June 27th

My blood pressure was elevated and at times high during my first trimester but went down to normal (at some times it was pretty close to perfect!) but at my last appointment it was high again. I knew they had me on the short list for preeclampsia (I already got to do a 24 hour urine test! FUN!) but with my blood pressure potentially rising again, my doctors have decided to be on the safe side and schedule to deliver William two weeks early to ensure that my placenta isn't harmed because of my blood pressure. That means that I have been scheduled to be induced at the end of June. While this seems a little scary, I'm trying to remain calm and be thankful that I have a really great team of obstetricians who are watching me and William and making sure that this fairly dangerous condition doesn't develop.  I must mention again how much I love Craig Ranch OB-Gyn and highly recommend it to anyone who needs a good team of obstetricians or gynecologists. Thanks again for the recommendation, Kate!
Of course I'm doing things like watching my blood pressure, salt intake, swelling, and fatigue to make sure I'm doing everything I can to not develop the condition, but I must say it's hard! Especially when I work with 160 high schoolers. They can really raise your BP from time to time, especially when this is a stressful time of year for them.
One positive thing about this seemingly scary development is that I get extra sonograms! We got to see William on Monday, April 9th and he's looking great, perfect even.

 He's still head down, back towards my belly, and his umbilical cord and my placenta look great as of last week. And my super sweet (and very talented!) sonogram tech cheated and showed me William in 3D:

She said that if they were ordering sonograms throughout the third trimester, by the 38th week we would really be able to see his face like it will be when he's born!

I know I'm a little biased, but I think he's got a super sweet little face. I think David and I are in love already! :)

Notes on the Second Trimester

I started my third trimester last Wednesday, and I can't believe in less than three months we're going to be holding sweet little William Hodum in our arms! David and I can't wait to be parents and feel so blessed already to have been given such a gift.
My second trimester was so much fun and exponentially better than the first! My nausea and morning sickness went away (bless mothers who have to deal with it the whole nine months!!!) and I felt like I had regained some energy. All in all, it was fun!
I've been careful about what I'm eating, making sure not to take in more calories than I really need so I don't gain too much weight. My doctor says I'm doing a good job!

Second trimester, I really had no serious cravings, but I really eat a lot of the following:

• Chocolate almond milk (I think someone might be a little lactose intolerant! I can't seem to keep down dairy products well, with the exception of hard cheese, light yogurt, and frozen yogurt)
• Strawberry banana smoothies from Smoothie Zone! Those are probably William and my favorite treat currently. Not too bad! 
• Ham and cheese sandwiches
• Trail mix
• Fruit salad 
• Raw broccoli and carrots 
• Garden Salsa Sun Chips 
• Caffeine- I still need a little bit during the day, and I'm really liking little baby cans of Coke Zero! 

I've really enjoyed feeling William move and kick more and more, and probably one of my favorite moments happened a couple weeks ago when David got to feel him for the first time. Right before bed, William was kicking pretty hard in the same spot on my right side, so I put David's hand where he had been kicking. In no time, David felt his son for the first time! He thought it was really cool and was really surprised by little Will's strength. I like to feel him during the day, he seems to respond to the students in my class and can hear them when they are fairly loud. I think he wants to get out and play with the big kids! 

Spring Break results!

We got a ton of stuff done around the house during Spring Break. Here are some pictures of William's room. I can't wait for him to see him space! It's really sweet and calm in person.

When you walk in the room, his dresser/ changing table is on the right with our glider:

 And on the left is his beautiful crib: 

We've added a mirror and are hanging art, crosses, etc. on the walls!

I was thinking of making bedding for his crib, but it's really hard and I'm too much of a perfectionist to get it done the way I want it to look. So, I think we're going with this precious set from Pottery Barn Kids:

It's not quite woodland animals like I wanted, but it's cute and the colors are great!

David and Gene also made this beautiful built in cabinet, which I am still working on decorating:

We're getting William's room together slowly but surely, not to mention the rest of the house!

Spring Break Update

So far, David and Gene have accomplished a lot! I'm really thankful for all they are doing this week. We are so blessed to have Gene come up to give David a hand! I think they have fun together too. :)

Can lights in the kitchen are in and the ugly box light is no more:

William's room has been painted and his ceiling fan installed:

 We went with the top color, Greenbriar Beige by Benjamin Moore. It looks great!

Here's David's unique painting approach. :) I'm moving furniture around and then will post some better pictures of William's nursery so far.

The boys have also been working on their biggest project: a built-in to replace the old tv armoire. It's proving to be a bigger task than they first thought! Imagine that. ;)

 Day 1: it begins!

 Day 2: This is the stopping place tonight. Apparently they are getting close to the sanding, caulking, and painting stage. Yay!

Here's an idea of what I've been up to! As the director of design, I've been hard at work making decorative decisions like molding. Here's my choice of knobs for the four cabinets at the bottom of the built-in. I think I have the better job.

Stay tuned for more progress!

Spring Break 2012

David and I have 9 full days without work and we're planning on getting things DONE around the house to prepare for William's arrival in July! Thankfully, Grandpa Gene is coming to give us (ok, mostly David) a hand as we try to tackle:

• a built in to replace the armoire in the living room nook
• paint William's room
• install a fan in William's room
• trim out and put shelving in the master bathroom
• can lights in the kitchen
• additional storage in the bathroom vanities and in the kitchen
• install a new light fixture in the office 

While the guys are busy with their power tools, I am going to be doing some reorganizing:

• cleaning out and finding new homes for stuff in William's closet and the guest bedroom closet
• purging bathroom cabinets of unused items
• figuring out how to magically fluff up towels a la pinterest 
• organizing my crafting supplies in the office

Plus I'm going to try my hand at making a mobile and a lamp for William's nursery!

We've got a TON on our plate; I'll let you know how this all works out! :)

The Boppy Owl

This is a silly nursery purchase, but I got this funny owl cookie jar to hold William's pacifiers:

I'm sort of obsessed with him! :)

William's crib, glider and ottoman, and slipcovers came in last week, so over spring break we are going to paint his room and get his dresser from my parent's "doll house" AKA storage shed. I don't really care much for themes, but I think William's getting a lot of little woodland creatures in his nursery. :)

Boy Oh BOY!

On Monday morning, together with our parents, David and I had an amazing sonogram and learned that, most importantly, Baby Hodum is healthy and perfect, and secondly, that he is a BOY! Everyone is excited to meet little William in July! Here's his sweet little profile!

He's already BIG- he's in the 94th percentile right now and already weighs about a pound at 20 and a half weeks. It sounds like he's going to be a big guy! :)

Also, William's sweet little crib and nursery glider were delivered Monday! We've got some work to do, but it's exciting that we know that we're getting ready for a sweet little boy!