better late than never

ok ask me how much i LOVE my new midwives and birth center! they are awesome, and i think anybody having a baby should go there. i just got back from my first official appointment with them, and i love how relaxed i feel. they went over my chart that was transferred to them and we all had a laugh at the things they tested me for. really do i look like someone who would use pcp...do they even still make it for that matter? i guess the previous clinic sees more interesting people than i thought. i should have caught on when i was asked to sign a contract saying i wouldn't do drugs while i was pregnant. but that is over with now. today we were able to hear the baby's heart beat and figure out exactly where it's laying. baby taylor is a little higher than they expected so patricia, my midwife, was a little surprised by that and said, "well it's ok we know there is only one baby in there" and in my mind i took that to mean that twins ride higher, and i quickly came up with the idea that when we did the first ultrasound that maybe the embryo was too small to tell but it's actually twins that share a heart since we only saw one heart on the monitor...over active imagination? yes. very entertained family and friends...maybe. today is also the first day of the second trimester! which means we can breathe a little easier now...except for my other fear that baby taylor will be a hermaphrodite. i know what are the odds, but it could happen, and then how do you explain that they could be a boy or a girl? or do you just have something removed and raise them as whatever it was you wanted most? and then what if you screwed up and made them a girl when they should have been a boy? this is why i had to stop reading pregnancy books, they just made me worry more about things i dont need to worry about. we will be able to find out what we are having in october:) this morning i was weighing myself on our scale before i got dressed and then after i got dressed to see how much weight the clothes add, five pounds just so you know. and the midwives dont minus that when they write it in your chart either. it's a little distressing. even though it will look like i lost a lot of weight when i deliver i will know in my mind that really it's not as much as they say.

on the 21st of august we left on our trip to visit mary and jeremy one last time before they move to germany. we had a great time. we got there friday evening, and mary had made really tasty home made spaghetti for dinner. on saturday we all woke up about 5:15 or so to get ready to take a ferry from the island back to the "mainland" to go camping in the olympic national park. it is a really beautiful area with a lot to do. we went on a hike and saw a lot of these plants with HUGE leaves. i kept thinking about how different the forests look in washington compared to oregon. in washington there are a few ferns but mostly these plants that look like they came out of jurassic park or something, and oregon there are just tons and tons of ferns. i think i prefer the ferns. at our campsite we had some fun neighbors. to the back of our site we had "big" dan and his friends who were on a "wild hogs" type of trip, and drinking beer and belching a lot. and then to the right of our site was an asian family that would talk very fast in their native language then randomly toss some english in. this was also our first time using our tent. on the package it says it's a 4 man tent. i would like to say that it would only be a 4 man tent for midgets...or 4 really cuddly men. the next morning when everything was packed we went up to hurricane ridge. it was pretty amazing! the road up there is really steep and winding and i was starting to get car sick so when we got to the visitor center i was really grateful. we were there for about half an hour and were able to see the tops of the whole mountain range.

the "morning sickness" has gotten much better. i have figured out that if i eat every 2 hours that i am just fine and i don't have a hint of nausea. BUT if i go longer than 2 hours boy do i pay for it. needless to say i always have food in whatever bag i am carrying that day. i have been trying to be good about what i eat and not have a bunch of junk. lately though its been a little hard because i crave salty things, not just a little salty but heart attack salty. last week it was taco bell, nothing else would do. before that it was a sausage mcmuffin. i know, i know, i'm even grossed out by it, but the second i get whatever it is i'm craving i'm completely happy. thankfully those fast food cravings have only happened a couple of times, and the rest of the time i eat better.
my jeans have officially gotten too tight. i don't understand this because i haven't gained weight and in fact have lost a little the last couple of days, but if i manage to button them i want them off immediately. so i guess its time to find more dresses and stretchy pants.
i think i have found the place where i want to have our baby. it's a birth center in west salem called bella vie. i was really excited to find this place because giving birth in a hospital freaks me out. i know that sounds weird but i have never really liked the idea of all the monitors, ivs, and drugs. women have been having babies for centuries and it's really only been in the last century that we have been convinced that western medicine has the right take on it. don't get me wrong, i appreciate western medicine and all that it can do, but when it comes to women and their health western doctors are way too happy to cut you up. and i dont want that. so i have been looking for midwives and trying to make the best decision, and i think this is the place. it reminds me of a day spa, and i like the relaxed feeling. i also like that it's more one on one and they take time to explain things to you. each appointment they set aside an hour for you so you can ask any questions that you want and take your time understanding everything. they also offer a lot of classes on nutrition, prenatal care, post natal, mommy and baby yoga, everything! i am really excited about it and cant wait to go and visit. here is the web site should you feel the need to check it out: www.gentlebirthcenter.com
this week was adam's birthday:) he turned 25. on wednesday, the day of his birthday, we went to his parents house to celebrate. it was nice we got to see all of his immediate family that lives close. he requested that we eat pumpkin pie instead of cake, which was a tasty treat that we don't normally have this early in the year. his mom made an awesome dinner of steak sandwiches and baked potatoes. after eating adam opened his presents. he got quite a few shirts, a speed racer lamp shaped like the car, a couple movies, black socks and a case of "nostalgic sodas". the next night we went to my parents house to have dinner and celebrate a little. i made him an apple pie (per his request) and my mom made taco salad. both days had beautiful evenings so we were able to eat outside and enjoy the cool air. it was a nice break from the horrible heat that we've been having.
yesterday i had a baby shower to go to for my friend amy. this is her third baby, and it is a boy. she is one of the cutest pregnant women ever! it just looks like she has a basketball under her shirt. she and her husband just bought a house. it is beautiful! they are still decorating, but they have redone the floors and painted. it feels really nice and cozy.
last night, august 8, was our nephew conrad's birthday. he turned one. we went down to corvallis to celebrate. we had a spaghetti dinner and chocolate cake for dessert. YUM, chocolate! conrad thoroughly enjoyed the food, and i think he enjoyed some of the wrapping paper his gifts came in but really didn't want to play with his new toys. in the end like most one year olds he had enough and cried a little, poor guy. his brothers on the other hand were thrilled to help him break in his new stuff and had a hard time waiting for things to be opened.
on the way out to the baby shower i was supposed to get gas in my car. i had enough to get to amy's place in albany so i figured why make an extra stop? so i went. but what i wasn't planning on was not having a gas station near her house. she lives kind of on the edge of albany and on the way to corvallis. so i figured well i will get it on the way to kevin and jill's, but i guess corvallis and albany don't really use that much gas because there was no station, that i could see, on the way. at this point i started to kind of feel panicky because the gas needle was going into the red area, and i didn't have my cell phone. normally i am the kind of person that fills up, always, at the half way point. i'd like to say that it's because i get better gas mileage,(and that is part of it) but that is mostly a lie. it's because i am terrified of running out of gas and not being able to get help. so there i am in an unfamiliar area, no phone, and trying not to panic. i was able to make it to kevin and jill's without getting gas, but after we had to fill up. we still had to find a place, but i felt better because adam was with me this time. we found a place, and filled up 12 1/2 of my 13 gallon tank...this will never happen again.