Pregnancy News

24 weeks

• How far along are you? 27 weeks (almost)
• Do you know the sex of the baby? Boy!
• Have you picked out names? Drumrooollllll.... His name is Sawyer Dustin Thatcher. Sawyer has been a favorite on the list our whole marriage. There was another name I was really liking but when I looked it up on the internet to check its popularity it was clearly rising...on the girl list. So weird. I don't feel like it's a girl name at all but I couldn't name our boy that and have him be this generation's version of the boy named Ashley.
• Movement: I started feeling him around 21 weeks. It is so weird. I feel like the description of butterflies/popping popcorn is not accurate at all. For me, it seriously feels like my internal organs are pulsing. You know when you smash a finger and it has its own heartbeat? That is how my bladder feels when little dude uses it as a punching bag. Yes, pulsing organs is a much better description.
• Belly button in or out? In but I don't know how much longer that's going to last.
• General Mood? Pretty good. Definitely tired but I feel like I've been tired ever since I hit my teenage years so I'm not sure that it's pregnancy related.
• Thoughts: I catch myself smiling when he wiggles now. I guess I'm feeling more affectionate. And then two seconds later I'm experiencing extreme anxiety about it all- everything we have left to do, actually raising a kid, going through labor and delivery. You guys, I'm terrified of labor and delivery. Utterly and completely terrified.
• Doctor Appointments: These are still pretty run of the mill. Babe's heartbeat is nice and strong. My numbers look good. All is well. This last appointment the nurse talked to me about the flu vaccine and TDAP shot. Usually I'm pretty indifferent to the flu vaccine. I've seen people that got the vaccine and then turned around to get the flu (though to clarify I am pro-vaccine in general..vaccines are good!). However, I figured I should do what I can to avoid sickness and help little man avoid sickness so I opted to get both shots. My body took the TDAP vaccine like a champ. The flu shot definitely left me with symptoms- body aches, fatigue, though nothing quite like the flu. The weirdest thing was my arm that I got the flu shot in was ticked. It was so sore and had a giant red swollen bump for days. Everything looks good now though. Up next: my glucose test. I'm kind of looking forward to trying the infamous drink.
• Baby: Baby has hair and can hear. He is longer than a ruler-about 13 inches and weighs a whopping 2 1/2 lbs. He apparently is comparable to the size of a head of lettuce. All of this according to the internet.
• Symptoms: Things are so much better than the first trimester I really can't complain. One symptom that hasn't been so fun is symphysis pubic dysfunction. I started experiencing that one around 21 weeks and even my doctor was surprised it started so early. It definitely makes walking hard (hello waddle), stairs are fun, and sleeping at night (particularly rolling over) is a chore. There's not much that can be done about it though so sucking it up it is. My shoes are also becoming limited in wearability. My feet have become too fat for at least half of them. Those that do fit, fit in the morning but by afternoon there's some definite spillage of feet flesh over the shoe's edge. 
• Cravings/Aversions/Eating: These change on a daily basis. Smells of foods seem to get me more than anything else right now. I've definitely been craving sugar but I don't feel like that's related to pregnancy. I've always had a sweet tooth. However, now if I want to eat a whole cake people are totally fine with it, no judgement (don't worry, I've actually not felt the need to eat a whole cake. I'm sure that would bring my nausea back). Pregnancy perk.

Life Lately

The most recent haps in our lives:


I finally caved and bought a body pillow during July. It worked wonders then. I now feel like I need four more to be comfortable. 

Dillon and I finally hiked Kanarra Falls together with a group of my co-workers. We didn't quite make it to the natural slide because of the weather but it was still fun.  This is literally the only hike that I like because there's shade and water and good scenery. It's pleasant even in the super heat of summer.

I was called to be this years Girls Camp director for our ward. These girls are seriously the most easy-going, low-maintenance, no-drama group I've ever known. They made camp easy and fun. The actual camping part was an adventure. The heat (surprise) and lack of sleep made for some angry body symptoms which I can only assume had a lot to do with growing a little human.

One of the ladies in the science department (and my good friend) miss Jami got married! This, of course, made for some picture opportunities. Although, I didn't manage to get one with the bride..

We found out what exactly was growing inside that belly of mine. I drank a ton of water per hospital instructions and then found out that actually isn't as necessary as they make it seem. 

And we're having a little man! This is how I decided to announce it. I felt creative and had some people tell me that they indeed had not seen this idea before. If you have, don't tell me. I prefer to live in my bubble of creativity as that doesn't happen that often.

The little man was in a funny position the whole ultrasound. He was basically spread eagle the whole time but had both arms curved around his face. The technician acted like that was no big deal but my doctor called me later that day to tell me that I needed to get another ultrasound because they needed face shots. Those ultrasounds are certainly not cheap and we have to pay for two now (though it was fun to see our guy twice) and now we have learned a lesson: Don't leave that first ultrasound until they have gotten all of the necessary shots INCLUDING the face. The umbilical cord was covering his face the second time but the technician managed to get what was needed. All looks well for our babe so far.

We made a trip to Delta for all of the summer family birthdays. The Millard County Fair was going on while we were there and one of the events that we hit up was a concert by the band VanLadyLove. I actually really liked their sound and their songs. Fingers are crossed that they make it big.

This pup of ours is now a permanent resident of Delta. We actually took her over the July 4th weekend. She was just having a hard time in our yard. No matter where we put her, she was getting into neighbors' yards, onto our roof, or into things in the yard (all of this while on a chain!). We decided it wasn't fair to her to shorten her chain so she could barely move (which was about the only option we had left) and so asked Dillon's dad if he would mind a new addition to the farm. We both hated the idea and I definitely felt like a pet-owner failure but once we saw her again in August we knew it was the right thing. She is so much calmer and loves the farm. She has plenty of space and other animals to interact with. 

Dillon turned 24! He actually picked out and ordered some new shirts for his birthday and then told me about it. Which was completely fine, I just felt like I didn't do my job as I wasn't involved at all in his birthday present. He's happy so I'm happy. The day of his birthday we went out to the driving range to hit a bucket of golf balls which basically turned into me watching Dillon because I had no clue what I was doing...and maybe I was a bit distracted watching the prairie dogs run around. 

Every year Dillon picks something different that he wants for his birthday treat. He has never asked for the same thing twice. This year he decided he wanted to go to the french bakery in town and get one of their cream puffs. These things are the size of your face! And mmmm, so good.

And school is back in full swing. I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of things this year. Although, I am currently sitting at home with my first illness of the year. Blast those petri dish students.