After a long, miserable night last night, I am happy to say that I am pain free! Last night, I was awakened by heartburn and a stomachache of sorts. At first, I just woke up and wondered why I felt so crappy. I was feeling nauseated, my stomach was making noises, and it felt really uneasy. After a couple of minutes of trying to wake up, I thought it might be heartburn, and I sat upright. I started to slowly feel better, but I every time I laid back down, I would feel worse. So, I just kinda sat there forever. Because of that, I woke up pretty late this morning….but I feel great!

Also, Chris’s commander gave him the day off today, so its going to be really nice to be able to spend the day with him!!

On a totally different note, Dave Lunsford, one of our worship leaders, has a cd coming out in March sometime! I am so incredibly excited- Dave is so extremely talented and such an inspiration in faith! He has written some of the most amazing songs ….WAY better than the songs you hear on Christian radio (which I’m not a fan of most times). I know a lot of you have heard me talk about how excited I am for this cd, and how talented Dave is ….so I am just letting you know that you can now preorder his cd!!! Yay!!!

Here is the link: http://davidlunsfordmusic.com

Also, Dave is in another band that reaches out to bar patrons…yep a bar ministry! Here is the link to that site: All But Screaming

Well….12 more weeks to go til Isabela makes an appearance (hopefully!). Yesterday, I hit 28 weeks!

I’ve had back and neck problems, due to my military service, since 2002. Now that I think about it, almost everyone I know in the military suffers from some kind of back and neck problem. My neck problems are the result of 8 years of looking down for 8-15 hours of day. That is very common in Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. You are constantly looking down at the medication you are dispensing, filling, making. The neck problem isn’t that bad though; I am used to it.

The back problems are a little worse. Those were caused from months upon months of wearing all my deployment gear, carrying my mobility bags and wearing a heavy ass helmet while deployed and during exercises. I am happy that I get compensated for this pain in the form of disability payments, but I would definitely give up the money for no pain at all!

So, last January, I let my doctor know that we were trying to conceive. She recommended I stopped taking my back medication, and gave me some stretches to do to try and alleviate the pain. She also warned me that chronic back pain in women gets worse in pregnancy, because the ligaments and tendons become softer, start to stretch, and obviously the extra weight gain does not help.

So I quit taking my medication. I was only on one medication, and it was Baclofen. I liked Baclofen, because unlike Flexeril or narcotic pain analgesics, the Baclofen caused me no drowsiness and gave me mild pain relief. I would rather deal with some pain then feel constantly medicated. Also, I actually preferred to use exercise to keep my back strong, and stretches to keep the inflammation down then the constant use of medication.

So…I figured it would be no big deal, because in my opinion, my back pain was more annoying than painful. I only took my medication as needed, anyhow.

Well, I was wrong! When I was around 8 weeks pregnant, I started having sciatica pain! It was intensely painful, and extremely annoying! My midwife said my uterus could have been pressing down on my sciatic nerve. I had the sciatica pain up until my 12th week, when it suddenly disappeared..thank GOD!

Right around the 15th week, my normal back pain caused from military service, began to get worse. No amount of exercise or stretching seemed to help, and they still don’t. Since then, its progressively getting worse and worse. It seems like I will have one, possibly 2 good weeks, and then one week of intense pain. During those weeks, I can barely walk up the stairs, getting out of bed to pee at night hurts more than ever, and sitting down hurts more than walking. Its really annoying !!!

To make matters worse, living in an environment where it snows and ices all the time makes it worse. Around 23 weeks, I was getting out of the SUV, slipped while trying to get out, and fell out of the SUV! (: I can only reason that there must have been ice on the bottom of my shoes. Anyhow, I got out my little pregnancy binder my midwife gave me, and it said to call if you fall down. So, of course I call, and they scare the crap out of me by telling me to come up to Labor and Delivery ASAP. So, we go, and they check the heartbeat and contractions, and everything is perfectly fine, except for my back of course.

To make matters worse, everywhere I go is covered with ice. There is just simply no way to get rid of it when temps are constantly below zero. Yesterday I slipped 3 times just walking out of the SUV into someone’s house! Normally, slipping or falling wouldn’t affect me. Being pregnant, your back is so vulnerable to being hurt-that is why they don’t advise lifting or moving heavy things. Its not because it will hurt the baby…its because its gonna hurt your back and cause you a crazy amount of misery.

So, anyhow, those 3 slips yesterday really messed me up. They were tiny slips, but each time, I could feel my back give. By the time we got home, I couldn’t walk…I could only shuffle around. Laying down hurts more than anything, sitting is a close 2nd, and walking hurts too.

I know I am complaining, and its annoying, yes. I just hate feeling so fragile and so vulnerable to getting hurt. I get nervous everytime I walk to get the mail, because I know if I slip or fall I won’t be able to control it. Also, falling at this point could rupture the placenta, which really really scares me. I am just ready for all this snow and ice to melt!!!

yes!!! All you need is 4 chords….and thats all I know so far with my guitar.

haha.

Don’t Stop Believing – Journey
Beautiful – James Blunt
Right Here Waiting – Richard Marx
No One – Alicia Keyes
Happy Ending – Mika
Lovesong – Amiel
Wheres the Love – Black Eyed Peas
Amazing – Alex Lloyd
Wherever you Will Go – The Calling
Glycerine – Bush
Twenty Good Reasons – Thirsty Merc
High – Lighthouse Family
Soul to Squeeze – Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Sway – Bic Runga
Cigarettes Will Kill You – Ben Lee
She Will Be Loved – Maroon 5
With or Without You – U2
Fall at your Feet – Crowded House
Not Pretty Enough – Kacey Chambers
Let it Be – Beatles
Under the Bridge – Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Man in the Mirror – Michael Jackson
Can you Feel the Love Tonight – Elton John
Down Under – Men At Work
Waltzing Matilda – Banjo Patterson
Take On Me – Aha
Save Tonight – Eagle Eye Cherry
Africa -Toto
Self Esteem – The Offspring
Dammit – Blink 182
Apologize – One Republic
Canvas Bags – Tim Minchin
Torn – Natalie Imbruglia
Birdplane – The AXIS of AWESOME
Scar – Missy Higgins

There’s nothing like watching America’s Next Top Model.  Thanks to ANTM,  I have learned the right way to walk a catwalk, how to make wrong look so right, how to smile with my eyes, and how to make pretty ugly faces.

But now, I am mad at my parents for creating me as a short, eyes too close together and not enough neck kind of girl.

I mean, they totally ruined my chances of ever being on America’s Next Top Model!

Right Aurelia?

Ok, so the Oxygen network has been showing marathons of ANTM, which led me to those incredibly deep thoughts above.

Thats all I have. I am going to eat a pear now.

Isabela Eliana Stephens

We had the name Isabela picked out from the very beginning….and it is also my great-great grandmother’s name.

We had a lot of trouble picking a middle name. We both just didn’t like any names we saw! However, when we saw Eliana on a website, we both liked it right away….so we stopped looking after that.

Eliana means “the Lord has answered.” We loved the meaning, but we also loved how it is similar to the name Eileen, which was Chris’s grandmother’s name. We both miss her so much….
For me, she just had this incredible way of making me feel welcome, right from the very start. She had the best sense of humor, loved to play games, and made the best cherry pie! I really do miss her a lot! Anyhow, thats just a little preview of her personality, so we just liked that we could, in a slight way, honor her memory.

So, I would prefer if anyone has any negative comments on the name, to just keep them to yourself. I understand if its not what you would pick….but thats the thing…you don’t get to pick it! haha!

So far….Isabela already has several nicknames. Of course, little tiny or tiny is one of them. The others are Isa, Isabelita, and Isabeli. We kinda just make them up as we go along.

I haven’t been motivated to blog lately…I just haven’t. I don’t have any good reason, though I could make up a few.

Tomorrow, I will be 27 weeks pregnant! At 28 weeks, I will be in the LAST trimester!!!
Wow….I can’t believe we will be parents soon!

So, Stacy and her friend Rose came spontaneously to visit us last week. They helped us paint the nursery! The nursery is a light yellow color…It really lights up the room, and when I walk in now, I get all teary eyed.

We have absolutely nothing in the room yet that has anything to do with the baby. As soon as this semester is over (28 Feb), I am going to get started using some rarely used artistic talent…haha. I drew out about 5 pictures that I am going to paint for the nursery. They aren’t complicated at all…..they are really simple, cutesy, and quirky. I have a lot of ideas….surprised??
You shouldn’t be! I am actually a super creative person, yet I rarely use my creativity artistically. Ok, well , lets just hope all my art projects turn out beautifully….its been a long time since I’ve painted.

The uncomfortable-ness phase of pregnancy is on its way. For a long time, I was getting the best sleep of my life…even if I did have to get up and pee all the time. Now my tummy is getting big, so its hard to be comfortable at night…..the extra weight is really taking a toll on my hips, and the schiatia, which was really horrible in the 1st trimester, is coming back.
Did I spell that right??? Oh well.

I can feel that wonderful burst of energy I had for the last 3 months slowly waning away. I am so happy that I get to be at home, so I can take naps when needed! I am really taking advantage of taking naps….when tiny gets here, I will probably never get to nap again, haha!

well, we have been incredibly blessed with some free stuff!!! A pharmacist I worked with gave us 2 strollers! One is the kind you just put the car seat in and it locks in. That one has a tray on it, with two drink holders and plenty of additional room for purses, diaper bags, jackets, etc. The other one is just a regular stroller. She also gave us a car seat and 2 bases. We already had another free carseat that is the same brand as the one she gave us, so it will fit in the bases and stroller. She (her name is Molly) also gave us a sling carrier, a crib mattress, baby bumper for the crib and quilt, and a box of 3-9 months clothing! God Bless Molly and her family; they saved us so much money!

On craigslist, I found a lady that was selling a TON of 3-12 month clothing. I got it all for 25 dollars! Yay! It was all really nice little girl clothing, and some were even baby brand name clothing…haha. The good part is that we have so much 3-6 month clothing that people have bought us, so it is nice to have some 6-12 month clothing.

So, of course there is still a lot we need. But I am so happy that so much was given to us for free!

Chris and I are doing well. This whole pregnancy is really a great experience for a couple, in my opinion, and the newness of it is kinda like falling in love with each other all over again!

Please remember to keep us in your prayers. Pray for Chris, that he will keep producing, and that can keep being positive in such a stressful job, that he hates! And pray for tiny….that she will stay in my belly until she is due, and that she will be healthy and a happy baby. We REALLY don’t want her to come super early….its just not the healthiest situation. And please pray that I will continue to have a problem-less pregnancy, and a heart full of love for Chris…that I can continue to support him and do what I can to make his job easier for him.

I know these are all specific prayers….but we really do need them right now. We love you all and thank you!

OH! Chris wrote a blog announcing the name of little tiny, though most of you probably know it by now. I am sure he will be posting it on here any day now! (: