Blog Break

I have yet to determine if I'm going to be done blogging all together. I started the blog because James and Alyssa moved to Georgia and my family all moved to Texas. But now J and A moved home and my mom and dad both joined facebook. Seems pretty easy to keep my family updated on life now and I think the blog might be overkill. Maybe I feel like it might be overkill because I'm busy with a new baby though?? Perhaps I'll want to write in a few months? So for now I'm calling it a break. Cute pics of Josiah are easy to find on facebook. I'm guessing that's what most people who would check my blog would be looking for. :)

40 weeks. The last one:-)

Well, hopefully it's the last picture... Josiah's due date is tomorrow. He doesn't have to come tomorrow, but before 41 weeks would be nice :) I'm feeling excited and at peace about when he is supposed to come. I think I might feel some anxiety if he doesn't come by Saturday, but I'm trying to take one day at a time. Tomorrow is my 40 wk appt and I'll get "checked" for the first time. I'm looking forward to finding out what progress has been made :) Can't wait to meet the person who has been living inside of me for the last 9 months. :)

A Much Deserved Date

This is my Helen. I brag about her frequently lately and here is why: She set a goal to lose 60 pounds and began working hard last August. No tricks. No short cuts. Just hard work and dedication. And guess what? She did it!!! When she started working on this goal, I told her that when she reached her goal weight I would take her on a fancy dinner date wherever she wanted to go. So we went to the Melting Pot last Thursday and it was great. The truth is all her hard work deserves much more than a melting pot date, but I'm pretty sure she's satisfied with the fact that she is feeling and looking great alone. :) Funniest thing about the night- I went to pick her up and she answered the door and we were wearing the exact same dress. We laughed so hard and it was just one of those moments we'll never forget. We both were like, "I've never seen you wear that before!! I didn't even know you owned this dress!!" Great minds think alike I guess. :)

37 weeks

It's funny how you just get used to your body as it grows. I looked back at my 10 week picture today and thought to myself, "I really used to look like that?? I don't remember." I'm quite bigger these days :) Had our 37 week appt on Wednesday. We had our ultrasound and saw that Josiah is head down, but face up. It's ideal for babies to be born face down. Mom's who give birth to face up babies tend to have more painful "back" labor and labor (especially the pushing stage) tends to last longer. So needless to say, I am hoping he turns. We'll see. I think about meeting him everyday and can't really even imagine how amazing it will feel to hold him in my arms.

Baby Shower

Thank you so much to everyone that came to Josiah's baby shower and celebrated baby Josiah. Eddie made me this video today of some of the pictures from the shower. It was a great day. I love quality time with friends. Everything was beautiful and well thought out and the food was awesome. I am grateful for good friends. Thanks to Alyssa, Helen, and Vanessa for pulling the whole thing off. Thanks to my small group girls for bringing additional food and thanks to Holly for amazing cupcakes. :)

36 weeks

I am slacking on blogging! My sister came out from Texas and surprised me two weeks ago, My mom came out for my shower and surprised me. I went on a fun friend date with Helen. Had my baby shower. Decorated the baby's room for the most part this week. All these fun things I have pictures for, but haven't blogged about. Guess I've been busy :) I'm not very tech savvy and we got a new fancy camera (that I don't know how to use). It takes so many pictures so quickly and I'm not sure about uploading pictures now b/c I usually do a few at a time, but the camera has like hundreds of shots on it. Maybe once I figure that out, I'll be able to posts more pictures. 36 weeks! Josiah can come anytime! :) Yay!

34 Weeks

Hey. This is Eddie. I hijacked my wife's blog for a week to tell you how amazing she is. And how cute she looks at 34 weeks. It's almost evident to most people she is with child. We're hoping by the end, everyone will know. But I guess they can figure it out after when we have a quarter asian kid bundled with his little beanie spilling off his huge head. Anyhoo, back to the belly (sounds like a disney sequel featuring macaully culkin) baby is healthy, active, and loves to dance...on his mom's bladder. Should be an interesting child. Keep praying, we appreciate all you guys have done, and thanks.


eddie~

Sentimental

My grandma called a week ago and asked if I wanted a bassinet that has been in our family for years. My mom slept in this baby :) She informed me that my sisters didn't ever want to use it because it was "ugly". She made it clear her feelings would be hurt in no way if I too decided I didn't like it. So out she drove from Pasadena today. As we stood assessing this item in the driveway today I could see Eddie's face. It said, "Please do not say you like it. Please do not say you want it." But out came those words: "I like it. I want it." Okay, so I like it because it's been in our family for years. It's sort of funny to look at, and I'm not sure it's even practical. But knowing the history behind it, I just couldn't resist. I promised Eddie we could return it to Grandma the second we find that I'm really not using it (Which Eddie is not convinced I will :) ) He thinks it's funny that I couldn't resist a bassinet just because of "history and sentimental value". I think it's funny that sentiment and history wouldn't win him over. Guess we're different :)

It's a competition

Okay, not really- but we'll see who delivers first. This is my friend Valerie. We have tons of fond memories from High School, and have recently reconnected through Facebook. This is just a picture of us at her shower. We discovered we were due at the same time. She's having a baby girl. We'll see who's done baking first- Alexis or Josiah???!!! :)

33 weeks

He's growing, my book says "packing on 8 oz a week! I started having some contractions this week. Ended up going to the hospital because they said I had to in case it was pre-term labor. I thought it was just "cramps", but turns out those "cramps" were contractions, so they checked me and I wasn't dilating at all. Just contracting every 20-30 minutes. But they put me off work, which I'm really glad for. I was envisioning my patients calling me and me being like, "Hang on a sec. I'm having a contraction. Can you wait to use the bedpan for like a minute?" Something seemed slightly wrong about that to me. I kept having to stop the other day at work because they would come and go, but I didn't know they were contractions. I don't mind Josiah coming early, but I did give him a pep-talk about waiting until 36 weeks at least. It is comforting to know that a baby born even at 32 or 33 weeks will be fine. They just have a little catching up to do. We're starting to work on his room tomorrow. Yay! I'm excited!! :)

32 Weeks

Nothing new to report. Decided I'm taking a picture every week now because I feel noticeably bigger each week :)

Baby Projects

Each of us have a project. This is Eddie's beanie that he made all by himself (Well, he had great training, but he really did all the work) And I am making a blanket. I made it really long, so it is taking me forever to complete because I am slow!! It's sort of an extra special blanket because the first time I was pregnant I had a dream that I was pregnant and that I gave birth to a son. And what do you know, I ended up being pregnant. So at about 8 weeks I started making a blue blanket fully confident the baby would be a boy because why would only half of my dream be true? After losing the baby I put the blanket away and decided it would be for the son that I believed God would give us someday. I really felt like the dream had meaning and that we would have a son someday because of us picking the same boy name before we ever knew eachother. Anyway, the blanket is special and so is the baby who will be wrapped like a burrito in it :)

31 weeks

Had my 31 week appt today. All is well. I love hearing the baby's heartbeat. I wish I could fall asleep listening to that sound. I'm still feeling decent. I have some new aches and pains, but it is much better than being sick all the time, which makes the third trimester win for "best trimester of pregnancy" :) Lately, I keep thinking about meeting him. Maybe it's more of a reality because August isn't too far away. I can't wait to see his little face and kiss him. Eddie reminded me that he will be covered in "goo" when he comes out, so we should wait to kiss him until he is clean. I however, have no intentions of waiting. :)

All I want for my Birthday...

I'm a pretty simple girl. Last year for my birthday all I wanted was for Eddie to give me money to take a friend to the Melting Pot. This year I asked if I could take a friend to get a pedicure with me.(Is it obvious what my love language is??)Helen is sort of my birthday buddy. I'm only eighteen days older than her (However I did receive a text from her on my b-day that said somthing like "Wow. I can't believe how old you are getting. You are in your late twenties now." I texted her back letting her know I was grateful I would only be alone in my oldness for 18 days :) ) Today we went to get a pedicure together and went to lunch. So fun! And we even had no children with us. How amazing is that! Quality time with friends- I love it!

Awesome Weekend

I love this weekend!! Saturday I went to Pam's shower (She's due a month ahead of me). It was really fun and well put together and I won the "guess how big the pregnant girl's tummy is" game. (Which, by the way, I am beginning to feel like is "my" game. I've won at three different showers now! :) ) Then off I went to my friend Stephanie's wedding. It was beautiful and she was beautiful. I love weddings where you know people chose to honor God in their dating relationship. It makes the day that much more exciting and it means their marriage if already off to a great and right start. Woo Hoo! :) Then today (Sunday) I picked up Abby (one of my best buds- maid of honor in my wedding!) and got to hang with her for four hours before dropping her off at the airport to head home to Colorado. She was in Cali just for a couple of days because she was in a wedding. Our time together is always so good- and therapeutic. :) I come away refreshed. Really, could my weekend have gotten any better?

Frontside Baby Shower

So a couple friends of mine (Brooke and Sarah) put together a sweet shower for just Frontside youth leaders and high school girls. It was lots of fun. The girls had to write words on Tee shirts for Josiah that they wanted to represent him. He'll sport them proudly someday I'm sure. :) They bought me (him) lots of cute clothes. Someone made a Sandals onesie. It's awesome :) And someone bought me a diaper bag that I love, love, love. I was showered (and of course, so was Josiah) in love and gifts! Fun day :)

28 weeks and some Bling

Just another belly shot- my goal is to take a picture every two weeks. So I went to have my wedding ring cleaned a few weeks ago only to discover it wouldn't come off (well not easily anyway). The jeweler said " You better not put that back on. You're only going to get bigger" (He knew I was due in August. Had already asked about me being pregnant) So, I've been going without a ring for a few weeks. Eddie told me last night that we needed to buy me "some bling", so that people would know I was more than his "baby mama". He cracks me up. So I am wearing this very fancy ring (sarcasm- it cost 20$) because he bought it for me. :)

"Well, maybe I want to make the baby something too..."

That's what Eddie said Friday night. We went away for the weekend together. I was crocheting a blanket for Josiah, when he asked me if I brought "extra yarn and an extra hook". "What? No. What for?"... "Well, maybe I want to make something for the baby too". My dad and Susan have been living with us for a few weeks, and Susan is quite crafty. She's the one who taught me to crochet. Well, turns out Eddie wants to make the baby a beanie. Who better to teach him than the pro. So this is what is going on in the Culin house tonight: Crochet class for daddy to be. :)

Pop goes my belly button

Never thought I'd have an "outie", but it looks like I might be headed in that direction. I lost my belly button at 20 weeks, which was surprising. Thought that wasn't supposed to happen until the end! In the last week it's started popping out. I don't mind people touching my stomach, but the belly button is a "no-no". It sends this shooting pain downward and does not feel nice!!

Belly Picture: week 26

Numerous people said, "You popped" this week- meaning I "Popped out" I think. I think I agree. Strangers are beginning to feel confident enough to ask about my baby, rather than questioning if I'm bloated. :) It's kind of sweet, and fun. Not a lot of new baby news. Took my glucose test. They want you to be between 70-140. I was 141, so back I go for the 3 hour test. I was a little bummed. Off by one point! (and the lab tech drew my blood 5 min early- I should have said something!!) Oh well, I'll read a book :) Registered last week at Babies R Us. Glad to have friends w/ babies. I pretty much scanned everything Vanessa said I should scan. Would have been pretty lost without her assistance. :)

24 weeks and counting

24 weeks, 2 days. Doctors say 6 months, but really it's not. It's much more like 5 months. But-whatever, they call it six. People's perceptions crack me up. Within an hour the other day someone said, "Wow, 24 weeks-that's 6 months. You're big for 6 months." I laughed and smiled. I'm not big for six months. Next person: "You're pregnant? Oh my gosh! I didn't even know. You don't even look pregnant!!" Hmm... really? I'd like to think I'm somewhere in between the two extremes. :) He's definitely growing. Packing on 6 oz a week from here on out. He kicks me all the time and almost on demand. It's funny. Most babies stop moving just when you call people over to feel. Not Josiah though. He'll be still for hours. I'll sit down, place me hands on my tummy, and start talking, and he goes crazy. I called Eddie at work the other day just to say,.."Umm... I think our baby loves me." :) That's what I like to think anyway- that he already knows and loves me. Finished school yesterday, and I'm really excited to start being able to shift my focus more to this very special little guy that's on the way. Yay! :)

Oak Glen with the Girls

Emma, Amanda, Danielle. These are awesome young women. I love these girls and I love working in youth ministry. Sometimes I wonder if I'll do something else someday, but this is what keeps me coming back!!! I love spending time with them, laughing with them, sharing life with them- seeing them grow to understand and love God in new ways. Teenage years are so important. Teenagers make decisions that shape the rest of their life. I learned God wanted all of me, not half, or part when I was 16-maybe that's why I'm still in love with youth ministry.
Found out a few weeks ago I'd have a Saturday off in April, so we planned a trip to good ol' apple town. It was fun. We pet random animals. Eddie pretended to be a peacock and challenged another male peacock because he wanted to see him spread his feathers- and it worked. Wish I had a picture of that moment...or a video. Ate at Apple Annie's- yummy. Talked a whole lot the last two weeks about eating apple pie, but none of us ate pie. Just Hot Chocolate. mmmmm :) My highlight, besides the obvious (Quality Time)- Petting the baby goats :)

21 weeks

Really 20 weeks, 5 days, but might as well call it 21 right? It's sad being far from my family while I'm pregnant. My mom called today and said she was sad she sort of felt like she was missing out being far away. Same with my big sis. So, here's another belly picture- my blog seems to be the best way to let you see the progress.
At our ultrasound a few weeks ago the tech questioned if I really knew my due date because our baby measured a week ahead of Aug 16th. I didn't think that was out of the norm, but he said for people Eddie and my size (I guess not really big people???) that I wouldn't usually measure a week ahead. Since then I pretty much have been saying I'm due the 12th instead of the 16th because it's the more accurate date anyway. It's only four days sooner, but it's sort of fun to think he may come sooner than later. We''ll see.
The baby is moving a lot these days, which is definitely the best part of pregnancy. It's such an amazing feeling. I'm feeling better overall lately, which I'm really thankful for.

Josiah it is... :)

This was an amazing day. Started off at 8:55 with Dr. Hart. Got to hear baby's heartbeat again. Ultrasound wasn't until 1245, so Eddie and I had time to kill. He went to Best Buy and dropped me off to get a pedicure. It was great. Then lunch, and back to Loma Linda. We had the most amazing ultrasound tech ever. So smart, been doing ultrasound work since 1984, and it showed. He was funny, and sweet and it was just an awesome experience. I told him, "Now when you look to see if it's a boy or girl, don't tell me. I want to say what I think it is." He laughed and put the ultrasound probe (Is that what it's called???) to my stomach. The very first thing to pop up was baby's you know what, and I shouted, "It's a boy!!!" We're excited. Eddie and I had a lot of the same thoughts as we left: Just thankful that everything looked perfect. Boy or girl didn't matter, but we did hope for healthy. I have tons to learn, Grew up in a house with 4 women and a dad.! I'm excited and look forward to having the opportunity to raise a boy... a man. Crazy. I came home to take a nap today and couldn't. My mind has been racing, but in a good way. Guess all the boy voters were right after all, including mommy. :)

17 weeks

Just another belly picture. Went from zero weight gain to packing on 8 pounds in the last 3 weeks. I started getting really hungry really fast. I feel like I need to eat a full meal like every 3 hours. I read yesterday that our baby has doubled in weight over the last 2 weeks of his/her life. I thought to myself, "No wonder, I have been starving! Baby is starting to try to pack on the pounds!! :)
We find out Thursday if baby Culin is a boy or girl. I was going to post a poll on my blog but I feel like I already know everyone's votes. My friends at work did a poll for me. Between work and family, friends, and Frontside girls- boy votes far out number girl votes. I'm not sure why so many people think it's a boy. So, a whole lot of people are going to be right, or just a few will. Excited to find out!!! :)

The next most common question...

What are you going to name him or her??? Some people keep it a secret. I've never felt like our names need to be kept top secret. I'm not really afraid of people "stealing" our name. So here it goes. There's somewhat of a story behind the boy name, but not for our girl name...

Boy: Josiah (Edward as a middle name. It's sort of up for debate still). Here's the story: We were dating. Knew we were headed towards marriage. One date night at my apartment we were talking about baby names. Eddie said, "Ive had my boy named picked out since I was 16." I said, "Funny. I've had my boy name picked out since I was 20." Long, story made short is it was the same name, and we basically had the same method for coming up with it. He was 16, and I was 20- but we had both been reading through I and II Kings, and fell in love with Josiah and His heart for God. Each of us decided, "If or when I have a son someday, that will be his name." Weird. I wondered, "does that mean we're destined to have a son someday??" It sort of seems like it. We'll see I guess.

Girl: Rebecca Love. I chose Rebecca years ago. I think when I was in High-School. Eddie likes it. It just so happens to be that everyone I meet named Rebecca is fabulous too. :) I picked Rebecca Faith. Eddie said no- if we have a girl someday her name will be Rebecca Love. I liked it. End of story :)

Basic Baby Info

I keep getting asked these questions, so I figured I'd post the answers here. I feel like there's sort of a lot to catch up on as far as posts. I've just posted basic appt info. and a few belly pics, but I haven't even done a blog just sharing my heart about the last 6 months. For now, I'm just trying to provide the basics :)

When are you due?? August 16 based on LMP. August 12th based on date of conception. Conception date is actually more accurate (obviously, right?), but I tend to just say Aug 16th for two reasons. #1) If the 12th passes and I'm still pregnant, I won't feel like the baby's late if I tell myself my due date is the 16th #2) My sweet Danielle Crowley's birthday is August 16th, so I like to think of the baby being due on her birthday. Yay!!

When do you find out the sex? Anytime after week 17 (Anytime after March 8th). My Dr. already gave me the order for the ultrasound and wrote that I can schedule our appt. anytime after week 17. So, I don't know yet. My 18 week appt is March 11th. I'm thinking I'll schedule my ultrasound for the same day, just to do it all in one day. We'll see.

What do you think the baby is? Eddie thinks girl. I have no idea. If I had to guess I'd cast my vote for boy, but there's no great reasons behind my guessing.

Let the belly pictures begin

14 weeks: The first week I started thinking "Hmm... my pants feel a little uncomfortable. Still no weight gain though: just a bump. Dear nausea and vomiting, please go away. I've put in my time :)


10 weeks- I'm basically considering this a before picture, considering I lost weight, rather than gaining...

Belly pictures are fun no matter what. I know it's early on and there's just barely a bump. The type of bump that has people wondering if there's the beginning of a baby or an extra large lunch on board. So for those people who see me everyday- I don't expect this to be exciting. These pictures are primarily being posted for my blog stalking family in Texas and my sweet friends who are already asking for belly pictures. Enjoy.. Hope you feel like you aren't missing out on the changes :)

Appointment # 2: Week 13, Feb 1st

I have to admit, I always thought when I was pregnant again, I'd be afraid of this appointment. I wasn't nervous at my 7 week appointment. My baby had a beating heart last time at 7 weeks, 8 weeks, 9 weeks. It wasn't until our baby was almost 10 complete weeks his little heart stopped beating. It's hard to explain. Even though I was excited I couldn't picture anything except looking at a screen and seeing a perfect little image light up that wasn't moving. One thing I prayed numerous times is that God would help me to be me at this appointment. Normal Cheryl would cry at the sound of her baby's heartbeat, but I was afraid I'd feel numb. I was afraid I wouldn't let myself be vulnerable again. So my prayer has been, "Help me to be Normal Cheryl. Help me to feel again without fear." The appointment was sweet. I felt relaxed. I tried to eat before I went so baby would by hyped up on carbs or sugar or something and dance around. Baby decided to be him or herself and make mommy throw up everything she had eaten on the way to the appointment though. We did get a good wave from baby, but missed it on the video. Here's a couple of fun videos :)

Our first appointment

Christmas Eve. Could I have asked for a better present? Nope. We met our baby for the first time- well, sort of. We saw his or her little heart beating. It was really cool. I was 7 weeks and Dr Hart called me on the 23rd and asked if I wanted a sneak peak at my baby early for Christmas. So in we went...