Guest Post from Amy Wuthrich LEARNING TO WALK IN HEELS: I have gorgeous friends. Please meet one of them.

My friend, Amy, is one talented lady. She's an amazing writer and a budding photographer. Recently, she and I embarked on an evening of adventure around Salt Lake City and out to the great Salt Lake where she took maternity photos of me. It was a very fun night and I'm so thankful to have these images. They truly capture 'me' at such a special time in my life. They remind me to be thankful that I am pregnant. They remind me that I have wanted this for so long. And they remind me of exactly what all of the discomfort and sacrifice of being and feeling pregnant is for.

Amy wrote a very flattering post about this on her blog. Check it out here: LEARNING TO WALK IN HEELS: I have gorgeous friends. Please meet one of them.

Flip, baby, flip! Now stay!

Two weeks ago we had our 32 week ultrasound and Baby D was transverse. I'd suspected that positioning for awhile because I regularly felt arms and legs reaching and punching into my sides. It's not a big deal for a baby to be breech or transverse at 32 weeks because there is still time for her to move and drop into the ideal head down position. However, once you reach 37 weeks if the baby hasn't turned, you have to consider some options. You can take actions to turn the baby or you can wait it out for labor to begin and risk the baby remaining breech and mom needing to have a c-section. Some of the turning techniques are associated with risks, so for the last 2 weeks Mike and I have been feeling a little antsy wondering what might happen and we have been hoping that D would turn head down soon on her own. Well as of last night, she was still snuggly transverse, sticking her little butt out like she always does, making my belly lopsided and giving me that all too familiar and lovely cramping sensation. So it was no surprise when the midwife checked us at my 34 week check up today and D was still sideways. What was surprising is that no more than 15 minutes later, my OB came in to check me and D had turned! We can't say for sure what position she is in, head down (ideal) or head up (breech), but she turned! I felt it happen although I wasn't aware at the time that she was turning. She made a large adjustment and I commented to Mike that I felt an arm up in my ribcage. Well, it was either a hand or a foot. I can totally tell that she has moved now because that little butt that I have been rubbing for the last 2 months is now square in the center of my belly instead of off to the right side.

It is possible that she will change positions again and she may just do it regularly until she finally has no more amniotic fluid to move around in and settles into a final position. We will just have to wait and see. For now, I will continue to hope that she is indeed head down and that she stays that way. Stay baby!

Now here is a nice profile shot of D from the last ultrasound.

The bump show

Here is a series of photos, mostly belly shots, from my pregnancy.

4 weeks

This is Peter, Courtney, Mike and I on my 31st birthday party (hair band costume party). We had just found out I was pregnant earlier that day (it took 3 pregnancy tests to convince me that it was true). Thanks to Jaime for serving me virgin mojitos all night so friends wouldn't suspect I was pregnant so early on. Sorry to deceive everyone, but ya know how it goes.

5-12 weeks

My 1st trimester was spent in bed, on the couch, and struggling to get through the work day. But I did manage to start some very important pregnancy reading.

Series of belly shots...

16 weeks (in Brooklyn, NY)

19 weeks

22 weeks

29 weeks (in Columbia SC at my baby shower)

30 weeks

(my friend, Amy, took maternity photos of me in various spots around SLC. The quality on this isn't great because I took a picture of a print for the purpose of posting here now. But trust me, she did a great job.)

35 weeks (the end is in sight!)

Swiss, older

After my last post, I thought I should add more recent pictures of Swiss man and ones from the last year.

Warning: Most of the pictures that I have of Swiss were taken while he was sleeping or very tired because it's the only time that he is still.

Last winter when he was still a young puppy and his coat was very thin, he often got cold. We noticed that in every room, he would find the vent where heat was coming out and lay beside it. That clued us in to the fact that he was cold. So one day we put him in an old dog sweater that we had laying around. He wore it almost every day for the rest of the winter season. Swiss is my 5th dog and the first that has ever liked to wear a sweater.

His favorite sleeping positions are either (1) on his back with legs in the air or (2) laying on top of Kuro.

On Christmas day, we unwrapped gifts and the dogs received several items including bones and toys. He was sniffing down into this bag, so we just helped him out a little. He was frozen like this for a few moments and we were able to snap this pic.

Before we discovered that he liked to wear sweaters, we put the space heater down by his bed. He loved it!

At this point he was getting pretty big, but he was still small enough to fit in my lap.

Here are just a couple of pictures from some of Swiss and Kuro's outdoor adventures. They love to hike and play in water or snow.

Here are Kuro and Swiss falling asleep in the car on the drive home from Old Farm Pet Resort where they often stay while Mike and I are away on vacation.

Here they are at home a few minutes later after promptly retiring to their bed. Success!

Here is Swiss enjoying his new yard with brand new sod. It was pretty while it lasted. Now there are lots of brown spots. Oh well.

Here is Swiss chewing on an old piece of rug that he found behind the garage. Right before I snapped this photo I had yelled at him because I thought it was an animal carcass. This is his defiant 'I wasn't chewing on a carcass' look away routine. Well, he was right and I was wrong.

And now I leave you with classic Swiss pose. This dog is a real character.

Happy Birthday, Swiss!

Today our little Swiss is 1 year old. Here is a look back...

Swiss was born on August 9, 2010 in the Riverton Animal Shelter. After he was born, he, his litter mates and his mom were rescued and went to live with Stacie, the owner of Ruff Patch Rescue, in her home with lots of other animals and humans.


Swiss' mom is Olive, a labrador and possibly pointer mix, black in color. Stacie thought that Swiss was probably mixed with lab or Springer Spaniel due to his markings. We met Swiss on Oct 25, 2010 and fell in love with him. We were looking for a friendly, active dog who didn't display fear of people or other dogs and one that got along well with Kuro. At this point in Swiss' life he had moved into Carrie Amaderas' house with her family, including her husband, young children and lots of other dogs ranging in size from tiny terrier to German Shepherd. I think Swiss had only been living there for a day or two when we arranged a time to stop by and meet him. We took Kuro with us and Kuro walked right into their house seeming pretty comfortable (for Kuro) and he seemed to like Swiss. Swiss was active and friendly, exploring from person to person and in and out of rooms. We took this as a good sign. (This crazy energy or lack of focus is something that still challenges us when he is full of energy and hasn't been exercised.) So after such a successful meeting, it was an easy decision to adopt him and off we drove with our newest addition. Mike and I were very happy that he settled in at our house effortlessly.

He and Kuro had one day of adjusting to each other while Kuro established himself as the alpha dog. It scared me to death that Kuro was growling and snapping at him one morning, but that literally passed in one day and they have been the best of friends ever since.

I love technology. I looked back through some text messages and online chats with Mike where 'Swiss' was mentioned. It captures a few highlights from the last year.

October 29, 2010

Brittany to Mike: Trying to get ready for work this morning with a pile of dogs at my feet.

January 23,2011

Subject: dog toy

Brittany to Elizabeth: Hey Elizabeth, Swiss loves his red rooster toy that you gave him for Christmas. But now that he has his adult teeth coming in, I am worried that he will destroy it soon. Where did you get it? I think I

might need another one soon.

later that night...

Brittany to Elizabeth: Of course he ate the tag off. And he ate the head off tonight. It still makes the noise so I can sew up the hole in the head and make it last a little longer. Great idea to google it.

February 11, 2011

Subject: Swiss eats poop

Brittany to Mike: I caught him this morning. It was smeared in his teeth and on his nose. That is so foul.

March 19, 2011

Brittany to Mike: Swiss f@$#ing ate the bathroom rug! I'm gonna kill him.

Mike: Nooooooooooooooooo

Mike: That f#$%ing a@*hole

March 22, 2011

Brittany to Mike: Passed out puppies. Daycare success!

June 22, 2011

Michael: whats up?

Brittany: Swiss hasn't pooped for me in days.

Michael: he has for me, and he pooped several times in the backyard yesterday.

Brittany: ok

Michael: he's a picky pooper, only wants to f#$% up my yard

Brittany: tru

Despite some headaches, he has been a great puppy and he is turning into a great dog.

The pregnancy glow, I do not have.

I’m 31 weeks pregnant now and well into my third trimester. I only have two months to go!! Here is a glimpse into my life...

The baby's movements are massive now. There are still some kicks and punches, but mostly it is large shifts as she repositions herself. She prefers the right side. A few times I have noticed very obvious movements that leave me with a lopsided stomach. It’s crazy looking, but very cool to see this physical evidence that she is really in there with a mind and body of her own. Sometimes she likes to stick her feet or hands (I can't tell which) far into my sides, and that is the weirdest feeling of all.

My sleep has gotten much worse. My belly is big and while sleeping on my side is the only feasible position, it is not the most comfortable one. This leads to lots of switching from side to side throughout the night. And because my belly is so big, this is an effort and I wake up constantly.

Perhaps due to the combination of lack of sleep and the normal fatigue that comes with the third trimester, I am slowing down again now that I'm in my final trimester. It's nothing compared to my first trimester when all I wanted to do was sleep, but I get exhausted easily and feel uncomfortable on a regular basis now. My workouts have also slowed down, it's hot outside, and I get swollen while going for even short walks or working out at the CrossFit gym, which doesn't have the best AC.

Given these things, it shouldn't be surprising when I say that I'm not really enjoying being pregnant anymore. The pregnancy glow, I do not have. I hate saying it. But it's true. I'm experiencing lots of discomfort daily, including round ligament/impinged nerve pain (like fire shooting through me, it is so painful), heartburn and reflux, fatigue, shortness of breath, nasal congestion and difficulty breathing at night while laying down, back and foot pain, crying at the drop of a hat, mood swings, irritability, etc. Not to mention the difficulty moving around in general, getting in and out of the car, finding a comfortable position sitting or lying down, difficulty picking things up off the ground, difficulty shaving legs, etc. And long gone are the days when I can tend to my own toes. Just attempting to reach them puts so much pressure on my belly that sometimes the baby kicks me once the pressure is off.

My OB says this is all normal, which is a relief, but also infuriating at the same time. How can ALL of that be normal?! Oh yeah, in pregnancy, everything is normal unless something is really wrong. She recommends the following treatment, some of which I will follow:

1. Sleep medication at night: Tylenol PM or Unisom; I refuse to do this - I don't want to take any more drugs than are absolutely necessary. Instead, Mike and I are buying a new mattress. Fingers crossed that we both sleep better soon!

2. Zyrtec & Benadryl for the sinus problems. I have been taking Zyrtec now for a few weeks. I tried to stop, but I literally whistled through my nose and blew my nose all day at work that day, so I had to go back on it. I just bought Breathe Right strips to try at night - here's hoping they work!

3. Massage & warm baths before bed for the round ligament/nerve pain & other pain: Mike is massaging my feet occasionally, but I need to get the professionals to do full body work. There is a massage school nearby and I can get a 50 minutes massage for $25. I think I am going to schedule weekly sessions for the remainder of my pregnancy. I will try to take more warm baths, but I am so tired at night and it seems like too much effort. (It's 10pm right now and my eye balls are rolling back into my head -- but the sad thing is that as soon as I lay down in bed I will be wide awake, and when I finally fall asleep I will wake up an hour later and at least 6 more times throughout the night tossing and turning.)

After writing all of this, it all sounds so negative. So let me be clear...I love this little baby inside of me. I am not mad at her for all of the discomfort that I am experiencing. I am simply tired of the physical and emotional symptoms of pregnancy. I miss my body and the control I had over my body. I knew it well, and I knew that when I treated it right with exercise, good food, and sleep, that it would reward me with emotional and physical well being. This temporary body is not the same. I am sharing it with another person, so there are sacrifices that it has to make. I am trying to take care of my physical body, my emotional health, and the baby. At the same time, I'm a wife, a mom to 2 dogs, and I have a full time day job. Knowing what is the right thing to do at the right time - rest or walk around, exercise or sleep, laugh or cry - is not easy and I'm not convinced that I often make the right decision. Every body is different. Every pregnancy is different. Every experience is different. I am not tired of feeling this amazing little baby move inside of me. I know that she needs to stay in there a little bit longer. I just can't wait to move on to the next step in this whole process when Mike and I get to meet our daughter and bring her home. That is, after all, what all of this is for.

Vacations and Home Sweet Home

Mike and I have been traveling a good bit lately. After returning from Hawaii, Mike took a week long trip to Oregon to climb mountains for what has become an annual 'Mancano' trip with some guy friends. Shortly after that, we spent several days in beautiful Jackson, Wyoming while Mike worked at the Utah ACEP conference and I did anything but work. Next up was Hunstville, Utah near Pineview Reservior for the Emergency Medicine annual retreat. This was an awesome weekend spending time with friends and getting to know the newest members of the U EM family. And finally, most recently we spent a long July 4th weekend in Lake Ouachita, Arkansas (I can't believe I spelled that right the first time) where we reconnected with friends that we hadn't seen in almost 4 years, the Stuermanns and Bevans. I think I laughed non stop all weekend in between getting 'swoll' from the heat and humidity.

We are gearing up for our final trip of the summer, getting ready to head back to SC to visit with family and friends next weekend. This will be the last time I get on an airplane during my pregnancy. The altitude makes for a very swollen body and as you can imagine that is not comfortable at all. Despite that, we are so excited to see everyone and celebrate our impending arrival!

Mike and I love to travel, but the thing that still surprises me is how happy I am walking into our home every time we return from a trip. I truly love this house. And after many requests from friends and family who haven't seen it, I am finally getting around to posting some pictures. So...here is our home sweet home.