Still pregnant

Scarlett's due date has come and gone. She was due Wednesday april 18th. My doctor scheduled me to induced on Thursday but sequoia hospital has been so full of pregnant ladies in active labor that they haven't been able to take elective inductions yet. Luckily I'm not in any real pain waiting it out. Uncomfortable yes, but not in pain. It's funny to me that our little miss is just so completely content in there that I am 3 days past my due date and showing absolutely no signs of impending labor. It's been a little frustrating waiting for the hospital, 4 times now we have been walking out the door thinking we were on our way to have a baby when the hospital called and said they had to move us back again. Doug and I are enjoying our last few moments alone but are anxiously awaiting our baby girl's arrival. Hopefully it will be sometime this weekend!

One thing I won't miss about pregnancy: my swollen cankle feet that have seemed to triple in size this last week!

Belly pic on Scarlett's due date

My own personal pedicurist. Love him!

Enjoying a steak dinner at Flemmings the night before we thought we were getting induced.

Belly Love

I am 38 weeks now and still chugging along. My doctor mentioned yesterday that it looks like I'll probably go another week if not 2, so I guess we'll just have to see how long baby girl wants to stay in there. Since we are getting so close to the end, Doug and I decided it was about time to take some belly pictures together to document this experience. Luckily my sister in law, Hannah, is an extremely talented photographer, and agreed to take pictures of our little growing family. Enjoy!

Letter to my baby girl

Dear Scarlett,

I'm just lying here in bed wide awake as I do most nights now thinking about you and also waiting for my next trip to the bathroom. I am 37 weeks now with you and you are healthy strong and full term. I am so incredibly thankful and happy that you have made it to this point and now can be born at any moment and be healthy.

I feel all I have been doing recently is anxiously awaiting your arrival wishing and hoping you come sooner rather then later. And while I am so excited to meet you, I got a little sad tonight feeling you do your nightly aerobics in my belly. Sad because I have so enjoyed every moment of this pregnancy, even the uncomfortable moments of being 9+months pregnant. And i am going to miss having those pregnancy moments with you. And then I realized I haven't really documented my pregnancy at all besides general updates, so I thought I'd start now.

Some pregnancy highlights:
1) August 7th 2011- it was a Sunday 20 minutes before church that I took the pregnancy test that changed our lives forever. We were shocked and overjoyed. It was one of the happiest moments in my life. I absolutely couldn't believe there was a little baby growing inside of me!
2) 14 weeks into the pregnancy we found out that we were most likely having a girl, which was verified at 18 weeks. I had had many dreams by this point of having a baby girl and was so excited to hear you were heading our way. I have always wanted a daughter and now you are making my dreams come true.
3) this may seem like a weird highlight but I wasn't that sick during my first trimester. Exhausted? Yes. Loss of appetite? Absolutely. But that's about it. While I was grateful I was able to skip over the typical morning sickness symptoms, part of me felt like I was missing out on part of the pregnancy experience. Until one day while I was eating one of my favorites (tomato soup) I had the sudden urge to throw up. And I did! I dont know why but I thought this was so funny and exciting that I called up my sisters and friends and bragged about it. I'm weird I know. But to me it was a reassurance that you really were in there and I felt strangely connected to you. Also it made me realize I wasn't really missing out on those morning sickness symptoms ;)
4) your first movements and every movement after. I felt you move inside me very early on. Like a tiny little fluttering every now and then. The you got stronger and starting flipping and kicking. The first time Doug felt you move, he kept his hand on my belly the whole rest of the night to try and feel it again. Since then we love to feel you and now watch you move and distort my stomach in so many ways.
5) seeing and hearing your heartbeat for the first time. Doug and I recorded it on our phones and listened to it multiple times over. It amazed us how there could be this tiny and strong little heartbeat thumping inside me, and the miracle of nature and how your little body knew exactly what it needed to do.
6) watching my belly grow from flat to frumpy to lumpy to bumpy to why hello there you like youre going to pop! I have felt so happy and satisfied watching you grow bigger and seeing my body make the appropriate changes to grow with you. It makes me feel proud that I have a happy healthy baby growing inside of me and that my body is able to handle the adjustments it needs to make for you.
7) the 9+months of being headache free. I wish I could bottle this hormone and take it everyday because it has been the miracle drug for my headaches.
8) cravings. I haven't had anything weird just a desire to eat more of things I don't normally eat a lot of. The first was artichokes. This lasted a handful of months. The next was jack in the box curly fries. Not going to lie, I still love these. 3rd was homemade nestle toll house chocolate chip cookies. Had to have these every night for a while. The longest and biggest craving I've had though has been fruit smoothies. I have 1 to 2 of these a day and still can't get enough of them. In fact I kind of want one now.

There are so many more highlights but this is getting incredibly long, so to sum up, i have enjoyed every minute of being pregnant with you. The ups and downs. The exciting big news days and the seemingly regular days (where it's just me who gets to feel you move around). I love sharing those secret moments with you.

I've been getting very nervous and a little scared recently about this impending delivery. You will learn that I am a lightweight when it comes to pain. But today when I was mulling over all the scary details in my head, I stopped and thought for a second what the experience will be like for you. You will be leaving your warm quiet and comfortable home in the womb and be exposed to loud sounds, bright lights and many people. And then I thought how scary and different coming into this world for you might feel. The first chance I get however I am going to wrap you in my arms and hold you close to me and make you feel as warm and safe as possible. I can't wait for the moment when our eyes first meet and we recognize each other. No one is going to love you more than me and Doug. We have loved you from the moment we found out we were pregnant. Even before because we wanted you so badly. You also have two sets of amazing grandparents and many aunts and uncles awaiting your arrival and who will also shower you with love.

I love you so much now and know I'll just love you ten times over once I meet you. I am so excited for your arrival, but I'm also enjoying these last few moments of it being just you and me. Your dad and I pray for you every night and are so excited to be your parents. I know that we will make many mistakes learning how to be parents, but know that we are trying our best and love you more than you'll ever know.

Until we meet-I love you.
Love,
Your mama

Baby shower and some randoms

Well I'm 35 weeks along now and aside from being uncomfortable while trying to sleep, I still feel really good and am getting more excited with every passing minute to meet my little baby. Last month my mother-in-law, sister-in-laws, and good friend threw me the most amazing baby shower ever! It was so cute, everything was pink and girly, from the ribbon lined entrance to the house, to all the cute little pink pom-poms that filled the corners. I think my favorite was the cake Cindy had made that said "Scarlett June will be here soon!" it was too cute. Everyone was so generous and I received so many cute little outfits, blankets, and baby necessities. This little girl is going to be so incredibly fashionable wearing around all the cute little gifts others got her. I swear I am going to do multiple wardrobe changes a day just so I can see her in all her cute get-ups. Enjoy the pics of all the girly fun we had at the shower!

Steph's cute heart shaped cookie favors

Madeleine, Cindy, me, Stephanie, and Heather - The amazing crew that put together the shower! Love them!

My sister and mom - So pretty!

The table was so cute. There were even little crystal rattles

Yummiest cake ever!

Back in october doug completed the Big Kahuna Triathlon (1/2 iron man).

I was so proud of him! It was a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run! phew!

So happy to be crossing the finish line!

Way to go Dougie!!!!

31 week ultrasound

We had a 3d ultra sound the other day and it was sooo much fun to see our little girl in a little more detail. I cannot wait to meet my little baby and snuggle her all day long. Usually 3d ultra sounds can give clearer pictures than what we got but Scarlett refused to show us her face. She kept blocking her face with her hands, so it was pretty hard to get a clear picture. I do love the ones we got though!

You might not be able to see much but you sure can see her big kissable lips! I am so in love already!

Sister visit and prego pics

Last month my sister and her family came to visit and stayed with Doug and me. It was so fun to spend some extra time with Brandi and my adorable little nephew Simon. I can't believe how big he is getting!! He seriously is the sweetest happiest little boy ever. He lets anyone hold him and will give you little kisses all day long! Love him and miss him. He's going to be a great big cousin to our little girl.

Speaking of our little baby girl, she is due in April and Doug and I are getting ready fast and furious for her. We are trying our best to get her little nursery finished. Its turning out quite pink. Girls are so much fun! I am 30 weeks now and growing. Scarlett (oh by the way thats what we are thinking of naming her) is moving around all the time, making her mama's tummy look quite distorted some of the time. The other day I was lying behind Doug with my arms around him, and Scarlett kicked so hard he felt it in his back. It was really funny. I absolutely love feeling her move around even when she is most active as I try to sleep. It is such a bonding and reassuring experience. I am feeling great, a little sore at night (not to mention all the bathroom trips) but besides that I've had a really easy and healthy pregnancy thus far, which I am very thankful for. I find myself wondering (ok obsessing) more and more recently what our little girl is going to look like. Both my nephews on my side definitely took after my sisters, but those Hansen genes are incredibly strong too, so it will be fun to see what Baze + Hansen makes. We are having a 3d ultra sound on Monday so I'll be able to update with more pictures of baby girl then.

30 weeks

Doug putting together his first crib

My beautiful sister and adorable nephew

Simon kisses!

Gorgeous Mama!

So precious and happy

He loves being outside, every time we were indoors he'd say "side. side"

25 weeks

Sunshine and happiness!

We're having a...

Beautiful baby girl! We had our 2nd trimester ultrasound today which confirmed we are having a girl and that she is perfectly healthy! She kept crossing her legs and was very lady like during the scan. The dr told us a handful of times during it that her lips were really big. We thought that was funny and kept picturing her coming out with Angelina Jolie sized lips. Unfortunately none of the pics they printed out came out very clear so this one is the best we've got. She has her legs crisscross and her arms by her head.