Rollercoaster

It seems that the last month or so of a pregnancy there are so many ups and downs. On Wednesday I went to the doctor and he received the results of the ultrasound he had ordered from the hospital. They stated that the baby was breeched. Which of course means that I would have to have a C-Section. Dr. M decided to schedule one for April 20th. Now, I can't say that I am totally thrilled about having a C-Section. I have never had surgery before and I can't watch one being performed on tv. The recovery isn't so great either. But....the idea of knowing when I could possibly have my baby and not having to go through labor and pushing my already large baby out...makes a C-section not so bad of a thing! Of course he could move into the right position and I could go into labor earlier than the 20th...which is in one month...oh my goodness how time flies. So, there is still a lot of unknowns. Due to his size...it is looking like he could come earlier. So, if he hasn't moved and is large, a C-section is inevitable. If he moves and I still haven't had him by the 20th, they will induce and I will probably give birth naturally to hopefully a normal size baby:)

I received an email that my crib was in on Wednesday. Scott and I were able to have some time to pick it up on Thursday. So, I got ready to go after work and waited for Scott to finish up a phone call. He mentioned to the person right before he hung up that we were headed to WalMart to pick up the crib. She said, "Oh no do not go to WalMart". Scott said it was cheaper and no delivery fees and that we didn't want to go to WalMart, but it was a better deal. She said that she didn't mean not to shop there but that she received a text that there was going to be a gang initiation at Walmart and that they would kill three women!!!! Now, normally those texts are totally false and just a rumor, but I really found it odd that Scott just happened to mention to someone he rarely talks to that we were going to pick up the crib at WALMART and that she knew about this initiation. Maybe it was true maybe not but I was not going to take any chances. I think God was watching over me:) I could have sent Scott but that didn't seem wise either. CRAZY!!! So, no crib yet. Hopefully today I can get it and not get shot at..that would be nice. The days are getting shorter and shorter as we await on the arrival of our new one. It is scary and exciting at the same time. It could be a month, a few weeks...or even days before he is home with us. It is such a wonderful blessing that amazes me all the time.

Baby Shower #2

Saturday was my second baby shower at the church. The women's board did a great job decorating the room and we had some awesome cupcakes..mmmm! I believe there were about 20 women there. It was such a blessing. Shanna gave a devotional on raising Godly children. We played a nursery rhyme game and the game where you could not say the word BABY or you lost your pacifier. It was a great day and am so thankful for all the women who showed up.

The nursery is all painted and a few items are hung up(thanks to Mom and Leah). I should be getting my crib soon, as well as a glider. I have all the clothes hung. I still have soooo much to do. I am hoping I have til the 25th of April now. But he will get here when he gets here and everything will be just fine:). I bought him the cutest stuffed pony today. I couldn't resist. I haven't had to buy much thankfully. Babies are expensive. I have been so blessed to have my Mom give me a shower and then my church. I don't know how people do it with out so many people. My mother in law is giving me another shower as well after the baby is born! Too blessed:)

Early Hospital Visit

Tuesday I had a doctor's appointment which I had changed from Wednesday(11th) to Tuesday(10th). I changed this to make things easier on Scott and I. I figured we would have our doctor's appointment then grab a quick bite to eat and finally head over to the hospital for our Infant Care class. Well, I went to the doctor, who then sent me to the hospital...not for the class but to be emitted for SIX HOURS! I had high blood pressure 140/90 or something like that and Dr. Marcus was concerned. So, I ended up getting to the hospital around 5:45 then waiting for a room until about 8:00. They set me up in labor and delivery..so at least I got to see the accommodations that I will have when I deliver! I was set up on the baby monitor and an automatic blood pressure monitor, that took my BP every half hour. I had my blood taken, urine tested and finally an ultrasound. Everything came back great. My blood pressure was perfect every time. So, I must have just been nervous when they took my BP at the Doctor's office. What an ordeal. I have never been to the hospital, so that was a little crazy, but I was relieved that everything turned out to be ok. We finally got out of the hospital around midnight and heading back home. The ultrasound tech determined that the little one..isn't so little 6#14oz already! He also gave me an estimated due date of March 30th! Two days later I went for a follow up with my doctor who said my BP was good again and I lost a pound, so he was much happier with me. He also said, as for the weight and new due date, to pay no attention to that. We are sticking with April 25th. It has been such a roller coaster ride. Thankfully, I have had a really normal pregnancy. If I hadn't been so nervous on Tuesday it probably would have been drama free. God is definitely watching over us. Oh and we totally missed out Infant Care class so I am ordering a few movies to watch...just to put my mind at ease...because I have no idea what I am getting into:) Sorry little guy..I'll try not to mess up too much:)

New Due Date

I forgot to mention that after my last ultrasound they moved my due date to April 13th!!! I go to the doctor today so I will see what he has to say. I have another baby shower on Saturday at church from 2-3:30. I am so excited! Scott put together the stroller last night and car seat. It was so surreal. Only a few more weeks and I will be pushing the little guy around in it. Friday my mom and Leah are coming to paint the nursery! Then I will receive my crib that Jan ordered for me the following week. I am planning on washing some newborn items and then getting the nursery as close to being finished as possible. Lots to do! Time has flown by so fast, as I knew it would. We had our Yard Sale on Saturday finally and got rid of a lot of stuff. Making room for baby:). Oh and tonight after the doctor appointment we have a 3 hour class given by Riverside Community Hospital on Infant Care. That should be interesting!

It IS a BOY!

I had my second ultrasound on Friday Feb 27th. The little guy was turned away from the camera and was sleeping. Go figure. Scott and I were a little nervous about the gender. We have heard sooo many stories that the gender was thought to be one and ended up the other. Now, I have to say we both wanted a boy first, but as long as it is a healthy baby that is all that matters in the end. So, after a long visit to the ultrasound center we left still feeling a little apprehensive about getting the nursery started and taking tags off all the cute little boy clothes I have hanging in the closet. The ultrasound tech said the girl who did my first ultrasound was an expect in OB and was certain if she said it was a boy then she was pretty confident in saying that it was. But...we needed more concrete proof. We decided to go to Fetal Focus in the Galleria at Tyler. They guarantee gender determination and if they can't you get your money back. So after lunch at Ruby's. Scott and I, along with my Mom, Jan, Gary Marthe, AJ and the girls got to see him. And YES it is for sure a boy! We received a picture confirming the fact and a profile view..so precious. It was great to have Scott, my Mom, Jan, Marthe and even Katie there to see the little one. We only had 10 minutes of viewing so it was quick but we got what we came for. So, now it is on to decorating the nursery.....and cleaning the baby clothes!

A Few of my Favorite Things...

I love design. I spend many hours searching EBAY and online boutiques for cute vintage cowboy ideas that I can recreate. Here are a few things I love.

I am going to attempt to make a pillow out of this material. I am going to add chenielle to the sides. This project will be a lot simpler than the crib bumper below. If I fail at this then I know I will have to recruit someone to help with the bumper:)

Here is the fabric I ordered to make a crib bumper. It is called Retro Cowboy. I haven't sewed since I was like 12...so we will see how that goes.

1st Baby Shower

My mom and sister threw me my first baby shower on February 15th. I could hardly wait to get there. My Grandma from Oregon was going to be out for her sisters birthday and so I decided that it would be awesome to schedule it while she was out. The shower started at 3pm. We had an array of food. From turkey roll-ups to cupcakes and a cute cake. Hopefully I can figure out how to put up pictures on here and I can share those with you.(ooh I just figured it out..lol..I will put some up as soon as I get them developed) As I mentioned my Grandma was there along with my Dad's sister from Oregon, friends from way back when, my best friend..along with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law and my niece! It was so nice to see all of my mom's friends there to celebrate with my family and I. There were a total of 23 girls there. We played a few games and then I got to open all of the cute gifts. I was spoiled. My mom bought me my stroller and car seat!!!! I can't wait to put it together and then put my little guy in it! I received the ever so popular Diaper Genie. My sister-in-law knitted me the cutest horse. I love handmade gifts they are so thoughtful and very few people do that anymore. I received sooo many cute outfits. I am so glad boys have cute clothes too now. My Aunt shared a devotional about raising children from Deuteronomy. It was great! Overall, it was a relaxing and fun time spent with a lot of people who have been there throughout my life. My mom and sister did an awesome job!!!

What's Its Name

The next logical step after finding out the gender of your baby is to choose a name. Now, if it was a girl we had that one down..Amanda Jean Gieser. We only had the one name and both loved it. Since it is a boy we had to start to come up with some other names. We had always loved the name Jack and still do..but unfortunately that name is not nickname proof. These are things you have to think of. Even though Scott says he is gonna be a tough kid..I still want to save him from any extra humiliation..kids are cruel. We also love the name Wyatt. I have decided to do the nursery in a western theme so this would be perfect. Leave it to me to name our kid just so he will match his room..oh brother!!! Then Scott also mentioned the name Shane. Now, I have to say that has always been one of my favorites, but I could have sworn Scott did not like it. So, now we have Jack, Wyatt and Shane at this point. Jack is pretty much off the list but I still love it.

We have begun at this point, well who am I kidding, for a year now our families have chosen names that they like. Let me give you an example: Gary (Scott's Dad) is obsessed with the name, Ezekiel Zacharias Gieser. Ezekiel isn't that bad but along with Zacharias..oh no!!! The reasoning behind this name is the nickname that comes along with it..EZ Gieser! Hahahaha..oh man I am sorry but I don't want my son to be know as easy! Good effort though Gary:) Most recently Jan came up with the name Deacon. Not too bad but Scott is really liking it. So, after all this I think we are pretty much left with Wyatt and Shane. We decided that we will wait until he is born to see what the little guy looks like and then make our decision. Since we already know the sex I think it will be great to have that anticipation of naming him the day we see his sweet little face!
Until then the family has decided to call him "What's Its Name". Or more affectionately known as WIN:)

Oh yeah..it's a boy!

I think most people have a preference to the gender of their first born. Of course, the main hope is to have a healthy baby no matter the gender. Scott and I both wanted a boy. I always wanted an older brother and Scott loves having his older brother. Then if we have a girl we have a body guard and spy built in. Girls scare me..really they do. All that Princess talk and major attitude..awwhh..believe me I know. I love being a girl..makeup, clothes, design..PINK!!! It is all great but I think being a boy mom would be the best ever. Not so much drama involved:) So, we went into out first ultrasound appointment hoping for a boy. I was a little over 15 weeks and the tech said it might be a little too soon to tell..oh wait..nevermind..it's a boy! Now, Scott was not in the room at this point I wanted to scream and be all giddy about it but it was just me and the tech. That kind of ruined the moment. I wish I would have asked her to wait to tell the both of us. Once Scott got into the room I was so excited to tell him. He asked if it was too early as well and the tech asked if I wanted to tell him. So, I said "Do you really want to know". He replied,"of course". "It's a boy!" I exclaimed. We saw the first pictures of our new little miracle. It was so amazing. We saw him cough. He even covered his mouth while doing it..Scott said he already has manners. I found this amazing little poem that I framed with the little ones ultrasound picture under it:
We treasure this first glimpse of you; the amazing miracle of life is true.
So small, yet awesome in what you'll become, grow strong and healthy our little one.
We are here, dreaming and waiting, wishing, preparing and anticipating. Each day a step closer to life anew, each day a touch closer to holding you

First Trimester:Is it here yet?

I am not going to lie. The first three month of pregancy are horrible. It isn't morning sickness..it is all day sickness. Whoa mama..I am not sure if I want to do this again..hopefully I am having twinsbecause this is it! Those were some of the thoughts running through my head as I stared at the toliet bowl each morning.

It was the same thing wake up, sign in for work, run to the bathroom. I didn't through up too much during the day, but I continually felt nauseous all day long. I almost wished I would throw up then maybe I would feel better. I couldn't deal with it any longer so at my Dr. appoinment I said.."Ok doc there is got to be something for this horrible nausea. Guess what there was. The "magic pill". It doesn't harm the baby..it dissolves on your tongue and instantly the sickness is gone. Oh how I love you, magic pill!!!!

So, the sickness began to become bareable, but I still had to take my daily naps around 1-2 everyday. Cooking, cleaning and other hosehold chores got put to the side. I began to eat everything in sight. It was never enough. I didn't have cravings...I just wanted a lot of whatever I was eating. One night I really wanted pizza, but we were meeing some friends and had to get something fast. Ohhhhhh...I wanted that pizza so bad. Poor Scott, he listed ahandful of places to eat and nothing sounded good. Finally, we stopped at a BBQ place as I stared at the menu nothing looked good in fact it was making me sick. I told Scott to order and I would drive thru somewhere else. So, there was an Arby's and we porceeded to pull through...a man came on to ask us for our order and again nothing sounded good..what was I thinking. I hadn't been to Arby's in years. Scott said nevermind I have a pregnant woman in the car, this is our second stop. The man laughed and said he totally understood. I still really wanted pizza. I actually could have ordered it in the beginning and had that pizza by now. I think I ended up at good ol' Del Taco. A combo burrito always sounds good to me!

As, I began to get closer to my second trimester. I began to think I could do this pregnancy thing again. It was so surreal to me still. Some days I would think, "Am I really pregnant"? During the second trimester is when I began to see changes and start to feel things that cemented the fact that I was indeed preggos:)

We're Having a Baby

The nurse had called me as I mentioned before. It was August 29th, a Friday. That night we were going out with a bunch of friends and would not be home til late. So, as soon as I got off of work I decided to go to the cigar shop and buy a cigar that said..It's a Boy...It's a Girl. I would hand them to Scott and wait for a reaction. I drove all around town to one cigar place after another. Not the funnest thing ever but I was on a mission. No one had just a single cigar with the phrases on them so I decided when I got home that I would just make my own cigar band. I wrapped each cigar I had bought with my labels and tucked them away in a spot that Scott would not see or smell them. I decided to wait until Saturday morning to tell the new daddy to be. I wanted it to be special and I didn't want all of our friends to know before our family. It was so hard to keep it quiet all night..but I did it. I woke up that next morning and walked over to Scott at his computer and handed him the cigars. It took him a minute, but he saw my labels and looked and me with a huge grin. I said "Yep we're having a baby"!!! It was so special. This was the beginning of a wonderful time in our lives.

Whoa Mama:My First Pregnancy

So...I was a few days late with "you know what" and as always I bought a pregnancy test just to make sure I wasn't preggo. I had done this several times and Scott was beginning to get a little irritated with me spending money on the things. We probably could have gone to a nice dinner with what these tests cost, but my impatient self could not wait. I would inevitably always get a negative staring back at me and days later Aunt Flow would come to visit. (Sorry to any guys reading this blog..normally I would be disgusted myself..but whoa mama pregnancy seems to change that).
This time I went for the cheaper store brand name. I was determined to stay away from the one with "that" commercial. You know..the "one" where there is a steam of urine shooting from the side of the screen onto the test. Like we really needed to see that. Come on people..what will the children think. Ok, so I followed the instructions...or reenacted the commercial and this one was different. There was a plus/negative window and then there was another window for confirmation you did it right. Well there was something that looked like a plus sign but it wasn't clear. Of course, I should have bought the name brand. Then there would have never been this confusion. Instead of rushing to the store to buy another...I decided to call my doctor and set up a blood test. That way I could be certain. Now this was not the first time I had been in to get my blood taken for a pregnancy test. Every time I was a day late I would run in and then find out it was negative. A few days pass and I see that my doctor's office is calling. I have to say this time I had a feeling. Scott kept asking me if I felt I was pregnant and I would never really answer. I felt I would jinx it somehow:) So, the nurse call and for some reason thought I had already received my results. She says, "As you already know the results are positive and we want to get you set up to see a OBGYN. My eyes widened..I was sooo happy. I told her I actually didn't know and she began to congratulate me. I then got all set up with my information I needed to contact Dr. Marcus, my new doctor, that would handle this new adventure.

Falling Apart or Falling into Place?

Have you felt like lately nothing is going right? That nothing is the way it was just a short bit ago? That your world has been turned upside down?I sure have! The status of our economy is making me sick. Just a short while ago I was chugging along with no worries..then bam..out of no where I am hit by another train (I'll call it The Great Depression #2 train).
I'm watching friends loose everything..jobs, homes, cars, their relationships...finally their minds!!! It is hard to watch those who do not have the Lord to lean on in these tough times just fall to pieces. Even those who do know the Lord find it hard to stay strong. Yet, God promises us he will never give us more than we can handle. There is always a lesson to learn. So, what is the lesson we as Americans have to learn? In the beginning I thought that it was to teach us that we need to stop spending. We are so consumed by being consumers. "Things" ruled our lives. I have seen those taken away from those close to me and many around our nation. We started to buy things we knew we couldn't afford...we thought that it would make us happy...and yeah..you know what?..it did! But, those very "things" we went out and got, have now put us in the predicament that we are in now. I know personally God needed to remind me to be better with my finances and I failed many times trying to learn my lesson..but God was gracious and always provided for my needs. Just when I thought He didn't care and there was no way to come out of my financial funk..bam..there was an unexpected check that I never knew was coming..but He did!

I also think this is a time for more people to turn to Christ. During hard times you lean on God if you have that relationship or search out God if you are needing help. On the other hand it is also a time, when those who do know God, but hearts become hardened, to fall away. I have seen this happen to people I would never have guessed. Family and friends who seemed to have had it together have lost everything. Marriages who I thought would last a life time are on the rocks! It is scary times.

I can't help to look at all the turmoil around me, far away and right next door, and think Lord, Is the end near? Sure seems like it. With the upcoming election that makes me think even more about the end. Marriage is being challenged...who would have thought how morally corrupt our world could have become in one's life time. What used to be the norm is now seen as arrogant, conservative..right-wing..close-minded thoughts. WAIT A MINUTE...NO..I want an unborn child to live! I want marriage to remain between a Man and Woman as God created...for Man and Woman to recreate life together as husband and wife. I want my President to stand up against Terrorist who threaten my life..my country...and I am the Wacky one!!!!! The End is Near...are you ready. Are you leaning on God in these difficult times. He is ALWAYS there...He will guide you in the right path..when you feel like you are on the wrong one. He will light the way. When you are faced with issues too big..no worries... give them to Him he is waiting to take care of them for you. Is your life going to be perfect...no...we are still sinners and we need to learn...continually!!!! But, the Lord has a plan and if you put your trust in Him and follow his direction you will have a peace the passes all understanding. Sounds good to me! So remember things may seem to be falling apart...but they are just falling into place. God knows what going on...he has a plan and if you are in His will...you too will have peace amidst the storm.