Welcome, Zia!

Hey, everyone!

I'm sorry for slacking off during my last weeks of pregnancy, but things got pretty crazy! On top of being hugely pregnant, I was also in the middle of finishing the last semester of my associates degree (with honors) and working part time. Needless to say, it has been busy! On to more exciting things...

Zia is finally here! She was born on April 11, 2013 at 10:31 am. She is absolutely beautiful, and I'm smitten! Austin and I are co-authoring a blog for her, and I have two posts there about her birth story and first month.Click HERE to read all about it (and see lots of pictures!) I'm not going to post the whole thing on this blog too, but I will post a some of my favorite pictures.

Welcome, Zia! We love you so much!

I actually made this little gown for her out of one of Austin's shirts that had a stain.
 See the tutorial HERE, on the blog This Mama Makes Stuff.

Thanks for stopping by! I have lots of projects to share once I have a little more time!

30 Weeks!

Hello, friends!

Life has been keeping this little pregnant mamma busy! I have been feeling really good, though, so I'm not complaining! :)

Baby update! We went in for our 28 week appointment a couple weeks back and everything looked right on schedule. I also got a blood draw for my glucose test and to check my iron levels this past week, so we should be hearing back about that soon. (I definitely have my fingers crossed that we are both healthy as can be!)

Austin, myself, and the whole rest of the family already call her by one name, so I might as well make it blog official--we are naming our little girl Zia Marie Springer. People have had mixed feelings about the name, but we love it, and we feel like it perfectly suits her. And that's really what matters. About nine weeks left before we meet our little one! I can't believe how fast time is going!


How far along: 30 weeks 5 days
Size of baby: A head of cabbage...not quite sure how this works, since four weeks ago we were at a head of lettuce. This one also made me laugh, because I have always had a bit of an intolerance for cabbage! Pregnancy has made me despise it even more. But I am glad my little girl is currently the size of one of them, nonetheless. :)
Total weight gain/loss: The power was actually out at our last appointment, and we don't have a scale, so I haven't been able to weigh. Last I remember weighing, I had finally broken even, meaning back to pre-pregnancy weight! I know I must be gaining at least some weight now, because I can definitely see my tummy growing! Little Zia is getting so big!
Stretch marks: No new ones
Maternity clothes: Yes! Only one pair of pre-pregnancy jeans is still in rotation. A few of my looser shirts are still working for me, but I definitely am using maternity clothes on a daily basis.
Baby-related purchases: Over the past few weeks, I have switched from a sewing obsession to a crocheting obsession. This means some yarn purchases! Other than that, I have been pretty good. I did buy a nice little rocking chair/glider at the D.I. a few weeks back, and I'm very excited about that. Everyone has been so generous that we really don't need much!
Movement: Always! They say babies slow down during the last trimester because their space is becoming more cramped as they grow. This doesn't seem to hold our little one back! She just makes room by pushing my organs and other body parts out of the way. With her little feet under my ribs, she can just push and push until I make her more comfortable. My belly shifts and bounces and jumps all day long with her exercises. I love it. :) I will have to post a video sometime if I think to record it one of these days.
Sleep: Getting worse. I get overheated and just plain uncomfortable a lot more easily than I used to. I've also been wearing out more easily the last little while, and sometimes I feel like it's the first trimester all over again tiredness wise.
Belly button in or out: Out and stretched very tight!
What I miss: This week, I'm definitely missing the pre-pregnancy brain! I have done some ridiculous things, including grabbing my headphones instead of keys (they were in the same pocked of my bag, in my defense) before heading out and locking myself out of the house. I got in okay, but I was so embarrassed! One of my co-workers is convinced taking more fish oil helps. I should probably get on that!
Cravings: I still feel like I haven't had any big cravings, but I was really wanting some pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting yesterday. I had some self control and didn't make any, but the craving didn't go away. I made a big pan earlier and thoroughly enjoyed a large slice. :)
Symptoms: Back aches, out of breath after next to no exertion, heartburn, pregnancy brain, meat aversion, nesting, and sometimes a little bit cranky. But for the most part it's still pretty good. I'm glad that I won't have to keep working too much longer, though, because it's getting harder to be on my feet all day long.
Worries: The reality that we are about to be parents is finally starting to hit me. The three families in the apartments surrounding ours all have babies, and getting to know them better and see them grow has made me both excited and nervous for our own little lady. I am a bit nervous about finishing school before she gets here, but I hear that first babies typically come late, if anything. Hopefully I can finish up everything early so that I won't have to worry about taking finals while I'm in labor! ;)
What I look forward to: Baby showers! We set dates for both of them this week, and they are going to be near the end of March. I'll be about ready to pop! I can't wait to see all the cute things friends and family will have whipped up for Zia!
Celebrations: We made it safely to the third trimester! Every week means that Zia could survive (with special care) if she were to come early. That comforts my worry wart side. On a less pregnancy-related level, Valentine's Day is this week! Austin and I went on a late babymoon and early Valentine's getaway this last weekend. It was so much fun! I didn't realize how much I would enjoy being able to get away and just hang out for a little while. I highly recommend it.

Update on the nursery: Everything is coming together! The bedding arrived safely and is all washed and ready to be assembled! I am waiting to put it all on until I have a water-proof mattress cover. I hear they are kind of important when babies are new and spitting up, peeing, and pooping constantly. The set is even cuter in person, and we are definitely pleased with our selection. :)

Thanks for reading guys! Stay tuned for more updates!

-Malia

26 Weeks

Hey, friends!

Week 26 for our little one was also the first week back to school for Austin and me. I'm taking more credits than usual (gotta finish the associates before baby comes), but it looks like it's going to be a really good semester. If all goes well, I will even have the honors program stamp on my associates diploma. Whoo!

I don't have much else to report this week, so I'll just skip to an update on our little girl!


How far along: 26 weeks 3 days
Size of baby: head of lettuce
Total weight gain/loss: I haven't weighed since last week, but I'm probably about the same.
Stretch marks: no new ones
Maternity clothes: Yes!
Baby-related purchases: Austin and I made a deal that I could order the bedding for the nursery as soon as the second bedroom was clean enough to start adding things. After lots of cleaning, de-junking, and organizing, I am proud to say that it looks the best it ever has! And it's about ready to become our little girl's room. That makes me happy enough, but I am even more excited to announce that we finally ordered bedding! I can't wait for it to get here! Austin doesn't quite understand my excitement over these fussy details, but he puts up with my pregnancy obsessions. :)
Movement: Has a baby ever moved so much? I don't think I mentioned this last week, so I'll say it now. When we went in for our appointment last week, the midwife asked if I feel the baby move around every once in a while now. I kind of thought she was kidding for a minute, because she moves around so much! I told her that she is VERY active. They say every baby is totally unique, with their very own personality, and I know she is already very much her own person. She gets the hiccups fairly regularly now, which is adorable. You can see my belly move around with her, too. She's bouncing around like crazy as I write this, which is making Daddy laugh. :) We already love her so much.
Sleep: A little better this week, but I haven't able to get as much because of school. I think being a little more tired has helped me to sleep better, though.
Belly button in or out: Still out. Especially when I cough!
What I miss: I'm mostly just excited right now. :) I do feel bad when I never want to eat Austin's yummy meat creations, though. Meat has continued to be kind of gross to me unless it's well disguised. I hope I like it again after our baby is here! I feel bad that he always just cooks his dishes for one!
Cravings: Fruit! I downed some blueberries and grapes earlier. Yum! One of my friends growing up has the same due date as I do, and she said she has been craving fruit too! Funny, huh?
Symptoms: Harder to breathe, a little uncomfortable (not much room in there these days), baby movements visible from the outside, rapidly growing belly (everyone at work reminds me daily that I'm definitely getting bigger!), mood swings, pregnancy brain (bad these days), tired, and nesting! I love it! I think I'm gonna miss at least this stage of being pregnant.
Worries: Getting everything done in time! Austin and I are opposites on this one. He thinks we're worrying about things way earlier than we need to, and I feel like we have too much to get done to put it off another minute! I'm also a little worried about the glucose test I have in a little while. I've heard it's NASTY. I'll survive.
What I look forward to: Getting the nursery bedding! Our crib won't be naked anymore. My birthday is also next week, so that's kind of exciting!
Celebrations: Buying the crib bedding (can you tell I'm excited about it?) and school starting! One more semester until I meet this little person!

Now that I've proven that I'm very excited about this bedding, here is a picture. :) It's the Carter's Elephant Patches crib bedding set. We ordered the comforter, bumper, blanket, diaper hanger, sheet, dust ruffle, and the cute little green elephant stuffed animal below. Can't wait to post pictures of how it all looks in the nursery!

Thanks for reading!

25 Weeks--And Happy New Year!

Hello, everybody!

Since my last post:

The hubs and I finished up the fall semester, we had Baby Girl's 20 week ultrasound, Christmas, a trip to St. George with my side of the family, and New Year's! Those are the big things, anyway. :)

The 20 week ultrasound went perfectly. Our little girl was exactly where she should be, growth wise. She was absolutely perfect, which put a lot of my worries to rest. She is definitely still a girl, and we have come up with a name that we feel pretty sure about. :) It's not really a secret, so maybe I'll post about it soon.

Christmas was wonderful! We got to take some time off work to make sure we could spend time with all of our families. My mom confessed that it's a lot more fun to buy presents for the baby than for us. That made me smile. I think it's more fun to buy things for her, too!

The day after Christmas, my parents and siblings drove down to pick us up and we all headed out for a getaway to St. George! It was snowing like crazy when we left, so it took quite a bit longer than usual to get all the way down there. We did see a pretty awesome sunset through the snow, though.

We had such a good time! One of our first outings was to go visit some really neat Anasazi "cave" art. I put it in quotes because there weren't any caves to talk about. There was some pretty cool art, though.

Originally we planned to go up to the Grand Canyon, but it turns out that the North Rim is actually closed during the winter. After driving two hours and finding that out, we took some time to go down to the Vermilion Cliffs. It wasn't quite as cool as going to see the Grand Canyon, but we still enjoyed it. The cliffs and the huge bridges that go between them were pretty impressive. Here are some pictures!

We also took our first family trip to Zion's, which was absolutely gorgeous!

They all kind of look the same now that I'm posting them. I guess it was just too beautiful to capture on camera. :) Other than our outdoor adventures, we spent some time hanging out around the condo, went to the St. George temple and tabernacle, and went swimming in the condo's indoor pool. Over all, it was a wonderful vacation! We got home earlier this week, and we've just been trying to get our apartment back to pre-holiday shape! School starts Monday!


How far along: 25 weeks 4 days
Size of baby: Rutabaga (13 1/2 inches from head to toe!)
Total weight gain/loss: I'm only down two pounds from pre-pregnancy weight! I'm getting there!
Stretch marks: A few have popped up.
Maternity clothes: Yes, sir! They are MUCH more comfortable, and they make my bump look cute instead of hiding it! Kid to Kid is my new-found favorite for maternity clothes. I got a lot of good stuff from the "good" brands for cheap! That equals happy me!
Baby-related purchases: To be honest, we're trying to stay away from buying too much before my baby shower. After that, we might go a little more crazy. So far I'm doing my best to be content with just putting stuff for Baby Girl on the registry for her shower. :) She did get a lot for Christmas last week, though!
Gender: Girl!
Movement: All the time! I still tease Austin that she's going to be silly like him. :) She moves enough that he and other family members have been able to feel her bonk around a little bit. We love it!
Sleep: Not so good. The heater is on almost constantly, which has really dried out my nose. I wake up a lot from not being able to breathe through my nose and having a cottony dry mouth. Yuck. I am still having tons of weird dreams, which doesn't help. Austin's gotten to the point where he can tell I'm having one and wake me up so I can get back to restful sleep. I also tend to wake up on my back a lot, which always worries me.
Belly button in or out: The top half is out . It is one funny looking thing. It sticks out all the time, and you can even notice it through looser outfits.
What I miss: Sleeping like a log, the big appetite I had for a while there, and the fall weather. I'm feeling the cold a little more than usual, maybe because of those pounds I lost.
Cravings: I'm not sure I've had any worth talking about. The holidays have turned me into one big sweet tooth (just like my hubby), so I've been splurging in that department a lot more than usual. Ranch is still a favorite, and I just had to have Pizza Hut the other day. It was probably the most delicious food I've ever eaten.
Symptoms: Back pain. Lately I've started to get these little charlie horses in the middle of my back. Ouch! Other than that, I make frequent bathroom trips, and I really look pregnant! My coworkers are all getting lots of enjoyment out of telling me that I finally look pregnant. I have had a little bit of what reminds me of morning sickness over the last little while, combined with lack of appetite. It's much milder than before, though.
Worries: Along with my lack of appetite and very slow weight gain, I have been concerned that the baby isn't getting all the nutrients she needs. I'm working on that all the time. Since our house is currently packed with baby things from friends and family, I'm also a little nervous about finding room for everything!
What I look forward to: Baby shower! Austin's surrogate mom talked to me this week about hosting one for me sometime next month. I can't believe how soon our little girl is coming! I'm also really excited to finish up with work and school so I can just be home with our little one. Just a couple more months!
Celebrations: This is probably kind of silly, but we were really happy when we made it to 24 weeks. I had read that babies can survive outside the womb (with lots of help) after that point, so it was a really exciting milestone for us. She's really going to come and be ours! Since the 24 week mark was on Christmas, it was kind of a double celebration. :) What better day to celebrate that we're getting the best and biggest gift of our lives?

Thanks for reading!

Malia