Father's Day Weekend and Portland Trip

Last Monday Malone got an email from a company in Portland wanting to do an interview with him. They asked Malone if he could be there within the next 4 weeks. With everything going on, we decided it was better to go sooner than later since we don't know what will happen later with the baby. I decided to go with him and be his navigator/supporter. We left on Saturday the 15th after he got off work. We dropped off Tivo at my parents and Kayto at our friends Kacy and Deidra's in Blackfoot. We drove to Boise that night and stayed the night there. The next day, we spent Father's day driving to Portland. The drive between Boise and Portland is a long boring drive until you get to the canyon by the river which is about an hour outside Portland. That was a beautiful place. We arrived in Portland around 2pm and had made plans to stay with his sister Heidi for the night. We were able to relax and hang out with her all Sunday afternoon. Heidi has a really nice home right next to the Columbia river. There were lots of trees and foliage and in such a nice quiet neighborhood. You completely forget that you're in Portland because it was so quiet you could hear the birds chirping, and no sound of traffic. We called our dads and wished them a happy Father's Day, had chicken enchiladas, and watched Mad Men.

The next day Malone and I got ready and navigated our way to where he needed to go for his interview. We got turned around a couple times, but were able to get him there not only on time, but a smidge early! He interviewed with Swinerton Construction co. for about an hour. The interview went well. Malone feels like he would have a nitch in that company where he could really help out. Both of us would be good with living in Portland too. So we are excited to see where that goes and are waiting to hear back and see. After the interview we drove over to another company, Stacy and Witbeck. Malone had been interviewed by this company a couple months ago, so we wanted to follow up to see if we could get him in with someone involved in hiring but there was no one available. After that Malone and I packed up, grabbed some lunch, and were able to catch up with Heidi at work before we left. Then we hit the road again and drove back to Boise for 6 hours. Did I mention what a long drive it is?! We got to our hotel in Boise, grabbed food, and relaxed all evening.

The next day we made a couple stops and were once again, on the road for 5 more hours. We stopped in Blackfoot to pick up Kayto and visited with Deidra and Kacy. We had lunch there and watched the dogs play for a bit. After that we headed to IF to run a quick errand, and then to my parents to pick up Tivo. Both the dogs did well while we were gone, which was a relief. I am so thankful we had people who could watch them for us! Kacy and Deidra were such good sports to watch Kayto for us. He's kind of a handful, and they have two other dogs and their son to watch too. Thanks to everyone who helped watch the dogs!

Anyway, that evening we got home and realized that we had no car for Malone for work the next day. We had sold the truck two weeks ago and had been borrowing cars from my parents since. But we gave them back the car before we left for Portland.I wanted to get Malone a brand new bike, but they are so expensive and we just don't know what our financial situation is going to be like so we didn't feel comfortable investing money right now. The cheap bikes at Walmart looked like they were going to fall apart. I didn't feel comfortable with that either.  So Malone made some phone calls and we were able to borrow a bike from Malone's brother-in-law Kurt who lives out in Sugar City. It's an older used bike, but it works for now. It will get Malone where he needs to go. Thanks Holly and Kurt!

Despite some of our difficulties and sacrifices, we have seen little blessings. We were happy for Malone to get his interview, and that we were able to get away and get up there so quickly and safely. I am thankful that we were able to find Malone a bike to help him get to work and school temporarily until we figure out what to do, and that was late notice as well. I feel confident that things are in the Lord's hands. Sometimes it's hard to hand over the reigns, but I know He will watch out for us and guide us.

Gender Reveal

We found out last week that we are definately having a BOY. We couldn't be more pleased about it, not to mention that we had a hunch from the beginning that's what it was so it's nice to be right.

While it was really fun finding out the gender, I knew that we weren't just looking at that we needed to check everything and make sure he's growing like he should.  Our doctor informed us after the ultrasound that they found an abnormality. He sent us to a specialist, who we were able to get in and see the next day. Dr. Beauchamp is a perinatoligist. She confirmed that our baby does in fact have a defect. He has a neural tube defect called Spina Bifida. Malone and I were able to consult with a neurologist right after the ultrasound who gave us more information and gave us our options. We have two options, which both require surgery. The first and common option is to go to University of Utah, have the baby, and transfer him over to Primary Children's Hospital and have a C-section at 37 weeks and operate on the baby immediately. Or we can operate prenatal, or while still in the womb. The second option has had really great results overall giving the baby a better chance at a normal life. Malone and I are taking a few steps towards the second option, doing a prenatal operation. There are a few steps to take to first find out if we're even eligible for this operation, which will require us to go to a hospital in San Francisco. The University of San Francisco is one of three hospitals in the country that participated in clinical trials with this procedure. So right now we are just doing some preliminary exams before we even go out to San Francisco. There we'll spend 2-3 days doing all sorts of c-scans, ultrasounds, and everything to find out exactly what we're dealing with. We'll talk to all the doctors and people we'd be associating with during that time. If they find us eligible for this procedure, Malone and I will have to decide if it's what we want to do. If we choose to not go through with it, we'll come home and proceed with option one. If we choose to continue and do the procedure, we'll stay in San Francisco. I'll have the operation, spend a couple days in the hospital. Then once I am discharged, I must stay in the area for 2-3 weeks for follow-ups. During that time I will be on pretty strict bedrest. If I show no signs of premature labor, I'll be able to go home and finish up my pregnancy there. Then at 37ish weeks I'll go to Primary Children's in SLC and do the C-section there. If all goes well, our baby will have a decreased chance of needing a shunt, increased chance of better mobility/motor skills, and decreased chance of permanent chari malformation in the brain.

The entire situation is terrifying and heartbreaking. There is so much that is unknown at this point it's hard to plan on anything really. Malone is still in school, his last semester. He's had to skip a few classes to go to Dr. appointments with me and is struggling to keep up. He notified his teachers of our situation, and most of them were really good about working with us. One of them was really stubborn and told Malone to defer this semester and come back next semester. This is not an option for us. Malone has already looked into getting jobs following his graduation and with the baby coming, we just HAVE to be done this semester. We are hoping that this teacher comes around.

Busy week!!

Malone and I have been keeping busy the last week or so. Malone had this big assignment for one of his 3D modeling classes. It has taken him weeks to get this assignment done. This weekend alone he spent about 10 hours or more on it. He had to draw up a cabin for a client on a design program on the computer. Then he had to transfer that over to another program, and then physically build it out of wood. When he brought home the pieces it looked like hundreds of tiny pieces of a 3D puzzel. He spent alot of time working on this project with the very little time he has. I am proud of him and all the hard work he put into it. It turned out really cool!  I feel like I can relate to these kinds of things because of all the time I had to put into my art classes. I guess in a way we are both artists!

 

 

As for me, this week I have been spending my spare time working on top of my already full time work schedule. I design and print signs for Broulim's. Because I already have two jobs, I end up doing most of this at night after work. As time goes on in this pregnancy, it's getting harder and harder to stay at night. I feel overexhausted sometimes. In the last pay period I spent about 15.5 hours on top of a regular 40 hr a week work schedule doing signs. I'm not sure how much longer I can handle working this much. And while I try to set limits so I still have time at home getting things done, spending time with Malone, and sometimes resting I have received complaints that I am not available enough. People can't seem to understand why I can't get their orders out faster. Everyone orders these big orders and expects it done the next day without considering the fact that am forced to do these at night and I have other people ordering with the same expectations  everyday. After working this much the last two weeks, this weekend I woke up with a really bad head cold. I get colds when I have a combination of high stress and not enough sleep, which doesn't really surprise me. The work doesn't end, so now I am working alot WITH a cold, which makes me even more tired.

 

As far as the pregnancy goes, however, I am doing great. I am 18 weeks along this week and I feel fine, just tired in the afternoons as usual. I haven't been careful about how much I have been eating lately so I am worried I might be gaining too much weight too fast. I haven't felt the baby move yet, which is sad because I really can't wait! And I want to have a comfort in knowing it's growing and moving like it should... but I am trying to be patient. I find out in 2 weeks what we're having! Seriously so excited! And I wanna get shopping!

 



Weeks 16 & 17

So far so good! I had my 16 week appointment last week, and Dr. Allred says "it sounds like a happy baby". We just checked for the heartbeat, which is less exciting than an ultrasound. But the BIG ultrasound when we check all the organs and gender is NEXT appointment, June 5th. I am so excited! Right now I am looking forward to not only finding out what gender it is, but I am also excited to feel it move. I should be feeling it move anytime in the next few weeks. I can't wait! So far things have been so surreal, it's hard to believe there is actually something inside there. I've gotten a bit rounder, but I think when I feel it and see it in ultrasound, it'll be really real for me. I am still sticking with the idea that it's going to be a boy, but I sometimes am unsure. Can't wait to find out! I have been looking at some maternity clothes already ( I already can't fit into my shorts from last summer, no surprise there) and some of my t-shirts. So I figure I might as well start shopping. I really like the stuff on this website, I think I could really spend alot of money here...

Last week Malone and I bought a new laptop. The one we got when we first got married is having alot of problems so it was just time to upgrade. It's an HP pavillion, we got it for $599 at Costco. Having this computer will help Malone with his schoolwork hopefully. He's got two 3D autocad drawing classes. It's basically a 3D modeling class using digital graphics. It's actually pretty cool, just really time consuming. He's also taking construction law, and methods and materials. Recently, Malone was given a raise at work, which couldn't have come at a better time! We can use all the help we can get with this baby on the way. So we were very excited for that. He is still working in the meat department at Broulims

Week 14&15

This pic is from last week, at 14 weeks. Sorry I look gross, I just got done exercising and it was the only pic from last week I took. Anyway, things are still going good. I am mostly just struggling with lack of energy most days which is something I can handle. I feel like I am poking out a little more each week too. I am supposed to be "training" for a 5k in July and am lacking energy/motivation to get out the door most days. The day I took this photo, Kayto and I ran and walked for about a mile or so and walked another mile or two. We were both really tired after that. I just need to be consistent!! I have also been trying to do some shopping around for things we need for the baby which is both fun and a reality check. But I am so excited to turn our spare room into a nursery! Even though we don't  know what we're having yet, I keep finding myself looking at boy nurseries to get ideas. Hopefully my gut instinct is right and we are having a boy. We'll know in another 5 weeks and I just can't wait! This pregnancy is already going fast. In 5 weeks I'll be at the halfway point, which is mindblowing.

Malone is doing well in school so far. He is keeping busy with a couple hard classes, but he's managing. I just have to say that this guy is amazing. He works about 30 hours a week AND goes to full time school everyday, and still manages to have time to go on dates with me. I just LOVE him. I pray everyday that he will find a good job after he graduates.

Hello spring semester, new furniture, and new changes!

Winter semester has finally come to a  close. Malone is happy to enjoy a week off of school and will be starting his LAST semester next week. This semester came with it's share of challenges for Malone and I. But we are excited to start anew this semester. At the end of last semester  Malone had trouble with a big paper for his class. The teacher gave him a failing grade on it, which would have failed him in the entire class. If Malone didn't pass this class, he would not have graduated next semester. After 24 hours of prayers, it turned out the teacher was nice enough to work with Malone and he was able to fix his paper and turn it in for a grade. Malone was able to pass his class. What a huge blessing that was!

Malone and I have also been blessed to find some used furniture to replace our couch and chair we've had forever. The new couch and loveseat as well as a glider rocker (for the nursery) are all beige microfiber and cost us about $400 total. And we had some friends of ours sell us some of their furniture since they were moving out of the country next week. We got two bookshelves, three lamps, some decorations, a framed painting, and a long pretty mirror for about $130. It's fun to see our house look put together and nice! The couches are really comfortable too. I had to clean them up a bit when we got them (the lady we got them from had kids and a dog), but they look pretty good now. They still kind of smell like someone else's house, but it's going away.



Kayto knows he's not allowed on the furniture, but he's pushing his boundaries here!

I am 13 weeks along now, and I am starting to feel like I'm poking out a little more. I can't sleep on my stomach like I use to, it feels like I'm laying on a baseball. It's a little hard to tell I'm showing since I already had a bit of a gut there from before, but I know it'll just get bigger and bigger as time goes on. I am excited to see some changes! The last couple days I have been making an effort to try to watch what I'm eating, how much, and eat more fruits/veggies. I'm not going to say I've been perfect at it, but I am trying to do better than I did the day before. The scale hasn't moved much, which is surprising, but that'll change too in time. I am still feeling really great, not sick really at all. That's also been a huge blessing, because I don't know what I would have done if I was sick all this time!

We're having a BABY!

Malone and I have finally decided to start our family! As of today I am 12 weeks pregnant. We found out about 4 weeks ago. I am due October 20th, which I am excited about. I think we were both in shock for about a week, even though we were planning on this pregnancy. It's just crazy that it's happening now. I have been lucky with this pregnancy so far, I haven't had any problems really. I've had the normal breast tenderness, tired a lot, and some nausea, but other than that no problems at all.

what?!!

People have already been asking what I think this baby will be. Malone hopes for a boy. I wouldn't mind having a boy first, but I don't care either way as long as it's healthy of course. I have a good feeling that it is going to be a boy, but we won't know for sure for another 2 months.

First ultrasound



12 Weeks

 

I'm not going to lie. I feel dumb taking pregnancy photos already because I've always been a little heavy, so what may look like a bump is actually most likely just me not baby right now lol. Anyway, we told our families the good news on Easter, March 31. Malone and I put together some easter egg baskets for our parents filled with eggs and candy. One egg had the ultrasound in it, so when they opened up that egg they got a big surprise! It was really fun to finally tell everyone our news. I told everyone at work within the next week. Now everyone knows! I signed up on whattoexpect.com to find out how my baby is growing each week. This week it's about the size of a large plum. I am already surprised at how fast it is growing! Tomorrow I have another Dr. appointment, so I will be excited to see how things are going.