OOPS...

Not 60 HOURS of video but in fact 60 MINUTES of video! My bad...

By the way...has anyone else noticed what a good blogger I've become...I wonder if it will continue...

New Toy

So my mom and dad got us one of those new Flip Videos for Christmas. They thought it would be great to have in the hospital to take videos of Little Miss. Not only that, I think it will be great to use to update the blog as she grows. Anyway, I've finally gotten around to taking it out of the box and playing with it so we will actually know how to use it before she comes. It's super simple and it can hold up to 60 hours of video. I'm really impressed. So I practiced on the puppies...

So the only downfall I can see is that it takes FOREVER to load onto the blog but I imagine that's the blog program not the Flip program...ANYWAY...if y'all can let me know how it turns out I would appreciate it! Enjoy...

Evan Jo Lindberg

Thank you to everyone out there who prayed for my brother and sister-in-law last night. Evan Jo Lindberg made it safely into the world at around 9:00 PM Arizona time on January 23. He weighs a sold 6 pounds even and is 19 inches long. They did take him to the NICU right after he was born to monitor him because he is considered a premie, but he's been in the room with Christian and Natalie since early this morning. They will be making it home sometime tomorrow morning.

I'll post pictures when I get some but check out their blog in the next couple of days because I'm sure they will post many.

Prayer Request

I would like to send out a prayer request to those of you out there who are willing. My brother and sister-in-law are currently at the hospital in labor with my nephew who has decided to make his appearance about 5-6 weeks early. (I give a range because based on her first ultrasound he's 6 weeks early but they did move her due date up by a week not too long ago.) Anyhow, regardless of that even 5 weeks is still a little too early so please pray that we get a healthy little baby boy Evan either tonight or tomorrow.

I'll keep you posted.

Who's the Drama Queen?

I'm really not sure if it's me or Little Miss. I took another unexpected, yet uneventful, trip to the doctor today simply because I started having more intense, longer and more frequent contractions. They started last night when I tried to go to bed, which was incredibly frustrating, and started back up this morning and continued intermittently throughout the day. These are much different then what they were two weeks ago, which had me calling to see what they wanted me to do and because of all the hoopla two weeks ago they figured it would be good to have me come in so they could just check me out.

So when the doc came in I just had to ask if I was the biggest pain in the butt patient she had. Before she could answer the nurse came in and told the doctor that the woman next door was asking for pain medication and the doc just rolled her eyes and said "whatever, that's fine, can you get a script ready?" That made me feel better...at least there is one who's a bigger pain in the butt than me...

Anyhow, they did another internal exam to which the doc said my cervix was low (which it has been for the last two weeks) and that my external was a 1 and my internal was closed. She was in a bit of a rush so I called the wonderful Momma Lock, nurse extraordinaire, to clarify for me. She thinks it means the same as I thought, that I am thinning out slightly but I'm NOT dilated which is good. The goal is to stay closed for as long as possible. Stay in child, stay in!

I do have to say though, I think the doctor appreciated my descriptions of what I was feeling! I told her this new "sensation" started out at my sides and tightened inwards toward my belly button until I felt like my belly button was going to explode. She just kind of looked at me with a perplexed look then recovered and said, "yes, that sounds like a contraction." It makes me laugh thinking back on it...I also told her I can't tell sometimes if it's a contraction or Little Miss just stretching out as long as she possibly can and then immediately curling in tight like a ball. (Maybe she'll be a gymnast, not a dancer) This poor doctor probably tells stories about me to others..."Let me tell you what this patient said today..."

It was also funny when she asked me if they were painful. That launched a discussion as to what really constitutes as painful. Honestly, I wouldn't describe what I'm feeling as painful just incredibly uncomfortable. I had to explain to her that I have always been told I have a high threshold for pain...I did swim for 4 years in college with 2 fractures in my back...so is it painful to me...no...but it definitely could be to someone else. It was the same when she asked if I had back pain. "Well," I said, "having fractured my back and having surgery to fix it I almost always have some sort of low back ache, but the aching does intensify with the the tightening if that's what you mean." She said yes, that's what she needed to know. I swear she probably thinks I'm nuts. Here I am, coming in a week before my appointment because my contractions are intensifying but I'm telling her they aren't painful...jee whiz...what else might I have up my sleeve?

Ultimately she said some women just contract a lot...apparently I'm one of them. Although, she did say it was good for me to come in because now I can use these contractions as a reference point. I've decided that, unless I have an appointment, I'm not going to go back unless they are 4-5 minutes apart, last longer than 45 sec-1 minute OR if my water breaks. (Those were the guidelines she gave me and I'm going to stick to em!) They did tell me to keep my appointment for next week so we'll see what they say then, they may want me to come in once a week from here till D-Day...

So that's the latest. Again...who's the drama queen?

Will it be Tap or Jazz

She's going to be a dancer, the question is will it be Tap, Jazz or Ballroom (particularly the Mambo) Haha, Get it? The Marley Mambo?! Okay, in all honesty, I didn't come up with that on my own, it came from the book Marley and Me. But, it is fitting, she wiggles around just like the dog did in the movie :) This little girl is most definitely a mover and a shaker. She's moving around constantly and although she sometimes causes Mommy some pain, it's really cool to feel and watch. It's as if she's saying "Don't forget about me in here." Though now that I think about it...there are a lot of times that I feel her all over...as if she's moving her arms and hands at the same time as her legs and feet...maybe she'll be a swimmer after all!!

AND BOY IS SHE STUBBORN. Our daughter definitely has a mind of her own...does that come more from Mommy or Daddy...I'm not quite sure. When she is wiggling about and causing me pain I'll push or rub on the area and ask her to move, but she won't have it. She stays rooted right where she is and will move more as if to say "HA, I do what I want!" I don't doubt we are going to have our hands full...

Other than that there isn't much new to report. I have a doctor's appointment next Thursday but things have been uneventful, which is excellent. I do still have the occasional contraction here and there and my discomfort is increasing, but then again so is my belly and that's just how it rolls when your pregnant. On another note, I've been finding Lady Bugs all over the house; by the backdoor, in my bathtub, and mostly on the windowsill in the nursery. Well, superstitions say that Lady Bugs are a sign of Good Luck. I'm a fan of being superstitious when it's in my favor, so I'm going to take it as a sign that Little Miss won't be here before March. (Did I just jinx myself, or challenge my daughter, who obviously has a mind of her own, to prove me wrong??) We shall see...

A Little Laugh

I thought that I would share with everyone a little laugh from today. Well, actually, I take that back...I got a HUGE laugh out of it. I was working on my school assessments today and they have to be submitted in a three ring binder. Well I had the binder open in my lap with the rings open because I was putting in page protectors and when I snapped the rings shut I realized just how big my pregnant belly has gotten. Yes, that's right folks, I got my belly pinched in a three ring binder today. And not only that, I thought when it happened that it just got pinched...but oh no...in fact it started to bleed. I'm cracking up just writing about it. It provided comic relief to my whole staff for the rest of the day. Sarah just came home and described it as a "puncture wound." So since I haven't given you an updated belly shot I figured I would and also a close up of the injury sustained during the work day...those treacherous assessments...maybe I'll submit workman's comp...

Brett happens to be very proud of this picture because he caught me completely unaware...I look a bit like a deer caught in the headlights...OMG...there's a baby in there!

Watch out Marley, here comes the three ring binder! You can see it was bleeding so much it really soaked the band aidTHEN, when I was at physical therapy this afternoon they figured out that therapy isn't working on my SI joints as well as it could be because I've developed a bit of bursitis in my left hip. They decided that the only way left to try and put me back together was with tape. Yep, the left side of my body is taped from hip to knee to try and hold it all together. I suppose this isn't quite as funny, but again, I found it truly comical.
It's been a good day.