Impulse Buy

I have always prided myself on the fact that I am not an impulse buyer. However, there is something about Costco that causes me to lose my rational spending sense and buy the most unnecessary things. Giant dog bed for Eros, sure I will take it! Random Billabong hooded sweatshirt for $10.99, put it in the cart. Today’s trip was no different. As I walked in the store there was a box of GIANT teddy bears for $29.99. My cart was immediately drawn to them. They were so soft, so cute, so big, who could resist this deal??? Especially a pregnant woman looking for ways to decorate her babies nursery. Without much thought, the bear quickly went into my basket as I walked to the back of the store to purchase the cookies for tonight’s FRG meeting that were the reason for the trip.

It has been a few hours since the purchase, and with the bear sitting in Kyle’s nursery, I am very happy I made the decision to take him home with me. We don’t really have a nursery theme, it is more or less “things that Amy likes”. The mobile that came with the bedding has teddy bears hanging from it, so I suppose there is a bit of a bear theme going on. But I also bought this really cute alphabet canvas painting (possibly another impulse purchase) the other day with lots of different animals and colors on it. The bedding is sage green and cream and I also have some random cloth stars for above the crib. I will post pictures once everything is put together, but for now I leave you with a photo of the giant teddy bear.

As for an update on the pregnancy, I am 31 weeks and feeling good. Kyle is still moving around quite a bit, but his movements are much stronger these days. It no longer feels like a butterfly in my stomach. I can’t really think of a good way to describe it, other than it feels like a tiny human is swimming around in my belly. As my stomach grows bigger, I have been suffering from some indigestion and heartburn. I have to really watch what I eat and keep good posture while digesting or else my chest feels like a fire ball is going to explode. My back has been feeling pretty good these days and no other real aches and pains at the moment. I am praying that the discomfort stays at a minimum for now since I still have two months to go until my due date. I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. Don’t forget to take some time to think of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. We are all truly blessed to live in such a wonderful country!

Itching to Run

I just walked in the door from taking Eros for his afternoon walk and got a major itch to go for a long run. It has been rainy and cloudy here for the past few days, but while we were walking the sun came out and the breeze was still. It was perfect weather for a run.

During this pregnancy, I felt too icky to run the first trimester and when I finally got my energy back in the second trimester, I felt too out of shape to run and was worried my heart rate would get too high for Baby Kyle, and now my belly is just too big for it to even be comfortable. And while I was huffing and puffing walking up the small hill to our house this afternoon, my legs were itching to pound the pavement. I miss that feeling you get after a really hard workout. My body is craving endorphins! With spring here and summer approaching, race season in Colorado is in full swing and I wish I could be out there running with my friends.

I would say that I have been moderately active during this pregnancy. I have been walking every day, hiking on the weekends with Matt and Eros, and doing yoga once a week, but it is hardly the workout routine my body is used to. I plan to be a fit mamma once Kyle is born, I can’t wait to get rid of this extra weight. However, I am slightly nervous about taking that first step. I will definitely be starting out at ground zero. I just have to remind myself that I started out barely being able to run 1 ½ miles around Clement Park lake near our house before I joined the Cross Country team in high school and by the end of my senior year I was a running 6 miles like it was no big deal.

In the meantime, I plan to start doing some swimming these last few months of pregnancy. I hear it is supposed to feel really good on your body and be a great prenatal workout. I will probably look into joining a water aerobics class, look out grandmas here I come.! What a far cry from my spin class and kick boxing days…haha :).

As I get ready to hit "publish" on this post the weather it is back to grey skies and pouring rain. All I want to do now is lay on the couch and watch a movie. Thanks God for making my itch to run go away. :)

Trail running in Hawaii

Busy Week!

I had hoped to write three separate posts by now, but life has been busy! So, I am going to split this update into three separate parts to cover everything I wanted to post about last week.

28 Week Appointment Update

Our 28 week appointment last Monday went well and Baby Kyle and I are both still growing right on schedule. The results of our gestational diabetes test were negative which is good news! My review of the “orange drink” is that it tastes like flat orange soda. Not terrible, but nothing I would ever voluntarily drink. My biggest complaint is that it gave me horrible indigestion the rest of the day. The most exciting part of the visit was the opportunity to tour the Labor and Delivery ward of the hospital. Lucky for us, Evans Army Medical Center just remodeled their Labor and Delivery ward last year so everything is brand new! I thought the rooms were beautiful and very spacious. It felt very clean and the nursing staff that we met that night was all very nice and helpful. We also looked at the recovery rooms you go to after you deliver the baby and they were very nice too! It is hard to believe in less than three months I will be checking in for the big event.

Change of Command

This is not a baby related update, but a pretty big event in Matt and I’s life at the moment so I figured I would post about it on the blog. Matt took Command of a Troop at work last week so he is now in charge of roughly 70 soldiers. This is a big milestone in an Army Officer’s career and I am very excited and proud of him! I know he is going to be a great Commander and his soldiers are lucky to have him leading them into this next deployment. In addition to being in charge of soldiers, Matt is also responsible for ensuring the families of the soldiers are taken care of and informed of news and events going on in the Unit, this is called the Family Readiness Group (FRG). I have taken on the role of the FRG leader for the troop to support Matt and am looking forward to working with the families. There is a lot of work ahead of us to get things up and running with the FRG, but Matt and I make a good team and hopefully we will have things organized before Baby Kyle arrives.

They Army is full of traditions so when you do a Change of Command they hold a ceremony to honor the previous Commander’s accomplishments and service to the troop and to welcome the incoming Commander and his family. The ceremony was held on a beautiful Colorado day and Matt’s parents and aunt and uncle were able to attend making it an extra special day. Matt and I hosted a reception for all the solders in attendance afterward, and thanks to Subway’s catering service, it turned out great!

Happy Mother’s Day

One of the perks to being stationed in the same state as your family is the opportunity to spend days like Mother’s Day with your family. We enjoyed a wonderful day and got to see all the special mom’s in our life. Ever since being pregnant I have had a whole new respect for moms. It is hard work making a baby and I have not even experienced the parenting part. I am extremely lucky to have three “moms” who have fulfilled my life in different ways. I would not be the person I am today without their love and support! Thanks Mom, Carrie, and Shannon for all you do! Baby Kyle is one lucky boy to have such amazing grandmas looking out for him.

This was also a special Mother’s Day for me because I am very close to becoming a mommy myself, and my family made me feel so special. It was pretty awesome because I got to enjoy all the perks without having the baby :). Matt and Eros treated me to a prenatal massage and pedicure at the Broadmoor Spa. It was so relaxing and just what I needed after a busy week!

Well that pretty much wraps up the past week. Lots of fun and exciting things going on these days. The first week of May flew by and I am hoping the rest of the month goes just as fast.

A Royal Feast

Matt and I had bunch at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs this morning and it was delicious! For those unfamiliar with the Broadmoor, it is a five star luxury hotel located up against Cheyenne Mountain. It us unlike most hotels I have stayed in, the decor has a very regal feeling to it, and the grounds are immaculate.


During March Madness, Matt and I did a bracket competition between the two of us and the winner got to choose where we would go out for a date. I won, and quickly decided that I needed to try Sunday brunch at the Boradmoor. We had heard nothing but rave reviews from friends who have gone and I will now add my recommendation to anyone looking for a delicious brunch. The other great thing about the Broadmoor is the customer service, they really do make you feel like royalty from the moment you step out of your car. I think Matt and I may need to spend a night there for our “Babymoon” later this summer.

Anyway, after three trips back to the buffet line, my stomach told me it was time to stop. I will probably weigh an extra five pounds at my 28 week doctor’s appointment tomorrow but it will be well worth the extra weight. I think Baby Kyle enjoyed the meal as well, as he was kicking around quite a bit after I finished eating. It was also nice to go on a date with Matt. We have been so busy with family and Army functions these past few months that we have not made much time to go out to eat just the two of us. We will definitely have to remember to make date night time for each other once Baby Kyle gets here, thank goodness for lots of grandparents close by!

Like I said above, I have my 28 week appointment tomorrow. This is the appointment where I take the glucose test for gestational diabetes. I have heard mixed things about the “orange drink” you have to chug before they draw your blood. I will let you all know how it goes. Keep us in your thoughts for good results.

Finally an updated photo of the bump at 28 weeks. I am not sure I can call it a bump anymore, it looks more like a bowling ball is under my shirt these days. I can't belive that my belly is going to get bigger in the months to come...yikes!

Knowledge is Power

We have one more childbirth education class this week and then we are done with our 8 week series of classes on having a baby. Signing up for these classes has been one of the best things I have done for myself during this pregnancy. I am so thankful we decided to go with the 8 week series from a private teacher, than the three classes offered on post in an overcrowded classroom. There were 5 other couples in our class and it created a nice intimate setting to be able to learn and ask lots of questions. We also had a great teacher, who I would highly recommend to anyone in the Springs looking to take a childbirth education class. Before attending these classes, all I knew about having a baby I learned on TV and in the movies. Turns out, it is a much different experience, and there does not have to be intense screaming :). Now, I feel so knowledgeable about what will be happening to my body and Baby Kyle as I go into labor.

Often times for me, fear of the unknown is the greatest kind of fear. While I don’t know exactly how our labor will play out in the end, I have a good idea of all the different scenarios that could happen, and that is calming to my very active imagination. And while thinking about the labor and delivery of our baby does keep me up at night sometimes, I am comforted in knowing that my body was made to do this work, and no matter what the baby WILL come out, whether I am able to do it naturally or with hospital interventions, he can’t stay in there forever.

The classes have also been really effective in creating dialogue between Matt and me about the pregnancy and birth experience. I am so thankful that he was able to attend the classes with me. Having him aware of the good, bad, and ugly parts of labor makes me feel calmer and I know he is going to be a great coach! Lastly, I am thankful for all this knowledge, so I can make informed decisions about the care of myself and Baby Kyle during the labor and delivery.

This week also marks three more months of pregnancy for me! YAY! As I enter into the third trimester, I am definitely starting to feel pregnant. I am not too uncomfortable yet, but definitely feel like I am growing another human. I agree with those that say the second trimester is the best. You no longer feel tired and yucky, and for the most part feel like your normal self. Overall, I would say I had a pretty awesome second trimester. We found out the sex of our little babe and I got to feel him move for the first time, two very exciting milestones. I am hoping these next three months go by fast and are not too uncomfortable, but either way it will all be worth it in the end. I can handle the discomfort for the prize that is waiting for me at the finish line!!!

Counting Sheep

Sorry I missed posting last week, somehow the week and weekend got away from me. Although, I should have been blogging in the middle of the night instead of laying wide awake in bed. Recently, pregnancy insomnia has started to kick in. I find myself waking up between 2:00-3:00 in the morning wide awake and unable to fall back asleep. Often times, I just lay there thinking about what Baby Kyle will look like, what will it be like to be a mom, and how the heck am I going to push a baby human out of my body :). Kyle is usually awake with me, and I silently lie there feeling his little movements trying to imagine what he is doing in my belly. After a couple of hours of tossing and turning I am able to fall back asleep, just in time for Matt to wake up to head to PT and Eros to stat nosing around for some breakfast. I guess it is just preparing me for the middle of the night wake-ups with Kyle, and I think it is slowly starting to work. Anyone that knows me well knows how much I enjoy my sleep. I have never had a problem sleeping in until 9:00 in the morning, even after graduating from college. I always wondered when I would become and “adult” and wake up naturally between 6:00 and 7:00 in the morning like my parents. I guess it just took getting pregnant to break me out of my deep sleep routine. I can’t remember the last time I slept past 7:00.

Not too much other exciting news to report this week. Matt has been out in the field training for the past week so it has just been me, Eros, and baby Kyle kicking around in my belly. At least I don’t feel so alone when Matt leaves. In fact, I never really feel alone anymore, Kyle likes to give me a little kick or punch in my stomach from time to time to let me know he is with me. My sister and Lindsey (a good friend from HS and College) also came down on Saturday and we enjoyed some quality girl talk while our three furbabies played for hours in the backyard. I had so much fun having them over and it was nice to have the extra company while Matt was away. We head to Baggs, WY for Easter weekend on Friday, and I am looking forward to spending time with family up there. I will try to remember to get Matt to take a belly photo this week; I just realized it has been a while since I have posted an update. Have a good week everyone!

Well Practiced

I forgot to post this link in my blog yesterday. While I was at the doctor I saw an article on the wall about the Ft. Carson baby boom this summer. It is approaching nine months since 3,500 soldiers from Matt's current unit got back from Afghanistan and as a result business is booming at the hospital. They have been delivering about 10 babies a day and plan to keep that pace through July! While, baby Kyle is not a "deployment baby" he will be born during the rush. At least the team of doctors and midwives will have plenty of experience come my delivery. Luckily, I have heard really good things about the Evans Labor and Delivery ward from many of my Army wife friends who have had babies there. They have newly renovated rooms and a wonderful doctor/midwife/nursing staff. We will take a tour of the hospital in the months to come and I will write more about it then.

Here is the link to the article if you want to read more about Evans Army Community Hospital where we will be having our baby. http://www.gazette.com/articles/carson-114831-bundles-month.html