The last couple weeks have been spent playing catch up on house work, work work, and trying to suppress our excitement and anticipation of our ultrasound appointment which was set for 3:00pm on Tuesday November 22nd. I spent a considerable amount of time thinking about what this little one might be, dreaming and wondering, hoping that I would be equally excited no matter what and trying to prepare myself if we went in and our little one was to shy to show us the goods. Some of our good friends (Kurt and Lacie) found out they were having a little girl a few days before our appointment which made the waiting almost unbearable.
On Monday I was sitting at my desk and felt a tiny little pop in my lower abdomen, then another and another. Every mother I have talked to raved that the first time you feel the baby is the most beautiful and wonderful experience. I must be a terrible person but to he honest, I personally felt sick to my stomach and my first thought was "THERE IS SOMETHING INSIDE OF ME TRYING TO GET OUT!!!" as I envisioned the horror movie where an alien claws its way out of someones abdomen. It was pretty funny. I guess I felt a little terrified, but once I got used to the little pokes, they have become something that are both exciting and comforting.
That night I got home from a rougher than usual day and was getting ready to go to the gym with Kel when I felt a bump and pain just above my ankle on my left foot. Of course, the worrier in me knows just enough to be dangerous and my brain began spinning thoughts of blood clots and tumors and all sorts of other crazy (and in my mind potentially fatal) things. We went to the gym and after 45 minutes of my brain on over drive I told Kel I was ready to go and broke into sobs in the parking lot (solidifying Kel's fears that his wife has completely lost her mind). He finally convinced me to text my sister who is a P.A. and she responded that it was likely just a cyst but that I should probably have it looked at. I continued to worry all night and had horrible, vivid nightmares in which I died several times in my sleep (thank you hormones!). By morning I could hardly force myself to wait until the little display on my phone finally flashed 8:00am to call my doctors office. Once again, my wonderful doctor got me right in only to tell me (stimulating complete and udder embarrassment) that it was likely just a minor sprain or strain (thanks you, I am an idiot, I have become one of those pregnant women who think that every bump or bruise is something horrific- literally). After apologizing profusely I headed back to work with only a few hours before we would see our sweet baby and possibly find out not only what color to decorate the nursery but also how things are progressing. As I left the doctors office, I realized that for the last several days I had been overwhelmed by worry about what this ultrasound would show, not because the gender was so important, but because it could possibly reveal a potential problem or issue with our perfect little baby- and that prospect was something that I was completely unable to face or even try to comprehend- apparently, in my attempt to avoid those thoughts and feeling, they had just found an new outlet in the form of a weird ankle bump.
I could feel my heart beat quicken as the hours passed and the appointment drew closer. I left for the hospital around 2:40 because I wanted to have plenty of time. When I reached the imaging center where I had my last 2 ultrasounds, they told me that this one was scheduled in the budge clinic (the medical center attached to the hospital). A woman pointed me in the direction and I nearly sprinted, I wondered up and down halls and stair cases looking for any sign of an imaging or ultrasound department, asked for help once and was taken to an empty information desk where I became to impatient to wait for the worker to return and finally found someone who walked me nearly back to where I had started my trek. I checked in and then sank into a chair, breathless and anxious. I glanced at my phone to check the time and it was just after 3. Kel still wasn't there and by that point my poor bladder felt like it might explode (for those that don't know, you have to drink at least 30oz of water in the hour prior to an ultrasound without using the bathroom= torture). Kel finally made it and it was 3:40pm before we were called back. Thankfully the ultrasound tech was a sweet middle aged man named Jeff who explained everything he was looking at and measuring and reassured us when everything looked good. Then came the question "do you want to know what it is?" I blurted out "YES!" before Kel even had the chance to process the question. At this point I was sure that my heart was pounding so hard that the tech could hear it and that I would probably go into cardiac arrest if he didn't tell us soon. We watched as a little arrow flitted across the screen and Jeff smiled as he said "this is a pretty good indicator that you are having a boy." I felt tears well in my eyes as a smile spread across my face. I glanced at Kel who was also beaming. I looked at the screen and neatly typed across the picture was the word "BOY." WE'RE HAVING A BOY!!!! After a few minutes, Kel ask the tech if it was a "sure thing" or just a "best guess" and the tech zoomed in on the picture and said "It's either a boy, or a girl with a big problem." When we finished laughing we decided we are praying its a boy and not a girl with a problem :).
I finally felt myself breathing and just enjoyed looking at his little feet and fingers and arms and legs, his sweet little profile. He's pretty cute if I may say so. (I'll add his pictures to this post soon). He also seems to be very active. The poor tech had a hard time getting a picture because our little guy was to busy squirming around. We can't wait to meet our adorable little son and are so excited and happy that he will be a part of our family. With every milestone it becomes more and more real, and exciting, and scary. Of course Kel was texting everyone as fast as his fingers could move to spread the word and our families share our joy and excitement.
On Wednesday night, my parents and Dusty and Caytlyn came to our house. We showed off the pictures of our new addition and then went out to dinner at Firehouse (Dad's favorite) and did some grocery shopping for our Thanksgiving feast. Thursday we all got up and Mom and I put the finishing touches on the fruit pizza (my favorite). We had pizza (both firehouse leftovers and the fruit variety) for breakfast, started the turkey, and then Mom, Caytlyn, Tuff, and I went for a walk while the boys watched a movie. It was so fun to spend time with Caytlyn and be outside. The day was beautiful and by the time we were headed back toward the house we were all wishing we could shed a few layers. We finished up dinner (turkey, mashed potatoes, homemade stuffing, spinach salad, rolls, cranberry sauce, and pie) and Dusty and Caytlyn headed for Idaho Falls to start their black Friday shopping early while the rest of us packed up the truck, dropped tuff off at the kennel, and headed out on our trek to Washington to install Kel's parents garage doors. We got to Karl and Kathi's around 4am, caught a few hours of sleep and then headed to the house to put up the door. I hate to admit that I was pretty worthless and spent most of the day just walking around and talking with the family.
Saturday, Mom and Dad drove to Spokane to work on my aunt Kay's garage door and Kel, Karl, Kacie, and mom went back out to the house to finish some staining and landscaping. I decided to walk from the old house to the new one (about 6 miles) and got there around noon. It was an interesting walk, I had a police car pull over and both officers got out and sort of surrounded me. They asked if I was okay and where I was going to which I responded that I was fine, and that I didn't know where I was going. I started talking about the Eppich's old house and their new house and they just looked at me like I was speaking another language and when I described where I was headed they seemed to think I was crazy to walk that far. They asked me if I wanted a ride and I told them I was fine so they went on their way. A while later I noticed HUGE paw prints in the sandy soil which started to make me a little concerned and quickened my step a little. When I finally got to the house, I was telling Kathi about the prints and she said "Oh yeah, we have cougars up here, in fact there have been a few sightings this year." Luckily my only encounter was with the prints!
Kacie and I left the house about 2 while there rest of the family kept working and after getting ready, she went to Moses Lake for a basketball game and I waited for everyone to come home. Later we went into town so the boys could look at T.V.'s while Mom and I to got some yarn for a scarf (I crocheted it on the way home- it's beautiful!) and then we went to Tia and Dustin's for some pizza. Grandma and Grandpa got there just as we were leaving so we got some hugs and well wishes on our way out. Grandpa seemed excited that our little boy will take his name for his middle name- lucky boy ;). Mom and Dad got back about the time we pulled back into eltopia and we all sat around and talked until everyone was either snoring or about to start. Mom, Dad, Kel, and I all got up and started for home around 6am and finally hit Logan at about 7pm thanks to my need for a bathroom break every half hour. It's so good to be home!
Since my last update: Kel also got his christmas present a fun new TV. There's kinda a funny story with that- maybe something for next time!
I love reading your blog!! I'm so excited for you guys! I want to see pictures of you :) Congratulations! Can't wait to see you guys during Christmas!
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