simply me

The Y

2012-01-05T22:42:00.002-06:00

Jon and I received money from both parents for a 6 month family membership to the YMCA. So far we have gone everyday since Monday. We also both met with a personal trainer to go over our goals and how to achieve them. My plan is to go to group classes. It's one hour of exercise that doesn't feel like one hour of exercise. I have a problem with accountability when it comes to dieting and exercise. Going to group classes should help with that. Having Jon come with should also help. Jolynn LOVES the care center. Hard to pry her away from it. I know she is having fun when she doesn't want to leave. She must also be getting a lot of exercise because she comes home and pretty much goes straight to bed and sleeps hard through the night.

Jon introduced me to an app for my Android called Lose It. They have a website too. www.loseit.com This is going to be another way to hold myself accountable. You can have your friends join and they can see everything you do or eat. They can post comments to motivate you. The app tracks your intake of calories and your output of calories through exercise. It has you set a goal and then depending on your starting weight gives you a deadline to accomplish it.

Twin Cities Live - VOTE for JOLYNN!!

2012-01-05T21:58:00.001-06:00

Potatoe Head Creations

2011-12-12T21:08:00.011-06:00

When in Florida we went to a store in Downtown Disney that had an entire section just for Potato Head parts. They were all Disney related. Margaret and Mike bought the box full of parts for $19.99 and the body for $2.50. It was for Jolynn (right). 40 parts total! I had so much fun playing with it, that the next night I had Jon take me back to fill another container. We ended up with every part they had in the store except Cruella De Vil and the Star Wars characters. Here's the fun I had prior to going back for seconds:

Hodge podge

Tinker Bell (later discovered we have the wrong feet for this)
female traveler

pirate?

Chef

crazy Disney fans

this girl is NOT on a diet!

(told ya I was getting a little crazy)

Getting Inked

2011-10-27T22:35:00.011-05:00

The artist (Johnny 5) never responded to my emails so I didn't know how much the tattoo was going to cost. Apparently the cost of their tattoos vary with your attitude. I thought mine was going to be around $300. It was $120. The bad part was that I also didn't know they didn't take credit cards, so luckily I had Heather there with cold hard cash - and also thankfully, enough to pay for hers and mine.

He started by tracing Jolynn's foot print from her birth record. Then he did the lettering and date. He put it all together on to carbon paper. Then he applied it to my ankle. Many times through out the whole designing phase he was asking me if I was sure this is how I wanted it, do these letters look okay, is this what you had in mind? When he finally had it all together we checked the placement on my ankle. He asked if that was where I wanted it. Everything looked great. I was ready to go - Heather was supposed to be sitting beside me, but ended up getting hers done at the same time. Johnny did a little strip and asked if I was okay. I hardly even felt it! As he went on there were moments I had to remind myself to breath, and Lamaze breathing came in quite handy. I was sweating so bad. A few times he would hit a nerve and my foot would twitch. He was done outlining and moved on to shading. I couldn't believe that I was making it through this without crying! He said I was doing very well. I guess my "attitude" must have been good because I think being it was Vegas and a large custom tattoo, that $120 was very cheap.

We wrapped it up and then waited for a cab. We waited for 45 min before we called the cab company again and they said they had to re-dispatch the driver. When asked how long it would be she hesitated and said maybe 15 min. Don't think so. We called Bill and had him catch a cab from a hotel (much easier than outside of the strip) and pick us up then we rode back to the Flamingo.

And that's my first tattoo, probably not my last!

Vegas 2011

2011-10-22T01:26:00.015-05:00

It was a long time planning and it is finally here! I took a 1/2 day of work off on Thursday and drove 4 hours to Brookings. I met up with Heather, Bill, and Brian Prow. We drove to Sioux Falls to catch our flight to Vegas. Once there, we pretty much split up - girls one way, guys another. Knute flew in separately and met up with the boys.

First night there we just wandered Mandalay Bay (that's where we stayed). We went to bed around 1am Vegas time, which since it was our first night there, was really 3am MN time.

Friday morning we took our time getting up. Then we headed down to Raffles for breakfast. Yummy fruit platter, egg and bacon omelet, hash browns, and toast. So much food, I was good until dinner. After breakfast we walked around Mandalay Bay again and browsed the shops. Heather bought some cute shoes, purse, and a top. Our initial plan was to be poolside all day. While wandering we came across the Spa. The beach was filled with kids, and people that we really didn't need to be staring at to lower our self-esteem anymore. So we decided to have a spa day instead.

We each had the Quick Fix - 25 min neck/shoulder/back massage and 25 min facial. The massage felt like it went longer than 25 min. The facial felt great and we looked fabulous without ANY makeup. Then we each had full makeup applied. We tried to get in the hair salon, but they were completely booked. So we went back up to our room and did our own hair. Heather got all dressed up in the clothes she just bought; but she needed some bling. So we went back to the same store and found a bracelet and ring. From there we hailed a cab to the Flamingo.

There was a 1 1/2 hour wait to get into Margaritaville. We signed in then went people watching. There was a little mini bar for margaritas. Heather and I both got the 48oz "Booze in the Blender" margarita. I tried hers before ordering mine; hers was so strong I asked for a little less alcohol in mine. I was able to drink all but 8oz of mine. Heather got down to about 30oz. Hers was so strong I would have been passed out at that point.

When we finally were seated at Margaritaville, there was a very tall black man with a big group of people at a table right next to us. People kept coming up to him and shaking hands and giving hugs. We asked our waiter if it was someone famous - he said it was Jimmy Buffet's bodyguard, but that Jimmy Buffet was not there. Towards the end of our meal a lanky young man, dressed all in black, with an entourage, sat down with the bodyguard. Heather heard the bodyguard introduce him as Buffet's son. I tried to get pictures of him, but it was dark and he was wearing all black. I should have tried video. We walked a ways with our blenders and then hailed a cab back to the hotel.

Saturday. Tattoo day. Last nights 48oz felt like it was still in my system. Heather suggested mimosa for breakfast. It was a little hard to get down. Finally did a CHEERS, and shot them down. Breakfast was 2 french toast that were about an inch thick and as big as the plate! Totally stuffed myself to the point where I didn't need to eat again until dinner. We did some more shopping in the Mandalay Bay Shoppes before hailing a cab to the tattoo parlor.

The website advertised this parlor as being off the strip. It was exactly that, WAY off the strip. In a strip mall surrounded by Mexican/Latin stores. Heather said the parlor made her feel like we were at LA Ink. It was a pretty cool shop.

After getting the tattoo, we waited a long time for a cab. Catching a cab outside of the strip is not easy. The line up at the hotels awaiting passengers, but outside the strip they forget about you. We ended up calling Bill and having him grab a cab from the strip, come get us, and then we drove back to the strip. The boys went their way and Heather and I went to M & M World. We spent a good 2 hours there and visited all 4 floors. I did all my souvenir shopping there. Then we headed back to the hotel to drop off our goodies. The boys were at the Rio waiting for us. We ate at what we thought was the largest buffet. It was just a really good seafood buffet. Not so good for Heather. She is allergic to seafood. There were a few things not seafood, but she didn't eat it. She had a great $29 salad. The rest of us filled our plates with crab legs. Knute bought the four of us margaritas with souvenir glasses. It was another 45oz of goodness. I actually finished all of it this time. Did you know you can bring your drink with you into a cab? I finished that glass before we got back to the hotel. I was very giggly after that. Heather and I got in the elevator and there were two guys already in there. I could not stop laughing. Didn't even know what I was laughing at. One guy asked if we drank both glasses (we were carrying Bill and Brian's glasses back). The other guy was a jerk and told us that Vodka was evil and that it makes you do bad things. That shut me up, at least until he left the elevator.

What a weekend! I was so thrilled to be able to go on a trip that was just us girls. Yes, I went with Bill, Brian, and Knute; but we really didn't see them all weekend. We did our own thing and it felt great.

My thought on government assistance

2011-10-09T10:30:00.002-05:00

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Since this is my personal blog I have decided to let loose here, because if I did it on another public venue I'm sure I would get tons of comments ridiculing me for my opinion.

Jon and I are hard working adults with two cars, a house, a child, a dog. We have some debt and lately have been living from pay check to pay check. We get super excited when we get any kind of bonus, overtime, or when Uncle Sam sends us a check. Not that it isn't already spent.

Here is my beef. When we first started struggling we tried to apply for WIC. We didn't qualify because we made too much money the year before (even with me being on maternity leave for 3 months). So we knew we would not qualify this year being that we were both full time again. I'm upset because I know people that are on assistance with one child, then keep having more. Guess who pays for it - US! If you couldn't afford the one why does the government keep providing? I don't know how it all works. Maybe you get less and less for each child you have. Why wouldn't people just keep having babies if they know the government will provide. If you are going to live off the government, fine. I get really frustrated when I see someone on assistance that is taking trips or making frivolous purchases. That's government money that I am working overtime for so you can go on a vacation, but I can't get assistance to help buy necessities for my child.

I know at this point I am probably sounding like a hypocrite because I'm taking a trip in a few weeks to Vegas. I don't have the money for it, but I was invited and I really want to get away. I got a good deal on the trip. I don't plan on doing anything else there but people watch and lounge poolside. I'm getting a tattoo that is going on my credit card.

Other people's answer to my problem has been to have more babies. Then you will qualify for assistance. That's just my point. You shouldn't have more kids with the thought that someone else will provide for you. Try providing for yourself. I would love to have one more, but I am terrified that it could put us in bankruptcy. The economy still isn't great and selling our house is not an option. We have a loving support system out there with our parents and friends. They have given us way more than they should. It is our problem, and we know they have their hard falls too. We don't expect anything from anyone and we don't ask for it either.

Okay. I think that's it for now. If you've read this thinking I'm a bitch for speaking this way, I'm not sorry. Like I said, this is my personal blog. It's my space to vent. Get over it.

Renaissance Festival 2011

2011-10-01T21:06:00.008-05:00

Jolynn and I went to the Festival today with Uncle Jason, Nate, Sarena, Olaf, and Knute. It took us a while to get situated but it was nice once we were inside. We were there around 11am so it wasn't very crowded yet. I had been on my phone or texting with people so my phone was on top of the stroller. We finally all got together and decided to grab something to eat and then find a spot next to the jousting arena so we were ready for the show. It's been a while since I have been to the festival. I had forgotten the food booths don't take cards. So I went to use my phone to call the bank to find out my pin number so I could use the ATM. LOST MY PHONE! Nate tried calling it and no one answered, then we backtracked to where I last had it. He called it again. This time someone answered - they had brought it to the information booth/lost and found. Sigh of relief! Guess where I put that sucker after I got it back - close to my heart. With my bustier, nothing was falling down.

Since I still didn't have any cash, Jason gave me money for a turkey leg. I shared a bit of it with Jolynn. She liked it. Jolynn spent a lot of time with everyone else while at the festival. Sarena held her for a while. Then Nate. Even Jason watched her while I went to the free beer tasting with Olaf and Knute. Honestly, I drank maybe half of each little shot glass sample and the rest was poured into Knute's glass. There was one that I drank the whole thing and wouldn't have minded having a whole one - Jeremiah Weed, Lightening Lemonade. Yummy! We got back to Jason, and Jolynn was out of the stroller in his lap. He tries to be a tough guy, but he really likes her a lot. :)

I wish I would have taken more photos, there were some CRAZY looking people. It was the last weekend so I guess all the wack jobs come out. I mean - this is the RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL. Not Trekie weekend. Not Comic Con. Not Space Invaders (there was a robot). I even saw a guy dressed up as the Johnny Depp version of the Mad Hatter. And then there was the transvestite (see FB for that image).

Sewing 101?

2011-09-11T22:07:00.004-05:00

So maybe this was a little more than 101. This all started with a photo of Sarena and Nate at the Renaissance Festival last year. Sarena was wearing this totally cute outfit. I asked Nate if she made it and he said she put it together. Then enters Stephanie - girlfriend to Olaf. She works at the Feast of Fantasy and has free tickets for us this year. I got all excited because both these girls have cute outfits and I didn't want to be the odd ball outsider; so I decided to make a dress. REALLY...I should have just made a skirt and used one of my tops. This was such an undertaking. It took about 4 weekends. Luckily, Margaret owns two sewing machines and a serger. She just recently purchased a self-threading serger. This fancy serger was used on this last weekend of sewing.
The other girls had projects too. The first weekend we really concentrated on Stephanie's project since she had to start working Ren Fest. She wanted a cloak for the colder nights that would be coming. So she made a very nice cloak with fleece on the inside. She said it felt like a big snuggie! The next weekend we made a shirt for Olaf. All the while we are working on these projects I was working a little bit at a time on mine. Sarena also made a cloak. She bought a lot of her outfit online. Margaret was finding great deals at thrift stores on skirts, belts, shoes, blouses. She even found Jason and Jon shirts online.
So after 3 weekends, we come upon this last weekend. I was determined to get these done. I basically did the cloak in one weekend and the under dress in one weekend. The over dress took EVERY weekend I worked on everything else. This weekend I finished all three projects - WALA! Here you have it, my Renaissance Festival outfit!

Memorial Weekend 2011

2011-05-31T20:15:00.016-05:00

Memorial weekend for me has been camping since I was 4 years old. I was introduced to this by my step dad, Bumby. He has a group of friends that get together every Memorial weekend and they call themselves Tent City. We take over entire campgrounds. I believe they are on their 42nd year. This year was the first for Jolynn. We decided to take it slow and go to their cabin first, then go camp for one night. When we got to the cabin we discovered that all four of us were sick with the same cough. After listening to the forecast of rain for 3 days, we decided not to camp out. Good plan on our part because being sick, sleeping on the ground, and packing up wet gear=no fun.

Here are some pictures of our fun filled weekend.

One minute I see this...

The next I see this.

Bath time in Ducky!

Having some bananas and cheerios before our trip to Tent City.

Made it to Tent City for a few hours.

Playing with Marge Gamache at Tent City.

When we got back from TC I tried my hand at the Bobcat. Did pretty good until...
I got it REALLY stuck. Neighbors brought over a tractor to get it out.

After trying to dig it out, my mom and I went for a trip into town for a little spa time. Jolynn slept through most of it.

When she woke up my mom gave her a swim lesson (since she missed this week)

Spa Day

2011-02-16T20:34:00.003-06:00

I decided to host a home spa day for my girlfriends. My mom took Jolynn and Polly overnight so I could get the house cleaned and prep the food. Saturday, I had 7 friends over for face masks, manicures, pedicures, hair treatments, and paraffin waxing. I made food and had Mohitoes (with Grey Goose if you wanted to spike it). It's been a while since we have gotten together. It used to be getting together once a month or so to see a movie. Just getting out of the house and being with the girls. The guys had a similar night - Tuesday's at BWW for the wing special. They haven't done that in a while either. The last few times I have gotten together with the girls I was pregnant.

I haven't done anything with them since Jolynn was born, at least not without her. I love my time with Jolynn - especially right now because she is so interactive with her facial expressions and voice; but sometimes it is nice to sleep in, take a long shower, watch a whole movie or tv program without getting up or falling asleep, and being able to savor a meal. I just realized why I don't make big meals anymore (mostly it has been Ramen, mac-n-cheese, pizza, or something frozen that you just pop in the oven); I only have about 10 min to actually make anything before her attention span goes and she gets cranky. Then enjoying that meal is just the same. She may have eaten already, but if she's not getting attention because you are too busy eating-then you have a cranky baby again.

Anyway - back the Spa Day. It was a blast. We all sat around the table for a good hour or more just chatting (venting). Then we got out the foot spas and paraffin wax. Some did just their feet or hands, and some did both. It felt really good. Luckily Erin brought nail polish because I don't own anything but clear. There is a reason for this - I suck at putting polish on. Lauren was nice enough to paint my toes for me. Every time I look at my feet I feel fancy. Like I just went to a salon and had my toes done. My little secret that it was done at home :)

I wanted this to be really special for all my girl friends, so I didn't have them bring anything but themselves. As much as I would love to do this again, I don't think I could do that part again. Welcome to host it, but going to need each person to bring food of some sort. I love to entertain, but my single/non-mommy days are behind me. I need to realize that I can't do everything anymore and I need to learn to accept help.

I wish I would have taken some pictures. We were just so busy chit chatting. The best one would have been Lauren and my face after putting on our Avocado/Carrot/Honey masque. It looked similar to what Jolynn spewed all over me later in the evening when I tried to feed her pureed carrots. (BTW-carrots stain...bad.)

Florida

2010-12-23T16:50:00.003-06:00

Mike and Margaret invited Jolynn and I on a trip to Florida this past week. It was Jolynn's first time on a plane. She did very well. Everyone's advice was great. She ate at the terminal when we first arrived. Then ate again about an hour into the flight. The take off wasn't too bad, she had her pacifier and my ears weren't popping much. When it was time for her to eat again is when the air pressure was a bit more intense. So the timing was great. Then she slept for a little while, then visited Mike in first class.

Before getting to the resort we stopped at Denny's. The room at the resort was awesome! Jolynn and I had our own room with a king size bed, bathroom, and mini kitchen. She had a metal bar crib that creaked and was very low for me to lower her into. She ended up sleeping with me. In a king size bed she could have been in a completely different bed for all I could tell. Mike and Margaret were in the main room that had a large kitchen, dining room, living room, balcony, king size bed, jacuzzi, (two person) shower, and his and her sinks; my mom had a room within this room with two single beds and her own bathroom too. The room also had a washer and dryer. This came in handy for all the changing of outfits daily.

There was an Outlet Mall within walking distance of the resort. We ended up going there 2 of the days. We also went to a Thrift Store on another day. Margaret went off on her own when the rest of us decided to go swimming. She ended up at a Goodwill that was like a main corporate building or something. It was HUGE. Between all the different stores we went to, I really didn't need to bring any clothes for myself or Jolynn. A bathing suit and pjs for me would have been fine. Everything else was provided by my mom and Margaret.

Monday afternoon Mike, my mom and I went to a lobster all-you-can-eat. I had 5 lobsters, 3 mussels (for the first time), and 2 oysters Rockefeller (first time also). This was a lot of fun and our waitress was great. Jolynn stayed back at the room with Margaret.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday morning I used the workout facilities. They were as nice as my old gym membership equipment. Tuesday - the grandmas joined me. Wednesday - my ankle and knee were bothering me, so I did laps in the pool instead. The water was like bath water it was so warm. Not a soul in the pool either. When I was done, I soaked for a while in the hot tub. It was great.

My mom and I had one last adventure together - we both got tattoos of our hubbies names! Okay, so they were temporary, but it was still fun :)

The flight home was less eventful. Jolynn was fussy when we got seated, then Mike got her to sleep. She slept from take off to touch down. We even passed her around and she still didn't wake up. Margaret's ticket was upgraded, so this time my mom was in first class. She needed it. A little relaxation and pampering before heading back to the frozen tundra.

When we arrived at the terminal, Jon was there waiting for us. Jolynn was so happy to see her daddy!

New Beginnings

2010-11-23T20:20:00.002-06:00

New Beginnings is a blog I had going for my new life with Jon. Simply Me was just that - Simply Me. I blogged about my pregnancy on it because I thought it was mostly about me. Now that Jolynn is here I figured it is now all about family, so the blogging has continued on New Beginnings. Feel free to follow along there on my adventures as a new mom.

And thanks for following on Simply Me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bumbo

2010-11-01T18:28:00.002-05:00

Back to work

2010-10-11T04:24:00.003-05:00

My day started at 2am roughly. Jolynn was half crying, half talking. After getting up every 5-10 min, I decided to just get up. That was about 3am. I fed her, then got today's milk thawed and divided, then pumped. Since she got up earlier than her usual 4am, I was able to catch up on Facebook and blogs. It is now 4:30am. Time to take a shower and get myself ready for work.

I was dressed and ready by 5am. Jolynn started to cry again. Changed her diaper, rocked a little and back to sleep she went. Only to wake up again at 5:30am. I really hope she can get a handle on the gas issue soon. If it is what I am eating, we are in trouble for today (which she hasn't started eating yet) - chili, dips with carrots, green peppers and cucumber, Reese's PB cups, and pickle ham roll-ups. I don't dare go back to sleep because she will just wake up again as soon as I start to get comfortable. Then I feel like I had less sleep than if I were to just stay awake relaxing watching the news.

Jon was nice enough to take her 7am feeding so I could pump one last time. Only thing left to do is pack up her food for today. I really hope I make it through the whole day without crashing.

I dropped off Jolynn at 7:30am. Went over how I had the bottles measured out. Mary pretty much said she had everything covered and shooed me out the door. She said I was welcome to call if I felt like it. As much as I wanted to know how she was doing I didn't want to hear that she had crying fits or wasn't adjusting well. So I didn't call.

Work went well. Lots of people welcoming me back and saying I was missed. A few schools called and didn't even say anything about the fact that I hadn't answered my phone or returned emails in 3 months. Just went on with their questions as if I had never been gone. I dove right in with a project from Matt for composites. It was nice to be kept busy so I didn't think about Jolynn as much. I pumped twice at work, which was a little awkward walking out of the server room with my containers of breast milk. I brought two pictures of Jolynn with me. Everyone expected me to have my cube covered in them.

Jon got off early so he picked up Jolynn. Mary said she was really good and got a lot of attention from the other kids because she was so little. All the kids were in awe of "the little baby". Jon said she was very stimulated today-slept once and then took a 45 min nap close to the end of the day before being picked up. Hopefully she will sleep for a long time tonight.

I would just like to mention how much Jon has taken on for my first day at work.
1. He picked up Jolynn (so I could then go to the grocery store and take care of my Gym membership -that's another story)
2. He was feeding her when I got home.
3. He picked up the living room and stairs and vacuumed both.
4. He just took Jolynn downstairs to her swing.

Time for Momma to relax and recharge for another day.

Popcorn

2010-10-04T21:20:00.002-05:00

Jolynn was upset when she was in her swing so we went upstairs. For some reason I smelled buttered popcorn. When Jon got home he was holding Jolynn and asked why she smelled like popcorn. I looked back at what I ate that day - no popcorn was consumed. Jon started feeding her and she stopped taking it in, so we went to change her (this wakes her up or reminds her that she is still hungry). When I unzipped her nightgown I found poop all the way up to her belly button. Guess who got a bath.

Aldi vs. Cub

2010-10-03T21:58:00.002-05:00

I went to Cub a while back because I needed some items that Aldi would not have. Instead of going to Target and Aldi I decided to one-stop-shop and just go to Cub. BAD IDEA! My bill ended up being $101.23; granted there were many items that I would not have been able to get from Aldi. I was still surprised by the things I was able to get from both places and were much more expensive. Of that $101 bill, the quantity of items was only 33. I went to Aldi the other day and purchased some of the same items plus other things = quantity of items at 42. The bill was only $67. NEED I SAY MORE?!

My Morning

2010-09-14T06:57:00.003-05:00

My typical day now that I am a mommy.
Anywhere between 3am and 5am there is a feeding. This is the last feeding before I would need to be out the door for work. I have started a regime.
1. Boil water in electric kettle to thaw days worth of milk.
2. feed Jolynn
3. pump
4. measure out individual containers for each feeding
5. bag up pumped milk from day before for freezing
6. wash all the bottles
7. eat breakfast
8. take a shower
9. get myself ready
10. get diaper bag packed
11. get Jolynn ready (depending on how long everything else took-may be time for a feeding again)

Mornings aren't too bad because she is still sleepy that I can get stuff done. During the day she is awake longer. Feeding and then staying awake for 1-2 hours, then sleeping for only 1-2 hours before wanting to be fed again. I'm hoping that she starts to drink more and less often soon.

SAHM vs WORK

2010-08-29T21:29:00.003-05:00

It was a very rough day. Jon and I decided we cannot stay out past 7pm from now on. Even if Jolynn is able to sleep wherever we are, we cannot. Staying up all night is not in our future anymore. Last night we got home late, Jolynn got up around 1am. Normally she sleeps for almost 4 hours at a time. Not last night. 2 hours here and 2 hours there. Fed her at 6am, then Jon left for work. It's like she knows when he leaves because she wakes up 15 min later. At 7:30 she was awake and screaming. Sometimes I am able to bring her into our bed and she sleeps for another 2 hours. Not this time. She stayed awake for the rest of the day. She would sleep for a couple hours and then be up again. I tried everything - feeding, changing, burping, the swing, rocking chair, massaging her tummy, moving her legs into her chest, Gripe Water and Mylicon, I even took her temp to rule out sickness. Nothing was working. She just kept screaming. I could at least tell that it was the "I'm in pain" cry. It happens often with her gas build up. Usually it goes away after a feeding.

At this point I was at my breaking point. I had to leave her in her room with the door shut. Then I cried. I couldn't stand listening to her cry so I went back in. I should have stayed out. Holding her didn't make a difference (usually this soothes her); however, if I cried, she didn't. Go figure. I don't know how SAHMs do it. I just can't do this 24 hours 7 days a week. I would truly go insane. By the time Jon got home I was so ready to go back to work.

Jon got home at 4pm. It was time for another feeding, so we tried everything again. She cried again until it was time for another feeding at 7:30. Instead of trying to lay her down in her crib, this time I said I would just hold her until she fell asleep. By 8:30 she was out cold. I was afraid to move. She looked so peaceful (finally). She let out a couple good farts, so I knew something was working.

I love Jolynn. She is so precious and peaceful when she is feeling well. Getting to that point has been the challenge. With me breaking after a day of this, I also hope that Jon will be able to handle the stress when I go back to work. After a few hours when he was home, he sounded just like me. She doesn't know what shut up means, it only makes US feel better. She still cries. I have never known myself to have depression, but after today I wonder if I do. Was my crying just my way of releasing the stress? Should I be worried that this is going to develop into something worse? I don't have any genuine thoughts of hurting my child or myself. Sure, I screamed at her and in another room, I cried in another room and while holding her. At the same time, this evening I was so happy to get her to sleep (and fart) that I didn't want to put her in her crib. I could have stayed where I was until she woke for her next feeding.

Here's hoping that tomorrow brings a better day. Couldn't get worse than crying all day...could it?

Hospital Bill

2010-08-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

just got the bill from Maple Grove Hospital - so glad we have good insurance. $1480/day for the NICU, $2791 total for labs, $1567 for IV solutions, $792 for supplies. Total bill=$14,032. They applied an uninsured patient discount for $8840, bringing our total down to $5191. Jon says once Jolynn is on his insurance we will get a new bill that will be drastically less. Can't imagine what other parents do that have preemies in for months. Jolynn was only in for 6 days.

Daytime TV

2010-08-01T12:01:00.002-05:00

Being home this past week and now alone on a Sunday, I have realized why I enjoy working. There is NOTHING on TV during the day. Infomercials, soap operas, sporting events, religious programs. Probably doesn't help that we only have basic channels. I found myself watching WWE Superstars while pumping this morning. Sad. Really Sad.

Switching blogs

2010-07-25T08:18:00.001-05:00

Now that we are "we". I am switching any posts about Jolynn and family to New Beginnings.

Thank you for following my journey in pregnancy and bringing Jolynn into this world.

Going Home!

2010-07-24T10:00:00.004-05:00

Jolynn had a weigh in at midnight. She gained 2oz! She also slept each time either 3 1/2 hours or 4 hours and we had to wake her for the 4 hour ones. She ate 35-40ml at each feeding. Seeing her progress with the bottle feeding makes me want to just pump as much as I can and feed her by bottle. The only down side to bottle feeding so far has been if she is still hungry after she finishes her bottle. She has to wait for another portion to be warmed up. If she was breast fed I could just whip it out and give her a little more.

Last feeding was at 7:30am. If she is anything like she was all night then she won't be up until 11:30. Around 9:30 we went back up to see if the doctor had been in or when he would be in. He had been in early and did his exam. He said she was okay to go home. They are scheduling a home visit by a nurse for Monday. Nurse said we would have to wait for her to wake up or her next feeding to do the bath and go over discharge information.

Her bath: We really already knew how to give her a bath, we just wanted them to do it before we put her cute clothes on. Nurse Terri said most kids don't like getting this done and scream bloody murder. Jolynn was swaddled and then Terri washed her hair. Jolynn practically fell asleep. When Terri was done she started drying Jolynn's hair - then Jolynn whimpered.

It took almost an hour and a half to get our discharge papers. We had Jolynn in her car seat ready to go and Nurse Amy said it was going to be a while. It took us quite a bit to get her in the seat I just thought we would wait it out. When it had been almost 1/2 hour I decided to take her out. Glad I did seeing that it took them 1 1/2 hours to get everything together. Finally at 1:30pm we had our papers and we were out the door.

Jon's parents were at our house painting the craft room. Mike had jimmy-rigged our broken fence so the dogs couldn't get out. As soon as we got home I went straight to her room to get her in her crib because she was sleeping. 4pm would be her next feeding if she stayed sleeping. With everyone all around, there was so much going on that she didn't sleep. Margaret finally got to hold Jolynn. She probably had the best time because there were no wires and cords. When every one left I tried to get her back on the hospital regime. At 8pm I took her temp, changed her diaper and held her for a bit while Jon made her bottle. Then she was fed, burped, fed, burped, and put down to go back to sleep. So far so good.

I thought I would breastfeed at night and bottle feed during the day. It really didn't work that way. I got up at midnight to feed her and she wanted nothing to do with the boob and I was too tired to try and concentrate on doing it correctly. So I had Jon get up and show me how he was doing her bottles. She drank 20ml at that feeding. We went to bed and at 1:45 she was crying. I did everything all over again - diaper, feeding (30ml) and back to sleep. I couldn't believe that she downed the whole 30ml when she just had 20. That made her sleep until 5:30. Thank goodness. She drank 35ml. and went back to sleep but was a little fussy so I had Jon rock her for a while. My boobs were so full I had bumps on one, they were sore, and leaking. I had to pump. I am producing over 100ml on each pump now. Hopefully she'll start to drink more soon or I am going to have an abundance of frozen breast milk.

Hospital Stay : Day 8

2010-07-23T12:04:00.006-05:00

I won't lie. I thought the title for this post was going to be Going Home. I've decided I'm not getting my hopes up on anything until I see the paperwork that says she HAS BEEN DISCHARGED. Yesterday Dr. X said 2 days. Then a nurse came in and did an examination around 11pm saying she was getting to go home tomorrow (today). That same nurse was in this morning and said she thought Dr. X would agree that Jolynn could be discharged today. Dr. X shows up and tells Jon (he was there for her feeding) she will be here one more night. Now her reason for staying here is that she did not gain weight.

We switched to on-demand feeding. The nurses will call the room when she is getting hungry or stirring. We are only going to do bottles that way we know how much she is taking. It will still be breastmilk but we will know her intake.

I nursed at 5 and 8am. Both being about 15-18 min. After the 8am feeding I went back to the room and pumped (9am), then took a shower, and started to pack up the room. Don't count those chickens before they hatch. I should have known better. The NICU called at 9:30 and said Jolynn had not gone to sleep and was still hungry. Since I had just pumped I sent Jon down to give her a bottle. That's when he met with Dr. X. Jon got done giving Jolynn her bottle at 10am. Her next feeding was at 11. I showed up anyway, but they said we were doing on-demand feeding so they would call when she woke up. It got to be 1pm and I thought being that it was 3 hours from when she last finished maybe she would be hungry - nope, still sleeping! They don't let them go more than 4 hours with out feeding so I know we will go down by 2. I am just surprised that she is sleeping this long. This is the way I wanted to be feeding her though. Babies should eat, sleep, and poop right now. I didn't feel the feedings were productive because we were waking her up and she was falling asleep 10 min into the feeding. Hopefully she will be more awake for the feedings now.

It seems to be working. The last two feedings Jon has given her 30ml or more. One feeding he had to change 3 poopy diapers. She has been sleeping 3-4 hours between feedings, is awake for the whole feeding, and then stays awake a little after so we can converse with her or rock her to sleep. A lot less frustrating than before, and we are getting more rest in between feedings.

Hospital Stay: Day 7

2010-07-22T09:18:00.003-05:00

Who knew we would be here one week ago. It has been 4 days since Jolynn was born. She has made such great progress and so have I. Jolynn has no tubes inserted anymore and I am currently pumping 60ml each time. That's enough for two feedings if needed. Jon has fed Jolynn twice and I am finding it very helpful. Our 11:00 feeding took almost an hour because she basically fed twice. I had enough time to go back to the room and pump, cook some Easy Mac in the micro, and they were calling me down because she was hungry again. Shoveled my food down and fed her again. Fell asleep with her in my lap. It was getting close to her 2:00 feeding so I thought I better check if we were going to have anything to give her. Nope. Thank goodness for the bottles. Jon gets those feedings. So from 11 to 2 she has been fed 4 times!

Dr. X did a check up today. Her Bili levels were up a little again, but not enough where they have put her under the light. Deb, her nurse, said if she keeps pooping and peeing the way she is, they won't need to. Dr. X said if they need to they can send us home with a bili-blanket. She is having more trouble with jaundice in general because of a A,B, O blood type match. She is A- and I am O-; so our blood type match is causing her red blood cells to be attacked. Sorry honey.

Jon just returned and said they told him to bring in the car seat!

Tamara came after work to visit Jolynn. It was during her 5pm feeding so I bared all. It had been 3 hours since the last feeding, but that was the feeding that she ate 4 times at. I was surprised she would want to eat. She really wasn't sucking, just laying there with it in her mouth. So we had to give her 30ml by bottle. Since Tamara was there, Jon gave up his bottle feeding to her.

Grandpa Mike and Great-Grandpa brought us dinner but couldn't touch Jolynn because she was having her car seat test. That's right. CAR SEAT!!! All premature babies have to sit in their car seat for 1 1/2 hours and hold their head up. If it drops forward her airway would be compromised. So they went to dinner and came back. Jon and I decided that since the Grandpa's were here during her feeding time and I have an abundant amount of breast milk right now that we would do a bottle feed at 8pm and Jon again will give up his bottle feeding duty to his dad. They came back a little late so I started her feeding and they finished it.

I'm on my own tonight for all the feedings. Jon is going to sleep and make sure he is well rested so everything we are told tomorrow at least one of us will remember. Doctors are visiting more frequently and if we are as close as they say to going home I'm sure there will be instructions that need to be followed and remembered.

Hospital Stay: Day 6

2010-07-21T06:48:00.009-05:00

My production has increased. Jolynn's night nurse has always been very easy-going with me about coming down for feedings at the 2am time. She said at this point (because we don't have breastfeeding established) it is better to have me get sleep than come down. So last night I went to the 11pm feeding, then came back and pumped (around 15ml). At 2am I pumped again and got a little over 15ml. When I went down for her 5am feeding I brought all the milk and she was able to have an entire syringe of just breast milk. After the 5am feeding I pumped again and got over 30ml. They gave me stickers to label the containers now because most likely I will be producing more than she needs. Jon and I have been talking about our options if the breastfeeding doesn't take. I really want her to be on breastmilk. I would have loved to breastfeed, but the milk is more important. Eventually I would be going back to work anyway and she would be bottle fed, plus Jon would be feeding her occasionally by bottle also. So if she doesn't catch on soon we may switch to bottle feeding with breast milk.

Jolynn was a little trouble maker last night. She pulled her feeding tube out and had the monitor wires pulled off and in her mouth. They ended up putting the tube back in, but on the other side and used a different kind of tape that looks thicker. Then they put socks on her hands and taped them on.

8am feeding: Jolynn was taken off the bili light and nursed for 20 min! They did not hook her up to the syringe with the breast milk that I pumped (which I had enough for a full feeding again). Now the only thing I am concerned about is how much she actually took in. At least with the syringe we knew how much breast milk she consumed; with nursing, I know she was latched on the whole time and she was sucking and a few times I heard her swallow. How much did she actual take in - apparently you can only tell by weight gain. So far she has only been losing. This was a big hurdle though. I really felt like we accomplished something. I had to use the nipple shield again. This time we were both in a better place when using it. She was sucking and I was producing. I know we will have this down by the end of the night.

11am and 2pm feedings: still no bili light and no syringe feeding. At the 2pm feeding we decided to switch to on demand buffet style feedings. She falls asleep very easily when feeding so whenever she wakes up now she will be fed. Jon stayed down with her while I pumped.
5pm feeding: We were told if she didn't feed for a minimum of 15 min then she would be supplemented with 15ml of stored breast milk. They told us this could be given in bottle form. They mentioned this because we had asked earlier - Jon wanted to feed her, and eventually I would be going back to work so she would be on a bottle anyway. This was also asked when she was having trouble nursing. I was upset at first about her taking a bottle, but had a little talk with Jodi and felt better. Like for tonight - Jon says he is going to take the 2am feeding and give it do her in bottle form so I can sleep. I still get up to pump, but that is only 15min vs. an hour.

Grandma and Grandpa Benson brought dinner and then visited with Jolynn.

8pm feeding: She barely made it. I got the 15 min but then wanted to try for a few more minutes just for good measure. Not happenin. When she falls asleep she is out. We poke her tummy, rub the back of her neck and shoulder blade, or tap under her chin; trying to get her to nurse again. Lift her arm and it goes limp. Thank goodness she is still hooked up to monitors or I would wonder if she was dead. She has no response, no movement. A very solid sleeper.

11pm feeding: made the 15 min mark and went a little beyond. She fell right asleep when done.

Hospital Stay: Day 5

2010-07-20T06:27:00.006-05:00

Late Monday night, Jolynn was diagnosed with jaundice. So they put her on a Bili Light and I was told to get as much sleep as I could because she could not be removed from the light for more than 30 min. If I happened to wake up I would pump and bring whatever I had down to the NICU. I woke up around 2 or 3, pumped and then looked with astonishment. I had some in the actual container! I ran it down there and they got a dropper to suck it up. I was so happy. I went back to bed, but woke up at 4:45. Waking up several times is normal for me anyway with going to the bathroom. Now, instead of going back to sleep, I pump. So I went at it again. Again, getting some into the container. I brought it down and this time they gave me a kit of smaller containers and some syringes to suck up the milk and bring down. Each time I have pumped today I have gotten more than the last. I am hoping that by tomorrow night my supply will have come in.

Jolynn is still on the bili light. Getting a nice tan. Her bilirubin levels went up again so they added a Bili Blanket (looks like a blue glowing pad). Since she can be off the light for 30 min at a time, they have me breastfeed at her scheduled feeding times and then put her back on the light to get the supplemental formula. My last pumping I had 12ml so eventually she will be feeding only on my breast milk. Goal now is to get her to take it from the breast, otherwise we will have to bottle feed.

I was discharged today. We moved our stuff into a "boarding" room that is a little ways away-but free and still in the birthing wing of the hospital. Jon and I went home and gathered a few things then headed back to the hospital. They really want to promote breastfeeding if that is your choice. I was worried once I was discharged that I would have to go home and leave her here.

Hearing test results came in yesterday also. Forgot to add that to last post. Despite shooting handguns and shotguns at BOW, Jolynn's hearing passed.

Maple Grove Hospital had their 1000 baby born today. We found out Jolynn was #987.

Hospital Stay: Day 4

2010-07-20T05:40:00.001-05:00

We had a few more visitors today; Jodi, Brian and the girls, Olaf and Knute.

Today was the day to get my butt in motion. They told me I would be concentrating on getting my milk to come in. I was getting very discouraged. She was improving every time we went in to check on her, and I was still the same-pumping only a smear of milk onto the collection cups.

When we checked on Jolynn she was sucking away on her pacifier. The nurses have been working with her on the sucking so when I come in at least I have that. We have been trying different holds for breastfeeding. I like the football hold on the left side, but Jolynn does not. She doesn't mind it on the right side, but my right side isn't producing anything right now. When Jodi came she watched and suggested different things while I tried to feed again. It was really helpful. I was supposed to meet with a lactation consultant but they have very odd hours and had left early.

Jon has been absolutely wonderful. He is such a proud papa and really took today to be with her any moment he had. I have a thing about waking a sleeping baby-they look so peaceful I don't want to disturb them. He said he didn't want her being alone in the little tray they have her in, so he would rather be holding her. So sweet. He also asks all the right questions and remembers everything.

Jolynn's temperature was regulated enough that she was controlling it so she was switched to a regular bed instead of the warmer. Her glucose levels were normal and stayed there so the IVs were removed. Since the IVs were removed she still had to get nourishment and my milk has not come in yet, so they put a tiny tube in her nose down to her stomach. She is getting supplemental formula as well as breastfeeding and taking whatever I get from pumping.

Hospital Stay: Day 3

2010-07-20T05:27:00.003-05:00

So Day 3 was really this post.

We had so many visitors, but they were all perfectly spaced out. First was Grandma and Grandpa Moritz, then Grandma and Grandpa Benson with Great Aunt Sally. Followed by Nate and Uncle Jason, Jared and Naomi, Erin, and Sara K. Doesn't seem like many people, but it worked out perfect to have time to rest, pump and take our time visiting.

Jolynn improved by leaps and bounds every time we checked on her. She had a good bowel movement and many wet diapers. She was spitting up a bit of amniotic fluid because the birth was so quick it didn't squeeze it out of her.

Jolynn Rochelle Moritz

2010-07-18T23:37:00.006-05:00

Born 7/18/10, 7:17 am, 4 lb 11 oz, 18 inches

Our beautiful baby girl decided she needed to come out 4 weeks early. This is her story:

At 10am I was given a drug called Cytotec (a pill put next to my cervix that ripens it).
I slept until 2am and then was checked-1 cm-then given another dose of Cytotec. Because of having preeclampsia Dr. Hessel said she was surprised I was given a second dose of Cytotec; this drug is known to put you into labor.
Around 4am I was awaken by severe cramping and need to go #2. Very similar to most of my mornings when I was at home. Being new to pregnancy I did not know what contractions would feel like. Labor I knew was menstrual like cramps, but mine were accompanied by the need to go the bathroom, so I thought it was just that. Once I got in the bathroom I was stuck for a while because my "cramps" were so bad I couldn't get up. Once I got up we called my nurse (Jane). She said she had been watching my monitor for the past 2 hours and I was having some major contractions and then when I wasn't plugged in for a while she thought she better come check on me. She was absolutely right. It was breathing time. Jon was great. Jane checked my cervix and I was at 2 almost 3 cm. My pain was so bad she decided it was time to call for an epidural.
Epidural doctor showed up at 4:30. By 4:40 they were putting in a test dose. By 4:50 I was completely numb and feeling great. The other nurses were getting a little nervous because they were still watching my monitor. My contractions were not having a down time. I was given two shots to try and slow my contractions (which I was not feeling). I started to feel pressure in my groin and that turned into pain in my stomach. We called the epidural doc back to give me an extra dose. That dose helped me, but slowed Jolynn's heartrate. They put me on my side. That didn't work. They asked if I could get on all fours. Normally with an epidural you are not supposed to be able to move from the waist down. I somehow was still able to move, but didn't feel anything. So I got on all fours and then swayed my hips back and forth. They also put O2 on me. This all helped because Jolynn's heart rate came back up.
At this point I really don't know what time it was, but everything went VERY fast.
I started to feel pressure again in my pelvic bone area. The doctor checked my cervix and I was 5 cm. Around 7am she checked again and I was 9cm. There was not much time between the 5 and 9. Jon sent out a text message saying I was at 9cm. I told the doctor that it felt like she was coming out. She checked again and sure enough she told me to start pushing. Still having trouble with Jolynn's heart rate, they kept me on my side to push. I had 2 good pushes and then the doc said next push she was coming out. She wasn't kidding. At 7:17am, she shot out like a torpedo. Jon had wanted to catch her and then cut the umbilical cord. Unfortunately, she had the cord wrapped around her neck, so he wasn't able to. This was another reason her heart rate was so low. They wisked her to the NICU. I told Jon to go with her. He was fantastic. He knew everything going on and had the nurse report everything back to me.
Jolynn was doing great but because she was so small her sugar levels were low. She scored an 8 at the first minute after birth for the APGAR test and a 9 at five minutes (out of 10). Her blood sugar level was a 32 when she first got into the NICU she was put on an IV to get the sugar and a supplemental IV in her by 10:30 her level was at a 62 (normal is 50). As soon as I could I headed in there and tried to nurse. She was able to latch on! Now I just have to get something for her to drink.

Hospital Stay: Day 2

2010-07-17T06:30:00.006-05:00

Slept way better last night. Only got up two times. Both were for my BP check, which were within range and no alarms. Things are going well, so I hope Dr. Hessel will go as planned with getting my cervix prepped. Jodi brought us some preemie outfits yesterday and Jon picked out a cute one again. With all this being unplanned, Jon's mom thought for sure we were going to have this 10 lb baby because her boys were both big and long. With the ultrasounds showing her growth, she has been within normal range to be about 8 lbs at normal gestation. So I figure with being 1 month to go, she is probably around 6 lbs. So the outfit we had was for a newborn and Jodi's sister-in-law, Jenny, said her baby was swimming in that when they left the hospital and suggested getting the preemie.

Jane told us yesterday that the reason they have been late on getting things to me and I have to keep buzzing them is because I am a patient that they have not had before. The have those in labor and delivery, and those in postpartum. I am what they are calling antipartum. Basically, a sick pregnant person. They have not had someone who is pregnant and on bedrest stay at the hospital. This is a fairly new hospital so I can see that. I told her I understand and hopefully they don't mind me buzzing them when I know it is time for a BP reading or my medications. She said not at all and explained the whole thing above.

10:30- met with Dr. Hessel. She explained that my 24 urine collection showed proteins and I definitely have developed preeclampsia. My BP readings have been good, but not consistant and always from a laying down position. She is afraid if I were to go home the BP would not be good and I could have seizures. So they are starting Cytotec (a pill form) that gets inserted every four hours starting at 10pm (then 2am and 6am). It is possible for this pill to put me in labor. If it doesn't then they will start pitocin tomorrow.

11:00- Neonatal Nurse came in and talked to me about what to expect at delivery. Worse case scenario if she needs a ventilator she will be transported to North Memorial. Most times with 36wk babies she only sees a nasal canula to supply O2. If Jolynn comes out screaming (normal), they will put her on my chest. Then they will bring her to the warming unit and do their tests, measurements, and return her to me to be with me 24 hours. If she doesn't score well on the APGAR test or is in distress when she comes out, then they will take her over to the NICU for more observation. She said to plan on a weeks stay here (worse case), that way if everything goes well she will just go home as normal and everyone will be happy. She said she has seen many 36wk babies come out just fine and all they end up doing is saying "congratulations and good bye".

No visitors today so I slept a lot. Jon showed up around 6:30 and then went Target for snacks.

10:00- got first dose of Cytotec. Slept for a while, then Jane came in to check me at 2am and give another dose. I was at 1cm already. I woke up at 4am with very bad cramps and having to go #2. I didn't think I could get off the toilet the cramps were so bad. Jane checked me again and I was close to 2cm. She ordered the epidural. That doc showed up at 4:30. By 4:50 I was numb from the waist down. Jane said I was having contractions and I never felt them. Wonderful thing.

Hospital Stay: Day 1

2010-07-16T08:08:00.005-05:00

So it's not technically day 1, but it is the first full day being here.

thanks to Jodi for dropping what she was doing and going to my house to pack my hospital bag. And to those that watched her kids so she could drop everything.

When I was admitted yesterday they had the NST machine on me constantly and were taking my BP every hour. Luckily they took everything off at night otherwise going to the bathroom would have been very tricky. I had a slight headache yesterday that was gone this morning, but was replaced with a neck ache (slept wrong). They told me when I woke up to go to the bathroom if it was around 2am to buzz the nurse and they would do a BP check. Then they did another one at 6am. Both times the buzzer went off on the machine. This usually means that the lower number is over 90. So far this morning they have not had any machines hooked up to me. I'm a little surprised. Yesterday they also checked my cervix. It was soft and she said a finger. If you have been or know someone that has been pregnant you will know what that means. I don't know what the size means. I figure I just need to get through today and tomorrow they will start prepping my cervix so there will be more things going on to distract me.

Sounds like when I get home, besides having a beautiful baby girl to look at, there will also be the sliding glass door installed and the window downstairs will be done. Possibly even have the craft room painted. I really wish I would have had another week. That's all I needed. I had all these plans to get this stuff done by 7/25. That would have been week 37 and I knew there was a possibility of being induced at that point. Not hospital bed bound at week 35 day 4.

2:30pm: snack cart just came by. I've been posting my BP readings on facebook. Sounds like they won't be constantly monitoring me unless the results come up unfavorable. So far they have been good so they just keep letting me rest with out all the cords. My hair is starting to feel a little grubby. A few people have mentioned coming to visit today and tonight. Don't mind the dreads. Tomorrow I try taking a quick shower. They have to make me into Michael J (one glove) to cover the IV in my hand.

From 2:30 until 10pm I had guests here. First Jodi, Carrie, and Tamara. Then Jon got here and his parents, Olaf and Sara, and then my mom and Aunt Sally. Not everyone was here at once, so that was good too.

We found out that our nurse for the weekend is going to be Jane. She is fantastic. Lots of experience. We also found out that the doctor for the weekend is Hessel. WOO HOO! I'm feeling good about my team.

35 weeks

2010-07-13T19:03:00.004-05:00

Doc Appt: I was a little concerned when they had asked me to come back for another appointment on Tuesday after just having my last appointment on Thursday. BP 136/88. Lost weight, so down 3 lbs from starting weight. Jolynn's heart rate was around 146. She moved more during the NST than she did last time. I don't know how to read these things because apparently she still isn't responding the way they would like. So my appointment this morning at 8:30 ended up with me coming back at 4:30 for ANOTHER ultrasound. This time they were looking at her lungs and blood flow through the umbilical cord. Both were not what they wanted to see. The blood flow through the UC shows restricted. Most likely because of the high BP. Dr. Florey asked me to see the Perinatal Unit for another ultrasound tomorrow (Wednesday). She mentioned bed rest. I don't know how much bed rest. If that is just to see how Jolynn reacts to rest and unrestricted blood flow by laying on my left side only, or if it is bed rest only to get me to 37 weeks and then they will induce. I know they know best, so I will do what they say and hope that Jolynn will be okay.

Doc Appt #2: Ultrasound #2 for the week at North Memorial Hospital. Jolynn was more active - enough to qualify for their standards. She also had the hiccups (which count for breathing patterns) and was breathing in between the hiccups. The umbilical cord was still showing signs of restricted blood flow. The doctor asked if I could go to Maple Grove Hospital for another ultrasound Thursday morning.

Ultrasound #3 for the week: Started at 8am at Maple Grove Hospital. Ultrasound went great. Jolynn was moving and breathing (no hiccups). Then they decided (for the heck of it) to take my BP-146/109. They were concerned about preeclampsia so they admitted me to the labor and delivery area. I stayed in the triage room for 2 hours, then they moved me to a postpartum room. They have 11 deliveries going on today - busy day.

I think we have had a total of 6 ultrasounds. Most people get one. I've started to fall asleep during them - same with the non-stress test. Just laying there listening to the heart beat. Or during the ultrasound where they are monitoring the breathing there really isn't anything to look at. Unfortunately in these later weeks you can't tell what things are on the screen; too little room left and the screen isn't big enough. The technicians are nice enough to try and get a profile photo each time.

So here I am in the hospital and they are not letting me out until Jolynn is born. Doctor came in and said with my BP being so high they do not want to send me home. I am at risk for seizures and the placenta separating from the uterus. All things not good. So the plan now (according to the doc) is bedrest on my side, constant BP monitoring, and if my BP stays around where it is when I am resting they will prep my cervix on Saturday and induce Sunday. Sunday will be week 36. At that point, Jolynn will most likely only need a few days of observation. If BP goes up before Saturday then they will induce before.

Jolynn's progress (she's the one that is doing great):
According to Babycenter:
Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.

34 weeks

2010-07-09T06:45:00.000-05:00

Doc Appt: BP was 134/82. Gained another pound. Still one pound down from starting weight. Guess I have to expect it at this point - baby has to grow. The ultrasound was first. Everything went and looked good. We got some more pictures. Not much room left in there. She was head down and the technician thinks she's pretty much going to stay there. If she moves it is from side to side, not doing flips from head to rump. Which but the way her rump seems like it is constantly in my ribs. Love that. After the ultrasound we had our regular OB appt with the non-stress test. She had been moving like crazy all day, during the US, and while in the waiting room. Then we get in to do the non-stress test and she doesn't move. Dr. Haxton came in and said her heart rate looked good and steady and there were a few points where it was accelerated so she wasn't worried. The fact that she wasn't moving probably just meant she was sleeping or comfy where she was. The doctor figures by the US that Jolynn is 5lb 2oz give or take 6oz. Which means she could be 5-6 lbs right now. There is still talk of being induced at 37 weeks. It was mentioned actually more than the 39 weeks at today's appointment. She did say we would make the appointment to be induced in week 38 so we can pick what doctor will be there and when we want to go in. If it happens naturally after making the appointment-all the better.

This week didn't see much going on. Been pretty low key. Went to a movie (Eclipse). Put up the mural (peel-n-stick). Jon put up a shelf. Hope to have the book shelves by next week. (Blogger is acting funny - won't load photos - see Facebook for photos of mural and shelf.)

Jolynn according to Babycenter:
Your baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds (like your average cantaloupe) and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. If you've been nervous about preterm labor, you'll be happy to know that 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.

33 weeks

2010-06-30T06:59:00.005-05:00

Doc Appt: A much better turn out than last week. BP 124/84. Gained 3 lbs, but still down 2 from starting weight. They said they will be hooking me up to the non-stress test every visit now. Jolynn was not as active as last time but her heartbeat was steady and the doc said that was all she was looking for; that Jolynn was not stressed in the womb. She said if everything keeps going the way it is we can look at a due date no later than 8/8. Next week is another ultrasound.

This past weekend was my first shower. I had so much fun. I'm really not used to being the center of attention. Usually I am the one hosting (I love to host parties). Everytime I turned around someone was doing something for me. Getting me water, get another present, packed up all the presents and brought them to the car before I knew what was going on. All taken care of.

This weekend is the Annual Fourth of July party at the Moritz house. Lots more food, fun, friends, and family. Hopefully the weather will hold out because everyone always goes in the pool. I went in the day before the shower to try and clean out some of the debris. A bit cold, but okay once I moved around. I couldn't quite get myself to go under however. When I got out I felt like I weighed 30lbs more! The front of me felt soo heavy. I didn't feel lighter when I was in the water, but getting out was such a difference.

Jolynn's progress:
This week your baby weighs a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17-inch mark. She's rapidly losing that wrinkled, alien look and her skeleton is hardening. The bones in her skull aren't fused together, which allows them to move and slightly overlap, thus making it easier for her to fit through the birth canal.

Friend Shower

2010-06-27T20:05:00.007-05:00

I had my first baby shower this afternoon. I'm sorry, but I was so caught up in everything that I did not take many photos and I didn't pass my camera off to someone. I believe Jodi was taking some photos so check Facebook or possibly her blog for more photos.

I showed up a bit earlier than I was supposed to because I was soo excited. Erin was already there and had decorated. She, Jodi and Margaret were staging the food and other table. I did get pictures of the finished staging of each table. The food was fantastic and the shirts that everyone made were really cute.

It was so nice to see everyone there. Strange how I have been friends with some since I was in grade school and some for a couple years. As they went around the room telling everyone who they were and how they knew me, some were like 6 degrees of separation because of meeting through someone else.
Thank you Jodi, Erin and Margaret for hosting this party. You did a fantastic job - Jolynn and I appreciate it very much.

32 weeks

2010-06-23T07:19:00.007-05:00

Doc Appt: Good and Bad again. I lost another 2 lbs. That's 5 total! They hooked me up to a fetal monitor for a non-stress test. I thought Jolynn was doing just fine. The books say to count at least 10 movements in an hour. She did 9 in 20 min. Doctor came in and said, "hmmm, not quite what we're looking for"; then did a claw with her hand and gave Jolynn a shake. Then Jolynn moved about 9 times is a few minutes. Doctor came back in and said, "yup, that's what we were looking for." Ok. I go back again next week and then the week after that they have another ultrasound ordered. Oh, the bad...blood pressure was 146/96. Another good...I only waited in the lobby for 2 min!

Things are moving along in the room too. Jon put up the blinds and curtains. Sounds like the book shelves will done in another week or so. Our travel system arrived. Thank you Cindy and Sarah! Jon found it on the deck, we think it arrived Wednesday. They didn't leave a note on the door or in the mailbox saying it was back there. Luckily it didn't rain as hard as it did the night before or we would have a soggy box.

Last class: The pediatrician came. We (mainly two people) asked many questions. They went through bathing, swaddling, soothing techniques. We watched a video at the end that was hilarious. It had this doctor on telling you the 5 S's to calm a crying baby. I wish I would have written them down. Swaddle, Shoosh (that was the funniest), Swing, and I can't remember the last two. I really lost it after the shooshing. I really enjoyed going to these classes, even if we knew a majority of it. We ended up meeting a couple from Rogers. She goes to North Clinic also and we are (were) due a week apart. Jon and I just found that we related to them more than the other couples and they were easy to talk to. We exchanged information so hopefully we'll keep in touch now that class is over. Once again, Facebook is a wonderful thing.

Jolynn's progress:
By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

31 weeks

2010-06-17T21:52:00.006-05:00

Braxton Hicks - otherwise known to me as constant sit ups. I probably have been having these for a few weeks now, but didn't notice as much. This week has been crazy. I feel like I am getting them ALL.THE.TIME. Sometimes it will be part of my side, then my whole stomach will be one hard ball. Really, it's like doing a bunch of sit-ups. Jon asked if I was having contractions - no, those would be more intense, and would feel like menstrual cramps too. Pretty sure I don't have those.

We have been getting many things off our to-do list this week also. Mom and Bumby have started or finished their projects. Jon helped organize the guest room. I washed all the Munchkin Market clothes (4 loads!). And we moved the big mirror in Jolynn's room to our room (it attaches to our bedroom set anyway) so I could apply the mural (yet to do).

Monday's appointment: BP 140/82. Must have been okay to them because they didn't raise my meds again. I did mention that the last two times I have been in for an appointment they have forgotten about me in the waiting room and I had to notify them 15 min after my appointment was supposed to start that I was still there. This last time I waited 20 min in the lobby, then didn't actually see the doctor until 45 min after my scheduled appointment. This really doesn't help my BP. All other stats were good again - no weight gain and Jolynn's HR was ~148. Next week I will have a non-stress test. They said they would do another ultrasound around 35-36 weeks to see how she is progressing. If we need to go in at 37 weeks they will determine if she is head down or breech; and this will decide if we are induced or c-section. Still hoping to ride this out as long as I can - cook baby cook.

Class: almost done. One more week to go. Today's was pain management through the labor stages using ice. I found that the ball worked the best; doing the Doula Hula or leaning over it and having Jon massage my lower back.

Jolynn's progress:
This week, your baby measures over 16 inches long. She weighs about 3.3 pounds and is heading into a growth spurt. She can turn her head from side to side, and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as needed fat accumulates underneath her skin. She's probably moving a lot, too, so you may have trouble sleeping because your baby's kicks and somersaults keep you up. Take comfort: All this moving is a sign that your baby is active and healthy.

BOW 2010

2010-06-10T06:41:00.007-05:00

Summer BOW. A little different this year being I was 30 weeks pregnant. I didn't take any classes that were strenuous. First class was handgun. I already know how to shoot them, but how often do you get to? So I did that, I would just like to say that you don't want to mess with this mama - I'm a dead eye.

I bring you back also to last summer's BOW I believe - when I took out the buffalo.

Class #2 was canoeing. Funny thing with this (I should have taken a picture). When I put my life-preserver on, everything was going great until I got to the tummy. Darn thing slipped right up! I figured I was pretty buoyant if anything was to happen. I ended up with the instructors. It was very relaxing. I ended up getting a bandanna award for being able to steer so well (was in the back). The instructor in the front said she barely had to do anything. The other instructor sat in the middle and was able to observe everyone else. Being back in the canoe on a big lake reminded me of BWCA. Thinking of planning a trip out there again maybe next spring.

Class #3 was walking stick. I've made many sticks in my time with Tent City, but this time I had tools and embellishments...wood burners, Chinese carving tools, leather, beads, rocks, paint.

Class #4 was supposed to be Fly Fishing. We had heard that the class was on a river with tubes or off shore or off a bridge. Since I didn't have chest waders and they didn't have hip waders, I thought the other two would be my option. Well, the first class came back and said they were on the lake in tubes. Sunday morning it happened to also be raining (again), so Margaret said absolutely not. I ended up going back to the walking stick class and made another stick. I helped another attendee with her stick - she was 92 (?) and was having trouble stripping the bark from her stick.

The roomies this year:

Dorothy, Linda, Margaret, and me (we also had a newbie-Becca)

30 weeks

2010-06-07T17:42:00.008-05:00

I had my 30 week appointment on Monday. My glucose results from last week were 88, (which were lower than last time!) so I don’t have to do the 3 hour test. Still haven’t gained any weight. My BP was 140/88. She upped my meds again to 300 mg 2xday. She said to tell my boss that I would for sure not be going past 39 weeks, so at the latest I will now be 8/8. If they have to keep upping my meds and it looks like the baby isn’t growing anymore, I may go in at 37 weeks (7/25). I don't know if this means induction or C-section. I'm hoping for induction. The only thing I am worried about with this new time-line is the showers. Nothing has gone out for dates as far as I know. I have only the car seat to get to be able to bring Jolynn home. Everything else can be later. The car seat is a combo traveling system with the stroller, so I don't want to go get it early if someone already bought or planned on buying it. (I have since found out that my cousin and aunt have gone in together and purchased this so I don't have to worry about the car seat.-Thank you Sarah and Cindy!)

Okay - so you ask,
"Are you excited?" - yes!
"Are you nervous?" - I wasn't until I got the news that I was possibly going from 10 weeks left to 7 weeks.

Besides the news about moving up the due date, the doctor also put me on Zantac 2x day. She thinks the night time acid reflux is causing my cough, which in turn makes me cough so hard I gag and then throw-up. Hoping this will help, since taking around 10 Tums a day is not working.
Night one of new drugs: 300 mg of BP meds+2 tsp Robitussin+150mg of Zantac=no Tums all night and only getting up to go to the bathroom!

Class this week:
We went over more relaxation techniques, medications, and packing your bags. Probably all good things considering we are at the end of 30 weeks and now looking at 6 weeks left. I'm really hoping we go longer than 37 weeks, but preparing myself for it at the same time. We found out that the epidural can actually lower your blood pressure (which was a bullet point in the disadvantage side). In my case, this may be a good thing.

This jump start in time has kick started something in Jon. He had two days off this week (his normal), but he got so much done. Normally I ask what he did all day and he says nothing or he'll do something that really does itself (laundry/dishes in dishwasher). This week he tackled cutting the lawn, pulling/killing weeds, laundry, dishes, vacuumed, laid carpet in the entryway, and we both started organizing/cleaning the guest room. Lots of stuff getting accomplished here. He also made dinner two nights in a row! I am soo grateful to have him in my life. I can't imagine anyone else caring for me so much (even when I am bitchy).

Jolynn's progress:
Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)

29 weeks

2010-06-02T07:20:00.003-05:00

This will be an early mid-week post. I'm off to BOW for another fun filled relaxing weekend! Jon and I went to an early class this week too because they were giving a tour of the rooms again. This time I brought my camera. It goes kind of fast because I wasn't sure if it was okay and I didn't want to hold up the group. You get the idea. The first video is the birthing room and the second is the recovery room. They don't look much different except the birthing room has a big tub, where the recovery room has a shower.

I also had another doctor's appointment. Jon came with this time. I brought my readings and the cuff I was using so they could see that yes I was taking my BP, but it probably wasn't accurate. They agreed. The readings were very off. I read 142/90 at the office visit. I lost another pound. Jolynn's heart rate was around 140. I forgot that this visit was also my next 1-hour glucose test. I don't have those results yet, but the orange flavor really gave me a stomach ache this time. Since my BP was still elevated and I was due for another ultrasound anyway, they scheduled one for later in the afternoon. Everything still looks good - still a girl. She measured just right for the week I'm on. The technician said she measured/weighed in the 50 percentile. Almost 3 lbs! She wasn't able to print any new profile pictures because once again Jolynn was camera shy. She was all curled in a ball with her head tucked into her chest.

Jolynn's progress:
Your baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and her head is growing bigger to make room for her developing brain. To meet her increasing nutritional demands, you'll need plenty of protein, vitamins C, folic acid, and iron. And because her bones are soaking up lots of calcium, be sure to drink your milk (or find another good source of calcium, such as cheese, yogurt, or enriched orange juice). This trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in your baby's hardening skeleton each day.

28 weeks

2010-05-24T17:28:00.005-05:00

Monday's appointment wasn't great. On the positive, still no weight gain and Jolynn's HR is around 150. My BP was high again though. They had me rest on my left side for a while and then retested. It went down, but now they want me to test it everyday for the next week and then I have to revisit them on Wednesday. At that point they will decide if I need to come back in a week or if I can start my every two week regime. This sucks. I feel fine. I'm not swelling or light headed or feel like my heart is going to burst out of my chest. My choices are either go to the clinic everyday for a BP check or stop at a Target/Walgreens and use one of those machines. I don't do well with the machines because they get really tight/painful. Plus with camping this weekend, it's going to make it hard to find a place to do this. I'm hoping my mom still has her BP cuff and scope.

Mom's cuff was stolen when the cabin was broken into. So I went to CVS. They had a cuff and scope for $15 and a digital one for $30. I have come to the conclusion that the digital one is not all that accurate because I am reading 154/104 IN THE MORNING. The cuff does say that it has to wrap around to a certain point on your arm or you have to go up a size. Which it doesn't, so I'm sure it's not taking an accurate reading. Again, I feel fine. If I had any of the signs of preeclampsia I would be worried, but I don't.

My 28 week photo for some reason looks smaller to me than my 26 week. I'm so excited for the next few weeks - camping, BOW, volunteering at the MS 150. Then there will be a few weeks of rest. We still have class until the end of June also.

Jolynn's progress:
By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

27 weeks

2010-05-21T20:18:00.002-05:00

We attended our first birthing class on Thursday. It was a packed room. Jon and I thought we were early because we were there 15 min before start time. Everyone else was pretty much right behind us. I found that I am not very good at asking the questions. I just don't have any. Talking was not a problem though during the group discussions. With all the books and websites I've been going to, there isn't much I'm not prepared for. Jon on the other hand I wasn't so sure of. I thought this would be nice for him to talk to other expecting dads. He found that he too was much more prepared for what is to come than most of the other dads there. At the end of class we talked to the instructor about how many of the dads were pretty clueless and how Jon was more at ease with everything because of the books he had been reading. She suggested he bring his books to our next class. Women tend to look and read into this more than men, and she thought if it came from him (not the instructor) it would have more weight.

I've been diligently taking my medication and watching the salt intake. I admit, I have had a McD's and we have been to Red Robin a couple times. Do you really expect me to eat salad 7 days a week twice a day?! I need to splurge every now and then. I'm feeling great. I've been weighing myself and still have not seen any weight gain. I have my last monthly appointment on Monday. There will of course be an update in week 28. After that I believe the appointments go every 2 weeks for the next 2 months and then every week for the last month. Cruisin right along! Jolynn was a little quiet the last two days, but has been moving quite a bit again today. Go right ahead. Squirm all you want. Daddy and I love to feel it...and sometimes Polly too.

Jolynn's progress:
This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

26 weeks

2010-05-15T12:50:00.003-05:00

I made it to the end of the 2nd trimester! Bring on the last 3 months! I can't believe it. It really is going fast. I think about the things that are left to do with the room and I hope things come together soon. Jolynn moves a lot. Jon has been feeling her more (and believes that it really is her). Polly was resting her head on my belly last night and Jolynn started kicking and squirming. Polly got up and moved to Jon's belly. Haha. I want to try and find a stethoscope. The books say I may be able to hear the heart beat with one at this point.

Things are starting to hit work too. People realizing that there are only 3 months left. I think I am right on track and all the sales reps I work with are really sticking to their deadlines so I can get things done before I leave. Things run so smoothly when everyone does what they are supposed to do.

I've been to a point where I think I should still be able to do things and eat things. Then I do, and I don't want to do them again. Mowed the front lawn; pretty sure I don't want to do that again in the next 3 months. Eating spicy food; pretty sure I can't do that again for a while. Lugging groceries into the house; lighter bags or Jon has to be home to help. All a learning curve.

The one thing I still don't get is how I haven't gained any weight. I've actually lost weight. I'm HUGE. Really. And I still have the biggest growth spurt to go. Where is it going? Was I this big before I was pregnant and the baby has been eating away at my body (as my mom once called-a parasite)? Whatever is going on, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Hope it continues after Jolynn is born.

Jolynn update:
The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. She may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. She's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of her lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when she's born and takes that first gulp of air. And she's continuing to put on baby fat. She now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches from head to heel.

25 weeks

2010-05-08T08:19:00.010-05:00

This marks the week that Jon got to feel Jolynn. I felt some hefty kicks and thought maybe he would be able to feel them on the outside. I felt for it first and did, then put his hand in the same spot. He thought I flexed my stomach muscles - nope, that was Jolynn!

It has also been brought to my attention that I need to slow my purchasing down, at least until after any showers. Mike asked me yesterday (as I was showing him more outfits from Munchkin Markets) if Jolynn had 365 outfits yet. Not quite, but close. I took a few photos of the loot.

Jodi had mentioned also that I didn't have any posts up on here or Facebook about the wall art above Jolynn crib. Here you go.

Next, picture this: Jodi had me send her these two photos so she could make original works of art on canvas to put above the couch.

Jolynn's progress:
Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

24 weeks

2010-04-30T09:14:00.007-05:00

It was an interesting week. Started with my appointment on Monday with the doc after being on BP meds for 2 days and having a low sodium intake. BP was much better - 130/48. It is still high, but I thought that much lower after 2 days was much better. I also lost 2 lbs! With as much as I am going to the bathroom, I really didn't think I was retaining that much water. They said I didn't have to come back for 4 weeks, so that was also a good thing. Not helping with the low sodium intake - I have been craving potato chips and KFC. I have not given in. Popcorn chicken sounds really good though.

Still keeping myself pretty busy. This weekend I am volunteering at the Parkinson Walk. Something I have done for almost 5 years now. I just help write out the forms for the groups getting their photo taken. Nothing strenous. Then I will meet up with Jodi and possibly Erin for the next Munchkin Market sale at Washington County Fairgrounds. In the evening, Jon and I were invited over to Olaf's for game night. Nice to get together with friends, and after a busy day, glad I'm not hosting it.

Jolynn's progress:

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts her at just over a pound. Since she's almost a foot long, she cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon start to plump up. Her brain is also growing quickly now, and her taste buds are continuing to develop. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help her air sacs inflate once she hits the outside world. Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

23 weeks

2010-04-24T08:20:00.003-05:00

It was an interesting week. I had a doctors appointment on Wednesday. It didn't turn out the greatest. Good news is I still haven't gained any weight. I wonder where it is all going. The books say I should have gained about 10-15 lbs by now. If I am losing the weight, I wish it were this easy before I got pregnant.
The bad news is my blood pressure was extremely high. It has been high before, but they would take it again and it would go down; or it was around normal. Apparently even a few points above 120/80 is still hypertension. Wednesdays visit was 158/90. She asked if I wanted to try and control this with a diet or medication. I wanted to try the diet first. I looked back at what I had been eating the last few days before the appointment and it wasn't great. So I thought if I watched what I ate maybe it would go down.
Fridays appointment wasn't much better. BP was 148/92. So she put me on Labetalol. For now it is a low dosage of 100 mg 1 tablet twice a day. I know they wouldn't put me on anything that would hurt Jolynn, so I'm not worried about that. What I am worried about is the increased BP that could hurt Jolynn or require me to go on bedrest early. I'm not prepared for that. I have another appointment on Monday. Hopefully this medicine will make a difference. I can tell you that worrying about your BP is not conducive to lowering it.
Another good for the week-Jolynn moves quite a bit. Can't wait for Jon to feel it on the outside.

Jolynn's progress:
Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound, you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.

22 weeks

2010-04-18T08:32:00.006-05:00

Really the only change this week has been movement. I feel Jolynn much more now. Other than that things have been uneventful pregnancy wise. Since finding out the sex I have accumulated many girlie outfits. I have found that I have a weakness for dresses with matching bloomers. Margaret took me to a fundraiser/sale at Cottage Grove MS yesterday. You could buy an IKEA bag for $1 at the door. I think we could have filled 3. There were sooo many clothes. Everything was priced from .50-6.00. I think the most we spent on anything was $3. I couldn't believe the deals we found on items that in the store brand new would be $30. Brand name clothing, some stuff still had tags on it! We only went through the 0-12 months. There were other rooms with toys and books, but we didn't even get there. Once the IKEA bag was full we had stuff in our arms. I had to say enough was enough. I had to meet some friends at the MN Zoo to see the Farm Babies exibit. Otherwise, we probably would have stayed longer. There were some ladies that told us of some other big sales like this one. A friend also told me about a website Munchkin Markets. If you sign up, they will send you emails with upcoming events.

Also last weekend Margaret, Mike and I went to the Baby Expo. Some vendors decided to leave way before the end of the show which was disappointing. Good for the other vendors because we still ended up buying stuff and taking pamphlets of their advertising materials. They had pony rides, jumpers, and much more. To the right is a display of a baby at 20 weeks. There is a tube of chapstick next to it for size comparison.

My weekends have been very busy. I am trying. I'm getting close to the third trimester. I'm not very good at waiting for things, so if I keep myself busy I'm hoping I won't think about it.

Jolynn's progress:
At 11 inches and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums. Her eyes have formed, but her irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. If you could see inside your womb, you'd be able to spot the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her body and the deep wrinkles on her skin, which she'll sport until she adds a padding of fat to fill them in. Inside her belly, her pancreas — essential for the production of some important hormones — is developing steadily.

21 weeks

2010-04-11T07:37:00.003-05:00

Busy week. I've been trying though. I figure the more I keep myself occupied, the less I will think about time. This week was the big ultrasound. Once the lady told us what position she was in, I have been feeling her movements more. It makes sense that I feel the kicking so low and the tickling more around my belly button-she is currently breach. We found out it is a girl and she is already pretty stubborn. It took a lot of prodding to get her legs uncrossed. (Note to you boys out there). I thought it funny that another book I have on your week by week progress mentioned the baby this week was the same size as a baby cub when it is born.

Also new this week - Jodi took me shopping at JoAnn's for room decor. We started the theme of the room to be Velveteen Rabbit. That stuff is really hard to find, so we leaned toward bunnies. There is a lot of Easter stuff on sale (40-70% off) right now. The theme has now moved toward a garden theme - still bunnies, but also includes flowers. So we snatched up as much as we could and also used her teacher discount. I haven't finished putting everything up yet, but as soon as I do pictures will be posted.

Jolynn's progress this week:
Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.

Specialist and Ultrasound

2010-04-07T19:34:00.010-05:00

Jon and I met with a genetic counselor today. She basically did a family tree of Jon and I to see where the heart problem may have come from. I had nothing on my side, so the chances of both of us having a gene for this are unlikely. Jon's grandma died of a heart attack and she said it may or may not have been Wolff-Parkinson-White disease. Back then they may not have diagnosed it as such. Then again, Jon could be the first in the line to carry the gene. Only 1% of the population has this disease - way to go Jon! So our baby will have a 50/50 chance of having it too. There was nothing they could do before birth except watch the heart rate at each visit. She said the Pediatrician would be the one that needs to watch it more carefully.
On to the good stuff - the ULTRASOUND!!

Ultrasounds take a lot longer than I thought. They have to measure EVERYTHING. The head, the eye sockets, the skin at the back of the neck, the abdomen, the kidneys, stomach, heart and all its ventricles. There were so many pictures taken. I told her we brought a disk to put the images on, she said they provide one now. There were photos of full face, tongue sticking out, full body, hands, arms, legs crossed, and feet. I was disappointed when we got home and opened the disc to find only two photos on it. She printed 4, one of which is on the disc. I'm hoping if I call they may still have the images and I can go back and get them.

Profile

Hi Mom and Dad!
Anyone want to arm wrestle?
Little baby toes.
The money shot - welcome baby girl!
Chishi no longer. Now Jolynn Rochelle Moritz

20 weeks

2010-04-02T13:28:00.005-05:00

WOO HOO!! I really can't believe I'm at the end of 20 weeks. Time is going by so fast. I feel like things are starting to move along now getting organized. My checkoff list is right on track. New Parenting classes-check. Daycare-check. Registered-check. Breast-pump-check. It was my birthday last weekend, I asked for money so I could get the egress window installed downstairs. Now that that is in I can start working on the craft room. Most of the craft supplies are in the guest room, under the steps, and in the garage. It will be nice when they are all in one spot. Then I can get the guest room in order for the moms to stay in if they wish to once the baby is born (hint, hint).

This whole pregnancy I have been thinking I'm having a boy. It doesn't really matter what we have, but lately I've been wondering if it is a girl because so many people (including Jon) would like to have a girl. Next Wednesday is the ultrasound and we will hopefully find out what sex Chishi is.

I'll have to look back at my friends' blogs about their pregnancy at this time and see if I am having the same "symptoms" as they did. Lately it has been so hard for me to find a comfortable position when going to bed. Also, I don't know if it is just really dry or if my blood pressure is up, but I've been getting bloody noses when I blow my nose. Not randomly, only when I blow. This morning I thought my nose was plugged up, I blew my nose and a big snot clot came out. Gross, I know, sorry...TMI.

No new cravings - I actually haven't been eating a whole lot. A little cereal, popcorn, peanut butter sandwiches. We had Chimichangas from Aldi yesterday and I could only eat half of one! I didn't eat for the rest of the night, didn't eat breakfast this morning until almost 10. Just not hungry. Milk and water seem to be the staples at the moment.

Chishi update:
Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)

He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).

19 weeks

2010-03-29T18:17:00.003-05:00

So this is a little late - usually I post on Fridays. This weekend was really busy being that it was my birthday weekend. I can't say that there have been anymore changes this week. I have had a cold for the last 4 days. I didn't think there was anything I could take except Tylenol which would only get rid of a headache and fever. I have a dry cough and congested nose (it's runny during the day and congested at night). Between getting up to pee 3-4 times during the night, coughing, or flipping from one side to the other; I don't think I'm getting a whole lot of sleep.

The one thing I keep telling myself is that I've made it to the half-way point. It's all down hill from here, right? This is where all the good stuff starts - ultrasounds, feeling the baby move, Jon being able to feel the baby move, being able to buy stuff that is gender related.

When I went to Colby, WI with Margaret this past Saturday, we stopped at a consignment store. I ended up finding a couple stuffed animals, books, and outfits that were gender neutral. I know I'm going to be in trouble once I know what the sex of Chishi is because you can buy a lot of clothes at thrift stores when they are only .99-2.99 vs. what they are in the stores. Buying baby clothes in thrift stores is way different than buying adult clothes. Adult clothes have been worn for years and you don't even know what size they really are anymore. Baby clothes look like they have hardly been worn.

Only 1 1/2 weeks until the ultrasound!

Chishi update:
Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.

Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.

18 weeks

2010-03-19T19:24:00.002-05:00

Nothing new again this week. I wish I had more to report. I' m starting to think I look pregnant at least. It's hard to believe that I am almost to the half way point (especially since I write about my week when I am at the end of it-I'm really 18 weeks 5 days right now). I have been having more food aversions than cravings lately. I can eat half of what I used to eat and feel really full.

I looked into daycare a little more this week. Called a bunch of places to find if there was availability first. Many places did not have openings for infants. Glad I kept to the books and started looking now. We ended up finding a place that is two blocks away. Home daycare with about 7 kids. Her infant is turning one so he is moving into the toddler age range. Her prices and flexibility were really nice too. I called her references and they gave her "A's across the board" or "can't say enough good things about her", "my kids love her and still talk about her". They even answered a few questions that I had about the daycare (guess that's the point of a reference). I called her back to sign the contract and put down a $75 deposit. This will hold a spot until the baby is born and I go back to work. Right now Jon is working weekends so he has Wed and Thursday off. We can pay daycare $30/day=$90/wk. If he is able to go back to M-F so we can have the weekends off as a family then the fee would be $135/wk. Either would be fine, but it would be nice to switch back at some point.

Chishi's development:
Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Baby Shower?

2010-03-14T09:54:00.003-05:00

So it wasn't a real baby shower. My mom invited me, Margaret and my Aunt Sally to a "Baby Shower" that Babies-R-Us was putting on. We were a 1/2 hour early, so my mom printed off my registry and told me to point everything out to her that was on it because she hates trying to find everything in the store. Mostly every time I would show them what I was registered for, they would find a better one they thought I should be registered for. I compiled my registry by having Jodi go through the website and the store with me and then Jon added a few things when we went through the store. I know Jodi knows her stuff - she has two kids, recently. There are a lot of products out there that do more than you really need, but you don't want to get bare minimum either. I was trying to register for items that I would need, but may not be out of people's price range.

After we walked around the store for an hour or more they finally announced that the "shower" would be starting in the back of the store. First off was a diapering contest. My mom vs. Sally=mom won. Me vs. Margaret=I won. We won sample diapers. They also had boxes and sample wipes at the front of the store. Between the game and those samples I ended up with 18 diapers and about the same in wipes. Hehe. After the first game they announced they would be doing a tour of the store. Since we had already walked around for an hour, we bugged out on that. Time for lunch.

Byerly's across the parking lot was our lunch spot. They had fresh made sushi. I had a California roll (nothing raw). Then we went to JoAnn Fabrics. I think we spent more time there than at BRU. The moms must have caught a bug from Joan because they were looking through patterns and buying matching fabric to the quilt she made. All had ideas of things they wanted to make for the room or baby. Should be interesting what comes of it. I know Margaret used to make clothes for her boys, but I have only seen my mom make curtains, pillows, or cushions.

17 weeks

2010-03-12T22:24:00.004-06:00

My appetite has gone down or I am so busy at work that I don't think about it. Both are a good thing. Keeps my mind busy. I haven't felt like doing much at home. I've spent the last week watching 2 seasons of Dark Angel.

Last weekend we went to Gracie's 2nd birthday party at the Kruse's house. It was interesting watching four 2 year olds interact. Best part was seeing Jason hold a baby! Yes, I said it. He held little Brianna and neither of them cried. Joan gave me the quilt that her, Jodi and I had picked out fabric for. It turned out beautiful.

My cravings this week have been minimal. Can't get enough milk. It tastes so good. I think Jon and I go through a gallon in 2-3 days. When I go to ALDI I have to buy 2 gallons at a time to make sure we don't run out. Makes sense reading my Babycenter update.

Sleeping has been getting interesting. I start on a side and wake up on my stomach. I wake up because it actually doesn't feel good-it feels like I'm sleeping on a small ball. The hard part about finding a comfortable position is that my side of the bed starts off with half the bed and sometime in the night I wake up and it is 1/3. Jon tends to meander to the middle of the bed, does not make me happy. If I shove him over enough, he may stay on his side.

Tomorrow I go to my first baby shower. Babies-R-Us is having a "shower". My mom, Margaret, and I are going. Not sure what the store has planned. Should be fun.

Chishi update:
Your baby's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord — her lifeline to the placenta — is growing stronger and thicker. Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom. She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

16 weeks

2010-03-06T09:26:00.002-06:00

4 months. wow. still no difference in how I feel. I have been feeling the flutters if I concentrate and hold really still. The heartburn comes and goes, but mostly coincides with what I eat. I haven't been craving steak as much. Now it is milk. I believe the stage I am getting into for week 17 is where the bones are forming. Makes sense. Need more calcium for those bones. Before I needed iron for all the blood supply. The weeks seem to be going by so fast. It helps that I am still at work because things are busy enough to keep my mind from wandering. My mom has asked me about a shower. I didn't think it would be time for that already, but I guess she wants to start planning. Lots of people have suggested I start taking photos now also. I really don't notice, but if I saw week by week I probably would. Until the indentation where my pants cut in at my belly button goes away, then I will know that I am showing. For now I just look the same...with bigger boobs.

Another weird dream: I had a dream where my KIDS were full grown. Boy and girl. Boy was so old he had a goatee, and girl was a teen. Wonder if that will be the order.

BabyCenter update:
Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now he's 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren't recognizable yet. He's even started growing toenails. And there's a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

15 week check up

2010-02-25T08:41:00.000-06:00

The new clinic was very nice. Clean, didn't smell like BO (always a good thing), and the people were really nice. I saw a nurse practitioner. She took the time to read the report about Wolff-Parkinson-White Disease and wrote down notes about it so they can make sure they keep an eye on the heartbeat at each check up. She was also surprised that the other clinic had not done an exam to check the size of the uterus yet. So she did that, I am right on track for 15 weeks. Listened to the heart beat again - about 150 bpm. My blood pressure was 124/84. Much lower than last time. My weight had also gone down 3 lbs. So a very good appointment. Next appointment is in 4 weeks - another normal exam, just heart beat check and blood pressure. A week after that I will see a genetic counselor and have a Level 2 ultrasound because of the W-P-W Disease. A Level 2 ultrasound can see into the 4 chambers of the heart better. Hopefully Chishi will cooperate and we can see the sex!

14 weeks

2010-02-19T17:53:00.002-06:00

Can't believe I am in the second trimester. Jon thinks my stomach is starting to show. I'm not sure if him telling me that is a good thing or bad since I don't think I should be showing yet. I told myself on Monday that this was the start of the second tri and I should be having my energy back, so it's time to go to the gym again. I went once this week. Ya, not sure about that. Working out was not fun before prego, not anymore fun during.

I'm still thirsty a lot. Can't seem to get enough water. Doing better on the bathroom breaks at night though since I have cut down on how much I drink at night. Heartburn comes and goes. I have learned to not eat anything at least an hour before bed, and do not lay down after eating. Not even to lay and watch TV. I have to sit up. Heartburn city.

Next week I have a doc appointment on Wednesday. Thursday through Sunday I will be in UP, MI for BOW (Becoming an Outdoor Woman). Week 15 should go by quick.

Babycenter update:
This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active.

My Valentine Present

2010-02-14T18:09:00.003-06:00

Jon put the crib together.

He did it all by himself.

He just needed me to hold some of the pieces.

Beautiful!!

Vivid Dreams

2010-02-13T00:24:00.003-06:00

In the last 2 days I have had 2 dreams that were very vivid. I had one earlier in the pregnancy also. All have been very weird.

Dream #1:
I found myself breastfeeding one of my closest friends new baby because she wasn't available to do it - so she told me to do it.

Dream #2:
I was on a horse farm. There was the owner and Jason (Jon's brother), and a Clydesdale. The horse was getting angry and kept grunting and backing up toward Jason. The owner said to back away or he was going to trample him. Jason laughed and walked up to the horse and slapped it in the butt, then side stepped to avoid the horse rearing toward him. He kept doing that in circles. Finally, the horse nudged him with his butt and Jason fell to the ground. The horse started trampling him and then went to sit on him. I screamed and then the horse started to come after me. I squeezed my eyes shut really tight and held really still, I opened my eyes and the horse was gone. Jason was on the ground still. I ran to him crying and asked if he was okay. He laughed and said, stupid horse.

Tell me that's not a weird dream.

Dream #3:
This one may have something to do with the sex of the baby, this is the reason I am up at 12:30am typing this.

I went into delivery. I didn't see myself give birth. I woke up in the recovery room. I checked my blog and saw a picture of Jon playing with a little GIRL. Caption said Jon playing with baby Calen. That is exactly how it was spelled in the dream.

I don't know if that blog was mine or if Jon was playing with someone else's baby, but I also know that Jon and I didn't pick out the name Calen. Not sure where that came from.

13 weeks

2010-02-12T19:33:00.002-06:00

I made it through the first trimester! I really can't complain. There hasn't been any puking or nausea. My heartburn is less than it was before I was pregnant; and I still fit into 5 pairs of my black work pants. However, everything else doesn't fit.

Best part of this week - the crib is here! I was ready to put it up as soon as Mike brought it over, but Jon wasn't up to it. He said he would do it later. Maybe I can guilt him into sooner than later.

Babycenter update for Chishi:
Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long and weighs nearly an ounce.

Cravings: most have been satisfied. Nothing in particular this week. Co-workers said I was craving steak so much because my iron was low.

12 weeks

2010-02-06T07:56:00.003-06:00

No changes...again. Seriously, if we had not heard the heartbeat at our last visit I would wonder if I am really pregnant. The lower part of my stomach is starting to feel hard (not its usual squishy). My bathroom breaks have come under control a bit. I discovered if I drink more at work and less when I get home, then I don't have to get up as much in the middle of the night.

Jon and I have picked out names for a boy and girl. Hopefully we will find out the sex at 20 weeks (hopefully they will do an ultrasound then). We will share the name when we find out the sex.

Jon is still as fantastic as ever. I am so happy to have such a great husband. Three months into this and he is still doing laundry, taking care of Polly, shoveling the driveway, vacuuming. And all without me asking! I told him he was a great husband and he said "no I'm not". I asked why. He said, "because all I do is play video games". Not exactly true. It's okay to play games as long as you do other things too - which I explained he was, and it has been a great help.

Babycenter update:
The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long and weighs half an ounce.

Cravings: don't think I have had a changes. Satisfying a few thanks to Margaret - Ohio Buckeyes - peanut butter goodness.

11 weeks

2010-01-29T19:05:00.002-06:00

Energy level has gone up a little and I'm not peeing as often. I had a check up on Monday and we were able to hear the heartbeat-roughly 160 bpm. Yesterday I had a glucose test and passed with a score of 92. Nothing much has changed. I wish I was thinner so I could tell if I was actually showing. My pants have their days. Some days I can get them buttoned, some days I need the Bella Band. I went through my bra drawer - an entire bag full of bras that no longer fit. I have already gone up a full cup size! I'm now down to two bras that fit, and one I just snapped the underwire yesterday. Still wearable but not the most comfortable.

Jon has still been as wonderful as ever. He is reading his book The Expectant Father. One day he came up to me and asked how I was feeling, how my day went. He then proceeded to kiss me, over and over. I asked why all the sudden affection and he said because the book told him that is what he was supposed to be doing. So cute :)

Here's what BabyCenter has to say for this week:
Your baby, just over 1 1/2 inches long, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists, tiny tooth buds are beginning to appear under her gums, and some of her bones are beginning to harden.

She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two — nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming.

**BabyCenter switches from he/she every week. I still have a feeling it is a boy.

Cravings: Peanut Butter tastes good on many things: waffels, toast, pancakes, brownies...

Change of Plans

2010-01-27T20:00:00.003-06:00

I called Maple Grove Hospital and found out a few different clinics and physicians that were participating. I looked them up on the internet first. Some had some good reviews, others not so much. One place had a new location - right inside the hospital, or close to it. It's North Clinic. On the same street as the hospital so I thought it is either in the same building or attached possibly. I asked North Clinic if they partnered with Maple Grove Hospital; check. I asked if they took Cigna; check. We were good to go! The other clinic wanted me to come back at 17 weeks. These guys prefer you to come once a month or every 4 weeks. So they scheduled me to come back on 2/24. Not sure if it will just be a normal check up or a full blown exam since they have never seen me before. The one change about North Clinic is that they do not have midwives. Only Docs and Nurses. This could actually be a good thing since we are concerned about W.P.W. Syndrome. Having a doctor there is a little more reassuring. North Clinic also has the ultrasound equipment on site; so, unlike the other place, we won't have to go off site to get that done.

Since the posting of the bpm there have been many speculations that it is a girl - I'm still thinking boy. Either will be just fine of course.

Tomorrow I will go back to the other clinic and have a glucose test and I have to ask for my records so I can bring them with to the next clinic.

It's Real

2010-01-25T16:44:00.004-06:00

We had our 11 week check up today. My blood pressure was a bit high (but it always is at the doc's office). I had also gained 4 pounds. This nurse didn't have me take off my shoes though and I had to pee, drop 2 pounds for both those. Our midwife went over the tests that can be done to check for downs syndrome again. I chose not to have them done. If there was a risk to the baby or if it did have DS, we weren't going to get rid of it anyway so why risk it.

We found out that we need to see a genetic counselor because Jon has Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome. The midwife let us listen to the heartbeat - roughly 160 bpm and steady. There really is something in there!

Bad news about our appointment. The hospital we want to go to, Maple Grove Hospital, is not one of the participating hospitals that OB/Gyns from Healthpartners are with. So now we have to find out where to go so that we have someone that can deliver at Maple Grove Hospital.

10 weeks

2010-01-22T17:52:00.003-06:00

A pretty uneventful week as far as pregnancy goes. I've had more things pop up at work than I have with this pregnancy. This week I have been thinking more and more about the 12 weeks off that I will have. I have 3 weeks of vacation, that means I have to come up with some kind of income for the other 9 weeks I am off. Another girl at work is also pregnant and she said they have an extra paycheck every month that isn't used for anything so they were going to put it in savings. I thought what a great idea and suggested to her to save that for when she is on maternity leave. She then said, she didn't think she was going to take any time off...WHAT! She said staying at home with the baby makes them more dependent on a parent and they won't get used to being with a caretaker. So after a few weeks she already has it set up with her normal babysitter to have the new baby dropped off. Whatever. Not my plan. I am going to sit down with Jon this weekend and see if we can't cut a few things from our expenses and try to save one of my paychecks each month until the baby is born. This should help with the 9 weeks of no paychecks.

Monday Jon and I go for our first (together) doctor's appointment. I am sooo excited. I will be 11 weeks and we should be able to hear the heartbeat.

Babycenter has this to say about Chishi:
Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches.

9 weeks

2010-01-16T07:09:00.002-06:00

So I'm actually at the end of the 9th week. I decided to wait with this post to see how the week went. It was my first week back full time at work. Before this week I was either off completely or only worked 5 hours a day. I was used to taking a nap when I was tired (which is all the time). Being at work, Monday wasn't so bad because I was pretty busy and didn't notice, but then it hit me on the way home and I was sooo tired. All week I would make it through the day and then get home, make dinner, watch 2 hours of tv and crash. I have been sleeping from 8:30/9pm until 6am. Waking up a few times in the night to pee.

Other than the peeing, I still haven't had any major pregnancy ailments. The usual, constipated a few days, then my version of morning sickness for an hour or so. However, my heartburn was way worse when not pregnant than it has been pregnant. weird.

Jon and I visited the birth center at the new Maple Grove Hospital. It was very easy to get to-clear shot on the freeway and we can take back roads if needed through the shopping center. It is a beautiful facility. They had two Triage rooms where they first check you over to see how far along you are, that determines if you get a room yet. Then they have the birthing rooms. It had some of your typical stuff-big couch that folds down to a bed for dad, TV. It also had a huge tub, birthing balls, a TV framed that you can plug a stick into and put your own pictures up-so it's like having your own artwork in the room. 2 hours after you give birth they move you to the postpartum rooms. Pretty much the same except they have a shower instead of a tub, and they have a fridge. The baby can stay "in room" or you can get some shut eye and have them stay in the nursery. We really liked this one and it was in a nice part of town. They said if they have issues beyond what the Neo level 2 can handle they would go to North Memorial, Robbinsdale.

Craving: Peanut Butter. thank you Marcellus Gilmore Edson for your invention.

BabyCenter has this to say this week:
Your new resident is nearly an inch long and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

8 weeks

2010-01-07T20:03:00.002-06:00

This post is a little graphic - unless you are or have been pregnant you may not want to read it.

So I'm a little late in posting this. I'm at the end of the 8 weeks. I just didn't know what to write about again. It's pretty much the same old thing...heartburn, queasy (but nothing happening), thinking I'm constipated because I haven't gone in 2-3 days, so I overdose on fiber and end up with diarrhea (ya I know-TMI). I'm looking forward to my first prenatal appointment on the 25th because Jon is coming with and we may get our first glimpse of chishi and hopefully get to hear the heartbeat. All the books keep saying we should get to do this at the 11-12 wk check up. So far I have been reading my Babycenter week by week book and the huge spiral book the clinic gave me. Jon has been reading The Expectant Father. Pretty good read, I have learned a bit reading both my version and his.

Jon has been fantastic since finding out about the pregnancy. I couldn't ask for better. He helps out around the house, carries things up and down the stairs for me, has shoveled the driveway numerous times, and has put up with my moodiness (which I know I have been).

Many of my friends when pregnant have called their baby something - bug, peanut, bittywee, squishy. Jon and I have decided on chishi. It means baby in Japanese.

This is what Babycenter has to say about chishi:
Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it.

Cravings: still steak, and any other food that comes to mind.

Week 7

2009-12-30T12:13:00.003-06:00

I don't think there is much to write about at this point. I don't know when most start writing. Everyone has asked how am feeling just about everyday. Most days I have been fine. Going to the bathroom a lot. I will take this over the other symptoms if I didn't hydrate myself. If I don't drink enough I am sooo dehydrated I have cotton mouth, chapped lips, and the books say I will be constipated. I'll take the peeing.

According to the websites and books, baby is about the size of a blueberry. That seems kind of big to me for 7 weeks. I have been pretty tired, and glad that I had this week off to rest. Yesterday I spent the entire day watching Netflix instant que movies. Watch a movie, go pee, watch a movie, go pee...and so on. I think I slept through one of the movies. It was just nice to not have to do anything. Each time I went upstairs to pee, I would let Polly out, so she didn't bother me inbetween times to get let out. She seemed pretty happy to just be laying on the couch with me.

I go back to work next week, and most people have already found out through Facebook about being pregnant, so it will only be a surprise to a few. Next will be getting our ducks in a row for this fall so everything will run smoothly when I am on maternity leave.

Cravings: not so sure if they are cravings or just - ooo, that looks good, I'll have that. Turkey has been a big one, which is good, because we have lots of left overs from Christmas.

The Announcement

2009-12-27T08:12:00.002-06:00

A VERY Merry Christmas

2009-12-15T19:19:00.003-06:00

Written on Sunday, December 13, 2009:
I can hardly stand that I have to wait to post this until after Christmas. Jon and I have been trying to get pregnant since February. After 6 months I went for my normal yearly exam. The doctor told me there was nothing they could do yet, but to start taking my temperature. I've been doing that since September. Never really noticed the swing in temps. This past week my temp has been unusually high - in the 98-99 range. A friend was talking about how she was not feeling well and I mentioned how I was taking my temp for ovulation, but that recently it has felt like I have a slight fever in the morning. She asked some other questions and then asked if I had taken a test lately. I actually took one December 4 before going to a co-workers party. (wasn't sure if I would be drinking wine). It was negative. Then last night I kept having dreams that I was pregnant, when I would wake up I just told myself it was a dream. I decided to take a test this morning - there was a faint line, but there was a line. I couldn't believe it. I started crying and raced into the bedroom and woke Jon up (7am) and told him to come into the bathroom. I told him it was positive, he gave me a hug and went back to bed. Wasn't exactly what I thought it would be, but it was 7am. Later he was so excited, he almost slipped to his dad when they were cutting up branches. I had trouble this afternoon because all the aunts and moms got together to make Christmas cookies. Not being able to tell them was KILLING me! At one point I wasn't feeling great and both the moms looked at eachother and said, "could it be?". I just said, "it's gas". Although it is going to kill us to keep this to ourselves for the next two weeks, we thought it best to be able to tell the both of them at the same time. Luckily Christmas is right around the corner. Most of my friends have done the play by play thing on their blogs. I will probably do that on this blog - if you happen to want to follow along.

Halloween Bash

2009-10-31T09:21:00.003-05:00

Last night I participated in the Shout House Jackass-O-Lantern Contest. I was forwarded an email from a friend. I signed up to wear a pumpkin head from 7pm-1am and get free drinks the whole time. They told me to show up at 6:30 to get prepped. No one else showed up until 7. We didn't start until almost 8. I had first pick of a "head". Everyone said I had the best one because it had the large opening for drinking. When there was one and half hours left they had us switch heads. Everyone was eyeballing mine. I ended up getting one that I could barely drink through and I had to sit with it resting on my chest for the rest of the night because it was so heavy. The guy that took mine quit shortly after. I was so mad, that was a great pumpkin. It rested perfectly on my back and forehead. My new one rested on my shoulders, head, and chest. Thank God for a large chest. I made it to midnight and thought-I could actually do this! Looking at the other guys left, one kept asking me how I was doing as if to syke me out or something. Then they asked us to come up to the stage. They had us dance off in groups and then the audience voted on who was best. I wish I could find video of it. I owned it! The crowd went crazy. I was the only girl up there-representin :) In the end they had two $100 gift cards to Shout House. There were two winners-I was one.

The S word

2009-10-13T22:14:00.006-05:00

Yes I realize what it is and what the date is...but it was still kind of pretty.

Welcome Brianna Leigh

2009-10-13T21:55:00.012-05:00

Jodi and Brian gave me the opportunity to witness the birth of their second child, Brianna Leigh. I was so honored that they let me stay. I didn't think I wanted to see much. I started by standing in the corner between the monitors and bathroom. The nurses kept going in the bathroom for things so I ended up moving to the other side by Jodi's mom. After a while of getting glimpses of "the action", I was desensitized and moved to right behind the doctor. It didn't even phase me at this point what I was looking at, it was all about what was happening. No play by play or details on that. I'll just show you some photos that I took...after Brianna arrived :)

Brianna Leigh Youngman
8lbs 11.2 oz 21 in

ok...what is that? OH I KNOW...

BABY!! MINE.

First being held by Dad and Mom.

Mooo 2

2009-09-11T18:49:00.001-05:00

Mom: I don't know what you mean by that. When you enter a cow in the fair you have to sign a paper saying you will kill it to make sure you don't enter it again.

Now I'm sad.

Mooo

2009-09-10T21:16:00.003-05:00

My mom sent me an email today.

(Mom) Hi Carrie, I am buying a half of a quarter of a cow. I am sure it will not fit in my freezer. Can you help me out?
Polly will be getting some huge cow bones! I need some freezer room, unless you want to buy the other half.

(Me) So how much does 1/8 of a cow cost? I think we have freezer room.

(Mom) She doesn't know until the butcher is done. It was a state fair cow, and it ate clover. The tongue and liver are free. So are the bones free. hamburger comes 1 1/2 LBS. She said it is comparable to what the stores sell it for.

The State Fair Cows will never look the same to me again.

Citizen Police Academy

2009-09-08T23:20:00.001-05:00

My first night of "training". The Chief did an introduction and then Lt. Mark Bruley went over training and requirements. Lt. Bruley was a very interesting guy and has been in a lot of different areas of the department. Currently he is in charge of all the training of newbies. He also works on SWAT. So the requirements of a police officer:

Minimum of 2 year AS degree - check. I have an AS in Criminal Justice
Go through 9 month Skills Program - I could do that.
Take POST board test - possible.
Apply to a city that is hiring - no one is hiring.
Ex of applying to Brooklyn Park-written test, pass/fail; personality essay/stress test; physical fitness test; interview process/background check. This all takes around 10 months.
If hired, see psychologist and have medical screening. If both docs say you are ok you move onto a 5-6 week Academy that is similar to Skills Program but much harder.

I am quite happy with my job now and have a new appreciation for how my cousins got to where they are. I know I have congratulated them, but I really think what they do is awesome and wish I had the determination to get there. Great job John, Cory and Chad!

This class meets every Tuesday from 6:30-9. Some of the topics they will cover:
9/8-Police Training Overview
9/15-Use of Force
9/22-Patrol and CSO
9/29-Special Operations and City Attorney
10/6-Investigations and Gangs
10/13-Crime Analysis and Drug Investigations
10/20-Firearms/Shooting Simulator and Squad Car Tour/Crime Prevention
10/27-Evidence Processing and Detention Center
11/3-SWAT and Canine
11/10-Round table wrap up with Chief.

I am looking forward to getting info on the other departments within the police. It's possible with my degree that I may still qualify for a different position...that doesn't involve a physical fitness test.

Guilty

2009-08-26T18:11:00.002-05:00

I have been having the worst week of work and it is only Wednesday. All I wanted to do when I got home was veg out. The dads came over to work on the deck again. I feel so guilty not being out there. It's our deck, but all I'm doing if I am out there is stand around. In the beginning and last week I was actually helpful because I was holding up beams, ripping up boards, or drilling in screws. Now they are a two man team and the rest of us stand around thinking we should be doing something but really just getting in the way. If Jon stays inside when they come over its a big deal that he isn't helping. Why isn't it a deal for me to be helping? I love the progress of the deck and am very thankful for everything they are doing, but I am also hoping it will be done soon. I think the more people that are there to help the faster it will get done, not true.

3-day recap

2009-08-23T20:04:00.010-05:00

What a great experience. I feel so blessed to have been apart of this event. The training was brutal, but soo worth it. I knew I wouldn't be able to walk the full 60 miles. Everyone (at the 3-day) told me not to even try because too many people end up injured for the closing ceremony. My goal for the actual 3 days was to walk each day. I accomplished this. 15 the first day, 10 on day 2, and 10 on day 3. That alone was huge, because even during training, on the weekends where we had back to back big walks I always did Saturday and said screw Sunday. This time I got up the next morning and was ready to go at it again.

There were a lot of pictures so I will try and keep this short, but if you want the full details of all the pictures - go to facebook.

Day 1: Rained in the morning

Preschool that came out with signs and wore the Energizer bunny ears.

Awesome group of men on Harleys that followed us everywhere. Their wives were walking.

Neighborhoods were really creative with their signs along the route.

Jody's Couch with the Capitol in sight!

We made it!

It was all so worth it.
That same day...I signed up to do it again next year.

My other family

2009-08-21T05:08:00.002-05:00

Sometimes you really don't like your job. I have those days. It's all worth it when you have friends so close at work they are like family. In honor of Tamara and I walking in the Breast Cancer 3-day all our co-workers dressed in pink and brought us flowers and cards.

You guys are the best!

Project update

2009-08-10T19:12:00.004-05:00

We are making progress!!

We have grass!

Deck extension is up - steps were moved to make room for extension. A platform deck will go in level with the door to the left in the photo.

Rained out

2009-08-10T19:10:00.002-05:00

We had a 17.5 mile walk scheduled for Saturday. It sprinkled through to 8 miles, then down poured from 8-10. Decided to head back to the cars - of course, by the time we got there the rain stopped.

Cantebury

2009-07-19T11:44:00.008-05:00

I enjoy going to Cantebury because Jon is really quite good at betting on horses. Most of the time he wins. We may lose $20, but we were there for over 4 hours with entertainment the whole time. This last time Jon won $44 on the first race and we played on that for almost all 9 races. I made him bet on Ohbeegeewhyen. I had to. We bet win, place, show. It ended up placing, so we won.

I don't know why I always have to be the one holding the camera for our photos.

Much better
(I'm still holding the camera)

You could see the fireworks at Valleyfair.

14 miles

2009-07-11T16:15:00.002-05:00

I had a training walk today that was supposed to be 17 miles. 1/2 the people were speed walkers and we don't know what ended up happening to them. The rest of us took our time, one lady shared her Crustables with Jess and I. They aren't bad. A few of the ladies decided to cut the route short-they ended up walking 13. Jess and I thought we could keep going so the trainer kept going with us. We made it to another fork in the trail. She asked how we were feeling. Given where we were, we could head back and get in 14 miles or we could continue to do all 17. If we continued and something happened she would have to call park patrol to evac us out. We went with the safer 14 miles route.

Things I learned:
LISTEN TO YOUR BODY
TRAINING WALKS ARE JUST THAT -TRAINING
DON'T PUSH YOURSELF TO NOT BE ABLE TO CONTINUE THE NEXT DAY
**LISTEN TO YOUR BODY

I'm back!

2009-06-30T19:10:00.001-05:00

last night I put a heat pack on and then switched to a cold pack before going to bed. Took 3 Ibuprofen. When I woke in the morning I felt great. I went for a 1.5 mile walk during lunch and then 3.5 at the gym. No problems. I think I can get back on training schedule again!

11 miles

2009-06-27T17:03:00.002-05:00

I really wanted to get back on track with training. I went on Wednesday to the gym and did the 30 min of cardio, and again on Friday with 45 min of cardio. I didn't do the walking on Tuesday and Thursday - but I was working on the deck instead so I figured that was pretty good exercise. So today I had to walk 14 miles. I figured 3 miles to the gym 8 there and 3 back. I got to the gym just fine, walked 4 miles and stopped to stretch eat a Go Lean bar and then started to do the next 4. 2.5 miles in my knee was starting to hurt to a point I wanted to cry. Actually I did cry. I figured it was time to get home before I couldn't make it home. At this point I would only be short 1.5 miles from the 14. Started walking home and 1.5 miles in I was in so much pain it hurt to walk. I stopped and sat for awhile thinking that would make it feel better - nope, as soon as I started walking again it hurt. I called Jon and he picked me up. I felt so defeated. It's just walking. I shouldn't have tried to do 14. I haven't walked in a month (busy fundraising-which I made goal!). I should have taken it easy and just walked as much as I could and try again tomorrow (without being hurt). Total walked: 11 miles.

At least I can put the 10 mile sticker on my 3-day name tag.

2009-06-22T19:38:00.001-05:00

I think I can add pistachios to my list of nut allergies.

Garage Sale #2

2009-06-15T14:51:00.007-05:00

At the start of this sale I needed $588 to be at goal to walk. What a turn out for the Oakdale garage sale. Margaret opened shop on Friday and I came after work. We took in $150. We figured if I brought in that much each day I would only need $130 left! Saturday took in $150, and Sunday took in $130 - so only $150 to go!! Many people were so nice in Oakdale, giving donations as well as purchasing from the sale, or having me keep the change. I plan on opening up one last time on Thursday during the parade. Anything earned over the $2300 will go to my other two team members, Tamara Linderholm and Jessica Mornson. If you haven't already donated to me and planned on it, please click on the team members name above - it will bring you to their donation page.

Thank you!

Summer BOW 09

2009-06-09T19:10:00.014-05:00

Last February I attended BOW in Big Bay, MI. We had another chance to do it during the summer this past weekend. I couldn't get time off to ride with the moms so they left in the morning Thursday and then I flew to Marquette after work where they picked me up. We stayed at a hotel in Marquette Thursday night.

Friday - we had an early check in at Bay Cliff Health Camp. We had lunch and then introductions. First class was 2-5pm: Treasure Hunting - otherwise known as, geocaching. Our instructors hid 12 caches around the grounds and gave us the coordinates to punch in our GPS. We were off, they were impressed how we caught on so quickly with the GPS. Some people had never used their GPS before and thought it would have been helpful to take the beginning GPS prior to this class. They did just fine and it was fun trying to find the "treasure". After class we had dinner and I had to go to a Firearms Safety class. I felt like Bumby was there. I was taught very early how to safely handle a gun. This class was not just about gun safety, it was about different kinds of guns and at times was more hunter oriented. We were given the opportunity to get certified with Michigan DNR for hunter safety by taking a test Saturday night. It was free so I thought what the heck. It was a long day of traveling and having class. We played UNO and called it a night. I stayed up and read my gun safety manual. Everyone kept telling me that I didn't need to read it because all the questions were multiple choice and very obvious.

Saturday - early start, breakfast was at 7:45am. First class was 9-12pm: Archery. This was beginner archery. Just like with the guns, I have been taught archery by Bumby. Of course I hit the targets every time. The instructor gave me the $400 compound bow to try out. It was nice but I felt like I had more control when I was pulling the string back instead of this tool he gave me to pull it back. After class we had lunch and headed to our next class. Second class 2-5pm: Muzzleloader. There must not have been many people for this class because I ended up getting combined with the rifle class. Again - I am not a beginner to shooting a gun. I signed up for muzzleloader because I actually have never done that. Bumby has one and is building one, but I don't think I have every fired it off. We took so much time shooting the rifles that we only had time to shoot the muzzleloader once. Good thing I made it count :) Dinner was lasagna. They make the best lasagna. Bay Cliff also has their own bakery - they make 60 loaves of bread every day! Breakfast was french toast, lunch was sandwiches, dinner had garlic bread. YUM! After dinner I took the safety test. I was done before everyone else and didn't need any "help". Then I went on a geocache with the instructors from the class. They had already found them, so we were more following than actually looking. The first two were pretty easy, then we had one that had multiple parts to it. You had to do math and figure out dates in history and this made up the coordinates for the cache. The first place we went to had steep hills, a waterfall and a river. Quite the adventure.

Sunday - breakfast was early again 7:45am. It was raining - not a good thing for the class I was about to take. First and last class: Rockclimbing/Repelling. The rocks were too slippery to climb so we repelled instead. There were 6 of us. We were able to get through everyone twice - once down a side that had some obstacles and another that was more vertical. I did much better on the flat surface than the one that had different angles to adjust to. I would have liked to climb, but even with repelling we hit a few slippery moss spots. Lunch was small, as most people had already left. They handed out our certificates and patches for passing the Hunter Safety test. 100%!! and I didn't need any help. They may have helped us with the questions but I know that I aced the test without the help because I was done before they started helping. I also rec'd a bandana award from the Rockclimbing instructor because I made the sun come out - I put sunscreen on even though it was raining.

While I was away - Jon, Mike and Bumby tried to reinforce the deck. Unfortunately it rained all weekend. So they were only able to put the stakes in. Jon and Mike went to Tamara's Beer Bust to help with her fundraiser. I rec'd a portion of the funds for providing some raffle items that were left over from my silent auction. Made $95. At BOW, they allowed me to make another announcement and update everyone on my progress. I got some money from that. Then there was Kristina. She said she would speak on my behalf at dinner on Saturday. After her speech people were giving me fists of dollars, fives, tens, twenties. I ended up with $170. I feel very confidant that I will make the fundraising goal. Now I can refocus on the training.

There are a lot more photos on facebook - just can't fit them all here.

Observations

2009-06-01T15:45:00.002-05:00

I haven't been very good about walking lately. I've been so busy that I am just too tired to do the major walking on the weekends. On Sunday I busted out walked 3 miles (was supposed to be 5). Some observations I made on this walk:

1. I walk with Polly and an emergency whistle, but I have found I still felt better about my walk when I could see through the bushes.
2. I hate cottonwood.
3. tree worms that hang in the path by a web-like string are gross.
4. I need a new route because the park is only good for one time around.

I clocked some new stops to walk to (all distance is one way):
Xin Xin is 1 mile
Brunswick Zone (bowling) and Aldi are 2 miles
Walgreens is 2.2 miles
Gold's Gym is 3 miles
Cub and Target are 3.3 miles
Petco, Chipoltle, and Jimmy John's are 3.6 miles

So far the walk to Gold's Gym on the weekend, work out for a bit, and walk back seems to be the winner. For the rest of the weekends mileage on the weekends varies from 10-18 miles on Saturdays, and 6-13 on Sundays.

Anyone that wants to join me is welcome :)

Locks 4 Love

2009-05-29T21:47:00.007-05:00

I gave in. I couldn't take it anymore. My threat to Jon is no longer a threat. I took the dive.

Before

After

Pizza Benefit

2009-05-25T00:55:00.000-05:00

I was supposed to have a 3-day fundraiser this Friday at Broadway Pizza in Fridley. I haven't sold any tickets except to Jon's parents. I have to tell her on Tuesday if this is still going to happen. I have a few people that have responded as yes but haven't purchased the tickets; a few are maybes and haven't responded yes or no. I don't know if I should cancel it or keep going with it.

Garage Sale Day 2

2009-05-17T20:37:00.007-05:00

The day didn't start so well for Tamara - she got a speeding ticket. I went around and checked out the signs. They were all pointing the right direction. It was a beautiful day so we were able to pull more stuff out into the driveway. I think this made more people come in. Tamara was great at staging. Mike gave us a bunch of his shirts and they sold like hot cakes. They strangest things would sell. A container of chocolates that who knows how old they were in a Christmas container - sold for $3. Then there were the two boys who wanted to first trade a broken tent pole for Jon's Patrick Starfish ($2). That was a no, so they offered their knife in exchange(they were scouts). Turns out the knife was broken so deal was off. Then they came back with an offer of the knife sharpener in exchange for Patrick. Deal. Later sold the knife sharpener for $3.

Surprisingly it was not busy almost all day. Then a friend from high school stopped by around 3 and told us our signs were covered with Open House signs. Tamara went around to them and moved the signs, all the sudden we had 5 cars at once. Business really picked up. I really wanted to give that realtor a piece of my mind.

Jesus watched over the money box. Total sale=463.64 Thank you everyone!! Please spread the word about the next sale in Oakdale in June.

Garage Sale Day 1

2009-05-16T18:24:00.010-05:00

The sale started very early - 7am. Yes, I was out there ready to go at that time. The dogs, yes plural, had me up at 5am. Tamara went out with some friends last night and I didn't think it would be a problem to leave Jack with us because they had been playing all day so they would both be pooped out. NOPE. They wanted to keep playing, so we put Jack in the kennel and Polly in our room. Jack barked from 11:30-12:30. We brought him into our room. Polly slept and Jack paced around our bed until 2am. 5am came too early. As I type this Polly is passed out on the floor.

I knew people would be coming over that have never seen the house so I wanted to pick it up a little. Did that and found more stuff to sell. Opened up, had a few people stop by and walk through but no buyers. We would start off telling people what the garage sale was for and that all prices were negotiable. Big mistake. I had two people that kept asking $2 over and over for a brand new pair of jeans marked at $5 (so new they had the tags on still). I had new shoes that had never been worn marked for $2 that they wanted to give me $1. Please, I need money but not that bad. Of course later, someone else came by that was willing to pay $2 for a pair of shoes instead of haggling with me. We made a lot more money when we stopped saying the prices were negotiable. Some people still asked for a deal but it was like, marked price is $5 I'll give you $4-deal. More people turned out than I expected. It was so cold and windy I didn't think anyone was going to come out. Tomorrow is supposed to be nicer so hopefully more people will stop out. Here are few photos from setup and today.

Thank you everyone for all your donated items!

Sick

2009-04-21T06:54:00.002-05:00

I don't think I have EVER been this ill. I was scared and wanted to go the doctor but could barely get from the bed to the bathroom.

I left work yesterday at 2:30 just feeling sick to my stomach and chilled. When I got home I slept for 2 hours, got up and went to the bathroom - over and over. Sleept for a little while and back to the bathroom. From 2:30-12:30am. I knew I was sick when I was throwing up. I never throw up. I kept telling myself that I can't be sick because I have to leave for Vegas in 2 days!

Woke up this morning with just a headache and feeling hungry, so I figured my stomach must be better. I weigh myself on Mondays - I weighed myself again this morning, 7 lbs less. Nothing like a stomach bug to lose weight.

Support

2009-04-14T20:03:00.002-05:00

Support comes in many forms. I have had people cheering me on with posts on facebook. Some people have gone on walks with me. Jon has chosen a different way of supporting. When I come back from my walk (lately with Polly), he has dinner made or has picked up the house. Today happened to be picking up the kitchen. I was really nice to see because I was thinking about it when I left and when I got home it was done. I didn't say anything before I left, he just read my mind. Not everyone can walk the amount of miles I am going to do, but helping out by doing the everyday stuff helps a lot too.

I love you hun.

Worth it

2009-04-06T21:14:00.003-05:00

This would be my blister on top of a blister.

I hope this blister is worth it. If I don't get to walk in the 3-day because I don't raise the minimum amount of 2300, I think I might cry.

Fargo

2009-03-27T20:51:00.002-05:00

A co-worker heard on the radio over and over Thursday morning about the flood in Fargo/Moorhead and how they needed volunteers. She thought she had to do something, so she came to work and asked the boss if it would be okay for her to take Friday off to go up north. They said sure and if you want to bring anyone else with you tell them they need to turn in a request off by noon today. She sent out the email and 2 others heeded the call. I sent out an email to my friends and family asking if they wanted to join me-Margaret was a yes.

So this morning (5:30am!) Margaret met me at our house and we drove to a Clearwater exit. We car-pooled from there with Cari, her daughter, and her daughter's friend. Tamara followed us with her car and had her son and his friend in tow. We arrived at the MSUM around 10am. We got signed in, then they had tables set up with food that you could fill a bag to take with you. Margaret and I headed outside to help sand bag. They had a good system going. We went all the way down to the end because there weren't a lot of people down there. 2 people shoveled, 2 people held bags under orange cones that were upside down in a table. Three shovels full were poured into each bag, then it was tossed off where someone else was tying them off and someone else piled them onto a pallet. After a while we ran out of pallets. They brought in roll-off containers. We formed a train and passed bags from one end the other until the containers where full. When we ran out of those they kept making bags and they were just put into piles everywhere until more pallets or containers were found. I don't know how many dump trucks of sand we went through-but Margaret and I did this for 6 hours!

I am so sore right now, but it was worth every bit. When people would ask if we were local we said no we're from Mpls. They would ask if we had relatives in the area. We said no. They were so happy that people would travel that far just to help them. We weren't the only nice people there - it was MN nice all over the place. Please, thank you, excuse me, sorry, can I help you with that, do you want to switch jobs. Just amazing how everyone could work together. And seeing all the sand bags that were filled was proof that we were working together.

As we drove home we listened to the radio and it didn't sound good. I hope what we did today makes a difference.

Benefits

2009-03-23T19:15:00.002-05:00

I knew going into this training for the 3-Day that I would end up losing weight because I am actually walking so much. Exercise that I wouldn't normally be doing. I weighed myself the other day - lost 2 lbs!

Even better...Yesterday we went to a WILD game and normally I would be out of breath walking from Victory ramp to Excel Center. Jon pointed out when we got to the Excel that I wasn't out of breath. I hadn't even noticed.

Training update

2009-03-22T08:18:00.003-05:00

An update on my training for the 3 day.

Monday is always a rest day.

First week: no problem. Tuesday=3 miles, Wednesday=0 min cardio, Thursday=3 miles, Friday=30 min cardio (with a personal trainer), Saturday=3 miles, Sunday=3 miles. I made it through the first week.

Week 2: Same as above except I switched Thursday and Friday because I had my last (free) personal training session. He really kicked my butt. I wish I could actually afford to have someone there to tell me what exercises to do, when and then to push me through the last rep. Yesterday I went for a walk outside instead of going to the gym-Saturday was supposed to be 4 miles. It was Mike, Margaret and Jadah and 3 dogs. We tried going the 3.7 route around the lake, but it was about 7pm and we thought we better cut back. The dogs LOVED it. They were running everywhere. All were so pooped out when we got back. Even though we have a large back yard, it is very flooded and muddy right now so Polly does not have the freedom like she does at the park to run full out and bound through the prairie. I was really tired after that one too. I don't think we did the 3.7 or 4 miles, but with having to steady yourself on ice patches, through slush and mud, and up hills; I think I still got the workout that was intended.

On my donation tally: as of today, I am still $27 short of the first milestone of raising $500. We are going to have a garage sale in May. First at our house and then whatever is left we will move to the Moritz house to try in the Oakdale area. If you would like to be the one to put me over that first milestone I have included the link to the donation site.

thank you to all of you that have helped with the fund raising and/or walked with me during training.

Honestly

2009-03-13T20:45:00.002-05:00

So I started at Gold's Gym because we had a huge snowstorm Tuesday and that was supposed to be my first day of training. Since MN weather is so unpredictable I decided to join the gym. Thursday I walked my first 3 miles. No problem. Not very sore. Made the mistake of getting bored around 1.5-2 miles and started doing lunges on the treadmill. My hip was a little sore from that. Then today I ended up getting off work early and I had an appointment for a personal training session (you get 2 when you sign up).

Since I was early for the personal training session (by an hour) I decided to catch up on my walking since I missed out Tuesday. So I walked for 50 min while watching NCIS. Yes, you have your own personal tv attached to the treadmill that gets many cable stations and you just plug in your own headphones. So after doing this walk I met with the trainer.

Every person I have talked to has asked me many times what my reasons for joining the gym were. I told them that I need to train for the 3-Day. So the trainer asks me this again, I tell him the same thing. Then he asks me how much weight I'm wanting to lose. I said I'm not really here for losing weight, I'm here to gain endurance so I can walk 60 miles in 3 days. I know by doing this I will most likely lose weight at the same time, but this is not my goal.
So he suggests 40 lbs by August 21st. I told him if I did that I would still be 80+ lbs overweight. He proceeded to weigh me and then he did a fat analysis. I have never had one of these done. It was interesting to know that even if I lost the weight on my body that is fat I would still weigh 155 from my muscle. I think I'm okay with that, plus some.

We did a quick cardio routine. I was more tired from that 20 min than I was from walking for an hour. Then we went back to his office for the sales pitch. He told me about the fitness plans that the club offered. Meal plans, dietary aids and supplements, personal training...all sounding great, but who can afford it! If you're going to offer something like this and I just told you that the dues alone for your gym were too high compared to other gyms, why would I spend tons of money for you to tell me what to eat and what vitamins to take. No thanks, I'll look it up on the internet.

To answer your question of why am I going to this gym when there are others that are less expensive:
1. location-it is between home and work
2. the manager actually gave me a deal when she found out I was joining to train for the 3-day.
3. sorry, but the personal TV is really cool :)