Beckett's Birth Story

Let's just note that I'm totally cheating and dating this post in November when in actuality it is MARCH. You shouldn't be surprised. I also just sent out my Christmas cards two weeks ago. I could pretend I have a valid excuse, but really I have the chillest baby ever, so blaming him would be unfair.

But on to the birth story.

The last month and a half of my pregnancy was just about MISERABLE. I gained WAY too much weight so I was OVER the waddling and the not sleeping and the 20 pound child living inside of all of my parts and using my ribs as his own personal monkey bars/trampoline/punching bag. Brian had been as patient and encouraging as you could expect a man to be, but on November 15, our sanity began to crumble. WE COULDN'T HANDLE IT, PEOPLE. I'm not sure what all was said but I do remember Brian and me driving over to Brittany's house so I could have a girls' night and he could do whatever he was going to do… and in the car FEELINGS WERE RELEASED. To sum it up: we were BOTH sick of me being pregnant. 

11/14/13 - Two Days Before D-Day

That night I went with the girls to a Christmas Craft Sale. Friends, I shopped all those emotions straight out. By the end of the shopping excursion, I was in pain. It was more pain than usual, but I figured it was just because I weighed a BUNCH of pounds and my body couldn't handle being upright anymore. 

By 10p I was home with Brian {we were friends again by now} and I was squirming in pain. BACK PAIN. Ooooooh the back pain! At this point I was PRAYING that the back labor that my mom and aunts had so kindly enlightened me of was NOT my impending fate. I've never been in labor, so I still had no idea what was happening, but I knew things were happening that had never happened before and therefore we better go ahead and pack that bag we've been meaning to put together for a month now. Then we went to bed.

I layed there like I was going to sleep, but the pain just kept coming. With the whole first labor situation, I wasn't exactly sure what I was going for, and I didn't want to drag my whale-self to the hospital and end up being in false labor so I did what any first time maybe in labor pregnant person would do: I googled it. "How do I know I'm in labor?" The answer was a resounding: "Oh! You'll know." Well, I hurt a lot, but everything on the internet said that I should be feeling contractions… unless I was in back labor, in which case I would just feel PAIN. I was preeeeetty sure that was my situation, but I wasn't screaming like the girls in the movies and I didn't want to be wrong so I just hung out and pretended like I was going to be able to sleep.

By 2am my intense back pain had evolved into contractions. I think this is it? Maybe? I should ask Brian… So I did. "Do you think I'm in labor? I think this is it? We should go…" So we grabbed the bags and headed downstairs and as we got in the car I decided I should call the hospital and ask the nurse if I was really in labor. I'm not sure why I thought anybody else would be able to help me out with this, but bear with me. I have no clue what I'm doing here. 

The nurse told me to take a shower and see if my contractions calmed. I still don't know why in the world these were her instructions, but I obeyed. The shower felt AH-MAZING. The pain slowed, the contractions were further apart. It was great. And then I got out. BIG. MISTAKE. I think that damned shower made the whole things worse. I was NOT A HAPPY CAMPER. As soon as I was dried off and dressed again, we headed to the hospital. 

PAIN. PAIN. CONTRACTIONS. 

SQUIRM. PAIN. COUNT. SQUIRM. WIMPER.

And then Brian wanted to stop for Starbucks. Yeah. No. We arrived at the hospital sometime around 3am (I think)… We thought it would be cute to take a picture near the "Reserved for Patients in Labor" Sign. I'd been waiting to park there for months!! Of course, right as he whipped out the camera, a contraction hit, resulting in this gem:

We proceeded to the delivery floor and they did the whole getting me ready thing. It seemed to take forever. Lots of cringing and puking and squirming and wishing for my drugs to arrive. Then they moved me into another room and starting doing all the hooking me up to thing. Still no drugs. 

I'm pretty sure there were 30 or 40 nurses in my room, but they chose the trainee to get my IV started. Next time they try and pull that crap, I'LL BE THE ONE STICKING SOMEONE. By this point, Brian was becoming more aware of how intense our little adventure was going to be. Apparently the labor + the puking + the nurse digging for gold in my arm was too much for him because while I'm trying to hold still through a contraction and thru baby nurse lady's adventures in my arm, all of a sudden I hear, "CLUNK.THUD." That, my dear friends, would be the sound of my hubby passing out. Yeah. That happened. And I FUH-REAKED OUT. Up to this point, I was calm. There was no screaming. I had every confidence in my nurses (except the jerk still digging in my arm). But as soon as I saw that man fall, "OH MY GOSH!! HE'S DYING! HELP!!! MY HUSBAND IS DYING!"

"He's not dying. He's just passed out."

"No! HE'S SEIZING! HE'S HAVING A STROKE! IS HE DEAD?!?!"

"Sweetheart. Calm down. You need to focus on you. You can't get all worked up… it's not good for the baby." BLA BLA BLA

Insert more screams and wails and ramblings of a crazy woman. "DON'T LET HIM DIE."

Turns out the nurses were right… he just passed out. 

Whatever. He could have been dying. And next time he pulls that crap, I'll kill him.

All of my nurses abandoned me during this to attend to seizing/stroking/dying husband. Except BabyDigsALot. She just kept on jabbing like she was going for the record for Worst IV-Starter EVER. At this point I was crying. Because my husband almost died, not because of Jabs-A-Lot.

Once the IV was FINALLY in, they could get my epidural started. At this point I had been at the hospital for a few hours and was dilated to 5cm. They wouldn't let Brian watch for fear of another hubby fainting + wifey melt down debacle, but they did let him get a picture of the needle afterward. 

Epidural Needle.

Don't worry. They use a local anesthetic before they jab that into your spine. And even if they didn't, IT WOULD BE WORTH IT. Once that baby kicked in:

Over the next few hours, we tried to get some sleep and waited for nature to take it's course. Unfortunately, the epidural slowed my labor so they had to use Pitocin to get it started again. Eventually I made it to 10cm, but then this:

Beckett's Heart Monitor

That, my dear friends, is a picture (that we later found out you're not supposed to take) of my baby's heart rate dropping off. ALL OF THE FEAR came rushing in at this point. They didn't know why, but every time I had a contraction, this happened. We tried pushing anyway, but it only made it worse. So they prepped for a c-section. We had prepared ourselves emotionally for a c-section just incase Beckett decided he wasn't going to "fit," but we really really really wanted to avoid it. But the MINUTE I saw that heart rate monitor dropping, all the disappointment in the idea of cesarean went FLYING out the window and all I wanted in the whole wide world was for them to get that baby out of me SAFELY. 

A couple minutes later, Brian donned this cutest outfit ever and they were wheeling me to the O.R.

My Hotty Doctor Hubby

The number of people I had in the delivery room was NOTHING compared to the people in the O.R. I told them I felt like I was on TV: Bright lights everywhere, a bunch of people all dressed up in cutie little outfits and cutie little masks. I was so entertained. Have I mentioned I've never even BEEN in the hospital, let alone had a surgery? This was a first for me :).

It took FOUR additional doses of anesthesia before I was numb enough for surgery, but eventually we were ready and the rest went pretty quickly. It turned out the reason for the heart rate dropping was because the umbilical cord was wrapped over his shoulder and therefore being pinched every time I had a contraction. We're so very thankful for all of our doctors & nurses and their choices.

At 11:59am on November 16, Beckett arrived in all his 8 pound 15 ounces of glory... Head misshapen from attempted delivery, eyes all puffy and swollen shut. Before I saw him I heard him cry and remember saying how beautiful that sound was. Two second later I saw this hot mess and definitely told Brian the kid was a bit ugly. Don't judge! I don't know what fresh babies look like! 

It wasn't even a couple hours before he started to look more normal. And now we've got the cutest baby in the whole entire world.

Our Whirlwind Week! #ThankfulNovember

Alrighty!

So Saturday I posted an {Update on the Beckett Bump} that basically said TODAY would be our decision making day on whether or not to induce. We've been back and forth and have heard opinions and recommendations from both sides. Here's the timeline of what has happened since then. Buckle up, ya'll:

{Monday}

Brian had a phone interview with {Traeger Grills} for a Manager in training position. He was excited about the interview, as this was a job he thinks he would truly enjoy, selling a product he could actually believe in. He did well on the phone interview & was invited to do a video audition of sorts. Talk about nerve wracking! He would be video taped pretending to sell a grill & then a team at Traeger would vote on the tape. This was intimidating, but exciting! :) Unfortunately, we also found out at this point that if he got the job, he would have to leave for training THIS SUNDAY and be gone for a 8 days. WHAT?! This momma has NO CLUE what to do with a newborn, and also is VERY used to having hubby at home aaaall the time. Now I'm going to be thrown in with a BABY and NO help? Awesome. We decided that I would suck it up and be just fine and dandy with our newborn (assuming he arrived Thursday-ish). Plus, my mom scheduled extra time off to be here most of the week. It was very disappointing to know that Brian would miss Beckett's first week at home, but we decided the job was worth it. At this point, we knew that an induction would be the only way to guarantee Brian would be here for the birth.

{Tuesday}

We spent the day waddling to a couple of different Traeger locations to check out the grills and hear the sales pitches. Brian researched and practiced his pitch, had the interview at 5 and by 6:30 got a call back with a JOB OFFER! Woooo hooo!!! We were disappointed to confirm that Brian would be gone, but THRILLED to know we had a job lined up. Bitter sweet praise. At this point, we were still uneasy with the thought of induction, but the guarantee of Beckett being here was looking pretty good.

{Wednesday}

This morning we went to the doctor. We got the disappointing and stressful news that my cervix has not made much progress at all. The doctor said if Brian weren't out of town, she would recommend waiting until Monday to revisit the idea of induction, but that she also was ok with inducing tomorrow. We still have the concerns of Beckett's large size and disproportionate abdomen/shoulders so having him out is a good thing too. She explained to us the option of Cervidil. Basically this drug will soften my cervix and prepare it to be induced. 

This was troublesome for us both. Induction was not ideal in the first place, and then we felt like we were forcing my body to be prepared to be forced into labor. Too much forcing for our taste. But if we DON'T induce, we would have to decide between Brian taking the job, going to training, and quite possibly missing the birth, or giving up a job that we were excited about. Needless to say, today was stressful. There were many tears (100% mine) and back and forth on what we could do. 

In the end, we decided to take Traeger out of the mix, and knew that we were not comfortable with inducing at this point. That being decided, we were not ok with inducing for the mere convenience of the schedule and that this job was not worth doing something we were uncomfortable with or Brian missing Beckett's birth. SO, we emailed Brian's recruiter and explained the position we were in. We basically told him that if we could reschedule, great. If not, sorry, we couldn't accept. We were immediately at peace with the decision. Another job would come along.

However! To our INCREDIBLY PLEASANT SURPRISE, Brian received an email back, not much later, with a super sweet note from his recruiter. He was very supportive of Brian needing to be at home with me, and offered Brian the option of putting of training until December 1. More tears. All mine. We were SO PLEASED and grateful with this turnout! :) Not sure why we were worried in the first place - we know God has a plan and has things under control. But still.. you know how it is.

So NOW, we wait! We have another appointment Monday to see how things are progressing. We are hoping to avoid an induction, so we will continue to pray and encourage Beckett to come on out on his own. We are SO grateful to have the opportunity for Brian to be home for a couple more weeks, able to spend time with me and our new addition, and have a job waiting for him on December 1. What a HUGE blessing.

So this week, that's what I'm thankful for: 

{Monday}: Our doctor. Her thorough explanations & patience. The fact that she is REALLY good at presenting all of the options, pros, and cons without pressuring in any direction, and the fact that we both really trust her and look forward to her delivering Beckett. 

{Tuesday}: All of our friends and family who were supportive and encouraging. Who prayed for us and our decision, and who volunteered to help out. Especially my momma who scheduled a week off of work to be here and help with Beckett while Brian was gone. 

{Wednesday}: The people at Traeger Grills who are obviously family friendly and willing to be flexible & understanding so that we can focus on what's important. 

Update on the Beckett Bump

On the Beckett Bump:

We had a doctor's appointment yesterday, and for the third week in a row the doctor told us that Beckett has not moved. My cervix is still completely closed. Apparently that kid is coooomfy cozy in there! Our doctor is obviously concerned about his size. She is particularly concerned with his proportions. Apparently having a 9-10 pound baby isn't necessarily the problem. The issue is she's concerned his broad shoulders {football player} will get stuck and cause Shoulder Dystocia. 

Our doctor has been REALLY GREAT. We like her a LOT. She's very supportive of any decision we make and has been very thorough in explaining possibilities and options. She hasn't made us nervous or worried, at all. She seems confident, but is also very clear (yet calm) with her concerns. She wants to avoid a c-section as much as we do. She's also not thrilled with the option of inducing. She says there is no perfect answer for what course to take. Of course, Brian and I would both prefer to just remain pregnant until Beckett is good and ready to make his arrival and then have a normal vaginal delivery and then bring our baby on home! :) Of course, that's not always possible! So we're weighing the pros & cons and options. 

If we induce: We reduce the chance of Beckett getting stuck because of his large size. However, inducing also brings a greater chance for longer labor and/or c-section. It's also not "natural." We would prefer Beckett just come when he's ready.

If we don't induce: We run the chance of him staying in there too long and getting way big. The longer we wait, the higher risk we are at for a c-section. 

SO. As of right now, we have induction scheduled for Thursday morning at 7:30am. We are not committed to this, but we're on the books so that if we decide that's what we want, the hospital can fit us in! This week, we're spending time praying about the decision, and also just praying that Beckett just comes! :) Wednesday morning we have an appointment with the doctor. She will examine my cervix, which will also help to make a decision. If there are still no changes, we will not induce. If my cervix is obviously not ready, there's no point. 

In the meantime, we are being handed a LOT of opinions, experiences, and advice. Of course, everybody has an opinion. We appreciate the encouraging words and prayers from everyone. We've heard over and over, "I had a 10 pound baby and it was just fine." "Oh.. the doctors these days always want to induce. That baby will come when he's good and ready." We agree. Having a 10 pound baby without a c-section or inducing is very possible. Also, it's sad and scary how "normal" it has become to just schedule deliveries out of convenience. This is not our goal. We've also heard scary stories. A neighbor's son suffered Shoulder Dystocia and they had to break his collarbone to get him out. We've had friends who were in labor forever and baby wouldn't come/fit and they ended up having to do emergency c-sections. The whole experience can go either way. That's why were are so grateful for our doctor. We believe she went to school for a very long time, she's compassionate, understanding, and obviously passionate about what she does. She has been diligent to give us our options without pressuring us in any direction. God knows what he's doing. So we'll pray this week that he guides our decision and keeps us safe and healthy no matter what we decide!

In the meantime, Douggie is ready for this Beckett to arrive too...

My Big Little Brother, DJ #ThankfulNovember

Today I'm thankful for my older little brother, DJ. As a kid, he was SO the typical middle child. I tell his wife all the time how amazing it has been to see the transformation. He's so mature, and hard working, and an AMAZING example of what a Godly man should be. I love him and I'm SO grateful Beckett will get to grow up so close to this amazing uncle! Plus, he also married an awesome chick (we Montgomerys obviously have great taste), so that's a HUGE PERK. {More on her later}

DJ & Eli taking turns throwing each other in the air.

Catching Up on #Thankful November

You'd think a stay at home WIFE {with no baby yet} would have more time to keep up with this sort of thing, but believe it or not, we stay pretty busy! So, here I am, already behind on Thankful November. That's ok, I've had my ideas in mind. So:

Monday, November 4: 
I'm grateful for the conveniences of living in America! I've had so many opportunities to travel and visit other, less "convenienced" cultures and let me tell you: We are SPOILED! Today I whipped out my crock pot, threw in a few ingredients out of my handy dandy refrigerator, and came home 8 hours later to amazing {Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers}. Then I drug out a few salad items and put together a beautiful salad with hardly any chopping or washing: washed & ready greens, shredded carrots, crumbled feta, slivered almonds, and then tomato & avocado I actually had to slice myself (gasp!).

Tuesday, November 5:
I'm thankful for social media & women everywhere. I know that may sound silly, but social media (Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, & Blogs) have been SO encouraging as I experience my first pregnancy. If you've had a child, you know how many WEIRD, concerning, awkward, embarrassing experiences your body provides over the course of nine months. Seriously, girls should have a special course on this stuff before they have the chance to get pregnant. And every time I've experienced something that was just TOO WEIRD for words or when I needed a little bit of encouragement, I'd google it, or ask my Facebook friends, and VOILA! I'm not alone! For first time mommies, even the simplest things can be overwhelming.

Wednesday, November 6:
I'm grateful for my baby brother, Devin. He's seriously is someone to look up to. He is the SWEETEST, most laid back, loving kid I know. (And by kid, I mean 25 year old baby bro of mine). He's hard working and passionate and WHIT.TY. I looooove his humor. He always makes me laugh. Today, I received this gem as he checked on whether or not Beckett had arrived:

Plus he's a firefighter. I mean, common. Awesome kid. He picked a rockin wife, so props to that, and is he adorable, or what? {That's important.} Love you, Jack!

Thursday, November 7:

Today I'm grateful God knows what he's doing. I mean, I'm always grateful for that, but on SO MANY occasions recently, I've been OVERWHELMED with how Awesome He is and how incredible it is that he knows what he's doing, so I don't need to worry about it. There are many examples of why this particular thought has come to mind - some more serious than others - but the little emotion that brought on the thought today was, "I CAN'T WAIT TO MEET BECKETT!!" 

You know, I haven't always felt that way! So I'm grateful God planned this whole 40 week adventure, and obviously knew I would need the whole time to process the emotions. Here's a basic timeline of how I've felt.

Week 9 [ish]: No concept of "I'm going to raise a human." And every excitement over baby belly, showers, and choosing a name. 

Week 20 [ish]: Still no concept of the KID part. More excited about baby bump. Loving being pregnant, especially since the exhaustion and other first trimester symptoms have subsided and life is pain-free and easy. I could just stay pregnant forever.

Week 32 [ish]: Feeling fat and ugly. Freaking out a little about the baby part. I wanna stay pregnant forever. I'm not ready for a kid. Don't remind me where this is going.

Week 36 [ish]: GET THIS BABY OUT. I don't care how. I'm not thinking about what I'll do with him when he gets here. I'm not ready for a child, but I'm SO READY to not be pregnant.

Today. Week 38.5: I CANNOT WAIT to meet this baby. And snuggle him and love him and snuggle him. And it's worth it. The pain and the discomfort and then many nights where I won't sleep or a screaming toddler will want to make me just leave. It's worth it. (You can remind me that I said that later). 

This Bump #ThankfulNovember

I've been complaining a lot lately. I'm incredibly uncomfortable, I haven't been sleeping at night (an average of 3 solid hours), and I'm just super ready to be not pregnant. However, I also hope I've conveyed to the world how incredibly grateful I am for this bump. I know it's a HUGE honor and privilege to be able to get pregnant and carry full term (and a million other details that go along with that). I absolutely don't want to take this special blessing for granted. 

Proximity to my Family #ThankfulNovember

I'm thankful to have been able to move closer to my family. This weekend is being spent with my wonderful step-dad, Curtis Paul, who has been there through everything with us. He came down to visit for the weekend. We also spent time with DJ & Brittany and their two babies. We're now only 3.5 miles from them. I'm so grateful Beckett will be close to my bro & sis and their two kiddos... and only a few hours from Nana & Papa.

Avaya, Checking on Beckett

 

What I Learned in October

I had fun doing my "What I learned in September" so I thought I would go ahead and reflect again! Boy, it's been a fast month! Here's what I learned in October:

1. I went hunting with B and learned a little bit: Deer are smart... and have REALLY GOOD senses of smell. And you have to get up early... that's all I really remember. (I'm hoping to go next year when I'm not size XXXXXL).

2. I learned how to make a quilt! Soo.. what had happened was: I was reading up on the photographer who will be at the hospital doing newborn pictures. They recommend we bring a blanket with "special sentimental value." "WHAT?! I'm supposed to have one of those?!?" Of course, we've had some LOVELY friends and family make & buy us blankets, but I was suddenly struck with the guilty notion of MOMMIES MAKE BLANKEYS. I think? Anyway. Spur of the moment decision. I decided to wing it instead of asking for advice or googling it. This is what I came up with.

3. Baseball is a time-consuming sport. Did you know that there are like a MILLION games in a season? And then like twenty more just to win their Super Bowl? I know... it's a "World Series." But it means Super Bowl. You know what I mean.

I also learned about baseball that they don't have "overtime" - just "extra innings." Whatever. The whole thing is too much time anyway.

PS. Sorry about the loss, Cards.

4. The third trimester is painful & uncomfortable...
Actually, I had heard this... NUMEROUS times from all of the encouraging veteran mommies. I was forewarned time and again at how I should RELISH the second trimester because the third trimester was COMING. Thanks for the warning ladies. I guess some things you just have to experience before you realize the true beauty. I don't sleep. My whole body hurts. I want this kid out.

That's all I can remember right now... Maybe I should journal better ;)

Anyway, Happy November!

A Beckett Bumpdate & The Nursery Reveal!

Hey Family & Friends!!

So. It's almost time! Beckett is coming VERY soon -- hopefully sooner than originally anticipated! Over the last few months, we've had three ultrasounds, all declaring that we have a BIG OL BOY on our hands! As of Monday (37 weeks, 1 day), Beckett was estimated at 8.2 glooorious pounds! At .5-1 pound per week, that puts him at HUGE when November 17 rolls around.

Today we had an appointment with our doctor again (whom we ADORE, by the way). Dr. Rempe is very sweet and informative. She is also concerned with Beckett's size. Apparently his abdomen is measuring significantly larger than his head (side note: his head is considered "normal." That was a pleasant surprise for this Montgomery). Anyway, with a normal to big head to tummy ratio, they get concerned with baby's head coming through and then shoulders getting stuck. Lovely.

Anyway, Dr. Rempe says our best bet will be if Beckett arrives some time this week. If we go too long, we're at a greater risk for having to do a c-section. So all hands on deck: we need prayer that this baby makes his debut SOONER rather than later!

And speaking of debuts, we also have the long-awaited Nursery Reveal video! You can watch it on YouTube by clicking here! And if you're interested in the details and DIYs, visit my #TeacherMom blog!

Enjoy!

A #ThankfulNovember

So I've decided to jump on the #ThankfulNovember bandwagon. I love seeing the tags on Facebook. I mean, really... how often do we really stop and give thanks for the little things? Last year I started doing this, but totally forgot after a few days. Shameful. This year I've decided instead of just posting to Facebook (if at all) I will post to this blog. Mostly because as I continue to blog, I am enjoying it more... and loving the prospect of one day looking back and reminiscing on the little thing in life. So whether anyone else reads or not, I want to remember my #ThankfulNovember 2013, and all the little moments that will follow.

After this post, I'm thinking my #Thankful posts will probably consist of a picture and a sentence or two. So without further ado:

Nov 1: I'm thankful for my time at home. I've been able to spend a TON of time reading, blogging, reflecting, and preparing for Beckett! Brian and I have had awesome conversations, realizations, and time... time to just think, and be together, and be grateful for each other and our lives together. It's been good.

A Short Reflection on the Adventures of Pregnancy

It's almost time! I'm 35 weeks now and sincerely cannot believe how time has flown by. At the beginning of this pregnancy, I considered doing one of the cutie weekly journals to baby, or picture of baby bump, or some way to chronicle this journey. But life is crazy and things were busy and I decided not to try any of that. BUT, pregnancy has been quite the journey thus far, and I didn't want it to end without a little bit of a reflection on the adventures. So! My Pregnancy, in short:

Trimester ONE

Cravings: 

• Fruit anything (fresh fruit, smoothies, juice, fruity candy, etc) 
• Asian noodles, only with chopsticks, of course.

Symptoms: 

• Constant Headaches
• A couple major emotional melt downs. I even had to leave work once because I couldn't pull it together! And then there was the Texas Debacle... Poor DJ.

Major life happenings: 

• We sold our house and found out we were moving to MO. 
• We decided I would not be going back to work.
• We visited Dallas & got to see Devin graduate Fire Academy.

I'm grateful for:

• The opportunity to be pregnant. I know it's a HUGE privilege and blessing. 

Bump in Progress

Trimester TWO

Cravings: 

•  Kid foods: Peanut butter & Jelly, Grilled Cheese, Macaroni, & Milk

Symptoms: 

• A couple more major emotional melt downs
• Bloody noses
• Charlie-horse-like cramps in my tushie. Apparently ligaments are stretching. Not comfortable. 

Major life happenings: 

• Crossed off Bucket List Item: Drive the Pacific Coast Highway. With Nicole & Hector!
• For my birthday, Brian surprised me with my WHOLE Satchell FAM at our favorite, Oak Haven Resort!
• We bought a house! And moved from East TN to MO. 
• We finally decided on a name: Joseph Beckett Hill. We'll call him Beckett.

I'm grateful for:

• A fairly easy, uneventful pregnancy thus far. I'm healthy, Beckett is healthy, and I have no major symptoms. God has pampered me. 

Trimester THREE

Cravings: 

• Sweet tea, especially during melt downs. Don't worry, I learned to cut it with unsweetened tea so I wasn't COMPLETELY drowning Beckett in sugar.
• Milk
• Wine. I'm counting down the days.

Symptoms: 

• PAIN.  My body hurts.
• Braxton Hicks Contractions. EEK.
• More emotional melt downs.

Major life happenings: 

• We begin renovations on this ginormous project house
• We find out Brian is now unemployed. But we thoroughly cherish the time at home together and the excitement of new adventures.

I'm grateful for:

• Our Family & Friends. We have been showered with love and support. We have received every single item we need off our registry, plus some. We are SO blown away by the amazing support system we have. You all are a HUGE BLESSING. 
• Brian. He is seriously the BEST man I know. He has been SO GOOD to me and I cannot even express how grateful I am that Beckett will have him as a daddy. We are beyond blessed to have him. 

What I learned in September

Tonight I stumbled upon a blog from a former LCC church friend. She was inspired by yet another author to blog about what she'd learned that month. I really enjoyed reading hers (click here if you're interested), and was inspired to reflect myself on what I'd learned this month. So, as Susan said, "without further ado,"

What I learned in September:

1. Apparently it’s ok to tell complete strangers how fat they are. Actually, I’m still not in agreeance with this fact, but people tell me all the time how large I am. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Or maybe that’s the intense urge to repay the “compliment.”

Me (with mom) at 31 weeks.

2. Jesus, James, and Stephen prayed for their adversaries. See my last post.

3. How to use a sewing machine. Ok, I kinda already knew… from 7th grade Home Economics class. But that was a decade and a half ago. Does that count? I wish you could have been there the first time my bobbin was empty. After attempting to put it back in the machine for thirty minutes (no joke), I gave up and read the manual. It’s really not that hard, people. Which leads me to:

4. I’m a DIY queen. I made these with my new mad sewing skills:

Boppy Cover #1

Boppy Cover #2

Curtains for the nursery

Beckett's Bench Cover

Then there's the Beckett Name Sign I posted about earlier this month. Impressed? Just wait! Next week I hope to do a nursery reveal for ya. There's lots more projects where these came from!

5. Store bought chai is just as good as Starbucks’. And way cheaper. Way way. Walmart, people. Four dollars.

6. I like Justin Timberlake way more than I thought I did. And Jimmy Falon. #hastag #hilarious

7. I am super loved. Correction: WE (Brian and I) are super loved. I knew this already but was overwhelmed with love and support this month. We’ve had THREE awesome showers now. Our friends and family that put them together are truly amazing. I don’t know how new parents without a support group survive parenthood. Supermommies and daddies. That’s what they are. Go you. I couldn’t do this alone.

Morristown Shower,  by Rachel, Katie, & Jennifer

Chicago Shower, by my Mommy

STL Shower, by the Mom & Dad Hill

8. Contractions hurt your tummy. Maybe this seems like common sense to you, but I started having Braxton Hicks this month and I was expecting it to hurt…well... lower. Apparently that part waits til baby is actually exiting. Go ahead and laugh. I’ve never done this before.

There’s more. But it’ll have to wait. Maybe I’ll do this again in October!

#perspective

I've always been a rule follower - a "goodie goodie" of sorts. And my husband has the highest integrity, hands down, of any man I've known. These qualities make it easy to plead "not guilty," and mean it, when chaos erupts and fingers are pointed and lies are told.

Recently, Brian and I have experienced some unexpected and overwhelming madness. Really the details are not necessary, nor clear at this point. What IS clear is the hurt and frustration and intense anger that we've endured. It's not fair. We're innocent in this mess.

And then we went to church tonight. 

It's pretty common knowledge that Jesus prayed for those that were murdering him as he hung there, waiting to die. It may not be as common (or at least I wasn't aware) that James and Stephen did the same. AS these men were being MURDERED, they prayed for their adversaries. Talk about perspective. 

Like it or not, Jesus is just as concerned with our response to wrong doing as he is with the initial adverse behaviors. What that means to me is: Just because I didn't do anything wrong to begin with, doesn't mean I'm not accountable for responding with grace and love. Paul says in Galatians 5:

¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Mark, the pastor, pointed out (I'm certain while he was looking directly at me) that impurity encompasses not only the physical, but the mental - impure thoughts, motives, or words. He highlighted hatred, discord, fits of rage, dissension... and the like. The question here is: am I praying for the forgiveness of those who have wronged me, or their demise? Because we all know the latter is always easier to do, and often easier to justify.

Then Paul said: 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. [Galatians 5: 22-23]

Jesus, Stephen, and James all prayed for their adversaries AS they were being murdered. I'm not gonna lie, I'm in no mood to pray for certain people. But I do pray that God works on my heart in that direction. 

Beckett Name Sign

Last night, Mom and I embarked on a Hobby Lobby adventure to find some sweet decor for Beckett's new nursery. We had so much fun creating this cutie little wall hanging. 

I've had a couple people ask details on the project, so I figured I'd go ahead and join the world of DIY blogging and share in the fun!  

You'll need:
- Wooden letters. Hobby lobby has various sizes. (These were about $3.50 each)
- Paint for edges
- Paint brushes
- Mod Podge
- Exacto knife or razor blade
- Scrapbook paper or card stock to match your room (1-2 pieces for each letter). I chose navy blues and grays and mixed solids and patterns.

Steps:
1. Paint the edges of all of the letters with paint color of your choice. This will hide the wooden edge of your final product. 2. Cut the scrapbook paper down to a square large enough to cover the letter. You may need to piece two pieces together. 3. Paint a light layer of Mod Podge on the front of the letter 4. Carefully lay the paper over the letter, starting at the top and pressing out bubbles as you lay the rest. Press the paper as smooth as possible. 5. Turn the letter over and use an exacto knife or razor blade to trim the paper down to the letter. 6. Turn the letter back over and paint the top of the paper with more Mod Podge. You may need to press out some bubbles. Be careful when smearing the Mod Podge as some scrapbook paper ink will bleed.

7. Let dry!

I plan to use either finishing nails or 3M to hang the letters on the wall. We have a nifty laser light level that will draw a line on the wall and help to hang the letters evenly. When they're up, I'll make sure to get another picture!

The Renovations Begin!

So these last few days have been a tangled web of hauling and moving and listing and sweating and plain ole exhaustion. I can't imagine what the boys must be feeling! I'm exhausted and I haven't done nearly as much work as they have - with the exception of growing a human being... (top that!). We've been so impressed with the immense work that has been completed to far - mostly destruction. Here's a rundown of what's happened so far! 

Friday
We made the last leg of the voyage (35 miles) and met our realtor here at the house for our final walk through. Then we headed over to sign the ginormous stack of papers that served as the final hoop to becoming home owners!

Notice the THREE cups of Starbucks for two people. I couldn't decide between hot & cold so my realtor convinced me that being pregnant meant I get both. I like her.

New Homeowners! 

Immediately after the signing, we got to work! I actually headed to Brittany's to help prepare for Eli's birthday party! Even though it was crazy timing, being around family is EXACTLY the reason we moved here. And this sweet guy is TOTALLY worth it! 

Eli at his Jake & The Neverland Pirates themed 3rd birthday party!

While I played helpful auntie, Brian and DJ headed over to the house immediately. We had a cleaning crew come in for almost FOUR hours. They slaved to make the house less gross. That afternoon we also had a couple of inspections and bids scheduled. During all of this, the boys got to work making lists of supplies for the next couple of days and made trip #1 to Lowes.

That night we had every intention of grocery shopping, getting more supplies at Lowes, and taking another trip to the house. Instead, overcome with exhaustion, we slept.

Saturday

We got started bright and early! Brian's parents, Uncle Darrell, and my brother DJ all came over for a full day of hard work. We started by unloading the trucks into the house. That took 4 hours! Of course we aren't loading into the appropriate rooms yet, because none of them are prepared for permanent habilitation. Instead, our garage and front room have turned into an overwhelming world of storage, and our living room has become the masterbedroom/makeshift living room. 

The rest of the day was spent cleaning gutters, checking the roof, tearing our all of the carpet in the entire house, gutting a bathroom, cleaning out the fridge, blowing off the back deck, and cleaning sub floors. 

Dad gutting stairs.

Dining Room. Gross.

DJ Gutting the hall

Eventual office.

Eventual Guest Bedroom

Nursery

Guest Bathroom 

Guest Bathroom

Saturday night, we attempted to make a trip #2 to Lowes. It was MISERABLE. We spent an hour and a half wandering Lowes, having NO CLUE what type of anything to purchase and completely unable to get help from one of their shining star employees (that was sarcasm, if you missed it. I was cursing them). Apparently Saturday night is not the time to go to Lowes. So, we surrendered and left, defeated.

Sunday morning we were ready to go again! After breakfast at Ihop, we hopped around town to a few appliance stores. We're in the market for ALL NEW kitchen appliances and one lucky person is going to get our business! Later, we returned to Lowes for visit #3. This time, we came armed with my little brother. Take that, Lowes! This trip, Lowes redeemed themselves. Their staff was much more on their game this morning. It was a good thing, too, because 3 and a half hours later, we left with FOUR carts of goodness. Luckily, the vanity and sink were on backorder, or it wouldn't have all fit into the truck!

Also, to add a little twist and a few extra minutes to the already exhausting trip, our credit card was declined after the lady took the time to ring all of this up! Of course we had the money in our checking account (we just wanted the points on our card), but it was annoying! Later we found out that the credit card company had flagged the purchase as "suspicious." I guess that's appropriate. :)

Monday
More work, more worker men, more deliveries, more gutting, more exhaustion. We (and by "we" I mean Brian) also started the rehab process on the basement mold issues. He sealed himself in and is removing all of the carpet and treating the area for mold. Those are my favorite pics. He looks like one of the guys from Monster's Inc... ya know, when they're afraid the humans have contaminated them?