A Few Thoughts Regarding the Last Month of Pregnancy

**If talking about pregnancy, babies, birthing, 

and all that goes along with it makes you feel uncomfortable, 

feel free to skip this post.**

I have decided that no woman should have to undergo weekly cervical exams beginning at 36 weeks (or 35 weeks and some odd days).  First of all, they're not fun.  Rather, they're quite uncomfortable.  And then, when the first two checks result in a "Well, this baby isn't going anywhere!" it becomes nothing but an uncomfortable waste of time.  

Then at 36 1/2 weeks you have a little panic attack because you are dilated and effaced and you really weren't expecting that.  And try as hard as you can, you can't keep your brain from translating those results into "Oh my goodness!  This baby is going to come any day!"  And round about the time you finally convince yourself that really this baby isn't coming any day, you go in again and you're dilated to 3cm!  I mean come on!  That's progress!  Surely the baby is coming today.

So by now, you're brain has been telling you for nearly two weeks that this baby is coming any day.  And every day without a baby is one more day leading to your complete insanity.  How many times should you be required to mop the floor and iron your husband's work shirts in preparation for a new arrival, just to have to do it again?  Your insanity starts to lead you to insane ideas, like going to the lake for a few days.  Because surely you could make it to the hospital an hour and a half away if you needed to, right?

And all of this because of cervical exams.

Who really expects a baby to come at 37 weeks?  Only someone who has a history of early babies or someone who has been told they are dilated.

And why does the doctor need to know anyway?  What are they going to do differently if you are dilated to 1cm or dilated to 3cm or not dilated at all?  You always get the same message.  "We'll see you when the baby comes or at your next appointment."  And heaven forbid you make it to your next appointment!

Life According to Instagram

Lots and lots and lots of family history and temple work.

Dying Easter Eggs

Going to the Easter Pageant

 Loving the flowers at Sweet Tomato!

First Goose Egg--falling off the back of the recliner and landing on the brick fireplace!

 One really cool dude.

 Helping Pops get rid of the monster cactus.  I'm a tough pregnant lady!

 Finishing nursing school at Arizona Heart Hospital.

 Sending in my application for nursing licensure!

Movie at the Park

Baseball Man

Graduation Celebration

I figured that I had better get caught up on the goings on around here before Baby #2 arrives.  When that happens, there will be lots of cute pictures to share and not enough time to blog.  Right?

So to celebrate graduation all of my family (minus a sibling or two) went and stayed at a resort in Scottsdale for a couple of days.  We spent hours in the warm pool, ate lots of yummy food, and the Browns played board games every night after the babies went to sleep.  It was relaxing and fun and a perfect way to celebrate together.

Hyrum and Jacie loved the little splash pad.  It was always a sad day for Hyrum when it was time to be done with the water.  Because they couldn't get enough water at the resort, we also filled up the kiddie pool one afternoon and let them cool off.  Whitney and I took the kiddos to the splash pad at Fountain Hills one afternoon as well.  For some reason it didn't hold their interest the same way the one at the resort did, but we still had fun.  Have I mentioned how much I love having a sister-in-law.  She is the best!

Registered Nurse

Big important things have been happening at the Brown household. Graduation from ASU was quickly followed by the NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses).  You know?  The test you spend a fortune to take and hope you pass?

On the day I got my authorization to test, I went for my weekly baby check. The nurse practitioner told me, "This baby isn't going anywhere."  So I scheduled to take the exam on the next available date. May 22nd was going to be a big day. 

Then, on the 20th, I went in for my next weekly appointment. Imagine my surprise when I learned that I was 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. I was only 36 weeks and a few days!  I was scheduled to take the NCLEX in two days!  The NP told me to take it easy for a couple days, said she thought I would be fine, and wished me luck. 

So, I took it easy, prayed like crazy, and took a deep breath as the 24 hour cancellation period ticked by. We joked about how I would go into labor in the middle of the exam. I would answer a few questions and then pause for a contraction. Funny as it was, I dreaded that happening...well until I was done taking the test and it didn't happen and I felt like I had been cheated out of the best NCLEX story ever. 

75 questions. 

26 hours later: Good news. I passed. 

I am officially a registered nurse. 

I called my mother-in-law to let her know. She answered the phone, "Are you in labor?!"  "No, but I'm a registered nurse."  Disappointed. "Oh."  Then she realized what I had just said. "OH!!!"

So, now that I'm a nurse, it's time for this baby to come. We're ready. And I still stand by my belief that nursing school is the hardest thing I've ever done. Harder than having a baby. I will have more babies, but I will never go to nursing school again. 

College Graduate

I'm a college graduate.

Woah.

That's crazy.

Sometimes I think "I graduated.  No big deal."  But when I really sit down and think about it, it is a HUGE accomplishment.  Not only did I graduate from one of the most difficult bachelors degree programs, but I got married, had a baby, and completed 35 weeks of my second pregnancy.  It was tough, but we did it!

I say we because I couldn't have done it alone.  I don't know how to express my thanks to my family and friends who supported and helped in any way they could.  I especially don't know what I would have done without Husband.  He put up with a lot.  He sacrificed a lot.  He is my number one.  My one and only.  I love you, Husband.

The Snowflake Temple

Husband and I set a goal to visit three new temples this year.  All of a sudden it was April and we hadn't even visited one!  So we decided it was time to fix that.  I mean, just look!  Baby isn't gonna wait much longer, I'm running out of time for travel, and road trips without children get exponentially more difficult when there's a newborn in the house.

Luckily, the Snowflake Temple is only a few hours away.  Little Boy spent the day with his aunties and uncle and Pops and we took off on a little adventure.  It was great to just chit chat and enjoy one another as we drove.

I hadn't been to the Snowflake Temple since the open house in 2002.  I had forgotten how much Native American influence was incorporated into the interior of this temple.  It is truly unique.  I loved having Sister Flake as one of the temple workers.  Husband loved the distinctive water feature.  We also realized how difficult it was to get a good picture of this temple due to it's situation at the top of a very steep hill.

We also realized how terribly difficult it is to take pictures in the blinding sun.  We laughed and cried (mostly out of pain) at how awful these turned out.  But hey, this tradition is all about making memories and taking pictures at Snowflake will always stand out.

After a temple session and pictures, we were starving.  Unfortunately, fast food in Payson didn't appeal to us, so we decided to tough it out and eat once we got back to Mesa.  Of course, a buffet sounded like a perfect idea, hungry as we were.  The Chinese buffet we went to was great, until we were done eating and we felt miserably sick, either from eating too much or just eating what we did.  Needless to say, we're going to stay away from Chinese buffets for a while.

We are so grateful for temples.  We are grateful that we've had the pleasure of visiting 15 of them now!  It is so much fun to see the differences in architecture and design, yet to feel the same Spirit and know that we are in the Lord's house.  We are excited for the arrival of the Gilbert Temple and the Phoenix Temple.  "A marvelous work is about to come forth among the children of men..." Now we better get busy on our family history!

Hyrum's Favorite Books

Hyrum and I love the library.  We go for Story Time.  We go just to get books.  We go to play.  We go for special activities.  It's a good place for a mom and her boy to go when they want to get out of the house.  Yesterday we went and Hyrum was beyond excited about the bugs, beetles, and crickets they had preserved in little plastic cubes.  He could have looked at them all day.

Over the last month or so, I've been collecting a list of some of Hyrum's favorite books.  We always check out three to four books to bring home.  Most often, I just find these books by skimming the book shelf, but that can be a pain and I don't always pick out ones he likes.  So, I thought that some of you might appreciate a toddler book list.

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie  by: Laura Joffe Numeroff  Illustrated by: Felicia Bond
Rules of the Wild: An Unruly Book of Manners  by: Bridget Levin  Illustrated by: Amanda Shepherd
Hugless Douglas  Written and Illustrated by: David Melling
Art  Written and Illustrated by: Patrick McDonnell
And the Train Goes  Written and Illustrated by: William Bee
The Wriggly, Wriggly Baby by: Jessica Clark  Illustrated by: Laura Rankin
The Firefighters  by: Sue Whiting  Illustrated by: Donna Rawlins
Once Upon a Potty Written and Illustrated by: Alona Frankel
We go together! by: Todd Dunn  Illustrated by: Miki Sakamoto
Driving my Tractor  by: Jan Dobbins  Illustrated by: David Sim
What to do if an Elephant Stands on Your Foot by: Michelle Robinson  Illustrated by: Peter H. Reynolds
Split! Splat! by: Amy Gibson  Illustrated by:  Steve Bjorkman
10 Little Rubber Ducks  Written and Illustrated by: Eric Carle

And don't forget that local libraries have summer reading programs for all ages!  What's better than reading? Reading and getting prizes!