You're So Vein(y)...

Pregnancy continues to forge ahead. Overall, I have been feeling well. This time it hasn't been quite as easy as it was with James but not bad at all. I am currently 27 weeks along and am just easing my way into 3rd trimester.

The pictures below were taken last week (26weeks). I have many people that comment on how small I am but I sure don't feel small. In fact, last week I had my first feelings of, "I've got 3 months to go! How am I going to get any bigger?!"

The latest and greatest aches and pains I have been experiencing have been varicose veins (thus the title). Lovely, I know. And ironically, I've mainly been getting them on my left calf. It looks awful but has not been too painful yet. They do ache especially when I'm on my feet for a long time but aren't too bad. However, they are starting to get worse. I might start wearing some support socks if they get really bad. My mom got them starting with her second pregnancy and they were really painful for her. I just hope they don't become terribly painful. Anyone have experience with them? Suggestions?

We are getting really excited for baby girl's arrival. I went through a period where I had cold feet about being mom to 2 kids, especially a newborn. But thankfully, I have pretty much gotten over those gitters and am just excited. I've been reading up on labor and delivery a lot and I hope to have a successful VBAC. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much just in case.

Awhile back I mentioned that I was going to be going to a hematologist to address my low platelet issues. I was diagnosed with ITP (Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura), or in other words, low platelets for no explainable reason. Due to this, my doctor thinks that the anesthesiologist will be very hesitant to give me an epidural during labor. Ideally, I'd like to deliver naturally without medication so it is sort of a pro. However, it is always nice to have the option. The biggest downside is if they end up having to take me in for an emergency c-section, they might have to use general anesthesia and I'll be out for the whole delivery. Any suggestions on how you got through labor and delivery without meds?

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

I've been terrible at updating so hopefully this is the beginning of many more updates!

The day after Thanksgiving we decided to put up our Christmas decorations (the few that we have...it didn't take very long). James was in heaven. He really enjoyed everything from the tree box, to the tree, to the ornaments. We tried to put the non breakable items on bottom since we know our little boy well! It turned out looking okay but the top definitely had more ornaments than the bottom.

Big helper!

Throughout the weeks since, all the bottom decorations have come off and eventually we have just put them on the top so the bottom of our tree has nothing on it (except for the pre-lit lights of course). It looks quite funny but you do what you gotta do! The other day I ran to the bathroom while James was playing in the front room. When I came out, I found our tree had been knocked over and one of my favorite ornaments (of course) had shattered. The culprit was standing right by the evidence. I wish I would have gotten a picture but was more concerned about keeping bare feet from stepping on glass. Our tree now has a nice piece of twine connecting it to the window to prevent further occurrences...at least we hope. For some reason he loves to get behind the tree. It is a good thing we love our boy!

Our funny looking Christmas tree

Quick Update

Life is good. I can't believe it is going to be Halloween this weekend! How time flies.

James is getting bigger and continues to be so much fun. I don't know if I am just paying attention more but I've noticed him progressing quite a bit recently. He still doesn't say any "words" but our communication has improved a lot. I can tell him to go get a toy or a book and he knows exactly where to go in the house to get it. He understands so much more than he used to and it is fun to see that he gets it when I tell him things. He has just started to get into books (finally!). We got a book from the library about machines used for work and he loves it. He will bring it to me and Phil for us to read to him. He is especially obsessed with the garbage truck...not sure why. We also have a "my little word" book that has themed pages with pictures falling under those themes. He has discovered the pages that have pictures of things that go (car, plane, helicoptors, tractors, etc). It is so fun to see how much he likes that kind of stuff. It is amazing at how aware he is of his surroundings. Noises that I naturally block out he is quick to point out. Every time a plane flies overhead he points up and tries to find it in the sky.

Some funny happenings with James: The other night we sat down to call John and Becca (Phil's brother) and discovered their contact info had been erased. That is what we get for letting him play with our phone. That same night we were woken up in the middle of the night by our alarm clock (the one we never use because we use our phone alarm instead). Thank you James! It made us laugh.

I have been feeling great. I reached 20weeks yesterday. Half way there! I've been surprised at how tired I still am. I try to catch a nap during the day which helps me immensely! I have started to feel movement and have been surprised at how little I have felt compared with James. I have definitely started to show and have received comments from strangers about expecting (will post some pictures for you Eevi in the near future). My own clothes are starting to not work out so well and I'll have to resort to maternity clothes full time in the near future. I have had several ultrasounds (my doctor just does them at every appointment instead of using the doppler) and so far he confidently thinks it is a girl! We have one more ultrasound in a couple of weeks so we'll see if anything extra decides to appear before then!

The only true "issue" I've had is with a low platelet count. I've actually had low platelets every time my blood has been taken in the past (not being pregnant as well) but never worried much about it (at least not enough to go get it checked out). My doctor wants to make sure everything is okay so I get to go see a Hematologist this next week. It will be interesting to see what happens. Even if they find something wrong, I doubt they will do anything while I'm still pregnant. Yeah for getting to see more doctors...

Phil is great. Loves school but is ready for year 3 and 4 so he can start to be a "doctor" instead of just a "student". He is pretty amazing at how he balances everything out, especially me. He has been training for a marathon and has been doing great. He has been surprised at how much he has enjoyed it. He gets to run 20 miles this next Saturday (I think). I'm not sure when he plans to run this marathon, as he is mapping out his own course and is just running it. I will be the fan club/water girl/finish line party/etc. I'm really proud of him and his determination to do it. When I go running for my few miles, I'm grateful that I don't have to run as far has he does.

So life goes on! Until next post...

What are the odds?

What are the odds?

I happen to be driving down the freeway during one of the worst storms of the year yesterday. Hail, at least the size of marbles, starts pelting my car and is deafening inside. I can't see a thing in front of me and everybody is stopped around me (except for the daring guy in the truck behind me who zig zags around everybody and takes off). My child starts to scream because of the noise. It finally lifts up a bit, enough to increase the speed and continue on my way on the what looks like snow packed freeway. I'm a half mile away from my exit practically under a bridge when traffic comes to a halt again. No one is moving. Time ticks away...it continues raining and because of all the rain, water starts to rise right where I'm at...and not just from the rain but the drains under the bridge have water spewing out of them filling up the "dip" I'm in even faster because of the overload of water . I'm able to move out a little bit due to a tiny bit of movement of cars but none the less, we are still stalled. I get a little nervous thinking, "Is it possible for water to come through my doors?" but dismissing the idea since we should be moving soon, right?

Apparently there were some power lines that were live and sparking that were torn down from the storm right over the freeway right where my exit was. Everyone was completely stuck. I ended up sitting on the freeway for almost 2 hours and yes, my car did fill with water. I thought I was fine until I looked back and saw that there was 2 inches of water on the ground in my backseat area. "What in the world? How did that get there?" since no water was coming through the doors. Apparently, water can seep through the bottom of my car. To make this long story short, my car filled up with water up to the doors. I started to get really nervous when my oil light and check engine light came on. The thoughts of water getting into my engine made me really nervous!

The big positives of the situation?

• People around me were really nice. They started honking to get cars to move up a little bit which helped the water go down about an inch and made my check engine light go off. When another lane started to move before mine, they let me go first to try to get me out of the water.
• James was an angel! He actually fell asleep for the first hour of our stop and then hardly fussed for the next hour (which is truly a miracle since he hates his carseat). Crying babies just don't help my stress level.
• I had my cell phone so I was able to get updates of what was going on a mile in front of me. I was able to make calls to arrange the change of plans of my evening (I had to miss a presidency meeting). Plus, talking to family helped pass the time and ease fears...it just helps to talk things out.
• I was even able to laugh in the middle of the situation. What else could I do? I was completely stuck with no where to go.
• I have AMAZING family that take care of me! After I got off the freeway, I was able to get to my parents where they have a vacuum that sucks up water to try to "clean up" my car. They also have a big garage where we could leave the car with doors open to dry out (since we don't have a garage, I don't trust our neighborhood to just leave my car with open doors or windows.)

What a funny experience for me. Thankfully, I was also able to reach Phil at school to tell him what I was doing to our car while he was gone! I'm so glad everything worked out fine. It could have been so much worse!!

Randy vacuumming out the car

James having fun

A smile for the camera from Steve


Everybody hard at work

One down, two to go!

We are expecting #2 and I am pleased to announce that I have finished the first trimester! With James, the first trimester was a breeze. In fact, the whole pregnancy was pretty darn easy. This time around has been slightly different. I had felt yucky off and on from exactly 4 weeks. I never vomited but just felt nauseous. It would come and go throughout the day and was worse at certain times than others, but was so unpredictable. Isn't it amazing how you can hit that 12-13 week point and all of a sudden, you just feel so much better? I am still tired but am doing fine. I just have to sit down and 'rest' for awhile after being on my feet or I try to sneak in a nap when James is sleeping.

I am due around March 15 which makes me about 14 weeks at this point. It has been interesting preparing for this pregnancy/birth/etc. this time. Going into it, I kind of knew what to expect. However, I've had a much different perspective and attitude towards the finish line. I have spent much more time looking around for doctors. Last time, I just got suggestions from people I knew and then went on my insurance plan and just picked one. Because I had a c-section with James, I've had to put a little more depth in to my research to find a doctor that would fit my needs. First and foremost, I wanted a doctor that was willing to try a VBAC. I want to be able to deliver this baby vaginally if at all possible. I wanted a doctor who is really patient. If they aren't, that would decrease my chances of doing a VBAC.

My choice? A doctor who's office is literally right down the street from our house. It is like a half mile away. How convenient. Yes, he does VBACs. He only has 2 other doctors in his group so my chances of having him deliver me are greater. He is a member of my faith (which isn't the biggest deal, but means he comes from a similar background when it comes to values and beliefs). The biggest downside for me? He's my stake president. Weird? I thought so at first, and still sometimes do since I've only seen him once. But I had a great experience with him at our first appointment. I've also hardly heard anything negative about him. These were some of the thoughts I wrote down about my appointment:


After paper work/blood work, etc. "they took us back to the doctor's actual office, not an exam room, and waited there about 5-10 minutes. He then came in and just talked with us for about 25 minutes. We went over some of the paperwork where he asked questions and also my preference in certain things like hospitals. The thing I loved was that he brought up having a vaginal delivery, not me. He said, 'Because you had a c-section, you have the option of trying to have a vaginal delivery for this one or to have another c-section.' I was blown away that I didn't have to ask about it. He then went into statistics, risks, etc. of a VBAC and asked me what I wanted. He was very clear and answered questions thoroughly."


I still get a little nervous about going and seeing him (which part of it is just having to go see doctors, period...kind of ironic since my husband will be one some day!). I also dread seeing him at church, which doesn't happen very often, but still happens. Hopefully as the pregnancy progresses and appointments become more frequent, it will get better.

And here is the picture of the little one. We will put a better one up when he grows a little more. (and for clarification, we always say "he" until proven otherwise just so it isn't "it", so don't get too excited.)

Also, I've been trying to check out some good pregnancy books. Any suggestions?

Picture dump and Summer Review

I don't know why it is such a chore for me to post but it is. And it isn't even the posting itself, but the thought of posting, uploading pictures, formatting, etc. Once I get going, it really isn't so bad (except when I accidently erase something that I have spent so much time on). I've put it off and finally decided there was no more procrastinating. So here are a few posts about our summer.

It rained here a few weeks ago so we decided to just let James go play in the rain in the nude (with a diaper of course). Phil and I didn't want to get wet so we walked around with the umbrella and let James play in the water. He was in heaven!

James has been smiling this crooked smile lately. It really makes us laugh. He does it a lot when he isn't very happy with us. It shows his 4 teeth and we think it is pretty cute!

I thought it seemed awfully quiet!

UTAH TRIP

Day 1

In mid-July we left to go to Utah for vacation. Since James is not a great traveler we decided to take the trip in a few days. The first day we left mid-morning and stopped at Montezuma's castle. It has been years since I have been there and I don't think Phil had ever been so we made a trip there. We lucked out and didn't have to pay to get in since the rangers were at a lecture which was perfect since we were only there 30minutes. It is pretty amazing what the Native Americans did!

Our little family

Steve, Phil, and James

In Cameron by the Little Colorado River

Day 2

We spent the night at my cousin, Rachelle's home, in Panguitch which really helped break up the trip. the next day, Phil, James, and I went to Bryce Canyon and went for a 6.5 mile hike. We started at Sunset Point, had planned on hiking down the Wallstreet trail but it was closed due to falling rocks so went down the Navajo Trail, did the Peekaboo Loop, and then hiked to the Queen's garden to exit to Sunrise Point. We then walked the half mile back to Sunset Point where our car was. It was awesome. It was so beautiful and the weather was perfect. It was a little warmer than I had expected but we had some good cloud cover off and on through the hike which was so nice. James did amazing. He just hung out in his hiking backpack, took a little snooze half way through, and hung out some more. What a trooper!

(The pictures are backwards...first is the end, end is the beginning)

And still happy at the end. (Probably just so glad to not be stuck in a car!)

The After Picture. We made it!

The Before Picture

After our hike we drove to Lehi where my brother, Ray, lives. We got to go to Noah's last Coach pitch baseball game which was fun and then we stayed the night at their house.

The rest of the trip:

Wilson Whoopee Reunion 2010

At the Wilson reunion we got to do some Minute to Win it games. They were probably more fun to watch than actually do! Later, we went up to Peteetneet School (where my mom went to elementary school) and got to play on a giant slip-n-slide. It was so fun. I wish I would have gotten more pictures!

Pierce, Ray, Phil, and James

My mom's siblings from back to front (John, Janette, Judy, Mom, Charlie)

James finally crashed and thanks to Dad for holding him! He was so tired!

HIKING THE GORGE

We went for a little hike with my Aunt Judy, Uncle Dave, Aunt Janette, and my mom. It was to a little waterfall called the Gorge (is that right, Judy?). It was a fun little hike!

Judy, mom, Janette

Janette, Mom, Dave, Judy, Phil, James, Me

Other pics:
Pictures with Grandpa Wilson. I was so glad Grandpa let me take these!

Eating rootbeer floats with Aunt Janette. She became his best friend!

LeSueur Fun!

For the July LeSueur Sunday where we gather with all of Phil's siblings, we were able to take advantage of my parent's home on a Saturday evening and go swimming. It was lots of fun. We went swimming, visited, ate, and visited some more. We kinda like those guys!

Drew had some splash making skills!

Isn't this an awesome picture of Derek?

I love this picture! Andersen was so sweet and shared his watermelon with James!