35 Weeks... Afton gets the hiccups. A lot.

Seriously, she gets the hiccups at least once a day. Sometimes they last for 10 minutes, sometimes closer to an hour. Her diaphragm is getting a great workout. Guess that means I'll have a great screamer. Hooray! While she doesn't have much room to kick anymore, she really enjoys pushing hard against my right ribs. Whether I'm laying down, sitting, standing, scrunching, stretching, or finding some other position to try to get comfortable, she'll be right there reminding me that either her knee or foot is up against my ribs. "Mom! I'm here! Up against your ribs! See?!?!"

A few weeks ago Afton decided to wake Jess up by "kicking" him in the butt. He was laying with his back against my belly and she woke him up with what we suspect was hiccups.

Three days last week Afton was really cute and decided to push on my ribs to the beat of my heart. I was debating about whether that meant that she was going to be a drummer or some other type of musician... My midwife suggested that perhaps she'd be a dancer. Either way, she's already got rhythm.

My 2nd baby shower was awesome on Sunday. Liz did an amazing job planning a fun, cute, not-too-long, not-too-short shower. Good food, great friends, mimosas (for everyone but me), and some very generous gifts made for a great day.

I've been very swollen lately. Hoping my shoes still fit for the next 5 weeks...

Off to the Timbers game. Getting very excited to meet our Sweet Afton face-to-face soon!

28 weeks and counting

Today is the day that I get to drink a disgusting sugary drink and then get my blood drawn an hour later to find out if I have gestational diabetes. How exciting. On a seriously exciting note, I am now in my third trimester. This pregnancy is flying by. Just 10 (or 11 or 12 or 13 or 14) more weeks until we get to meet sweet Afton face to face. The nursery is coming together quite nicely. Jess worked hard re-staining all of the wood trim, touching up all of the paint, and installing a gorgeous closet organizer for the new little addition. Now we're waiting on my parents to move up here because they have our crib, recliner, and tons of other goodies generously donated to us from my brother and sister-in-law.

I didn't think that when I moved up to Portland 5 years ago that my parents would soon follow. My folks have lived in Turlock, CA for 31 years. In ten days, they will live a quick 8 minute drive from me in Fairview, OR. I feel so incredibly blessed that my kids will get to grow up so close to both sets of grandparents. I realize just how rare this is and plan to both cherish and take advantage of it. With 3 out of 4 grandparents retired, I plan to get some free babysitting. I grew up 2 hours from my closest grandparents and while I still got to spend a decent amount of time with them, and got to know them well, I know that it's a different world when your grandparents are only a 10-15 minute drive away.

Afton has been keeping active. She's big enough that I feel her every movement. When she swims around she rubs up against my ribs, my stomach, my bladder... While much of the pressure is uncomfortable, it is also incredibly cool to know that this little adventurer is in me. There's nothing more surreal than carrying a life inside of you. She has a spirit, a personality, energy, desires, eyes, a nose, a mouth, fingers, toes, and either blonde or red hair (Jess is convinced she'll be blonde while I'm holding out that he owes me at least one red-head, so if it's not Afton, it'll be one of the next ones).

My first baby shower went off well. The most notable gift I received was a 4 1/2 foot tall teddy bear from Jess' Aunt Becky. The bear takes up 1/4 of the nursery right now. While storage may become a bit of an issue, I know that Afton will LOVE climbing all over the huge soft animal in about 12-18 months.

We are so excited to be bringing this life into the world to shower with love. Sweet Afton, we love you so much already!

Yup, Afton is a girl! The whole pregnancy until the last 2 weeks or so I've been convinced it was a boy. Then for some reason I started thinking it might be a girl. I had 2 friends and my mother-in-law switch their guesses in the last couple of weeks also. Jess has been sure it was a girl the whole time. He's 5 for 5 so far. He's correctly guessed the sexes of both of his siblings, both of our nieces and our daughter. He says he's gonna quit while he's ahead.

As soon as we found out we called our parents and siblings to let them know, then we headed to Target to buy something girlie. I found the onsie in the picture and had to have it. When I was a kid I had a nightgown that said "Some bunnies sleepin.'" My dad has called me Bunny or Bunbun ever since. The onsie says "Some bunny's sleepy." Too perfect.

We weren't even scheduled for an ultrasound today but my midwife was running late and I asked if they would do a gender check while we waited. The sonographer had some time so she did it for us. She also did one measurement that is something they use to check for downs syndrome. The measurement was normal. When she zoomed in on "the area" I blinked a few times and she looked at me and said, "there it is! Can you tell what it is?" I looked a bit closer and realized I was staring at a very definite girl.

Luckily the nursery is already painted a light yellow with a plumb/purple feature wall. No painting required. :) I got some mint green bedding at target and it looks great with the wall colors. I can't wait to start decorating. We have a bit longer to wait because our crib and rocking chair will be here in June when my parents move up. My brother and sister-in-law were amazing enough to give us a brand new crib and the rocker used to belong to my great-grandmother.

Alright, time to work on the registry. We're so excited for our little girl to come meet us! She is already so loved...

14 1/2 Weeks

The baby bump has officially made it's debut. The morning sickness seems to have left me alone... at least for 2 days running. Unfortunately, I have a cold instead. Jess kindly gave me his about a week ago so I've been passing the time by hacking up lungs.

A few nights ago we took Rob & Linda to dinner at Clyde Common. It was their Christmas present from us. We gave them, and other family members, a gift certificate good for dinner on one side and a grandchild/niece or nephew on the other side. :) They didn't know what hit 'em. Anyway, back to the story I was telling... Dinner was the day after our 3 year wedding anniversary and R&L came bearing gifts. Linda wrote Afton a book! It's a fabulous story about a chicken named Tina who struggles to lay eggs only to discover that HE is a ROOSTER! This is a true story.

When Jess and I first decided to get chickens, we got a batch of roosters to start and got particularly attached to a cuddly rooster Linda had named Tina after Tina Turner because of his blonde afro. We ended up finding a home for Tina where he could be a stud for a flock of silkie hens. I trust he's a happy camper.

We're really excited to get Linda's book published for Afton. Let us know if you want a copy! All profits will go toward Afton's college fund. :)

Back to baby thoughts...

I've started pondering, impatiently, about what Afton will be like. I say impatiently because I still have 3 weeks to wait until I find out if our little bun is a guy or a gal. It's very difficult to daydream when I don't even know what sex Afton is. But I keep my dreams busy wondering if he/she will be a toe head or a carrot top. I'm hoping for a carrot top. :) I also think about how tall he or she will be, if he/she will be more into sports or music, if he/she will be introverted or outgoing... When I really start to ponder I just end up being really excited to meet Afton so he/she can start showing us what he/she's really like and I don't have to wonder anymore.

Maybe I need to pray for more patience...

I suppose that's enough babbling for now. 2nd trimester under way!

Thoughts at 6 weeks.

January 4th, 2011

Six weeks pregnant today, well, yesterday I guess since it’s now 2:38am on January 5th. I’ve been dealing with a lot of anxiety. What a funny word, “anxiety.” Makes it sound like what I’m feeling is supposed to fit inside of a perfect little box. The box on the shelf with the tidy label clearly reading “anxiety.” What I’m feeling is nothing like anything I’ve ever experienced.

Irrational fears plague me when I wake up. “What if I’m not really pregnant?” My heart starts racing, my hormones start raging and I run to the bathroom to take yet another pregnancy test which, of course, still radiates the positive stripe.

I get out of the warm, relaxing shower after practicing deep breathing and rubbing my not-yet-protruding tummy falling in love with my sweet pea sized embryo... and I feel a sudden rush of “anxiety”--if that’s what you want to call it. The racing heart, the irrational fears, the intense need to cry and sleep and run all at the same time. It’s just plain awful.

We went to the doctor today to have the pregnancy “confirmed.” I peed in a cup, again. It was positive. Again. The doctor confidently confirmed my pregnancy and wrote me a prescription for Zoloft after I talked about my “anxiety.” She also taught me a deep breathing technique that I used in the car the entire way to work because, for some reason, going to work makes me so nervous that I want to run and cry and sleep all at the same time. But, as soon as I get to work, I feel fine and I like being here. Whatever.

Jess is amazing. He spent my nap time today, or yesterday rather, calling Good Samaritan hospital and neighboring women’s clinics to help find me the right midwife. I wonder how shocked the nurses that he spoke with were to hear from a man calling on behalf of his wife. What man does that? None but mine, I bet. Then he woke me up promptly at 5pm to take me for the walk I wanted to go on. He has always hated (I think) going for walks but since he found out I was pregnant, he goes for walks with me at 7:45am when I get home from work, at 11:30pm when I just can’t stand being in the house anymore, or at 5pm right before work. What an amazing man I’m married to.

They say (whoever “they” are) that you start feeling bloated in the 6th week of pregnancy. What an understatement. I swear my belly grew an inch straight out today as soon as it realized that it hit the six week mark. Six weeks, time to grow.

I can’t wait to sleep. I’m so ready to be done with night shift. Six more shifts. Tomorrow, Thursday, Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. I can do it but I’m so ready to sleep at night. This baby needs sleep at night.

More later.

11 weeks and 2 days

Baby Strickland is on its way. Rob and Linda's first grandchild, and Lyn & Kim's third. Afton came as a surprise to us but a welcomed surprise.

So far it seems most people are thinking the little one is a boy. We still have weeks to go 'til we find out, and Jess is all alone thinking it's a girl. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see.

I know I've told some people about this story but I want to document it so its not forgotten. The morning I found out I was pregnant was the morning of our friends' Katie & Pete's wedding. I went over to their house early to be with the girls while they were getting ready. I texted Jess to see how he was feeling and he responded that he was feeling much better. I asked why and he said, "I went to Babies 'R Us and baby stuff is WAY cheaper than I thought it was." Within 2 hours of finding out I was pregnant, he had already made a trip to Babies 'R Us. I guess he was more ready to be a dad than I thought.

At 6 1/2 weeks I decided to take my first belly picture. Not much to see, but here it is:

At 9 weeks and 6 days we had our first ultrasound. It was so amazing to see Afton on the screen for the first time. His or her little hands and feet... I cried. Jess was just in awe.

Afton has a lot of people loving and praying for him or her already. We're praying as his or her parents that he or she will be a happy healthy baby, that he or she will reflect God's love to others, and that he or she will manage to be the best of both Jess and I while shedding the worst of us. Afton's grandparents and great-grandparents are also praying for him or her everyday. We are so blessed.

I'm going to attempt to be good about documenting thoughts throughout this pregnancy so that Jess, Afton and I can look back on them.

Long over-due Update

Jess and I are doing well. We've been married for over a year now. CRAZY! It's really amazing how quickly time flies by sometimes.

I started nursing school full-time back in January. I've got 4 1/2 more terms before I have my RN. I'll then do 9 months at OHSU to get my Bachelors Degree.

We've gotten a few new roommates since the last post. Currently in our home, we have Kendall, Matt & Aimee. Kendall is a 24 year old medical assistant for the VA Clinic down the street. Matt is a 29 year old new National Guard member headed to basic training in August. He's working at Olive Garden in the meantime. Aimee is a 33 year old new Portland transplant from Fargo, ND. She spent 3 weeks helping her neighbors sandbag in preparation for the river floods before moving out here to start her job as a social worker with Multnomah County.

It's a full house but we have lots of fun. Everybody gets along great and we all manage to live in our not-so-huge house without stepping on each others' toes.

Jess recently got a new job after getting laid off in October. He, along with about 50% of his old company, was left to fend for himself on unemployment at the end of October. We were down in Sacramento for him to take his Professional Engineering test and he flew back early Monday morning after his test--missing the birth of our niece--to show up at work and be told to go home with his things.

It was a trying experience and quite scary at first, but it turned out to be a huge blessing. Jess got the time he was really wanting to work on the house. He finished the basement bedroom remodel and updated a bunch of other things on the house and yard. Everyday I'd come home from work or school and he'd have improved something.
Then in March, the month when Oregon hit it's highest unemployment rates in years, Jess got a job for another engineering firm. The firm is a much smaller one than his old one. It's located in Oregon City. He's enjoying his time so far. His co-workers are great and he doesn't have traffic on his commute anymore.

Other life events over the past several months? Jess and I lost our grandmothers just one day apart from each other back in November. It was a very somber time for both of our families but we are confident that both grandmothers are in a much better place now.

My brother and sister-in-law gave birth to our gorgeous niece on October 28th, 2008.

I suppose that's enough updating for now. Thanks for reading! :)