4 weeks and counting....

I looked at the date this morning and realized that one month from today we are due to have a baby enter the world. Is there really any way to be prepared for that? I don't think so. I'm feeling pressured to get the house scrubbed clean and get her co-sleeper put together and the car seat out. I want to be ready just in case she decides to come early. With everything else that's gone on during the pregnancy I wouldn't be surprised if that happened. Gabby has been enjoying the recliner that we have in the nursery. She won't be a very happy camper once I get the co-sleeper, car seat and playpen set up because I'll close the door so she can't get into them. I love my Gabby, but she gets black hair on everything and I don't want her to be all over the baby's furniture.

Yesterday I had another appointment with Dr. Van de Castel. During the ultrasound she was concerned that the baby's amniotic fluid may be too low, so she scheduled me to go to the hospital that afternoon to be checked better. I think she's over cautious, but I guess it's better than ignoring things. Sam and I went to the hospital appointment and they monitored the baby for awhile. Everything looked good. Then the doctor did an ultrasound to measure the amniotic fluid. Again, everything looked good. The doctor said the levels were normal and she had no concerns.

We asked her how much the baby weighs at this point and from the measurements she's about 6 lbs 4 oz right now. It's just hard to believe she's that big already. When the doctor was doing the ultrasound I asked her to see what baby part keeps poking me on my left side. She said it's an elbow and her little bottom is what I keep feeling on the right side. I love getting ultrasounds. It's so nice to have that interaction with our baby.

While I was hooked up to the fetal monitor we were in one of the delivery rooms, which was interesting. We were probably in the smallest of the delivery rooms, so I hope to get one of the bigger rooms when it's actually time to deliver, but we were thinking about what it'll be like when the baby's born. Right next to the bed is a counter with a scale, tape measure, a changing pad with layers of blankets and a heating lamp over that. There's also a large sink that she'll probably get her first bath in. From what I understand, they won't take the baby away, but will hand her directly to me before she's bathed or anything. Later, they will help Sam give her the first bath and will do all the testing on her in the same room with us. I'm very happy about how it's done here in Germany - giving us that time right after birth to get to know her and meet this little bundle that's been kicking me for the last several months. I think that's really special and something I'll appreciate.

This morning we had a follow up appointment with the diabetes doctor. I just love him! He is so funny! He told me congratulations all my tests came back fine. He went through all of them and said different ones were higher than normal due to the pregnancy, so in his words - he's convinced that I'm pregnant (as if the belly wasn't confirmation enough). Since none of my glucose levels went above 120 during the week he cleared me of diabetes, but said I can still check my blood about 4 times a day. I usually would obey a doctor's orders, but I don't see a need to continue since I've had no problems with it this past week.

He said once the baby's born I need to come back in and have my blood checked again just to make sure all the levels are back to normal. He said "You bring the baby. We look at her and be happy." He also said that when the baby's born I should call him and tell him her weight and length - I guess to see if she's larger than usual in order to determine if I'm at risk for gestational diabetes in the future. Anyhow, we left there smiling. He's such a nice man and so pleasant to talk to.

I've had a lot of water retention lately. I didn't realize how it can make the joints hurt. I've been waking up through the night with the knuckles on my hands aching. I mentioned this to the doctor and she gave me the name of a tea to buy that helps as a diuretic. Hopefully that will start to help before long.

Next week we start the many birthing classes that we have on our calendar to attend. It's all getting so close! We're excited, but it still doesn't seem real that we're having a baby. I know...it's 4 weeks away I better get used to the idea, but it's hard to wrap my brain around such a change in our lives. I am feeling the need to get everything together here at the house and get my suitcase packed for the hospital...just in case.

Last night we got a call from Toom saying that the nursery curtains are ready to be picked up. Sam has to work this Saturday. CYS is having an Easter celebration that he has to help with, so we'll pick the curtains up when he's finished there. It'll be fun to get them in the nursery. Hopefully we were able to translate everything correctly and they fit the way they're supposed to. We want to look at the other material they have and see if there is anything that would work for the other rooms and get them ordered as well.

We've been having wonderful weather lately. Spring is beautiful here in Germany. There are so many Daffodils, crocuses and other spring flowers along side the roads. Today it is about 80 degrees in the sun. I love being able to open all the windows and get that fresh air in the house. Of course, it's not always fresh air. It's also the season for the farmers to start working their fields, so occasionally we have the smell of manure fertilizer permeate the air and have to close up all the windows.

Gabby is very insistent about going outside these days. Sam takes her out every evening when he gets home, but she's been working on me during the days as well. She sits at the patio door and sniffs through the slightly open window and looks so pitiful. It's hard to resist her, so she gets out some through the day too. She loves being outside. It's such a small thing, but makes her so happy.

Well, that's what's going on with us as of late. Today I'm working around the house washing baby clothes, crib sheets, blankets, etc., along with doing the regular cleaning. It's nice to have a day where I don't have to leave the house for some appointment. Again I am so thankful that I'm able to be at home getting ready to have our baby instead of feeling the need to continue working outside the home. I feel very blessed. Until next time....

Less than 5 weeks left...

Time is flying by and I just realized it's been awhile since I posted an update. Not much has changed here in the last couple of weeks. We're still staying very busy with doctor appointments and other baby related classes. It's only going to get busier in the next few weeks. It's only about 4 1/2 weeks before Mom will be here and the baby will be due. I haven't really comprehended the fact that we'll have a little baby here at that time. There are some things in life that are just so big that you can't really wrap your brain around it until it happens.

Last Thursday I had an appointment with a diabetes specialist. Even though she said it wasn't something to be concerned about, Dr. Van de Castel wanted me to be checked by a specialist since one of the blood tests was elevated during my glucose test several weeks ago. I was not too concerned about it because I've never had sugar problems, but it's good to get it checked out anyhow. Besides, diabetes does run in Dad's family, so I should keep an eye on it.

Sam went with me to see Dr. Schmulling, which ended up being very interesting. The doctor reminded us both of the doctor in Back to the Future. He had this wild white hair and just the way he talked was hilarious. He would ask me a question then talk to himself in German while typing away on the computer. I went in not thinking much about the appointment, so I was a little surprised to came out with a diet I have to follow for the next week and a blood glucose tester that he wants me to use to check my blood before and after each meal.

I didn't quite know what to think of him. As he was typing out this diet he would say "No Sugar!" (then start typing that), "No white bread!" (typed that), "5 handfuls of fruit - let me see your hands....yes, 5 handfuls of fruit" (typed that). Between each item he would turn and stare at me for 30 seconds straight until he got the next thought, then he'd throw his hand in the air and say something like "Fish! Lots of fish!" It's hard to explain how wacky the experience was, but Sam and I were trying not to laugh. We were looking at each other thinking "Is this guy for real??". It was so funny. I think we both wondered if we were on Candid Camera. It would have been a perfect Saturday Night Live skit. Before we left the office they took my blood to check my thyroid, cholesterol and a number of other things, so at least I'll get a good blood workup through this.

I don't think there is anything for me to be concerned about, but I've been writing down what I eat and taking my blood throughout the day. I'm very thankful I don't have to do this all the time. I just have to continue it until I go back to see him on Thursday. It's another example of how we take our health for granted. I never think about my blood glucose level and realize now how hard it would be if I really did have a problem.

Last week we got the rug rolled out in the nursery. We like it. It's not as thick as we would have chosen, but it's all we could find here and I think it'll be fine. I'm still frantically ordering things that I think we'll need for the baby (and some that we don't need, but want :). We're down to less than 5 weeks and it's a little daunting to think about bringing a new baby home and wondering if we'll need anything else.

My belly is in the stage now where it feels hard almost constantly. I guess she's getting big enough to take up most of the space, so she's pressing against the sides now. It's been fun interacting with her lately. I'll feel a round bulge on the left side of my belly, so I push on it and feel her pull back whatever body part that happened to be. Last night as I was laying in bed I'd feel a really hard area in my belly. Knowing it was either a foot, elbow, bottom or some other baby part, I'd push on it and feel her start moving. I think feeling a baby move inside of you is something that you really don't get used to. I haven't anyhow. It still thrills me and every time I feel her move I put a hand on my belly to try and feel it better. I try to share it with Sam as much as I can, but I don't think he can feel her as well. The best way we've found for him to feel her is when we're laying down and I hug him from behind with my belly against his back. At those times he gets the feel for how active she is because he can feel all her kicks on his back. It's just amazing to me that we have a little baby inside of me. It's comforting to know that we're far enough along now so there's not a real concern about early delivery... although, I would like for her to stay put until the due date.

I'm still adjusting to doing my normal activities with a basketball-size bump on the front of me. Several days ago I was putting together some closets on the top floor, which normally would have take just a couple of hours (if that). That day it took me 4 hours! Nothing is simple anymore. Most everything takes about twice as long. Even turning over in bed has taken on an entirely new meaning. I don't feel like my stomach is that huge, but it sure does make a difference in my ability to move quickly or smoothly.

Sam has been so busy at work. He's still covering his old job (SAS Director) and the one he was selected for last August (CYS Administrator). Lately he's had to work some very long days. I'll be happy when they get someone hired for his old position, so he can do just the one job. Summer is always a hard time for him to take any days off, but he planning to take some time when the baby is born. Since Mom will be here for 4 weeks, he's thinking about taking the first 2 weeks off and then when she leaves take another 2 weeks. I think that sounds like a good plan. I'm looking forward to seeing my husband with our baby. She'll be so tiny in his arms and he'll be such a great daddy. I am very blessed to have a husband who is such a wonderful provider and will be a very hands-on daddy.

This weekend we finally found a stroller. We've been searching for quite awhile. We decided to buy a European stroller because they seem like better quality and I really like the features they have. The only problem is that you can easily pay $1,000 + for it, but they are very nice. Thankfully we found one much cheaper than that and one that we're both very happy with. It has the bassinet for when she's an infant and then the seat for her toddler years. We debated on getting a truly neutral color in case the next child we have is a boy, but finally decided on this grey and pink model. I guess if we have a boy next he'll be too little to really care that he's in a pink stroller.

Last Sunday in church, one of the ladies asked me if someone was planning a baby shower for me. I told her that when Mom comes over in May, her and my friend Marika were planning to have one. It'll be after the baby is born because Mom's coming just a couple of days before the due date. Anyhow, the church ladies wanted to have a shower for me before the baby comes, so this week one of them called and set it up for April 24th. I thought that was so kind of them to want to put a shower on for me. My personality is not the type that enjoys being the center of attention at a party, but I guess this comes with the territory of having a baby and I am very appreciative of what they're doing. Yesterday, Christa (the one who's setting it up) gave me one of the invitations that she and her daughter made. I was so happy to get this for our little one's baby book. I thought they did a really nice job.


Yesterday afternoon we went to Jason and Marika's for a cookout. We had a nice time with them. Marika and I worked together at NAF and I really enjoy her friendship. Now that we don't work together and with the added issues I've had with the pregnancy, we haven't been able to see each other very often in the last few months. I'm so bad about keeping in touch with people and want to get better at it. Being friendly and outgoing does not come natural to me so even if I really like someone it's a struggle to make myself keep in touch with them.

Marika is such a sweetheart and when we left she gave us a playpen/bassinet that she had bought for the baby. It's going to be so nice to have that on the main floor so when the baby's little I can still have her sleeping close to me and not have to run up the stairs 50 times a day to check on her.

Well, that's what's going on here. Time goes by fast, so I need to get busy and make the most of the days remaining before our little girl arrives. Until next time...

Answered prayers

Our minds are at ease after a trip to the specialist this afternoon. I am so thankful to be able to say that everything looks good. Everything looked normal. This doctor specializes in pre-natal ultrasound and he was very thorough. He checked everything on the baby, starting from her head and working down to her little toes. After checking multiple angles of her face in 3D, he said he didn't see any sort of swelling. She just has chubby cheeks :) He confirmed that she is indeed still a little girl (for which we were happy). He checked her hands and fingers, her heart, lungs, kidneys, spine, stomach, blood flow - just about everything you could think of. I appreciated his thoroughness. It really put my mind at ease to know she was alright.

Our other concern was the possibility of placenta previa. After checking everything he saw no signs of that. The cervix is right in the middle of what's considered normal and the placenta was not too far down, so as far as he was concerned it was all very normal with nothing to worry about. I asked him if he saw any reason I should need to be on bed rest and he said no. I was right where I should be for 33 weeks in pregnancy. That was a relief to hear. I was determined not to worry about anything until I knew if something was wrong. It was in God's hands and I just prayed for His protection over the baby. Although afterwards I had a real sense of relief knowing everything was fine.

One more thing before I go - we got a few pictures of the baby's face today, so I thought I'd share those. I'm still amazed at how much detail we can see of the baby still inside me. She obviously likes to have her hand up by her face. Seems like it's there every time we see her.

More health concerns

Yesterday Sam went skiing again with some friends from work. We don't have any snow in our area, but apparently there's still plenty where they go in the Black Forrest. He's been enjoying the skiing this year. I would too if I were able to go. Being pregnant makes that a little impossible at this time. So....I stayed home. Just didn't sound like that much fun to sit and watch them ski all day.

I started washing the baby's clothes and did some things around the house. I keep wishing I had ordered the nursery furniture about 4 months ago, so I could be putting everything in its place now. Instead, there are boxes sitting in the nursery....just waiting until I have a place to store everything. It won't be quite as organized as I would have liked when she's born, but we'll manage until the furniture gets here.

I'm supposed to be on bed rest according to my doctor. Sometimes it seems like I've had one issue after another with this pregnancy. I was feeling great (still do actually), but at my appointment on Wednesday the doctor had some concerns and told me to stay off my feet. That was a little frustrating because I've been enjoying being back to the gym in the mornings. Regardless, I listened to my doctor and skipped the gym Thursday and Friday and tried to take it easy. Friday I went back to the doctor for another fetal monitoring and both doctors there wanted to do an ultrasound because they were concerned that I may have placenta previa. I did not know what that was, but apparently it's when the placenta is blocking the cervix. Normally it moves upward to give way for the baby to come out, but with previa it doesn't.

After spending quite a bit of time studying the ultrasound on Friday they do not think I have the previa, but cannot be sure. During the ultrasound they saw something else that concerned them. They thought one side of the baby's face looked swollen. Obviously, that didn't sound good to me. They said the swelling could be caused by some infection. Within the last 6 weeks I've been on 2 runs of antibiotics though, so I really hope that's not the case. I don't like taking antibiotics so frequently. I have an appointment with a specialist tomorrow to verify if I do have previa and to check the baby's face better. I'm trying not to be concerned much until we know for sure what's going on. During the ultrasound the baby was not cooperating so they weren't able to see her face in 3D, which would have answered the question of whether her face is indeed swollen or not.

I'm praying that the baby is fine and that I don't have placenta previa. If I do and it doesn't correct itself in the next few weeks I would have to be scheduled for a C-section, probably around week 37 (4 weeks from now). I'm not planning on that though until we have confirmation of what's going on. We serve a big God who can take care of all these issues.

Thankfully, I still don't have any kidney pain, so for that I'm thankful. It's one less thing to worry about right now.

When Sam got home yesterday we drove to Toom to check on curtains for the nursery. We've already checked Hornbach, Obi and a new Bauhaus. I've mentioned before how we've had a hard time figuring out the curtains over here. I haven't been very impressed with most of the patterns I've seen. What we ended up doing at Toom is find a material that we liked and gave them the measurements for the windows. They will make the curtains for the track system, which we have, and we can pick them up in about 3 weeks. After all of my frustration with the curtains this seemed so simple. We'll probably end up doing the same for all the other windows. It gives us more options because we can find any material that we like and have curtains made from that. It didn't seem much more expensive than ordering them off the rack and I won't have to worry about hemming them.

I've been having pretty strong Braxton Hicks contractions for quite a few weeks now, but lately it seemed they've been a lot stronger and more frequent. Yesterday evening at Toom they were so strong that I was having trouble walking. That was a little unnerving. It made me realize I better take what the doctors said seriously and try to take it easy. We don't want the baby arriving before she's due. It's hard to sit around and not be able to do much though. Today Sam is vacuuming the house because I can't carry the vacuum up and down all of our stairs. I feel pretty good, but don't want to take any risks. I'll be glad to get to the doctor tomorrow and find out for sure what's going on. Something that's reassuring to me is that in another 2 weeks they wouldn't even stop the baby from coming. She's pretty well developed at this point, so if there were any problems I know she would be able to make it outside the womb.

Well, here is my weekly photo update. This was as we were heading out the door to Toom last night.

Weekly update

Here we are at the beginning of another week. It's hard to believe we only have (less than) 8 weeks left before the baby is due. It seems very clear that the countdown has started. The weeks just click off so quickly and before we know it the baby will be here.

I've always heard that you can forget about a good night's sleep after the baby is born, but I just didn't realize that it starts long before the birth. I haven't been getting good sleep for a few months now between the backaches, crazy dreams and numerous trips to the bathroom. I think all of this contributes to how tired a new mom is. The sleepless nights don't just start at the birth of the baby. It's a compilation of the months prior as well.

We don't have that many weekends left, so Saturday we got an early start. We went to Hornbach first thing in the morning and ordered an area rug for the nursery. I was a little disappointed that they didn't have any padding to put under the rug. I'm going to see if I can order any from Home Depot. It would make it much softer if we could do that.

Another thing we were able to check off our list is a baby monitor. We needed to get one on the German economy, because we see a lot of AFN commercials warning that some American monitors run on the same frequency as German cell phone providers. If our monitor caused a loss of service we could be held liable. So, we figured it would be better to just get a German baby monitor. We found one at Media Markt. Everything is a bit more difficult here with the language barrier. Even though Sam speaks the language he doesn't read it as well, so that makes it interesting.

My friend, Carmen, and her family were down from Heidelberg on Saturday. Their girls had a wrestling meet here, so we spent a little time with them. Heidelberg is not that far away, but we seldom see each other.

We also went to a spring bazaar being held on Patch. They always have so many beautiful things - furniture, pottery, antiques, etc., but when it comes down to buying something I have a hard time paying the price. Especially, since the vendors seem to jack up the prices when selling to the Americans. They had lots of Polish pottery that I would have bought, but I could not pay the prices they wanted. We'll just drive to Poland again at some point to get some pieces I'm wanting.

Last evening we went to our German neighbor's house for another home owners "meeting". They have been so helpful with navigating the German system, (for which we're very thankful) but we're not really into having these monthly meetings. I think it's very normal here in Germany for all the owners of a townhouse complex to get together and discuss any problems. Anyhow, they wanted to discuss the repairs that we all had done recently so we met them for a little while at their place.

Being in their house I realize how much more I still have to do. Granted they are much older and settled, but their house was so together. It seems to me that many of the Germans are minimalists and just don't have extra "stuff" to find a place for. Being in Germany, I haven't known how or where to get things done. Even now, if we could go back a year I would do some things differently.

I'm still searching for curtains. That's been a thorn in my flesh from day one in Germany. I don't care for alot of the patterns/styles they have here and since we have the track system in our windows we can't just order them from the states. Even in the German stores we have to look for curtains that can be used specifically with the track system. Our neighbors paid a lot to have someone come in and finish all of their windows. That was probably a great idea, because once I find curtains I want I'll still need to have them hemmed since I don't have a sewing machine. I've been thinking about getting one. We have the treddles, but they need some repairs and are not in great working condition at this time.

I know we'll get it all together eventually, but I felt a little frustrated with our house last night after seeing how together the neighbor's are. It's alright though. I'm thankful we have a house and it'll be nice when we get it all finished. I really shouldn't compare myself to anyone else. It's always easy to see others as having it all together.

I had another appointment with Dr. Schafer (the urologist) this morning. Thankfully, the kidney hasn't gotten any worse. It's still somewhat enlarged, but as long as it stays the same I don't have to worry about having the stent replaced. I still feel so thankful to have that out and to be pain free.

And finally, no one else may be interested, but since I'm so far away I know my Mom will be interested in my weekly photo update. So, here you go, Mom :)

32 weeks, 1 day (15 March 2009)

That's it from here. Until next time...

First real pictures of our baby girl

After numerous trips to the doctor and waiting for 1 1/2 weeks to get an answer, I finally got the stent removed on Thursday. What a relief it's been not to have that constant pain! I am so thankful that it's out. It's hard to explain how much you hurt to someone else or how wonderful it feels to not be in pain unless you've been there. I finally got an appointment with Dr. Schafer last Tuesday. He checked the kidney with ultrasound and unfortunately it was very enlarged. I had been having some pain in that kidney, so I left there absolutely defeated thinking there is no way he would take it out. Being in pain for so long wears one down and I was pretty discouraged with the prospect of having to keep the stent in for the remainer of the pregnancy.

Thursday morning, Mom and I were on the webcam. I was very discouraged and in pain so Dad came over to the webcam and they prayed with me. Not 15 minutes later the phone rang and it was Sam telling me that Dr. Schafer had called back and said he would remove the stent that afternoon. Isn't God good?? I was in shock because I was so convinced that there was no way it would happen. I was so thankful to hear that they were going remove it. It felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.

Dr. Schafer warned me that the stent may have to be replaced if the kidney gets blocked again. As far as I'm concerned though, that will be the last resort. I'll do everything I can to keep from having that put back in. Besides, I'm just trusting God that He created this body and is more than capable of keeping that kidney working properly.

As it turns out, it's a good thing we pushed to have it removed. When Dr. Schafer removed the stent he discovered that there was a blockage in the stent from some sort of build-up, which was keeping it from draining properly. That probably contributed to the pain I'd been having in that kidney. I was still in quite a bit of pain Friday and Saturday, but it was different knowing that thing wasn't in my body anymore. Yesterday was the first day I was feeling really good again. It's such a relief. I'm trying to lay on my left side as much as I can to keep pressure off the kidney. I'm still having some pain, but am just trusting that it'll get better with time or just not get worse.

Thursday I also had another appointment with Dr. Van de Castel. They put me on the fetal monitor for awhile and when I saw the doctor later she asked if I had felt the contractions. I hadn't felt a thing, but you could see from the monitor readout that there had been about 12 - 15 contractions in the 30 minutes they monitored the baby. Thankfully, they were just Braxton Hicks, but she was still concerned with me having that many so close together. She had me come back the next morning to be monitored again, which was much better. I've noticed my belly getting really hard at times, but didn't realize they were Braxton Hicks. I think I've been having them for awhile, but was in so much pain from the stent that I couldn't really feel them.

I just have to share the ultrasound photos we got on Thursday. Our baby girl was cooperating so the doctor was able to get a couple of good shots of her. I could just watch the ultrasound for hours. It's amazing to have the technology and opportunity to look inside the belly and see what our little baby is doing.

On the upper right corner of the 3D picture you can make out the left side of her face. (eye, nose and mouth)

Looking at her from the left side, you can see the side of her face and her left arm

Another view from her left side, but now she's trying to get that thumb in her mouth.

Saturday we were gone all day. We drove up to Heidelberg, Mannheim, Ramstein and Kaiserslautern to check out the furniture stores on those bases. I called a couple of them last week and was told they had some nursery furniture. Unfortunately, they didn't have much, so I'm back to trying to figure out how to get some furniture shipped here. We were going to meet up with my friend, Carmen, in Heidelberg but I was having lots of Braxton Hicks and my back was killing me from being in the truck all day. We decided we'd have to meet up with her another day.

These are not the greatest pictures, but since I want to track the pregnancy I'll put them on here. This one was taken last Monday. I was 30 weeks/2 days.

And here is a picture from yesterday at 31 weeks.

This morning I had a follow up appointment with Dr. Schafer. The kidney is still enlarged, but no worse than it was, so he just wants to continue checking it on a weekly basis. I still have some pain in the kidney, but am continuing to drink lots of water and trying to keep pressure off that side.

I'm so glad to be feeling better. I think I can actually get some things done this week (around all my different appointments). Well, I better get this posted so I can start checking off things on my "to do" list. It just keeps growing. Until next time...

Ramblings

Yesterday I went to Dr. Van de Castel's office for my first glucose test. I've been having so much indigestion that the day prior I ate lunch at 2:30 and skipped dinner altogether. I was kind of regretting that decision yesterday morning when I woke up hungry at 4:00am, but couldn't eat until after 10:00 when they finished the glucose testing. Oh, the joys of pregnancy!!!

When I had my regular appointment last Friday I was still in a lot of pain from the stent and ended up having a minor breakdown in the doctor's office. I tried to hold it together, but after being in almost constant pain for over 3 weeks, it wears a person down. I was hoping that once the baby turned and wasn't putting pressure on the kidney anymore I could get the stent removed. At this point, I'm not sure if that's going to happen. The baby was head down at Friday's appointment, but she's still little enough to keep turning. Dr. Van de Castel is going to contact Dr. Schafer, the urologist, and discuss what they can do to help me. He's going to check my kidney and if it looks like it's draining properly then we'll discuss removing the stent. I'm not sure what the best option is because, while I would love to have it removed, if the kidney gets blocked again I have to go through the process of having it put back in - something I'm not excited about. So, for now, I just have to take it really easy, which is very frustrating to me since I have so much I still want to do.

On a positive note though, we were able to see a very good profile of the baby on Friday. We could see this perfect outline of her little face and her arm. She was busy sucking her thumb. Dr. Van de Castel said she has a little button nose and still looks like a girl (after buying everything pink, that's a relief!). Since we were in Alaska over the holidays, the last ultrasound we had was the middle of December. At that point she looked rather skeletal because she was at that stage where she was all formed, but just needed to start putting on that baby fat. This time her little cheeks were all rounded. She's about 3 pounds now and I asked the doctor what week she could safely be born. She said that after 36 weeks they would not stop her from coming. That sounded so close to me. I still can't really believe we're going to have her in such a short time.

On another topic, but still baby related (of course, since that's my life right now)- I've been having issues with the nursery paint color. It doesn't seem to matter what I'm painting, I can never pick the color that I see in my mind. That's why I ended up painting the main floor of our place twice before I got the color right. Now, my issue is with the nursery. I know exactly what I want - a very light, pastel pink - but I can't seem to get that. The paint we bought a couple of weeks ago turned out to be more lavender, than pink. So....Saturday we returned to Hornbach, armed with a little pink sock for comparison, to pick out a different color. Monday morning I gave it another try and was disappointed once again. It's definitely pink - like Pepto-Bismol. Not exactly what I had in mind. So this morning Sam helped me mix in quite a bit of white paint. So far it looks much better. Maybe the 3rd time's a charm.

In the last post I mentioned that we had finally ordered the nursery furniture from the RB PX. So, I thought we were done with that, but Friday I received a call from them saying that the dresser I wanted was no longer available. UGH! We were back to square one with the furniture. I didn't want to select a different dresser, because there are so many different colors of white (antique white, pearl white, pure white - you get the idea) that it might not match. We needed to pick up the chair we bought there last weekend anyhow, so I went along to order a different set. While we were there we saw a nursery set on display. I liked the pieces, but the color was more of a yellowish white, which I wasn't completely happy with. I decided to go with it though because it's HERE and available. Overseas we have to compromise. As it turned out though, they only had the changer and dresser, so I was kind of happy about that. We decided to wait and see what else we can figure out. I'm working on a couple of different stores now to see if there's any way to get some American furniture shipped here without having to go through AAFES. Wish me luck with that.

Last night we were finally able to get in on a hospital tour. It was the same hospital I was admitted to for the kidney problem, so we had an idea of what it was like, but we were able to see it from the labor and delivery standpoint. I'm not totally impressed with what they have to offer - some of the labor rooms are very small, they only have one birthing tub (I was hoping this would be available, but it's first come, first served), not many private recovery rooms, etc. But they have a great NICU right in the hospital in case anything is wrong with the baby at birth. Also, they don't whisk the baby away - everything is done right in the same room and she'll be with us continually. They don't have a nursery to put the baby in, so she'll be with me from the beginning. That's what I wanted anyhow, so I'm happy about that.

There is another hospital that we could go to, but it's about 30 minutes away. It is said to be much nicer and more modern, but they do not have a NICU and I still wouldn't be promised a private room or a birthing tub. We still have a few weeks to decide on that though, so we may try to get in on the other hospital tour to see if it's worth having to drive farther. Decisions, decisions!!!!

Have I mentioned that I have an absolutely rotten cat???? Well, since we found a home for Papa (who is now known as Sammy), Gabby has been happier than she's been in a long time. For the first time since May (when Papa/Sammy came to live with us) she's been playing again and running through the house like a wild animal. Every night when we go to bed we hear her wreaking havoc throughout the house. It's always fun to see what mess we'll be greeted with in the morning. Her latest vice is anything ball shaped that might be on the kitchen counter. I don't allow her on the counters, but she's a cat and there's not much stopping her when we're not around. This last week she's been having a blast playing with the grapes in the fruit bowl. We came down one morning and found grapes all over the floor with little kitty paw prints covering the stove top. She tried out the apples and tomatoes, as we could see from the bite marks, but must not have liked the taste of them. I'm really not sure how to keep her off the counter or table. I spray her with water if I find her up there, but that only works for the moment. Regardless of the mess she makes, I'm so happy to see her back to her old self and playing again.

Well, I'm going to try to make it to the pregnancy support group again today. I haven't been there in a few weeks, but I really enjoyed it the one time I did go. It's nice to connect with other Americans that are in the same situation as I am. Before I have to get ready for that I'm going to start painting the nursery - for the 3rd time. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the color looks good. That is what's going on here for now. Until next time...

Our weekend

Sam is somewhere in the Black Forrest skiing with a few friends. I would love to go with them, but being pregnant and not feeling real well doesn't make that possible. Wednesday evening (the day I got the stent changed) I felt so much better. By the time I went to bed that evening I didn't have pain and very little discomfort. Unfortunately, that has changed. I'm back to having pain most of the time. Talking to some of the ladies at church today I got a different understanding of what might be going on. I could be wrong, but I think the baby is laying sideways in my belly and I'm just hoping that maybe once she turns and her head is downward that perhaps I won't need the stent anymore. I think her laying sideways is putting the pressure on the ureter tube from the kidney to the badder. That might not be exactly what's going on, but I felt a little hope that maybe she'll eventually turn and I'll be able to have the stent taken out. I'm hoping...

Yesterday we finally ordered the nursery furniture from the PX. I should have put in the order much earlier, but I kept trying to see if there was a company that would ship from the states. I liked the products better and it would have cost alot less to get the furniture from the states, but no one will ship over sized items to either our German address or our APO address. When that didn't work out, we checked into the German furniture. Honestly, I just don't care for the German furniture, besides the crib set I bought would not have fit. So, we were back to having to order from the PX. It's possible the order may not come in before she's born, but it should be around that time at least.

We also bought a rocking chair/recliner at the PX. I've never been impressed with the selection they have there - they seem to like alot of powder blue and mauve furniture. Anyhow, I really want to have a chair for the nursery and yesterday they actually had a pretty comfortable beige chair. We decided to just get that one because our only other option was to order one in and we knew that would take awhile to receive. We bought a crib mattress too. It's fun getting things ready for the baby.

Tomorrow is a federal holiday and Sam would normally have the day off, but he's been told he has to come in for at least part of the day. In the morning we're going to (hopefully) meet with our building contractor, Hammerle. All three of us in this row of townhouses has had problems that have not been resolved since we moved in. Unfortunately the contractor seems to have forgotten us after he made the sale. We just have a few things that still need to be fixed. 11 months later we're still waiting for the painter to return to finish the stairwell. Also, our floor heating is not working properly. Some areas are very hot while others are cold. Nothing major, but just things that we need to get fixed and we've been trying to contact Hammerle for months and he hasn't responded. He's supposed to be at the neighbors at 8:30 in the morning, so we're all going to go meet with him at that time.

While Sam's at work tomorrow I hope to get started on painting the nursery. It won't really take that long once I get started on it, but haven't had the energy to do it until now. I'm looking forward to having the nursery finished so we can start hanging up the little clothes and putting the room together. Obviously, the nursery is for the parents because I really don't think our little baby will care if she's sleeping in a beautiful room or a cardboard box, but we're having fun with it.

Well, that's about it for now. I haven't had many profile pictures taken so far, but this morning Sam took some before we heading out to church. I guess at 7 months, it's kind of hard to hide the belly anymore. Anyhow, here are a couple of pictures Sam took this morning. By the way - it's so weird to see pictures of a pregnant me. I guess I'm still not used to the idea.

28 weeks pregnant

Belated Happy Birthday

I completely missed posting a Happy Birthday to my sweetheart this year. Physically, I was feeling so bad that I wasn't able to do what I wanted to celebrate Sam turning 40 on Sunday. I think he looks great even though I like to tease him and say I married an old man. We had planned for him to go skiing last weekend with some friends from work. Afterward they were going to come by the house for dinner and a party, but none of that worked out. I was just in too much pain to get it together.

I felt so bad for Sam on Sunday. I was feeling so sick that we didn't even go to church. Later he wanted to get out of the house and go for a drive, so we went down toward Leonberg. They were having a fest of some sort that I know he would have liked to go to, but again I was feeling so bad I just couldn't. Later that evening we had cake and he opened his gifts.

I want to say how thankful I am for my husband. He's the perfect man for me - even if we do drive each other crazy sometimes. He has such a great outlook on life and makes life with him fun and exciting. He's so sweet to me through all of my ups and downs. I love him even more as time goes by. Sometimes I think back to when we first met and how I figured I'd never see him again after the training we were both at. It just tickles me that I'm married to the guy I connected to during that week. I never could have predicted the way we ended up together, but I am so thankful to be married to him. He's my best friend and I feel privileged to be his wife.

Thankful

I just wanted to give an update on my health for those of you who have been praying for me. I am so thankful to say that as of yesterday I believe I am on the mend.

Sunday evening I didn't have quite as much pain in my lower stomach, so I decided to postpone calling the Urologist until Tuesday. That wasn't such a great idea since the pain seemed to get worse throughout that day. On Tuesday morning Sam called the Urologist I saw on Friday, Dr. Schafer. He called the Sindelfingen hospital to set up an appointment for me to return to them. (Sindelfingen hospital is who put the stent in, so I had to return to them, but Dr. Schafer wanted to call the Chief of Urology there to discuss my situation and to tell him that my last experience there was really bad). I really like Dr. Schafer. He even called Sam back yesterday after the appointment to check up on me.

My appointment was set for yesterday morning at 8:00. I was hoping to get a different urologist since the one who put the stent in is who I was unhappy with last time, however, it ended up being the same people.

I get very frustrated with many of the German doctors because they don't seem to think that the patient needs to be told anything of their health. They don't like to be questioned and just expect you to accept what they say. From what I've heard the Germans go along with that, but I do my own research and want to know what my options are and be involved with the decisions that affect my health. I guess he didn't think I needed to know last time I was there, but the cause of all my pain and problems with the stent was caused because he couldn't get the larger (softer) stent into my ureter (tube that runs from the bladder to the kidney), so he used a smaller, but stiffer stent. Also, they had to create a pigtail curl at the end in my bladder, but due to the problems I had early on that was cut off and so all that time, the stent has been poking my bladder, causing all that pain. Needless to say I was rather upset that they couldn't have just been honest with me from the beginning. Also, if I hadn't been pushy about finding an answer to my pain I think they would have just let me continue like that for the next 3 months. I have to say that my experience with German doctors has not been very good so far. There were other situations that I won't mention on this blog, but I was to the point of wanting to pack up and head home until after the baby was born.

Anyhow, back to yesterday. After hearing that the pain was probably due to the stiffer stent used, I asked him to change it out. The Urologist didn't seem to like that idea, but I told him it was either that or he could take it out completely because I could not handle the pain I've been in for any longer. He finally said he would try to use the larger, softer stent. I absolutely hated to have the procedure done again, but that was my only option. What makes it even harder here is I don't understand German, so I have no idea where they are in the procedure and the doctor sees no reason to update me along the way. It was very painful, but he said he was able to get the softer stent in this time. I wasn't sure if that was my answer, but was sure praying it was.

Leaving there I was still in lots of pain, so I just came home and laid down for most of the day. I was hesitant to believe it could be better because I had been in such pain for over a week, but as the day went on it seemed to be getting better. By the time I went to bed last night I was feeling so good. It was such a relief to not feel constant pain. It's hard to appreciate health when you have it, but I am so thankful to be on the mend. I still have a little pain, but I believe it's going to be better. I still can't believe the doctor would have just let me continue like I was if I hadn't pushed for an answer. I was really feeling hopeless about the situation, but thank God there was an answer. I know my family and friends back home were praying for me and I so appreciate that. It's definitely an answer to prayer. I feel like a load has been lifted and I can get on with my life again. I can get things done in preparation for the baby and can enjoy all her kicks again. Which, by the way, constantly amaze me. She moves so much and has the hardest little kicks. At times it almost feels like she's rolling around. At one point it felt like she was jumping in there. It's just amazing to me to see my stomach moving from her. What a miracle!

Well, I better get myself moving. I have another appointment with Dr. Van de Castel today. I always look forward to those appointments. Whether I'm hooked up to the fetal monitor or having an ultrasound it's nice to see or hear the baby. We got about 2 1/2 inches of snow overnight. It's beautiful, but Sam said the roads are pretty bad, so I need to leave a little early.

Health update

It's Friday evening and I had hoped to be feeling much better. Unfortunately, I'm still in pain. We went to my doctor appointment this morning. Considering what I've been through this week all she wanted to do was to monitor the baby and make sure she's doing fine. Thankfully, she's great. I love laying there listening to her little heart beat and hear/feel her kicking. I think she must feel the monitor on my belly because she kicks right where it is. It's pretty cute.

I told my doctor about the pain I'm still having from the stent that was put in on Tuesday. She agreed that it wasn't normal to be in so much pain. After telling her about my bad experience at the Urologist the other day, she said she would call another one that she knows. She was able to get us in to see him at 10:00.

The good news is that I really liked this new urologist. He was very kind and compassionate about the pain I'm dealing with. The bad news is he couldn't do much for me. He said that, unfortunately, some people just have pain from the stent, but it must be left in or the kidney will get blocked again. I guess the way the baby is laying is what's causing this problem. They say this is common during pregnancy, but I've never heard of it. There could be an underlying problem such as a kidney stone, but they can't check into that until after the baby is born. He did an ultrasound on the kidney and bladder to make sure the stent was in place and it was, so there is nothing he can do at this point. We agreed for me to wait until Monday and see how I feel at that time. If I'm still in pain, I'll call him back and he'll set up an appointment for me to return to the Urology clinic that put the stent in. (Oh...joy!)

Needless to say I feel pretty discouraged about the prospect of dealing with this pain for the next 3 months. It's just constant, no matter what I do. It doesn't seem normal to me that there's nothing they can do to help. Anyhow, I would so appreciate your prayers.

An unexpected hospital stay

It's been a rather draining week so far. I'm finally home from the hospital after being in and out of there since Monday. It's been a tough few days, but I'm very thankful to be home. I'm feeling quite a bit better, but I still have some concerns and will probably have to make another appointment with Urology. I have my regular appointment with my doctor tomorrow (Friday) morning, so we'll see what she says. With the language barrier it's been hard to know for sure what's going on with me, but after doing some research online I think it's called Hydronephrosis of Pregnancy. Basically it's a blockage in the kidney.

It all started Monday afternoon. We were up so late Sunday night with Super Bowl that we didn't get up until 11:00 on Monday. As Sam was leaving for work a little after 12:00 I mentioned that I wasn't feeling very good. I just thought my stomach was a bit upset and didn't think much of it. Throughout the day I was feeling worse, so I laid down on the couch. When I woke up a little later I felt much worse. I had a burning discomfort in my lower stomach and my back was killing me (it had been hurting for several weeks now). I thought it was probably a urinary tract infection (even though I'd never had one), but it just kept getting worse.

I took a shower to see if that would relieve the back pain. Finally around 5:00 I couldn't hold out any longer and called the doctor. She could see me at 6:30. I drove to where Sam was working and we went from there. I was in so much pain that I could barely talk though it. When we got to the doctor's office their first concern was that I might be having contractions, which I was pretty sure wasn't the case, but they hooked me up to a fetal monitor just to rule that out. It was excruciating to sit for the 30 minutes they monitored the baby, but at one point I couldn't help but smile because she's so active and kept kicking the monitor. It was funny because Sam could finally see how active she is too. He could hear every kick.

After monitoring the baby, Dr. Van de Castel did an ultrasound just to make sure the baby looked good and I told her I was hurting badly in my right kidney area. Looking at it with the ultrasound she could tell there was a blockage. She called it a stau (German for a backup - like a traffic stau). She wanted to admit me to the hospital overnight which I was not excited about. I was still under the impression that I just needed antibiotics and pain reliever. On the way home, Sam ran into the Apotheke (German pharmacy) to get the medicine. I took a pain pill right away. Thankfully, by the time we were getting home to pack for the hospital I was feeling much better. It felt so good not to hurt - it's something we truly take for granted.

After checking into the hospital, they hooked me up to another fetal monitor. During that time the pain started coming back. I don't usually have a hard time with needles, but the IV they put in my hand really hurt...and I had to leave it in all night. Just another miserable aspect of being in the hospital. At some point I told them I was having a lot of pain in my back again, so they gave me this herbal pain reliever through the IV. It did nothing to help the pain and I was finally in tears when I told them I needed something stronger.

I was checked into a double room (another American girl came in around 2:00am). Sam couldn't stay with me because there was going to be someone else in the room too. I had a long, miserable, painful night. The pain kept coming back every 2 hours after taking medication. The only nurse they had working the ward did not speak English, so it was hard to communicate. I tried to tell her I was in a lot of pain, but she would just look at me and smile. That wasn't much comfort when I was in so much pain. She hooked me up with another bottle of the herbal pain reliever. Of course, it didn't work. Finally, an hour later she brought in a midwife that spoke English. I was crying again from the pain and told her I needed real medication, not the herbal remedy I was hooked up to. This continued through the night. The other girl sharing the room was in there for a bad cold. We ended up talking several hours through the night. It helped to pass some of the time.

Sam came back around 7:00 the next morning. Dr. Weiss (the chief of OB/GYN at the hospital) made his rounds at 7:30 and said he wanted to send me to another hospital so I could be checked by Urology. Sam drove me there even though they wanted to take me in an ambulance. I was really sick and hurting again by the time we got there. The appointment at urology was absolutely miserable. They decided to put a Ureteral Stent (what they called a catheter) in from the blocked kidney to the bladder. That, on top of feeling so bad, was almost more than I could take.

The only good thing from that appointment was I guess it did what it was suppose to do since my kidney was able to drain and I didn't have that severe pain anymore. When we left there I told Sam to just take me home. I knew we had to go back to the hospital later to get signed out, but I just wanted to be home at that point. I crashed on the couch and slept awhile then later that afternoon we headed back to the hospital.

I won't go into detail here, but by the time I got back to the hospital I was having some problems with the stent. They tried to fix it there, but I'm still having a lot of pain in my stomach, which is why I will probably have to go back to Urology. Seriously, I've never been more tired of being poked and prodded. I feel like you lose all dignity in the German hospitals and you just become a body - not an individual who is in pain. I felt that especially at Urology. I didn't feel like they were professional or caring in any sense of the word. They were laughing and joking all through the procedure and I was in so much pain. It was a very frustrating experience.

Anyhow, when we went back to the hospital that afternoon, I was determined not to spend another night there. I felt like the longer I was in the hospital, the worse I got. Dr. Weiss wanted me to get a couple of cortisone shots in case I went into pre-term labor. I had never heard of that, but they say it helps the baby's lungs to develop in case of early delivery. I thought it was a little dramatic to be talking pre-term labor at that point, but the doctor said because I have an infection in my body that it could cause contractions. Sam and I discussed this and didn't feel entirely comfortable with it, but in the end decided to trust the doctor. They hooked me up to the fetal monitor again that evening to make sure she was still doing alright. I told them I was signing myself out of the hospital that evening and just like I expected, they really put up a fight. We promised to be back at 7:00 the next morning and finally were able to head home around 8:30.

It felt so good to be home. I was still in pain, so I took 2 pain pills before going to bed. I slept better than I had in a long time.

Wednesday morning we had to be back at the hospital by 7:00 (since we promised the nurse). Dr. Weiss came around at 7:30 and I told him I felt good and he said I could leave after they finished the paperwork. I talked to him about the cortisone shots and voiced my concerns. Some doctors seem to get very offended when you question their recommendations, however, I was pleased that he heard me out and in the end said it was my choice, but that he thought the pros outweighed the cons in this situation. (In the end we decided to go ahead with the second shot, so we went back last night for that.)

We're learning that when the Germans give you a time frame of when to expect something that we need to add on another hour or two. The paperwork was suppose to be finished around 8:30, but we didn't get called until much later. Even at that point we were called to Delivery to have the baby monitored again. Sam couldn't stay because he had a meeting at 10:00. I was a little concerned about the baby yesterday because she didn't move most of the day. I'm used to feeling her all day now and when I don't it concerns me. I was thankful to hear her little heart pounding away while hooked up to the fetal monitor even though she didn't move much. I think the medicine I took the night before must have knocked her out for the day.

That's been a difficult aspect of this hospital experience. Throughout the pregnancy I have tried my best not to take any medication because I didn't want to put anything in me that could harm the baby. Well, the last couple of days that has been thrown out the window. I'm on penicillin and had lots of pain medication there for a couple of days. It was so good to feel her start moving around last night. She's been a busy little girl all of today as well. It feels so good to feel her moving again.

So, as of today I'm still hurting in my lower belly and am afraid I'll have to go back to Urology. We have an appointment with Dr. Van de Castel tomorrow morning. I'll tell her what's still going on and get her opinion. She'll probably send me back to Urology. I just hope it's not as bad as last time. I'm really hoping to get feeling much better soon. Sam got everything emptied out of the nursery over the weekend, but I haven't been able to do anything yet. I have so much to do, but just don't feel healthy enough to attack it all yet. My main concern is the baby and I have to make sure I don't do something to jeopardize her health. We need her to stay put for another 12-13 weeks. Anyhow, that's about it for now. Hopefully tomorrow after our appointment I'll be feeling much better.

What we've been up to

Last Wednesday I finally attended my first Pregnancy Support Group at Panzer, which was a huge step for me since I don't usually venture out on my own, especially to attend a group meeting. BUT....I really enjoyed it. What spurred me into going this particular time was that they were going to have several ladies there who had recently given birth at the German hospitals - two who gave birth at Böblingen where I will be. I thought it would be a great opportunity to hear first-hand what it was like.

I would have liked to hear more and ask more questions, but even so I found out some helpful information. There are two main hospitals that the Americans usually deliver at. One is Robert Bosch and the other is Böblingen . Robert Bosch is probably about 30-40 minutes away from us, which made our decision easy seeing how Böblingen hospital is jut 5-10 minutes away. The ladies who were at Böblingen said the staff all spoke English and being Americans with private insurance they felt they got more attention than the average German patient. One lady said she wouldn't want to give birth in America after having a baby here. That sounded positive.

Friday morning I finally went to the gym with Sam, but I felt rather defeated. I hadn't slept well that night due to back pain, so I wasn't feeling the best even before going. I did cardio and wanted to do some weights, but standing in the weight room I didn't know where to start. Prior to pregnancy I knew what my routine would be, but now I'm so restricted on what I can do....especially with having so much back pain. Anyhow, I'm trying not to feel too discouraged about it and want to go back next week. Hopefully I'll get into a routine that works for my pregnant self.

Gabby gave me a scare Friday afternoon. She came running downstairs acting funny. When I looked over at her, I noticed she had foam pouring out of her mouth. She was running around acting crazy and dripping foam everywhere. Immediately I wondered what she had gotten into. I ran upstairs and noticed one of my pills was laying on the floor with bite marks in it. It had been in my jeans pocket because I planned to take it at lunch, but forgot. It must have dropped out of the pocket when I changed after getting home. I didn't know what to do, but soaked a towel with water and tried to wipe out her mouth. I tried to call the Panzer vet clinic, but they were closed and I didn't know any German clinics to call. When I called Sam, he suggested I call the vet clinic back in Alaska. (I married such a smart man :) I called them and they said I should rinse her mouth out and try to give her fluids, but otherwise she would be fine. What a relief! I was so scared, but I think she was just foaming from getting the medicine on her tongue. Thankfully, she didn't swallow the pill. That probably would have been much worse.

I am constantly in awe of how much this baby moves. Sometimes it seems like she never takes a break. I love it though. It's wonderful to feel her moving around. Knowing she's in there for such a short time makes me enjoy it even more. I could do without the back and sciatic nerve pain, but otherwise I really enjoy being pregnant. It's a miracle to have a baby growing inside of me. Saturday night we were in bed and the baby was moving so much that I looked at my belly and I could see the little kicks. Sam was able to see her kicking too. That was pretty neat. Since then I've been able to see her kicking a lot.

Sam and I are signed up for several childbirth classes in April. I think they'll be really good. I'm glad Sam's so willing to go to them with me. I think it's important for him to be involved in what he can be. I won't make him go to the Breastfeeding Basics though :)

Sam invited several guys over tonight to watch the Super Bowl. He was all prepared for his "guy fest", but wouldn't you know none of them showed up. Poor guy. Rochelle was the only person to come so he ended up watching the game with two pregnant women. Not quite what he had in mind I don't think. He's been getting sick throughout this last week, so I don't think he minded not having a crowd here. Well, it's very late, so I better head to bed.

I'm back in Germany

It's Sunday morning and I'm up early. I've been up since 4:00 due to back pain and jet lag. I know back pain is par for the course with pregnancy, but I think it's worse at this point because of the long plane trips I've taken (Grandpa's funeral & Alaska) where I sat in uncomfortable airliner seats for hours on end. When I go to the doctor I want to ask about seeing a chiropractor. I think with some back adjustments I wouldn't have to deal with so much pain. Meanwhile, I'm sure Sam's enjoying having the bed to himself :)

We'll be going to church later this morning, then we'll probably drive out to Robinson Barracks to check the PX for baby furniture. I'm still trying to figure out how to get a crib, dresser, changing table, car seat, stroller, etc., here in Germany. I could go to the German stores, but I prefer what I can get in America. Besides, I bought a crib set while in Alaska and I'm pretty sure the crib dimensions will be different in Germany, so the sheets and bedding probably wouldn't fit.

The plan was to order the furniture through the PX, but after checking there yesterday we found that it can take 3-6 months to receive an order. I really didn't want to wait that long, but I've checked online options (Walmart, Target, etc.) and they won't ship oversize items to APO addresses. Just another little frustration with living overseas. It's not as easy as just running down the street to a store. So, all that to say it looks like my only option is to order through the PX. I'll try to get the order in this week. With any luck we'll get it on the shorter end of that estimate.

On the other hand - I'm so happy about what I bought for the baby in Alaska. I bought lots of clothes - 3 months to 24 months. I found good sales, so I didn't pay full price for anything. I'm so glad I bought clothes there because I would pay much, much more here and still not have the selection. I'm excited to get the nursery around and get all the clothes put in place. That's probably the biggest frustration with having to wait on the furniture. I want it now, so I can start setting up the nursery. I'm just impatient that way.

After a wonderful 5 weeks back home in Alaska, I arrived back in Germany last Wednesday. The trip is never enjoyable, but I must say I was very blessed to have open seats beside me on all legs of the trip. I know Mom was praying for that and God saw fit to answer. I was very thankful because I could at least change the way I was sitting from time to time and try to alleviate the back pain.

On the flight from Anchorage to Chicago it turned out that the pilot was a friend of ours. We were friends with him, his wife and daughter in Hawaii. He is an airline pilot and they moved to Alaska when he took a job with Alaska Airlines. I heard him over the speakers and asked a flight attendant if it was Tom Sharkey. Sure enough...it was. Funny, how just knowing he was at the controls made me relax a bit. I don't like flying and try to put the "what ifs" out of my mind, but it was very comforting knowing who was at the control of that big plane. I met up with him in Chicago and we spent the 2 hours I had there catching up.

I had an interesting flight from Chicago to Frankfurt. Unbelievably, the plane was only 1/4 full (if that), which meant people could pretty much choose where to sit, so I had my row (two seats by the window) to myself. I've never been on a flight that empty and was looking forward to it. However, just a couple of hours into the flight we thought the pilot was going to set the plane down and have a couple thrown off. They were acting bazaar and would not listen to the flight attendants. Even during take off the woman kept getting up and running down the aisles. It was odd. Later the husband was found in the galley trying to steal alcohol, after he had been told that he would not be served any alcoholic beverages based on their behavior. Earlier in the flight they had been seen taking pills. Not knowing if they were high or drunk, the flight attendants finally confiscated their carry on bags until we reached Frankfurt. The flight attendants were working overtime to keep them seated and finally several hours into the flight they went to sleep. When they woke up, as we were approaching Frankfurt, they didn't seem to have any recollection of what had happened. They were still handed over to the authorities in Frankfurt. In all my travelling I've never seen that.

I'm still trying to recover from jet lag. As of today, I still have not unpacked all my suitcases and the boxes I shipped from Alaska arrived, so I have lots to put away. I've just been so tired that it hasn't gotten done yet. Yesterday, we drove to Triberg (in the Black Forrest) to see about the clock Mom and Dad ordered while they were here. Unfortunately, the clockmaker was not there, but we were able to speak to his mother. Hopefully, we will get pictures from him this next week.

We stopped by Hornbach on the way home to pick out paint for the nursery. I chose a very light pink. I don't want the color to be overwhelming, but neither do I want white walls. The crib and dresser will be white, so I think it'll look good with the light pink walls. Speaking of Baby...she is kicking almost constantly anymore. I really love feeling her move. For me, that's one of the best things about being pregnant. Her kicks are getting much stronger. It surprises me when I feel a hard kick. Yesterday morning, we were laying in bed and Sam was able to feel her quite a bit. He still hasn't felt one of her hard kicks, but I'm sure that's coming. Our next doctor appointment is February 6th. I'm looking forward to seeing the ultrasound again and hopefully confirming that she's indeed a little girl.

Well, I have lots to do, so I better get off of here and start down my list. Until next time...

A picture update

I was finally able to download some pictures on Mom and Dad's computer so thought I'd post a few from our time here in Alaska. This post is a little heavy on the pictures.

Here are Sam and I after church on Sunday morning. That afternoon we all went caroling and then over to some friend's house for snacks.

Christmas morning we gathered around to open gifts. Chad had come down from Fairbanks the night before. Mom and Dad's Rottweiler, Lucky, had a ball tearing up all the wrappings from the gifts. We had trash bags to put all the trash in, but Lucky had another idea.

Sam and I on Christmas morning

Lucky in the middle of the mess.

Lucky

Dad got a new .45 for Christmas and Chad had his .22 along, so the next day we all went out to target practice in the driveway. Since it was pretty cold, it didn't take long for us to be finished and ready to head back inside to warm up.

Dad and Sam being silly

Taking my turn at shooting. (My belly really isn't that big yet - I was wearing Sam's coat)

Mom decided to join us.

Chad, Dad and Mom

While growing up we only had wood heat, but after all of us kids left Mom and Dad got a Monitor stove. They use the Monitor alot, but still supplement with wood heat, which I love. While Sam was here he spent quite a bit of time filling the trailer by the front door with firewood and bringing loads of it in to burn. With the cold weather we've been having it didn't take long before his face got all frosted up from being outside. I think he really enjoyed it though. There is nothing more invigorating than being out in that cold weather. It's so fresh.

Sam's proof that it was indeed -35

Looking all frosty from being outside.

Fog swirling around Sam from the door being open.

Sam had to fly out of Fairbanks on Sunday evening, January 4th. We would not have normally travelled such a distance at -40, but since we had to take Sam to the airport anyhow Mom and I stayed up there a couple of days to get some shopping done. I've never seen the ice fog as bad as it was in Fairbanks those few days. It was so thick that we could only see about a block in front of us. The ice fog was making the trees beautiful though. They all were covered with thick frost.

Prior to coming to Alaska I knew I wanted to get a lot of shopping done for the baby while here. I feel more comfortable shopping in stores I know. Back in Germany we do have the PX, but it's not a real big store and besides that what you buy there everyone else has as well. There are German stores, but the sizes are completely different and I thought I could get better deals here in the states. We'll have to get the bigger items for the nursery in Germany (I think we'll put in an order at the PX when I get back), but I took advantage of some good sales here to get us set up with baby clothes. I never knew shopping for baby clothes could be so exhausting though! Between the cold weather and trying to plan what we need for the baby it wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, even though we did enjoy it. It was confusing thinking about what we needed for 3 months, 6 months, 9 month, etc. Thankfully I had Mom to help. After finishing at the first store we headed back to the hotel to drop off what we bought and take a breather.

When we finished shopping the following day I felt pretty good about what I'd bought. Obviously there will be other things to buy, but I feel like we have a good head start.

Before we left the hotel that second morning in Fairbanks I called our house in Germany to make sure Sam had arrived safely. He was there, but his luggage had been lost. It's an exhausting trip, but I was glad to hear he had made it safely. Gabby is driving him crazy. He said she won't move more than 2 inches from him. She follows him everywhere and keeps pestering him for some lovin'. I think she's more dog than cat sometimes. When he woke up the following morning he saw that through the night she had brought in 5 of her toys and dropped them by the bed. I'm so glad he's home with her. It's hard on her when we're away for so long.

Well, that's about all I have for now. Mom and I are going to get ready and meet Dad for lunch this afternoon. I enjoy just being home, but it's nice to get out of the house every so often. I have another week and a half here and then I'll be heading back to Sam. I'm not in a hurry to leave home, but it'll be nice to be back with my husband. Until next time...

We're having a little......

We have been home in Alaska for a little over two weeks now. It's been so busy that we haven't really had a chance to just relax, let alone update the blog. I think the last time I posted before leaving Germany mentioned that we were going to the doctor and hoped to find out the sex of the baby. We didn't get to the doctor that Monday because they called to change our appointment, but were able to work us in the next day right before we headed out of town to Frankfurt. The doctor checked lots of different angles with the ultrasound and as far as she can tell (she's 80% sure) it seems we are having...... a little girl. I wasn't at all surprised, because from the beginning of the pregnancy I felt like it was a girl. I don't know why, but it just felt that way. I feel even more sure since my sister, Kristy, found out they're having a little boy. She's due just a week after us and had her ultrasound in the same week of pregnancy as I did. They had no doubt that it was a little boy, so since we saw nothing to indicate "boy", we feel pretty sure. I'm glad that Sam really didn't care one way or the other. We eventually would like both, so we're happy with having a baby girl first.

Some people would prefer to be surprised, but I've really enjoyed knowing what we're having. It makes it more real being able to call the baby "she'' versus "it" and we can start to concentrate on girl names, which we haven't bothered with until now. On top of that I can do some much needed shopping while here in Alaska and buy girl things instead of everything in neutral colors.

Also, another pregnancy milestone - I felt the baby move for the first time on Christmas Eve. That was a really neat experience. I was just waking up and kept feeling bumps in my belly. I counted about 10-15 bumps. It was different than I thought it would be, but really pleasant. I've felt her just about every day since and find myself looking forward to feeling her again. It's usually when I sit or lay down that I feel her start to move. Sometimes at night if I turn over it seems to wake her up and she starts moving. It definitely makes being pregnant more real to feel her moving around. Sam felt a little bump last night for the first time, but at this point you have to be really patient and wait a little bit to feel her.

We had quite the trip here, but should have known better than to travel during the holidays. I guess that's what we have to put up with if we want to spend this time of the year with family though.

We left Frankfurt on Wednesday (Dec 17th) at around 10:00am and 48 hours later we landed in Fairbanks. Every one of our flights were delayed or cancelled. We were stuck in Dallas for a long time because all flights to Las Vegas had been cancelled due to snow. Our luggage was scheduled to go to Las Vegas so we had to track it down before we could reroute to Seattle without going through Las Vegas. What a nightmare! We were sent on a wild goose chase for hours before someone finally helped us track down the luggage at 11:00pm. We had been there since about 5:00pm trying to find it.

We finally got to Seattle and ended up sitting in the plane on the tarmac for 2 hours after landing because there was no gate available for us to unload at. The flight out of there to Anchorage was delayed, but when we did finally get on that flight we sat on the tarmac for another 2 hours waiting to have our plane de-iced. I guess that's what happens when it snows in the lower 48 - no place seems to be prepared for it. Being from Alaska it just seems ridiculous to have so many flight problems due to snow. If snow and cold weather stopped flights in Alaska there would be none from October though April.

Due to us sitting on the tarmac so long in Seattle we missed our flight to Fairbanks from Anchorage, but thankfully they were able to get us on the last flight out at 11:00pm. We finally made it into Fairbanks at midnight, which was 10:00am in Germany (Dec 19th). I was so glad to be in Fairbanks and off those planes. It always feels right to get back home.

As I said earlier, it's been incredibly busy since we've been here. Coming right before the holidays left us with a lot to do. Seems we haven't had more than a day or two to just relax, but I've enjoyed it all the same. The day after we got in was the church holiday potluck. It was nice seeing everyone again. That evening we went to see a drama put on by my cousins, but I was so tired from jet lag that I was falling asleep and couldn't finish it. They organized the Delta Christian Drama Association several years ago and put on yearly dramas for Christmas and Easter. They do a great job and I've been looking forward to seeing one in person, but it just wasn't going to be this year. We'll have to get a DVD of it once they come out.

Then Sunday was the church Christmas program and we went caroling that afternoon. I so enjoy being back home doing all the traditional holiday activities. Monday we went to Fairbanks because that was the one day we had to get some shopping done before Christmas. We spent the night there on Monday because Sam and I had dentist appointments early on Tuesday morning. I was concerned about going to the dentist because we haven't had a cleaning in two years. Our last was before we left Hawaii and I just haven't found a German dentist I care to go to. Thankfully though we've done a good job of cleaning our teeth because we had no cavities.

We had a really nice Christmas day. My brother came down from Fairbanks on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning we opened our gifts then Mom and I started on dinner. We had various friends and family over for dinner. It's so great to be back with people I know.

Jet lag permeated that first week here due to the 10 hour time difference from Germany. It hasn't been as bad as it could have been, but every evening around 7 or 8 I would just give out and had the hardest time keeping my eyes open. It's getting a lot better though.

Every year for New Year's Eve, Mom and Dad have a party. This year was no different, but it's been pretty cold so we didn't have as many people as usual. It was a nice size crowd though and we enjoyed good food and company. At midnight we all headed outside to watch Dad and Bill set off the fireworks. Usually we have a big bonfire to stand around, but due to the cold (it was -50 that evening) the guys didn't feel like being out long enough to get it going. So, we all just stood outside for 15 minutes to watch the show then headed back in.

Sam leaves tomorrow evening to fly back to Germany. I changed my ticket so I'll be here until the 20th. I'm sure that still won't be long enough, but I guess I have to head back eventually. As much as I love being home and with my family, it's been hard because of realizing that the next time I come home it'll be with a baby. It's difficult to want to go back to Germany. I was alright being so far away until we got pregnant, but now it's just hard having that distance between us. Knowing that Mom and Dad will probably only see her once a year breaks my heart. That's not what I wanted for my child. When we moved there we planned on 5-10 years, but I dare say we won't be there 10 years at this point.

I'm going to miss Sam and I miss my Gabby too, but it's easier to stay a little longer at this point since I'm already here. I'm dreading the trip back no matter when I go. There is nothing about that trip that's fun.

Mom and I plan to go to Fairbanks a couple of times while I'm here to get some shopping done for the baby. There is so much that I need to get since, at this point, I have bought next to nothing. When I get back to Germany we'll have to get the nursery furniture ordered. All of the floors in our house are either tile or wood, so I want to get a big rug for the nursery. I'm going to check in Fairbanks to see if I can get one shipped from here. I haven't been crazy about the rugs we seen in Germany. Same thing with a rocking chair for the nursery. I want to check a furniture store in Fairbanks to see if we can get one shipped over. The PX doesn't have much of a selection and I don't care for the German furniture. Sometimes it seems a little overwhelming when I think about all that still needs done before this little one arrives. It's terrifying to realize we only have 4 more months.

It's -50 again today, so we're just staying around the house. We'll play some games or watch movies. I'm hoping it warms up a little before we head out to Fairbanks tomorrow. I'm not able to download pictures here, so I'll try to post some later. Until next time...