The Best Cold I've Ever Had

I have never had a cold last less than a week and with the worst symptoms where I just want to lay in bed for a couple days. (Those of you that knew me in high school... Remember me having a cold for half of those 4 years?) Until this week. So I need to share.

Just a little intro info... I don't think doterra oils are the only safe oils like they sometimes claim. But they are so popular that it's easier to find information on them. Most of the time with this brand you pay more for less research time, and that's not always a bad thing. I had heard about the family physician kit from doterra that has small bottles of 10 different oils that can be used for daily health issues. There are 6 individual oils and 4 blends. I had heard a lot of good about it and was planning on buying the kit after Christmas. But Travis ended up getting it for me for Christmas... That sneaky bass.

Okay back to that cold. So on New Years Eve I started feeling it and I could tell Ellie was starting to get sick too. First thing I always do when I start to feel sick is pound the orange juice. Then we decided to break out the oils. After about 72 hours of this routine all I had was a runny nose. I'll talk about Ellie in a minute.

Oils for me: peppermint undiluted behind the ears and on the tip of my nose in the middle of the night. I dont think undiluted is recommended but this was when I was up with the babe and too tired for anything else. And I like it better that way for a quick temporary fix for the stuffy nose.

"On guard" blend diluted with almond oil on my feet in the morning and evening. "Breath" blend diluted with almond oil on my chest at night. Sweet orange undiluted in a really steamy shower in the morning and lavender at night. For the shower I just put it in a cup and held it by my face while I showered then when I was done, poured it on the tub floor and let the shower run with hot water for a bit. The aroma filled the bathroom good for a while.

For Ellie we just did the on guard on her feet in the morning and night. I also had her in the bathroom while I showered so she could get the steam and oil aroma. When she was so stuffy that she had a hard time eating we just put the breathe blend on me, undiluted, where she would breathe it but not touch it. It worked awesome! She was up one night crying so hard, she couldn't nurse or lay down because she couldn't breathe through her nose. We tried the snot sucker which moved a little junk (and is the saddest thing in the world to use) then put the breathe blend on me and tried nursing again. After like 5 seconds she was breathing through her nose just fine and ten minutes later asleep. It was awesome.

Today I feel great but the font is still a little stuffed up. Even though she is still a little stuffy I am so happy and grateful for natural healing remedies.

Also... I need to give Travis credit for being the official oil applicator. He is the best.

We love essential oils!

The Best 2 Months...

You like that cheesy title? Me too.

I didn't think this blog would turn into an "all about the baby and nothing else" blog, but I only find myself with so much free time (and by free time I mean time that I have two hands to type with) to write and if it's going to be limited it might as well be about her. Because honestly... she's way more cute and fun and interesting than anything else going on in our lives. I don't see that changing any time soon and I am just fine with that.

Well at two months Ellie...

-is 12 pounds 8 ounces. She's getting some chub on her.

-is 24 inches long! So tall.

-has started sleeping for five or six hours a night. It's amazing. Last week she slept at least five hours every night and just when I was getting used to it she decided to only sleep a total of about three hours on Friday night. Bah! I don't mind though, it's just like having a slumber party!

-loves to grunt and scowl but has started smiling and making the cutest noises you will ever hear.

-still has super crazy arms and legs when she is laying down. Sometimes it's a good thing sometimes not. She does it when she likes the song playing on the Indie Holidays Pandora station but also does it when she is about to freak out that no one is holding her.

-poops. A lot.

-loves watching football and basketball way more than cartoons. It's really the only way tummy time will last longer than one minute if she's facing the TV with a game on. She also loves to sit up by herself in the corner of the couch and watch the Clippers play ... or any other basketball or football game.

lazy eye smile

1 Month Baby

Eventually I will post something about the birth of this sweet sweet baby. But as for now I'm typing this one handed -- left handed -- because this little girl is asleep and occupying my right arm.

This is 6 day old Ellie

 And this is today, 1 month -- what better to measure her monthly growth than this ghetto monster?

Over Due

Well we are four days past the due date. I have been feeling strangely calm about it. Even when one of our umpires at work decided to tell me the horror story from the birth of his first baby, I only freaked out for a minute and then was fine. But why do some people talk to other people, ever?

This week I have been feeling great. The only thing is that I am way tired and have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning... but it kind of seems like I've been like that my whole life and maybe I'm just using pregnancy as an excuse to take advantage of it now? Or maybe I really am just exhausted.... who knows.

I haven't posted the baby shower pics yet because they are all at Glamma Gardner's house, but we got a ton of great stuff from family and friends. We have definitely been blessed with the amount of things we've been given for this little girl.

BUT here are some other great pictures for you to enjoy.

I LOVE our crib so so much. Who even knew they had grey cribs? Not me, but I'm glad they do because it's awesome. Also... the poofs hanging on the ceiling really look better in real life. They are hard to take pictures of. Oh and props to Kara for making them.

This is the blanket on the crib. The pattern I used said it would be the size of a baby blanket.

I hate patterns.

After a few rows I knew it was going to be way bigger than a baby blanket, but I'm not one for undoing my hard work even if it means WAY more work to keep going. I probably could have made 3 actual baby blankets in the time it took to make this one.

Don't mind the top part being all stretched out, it's just so big that when it's held up it does that.

But it's okay, she can have this huge blanket when she is older.

 I also made this ghetto stuffed monster. I thought it would be cute. 

I'm not sure if it is or not.

 I have been wanting a glider since we found out we were having a baby but I am so cheap that I wouldn't just buy one. Every few weeks I would just get online and look around and then change my mind. Travis finally just ordered one online and surprised me with it. And I love it. That guy...

 Also... I think we have decided on a name. As pictured above. One day Travis dreamt up this little art project for us to do since this wall was just empty and I love it. He did most of the work but I helped / supervised.

I hope this post has sufficiently fulfilled your Annie/Trav/Baby update craving. If not, oh well.

39 Weeks, 1 Day

I have been hit with the blessing truck. The fact that I even get to be pregnant is pretty dang awesome. I've seen how hard it is for some people in my life to not have this same opportunity and it makes me even more grateful. But what has really hit me is that I am almost done and have had no serious problems. The stomach issues I've had have been no worse than the stomach issues I've had my whole life. I was able to sort out the getting dizzy almost passing out thing at the doctor/dentist/in the car to be able to keep that under control. And there have been no scares or trips to the hospital other than my regular appointments. I read and heard about all sorts of added discomfort and pains and problems that women go through and I have not had to deal with any of that so far. Unless it hits in the next couple weeks I don't think I will either. 

It's just a huge blessing is all.

So... 

How far along? 39 Weeks
Total weight gain? About 30 lbs... it is taking a toll on my ability to stand up or sit down or roll over or want to move at all.
Maternity clothes? I prefer no clothes over the garments...which is why I spend a lot of time at home.  

Stretch marks? Nah...just some veins. I think my skin is pretty stretchy from when I was a chubby bunny for the first 14 years of my life.

Sleep? Sleeping is hard. But I'm not even going to attempt to complain about it, not even on the blog, because hearing "well you better get used to that because that baby will be keeping you up all night... blah blah blah" is getting old. Babies wake up a lot. I get the point. 

Best moment of the week? My appointment yesterday at the doctor. Although getting "checked" is probably one of the most unpleasant things ever, going each week with no complaints and her not having much to say is so comforting.

Movement?  We still have some good movement... she is starting to drop and those pains are exciting.

Food cravings? I really haven't craved anything since the SpaghettiO's phase of trimester one.

Belly button in or out? Unfortunately out. I'm accepting it.

Wedding ring on or off? Off. My poor new fat fingers.

Happy or Moody? Happy. I did have hissy fit at wal-mart, though, when I was trying to tell Travis a story and all of the people and cars in the parking lot were distracting me. I swear, nothing good happens at that store.

Weekly wisdom? If you can't shut off your brain in the middle of the night, plug in your ear buds and listen to a conference talk. Find the apostles with the most soothing voices too. You will either be put back to sleep or be spiritually uplifted. It's a win either way.

Full Term and What That Means

How cool is this picture?

It is definitely what I am imagining/dreaming my birthing experience will be like...She's even got boots on.

Really though.. I stole this picture from an article that I haven't finished yet but what I read was pretty interesting. It's about Mormon Midwifery in history. You can find it here

It has been 7 weeks since my last update. Things have been crazy. I'm not really that busy but I sure like to pretend/feel like I am. Here is a sweet picture of me looking hot.

My Best Outfit

Travis rolled his eyes at me when I tried to tell him how annoying it is when strangers see this bump of mine and tell me I look cute and ask me how far along I am. 

So it is getting officially documented on the blog to make me feel better.

We were at Wal-Mart the other night and some lady was commenting on my appearance while I was focusing hard on the cookie aisle... she repeated herself until I heard/acknowledged her. She kept walking while asking me questions (which was nice that she didn't stop and make me feel more awkward) but she ended by turning the corner and shouting back to me "Good Luck! Get an epidural!" 

Also there is a checker at Smith's who loves to have the same conversation with me every time I go there about how far along I am and the gender of our baby and her parents experience with guessing the gender of their babies. It's a conversation I assume she has with every pregnant lady that she helps. It has to be.

This umpire that works for us at the rec yelled up to me from the field (about 100 ft) to ask me if I've been having contractions yet I said "Don't ask me that!" And shut the window so she couldn't talk to me anymore. 

I'm an introvert, I don't really like talking to most people about most things.

That's a little dramatic and not entirely true though.

This is getting a little scattered so here is a questionnaire: 

How far along? 37 weeks "Full Term"
Total weight gain? About 20 pounds in the morning and 30 at night. It fluctuates pretty good.
Maternity clothes? Some maternity but I love embracing my real style and just wearing t-shirts and basketball shorts all the time and not feeling bad about it.

Stretch marks? Nope, fingers crossed it stays that way

Sleep? At night I'm really uncomfortable and when it's time to wake up in the morning it feels like I'm sleeping on a cloud. Weird how that works.

Best moment of the week? We got our crib and changing table put together and they are the best. Also, when I say we I mean Travis did it while I was at work and surprised me with them, he's the best.

Movement? Yes. I still love it but can definitely feel that things are starting to get cramped in there for her.

Food cravings? Still not really... but I ate a whole watermelon by myself in a few days last week. I don't know if that is out of the ordinary though...

Belly button in or out? It's a sensitive subject.

Wedding ring on or off? On. It fits just fine but when I Forget to wear it I always feel scandalous ha. 

Happy or Moody? Happy. Quitting the credit union did wonders for my emotional health. 

Weekly wisdom? Ignore any and all advice you get that is contrary to what you want. Especially at this point.
Looking forward to? That girl getting here! Even though I'm terrified of being a mom.

PS: Full term means absolutely nothing. Whoop!

30 Weeks

How far along? 30 freakin weeks
Total weight gain? Still about 20 lbs...
Maternity clothes? You bet

Stretch marks? Still not yet. It feels like there should be though

Sleep? My nights consist of getting  up to pee every few hours with violent leg cramps in between. BUT... it could be worse.

Best moment of the week? These past couple of days she has been kicking or moving or something that it's actually starting to hurt a little bit. But it's really cool...

Movement?  See "Best moment of the week"

Food cravings? Not really any cravings... but beef jerky and special k protein bars have really helped this crazy third trimester nausesa crap.

Belly button in or out? It's in but puckering, its so creepy even Travis refuses to look at it.

Wedding ring on or off? On on on...it's getting tighter but I think thats because it is 100 degrees outside right now and the air conditioning at my work sucks. 

Happy or Moody? Happy except between the hours of 1-6 and then most days from 6:30-10:30 too.. the work schedule is seriously taking away from my lounging and crocheting time.

Weekly wisdom? If you are like me and you feel a little sick on your way to the gym there is a huge possibility you will feel way worse after you leave. No matter how many things you read or how many people tell you that exercise will make you feel better. But still try to exercise as much as possible.
Looking forward to? The next 10 or so weeks flying by like the rest of this pregnancy has.

We took Travis' new ride for a little cruise on Sunday to see how it would handle the mountain.  I got this picture of baby's first mountain trip and it may be my all time favorite picture right now.