Now I understand!

Here is my picture at 35 weeks...depressing to look at but then I realize I'm 35 weeks so I'm totally on the downside of things!
I titled this post "Now I understand" because the other day while I was at the store with a girlfriend, one of the women working in the store had walked past us once & on her way back stopped & said to me, "Oh honey! How much longer do you have left?" To which I replied, "5 weeks". This kind woman then tells me, "Oh sweetheart, my daughter isn't due for 5 weeks & she isn't nearly as big as you are!" I realize that this woman didn't mean that the way it sounds. So, with a smile on my face, I kindly told her, "Well, I have really big babies. My last one was 9 lbs 4 oz & he was early."
It's a good thing I have a sense of humor about how humongous I am! Many people have been kind enough to tell me, "I don't think you look that big." It's ok folks, I know I'm huge - I've outgrown my maternity clothes!!

Weekend Camping

Despite my better judgement, we went camping Friday night & came home Saturday afternoon. I say "despite my better judgement" because I know how stressful going camping with 2 kids can be and since I'm supposed to be trying to get my blood pressure to go down, well...I just didn't figure it would be a fabulous idea to say the least. We had a really good time though!
We headed up Blacksmith Fork Canyon around 5 pm Friday night. Travis made the comment that it looked like deer hunting season because there were so many people already camped out.
In spite of all the people, we kept driving & went up Left Hand thinking there would be something up there. Word to the wise: if you are 9 months pregnant, DO NOT go up that road very far. I thought for sure Travis was going to put me in labor! I have been having Braxton Hicks contractions for about 2 1/2 weeks & was having them again as we drove up the road. On top of the contractions, the baby was kicking pretty regular & my seatbelt kept getting tighter & tighter with the more bumps we hit.
Eventually we came to where we could turn & go to Right Hand or go toward Old Ephraim's grave. We went toward Old Ephraim's Grave & kept driving. (Those that know the area know how long of a drive this is!) The kids were troopers for the entire ride (probably a good 1-2 hours) but Samantha kept asking if we were there yet!
Finally, we took a "road less traveled" & found a spot that we could make work. We got to dig our own fire pit & Travis used the shovel as a machete to make room for the camping palace but, we got everything set up pretty quickly.
Travis was really good to let me sit for most of the setting up process & after everything was set up, I climbed into the back of the truck (yeah, imagine that one) & put my feet up because they were swelling - again. The night wasn't too cold & the kids did really good sleeping in their own sleeping bags on their own air mattress & not in the middle of us! It wasn't even too cold this morning.
My thought process this morning led me to the conclusion that if Travis was going to insist on our going camping, I was going to insist on getting some rest & trying to remain stress free. I spent a good share of the morning lying down with my feet up & kept telling myself I was doing a good job & that my blood pressure would for sure be down when we got home.
We packed everything up & headed home around 3 or so this afternoon. We came out Temple Fork Road & headed into Logan. Travis decided we'd stop at his mom & dad's house before we went home. The kids had napped all the way out of the canyon & were pretty excited to see Grandma & Grandpa when they woke up. And, since Grandpa had the sprinklers going on the lawn they had the great idea to run through the sprinklers (great way to wash off some of that camping dirt)!
After having dinner at Grandma & Grandpa's house & even letting mom & dad get a nap in, we headed home. I was curious to see what my blood pressure was because I thought I had done such a great job of remaining stress free for the last 24 hours. HA! My blood pressure was 144/88 when we got home. The dr. told me at my last appointment on Wed. if I hit 140/90 they were going to be a lot more concerned about toxemia. So much for a relaxation attempt!!
Oh well, we had a lot of fun & like I told Travis: "If dirt is any indication of fun, Nash had a blast!"

Baby Update

I went to the dr. today for my 35 week check up. He said that my blood pressure is up so they will be keeping a closer eye on me for toximea. Two weeks ago my blood pressure was 110/60 & today it was 136/76. He said if it gets up to or above 140/90 that's when they really start to worry. So, we're good in that area.
I told him that the dr. I saw a month ago had said she might want to do another ultrasound because I was measuring so big. He looked at my chart & said that he too is measuring me about 2 cm bigger than how many weeks I am but since that's consistent with my history that he really isn't too worried about it. He said that measuring +/- 2 cm is within the normal range. If I was measuring +3 cm then he'd be more concerned.
He said that he'll do another ultrasound if I want him to, but that if he does it that he wouldn't do it until I got closer to my due date. Why? Well since I'm at least 3 weeks away from his lungs being completely developed that even if they looked & saw that yes he's going to be 10 pounds there's nothing they could do about it for at least 3 more weeks.
He did say that if he does another ultrasound & it looks like he's going to be closer to 11 pounds then I might want to consider a C-section. Then he reminded me that ultrasounds are +/- 10% (that's a full pound). He also told me that they did a study with dr.'s who had at least 4 years private practice experience, ultrasounds & mothers to find out who is most accurate on predicting the baby's weight. Guess who was the most accurate....yep, moms. I told him I'll be incredibly surprised if he's less than 10 pounds - on the other hand, I'd be shocked if he was bigger than 10 1/2 pounds.
And last but not least, I told him I've never made it to 39 weeks before & he said, "I hope you don't. Not with as big of babies as you've had because you tend to have bigger babies the more you have & boys are usually bigger than girls." That's always comforting!
So, now we're set until June 30th when we go back. Actually, the dr. wanted to see me back in a week, but the dr. I saw today is out all week next week & all the other dr.s are booked solid next week! I told Travis I think we'll do well to have one show up to catch this kid!! He wanted to know if the dr. misses it if we get a refund. I told him I don't think so!

Grass!! And a few other things!

Well, we inherited a 1/4 of a palette of left over sod. Who knew that such a small amount of grass could make a person so excited! Even the kids were jumping around on it! Travis said he figures we need 6 full palettes to do the entire yard -- that's still $600 for grass. I just hope we can inherit a few more left overs!! In the picture it looks like there's still a bunch of sod to lay but, our new grassy area doesn't extend too much farther than what is already laid.


A week ago Sunday we rode up right hand fork so Travis & I could shoot our guns. Here are a couple pix of the kids.
We actually had to wake Nash up after we were done shooting so he could use the bathroom!

Have you ever met a kid that looked more like his dad?
















Sammie girl:
















About 2 weeks ago we were out at my grandparent's house in Hyde Park. These pictures are of the kids in the leather shop with Great Grandpa Russ poundin away on some fabulous leather treasure! I remember spending hours doing the exact same thing when I was a kid!

33 Weeks

Well, I'm only 33 weeks but I look like I'm 53 weeks! And, two weeks ago at my dr.'s appointment, the dr. I saw was kind enough to point this fact out to me (like I hadn't noticed). She politely mentioned, "You're measuring kind of big." To which I said, "Yes, I know. I've already gained as much weight as I did the entire time I was pregnant with Nash." I then kindly informed her that he was 5 days early & still weighed 9 lbs 4 oz. (Travis told my mother I give birth to toddlers!) She was then nice enough to tell me that, "If you keep measuring so big we might need to do another ultrasound, just to be sure." Yea, thanks, I hadn't noticed I was as big as a house, but yes, I am in fact only 33 weeks pregnant & not 53 weeks pregnant like I look & my son will probably weigh 10 pounds! Not to mention the fact that I no longer have ankle bones & I'm too fat for my maternity clothes so I had to buy a few things from the plus size department at Kohl's the other day! Although, the good news at the dr. today was that I have in fact only gained 1 pound in the last month! Guess that makes up for something, right?

Anyway! I went to a Grocery Smarts thing with a girlfriend tonight. When I left I asked Travis if he'd make Nash's bed & clean up dinner. When I got home I was sitting on the couch talking to Travis when I realized how quiet it was. So, I asked him where Nash was. Then I caught a glimpse of Nash out of the corner of my eye. Yes, he is in fact very much asleep. This was too perfect of a kodak moment to pass up!