Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day-- pre-babiness. This is what we did to celebrate.... :)

Mom made the heart shaped pizza- pepperoni and mushroom- yum! Jason and I made a barbeque chicken pizza- yum! And for dessert we had chocolate covered strawberries.  Followed by  the movie Up that was showing on TV. We laughed a lot. That movie is pretty great.

You can see that I am about to drop this child on the floor. :)We have an induction planned for tomorrow. That will make him born one week past due. Not too bad. I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day too!

Rest, Nest, and Wait

I decided against the castor oil. So what does one do when they are 40 weeks and 4 days pregnant? Rest, Nest, and Wait.

Today I took a nap. Then I cleaned out the freezer, cleaned the bathrooms, dusted the house, and am currently doing laundry.

I'm ready to meet this little guy. I saw a friend of mine who was due after me had her baby. She posted some really sweet pictures on facebook. I was a little jealous. Ok- I might have said- that's not fair! Instead of - Yay for them! Oh I am so ready to have this little man.

If he doesn't come by tomorrow- I'm sure we will be inducing Monday or Tuesday. Our doctor does not want me to go past 41 weeks. He doesn't want the baby to get very big and the placenta to be put under too much stress.

Hopefully I will be posting some pics of a baby soon!

Castor Oil

So here I am still pregnant. I am ready to not be at this point. I hear a lot of things from people about their pregnancies and almost everyone has told me you get to that point. The point where you are ready to not be pregnant anymore.  I am there. This morning I thought I had started labor- but it did not progress.

We went to the doctor this afternoon and he said I was having some good old Braxton Hicks. He said- what do you want to do? Do you want to be induced? Do you want to wait? Now keep in mind my mom is here for the birth of our child and she flies back to Texas on Sunday. I feel the time ticking away. So, what to do? The doctor said the baby is ready ( I am 90% effaced and at 0 station)  and up for anything. We agreed to see what happens in the next couple of days and revisit him on Monday if nothing has happened.

He did give me one option. Castor Oil. I told him about the cupcake and it made him laugh really hard. He said none of that stuff works. But castor oil has worked for hundreds of his patients. He said if I wanted to try to induce labor this was the best way. Drink 4-5 ounces of castor oil mixed with orange juice in the morning. Apparently, this means I will spend about an hour in the bathroom clearing out my bowels. The good news that clearing usually then leads to the uterus being stimulated into labor. He told me he has surgery tomorrow until noon- so to try it in the morning if I want to do it and I should give birth by tomorrow night.

Interesting I know. But, is this really how I want my child to come into this world? I may need to think on this. I hope to go into labor tonight or tomorrow morning on my own before this decision would even need to be made. What to do, what to do.....

Once again, I will keep you posted. :)

Lemon Drop Cupcakes

So, there is a rumor in Charlottesville that if you are wanting to go into labor you can try this unconventional method. There is a cupcake shop in town called Cappellino's Crazy Cakes. They sell Lemon Drop Cupcakes. If you are pregnant and past your due date, the lemon drop cupcake can help to start your labor.

I met Jason downtown today and we had lunch together. After lunch we were joking about getting a lemon cupcake. So, we decided to go for it. :) We walked down to Cappellino's and they were very busy today. They seemed to be out of lemon drop cupcakes. The lady behind the counter asked how she could help me and I asked if they had any more lemon drop cupcakes. She smiled and said, "When are you due?" She and I laughed. She went on to say that she knows of 16 women who have been past their due date and ate one of the cupcakes and went into labor within 24 hours of eating one. She said one lady ate one and an hour later, her water broke. I asked if there was anything special in them. She said not that she knew of- just lemon juice. They gave me the cupcake on the house and asked me to keep them posted on how everything turned out.

Jason and I went back to his office and ate our dessert. It's been an hour and nothing has happened. I will let you know!

Getting Ready with Prayer

Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please Him (God), for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek him.

What a truth. I am holding onto that truth right now.

So, any day could be the day that I go into labor. Apparently, bringing the worst pain I have experienced in my life. I need to pray a lot right now. I need strength and encouragement from my Heavenly Father to make it through.

Last night, we had our community group (our small group with our church). We split up guys and girls for the second half and share our prayer requests. Then, we  pray for each other. Last night, instead of praying for everyone, they all wanted to pray for me specifically. How humbling that these women would want to pray for me and what is coming this week! I was and am so encouraged. Hearing their prayers was like hearing the heart of God. They were praying things for me that I had not even thought about. It was really sweet. I hope that God will reward our seeking of Him together last night!

I also wanted to post a few pictures from the surprise shower that these same women threw for me a few weeks ago. I was beyond shocked. They got me good. :)

Symptoms

So I'm not as techie as I thought because I can't get this photo to rotate. But nonetheless, here is the progress of my baby bump as of Saturday night. Big I know. Gigantic I know. 2 weeks until he comes. Momma is ready.

I have had a pretty easy pregnancy and some of the more uncomfortable symptoms have shown up just in the last month. Those include- cankles, swollen everything pretty much, back pain- especially on the left side, throbbing feet, the ability to only wear a few pair of shoes because of swollen feet or comfort, fatigue, so thirsty!, so hungry!, nesting urges, trouble sleeping and being comfortable, getting up every few hours at night to use the restroom and think- really that was it?, and a few more personal ones.

There have been some positive emotional "symptoms" too. The biggest one for me is how close I feel to Jason. I know we are in this together. It's fun getting to see how he cares about me and his soon to be son. Last night he wanted to talk about holding the baby with 2 hands. He wanted us to carry him carefully. I assured him that I have held many babies before and have not dropped one. I asked if he had ever held a baby- he said Lavinnia. (Our friend's first child). We then recalled a time when she fell off the couch when he was supposed to be watching her. :) Hilarious. She survived though. I told him that our kid will probably survive too if something unexpected happens to him. I think parenting with Jason is going to be really fun. He is a good guy and it will be fun to see him loving our little boy.

2 weeks to go. I am ready to be rid of some of these symptoms. Bring on the baby!

Pregnancy Dreams

The rumors are true. You do have the strangest dreams while pregnant. Mabye it's the hormones, mabye it's the fact you get up several times a night to empty your bladder, mabye it has something to do with feeling a new person all the time but not officially meeting them yet. Whatever the reason, I have been having the strangest dreams lately.

Here is one of my favorites. In my dream Dana Nowell (blog on the side blogroll) came to visit. In real life, she just had a little boy a few months ago. In my dream she brings her little boy to visit and his name is Little Buddy. All she wants to do is take a nap- with me and Little Buddy. So we both lay down with Little Buddy between us. While we are sleeping, she rolls over Little Buddy, me, and falls on the floor. She wakes up and makes tea. Then she wakes me up. We sit down for tea and she says she forgot something. So, she and Little Buddy walk down the street-- yes a 4 month old walking-- to her car. They get in and drive off. End of dream.

Every time I get up to go to the bathroom and come back to lay down, my dream changes to something new. So the good news is that they don't last long. Some of them are really weird.

I am looking forward to:
*Being comfortable when I sleep
*Sleeping on my stomach again
*Not getting up to go the bathroom
*Being able to breathe when I lay on my back
*Having this baby in my arms instead of carrying it around in my belly :)

Where have I been?

I can't believe the last time I posted anything was in October. Wow. Well a lot has happened since then, including..... my brother's wedding. It was so fun to see my brother tie the knot. The wedding was beautiful and they thought of every last detail. Including their wedding dance. Here is a little magic from their special day.

The next big event was my Mom's graduation from college! She had so many people come into town to see her walk across the stage. I got to spend a lot of time with her. It was fun to have some quality time with my mom.

We have also been working on Baby Vandever's room. It has gone from a cluttered office/guest room to a nursery. We had it painted last week and have a few pieces of furniture in it. It makes the whole baby thing so much more real. Soon I will be covered in spit up and be losing lots of sleep all while getting to see what Jason and I look like if you were to put us together in a person. It's going to be fun and life changing! Here is the nursery so far.



My Dad comes to stay with us tomorrow for the next 2 weeks. We have 8 weeks until Little Vandever arrives. I have a few weeks of school left. It is all going by so quickly! I will try to update the blog more frequently...but I cannot make any promises. :)

Some of God's Greatest Gifts are Unanswered Prayers

The title may lead you a little astray, but I have been thinking about so many of my prayers that have been boldy and blatantly answered by God lately. I thought I would share. My heart is overwhelmed with how much God really cares for my every need....

4 people have inquired about taking my long term sub position- 3 of which I know personally and would be fabulous

I'm pregnant!

Very specific situations at work have been made better and more glorifying to God

Jason is a deacon of finance (one of his dreams)

My good friend Dana is pregnant and due soon ( we had been praying for a long time for pregnancy together)

Some family members are being drawn closer to Christ in the most unexpected ways

Our friends who have been missionaries in the 10/40 window were able to come back to the states and find a job working with the same nationality of people in America while they persue a degree that would help them to go back and do a better job - and God is providing for their every need

There are still a lot of prayers that I have. These are just a few that have been constant in my life for the last year or two that have been answered. I am so encouraged. I know that some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers because they stretch me to wrestle with - why am I asking? Is this what God would want? What is God calling me to do in this? What does scripture say about this? And they force me to rely on my Savior for things- that I know are only possible with Him.

Jude 24-25
 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

Waiting

Having a baby requires a lot of waiting. Waiting to make sure that you will keep the baby. Waiting to find out the sex. Waiting to feel it move. Waiting to meet the baby.

How much patience does a girl have to have?

I am torn. Part of me wants to meet the child inside of me, but part of me is not ready to give up my independence. Am I really ready to tote a stroller or carseat, a diaper bag, and anything else the baby might need everywhere I go? Am I ready to give up sleeping through the night to get pooped on and cried at? I know I will be in 5 months. But until then, I am enjoying my freedom from so much responsibility.

The next milestone will be feeling the baby move. I am 16 weeks. The doctor said most women feel the baby move at 18-22 weeks. Sometimes I think I feel it, but then I wonder if it is just my stomach rumbling. It's weird to know there is a person inside of me doing acrobatics-- but I can't feel it.

When we went for our 12 week ultrasound, the baby was doing flips. The doctor kept saying-- come on child, be still. So, I know our baby is active. Jason says he (or she) is practicing for his 90 degree kick. I could have gotten the name of that kick wrong-- but it is when a soccer player makes a goal in one of the upper corners. I think Jason is right.

Anyway, all I can do is wait. I have no choice. Part of me is glad for the wait, and part of me is feeling a little anxious.

Cravings

I know some of you reading this have been pregnant before or are pregnant currently. Some of you reading this have never experienced pregnancy before. I'm going to let you in on what pregnancy has been like for me so far.

The first trimester can be summarized with a few words-- tired, queasy, and frequently urinating. I was very excited to finally be pregnant. But, I was not ready for some of the symptoms involved. Call me a wimp, but this is my first pregnancy and it hit me hard. I took a nap every day-- if I didn't I was exhausted. I could not eat the same big meals that I had in the past. It made me feel sick. I had to start eating smaller meals and I suddenly had a craving for water all the time (still do actually). Plus, the bathroom trips. Not even the ones during the day- that's not so bad. But, twice in the middle of the night? Really? I miss sleeping all the way through the night without having to get up.

I am in my second trimester now. Most of the symptoms above have subsided-- except the frequent urination one. That one is getting worse. However, a new symptom has reared its ugly head. Cravings. Tonight I just had to have Wendy's chicken nuggets with sweet and sour sauce. I ordered a Cinnamon Raisin bagel with plain cream cheese and a pickle last time I went to Bodos. I bought sour patch kids tonight at the grocery store. I can control the cravings, but I find myself distracted by them. Thinking-- if I can only get this-- I will feel so good. Don't get me wrong, I have been eating very healthy. I have avoided caffeine, I'm eating my fruits and veggies, I am getting my calcium, and taking my prenatal vitamins. But for some reason, sometimes I want really unhealthy food for the tastes associated with them. Sweet and salty. Sour.

I've heard this trimester is the easiest. I wonder what the next one will bring....