March 29, 2012

This picture totally cracks me up!! I was texting my Mom, and decided to send her a picture of Carson, and when I snapped it, this was the expression I got! haha

March 28, 2012

Back to the Dr.'s to check on Carson's weight.

Just like his older brother, he is having a hard time gaining back up to his birth weight.

I was a little nervous to put him on that scale, but thankfully he had gained weight, which was what the Dr. wanted to see!

He isn't quite the 8lb 7oz he was born at, but I'll take the 7lbs 15oz he was today, and hope for more weight gain!

We have to go back on April 6, so hopefully he will keep gaining!

March 27, 2012

Keric was invited to his very first little girls birthday party!

He has had a little crush on Hannah for awhile now, and she invited him to her birthday party today. He came home on Sunday with his Princess Party invitation in hand, and grinning from ear to ear! :)

Last night we went shopping for Hannah's present, and Keric picked it out ALL by himself. He insisted that Hannah would "be happy" with his purchase of a Rapunzel Barbie doll made to put in the bathtub.

He had such a fun time at the party, and I'm sure being surrounded by tons of girls didn't hurt either. :)

He is turning into such a little ladies man...I really hope doesn't become TOO girl crazy! I'd like to keep that under wraps at least until he is done with is mission!! :)

March 26, 2012

One more little similarity between Keric and Carson with a little twist.

Keric used to love to take naps in our bed, however he would only sleep on Chris' side of the bed!

Today Carson was fussy and wouldn't settle down. I swaddled him tight, and laid him down in my bed, on MY side of the bed, and he immediately fell asleep. All I could do was laugh and think to myself...Ya know....SOMEONE should sleep in my bed!

Of course ironically it's the little person who prevents ME from sleeping in my bed, but oh well...he is sound asleep now! That makes for a happy mommy, maybe now I can take a shower!

March 25, 2012

I actually truly intended on going to church today, but I had such a horrible night with Carson, that I was simply too exhausted to get up and go, so we stayed home and slept!

After church Aunt Denise, Uncle Mark, Aunt Maren and Uncle Dave all came over to meet Carson for the first time.

Carson was a little cranky, but I think they liked him anyway. :)

Aunt Denise was even sweet enough to bring me some more Thin Mints!!! I ran out awhile ago, and I've been really trying hard to refrain from buying another 20 boxes! :)

I'll be careful not to eat these quite so fast! haha

March 24, 2012

2 weeks old today! I can't believe it! Obviously neither can Carson! ;)

March 23, 2012

Today I went to my 2 week check up with Dr. Holmes. I had to go in after 2 weeks because of having a C-section. Mostly she wanted to check my incision and make sure that everything was healing ok, and that I was doing good.

My incision still hurts some. I still take my pain meds every once in awhile, and wear my little belly band, but over all I am doing well. It seems like my recovery from this surgery is MUCH easier than it was when I had my fibroid tumor removed. I can get around pretty well on my own, and even though I STILL wear yoga pants/jammie pants because I can't stand to have my jeans on my incision, I don't have much else to complain about.

The BEST part of my check up was getting validation that I have in deed lost 32 pounds since having Carson! I guess my body likes nursing?? I have no other explanation as to why 32 pounds just fell off my body. I wasn't able to nurse Keric, so this is all totally new to me! I'm certainly not complaining, but I also did NOT expect it!

Of course by posting this weight, you all can add 32 to this number and see for yourself just how truly FAT I was! I am finally to the weight I was when I got pregnant with Keric. Ironically when I found out I was pregnant, I was on a quest to lost about 20 lbs!

It's not by any means my ideal weight, but I am wearing clothes I haven't worn in honestly years, and I feel pretty good about myself! :)

Now I just have 20 more pounds to go and I'll be the girl that Chris married!! ;)

March 22, 2012

It's a funny thing to "document" I suppose, but I never did claim to not be "weird" especially when it comes to pictures and events of my kids! :)

Carson lost his little cord today after his bath! As gross as those cords are, it's kind of like the last part of them being a "brand new baby!" I was kind of sad to see that it had come off, even though I was also sort of ready for it to come off.

Now I guess he's a "real boy!" with his brand new belly button! haha

March 21, 2012

Carson still has his days and nights mixed up. From what I have read....this is something that you really can't "fix" but is something they tend to kind of grow out of around a month old. I guess I have another 2 1/2 weeks or so before I am going to get any real sleep! :)

He sure is cute and "bight eyed" at night though! He just looks around and is totally content starting at about 10:00 p.m.

I just LOVE those big eyes! He truly is a little clone of Keric! It's a little scary at times how much those two look a like!

March 20, 2012

It has been 10 days since little Carson was born, and I ALMOST have my feet back! Dr. Holmes told me that it would take about 10 days, so hopefully with in the next few days, I will have normal feet again! :)

I should have taken a picture of them at their worst, but I was too embarrassed to post it! I literally had ROLLS on my ankles of all places, and I could not wear shoes! I have more shoes than the average person, and of ALL those shoes, there weren't ANY that fit!

Now I can at least wear flip flops, and some of my other shoes without leaving DENTS in my feet!

The things you go through to get these sweet little babies here. I guess going without shoes and having literal fat feet are pretty small sacrifices! :)

March 19, 2012

I am exhausted! I fully admit it! It's not that I don't get ANY sleep, but the sleep that I do get is totally unrestful, and very interrupted.

Of course it is interrupted by a very CUTE and very SWEET little man, but sadly this little man has his days and nights totally mixed up!

I guess I need to start doing research on how to fix this little problem! It's time to get ready for bed, and he is wide awake ready to play!

*sigh* It's gonna be another LONG night!

March 18, 2012

Today I stayed home from church with Carson while Chris and Bubby went to church. Chris taught my class for me, so I didn't even have to find a sub! :)

Being home alone, I have to admit, was a little scary. I'm feeling a lot stronger, and not in as much pain as I was a few days ago, but there is always that worry I guess. What if something happened while I was alone. I try to convince myself that I am "fine" but in all reality I had a pretty major surgery, and as many surgeries as I have had, I know that it takes my body awhile to heal.

I still have sausage feet, so I don't go up and down stairs with Carson at all. So I was kind of just stuck upstairs until Chris got home. :)

I got up and took a shower and got ready, ie put some new jammies on, and then I got Carson bathed and ready too. After I got him all ready, we took a nap until Chris and Keric got home.

When I put Carson down I was watching the little faces that he makes while he sleeps. I was so excited that I got a picture of this face! He makes this face a lot, but I can never get a picture of it! I call it his "crunching numbers" face. He looks so serious, it just cracks me up! Funny little boy!

March 17, 2012

Today was kind of an emotional day for me. Ok...it was a very emotional day!

Carson hardly slept at all last night, so the lack of sleep probably didn't help, but today was also the day we had to put my mom back on the airplane headed for home.

I can't believe that it's already been a week! How can Carson be a week old today, and how can my Mom have already been here a week!?!? I'm sure this week hasn't flown by as quickly for my poor Dad who is home alone, but it sure flew by for me!

We had to have my Mom to the airport by 10 this morning, so we all drove into SLC to drop her off. I cried when we dropped her off, I cried all the way home, and I cried myself to sleep when we got home! I'm even crying now as I type this!

There is a part of me that wonders if this was the last time she will come stay with me for a week. More than likely Carson will be my last baby. I'm getting older, it's not easy for me to get pregnant, let alone BE pregnant, so more than likely this is it. It makes me sad to think I won't have another week with hanging out with my Mom!

I guess I'll just have to make it a point to go spend more weeks with her!

Thank you Mom for coming out to help us! My house is beautiful, and my stomach muscles still ache from all the laughing! I can't wait until I get to see you in April! Love you Super, and Love you Dooper!!! xoxo

March 16, 2012

Back to the Dr. we go to check Carson's weight and Bilirubin. Thankfully miracle of all miracles not only did he gain 2 oz in one day, his bilirubin had come down from an 18 to an 11 so he doesn't have to have the space bed anymore!! YEA CARSON!!

The only appointment we could get was in the morning, and Bubby had his "Green Party" at school today. He already missed school on Tuesday, and since he was asked to bring Green punch to his party I really didn't want him to miss again.

My Mom was nice enough to stay home so she could pick Keric up from School while we were at the Dr.

Not only did I come home to a beautifully clean house, I got to see THIS sweet face! He loves his Leprechaun shirt that my Mom brought him, and they made these cute little leprechaun hats at school! Seriously the CUTEST little Leprechaun I have ever seen!!

March 15, 2012

Carson's Billirubin score was a little high when we left the hospital, so the pediatrician wanted to see him back in 2 days.

Not really what I wanted to do my 2nd day back at home, but I got myself and Carson ready and we all went in to SLC for Carson's appointment.

My Mom came with us so she could watch Bubby while we were with the Dr.

When they weighed Carson, he was almost a pound less than he was when he was born!! I was a little shocked! I know that they lose some weight in the hospital, but a pound!?!?

Of course this wasn't great news to the Dr. either. I got the whole nursing lecture again, but thankfully the lecture wasn't as harsh as it was with Keric. At least she didn't tell me to give it up and switch solely to formula!

We went down to the lab and had his blood drawn. Poor little man was back there for over an hour trying to get enough blood to draw for the bilirubin test and also for the sodium test the Dr. ordered. I was so glad I was in the waiting room and not back in the lab with him watching them poke and prod him, and listening to him cry! I just can't do that. I can't watch him cry and get hurt, I make Chris do that kind of stuff.

By the time we got home there was a message on our machine telling us that his Billirubin was high, and that the Home Care people would be bringing the lights over for him to lie on. I was so hoping we wouldn't have to do that, but I guess now he and Keric have one more thing in common...the "Space Bed!"

Chris and Keric went to the Grantsville Children's Sociable to watch Reagan's singing performance. Mom, Carson and I stayed home. My friend Melissa Elton came over to see Carson for a little while, and Mom and I just hung out.

I love having her here! Makes me so sad that it's only for a couple more days! :(

March 14, 2012

Carson's first day home has gone pretty well. In fact it's probably gone better than MY first day at home!

Last night was hard, but I guess the first nights always are. He was up far more than I thought necessary, but of course he didn't see it that way. :) I am still really sore and getting up and down out of bed all night long didn't help my incision much. In fact I was in tears a few times from all the up and down and the pain.

Besides the pain of the incision, I am retaining a TON of water. Seriously...my legs are tree trunks, and my feet and ankles look like one of those cartoon fat ladies. How does a person get fat rolls on their ankles!!??

I can't carry Carson up and down stairs because the bottom of my feet are also swollen, and therefore I have no balance! I'm a rather pathetic looking site to say the least. Especially considering all I can wear are jammies! UGH!

My Mom is still being an amazing help, and I am not only able to take naps, but sitting on the couch talking and laughing with her is pretty good medicine too!

Keric LOVES his little brother, and loves to hug and kiss and hold him any chance he gets. I'm getting over the "fear" of Keric not being "soft" enough, and am just trying to enjoy the fact that he loves his little brother, and loves having him home!

Our lives have truly changed, for the better of course, and it will take some getting used to, but hopefully we will get our new routine figured out, SOON! :)

March 13, 2012

As much as I loved and appreciated my Dr.'s and Nurses while I was here, I was thrilled beyond belief to be "sprung" from my Hospital stay this morning and we busted out of this joint!!

I wanted to leave at like 8 a.m. but we didn't get everything all set and signed and everything else until closer to noon, and even STILL they kept trying to convince me to stay another day! Sorry, but no thank you!

The wheelchair ride and ride home were painful at best, but I was still so glad to be home! Carson however seemed to LOVE his car ride home! He slept the entire way home! That may be a good trick to remember for the future?? Long car rides put him to sleep! :)

It was so fun to be greeted by my Mom and Keric as soon as we pulled into the garage. I'm fairly sure Keric was more excited that Carson was home, and could have honestly cared less that I was but that's OK...my Mommy was happy to see me! :)

As happy as I was to see Keric, I was shocked at how BIG he looked and seemed! I guess I wasn't prepared for that! When I left him with Grandma Anne on Friday he was my baby, but when I came home today, he was FAR from a baby!! He looked like he was 10 years old to me! It honestly made me cry a little. Of course he will always be my "baby" no matter how old he gets, but I guess for right now, Carson has kind of taken over the baby role for a while.

Of course my Mom had cleaned my house, gone grocery shopping, bought me a new vacuum, and even made home made chocolate chip cookies while she had been here! It was SO nice to walk into a nice clean house!!

I already feel a hundred times better being home!

March 12, 2012

Bummer!!! I am STILL here in the Hospital! :(

I guess when you have a C-section it is just "required" that you stay at least 3 days, and insurance even pays for 4 days if you want. UGH! I do NOT want an extra day, the three is enough! Not to mention my little sick episode yesterday is not really helping my case for "I am well enough to go home."

Thankfully Chris is good to sneak food in for me, spend the night here with me, and help me to not be so sad about having to stay another day longer than I had planned on.

The nurses here are wonderful, and I really do love LDS Hospital, but there is just something about being HOME. I think I would get better a LOT faster if I were in my own bed!

At least I got to take a shower today and am totally free of ALL needles, machines, IV's and whatever else they had me hooked up to! It's soooo nice to not have the constant beeping all day and all night long! However I can still hear the beeps from the same machines going off on the poor woman in the room next to me!

So here we sit...hanging out, waiting for our "time to be served." ;)

March 11, 2012

It's hard to believe that my sweet little man is here, and that I am sitting in a Hospital room hooked up to a bunch of machines that will NOT quit beeping, and I not only feel like I have been hit by a truck, but I LOOK like I have been!

Today was a hard day recovery wise. I have been hooked up to several antibiotic IV's because of the fever I spiked right before going into have my C-section. The Doctor was afraid that I had gotten an infection, and therefore had passed that infection on to Carson. Luckily Carson doesn't have an infection of any kind, but I am still hooked up to antibiotics, and they have made me SO SICK!

I couldn't keep anything down today, and I literally begged the nurse to take the IV's out of me! It's one thing to be sick, it's quite another to be sick when your stomach is stapled shut. Talk about pain! I was supposed to be on the antibiotics for 48 hours from the time Carson was born, and I made it to almost 36.

I have the sweetest nurse, and she was nice enough to call the Dr. and plead my case for me. Thankfully I have an awesome Dr. too! She told the nurse she could unhook me, and I am feeling MUCH better tonight! I honestly told the nurse I would sign a "refusal to treat" document if I had to, that's how sick I was!

Besides being sick however today was a great day because my MOMMY is here!! You would think I would be old enough that I wouldn't still need my Mom, but I do! I admit it! Especially when I'm sick, there is nothing like having my Mom around!

Chris went to pick her up from the airport around 2:00 p.m. this afternoon, and thankfully by the time they went and picked up Keric and came back to the Hospital I was unhooked from my stupid IV's and feeling a little more human!

I'm sad that she is here, and I am stuck in the Hospital instead of home hanging out with her! Thankfully she is here for a whole week, and hopefully I will get to go home tomorrow!

I'm so grateful to have her here! She is always such a big help to me, and I always LOVE having her around!

March 10, 2012

Carson Craig Wexels was born at 4:28 a.m. March 10, 2012. Weighing in at a whopping 8lbs 7oz and 20.5 inches long!

One day shy of sharing a birthday with his Uncle Kimball, but hey...that's OK. Everyone needs their OWN birthday right? :)

I went through the full labor process, even pushed for a solid hour, but when it came right down to it, Carson was only going to get here by C-section.

I have had my share of surgeries, this should not have been anything "new", but I have to admit, I was scared out of my mind! I was grateful to have Chris by my side every step of the way, and of course even though Dr. Holmes was not on call tonight, Dr. Haakensen was, and she was the Dr. who cared for me during my first trimester while Dr. Holmes was on maternity leave.

I don't know what I expected from a C-section, but it wasn't that. I guess maybe I have watched too many TLC "Baby Stories" or something? It went much faster than I thought, felt much worse than I expected, but all in all, wasn't so horrible.

The rest of the day is basically a blur. I don't think I have slept in over 24 hours, but I LOVE my sweet little boy, and am SO HAPPY to have him here finally!

March 9, 2012

Well...we made it to 37 weeks and just one day! That's OK...I feel good about how far I made it, and can't say that I was too sad to be sent to AND admitted to the hospital this afternoon! :)

This morning started out as a typical Friday. I got up and got myself ready, and Keric ready to go to school. I dropped him off at school, and then reluctantly ran a couple errands.

I have been wanting to get my nails done and a pedicure before Carson is born, so I figured today was as good a day as any. I felt bad for the poor girl who had to do my pedicure with my cankles and fat feet, but at least they are pretty cankles and Fat feet!

I finished just in time to go get Keric. When I got to school his teacher said he had been complaining of not feeling well? When I asked him about it, he said he felt fine, but I guess he had been telling her he was "sick." Poor little man, I hope he isn't coming down with something!

We got in the car and then headed to Walmart. Not really what I WANTED to do, but there were some things Carson didn't have, like socks and diapers, not to mention all the random things we were out of at home since I haven't done grocery shopping for 2 weeks!

At the time I didn't know why I felt compelled to get to the store to buy these silly last minute things, but I guess now I know why. :)

We came home, ate some lunch, and then we got ready to go to my weekly Dr.'s appointment. I have to admit, I had this nagging feeling that I needed to bring my Hospital bag and all the other things like the Camera, Video Camera, laptop, the whole 9 yards, but I talked myself out of it.

I told myself that just because I was tired, and yes, a little sick of being pregnant, did NOT mean that it was time for Carson to make his debut. Dr. Holmes told me that she would strip my membranes today, so I was hoping that after she did that maybe he would come this weekend sometime.

We got to the Dr.'s office and I went with the nurse to get my blood pressure taken and of course my weight...ugh! I sat down and let the little machine do it's job and then listened to the beeps that came after. I don't remember what the top number was, but the bottom number was 110!! I've never seen my blood pressure that high...EVER!! I looked at the nurse, and she looked as shocked as I was!

She took my blood pressure again, and well...it was just as bad as the first time. She said "I'm not positive, but I'm thinking you will be taking a field trip to the Hospital".

Well, she was right. Dr. Holmes didn't even strip my membranes, she sat me down and talked to me a little bit, and then sent me up to the Hospital for some stress tests. She said if my blood pressure continued to be "bad" they would admit me, and we would have a baby tonight. If they were under control, it was home and straight to bed rest for me!

So off we went to the Hospital. Pitocin drip has been started, Chris has gone home and come back with all my crap, Mama Anne has all the kids, My Mom has been called, and now we just wait and see when this little man decides to show up!

Since I was admitted around 5:00 p.m. I'm guessing he won't show before Midnight, I mean I was in labor with Keric for more than 24 hours, but I guess we will see!

Ready or not, here he comes! I'm not TOTALLY "ready", but I am SO EXCITED he is on his way!

March 8, 2012

I can hardly believe it, but I have officially made it to 37 weeks!

I am tired, I am bloated, I am retaining so much water I feel like I am swimming, my feet are so swollen I can hardly walk! My back hurts, my hips, my legs, and pelvis hurt, but dang it...I MADE it, and I have to say, I am beyond proud of myself!!! :)

Let's see how much farther we can go huh Carson??

March 7, 2012

I decided that today I was going to have a semi self prescribed bed-rest day, but I was going to at least be productive!

I have all these projects that I want to get done before Carson gets here, but I have a bad habit of starting things, and then never finishing them! I guess last nights craft night was a good motivator. :)

I put the last finishing touches on the little "Kiss Me" sign that I started last night. I also finished one of Keric's Pirate signs that I wanted to make for his room, and I got everything for the Activity Day's bookmarks done for this afternoon.

It was actually really fun to just sit down and make a big mess, and FINISH some of these projects. I still have the blankets to finish, but sadly I ran out of time today.

I do however think I am in desperate NEED of a craft room! I wonder if I can talk one of the kids into giving up their room and just sleeping on the couch until college?

March 6, 2012

I probably totally overworked myself today, but I feel like my poor old body is quickly shutting down, and I'm running out of non bed rest time quickly!

I took Keric to school today, and then I came home and "rested" up for the rest of the things I had planned for the day. I am in charge of the craft part of Activity Days tomorrow, so I had some things to do for that, along with a few other errands to run.

Getting up and getting myself and Keric ready for the day, usually wears me out pretty good, so I figured if I came home and rested while Keric was in school, I could get all my errands done.

We went to Jo Ann's after school, and then to Wal-mart, and by the time I got home I had a really nice case of the Cankles!! It was not pretty, and actually sort of hurt! I knew this was NOT a good sign. :(

My sweet friend Melissa brought me a Dr. Pepper and some mini Twix. She was so sweet to think of me, and man did it taste good! It actually made sitting on the couch starring at my cankles, somewhat bare able! :)

My friends Karie and Ann and I got together tonight for one last "girls night" before Carson is born. We all met at Karie's house and had a craft night! Despite how horrible I was feeling, it was so much FUN to get together and just talk, paint, and laugh!

March 5, 2012

Generally I have a little man who is ALL smiles, MOST of the time! He rarely complains about much, even when he is sick! However today was a bit of a different story.

I'm not sure if he is coming down with something, or if he just simply woke up on the wrong side of the bed, or if it was the fact that his Daddy had to go into SLC to work today, but instead of seeing a face like this:



I mostly saw faces like this:



followed by MANY, MANY tantrums! Oh the joys of tantrums!! I sure hope tomorrow is a happier day!! I'm not sure how many more tantrums I can take!

March 4, 2012

There are or I guess I should say WERE 4 women in my ward, including me, all due to have little boys within about 3 weeks of each other. It was kind of fun to be pregnant with others, and to reach different milestones with someone else. It was especially fun when we all found out we were ALL having boys. Oh the years ahead in our ward would be fun with all those little boys in Nursery, Primary, Young Men, and even going on missions! We have nicknamed our little "club" Team Re-populate the Earth.

Of course I am well aware that babies come when they are ready, and/or when their Mommy's Dr.'s say they are ready. So of course the chances of us all having our babies on or around our due dates was slim, BUT the tiny possibility was still there.

This last week two of the women in our ward had their babies within a couple days of each other, which now just leaves me and my friend Andrea left. We joked about it a little in church today and about how unfair it was that they had left us behind, and had their babies without us. Now it's just the two of us hanging on cheering each other on. :) Rah! Rah! Rah! Go team Re-populate the World! LOL

After church I put Keric down for his nap, and decided I was going to lay down for a little while too. I had just fallen asleep and had only been asleep for maybe 10 minutes, when I was woken up by these silly back contractions I keep having! They weren't as severe as the ones I had last week, but they were kind of coming one right after the other. I got up and walked around for awhile, and the more I walked, the more my back hurt.

I guess I started to get my hopes up a little, or maybe a lot. I got my phone out, and started timing these weird contractions/pains in my back and lower abdomen. They were sporadic to say the least, but they were definitely there, and they for SURE hurt.

I really got ahead of myself and packed a little bag to throw in the car, in the hopes that they would start becoming more regular and I would be heading to the hospital today.

A couple of hours passed, and even though my pains didn't go away completely, instead of being maybe 10 and 15 minutes apart, they were more like 45 and 60 minutes apart, and they weren't as painful as they were in the beginning. *sigh*

I guess I'll leave my little bag packed anyways and hope that one of these next few days SOON, I will need it. Sadly however, I wont be needing it today. ;) I guess maybe that's still a good thing...I would hate to leave Andrea all alone! HAHA

March 3, 2012

A couple of days ago, winter decided to show up after all! I can't say that I'm totally surprised, I mean I knew that having NO WINTER was too good to be true, but I guess a girl can always dream right?

Yes...I know that I live in Utah, and yes I know that Utah gets a lot of snow, but that does NOT mean that I have to like it.

We got about 6 inches of snow a couple of days ago, and it has actually stayed around. Usually when it snows like that, it seems like it's gone with in a day or two, but not this time.

Wal mart also happened to be having all of their winter stuff on major clearance yesterday, so Keric lucked out! We got him some snow pants for $1.50, some gloves for .50 cents, snow boots for $5.00 and a hat for .25 cents.

Chris had planned to work down in the basement today, but being the good Daddy he is, he went outside to play with Keric for awhile before getting to work. Keric LOVES the snow, and loves being outside, so he was in 7th Heaven out there in all his winter gear playing till his little heart was content! They played for almost two hours! They were throwing snowballs, chasing each other around the yard, jumping on the snow filled trampoline, and of course building a snowman.

Sitting outside watching them play and taking pictures and video's ALMOST made the 6 inches of snow worth having! :)

March 2, 2012

Today was kind of a go, go, go day, with LOTS of things happening, so I apologize for the long post, but this blog is more for me to remember the details of this year, so I guess no one is MAKING you read it all! :)

I knew that today was going to be a busy and hectic day, but I'm not sure my poor big pregnant body was as aware and prepared as my mind was! :)

I got up and got myself ready and Keric ready for school . After a few tears and tantrums he got his show and tell ready, coat and backpack on and we even got there ON TIME. However by the time I got home I was hurting so badly, I was in tears.

When I had my hip replaced, almost 2 years ago, one of the things we talked to Dr. Bertin about extensively was my ability to have more children once my hip had been replaced. We talked to him about the type of hardware I should have put in, which kind was safest, when I could start trying to have another baby, and whether or not the strain of pregnancy and childbirth would have an effect on my new hip.

He assured us that he would put the best hardware in my hip so as not to have too many ion metals in my body that could possibly affect the baby. He told me that I could start trying to have a baby as soon as six months after my surgery, although he personally would probably wait at least a year. He also assured us that the pregnancy and childbirth itself would not hurt my new hip.

Up until a couple days ago, I wasn't really worried about my hip at all, but I think Carson has dropped pretty low into my pelvis, and every time I walk I literally feel like my hip is going to fall out of its socket. It hurts so bad, and I am so uncomfortable that I guess I just finally broke down into tears!

I kind of had to take it easy the rest of the day, and over time it seemed to feel a little better. In fact by the time we drove into SLC for my 3:30 p.m. appointment with Dr. Holmes my hip felt 100 times better. I still feel like I'm walking with a bowling ball in between my legs, but at least I wasn't crying about it!

My blood pressure is still good, so I have avoided bed rest yet again (YEA!) and all those contractions that I have been having this week are actually doing something. I am now 3cm dilated and 60% effaced! So that made me feel a little better. Nothing like being in horrible pain for nothing!

As far as my hips go...well not much anyone can really do about that. It's just kind of the joys of the last few weeks of pregnancy, and also probably has more to do with where Carson is positioned right now.

I actually found a whole message board on line with women who have had total hip replacement surgery and had children after their surgeries. A lot of them complained about how the last few weeks or pregnancy they were hardly able to walk because of the spreading of the hips and ligaments, and many of them went on to have regular births, those who had C-sections had them because that's the way their other children were born, and ALL of them said that the pain went away a few weeks after giving birth and their hips were just fine. So that made me feel MUCH better. Not that I don't trust Dr. Bertin completely...but you know, you always second guess something when your in the middle of it I guess. :)

My appointment went well. Sadly I gained a pound, but I'm hoping it was because of the shoes I had on! ;) Dr. Holmes said that when I come in for my next weeks appointment on the 9th she would strip my membranes and see if we could get my labor to progress. Carson is about 7 1/2 - 8lbs right now, and anything after 37 weeks is considered full term, so his lungs would be developed and he wouldn't have to be in the NICU or anything.

We are all kind of hoping that stripping my membranes will lead to my water breaking, and him coming a little early so that he hopefully doesn't get much bigger. She said that she had done this procedure to 4 other women that week, and everyone of them had their water break with in four or five hours, and had their babies that night! I SOOOOOOO hope that is what will happen for me, but I know there really is no guarantee either way.

So fingers crossed that he either comes on his own this week, or he will come very quickly after my next appointment. March 9th or 10th sounds like a great day for a birthday! :)

After my appointment we had a couple errands to run in SLC. I was feeling good enough that I was able to do most of them. A couple I stayed in the car for, but for the most part I was OK.

We went to Costco to pick up a few things, and while we were there Chris decided that I had waited long enough for a new camera and bought me the camera I have been wanting for months now. I've always admired the SLR camera's from afar, and thought how fun it would be to actually have one, but they really aren't camera's that you just run out and buy. They are much more of a commitment than a point and shoot camera, and cost a lot more too!

I kept telling him that I didn't need one, and that it really wasn't necessary, I could continue to save my birthday and Christmas money, but he said I had waited long enough, and I shouldn't argue. The only "condition" he had was that I couldn't put it all over facebook! ;) Well...I didn't say anything about it on facebook, but he never said I couldn't put it on the blog! :)

I haven't had a lot of time to really dive into it and play with it, but I am SO EXCITED to sit down with it and just play with it for a few hours!

You all thought I had a lot of pictures of Keric...well you haven't seen anything yet! Poor Carson is going to be LIVING in a 24/7 photo shoot I'm a afraid! :)

A girl has to have a hobby right?? :)

March 1, 2012

Today marks 36 weeks! This is a week I have never been to in pregnancy, so it's kind of exciting to hit a new milestone! I'm anxious to see what Dr. Holmes has to say tomorrow! :)

Today is also the first day of March! YEA!!! I've been quietly doing the happy dance all day as I change the calendars and see all the other little reminders that it is in fact March! Carson's birth month is FINALLY here! Assuming I don't go over my due date, Carson will be here with in the next 31 days!!! I'm getting so excited to meet this little boy!

This week we have been dog sitting Jon's dog Spacey while he has been in St. George at some meetings for work. This is the first time we have ever watched Spacey. In fact it's the first time I have ever met her! She is a fairly new addition to Jon's house though. He rescued her from the pound and from being put down a few months ago. Actually maybe it's been longer than that...time kind of slips away from me.

I never grew up with dogs or really even around dogs. In fact the first dog I really ever had anything to do with was my little Tiara. I think in all honesty I grew up basically scared of dogs, especially big dogs! Even as an adult, I was always sort of scared of big dogs.

Spacey is by no means a "big dog", I guess she would more be classified as a medium sized dog, but she is much bigger than Chompie, and so it's taken a little while to get used to having her around...for me at least. :)

She is such a sweet dog, and so loving! She has been with us since Sunday afternoon, and I have YET to hear her even bark! She is very obedient, and honestly just kind of hangs out in her crate most of the day and sleeps. She likes to follow Chris down to the basement while he works, and she just lays on the blanket he put down there for her all day long. She actually reminds me a lot of a much bigger version of Tiara.

Keric LOVES doggies, big, medium, small, whatever, he loves them. He's never been scared or intimidated by them. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. He gets a little flustered if they try to jump on him, but for the most part, he is quick to walk right up to them and give them a love.

He has really loved having Spacey around. He tells me quite often through out the day that he loves Mommy, Daddy, Baby Carson, Chompie and Spacey. He even prays for her at night. I think he's gonna be kind of sad when Jon comes to pick Spacey up tomorrow. I guess it's a good thing we will still have Chompie around for him to play with.