Coming Soon!

I know it's been forever since I posted, and I definitely have a lot to post, so look forward to one soon!

Ammon Michael Thomas

So, this post is LONG overdue, but I wanted to post the whole story of Ammon's birth. Updated post coming as we speak...

Our little boy!

Our little boy is here! And he came early! I guess he was ready to be born, he just couldn't stay in Mommy's tummy anymore!

So, here is the story...

It was a Sunday and Cameron and I were at home unpacking a few things because we had just moved to a new apartment. When I stood up, I started bleeding pretty heavily. I thought I had gone into early labor...and way to early, since I was only 31 weeks. We drove to the hospital and waited for my OB. When he got there after what seemed like forever, he did an exam and told me that my water had broken and that I would need an emergency C section. I was terrified. Since the hospital where we live is so small and it isn't equipped to deliver and take care of premature babies, I had to be transported to Roanoke Memorial, which is an hour away from us. When I got there, they brought me to a room and the doctor did another exam and told me that my water was not broken. Needless to say, I was relieved, but I was still worried about the bleeding. They kept me overnight so they could monitor me and the baby. THANKFULLY my mom drove up from NC because Cameron had class the next day, so he couldn't stay, and I did NOT want to be there alone.

The next day went well for the most part...except that I had more bleeding. They did an ultrasound and everything looked normal, my fluid level was good, the baby was moving and his heartbeat was good. The doctor did another exam and I wasn't dilated and I wasn't having contractions. He told me that my placenta may have abrupted and that there was the possibility of a C section, but that it wouldn't happen that day because the baby seemed to be doing well and I was doing well other than the bleeding. I think at this point, I was mildly preeclamptic because there was protein in my urine, but I didn't have any of the other symptoms. So, it became a waiting game, and I sat in the hospital for almost a week. On Friday, the doctor told me that since the baby's heartrate seemed ok, except for a dip at least once every hour, (ended up being a problem with the cord, it was only a 2 vessel cord) which I guess is normal for a baby at 32 weeks, that I would probably be able to go home if I did well over the weekend. I was so excited, I wanted to be home so badly, but I was scared at the same time because we live so far away from the hospital.

Saturday afternoon, the OB that was there on the weekends came in and told me that she was very concerned that I had such a high level of protein, and the fact that my blood pressure was slowly rising. She told me that if I wasn't at least mildly preeclamptic (which I'm pretty sure I was) then I would be later. She sent me down to radiology for an ultrasound and...it was not good. The tech said he wasn't responsive and he wasn't moving at all, and he had a biophysical profile of 0/8. My fluid level was also below a 5, which for anyone who's never been pregnant, that is dangerously low. After the ultrasound, I went back to my room and as they were hooking me back up to the monitor, the resident came in and said "don't freak out", which is SO NOT what anyone wants to hear when they're in the hospital, and then he told me I needed a C section because the baby was not doing well. Well, I freaked out. As they were prepping me, I was desperately trying to call Cameron, who didn't answer (go figure) because he was in the middle of a sale at work. The doctor who was going to perform the C section told me that he couldn't wait for Cameron to get there, and that I needed to go right then. As you can imagine, I started bawling. I was terrified of surgery, but even more terrified of having to go ALONE. And on top of that, I had to be completely knocked out because they didn't have time to give me an epidural. Luckily, I had an amazing nurse that day who stayed with me the whole time, and the team of doctors who were in the OR were all so great. The last thing I remember before going to sleep was the nurse asking me who I was and what was going on and then I was out.

When I woke up in recovery, Cameron was there and apparently, I had been asking the same questions over and over again. The anesthesiologist told me that everything was fine, the surgery went perfectly without any problems or complications and that the baby was fine. Ammon Michael Thomas was born Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 2:03 PM, weighing 2 lbs 8 oz and was 16 and 3/4 in long. He is such an amazing little boy, we are so blessed to have him in our family, he is truly a miracle.

29 weeks!

I can't believe I'm 29 weeks today! It seem like it was yesterday that I found out I was pregnant! It's so crazy to think that in 11 short weeks our little guy will be here! I can't wait!

Reasons Why

So, I noticed that for Valentine's Day and for birthdays and such, a lot of my friends were blogging about how much and why they love their husbands, and I couldn't believe that I hadn't done that yet! And of course, I ADORE my husband, so, here are my reasons why...

1. Cameron is a VERY hard worker. Ever since we started dating, he has proven over and over again that he has a great work ethic and that an honest day's work is something to be proud of. When we first moved to Virginia, he wasted no time in finding a job, and held a management position there until the store went out of business. It only took him a month to find another job, and he was so dilligent about filling out as many applications as he could, which isn't easy, because there are not a lot of opportunities for work where we live. He has a full time job at RadioShack and he loves it. Not only does he work full time, he is also a full time Business student at SVU, and he works very hard and does very well, and with very few complaints.

2. Even though the baby isn't here yet, I know Cameron is going to be an AMAZING father. He absolutely loves our son and he is so excited for him to be born. He's always talking to the baby, rubbing and kissing my tummy, and he is so excited to have a little boy to take fishing and play ball with. I can not wait to see my husband with our son, I know that he is going to be a great dad.

3. He loves his family. He and his dad share a lot of the same likes, including a love for The Beatles. He gets along really well with his brothers and loves to goof around and hang out with them. He loves his little sister, and he treats her so well. Cameron also has a great relationship with his mom. He tries to talk to her as much as he can, and I know that he misses her so much. I am so grateful that he grew up with such a great mother who taught him very well, and I love that they have such a good relationship.

4. He makes really good milkshakes! He worked in his family's ice-cream booth ever since he was a teenager, and knows how to make the best milkshake ever. We don't have them often, but when we do have the stuff to make them, I always ask him to make mine, and it is amazing. If you ever get a chance to have Cameron make you a milkshake, try it, you will not be disappointed!

5. He loves his video games. Video games are like Cameron's second wife. Although I'm not a big fan of them, I'm glad that he has something that he enjoys doing when he has some much deserved free time to himself. I love that he knows when to play and when to stop, and that they don't come first.

6. He has a strong testimony. I am so proud to be married to a worthy member of the church. I am so glad that we were able to be sealed for time and eternity in the temple, and that we will be together forever. I am so grateful that he holds the priesthood, it is such a blessing to have that in our home, I don't think our home would be what it is without the power of the priesthood. He loves going to church and does his best to follow the teachings of the church and magnify his callings.

7. He is very supportive of me. He tries very hard to make sure that my needs are being met and that I feel safe and comfortable and happy. If there's something that I want to do, he encourages me to do it. He is always there for me when I need him, whether I'm sad, happy, lonely, even when I'm angry, he lets me vent my anger and listens to accepts my apology, even if I don't deserve it. He has been there every step of the way during my pregnancy, and I am so grateful for that. He always listens when I need him to listen or give me advice, and I am so lucky to have him.

8. He is so helpful. Even though he is already super busy with work and school, he is still very helpful to me around the house, whether it's reaching something that I can't or lifting something that's too heavy for me, or doing a chore like laundry or cleaning, he does it, and he does it willingly. Being pregnant had made doing a few things difficult, like carrying laundry baskets and cleaning the bathroom, and he is so sweet to do those things for me.

9. He loves to have fun. Cameron can find a way to make anything fun. He loves being outside and being active, whether it's playing a sport or just throwing a frisbee, he loves it. He also loves Disney World, and whenever we go is when I think he has the most fun, I think he enjoys more than your average kid!

10. He is happy. Cameron is one of the happiest people I know. He's been through some pretty rough spots in his life, but he has come through and I always love to be around him because he is always so happy, and he makes others happy too. I love being married to such a wonderful man, and I can't wait to spend many more wonderful years together!

Cookies

So, being pregnant has given me the urge to be super busy all the time, and one of the ways I keep busy is baking. Here are a couple of cookie recipes I found recently that are so good!


Chewy Coconut Cookies

1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 cups coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, baking soda & salt; set aside. In medium bowl, cream butter, white sugar & brown sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually blend in flour mixture, then mix in coconut. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Cool on wire racks.

Cameron LOVED the coconut cookies! They were so good, so easy, and definitely a nice change from the same old cookies.

Lemon Sugar Tea Cookies

3/4 cup butter
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 tbs corn syrup*
1 tsp lemon extract*
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup white sugar

In medium bowl, cream together butter and 1 cup sugar until light & fluffy. Beat in egg, corn syrup & lemon extract. Stir in flour, baking soda & baking powder. Cover dough and chill at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.* Roll chilled dough into walnut-sized balls. Roll balls in 1/2 cup sugar and place on cookie sheet. Bake 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

*Honey is a good substitute for corn syrup if you don't have any. I used a little less than 2 tbs and the cookies still came out great. Also, if you have lemons on hand and no lemon extract, you can substitute 1 tbs of lemon juice and 1 tbs of lemon zest for the extract, and the cookies still taste good. I also didn't have any parchment paper on hand, so I generously sprayed the cooking sheet with cooking spray and the cookies came off nicely.

Laundry Blues

So, I had to write about this, because it is soo frustrating and ridiculous...

We live in an apartment complex that has 60 apartments. There is a coin-op laundry room that only has 6 washing machines and 6 dryers, and that is supposed to be enough for roughly 60 tenants, if all the apartments were occupied at once. Well, it's not.

Today I went to do laundry because Cameron needed his clothes for work washed, and since he does the laundry all the time, plus goes to school and work, and I had already finished doing everything else, I thought I would be nice. Now, I'm 6 months pregnant. Doing every day things isn't really a big deal for me, it's just slightly more straining than usual. But laundry is the killer. Cam normally does the laundry because we have to walk down the stairs out of our apartment and across the parking lot to get to the laundry room, and by the end of the week, those laundry baskets are pretty heavy. I didn't think the load I had was that heavy, and I was only going to take one at a time. Well, carrying that load of laundry down seemed a lot more difficult after I got to the laundry room, only to find that 5 out of the 6 dryers were being used...by one person. The only one left was the tiny, crappy one that barely fits anything. Seriously? People really can't be more considerate and do 1, 2 loads max at the same time? I know laundry is a pain, especially where we live, but come on! There are other people waiting to do laundry, you're not the only one that lives here.

It's a BOY!!!

Cameron and I are having a little boy! We are so excited! Since we couldn't find out at our doctor's office, we went to an ultrasound clinic. Coolest thing ever. They did a 20 minute ultrasound(side note: the jelly that they put on your tummy was SO WARM, I know, minor thing, but it was so nice to have it warm and not ice cold!) and we got to see the baby in 3D/4D...it was amazing. We got a CD of photos and printed photos, a DVD of the ultrasound set to music(so cute)and a gift package with a photo album and all kinds of stuff in it. It was such a neat experience to be able to see our baby move around and yawn and do all these cute things that normally we wouldn't be able to see. I wanted to hold him right there, it was awesome.

His name is going to be Ammon Michael Thomas. We are so excited, we can't wait until he is born. May can't come fast enough!

He had his hand in front of his face the whole time during the ultrasound! This was one of the few pictures where he didn't have his hands up. Even though we didn't see much of his face, I thought it was cute...he's camera shy just like his mom!

He is such a little thumbsucker! Looks like I won't need pacifiers now! :)