22 Weeks: Baby Update

Tomorrow I will be 22 weeks pregnant! Yea!!
Every week for about 2 months now, I've been going to the pernatoligist so they could watch my cervix. Every week it has been the same, everything looks great. Yesterday, the perinatal Dr. said that we can pretty much rule out cervical incompentcy... which is great! He also said that I will not have to come in anymore, unless my OB/GYN recommends it... such great news. I'm still supposed to take it easy and watch out for signs of preterm labor.
Also yesterday, the Dr. took some more measurements of little Peanut... she is growing just the way she is supposed to be growing. It's so exciting to see how big she is getting every week! Yesterday, I saw her little hand open and close a couple of times... it's so darn cute. The Dr. gave me a few ultra sound pictures, including 2 3D images.

So, how I've been feeling....
I feel fabulous. I'm happy to be pregnant. I'm really starting to get that baby bump, which is very exciting. It's something that I didn't get to experience with Joshua's pregnancy, so I'm just eatin up all kinds of attention focused on my belly. I LOVE IT! The question we get all the time now is, "Have you thought of any names?". Yes. Right now, her name is probably going to be either Kathryn May or Abigail May.... which one is most likely may depend on which parent you ask.

Not So Easy This Time

Steve is leaving very early tomorrow morning.

It feels harder than ever to let Steve go. It's been a bit of an emotional day for me. I don't feel ready for this right now, yet, there is nothing that can be done about it. I've been trying to hold in the tears most of the day, but this evening I finally let them go. Steve went upstairs to record himself reading a relaxtion script and a book I bought for the baby, so I stayed downstairs and began to write in my journal for the evening. And there they were, those darn tears I've been holding back. I don't usually cry so much when he goes. Of course I cry a little the night before, and then a little more after I drop him off at the airport... but this time I can't help but sob and sob. Darn pregnancy hormones! But, really, its more than that. I'm going to miss him terribly. This time home (and most times) was such a sweet experience. Of all the things in my life (the gospel goes without saying and so does this I reckon), our marriage is the greatest blessing I could ever have. I'm so grateful to have such an amazing marriage to an amazing man.

Steve, I love you! I wish you didn't have to go... I know you wish the same. Here's to just 3 more months.

Headaches

For 3 months or more, I've been suffering through a lot of headaches. Headaches are not something that I have often, and usually I can trace why it's going on; dehydration, cold, sinus, etc. Right now I'm averaging about 1 headache a week... occasionaly two. The biggest problem is that they last 2 to 3 days in most cases. The one I have now started on Monday morning. Usually if I have a headache, I can take a couple of tylenol, go to bed and wake up and it's gone, never to return. But not these ones, tylenol just kills the pain for a while. It's really frustrating. These headaches feel like sinus headaches... right behind my eyes and in the back of my head. Though I'm not really certain, because I've never had sinus headaches last so long and come so often.

I've talked to the perinatal Dr. about it, he suggests that it's all the extra hormones running through my system from the pregnancy. Now, I know that one pregnancy is different from others in ways... I had no headache problems when I was pregnant with Joshua. When I talked to the midwife about it last week, she suggested it could be sinus or even tension headaches. She suggested I use a netti pot and some salt water to flush out my sinus'. The netti pot didn't work at all. Elizabeth Wells suggested I may need to get my eyes checked for glasses; something I have been thinking about for a little while. Who knows! I think I may go see a massage therapist. Anyone have any other suggestions? By the way, motrin, Ibuprofen, and aspirin are not options because I'm allergic.

Youth Book of Mormon Reading Challenge

A few weeks ago, Brother Dorny came into Young Women's and announced that he was hosting a Book of Mormon reading challenge for our Youth. It all started with a conversation he had with Lindsey Carducci on the Youth Temple Trip back in early January. Apparently, Lindsey's dad had been persuading her to read the BOM from front to cover since she hadn't done so. In the conversation, Brother Dorny gave her the challenge to start and finish the BOM by the end of February. To keep her motivated, he commited to do the same thing.

When Brother Dorny came in to issue the challenge to the Young Women, I groaned and said, NO WAY. I was just settling into a nice slow reading pace after rushing to finish the BOM and the Old Testament by the end of the year. I was not about to jump on THAT wagon... I'm a slow reader! Well, Sister Keeler, sitting next to me, was all excited and was trying to get me stoked about it too. "You can do it, come on!", and she raises my hand. So, i'm volunteering involuntarily to be apart of this commitment... thinking the whole time, NO WAY! Brother Dorny did say that there would be a surprise for those who finished. None of us know what it is yet, but we all seem to be excited about it.

Well, fast forward 3 weeks. We have quite a few of our YW who are hanging in there! The first week for me was rough... having to read 11 pages a day takes quite awhile and I got behind. But I was resolved. Even though I was behind, I was going to stick to it. On the next Sunday, Brother Dorny came in to YW to see who had done any reading during the first week. He passed out a great little chart to everyone to help keep track of where we are and where we should be and gave snickers bars to the faithful readers.

I will have to admit now, that this has been one of the most enjoyable readings of the BOM I have ever experienced. It takes me an hour to read the 13 pages I need to stay at the goal. At first, it was daunting to think about having to read my scriptures for an hour. But I've gotten to the place in the past few weeks where that hour is the highlight of my day and and never feels like an hour. I love how I can see more clearly the things that are taking place... how they connect, because the reading flows from one chapter to the next. My testimony that the BOM is divine scripture was pretty solid before, but I feel even more passionate about it and even more sure in my knowledge. Thanks Brother Dorny!

19 Weeks :D

Wow, well... things are amazing. I've had no bleeding or spotting in over a month and my belly is starting to look like a pregnant belly. I feel pretty fantastic.

Even with feeling fantastic, I still have that worry in the back of my mind, "will my water break today?" Especailly the last few weeks. Obviously it's understandable... my water broke at 18 weeks in the first pregnancy... so, nothing irrational really.

Every Wednesday for the past 4 weeks I've had a Perinatal appointment to watch my cervix closely. The Dr's say everything looks great. This past week we were scheduled to take measurements on the baby as well. This was an appointment I had been really anxious for. In my first pregnancy, my water broke before we were able to discover the sex of the baby. I felt robbed... so, this time, the anticipation had been really high.

First, I will tell you that I've felt very strongly that this baby is a girl. I even call the baby her and she when I talk about her. I've been doing it for a while now. So, the appointment on Wednesday was a lot of fun. Steve went with me... so it was the first time he got to see the baby in real time. The ultrasound technician measured everything on the baby; leg bones, arm bones, darks spots in the brain, eye sockets, heart chambers, lungs, kidneys... everything. Discovering the baby's sex was a little difficult. The baby's legs were in a kneeling position, hiding vital parts. The technician was pushing all over my belly trying to get the baby to move. Finally, there was a small glimpse... "see those little white lines, you have a girl". I'm thinking, I don't see it, but ok. So, we are having a girl!
It's a GIRL, It's a GIRL, It's a GIRL!!!

The Next Chapter

For the past 4 years, Steve has been working as a Private Security Contractor. When we first started out, we thought it would be something that we would be involved in for no more than 2 years. It's strange how things work out some times. The OTHER plan has always been for Steve to get on the Police Department. Here in Reno, it's almost next to impossible... it just takes so long, and they drop people like crazy.

Well, the past few months, we have been praying about what the next career move for Steve should be. It really surprised me, but as we have prayed about it, we have felt the peace of the spirit. Only thing is, I almost don't want to tell anyone because it's one of those things that people have big reactions to.

So, this is what we are planning. The contract that Steve is currently on officially ended in March. To keep him from being unemployed for too long, give us the opportunity to save more money, and enable Steve to be here for the baby when it's born, we have gotten the contract extended till the end of May. That's about 5 weeks before the baby will arrive. At some point between now and June, Steve is going to Re-enlist into the National Guard and attend Special Forces (SF) Training. He will be stationed in a unit in Draper, Utah (no, we are not moving to Utah). SF training is located at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and is any where between 42 weeks to 18 months long, depending on different training requirements. It is a PCS (permanent change of Station) move, so we will be moving to Ft. Bragg for the duration of his training (probably no earlier than August). After he is done, we will be moving back here to Reno.

So, yeah,
that is the plan.

"For my soul delighteth in the scriptures"

This morning I finished reading the Old Testament through for the second time. I was hoping to finish yesterday, but I don't think one day off really makes that much of a difference. It took me 3 years or so to do it.. mostly because I would go through phases, (like we all do), where I either didn't want to read from the OT any more or even read scriptures at all. The first time I did it, I had read the entire standard works in 1yr and 3mo.
It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I became determined to finish this reading of the OT. I had just finished the challenge my Home Teacher gave me to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year, and I think I just wanted to keep going with something. I love the OT. I can honestly say that it's my favorite book of scripture after the BOM. I find it funny when people say they hate it or don't like it, because I think to myself, you don't know what your missing! There is so much in the OT. I will say that it's a lot of dry reading... and there are a lot of times when I think to myself, "how many more chapters in this book?" I think that is just because there is so much in it that we do not understand. But really, it's eloquent. It's teachings have the same theme as all the other books of scriptures; love, humility, charity, purity. Of all the things I've learned from reading the OT, the thing that stands out most is how much our Heavenly Father and Savior love us and how merciful they are, even when we turn away.
I'm excited that we will be starting the Doctrine & Covenants study in Mormon Doctrine this year. It's funny how when you start something or are about to finish it, you get excited or anxious. But when your in the middle... you just want it to be over with. Why is that? How do you get to the point like Nephi where all of it is a delight? (2 Neph 4:15) I love that scripture in Alma that says... "the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me" (Alma 32:28). I love the scriptures... and sometimes I love to read them. How do you get to the point where you ALWAYS love reading them?