Baby Shower Bash

If you have been keeping up with me, you are aware that I found out a month ago that I am pregnant. At the time, I was 23 weeks along. I am now 29 and really starting to feel it. Almost out of thin air, my belly popped out and I have started having all of the unpleasant symptoms of the third trimester. I wont go into them but its pretty irritating to get up every couple of hours at night to go pee.

So, what happens when you get pregnant? BABY SHOWER!!! All of the women in your family congregate to play silly games and offer lots of advice for new moms... plus gifts. Not that mine need an invitation, but its still a part of the pregnancy experience.

I am the first person in my family to have a baby in nine years (20 years on my husbands side). Can you imagine how excited people were? I immedietly got five different people wanting to throw the baby shower; my mom, sister, and aunt plus Dannys mother and sister. Its nice to have everyone being so nice and supportive.

So the way it has boiled down is that my aunt is throwing my baby shower with help from Dannys mother and grandmother while my mom has been made the organizer for my sisters Bridal Shower. The unfortunate thing is that since my due date and her wedding are so close, our showers have to be pretty close together. I have decided on June 16th for mine, but Amanda is having trouble deciding on hers.

Its hard to try to collect so many peoples information for invitations though. I had no idea so many people would have to be invited. I think the estimate at this point is close to thirty. That seems like a rather large party to me. And I might even be estimating low since my stepfathers family hasn't been counted yet.

If you knew me personally, you would know that I don't like letting other people be in control. So letting family members handle a party that I have a large interest in is very hard for me. I want to take over the whole thing and make sure its all perfect. Apparently that isn't allowed since I am the expectant mother. Its tacky I guess...

My aunt really does have it under control though. She asked me about some preferencs for food and such and we came up with some really easy and cost effective plans. The party is going to have a taco salad bar for food and a combination of Key Lime pie and Lemon Icebox pie. Green and Yellow; little boy colors! Its going to be at my mother and fathers workplace, where they have a large patio area and a entertainment room that is good in case the weather is bad. Plus, its free! Can't beat free.

I had a lot of fun putting together a baby registry. First I did it on amazon.com, which was really cool and had a great selection. Its a good place to do it if you have a lot of family members who are capable of using the computer. Mine, not so much. So i moved my registery over to Target.com. Less selection, but more accessible to people in general. Plus target.com is a pain to log into and try to manage. They did have a handy catagory function that allows you to see what type of items you have and haven't registered for.

I am very much looking forward to the baby shower. First, I get to see all of my family at once which is nice when we are all spread out so much. Secondly, the baby shower gifts allow to me to figure out what items Danny and I will have to purchase to get ready for the baby.

The sad part is that this is another thing Danny wont be home for. I am still proud of him and I appreciate his willingness to take care of our family.

Pneumonia

So I got a call from The San Diego Naval Hospital today. A lady with a heavy spanish accent informed me that my husband has been admitted and that I need to call them back. Or rather, she tried. I was making the yardsale routes with my family and missed the call. I didnt get the voicemail until an hour later.

I panicked. I thought he must be dying. Why else would he be in a hospital? So I tried to call the missed phone number, only to have it make the strangest clicking/beeping sound no matter how many times I hung up and redialed. I then began an incredibly panicked search on the internet for a working number to the hospital. I eventually found one and got connected to a person. Only to be transfered to another location, then put on hold while my husbands nurse was found. Now keep in mind that I STILL had no idea what was going on. The nurse was SO helpful (can you sense my sarcasm?). She gave me the phone number to my husbands room. I then proceeded to call the private number.

Ring...Ring...
Ring...Ring...
Ring...Ring...
Ring...Ring...

Nothing. You can guess what I did next . I called the nurse back and demanded they go to his room to find out why he wasn't answering. The phone wasn't freaking PLUGGED IN! The most basic part of a working telephone, and it wasn't connected.

Finally, I got in touch with my husband. Who has pneumonia. Pretty badly.

But God was it good to hear his voice. I could barely stop crying to ask him about his condition. He says he is okay, but his cough says otherwise. He could barely talk, but he talked to me for a few minutes, doing his best to comfort me, even though he is the sick one. He was very interested in how the baby is doing.

Eventually he had to get off the phone because the doctor came in to do some tests. I called him back about an hour later, but he was only able to talk for about 10 minutes before he told me he needed to go. No explanation, but I assume he was exhausted and needed to sleep.

I am such a mess right now. How am I going to survive being cut off from him again once he is out of the hospital?  It is taking every once of my willpower to not drive to the airport right now and jump on a plane. For the last three years, I have been taking care of him and it is agony to be 1500 miles away and not able to hold him while he coughs. To ease his pain.

Plus, if he is sick for long enough, he could be "recycled" meaning that he would have to start bootcamp all over again. I am praying thats not the case.

Finally!

I finally got Danny's address today. I waited until about 9:30 before I called his recruiter and said "GIVE ME THE ADDRESS!!!" Okay, I wasnt that aggressive, but I very nicely said that I was told to call today for the official address where I could start sending letters.

So the recruiter posted the address on my facebook wall, which was very convenient. That way I could "tag" his mother, sister, father, etc instead of having to call each of them and try to describe the very long and complicated address.

So immedietly wrote it on the envelope that I already had a stamp on in preparation and rushed to the nearest letterbox. I cant wait for him to get the letters (3) as well as the ultrasound picture of the baby sucking his thumb. Its a pretty thick envelope.

So I guess the lesson learned is that I have to stop worrying so much. I am 90% sure that the Marine Corp aren't going to let Danny die or get hurt, so I need to sit down and shut up. I won't be able to bully them into giving me contact with him so I should just learn to be patient as they work stuff out on their end.

I have to remind myself that nobody is out to get us. No one is intentionally trying to keep me in the dark or make me sick with worry. The Marine Corp is a huge organization(?) and they probably have bigger fish to fry then me being upset about a phone call or wanting the husbands address as soon as he gets there.

So I guess the REAL lesson is that I need to stop thinking that I have any control for the next four years, minimum. I will live where they tell me to live, wait when I have to wait, and celebrate when they give me something to celebrate.

The Big Day

Well he left today for MEPS. Then he gets sent to the airport tomorrow and shipped to San Diego for 13 weeks.

I can't seem to stop crying. I feel like a baby and I hate it. I know he has only been gone for about seven hours but it seems like every little thing reminds me of him and makes tears spring into my eyes.

After I dropped him off at the recruiters today, I sat in the car for a few minutes just trying to breathe. In our entire three years together we have never been separated for longer than a couple of weeks and we have always had phone contact. Now I am resigned to letters and the knowledge that I have to wait 13 weeks to see him again.

I wasn't ready for him to go. I wasn't prepared emotionally. My family is worried about me and says the first 48 hours are going to be the hardest. Also that half my reaction is because of my pregnancy horomones. I think I am just miserable and want to stay in bed for three months until he is laying with me again.

And now I am crying again. I am half hoping that MEPS is going to say that he is ineligeble and he will call me tomorrow saying that he needs me to come get him. I feel bad for wishing that, but the thought of three months is suddenly to much. I am regretting supporting him joining and I just want him home. It is selfish I know.

I am going to sign off now. Try to get a little slee

What I have learned in the last week about pregnancy.

As I have previously mentioned, I found out recently that I am almost 6 months pregnant. Surprise!

So I have spent the last week and a half googling myself sleepless about pregnancy and parenthood and have come to conlcusion that I am very out of my depth here. Parenting isn't just a job; its going to be my life for the next 60 years. I will never stop being a mother and my little boy will never stop being the center of my universe.

Also I have discovered that the moment I found out about him, I became instantly and irrevocably attached to him. I love him more than anything. Its amazing how I would do anything at this point for him. If the doctor told me that it was him or me, I would choose him. Same goes for husband. He has gone into protective Dad mode. Now he nags me ten times a day to get on the elliptical or eat some fruit. He is even getting excited about being a Dad. He said that he kind of wishes it was a girl though; he wanted to be the dad sitting on the porch with a shotgun.

I am terrified of raising a boy. They are destructive and noisy and their baby clothes are hideous. I have no idea what to do with one. I grew up around a ton of girls who liked barbies and dress up. Boys, I hear, like to create lego civilizations and then godzilla their way through them. I have no idea how to deal with a child whose single pleasure will be destruction.

So, anyone have any ideas on how to raise boys?

Marine Corp News

Another gift from God; Danny's ship date for Basic has been moved up from May 9th to April 7th.

That means that Danny will be here for the birth (estimated to be July 19). Otherwise, he wouldnt have been here until about two weeks after the baby was born.

The day after we went to the ER, Danny went into the recruiter to tell them what was going on. They immedietly got to work changing his ship date and even trying to get him two extra weeks of Recruiters Assistance, so he could hang around in case I am overdue.

Turns out they couldn't get the RA, but he would have gotten 10 days of Paternity Leave, as long as he was out of basic.

So he is going to be home for the birth! BUT...that means that I will be traveling from WA to CA in my ninth month of pregnancy; I have a feeling that will suck. I am not willing, however, to miss seeing him graduate into a Marine.

I will have more updates soon. The first OB appt is on April 2nd where we will get more info about baby!

Hilary signing off!

Huge news!

I have excellent news and I cant wait to share. However, before I spill the beans, I need to explain my story so that everyone can understand just how big of a miracle it is.

I am 21 years old and I haven't had a period in a year. I was told when I was about 16 that I had a large cyst on my left ovary. For the last six-ish years, I have been living under the impression that the chances of me having a child without going through invitro or something were very slim. So when I got married about a year and a half ago, I didnt think for a second that I needed to be using birth control or condoms. I mean, why spend money when the chances were nearly astronomical?

So like I said, its been since April 2011 that I have not had a period. No spotting, nothing.

Not really all that strange when you have a cyst. Those things mess with horomones like crazy. A year was longer than usual, but a skipped period or four was nothing to worry about. So I have spent the last year going about my business, taking the occasional pregnancy test when I thought I had a symptom that worried me (unexplained throwing up, etc).

Four days ago, I began to have very severe shooting pains in my abdomen. I thought it was just the cyst bursting, except that usually feels more like pressure instead of shooting. So after two days of pain, I said to my husband "Okay fine, lets go to the ER. What if its something worse?"

We got there and waited for THREE hours in those God awful chairs until finally they called me back. They took blood, had me pee in a cup, and dress in that awful gown that shows your rear. After that the doctor came in and asked what was going on. I told him about the pain and the lack of periods. He told me to wait on the bloodwork and left.

Long story short, he came back in and told me that I was testing positive for pregnant.

...

"WHAT?! Thats impossible! I haven't had a period in almost a year!" Thats about what I said(loudly) along with the usual sayings associated with shock. My husband is standing to my right, gaping like a fish while my mother is to my left looking like someone just told her that she was the heir to a large fortune.

Then I started freaking out because WebMD (day before) had said that my pain was one of two things:
A) A bursting cyst
B) An Ectopic pregnancy.
I proceeded to tell the doctor what WebMD had said and he chuckled saying that I had no idea how many people came in every day because of that website. I wasn't laughing.

So I am now sobbing, my mom is sobbing, and my husband is tearing up. We are all on the edge.

Then a lady came into the room and said she was taking me downstairs for an ultrasound so we could see what was going on.

Down we went and they Ultrasound tech took her wand and squirted that cold gel on my stomach and started poking me.

At first we didnt see anything. Just the shifting grays. Until she says "Oh. Yup, there is a baby in there! And he is rather big!"

Praise the Lord, it was okay. He/she was perfect and awake and moving around. I just about died in that hospital bed from happiness.

Eventually I found out that I was about 23 weeks along and was going to be having a baby boy on July 19, which I laughed at because that is one week before my sisters wedding.

So there is my huge news. Almost half way in, I found out I was having a baby!

I will be back in a couple of days with more news. My family is still in shock, as am I. I have mostly been going from worrying to being excited the last day and a half, so I will have more news ASAP.

Pray for me! And him. We like the name Aiden.