He's HOME!!

Almost exactly 3 months to the day Todd is HOME!!

After what seemed like the most flight changes/cancels/etc I've dealt with in our 6 years in the Air Force I finally picked him up today! I continue to be extremely thankful that we didn't have to do another  6 month deployment this go 'round and that he will now officially be here when Anderson decided to grace us with his presence! 

36 week appointment

Today I had my 36 week appointment! As of now if I were to go into labor then they would not stop it! Thats kind of scary! Everything still looks good-weight,BP,etc. I'm supposed to start going every week at this point but my next appointment is actually going to be a week and a half from now so that my appointments become every Monday since my due date is on a Sunday.

During what seemed like a fairly routine appointment Dr. Diehl randomly asked me if I was getting excited and I said, honestly no, mostly because of Todd not being home and because of everything we went through to get here. He said, "it definitely hasn't been an easy journey and its ok if you're not excited yet, you'll get there." My eyes instantly filled with tears. I don't know why I thought the pain of infertility would magically disappear being pregnant.  I feel so incredibly blessed to be where we are and to have the same doctor through the entire process. I told him I was going to cry if he wasn't in the delivery room!

In good news, while its not 100% set in stone, Todd *SHOULD* be home by next weekend!! YAY!

35/35

As of tomorrow, officially, I'll be 35 weeks pregnant which means that in 35 days (give or take) we're going to meet this little man! First, here's your oh so terrible bathroom lighting self portrait-

(I swear I never feel I look so horrible as when I take these pictures!)  

Still not "super big". I frequently get looks of amazement when I tell people how far along I am which is also usually accompanied by inappropriate questions as to if everything is ok, am I eating enough, etc. But my doctor said everything is measuring fine and looks good :)  I'm still feeling overall pretty good. I'm really tired most of the day and making it through the work week the past few weeks has been a challenge. I've had some more back aches and my sciatic nerve wants to pinch as soon as I lay down in bed but overall I really still can't complain.

As of Friday I'm officially on PRN status and will only be working 3 days a week for the next 2 weeks then I'm officially on maternity leave! YAY! I'm very much looking forward to at least a little down time before Anderson graces us with his presence!

 For those that are curious, as most people are, yes I am still running. This week was actually the first week I started having some pelvic pain/pressure that got pretty uncomfortable and I thought my running days were coming to an end but I just slowed my pace (significantly) and cut back a little and that helped so I'm going to keep on a truckin'!  I would truly love to run until the day before/of labor but we'll see. Obviously  I'm going to continue to listen to my doctor and my body.  Honestly, exercising in general has become a little more of a chore over the past few weeks but I always feel 10 times better if I just do something!

I finally hit a "nesting" mode about a week ago and finally started organizing the nursery, washing clothes and diapers and purchasing any necessary items we hadn't received. I'm hoping to get the nursery pretty much done in the next week or two and will post pictures! My 'to do' list still includes making some freezer meals, installing the car seat and packing the hospital bag. I'm hoping my new schedule and extra free time will allow these things to get done!

The other frequently asked question, "are you ready?" In some ways yes, but in most ways, no. I think the biggest reason I'd say no other than the obvious of not having the nursery done, car seat installed, fear of labor, etc is because Todd isn't here.  Its very hard to feel "ready" to bring a child into the world when you're all alone.  Hopefully those feelings will change if/when Todd makes it home or I have family in town-whichever happens first! I do have an amazing support system here and would definitely not be alone but it just changes the outlook on the situation.

I guess that's all I have for now! I'll hopefully blog more over the next few weeks!

More Rapid City...

Our three year "tour" at Ellsworth officially ends in April 2012 and we were put on the "Voluntary Move List" (VML) to move sometime between April and June. Todd was really hoping to get an Army Liaison Officer "A-LO" tour that could potentially move us overseas for three years but unfortunately 1. there just happens to be no A-LO spots to be filled right now and 2. Todd's made himself a little to valuable to the B1 world and is needed to stay a little longer here at Ellsworth, specifically as an Operational Flight Instructor.  So it looks like we'll be here in Rapid City *at least* until next fall if not longer...i.e through another deployment cycle (BOO!) then we'll see if/when the Air Force wants to move us. Honestly, I'm a little bummed...and its my fault... I didn't move here with the intentions of staying longer than 3 years. I just assumed we'd at least go back to Abilene if not somewhere else.  I'm also bummed because so many of our friends we've had since we've lived here WILL be moving between December and May of next year so it makes me feel a little alone. But that's the Air Force life! You're always meeting new people :)

The positives of staying are that we own our home and are pretty "settled". We have amazing neighbors. We love our church. There is so much to see and do here and many road trips around the area we'd like to take before we move. I have a great job that will be super flexible after Anderson arrives.

I'll just focus on the positives and wait for what God has in store for us next. He's obviously not done with us here :)

28 Weeks

I made it to the third trimester...CRAZY!

I still feel really good. Nothing to really complain about though I have reached a point where everyday things like cleaning the house really exhaust me which is frustrating because I still feel good and feel like I should be able to do most anything but can't.  Running still feels good but sleep is becoming less.  I'm physically more tired but find myself waking up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom then can't fall back asleep. Sometimes I'm not sure if thats really pregnancy or the fact that I have a lot going on right now and can't get my mind to shut down :/

I had my 28 week appointment today. Dr. Diehl did an impromptu ultrasound to try to see some of the things they didn't see very clearly at my 20 week anatomy scan. He saw the heart and spine really well and was pleased with those pictures but after trying for about 15 minutes he still couldn't get a good angle on his head (he's head down now) to measure brain/cranial anatomy so he decided to have me do another ultrasound with the technician in 3 weeks. He doesn't seem concerned with anything but of course it makes me a little anxious.  Otherwise, everything else still looks good. Anderson is an active guy and still measuring a few days a head at a whopping 2 lbs 12 oz right now! My weight and blood pressure and everything continue to be good. I passed my glucose tolerance test but found out I'm "moderately" anemic, but I tended to be before I was pregnant so my doctor wasn't too concerned with that either. Here is an end of the work day, very tired bump pic...I really wish I was as cute as other pregnant women I know :(

In non baby related news... my student finishes up her rotation with me this Friday and I am sooo ready! I truly love teaching but she is pretty exhausting! And I haven't had a day off other than weekends for 12 weeks and I'm very much looking forward to going home to Texas Friday night and having a week off of work! 

Quick Update On My Job

As of lunch time today I signed the paperwork to officially move to a PRN  position starting October 2! This is such an answer to  prayers as now I can start cutting down my work hours as I want and start/end my maternity leave when I want which is a blessing because with Todd not coming home until  January now the last thing I'd want to do is start back to work the beginning of February.  Now I have the complete control of how much/how often I work which makes me VERY happy!

Thanks for the prayers! At least some things are looking up!

24 Weeks

Today is 24 weeks, also known as "viability day".  If this little guy were born today he'd have a 50/50 chance of making it thanks to modern medicine.  Of course, I want him to stay in for the long haul, especially with Todd deploying but it certainly does make me feel more comfortable knowing he could make now.

My heart is extremely heavy today despite such a great milestone to make. Tomorrow Todd leaves for his second deployment.  Thankfully he's been assigned a half deployment but is not scheduled to be home until  about 12 days before my due date so the prayers officially begin that the little guy doesn't want to make a surprise early appearance.  Since this isn't our first deployment rodeo I do feel prepared on many aspects but being 24 weeks pregnant with lots of hormones and "what ifs" can certainly weigh heavy on me.  My biggest fear is not that I'll have this baby without him here but that he will come home to a whole new "normal" and the thought that today is our last day as "just us" kind of scares me.  But its in the Lord's hands and I know it will all work out according to His will.

As far as the pregnancy, I have my 24 week OB appointment tomorrow afternoon (I drop Todd off at 1:00pm) Everything is still going good. I can't really complain about much. Sure I have a few "annoyances" here and there but I'm healthy, he's healthy  and I feel him kick often during the day so all is good.  Here is a not so great 24 week bump picture. I honestly haven't grown a whole lot in 4 weeks.

 I guess thats all the updates I have for now. With Todd leaving I'll having plenty more to blog about and more time :)