So I'm now just waiting for Marlee to arrive. Trying to jump start labor on my own by walking, and letting gravity take it's role. But she still hasn't budged :/ I am feeling a little sick this morning, so we'll see where that takes us! Hopefully we'll be on our way to the hospital in no time! I'm ready to have this baby!!! My mom and my sister are finally here and my husband is doing great! So now is the perfect time for baby to come!! I just hope she comes into this world healthy and strong! My mom and Hallie have been such a HUGE help around the house lately, and I couldn't be more appreciative of them!! They have made the last couple days really soothing for me. It's nice to know people out there care for you! I've known this of course since day one :) My mom is my ultimate HERO! :D She has the biggest heart, and is always there for me! I can't wait to have her join us in the labor room where she'll see her FIRST grand daughter be born!! Oh the adventures we're gonna take soon are going to be amazing!!! 


Symptoms: 
I have been having small contractions that are probably Braxton Hicks contractions, so I'm not too excited when I feel them because I know they'll just stop in a few minutes and won't come back until later. So I'm just waiting for those consistent painful contractions....I never thought I'd be looking forward to contractions. I'm sure all those women out there who have already had a baby are looking at me like I'm crazy! ha ha But I'm sure they went through this "waiting" process and hated it as much as I did! :) Anyways, I'm going to go do some more research on how to induce labor at home, wish me luck! 

Well we have some GOOD news and some bad news. I'm only 38 weeks along, but we found out today, that Marlee is 8 pounds 6 ounces already! My doctor is a little worried on her size giving me trouble for a vaginal birth, so we might be inducing next week, or the following week depending on what they think. She is sending our ultra sound to the hospital to get a second opinion, and then she'll be contacting us to let us know if they want us to come in to induce labor, or if we can hold off and just have a normal labor. I'm betting we have to induce, because Marlee is still growing! So in another week, she probably will gain another pound! It's crazy to think that I have an 8 pound bowling ball in my tummy right now! People were commenting on my belly just the other day saying how small it was and how small my baby was going to be! I was sure they were all right! But now I know that Marlee is taking all she can from me ha ha ! I'm super nervous as to whether she'll fit into her newborn clothes or not! This will be interesting to find out! Let's hope so, because I bought her a ton of newborn clothes (Probably a mistake I'm not going to make again!) Tip of the day to new mothers: DON'T BUY A TON OF NEWBORN CLOTHES You never know if they'll come out BIG or small...but you know they will continue to grow, so getting clothes that are around the sizes 0-3 is smartest! :) 

Anyway, lets hope everything goes well! I'm really praying hard that she comes safe and sound and is perfectly healthy! I wasn't expecting a BIG baby, but I'm COMPLETELY FINE as long as she's healthy and strong! :) I hear bigger babies are healthy babies, so I'm fine with that! :) 

Week 38: (2 weeks left) 


Well it's almost here and I can hardly believe it! My mom and sister will be joining us this Sunday night and will be staying with us until August 8th. I am so excited they will be here for this big adventure I'm on! I'm mostly excited that I will have "girls" to talk to about this instead of my husband (No offense to you men out there, but you just DON'T KNOW what we're feeling ha ha ) I am confident though that my husband knows a lot more then the typical guy about pregnancy, birth and parenting! Now this will all be tested when she arrives of course! We will see...


Symptoms: 
Well I can't sleep anymore! Heart Burn and Pelvic bone pain, and just pure anxiety is eating at my sleep time. Although it's a good practice run before Marlee arrives, I would like to have a few weeks off before all the chaos hits me! I'm pretty sure Marlee has "dropped" because I can certainly breathe better, and walk easier for some reason. Although the pee breaks have stepped up a notch. Instead of every 30 minutes going to the bathroom, it's now around every 5. One other thing, I'm getting hot flashes all the time, and they are no fun! You start to sweat and look like crap when you were just fine 5 seconds before that. It's great fun...not! 


Now I'm just waiting for her to come! Every morning I wake up thinking, Is this the day? And every night I go to sleep thinking, will I wake up tonight with contractions/water breaking? It's all a mystery now! I believe I am ready for her to come, but at the same time I am a nervous wreck! I'm scared about giving birth, and if my water breaks in public, and I'm also scared that something might go wrong. As any mother in her final weeks of pregnancy, I feel like I'm at a norm when I say I'm worried about everything! 


Monterey: 
Well, Monterey has stayed the same. It's really foggy here, and thank goodness too because these hot flashes that I keep experiencing would be 10x worse if I was in a hot area! Although Monterey is finally growing on me! I have made some wonderful friends, and have met so many amazing people! I am looking forward to spending more time with everyone here! :) 

Week 37:


3 more weeks and now considered Full Term! 


Symptoms: It's getting harder to sleep now! Not only because the relaxin in my hips is kicking in, but the anxiety and nervousness, and excitement that the baby could come any day is weighing on my mind all the time! As for the pelvic pain, I've discovered it's most likely SPD, and so I have to take a few precautions for baby and me. 


I have enjoyed having her in me these nine months, but I couldn't be more ready to greet her into the world! She has already blessed my life in so many ways, and I can't wait to see her little face!! I am mostly curious on what she'll look like, and her personality and her attributes that make her who she is. I am excited to see her grow up and become a wonderful young woman! Although my husband isn't ready for that "dating" stage she'll encounter, I am super excited to watch her choose the man she will spend eternity with! 


Monterey: 
Well Monterey is still Monterey. Just this week I had the chance to participate in Monterey's "4th of July event". (FYI: Fireworks are illegal here in Monterey) They held a concert with a band, and did a laser light show...There was an illegal firework off in the distance, let's just put it this way, that firework was the high light of the night. The laser light show was terrible! Enough with the bad stuff, I have GOOD news! My mom and little sister will be arriving here in Monterey next Sunday!! So 9 more days! I'm so thrilled and can hardly wait for them to arrive. It has been super lonely here, especially when my husband was at training from 7:30am-8:30pm. Now he is on what they call "casual" status! It has truly been a blessing in disguise!! He goes onto base at 8:00 am and returns home around 4:00 pm, and then I get him the rest of the night! It's great! Another bonus is that he (instead of receiving only one day when Marlee comes) receives two weeks off!! I'm so thrilled that he'll be there the first two weeks of Marlee 24/7. This will help me out as well, just being able to have that extra support from him is crucial! This great news has kept me positive through those hard days and nights! 


Anyway, that's my update for now! I have to get back to planning my birth plan, and getting together everything for the BIG day! Hope I have everything! Thank goodness my mom is coming into town, what would I do without her! 


HUSBAND: This is a Shout out to my wonderful husband!! He has been working so hard to provide for Marlee and I and I want him to know how appreciative I am of him and the hard work he puts in every day for this family! I love you so much and am so lucky to have you as a husband!! 

Week 34:


So my friend who was due June 26th had her baby just two days ago, two weeks early!! Can you believe she got out of this pain and "basketball belly" two weeks early! Her baby girl is healthy and strong, and she is back to normal, or more normal then before ha ha. I did some research on how early a baby can be born healthy. It really depends on the baby's health I guess. I just hope Marlee doesn't go over, I can't bare to think of that and if it were to happen. I found out today though that because of my husbands training he won't be able to go to the hospital tour ( This tour shows him where to drop me off and where to go when inside, and what to expect for the dad's ) I'm super bummed, but have gotten used to having him not here for things like that. He is a busy man. I just wish the military allowed him time for this kind of stuff. It's not every day you have your first kid right ha ha. 


Symptoms:
I did more research on why I've been having pain in my pelvic bone. I have what is called "Pubic Symphysis Diastasis" It just means I can't stand for long periods of time, and to make sure I'm sitting down when I put on pants, and to heat up a rice bag every chance I get to warm up my lower back. They also recommended a "Prenatal Cradle" It's a support belt (kind of like a belly band) that straps up on your shoulders as well to support your weight so there isn't so much pressure down on your pelvic bone. Other then that the usual, not being able to find a comfortable position to sleep, not being able to stand up on my own ( if I'm on a couch that has sucked me in or a comfy chair ), eating is harder now because baby is squishing my intestines leaving no room for digestion to happen. So I end up over eating, or not eating enough. I pee every half hour which is a lot for me ( I haven't had too much problem with that) Marlee kicks me all the time, and it's starting to hurt more and more because she's getting stronger and stronger every day.


Life as we know it: 
I just spoke to my mom about her coming out here and staying with us until the baby is here and a little after. I'm super stoked to be able to have her here. I've missed my family so much, especially my mom in this time of need. Since Landon is always at training I am usually alone, so it's hard to get advice, and know if I'm doing everything I can to be healthy for the baby. I'm just super stoked that I'll be able to tell my mom everything so Landon can focus on his studies, and not have to worry about my 1-2 hour vents about how pregnancy is a pain ha ha. So we both win in the end right? 


Monterey: 
Well today is 6/16/12 and I took Landon Sky diving! Him, Randy and Holly all went this morning! It was CRAZY awesome! I got some video footage, and lots of pics of this event! I loved being able to stay on the ground where it's SAFE and watch them come down! It was fun seeing their faces when they were finally on safe ground lol. My husband has been raving about this all week, and I wanted to make sure we left Monterey knowing he did something fun and worth it here. He certainly had fun, and wants to do it again but by  himself. I told him he was crazy! 

Week 33: Finishing up


I am now almost 34 weeks along! I have been very blessed so far with little to no sickness, and a healthy pregnancy so far! Unfortunately I can't say that about the pain I get to enjoy with my sciatic nerve, and my lower back pains, and now my pelvic bone is starting to really hurt. Whenever I walk for too long it starts to really hurt, and it's getting harder and harder to walk up and down the stairs, get dressed, and sleep. Even without this pelvic bone pain I'd be struggling with those, but this has a whole new level of pain written all over it. I am going to talk to my doctor on Wednesday to check it out and hopefully we can name the pain, and hopefully either stop it or soothe it. If any of you have any ideas on what to do for that kind of pain, I'd love to hear them!! 


Monterey: 
I'm so homesick it's terrible! I like it here with the nice greenery, and the ocean view, but nothing beats a sunday dinner with the family, or a fun weekend BBQ enjoying my dad's home made teriyaki chicken and hot dogs with rice! Home is where we go on walks together, and go for bike rides on the river walk trail. Home is where I feel comfortable being myself! I feel safe at home, I am able to reach out to my family and they'll be there to help me out. Home is where I need to be. Home is Logan Utah. As for Monterey, I have been stuck in my house because of my Pelvic Bone pain, so the sites haven't been on my top list lately. I have been stuck sitting here doing laundry and blogging ha ha


Life as we know it:
Things are getting heated very quickly here as we await the news of whether we go home early or if we stay until October or stay for only a short amount of time. It's all up to the head person over here at DLI. This waiting game they are having us play is getting ridiculous, and my husband is getting more and more on edge with everything. The poor thing has so much on his plate. The whole deal is that I'm due July 28th, but we might be moving home before then. Now if this happens we have to pack our things in less then 3 days (this including letting the land lord know we'll be moving out within 3 days, and that we have to end the contract) We then have to pack everything, and get a uhaul truck and figure out how we'll be moving while I'm 8 months pregnant. We then go home to no job, no home, no money. We will be living on the edge literally until we find a stable job and a stable apartment we can have a baby in. By then I'm sure I'll already be popping this baby out, and without his status of active duty (or in training) our insurance is gone. So we'll be paying for baby as well :( Now if they decide to let my husband stay for the next test (as long as he passes) we'll be able to stay here until Marlee arrives I'm sure. When Marlee arrives and then we get sent home, my husband has agreed to let the Military move us so we won't have to stress about packing and driving a big uhaul truck out to Utah, and Landon can drive our little car so I can be with Marlee. She will only be a couple months if not weeks old when we do leave. (Depending on his status) Now if he does end up passing his tests one after another, we will be able to stay until October, and he can graduate and have his second language! (THIS IS WHAT WE WANT!) So prayers are being asked for and are desperately needed! My husband has been stressing over whether he'll be able to provide for us if things fall through, and I think it's taking a huge toll in his studies, and the way he does on tests. So please help us out! Thank you for everything!!! :D 

Week 33: 


So far getting sleep, and finding a comfortable position to sit in, and fitting into my clothes is IMPOSSIBLE! I get more and more frustrated as the days go by. I want to do so much but am limited. I love moving furniture around and changing things up around the house, but I can no longer do that since I'm pregnant. It's very frustrating! On the up side, Marlee continues to kick and have hiccups for my daily delight! I love feeling her inside me, just reminding me that she is here, and is on the way! I feel like I already know her in a way. I guess that must be the motherly bond that forms when moms get pregnant. Now I understand! 


Symptoms: Heartburn, Hot flashes, no longer fitting into my clothes, trying to stand up after sitting is ridiculous, bending over isn't an option anymore, and trying to keep up with my daily routine is becoming harder and harder to do. I'm exhausted all the time from lugging around all this weight. I get dizzy every time I stand up because I forget to do it slowly. Overall, I want to be DONE being pregnant. 


Life as we know it: 
So life has been difficult lately. My oversize belly has taken over my world. I can no longer reach things I can in the cupboards because my belly is in the way. I can't fit into most of my shirts these days, I can't lift things I want to, or bend over to lift anything off the floor. I can barely do the dishes these days cause the bending over part is killing my back. Laundry is tough because I have to go from standing to bending over to get the clothes to sitting on the floor to load the clothes in, to trying to stand back up to put the laundry soap in back to bending over to switch the laundry...over and over again! All that strain on my back leads to sleepless nights. At night, its' impossible to find a comfortable position to sleep in. My pelvic bone has been giving me issues lately as well. It hurts to sleep on one side for too long, so add a rotation every 15 minutes at night, and it equals a NO SLEEP ZONE! On top of all this, I'm the type of person who loves to move furniture around! Especially now that I'm nesting, it's hard to get things done when I can't move any big furniture. My husband is super busy these days, and I don't expect him to nest for me, as much as that sounds awesome, he has enough on his plate. (Although, my husband has offered to help me move around some stuff in our bedroom so that we are able to have the baby sleep in our room, I AM SO LUCKY TO HAVE MY HUSBAND!!) I hate sitting around knowing that the only things I'm capable of is folding laundry, my least favorite thing to do!  I just feel bad for my poor husband, he has been helping me around the house lately, AND he is providing for me, AND he is at a course that takes him away from home from 7am-9pm, where he finds this time to help me out, I have no idea, but I must say that I am the luckiest girl in the world to have such a blessing like him around!!! 


Monterey: 
My husband and I decided that we HATE it here. We live on a busy road and so traffic at night is blinding, and it's LOUD! We have become sick of our apartment and can't wait to move back home. Lately it has been extremely humid here, and so we've been burning up at night, and freezing in the morning, and dying of humidity during the day! I've opened every window we have and it still seems to be scorching hot in our apartment. I'm taking out the fan today from storage to see if that helps any. 
My friends Kendra and Claudia here took me to Fisherman's Wharf to get carmel apples ( which by the way were the MOST AMAZING CARMEL APPLES EVER!!) I got to see some of the sights, and then we went and got lunch at Compagnos ( BEST SANDWICH PLACE THERE IS) We took it back to my house to eat and just talk, it was GREAT! I'm glad I got to know them, they were such a great couple of gals :) I hope to hang out with them soon! I feel more at home when I'm around other people! 


The kitties: 
So lately we've had to shut all the doors upstairs because our cats have been over curious about all the new baby stuff we've purchased. I have to worry about them ruining it because Bo hasn't been neutered yet so he still marks his territory, and I DO NOT want him marking his territory all over our new baby stuff! As for worrying about them when Marlee gets here, I'm terrified! Bo has almost tripped me going down the stairs multiple times, and Aero has been sneaky enough to find his way into my closet to hide, and that's where all the baby stuff is. I have my worries of whether or not we'll be able to keep them when Marlee arrives. It will be a tough decision because these two cats have been my babies for the last two years, and my first pets. I'm hoping I won't have to make that decision of keeping them or not. Hopefully they'll be good around Marlee! Cross my fingers!