Update (Allergies to Cats)

I know, I know.  I owe you a huge apology.  I haven't posted in weeks!  Normally I am a little late with my pregnancy updates, and this was the case at first.  But then we had to go to Mason's dad's to housesit while he was on vacation.  Unfortunately I didn't have internet access there which I didn't know beforehand.  I thought I would have internet there and be able to update you guys. 

Anyways, excuses never work, so I apologize for not posting for that period of time.  I have my 29/30 week pregnancy update mostly typed, so that will be posted today.  I will also be posting my 31/32 week pregnancy update after my doctor's appointment on Monday. 

You will also be happy to know that I'll be getting a camera this week or next.  At the latest it will be Friday.  That means more belly pictures, and who knows what else.  I love taking pictures so you might get to see some random photography on here. 

Oh, and just a random little sidenote.  I was completely allergic to Mason's dad's cat who is a fluffball with a lot of hair.  I knew that I was a little allergic to certain cats before this because if I would pet a cat and then rub my eyes, they would get really itchy and if I continued to itch or rub them they would get cherry red.  But it only happens with certain cats, but I had it happen before with his cat.  I thought I would be fine though if I didn't pet her. 

Little did I know that I didn't even have to pet her.  Cat hair was covering the house, and therefore quickly covering me.  I was congested whilst having a runny nose and sneezing all the time.  My eyes were irritated, and they watered a lot.  There were times where I sat there just holding my hands over my closed eyes to stop myself from rubbing them. 

So I am extremely happy to be home.  I feel better already from the fresh air.  I know now that I will never own a cat.  I've always been more favorable towards dogs, but I still liked cats.  Now I still like cats but they obviously make me pretty miserable. 

Again, I'm sorry for leaving you hanging for so long.  Like I said, I will post my 29/30 week pregnancy update today and my 31/32 week pregnancy update after my doctor's appointment Monday.  I should also have a baby belly picture this week or next once I get my camera.  Which by the way I am extremely excited about. 

Please forgive me for not posting.  Stuff like that is a rare occasion so you won't have to expect a delay like that again.  If I know that I will be away, I will be more prepared.  Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

25/26 Weeks Pregnant

I have finally reached the third trimester!  This pregnancy seems to be going so fast.  All the sudden I'm huge, and it's definitely beginning to be noticeable.  He is kicking all the time, and you can see it from the outside clearly.  He loves to roll and freak Mason out, and every time Mason touches his hand to my stomach, he kicks. 

Anyways, you're probably wondering why I didn't update in my 25th week.  Well, nothing seems to be changing that much.  Because of this, I figured I would update every two weeks since I have appointments every two weeks.  This way my updates are longer, and less boring. 

First, I POPPED.  I seriously feel huge now, and everyone says I'm getting big.  It's as if I have a basketball under my shirt.  Every one says that this shows I'm definitely having a boy since I'm carrying so much in front. 

Back pain came along with the hugeness of my belly.  You can obviously see the bend in my back, and I can feel it.  I've already used Mason for a massage which helped a lot.  I would recommend taking advantage of a family member to give you a massage every once in a while.  It is extremely relaxing, and definitely helps with lower back pain. 

My hips have also been hurting me a lot which I think is from the added weight.  They always feel like they have to pop, but instead they grind together and it's pretty painful.  I haven't found a way to relieve this yet so if anyone can help, please do.

Surprisingly I still haven't had any swelling that I've noticed.  I can clean for three hours straight scrubbing floors, vacuuming, dusting, and everything else, but still not have any swelling in my feet.  My feet will hurt, but they just don't swell up. 

Of course I've been having cravings.  My number one craving has been strawberries, but now that I ate so many of them in such a small amount of time, I'm getting tired of them.  Besides that I'm still craving sweet things, but I haven't been fulfilling this craving.  I also found out that I love tater tots.  So far I haven't had that bad of cravings though which is good. 

Now for weight gain.  I have gained about 14 pounds total which is scary.  I don't want to gain too much weight during this pregnancy and then not be able to lose it.  I know that I have to gain weight though, so at the same time I'm proud that I'm on track and my baby is healthy. 

I have had some doctors appointments since I last updated.  First, I had to get a holter monitor.  This was because I was having spells where I would get dizzy and weak.  Nothing abnormal showed up on this test.  Then, on Monday, I had my sugar test a little early.  This also turned out normal.  As for the drink; I almost couldn't hold it down.  It wasn't the taste so much, but holding it down afterwards was hard.  I think it was because of having to drink it so fast; it didn't want to settle in my stomach. 

After my sugar test, I had my regular appointment.  During this appointment he was kicking the whole time.  My OB checked my measurements which she started doing at the last appointment.  She said we were both right on track and that his heartbeat was normal.  That is always a great thing to hear.  I feel blessed to have such a healthy baby. 

Well, that's how my pregnancy is going.  If anyone else is pregnant and reading this, I hope your pregnancy is going just as well.  Thanks for reading and following my journey.  Have a great day!

Old People, New Skin

It feels like it's been forever since we have seen Mason's grandmother.  Mason has seen her like two months ago, but I haven't seen or talked to her since we've been kicked out.  I guess today is the day that we see her again.  It feels like she knows the old us, and now we're new people. 

So today Mason's dad is having a family dinner, and his grandmother is coming.  We were invited/required to come if you know what I mean.  But she doesn't know that I'm pregnant, so I'm wearing a shirt that kind of shows off my baby bump.  Mason says I'm still in the in between stages of being obviously pregnant and not showing much.  We just want it to be an easy reveal, and no stress, but who knows what will happen. 

Wish us luck.  It should go well because Mason's been inching into talking to her again since the certain issues we had have been kicked out of the house.  I'm not so sure I'm ready to talk to her again though.  She almost ruined our lives and it didn't seem to bother her much, but it definitely bothered us.  I don't know if I've forgiven her yet.  I know you can't hold grudges, but kicking us out when she knew we didn't have anywhere to go was a big deal. 

I guess we'll have to see how everyone fends, and where the table conversation goes.  Who knows with her.  I'll let you know how everything goes tonight or tomorrow.  Thanks for reading, and I hope you have a great day. 

Don't forget to thank God for the blessings today.  Even just the sky looks beautiful.  Maybe that's a good sign.  God is with me for this battle.

God Loves Us

God loves us.  He loves me, and He loves you.  But how is that possible?  How can God love me when I've made so many mistakes.  I mean, I'm pregnant out of wedlock at eighteen years old.  That's a sin. 

The truth is, everyone sins in their lifetime.  Some sin more, some sin less, and some are more serious sins.  When I talk about sins, you probably think about all of the things that you've done wrong.  Then, maybe you think, "Well, how does God still love me when I've been such a horrible person." 

The answer is this.  God loves us no matter what.  He also believes the best in us.  Unlike others, He will never give up on us.  Often times, God is standing at a closed door, continually knocking.  He never stops knocking.  More than anything, He wants us to answer that door.  He wants to be welcomed into our lives, and our hearts.  God wants to be a part of that. 

Plus, God is forgiving.  He is merciful, and loving.  Again, He doesn't give up on us.  Therefore, no matter how many times we sin, He will still knock on that door.  We will still have every opportunity to invite him in.  So why don't we? 

Maybe we're afraid.  God is such a huge being.  He's definitely not something to mess with.  This alone is enough to scare us.  Also, the matter of life and death.  That question is the biggest question.  Where do we go when we die? 

I believe that certain people go to heaven, and those people are the ones that have opened the door, and accepted Jesus into their hearts.  Sadly, I also believe that there is a hell.  I know that this place is not a welcoming place, and it is not a place that I want to spend eternity in. 

But why else don't we invite Him in?  I think that many people do not invite God in to their lives because they don't believe in themselves.  They don't believe that they deserve the love of our Father.  There could be various reasons for this, but they all amount to the same: a lie.  It is a lie that we don't deserve the love of God.  It is a lie that there is no hope for us. 

The thing is.  God doesn't lie to us.  Our hearts do.  Our hearts follow what they want, but not always what they need.  A lot of times they don't realize that what we really need is God in our lives.  We don't need to express ourselves through swear words.  We don't need to wear clothing that shows off our bodies, and we don't need anything to fulfill the love that God has for us.  We don't need it because God fulfills all the love that we need and long for.  He can help us express ourselves, and He believes that we are beautiful naturally, without wearing more revealing clothing. 

The lesson today is that all we need is God because God provides everything.  He will give us what we need, and He will bless us with what we want.  But we cannot expect these blessings.  To expect something from God is to dishonor him.  He does not go by our timing or our rules.  He has His own timing and His own rules.  Therefore, what God does for us is not what He needs to do.  He doesn't have to provide us with anything.  But because of His love for us, he provides everything. 

So what does this mean?  It means that God loves us!  He loves us no matter what, and that will never change.  Believe in His love, and trust in His forgiveness because He is the Lord our God, and we do desperately need Him.

Last Week

This is my last week in mommy training.  Unfortunately my cousin will not need a babysitter anymore.  I will miss taking care of a little one on Thursday's.  I can't wait to take care of my little one every day. 

So I'm typing this as the little one is sleeping, but he's deciding to wake up now.  My black lab has been jealous all morning because I've been taking care of the baby.  Once the baby was sleeping, she needed to sit with me on the chair and take a nap.  Keep in mind my black lab, Mia, thinks she's a lap dog when she weighs over 80 pounds.  She loves to take up the whole chair when sitting with you, but we love her anyways.  She's such a sweety, and loves to give the baby kisses. 

So far the baby hasn't been too fussy, and he even fell asleep in my arms.  How adorable is that?  Mason saw him before he left for work.  The baby was just waking up, and he was smiling in his sleep.  I could tell that Mason couldn't wait to be a daddy and see our own son sleep. 

I am so excited for Jason to get here, but so worried at the same time.  I want him to be born healthy, and I don't want him to be premature.  There's just so many things that can go wrong and it's scary.

Well, we got a fussy one.  Time for a diaper change!

A Beautiful Day

Have I forgot to mention that we have two rabbits?  Yes we do!  A large callico and a black dwarf bunny.  We were debating on breeding them in the future, but now we think we will breed dogs instead.

Anyways, that's not the point.  Today has been beautiful: not too hot, not too cold.  So what did we do?  Spent time outside of course.  And what was Mason's choice for the day?  He wanted to work on the muffler on his truck (men!). 

So we pulled the rabbits out of their cage (much to their dismay), and stuck them in their outside "playpen".  Abby (the callico) being the spoiled one from daddy got to sit in the truck to keep cool while Bridget (black dwarf) laid in the shade with mommy.  They had a great time relaxing while Mason had his much needed truck time. 

After about two hours, Mason finally fixed what actually turned out to be broken (surprisingly), and now we have a quiet truck.  This is great for when the baby comes.  Everyone loves sleeping babies and a quiet truck equals a sleeping baby, most of the time. 

But did we have enough sun yet?  Definitely not!  First we had to test out the truck on the road.  Then we decided to go biking on a local trail.  Keep in mind, I haven't been on a bike since the beginning of my pregnancy when I wasn't showing at all.  Now I got a baby bump in the way. 

It turned out to be especially fun though, and great quality time with my amazing fiance.  Plus, it was great exercise to keep my weight under control.  With all these cravings, I may need it. 

Turns out that it was so fun that we're thinking of making it a regular thing.  This will be great because I love exploring nature. 

So if it's beautiful out where you are, get outside and enjoy it!  You only have so many beautiful days in your lifetime, and every one is different than the first. 

23 Weeks Pregnant

I’m finally 23 weeks pregnant!  This pregnancy still seems like it’s going fast which makes me happy because before we know it we’ll be seeing Jason. 

I feel like I’m getting bigger every day, and every day Jason is getting stronger.  I can feel him kicking almost all the time now.  He is still really low, but it hasn’t affected my bathroom visits. 

I’ve been curious as to whether he is going to be breech or not.  At my last ultrasound he was breech in the beginning, but he wasn’t at the end.  I have a feeling that he’ll be one of those that move up until the day I give birth, but I don’t know yet. 

If anyone is wondering, I am planning to have a vaginal birth.  My idea on the epidural is to wait and see if I need it, but I’m not the greatest person with pain so I’ll probably end up getting it.  A c-section will be pretty stressful because of having to heal afterwards.  Mason and I already know that he will only get the day I give birth off of work, so I’m going to be on my own taking care of Jason.  A c-section would probably mean that I’ll need my parents help for a while. 

Does anyone know when your doctor tells you if you might be too small to give birth naturally?  I am especially short, so I’ve been worried about that.

Now for my symptoms.  I’ve still been having back pain, but only on my right side at my hip.  It feels like something needs to pop and it won’t.  Also, according to my scale, I’ve gained about three pounds since my last appointment.  It’s been scary gaining weight because I’m worried about gaining too much, but so far my nurse says my weight is perfect.  It’s gotten to the point where I can definitely feel the weight difference when I walk for a while. 

Cravings are definitely still there.  I’ve been wanting skittles like you wouldn’t believe, and I have yet to get them.  On the plus side, our local farmers market will be opening soon so I can get some fresh strawberries.  (It’s about time!)  I still haven’t noticed any swelling, but I was wondering if there is ever a time you should take off your engagement/wedding ring during pregnancy?  I don’t want the ring to get stuck on my finger.  That’s pretty much it for my symptoms. 

My mom and I went through all the baby stuff we’ve gotten from yard sales and what not.  We have more than a whole twin bed full of stuff piled up.  It’s pretty amazing. 

Apparently now we have hit the point where I’m not allowed to see the things my mom buys for Jason anymore because of the baby shower getting closer.  This is a huge bother for me because I hate not knowing.  I just can’t wait to see the cute baby stuff, but I’ll be sure to sneak a few peeks. 

Anyways I’m extremely excited to be at 23 weeks.  My doctor’s appointment is on this coming Monday (June 11^th), so I’ll be sure to let you know how that goes.  Plus, Mason’s birthday is on the 20^th of June.  I have yet to think of something amazing to do that day.  He’s turning 19 but he has to work, so it will be a challenge, but we will definitely have some fun.  Thanks for reading.  Have a great day.