3 weeks, 2 days left!

Yesterday I had another prenatal check-up that went quite well! When Dr. G wanted to check the size of my uterus, as I got up on the table, Rosie started pushing up and out. So when I had to lay back, my stomach was all sorts of lopsided! Dr. G couldn't really tell if Rosie was still head down or not. That's how jumbled she was in there at that particular moment! He asked me if I had some time because he wanted to start up the "dinosaur" ultrasound machine they have in the back office to make sure Rosie was still head down. I said, "Of course! At this point in the pregnancy, I don't schedule ANYTHING the day I have a check-up! Just in case I happen to stay and deliver!" He laughed and lead us back to the room.

I laughed when I saw the machine! It was a dinosaur indeed! And it was broken! I had gotten up on the super-UN-cushioned table and he blobbed the jelly on my belly, and nothing was showing up on the screen. To which I replied, "Dr., I know there's a baby in there!" He laughed and said that he knew there was too but he thinks the machine is broken. He leaves the room, Charles helped me to sit up right as he walked back in. "Can you go to the maternity ward for me? They have an ultrasound machine there I'm going to have to use." So we cleaned my belly off and headed towards the maternity ward.

There were two women already in labor when I got there. So when I came up to the locked door, the woman asked if I was under stress. I answered, "Of course! But not the kind that will make me have this baby!" She didn't think I was too funny... After about 20 minutes of waiting, Rosie started acting funny and pushing out in every direction again. When Dr. G finally showed up and got the ultrasound machine working there, he confirmed that she was indeed head down and "locked and ready to go!" THANK GOODNESS!

We are having our diaper shower this Saturday, so anytime after the shower, I would just LOVE it if my water broke or if I started having contractions... after the shower, of course! That would be just too perfect! But Rosalie will probably make me wait the ENTIRE 40 WEEKS.

On a lighter note, the past few days have been GORGEOUS outside! I just love getting to dress Caity in her super cute summer clothes! We were outside Tuesday in the front yard. Caity just LOVES the flower bed in the front yard. She loves it so much that she decided to eat some of the dirt! I got a hilarious picture of her with the dirt on her teeth! See below!


In the flower bed!


A little dirt won't hurt!

These other pictures are just for your viewing pleasure! I just love how photogenic she is!


Talking to Baby Rosalie! Mommy at 36 weeks!


Trying to give Daddy slobber kisses!

Uncharted Waters!

36 WEEKS TODAY!

Can you tell I'm a little excited?!?

Didn't think so!

I've lost 2 lbs?!?

Had another prenatal check up yesterday, and to my surprise, I've lost 2 lbs! I just looked at the nurse with my head sideways and asked, "Is that possible?! I've only gotten bigger..." She just laughed and said, "I'll ask the doctor!"

Dr. G said that it's completely normal. And that may also be an indicator of my upcoming labor and delivery! He then said, "Now Carie, you can't go into labor this weekend because I'll be out of town, and I want to see you next week on Wednesday still pregnant. But if you make it to May, you can go ahead and go into labor and I won't stop you!" The first of May, I'll officially be 37 weeks!

The reason he won't stop me is because this whole pregnancy, my uterus has been measuring 7 cm (or weeks) too large. The last two weeks, I've been measuring at 40 weeks. He said that IF I make it to 39 weeks, he'll induce me. He doesn't want the baby to not be thriving in there if I really am further along. I'll get another ultrasound next week to make sure everything's a cookin' just right!

Saturday I enter uncharted waters in my pregnancy history! I've never made it to 36 weeks! I'm way excited!

Large... Really Large.

As I near the farthest I've ever been while pregnant, my mind tends to focus on the fact that I really did give birth early to Caitlin. She really was born at 35 weeks, 6 days. She was 6 lbs, 13 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. Would she have been a huge baby if she had been born on time?! I will never know. So my mind tends to wonder if Rosalie is that big yet or is she smaller?! I hope I will never know! At least not right now! Some women beg to go early, while others, like myself, beg to stay pregnant as long as possible! It makes me laugh! I know I joke a lot about wanting to go right now, but I think the Lord knows that I'm only kidding!

Charles and I had a wonderful 4 day weekend! He messed up his shoulder doing some heavy duty yard work earlier in the week last week, and by Thursday, couldn't move his shoulder or arm without a huge surge of pain. He decided to take 2 days and rest up. I didn't mind! I love having him home to help with Caity and spend time with me while she's napping! We did bicker quite often the first day... and most of the second day, but we decided to just hash out everything that was bothering us and get it resolved so that we could just focus on time together and nothing else. We both ended up in tears at one point or another, mostly me (thank you pregnancy hormones), but in the end, we just laughed and kissed!

We spent most of our time cleaning and prepping for Rosalie's arrival. Unpacking newborn clothes, getting the swing back out, packing Caitlin's too small 12m clothes, etc. We cleaned the kitchen together (SHOCK!) and without fighting! It was really, really nice! I don't want to make it sound as if we fight a lot, because we don't, we bicker most of the time and never about anything super important. I guess that's married life for ya!

We are now planning out how we want to finish the upstairs. We are going to gut everything as of right now, put new drywall/sheet rock up and tear down some walls to make things bigger. For the most part, not having enough money to do everything we want to do is the only thing stopping us right now. So we've talked about doing things one bedroom at a time as we can afford it. Caity's room first, my office second, Rosalie's room next, bathroom, then the game room. Hopefully we'll sit down and get things planned out and done ASAP. But I know enough to know that it's going to take a lot longer than we plan! Ha ha, house work is NEVER done! Not really!

Click here to see my wonderful best friend Jenelle (a.k.a. my college mother) and her beautiful newborn photography session that was on the KWWL News last night!

Here are some photos I've messed with on Picnik when my daughter naps and I have nothing else to do!

Engagement Photo taken by Jenelle Shamrell

Engagement Photo taken by Jenelle Shamrell

Wedding Photo taken by Jenelle Shamrell

Photo taken by Me!

Photo taken by Me!

Fail...

Yesterday I had to take Caity in for her one year ear check-up thing and I was kinda nervous considering she hates strangers! But once we got into the room to do the testing, Little Bit did quite well with the lady I thought was scary... She stepped out of the little box and wanted Caity to sit facing forward. She'd make the computer play a sound on the left side, followed by a box with Mickey Mouse in it that lights up when she looks the correct way. So then she played a sound on the right side... did Caity want to look?! NO! She wanted to see Mickey. And this test is suppose to check her hearing or her reactions to pretty lights?!

The woman told me she passed that part. Good. Then she put this thing inside her ear and tried the test twice... Caity failed both times. "Here, let me check in her ears... Yep, she's got a double ear infection. She should see her doctor today." I just sat there in shock. Caity gave us no warning signs, indications, nothing. She was all sorts of smiles before we left and she was playing once we got there. So during my appointment for Rosalie, Dr. G checked her ears and now she's on an antibiotic with tylenol/motrin for pain. Again.

Otherwise, all is well! Yesterday turned into a gorgeous day, and today looks like it's going to be gorgeous again! Not bad considering it was suppose to thunderstorm every day since Monday, and it hasn't! Here are some pictures of our girl growing up fast!


Charles and Caity the day he surprised me by coming home from work early to take "his girls" on a picnic at the park!

She put her pants on her head Tuesday night... And she hasn't let go of the little medicine cup from her allergy meds all week! So she's quite proud of that as well!

Caity, yesterday, walking with her walker!

Caity, yesterday, right before her hearing test... she sure looks like she's got a double ear infection, eh?!

Just another day in paradise!

So since the labor scare, nothing has really happened! Thank goodness! I've only had 2 contractions a day since Sunday! I've been keeping hella-hydrated and making sure to rest every single chance I get. The steroid shots made me feel like I could eat a friggin' hole in my house! I was hungry for a day after each shot! I got the second (and last in the series) yesterday and I had a reaction to it today. My face, chest, and arms were all super red and hot to the touch. I called my Dr. and he said just to put a cool cloth on my face, chest, and arms and to take some benadryl to help with the reaction. Needless to say, I'm now exhausted and trying to figure out why my little girl is still up at this hour! She's been pulling late nights and early mornings all week so far and it's starting to drive me nuts! I'm really going to have my hands full here soon when Rosie arrives!

My brother and his fiancee stopped by today to surprise me! Luckily they told me they would be here so that I could make the house somewhat presentable! But nevertheless, it was nice to see them since they live so far away! They ended up staying all day and we grilled out for dinner! It was fantastic! I never realize just how much I miss my family until they leave :( I live 45 minutes away from my Mother and her whole side of the family, and yet we never see them. It sucks. My father only lives 20 minutes away, but Charles and I are the Antichrist according to him, so we never see him anyway! Not that we really want to... he never has anything nice to say and neither does his wife. But I do miss him and hate the fact that he's only seen his grandchild twice since she was born over a year ago... at Wal-Mart. Both times.

Charles has been helping me around the house! Which is always welcome and most appreciated! I'm not even suppose to stand for even a few minutes at the chance of inducing my labor. I ended up breaking down the other night asking him to help me out a little more... It's funny... I'm a stay at home mother and yet my house is never clean! "What do you do all day?!" I get asked quite often... and those of you who are mothers know the answer to that! "My house is clean before the children wake... and when they do wake, my house is a disaster area until they are asleep for the night! Giving me the chance to clean once more, and prepare for the next day of chaos and messy rooms!" Sound about right?! I thought so! But I don't mind a messy house, as long as Caity is entertained and happy!

Bed is calling my name! The benadryl is kicking in and I can no longer resist the urge to slouch over and sleep! Have a good night!

Caity on her walker/rider thing! She's just now getting the hang of it!

False Alarm!

Our Sunday ritual hasn't changed much since we had Caity. I get up at 7 and shower, get dressed, do my hair, pack the diaper bag, lay Caity's clothes out, wake Charles up about 8 to start getting ready. By then, Caity wakes up and I feed her while Charles showers, shaves, etc. We head out about 9:30 and go to church.

Yesterday, by the time we got there about 10, I had a contraction. Thinking not much of it, I glanced at the clock and went about the sacrament meeting. 10 minutes later, I had another one. Then another within 10 min.... and another.... and another. By the time 11:00 rolled around, I told Charles what was going on. He had stepped out of the chapel to put Caity down for her nap. He wanted to go home right then and there, but I told him I didn't want her to wake up just yet so we were going to wait it out.

The contractions stopped until about 11:25, then they picked up again, coming every 10 minutes. I talked Charles into staying the last hour because I didn't feel any need to leave just yet. When church was over at 1, we headed home fast. They were getting closer and closer. 7 minutes, 5 minutes, 2 minutes... He ordered me to lay down when we got home, and I did as I was told.

I kept track of the contractions. 16 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 5 minutes, 2 minutes, 2 minutes, 2 minutes... Um, Charles.... they aren't stopping! CALL THE DOCTOR!

I talked to my Dr. and he wanted me to go in and get monitored. We packed Caity up and headed to the emergency room. By then, my contractions were starting to hurt. They took me to the delivery floor and got me on the bed. I swear a million things were going on at once. One nurse was taking my blood, another was hooking me up to the fetal monitor, another was wanting a urine sample, another was getting a steroid shot ready for my butt, and it was craziness in there! Once hooked up the whole way, I got the shot in my butt and then they let me go to the bathroom.

The nurse that went in with me to help me "wash, wash, rinse, and dry" my vagina, stood next to me while I was trying to pee in the cup. She looked down at me, I looked up at her and gave her a half smile. "I can't do this with you in here!" I said. "Oh, oh sorry! Ha ha! I can't pee with other people around either!" said the nurse. As soon as she stepped out, I went!

Afterward, the nurses wanted to get an IV in me so they could get fluids in me. I told the nurses that I've never been good at getting an IV in on the first shot. I told them they could try, but DO NOT wiggle the needle around inside of me. (They didn't listen...)

The first nurse tried my right wrist near the bone. After wiggling it around and trying to "thread" it, my vein blew. So then she tried the top of my hand, wiggled it AGAIN, and that vein blew. A different nurse tried my left hand, couldn't thread it, wiggled it around, and I started getting irate! Charles ended up taking Caity home right then because she was feeding off of my emotions. Finally, the nurse that was with me in the bathroom wanted to try one more time before putting it in my upper arm/elbow area. I looked right at her and said, "If you don't get it in one shot, I'm DONE! And so are you!" She got it right away and I didn't even feel it! It went in above my right hand wrist bone. I was rocking and rolling with contractions for a half hour after that whole ordeal.

My contractions slowed down until the doctor came in to run some more tests on my cervix and check my dilation. But the tests came back negative and within 3 hours, my contractions were every 20 minutes to every 35 minutes. I was allowed to go home.

I'm on pelvic rest, partial bed rest, and limited to only picking Caity up when I absolutely have to. My hands and wrists are all sore and bruised. They look awful. I go back today for the second round steroid shot to help Rosalie's lungs develop. Hopefully we don't have anymore scares for the next 2+ weeks. I'm almost to 37 weeks!

Goal: STAY PREGNANT!

Wish me luck!

Getting Ready for Rosalie!

As always, we have decided to run with the tide and prepare for a girl! We took our chances with Caity and now we're taking our chances with Rosalie! IF it is a boy, I have all the stuff I need for him! But we are pretty sure the pink outfit will be the one baby comes home in!

We had a mini-photo shoot yesterday with my growing belly and Caitlin! We took just a few photos because they all turned out so well! This one was the funniest of them all! She looked right at the camera because it was set on a timer and beeped, so she went, "Ooooo" at the sound of the beep, not at my belly! But it looks otherwise! Haha! I love having a photogenic daughter!


I'm at 34 weeks now and feeling it all over! Gah! I feel like a whale most days! I am bigger than I was with Caity! My stretch marks from her are stretching! But I don't mind! No one usually sees my belly anyway!

My friend Angie had her baby 3 weeks early yesterday and her little girl was sent to a NICU in Des Monies. She was having trouble breathing. Charles and I were there for a tour of the birthing unit when a mutual friend of ours called me and said that Angie was in the first room because she had the baby this morning. We finished our tour and visited her. She won't be able to see her baby until Sunday because she had a C-section and it didn't go very well. So she needs A LOT of down time right now. The doctor that did her last C-section glued her shut, so the new surgeon had to go through her bladder to get to baby. I am so glad I had Caity the natural way. And I'm praying for another vaginal delivery!

Thank goodness it's Friday! Charles surprised me by getting home early! He took half a day so that we can go to the park and have a picnic with Caity this afternoon! I was totally shocked! The sun in shining and it is GORGEOUS outside! Here's to having a good FRIDAY!

Baby Rosalie Update

I had another prenatal check-up yesterday! All went well! Dr. G went ahead and did the strep test just in case I go into early labor. It's a little early, considering I'm only 34 weeks, but better safe than sorry! He checked Rosalie's heart rate while I was lying on my back, and it was rather slow for his likings. So even though pregnant women know they are not suppose to be on their backs when they sleep, we have to pay extra special attention to keep me on my sides. It isn't a problem for me, but there have been times I have woken up on my back. I just keep a body pillow along my back to keep me from rolling onto my back.

Dr. G still thinks I'm going to go in the next few weeks! I just hope to make it to 37 weeks! I made it to 35 weeks, 6 days with Caity. So I've never even seen the 36th week in any pregnancy! So it would be just wonderful to have a full term baby! I really could do without the whole NICU thing again! That was awful... so keep us in your prayers! FULL TERM BABY!

Caity's been on a "Mommy only" kick these past few days. I would say that it was cute, but it does get a little old really fast! She tries to climb up my big prego belly and jump. She wants me to feed her, me to give her her milk, me to bathe her, me to put her down for naps and bed, and me to do play with her. Given, I do all of these things all day while Charles is at work, when he come home, she wants nothing to do with him. She'll smile, say, "DADDY!" and want nothing more to do with him for the rest of the night. Oh well, it's just a phase, but if this baby comes early, I'm really going to have my hands full!

Family Week, Conference, Easter

We had a pretty busy week last week! Charles' family came to stay for a week with his Mom and Dad. Billy, Mandy, and their two kids drove from Florida, while Clancy drove from Texas! Clancy's wife Jessica stayed behind in Texas because her Mom was having surgery. We missed her. The rest of us live in the same town! So it was very crowded, but full of love in the house!

We did a lot of fun things while they were in town! We did mostly activities that the kids could enjoy like fishing, camping in the back yard (we didn't), went to the movies to see How to Train your Dragon (we didn't), putt-putting, roasted marshmallows, had an Easter egg hunt and BBQ, took family photos, and painted Teresa's new deck! It was very fun to have all the family around!

Caitlin did very well with all the people around! She bonded very quickly to everyone! It made it much easier for us to not have to hold her the whole time! We took our family photos at SWCC on the stage, so we were thankful for that. We tried to take pics outside, but it didn't work out! Too windy! We took our own photos, and they turned out okay.

They all ended up leaving on Friday in the morning, so we spent Friday relaxing and getting things back to normal. General Conference was Saturday and Sunday, and we thought it was just fantastic! Wonderful, wonderful talks! Caitlin hardly sat still, but we were at Mom's house, so it was alright.

Easter Sunday went well, too. Caity didn't know what to think of anything, but she sure did laugh and clap a lot! We didn't do anything too special with her, mainly because we already did our Easter thing on Thursday, but she got to wear her Easter outfits!

The Austin Family

Daddy and Caity looking for Eggs!

Easter Morning!

We're having...

ANOTHER GIRL!

We are very, very excited to be adding another princess to the house! Caitlin is very excited too! When we got to see her "parts," we both just knew that this is what Heavenly Father had in store for us! Charles and his girls!

We still don't have a name picked out... but we're working on it!

Caitlin's First Birthday Party

Caity has turned a year old! Charles had to work all day so I spent it at home with my love bug as usual! She woke up super cranky, would not eat breakfast, and did not want to take a nap! But after her morning nap, she was just fine! The rest of the day went well! We got Caity her own cake to eat and she didn't know what to think of it at first, but soon came around!

I mean, she really came around!

It was rather hilarious! And it was just the three of us! It was special! And messy! But she LOVES baths! So it turned out quite nicely!

We had her family and friend birthday a few days later on the 27th! Our house was super crowded, but full of love! Caity did so well with so many people all around her! We sang happy birthday and opened up presents!

All of us singing happy birthday! She didn't touch the flame! I was super careful!

She LOVED the Fridge Phonics toy! She wouldn't open up presents after that! I had to do it for her! *Don't you just love my big prego belly right behind her!*

Clapping when we were all done! She had a fantastic day and got so many presents, I can't post all the photos here! You can always check my facebook page for all the birthday photos!

A Wonderful First Year

Caitlin just turned one last week! March 24th. I didn't know how to react. I guess a part of me was really excited, and a part of me was really sad. Excited that Charles and I have kept her alive for a year! And sad that it went by so fast. There were days and night I never thought would end... days that ended way too soon... and days I would love to forget.

Since I am due in May, I have been packing my overnight bag, the baby's diaper bag, and setting up another crib with Charles. We still don't know the gender of baby, so I opened up Caitlin's box of newborn clothes. I cried when I pulled out her take-home outfit. Mainly because she was swimming in it when we took her home from the NICU. I called Charles into the room and showed him the outfit. We both looked at Caitlin who was climbing up the new crib and saying, "Baby, baby!" It was a reality shock and a great moment for us as parents! I think that Caitlin knows that Mommy is pregnant. She talks to my belly and pats it. It's really adorable! Now that I am bigger, she looks up at it and goes, "Ooooooo!" Hilarious! We packed her take-home outfit, a neutral outfit, and a boy outfit in the diaper bag! Just in case!

Caitlin was not growing or gaining weight from months 6 to 9. We ended up taking her to a specialist in Des Monies. But before that, Dr. G suggested that we give her some Neosure formula and see how she reacts. I was still weaning her from breastfeeding, so I stopped all together and she took beautifully onto bottles. Not to mention the fact that by the time we got to the specialist, she was in the 75% and not the 10%! We didn't even see the doctor! The nurse sent us on our way! Caitlin just needed a boost!

Other than that, we were totally blessed with a happy and healthy baby for her first year! We are hoping to repeat that with baby #2! Here are some photos of Caitlin!