Jackson Update!

It's about time I updated everyone on how my family is doing. I especially wanted to write some things about Jackson and how much he has grown! Here are a few things from each month since he has been born. Enjoy!

Born - One month old

 

5 days old. :)

- Jackson figured out that if he waits to go pee right before we change him, he can get pee all over us. I figured out his little plan and just put him on the changing table and waited for him to go before opening the diaper.

- Celebrated Chase’s birthday. 25 years old!!!

- Started smiling for the first time on May 9th

- I had my first mothers day. It was great :)

- We got a new nephew that is only 4 weeks younger than Jackson. They are going to be such close cousins. Baby Graham is so cute!! We got to see him in Boise when Jackson was 4 weeks old.

- Celebrated our Anniversary. 2 years! Go us!!

- Jackson loves the outdoors

- grunts when he poops.

- couldn’t really tell the difference between his cries yet.

always sleeping

Jackson and Graham

Orange baby!

2 months old

- celebrated father’s day

- Jackson got his two month shots and only cried for about a minute, never got a fever, and returned to being the angel of a son that he is. Love this boy.

- We went to Utah to visit my family. My aunt and uncle’s family was going on a mission to Prague and had their farewell one weekend so we got to go there. Carly and the rest of my Springer family got to meet Jackson for the first time. 

- We also went to Henry’s Lake to do some fishing with Chase’s dad and brother. We also went to yellowstone that weekend. It was cold and rainy but beautiful as always :)

- Jackson laughed for the first time and then loved to laugh all the time

- Jackson is a very wiggly boy and loves laying on his stomach.

- We went to a drive in movie with Jackson and he slept through the whole thing! First date night with baby=success!!

Jack-Jack with the Springers

Yellowstone

cutie pie after a bath 

3 months

- Jackson taught himself how to plank while on his belly and to roll himself back over onto his back.

- Jackson started sleeping all the way through the night. Formula Change triggered it?

- Jackson slept through fireworks on the fourth. BEST SLEEPER EVER. We spent the fourth of July in Utah with Chase's family.

- He also discovered what his hands were and found his feet.

- He LOVES to stand up. He can hold himself up against something all by himself!

- He is a quick learner and loves trying to be a big boy. He never likes to lay down in your arms. He has to sit up with you.

- Jackson got blessed by Chase is church is Utah. It was so great having both of our families there. :)

- We went to the ranch with my family again this year. Jackson loved being up in the mountains. He started leaking poop out of his pants a lot that trip and not having a bath tub in our room was not fun...but he slept through the night and we had a great time with my family :) Jackson loved to go on walks in our AMAZING stroller. I would recommend the BOB stroller to anyone. It's the best! I think he mostly enjoyed having my family hold him and play with him. He loves being around people.

- We also went to Red Fish Lake with Chase's family and LOVED it! It was our first time camping in a tent with Jackson and it was crazy but ended up being so much fun. We were there during a forest fire that was in the campgrounds which was intense, but when they cleared it all up we went back to our campsite and enjoyed the lake. Jackson loved to stick his feet in the river and had so much fun sitting in the kayak with Nonnie. We got to use our pack n play a lot this summer and I love it! We just got an inexpensive one but it is perfect!

- I think Jackson got our good skin tone. He tans very easily just like me and Chase. He got a farmers tan at red fish lake.

family picture at the ranch

in the camper at red fish

he loves those water bottles

standing on his own!

baby blessing day

Redfish Lake fire

beautiful mountains at the ranch

Beautiful Redfish Lake

4 months

- Jackson can officially roll onto his belly all by himself...and he does it A LOT!! He tries to roll over while I change him. It makes changing his diaper very difficult. He is now trying to crawl. He is figuring out how to use his knees and feet.

- We moved back to Boise to live with Chase’s parents for a little while to save money and we are loving it! Nothing is better than being able to just go out into a backyard that is as beautiful as my mother-in-laws and enjoy this amazing Boise weather. We really appreciate them letting us stay with them. It's a blast! :)

- Jackson discovered his mouth. He sucks on his lower lip like he is sucking on his binkie. It’s hilarious. He also does this interesting parrot mouth face.

- Jackson’s favorite toys are his caterpillar, his jaguar stuffed animal, his keys, his bunny with the chewable feet, his zebra, ziplock bags, waterbottles, boxes, and anything else that isn't really a toy.

- He loves to watch animated movies. He likes other movies too but they don’t keep his interest for very long.

- He is mimicking words that we say now. It sounds like he is saying hey or hi sometimes.

- He loves being a big boy and sitting up. He doesn’t like to lay down because that means he is sleeping or being changed. He loves to be on his belly or sitting up.

- He loves to look at the leaves on trees. He likes watching them move in the wind.

- He is getting big! Last time we checked he was 15 pounds...but that was a little while ago. He drinks 6 ounces of formula every two hours.

- His hair is growing back a little bit now. He still looks bald though. He must have gotten Chase’s darker hair, because his eyelashes and hair are definitely not like mine were when I was a baby. I was a blondie.

- He LOVES baths. He kicks around and loves the water so much. It’s adorable.

- Jackson is sleeping through the night EVERY night still. :) It's wonderful! He goes to bed around 9 or 9:30 and no later than 10 PM and wakes up no earlier than 7 and usually around 8:30. LOVE IT!

Making cookies

Chase's parents house

funny faces all the time :)

Well that's it for Jackson I think. He is healthy, big, happy, and the cutest baby ever. I am one lucky momma!

As for me and Chase....Chase is working as the general manager for Kopter Krazy (the place he worked as a manager for last year) and is doing such a great job! He is so talented and smart and such a hard worker. He deserved this job and he is now making salary while he is off track until April. It's so great and I am so proud of him. I am a stay-at-home mom. I run errands, and clean, and take care of Jackson...and I love it. :) It makes me happy to take care of my family.

That's all I can really think of right now. Hopefully I didn't leave anything important or fun out. If I did I will edit it in later. Hope you enjoyed reading a little bit about Jackson and our family!

HOSPITAL EXPERIENCE AND FIRST WEEK AS PARENTS

I couldn’t sleep for the last hour before we were supposed to call the hospital at 5:30 AM. I woke up and got in the shower. Chase called the hospital and they told him to be there at 6:30 instead of 7:30. That meant I only got one hour instead of two to shower, do my hair, pack everything up and do my makeup. I finally got ready by 6:30 AM. I was late. Luckily the hospital is only five minutes away. We got there...had to use the emergency exit because it was before hours and got totally lost inside. We eventually made it to the labor and delivery center where we checked in and got our room.

 First thing they had me do was change out of my clothes into the hospital nightgown. It is very immodest. haha The back is completely open...but you get used to showing your bum to everyone. It is a hospital after all. I laid down on the hospital bed and waited for the nurse. We went through a series of boring questions as part of procedure while they stuck the IV in me. Yeah...they had to stick me twice because my skin is thick and the first spot didn’t work. After that I got my blood drawn. No one told me I was going to get stuck by so many needles! Geez. Oh well. The nurse left for a little bit and they monitored me from the front desk. Doctor Evans came in and told me they were a little worried about the baby’s heart rate so they wanted to put an internal monitor on me. Another interesting surprise. It didn’t feel good obviously but it wasn’t too painful. Doctor Evans checked my cervix and broke my water before putting the monitor on the baby. Having your water break is WEIRD. They said I had a lot of clear fluid so that was a good sign. After the internal exam stuff they left us for a little while with pitocin in me and an oxygen mask on my face to help the baby. Nurse came in and helped me go to the bathroom. Weird. After that they said the baby’s heart rate was still weird so she did another exam. That one was a little more painful. They told me that they were going to do an amnionic fluid flush thing inside me to help maybe get the slack on the umbilical chord or the placenta to help him have an easier time during contractions. Eventually it seemed like it was working so they upped my pitocin. Doctor told me that it might be best to get the epidural earlier because my body needed to relax. My contractions finally started hurting so I told the nurse I wanted the epidural. Chase helped me go to the bathroom again for the last time before I got numb. The anesthesiologist was AWESOME! The most painful part was when he numbed the spot that he was going to stick the needle in. I didn't even know they did that. After that I couldn't feel it when he put the really big needle in me to get the anesthesia going. He sprayed some really cold liquids on my back and stuck some tape on me to hold the needle in place. It is probably going to hurt really badly when they rip that stuff off. They laid me down and started the epidural so I would be numb. After they started it, I instantly couldn't feel any more contractions. I could feel my stomach get harder but didn't have any more pain. IT IS SO NICE!!! They propped me up on a pillow on my right side for some reason and laid me totally flat so my blood pressure wouldn't rise. I could finally just relax and try to sleep. The only problem was that every time I tried to sleep I either had a bad headache or later I started feeling nausea after eating some ice chips. And then when I finally started feeling good enough to sleep the nurse would come in to check me. Doctor Allred came in with Nurse Jennifer and checked my cervix again. This time I was a four!! The baby’s head was still high. Doctor Allred said “he is pretty much chilling in your lungs”. hahaha I love these doctors and nurses. They are awesome! Jennifer then double checked to see if he was right and then Doctor Evans came in and did the same. He said that hopefully it keeps progressing and he starts moving down more so we can deliver by 10 PM. My nurses shift was over at 6 PM and she got replaced by nurse Natalie. They are both SUPER nice. Natalie got caught up with what was going on and then she had a fun first job emptying my bladder. Pleasant huh? Chase sat there holding my leg and asked questions about it the whole time. He is so fascinated by this stuff...which is good...because I’d probably be disgusted if I was watching. Then I ate a sucker. I think I finally got some sleep. 

The doctors came back in and checked my cervix around 8:45. Doctor Evans told me that I still wasn’t progressing and the baby’s head was high. He told me that if I still wasn't progressing at 9:45 that it would be best to get a c-section. There was nothing wrong with the baby...just me. He said I could definitely have delivered a big baby if I had progressed more...but it just seemed that my body wasn’t ready or progressing enough to get him out that way. This was my worst fear. Actually I guess my worst fear was that the baby was having problems and would potentially end in a c-section. I had been telling Chase all throughout this pregnancy that I did not want to end up having a c-section. When the doctors left the room, I became overwhelmed and started crying. This had been something I was dreading through my whole pregnancy and if I didn’t progress in the next hour, that nightmare was going to come true. Chase came to my side and asked if he could give me a blessing. He blessed me with comfort and I instantly felt that everything was going to be ok. I knew I was going to have to get that c-section...but all of a sudden I was ok with it. After the blessing Chase, my mom and I had a family prayer. My mom said the most tender, beautiful prayer and I am so glad she was there to do that for me. She has been such a great support to me and I have such a deep respect and love for her. She is the greatest mom. An hour had passed and the doctors came back in. He checked my cervix for the last time and told me exactly what I thought he would. I was going to get a c-section. They took me off of the pitocin, put a longer-lasting catheter in me, gave me a WAY higher dosage of the epidural and some other shots and took me to the surgery room.  There they moved me onto the table and set everything up. I guess they gave me a few other shots because I keep finding bruises on my legs. Chase came in after what seemed like the longest time. They started the surgery and I instantly became tired. I just kept telling myself to stay awake until I saw that baby. Then I could close my eyes. Being barely awake I remember hearing Chase talk to me, shaking uncontrollably from the drugs, and then I finally heard it. Our baby boy was out and crying! 

Jackson David Williams was born on Monday night April 15th 2013 at 10:44 PM via c-section. The nurses moved the sheet down just enough for me to take a quick glance at our little guy and then they took him away. Later I found out he had to be vacuumed out and he was having trouble breathing which is why they took him away. Next thing I knew, they made Chase leave, and I started to fall asleep. They finished sewing me up, put a warm blanket on me to stop my shaking (which didn’t work) and took me to a recovery room where Chase was waiting for me.  He hadn’t seen the baby yet since he was taken to the NICU and had finally gotten to be with me again. I was still shaking and was in and out of sleep. The doctors came in before they were about to go home and checked on me. One of the doctors checked me and with a concerned look on his face told the nurses to get Doctor Evans. All of a sudden I remember a lot of people being in the room but I had no idea what was going on or why. I later found out that I was clotting really badly and had lost a lot of blood so that’s what all the commotion was about. I finally woke up. My shakes were gone, Chase was there, but my baby and my mom were nowhere in sight. A nurse came in and asked Chase if he had seen the baby yet. He said no and was allowed to leave to go see the baby. One of the nurses was being dumb and, even though the baby was fine, wasn’t allowing the baby to come into my room so I could see him. Luckily all of the other nurses thought that was stupid and allowed Chase to come back into the recovery room with our son. 

Greatest moment of my life. He is absolutely perfect in every way and the cutest newborn I have ever seen, which of course I am biased since he is my baby, but I think he is the cutest baby ever. My mom finally got to come in soon after I got the baby to see me and him. Poor mom! She had been waiting for what turned out to be around three hours while I was having surgery and in the recovery room. The next three days in the hospital consisted of A LOT of pain, learning to walk again, taking care of a newborn baby, no sleep, great hospital food, playing games, having Chase bathe me, being extremely happy, and having a speedy recovery. The nurses thought it was amazing how well I did after the surgery. The only thing I could really complain about was the pain in my shoulder. If my breathing was heavy, this ache in my shoulder would make it almost impossible for me to breathe because it hurt so bad. Other than that, the only painful things were getting a bunch of bandages and tape ripped off my body (I will never ever wax my body), getting a couple shots, and having nurses push on my shrinking, sore uterus all day. Other than that, I felt great, I started walking really quickly, was eating fine, and was feeling better much more quickly than anyone expected. We finally got to go home with our little boy on Thursday morning April 18th at around 11 AM. We met with the doctors and Pediatrician right before we left to set up appointments for me and the baby. Our baby had a little Jaundice so the Pediatrician needed us to get some blood tests every day until it went away, and my doctor wanted to see me again in two weeks to see how I was healing up.

 It was so nice taking our baby home. It was just a big relief being in a comfortable environment again...but this time with our son. :) Being a mom so far has been such a great adventure. I know it has only been about a week and a half, but I feel like I have done this forever. Everything comes so naturally when you become a mom and I love everything about it. Our little guy is so great! He only cries when he has a stinky diaper or needs to be fed. When he isn’t crying he just sits there and observes or is sleeping. I can tell he is going to be very smart, just like his dad. He has my earlobes and toes, and has Chase’s hairline, cold hands and feet, and ability to sleep deeply in any environment. I really hope he has Chase’s profile and build too. Man, I have a good looking husband! I hope Jackson looks just like his daddy. My parents and youngest sister were in town the weekend that Jackson came home. It was so great seeing my dad and sister again. I really wished that my other two sisters could have come, but they  had too much going on. My mom went home with them instead of flying like they had planned. It was sad to see her go. She had been here for about a month and I had gotten used to her living with us. I really miss her and loved her company. After they left on Saturday, my in-laws came into town the next day. It was so fun having them there. We played pinochle ALL DAY LONG. I love my in-laws :) I got so lucky to have them in my life. My mother-in-law was so helpful cleaning our apartment while we were taking care of the baby. It’s crazy how everything gets dirty so fast when you are looking after a new family member. I can’t wait to see them again in May and to have my sister-in-laws and brother-in-law meet our baby boy. My sister-in-law Blair is also pregnant with her fourth child. She is having a boy at the beginning of May. I am so excited that our son will have a boy cousin his age!!! :D I was really worried about our boy not having any cousins his age since he is the first baby on my side of the family. It was such a relief to hear that she was having a baby boy too. I am really looking forward to raising our son in such an amazing family. 

Anyways...I should probably wrap up this post. It is VERY long. Sorry! I hope you all enjoyed reading about my hospital experience. If there is anything you were wondering about my experience, please feel free to leave any questions you have on here and I will answer them as best as I can. Thanks for reading! :) 

Here are a couple pictures of our time in the hospital and our first week home. Hope you like them! 

Just got to the hospital

After all the painful shots and the epidural

Chase waiting to come be by my side during the c-section

Finally got to hold our son :) 

Our healthy little boy. Jackson David Williams

Wearing the Billi Blanket (Not sure how to spell it) to get rid of his Jaundice

I need to get more sleep

I would definitely stay up all night if I had to for this little guy :) Love his cute teddy bear outfit! 

Oh so cute :) 

Chase is the greatest dad in the world. 

Our sweet little blessing :) 

Things I have learned during this pregnancy:

1. Patience is a virtue that pregnant women do not have. Now, at 40 weeks pregnant, I would try anything to get this baby out...and I have tried EVERYTHING. You have no idea how hard it is waiting for the day that your child comes into the world. It is much harder than I thought.

2. The methods that you read about online to naturally induce yourself do not work for everyone. I tried absolutely everything, but my body seems to be able to tolerate things well. Last night I tried castor oil as a last resort kind of thing....and.....it didn't work. I went to the bathroom a couple times, didn't feel sick or anything, but the baby just wasn't ready to come. And guess what? I can live with it! I had to try. If I could avoid getting induced then I was going to try it. Now I know that it's just not for me. Don't give me a hard time about it because I might yell at your face. ( I'm an impatient, stressed, and hormonal pregnant woman.)

3. NO ONE should pressure you into having a baby at a certain time. This weekend would have been the perfect weekend to have a baby because my family could have come up from Arizona this weekend  but they can't for the next couple weeks. The only problem with that is...you can't plan when you have a baby! My baby is not ready to come yet and he proved that to me last night with the castor oil. It made me feel horrible that it didn't work...but it shouldn't. I  shouldn't have to feel bad about not having a baby at the time that works for everyone. I want him more than ANYONE else and I can wait. I can't make this baby come any sooner and everyone should understand that.

4. I have had a really great pregnancy! I have never gotten stomach sick, I have had a bunch of energy every day, and have not had any problems with me or the baby the whole time. I have absolutely nothing to complain about. :) My baby has been so great, my body has had a really easy time adjusting to this, and I have been very happy.

5. I have the greatest support EVER. My husband, family, and friends have been there for me throughout this whole thing. I just can't believe how amazing everyone has been. We couldn't be more excited to bring this little one into this world and it makes me so happy to know that the people he will be around are so wonderful. Thank you everyone for the love and support at this time. I also just wanted to say that I am so glad I waited for my husband Chase before I brought this child into the world. Having this baby with him makes everything so much better. He is my best friend, my love, my support, and is going to be the greatest dad. I am so proud of him and what he has accomplished this semester with me being pregnant at home. I couldn't be doing all of this without him. Also, my mom has been so great! She came here a couple weeks ago to be here for me. It has been so nice while Chase is at school or studying to have someone to talk to and be with. It was so great of her to come here and do so much for us. It's going to be so great having my mom here when I have this baby. Being able to talk to a mother, especially when it's your own mom, is a MUST during this time and has been so helpful. I am so incredibly lucky to have the most amazing mom in the world.


Well those are just a few things that I have learned while being pregnant. I hope that all will go well with the delivery process and that it happens soon. This little boy is going to be so loved by everyone around him and I can't wait to finally see him :)

(HOPEFULLY) My Last Update!

How far along?  Week 39!!

Total weight gain: 37 lbs. 

Baby: Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

Maternity clothes? Well lately I have just been wearing my big baggy pants and my cute shirt/robe combo top around the house. I just need to be comfortable and that's what makes me comfy. I have definitely worn out my maternity pants. I only really have two pairs of pants and they are pretty much done now. Good thing I'll be going into labor soon! 

Stretch marks? Stretch marks are so interesting. I definitely have a lot of them now and I'm not ashamed of it either. 

Sleep: Sleeping when you are 39 weeks pregnant is near impossible. At least it is for me. I just end up staying awake until about 2 or 3 AM and then I wake up at 7:30 or 8 because I can't sleep comfortably. I think now that the baby is so big, I just get woken up by every little movement and I can't seem to get the right positioning when I want to lay down. It is HARD and sometimes not even worth it. I have kind of given up on the idea of sleeping well until after he comes. 

Miss anything? I miss working out!!!!! My body still has the great muscle tone underneath that I used to have but now it's just hidden and I WANT IT BACK! I can't wait to start running and lifting heavy weights again. 

Movement: My baby is a crazy active little boy. I swear he can't go a second without moving around and that makes me happy to know that he is healthy. :) It's so funny though. I don't have any extra fat on my belly besides the baby so most of the time my stomach looks lopsided. I feel everything he does and now I can even tell what body parts are where. It's so fascinating!  

Cravings: Never had any cravings, never will.  

Anything make you queasy or sick? I do have a story about me getting queasy just this past week! So I went to the doctor for my check up and the nurse came in and gave me the option of checking my dilation. Of course I said yes! So I stripped down and she came back to check other things and when she came in she said..."Oh yeah, and just so you know...because no one told me...this is a very painful and uncomfortable process. You will probably be very sore and bleed a lot. It's worse than the pap smear." (which I did not have a pleasant experience with) Ummm....WHAT THE?!?! She could have told me that BEFORE I had already gotten undressed to have it done. So she leaves the room and of course her comments made me SUPER nervous. I just all of a sudden got really freaked out, started shaking, and felt very nauseous. The doctor comes in to do the dilation examination, he asks me how I'm doing, does the exam, is done in about 5 seconds, and I didn't have any pain AT ALL. I could have killed that nurse. When he was done, I was really confused and was asking him "Was that it? I expected worse." He said I should expect some blood spotting but that I was done and could leave. I couldn't believe it! Either that lady had a really awful experience when she got her exam or I am just a tough little pregnant woman! Chase thinks I'm just tough. I didn't have ANY spotting and felt perfectly fine after that. But let me tell you...I was not happy with that nurse that day. 

Symptoms: Well...I'm still going to the bathroom constantly, I get randomly frustrated because I don't have my baby yet, and I am ALWAYS hot. 

Wedding ring on or off? My wedding ring is tucked safely away in my jewelry box for the time being. Some people put it on a chain and wear it around their neck, but I love my ring too much to risk losing it. 

Happy or moody most of the time? HAPPY until I think about how close I am to the due date and yet I don't have a baby yet.

Looking forward to: I am looking forward to seeing what our baby looks like. I really hope he looks like the name we chose for him. We finally limited it down to one name and I LOVE it so he'd better look like his name. I am also looking forward to seeing all of my family when they come to see our baby boy. 

Things to Stress About: I think I get stressed sometimes just making sure everything is done. I am so worried about going into labor and not having everything perfect at home before I leave. I want to make sure the apartment is clean and organized when we bring our little guy home.

How is the Husband Doing?: I have the most amazing partner in the whole wide world. I still can't believe how lucky I am to be married to him and to be having his baby. I am so glad I waited for the most amazing eternal companion. He is my best friend who is always there for me and has been such a great support during these past two years of marriage. I am one lucky girl. He wants to see his son and I can't wait to make him a father. He will be the greatest daddy ever and I am so grateful and proud to be his wife.

Other Updates: My mom is in town! :) She is so sweet to have come up here to Rexburg to help me with this whole transition into motherhood. I have the sweetest, most wonderful mom ever and she is such a great help to me. Hopefully she won't get too bored before the baby comes staying with just Chase and I. When you are pregnant and it is snowing outside, you don't do much. I love having her here. :) Other than that, Chase is just finishing up another semester at BYU-I, I just had a great birthday last week(I am 21 years old now! 21, married for two years, and having my first baby. Not too shabby!), and I am ready to see my son. 

Hope you liked the update! 

Pregnancy Update: I'm Full-Term! :)

How far along? 37 Weeks!!

Baby:  Our baby is now FULL TERM!!! My original due date was April 4th but the doctor says I am a week ahead of schedule. This week should have been week 36 but because I am early, it is really week37. :) If I go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb.

Our baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

Maternity clothes? I feel like I am very big now. The high waisted bands on my maternity pants usually weren't see through, but now because my belly is so big you can see through them more. All my clothes still fit though which is great and I am still a healthy pregnancy weight! :) I was so afraid of getting huge or gaining too much weight, but I think I did a great job of maintaining my weight and staying healthy during this pregnancy. 

Stretch marks? The stretch marks on my belly are becoming more apparent. You know what though? At least stretch marks mean that I have never been that big before. That makes me feel a little better :) 

Sleep: Sleeping is getting better. I can't sleep anywhere but my own bed though. I learned that after spending two weekends away with my family. Nothing compares to the comfort of my own bed. I finally just figured out the exact place that my pillows have to be in my bed to make me sleep through the night. 

Miss anything? I miss working out. Once I get working out, I get really addicted to it. I can't wait to take the baby jogging with me and go out and play tennis with Chase or just lift weights again. It's going to be so nice getting back into that mode. I also miss being able to play the piano the way I want to. I am too big to play some of my intense pieces where I go from the top of the keyboard to the bottom quickly. My belly gets in the way of my arms sometimes. haha :) 

Movement: This point in my pregnancy is so fun with his movements. He is getting big and my belly isn't getting much bigger so I feel EVERYTHING. Now instead of just feeling tiny little movements or kicks, my entire belly moves and I can feel body parts and everything. It is so amazing how a little person can grow in such a small space! 

Cravings: I am craving the chance to see my little boy. I just want to hold him in my arms and see his cute little face so badly. This last month of waiting is going to be very hard. I hope he comes soon.

Symptoms: I'm starting to feel the baby move a lot lower in my stomach now. It's actually really uncomfortable. Now when he moves down low, it can be a little contraction painful in my pelvic area. 

Wedding ring on or off? I don't feel too bad about my ring not fitting. A lot of women get very swollen and big in the hands, feet and face during pregnancy. I have been SO lucky and have not gotten any bigger in my face, hands and feet. I just don't wear my wedding ring because my body temperature is so hot that it is getting a little hard to remove my ring. I just replaced it with a bigger one though. 

Happy or moody most of the time? I am the happiest woman in the whole world. I have the most amazing husband, I have a wonderful home, I have the most amazing family and friends ever, and I am about to be a mother to an angel from heaven. You know...some women are terrified of giving birth and going through that pain. I definitely was afraid of giving birth before I got pregnant, but now that I am going to be a mother and bring a baby into the world I know that I will do absolutely anything I have to and go through any pain to get this baby. I'm definitely not going to go all natural during labor, but if I had to I would and I wouldn't complain. It's worth it.

Looking forward to: THIS MONTH!!! MARCH IS FINALLY HERE!! :D And that means that I get to see my family, I turn 21, and I get to be a mom. 

Things to Stress About: Getting everything I need to done before the baby comes. I swear there is always something that I want to do, but I can't do everything. We bought everything for the baby and have everything set up, but I feel like I'm always forgetting to do something. Who knew I could be so stressed when I'm not in school or anything? It's weird. 

How is the Husband Doing?: Chase is so excited to be a father. We just realized the other day that we will actually get to celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day this year! :) That got us even more excited. Chase is busy with schoolwork, and taking care of me. He is such an amazing husband. It is the greatest thing being married to your best friend. I can't believe I got so lucky to have him in my life. I couldn't have asked for a better partner to go through this with. He has been a great support to me. 

That's it as far as my pregnancy update goes. I hope you all enjoyed reading this. Hopefully the next time I update this blog, I'll have a labor story to talk about. :) 

AND...ANOTHER PREGNANCY UPDATE!

AND...ANOTHER PREGNANCY UPDATE!

How far along? 34 Weeks!!

Baby: Our baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers — which will help regulate his body temperature once he's born — are filling him out, making him rounder. His skin is also smoother than ever. His central nervous system is maturing and his lungs are continuing to mature as well. Luckily I am at the point where I can stop worrying about preterm labor. Babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies. 

Maternity clothes? I am getting so much bigger lately! My maternity clothes fit perfectly, whereas before they looked big on me because I had so much extra room.

Stretch marks? I started with just some stretch marks on my sides only, but now they are moving to my stomach as I get bigger.

Sleep: I have given up on sleeping. I never get comfortable and end up going to bed really late and waking up earlier than usual because it just isn't comfortable to sleep in my bed anymore. I actually sleep better on the couch which is really weird.  

Miss anything? I was looking at my old clothes and pictures of myself from before I was pregnant and it made me really miss my old body. I have gained around 30 pounds now and I just can't wait to start losing the weight and getting to feel like my old self again. 

Movement: He is still moving a lot which is great. He is such an active little baby which makes me very happy. I think that has been the greatest part of this pregnancy. Feeling your baby move in your stomach is the coolest feeling and makes me so happy.

Cravings: You know what? I have had a lot of people ask me what my cravings have been, but honestly...I haven't had any! All pregnancies are different. I have heard of some women craving certain foods and that's all they will eat, but I'm not picky and haven't had any weird food cravings.  

Symptoms: I had no idea I could go to the bathroom this much. When a baby is sitting on your bladder, it is hard not to go to the bathroom every half an hour. I'm also starting to really feel pregnant when I walk and sleep. My lower area is expanding which has made my pelvic region and my tail bone VERY sore. This makes it hard to walk sometimes. I also can't sleep on my right side or on my back anymore because of how big the baby is. He crushes my lungs and makes it hard to breath in those positions. That's what makes sleeping super hard. I like to move around, but I am limited to just my left side.

Wedding ring on or off? I could still wear my wedding ring if I wanted to, but it is getting a little harder to take off so I decided it was time to put it away until after I have the baby. 

Happy or moody most of the time? I don't think I have ever been so happy in my entire life. I am married to the most incredible man in the world and I am having a son in a month! I could not be happier :) 

Looking forward to: Next month!! I turn 21, my mom is coming to stay with me, and I am going to have our baby!!! March is going to be wonderful. :) 

Things to Stress About: So I went to the doctor last week, and he told me that I am measuring 2 weeks ahead of schedule!!! Everyone is super excited to hear that the baby might be coming earlier, and I am too, but I am nervous about the baby being too big. I am afraid that maybe if I have to get induced early that there might be complications or I might have to get a c-section. Everyone pray for me and pray that I will have an easy, natural labor experience please!

How is the Husband Doing?: hahaha I think Chase is getting anxious. When I tell him to feel the baby moving in my tummy, he is super happy and then gets sad because he just wants the baby out instead of having to feel him in my tummy. He is so excited to be a dad and have a SON! :) 

Other Updates: We just got back from a fun weekend in Utah with my family. My Aunt Shelli hosted a baby shower at her house for me. It was so great to see my whole family there supporting me through this time. I am so lucky to have such amazing individuals in my life. Our baby is going to have such great examples to look up to. We are almost done with all of our baby shopping! We are making a trip to Boise this weekend to see the Williams' and to get all of our last minute items taken care of. Other than that, I am just trying to be a good supportive wife to my hard-working husband who has been working so hard in school and to take care of me, and I'm organizing the apartment to get ready for our little guy. :) I'll let all of you know what the doctor says on March 1st about the due date of the baby. It's coming fast! I can't wait :)