Motherhood

I hate this picture of me but this is a day after Naomi was born :)

Sunday we had a stake leader get up and testify the importance of motherhood and how divine of a calling it is and it really touched my heart and made me feel blessed to be a mother.Today was a huge eye opener for me and I honestly don't know how I feel about it. I feel so blessed to have my beautiful baby girl. I found out a lot of people in my life have a really hard time getting pregnant or have had miscarriages. this knowledge sunk my heart and I felt so sad for them. How hard would that be... I don't think i am that strong of a woman to handle a trial like that and quite frankly don't want to find out. Then it made me feel guilty for wanting another baby. Lately I have been seeing all these new babies and made me want another one because i love babies so much and we want a big family, but then it made me ask myself is it selfish to want another one when you already have one and others are trying so hard to just have one? I don't know what to feel anymore, but my heart does go out to those who have trails creating a family. I'm also wondering how I can be the best mom I can be. I used to think I would be a great mom, but it is harder than I thought. I just hope I am not letting my daughter or Heavenly Father down.

The diagnosis

Well here it is... it’s been a crazy week full of anticipated doctor visits and lots of testing. When I went to the Doctor last week they were a little concerned because my blood pressure was starting to get a little higher than normal and I was spilling protein in my urine. my doctor ordered a blood test and told me to come back in for my appointment 5 days latter( talk about an anxious wait) when I came back in she told me that everything from the blood test looked great except my iron levels which is an easy fix. I now have to take a daily dose of iron but if any of you have taken iron I also have to up my fiber intake yuck! They did a non stress test to check on the baby and she did great though I don’t think she liked it that much she kept kicking it and moving around. The doctor diagnosed me with preeclampsia and told me they would be watching me closely and doing more blood test to make sure all the levels are where they need to be. She told me to come back in of Friday (yesterday) to have a biophysical exam done. What I thought might be an hour at the doctor’s office turned into 3. First when I got there they were running behind so my appointment was like 45 min late then they did the biophysical everything looked good she’s still a girl :) and she has hair! They took me back to an exam room which my blood pressure was super high and that worried them they did another non stress test and took some more blood. They were worried so they made me wait around for a doctor who had to ironically go deliver a baby so after 2 hours in the doctor’s office worrying they sent me home for an hour and told me to come back when the doctor got back. When I came back the doctor decided he wanted to do a cervical exam. You could only imagine how excited I was for that... NOT! So he did his thing and told me the baby was still high but i was dilated to a 2 that was kind of exciting except for the fact that some people can be dilated to a 2 for weeks but still exciting. he told me that he wanted me to lay low for the next week and if at all possible on my left side (this lowers the blood pressure significantly somehow) he told me he would like to see me make it to 38 weeks (next Saturday) and then they will more than likely induce me because they don’t want the blood pressure to negatively affect me or the baby. So now I am lying in bed with nothing to do and I am already hating this whole bed rest thing but I keep telling myself it is worth it. I have another doctor appointment on Tuesday so we will see what they say at that one. Until then I am just anxiously awaiting the arrival of my little girl.

The Last Stretch

Well it has been a while as usual that I have posted anything, but I guess its better late then never. As usual lately I am up awake while my husband is sound asleep in bed. Our little girl loves to get up and play at night, especially in my ribs it's so much fun! People weren't kidding when they said the last month is the worst, and I am about a week away from my last month. Oh well, besides having to pee all the time, and being uncomfortable I am doing good. I love feeling her move and I cant wait to meet her soon. I am frantically trying to make sure we have every thing ready for when she comes. Some people would call this nesting hahah. I just have to keep telling myself to relax and everything will work out. This past month has been absolutely crazy. It started out fairly slow and then everything started to happen all at once.  We had a fun filled mothers day weekend full of a girls night out while the guys went to a fathers and sons outing, my baby shower, and mothers day at Shaun's parents house When we came home from being up there our car decided it was done and didn't want to start.Come to find out we  "just" needed a new starter, an expense we weren't really planning for but I kept my cool. Secretly inside  I was freaking out because we didn't plan for this and we have a baby on the way, but who ever plans for things like this to happen. I am just leaving it all in Gods hands and hopefully everything will work out. This weekend we have Shaun's birthday and a doctors appointment next week. Then ironically we have nothing planned for June.... perfect I can relax and wait for Naomi to come hahah yeah right as if it will work out that way.  I am so excited for the next month I cant express how nervous and ecstatic I am to have our baby girl enter this world and to meet her for the first time :) my sister made the cutest things for her room ( I will post pics at the end of this post) I have definitely had to refrain from making and buying every cute thing i see at the store. Knowing we are having a baby girl has definitely been fun, but dangerous for our bank account haha I have been good though no worries. As for an update on how our baby is doing; at our last doctor appointment the doctor said she was measuring right where she should be and the heart beat is still going strong. I have managed to maintain a healthy diet for my gestational diabetes and I have only gained a total of 7 pounds (which i am super excited about). Everything is looking good we just have to wait. I honestly cant express how blessed I feel to have had a pretty perfect pregnancy. Everything has gone great with the exception of the gestational diabetes, I have had no real complications I hope it continues to go that way and that delivery wont be awful. I am going to try to deliver without an epidural.. we will see how that goes. I thank the good Lord about for all that he has blessed our little family with and for his hand consistently being in our lives and this pregnancy I know that Naomi was supposed to be born into this family at this time and I cant wait to see what she brings into our lives. well its getting late I probably should try to go to sleep. Until next time!
Lots of love,
Andrae Michelle

A cute dress to hold all of her hair accessories

An awesome pink and black blanket ( I love it)

Trials, Blessings, and Tiny Feet.

Well it’s been a while sense I last posted life gets in the way some times. I am now 18 weeks along and feeling great. The first trimester was not pleasant; waking up to weird smells and my new friendship with toilets and sinks. Getting through preschool was always an accomplishment, I always prayed I wouldn't throw up in front of the children, and I never did thank goodness. This semester has already been a stressful yet blessed one. We are currently trying to sell our contract for our apartment because we got into a two bedroom, and every offer that is laid down falls through, so we are going to have to pay two places rent for February until we find someone to move in. The blessing: Shaun got a job doing janitorial on campus and we won’t have to rush to move out. I am being treated for gestational diabetes so I get to poke myself and monitor my blood sugars. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be to make it fun I have a pink monitor and the things I have to stick myself with are colorful. Hahah colors make everything better :) School is hard this semester and Shaun is never home it seems like between work and school we are lucky to spend a few hours together. The blessing: lately when I feel lonely or just stressed out from life my little one likes to kick or punch me and remind me that he or she loves me and is in there. It is so crazy to feel the baby moving around and takes me by surprise every time. The baby likes to move around when I am sitting still or never fails when i am about ready to go to sleep. Typical baby quiet during the day, and ready to play at night. it’s amazing that I have never seen or met my baby yet and i already have such an incredible love and bond with it, I can’t wait to meet it when it arrives in June. i cannot believe i am going to be a mom  as long as I can remember that was my dream in life. i remember taking my baby doll everywhere i went when i was little , I even breast fed it lol and my mom told me that i would get some strange looks at the store for one I had a baby doll up my shirt and two my baby doll looked real so they were confused at first glance. hahha I could only imagine the thoughts going through those peoples heads. Shaun is getting used to the idea that he is going to be a daddy and talks to the baby at night; it’s the cutest thing to watch. I am so excited for my family to grow. We will learn the baby’s gender on Valentine’s Day :)  Shaun wants a boy and I want a girl so we will see who wins! I will keep you followers updated. Thanks for reading :)

Our Family is Quickly Growing

As some of you may have already heard Shaun and I are expecting. I am currently 6 weeks along still pretty early in the game, but we are very excited for this new chapter in our life. I have my first appointment on Tuesday and am super excited to go so that hopefully I can get a peace of mind just to know that all is going well and that things are progressing normally (fingers crossed). This came as a shock to both of us because I was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome when I was 14 and all the doctors told me that I would have to be on a combination of fertility drugs to even think about getting pregnant, and all they did was put me on Metformin to regulate my period and boom a few months later I am pregnant. We didn't think it would happen so fast, but we are so grateful to heavenly father for blessing us with this great opportunity. I on the other hand am not enjoying the morning sickness, soreness,and bloating, but I know its for a great cause. I will continue updating as the pregnancy progresses but thought I would announce our great news :) Love all of you <3

Chapter 2

Okay since we left Moab our lives have been spinning out of control! I am so sorry for those of you who have been waiting for pictures of our new apartment. We had a great time in Colorado though it was way too short of a trip it was great to see friends and family again. Then on our way to Idaho our car decided to get PMS and basically told us we wouldn't go any farther. So we were stuck in Little America WY for the night. You will never believe what happened the next day... the car acted like nothing was wrong!!!!! I wanted to kick it so bad, but I didn’t, and I guess the 50 cent ice cream cones made it better. So then we left and made it all the way back to Idaho with no problems. Now we are all settled into our apartment here in Rexburg and I have made it through 2 weeks of school so far taking 18 credits i am starting to think I am crazy :P but I know I can do it! Over all life is awesome we are enjoying being up here and having our own apartment. my favorite part of course was decorating lol Shaun tells me I cant do anymore  because then we won’t be able to see our walls I don’t know what he is talking about hahah oh well :)  that is all that is new in our lives. I included pictures of our new apartment hope you enjoy ....... oh and at the end there are pictures of our date night activity we hot glued crayons to a canvas and then used a hair dryer to melt and spatter the crayon, instant art work no talent involved now that’s my kind of art! Love all of ya <3

Front Room

Couch & huge wall clock

our dinning room  (aka the other side of the front room)

Kitchen

Favorite part = the magnets I made them out of buttons

Bedroom

Closet

 

Bathroom

Our favorite decoration :) ( It says Monson Family Established 4.9.2011 Rexburg temple)

Before

After

Grandma's, Moms, and Mice

Well this is the last week we will be in Moab, and I couldn't be happier. There is always so many mixed feelings, at least for me when I come here. First off it was way weird being in my grandparents house and not having my grandma here. There hasn't been a time when I came to stay at their house and she was missing. I miss her so much even if she told my my clothes were ugly or that I needed to lose weight. I think it was her out going opinionated personality I miss most, even if I didn't want to hear it. Secondly whenever I am here everyone brings up my mom . I constantly hear," oh your Kristin's daughter.. I am sorry." It was over 5 years ago geeze.  I am living in the town she grew up in and some times I have to wonder what it would be like if she was still around, if i look like her, or how close we would be. I don't know its just kinda crazy to still think about that I lost my mom, but life is life. I try to stay strong despite my trials in life that I am handed or ones that I choose to take on. On a happier note I am excited for our upcoming trip to Denver, then back up to Rexburg. It will be nice to see my parents and friends again. My dad claims it's time for me to sort through all my boxes to see what i really want to keep or what i need to get rid of. that should be fun and interesting also lol. after a couple of days in Denver we are on our way back up to Idaho woo hoo. Never thought I would be so happy to go to Idaho hahha its a love hate relationship. So here is a funny story for you for the week.. the other night I heard a noise under the bed I tried to wake up Shaun, but he wouldn't budge so i went back to sleep I knew it was a mouse, but I tried to ignore that fact and go back to sleep. Then when he finally woke up I told him he needed to check the sticky trap we have under the bed, so he looked and ... IT WAS GONE!!!! In shock we both laughed and looked everywhere for it. After we gave up, and I a little nervous about a loose mouse; I found it while doing laundry. When I picked it up you will never believe what was on it... I know what you are thinking the mouse right .. no it was a chunk of its hair hahah, so he must be mighty mouse to get away from the trap;  so now we have a half bald mouse running around. I hate mice, but I have to admit its a pretty funny story when I look back on it. Thats all for now ill update later :)

Here is just a fun picture of me and my mom at the same age :) I think we look alike!