Quick Update and My Bump (in pictures)

Quick update:

Last Wednesday, I wasn't feeling well. I didn't know how to pinpoint what was going on, I just "didn't feel good". Ever experience that? Anywho, my mom called and asked how I'd been doing. When I told her some of my symptoms (ie. headache for several days, lethargic, "just not feeling well", etc) she told me that I should stop into a local store and test my blood pressure. I did. It read 142/94.

Four weeks before this, my blood pressure was 90/50, which is a tad low, but still just fine. Once you get up to 120/80, they start to watch you because that is considered "pre-hypertension" or high blood pressure but not severe high blood pressure. Two weeks before this, my blood pressure had crept up to 113/70. At that point, I asked my doctor what was the magic number he was watching for.

The reason I asked him that question is because of my heart, the doctor has been watching me very closely throughout my whole pregnancy. He doesn't want my blood pressure to get too high because if it does, he'll have to induce me. If it gets so high that it's too dangerous to induce, he'll have to do an emergency C-section so that I don't have a heart attack or stroke. SO.... he's been watching closely.

The doctor told me that the magic number was 140/90. So, when I was sitting there staring at the computer screen telling me 142/94, I was a little concerned. However, I knew that this was a Wednesday and that I had an appointment with the doctor on Friday morning. So, I decided to wait. It was within 30 minutes later, I ran into a family friend who is also a nurse at a local hospital and I told her what was going on. She told me that I needed to go into the doctor and just have them checked. This was also what my mom had told me to do. So, I hauled myself into the doctor's office, my Superman in tow, and had them check. 150/85.

They sent me over to the hospital to have some blood tests run and do a non-stress test on the Rabid Beast. Four hours later, my blood pressure was still high, but not high enough and while the Beast didn't like having the straps across my belly and getting in her space, she was fine. So, they sent me home but the doctor told them to have me come in "on Friday if not sooner". We had our appt already set for Friday, so we went ahead and just stuck with that.

The doctor also put me on a "light work" order which meant that I could only work for a few hours on Thursday and needed to be resting otherwise. That night, my Superman was his usual Super self and completely overhauled the ENTIRE house. Which, let's be frank and honest, is 300 sf of Cave-ness. BUT, he still vacuumed, did laundry (including folding and putting it away), made sure everything was packed in our bags for the hospital, every dish in the house was clean, every surface was dusted, the bathroom was spotless, the dogs were in a good spot to spend a few days at my mom's house, EVERYTHING. We wanted to be ready for the next day so that when we went in for our appt and the doctor said "well, let's go ahead and get you started! Let's get this baby here!" we would be ready.

Cut to 10am the next morning, Alan and I are exhausted, but ready... and the doctor declares BEDREST!

WHAT?!?! Are you KIDDING ME?!?!?!

My blood pressure was at 128/75. And it was because I'd been resting. Grr.

Apparently, there was a law passed a few years ago because too many doctors had become induction happy and therefore caused lots of problems with newborns. My doctor would have had to have me at 140/90 or higher that morning for him to be able to do anything. So, bedrest it is. Until my appt this week, on Thursday. At 39 weeks, they are allowed to induce no problem, but until then.... there has to be "severe medical necessity" in order to do anything and unfortunately, I was only walking the fine line of that.

*insert VERY angry face here*

And I'm fairly positive of what will happen on Thursday...

We will go into the doctor's office that afternoon, he'll take my blood pressure which will still be hovering around 120-130 over 70-80 and he STILL won't be able to induce me. So, he'll tell me to see him the next week where I will be officially 39 weeks and I'll tell him that either I'll be getting induced or I'll be finding another doctor. I WILL NOT be bedresting for any longer than that, by thunder!!

* raised fist in the air, scowl on my face, and heavy panting like I've just run a marathon*

So, while I sit here on bedrest, I thought I'd update the blog. Because, really, how many times can you watch the same TV shows or movies or read the same books before you start pulling your eyelashes out and chewing your own hair? AmIright?!

Here are the pictures I've taken of the bump over the past 38 weeks:

12 Weeks

16 Weeks

20 Weeks

24 Weeks (And excuse the fake smile, I didn't really want to take this picture, LOL)

32 Weeks

36 Weeks

I have a picture from 28 weeks, but it is saved on a disc that is currently located across the state. So, someday, in spare time *snorting with laughter*, I'll put it in here.

Anywho, if you're a prayer offering person, any prayers on the behalf of this beached whale who's tummy timer has popped and is SO READY for the Rabid Beast's exodus from the womb would be vastly appreciated!!

It's The Fiiiiinalllll Countdooooowwwnnn!!!

Is anyone else singing that song?

Here, let me help:

You're welcome.

Let's move on...

As I currently sit here, I am trying to type on my laptop around and over a massively giant belly containing my rabid beast of fury. I am 4 blessed weeks from Lela's exodus from the womb and I have to tell you, it can't come fast enough. For lots of reasons.

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and will start having weekly checkups from here on out. My hope is that tomorrow he will check things out and tell me that I'm already dilating and that within 2 weeks, my little bundle of fury.... uh.... JOY will be here, thus eliminating the last 2 weeks of the countdown.

That is my hope.

What is actually going to happen is that I'll go in there tomorrow, he'll check and tell me that I'm sealed up tighter than a vault at the US Treasury and I should expect my little alien to go to college in there.

Sigh.

Can I just tell you that I feel like I've been pregnant forever? And that I've gone from being in denial about the whole thing to feeling like crap and not bonding with the beast to finally accepting and realizing there is AN ACTUAL HUMAN BEING IN THERE (LIKE... A REEEEAAALLL ONE!!!) to back feeling like the whole thing is not real. I feel like I've been pregnant so long that I'm not actually pregnant, but experiencing uncomfortable and painful gas punches and wiggles and that this not sleeping, heartburn ridden, hormonally out of control state of being is the new normal and I need to come to accept that.

Alas, logically, I know that it will end and that life will never be the same again. And I'm SOO excited for that. I'm so excited to finally get to meet our little girl. So excited to finally get to be a mommy. So excited that my Superman gets to be a daddy. So excited that our family gets to get bigger. So excited to finally hold the little monster.... uh... ANGEL in my arms and snuggle her little face. So excited that we are gaining the biggest blessing we can have as a couple.

After all, my Superman and I have created a person together. We took a tiny portion of him and a tiny portion of me, threw them into a pot (aka. my uterus) and let it grow into this new human being who is different than any other person who will walk this earth. Isn't that incredible? She has fingerprints unlike ANYONE ELSE will ever have! That boggles my mind. And  my body did that. It grew her from a tiny seed. She will be this perfect combination of my Superman and I and this being who will grow up (hopefully) into a person who can walk, talk, sit, stand, make decisions, etc, etc, etc. THAT'S AMAZING!!

This is the closest thing we can come to feeling what Heavenly Father must feel like. Creation is a miraculous gift, people. For real!

New Year's Resolutions

You know, most years, I will go back and look at what I was hoping to accomplish for this past year and rate myself. This year, I'm not going to. Failure is no longer something I care to rate myself on. The success I feel for this past year has more to do with the fact that I love my husband more than I ever thought possible, I love my little Rabid Beast growing in my belly almost as much, and I have such high hopes for the upcoming year that I have no room in my mind or heart for considering last year's failures.

So, onward and upward, without looking back....

This year, we are getting ready for some HUGE changes. I've written about most of them already on here. The baby, the house, Alan's job(s), Alan's schooling, etc. But we are also throwing into that mix that I am going to start working from home as soon as Lela comes because my work is amazing like that. It will be a huge shift and I am going to have a giant responsibility in learning how to balance keeping home, baby and work all 100%. I know there will be days where I just don't make it, but I'm really grateful for my boss who is willing to work with me while I work out the glitches. Such a blessing.

Therefore, as I sat down to consider my New Year's Resolutions, I really had no thoughts come to my mind other than those of pure survival. Brand new mom, new house, new job responsibilities, Alan's new job, Alan working 2 jobs while also going to school and leaving me home alone with all the newness.... yea... survival is the only thing that I could even muster courage to commit to.

I have, however, also realized that the only way I'm going to survive it, is by strengthening the relationships that are important to me. I can't do it all myself and therefore, I have to rely on the "village" to help me out. Once I realized that I needed to do this major thing, the other ideas that were floating around fell into place too. So, here is my list for this year:

1) Find new ways to strengthen relationships each month
2) Be completely unpacked in the new house by October 1st
3) Read my Ensign each month all the way through (not just the Visiting Teaching message!!)
4) Once a month to the temple as a couple
5) Master the budget vs. meal plan battle
6) Start exercising again and watching calorie intake (as a family)
7) Visit teach once a month

For me, this is a small list. But, I really feel like in doing each of these things, I will be able to strengthen myself in a variety of ways (e.g. Spiritually, Physically, Emotionally, Financially, Etc.)

I'm looking forward to this new year. It is going to be so crazy from now until probably August trying to get everything settled, but I am determined to do the very best that I can. I'm so grateful that I have people (my "village", if you will) surrounding me who are supportive and helpful. They won't let me flounder. And I'm grateful that I have been given an amazing man to walk this journey with this year. He's so patient and loving with me. He supports my every move and will be there helping me along the way.

Here's to a New Year and a new version of life for the Vickery household!!

Christmas 2013

Here again, we were all kinds of places with all kinds of people this year. But, I didn't start taking any pictures because my sweet Husby, Superman, got me my first DSLR camera!!! So, once I opened that baby up, there was NO WAY I was taking another picture with my crappy snap and shoot. Alas, all you're getting is a photo dump of Christmas as soon as we made it to Emmett to spend time with Alan's family. Behold... Christmas 2013, Vickery Style!

Me and Baby Taisy asleep

Marjie watching everyone play volleyball

Jarom playing basketball while everyone else played volleyball

Carrie at 25 weeks pregnant, doing a cartwheel. Yes, she's slightly crazy!

Grandpa came to watch volleyball and hold Taisy

Taisy is only 1 month old and still a rabid beast herself!

But then Grandpa said something that totally freaked her out! LOL

Leah came to play volleyball too. Here's her game face!

Mel and Corbin have less scary game faces

Justin just scored and did his happy dance

Carrie teaching Dad how to block Jay's spike (they look like they are line dancing! LOL)

Kyle is home from his mission! Yay!

Taisy and Marjie have matching outfits!

Taisy asleep, held by Alan

Lance holding and playing with Marjie

Marjie trying to help Mom and Laureen cut out patterns for maxi skirts

Marjie and Grandpa playing

Ethan is too darn cute!!

This happens frequently at the Vickery house... they know how to fall asleep instantly!

Mom and Dad with the grandkids

Jarom

Abbie playing with Corbin

Spencer is attacking Corbin

Abbie, Joseph and Spencer all attacking Corbin

Marjie getting in on the fun of "getting Uncle Corbin" by tickling his feet and scampering away giggling! LOL

Laureen's got all her jewelry on and she's looking fierce!

Audra and Jarom playing Just Dance (btw, I should mention here that Jarom is 100% deaf and mostly blind, but he wins this game almost every single time!)

Jarom and Audra

And of course, Jarom wins

Leah getting in on Just Dance

Jarom and Alan playing Just Dance

Yes, this is me, 7 months pregnant and trying to beat Alan at Just Dance. I actually did pretty good. Only lost by a little bit!

Thanksgiving 2013

This year was a bit crazy for Thanksgiving with several different meals and houses and people. But, we had a great time and put on some happy weight! Here is a photo dump!

Laura hates that I love to take pictures so much

Zaydee, Serena and Mom are pretty focused on something, I'm not sure what

Alan is so kind to give me the "Take the dumb picture already!" smile whenever I ask for it

Me putting my feet up after dinner trying to get the Rabid Beast to move so my mom and Laura could feel her

Playing Canasta and eating pie

Alan, Dad and Laura sitting down for Thanksgiving breakfast

Sister giving us the sass!

Sister, Mr. Dustin, Alan and Mom trying to figure out Mom's tree

What's In A Name?

We've finally come up with a name for the little sweetie pea (aka. Rabid Beast) living in my mid section...

Lela Kjerstine

Lela is pronounced "Lee-Lah"
Kjerstine is pronounced "Keer-steen"

My mother's mother's name was Lela and my father's grandmother's name was Lela. So, it's a family name.

But the reason I felt so strongly attached to the name is because my Grandma Lela Street has always been one of my heroes.

See, she grew up with practically nothing and got married quite young. When she was in labor for the first time with my aunts Dona and Dina, her husband was nowhere around. She couldn't rely on him and had to do things herself. Right after their birth, little Dina passed away and Dona had to stay in the hospital. At that point, she called her husband and he told her that he needed her to come with him, leave the girls and just come. I'm not entirely sure where he was off to, but my grandma stood her ground and told him to shove off basically. She wasn't going to leave the one baby she had left, after just losing one, to run off with her husband who was acting like a baby himself.

They ended up getting divorced and she raised my aunt Dona on her own. She was a strong woman who never settled for less than she deserved. She didn't get down on herself for getting a divorce in a time when that was taboo. She knew that she'd made the right decision and never looked back. She knew that she had a Father in Heaven who loved her and because of that, He would send blessings if she just stood for what she knew was right. She never wavered in her faith in that.

Then, she met the man who would become my grandpa and fell in love with him. They were sealed in the Idaho Falls Temple. She stayed happily married to my sweet grandpa for decades. He adopted my aunt and raised her has his own. They went on to have 8 more children. She stayed close to the gospel and her Heavenly Father until she died back in 2008.

Also, she and I had a special connection. See, she knew I was coming even before my parents did. She was in the temple one night and had inspiration come over her that she would have a special granddaughter coming and that her name would be Heather.

Two of my aunts were pregnant at the time and she went to them and asked them if they were having a girl, if they could please name her Heather. They both said that they were having boys, but they would keep it in mind for the next one. Then, my mom found out that she was pregnant (and of course had to wait a long time to find out that I was actually a girl) and when I was born, my parents had already decided on Heather without my grandmother knowing. Well, when they told her what my name was, she told them how she knew I was coming and had known for quite some time. Apparently, the inspiration in the temple had come to my grandma right around the time my mom had gotten pregnant.

I stayed close to my sweet grandma my whole life.

As I was dating my ex husband, grandma was getting sicker and sicker and I just kept praying that she would at least make it to my wedding. All my other grandparents had passed away at that point, but I wanted nothing more than for my grandma to be there in the temple with me that day.

She was. And it was one of the most special memories I have of her.

Then, one wintry day in October 2008, I got the call from my mom saying that Grandma was not doing well and that this was "it". So, I packed my bags, told my work that I didn't care if I lost my job or not and left the next morning bright and early to make the 7 hour drive to come home and say good bye to my wonderful grandma who loved me so much.

My mom had warned me that my grandma wasn't exactly lucid anymore and that she didn't seem to understand anything going on around her. She had been calling out for people who weren't there and wasn't fully conscious.

I prepared myself as I entered her room and went to her bedside. I took a hold of her hand and said "Hi Grandma! I made it! I came to see you!". She opened her eyes, smiled and said "Hi. I'm so happy you're here. I love you." Then she slipped back into her fitful sleep. I was the last person she recognized fully and told that she loved them. It is the most important and special memory I have of her.

In the years since, I too have gotten divorced. I never wavered in my faith because my relationship with my Heavenly Father was between myself and Him, not having anything to do with my ex. I relied on Him and He strengthened me. I also relied on my memory of my Grandma Street and how strong she was. She didn't fall apart and use her hardships as an excuse for doing things she knew were wrong.

And, by walking in her footsteps, I too held out and waited to find the man that would become perfect for me. We were married almost a year and a half ago and were sealed in the same temple my grandma and grandpa were.

She is one of my heroes. Stalwart and strong, she was one of the most incredible women I've ever known.

What a blessing I had to have my sweet grandma in my life, and what a blessing I will have in my life in the form of my baby daughter within the next 11 weeks. And how grateful I am that I get to teach my daughter about the woman who inspired me to name her Lela.