie. Maybe 27 won't be so bad after all.

January 21, 2014

Oceanside

This weekend, Kyle and I went to the coast of California and stayed at this little cottage that looked out to the ocean.  We were able to eat Chik-fil-a and watch a whole school of dolphins play in the waves.
Chik-Fil-A, Ordered 3 chicken sandwiches, 2 chicken nuggets and 4 waffle fries


Outside our little house


With nothing in our way from our back porch to the water except the sand, we sat and watched the tide come in.  Something we talked about was the power of the moon.  How the moon is able to create low tide and high tide, and disrupt the power of Earth's gravity to accelerate the water towards itself.  The funny thing about the moon is it seems magnificent until it's compared to the sun.  The only reason the moon even gives out light is because of its reflection off the sun's rays.  I was thinking about this today while going through some tough things this week.  Suffering and pain, like the moon, seems powerful and unstoppable, until it's compared to the power of the sun/Son.  My friend sent me a few quotes that have been comfort to my soul.
 "God didn't bring us this far and then forget our names. He knows what we don't understand and understands what we don't know" - Bob Goff

"His love is deepest in deepest waters. "When you pass through the waters, *I will be with you*" Isa. 43:2"- Ann Voskamp


"Every mountain that every Christian ever faces, the Lord levels with sufficient grace. He will provide." -Ann Voskamp

"God's comfort always outweighs our suffering. (2 Cor. 1:3-5)" David Platt

"Good news: the King who is sovereign over suffering is also familiar with suffering. (Heb. 2:17-18)" David Platt

"Faith never denies the reality of our experience. Faith believes in & calls upon the one who is greater than the reality of our experience." Christine Caine

"When we've been bruised, broken, crushed, wounded or shattered, oil is produced that can be poured out to bring healing! Anointing has a price" Christine Caine

"God only allows pain if He’s allowing something new to be born." - Ann Voskamp

"You pull in your life and you see that though you felt ripped open -- the net actually didn’t tear." Ann Voskamp