Baby Shower

Here are a few pics from my baby shower a few weeks ago. Thanks to everyone who came! It was so much fun catching up with old friends and neighbors. My mom and sisters rocked the decorations and treats. I have some pretty awesome ladies in my life! xoxo

Big slice of (sugar-free) humble pie

My 33 week checkup was today and Meggy got a huge slice of humble pie. And by pie I mean the bad kind. Not the kind of pie that is filled with sugar and happiness because as of today I can't have anymore sugar. 

I took my glucose test to see if I had gestational diabetes a couple weeks ago. My doctor said I was 1 point away from being diagnosed. ONE POINT. wtf?? Now to be honest I did eat a piece of cheesecake the morning before my test..... But my doc said that would not have really skewed my results (meaning it's high because it's high, not just because I ate some sugar that morning).  Of course my love of sugar doesn't help the situation and even though there are a handful of reasons pregnant women get diabetes it still freaked me out. 

But the Man upstairs knows what motivates me, and that doctor's visit today absolutely motivated me to be better. I would say I have had a pretty "easy" pregnancy (whatever that means) but I have struggled from day one to keep up on my exercise routine and healthy diet. 

At first it was because I felt like total shit every day and couldn't choke down a vegetable, then it was gross weather outside and I was out of the habit of daily exercise and then when it finally turned beautiful weather I was too big to run and started getting huge and awkward and tired. *sigh*

Long story short? I have been utilizing my couch WAY too much. But today that chapter of the story ends. I know I only have 7 weeks left but it's not too late to take care of myself. Looking back of course I would have done a few things different during this pregnancy, but it was my first time and a life adjustment I didn't see coming! There is nothing I can do about how I have been the past 33 weeks, but I do have control of the next 7. 

So no more sugar (and refined carbs but I don't eat those anyway) and daily exercise. Apparently my stubborn self needed to get to the cliff before realizing it wasn't worth the jump. I will always love my candy and sweets, but (for now:)) I love myself and my baby more. 

Enemy Territory

As I prep to teach the Young Women in our ward today I came across this video



Even though I'm no longer a teenager and the days of so much uncertainty and insecurity are behind me, I still feel like I am living in enemy territory. I don't know if this feeling will ever go away, but I am so thankful to have the truth in my life to help me get through it. My Young Women days seem like yesterday and I was struggling with so many different things. Looking back I know I had angels both here on Earth and in Heaven watching over and protecting me. I never would have been able to picture my life and how happy I am 8 years later. My happiness comes from my testimony and faith that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me, is aware of my needs, and is always there to help me. This is not only a comfort for my own life, but it comforts me to know that I can pass along this peace and happiness to my own daughter.

Don't be afriad of enemy territory: we are strong enough to handle it!

Happy Sunday Everyone

Beachless Babymoon

 This time next week Bart and I were supposed to be enjoying the beach for a quick babymoon. It was going to be lovely and relaxing and leaving my skin with a nice tan and I have been looking forward to it for MONTHS. 

Then I got into a car accident this week and BAM. No more beach trip. 

*sigh*

My car is probably totaled and the financially responsible adults in us decided we should put off a beach vacation. Sometimes being financially responsible sucks. I want to just take all our hard earned cash and spend it on whatever the hell we want and not worry about having a savings account or paying off school loans quickly or having other savings accounts. 

Bart and I are lucky that we are both on pretty much the same page when it comes to finances. It's usually not a topic of conflict and we can come to an agreement pretty quickly. After the accident Bart brought up the vacation and I started crying because I knew that meant he was thinking what I was thinking : we shouldn't go. Sometimes it's awesome when great minds think alike. Other times it sucks! 

So today I put on my new swimsuit (the one that fits my prego chest size) and headed to the pool. I might not be going to the beach anymore but I sure as hell will be getting that tan! 

As for next week...a staycation babymoon is in order and I am determined to enjoy myself- beachless and all.  

Days fly by

I never really blogged about the night I found out I was pregnant, and how we spilled the news to our family. Technically I wrote a blog post to baby B and never hit publish until 6 weeks later when we were ready to share the news.

I also wrote the following post and it has been sitting in my "drafts" folder ever since

December 12, 2013

I am 5 weeks pregnant today and NO ONE KNOWS! And by no one I mean Bart and my BFF Sarah because let's be honest..I wasn't going to sit around for Bart to get home after peeing on a stick. I obvi had to call my bestie. Ok...enough with that.

I found out 5 days ago. I was barely late for my period and even though normally I wouldn't even think about it, I kept getting this nagging feeling to take a test. I had an extra one lying around from an 'oops!' moment 6 months ago (it was negative..obviously) so I took it and BAM that electronic stick said "yes" within a minute! I just stared at it. Stared at it long and hard. Then I looked at Aggie who shared that moment with me and started laughing/crying.

pregnant. positive. yes.

Bart was at his brother's watching the Aggies lose play when I called asking when he would be home. He was grouchy because they were losing and said "late". So I went down to the couch and sat there with my stick and called Sarah. I remember when she got pregnant she texted me at 7 a.m. asking if I 'had a minute" and when I said yes, she texted me a pic of her pee stick. So of course calling her was my next logical step. Earlier that day was her baby shower so it was a fun-filled-baby Saturday.

When Bart got home I told him I had some good news and (like always) he said "you're pregnant?" and this time instead of laughing it off I started smiling and showed him the stick! He was so happy and we are still trying to register everything as I write this.

A few days later I went to the 7-11 next door and bought a bag of potato chips and a pregnancy test. The kid looked at my purchase and asked "how's your day going?" haha. I can see how this would be amusing. (fyi...I ate that bag of chips within 24 hours...Instead of blaming my fat kid tendencies I will blame the bun in the oven)

I want to tell the whole world but chances are you won't be reading this for another few months. That's okay...I just had to get it out to share later :)

Baby Bowen expected August 2014.


Kinda fun right? Well we waited until we saw our family at Christmas to tell them. We got this awesome video of my mom opening her Christmas present:







I can't believe this was 6 months ago and now our daughter will be here in just a few short months! This pregnancy has FLOWN by and I have loved every second of it!

Week 31 Update

Bart really sucks at taking pictures so I am stuck with mirror selfies for baby bump updates

STATS:

How far along: 31W 2D

Baby size: 3.3ish lbs & 16 ish inches

Sleep: wake up religiously every night at 1 a.m. Waking up 2-5 times a night for potty breaks (depending on how much water I drank too close to bedtime). Usually NOT comfortable but I'm getting use to sleeping on my side. Apparently I now snore like a sailor (sorry Bart!)

Maternity clothes: If I'm not in maternity pants I'm super uncomfortable. I have black pants I wear pretty much every day. I'm also loving my maxi skirt. I am still wearing a few of my non-maternity shirts if they are long enough

Food cravings: I wish I was cooler in this department! I have no cravings. I really really love crushed ice and ice water.

Food aversions: Salmon hasn't been appealing this whole pregnancy, and I haven't really wanted sweet potatoes either. Right now meat in general doesn't sound good.

Symptoms I have: swollen swollen swollen feet/cankles! I was told about this "summer swelling" but I didn't really know what to expect...let's just say it's pretty ugly and kinda painful! I also have carpel tunnel 24/7 in my right hand so it's numb 100% of the time. (In general I feel pretty lucky in this department, I am feelin' pretty good!)

Latest Dr. appointment: Heart rate was 110/72 and I was measuring at 32 weeks (about 9 days ahead of schedule, so my baby is just nice and chunky! yay) I also took the glucose test and I'm waiting to hear back for the results. Here's hoping that piece of cheesecake I ate that morning doesn't skew the results...

Movement: she is getting big enough to where I can feel certain body parts sticking out...I just can't tell which side is her bum and which side is her head! I either have a leg/butt sticking out my right side all the time or a head/elbow. I can tell she is getting a little squished because it's less "dance party" and more "sloth movements"

Belly button: officially an outie! It's been making it's way out for a few weeks but went from "flat" to "out" just recently.

Best moment of the week: honestly this has been the most exhausting week of pregnancy so far...so the best moment is the fact that it's Friday night and I get a few days to relax!

What I'm looking forward to: my first baby shower this weekend and finishing my nursery!!

What I miss: RUNNING. Bart has a race tomorrow and I'm so jealous. I can't want to be able to lace up my sneaks again.

Quote of the week: "getting pregnant is like getting morbidly obese in a 9 month period....is it awkward?" -Bart