I have some very angry people waiting for a summary of all that's been going on at the Peterson household lately. Mainly, how we are feeling about having 'Three under three' this November.
Let's break this up into weeks.
Week 4: This is the week I find out I'm pregnant. That night I cry a lot. Really, I'm terrified out of my mind. I'm excited about three babies, but I'm overwhelmed with the idea of having two babies while being pregnant again. Let's face it, I don't wear pregnancy well. We knew we wanted more kids, but Matt and I were pretty content with Holynd and Sloane's little two-some. We were just having fun, getting excited for the summer and kinda loving how boring and simple life had got. Matt and I have always said that we love it when life gets boring. No drama = no stress.
Week 4 and One Day: I'm convinced that the Lord is going to give me the easiest-most amazing ever. Why would he let me be miserable when I have two other babies to take care of? I hadn't ever gotten real sick in the past, so I wasn't at all worried about that. I was worried about the contractions that would start at 23 weeks and keep me exhausted until I finally give birth. But, I was completely content because that wasn't going to happen this time around. In fact, I wasn't even going to consider myself pregnant until I found out what I was having.
Week 4 and Three Days: I start to feel like I'm on a never-ending boat ride. My stomach does flip-flops all day long. "This can't be sickness" I tell myself. "I never get really sick, just queasy and tired".
Week 5: I'm sick. There's no getting around it. I feel awful.
Week 6: Sick Sick Sick. At this point, I'm not moving for most of the day. Every morning the girls bring all of their toys into the living room and they play and watch cartoons while I moan and try to convince my stomach to let me eat something, ANYTHING without being sick afterward! ("Please stomach! Let me have a Diet Pepsi!!!) I start to consider gagging myself so that I can get the relief after barfing. Seriously, I was ready to resort to pregnancy-bulimia.
Week 7: Still sick. My house is a disaster and I'm starting to worry that people are wondering what the heck happened to me.
Week 8: I tell Matt that we need to start telling people. This is getting ridiculous and I realize that I need some sort of support. I'm eating now, but not anything worthwhile or healthy, thank heaven for vitamins or else I'd be really malnutritioned by now.We decide to tell close family. (I had already told my mom, sisters and friends that saw me on an almost daily basis. I knew they'd all know something was up anyway). This is also the point where we go to St George. Having Matt around to help and just getting the girls out of the house really helped. (Shopping is also cure for everything). At this point, I'm just kinda living life with morning sickness. I always feel crappy, but the question of every day is 'How crappy?'.
Week 9: We're into a "mommy's on her deathbed" routine. Life just kinda goes on. This is also the point where I get into the doctor. Because I was nursing when I got pregnant I had no idea when I was actually due. My doctor got me in for a quick ultrasound and we find out we are due on November 6th. I've decided I want to go give birth on the 1st so that the baby can have the 11/1/11 birthday. It sounds like kinda a fun day to shoot for. Later, Matt tells me that the NBA season starts a few days before that.... Now I'm reconsidering. (Because in my world, I have total jurisdiction over when I go into labor. Not really true, but it's something I like to believe.) We have an on-going rule that I no longer give birth during the NBA season for reasons that will remain moot. This is why Sloane came on June 18th and not the 17th. I willed myself to get passed the NBA championship game. They ask me at the ultrasound what we want, a boy or girl. I almost laugh, it's a girl! Duh!
Week 10: Something amazing happens. It's like the clouds part and the sun shines down on me. I start to feel a little more human. I start to have a few good days followed by a few bad days. This is when I'm able to pick up yoga again. Working out helps a ton as far as energy goes. It also helps me sleep better at night. I start to panic a little - what if the baby is a boy?! I have no idea what to do with a boy!
Week 11-12: Slowly but surely the sickness starts to disappear. I start to wonder if it was really as bad as I thought it was. (It was Tanshyle! Don't forget! It sucked!)
Week 13: I see Dr W for the first time. He laughs when he shakes my hand. "I really did NOT thinking I'd be seeing you this soon!" We have a good laugh and he makes me feel better. I no longer think that back-to-back pregnancies will kill me now or make me suffer a premature death at the age of 50. He tells me that the heartbeat is at a steady: 154 bpm. "Sorry, no denial for you. You're definitely having a baby" he says. I'm completely convinced I'm having another girl now. Holynd and Sloane's heartrates were always right within the 150-155 range. I may or may not have my nursery already picked out.....
So that's about it. I'm at week 15 now. Holynd and Sloane's pregnancies were really stressful. There was a lot going on, especially during the end of Holynd's pregnancy. The lay-off, 21 credits, my grandma's funeral, the mass they found during an ultrasound, plus all the preterm labor was not the ideal way I wanted the end of my pregnancy to go. The unexpected induction and 19 hours of labor at a strange hospital with a doctor I had only met days before was just the icing on the cake. Not to mention everyone there telling us to prepare for a NICU stay and surgery soon after birth.... I was not a happy-camper. We also found out that baby ultrasounds cost about $300 bucks-a-pop because our insurance lapsed after Matt was laid-off. Don't even ask how much a pediatric surgeon charges to just TALK TO YOU after the $300 ultrasound. I try not to think about it.
I think the experience with Holynd's pregnancy made me really paranoid during Sloane's pregnancy. I DID NOT want another induction. (I'm still terrified of inductions). Matt and I were also praying like crazy for a job change. It was desperately needed, but I had no idea it would come five days before I gave birth to Sloane. Again, we found ourselves with a newborn and no insurance. Awesome, but this was actually a good thing. Matt's new job turned out to be better then we thought. Well, better then I thought. I was skeptical.
However, this pregnancy I've decided to just be excited. I went through a hard time where I thought no one would be excited for us. This is our third pregnancy is three years time. I didn't want this baby to get brushed aside. I just decided that I would be excited because this pregnancy could be one I actually enjoyed. I figure we made it through all the other pregnancy drama and worrying never helped anything. I'm just content to get us moved into our house and get started on preparing for the baby. I'm excited to have a nursery actually put together before the baby comes. This baby will actually get it's own room (as will both the girls, hence the move) and so it'll be fun to put something together that's just for the baby. Hopefully I'll stay productive and get it done BEFORE the baby gets here. Unlike Holynd's nursery which was not done until WAY after her birth. I had everything ready for Sloane, but all she got was a cradle in our room, which she grew out almost immediately.
So! Now details on the house. I'm sorry. I have no pictures because I suck! But we're moving in a week, so I'll get some posted ASAP. I'm not going to tell you where it is. If you want to know text me or email me. I'm not going to post our location for all the blogging universe to read. Sorry. I'm really excited because I get a formal living room and a family room. If the truth be known, I may have already ordered my new furniture for my living room. (Hooray for family connections!) The downstairs family room will turn into playroom-central. I'll probably let Holynd help decorate. It also has a walk-out basement, so our backyard will be accessible from the playroom. Wahoo! Matt's really excited to have a Theater Room downstairs too. I'm really excited to have a kitchen that can be completely my domain. I'm a little bit of a kitchen-prude. I hate a dirty kitchen and this house will help enforce the "no toys in the kitchen" rule. I need to have an organized kitchen because, frankly, my cooking stinks and if things get chaotic, it stinks even worse. I think we'll find that having a garage will be a big luxury. I really want a deep-freeze so that I can shop in bulk at Costco and actually have somewhere to store all my findings. This will be a must-have once the new baby starts to eat. I've come to learn that my kids like to eat the same 5 things over and over. Holynd really wants a pool in her backyard, she says. I hope she's not disappointed when she finds out it's just a blow-up pool that we fill with water.
That my pregnancy summary. I hope this satisfies all those pregnancy-update cravings out there. Maybe one day I'll have to blog about all of Matt's sympathy symptoms. Yes, it happens. Matt's had heartburn and headaches right along with me.
Pheobe: "Umm.. Sympathy pains. I thought it was really sweet at first, but now I think he's just trying to steal my thunder." (Just for you Nicole!)
I still need to blog about Vegas. I'm really wishing that the weather that was there would come here! What is with the rain!? Stop praying for rain people!
