Yet another...Peanut Update!

Less than one month...woo hoo! We are officially 37 weeks (almost 38!), which means little peanut probably isn't very little anymore and will be arriving shortly.

November 20, 2011: 37 weeks

November 20, 2011: 30 weeks

At our last doctor's appointment the doctor estimated that peanut was around six pounds. He also said he wasn't worried about him "fitting" through my pelvis, which was a huge relief! Also (and sorry for those who would rather be spared the details) I was already 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced! I was extremely happy to hear that. 2 out of 10 centimeters down and I didn't even have to work for them? I'll take it.

We are still working on names and instead of the list getting shorter, it just keeps getting longer! We're having a little bit of a rough time :) We've put the list on the fridge and take votes each day on the ones we like best and like least. Hopefully, by the time he comes home from the hospital he'll be something other than peanut.

Other than the occasional fainting spell and massive acid reflux attacks, I'm doing really well. I can't decide if I'm uncomfortable enough that I'd rather have him here already or if I'm a little too scared/anxious/nervous for when he actually comes and would rather stick it out. It's a tough call :) But all in all, things are happy and healthy in our neck of the woods and we are so excited to welcome our little one so soon!

Peanut Update!

Week 36! We're officially one measly little month from meeting our little guy :) I can't believe it. We are definitely getting nervous/excited/anxious. We bought our first box of diapers and wipes a few weeks ago and it made it more real than ever.

November 13, 2011: 36 Weeks

We are currently taking a birthing class, which has been super helpful. I'm a little less worried about the whole labor and delivery portion of our little guy. It still amazes me that our Heavenly Father has blessed us with the ability to create life. What a marvelous blessing :)

November 13, 2011: 36 Weeks

Peanut Update!

Oh my goodness, oh my goodness...it's getting so close! His due date is one month from tomorrow!

November 6, 2011: 34/35 weeks

November 6, 2011: 34/35 weeks

This past Saturday, Chuck and I took a trip to the Timpanogos Regional Hospital where little peanut will make his debut! We got to check out the labor and delivery rooms as well as the postpartum rooms, talk to the nurses, pre-register and put together a "visitor's list." Everyone was super nice and accommodating. It was comforting to know exactly where it was, how to get there, parking, what to do when we come in, etc. I'm pretty sure I'll be grumpy enough as it is when we are going in, no need to add the stress of not knowing anything about the facility ;)

We've rearranged our bedroom again (I think for the last time!) and found out just how well we can utilize the space in our apartment :)

Peanut seems to be as happy and as healthy as ever. His kicking has become more like rearranging. He doesn't have as much room to really wind up anymore so he just scoots around trying to make more space for himself (mostly by sticking his bum up--it's really cute). As he keeps growing, that acid reflux has come back in full swing, but just at nighttime. The past few nights I've woken up every hour to shove more Tums down my throat. When that doesn't work I usually just prop my pillows up and sleep in a sitting position. I can't tell you how excited I am for my esophagus to stop all this igniting on fire business and just go back to normal.

All in all we are super excited and anxious to meet our little guy :)

A little side note: If you'd like to be on our hospital visiting list, just let us know!

Peanut Update!

October 26, 2011: 33 weeks

33 weeks and counting...or maybe 34 weeks?

Chuck and I found out at the doctor today that even though I'm measuring a little small, they still stick to the original due date that was determined at the beginning of the pregnancy. Who knew? That means little peanut is due on December 7th! Yay! That doesn't mean he won't come a little late, but I was excited to know that we are potentially closer than we originally thought to welcoming little peanut into the world :)

October 26, 2011: 33 weeks

I can't believe how close we are to meeting our son. It's extremely exciting/a little nerve-racking. I want to remember all the fun little things about this time:

1. He always likes to squirm around in the mornings when I wake up. I'm guessing he's trying to keep me from pressing the snooze button for the fourteenth time :) 
2. Yesterday he kicked me so hard that I almost lost my pen while I was writing :)
3. When Chuck put his new headphones on my belly with classical music he started moving around a lot. Hopefully that means he likes it!
4. Sometimes he kicks my right ribs and man, he's strong. However, he's never kicked me that hard on the left side.
5. He gets the hiccups at least once a week and it's just so adorable.
6. His heart rate is a steady 130 right now. At the beginning of my pregnancy it was 154.
7. He's a pretty shy guy. First, when we went to get the ultrasound to find out his gender, he kept his legs crossed for almost ten minutes. In fact, the only way we found out his gender at all was because he flipped so his bum faced out, but still crossing those legs! Also, whenever anyone puts their hand on my belly to feel him move it seems like he's a little shy to perform. Even if he has been punching around like a maniac, he's quiet for a few minutes before he'll let anyone know how sweet his left hook is :)

I never thought I would hit that nesting stage that everyone tells me about, mainly because we don't really have much space to "nest." However, Chuck and I rearranged our whole bedroom last night, brought out our winter clothes and put away our summer ones, put together the awesome swing Tam and Greg sent to us, and organized baby clothes into dresser drawers. Our house is still a mess, but I think we've made enough room for our little guy to sleep in our room :)

Blessings galore.

I'm the financial worry worm of the family. No surprise there, right? So, as we've been getting closer and closer to little peanut's big debut, I've become more and more anxious about just how we will make ends meet. Well, just like Chuck always says, "Everything will work out." Thanks to so many wonderful people, we have truly been blessed financially in the last couple of months.

1. Papa Woods.

When we first found out that we were pregnant, I was just graduating from BYU and consequently losing health insurance ((bad timing, I know). We had applied to a few health insurance companies, but they denied me because I was already pregnant (darn those pre-existing condition clauses). We tried Medicaid, but weren't able to get any response from them before we left for Fiji. So, we were in a bit of a pickle.

Thanks to Obama-care and my dad's efforts, I was able to hop onto my Dad's health insurance at no additional cost. I make it sound like an easy process, but my dad went through a lot of work and even changed his plan so that I could get affordable care in Utah, not just Kentucky. So, thanks Papa for keeping us insured in one of the most important times!

AND as my birthday gift, my dad offered to pay for my flight to Kentucky for Laura's wedding (this weekend!). Pretty generous birthday gift. Thanks, Dad :)

2. Tammy and Greg Adams.

Tam and Greg just had adorable little Grant on January 2, 2010.

Adorable baby Grant :)

Consequently, they have so graciously offered us loads of baby gear. I'm not just talking baby clothes (extremely cute baby clothes that I look through almost every week) and burp clothes, but a swing, her boppy, their stroller...things that they could have sold, but decided to give to us instead. Thanks Tam and Greg for clothing our soon-to-be son and so much more :)

3. HELP International.

Chuck and I had planned a big trip to New Zealand and Australia after our Fiji excursion. Since HELP pays for our direct flights to Fiji, we just purchased the entire trip (LA to Fiji, Fiji to NZ, NZ to Aus, Aus, NZ and NZ back to LA) through HELP. The cost of the extra flights were surprisingly only around $400/person. We told HELP that we would just deduct that amount ($800 total) out of our final paychecks when we got back.

Chuck's sweet grandma, Twilla Hancock, passed away just days before we were to fly to New Zealand. After a lot of prayers and discussion, we both decided to cut off our trip and head straight back home to attend her funeral. Luckily, we were able to change the flights with no additional costs whatsoever-a major blessing that we weren't expecting. We made it back just in time to spend a wonderful week with the Krebs family and to celebrate Grandma Hancock's life.

The Krebs Family with Grandpa Hancock at Grandma Hancock's funeral

When we returned to Provo, we went into the HELP office to return the various items we had used over the course of the summer (laptop, phones, etc.). The directors asked us just how much extra we owed them for our flights. When we told them that it was around $800 dollars, they dismissed it and told us not to worry about it. Yet another incredible blessing.

4. Corinda Krebs.

Corinda, who happens to be about 3 weeks behind me in her own pregnancy, offered to host and plan a baby shower (with the help of Momma Krebs and Momma Woods and a few others) while we will be in Kentucky. How sweet!

5. Momma Woods.

As we've started to look around more seriously at baby gear and ask other women and couples tons of questions about what's worth it and what's not, we were a little overwhelmed. Momma Woods has graciously offered to get our very first crib for us. Not that it will fit into the place we live now, but she said she'll "hold it" until we find a place where little peanut can have his own room. Thanks, mom!

Not only that, but she has offered to let Chuck and I use her "companion certificate" (a reward through Delta Airlines that allows you to purchase one ticket and then a companion ticket on the same flight for only $99) for our flights home for Christmas. Thanks momma for helping us out more than you know.

5. Medicaid.

Just today we found out that if we apply for medicaid as soon as little peanut is born, Medicaid will pay for 100% of the baby's hospital bill plus appointments, etc. up until age 6. Holy cow!

So, as you can see...we're a pretty blessed little family if ya ask me. And just like Chuck always says, "Everything will always work out." In fact, President Hinckley says it a little better, "It isn’t as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don’t worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. … If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers."

Just gotta have a little faith (and some really wonderful family and friends ;) ).

Peanut Update :)

We're 30 weeks (tomorrow marks 31weeks) and we are getting super anxious for little peanut to arrive! We had an appointment today and heard his little heartbeat again (always makes me so happy!) and everything seems to be right on track :)

October 8, 2010: 30 weeks

Last night, for about the thirty-seventh time, Chuck asked little peanut if he could just hurry up and get here. I argued that his little brain and organs are growing and we don't want him to skip that! Chuck promptly reminded me that I was six weeks early and my brain turned out just fine (according to him at least). Touche. 

Another interesting anecdote, I've taken to fainting lately. Only twice...in the past two days, one of which occurred while I was visiting someone that I had just met (talk about embarrassing moments) Luckily, both mom and OB doc gave me some advice to keep this to a minimum. Apparently, hypoglycemic episodes are pretty common in pregnancy and as long as I eat every 2 hours, I should be able to keep them from happening too frequently. The doctor just prescribed more eating...could life get any better? So no worries, we're both doing just fine :)

Chuck did say he would be more worried if I wasn't such a fainter already. Maybe it just runs in the genes...

Baby Krebs

Check out the update on Baby Krebs.

That is all :)

The Bump

Pregnancy continues to fascinate me. I'm amazed that God has blessed us with the ability to create life. His trust in us is astonishing. It only makes me more anxious to live up to what He can see in me.

Little peanut continues to grow and move and it's making me more and more anxious to meet him! We haven't hardly posted any pregnancy photos, so I'll give you guys a little timeline of how I've grown in the past six months.

May 21, 2011: 10 Weeks

July 1, 2011: 16 weeks

July 16, 2011: 19 weeks

July 29, 2011: 21 weeks

August 7, 2011: 22 weeks

August 20, 2011: 24 weeks

September 25, 2011: 28 weeks

September 25, 2011: Happy as can be!

Things are going really great so far. Sometimes it still surprises me when I look in the mirror and all of a sudden there is a baby in my tummy! Hopefully I don't freak out in a few months when I  wake up in the morning and there is a baby in my room ; )

My new best friend.

Acid Reflux = the bane of my existence.

Thirty minutes after I put anything in my mouth it feels like my throat is on fire. Luckily, someone brilliant created these tiny chewable tablets that taste like candy and keep me from ripping out my throat.

Since the start of my pregnancy, I have consumed 437 Tums and counting.

Thank you, Tums for saving my life and my sanity.

Hellooo Utah!

Hello beautiful mountains of Utah!

Chuck and I are pleased to announce that we have returned to our lovely basement closet in Provo after one of the most amazing/fun/difficult/crazy experiences of a lifetime. Chuck is already back in school, working at BYU Communications for an internship, serving on the PRSSA board, working in Bradley lab, serving as a Program Director for Community Outreach Day AND being an awesome husband and best friend :) Gotta say, the kid is pretty busy. Which makes my scrapbooking, buying groceries, learning new recipes, sketching, cleaning, watching movies, reading books I've always wanted to read life look a little puny. But hey, to each his own :)

I wanted to post a few pictures from this summer about our fabulous experiences, but since it was such a packed summer, it'll come in installments (hopefully. Keep your fingers crossed that I remember that we even have a blog).

So, as they say, we'll begin at the beginning :)

Approximately a week and a half before we left for Fiji, we found out that we were expecting! Even with all the awesome things that have happened in the past five months, this news is hands down the most exciting/fun/scary/happy/nerve-racking/blessed/joyous that we have to share :)

Five days before we left for Fiji, I graduated from BYU with a Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science and a minor in English. Yay for school! Look for more updates soon when I can figure out this whole photo uploading business :)