37 weeks! (Full term)

I take back the "not overly emotional with this pregnancy" thing I said a couple of posts ago. I feel like these days it takes very little to overwhelm me and cause a few tears. It's just because I'm plumb worn out and tired. Everything hurts. It takes so long to do anything because I waddle, can't bend over without the risk of throwing up, etc. I'm so grateful for this opportunity, but I'm SOOO grateful that it's almost over. Several times this last week Justin would look over to see tears running down my cheeks and with panic on his face ask what's wrong and the only thing I can think of to say is that I'm just tired. That pretty much sums it all up.

On a brighter note: at my last doctors appointment the lady said that I'm dilated to a 3 1/2 and 70% effaced. That's good, right? Even so, they still didn't sound like they expected me to deliver anytime in the next year.

We got Justin's motorcycle back. Finally. It seems like it's been one thing after another with that bike. We bought it and got it home, figured out how to get it out of the truck (getting it IN was a trick), then the next day Justin tried to ride it and discovered that it would only start about half of the time and die at the end of the driveway. So it sat here for a few days while tried to figure out what to do and asked his brother in law to come look at it, who diagnosed the problem, so we took it to a mechanic in town. Well, he looked at it for a few days and decided he needed the manual to figure out what the problem was, so he ordered that. A week or so later he got the manual and decided what he thought the problem was and ordered the part. ANOTHER week or so later he got the part and said he could put it in and have the bike back together in 30-45 minutes. The NEXT DAY he finally finished and said we could pick it up (we've now owned the bike for nearly a month and only had it in our possession for a few days). During all of this time we weren't just sitting at home twiddling our thumbs. Only mostly. Justin bought a helmet, ordered a jacked and leather chaps, and got his permit. I got it registered, insured, and plates for it. All we needed was the bike. Justin went and picked it up yesterday morning and rode it home (it works!!!) and then figured out what he needed to put the plates on. Then he wired it on for the trip to Hurricane and left for his first official ride on his motorcycle. He arrived at Ace just fine and bought the parts he needed, called and told me he'd made it and that he was going to drive by Quail Lake and Leeds on the way home, then put the plate on in the Ace parking lot and tightened the bolts by hand. When he got home 20 minutes later he noticed the plate was gone. Seriously? Can't he just have something go right with this bike? So he and I got in the car and drove around for over an hour retracing his route twice, but didn't find it. Good thing the DMV is now open on Fridays. We went and got new plates and put them on with a wrench (or whatever tool it takes), which brings us up to date. My parents went for a ride yesterday and seemed to have quite a good time. I can't wait to be able to ride it. :)

Humbling experience today

I work at the Toquerville City Offices, and it's typical for people who come in to look at me and ask when the baby's due. I was feeling particularly heavy today when a woman on her way out asked and I replied "not soon enough!" She looked at me significantly and said "well, at least you can have children." Oy. Open mouth, insert foot. I felt so stupid. She's completely right. This pregnancy really hasn't been that bad, for all of my complaining. Sure, I've had my fair share of sickness, but I can endure this short time of discomfort for the eternity of joy we'll receive because of it. I mean, we get a BABY for crying out loud (no pun intended)! I can't believe how blessed we are and how much faith Heavenly Father has in us to entrust us with one of his precious little spirits. I'm so very grateful for this chance to carry Louise and be her mommy.

And yes. I did just google "cute babies" and use the cutest one I could find. It's the best I can do for the next few weeks until I have my own cute baby.

5 more weeks to D Day!

We are so close to having a baby, it's crazy. I'm so excited and ready to be done. :) Not that I haven't loved being pregnant. I'd just like to walk/look/feel/think like a normal person again. I've noticed a few things in the past few weeks that I think are noteworthy.

First, for some unfathomable reason I continue to wear white shirts, regardless of the fact that EVERY time I wear one I spill or get something on the front. Every time. Often I don't even notice or know how it got there. Why do I still wear them?

Second (and this illustrates how lazy I've gotten), I mentioned to Justin the other day my theory that when you're pregnant there is some magnetic pull to everything that makes it end up on the ground one way or another. He looked and me a little strangely and said "well it's not magnetic..." I then realized how stupid that had sounded. Duh. But seriously, I think that gravity increases or something, causing you to drop everything or knock everything down. I've gotten to the point where when I drop something, if I don't need it right at that moment, I just leave it on the ground figuring someone will pick it up eventually. Horrible, I know.

Third, you get winded from the stupidest things. Like doing your hair. Or trying to get comfortable in bed. Or standing up to do your makeup. Or getting in the car. It's ridiculous.

Fourth, and this one may not apply to everyone, I find some of her movements and kicks nauseating. The thought of it. The feel of her little elbows scraping along the inside of my stomach or the sight of my stomach doing flip flops without my consent. After a moment when I remember what it is it's fine, but for that split second when all I know is that my stomach is doing things that are completely unnatural and not controlled by me, I want to throw up. I know this sounds terrible, and I really do love Louise and I love being pregnant with her and carrying her and everything. It's just a little foreign and my brain is having a bit of a hard time with it.

Fifth, I think the curl in my hair is gone. I'm very sad about this. It used to be so easy to do. In high school and college my hair took me about 2 minutes to do. Is it normal for your hair to change during pregnancy? Any chance it'll change back after? I guess it could just be that it's too short (my curls were always big), but even then, you'd think there'd at least be a little wave in it. :( Sad day.

I've not been overly emotional with this pregnancy, but then I'm not really overly emotional ever. But I do have moments when I just start to cry for no reason. It only happens maybe once a month, but I always feel pretty stupid. Also, I haven't really had any real food cravings or aversions. Except hamburger and some spice that is in a lot of Italian foods and Papa Murphy's pizzas, but I had that one even before I was pregnant.

Well, I think that's about all for this week. We'll keep you posted. :)

Still Pregnant!

33 weeks! This picture makes me look huge. I really didn't think I was that big... Also, I forgot to smile and look at the camera, but didn't want to do it again when I realized, so deal with it. ;)

Well, we're at 33 weeks and still pregnant! Everything's going very well. Louise moves enough that it actually hurts sometimes now. And sleeping is getting a little uncomfortable mostly because of my hips. The muscles hurt so bad that it wakes me up every time I move. I told my doctor about it at my appointment the other day and he suggested I try a chiropractor, so I went yesterday and he adjusted my back and neck. I have no idea how that made my hips better, but it did. I went to Walmart after and noticed I was walking normally with minimal pain. I have weird hip issues anyway (super loose joints), so you add the pregnancy hormone that relaxes all of your joints and my hips and shoulders have given me a lot of trouble with this pregnancy. They feel like they're going to fall out of joint all the time. Oh well. It's almost over.

We had the baby shower last weekend and it was wonderful. So many people came. I was shocked and so grateful. We now have everything we need to start a family. Well, except the baby...but I'm working on that.

We've decided to sell both of our cars and get a newer, more reliable one. Preferably a Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic. Since we're going to be going somewhere away from family to grad school I wanted to have a car that wouldn't break down every month, not that ours do now, but they're old enough that they probably will start to in the next 6 years. We also decided to get a motorcycle for Justin. He's going to pick it up Monday. He's not excited or anything. Not at all. He's just wanted one since he was 12, that's all. It's a Kawasaki Vulcan 750 or something like that. It does have a seat for me, though, so that'll be fun. Now we just have to get the gear: insurance, LIFE insurance to guarantee we won't have to use it, a good jacket, a helmet, I don't even know what else you need...I'm excited for him. :)

Lots of Exciting Stuff!

School has started again and Justin's excited (weirdo...;) ). I'm really excited to NOT be going. I think that as soon as I don't get all anxious and stressed by just the thought of school I'll go back. And I'm sure it'll happen. It's just not right now. I may finish online. And I may change my major altogether. Just some thoughts I've been entertaining lately.

We're almost to 30 weeks, which means 10 more to full term. But according to the doctor she probably won't go full term. At my last appointment he asked casually if I was having any contractions and I said yes, just the Braxton Hicks ones I've heard about. He looked a little concerned and asked how often. When I told him, he and the nurse immediately started talking medical gibberish and then did a test called fetal fibronectin that basically tests for fluids that should just be in the amniotic sac that are in other places (apparently the contractions weren't Braxton Hicks). The test is supposed to be negative and they told me they'd call back with the results later that day. Then they finished all their measuring and stuff and I left. On the way home they called and said the test came back positive and they'd like me to come back so they could monitor the baby and contractions. So Justin and I went back a few hours later and waited for another couple hours for the machine to warm up (not bitter or anything). When we finally got in and all hooked up they watched for a while and said that everything about the baby looked terrific. As far as contractions go, of course I didn't have any of the big ones the whole time they were watching (and had 4 in a half hour as soon as we left), but according to the monitor I was having pretty steady little ones that I couldn't even feel. After they gave me a steroid shot of Betamethasone to speed up her lung development and told me to come back the next day for another, gave a me a prescription for some medication that suppresses contractions, changed me from once a month to weekly appointments, and told me that besides work I was basically just supposed to rest (haven't been doing very good with that part). So we bought a car seat.

I was a little nervous for a few days after that (and if you know me, you know it must be bad because I don't get nervous or worried over ANYTHING), so I got a blessing from Justin and my dad that said basically that while she would come on her own time, developmentally she'd be fine. I'm not worried anymore.

So our car seat is pretty awesome. We got if from Costco after much research. It's for 5 to 100 lbs and converts from a rear facing infant seat all the way to a booster seat, so basically this will be the only car seat Louise ever needs. We practiced with a doll last week. :) We also ordered an awesome stroller from Zulily.com. It's a GoGo Babyz Urban Advantage stroller. 3 wheels with stabilizers that are activated when you put on the break. It was $160.00 at Target and only $98.00 on Zulily. We're pretty stoked. It should get here tomorrow.

Louise is moving so much lately! Enough that you can see it even! It's so fun. She doesn't really kick, more just squirm. I was trying to explain what if feels like on the inside to Justin and I came to the conclusion that it's most similar to those massagers that have 3 rotating balls in the end just moving around, pushing on the fabric.

A Middle Name

It's been so fun the past few weeks to feel the baby start to move. She moves a lot by now - enough that you can see it! I'm almost 6 months along now, so 3 more to go.

Her full name will be Louise Doris Nuckles. We had initially decided to not give our girls middle names so that their last name can take that place when they get married, but a week or so ago I just knew her middle name had to be Doris, after my Grammie (dad's mom), and luckily Justin agreed. I've been thinking about her a lot lately. My dad always tells me I'm a little mini Doris, which I love. I've always felt a strong connection to her, although she died when I was 5. If you want an idea of what she was like, just think of the little fat blue fairy on Sleeping Beauty. That was my Grammie. She ran a little beauty shop in her home in Hurricane where all the little old ladies in town would go gossip. She was always happy and looked at the world through rose-colored glasses. My dad is a lot like her, in fact. They love everyone and just assume everyone loves them, so they do. You can't help it. Louise will be blessed in a dress that my Grammie made for my older sisters' blessing, and that me and almost all of the younger girl cousins on my mom's side were blessed in, so I think it's quite fitting.


I have a confession. This may come as a shock to people who know me well. I haven't bought ANY baby clothes yet. But not for a lack of trying! I've been on several shopping trips with the intent of buying some precious little baby items, but in the end was unable to actually buy anything. It's like I have a mental block! I just CAN'T. I'm too inexperienced in baby clothes. What if it's not actually as cute as I think? Or what if she's a really big baby (her dad IS 6'6) and nothing fits? I've decided I just need to take Justin or my mom or something with me to talk me in to things. I finally had to appease myself with buying a diaper bag, just so I could say I had started buying baby things. It is super adorable, though. It's hot pink and white damask with a lime green lining.

I think in my last post I mentioned that Justin had gotten 2 jobs...? Well, he quit one of them yesterday. We're both quite relieved. Me because all the girls at Falcon Ridge had crushes on him and would say awkward things behind his back, him because it's less stress and the people at Sunrise are treated better. I really like Sunrise for him. He seems happier when he gets back from it. And they'll work around his school schedule in the fall. He's pretty excited for school (crazy kid).

Justin is going to be such an adorable daddy. :) I'm so excited. The other day we got a sling thing that we ordered in the mail and Justin was more excited than I was. He tried it on and put a doll in it to show my dad and wear around. :) I can't wait for Louise to get here.

P.S. I just figured out how to work the scanner, so I may post some ultrasound pictures. She's pretty darling, if I do say so myself. ;)

P.P.S. Another thing! I got a mommy Boppy! It's just like the little baby ones, only for mommy! I love it! I've been having trouble sleeping because I have hip problems and ever since I got this I've slept like a baby. It's a miracle. It was a little spendy, but we decided to invest in it because I still have 3 months left with this pregnancy, plus however many more we have. It was definitely worth it. I'll attach a picture of that, too.

A much needed update

Me, again. We really need to be better about posting. Then I wouldn't have to try to remember what we've done in the last 2 months.
Justin finished the semester with all As and one A-. Incredible. 19 credits. I don't know how he does it, but he seems to enjoy it. I'll never understand that aspect of him.
We've gotten to spend a ton of time together in the last few months with school out and ECCOCI closed. It's been so nice to be together all the time and I love him even more than I used to, which I doubted was even possible. He's the most amazing person I've ever met. And he's all mine. :) Mwahaha!
Although we've been spending so much time together, we had our first separate overnighter. Justin went on a river kayaking trip with the scouts for 3 days. It was the first time we've been apart since our marriage one year ago. I hated it. My parents were very helpful and kept me busy the first day, and the second day I spent some time with Jennilyn at her mom's pool, went to lunch with the ECCOCI ladies, and watched a movie with Whit that night. The third day was just waiting, though. It brought back some torturous memories of our engagement when he lived in Logan and I lived in St. George. Just counting the hours until he would be home. He had a great time, but we both agreed that we couldn't do that very often. It was just so boring and weird. Like losing your right hand for a few days.
We found out at the end of April that they were going to close ECCOCI in May. Kind of a shocker, but we were all pretty used to it by a few days later (after deciding that we'd all go to lunch every month. It's the people we'd miss - not so much the work). It's been really nice for all of us. We've all had time to spend time with our families and relax and get our lives back in order.
Justin and I decided to move in with my parents so that we'd be able to actually save money instead of barely making it every month. It's been a huge stress off my mind. We paid off the credit card and still had money in the bank. Such a blessing. I was pretty useless during the move. It was so hot over at the old house that I would help for a few minutes and then just be sick from the heat. Justin was so sweet to me, though (of course) and made me sit and watch mostly. What a sweet husband I have.
Justin spent a few weeks taking resumes around town and it paid off. He was offered at least 4 different jobs and took 2 of them. He's working at Sunrise Academy in Hurricane full time (sort of. It's as full time as they get - 25 hours a week), and Falcon Ridge as an on-call employee. We figured that one could make up for the other. Also, Falcon Ridge is building a new building in Toquerville, so we figured it would give him an in for when they open that branch and need employees. We've been so blessed it's crazy.
Our anniversary was yesterday, so last weekend we went up north and played. We left on Friday and went to Fazoli's with Brittany and her kids. I had been craving Fazoli's for a couple of years - ever since they closed the one in St. George - so I was very excited to go. :) Then we went back to Brittany's and watched Joe Vs. The Volcano with the Tilbys. Such a great movie. Then on Saturday we went in the Salt Lake and went to Gateway Mall for a few hours, then we decided to go to the zoo so we wouldn't spend any more money. The zoo was AWESOME! It was my first time and I absolutely loved it. The gorillas were probably my favorite. And the reptile room. Then that night we went to a Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband concert, which are always fun. This was probably my favorite concert of theirs. It was so casual and amazing. Then we went back to Brittany and Ryan's and slept, then went to church with them, then back home. It was such a wonderful weekend. I can't believe it's been a year already.
I'm mostly over the morning sickness, I think. At least I don't throw up every day now. Just every few. And I get headaches every day. But I got them a lot before I was pregnant, so they said I just get them a lot since I was already prone to them. We get to find out what we're having tomorrow! :) I'm so excited to not have to call it "it" anymore. It can have a name and a pronoun. And we can start planning and collecting paraphernalia.
I'm really starting to show a lot. But as the doctor said, it doesn't really have anywhere to go but out. Justin went to my appointment with me the other day to hear the heartbeat for the first time (for him). He got quite a treat! The doctor was feeling my tummy and was really surprised by how big the uterus was, so she did a little impromptu ultrasound to make sure it wasn't twins (it's not). So Justin didn't just get to hear the heartbeat, he got to see the baby, too! And it was quite cute, if I do say so myself. It kept waving. :) Now I just wanna know what it is.
I've had several people ask me for a picture of my pregnant self on Facebook, but I felt a little weird posting pictures of that on Facebook, so I'll put them on here. That way everyone that wants to can see it.
Wow. Long post.