Two New Arrivals

My friend Ashley McFarland and her husband Mike welcomed baby Caroline Grace this past September. Ashley is one of the "beach girls" (Ashley, Erin, and myself) I had mentioned in a post from my trip home to Mobile this past August. The 3 of us hung out at the beach during the summers and all 3 of us have had/are having babies nearly exactly 1 month apart. It has been so much fun trading pregnancy stories with these girls all year and it's hard to believe that we have to be the grown ups now. Welcome home Caroline Grace!

Erin and Troy Schwant welcomed home their newest arrival Charlie Thompson Schwant on October 16th. Welcome home Charlie!

At Home

At my regular check up this past Tuesday the doctor noted that my blood pressure was a little high and they were going to start monitoring it to watch for hypertension and/or preeclampsia. They told me to come back on Friday for a blood pressure check and told me what symptoms to watch for should things escalate.

On Wednesday afternoon my feet and hands puffed up tremendously. Even a coworker noted that my face looked puffy too which is not something a woman ever wants to hear but I had to take it as further validation that I really was not feeling well. I called the doctor's office and they said better to be safe than sorry - come on up and you can see the doctor that's in today. My blood pressure was higher than it had been the day before. They sent me to the lab to have blood drawn for a blood count and to give me a jug to collect ALL of my pee for 24 hours. Oh, and this jug has to be refrigerated. Yes, your vision is accurate: a jug of pee next to the gallon of milk and leftover lasagna. If this was Robbie's pee I would be totally grossed out and would insist that the garage was cool enough for him to keep it well out of my sight. I didn't really put it next to the milk or near any food but rather in the bottom door drawer which can be and has been removed and cleaned just in case. It was not in plain view. Hey, if Robbie can put dead ducks in the fridge, then what's a jug of pee? And may I add that returning the "specimen" to the lab is a bit humiliating. There's just something degrading to everyone involved when you set your giant jug of pee on the counter. You wonder what people are thinking watching you walk into the lab with a brown paper bag. It's not a bottle of beer, folks! But it's not a stool sample either. That might be the only thing worse.

I was also told to stay home from work Thursday until I talked to my doctor Thursday afternoon. Yesterday afternoon my blood pressure was still high and had been high all day, so the doctor told me I would not be returning to work. She also told me we would most likely have this baby around 38 weeks which is LESS THAN 2 WEEKS FROM NOW. We would have the baby next week if I have preeclampsia, but they called this morning to say I did not have enough protein in 24 hour's worth of urine to diagnose preE. That's good news.

The bad news is I am starting my maternity leave now instead of after baby arrives. The bad news - or good news, perhaps - is that I am limited on how much activity I can do. I may not: clean the garage, vacuum, do any housekeeping, cook, or go to the grocery store. I enjoy a leisure lifestyle without a doubt, but even I get anxious looking at all the things I could be doing with all this time I have now and can't. Whoever would have thought I would be dying to clean?? So please, anyone out there, send a message, send a text, send an email, comment on the blog, come over. Entertain me, please! Or come over and clean. You choose.

These pictures are just for fun. The first is Robbie putting together a storage thing for Katie Rose's closet. The second is proof that Robbie also lets Shuge get in the bed. It's not just me!

Visitors from the West

Thank goodness for my wonderful in-laws. I am so lucky to have such great in-laws who love us so dearly. Vickie and Arnold came over last weekend to visit bringing with them all sorts of gifts, goodies, and even dinner.

They arrived Thursday night with a ravioli casserole made just in time for Survivor. On Friday Arnold and Robbie went duck hunting - Arnold's first trip out for the season. Now that he has killed some ducks he says he can shave his face. These Vernon men have some attachment to their facial hair and only remove it when an animal has been slain. They didn't kill many ducks but they had a good time in the field with the dogs and just enjoying man time.

I wasn't feeling well on Friday so I stayed home all day and Vickie helped me sort through and wash all the newborn clothes and blankets I have, put liners in the drawers, and get me a little more organized. Those who know me know I need help with this stuff and cleaning and putting things away is not my forte. She was such a tremendous help. Vickie, along with her beading talent, has also taken up knitting caps. Katie Rose probably has 6 from Mama V already and I just bet she'll get more. She and I actually enjoyed going through Katie Rose's cute things and talking about when Robbie and Tawnya were born and what sort of nesting things she did. She told us that due to space and where they were at the time she didn't get to do much nesting or decorating of a nursery so to do those things with me was fun for her. Vickie also assembled the bouncer seat cousin Danyel sent us. It was a special time spent with Vickie and Arnold and it was bitter sweet when they left knowing that the next time we see them we'll have our baby!

Happy 30th Birthday Robbie!

The Centennial Valley

Happy birthday my dear, sweet, loving, and PATIENT husband. We have been together over 6 years now and I believe I have been with you on your birthday every year until this year. But readers, do not think this is me being neglectful or uncaring, and really and truly it has very little to do with me being pregnant. It has EVERYTHING to do with it being opening weekend of duck season. Robbie loves duck hunting almost more than life itself. He also loves big game hunting too, but the ducks and geese are his real passion.

Robbie's birthday wish was to go back to the Centennial Valley where he and I went opening weekend last year. Last year we took Mom and Dad's suburban and camped out in the vehicle in sleeping bags with the seats folded down. It was actually pretty cozy the two of us and a muddy dog. Suburbans make great campers. We had an awesome weekend last year and nearly limited out the first day. Unfortunately our computer crashed a few months ago and we lost our pictures. So sad.

Below is one picture I salvaged off MySpace, but it's compressed.

This year I was not up for the trip since I need 5 or more pillows and a nearby bathroom. I'm also not interested in ruining our daughter's hearing quite yet with shotgun blasts, and I know that this year would not compare to last year when we hung out by the river, shot ducks, missed geese, and drank beers while watching the sun set. I'm not sure we could recreate that experience, so the best thing I could do was just let him go. I felt bad sending him off by himself on his 30th birthday but it's what he wanted and I wasn't going to stop him.


He started packing his bags on Monday while listening to heavy rock man music on the computer. Once in a while he would make an appearance wearing some funny camo hat or raincoat and slippers (with no pants or at least it was long enough to cover his shorts) bearing his shotgun just so I would know how cool he was. How could I forget?? He also took care to pack some magazines and the pregnancy book just for good measure.

Where they hunted this year

Robbie's cousin David from Dillon joined him for part of the weekend. Robbie ultimately camped in the middle of nowhere near the river and was woken up at 2 am by headlights coming toward him. It was his friend Brian from Stevensville who had joined up with David to join him for the Saturday morning hunt. The guys ended up having a great weekend despite some gun malfunctions, a run-in with the game warden (not for something Robbie did), and only shooting a few ducks.

Elk crossing on the way home

Things That Make You Say Hmmm

I'm never quite sure how much I want to reveal on the blog. Some bloggers reveal everything and speak so candidly that I am embarrassed for them. I am a pretty open book but I realize others might not want to be privy to my openness all the time. That being said...


I had a startling change this week when I was in bed reading my Mayo Clinic pregnancy book. It was talking about breast changes when I noticed that my own showed the unmistakable evidence of being nearly a month ahead of schedule. I was shocked even though I know pregnancy does not necessarily follow a book and cannot be planned out like color-by-numbers. I screamed out, "OH MY GOSH!!!!" Robbie came to my rescue to find out what was wrong. I showed him and he kindly replied, "Wow, that's kind of cool." I started crying insisting that it was NOT cool and that that had never happened to me before and that being a woman you come to expect certain things, but THIS had never EVER happened before, and while I realized it was going to happen and that I wanted it to happen, I was not ready for it at that moment.

I got over the shock after telling a handful of my motherly or pregnant friends who assured me I was ok, but it does start to make you wonder what it could mean. My first thought is maybe she's coming early. My second, less-fortunate thought is it could mean I'll have enough nourishment to provide sustenance to a small country. My third thought is if #2 is the case, maybe there is a way I could make some money selling the stuff as an all natural coffee creamer with real antibodies and immune support! If you're interested, get in touch with me.

I've also been having what I believe to be Braxton Hicks contractions - also normal. I'm actually counting them right now because it seems there is more contraction activity today than other days. I believe I have counted 3 in less than an hour, but it could just be the baby pressing into the upper part of my uterus, or it could be any number of other pressurized disturbances that occur (regularly, I might add) in the abdominal region during pregnancy. I won't elaborate.

Baby also seems to be hanging out low when she's not sitting sideways, or so it feels sometimes. I blame this on me having such limited rental space for her. I can often wear jeans that are long though I am average height 5'6. My torso and waist are what's short. With limited space I believe she's putting additional pressure on my bones below and my bladder. So does this mean she's further down and getting close to being ready? Could she? Would she?

I've heard too many pregnant women say they are sure the baby is coming early for various reasons and I always think to myself that they're just tired of feeling uncomfortable. I can relate with this just like I now understand why I always thought pregnant women were mean, but I still believe a baby arrives neither early nor late but precisely when he means to just like Gandalf the Gray (I'm a total Lord of the Rings nerd). Alas, here I am wondering and saying the same thing countless other women have. The doctor's office has now called me back and said that unless things get significantly worse, I sound totally normal...so I'll just keep waiting.