Well, blogger is changing things up so I won't be able to update this with my hotmail address anymore at the end of the month, so I will be using my other blog from now on.
I will keep this blog up, for sentimental reasons, but I won't be updating it anymore.
So without further adieu, for updates, please follow my homemaking blog:
http://the-sushi-snob.blogspot.com
It's only appropriate, seeing how difficult it is to keep up two blogs. If you are following this blog, please start following my other one :)
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Kate's arrival
Kate Celeste was born on February 24 at 2:32 in the morning after 30 hours of labor. Yes, you read that right. She weighed 7 pounds and 3 ounces, and measured in at 19 inches.
That part was for those of you who only want the stats. If you don't like birth stories, I wouldn't suggest continuing.
As you know, I was diagnosed with obstetric cholestasis (a.k.a the itching from hell) at 35 weeks. This necessitated a 37-week induction, since there are very real risks to the baby if the pregnancy goes any further than that. I wasn't too happy about being induced, especially since I had prepared for an unmedicated delivery, but I knew that this was necessary.
So, on the evening of February 22, we packed our car and drove to American Fork Hospital to begin cervical ripening since I was only one centimeter dilated and 80% effaced, with a very high cervix. They inserted cervidil at around 9 p.m. and gave me Ambien to help me sleep.
Sleep, I did not. Yes folks, I could not fall asleep with Ambien. I was having contractions and couldn't get much rest, especially since I was hooked up to monitors. I was able to walk around the bed a little bit (as far as the cables would let me). Since I was having contractions, I hoped this meant that I was making progress and wouldn't need pitocin in the morning.
Morning came, and I was exhausted. We called Katharine (our doula), told her that they were probably going to get things started soon, and asked if she could come over. She came over, they took me off the monitors so I could move around more before getting checked. We walked the halls, all the while I was still contracting. Stephan and Katharine helped me relax with some cues that I learned in the Hypnobabies program, and did other things to help me relax.
My midwife showed up and checked me. My cervix was still very high, and I had only progressed to two centimeters dilation. All those contractions for only one more centimeter?! So, they started me on a low dose of pitocin.
That's when things got really intense.
For five hours, I tried to cope with the pain by changing positions as much as the monitors would let me, using the birth ball, having Stephan or Katharine rub my lower back, Hypnobabies cues, etc. I asked for one of the waterproof telemetry monitoring units so I could get in the tub, and it took forever for the nurse to find one that actually worked. When she did, you better believe I jumped into that tub, and oh, it was so wonderful. But it wasn't long until the nurse said that my labor had slowed down. Now, this wouldn't have been so bad if I had been nearly done, but I was still considered to be in early labor. Never mind, of course, I was having probably transition-level contractions (remember, pitocin is evil). So, I begrudgingly got out of the tub and we went walking around the halls again, me being strapped to the telemetry unit and wanting to die.
All this time, the words "get the epidural" kept going through my head. Of course, I thought this was me being weak and not believing I could do it. But now I look back and realize that it was something else.
My original nurse went home (her shift was over) and a new nurse came to care for me. My midwife came back and checked me: still no more progress. I was going to need more pitocin. That is when we discussed options for pain relief, because even at the low dose of pitocin, I was having a really hard time coping with the contractions. Add that to the fact that I was very tired, since I hadn't gotten any sleep the night before.
"Give me the epidural," I heard myself say. That voice in my head finally won.
The anesthesiologist came in and told me that I had to wait two more hours until I could have that epidural because I had eaten a couple hours before. IT WAS TWO CRACKERS!!!! I was starving as it was!!! Needless to say, I was pretty mad. First, I had been trying to go without pain meds, and now that I wanted them...I had to wait?!
But the nurse was so kind to shut off the pitocin and take off the monitors so I could soak in the tub until it was time for me to get the epidural. I was still having contractions without the pitocin, but it was much more bearable.
Around five o'clock, the anesthesiologist came back and did his thing. When he told me to slouch as much as possible, I told him, "I can't slouch, I'm a violinist." He replied, "Yeah, I noticed you had good posture when I first came in. I said to myself, 'She's going to make my job harder.'" Ha ha.
The procedure itself wasn't that bad. Stephan held my hands and had me look him straight in his face the entire time--amazing for a man who is terrified of needles. I asked the anesthesiologist to give me a light dose of the epidural, so I could still move my legs and such. My wish was granted--even while numb, I could still move my legs and roll over to a certain extent.
After the epidural took effect, Katharine went home for a little while so she could check on her family. Stephan and I rested as much as we could. I also started progressing *much* faster than I had before getting the epidural. Within an hour or so, I had dilated two more centimeters and my cervix had moved lower (yay!).
I kept progressing at a good pace. Katharine came back around 10 or so because she had a feeling that she would be needed. Hmmm....
At midnight, I was almost fully dilated. I just had a "rim" to go before that point. My midwife had me switch to a side-lying position with my leg in a pedal-like device. I didn't know you could do that. That helped me dilate to completion. However, Jen (my midwife) didn't want me to push right away--she wanted Kate to move down more so I wouldn't have to push as long or as hard. So, we waited some more.
Then, it was time. Time to push.
I had them turn off the epidural so I could feel to push, but I didn't really feel much at all. I had to be coached to push...yeah, I didn't like them yelling numbers when I was pushing. I couldn't hold my breath that long! But Kate started to crown after only a few pushes.
"She has hair!" Jen exclaimed. "Lots of it!"
I was shocked. I was a baldy when I was born.
"She's taking after Stephan already!" I replied. Stephan had a ton of hair when he was born.
"Would you like a mirror to see her come out?" someone asked. I don't remember who.
I found myself agreeing, which surprised me. I didn't plan on having the mirror, but I was so excited that she was almost here that I wanted to see! And because I wanted her skin-to-skin when she was born, I ripped off my hospital gown.
While I was pushing and saw Kate's head emerging, I actually yelled, "Oh my gosh, I'm havin' a kid!" My Texan twang definitely came out. Then, she was out and on my chest.
"My baby! My baby!" I exclaimed.
I only pushed for fifteen minutes. I think I deserved a short pushing time for how long my labor was ;) However, I did get a second degree tear (ouch).
Looking back on the experience, I can honestly say that I have very few regrets. Remember that voice I had telling me to get the epidural? It was a spiritual prompting, I believe. If I hadn't gotten the epidural when I did, I probably would have ended up with a c-section for sheer exhaustion and failure to progress. That epidural enabled me to still have a vaginal birth. All things considered, it was a good birth, even though it didn't quite go the way I had wanted.
However, I don't want to be induced again if I can help it. The only reason I agreed to being induced was because it was medically necessary. My body wasn't ready to give birth, and I don't think Kate was quite ready either. She's healthy, but a couple of things have come up that I believe could have been avoided if I hadn't needed an induction. Let's hope I don't develop this condition again with another pregnancy so I don't have to be induced again.
So, how is life with a baby? Very interesting. And exhausting, of course. But a joy, nonetheless. I love seeing Stephan snuggle and care for her. He is an excellent diaper-changer, which is amazing because he had never changed a diaper before Kate was born. I often feel like all I do is nurse--she is a very HUNGRY baby. I'm pretty sure she'll be a chub :)
I'll post pictures at a later date, when I have two hands to do that with...hah!
That part was for those of you who only want the stats. If you don't like birth stories, I wouldn't suggest continuing.
As you know, I was diagnosed with obstetric cholestasis (a.k.a the itching from hell) at 35 weeks. This necessitated a 37-week induction, since there are very real risks to the baby if the pregnancy goes any further than that. I wasn't too happy about being induced, especially since I had prepared for an unmedicated delivery, but I knew that this was necessary.
So, on the evening of February 22, we packed our car and drove to American Fork Hospital to begin cervical ripening since I was only one centimeter dilated and 80% effaced, with a very high cervix. They inserted cervidil at around 9 p.m. and gave me Ambien to help me sleep.
Sleep, I did not. Yes folks, I could not fall asleep with Ambien. I was having contractions and couldn't get much rest, especially since I was hooked up to monitors. I was able to walk around the bed a little bit (as far as the cables would let me). Since I was having contractions, I hoped this meant that I was making progress and wouldn't need pitocin in the morning.
Morning came, and I was exhausted. We called Katharine (our doula), told her that they were probably going to get things started soon, and asked if she could come over. She came over, they took me off the monitors so I could move around more before getting checked. We walked the halls, all the while I was still contracting. Stephan and Katharine helped me relax with some cues that I learned in the Hypnobabies program, and did other things to help me relax.
My midwife showed up and checked me. My cervix was still very high, and I had only progressed to two centimeters dilation. All those contractions for only one more centimeter?! So, they started me on a low dose of pitocin.
That's when things got really intense.
For five hours, I tried to cope with the pain by changing positions as much as the monitors would let me, using the birth ball, having Stephan or Katharine rub my lower back, Hypnobabies cues, etc. I asked for one of the waterproof telemetry monitoring units so I could get in the tub, and it took forever for the nurse to find one that actually worked. When she did, you better believe I jumped into that tub, and oh, it was so wonderful. But it wasn't long until the nurse said that my labor had slowed down. Now, this wouldn't have been so bad if I had been nearly done, but I was still considered to be in early labor. Never mind, of course, I was having probably transition-level contractions (remember, pitocin is evil). So, I begrudgingly got out of the tub and we went walking around the halls again, me being strapped to the telemetry unit and wanting to die.
All this time, the words "get the epidural" kept going through my head. Of course, I thought this was me being weak and not believing I could do it. But now I look back and realize that it was something else.
My original nurse went home (her shift was over) and a new nurse came to care for me. My midwife came back and checked me: still no more progress. I was going to need more pitocin. That is when we discussed options for pain relief, because even at the low dose of pitocin, I was having a really hard time coping with the contractions. Add that to the fact that I was very tired, since I hadn't gotten any sleep the night before.
"Give me the epidural," I heard myself say. That voice in my head finally won.
The anesthesiologist came in and told me that I had to wait two more hours until I could have that epidural because I had eaten a couple hours before. IT WAS TWO CRACKERS!!!! I was starving as it was!!! Needless to say, I was pretty mad. First, I had been trying to go without pain meds, and now that I wanted them...I had to wait?!
But the nurse was so kind to shut off the pitocin and take off the monitors so I could soak in the tub until it was time for me to get the epidural. I was still having contractions without the pitocin, but it was much more bearable.
Around five o'clock, the anesthesiologist came back and did his thing. When he told me to slouch as much as possible, I told him, "I can't slouch, I'm a violinist." He replied, "Yeah, I noticed you had good posture when I first came in. I said to myself, 'She's going to make my job harder.'" Ha ha.
The procedure itself wasn't that bad. Stephan held my hands and had me look him straight in his face the entire time--amazing for a man who is terrified of needles. I asked the anesthesiologist to give me a light dose of the epidural, so I could still move my legs and such. My wish was granted--even while numb, I could still move my legs and roll over to a certain extent.
After the epidural took effect, Katharine went home for a little while so she could check on her family. Stephan and I rested as much as we could. I also started progressing *much* faster than I had before getting the epidural. Within an hour or so, I had dilated two more centimeters and my cervix had moved lower (yay!).
I kept progressing at a good pace. Katharine came back around 10 or so because she had a feeling that she would be needed. Hmmm....
At midnight, I was almost fully dilated. I just had a "rim" to go before that point. My midwife had me switch to a side-lying position with my leg in a pedal-like device. I didn't know you could do that. That helped me dilate to completion. However, Jen (my midwife) didn't want me to push right away--she wanted Kate to move down more so I wouldn't have to push as long or as hard. So, we waited some more.
Then, it was time. Time to push.
I had them turn off the epidural so I could feel to push, but I didn't really feel much at all. I had to be coached to push...yeah, I didn't like them yelling numbers when I was pushing. I couldn't hold my breath that long! But Kate started to crown after only a few pushes.
"She has hair!" Jen exclaimed. "Lots of it!"
I was shocked. I was a baldy when I was born.
"She's taking after Stephan already!" I replied. Stephan had a ton of hair when he was born.
"Would you like a mirror to see her come out?" someone asked. I don't remember who.
I found myself agreeing, which surprised me. I didn't plan on having the mirror, but I was so excited that she was almost here that I wanted to see! And because I wanted her skin-to-skin when she was born, I ripped off my hospital gown.
While I was pushing and saw Kate's head emerging, I actually yelled, "Oh my gosh, I'm havin' a kid!" My Texan twang definitely came out. Then, she was out and on my chest.
"My baby! My baby!" I exclaimed.
I only pushed for fifteen minutes. I think I deserved a short pushing time for how long my labor was ;) However, I did get a second degree tear (ouch).
Looking back on the experience, I can honestly say that I have very few regrets. Remember that voice I had telling me to get the epidural? It was a spiritual prompting, I believe. If I hadn't gotten the epidural when I did, I probably would have ended up with a c-section for sheer exhaustion and failure to progress. That epidural enabled me to still have a vaginal birth. All things considered, it was a good birth, even though it didn't quite go the way I had wanted.
However, I don't want to be induced again if I can help it. The only reason I agreed to being induced was because it was medically necessary. My body wasn't ready to give birth, and I don't think Kate was quite ready either. She's healthy, but a couple of things have come up that I believe could have been avoided if I hadn't needed an induction. Let's hope I don't develop this condition again with another pregnancy so I don't have to be induced again.
So, how is life with a baby? Very interesting. And exhausting, of course. But a joy, nonetheless. I love seeing Stephan snuggle and care for her. He is an excellent diaper-changer, which is amazing because he had never changed a diaper before Kate was born. I often feel like all I do is nurse--she is a very HUNGRY baby. I'm pretty sure she'll be a chub :)
I'll post pictures at a later date, when I have two hands to do that with...hah!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
An update
I went in on Monday to get the rest of the results. To make it brief, I do indeed have cholestasis of pregnancy. But the midwife told me that they will not induce me until I'm at least 37 weeks pregnant (which I will be on Sunday). Needless to say, we were VERY relieved--I did not like the idea of delivering at 36 weeks.
So, what happens now? Until I have this baby, I will be having twice-weekly NSTs and weekly midwife appointments. On Thursday (February 23), I will be having an amniocentesis performed to check to see how mature baby's lungs are, and if baby's lungs are mature enough, I will be induced the next day on February 24. I'll be close to 38 weeks at that point, which is a much nicer number than 36 weeks. Seriously, when they were talking about inducing me at 36 weeks, I was having visions of NICU and all sorts of horror dancing around in my head.
And for all we know, I could go into labor on my own and not need an induction. My mom had all of us between 37-38 weeks (spontaneously) along with having cholestasis, so wouldn't it be fair that I got her labor genes as part of the package deal? I'd like to hope.
My midwife and I also talked about my birth preferences, and she said there shouldn't be a problem accommodating my wishes.
So, I am very relieved. Yeah, I'm not happy that I did get the dreaded itchy disease after all, but I'm at peace with it. I have to say that this experience forced us to really get cracking on having things ready for baby. We installed the car seat, got some baby stuff, got the pack'n'play from Stephan's older sister, etc. There's more we need to do, like figure out how in the heck we are going to set everything up in this little apartment of ours. We have a little time now, thank goodness.
Thank you everyone for your kind words, it really means a lot to me.
So, what happens now? Until I have this baby, I will be having twice-weekly NSTs and weekly midwife appointments. On Thursday (February 23), I will be having an amniocentesis performed to check to see how mature baby's lungs are, and if baby's lungs are mature enough, I will be induced the next day on February 24. I'll be close to 38 weeks at that point, which is a much nicer number than 36 weeks. Seriously, when they were talking about inducing me at 36 weeks, I was having visions of NICU and all sorts of horror dancing around in my head.
And for all we know, I could go into labor on my own and not need an induction. My mom had all of us between 37-38 weeks (spontaneously) along with having cholestasis, so wouldn't it be fair that I got her labor genes as part of the package deal? I'd like to hope.
My midwife and I also talked about my birth preferences, and she said there shouldn't be a problem accommodating my wishes.
So, I am very relieved. Yeah, I'm not happy that I did get the dreaded itchy disease after all, but I'm at peace with it. I have to say that this experience forced us to really get cracking on having things ready for baby. We installed the car seat, got some baby stuff, got the pack'n'play from Stephan's older sister, etc. There's more we need to do, like figure out how in the heck we are going to set everything up in this little apartment of ours. We have a little time now, thank goodness.
Thank you everyone for your kind words, it really means a lot to me.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
The best laid plans....
Up until recently, my pregnancy has been very textbook and uneventful. I didn't get *too* sick the first trimester (only time I ever threw up was when I got a stomach virus), haven't gained tons of weight, and I've always measured either a week ahead or right on schedule. Heartburn has been a frequent visitor, but what can you do? All in all, a very normal pregnancy.
But then, I started itching. Bad.
I started itching a few weeks ago at my brother-in-law's mission farewell, but it went away the day after with the help of benadryl and lots of cocoa butter. After that, itching came and went and I tried not to think anything of it--it's normal to itch while pregnant, after all. On Tuesday of this week, I was waking up at night with itching hands and feet (among other things), and it just would not go away no matter what I did. Talk about torture.
This scared me because my mom had this with three of her pregnancies. Ironically, it was the worst with me (I said I was sorry!). We now know that she had obstetric cholestasis, which can be potentially serious. It can be genetic, but we were hoping that I would be lucky and not have it. After all, I didn't get my mom's endometriosis, so surely I would be spared the itchy disease (as I like to call it).
So, I went to my appointment on Thursday, told the midwife about it, and expressed my concerns. She agreed with me, and ordered blood tests to find out. I am very grateful that she took me seriously--I read stories online about women whose health care providers didn't. She also gave me a prescription for Ursodiol.
The results of my liver function test came back last night, and it looks like I may indeed have obstetric cholestasis. I have an appointment on Monday to find out the rest of the results. My midwife told me to be prepared to possibly be induced *gulp* next week.
I really don't want to be induced, but if it's medically necessary, I will do it. Cholestasis is nothing to sneeze at because it could cause harm to the baby the longer I'm pregnant. Experts in cholestasis recommend inducing no later than 37 weeks.
All along, I've been hoping and preparing for an unmedicated birth (yes, I am nuts). I've been told that I can still have that, even with an induction. My doula told me that an induction isn't a death sentence. My mom has reminded me that I come from a long line of strong birthing women on both sides, so that should work in my favor. I certainly hope so!
Even though I'm working through some disappointment and anxiety right now, I am counting my blessings. I'm grateful that my midwives are taking my concerns seriously. I'm grateful for modern medicine that can diagnose and treat these things. I am also grateful that I did my homework in choosing my birth team--I have great midwives, a supportive doula, and Stephan has been wonderful too. I am also very grateful that my little girl is strong and healthy--I went in for a non-stress test yesterday and she tried to punch the sensors off my belly. That's my girl!
Happy thoughts and prayers are welcome right now. I will keep you posted on what happens. We will hopefully know for sure on Monday.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
2011 in review
You know, since everyone else has been doing it. I guess the last year was somewhat uneventful, except for a few notable exceptions ;)
January
January
- Drive through Sardine Canyon in a blizzard.
- Stephan starts another semester of school
- I go from only watching Aiden until he goes to school to watching him all day, since the preschool pretty much said he was too smart for them.
February
- Learn to drive through some epic storms (for me at least)
- Our neighbor dies. A baby in the ward dies too. Two funerals in one day. That was draining.
March
- Brother-in-law comes home from his mission.
- Stephan is in high demand for private tutoring.
- Earthquake and tsunami in Japan
April
- Stephan gets the title of "longest married since mission" at his mission reunion.
- Begin the process of de-junking the church library.
- Parents come up to Utah because my aunt was going through the temple for the first time ever. I got to attend that as well :)
- Aiden's mom got engaged :)
- Finals. Stephan does well on his most dreaded one, and there is great rejoicing.
May
- Started getting really serious about sewing
- Stephan starts summer classes
June
- Stephan still doing summer classes
- Helped Misti (Aiden's mom) do some wedding shopping
- Battle some mighty depression
- Quite certain this is when I got pregnant *ahem*
July
- Got the positive pregnancy test. Started battling morning sickness.
- Aiden moves away
- Stephan turned 24
- I orchestrate an awesome birthday present for him--I had family members and friends (and I bought some myself) buy computer parts so he could build his own computer. I did good ;)
August
- Stephan finishes summer classes...getting closer to graduation.
- Still battling morning sickness.
- Announce pregnancy.
- Go to Cedar City for second wedding anniversary--was pretty much ill most of the time.
- Visit my family in Houston--my mom bought me some maternity clothes.
- Have first appointment with midwives and hear the heartbeat for the first time!
September
- Stephan back in school.
- Stephan takes on three jobs (bad idea)
- Finally starting to feel better...only to catch a stomach virus going around the ward. Grr. But I do get better.
- My brother comes home from his mission
October
- Stephan's youngest brother gets mission call.
- We find out we're having a girl!
November
- Our washer dies.
- Umm, Thanksgiving?
December
- Finals for Stephan. Getting even closer...
- My 25th birthday
- We go to Houston for Christmas
- His family gives me a surprise birthday party when I get back.
Yup, that was 2011 for us, as I can remember it.
Saturday, December 17, 2011
A to Z about me
You know how I stink at updating? Well here's something I found on my cousin's blog to make me feel like I'm updating...enjoy.
A. Age: Turning 25 on Christmas Day :)
B. Bed size: Queen
C. Chore that you hate: Dishes--I'll do just about anything to get out of doing them.
D. Dogs: I am not a dog person.
E. Essential start to your day: Food...
F. Favorite color: purple
G. Gold or Silver: It depends.
H. Height: 5'4"
I. Instruments you play: violin...way out of practice though..
J. Job title: Wife/homemaker/domestic goddess/pregnant woman
K. Kids: Expecting a baby girl sometime in March :)
L. Live: Utah for the moment
M. Mother's name: Andrea
N. Nicknames: No official ones, exactly.
O. Overnight hospital stays: Not since I was born, but I guess I'll be doing that after I give birth.
P. Pet peeve: Self-righteousness
Q. Quote from a movie/tv show:
"It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me." --Batman Begins
R. Right or left handed: Right
S. Siblings: Paul, Craig, and Scott
U. Underwear: White
V. Vegetable you hate: mushrooms
W. What makes you run late: Stephan, losing track of time, etc.
X. X-Rays you've had: Teeth and left hand (when I sprained a finger)
Y. Yummy food that you make: Katsu
Z. Zoo animal: Umm....baby bears?
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Didn't keep my promise
Oh well.
So I am now 24 weeks pregnant. Seriously, this pregnancy is going by faster than I ever imagined it would. I mean, I could have this baby as soon as 13 weeks from now. Or as much as 18 weeks, since the normal range for delivery is between 37-42 weeks. As you can probably tell, I'm not exactly obsessed with a due date...I mean, only 5% of babies are born on their due date anyway. Did you know Stephan was one of those babies?
Yes, we know what we're having. We're having a baby GIRL. We were totally convinced we were having a boy, for various reasons. But like my mother before me, I have no intuition concerning the gender of my children. She was wrong for every single one of us, no joke. Ironically, she guessed girl for this one...maybe she has grandma's intuition *laughs*. But we are excited to be having a girl, and yes, we have a name picked out. However, we aren't revealing it to the public until she is born. Our immediate families and a few select other people know the name, but everyone else is just going to have to wait ;) If you know me well enough, you know that the name we have chosen is perfectly boring and traditional.
Stephan has been doing quite well at school this semester. He thinks it was a bad idea to take on the grading job along with everything else, but we've adjusted accordingly. He has been on top of his studies and has performed well on most of his tests--I'm very proud of him, naturally. Finances have been tight (again, the grading job wasn't such a good idea), but somehow we've trudged through. Next semester is going to be very nice: he only has one class! With our little girl expected in March, this will make things much more manageable! He'll also be able to work more hours (more money!), and have plenty of time to apply for jobs.
Our washer died two weeks ago. It's a bummer, but the washer was about 15 years old, so it lived a good life. Our dryer is still in good condition, and we have coin-ops just down the hall, so we'll be using those to wash our clothes, and lugging them back to dry them. We didn't feel like it was worth it to buy another washer, especially since we're most likely moving next summer and would just have to sell it again anyway. That's our decision, and we're sticking with it.
Ummm....don't know what else to say. Have a good week!
So I am now 24 weeks pregnant. Seriously, this pregnancy is going by faster than I ever imagined it would. I mean, I could have this baby as soon as 13 weeks from now. Or as much as 18 weeks, since the normal range for delivery is between 37-42 weeks. As you can probably tell, I'm not exactly obsessed with a due date...I mean, only 5% of babies are born on their due date anyway. Did you know Stephan was one of those babies?
Yes, we know what we're having. We're having a baby GIRL. We were totally convinced we were having a boy, for various reasons. But like my mother before me, I have no intuition concerning the gender of my children. She was wrong for every single one of us, no joke. Ironically, she guessed girl for this one...maybe she has grandma's intuition *laughs*. But we are excited to be having a girl, and yes, we have a name picked out. However, we aren't revealing it to the public until she is born. Our immediate families and a few select other people know the name, but everyone else is just going to have to wait ;) If you know me well enough, you know that the name we have chosen is perfectly boring and traditional.
Stephan has been doing quite well at school this semester. He thinks it was a bad idea to take on the grading job along with everything else, but we've adjusted accordingly. He has been on top of his studies and has performed well on most of his tests--I'm very proud of him, naturally. Finances have been tight (again, the grading job wasn't such a good idea), but somehow we've trudged through. Next semester is going to be very nice: he only has one class! With our little girl expected in March, this will make things much more manageable! He'll also be able to work more hours (more money!), and have plenty of time to apply for jobs.
Our washer died two weeks ago. It's a bummer, but the washer was about 15 years old, so it lived a good life. Our dryer is still in good condition, and we have coin-ops just down the hall, so we'll be using those to wash our clothes, and lugging them back to dry them. We didn't feel like it was worth it to buy another washer, especially since we're most likely moving next summer and would just have to sell it again anyway. That's our decision, and we're sticking with it.
Ummm....don't know what else to say. Have a good week!
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