An update: 29 weeks

We made it to 29 weeks! Every morning, one of the first things I do is thank God for another day that Sydney could stay growing inside of me. Each day is a gift!

There's not much new happening around here, and for that I'm thankful! Yesterday I had my weekly ultrasound and NST{non stress test}. Cervical length is remaining stable, which is great news! The NST is still showing mild contractions, but since they are sporadic and not increasing in intensity there is nothing to worry about at this point. I was reminded to keep resting and stay hydrated! :) They also took measurements of Sydney and she is currently in the 11th percentile for size. This makes me a tad anxious, but the doctor said they normally don't start to worry until she falls below the 10th percentile...very reassuring Doc. ;) At this point he said she's "petite" but looks perfect! The ultrasound tech also spent several minutes focusing on her heart...she must have sensed that I was starting to freak out. The reason she was spending so much time looking at her heart was because she was admiring at how beautiful and perfect it was! I smiled proudly as I let out a big sigh of relief. Every time I hear the pitter-patter of my little one's heart, I can't help but hold back tears. My heart feels so full.

I would ask if you could please be praying that I would not obsessively worry about her size, and that she would continue to grow strong. Like I said, the doctor did not seemed too concerned, and just mentioned something about more monitoring and tests if she does fall below the 10th percentile. Another way you can pray for me specifically is getting more restful sleep at night. This is when I tend to worry and my mind goes a mile a minute, so sleep has not come as easily or soundly as I would like. I know rest is important for both me and baby!

via pinterest

Here is a sneak peak from my baby shower this past weekend. I plan to write more about this later, but I will say it was lovely and that I could not have asked for a more beautiful shower or more beautiful and thoughtful women in my life. Blessed blessed blessed!

So far I am not going too crazy at home. I appreciate the meals, cards, and visit so much! Netflix, social media and reading has kept me occupied during the day. And believe it or not, as annoying as he can be, it's nice to have Jake around to keep me company.

I want to give a special shout out to Steve...who knew you could clean so well?! It has been so nice not worrying about the cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry and the list goes on. I know you are going to be such a good daddy! You take such great care of Sydney already. Besides, it's about time you learn how to clean the toilet. ;) 

Holly xoxo

The Olsen's make {strawberry} jam

To my surprise, Steve suggested we try our hand at homemade strawberry jam. Who is this man? I was thrilled and chomping at the bit to give this a go. After all, who doesn't love strawberries, especially fresh strawberry jam?! Shockingly, it wasn't as difficult or time consuming as we had anticipated. The best part? It turned out great! We didn't screw it up! I was told to follow the instructions to a T. No short cuts, measure ingredients perfectly, etc etc. And that's what we did.

It seems like a life time ago that we went berry picking. It was only two weekends ago. I guess a three day hospital stay for pre-term contractions will do that. Now that I think of it..I'm wondering if all that bending over and whatnot that involves strawberry picking and jam making had something to do with said pre-term contractions. Oops! Oh well...it is what it is and now I'm on modified bed rest, but at least we've got a freezer full of jam!

It was a perfect Saturday. Not too hot, blue skies and sunshine. The orchard was only a 5 minute drive from our house, and there was free homemade strawberry ice cream that day. Win win! The berry patch was considered "seconds" so it was only 99 cents a pound to pick your own. I will say most of the berries we picked were perfect, besides if there were some bruises who cares? They would soon be mashed up in a jam anyway. After about 45 minutes of dodging thistles and huge yellow spiders {shudders} we had the four quarts we needed. For less than $10 we enjoyed some quality time in the summer sun, strawberry ice cream and whoopie pies. Cheap dating at it's finest.

Now onto the jam making part of this post. Sorry this is getting long. Lot's of pictures will do that. All we did was buy Sure Jell and follow the instructions in the box. Add lots of sugar, some water and pectin, and you're good to go! Oh yeah, don't forget the strawberries.

By the way, four quarts of strawberries made about 24 cups of jam. After we picked the berries, making the jam took less than 90 minutes start to finish. It was soooo easy. We will definitely be making this an annual affair.

Tip: do yourself a favor and buy a strawberry huller like the one below. It was a huge time saver. And we had to buy a potato masher. Who still uses these?

And, voila! Freeze jam up to a year, or can be refrigerated up to a month. Now that I'm home on bed rest I've been enjoying the fruits of our labor with lots of PB&J's. :)

Holly xoxo

Today's a big day!

Happy anniversary, Steve! It's been seven years since I married the man of my dreams. I could go on and on about how wonderful it is to be married to your best friend. But, I won't. I will say it has been an adventure and it has been lovely. I am so so thankful to journey through life's ups and downs with Steve by my side. Life can get downright scary and horrible, but when you have someone to love and support you, it truly makes all the difference.

Another reason today is a big day is that it's the start of the my third and final trimester {28 weeks today, baby!} This is huge considering we were under the impression a couple of days ago that I may go into labor, like NOW. It's scary stuff to say the least. But, every day that Sydney stays growing inside of me is a day to celebrate! The picture below was taken yesterday, on Father's Day. I thought I would die when my sister Erin showed me these little pink sneakers she bought for Sydney. :)

As some of your know, I am currently at home on modified bed rest. This means I am not allowed to go to work, clean, grocery shop or do anything that requires lifting or strenuous activity. Thankfully I am not on strict bed rest, which would mean I can only get up to use the bathroom and must be laying down at all other times. Just wanted to clarify that.

Last Tuesday morning I went in for a routine ultrasound, which is when they discovered that my cervix had shortened significantly since the two weeks prior. To make a long story short I was admitted to the hospital. They soon realized I was having contractions. I didn't really realize that they were indeed contractions since they were not causing me pain, and it was just a tightening feeling and heck this is my first rodeo I had no idea what to look for! So, for the next three days I was hooked up to fluids and monitors to measure contractions and the baby's heart rate. I was also given two steroid shots {one each 24 hrs apart} to give the baby's lungs a jump start in maturing in case I did go in to labor soon. I was also hooked up to an IV for 24 hours to receive a strong dose of magnesium sulfate. Let me tell you, this stuff is wicked. The nurses told me a lot of women have adverse side effects from the medicine, but I knew she meant serious business when she handed me a vomit bag as they were hooking up the IV. I am so thankful that my body handled the meds well and I never got sick to the point of vomiting. I did experience weakness, hot flashes, the shakes, and extreme fatigue. I can best describe it as a very strong buzz after drinking too much too quickly, but yet not in a good way if that makes sense. My head was spinning, my face was beet red. But, again, I am so thankful that I didn't get nauseous or throw up! The nurses praised me for being such a good water drinker and said that surely helped lessen the side effects. Anyway, the purpose of magnesium sulfate was to not only slow down contractions but also to protect the baby's brain in case I would deliver soon and has been proven to decrease chances of cerebral palsy in preemies. Can I just say thank you Jesus for modern medicine?! I'd also like to give a shout out to my husband for enduring sleepless nights on an uncomfortable hospital cot and for watching endless hours of HGTV with me with no complaint. ;) I knew there was a good reason I married this man! No, but seriously, I am so thankful that you could be there with me. Lord knows I needed you. 

It was such a whirlwind of a stay, but I felt so much peace, too. I know so many were praying for us and we could feel the support through texts, visits, and emails. Thankfully, the medication calmed my uterus down and the contractions waned. I was discharged Friday evening with orders to modified bed rest and will be taking a medication every 6 hours to keep contractions away.

I hope to use this blog as a way to keep you all updated, and I think it will also help me stay sane during the remainder of this journey! We are just taking this one day and a time. There is no way to predict what will happen or when. Tomorrow I have an appointment for another ultrasound and they will also be doing a non stress test to make sure baby is doing okay and that I'm not actively contracting. Thank you all again for your prayers, meals, flowers and messages. It means so much to Steve and I.

Here is a sneak peak at Sydney from last week when this all happened. Just looking at her adorable little face assures me that this is all worth it. She has her daddy's nose and mouth. Don't you think? :)

Holly xoxo

Outies and Hiccups

I figured it was about time to give my future self a little update on what's going on currently. 

First things first. 

Honey, we need a new computer! I know we can't afford one right now, but it's slow and the text cursor continues to freeze which is especially annoying when you're trying to quickly write out a blog post, because, ain't nobody got time for that! {gets me. every. time.} 

While we're on the honey-please-do-list, I'm thinking the tree branches next to the kitchen window need to be trimmed because when the wind blows it scrapes the shiz out of the screen and makes an awful sound. Not to mention the noise always freaks me out, plus it can't be good for said screen. Am I right? Wow, really rambling here, sorry.

Moving on. Let's start with the title. I'm pretty sure I have/am going to have an outie belly button for the duration of this pregnancy. And no, I don't have any pictures to show you. Gross. Now that we've got that useless piece of information out of the way, onto the latter and more exciting part of the title. Hiccups! Baby girl had a bad case of the hiccups today. One of the weirdest feelings ever! I can best describe it as a gentle  rhythmic pulse...not fast enough for a heart beat, almost like a muscle spasm. It was pretty flipping cool. Made my day. Like is this really happening?! Sometimes, scratch that, often times, I think my heart will burst with love and bewilderment at what's going on inside of my body. I will admit I felt pretty sorry for the little one...hiccups aren't exactly fun times. Thankfully they only lasted about five minutes.

He has no idea what's about to happen to his perfect little world in just a few short months. Maniacal Laugh.

So I staged his paw on my belly to take a cute picture...so what? #mammothpaw

About a month ago my mom and I fought hard to win these AMAZING homemade bread and butter pickles at the Relay for Life Auction at my work. Apparently it's common knowledge among most people that you don't come between a pregnant girl and pickles.

And wow...my belly has grown A LOT since then. I'll blame it on those pickles. ;)

Jake's summer cut. Take note, he thinks hes' a lap dog.

Lilacs lilacs lilacs. If only they could bloom all summer long. I imagine this is what heaven smells like.

I'll end this post with a look at 26 week old Sydney in utero. The horizontal stripes just really compliment the bump, wouldn't you say?

And don't be alarmed. There is much more going on in my life than what was mentioned today. Like reading baby books, setting up the nursery, landscaping, impromptu road trips to Michigan, picking ticks off your dog etc. You know, just your normal run of the mill every day stuff.

Well, I'm about to throw this computer out the window. Ah ha! solution to the problem. Broken laptop means new laptop...hmm.

Until next time.

Holly xoxo