ups and downs

so here's the thing. When you get pregnant.. anything could happen. The saying is "every pregnancy is different for every woman" which I believe is more true than ever now! my pregnancy with this child is nothing like my pregnancy with Hannah.

I have forgotten a lot of the things that happened to me (chronologically) while I was pregnant with Hannah. I remember them happening, but I have no idea how far along in the pregnancy they happened. For instance, I have no idea when I started to NOT sleep through the night, or when I started having Braxton Hicks contractions, or when I started to feel really uncomfortable, OR even when I started nesting. I can't remember any of that -- that's why I would document symptoms every couple of weeks so I could remember and possibly, just maybe, compare to a third child.

So here we are folks, 36 weeks! Full term!! and boy do I feel it! I've gained a total of 21 lbs, my belly is measuring 38.5 inches (maybe more now because I measured a few days ago first thing in the morning) I'm definitely in nesting mode trying to de-clutter the house and get all her clothes washed and put away. My husband says I'm in Patsy-mode (my mom is OCD about cleanliness so I will take that as a compliment).

Building background Story -

Since every pregnancy is different I figured I'd go the full 40 weeks with this bebe, but that doesn't seem to be the case. I didn't think anything of it when I started to notice my Braxton Hicks. I'd rub on my tummy to make it go away (kinda like you would a charlie horse) and that was that. They didn't hurt, almost kinda like a really faint dull menstrual cramp or a growing pain or she was sitting right on my sciatic nerve or something. It would last for a minute then go away. No problem. I figured it was normal. I mean, I was in my third trimester, this is my second pregnancy... who knows when normal is to start having regular Braxton Hicks... (and when I say regular I mean a GOOD one every 30 minutes)

I leave school about 3:30 everyday, and she's always very active during that time. I mean, nonstop movment for the full hour-drive home. Hiccups, rolls, bladder kicks, you name it I get them for a full hour so when we scheduled my 36 week ultrasound for 3:30 I was so excited because I just knew we'd get some great last ultrasound pictures.. WRONG! she was knocked out the whole 30-minute session. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!???!?!? I bet you, that if I had downed a 20 oz coke things would have been different.

Also, my entire pregnancy this child has weighed either on schedule or a week ahead, but when they started to measure her today she was only weighed/measuring at 33 weeks!! well, 32 weeks and 5 days to be exact! My uterus has always measured right on schedule, but for some reason she basically QUIT growing for a short while. Strange.

I guess with the combination of her measuring so small and her not being as active as I claimed she usually was around this time of day they wanted to run a Non-Stress-Test (or NST for short) on me. I remember in Hannah's pregnancy I had one at 37 weeks, but I think that was just a normal routine NST. So they hook me up to the machine to measure her movements and what her heart would do right before, during, and after each movement... umm.... yeah, I starting contracting like every 3-5 minutes for at least a good minute and a half. This lasted for a good 30-45 minutes. her heart rate was all over the place dropping as low as 116 and going as high as 180 something. talk about cause for concern because every single time they've listened to her heart its been in the 150 range. EVERY TIME.

Soooooooooooo with all my contracting my doctor wanted to check me to see if I was dilated.. Which thank the Lord I'm not!! He's still a little worried and thinks I'm progressing a little too early. I've gotta go back Thursday for another NST and we'll go from there. I will make my 37 week appointment then.

He told me that even though he is a little worried, he's not worried enough to give me anything to stop my contractions just yet but that if they got more intense or more frequent (even in this slightest) to call him.

I know nothing is WRONG with her and I know she's perfectly healthy. I'm not worried in the least little bit that she's under any stress I just want her to stay in there as long as possible because I want an APRIL BABY!!!!!!!! (I'll write all about that in my Labor and Delivery Story once she gets here ;) )

Children will and always will have a mind of their own and will do things in their own time. She'll come when she's ready. We are more than ready to meet her and play with her and "teach her princess songs". Every morning feels like Chrismas Eve.. it's so not fair, but at the same time I will wait as long as I need to. If I go into early labor my doctor said he would stop the labor if he could. With all that being said, THIS CHILD CANNOT COME BEFORE THE 23rd!! it just can't happen. The stress level (on me) would be too high... I've got to finish this internship and graduate in May.


I love to complain, I would whine all day long about every little thing if  I thought it would make a difference, but actions speak louder than words so I keep my mouth shut unless I have something nice to say. With that being said, I try not to complain about my symptoms too much. I'm growing a human, I'm not going to feel normal. I'm also not going to be pregnant forever so why not just grit your teeth and bear it for the time being!?

After today's events I feel like I am allowed to complain a little bit -
I'm hungry all the time, but hardly have an appetite
I'm saddle sore throughout my entire pelvic region
I have to squat for everything
I can't even bend to kiss Hannah
I feel like my back is going to break in half if I bend to do anything
my hips pop when I walk
I probably get 5 hours of sleep a night
I get stuck in certain positions and Wes has to help me get "unstuck"
I'm starting to have to rely on everyone to do everything for me
back pain.
walking is excruciating.
sitting is good
standing is good.
rocking while sitting is awesome
trying to roll over in the bed is torture.

I think I'm done complaining. If I think of anything I will definitely let you know.
If you read this entire blog, go you!

Teacher's Make Too Much Money !!!!

Are you sick of high paid teachers? Teachers’ hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or 10 months a year! It’s time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do - baby sit! We can get that for less than minimum wage.

That’s right. Let’s give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PM

with 45 min. off for lunch and plan — that equals 6 1/2 hours).

Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children.

Now how many do they teach in day…maybe 30? So that’s $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day. However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations.

LET’S SEE…. That’s $585 X 180= $105,300 peryear. (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).

What about those special education teachers and the ones with Master’s degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children

X 180 days = $280,800 per year.

Wait a minute — there’s something wrong here! There sure is!

The average teacher’s salary (nation wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days = $277.77/per day/30 students=$9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student–a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE your kids!)

WHAT A DEAL!!!!

Added 2/21/11---WARNING...for all of you who are having a breakdown right now and don't realize it...this is SARCASM!!! 

great expectations.

Where would we be as a nation if no one held standards or expectations of success of it's citizens? As a country we expect our politicians to put aside their personal beliefs and to follow through with the desires of the constituents. If we vote you into office and you don't meet our expectations we are going to vote you out and that's that. But what do you expect from yourself? How high are your standards to be a better person?

I'm not one to follow the crowd so I usually don't make New Year's Resolutions. It used to be because I was too lazy to care, but now it's because I don't really see the point because year after year it's a basic standard I think everyone should possess.

I was always a believer, raised in a Baptist church, but on May 17, 2009 I made my public profession of faith. At first, I developed a voracious appetite for His Word. I was bound and determined to relate a 2000 year old book to my modern day life. I don't know exactly when it happened but I hit a big plateau, much like someone losing weight, I was no longer seeing my hard work pay off.... But why? Because I no longer expected anything from myself. I became complacent. I wanted the insurance policy but didn't want to make the monthly premiums. I didn't think of my journey, my relationship with God was supposed to be hard. I thought that since I finally accepted Him that these things would come naturally to me, and I think that's where most believers make the same mistakes that I made. They start to expect credit without doing the work.

 I'm not sure when I started to overcome my complacency but I now know that I am not the follower I need to be. I am not the homemaker I need to be with the washing and the cooking. I have no motivation to get out into the world and put my college degree to use. What I am motivated to do is to get my butt off the couch and make sure that my home is the sanctuary my husband and daughters need to rest their souls from the challenges of the outside world.

 A friend of mine told me the other day that she needed a break from taking a break. I am starting to agree with her. I have become so comfortable with expecting others to take care of me that it's starting to make me sick. I've played the victim card for way too long and it's time to get back into the swing of things. I've got a daughter coming in 13 weeks so it's time to get my act together. Yes, it's going to be a struggle because I'm going to be out of the house more and I'm going to have another tiny wonder depending on me for everything, but if I can complete one expectation of myself each and everyday then I know I will have made one step closer to my calling in life - being the best wife, mother, and homemaker I can be!

I would have graduated in December with a Bachelor's in Elementary Education, but because of some failing grades, my graduation date has been moved to May 2011. By the time I graduate, it will have taken five years for me to earn this degree. Literally, a lot of money, time, and dedication has gone into my education. With that being said, and with teaching jobs being on the slim, I am not expecting a teaching job any time soon. Yes, I want to be able to put my education to use. Yes, I want to fulfill my life long dream of raising a productive citizen in the classroom setting. I have to look at my family first. God gave me a husband and a child before He gave me a teaching job and they will always be my priority. I expect myself to get a job (and so does my husband, bless his heart) but I am not going to become frustrated if it takes a while to get a teaching job.

My expectations
do NOT go to bed without all the dishes being washed and put away.
wash a load of laundry every night.
read a devotional with Hannah before saying our 'bed-night' prayers.
drinking only water. (I think this might be the hardest for me to do)

They might not look like much but these are not my New Year's Resolutions, these are my New Day's Expectations. If I can complete each of these expectations everyday then I know I will be one step closer to being the homemaker God intended for me to be.

I have been inaugurated into God's congress. I have fully accepted this assignment. If I don't fulfill my assignment why would God keep voting me into office. The only way I am going to have eternal success is if I follow His Word. I have to work hard and pay my premiums in order to have my insurance coverage. If I stop making my payments my policy is cancelled. No questions asked.

My prayer for you this year is of health 

joy and peace.

happy birthday, my love

I love this picture of Wes and me. I think it has to be my absolute favorite :) its a perfect depiction of Wes's personality, and of course, he hates it!

This post is for my husband, my love, father of my children. Happy Birthday to you! 25 years have come and gone since the Lord blessed your mother with your presence and now I have the pleasure of being blessed by you everyday.

You've been my biggest cheerleader over the passed few years and I only hope I can return the favor!!

Once again, Happy Birthday to you! I hope you enjoy the events of our celebration Monday - Hannah and I have worked hard to make it perfect ♥

-whitney

are you sure it's a girl?

23 weeks today means that I'm 6 months pregnant. 23 weeks today means I have 16-17 weeks left. that means 4 months... 4 MONTHS people.

as some of you know we found out the gender very early on at 16 weeks. another sweet little girl.
Needless to say, everyone was surprised! There wasn't any disappointment on my part..  but my husband's reaction was another story.

I think Wes struggled a little bit with the news at first. His heart was set on having a boy just so he could have someone to carry on the family name. I don't want to say that I struggled with any misgivings, but I did feel like I let him down a little bit at first.

So how did I finally let go of my disappointment?

With God's help.

Two Sundays ago, my minister presented a sermon that I definitely needed to hear. One God knew I needed to hear. The sermon was entitled "When God Says No". There are several different reasons God tells you no. Sometimes it's because it's not what God has planned for your life, and other times it's because when God tells you no it's because you're asking selfishly.

When Hannah turned three Wes and I started talking about expanding our family and from then on we prayed for a boy.. So when we were given the glorious news of having another girl I was slightly confused. I prayed to God and asked why? I thought we had this one in the bag. We had an amazing God fearing little girl, we had prayed for a boy for the longest time so why bless us with another girl? I couldn't understand.

All throughout this sermon I began to ask myself these questions.. What was my reason for God telling me no? Did Wes and I selfishly ask for a boy? Did God have a better plan for us and our family?

 Then it hit me. Only a girl could bless Wes and me with grandchildren. Yes, a boy can as well but it's not the same. If that be the reason God chose another little girl for us to raise then I say BRING IT. Bring on all the little girls we can handle. Hair bows, dresses, and bloomers oh my!

Since then I've owned this pregnancy! I've accepted it with open arms. I've not complained tried not to complain about too many things. Every kick to the bladder, every braxton hicks, every hunger pain has almost gone unnoticed by my husband.. at least hopefully it has because I hope I haven't turned into one of those people that complains so much that I don't even notice it anymore.

List of Symptoms
pretty painful braxton hicks daily
ligament stretching
extreme hungry/hearty appetite
colostrum has definitely come in
strange, vivid dreams
headaches
dry nose
intermittent changes of nesting and exhaustion


Next appointment is next Thursday and I'm very excited to see how much progression we've made :)

Pic of Baby Girl at 23 weeks

I can definitely see progression in growth, but only from week to week

pictures... I look a lot smaller than this in person

In my opinion, of course ;)

this is what i'm thankful for

I'm behind on my blogging and even taking belly pics, but this is my belly at 18w3d.

I am now 21 weeks.
at 20 weeks SHE was 13 oz
baby blog about that later. It's a long one and I don't have time right now to finish it.

Happy Thanksgiving to each and every one of you I know I have so much to be thankful for :)

U.S. troops in Afghanistan recite the Auburn Creed

In recent light of the devastating allegations of Cam Newton I am showing my support to him, the team, and the amazing staff at The Auburn University. 


1 Peter 5:10 states that:  And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.


I believe in Auburn and LOVE IT! War CAM eagle YAWL! :)





Also, please continue to keep this university in your prayers, not only is the university having to deal with this, a professor of mathematics was killed in a car accident this week.