Wednesday, August 14, 2013

First Baby Shower

I had my very first baby shower at 30 weeks pregnant. My step-mother-in-law threw it for me and it was darling! 

The Assembly of Food

Perfect August day

Tracy (sister), Me, Mom

Deanna (Spencer's aunt), Me, Jocelyn (Spencer's aunt)

Michelle (step-mother-in-law), Me

My sister-in-laws & step-sister-in-laws! Love them all!

Spencer's aunts, cousin, & second-cousin

Michelle's Sisters (My step-aunts)

I feel so loved! Everyone gave me darling gifts and I can tell it is so much fun to shop for a little girl. When I got home, I lined everything up and organized her stuff in her closet. Thank you to everyone who helped organize it!

Movie at the Utah State Capitol


Boston & Stephanie invited us to see the new Spiderman on the grass of the Utah State Capitol with them. It was the perfect Summer night and we ate too much candy.




No filter. I forgot how pretty the State Capitol is!


St. George

I went to St. George without Spencer over the 4th of July. It's the last vacation I could take before baby comes!

My niece & nephews at the Splash Pad. There will be 2 more by the end of this year!

Nephew Cooper just takin' a bath in the sink!

The pool would not cool down. It was probably about 95 degrees the entire time. I decided on my own to buy ice blocks and see if it would help.

They melted in about 2 seconds and didn't even make a difference!





My older sister Tracy and I are exactly 5 weeks apart! This is me at 25 Weeks.

Arizona

In June, we drove down to Arizona for our friend Jon Paul's wedding. 

JP's dad was very kind and put us up in the Marriott the first night we got there and then we stayed with our friends Brady & Brittany the rest of the time


The beautiful Mesa, AZ Temple


The cutest new husband & wife. Going in for a kiss!

We are so happy for them!

After the wedding ceremony, Brady & Brittany took us to this shave-ice place called Bahama Buck's. Ice cream on bottom and sweetened condensed milk on top. This was before they had Hokulia's everywhere in Utah so we were thrilled to have something similar to the shave-ice in Hawaii!

One of the days, we drove down to Scottsdale and explored a miniature cowboy town. There were small knick-knack shops lining the streets.

The longest drive home ever. 

I didn't get any pictures of us with Brady & Brittany, or even the happy couple but we had a great time altogether!

Hospital Visit - 23 Weeks

When I was 18 weeks along, I started having back pain that started on the left side and eventually moved to the right side. My Dr. prescribed me Lortab and sent me home. 

Around 23 weeks, the pain was just unbearable and not only was the Lortab not working, I didn't want to keep taking such a strong drug throughout my pregnancy. When I called my Dr. to tell him that I was still having pain, he told me to go straight to Labor & Delivery. So I did just that... only at the wrong hospital (thinking I would just go where my Dr. works). I didn't even think to check that the hospital I admitted myself to was out of network and my insurance wouldn't cover it. (You'll see in a second)

They hooked me up to an IV and started pumping saline water into my system (don't know what this was for)
BTW- baby is fine because I can feel her kicking in there but my back just hurt.

They thought I might have a kidney infection so they had me drink these two waters until my bladder was full and did an ultrasound on my back/kidneys and bladder. 

Happy? Not really... I was scared because I didn't know what was going on and wanted some answers with my back pain! 

Ouch - I hurt!

Well, after sitting in a hospital room for 4 hours, the tests came back and they said nothing was wrong with me. YEAH RIGHT. I was very upset. Later that night, I asked my dad for a blessing with the help of my husband Spencer. When I went to bed, I rolled over and looked at my prenatal vitamins and had the strong impression to stop taking them. So I did. About 3 days later, I pooped a bunch (sorry, TMI) and the pain went away. I actually think that my prenatals were causing constipation and the constipation was causing me horrible pain. Lortab can also cause constipation as well so the combo of the two made everything worse!

The next day, I got a call from the hospital saying that they don't accept my insurance and the bill wouldn't be covered at all. I cried because I knew this was going to be expensive. I was furious that the receptionist that checked me in didn't even tell me that I wouldn't be covered! I could have easily said "Oops" and gone to a different hospital. Apparently, they aren't allowed to turn away patients in case it is an emergency. Clearly, I wasn't in the ER room and having an emergency because I would have made that clear to her to hurry up and get me in her computer system. She typed as slow as a snail.

Well, this bill did eventually come and this was the amount. 


LUCKILY - because I complained about how I felt like they should have said something to me before checking me in, they gave me a discount and I was able to get a little more than half off. I still feel like the medical billing system is really shady. I hate the fact that you get bills and they expect you to know what their coding means. Obviously, I can tell that U/S stands for ultra-sound but besides that! UGH. Plus - they didn't provide me with any answers after all the testing they did!

Pregnancy Pics

I need to be better at documenting this pregnancy, so here goes to some catching up!

We found out we are having a baby girl! I really don't know what I am looking at with these pictures but the ultra-sound tech said she hasn't proclaimed a wrong gender in 15 years. That's a pretty good standing record so I hope she's right! Spencer kept asking "Are you sure?" Not because he really wanted a boy but because he didn't know what he was looking at either.


25 Weeks Pregnant 

25 Weeks... my toes are disappearing!

This is what my waiting room looks like almost every time... 

At 28 weeks, I did the Glucose test. This testing is done to make sure you don't have blood disorders or diabetes. You have to drink this drink an hour before your appointment and get your blood drawn. The Dr. said I passed with flying colors. Phew!

28 Weeks... Getting closer!

We decided to register at Target & Buy Buy Baby. Spencer strongly dislikes Target's return policy but we did it anyway because everyone knows Target and it was easier that way.

Umm.... this is seriously the best invention ever. I really like the fact that someone recognizes pregnancy and we get to park closer to the doors! If you've ever been inside the Motherhood Maternity store, you'll also appreciate the fact that they have a restroom & drinking fountain inside the store. Genius!


Symptoms:

- I can still wear my wedding ring
- Bad heartburn in my sleep
- The baby lies mostly on the left side of my belly making it uncomfortable to sleep on my left side
- Cramping (also known as Round Ligament Pain). It feels almost like menstrual cramps and sometimes they last an entire day. They are so uncomfortable & nothing I do helps.
- Shortness of Breath (baby is crowding my lungs!)
- Fatigue: I'm feeling just as tired as I was in the 1st Trimester and this is probably due to my lack of sleep (having to get up to pee in the night, trying to get comfortable, etc.)

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Lately at the Frandsen's

Spring has finally come!


I cooked my first ham! Look at that baby...


We went shooting for a work activity out in Grantsville, UT


I didn't shoot because I'm pregnant but Spencer got to shoot this huge thing!


Sweet Sophie sleeping like a human...


Finals Week = HELL WEEK
Seriously... I'm so sick of having a spouse in school but I know it will be worth it when it's over!



I bought a body pillow for the pregnancy and I ended up hating sleeping with it! It's too big and gets in the way. Maybe in the 3rd trimester we can try again?


Sophie just loves her toys.


As of May 1st, we have been married for 5 years! We celebrated our 5 year anniversary in Heber, UT at the same Bed & Breakfast we stayed at for our Honeymoon. Of course I didn't get any pictures but I surprised Spencer with this little getaway and had a lot of fun.


For a limited time, I was told Wendy's has frosty waffle cones and when someone says something is good, I have to try it! Especially now that I'm pregnant, it's only been enhanced.


This was my first Mother's Day I could actually celebrate me becoming a Mother. Spencer made me a wonderful breakfast Sunday morning!




Our cute townhouse is up for rent. I'm so so sad about this. We've lived here for 4 years and I have absolutely loved it. We are trying to move closer to work and school in Salt Lake City and will hope to move back in a year, or find something better. If you know anyone that might be interested in renting it, let me know!