Living in Malad kind of sucks.
There are definite pros. We pay no rent or utilites, for which I have my generous mother-in-law to be thankful for. She has been so good to us, I don't really know where to start. We also have instant babysitters for Tavyin, including grandpa, who lives 5 minutes away.
What is getting to me is the boredom. We do pretty much the same things every day, and getting out to "town" is a big deal. Getting out of Malad is an even bigger one because the nearest city that's worth going to for the shopping is Pocatello, then Logan, and both are about an hour away. I don't know anyone here, and I'm used to us socializing with our friends regularly. I'm sad that Tayvin doesn't have any friends to play with, and I don't have any girlfriends nearby to chat with or go to lunch with. There are nice people here who we could get to know, but we're moving in 2-3 months, so what's the point? Of course, I have no idea where we'll be moving to, so that's another item of stress.
Our ward is neat, and I would really like to serve so I would have something to do, but I'm pregnant and am moving soon, so there's no reason to give me a calling. I haven't been called to one yet, and I think doing it now would feel like a waste of time.
The good stuff? I do have friends out here, they're just a couple hours away. Jeremy has been so good about letting me get away for weekends so I can cram in my girl time all at once. I think that has been what's keeping me sane. It was also really nice to have Jeremy so close, and for his schedule to be flexible. If he wanted to take time off, he could. He started a new rotation today that is in Tremonton, about 45 minutes south of us, which stinks b/c he has the car all week, but he also gets 3-day weekends this entire rotation. Jeremy's mom has also said we can use her cars anytime we want.
Really, my life is pretty good right now. I think what stresses me out is the feeling of being in limbo. I'm having a baby in 2 months, and if she comes early there might be a chance that Jeremy will still be in Savannah or taking the PANCE exam. We'll also probably be moving shortly after the baby comes, which will be hard with a VBAC, and nigh impossible if I have another C-section. I have a lot going on in the future that I have no control over and can't plan for, so I have to try and just let it go and live day to day and see what happens.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Friday, January 11, 2013
Our little cabin
We're mostly settled into Malad, and it's a little weird being back here. The last time we lived in the cabin was when Jeremy and I were first married. We lived in Malad for a summer a couple years later and stayed at Jeremy's Mom's house. Jer's Dad lived in the cabin and fixed it up quite a bit while he was here, so it's been a lot nicer than the last time we lived here. There's wood floors in the kitchen and bathroom, and the walls were painted and wallpapered. The biggest difference is the kitchen. Honestly, I think the kitchen will make or break a house for me. This one has a newer stove, dishwasher, microwave, and a walk-in pantry. We will definitely be able to make it here for the next few months.
Something neat about this cabin is that it's one of the original
buildings on the farm. It was supposedly built around 1870, and when we
first lived here you could see the logs on the outside. Jeremy's Dad was
going to put new siding on (which never happened) so everything is
walled off now, but the walls are a foot thick.
Tayvin was being silly while I was trying to take a picture of the door frame, so you can see more of him than anything else, but if you look at the door frame you can see how thick the walls are. Tayvin's room was added on later and the walls are a standard thickness. There's built in shelves behind the door, which is really nice to store his toys. It's a tiny room, but so far it's been working for him.
This is the window in my kitchen. The angle doesn't show it too well, but again,you can see that the walls are so thick. For some reason I really get a kick out of that. The doorways are also super short, they are only 6 feet high. Jeremy barely clears the one leading to our room. I guess the pioneers really were shorter.
And yesterday Tayvin put his snow boots on his doggy and actually posed for a picture instead of being a blurry mess.
While it is much nicer than the last time we lived here, the cabin isn't perfect. It gets really cold, so Jeremy's Mom put in a new furnace/space heater that runs on propane and heats the back room and Tayvin's room pretty well, although we have a little space heater in Tayvin's room, too. We also have a space heater in the kitchen, and I got a little one for our bedroom as well. We've been pretty comfortable, so thank you modern heaters!
This past summer the box elder bugs were also really bad, and when Jeremy's Mom turned on the heat they woke up from hibernation, along with a horde of flies, and have been drunkenly stumbling around the house. Jeremy says they were really bad when he first got here, but he got some Ortho Home Defense and sprayed the house really well before Tayvin and I got here. It seems to be helping. I still find bugs in the house, but they're usually dead or dying, and box elder bugs are easy to squish. It's funny to see the flies, though. They're still too cold to function really well, so they can't escape the fly swatter. Bwahaha.
The good thing? No spiders. I have seen two in the week that we have lived here, and both have been very small. All the same, I'll be glad to leave come spring.
Tayvin was being silly while I was trying to take a picture of the door frame, so you can see more of him than anything else, but if you look at the door frame you can see how thick the walls are. Tayvin's room was added on later and the walls are a standard thickness. There's built in shelves behind the door, which is really nice to store his toys. It's a tiny room, but so far it's been working for him.
This is the window in my kitchen. The angle doesn't show it too well, but again,you can see that the walls are so thick. For some reason I really get a kick out of that. The doorways are also super short, they are only 6 feet high. Jeremy barely clears the one leading to our room. I guess the pioneers really were shorter.
While it is much nicer than the last time we lived here, the cabin isn't perfect. It gets really cold, so Jeremy's Mom put in a new furnace/space heater that runs on propane and heats the back room and Tayvin's room pretty well, although we have a little space heater in Tayvin's room, too. We also have a space heater in the kitchen, and I got a little one for our bedroom as well. We've been pretty comfortable, so thank you modern heaters!
This past summer the box elder bugs were also really bad, and when Jeremy's Mom turned on the heat they woke up from hibernation, along with a horde of flies, and have been drunkenly stumbling around the house. Jeremy says they were really bad when he first got here, but he got some Ortho Home Defense and sprayed the house really well before Tayvin and I got here. It seems to be helping. I still find bugs in the house, but they're usually dead or dying, and box elder bugs are easy to squish. It's funny to see the flies, though. They're still too cold to function really well, so they can't escape the fly swatter. Bwahaha.
The good thing? No spiders. I have seen two in the week that we have lived here, and both have been very small. All the same, I'll be glad to leave come spring.
A Baby Update
I meant to update this Tuesday, but I wanted to add some pictures from my latest ultrasound and I finally got around to scanning them today.
We finally got a picture of her face and not her feet or her bum! There are a few more, but this one is the most clear.
Here's what I learned at my last appointment: I can definitely try a VBAC. There are only two doctors at the Pocatello hospital that do VBACs, and mine is one of them.We talked about the risk of uterine rupture, how it's listed as 1% but really it's only .5%, but in almost all cases of uterine rupture the baby dies. That being said, he told me his wife has had 5 successful VBACs, so we're going to give it a try unless I develop pre-eclampsia again. This doctor likes to induce VBACs because he wants to make sure either he or the other doctor is there to supervise. I don't want to induce, but if I get a different doctor they will probably not let me do the VBAC, so we'll see what happens as we get closer. I may go into labor on my own and not need any inducing, which is what I hope will happen.
After my appointment I had another ultrasound and the tech went through everything. She was so thorough and nice, it was a much better experience than my last. Baby girl's growth is now measured around 37%, so she is doing great. Everything is formed correctly, she has ten fingers and toes, and it measuring a week later than the current due date (the same as last time), but they're still saying April 16th is the due date. I thought it was the 17th, but I guess it's a day earlier. We'll see. :)
So there is nothing to report but good news, and we are very excited to finally get all this resolved.
We finally got a picture of her face and not her feet or her bum! There are a few more, but this one is the most clear.
Here's what I learned at my last appointment: I can definitely try a VBAC. There are only two doctors at the Pocatello hospital that do VBACs, and mine is one of them.We talked about the risk of uterine rupture, how it's listed as 1% but really it's only .5%, but in almost all cases of uterine rupture the baby dies. That being said, he told me his wife has had 5 successful VBACs, so we're going to give it a try unless I develop pre-eclampsia again. This doctor likes to induce VBACs because he wants to make sure either he or the other doctor is there to supervise. I don't want to induce, but if I get a different doctor they will probably not let me do the VBAC, so we'll see what happens as we get closer. I may go into labor on my own and not need any inducing, which is what I hope will happen.
After my appointment I had another ultrasound and the tech went through everything. She was so thorough and nice, it was a much better experience than my last. Baby girl's growth is now measured around 37%, so she is doing great. Everything is formed correctly, she has ten fingers and toes, and it measuring a week later than the current due date (the same as last time), but they're still saying April 16th is the due date. I thought it was the 17th, but I guess it's a day earlier. We'll see. :)
So there is nothing to report but good news, and we are very excited to finally get all this resolved.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
The Baby Bump
It took a long time for me to start showing with this pregnancy. More so than I remember with Tayvin, but I might just be impatient. It's hard to be pregnant and wanting people to know and gush (I'm totally narcissistic like that, hopefully you love me anyways) but not looking like you're pregnant! Especially because in my first trimester I lost so much body mass in my arms, legs and face that everyone who saw me noticed. But the day has finally arrived. My pants were getting too tight even with a rubber band around the button so I bust out the maternity pants and shirts. They are so comfortable! I kinda wish I had normal pants with a waistband like that. And now I have a bump to hold and show off. :)
Honestly, being pregnant is no fun. So it's nice to have something to show for all the nausea, vomiting, aching joints, headaches, exhaustion, etc.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
It's a girl! And the drama has already started.
Jeremy and I went in for my ultrasound yesterday to see our little baby. We have an awesome neighbor who watched Tayvin for us while we were gone, and she is doubly awesome b/c it took forever. When we finally got in, the ultrasound tech was annoyed that we hadn't had a 12 weeks ultrasound. She asked if I had late care or something, and when I explained that we just didn't get one because we were paying for it ourselves she asked why we weren't on Medicaid. The answer? Because I don't want to be, at least here in Georgia. Anyways, she started the ultrasound and the first thing we see is a little bottom. The tech looked around, and it would appear that our baby is a little girl! At least, we didn't see any boy parts. ;)
The tech then measured the head, stomach, and leg, and got really anxious because the baby's growth was in the 3rd percentile. She was asking if we were sure about the due date, and asked if we had heard of IUGR. She was also annoyed because she couldn't check the chambers of the heart because the baby was too small. Then she grabbed a nurse and because we're moving they wanted to make sure that we would tell our new doctor about the ultrasound and to make sure I got another. What's frustrating is that if you move the due date back a week the baby jumps up to the 19th percentile, and IUGR is impossible to diagnose without another ultrasound. And an ultrasound tech is not supposed to diagnose anything. That's the doctor's job. But the midwife seemed to ignore it. It felt like since I'm moving, they're just going to pass the buck. I'm really glad I'm not giving birth at this birth center, I have not had a great experience there.
So if I had gone and done the 12 week ultrasound, this might not be a problem. Yesterday I didn't feel like anything was wrong, and felt really calm throughout the visit. I think it helped that Jeremy was there. But today Jeremy is at work and I've been throwing up, and I'm really worried about this little baby. IUGR is intra-uterine growth restriction, and it can cause death in the womb. That's the scariest sentence I've ever written. So I'm in limbo right now because my due date could just be off, or my baby could not be getting enough oxygen in the womb. Or the baby could just be small. Heaven knows petite women run on both sides of our families. But of course my pregnant brain is trained to be paranoid and worry, so that's what I'm doing. So if you can, please keep us in your prayers, and hope that we'll find out everything is ok once we get to Idaho.
The tech then measured the head, stomach, and leg, and got really anxious because the baby's growth was in the 3rd percentile. She was asking if we were sure about the due date, and asked if we had heard of IUGR. She was also annoyed because she couldn't check the chambers of the heart because the baby was too small. Then she grabbed a nurse and because we're moving they wanted to make sure that we would tell our new doctor about the ultrasound and to make sure I got another. What's frustrating is that if you move the due date back a week the baby jumps up to the 19th percentile, and IUGR is impossible to diagnose without another ultrasound. And an ultrasound tech is not supposed to diagnose anything. That's the doctor's job. But the midwife seemed to ignore it. It felt like since I'm moving, they're just going to pass the buck. I'm really glad I'm not giving birth at this birth center, I have not had a great experience there.
So if I had gone and done the 12 week ultrasound, this might not be a problem. Yesterday I didn't feel like anything was wrong, and felt really calm throughout the visit. I think it helped that Jeremy was there. But today Jeremy is at work and I've been throwing up, and I'm really worried about this little baby. IUGR is intra-uterine growth restriction, and it can cause death in the womb. That's the scariest sentence I've ever written. So I'm in limbo right now because my due date could just be off, or my baby could not be getting enough oxygen in the womb. Or the baby could just be small. Heaven knows petite women run on both sides of our families. But of course my pregnant brain is trained to be paranoid and worry, so that's what I'm doing. So if you can, please keep us in your prayers, and hope that we'll find out everything is ok once we get to Idaho.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Another weekly update :)
I can feel the baby move! He/She has been nudging my belly and pushing his/her back up against my tummy. I felt a kick the other day, too. Yay! That's seriously the best part about being pregnant. It validates all the nausea and pain to know there's a little person in there. We get to find out whether it really is a he or a she in two weeks on Nov. 27! We're hoping for a girl.
Tayvin has been pretty cute lately. Our neighbors across the street got a St. Ber-doodle puppy whose name is Merlin. Merlin is 3 months old and as big as Tayvin, but thankfully he doesn't nip or bother Tayvin too much. And Tayvin tells Merlin, "No sir! No sir, Merwin!" when Merlin jumps on him. So cute. He also was dragging my heating pad around by the cord, getting it caught around corners and chair legs. In the interest of preserving my heating pad, I tied a string around a stuffed puppy so now Tayvin can take it on a "walk" around the house. What does he call the puppy? Merwin. :)
Tayvin has also been going through a defiant stage. It was pretty bad for a couple weeks, but he seems to be coming out of it. I think finishing off the Halloween candy helped. And no candy rationing/stealing here. Tayvin willingly shared his candy with Mom and Dad. He couldn't eat it all day long, and he had to eat meals, but we let him eat quite a bit of his candy. And while he seemed to be naughtier than usual, that had started before Halloween, so I don't think the candy had much to do with it. Science shocker for me: There's no such thing as a sugar rush. Just a sugar downer, actually. Ha, the reason I even started this paragraph was to share the following (I got a little sidetracked. Oops.). I would get pretty angry with Tayvin when he was being defiant or ignoring me when I asked him to do something, but Tayvin started saying something that instantly defused me: "You not angry Mommy, you just cute!" It's hard to stay mad when he's being clever like that. Little stinker.
Jeremy is doing his last rotation in Georgia in a state-run psychiatric hospital. It's just as creepy as it sounds. He's also in the forensics ward, which is where all the criminals are. Those who have been deemed unfit to be put on trial b/c of mental illness. Some of these people are seriously disturbed, but when they are on their medication they make a 180 turn around. There's are some horrible stories, and I'm not sure if I'm technically allowed to share them, but some of the people Jer is seeing are murderers who were listening to the voices in their head. And because they were "insane" at the time, they will be deemed no guilty and the murder will not go on their record. I'm not sure if I agree with that, but that's a discussion for another day. He has three more weeks of this rotation and then he is done here in Georgia. Tayvin and I will fly out to my parent's a week after that, and a week after that Jeremy will start the long drive out to Idaho. Wish us luck!
Tayvin has been pretty cute lately. Our neighbors across the street got a St. Ber-doodle puppy whose name is Merlin. Merlin is 3 months old and as big as Tayvin, but thankfully he doesn't nip or bother Tayvin too much. And Tayvin tells Merlin, "No sir! No sir, Merwin!" when Merlin jumps on him. So cute. He also was dragging my heating pad around by the cord, getting it caught around corners and chair legs. In the interest of preserving my heating pad, I tied a string around a stuffed puppy so now Tayvin can take it on a "walk" around the house. What does he call the puppy? Merwin. :)
Tayvin has also been going through a defiant stage. It was pretty bad for a couple weeks, but he seems to be coming out of it. I think finishing off the Halloween candy helped. And no candy rationing/stealing here. Tayvin willingly shared his candy with Mom and Dad. He couldn't eat it all day long, and he had to eat meals, but we let him eat quite a bit of his candy. And while he seemed to be naughtier than usual, that had started before Halloween, so I don't think the candy had much to do with it. Science shocker for me: There's no such thing as a sugar rush. Just a sugar downer, actually. Ha, the reason I even started this paragraph was to share the following (I got a little sidetracked. Oops.). I would get pretty angry with Tayvin when he was being defiant or ignoring me when I asked him to do something, but Tayvin started saying something that instantly defused me: "You not angry Mommy, you just cute!" It's hard to stay mad when he's being clever like that. Little stinker.
Jeremy is doing his last rotation in Georgia in a state-run psychiatric hospital. It's just as creepy as it sounds. He's also in the forensics ward, which is where all the criminals are. Those who have been deemed unfit to be put on trial b/c of mental illness. Some of these people are seriously disturbed, but when they are on their medication they make a 180 turn around. There's are some horrible stories, and I'm not sure if I'm technically allowed to share them, but some of the people Jer is seeing are murderers who were listening to the voices in their head. And because they were "insane" at the time, they will be deemed no guilty and the murder will not go on their record. I'm not sure if I agree with that, but that's a discussion for another day. He has three more weeks of this rotation and then he is done here in Georgia. Tayvin and I will fly out to my parent's a week after that, and a week after that Jeremy will start the long drive out to Idaho. Wish us luck!
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Fall!
Fall has finally come to Savannah and with it my morning sickness is gone! I'm not completely done being sick period, but I can eat food again and cook again and go in my kitchen without feeling sick. Hallelujah! I'm only four months pregnant now, and with Tayvin it lasted until the seventh, so I am very, very grateful. Monday I made homemade bread bowls and cheddar-broccoli-potato soup, and it was so nice to be back in the kitchen and making yummy food again. Yesterday I actually cleaned Tayvin's bathroom and scrubbed everything down. I won't tell you how long it had been since the previous cleaning. Way too long. It's nice to be able to get back in the swing of things, especially before our move. Jeremy was worried about me being too sick to pack, but that doesn't seem like it will be an issue anymore. I'm ready for the holidays!
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