Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

As 2012 comes to a close and we look forward to 2013, I can't help but think of all that life provided us with this past year. After sending out Christmas cards, one of Phil's friends commented to him, 'wow, in one year, not only did you buy a house and get pregnant, you saved a child's life and you run an airport?!?' It seems that life has truly blessed us and we are looking forward to more adventures in 2013.  With looking at all we accomplished in the past 12 months, I can't help but wonder, will we get it all accomplished in the next 12 months (let alone the next 12 weeks)? I had such big plans to get things checked off of our to-do list while on break from school, but the days are ticking by, and we still have a list. If picking out a bedding set for our child's room is this difficult, how the heck are we going to handle the 'real' decisions that we have to make in the up and coming years?!?  While we have narrowed down names, I know it will come down to the moment that we see her and then we'll know (so for all of you looking to know baby's name, sorry, but even we won't know it until the moment she makes her grand entrance! I mean, what happens if we choose one name and then we see her and think, well she looks more like a ____).  I have a feeling that the people at Babies R Us and Target will know me by name come summer time, since I will probably purchase, then exchange, then return, then re-purchase items for the nursery.

But, on to more joyous events! The week before Christmas, Phil and I drove to Sioux City (about 2 hours south of here) to see Cirque du Soleil as an early Christmas present to each other, as well as to get one item completed on our baby to-do list. Our book recommended that before I hit the third trimester, we should go on a date that we won't be able to go on after the baby is born. I'd say that a 4-hour round trip drive on a work night would be the jackpot. The show was amazing and it was fun to get out of Brookings for a few hours.

For Christmas, we went to Phil's parent's house on the 23rd and did an early Christmas with his family. There is always so much energy and excitement at the Tiedeman celebrations, since there are three young nephews who get ecstatic for presents, and then add the 13 adults and we had a full house! Phil and I drove back to Brookings on the 24th and did Christmas Eve service at our home church. I love having new baby moments (having other people feel her kick for the first time, running into people we haven't seen in awhile and telling/showing them the news) and at the service that night, we had another moment. During communion, I walked up to our female pastor (our church has two pastors that are husband and wife and the husband typically runs the service that we go to on Sunday mornings) and she gave me communion and then asked if she could do a blessing for our baby. She put her hand on my belly and said a little prayer and it was just the most touching thing. To think about the story of Christmas with Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus and then to think about this little baby... it makes this blessing even more special. That evening, we opened presents from my parents and they gave us an iPad! So of course, we had to experiment with facetime and enjoy being 'together.' Tom even took a picture of my parent's iPad screen (so you could see Phil and I on one part and then my parents and Tom on another part) and called it our family Christmas picture. Hey, when you're 1000 miles away from family, I'll take it!

I'm still feeling pretty good and the break from school has been great. I know I'm really lucky to be able to get a break, since the majority of people work 40-hour work weeks 52 weeks of the year. With Christmas break training, I run practices for about 3 hours in the morning and then another 3 at night, so in between, I have definitely enjoyed some power naps. On long road trips, I still tend to feel a little nauseous. And I can tell that things are shifting in the hip area, with tightness and a little pressure making an appearance. The heartburn has continued, so Tums can be found in my car, backpack, coaching bag and on my nightstand.  These days, I still love milk (seriously, I liked milk before, but now I love it and go through a gallon almost every week). No weird cravings or immediate trips to the grocery store. I continue to be on the high end of weight gain, but still see my personal trainer once or twice a week while continuing to swim once a week and do the eliptical two or three days a week.  Swimming is starting to be a new experience with my center of gravity shifting and I've heard that it won't be long until I choose not to do flip turns at the wall. 

I am 26 weeks (the picture is from Christmas Eve, so I am 25 weeks and 4 days) and Baby T is a little under 2 pounds and is 14 inches long. It's so crazy to think that in the next 13ish weeks, she'll put on another 5-7 pounds (hopefully that's all I put on too! I know that won't happen, but here's to wishful thinking) and grow another 6ish inches.
We hope everyone has a safe and wonderful New Year's Eve celebration and get ready for an amazing 2013!

The ups and downs

From the day we found out we were pregnant, I have thought about this little baby. At the beginning, it was wondering if baby was a boy or girl. As we read about the developments of Baby T with each passing week, I think about what color hair she will have, whose nose and lips she'll inherit and if she will be blessed with my freckles or Phil's amazing eyes. And while I know she needs to stay inside for about 40 weeks, I anxiously wait for the day that I can physically hold her and cuddle her.  This past week was the first time that I wished I could keep her growing inside and keep her safe.
The week started off with a downer, as I had my first experience with sliding off of the interstate. On Sunday, I was on my way down to Sioux Falls to coach a meet and about a mile after getting on the interstate, I hit a patch of ice and down into the median I went. Thankfully, I was fine and the car was fine. And the first thing I did was to sit still and pray that Baby T moved (and then immediately breathe a sigh of relief when I felt movement). Continue with the rest of the week, which included finishing projects for school and completing grading for my first class that I taught as a grad assistant. And of course, this was the week that I had some conflicts at swimming, so it seemed like the week had hit it's low. And then enter Friday. I'm sure you all have heard about the shooting in Connecticut and it was something that brought me to tears. Phil and I have prayed for this baby for almost 2 years and now that we have her, Friday was the first moment that truly scared me of being a parent. Never in my life would I think about elementary school being anything other than a safe and fun environment. I was in high school when the shootings at Columbine happened and I had just graduated college when the tragedy at Virginia Tech occured. I felt I was old enough to process those events, but now I realize that  while I thought I understood those events, I was still a child. I'm going to be 29 on Monday and while I can't define being an adult with a specific age, I do think that certain life events can move you from childhood into adulthood. Back then, I didn't have a lot of financial responsibilities. I now have bills and a mortgage. Back then, I had to think about homework and papers. Now I have to think about insurance and wills. Back then, I could stay up past 10pm. These days, I love being in bed at 9:30p in order to get up at 5 for morning practice. Back then, I was experiencing 'first love' and learning that sometimes your heart has to hurt in order to grow. Now, I am experiencing a new first love and sometimes my heart will continue to hurt.
People always say that kids grow up too quickly and you should cherish each moment with them. With the responsibility of growing this baby, I am loving each movement, each moment that Phil gets to feel a kick and each new development. So while I am so happy that Baby T is growing and doing well, I am wanting to have a selfish childish moment and keep this baby all to myself. I don't want her to grow up and leave the safety of her temporary home in my belly. It's the task that every parent must face-- how do you let your child grow while still keeping them close?
There will be so many lessons that we will learn in the upcoming months and years. Phil and I are blessed to have amazing parents that have instilled great values and morals in us, so hopefully we can pass those on to our child(ren). So while I wish I can keep this little girl in my arms forever, I know I am going to let her go and grow. While we will teach her many life lessons, I know she will teach me a thing or two as well.

 

I am now 24 week and rounding the corner to the last trimester. Baby T is about 8.5 inches long and weighs a little over 1 pound. Her body is rapidly growing and she's continuing to hit milestones.  My belly button is still an 'innie,' but looks pretty close to popping. I am still feeling good and have been able to maintain a pretty steady schedule. At our pregnancy class the other night, we got in groups and talked about common pregnancy symptoms at this point in the pregnancy. I definitely have the heartburn (and the OTC meds to help) and have experienced a few leg cramps at night. With my scoliosis, my back has always been a bit tight and sore, so that's not anything new. I have treated myself to a few massages in the past 4 months and I see my chiroporactor once a month. Thankfully, not much else, so I would be one happy momma if that continues! 

 

 At our pregnancy class, we got some handouts for 'real life' pictures of how baby looks each month. So for 24 week, here's what Baby T kind of looks like :)

 

We have a to-do list for the next four weeks, as we will continue to talk about names, register for baby items, paint the nursery, look at daycare places, take the awesome glucose test, send out our Christmas cards, and continue to talk about how things will change once this little lady is here. So, while 16 weeks may seem so far away, I know it's going to sneak up on us very quickly!

Sugar, spice and everything nice... that's what's in my belly

Let me preface this by saying, I was 'that child.' I'm sure my parents know, but maybe they don't... around this time of year, my unability to wait and keep the surprise in presents came full swing.  Which means my ability to let others keep secrets from me drove me bananas. Yes, I was the child that would hunt through things to find where presents were hidden. If there were presents wrapped under the tree, I would be the one to try and pull off the tape and then re-wrap the present. I guess it's a good thing that my birthday is only a week before Christmas. That way, I wasn't snooping multiple times a year, but rather, just for a week or two before Christmas.  So, when it came to getting pregnant and figuring out if we wanted to know the gender of the baby, it was an obvious answer for me... YES! Thank goodness Phil was on the same page, otherwise we might have had additional problems during this 40ish week journey.  Seriously though, if there was a way I could get a sneak-peek into my belly, I would be the one to find it.
Leading up to the big day of the gender reveal, I tried the old wive's tales (multiple times), I read about different symptoms that could mean one gender or the other and I tried tuning into my body to see what it was telling me (if you played our gender guessing game, you can see that I was obviously wrong in that department).  But to my disappointment, nothing was giving me the 'most definite' answer.  So, the wait game continued.
As most of you know, my parents live in Colorado Springs, so I don't get to see them very often.  They planned on coming for Thanksgiving, so we scheduled the ultrasound for the Friday before Thanksgiving.  The plan was to have a gender reveal party with my parents and Phil's parents the day before Thanksgiving.  Fast forward a week or so and my thoughts changed to, well, my mom's my best friend and I can't keep a secret from her, so we'll tell my parents via skype on Friday night and then do the gender reveal with Phil's family.  Fast forward again a few more days and the plan became 'we'll call our parents on the way home from the appointment and tell them.'
Friday morning of the ultrasound, we drove to Sioux Falls for the ultrasound and the doctor's appointment.  We had the ultrasound at 8am and it was such an amazing experience to see every part of this little person. Seriously, we could see the bones, the eyes, the heart and stomach and so much more. And to think that baby was only 11ish ounces at that appointment! The ultrasound tech knew we wanted to know the gender and it seriously felt like she was torturing us with how long it was taking! (I now know they have to do other measurements and look at a lot of different things before focusing on the genitalia area, so while I know it's protocol, it felt like hours before she asked if we were ready)!  She focused in on the area and said, 'so what do you think?' I said, well I see a dot, so that means boy at the same time Phil said, I don't see anything so that means it's a girl.' The tech smiled and then put up the phrase 'it's a girl!' on the screen! She explained that they look for a hamburger shape or a turtle shell shape on the screen (hamburger is for a girl and turtle shell is a boy).  To Phil and I, it was just a white circle on the screen, but that is why they pay the ultrasound techs and not the parents to distinguish things :)

So, you remember how I said the plan going into the appointment was that we were going to call our parents on our way home...?  We had about 45 minutes between the end of the ultrasound and the start of our doctor's appointment, so we headed to the lobby area for some coffee/hot cocoa and breakfast.  The moment we stepped off the elevator, I looked at Phil and said, 'want to make some calls?' We both grabbed our phones and made the first calls to our moms and then continued from there. Needless to say, our day was full of much excitement, lots of phone calls and many hugs and kisses.
While I know the ultrasound isn't 100% proof, it's the closest I can get to peeking in on this present.  So unless one of you knows how to confirm that this wonderful little being is truly 100% girl or boy, I will continue to proceed with planning for a little girl to join our family.  And if we get to the delivery and the doctor announces 'it's a boy,' I will simply quit all other life activities and focus my heart and soul into finding out how I can install a window into my baby's house (i.e. my uterus) during my next pregnancy.  So, little wonderful being living inside me, if you want to have a caring and sane mommy when you enter the world (I can't guarantee the sane thing during the next 17 weeks), you will continue to make my belly full of sugar and spice and everything nice, because that's what little girls are made of!

I know it's right, I read it on the internet!

There's a commercial right now where the scene is with a guy and a girl and the girl talks about how she knows everything because she found it on the internet.  I feel like when you're pregnant, you begin to rely on what every book and website tells you.  On my nightstand, I have Mayo Clinic's pregnancy handbook, What to Expect When You're Expecting and the WEWYE pregnancy organizer and journal.  My menu on my favorite section on my laptop has babycenter, webmd and pregnancy.  The other night, when I had on of my many stress-out sessions, I began to realize what all it takes to have this baby.  One site tells me that I should have so many items picked out for the nursery, yet the baby's room sits empty.  One article says that I am supposed to have my energy back, yet I continue to take naps whenever I can get them.  I began listing all of the items that we have to complete and Phil just looked at me like I had just told him I just returned from the moon.  He first asked where the freak-out was coming from and then reminded me that we just hit the half-way mark.  Why would I want to be planning for this, and thinking about this, when I am in the middle of finals week and about to start Christmas training for the swim club?!?  Phil then brought me back to earth and reminded me that we have time.  We have loving and caring families that will help us when the time comes.  If we are in a pinch, we have a support system of friends and family members who will support us in whatever way.  And that is reason #462 that I love my husband :)

While my parents were here, we watched the movie 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' (there's a spoiler alert in a bit, so don't read on if you haven't seen the movie).  Phil and I had seen it before, but we thought it was a humorous movie.  Just like in the movie, I feel like there are multiple stages that a woman can go through on this movie.  After our miscarriage, it stung when people would say comments like, 'when are you going to have kids,' or 'don't wait too long.'  I thought that I had passed the aching stage, as it has almost been a year, but little things like that creep up.  I think I'm okay with things, but then I cried when the girl in the movie had a miscarriage.  A few days after we watched the movie for the first time, I got a card in the mail from Sanford (the hospital we use).  It was for Sanford's annual remembrance day and Phil and I had been invited.  The hospital does a remembrance ceremony every year to remember newborns, infants and toddlers who have passed away.  It sounds like a very caring and touching event, but that little card had enough power to make me sit down.  It's items like that to make me think about how lucky we are to have even gotten this far in the pregnancy.  But then the worries start... one sharp pain in my side sends me to the internet and has me worried that I'm going into early labor.  Two sodas in a day makes me think that I'm forever impacting my child's growth and development.  As I have read, as well as every other pregnant woman, it's about moderation and trusting yourself.

On a more humerous side, the movie also made me realize there are a lot of humerous moments in this pregnancy journey.  Like one of the main characters, I was so looking foward to having the cute baby bump and just carry around 'that glow.'  Only to realize that I am facing daily heartburn, growing pains, body aches and constant fatigue.  I believed that I would have the cute outfits to put my cute belly in and I would have the perfect little pregnant body.  I'll admit it... I am 22 weeks along and I have gained 15 pounds.  I still drink soda (only a few times a week), don't eat as many fruits and veggies as I should (but who does?!?), and don't always get the rest that I should (last week, Monday was a 16 hour day, Tuesday was a 14 hour day and Wednesday was 10).  But, I am sending this little girl as much love as she possibly could have.  Phil puts his hands on my belly nightly and we talk about the joys to come.  Because I know that through this stress, there is so much more joy than we can ever imagine.  As some of you know, my mom is a nurse in a pediatric oncology clinic.  She cares for children who have been diagnosed with cancer and while the clinic provides excellent care, sometimes she has a patient pass away.  I used to ask her how she could deal with that heartache over and over and she always told me that for every sad story, there are at least 10 happy and joyous ones to replace it.  So I know that no matter what happens, there will be a smile on my face and love in my heart!

And we have so much love for this little one!  While I posted on facebook, I haven't made the official announcement on here that we are having a little girl!  I will detail that day in another post, but our families (and us) are so excited to have a little girl in the family.  Currently, I am a little past 22 weeks and my belly and baby girl continue to grow.  At 22 weeks, Baby T is about the size of a papaya (11 inches) and weighs a full pound!  So crazy to think that it took 22 weeks to get to 1 pound, yet in the next 18 weeks, she will gain about 7 more!  The lanugo covers her body, the lips, eyelids and eyebrows are more distinct and the eyes have formed (yes, I am a horrible mom, but during the ultrasound, they took a picture of the eyes and I told the ultrasound tech that she didn't have to put that picture on our CD, since that picture scared me... but I guess it is a great thing because it shows that our little girl has two eyes that have developed properly) and she just continues to grow at an amazing rate!