Some News is Good News

I got a text from Endrit today that his boss is allowing him to stay in the lab on a 2 weeks by 2 weeks basis.  This means that while he is in active job hunt status, every 2 weeks we will find out if there is any funding for him to stay in the lab.  Since his time in the lab ends August 31st, we found out today that he at least has income for another 2 weeks.  So, he is employed until September 15th.  It is a little thing, but it is such a blessing since it at least make it to ware we have 2 more weeks of us not spending our savings.  I said I would update people on Endrit's job status.  This is the first update.  Not much, but better than nothing.  We are being blessed.

How far along? 32 weeks
Baby is the size of a: Large jicama ~3.75 lbs and 16.7 in
Total weight gain/loss: up a bit I am sure...I will find out exactly on Wednesday
Sleep: getting better.
Best moment this week: Swimming.  Unfortunately I had to break out my old 2 piece...belly was just hanging out.
Movement: She is definitely getting cramped.  I still feel her little feet kicking at me when I lay on my right side.  It honestly is so much fun!
What I miss: Not waking up extremely puffy!  Oh my goodness my right hand hardly moves in the morning!
What I am looking forward to: Holding her in my arms.  It is getting close enough that I can say that.
Milestones: Every new week is a milestone in my opinion.
Symptoms: Lots and lots of heartburn and edema.

Thesis corrections

With 5 professors that read Endrit's thesis, compiling all of the corrections is a feat.  The one that is the most stringent writer gave Endrit his copy before the defense.  Endrit and I made all of the corrections on that one before he defended because that is what the professor demanded.  That leaves 4 more drafts of his thesis to dredge through and make corrections.  We have decided to tackle them one chapter at a time.  So today, Endrit came home and we sat at the table with 3 of them open and page at a time we went through all of the pre-thesis pages and chapter 1.  Tomorrow, we will try and tackle all of chapter 2.  We should be done with all of the corrections by the end of the week to send off to the editor.  I am glad that I don't mind helping Endrit with all of this.  I feel that I finally know what he has been doing the last 4 years despite him trying to explain it to me.  I guess that is what happens when you read a thesis 3 times and listen to a defense 3 times as well.

Oh, and nothing on the job front.  I PROMISE that we will tell all important news via text, call, facebook, and right here.  I promise!

31 Weeks

How far along? 31 weeks
Baby is the size of a: Head of lettuce (estimated 19 inches long and 3.9 lbs) 
Total weight gain/loss:  ummmm...Since my midwife appointment I think I am up about 1/2 lb.
Sleep:  I go through periods of can't get enough sleep and insomnia.  The last  2 days have been I can't get enough sleep.  Naps should never be 3 hours long after you sleep pretty good the night before.
Best moment this week: Has NOTHING to do with pregnancy.  Endrit passed his PhD dissertation.  That was an amazing day!!
Food cravings/aversions:  Not real aversions.  But, I am getting to the "I can eat everything in the house and it isn't enough" stage.  I am really trying to be good.  With this and the sleep, I think she is going through a MAJOR growth spurt.
What I miss:  Being able to bend down.  It is taken for granted by most people I think.
What I am looking forward to:  Meeting her.  I know it is a ways away, but I am really excited to meet her.
Milestones:  I have passed 200 days pregnant, passed 30 weeks.  Those are the main ones.
Symptoms:  big kicks from Marsi that hurt.  She wakes up when I do in the morning. It is really fun to feel her.  Lots of puffiness.  Other things are for me to know and no one else.

Dr. Endrit Shurdha

Endrit had his PhD thesis defense today.  Of course we were happy/scared/nervous about how everything could go.  We pretty much knew he would pass.  And he did!  It was the extent of the torture he would have to go through before they gave him the passing decision.

As is the case of any scientific research, you research one thing and it comes back with at least 3 questions.  At some point, you just have to stop knowing that research is never-ending.  Well, Endrit's adviser and some of the other professors didn't agree on where the stopping place should be saying that Endrit had not done enough research.  Well, his adviser came though for him and defended his position on why the research ended where it did.  He started his defense at 1:00 pm and called me with the results at 2:45 pm.  It was a good hour before I thought he was going to call.

I am so proud of Endrit.  He is amazing, smart, talented, and many other great qualities.  He pushed through the last 4 years and has almost passed every hurdle.  Well, now there is a new doctor in the house...even if it is just a doctor of philosophy.

Tomorrow

So, Endrit defends his thesis tomorrow.  Not much else to say other than that.

T - 4 (or 3) Days

Endrit is defending his PhD thesis on Friday.  As the day comes he is getting more confident.  That is a really good thing. I am definitely putting on a small front for Endrit to keep him calm.  I am extremely nervous for him and sometimes feel like this...

Because his PhD time seems to be summarized by this...

Being 30 weeks pregnant and on moderate bed rest, I have way too much time to think about things!  That is one of the reasons why I decided to break my bed rest protocol so I could go to the temple for peace.  I got peace, started reading comics and found this...

The end is near!

30 weeks

Well, I hit another of my arbitrary milestones.  I am 30 weeks today.  That means 7 weeks until I am considered full term.  10 weeks until her guess date, and 12 weeks until they make her come out of me. I honestly think I am closer to the 7 week cut off than the 12 and I really, really hope for that.

It really wasn't an eventful day.  We went to church, got free bread and cake after church, came home and took a tiny little nap, then spent a couple of hours doing Endrit's thesis corrections.

I am extremely tired.  Because of contractions I find it hard to get to sleep at night.  That and the swelling in my legs.  Not being able to sleep means I am very uncomfortable which makes me sore, sore, sore!  That and the contractions make me sore too.  I am now able to tell the difference between contractions I have to worry about and ones that I don't.

Regardless of all of this, I am happy being pregnant.  I like to feel her move around.  I see it as a miracle in every way.  I am trying to not complain too much about the discomfort.  It will be nice when Marsi will be out of the womb.  It will definitely not be easier, but I can't wait to meet her. 7-12 more weeks...not too bad.

Dexter is adorable

I knew that since I have kitties, the first testers of Marsi's big items would be them and not her.  Jimmy is not one to snuggle everywhere.  He is more content to lay on his back in the middle of the floor.  So, I knew it would be Dexter that would try out her things first.  He has decided the best thing to come into the house today was the car seat.  

He has tried the stroller and the car seat.  I am kind of surprised he hasn't tried out the swing yet.  I hope to get a picture of that when he decides to try that one out too.

Outfits from Daddy

We were walking around Wal-Mart last night because I felt the need to get just plain white onsies.  Out of everything that I got, no plain onsies!  We also wanted to look at carseats and bouncy chairs and play yards and a few other things.  While we were there, Endrit decided to go and look for a "daddy's outfit".  He went to the clearance section (awesome!) and found these 2 onsies.  I tried to talk him out of the purple one, but he wouldn't budge.  So, he made my day.  It was really cute.  It is fun to see him start to get into this whole baby thing.

Hospital Visit

Since I was supposed to drive to Idaho and have fun celebrating Marsi at a baby shower, of course I wasn't able to.  Friday night at around 10 pm I started to get stronger contractions.  I was used to getting contractions.  I have had major Braxton Hicks contractions for several months.  I just thought that I needed to drink some water, change positions or random other approaches to stop the contractions.

Well, I barely slept that night.  They were starting to get painful.  So I woke up ready and wanting to go to the shower.  Contractions were still coming and painful so I decided to time them...that was an extremely weird thing to have to do at 29 weeks pregnant.  They were coming about every 6 minutes.  I decided to just drive and see what happened.  I guess not the smartest move, but I wanted to go to the shower!

I called Endrit on the way.  I was about 15 minutes down the road and the contractions were about 5 minutes apart.  I was starting to get nervous.  Endrit asked if we needed to go to the hospital.  I told him that if I was still contracting this bad when I got home after the shower we would go.  I called my mom for some advice.  She did give birth to the twins at 30 weeks so she would know if I could be in real preterm labor.  

She called Nicole, who called her sister who is a nurse that deals with things like this and all the advice was to turn around and go to the hospital.  Well, by this time the contractions were closer to 3 minutes apart so it didn't take any convincing.  I was 30 minutes from home.  I called Endrit to tell him we were going to be going to the hospital and I was turning around.

I also called Janet to apologize that I would not be making it to the shower.

Endrit was sitting on the front porch when I drove up.  We went inside, he gave me a blessing and we went to the U hospital.  The ER escorted us to emergency L&D.  They hook me to the monitors, check for a UTI, yeast infection and other things that can cause more contractions.  All tests came back negative.  Monitors showed some good contractions that were regular.  It was kind of cool to see them on the screen.

Endrit got to see Marsi on the ultrasound.  He kept on saying how BIG she had gotten!  Well, the last ultrasound we had was over 10 weeks ago, so yeah, she grew a lot!  She is measuring a whole week ahead of schedule.

They gave me medication to see if it would stop the contractions.  It didn't change the frequency but it did change the intensity.  After a while longer, it did make the contractions less often.  With all of the good change they saw, I was told I was going to be released from the hospital that day.  It was good to hear because the monitors were bugging me (making the contractions hurt more), and the bed was extremely uncomfortable!

Plus, that meant that Marsi was good to bake longer.  She can't come for 8 weeks.  Just 8 more weeks until she is considered full term.  Then she can come.

So, I am on bedrest.  I am perfectly fine with that.  Every time I stand or anything I seem to get contractions.  I am still having contractions this morning, but I am not too worried about it.  I am just going to stay laying down and Endrit can feed me in bed.  We could still use prayers so the contractions get less frequent.

200

As I sat down to relax this evening with my iPod, I went to my daily regency app to see what it had to say for today. I just happened to notice that it was saying that today is my 200th day being pregnant. If I am being totally honest I have 14 days until then since "they" start counting pregnancy at the day your period starts. But, this is a milestone I have been thinking about for the last little while. 80 days until my estimated due date. Marsi will be here before we realize.

Baby shower in Weston

First off, It was a wonderful baby shower.  All of the games were so much fun!  I was REALLY happy I didn't have to do anything with candy bar diapers or measuring my belly.  Those 2 things I don't like at all, so it was wonderful to not have that happen.

All of the games were organized by my wonderful sister in law Nicole.  She is an amazing person and truly made my day wonderful.  My mom made my gorgeous cake (picture a couple of posts down).  And of course, Sue Stewart was a gracious hostess.

Because it was Rodeo weekend in Preston, there were a lot of people that were unable to make it to the shower, but the ones that were able to come, were so much fun!  Thanks for coming!

Here are a few pictures from the actual shower.

More pictures are on my Mom's Blog from the day too.

Here are pictures of the loot after I got home!

I just wanted to share all of these things.  It really was fun...and I don't like being the center of attention!  Thanks to everyone!