Stilllllll Pregnant

So when I had my cerclage removed and we discovered that I was 50% effaced and dilated to a 3+, the OB said that if I should start having contractions 5 minutes apart or less, then I needed to be prepared to go to the hospital. First, though, she said to make sure to lay down, sip some ice water and see if the contractions went away. Then if they didn't go away, she said that I should take a warm shower and see if that did anything. Then, if the contractions had been coming consistently 5 minutes or less apart and I had done everything I could to get them to go away without any success for 2 hours, I needed to head to the hospital immediately. Well, Friday evening that happened. I was contracting every 2 to 3 minutes and I just could not get the contractions to go away or even slow down at all. In fact, they continued to come and they were getting more painful. So, we quickly threw our bags together (we had not packed yet, oops), and called some family members to arrange for some of my siblings to take shifts sitting at our house to watch over Kyrsta while we were at the hospital. Before we knew it, we were out the door and on our way. We quickly got admitted and settled in to be checked by the nurse. After all the paperwork was completed the nurse checked my cervix. I was 60% effaced and dilated to a 5. But, the baby's head was still very high. So, the nurse couldn't determine anything and we had to wait. And wait. And wait. And wait. And... well, you get the picture. I did a lot of walking of the halls. I was checked several times. I had been on the monitor for hours contracting every 2 to 3 minutes without any variation. But, to make a long story short, even having contracted every 2-3 minutes for 7 hours, my cervix had made almost no progress. The only difference was that I went from being 60% effaced to being 70% effaced. Essentially, from what we can tell, my cervix is stuck at the scar tissue that was left behind by the cerclage. Because the baby's head was still so high up, the doctor didn't want to come in and break my water. The fear is that if the baby's head is so high and the water is broken, it's possible that the umbilical cord could come floating out with the amniotic fluid. I'm not sure what that would mean other than it might make a c-section necessary. And I don't think that risk is worth taking. Not when I could just make myself be patient and hopefully not have added complications. So, in spite of being in the early stages of labor, I got sent home. Since my contractions cannot really get any more regular, we were essentially told to wait until either the contractions are so painful I can't cope with the pain any more or until my water breaks. Ugh. That was not pleasant news. After my water broke with baby K, I still didn't dilate. They had to hook me up to high levels of pitocin for a little longer than 20 hours before my body finally pushed past the scar tissue and got from a 6 to a 7. After that, however, I was pushing and Kyrsta was born within 30 minutes. I am a little bit nervous as to what that previous experience will mean for this labor and delivery. I have continued to contract regularly (I am so miserably uncomfortable) ever since being released from the hospital. I really think my body is doing what it can to try to get past the scar tissue and it will continue to contract and contract and contract until it finally succeeds. But, if I have to wait to go into the hospital until my cervix is that far dilated, I could be ready to push very very quickly after that. I am a bit worried if that happens that I won't even make it to hospital in time to get the epidural. Orrrr... I could just contract and contract and contract for another 2 weeks until it's time to be induced. Orrrr.... (and wouldn't this be nice?) my water could break on its own. Who knows? Anyway, I guess to sum it all up, we have no idea what's going to happen. My regular appointment with my OB is on Tuesday. Hopefully we will have a little more information after that. Until then, I am enduring. My contractions are continuing, although they have slowed down just a little bit. I think my uterus is tired. If that's possible. But to put a happy spin on things, my Dad said to me earlier today, "Brittany, just think of how many calories you're burning with all of these contractions!" Heck, maybe I'll be sporting a six pack after this baby girl is born! :)

Stitches are Out! Let the Waiting Game Begin!

Friday I got the cerclage out. I was very nervous. This cerclage was much more difficult for my doctor to put in than the one that she put in with my last pregnancy. She said because of that, she expected it to be much more difficult to get this one out and that it might be a whole lot more painful. So, I went in to the appointment with some nasty butterflies in my stomach. Then when the nurse led me back to a different room than I normally go to, the nasty little butterflies suddenly became some ferocious pterodactyls. Instead of being the plain old room with the regular table like the last time I had my cerclage out, I had to be in a room with a specialized table, specialized lights, and extra equipment. I nearly turned around and walked back out. I managed to compose myself, however, by reminding myself that I'm a big girl and promising myself a cookie if I behaved. :) Anyway, I was really feeling so blessed when my doctor was able to take a look and see that things were actually looking really good and that it wasn't going to be nearly as complicated a procedure as she had anticipated. Thank goodness the skin had not grown up over the stitches quite as badly as last time. She took a bit to find the area where it needed to be clipped, but after that it was pretty smooth sailing. The other good news is that I seem to have a little bit less scar tissue than last time. Having leftover scar tissue can cause something called "cervical dystocia" which means that the cervix has a hard time functioning normally and opening far enough to give birth. In essence, the scar tissue kind of forms a secondary cerclage. If it's really bad and your body can't push past it, it will prevent you from being able to deliver vaginally and you will have to have a c-section. I really really hope that doesn't ever happen to me. After the cerclage was removed, my OB checked the status of my cervix. After the stitches were taken out with Baby K, I was only dilated 1 cm and was 80% effaced. So, we were expecting maybe a 1+ or maybe a 2. Well, I guess we were in for a surprise because our doctor said that I was actually about 50% effaced and dilated to about a 3+ and that she could actually stretch the cervix to a 4 with little trouble. Her guess is that I won't make it to May 1st without having this baby. That is totally earlier than we expected considering we went an additional 2 & 1/2 weeks with my last pregnancy. Sooo... I guess the long and short of it is that we really need to get serious about getting ready for this baby. With all the craziness of my school schedule, work schedule, and involvement at church I have just been too busy to do as much as I should have to get prepared. BUT, the baby isn't here yet, so our goal is to get it mostly done tonight. On our list to do before we go to bed: wash all her clothes, pack our hospital bags, and install the car seat. NOW time for the fun part! Lets hear some guesses! When do you think this baby will come? Take a guess at the baby's birth date, time, and the baby's length and weight.

Maybe Sooner. Maybe.

Well, today I had my 34 week appointment with my Ob/Gyn. The baby is doing great and everything is progressing right on track. The doctor did decide, however, that we should take out the cerclage a little bit earlier than we had originally planned. Initially the plan was to take the stitches out on April 24th, but now we will get them out on the 20th instead. It needs to be moved up for a few reasons:

First, I have been having some painful contractions and some pinching in the cervical area. This could be indicating that my body is trying to start dilating. If I went into labor and started dilating before the stitches came out, the cervix could tear and we could have some real complications from that. (I cringe just typing that statement.)

Second, taking it out Friday is only one day BEFORE the 36 week mark while waiting until the following Tuesday is 4 days AFTER the 36 week mark. It's best to get as close to exactly 36 weeks as possible.

Third, and this is slightly less of a concern, my doctor is also pregnant and due in May. Since she is the one who put in the cerclage, it really would be best if she is the one who takes it out. Since she remembers the difficulty in putting it in, she will know where to look to take it out. So, taking it out a bit earlier should (hopefully) help avoid her going into labor before she gets a chance to take the stitches out.

Although it's possible, I really don't think I'll go into labor right away. After the cerclage came out with Baby K I still went an additional 2 and 1/2 weeks before my water broke. Of course, the amount of scar tissue left from the cerclage will play a huge part in how quickly I go into labor and how quickly my labor progresses. With Baby K, my cervix dilated to a 6 and got stuck. Essentially, the scar tissue from the cerclage formed a sort of "secondary cerclage". This means that my body had to literally force the cervix to open past the scar tissue. With Baby K, it took me 21 hours from the time my water broke until I was finally ready to push. The majority of that time was just trying to get from a 6 to a 7.

Anyway, I guess we'll just have to see how it goes. I think we will have a better feel for the direction things will go once the cerclage comes out. My Doctor has warned me that because the stitches for this cerclage were a lot more difficult to get in, they will probably also be a lot more difficult to get out. Thus, I am bracing myself for an experience that could potentially be extremely painful.

Needless to say, I am very much looking forward to getting this doctor's appointment over with. Of course, the excitement of knowing we are getting so close to meeting our second baby girl helps with that.

At this point, reality is finally starting to set in. After our doctor's appointment today, the thought occurred to me, "Holy crap! That's only a week and a half away! Our baby could come as soon as next weekend!!!" Wow. We are so not ready. So, over the next 10 days we will be busy setting up the bassinet, washing clothes, getting the car seat cleaned and installed, packing hospital bags etc... This will be in addition to Malone preparing for a very important meeting with his doctoral committee and my finishing up as much schoolwork as possible for the semester.

I know it's unlikely that she will come right away, but we do have to be prepared for the possibility just in case. I guess to sum it all up, we can just say this:

WE ARE SO EXCITED!!!

The Swings

The picture of Baby K above is of her in her very favorite swing of all time. It's meant to be used by disabled children but our little girl LOVES it because she can climb up into it all on her own.

Our Baby K is such a goofball. Over the past several weeks the weather in our neck of the woods has been so beautiful. On the days that are warm and sunny, I try to take Baby K to the park. She LOVES going to the playground. But I have to admit, my intentions for taking her to the park have not been purely selfless.

You see, ever since Daylight Savings Time (which I think is stupid stupid stupid), Baby K has had a very hard time adjusting to a slightly altered schedule. The main concern is that she really has struggled to take her regular naps. Many days she has just been skipping her naps all together. On the days she refuses to take a nap she will go to bed easily at night. Sounds great, right? WRONG. Although she goes to bed easily at night, she will almost inevitably wake up at about 2:00 am thinking she just finished nap time. Then she refuses to go back to bed until about 6:00 am. Needless to say, this whole situation makes for one VERY tired and unhappy Momma.

Anyway. So I decided that it would be a good idea to get her out to the park as often as possible in the hopes that she would play so much that all her energy would be spent and she would again return to having regular naps. Boy was I wrong. Baby K does love to go to the park. But she doesn't love to run around, climb up and down the slides, run around on the jungle gym, or use almost any of the other equipment that would require physical exercise.

What did she fall in love with instead? The swings. When we take her to the park she will happily allow us to push her in the swing for a solid 2 hours. She cannot even be enticed away from the swing by the sandbox! And that's really saying something considering the fact that when a swing isn't around, she loves to play in the dirt. Seriously. My silly goose of a daughter completely thwarted my selfish plot! She picked the one thing at the park that requires her to burn almost no energy whatsoever.

I still take her to the playground at least twice a week though. Pushing her on the swing for hours on end is worth it to hear her giggle and then tell me "Ready! Set! Go!!!" so that I will push her as high as I can. When she gets going really high like that she squeals at the top of her little girl voice "Wheeeeee!!!!" It makes me smile every time.

7 &1/2 weeks = FOREVER

Seriously. I still have 7 & 1/2 weeks left until my due date. I am aware that that is really not terribly long. But from my current (extremely uncomfortable) perspective, 7 & 1/2 weeks sometimes seems like FOREVER. I keep telling myself things that make me feel a little better. For example:

"Well, my doctor said that I can be induced at 39 weeks if I want so really I only have to wait 6 & 1/2 weeks."
"It's ok that I have to wait 7 & 1/2 more weeks, because I want to wait to have the baby until I'm done with my semester at school anyway."
"I'm getting my cerclage taken out in just 3 & 1/2 weeks and that is something to look forward to."
"I'm really only 4 & 1/2 weeks away from being full-term, so maybe the baby won't wait until my due date to come."

Anyway, these are just some of the things that I try to tell myself when I get feeling anxious and impatient. Sometimes they work. Buuuuuttttt, when my back is especially hurting, or when I wake up at 4 am to go to the bathroom for the 5th time that night, or when I longingly look at all the adorable baby clothes, I am still impatient for this baby girl to come and 7 & 1/2 weeks seems like eternity.

Today is one of those days where I am feeling very impatient. I am so excited to meet our second baby girl face to face. So, to try to occupy myself for the moment, I thought I would record a little bit about this pregnancy. I have wished on several occasions that I had kept a better record of my pregnancies with both Baby K and especially Baby G. Hopefully this will help me remember what this pregnancy was like a little bit better.

Pregnancy Symptoms
-Nausea: I was so nauseous in the first trimester. It was almost unbearable. I was so thankful when the nausea started easing off at about 17 weeks into this pregnancy. Unfortunately, (and strangely), the nausea has started to come back a little bit every night. This never happened with either of my previous pregnancies so it has been an interesting and somewhat unpleasant change.
-MAJOR aches: This started at about 28 weeks and continues to worsen. My hips and back ache so badly that it wakes me up probably at least 4-6 times per night.
-Rapid hair growth: I LOVE this symptom. I decided about six weeks before I found out I was pregnant to start growing my hair out again. So this symptom is really helping along with that goal. My hair that was once almost as short as Malone's is now past my shoulders.
-Congestion: I'm pretty sure pregnancy congestion contributed to my susceptibility to the sinus infections I got. Those were miserable. I hope I do not get another one before this baby is born.
-Swelling: I actually have had very little swelling with this pregnancy. Recently I have noticed a little bit of puffiness in my face, fingers, toes, and ankles, but it hasn't been severe. Hooray!
-Headaches: Ugh. I have had horrible headaches with this pregnancy. They were mostly related to the sinus infections I had. They were definitely the worst headaches I have ever experienced though. I still have headaches occasionally, but not nearly as badly as during my sinus infections.
-Fatigue: During the end of my first trimester and much of my second trimester I was severely fatigued. Thank goodness my doctor found out that I had a pretty bad iron deficiency. Now that I'm on iron supplements, I still get tired like any pregnant lady, but my fatigue isn't interfering badly with my ability to function.
-Weight gain: 12 lbs so far
-(TMI warning here) Breast soreness and growth. Which is tragic. Enough said.
-Shortness of breath: I seriously do not remember having experienced this with either Baby K or Baby G. This is one of the symptoms that drives me most crazy. I never feel like I can take a deep enough breath. The baby is really squishing all of my internal organs which makes it impossible to feel like I'm getting all the oxygen I need. It's not dangerous or anything, but can be very irritating.
-Heart burn: This really bugged me for a while. I was cramming Tums down my throat so frequently that I finally broke down and asked my doc for help. She gave me a low dose prescription and since then, I have been nearly heartburn free! Hooray!

Cravings
-Baked goods: It's a good thing I didn't get gestational diabetes this time because baked goods are definitely my major craving! For some odd reason, I especially crave bagels with cream cheese. I have eaten so many bagels with this pregnancy I swear this kid is going to come out shaped like a bagel.
-Sweets: I think I crave a different sweet every day. One night I was craving brownies. So I made a giant pan of brownies. Then I added everything to the top of the brownies that sounded good to me at the time. The toppings included: hot fudge, caramel, little dehydrated marshmallows (the kind you're supposed to put in hot chocolate), and peanuts. I know. Weird. The next night I happened to be craving caramel popcorn. So I made a big batch of that. Soon after it was cheesecake. And the list goes on. And on. And on.
-Pizza: Oh man this is a bad one. I crave it all the time. But I don't just crave any pizza. (Prepare to be repulsed) I crave Pizza Hut pizza with very light sauce, plain cheese, with double extra cheese (yes you can pay for that), and cheese stuffed crust. I know. I might as well just chow down on a giant hunk of melted mozarella.

Anyway, that's what I wanted to record for now. And you know what? It did make me feel a little bit better. :)

I think I must be a real Mom now

So with the upcoming arrival of our second baby girl, Malone and I decided we needed a bigger vehicle. We finished paying off our car not too long ago, and we enjoyed not having a car payment for a little while. But we just didn't see how we would be able to do the traveling we plan to do this summer in our little car. When we took Baby K to Illinois and Florida a couple of years ago we were crammed to the gills. This summer we plan on going to Illinois again and we just did not want to make that trip with our girls surrounded to the ceiling with all our stuff. Of course, we knew a bigger vehicle would also be extremely handy for day to day things like grocery shopping and if we need to haul anything.

With that decision in mind, we set out to look for a... minivan. (Dun dun dun!!!) I know, it's not very cool. But, in all honesty I almost completely quit caring about what was "cool" after I got married.

Well, after much searching, we found a minivan we fell in love with! It's used so of course it has a few flaws, but at least with this minivan they are all cosmetic. Plus, it came with a lot of perks that we really like. It is a Honda Odyssey. It has a sun roof, heated leather seats, stow and go seating, room for 8 passengers, automatic doors, and a dvd player amongst other things. We were even able to talk the sellers down on the price by a bit so we really got a great deal! And with our payment schedule and the amount we were able to put down, we should be able to have it paid off next Spring. Woohoo!

Anyway, here's a picture of our new van. We have had it for a few weeks now and we just love it. Plus, it's an exciting step to getting ready for the new baby.

Now that was random. And stressfull.

Well, it's been a while since the last time I updated. I have been so swamped with homework this semester that I cannot seem to catch a minute just to stop and breathe. But, we had a totally random and crazy event happen on Sunday so I figured I better make myself blog about it so that we can remember our adventure in the future.

So. (Deep breath) On Sunday we went to my sister's house at about 7:00 to celebrate my niece's birthday. She just turned 11 and I can hardly believe I now have two nieces that will be in Young Women's in less than a year! That's one of those moments where I stop and think to myself, "Holy crap, I must be getting old." :) Anyway, we enjoyed a delicious turkey dinner and then decided we better get home to try and put our little monster to bed. She hasn't been napping well lately so she was very tired by about 9:00. Anyhow, we drive home and immediately after stepping out of our (NEW! I'll blog about that later) minivan, we could smell gasoline. And no, I'm not talking about natural gas or anything like that. It was very distinctly gasoline. But we just shrugged it off and figured maybe a neighbor was having car trouble or something. However, the smell became increasingly stronger as we walked toward our apartment. Suddenly we were a bit more alarmed.

Well, we walked in the door of our apartment and it was like getting hit in the face with a wall of gasoline fumes. It was SO NASTY. We tried to open up the windows and let it all air out. Instead of getting better, it got WORSE. So then Malone and I start walking around inside and outside of the apartment to figure out exactly where the smell was coming from. It was so hard to try to pinpoint a source because by then our noses were so saturated with the fumes. But we did decide it was definitely worse in the kitchen and in the bathroom than anywhere else. After only being there for a few minutes with the worsening smell, I started feeling very sick. Malone's stomach started hurting. My stomach was churning, I was getting lightheaded, was starting to have some sweats, and then I started getting contractions. About that same time we noticed Baby K was doing her best to try to get the front door open and get outside. Malone and I decided we had better act on the feelings we were having and get out of the house.

We grabbed up the diaper bag and left. I went upstairs and started pounding on the neighbor's door. After knocking several times without answer I became worried. But what was I supposed to do, break down the door? We decided the best thing to do would be to call the police. We went to my brother's house a couple blocks away and set about contacting the police department. I think when Malone called they were very confused. They kept insisting it must be natural gas in which case we should call our gas provider. But Malone insisted right back that it was definitely gasoline. He is a Biochemist for heavens' sake, he knows the smells of chemicals. The police officer then agreed that he would be right over and he would have the fire department send a truck. So Malone and my brother went back to the apartment to meet with the officer.

The police and fire department responded so quickly that they were already at our apartment before Malone even got there! They pounded on our neighbor's door to get them out of the house. Turns out, they had been asleep through the whole thing which is why I couldn't get them to answer their door.

Malone and the officers then went into our apartment and they almost gagged at the fumes. The firefighter had a tool to detect poisonous gases in the air and he said that the levels in our apartment were not explosive, but they were definitely not safe. They then set to work seeking out the source of the fumes. They looked inside. It was not coming from the apartment. So then they began looking outside. And what did they discover?

Our upstairs neighbor parks their ancient car right next to the house. Since we live in the basement, our window is literally at the level of their tires. The neighbor had filled his gas tank to the very top (which is something he said he has never done before. Apparently he's never even put more than an eighth or a quarter of a tank in that car.) He was unaware of a big HOLE in his gas tank. That hole leaked about 3/4 tank of gas (or about 10 GALLONS) of gas right into our kitchen window. At this point the neighbor becomes so flustered, he pulls an unlit cigarette out and sticks it in his mouth. Malone said the firefighter almost tackled him. The firefighter told the neighbor not to even think about lighting up right then. He said although the fumes weren't concentrated enough to be explosive, he definitely would have lit a few flames off. Our whole apartment could have burned down!

Anyway, the neighbor moved his cars out and exposed the giant puddle of gasoline on the driveway. The firefighter and police officer got out their equipment to clean it all up. At this point I had called the doctor on call at the hospital and she insisted that I go to the Emergency Room because my symptoms were persisting. So my sister-in-law came with me, we got Baby K loaded into the van, and drove back to the apartment to pick Malone up. The firefighter and police officer stayed at our apartment to take care of cleaning up and getting the fumes out of our apartment. We didn't know for sure whether or not we would be able to stay there that night, but that was besides the point. Malone took me to the ER and my brother and sister-in-law followed to take care of Baby K in the waiting room. We had debated about just dropping her off at their house and letting them watch her there, but weren't sure whether or not she should be evaluated as well. In the end we decided to take her with us just in case.

Upon arriving, the ER nurse wasn't concerned about Kyrsta since she wasn't acting funny or having any symptoms. BUT, they sent me straight up to the Labor and Delivery floor. Let me tell you, I was very disappointed to be there. I have been so determined with this pregnancy that I would not end up in Labor and Delivery until I was full-term and ready to pop out a baby.

Nevertheless, when I was debating about whether or not I should go to the ER, a thought popped into my head: There was one other time I wasn't sure if I should go to the hospital to get checked out for something that I thought was probably no big deal. But I went and got checked out anyway. I was in an ambulance less than an hour later and rushing to a big hospital in St. Louis. My son was born 3 days later. I will always be glad I acted on that feeling. Even though at that point they could do very little for me, they were able to postpone my son's birth for 3 days. And who knows? Maybe that extra 3 days in the womb is part of what allowed us to have a week with him before he passed away.

Anyway, with that thought in mind, I figured it was better to be safe than sorry. I stripped down, put on the gown, and laid down on the hospital bed. The nurse came in and started getting me all strapped up. First she put on the sensor to monitor the baby's heartbeat. She put the sensor on... No heartbeat. She moved it... still no heartbeat... She moved it several more times... No heartbeat. By this point I was freaking out internally. Why couldn't she find my baby's heartbeat? I am 30 weeks pregnant, shouldn't it have been easy? I am sure Malone could sense my uneasiness because he voiced that when I was pregnant with Baby K, the nurse always had a hard time getting her to stay still long enough to catch her heartbeat. And suddenly! The nurse found the baby's heartbeat.

Thank goodness! I felt like I could breathe again. Anyway, she finished getting me all hooked up to the wires, put an oxygen mask on me, and then instructed me to wait patiently and try to relax. (HAHA) So I laid there. Those beds aren't terribly comfortable, by the way. :) Anyway, some contractions started showing up on the monitor. But as I laid still and calmly breathed in the oxygen, I could feel my stomach start to settle and my head start to clear. Better yet, the contractions slowed down. After having about six contractions show up, the monitor went calm. I had a few Braxton Hicks after that, but no real ones. The nurse came in and said that since everything looked to be under control, the doctor had given the go ahead to release me with the instructions to just not strain myself for the rest of the evening. Hooray! I was so glad to get out of there.

After that we went and rescued my brother and sister-in-law from Baby K in the lobby. They had gotten her to watch about 10 minutes of a cartoon after which she became restless and wanted to run around like a wild child. (No surprise there) By then it was already past midnight and the poor kid was so slap happy she was alternating between bouncing off the walls and throwing temper tantrums. We got home to discover that the officers had cleaned up the whole mess and our apartment was almost completely aired out. You could still get a whiff of fumes in the kitchen occasionally, but the rest of the house seemed to be fine. HOORAY! We didn't have to go stay in a hotel! I was so happy to know that I could sleep in my own bed that night.

After getting some windows shut, we quickly rushed through Baby K's bedtime routine and put her to bed. She was out seconds after her head hit the pillow. Poor kid. By then it was about 1am. She has NEVER gone to bed that late before that I can recall. Malone and I decided we should leave a couple windows open for another thirty minutes though and unwind.

(As an aside, our neighbor felt horrible about this whole mess, but it was totally an honest mistake. We don't hold a grudge. And it's not like we're out a ton of money because I am on two insurance policies, so I won't have any out of pocket expenses from the hospital. Truth be told, the neighbor probably got the worse end of the deal. Have you seen gas prices lately? Poor guy was out upwards of $40 from losing that much gas.)

So that's it. That's the whole crazy story. As Malone and I sat together in our bed and counted our many blessings from the night, we couldn't help but feel mostly grateful. It was crazy. It was definitely inconvenient. It was stinky. But it definitely could have been a lot worse. We were so thankful that we were all ok, all we could do was offer a prayer of gratitude.

Updates

So it's been a little while since I posted. School started for me and I have found that I just can't seem to keep up anymore. That shouldn't have been too much of a surprise I guess since I am taking 16 credits this semester instead of my usual 12. But somehow I had it in my head that I would handle the extra work load with ease. Boy was I WRONG. Each day I am staying as busy as can be with classes, homework, church stuff, and most importantly, being a wife and a mother. But, there is a ray of light at the end of the tunnel. Two of my professors have given permission for the students to finish their classes as fast as they want. So, if I can just get those two classes out of the way quickly, I should free up some breathing room. My goal is to have them totally completed before Spring Break which is in mid-March. It will make me exceptionally happy to get these two particular classes out of the way since they are my least favorite: Intermediate Algebra and a Natural Disasters (Geology) course. To accomplish my goal, Malone has been sitting down with me after we get Baby K to bed and helping me study for at least 2 hours every night. And the biggest surprise of all? Malone and I are both really enjoying sitting down together to work on my homework. I know, it's just SHOCKING! Me? Liking Math and Science? I think I just saw a pig fly by. :) Just kidding. In reality, we are just enjoying having some time together every night that's exclusively the two of us.

Malone's work is going pretty well. It's kind of the same ol' same ol'. A couple of exciting things have happened though. Malone was recently designated as the "Senior Biofuels Student" in the lab. It might sound a bit silly, but it has taken a long time for him to earn that title. No, he doesn't make more money. What it really means is that he has a little bit more authority and responsibility. And of course, it also means he's the closest on his side of the lab to graduating. SO! I guess there really is a light at the end of the tunnel! We only have about 15 months left of school. Let the countdown begin!

Another exciting occurrence is that Malone's enzyme is now fully patented and up for sale to the highest bidder. Hopefully it sells for a lot! There are, of course, a lot of additional people who would get a chunk of the proceeds of the sale. The university, the lawyers, Malone's boss, etc... But if it sells for a lot it could mean a nice kickback for us. So we're keeping our fingers crossed.

Baby K is doing great. She had a sinus infection about a month ago that is all cleared up now and she is a much happier 2 year old without it. She is getting her very last two molars in on the bottom of her mouth, which she is VERY unhappy about, however. They are taking a long long time to come all the way through the gums. They are poking through in a couple places, but have yet to totally surface.

Baby K is also learning lots of new words. I don't think I could list all of them but some of her most recent words are: Apple, cow, grapes, doggie, Malone (hahaha), etc... I never thought I would be one of those wives who ever called their husbands "Daddy" but now I understand the necessity of it. A few weeks ago when Baby K would want something, she would holler "Maone! Maone? MAONE!!!!" At first I just thought she was experimenting with the word Mama, but nope! I would try to ask her what she wanted but she just would not be satisfied until Malone responded to her. So now we're working on helping her recognize the difference between a first name and a title. And I have had to learn to call Malone "Daddy" when Baby K is around. Not gonna lie, it's kind of awkward. A little.

As for Baby #3, I will be 23 weeks along this Saturday and she is healthy and growing normally. My cervix is staying shut so far (HOORAY!) and I am not on partial bed rest yet (HOORAY!). We had a 3D ultrasound of her yesterday and she was happily sucking on her fist. Her cheeks are already looking chubby too. :) And the most exciting recent development? She is now big enough/strong enough that when she moves, I can see my belly move. This is my most favorite part of pregnancy, hands down. Getting to feel her move and knowing that she is healthy and strong makes every pain and sickness more than worth it. I am so grateful for this blessing.

Well, I guess that's it for now. Although I suppose I could leave you with a funny story. (At least I thought it was funny)

Each week Malone and I try to split up the chores. He has been so sweet and taken on more of the household responsibilities since I have been pregnant however. Malone and I also decided this year that every month we will each receive a small allowance (and trust me, when I say small, I really mean it). We each get to choose what we want to do with our allowance and it can be as frivolous as we want. This way we don't have to feel guilty if we are doing something for ourselves as long as it's within specific limits.

Well, late last night (a little after midnight) as I was finishing up some studying I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to start a batch of whites in the wash. The laundry is my chore this week and I had procrastinated getting started on it. Unfortunately, this meant that I was wearing my last clean pair of undergarments and really desperately needed to get some laundry through the wash before morning. Since I had a few things left to finish up for school, I begged Malone to just get the one batch of laundry started in the washing machine. He was so sweet, he didn't even complain about it. But then after starting the wash he came back in the room with a grin on his face and said "I think if one of us asks the other to do their chore, then that person should give the other person their allowance." I couldn't help it, I burst into giggles. I just couldn't stop laughing. For some reason it struck me as hilarious that one grown adult would be begging another grown adult to do their chore for them and paying them their allowance to do it. I felt like an 8 year old again trying to convince my little brother to weed my row of corn in the garden or something ridiculous like that. :)