26 weeks - I love this belly! :)

Just for you Ellen...

Best thing I cooked last week?
Spaghetti.................oh wait - no. That was Ed.
Oatmeal with bananas and blackberries..........oh wait - no. That was Ed.
beef jerky.............oh wait - no. That was Ed too.
(see the theme?)

5 things on my to-do list tomorrow:
1. Go to work
2. vaccuum and clean the guest bathroom.
3. Spend time with my Ed.
4. Homework.
5. laundry.

3 bad habits:
1. Procrastinating on my homework (doing week 2 stuff and all of week 3 stuff and the end of week 3...is tomorrow).
2. eating.
3. not paying enough attention to my husband.

5 jobs I have had:
1. State police dispatcher
2. office manager for a western store (still trying to forget that one)
3. customer service at Qwest (OMG I hated that job)
4. Recreation Enforcement Division with the S.O.
5. Detective's Assistant

When was the last time I cried?
Even though I am almost in my third trimester of pregnancy, I'm still not a big cryer. Surprising I know.

Five things I was doing 10 years ago (1998):
1. Working at ISP.
2. Going thru the Reserve Academy.
3. Meeting the guy I was going to marry (several years later!)
4. Wondering what I was going to do when I grew up.
5. Meeting new people and just being 20!

Five things I was doing 5 years ago (2003):
1. Planning a wedding.
2. Working at a Title & Escrow company.
3. Getting married.
4. Buying my first house.
5. Adopting my doggy Kevlar!

Five things I was doing 1 year ago (2007):
1. Losing 35+ pounds due to stress.
2. Quitting a job that wasn't good for me anymore.
3. Getting healthy.
4. Trying to get pregnant.
5. Getting back into law enforcement.

Five of my favorite hobbies:
1. Sleeping, lots and lots of sleeping.
2. Hiking.
3. scrapbooking.
4. hanging out with Ed and the doggies.
5. music

5 favorite foods:
1. C'mon - I'm pregnant! Just five???????
2. Oatmeal with fruit in it.
3. Quesadilla's (cheese or chicken please)
4. corned beef hash.
5. Granny's cinnamon rolls.

5 places I have lived:
1. Libby, MT
2. Coeur d'Alene, ID
3. Chubbuck, ID
4. Kellogg, ID
5. Pocatello, ID

I choose to pass this one on to anyone willing to do it!!

Well, we did it!

No matter how many different names I come up with, we always seem to go back to Garrett. It was one that we decided we liked a long time ago and it keeps coming back up. It is the only one that Ed has liked consistently - and I've always loved it too...I was just trying to come up with something more unique. Ed wanted something that wasn't too "weird" so this is our compromise. It fits him already and it feels natural to refer to him as Garrett. So as much as the name Broden carries a special meaning for me, it just didn't seem "right" somehow. So now y'all know!

I forgot to mention that at our appointment on Tuesday Garrett was measuring just under 13 inches (as you can probably see from the ultrasound pics he has long limbs already!) and almost 2 whole pounds!

Last week I came down with a nasty cold. The doctor wouldn't let me take anything for it but Tylenol and cough drops. The cough is still here, but I was able to go back to work after having five days off. That was MISERABLE. Ed was awesome - he took such good care of me - making me chicken soup, making sure I was resting, etc...it was so nice to have him around to do that! That used a good chunk of the time I was trying to accrue for maternity leave though - so now I have to get on the ball with that.

My next project is getting Garretts room cleaned out so that we can get it painted and decorated a little bit. That's a huge job (the cleaning not the painting) since I've been using that room for my craft projects for a couple of years now (well crap projects Ed prefers to call them). So anyone who wants to volunteer to help me is more than welcome to! :) Ed is refinishing the furniture that my Grandpa B made for me years and years ago. I wanted it to match the crib, so it needs to be stained and prior it was finished naturally. That will have to to wait for the weather to warm up so he can work in the garage. I need somewhere to put all these little clothes we're collecting!

I'm still finding it pretty easy to sleep at night (except for this coughing cold thing), which I am thankful for! I haven't managed to push Ed out of the bed either - so I'm still on his good list for now!

First perinatologist appointment at 24 weeks 1 day

What a nice guy. What I wasn't expecting literally made my day/week/month. First thing they did was an ultrasound. My OB told me I wasn't getting any more ultrasounds because things looked good at 17 weeks. Not only did I get an ultrasound - but this one was so much better than the others I've had. Not that the others have been bad but this woman took her time and she explained everything we were looking at, she measured EVERY bone. It was amazing. Baby is so much bigger than he was before, and everything was so clear and so beautiful and so reassuring that I had to hold back my tears. There is a huge weight off both our shoulders today.

The peri thinks baby boy is pretty safe. He is measuring ahead and his bone growth is awesome. His bone density is right where it should be, there is no bowing in the bones, the ribs bones are nice and thick (as a reference his ribs at 24/25 weeks are just a little big thinner than mine are 29/30 years old - that's how thin my ribs are).

He does want me to come to SLC and see a genetic counselor - genetist (sp?) and get typed. My sister Sarah has type IV OI but for some reason the peri thinks I have a different type. Really I'm not sure what that is based on.

With baby boy looking good we moved on to me. The peri would prefer that I deliver via c-section because he is worried about my pelvis, my hips, and my tailbone - as all have been broken more than once, though not for many years. He wants to control the delivery as much as possible, including the babys weight and gestational age versus what my body can handle. If I go with the c-section I have to have the baby at University of Utah in SLC. Which means I have a 3+ hour drive to SLC, have baby, stay for a couple of days and then come home 3+ hours. Ed and I want my Mom to be able to be there for the birth, which would work awesome for a scheduled c-section but then she would have to go stay in a hotel. Plus - who takes care of our dogs for those couple of days? Besides - if I'm only doing this once...am I going to "miss" something by not at least attempting a natural delivery? I'm sure that might sound silly - but it is something that bothers me a little bit.

God bless if you've made it this far in my rant. I'm just a very content and happy mommi!

Check out the new ultrasound pictures at the end of the page!

Merrily we roll along...

The fetus weighs about 500 grams. If it is born at less than 500 grams, it might survive with disabilities. If it is born weighing over 500 grams, it may be able to survive and thrive. Much of this is dependent upon the newly deposited fat in her body, which would help to insulate her. A baby born this small would need weeks of care and hospitalization.

At this point you’ve pretty much adjusted to the fact you’ve got a moving little gymnast inside of you, but now they’re going to kick up the party a notch because they can hear and react to sounds from the outside world. Sounds from your alarm clock, a thunder roll, or that darned car honking at you across the intersection can actually jar their little ears enough to elicit a kick or violent bout of squirming. Of course this also means that their little ears are picking up the sounds of your voice and those near you. So go ahead, sing a lullaby to your little angel—if they start kicking, it’s likely they just want you to stop… or maybe it was a kick of approval? You decide. Your baby's tiny taste buds are still growing and their bones are continuing to ossify (harden), their tiny veins are visible through their translucent yet wrinkly skin. (Think of it this way: they’ve been swimming in the equivalent of a long hot bath for the past 23 weeks, so you can’t blame them for being a little prune-like.)

Well these are both right on. There is a party in my uterus that I get an invitation to all the time! He likes to start rockin pretty much anytime I lay down. Or, I can really irritate him by wearing this belly support belt that I got (which I love by the way). For example, tonight I was at work and my back was killing me so I put on my belly belt. Within probably 5 - 10 minutes I was being battered from the inside out. They were so regular that I at first thought *maybe* they were hiccups. But then they started to hurt. He was kicking me probably 20 times in 10 minutes! I loosened the belt and the kicking stopped. I thought, "well well well...hello to you too" so I tightened it a little bit again - and the kicking started back up. Now, don't think I'm trying to stunt my child's growth or anything, and this belt isn't snug enough to do that - it's just supporting my belly, and I only wear it while sitting at work. Besides, if I wore it snug it would help baby boy torture my bladder! Him and I are going to have to come to a compromise pretty soon I think! We can't both be in charge - right? :)