Prepare Yourself for Some Cheese Because...

Today is our first wedding anniversary!!

Thanks to Pinterest, I learned that the traditional theme for the first year gift is paper. Boy, is paper easy to give!

I found this cute idea about making a little "First Year at a Glance" thing, so I made one [and put it in a frame]. I had fun making it, but I had the hardest time narrowing down things to put on it!

We also got Settlers of Catan on a good sale. Cards = Paper.

Paper. Check!

Gosh, we're so traditional. ;)

There is almost nothing that is fun to do when you are 38 weeks pregnant, so instead of a trip to India or skydiving, our festivities consisted of walking around some stores and going out to eat. Then we came home for a movie on the couch. It was perfect!

I couldn't be happier, and Logan insists that his life is pretty alright too.

Picture flashback time.

Note: The best thing about this picture is that it makes it look like Logan was the bully, when I was the one who shoved the cake in his face first. Haha I'm such a victim. ;)

We started this awesome journey a year ago, and we still even like each other. It's great! It is going to be a wonderful eternity. We are grateful everyday that we started our life together the best way we could. We're so excited to add a new little friend to our family in the next couple of weeks!

What else can I say? I love him more than I did a year ago. We're very blessed.

Remember, marriages can and DO last when we do our homework and keep them strong, alive, and bright. I'm sure I'll understand the wisdom of this even more down the road. For now, we're just enjoying each step. :)

Packing for the Hospital is Exactly Like Packing for China

Warning: This post contains a soap box rant on hospital bags that may or may not be completely irrational.

Also, I've never been to China.


So, we're still breach at 38 weeks (tomorrow). We went in last Monday morning for the inversion, and learned some more about the conditions in the womb. She is not frank breach. She is actually complete breach, which means feet down and head up. We decided that because of this and a few other factors, the risk was too high, and we didn't want to risk breaking our little baby's bones before she can be out here breaking them some fun way [like jumping off of a toilet]... <--True story from the life of yours truly, by the way.

So, we are waiting, hoping, and praying that she will decide to flip around on her own. I know she is perfectly capable of it because she is a crazy ninja baby. However, we do realize that sometimes there is a very good reason that a baby is breach. We ultimately want her to be happy and healthy, and we have accepted that a C section might be the very best way to give her that. Man, isn't prayer great?! It helps us do hard things and feel peace about things that used to make us want to throw in the towel.

So at Wednesday's doctor appointment, we'll decide if we want to schedule a C section for 39 or 40 weeks. There are pros and cons to both. 40 gives her more time to plump up and develop, and also more time to flip on her own. 39 is good too because if my water breaks while she is breach, there is a higher chance of a prolapsed cord, which is a very scary thought to me. [Warning: My knowledge on this subject is fairly limited. I'm not sure I want to know more about it right now though. Don't enlighten me.]

How I understand a prolapsed cord: The cord slips out when the water breaks and it can often mean you lose the baby. It's bad.

So, we're still deciding her potential Birthday. :) We'll keep you posted.


But, I feel like the experience of going to the hospital expecting to do an inversion had some major positives to it. One of the biggest to me is that we had a kind of trial run at packing a hospital bag. And I'm going to tell you something that may shock you.

Those "What to Pack" lists all over Pinterest are stupid.

I know, I know. Here you thought I was a nice pregnant lady who doesn't say things like stupid, but I've found that since I've been pregnant, I'm sort of very mean in my head.

I am a very organized person. I've been making a list of things I want to take to the hospital so I wouldn't forget anything [like a toothbrush] when it came time to go. BUT... I had a total breakdown on Sunday night because I thought of all of those lists I had looked at online and started panicking that I wasn't bringing the right things. [What if I NEED a CD player and 3 sets of extra batteries?!?]

Thank goodness for my sweet and patient husband. He sat me down and told me to show him the lists. He went through them one by one and asked if I felt like we needed each of the things on the lists that we didn't have packed. I ended up answering no to everything and stuck with my original list.

Those lists are... dumb... because:

1) They make it seem like people who pack things they didn't end up using are dumb and should probably be made fun of for not predicting exactly how their hospital experience would go and what they would and wouldn't want throughout it.

I never even touched my pink fuzzy socks. I was so stupid to bring them. I'll know better for my next child. I wouldn't suggest them for anyone. Ever. #wasteofspace

2) They make things that are completely and totally personal preference look like essentials. (If I was going on a trip to China, I wouldn't look up a bunch of random people's ideas of what to pack...)

If you don't bring your own toilet paper, you WILL die. The papery hospital paper will probably give you an infection and you'll never have kids again. #sterilizationforfree 

3) They hit vulnerable, hormonal, pregnant ladies with product placement that often makes them feel like they have to go out and buy fancy stuff that they wouldn't even use at home, let alone at the hospital. It's the whole, "If you have this one item, nothing else will matter, you won't feel any pain, and your birthing experience will be a breeze" phenomenon.

I don't know what I would have done without my triple strawberry milkshake banana berry delight body wash. It made my whole recovery go faster. Definitely an essential!! 

This filt-o-rama water bottle is mana from heaven! I don't go anywhere without it--especially the hospital. #iwaspaidformentioningthisbutitotallywouldhavementioneditanyways... 

4) But mostly.... They make it seem like you don't know what you want, but they, a complete stranger that lives across the country from you, obviously know exactly what you'll need.

You NEED to make exactly 3 playlists for different phases of labor and moods you may find yourself in. The baby will remember the music if you play it before they are born and practically walk out of the womb to get to it. #ihavetheperfectplaylistsatthelinkbelowbecausewehavethesametaste 


So, if you're pregnant and panicking about the hospital bag lists, my [probably just as unwanted] advice is that you remember that you are capable of packing for yourself. You've packed for all of the trips you've been on, even if you weren't sure exactly what to expect. If you want to pack 3 pairs of shoes, pack them! No one judged you when you packed them on your trip to China. And you don't have to pack an extra pillow if you're fine with the hospital ones.

Ok. Stepping down from the soapbox now. :)

Note: I wrote that little rant last week when I was in a horrendously sarcastic mood. Logan thought it was ridiculous enough that I should publish it anyways. :) I really do realize that they are suggestions and supposed to be helpful. :) I hope you got a laugh.


In other news, foot and ankle swelling has reared its cankley head the last couple of weeks. Have you seen Ever After? You know that part where Leonardo da Vinci is walking on the lake with his boat shoes?

Here's the clip if you haven't.  Start at 1:19

That's what I feel like sometimes. Including the whole falling over part. ;) Rest and elevation are good.


I have some wonderful news to finish off this silly post! Logan and I filed our taxes without pulling our hair out, killing each other in rage, or turning into terrorists. I know you weren't sure if peaceful tax-filing was still possible, but it is!


Remember, if you can pack for China, you can pack for the hospital. And waistbands are the devil.

Our Breach Little Lady

I am 36 weeks today! This means I am officially starting month 9. Woop!

I went NUTS organizing the nursery yesterday, so it is pretty much all ready any time she decides to grace us with her presence.

Today I have been craving crab and cream cheese wontons (or rangoons), watermelon, glazed doughnuts, Taco Bell's bean burritos, and Sprite.

Everything feels a little swollen and pretty uncomfortable, which means that I am having a pretty normal pregnancy. The carpal tunnel (that really only hurts one of my fingers in my right hand) is my current least favorite symptom.

I'm having contractions pretty much everyday. Just your average practice contractions. It just feels like my belly becomes really tight for a little bit.

I'll try to take a bump picture soon. It's just been quite a long and exhausting day today. I'll tell you what I look like: Pregnant and uncomfortable. ;)


A couple of weeks ago, the doctor felt that little tater was head down. Today at my appointment, we learned that she has flipped around and is now a breach baby. :/ (Of course, this is the one appointment since moving here that Logan wasn't able to come to. Gah!)

She is in the Frank Breach position. This means she is kind of folded in half, bottom down, head and feet up. While this sounds super uncomfortable, it is not really a problem until it comes to labor and delivery time.

So I got to have a 3-hour appointment today. I had a few ultrasounds, an NST, and an AFI. [I really wanted to use the abbreviations to sound cool.]

NST = Non-stress test. They strap a fetal heart monitor to your belly to monitor baby's heart rate, and a [insert name I already forgot here] monitor to monitor contractions. It doesn't hurt. It isn't invasive. You basically lay there for 20 minutes and push a button every time you feel the baby move.

With my ninja baby, I told the lady that I just couldn't push the button every time because she is just a constant mover. Needless to say, she got enough movements in the first, ohhh, 2 minutes or so. :) Everything looks great. And it was pretty cool to hear her heartbeat [and occasional kicks to the monitor] for 20 minutes. And the other monitor confirmed that I am having contractions, which is good. :)

AFI = Amniotic Fluid Index. This is a normal ultrasound where they measure how much fluid you have around the baby. Again. Not painful. Not invasive. Just gooey, as all ultrasounds are.

I have a mid-high amount of fluid, which is probably why she was able to flip around this late in the game. It's nothing to worry about. In fact, it may just make it easier to get her to flip around the way we want her.

Also, while he was ultrasounding, I had the doctor check again and confirm that tater is, in fact, a little lady. And, she is. :) All the pink outfits we have won't go to waste. Whew! [Because we all know that is the most important thing... Haha]

So our options are pretty much:

1) Hope she flips around on her own. I can try old wives tales and things that people swear by to try to get her to move too, I guess.

2) Try an inversion. This is where I go into the hospital in the labor and delivery department and get an IV. Then doc will try to manually turn the baby around. They give you something to soften the uterus a little to make manipulation easier. They don't force it.

There are some risks involved with this. Sometimes this means that you have to have an emergency C-section right there, which is why they do it in the hospital. But, if it works out, I could still have a vaginal birth.

3) Schedule a C-Section for about 39 weeks. This is not my first choice. I'd rather not have a C section if I can avoid it. That being said, we will do what is going to be best for a happy, healthy baby and momma.


So, we'll see if the little ninja decides to flip by Thursday, and make decisions from there. We feel peace about the situation. We don't know how it is going to work out, just that it will according to the Lord's plan. Any prayers and happy thoughts are welcome!


Remember that prayer works, and that if your husband wants a carpet rake for your first anniversary, it's a good sign that you found a keeper. ;)