This Just In...A Pregnancy Update

And again I am behind in my blogging. But cut me a little slack here, I've been a little busy these past few weeks--between weekly doctors visits, shopping for Ian, preparing his room, washing clothes, and cleaning my house--there's only so many hours in the day. And pregnant women tend to move a little slower than the general populace.

So here you go. Here are some photos to catch you up to speed on the progress of my pregnancy.

Week 34.




Week 32.





Week 31.



And even so, I'm still behind in updating my photos. I'm two days away from being 39 weeks pregnant, and I only have photos posted up through my 34th week. I'll try to post some more...sometime, although I don't know when. As it turns out, little Ian is in the breech position, so I'm scheduled for a c-section this Friday, which is only 3 days away. Oh my! I'm running out of time! But we can't wait for our sweet little boy to arrive. Getting a little nervous, but still excited about all the changes coming our way! We can't wait for the journey of parenthood to begin.

That's all for today!

Couch Therapy

Have you ever just had one-of-those-days?

Well, that's what today was for me--up until about two seconds ago when I just so happened to check my Facebook inbox. There in my messages was a sweet note from my husband King, telling me that he was sorry that I'd been so frustrated today and that he hoped my day got better. Just when I was feeling at my crummiest, my valiant Galahad comes rushing in on his white horse and makes me feel all tingly and warm inside. Ahhh...much better.

I get frazzled easily--very easily. I have two basic reactions when it comes to stress. One, I work even harder at what I'm trying to accomplish and find myself taking charge in a weird, Superwoman kind of way. Or two, I completely lose my cool, cry until I have a splitting headache, and/or throw a tantrum (which may actually involve throwing real objects sometimes). Wow, I'm not sure if I've ever really admitted that (or let anyone see that part of me) to anyone else besides King. What you must think of me now. Gee, is this lady nuts? Does she suffer from depression? Is she always that violent?

Of course not. I'm simply a woman who has a tendency to let the small things get the best of her. I don't have anger issues. I don't have a bad temper. Sometimes, I just rely too much on myself to get through the rough patches.

Today was definitely one-of-those-days. One of those so called "rough patches." Here I am, almost 35 weeks pregnant and in panic mode over my "nest." My baby boy's room isn't ready yet, we have almost 2 rooms in our house that are completely filled with junk, and I still don't have my new dishwasher hooked up and ready to go (thus I have a sink full of dishes, and we all know how I feel about doing dishes). I take a look around me and don't even know where to begin. Do I just start pitching stuff in the trash? Do I wash dishes first (uggghhh!) Do I wash baby clothes even though I have no furniture to put them in yet (we're waiting on my Dad to refinish a couple pieces for us)? Gee, where to start? All I really want to do is sit on the couch and cry. But for some reason, as I'm sitting here on the couch writing all these feelings down, not one single tear comes to my eyes.

I guess King really did save the day! He reassured me by letting me know that he loves me, and that he's here for me. He even told me that he'd help do whatever he could when he gets off work tonight. What a sweet, thoughtful man! He's such a wonderful husband, and he's going to be a knock-it-out-of-park kind of Dad. I'm so blessed to have him in my life. The one and only thing that could make this couch therapy session better was if he was here with me. Sometimes, you need your husband to fix things. Sometimes, you need him to listen. And then there are times when all you need are his shoulders--simply to cry on.

A Quick Look at My 30th Week

In my last post, I included a photo of me at 26 weeks pregnant. Since that was a month ago, I thought I'd give you a more recent photo of me at 30 weeks pregnant.




Ironically enough, I've been telling my husband how small I think I look. That is, until I saw these pictures that he took of me. I'm not sure if it's the angle from which they were taken, or if I really am that big--but boy--am I getting big or what? I guess I should really say that Ian is the one who's getting big!

The funny thing is that I don't feel that big. If I wasn't so out of shape from skipping out on my work-out routines, then I'd still feel able to run, jump, and do Zumba like I did before getting pregnant. I'm still able to get down in the floor and get back up. I feel like I'm the same woman that I was back a few months ago--the only difference is that I'll be having a baby in a few weeks. Yeah, I get a little more tired, and I have a few more backaches than normal but still--I feel great! I just can't get over how much these photos make me look anything but great. I'm definitely not trying to throw myself a pity party here or looking for some pity--that's just not my style. I suppose I'm merely making an observation on how skewed our perceptions can be of ourselves. I sure am glad I've been taking photos throughout this pregnancy! Now I have the proof that I'm not as tiny as I thought :)

Gee, I'm Awful At Posting Pregnancy Updates

So ten weeks have come and gone without filling you all in on the happenings of my pregnancy. That's a long time. There goes one fourth of my pregnancy that you have absolutely no documentation of. Sorry. I'm terrible at blogging (as if you hadn't already figured that one out on your own).

Where did I leave off? Ah yes, King and I were about to find out the gender of our sweet, little, precious baby. I'm excited to announce that we are having a little boy (not to mention that we'll be having this little boy in less than 10 weeks). When the ultrasound technician asked if we wanted to know the gender, I wanted her to be as sure as sure can be before telling us. When I asked if she was sure, she said, "Oh yeah. I'm sure. It's a boy." I guess boys make their presence known a little more so than little girls.

King was elated. I could tell the moment that the word "boy" escaped from the lips of our technician that he was one proud papa. I think it's inherent in all males to want a son on the first go-round. And that's fine by me. I'm glad King can pass on those charming good looks to our baby boy. All along, I knew it was going to be a boy but for some reason, I kept holding on to the idea that our baby could be a littel girl too. Just like it's natural for men to want sons, I also think it's natural for women to want daughters. It's just what we know. After months of waiting we finally knew that a little BOY was on his way. And we couldn't be any more thrilled.

Unfortunately, we didn't have a boy's name picked out for our little one. We had a girl's name picked out from day one, but that special moniker for that sweet baby boy was nowhere to be found. One day I happened upon a name that I thought I might like and saved it for King when he came home from work that evening. He walked in the door and I said, "I think I have a name, but I don't think you'll like it." He didn't say "NO!" immediately but I just knew that it was going to get thrown out just like all the other names we had discussed. Instead, we compromised and said that we'd both think about it and practice using it for a while...just to see how we liked it. After a couple of weeks, I remember driving home one evening and admitting to King that I had already started attributing that name to our little boy--and I couldn't help it. In my mind, that was HIS name even though we hadn't set anything in stone yet. Later on (I can't remember if it was later than night or another time), we were laying in bed and King said "Let's do it. Let's give our son the name." What a sweet moment. We finally had a name picked out for our baby boy, and I'll never forget the way his Daddy's face lit up when he said "Let's do it." As I sit here thinking about that moment, I can't help but almost cry. It really was a very tender moment--perhaps one of my very favorite memories concerning this pregnancy.

So the name? Ian King Simpson. Finally giving our son a name has made everything seem that much more real, that it's not just some creature growing inside me, but a little person with a name, an identity, a personality. And one day, Ian King will be a little boy sitting on the floor on his first day of kindergarten. And then one day, Ian King will be a teenage boy going to his prom and high school graduation. And then one day, Ian King will be a man with his own family--hopefully giving his Mom and Dad lots and lots of beautiful grandbabies.

I think I've given enough updates for one day. Momma's getting a little too emotional:)

Growing Mama (and Growing Baby, too!)

I'm now at 20 weeks---HALFWAY THERE! Oh my goodness. I will be having a baby in just a few short months. This pregnancy is flying by way too fast. But I'm loving every minute of it. It's been glorious. No morning sickness. No aches or pains. Nothing really to complain about. I only hope that my last few months are worry free, and that my labor and delivery go smoothly.

King and I have just started childbirth classes at the hospital where I'll be delivering. We've just been to one class, but we're already feeling at ease about some of the concerns and/or questions that we've had (i.e. cord blood banking, hospital rules and regulations, post delivery care, etc.) We even started practicing our breathing and relaxation classes. And let me tell ya, I was definitely relaxed--almost to the point of falling asleep. Let's hope that I can find that happy, relaxed place when the baby starts to come!

Oh, and in other big pregnancy news....we have another ultrasound on Monday. I can't believe it's already time to find out the gender of our sweet little baby. I think King is more ready to find out than I am. For some reason, I'm nervous. But excited all at the same time!



Here are some new pregnancy photos. First two are at 18 weeks (I believe) and last three are at 20 weeks.

Me: Fifteen Weeks Pregnant

Ok, so here's the deal. I have a love/hate relationship with posting baby belly pics on facebook. One part of me wants to throw caution to the wind and jump on the bandwagon. Just do it, as Nike would say. Another part of me wants to erase any and all related thoughts about baby belly pics from my mind.

This is where I compromise. I desperately want to document the journey of this pregnancy, but I'm just not quite sure how open I want to be about airing my belly size. Instead of showcasing my new bod to 500 plus facebook friends, I think I'll opt to do it via blogger. That way, I have my documentation and I don't feel like every single person I know is recording my belly shape and size. Of course, those pregnancy hormones I keep hearing about might change my mind and you may see some photos creep up onto my facebook page. We'll see.

Anyway. This is me at 15 weeks pregnant. At first, I was thinking that I was going to show really early and blow up to the size of a hot air balloon. Now I'm not so sure. I guess part of me just always automatically assumed that I'd be one of those pregnant ladies with a big ole belly. Maybe not. It's still up in the air.

Weddings Are Wonderful

**Sigh**

I'm feeling sorry for myself.

When I look on Facebook, all I see are countless posts from FB friends who are planning their upcoming weddings and engagement/wedding photography blog posts from recent weddings. And it's making me sad.

Weddings are happy. Marriage is wonderful. I loved my wedding, my husband is a blessing, and I couldn't be happier where we are today. But I can't help but feel a little sad that I don't have a wedding to plan for this spring and summer.

Don't get me wrong. I'm more than thrilled for anyone tying the knot. It's a big step and a huge committment; one not to be taken lightly. I sincerely hope that all couples take time to really consider what they're getting into--pledging their love and their lives to one another in front of God, their families, and their friends. Promising fidelity, loyalty, and friendship that will last forever.

Ok, getting a little off topic here. As you can tell, I'm really into marriage. But that's a whole other blog post...

Anyway, I'm just a teensy bit sad that I'll never have another wedding to plan. (I don't like to entertain the thought that I could ever remarry. Again, another blog post. To keep it short, King's the only husband for me.) Yes, my niece Sydney may call on me for help one of these days, or I might have a daughter one day who will need me. But the difference is that I won't be the one in the driver's seat. I'll just be a helper. I couldn't have made it through our wedding without all my little helpers--my mom, sister, niece, aunts, cousins, etc. They were all so wonderful! But I'll never be the one to make the decisions again.

**Sigh**

Oh well. I'm happy. I'm happily married to a happily married man, and we're happily expecting our first baby in a few short months. In case you haven't noticed, I'm happy. So in honor of how happy I am, I'll show you a few photos from THE HAPPIEST day of my life--August 7th, 2010--the day I married King.

Enjoy.

Sick and Scared

I haven't been a very dedicated blogger the past few weeks, and for that, I apologize. I've had some other things going on. Mainly, it warmed up there for a little piece and I was able to spend some time outside. Sewing and blogging were far removed from my mind. Secondly, I had been away on a business trip with my husband this week and was stuck in bed, sick as a dog.

Yes. Sick. It started out as simple nausea, which I thought I could handle. I'm 15 weeks pregnant, so of course, I chalked it up to morning sickness. Here I was, already in my second trimester, considering myself lucky that I had made it through the first several months of pregnancy without getting that dreaded morning sickness. And wha-bam! It hits me.

As it turns out, it wasn't just morning sickness and nausea. And this is where I stop with the details and you can fill in with your own imagination. From my short stint as a microbiologist (ok, I took one class for college a year ago), I was sure that I had some type of foodborne illness. I was thinking salmonella, Staphylococcus aureaus, Escherichia coli, etc. I also considered toxoplasmosis, which I would have contracted from my sweet cat, Theo.

I called my ob/gyn's office and spoke to one of his nurses. She suggested an OTC medicine for a simple "stomach bug". Whatever that means. Luckily, I had some of the medicine here at the house, took it, and felt fine. My husband and I were supposed to be leaving for Frankfort that day for a business trip. At the time, I felt well enough to travel the 3 1/2 hour long drive and thought I was better. Made the trip just fine, no problem. Unfortunately, I was not better the next day. In fact, I was worse. There I was, in a strange city, by myself at the hotel while King was at his conference, sick and scared that I was going to need medical attention. Normally, I wouldn't have been so concerned. But when you're pregnant (especially pregnant with your first child), you just worry more than normal. King was worried. I was worried. My folks at home were worried. Dehydration could have set it at any moment, and I was scared that I was going to find myself in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV. I was scared for our baby. It was late one night, and I finally called my own hospital in Bowling Green and spoke to one of the ob's on call. He didn't sound too concerned, thought it was just a "G.I. bug" and told me to stay hydrated. I felt a little more relieved. But, I was still worried about traveling home the next day....

Thankfully, we made it home it what seemed like an hour. A 3 to 3 1/2 hour long trip took no time. Now I'm home, feeling better, and getting more rest just in case I'm not 100%.

The moral of the story is this: it's scary to be sick in a strange city when you're alone in a hotel room for most of the day--especially when you're pregnant.

Another added moral of the story: never travel when you think you could be sick. Even if you think you could be feeling better. Just stay at home. Or if you're like me and scared to stay by yourself, stay with someone else. Stay with your mom; she'll take care of you. This is what I should have done!

No Slacking For Me Today

I'm now a couple steps closer to crossing some things off on my "Top To-Do's" list.

First off, I decided to try and spice up my look a little bit this morning. I slept with my hair wet last night (something that I have always loathed doing) and decided to add a little lipstick. Nothing too fancy. One day, I'd love to try some reds and pinks for dressier occasions, but today I thought I'd start off with a coral color. Anways, this is how it looks.




Secondly, I took off on a whim to Bowling Green today in search of a sewing machine. I've had several offers from friends and family that they would let me borrow one of their extra machines, but since I'm a beginner, I decided that I better go ahead and get my own in case something ever went terribly wrong and I blew one up. I'd feel much better about blowing my own machine up, rather than explaining it to someone else. Plus, a new sewing machine comes with a user's manual (as a novice, this is something that I definitely definitely need), whereas it would have been likely that the used machines I could have borrowed might not have had their directions any longer. So, I bit the bullet and bought my own. Here's my new friend.



A Brother LS-590. So far, I'm fairly pleased with it and was able to thread the needle and the bobbin myself (this is a tremendous feat for me). Unfortunately, I was not able to figure out the automatic needle threader, but my mom is coming over tomorrow to help work out the kinks. She's much more used to older model sewing machines, but surely to goodness she can figure it out! I trust her abilities. Anyway, it's nothing too terribly fancy. Not computerized. But still nice. It features 25 different stitches among other neat things that I've yet to fully understand. Thank goodness for that manual, right?

My good friend from So, I Sew (http://soisew.blogspot.com/) sent me some tutorials on how to "make" your own maternity skirts by taking a regular skirt, cutting off the top, and sewing on a portion of a t-shirt to create a "belly band." This a project that I will start working on as soon as I feel a little more comfortable with my machine. It doesn't seem difficult, but I'd hate to ruin all those pieces of clothing if I happened to mess up. I bought 4 skirts from Goodwill today at $3 a piece (a little more than I wanted to pay), but still a decent bargain. It's better than paying $20-&30 a skirt at a department store or a maternity store. So, we'll see how this project goes once I actually get started...

I Didn't Make Good On A Promise

If memory serves me correctly, I said in a former blog that I would make a list of some of the things I'd like to start doing this year. Call it a New Year's Resolution blog, or whatever you'd like. However, I'm not so sure that it's still acceptable to call it a New Year's Resolution blog simply because it's March. Am I a slacker, or what? So instead, we'll call it "Taylor's Top To-Do's."

I tend to be more of a dreamer than an actual doer. I sit around and imagine all the things that I'd love to be involved with or able to do. I think, "Maybe one of these days I'll ________________" (and this is where you could enter in any number of phrases). For instance.........

"Maybe one of these days I'll learn how to love my hair and find a cute,
vintage way of styling it."

"Maybe one of these days I'll be daring enough to wear lipstick without
worrying if I look like a circus clown."

"Maybe one of these days I'll find the plug to my keyboard, set it up
somewhere in the house, and start over with my lessons."

Or better yet...

"Maybe one of these days I'll find a really nice piano and use it
instead."

"Maybe one of these days I'll quit worrying about being skinny."

"Maybe one of these days I'll be able to sew and lose myself in yards of
pretty floral fabrics."

"Maybe one of these days I'll get my house to look exactly the way I want
with all the country fixins to boot."

"Maybe one of these days I'll find a really nice camera and become an
amateur photographer just for my own sake."

"Maybe one of these days I'll quit being so neurotic about double-checking
myself over every single, tiny, little thing."

"Maybe one of these days I'll start to write kids' books like I've been
saying for years."

"Maybe one of these days I'll start writing my life's story, like my
grandmother."

"Maybe one of these days I'll start sending out cards for any and all
occasions."

"Maybe one of these days I'll get my hands on a lovely set of blue and
white china, and actually use it!"

"Maybe one of these days I'll become awesome at using coupons and save
my family tons and tons of money."

"Maybe one of these days I'll learn to like more vegetables."

"Maybe one of these days I'll be able to cook effortlessly."

"Maybe one of these days I'll miraculously become crafty and try my hand
at decoupage and woodworking."

"Maybe one of these days I'll become a master gardener and will be able
to plan all my beds by memory, without having to consult any books on
which plants need sun versus shade, and what time of year."

"Maybe one of these days I'll own some chickens so Baby and I can go out
every day and collect fresh eggs."

"Maybe one of these days I'll make my own candles."

"Maybe one of these days I'll learn how to can and put stuff up for King."

"Maybe one of these days I'll try to play the fiddle, or the mandolin,
just because."

"Maybe one of these days I'll start going to auction sales and buy
furniture to fix up."

"Maybe one of these days I'll enjoy the thrill of running, although I
doubt it."

"Maybe one of these days I'll read some of the books that have been on my
list for years."

"Maybe one of these days I'll fall into a routine of getting up at 5:00
a.m. every morning so I can get crazy amounts of work done."

"Maybe one of these days I'll make it to Spain for Holy Week."

"Maybe one of these days I'll become fluent in a foreign language."

"Maybe one of these days I'll learn to drive a stick-shift."

"Maybe one of these days I'll quit putting off doing the dishes, but
highly doubt it."

"Maybe one of these days I'll go bird-watching."

"Maybe one of these days I'll do all these things....."


So there you have it. A list of things I'd like to accomplish at some point in my life. Some sooner than others. But oh well, at least I have a few of them written down and documented so that now I have no excuse to toss them aside as silly ideas. I keep thinking about that book/movie "Julie and Julia," (although ironically I've never read or seen either) and how she devotes herself to an entire year of Childs' recipes. Maybe I should set some kind of timeline for myself. Although I hate to break it to all you reading this, but there's absolutely no way I could accomplish all those things in one year. Not happening. No way. I'll have to sit, dream some more, and come up with a do-able time table for myself.

So, let's get started....

Now You Can Call Me "Momma"

So I've tried to keep you current on all the new things going on in my life. College graduate, check. New wife, check. Grad school drop-out, check.

Now you can call me "Momma." That's right! King and I are having a baby! I always figured that motherhood would find me one day, I just never thought I'd be so young. Twenty-three may not seem exactly "young" to you, but to someone like me who thought she'd wait until near thirty, then yeah, twenty-three is a little young! I'll have a seven-year-old by the time I originally thought I would start having kids.

We're beyond excited! A little taken aback, but still excited! We had our first prenatal appointment yesterday, and everything seems to be coming along beautifully! Praise God! As it turned out, I'm a little further along than we originally thought. We calculated that our due date would be Sept. 29th, but based on the size of our baby, our doctor moved the date up a week.

It was so neat to see our baby for the first time on the ultrasound. There's really no other way to express what you feel when you see that little baby on the screen before you, other than to say there are tons of emotions running through you. Joy, excitement, relief, nervousness. It's so hard to explain just how you feel when you realize that there's another living, thriving, growing person inside you. Wow, what a remarkable responsibility!

I'll try to keep you all posted on how everything's going to play out the next several months. At times, it will probably seem like a never-ending journey, that my pregnancy will never be over. And at other times, it will probably seem like it all flew by too quickly. Either way, I'm sure it will be an interesting ride, and King and I can't wait to experience it.

Missing In Action

So I've gone a little M.I.A. the past few months. When I last left you, I believe I had just graduated and was preparing for my internship in May and, most importantly, my wedding in August. Well, it is now January and I've completely left you hanging on what's been going on in my life.

As you may have guessed, I completed my internship to fulfill my degree (Yes! I'm a college graduate now!) and tied the knot. Whew! The past five months have flown by, and I can hardly believe that King and I have been married that long already. The original plan for our family was that I was going to go back to school at the end of August and start working toward my Master's degree. To keep things short, let's just say that going down that particular path wasn't right for me, or for our family for that matter. Going back to school and working as a graduate assistant was going to leave hardly any time for anything or anyone else, and that just didn't coincide with my new priority shift. All my life I have focused on my education and put everything else aside so I could get ahead in school and be the absolute best, while my friendships and relationships got pushed to the back-burner. Well, now I have a totally different outlook on life. I find myself longing to live a more simplistic lifestyle, although I have yet to accomplish many of the things that I said I wanted to do.

Yes, I tried out the housewife thing for a few months but decided I couldn't stay home by myself day in and day out. So instead, I got a part-time job working at the library in my neighboring county. I only work a few days a week, which gives me a lot more time to spend with the hubby on his days off during the week. I guess you could say I'm a part-time housewife. I have yet to regret my decision to put school aside and put my family first. I think we're definitely heading in the right direction for making a long, happy, and lasting marriage.

Unfortunately, my decision to forego school has not led (as of yet) to all the other things I wanted to accomplish. I still want to learn to cook better, I still want to try my hand at sewing, and I still want to get my house painted and looking like the sweet, little country farmhouse that I know it has the potential to be. I still want to get fit and have a work-out routine down pat, and I still want to be a good housekeeper. As someone who never had to lift a finger helping my mother out at home, I sometimes find marriage to be a little overwhelming, simply because I worry that my wifely duties are not up to par. I know that these changes don't happen overnight, but I sure wish they would. I look around and see a lot of my friends who are able to do so much more than me, and then I'm just reminded again that I haven't lived up to all the things I said that I wanted to change about myself. So instead of feeling sorry for myself, I've decided to take a little action and set down some goals. Stay tuned for my next blog. I hope to have some realistic goals set in place for the coming year!