Pampered

I have been incredibly pampered over the last week and a half. The first pampering happened last week when Miles and I went car shopping (for what felt like the 100th time...although it was a lot less). We went to a Honda dealership (the third one in about a week) in Salt Lake and talked to them for hours about purchasing a minivan. Long story short...we walked away with this beautiful 2015, smokey topaz, Honda Odyssey. I never imagined I would buy new. But after all the searching we did, we discovered that they really do retain their value well and don't depreciate much over the coarse of 1-5 years. Plus, the dealerships are offering some large discounts on new cars, likely to get the 2015s out of their stock and prepare for the 2016s. Anyway...I don't feel too badly about it. I imagine we will have this for quite a while and make it worth our while.

As much as I rag on minivans, I'm actually pretty darn excited about it. It has so many cool "bells and whistles" that will make my life ridiculously easier. Automatic sliding doors (openable by pulling the handle, pressing a button on the key fob, or pushing a button from the driver's seat), automatic hatch, keyless entry and engine start, a camera for blind spot check on the right side, easy access to the back row (Owen can easily move the seats, which is awesome), blue tooth calling capabilities, a mini "fridge" in the console, leather seats (easier to clean), and on and on. In case you can't tell, I might be in love. So, a big thank you to my husband for "buying" his wife not one, not two, but THREE children AND a hot new ride to accommodate all these little rug rats.

The next pampering happened a few days later when my friend, Kelly, put together a little "pampering party" on my behalf. I didn't want any gifts at all (let's be honest...this baby girl will have everything and more with the many hand-me-downs from Elsie), but she insisted on allowing people to bring a gift to "pamper" me. We met up at Bake 360 in Draper. They sell delicious pastries, but now that I've had food from their newly opened cafe, I might be even more in love with their savory offerings! (For the record, I ordered the Croque Madam and it did not disappoint!)

These lovely ladies from my ward/neighborhood brought me some very thoughtful and sweet gifts.

Left to right: Me, Ronnie Hurless, Lindsay Adams, Jen Ard, Melissa Owens, Kelly Dyches (with baby Elise), and Natalie Dobbin.

Unfortunately, not everyone could come. So this is just a fraction of the amazing women I am surrounded by. Sometimes Miles talks about moving. I think he has that itch in him since he moved a lot as a youth. But when I think of these women and how incredible they are, I can't bring myself to even consider it. They are my village.

Numero Tres: 37 weeks

I almost killed myself this last week. Ok, I'm being dramatic. I took the kids to the Herriman Reservoir for a play date with my friend, Desiree and her twin girls. The kids had some large cylindrical water shooters. Owen apparently was swimming with his and didn't bring it all the way back to the shore. As he was sitting on my lap, we look out and see it drifting "out to sea." I sighed and said, "Well, I better go get it before it gets further away." Des asked if I was ok to do that. I said, "Yeah. Sure." She said, "I'm just not a confident swimmer." I said, "Oh yeah, I was on a swim team. No biggie," and headed out into the water.

About 10-20 breaststrokes out into the water I realized I had severely underestimated my abilities to breathe. Swimming skill? Check. Buoyancy? Check. Oxygen intake? System failure. I flipped to my back to give myself a break. I started to freak out a little when I realized I was not catching my breath and was still panting fairly hard. My only saving grace was that there were some paramedics in motor boats doing some trainings or something and I figured if I was going down, they were only out about 100 yards or so. I did think to myself, "What are you doing? This dumb $5 squirt gun is not worth this." But I was close, so I reached out to grab it, flipped back to my back and did a slow kick most of the way back to shore. I was dizzy and nauseated when I got back. Yeah...not my smartest move. Gratefully, Des was also ready to do some screaming for the paramedics should I go under. :) I'm realizing that my body is telling me I am less capable than my mind believes.

I might as well include some cute pictures of the kids the day I almost died. ;)

Elsie made me a "birthday cake," sang Happy Birthday to me, and had me blow out the candles. It was adorable.

This week at the doctor's office was fairly uneventful. I remain at a 1 cm dilated and about 80% effacement. I honestly don't every expect anything. I think I'd be totally surprised if it were any different. But I also don't put a lot of stock in that. With both of my kids, my water has  broken early (8 days with Owen and 10 with Elsie) and I was still at 1 cm by the time I got to the hospital hours later. So...meh. I did find out that I am negative for Group B strep. I'm really happy about that. Now I won't feel the need to rush to the hospital and get hooked up to an IV first thing after I arrive. Yay! I am having a lot more Braxton hicks contractions these days. Nothing major, but I hope it's a sign of things to come...sooner rather than later. ;)

Numero Tres: 36 weeks

The week leading up to this appointment was rough. I only got in one actual workout, but was happy to pass on the rest of the week. Although, in all fairness, I was very busy all week playing with my sister, Kim, and nephew, Austin, while they were in town. I also feel like six hours of walking, standing and climbing at the Museum of Natural Curiosity, and a fun-packed day at Seven Peaks count as some form of exercise. ;) But that's neither here nor there. What I DO know, is that last week kicked my butt and I was feeling it. I've been feeling pretty good during this pregnancy. Capable, strong, fairly energetic, etc. But the end has hit me...HARD. I feel slow, sluggish, big, tired, sore, and a myriad of pains I'd rather not feel.

I'm also sleeping rather horribly. I toss and turn (as well as a woman with a very large, pregnant belly can do) all night. I think my bad sleep affects Miles' sleep and in turn, his bad sleep affects mine. It's a pretty vicious cycle and ain't nobody happy about it. A couple nights ago, I woke up and had to make one of my many trips to the bathroom. I was facing away from the outside of the bed. I went to turn over and get up, but having almost zero core strength, it was far more difficult than I anticipated and I groaned loudly and said, "Oh gosh!" I sheepishly thought that I had probably woken Miles and I can't even get out of bed without it being a big to-do. The next night I woke with a hideous charlie horse in my calf. I get them a lot, but I usually just quickly flex my foot and it goes away. This time it did NOT help one bit. My leg seized up and I sat up (far faster than I thought I was capable) moaning and saying, "Ow! Ow! Ow!" Miles was kind to ask if I was ok and rubbed my back. It eventually went away, but once again...sleep ruined. Not to mention, in the morning my calf was sore for about half the day from all the spasming. I'll say this...even for someone who has a relatively "easy" and "comfortable" and even "enjoyable" pregnancy...it is still filled with its own set of difficulties.

I told my doctor about some sharp pains in my right hip and also the occasional debilitating pains in my groin area where my leg and body attach. Answer: Round ligament pain. Woot. Baby is growing and there's lots of extra pressure as well as the relaxin being produced and preparing my body for labor. The good news about all of this is that I am getting closer. It's funny because when I was 35 weeks, I felt like I was still a long ways away. But for some reason 36 has felt a LOT closer. The end is finally in sight.

This was my first cervical check too. Nothing exciting. I think she said something about being 70% effaced and maybe dilated to 1cm. I forgot how totally enjoyable those checks are. (Sarcasm.) When she was checking to see if baby girl was head down I thought I might actually go into labor. Sheesh. Oh, and she couldn't say 100% that she was head down. Although with all the hiccups I feel low, I'm guessing yes. Oh, and she also did the Group B Strep test. I'm praying it comes back negative. I was positive with Elsie and it was such a pain to have to deal with the antibiotics while in labor. I guess I'll wait until I get the results to worry about it.