Eventful Happenings

I tried updating this from mike's phone but for some reason it only let me type in the title box. So now I am on the computer. This is gonna be a pretty detailed novel...

Here is the story. On Wednesday I started getting too many Braxton Hicks contractions. I'd been sitting for a while so I decided to go to the grocery store to walk around and see if they'd stop from the change in activity. That didn't help. I came home drank a ton of water and lay down to monitor them. They were coming every 2 minutes and lasting 60 seconds each!

After an hour they hadn't chilled so I called my doctor and she told me to keep taking it easy and if they don't taper off in 3 hours go into labor and delivery. Two hours later they were coming only a minute apart (and two of them were spaced out only 12 seconds)! I knew I really shouldn't wait much longer so I had my friends Bruce and Jackie take me to the hospital. Mike was flying with his student at the time (around 6:30pm).

The nurse got me all hooked up to the monitors and gave me some terbutaline to try and slow the contractions (mike was here by this time and my friends had gone home). She also checked my cervix and I was at 3cm, ah! 15 minutes later they gave me more of the medicine and checked me again and I had gotten even a little more dilated. I was supposed to get a 3rd dose of the terbutaline but my pulse was too high (120), plus I don't think it was working all that well. So they gave me some morphine in hopes that it would relax my body and uterus and put me to sleep. They also gave me this steroid to help the baby's lungs develop super fast in case she was going to come early.

Oh man, I had the worst reaction to the morphine! I got super lightheaded, nauseous, ringing ears and all sweaty! I couldn't even open my eyes. The nurse tried to get an IV in me but the first vein she accidentally went all the way through both sides (mike said it was sick)! I have difficult veins to poke so when she tried the back of my hand the vein was rolling all over the place, but with the help of another nurse they finally got it. The IV helped a ton and I felt better within 15 minutes. Unfortunately the medicine didn't help me to fall asleep so I had to get a sleeping pill and only got about 4 hours of rest that night.

At some point they had started me on this other drug, nifedipine, and it was actually working to help slow the contractions. So the next day they kept me going with that one and I just had to wait all day until 9:00pm so they could give me the second dose of steroids and check if I had dilated further. When the blessed time finally came I had not gotten bigger and so they said we could go home!

Now I am on bedrest and that medicine until 36 weeks or if the baby just comes on her own. I'm so glad she is still safe and sound in me :) I have actually been feeling well throughout this whole thing, even the contractions weren't painful (I'm telling you, it was the morphine that wrecked me for a second). And my mom is here, which is WONDERFUL! We've got only a week and a couple days till the 36 week mark, so I'll keep ya posted.

I liked last night

First of all, I took a nap in the afternoon. Naps are something I rarely do, but this one was perfect. It meant I couldn't go to the grocery store, but that is always ok with me (it's my least favorite errand, unless there is Trader Joe's, then it is my favorite errand). So I busted out some dinner with what we already had. It turned out great! Lemon pepper chicken, green beans and mashed potatoes with homemade gravy. The perfect meal for a chilly night.
Later Mike and I went to get treats. I got an oreo shake from burger supreme and he got an orange julius from the mall. Then we walked around the mall and mused about how sad the malls are in our area. We were even at the better of the two and it still felt like the Whittwood mall (haven't been there since I was like 12, but bleh).
Tomorrow we might drive to the autumn trees and take pictures. I am excited about that.

Latest Project

Check out the lamp I refinished yesterday here.

What's new?

Mike started his new job as a flight instructor! He has 4 students that he meets with at least 3 times a week. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday he usually goes flying 4 times each day! Here's Mike in his uniform at 7am :)


Mike and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary!!! We spent the day in Salt Lake, ate at Cheesecake Factory, watched 9, and went to a family reunion. It was awesome! Here is the one picture from that day (i know, totally random):


Over the weekend we attended a childbirth class. It was pretty brutal, from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm on Friday and 9 to 5 on Saturday. Mostly we just got freaked out by it.

Am I getting bigger? I think so because even certain maternity clothes aren't fitting quite right anymore.

Too Many Projects

I love doing projects. Whether it's refinishing furniture, wiring an old lamp or busting out some crafty thing. Today I was realizing how many projects I am working on at once. Let me just attempt to list them (this is purely for my own entertainment):

- futon cover
- a bunch of paintings for my website
- refinishing 3 chairs
- and a rocking chair
- and my dining room table including 2 leaves
- rewiring 2 lamps
- fixing up another lamp
- sewing pillowcases

Whew! That's a lot to do. Good thing I have plenty of time. It just gets a little harder as my belly grows. Today I spent a couple hours cutting upholstery fabric and man was that tiring! Anyway here is a funny belly shot I took using self timer:

San Clemente Beach Camping

Mike and I had the best vacation ever! My mom and sisters came to visit us in Utah for a week and then they drove us back to California for beach camping. Mike's parents and brother came to Utah at the same time as my family and so did Mike's sister and her three kids. It was great to see everyone! In California we got to spend more time with Mike's family and they threw a baby shower for us.
Here are a bunch of pictures from our beach experience.

This is my family, minus my brother is is on a mission in Portugal right now. I just want to point out the faces that my sisters are making. They are so funny.

Mike was taking pictures of my belly by the fire and after one of them my dad said, you might want to retake that. When we zoomed in we realized why. It looks like his head is coming out of my stomach!!

Smore's and a pretty sunset.

I found my name!


Hot :)


I love how Karlee posed for this one.

Mike and I spent a lot of time playing track ball. It was so fun!

Painted Plates

Check out this fun crafty activity! It's totally simple, all you need is:

-a plate (I got mine from the thrift store for 0.50 to 0.75 cents each)
-sticky mailing labels (I used an 8.5 x 11 full sheet transparent label from staples)
-pen or pencil
-scissors
-spray paint
-drop cloth or something to paint on

1) Clean the plate

2) Draw your design on the label. Make sure you draw on the front side so your design doesn't get flipped backwards when you stick it on the plate.

3) Cut out the design

4) Peel the adhesive and stick it on the plate in the way you like it


5) Set up your drop cloth and spray paint the plate with the color you like. Be sure to do a couple light coats so the paint doesn't pool. You don't need to cover the plate perfectly on the first coat.


6) Wait for the paint to dry. I used Rust-oleum Painters Touch from Home Depot because you only have to wait a couple minutes to re-coat and one hour until you can touch it.

7) When you feel like the paint is dry enough (2 hours to 24 hours later depending how patient you are) CAREFULLY peel stickers off the plate.
TIPS: use a safety pin to get right under the edge of the sticker then slowly move the pin along the edge. I had better luck peeling the stickers off when I waited a couple hours. On one plate I waited overnight and the paint was more brittle so it peeled off in places it wasn't supposed to. That could have been because I wasn't being as careful too so just be REALLY careful!


8) If you want extra protection add a coat of lacquer.

HAVE FUN!


p.s. we did this for an enrichment activity and all the girls had SUCH cute designs on their plates! i want to see everyone's, so post pictures on your blogs :)