35 Weeks!!

I've gotten bigger. I have more restriction on trying to touch my toes. Benjamin is very good at remembering to offer an arm when I'm trying to crawl out of the couch in our apartment, or out of the passenger seat of the car. And I can't clip my own toenails anymore. Luckily it's summer, and I don't have to tie shoes. Because they wouldn't get done without help. Yeah for slip-ons. Which also don't need socks, thank goodness!


I wanted to share a little bit more about what my life has begun to look like.

So, I've had a more difficult time getting comfortable to sleep for the night. My back has hurt for a while, and I finally decided to try something new. We have a number of extra pillows, and I started to make a little mattress padding for myself. It's made a difference for me to have the extra cushions. But Benjamin calls it my "castle" and has less praising things to say about the mounds of padding that inevitably end up between us as we sleep. I've also kicked the blanket out of the bed. I generally can't sleep with the sheet anymore, which keeps Benjamin further away, as well. He is a cold sleeper, and insists on having a blanket. When his bundle of covers are too close, I fling them away from me, and he would rather have covers than fight his way onto my pillows (a 2 inch uphill battle, I'm told). Here's what I sleep on:

I have taken to eating otter-pops like they are candy. Well, I suppose they are. I love the refreshing coolness, and the lack of needed preparation. It's mostly water, right? So it's helping me be more hydrated....And the sugar is nice, too. I've never been addicted to popcicles before, but I might have to start calling this an addition. Any other suggestions? My sister has recommended smoothies, but I don't take the time to make them, and don't think I could purchase them for nearly as good a deal as 100 otter-pops for $3.50 at Wal-Mart.

For Christmas, we got a Wii Fit game, and it's been fun to track my weight growth on the game, as pregnancy has progressed. I'll be the first to admit that I haven't actually gotten an exercise routine with the game, but I do try to weigh in at least once a week. It's a shocking reminder that I'm changing. Last week, for the first time, the game charted me as "overweight" for my height....It's just been a steady (or at times, exponential) increase in weight, but now I'm officially "overweight." Even though I know I have good reason, and that it's a temporary status, it leaves me wide open for jests and jabs. Before it's all over, we'll get to see my weight increase, increase, and finally start to decrease....hopefully I can keep myself taking time to weigh in. I hear that I'll never take the time for it not long from now. We'll see!

I've also started to explore my domestic side, a little bit. Yesterday, I made some of Beulah's famous rolls. That's my grandmother. I got the recipe from my sister, and enjoyed the project. And don't worry, the rolls were terrific. But I can't imagine making rolls from scratch in addition to making a meal. Maybe for a special occasion, where that's my contribution to a pot luck or something. It was a fun evening.


The little monkey is still quite active. I've gotten to share his hiccups a few times the last 2-3 weeks. He also stretches often, and I feel him moving way over on my sides...We're pretty confused sometimes when I feel him in places that are almost a foot and a half away from each other. Our little guy is also getting stronger. Sometimes he pushes hard enough into my ribs that I wonder if he has a map of my nerves. He pokes pretty aggressively. Does it almost tickle? Sometimes yes (in a painful way), sometimes no. And my belly button is going through constant re-shaping sessions. I wonder what will happen to it in the next few weeks...

Family Visits

Can I get any bigger than this? I think not. I'm sure nature will prove me wrong, and has been doing so for a couple of weeks...but it's startling to think about. As far as how I'm doing, I'm enjoying the air conditioning, relying heavily on heartburn medicine, and wondering how long I'll last before we finally go to see Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

We got to have family come and stay with us for the past couple of weeks. My parents came for a few days, followed by the Heatons for a while. I didn't carry the primary camera for any of the adventures, but here are some of the shots of what we've done:

Dad and his new camera at Niagara Falls

Mom and Emily overlooking Horseshoe Falls

Heatons getting Buffalo Wings

The wings themselves

Anna and Matthew at the
Corning Museum of Glass

Emily and Anna at the
Palmyra Temple

Benjamin and Anna in the Sacred Grove

Benjamin on the Maid of the Mist (more to come)

Heaton menfolk

It was so fun to have everyone visit. I saw much more of Western New York and Canada with company to go exploring with. If anyone is ever passing through Corning, NY, I recommend seeing the Corning Museum of Glass. We got to spend a few hours there, and it was AMAZING. The demonstrations were fabulous, and we had a lot of fun wandering around.

The Soft Spot

Emily's last post got reflective and she mused "are we ready" and "are we mature enough".

Emily! Come on! Look at who you're talking to. I'm an expert at raising baby boys. I learned everything you need to know with my little brothers, Christopher and Matthew. Let me tell you:
1) Don't pick the baby up by the head.
2) Don't set the baby down on his head.
3) Don't hold him without supporting his head.
and no matther how tempting it is...
4) Don't push the soft spot on the top of his head.

Seriously, the number 4 rule has been seared into my brain. Apparently I had a hard time following this rule (sorry if there has been any permanent damage, Christopher). I don't remember my mom ever yelling at me about me pushing my 5-year-old finger into my brothers brain, but I sure remember the complete fear that has been drilled into my brain from whatever disciplining was given me.

Now Emily and I love petting her belly, feeling the near constant kicking, and watching the movement, but sometimes when our son pushes out Emily likes to push back. She probes and tries to figure out what body part is extruding itself. It is all I can do to resist literally yelling, "Stop, that might be his head." I know that this fear of mine is irrational, but it is really a fear. I am actually afraid to poke back because I never want to break rule number 4. That's all I learned as a 5 year old brother... Don't touch the soft spot. I know it's always tempting. It's like a little button, but Don't Touch It.

32 weeks!!!

I just wanted to update everyone on how our little monkey-to-be is doing. He's getting bigger all the time, and has really found out that my stomach (especially with food in it) is one of the easiest things to compress when he's moving. Heartburn has become a constant companion for me. I know that I am using the toilet much more often than I did compared to months ago, but I can still usually make it through the night, which is unexpected. I can sometimes feel TOO much pressure in my lower abdomen, but with no embarrassing stories yet. Occasionally, I'll get a kick or hit on one of my lower ribs, and it is such a weird sensation. I can't think of a way to even describe it...

I know my belly is not the only thing that has plumped up (let's not talk about my hips, ok?), but Benjamin tells me it's the only noticeable difference. Isn't he great? I did notice last night for the first time that my stomach bulge was pulling uncomfortably on my side while laying in bed. I tried putting an extra pillow underneath my belly while laying on my side, and it seemed to do the trick. I'll have to see if it works two nights in a row.


I asked somebody at a pharmacy counter last weekabout if type "a" or type "b" heartburn medicine was better for pregnancy, and the girl on the other side looked me over, and asked how far along I was. I told her I was about 7 months, and she was amazed. She told me that I didn't look one bit pregnant in my face or in anything she could see. I took a couple steps back, revealing my buddah belly, and her reply was, "Girl, you be lookin' great for no 7 months pregnant. I hope I be lookin' that good when I be no 7 months..." I thanked her, and the gentleman pharmacists answered my question regarding the medication. It made me smile to think of one of the classes I just finished a BYU: multicultural issues and dialects....

It's hard to think that we'll likely have a little boy with us in 8 weeks time. Is everyone sure we're adult enough to take this on? Are you sure we're not just pretending? This is something that I always imagined I would be thinking about when I was older and had grown up. Aren't I still going to attend my Mia-Maids class every week? Aren't I still making lists of the kind of boy I want to marry, and the type of mom I want to be? When did I wake up and these faraway "someday" plans become today, yesterday, and more importantly TOMORROW?!? Any second, we're going to wake up, and Benjamin and I are going to be 15 years old, looking forward to the next youth dance at church, where we hope to get to dance with each other...

Then again, I get to hug Benjamin as soon as he gets home, get him some dinner, and give him a hug as I fall asleep snuggled close. I'm glad I'm still not 15, waiting a month to see this handsome boy. We'll still have each other when we wake up tomorrow morning.


Well, as you can see, our current situation leaves me in a reflective mood sometimes. Anticipation is building.

Roadtrip to Buffalo, NY

As soon as finals were over, I got some help playing tetris with my car and belongings, and we pulled out on a Saturday afternoon. Merry came with me, and I'm so glad that she could. It was fun to share the driving, enjoy catching up, hearing all about how wonderful Dave is (and laughing to myself how I really am the luckiest ever to have Benjamin, despite Dave being so wonderful). We talked about wedding plans, we talked about being missionaries, we talked about anticipating being moms, and we talked about plain girly stuff. It was a blast.

Day one: Provo to Greeley, Colorado

We stayed with Pat and Melissa Ferguson. Melissa was my trainer in the Denver North Mission, and Pat is somebody that we taught together. We got to attend sacrament meeting in a ward where I served as Sister Mullins 3 years ago!!

Day two: Greeley to Nauvoo, Illinois

We got to stay the night in one of the best places in the world, Nauvoo. We arrived too late to do anything in the evening, but we got to wander around the Old Nauvoo Burial Ground before we left the next morning. We also got to visit with Steve (the NRI guy), and he helped fix something with the car. On a sidenote, Merry completely took out a family herd of racoons that were crossing the street as we neared Nauvoo. I'm betting at least 2 or 3 of them had mortal wounds, if not instant relief from them. Beware, Merry is a wild driver in the cornfields...

Day three: Nauvoo to Buffalo, New York

This last leg was by far the longest. Between tolls on I-80, and construction zones every 15 miles, it was a long LONG day in the car. But we made it. We may or may not have killed a bird that smacked into our windshield. And we may or may not have watched a couple of movies on the laptop as we drove. We were both very happy to make it to Buffalo safe and sound. Benjamin's hugs never felt so good.

The next day, we slept in, unloaded the car, hung out at the pool, and visited Niagara Falls. We didn't have time to visit the Canadian side, but someday...

A great trip, with lots of fun new memories, as well as driving literally through memory lane with a dear friend, Merry Packard, aka SP from my missionary days.