32 weeks already!

Wanted to do a little pregnancy update! I am already 32 weeks along, that sounds CRAZY! I cant beleive its gone this fast! Im not gonna lie I thought pregnancy would be super miserable and it really hasnt. I know ive been lucky so counting those blessings! Up until I really started showing which was around 24/26 weeks I would still forget that I was pregnant. 

How far along am I?
32 weeks 1 day

How am I feeling? 
Really good! I am definitely starting to get more uncomfortable and my sleep hasn't been quite as good. But I still am able to do pretty much whatever I want. 

How am I sleeping? 
I have good nights and bad nights. Sometimes its harder to fall asleep cuz Stanford wont settle down (he likes to start his just dance parties right when I'm ready to sleep). 

How is work going? 
Work is going really well and honestly has made the pregnancy fly. I still LOVE my job and feel so lucky to have work I am excited to go to almost everyday (no job makes you excited about every little thing haha).

Any movement from the baby yet?
Yes, ALL DAY ALL NIGHT. 

How did our ultrasound go? 
My doctor requested that we see a Maternal/Fetal Doctor because I was recently diagnosed with a genetic condition and she wanted to be very conservative and be certain there was nothing we needed to do for the delivery because of it. We had a very thorough ultrasound before meeting the doctor, the tech took over 140 pictures haha. Long story short everything is totally fine he said that he would treat me the same as any other normal pregnancy despite the new diagnosis! This is what I was expecting based on what Ive read about my condition. The other good news is that Stanford was measuring in the 15th percentile at our 20 week appointment and this time around he was measuring in the 40th!

And for those who I havent told about my genetic condition, its a very not big deal. I have had a rash on my neck since I was about 7 that we always thought was a scar from an allergic reaction. Pregnancy made my rash change which I thought would be super odd if it was an actual scar. I went to the dermatologist and he realized pretty quickly what it was based on the unique presentation of the rash (most of which I couldn't see cuz its on the back of my neck). They did a biopsy to confirm! Basically all it means right now is that the rash wont ever go away, which for me was already what I had expected, Ive always had it so it wasn't a big deal. It could have other affects later in life, but it could also not, so I've chosen not to worry about it!

Am I craving anything?
Nope, still don't believe this is real haha

Any food aversions?
Also havent experience this

How’s the nursery coming along?
Great! We finally got our furniture last Friday and Ive been slowly picking out the addition things I want to add. All of my main furniture is from pottery barn kids. It was a little more expensive to go this route but everyone I know that has furniture from them has it for years and has been impressed with the long lasting quality. I bought a couple things that are basic and classic enough that I will want to use them again with any other kids we have in the future. 

Pregnancy update 21 weeks

I thought I would record a little pregnancy update since I haven't yet and we are already passed the halfway mark, which is mind boggling! 

How I told travis I was pregnant 

Travis and I were incredibly lucky and got pregnant pretty much right when we wanted to to. He hung out with friends the day I took a test because I wanted to surprise him that night. I was pretty certain I was pregnant at this point because I was 5 days late. I went to target that day and picked up a couple cute things to tell him. I was up in the room where I had the last of my Shop Stevie stuff and yelled down to him to come help me finish up orders. He was super reluctant, which is normally not like him so I had to ask him like 6 times to come help me. I was sitting in the room next to a baby onsie, the positive test and jimmy fallons book, “your baby’s first word will be DADA” He walked in and was completely taken off guard, exclaiming ALREADY? Hahaha He swooped me up for a kiss and we spent the rest of the night talking about our baby and how are life was going to change (like we really had/have any idea).

Telling my family 

I told my parents around 8 weeks because I just couldn't keep the secret any longer, plus I knew if anything were to happen I would want them to know and be able to be there for me. I told my parents I had forgotten about a couple gifts I had gotten them from when we were in France a couple weeks before and would give them to them at family dinner that night (we go to their house for dinner 1-2 Sundays a month).  I had bought my dad an awesome shirt that said New grandpa 2018 Rookie Dept. and I got my mom a beautiful Made By Mary necklace that says Grandma. We sneakily filmed them as they were opening up their gifts and my moms reaction was by far the best. She started out with oh this necklace is so pretty, then took a second to read it and just flipped out!! :) 

Are you having a boy or a girl?

We are having a boy! We have had one boy and one girls name picked out since we were basically first married and still love them so his name will be Stanford (we don't care what people think so have no problem telling everyone haha). The name is English and was really popular in the 1900's but not so much anymore, we have actually known a couple Stanford's and just love how strong the name sounds. We plan to call him Ford for short! We havent decided on a middle name yet.

How far along am I?
21 weeks 1 day! 

How am I feeling? 
GREAT! I keep having cold relapses but other than that I feel completely myself, which is not what I was expecting at all. Once my nausea went away is when I was like wohooo I can do this and Im so glad it didn’t last! I don’t know how people who are sick their whole pregnancy do it! 

How am I sleeping? 

Much better, I got like a million pillows because sleeping on my side is quite the struggle and after some trial and error and I found a coupe that make it manageable. These two are my favorites: Boppy pregnancy wedge and Boppy side sleeper.

How is work going? 

Work was REALLY hard for the about 7-8 weeks when I was feeling nauseous (and hadn't told anyone I was pregnant yet). I just didn't feel good and motivated to really get everything I needed/wanted to done. Luckily no one seemed to even notice (helps that I was fairly new and no one really knew what my full capacity was like haha). When I told my manager I was pregnant and had been feeling really awful he was super surprised, like shock all across his face (not to the I was pregnant part, but to the I felt awful for that long part). So I'm just glad it didn't seem like it rubbed off on my performance overall to others even though I definitely know it did! At the moment I am planning on working up until I give birth and then I'll have a 3 month maternity leave and go back after. Im pretty certain I will do full time or almost full time 30+ hours per week (I LOVE my job), but I am going to be flexible with myself as I know it'll be a lot different than I am expecting and not everything will go according to plan.  

Any movement from the baby yet?
Yes, Ive been feeling movement for a lot longer than I realized! I believe I could start feeling him move around week 16/17 and its just been getting stronger as the weeks go by. Travis got to feel the baby for the first time this weekend and it was so exciting! 

How did our ultrasound go? 
We had our anatomy scan ultrasound this week and everything is looking good! He is measuring on time, and from what they can tell all of his organs and his body look healthy! It was sooo fun to be able to see him punch and kick me and feel it at the same time! 

Am I craving anything?
I don’t believe food cravings are really a thing. I have regular food cravings like I did before I was pregnant but nothing more or less.

Any food aversions?

Also don’t believe this is a thing haha. My only aversion is to strong smells, like the fridge, especially when I was really nauseas, I couldn’t open it without feeling like I was going to throw up (never did though) 

How’s the nursery coming along?
I have a Pinterest board and some ideas, but thats about as far as I have gotten. I love the idea of a very subtle gender neutral travel theme. I don’t feel the need to get the nursery ready anytime soon. 

18 weeks

20 weeks

21 weeks

2018 goals

Last year I had a long list of very specific measurable goals that I was making progress on, then halfway through the year my world flipped upside down with several job changes! This year I am going to stick with more overarching themes/goals that I can focus more specifically on monthly.

1. Financial

Save at least half of our income. This would include strategies for contributing to both our 401Ks, our child's education fund, and personal savings/investments

2. Personal 

Get out of the habit of the default activity of watching tv.

3. Spiritual

Read or listen to something uplifting every day!

I plan on giving myself grace with these goals and remembering that I have an entire year to get these habits down/fullfil these goals.

I am hoping we can still travel a decent amount in 2018 despite the changes! We are going to Bermuda with a day trip in NYC in February and then hoping to do something with family in the summer and at least something else in the fall with our new babe.

Next year I want to be more focused on the present and less worried about the things that don't matter. With a baby coming into our lives I know a lot will change and I want to grow as that change comes.

I cant wait to see what 2018 has in store!

2017: the year of change

2017 was the year of embracing change! We accomplished so much and it flew by.

Travel:

One of my resolutions for 2017 was to take a trip every month, and I actually delivered on this one for the most part. It was so much fun going new places and experiencing new things. I am always happy when I have a trip to look forward too no matter how big or small that trip might be.

January- Jackson Hole
February- St. George & California
March- Iceland
April- London
May- Major Job change! 
June- Northern California 
July- Exuma Bahamas
August- Idaho for the total eclipse 
September- France 
October- Kauai, Hawaii for work 
November- California 
December- Christmas at home with family 

Work: 

I had an unexpected job change in 2017. I said goodbye to Qualtrics, my workplace of 3 years, and hello to BioFire, where I have now been for 6 months.

The move to BioFire was unexpected because I wasn't actively looking for a job, and happened to get a random message on linkedin from my now current manager, who I had almost no connections to. The best part of the story is that his message went unnoticed by me for almost 3 months. When I finally saw it and sent him a message back that I was interested in the position I was pretty heartsick cuz I thought there would be no way the job hadn't been filled. I was so happy to hear later that night that not only had the position not been filled, but they were looking for very specific experience/education that was basically exactly what I had to offer. We chatted the next week over the phone and I started the application process and was hired a month later.

Biofire has given me more flexibility with work life balance (a less work-a-holic culture overall, every other friday off + much better PTO) + more challenging and exciting opportunities day to day. Plus the company makes tests for infectious diseases, which with my epidemiology background is something I am very passionate about!

After my second semester teaching for BYU-I online I decided to take a break to focus on my new job. I also decided to stop selling for Shop Stevie after a year of lots of fun, for similar reasons.

Travis also had an unexpected job change at the end of the year. He left Teva Pharmecueticals which he had been with for his internship during college and for the last 2 years after he graduated. We received a text from a good friend from church that his senior engineer was leaving and that he wanted travis to apply for the job, two months later he is working for Integra Life Sciences and is enjoying the added responsibility and change of pace.

Personal: 

In case you didn't hear, we found out I am pregnant with a baby boy this year! Definitely the most exciting thing to happen to us in 2017! We are living up our last months together before baby is born, but cant wait to meet him and know our lives are going to change forever!

Photos in Paris

I won a giveaway a couple months ago from an awesome company called Flytographer. They connect people with photographers all over the world to make booking a shoot hassle free all over the world! I had this trip planned before I won and it lined up perfectly! I am IN LOVE with these photos!! The experience was awesome too, our photographer was super friendly and we had such a nice time chatting and walking around the city! All I can say is take me back to paris!