Week 38 Image

Happy Holidays! I hope everyone is having an enjoyable holiday season. Christmas in the Hansen home was good... mostly just calm and peaceful. It was a chance for Trent and I to get a little rest and make some more preparations for Baby Hansen to arrive. We're getting very excited for her grand entrance! We're hopeful that she is as enthusiastic about meeting us as we are about meeting her. I've spent a lot of time the last few days trying to convince her, that no matter how hard she tries, she is not going to be able to break through my ribs and my stomach in order to get out. I keep telling her there is really only one way out... but she doesn't seem to be listening. I'm sure she'll be much more obedient once she's born (wishful thinking). I guess she'll come when she's ready. Despite having fears regarding labor and delivery, I couldn't be more ready for her to come. As my discomforts increase daily, I become even more anxious.

This isn't your traditional weekly photo... as there is no shower curtain. However, since it is the holiday season... I thought I'd pay a little respect to the best Christmas movie ever made. (The Christmas Story). I think I saw it a few times during the annual "24 Hours of the Christmas Story" which plays on TBS. In this picture, I feel like the little boy who can't put his arms down cause he's so bundled up. Good thing I didn't fall over (like he did in the movie)... because my guess is there would have been no getting up for me!

Certainly this picture (with several layers on) makes me look even larger than I am. But at this point... who really cares, right? I mean, I'm 38 weeks pregnant... so this should be expected. I did have another win on the scale this week at my doctors appointment... with no weight gain. I'm guessing I've peaked as far as the weight is concerned (could also be wishful thinking... who knows).

The nursery is getting much closer. Hopefully we'll have it all done this week. If so, I'll post pictures next week. Other than making final preparations and celebrating Christmas, the only other "eventful" thing that has happened this last week is that my emotions have seemed to spiral out of control. The last couple of days, just about anything can make me cry. It's horrible. I'm kind of tired of it... and am hopeful that it's only a "phase".

Here's to another good one!

Week 37 Image

Another week happily zips by...

We are visiting the doctor weekly now, which is exciting. Even though it is purely pscychological, it makes the time seem to pass a little more quickly. I get a little more cautious about the food I intake in the couple days leading up to my appointment... joking with others that I have to "weigh in" so I have to be careful.

Week 37 was a successful one, in regards to weight gain. 0.00 pounds gained... which was very exciting for me. Also, the blood pressure was really good. Physically, I'm feeling pretty okay. I seem to have some upper back pain somewhat frequently but other than that, nothing major. Baby Hansen's movements are becoming much more painful for me. There's just not a ton of room in there for her. This is what we (baby Hansen and I) are looking like after 37 weeks...

With the holidays upon us, I imagine the next few weeks will pass by rapidly. I hate to think that I'm "wishing time away"... I'm just really excited to meet Baby Hansen. Trent and I feel fairly prepared, in regards to having the things we think we'll need. I'd like the baby to come sooner, rather than later... and Trent is okay with her coming as late as she'd like. I would suggest that is because he doesn't get to live with the daily discomforts. I'm not going to complain about all of the little things... because I have no doubt that in the end, it will all be worth it. However, it will be nice to have my body back once she's born... and start to do some of the things I love so much but am unable to do right now. My sister went snowboarding last Thursday... and I was fairly jealous.

We're excited for Christmas this week and to have a couple of days off from work. Hopefully this post find you happy and healthy during this holiday season. Make it a great one! We'll be sure to do the same.

Week 36 - Wait... no image!

To start off, we neglected to take a picture on Sunday... so there won't be one of those this week. I hope you'll take my word for it... I'm still growing larger :) In the prenatal seminar we attended several weeks ago, we were told that while 37 weeks is considered full term, if I went into labor at 36 weeks, I wouldn't be stopped. Scary!

Baby Hansen is still fairly active, just with a lot less room to move around. It makes her movements much more visible for the random onlooker. I keep saying she's just trying to "break out". If you'd like to venture a guess regarding when she'll be born, there's a poll in the right column of this blog.

I spent most of the weekend "hevtej bna" (Mongolian for laying/resting). I wrote it that way because my weekend reminded me of something from Mongolia. In Mongolia, it is quite common for people to pay to go the clinic or hospital for a couple of weeks. Without anything seriously wrong with them, they would go to essentially rest... and lay in a bed for a couple weeks. I had some companions that were planning on going to "hevt" after they finished their missions. I always thought it was a bit strange that they would pay money to go to a hospital so they could rest. The clinics typically didn't provide much or any treatment to them... and they didn't provide food (the person's family or friends would bring them meals). I guess when a person reaches pure exhaustion, that's just what they do.

While I am really tired, I don't think I'm quite to that point yet. The main struggle has been that when Baby Hansen wakes me up between 4 and 4:30 each morning... I've really struggled to fall back asleep. Besides spending much of my time resting, Elizabeth and Alaris were nice enough to have a baby shower for me last week. They did a great job putting it all together. My Grandma Sharp hosted the event at her house. Since I didn't provide a 36 week image (disappointing, I'm sure!)... I have a couple pictures from the shower.

Yummy Food...

Kelsi had a great time playing in the tissue paper afterwards

Two out of three of my favorite nieces :)

The baby my sister made me... so cute! I just keep hoping that Baby Hansen doesn't come out quite that big (this baby is extra stuffed with diapers)

Yay for 36 weeks! Another week will surely provide another adventure. We've got no big plans for week 37... just taking it easy!

When will she come??

I often find myself wondering when Baby Hansen will make her entrance into the world. The idea of her joining us really excites me. I can't say the same about the "how' she will come. That still terrifies me.

There's not a day that passes that I don't wonder when it will be. So, just for fun... join me in wondering. I have a poll on the blog that will allow you to guess the general date of her entrance. If you want to be more specific about a date, feel free to leave a comment with your guess.

Her due date is only 30 days away. Considering the fact that I've been alive for 9,649 days... and I've been through 30 day segments 321 times throughout my life, 30 days seems really soon!

Week 35 Image

One week closer... thank goodness! It's taking longer than anticipated to recover from the Thanksgiving adventure. Note to self: "Don't play football past 30 weeks of pregnancy." With the snow starting on Saturday, I've really had the "snowboarding itch"... but have wisely opted not to scratch it. It certainly helps that none of my snowboard pants/coats fit me nowadays :)

Although the due date is still five weeks away, we spend time thinking about Baby Hansen on a daily basis. It's hard not to think about her when I'm sitting in a work meeting and I get a sudden shot to the ribs... sending shock through my entire body. I have to exert every ounce of self control I have to not "yelp" out loud. My mom and I spent time on Saturday painting letters to hang on the wall of the nursery. It was a lot of work... but will add more prettiness to the room. We just have a few more things to do before we can call the nursery "complete". When (if) that point comes, I'll be sure to post some pictures.

I officially got my FMLA paperwork filled out... meaning that I'll be taking 12 weeks off from work after Baby Hansen is born. I'll be attempting to work right up until that point. I think it'll be good for me to help time pass quicker. Before I went on my mission, I had a week and half where I didn't work at all and just waited for time to pass so I could go to the MTC. Calling it quits early from work made the time pass painfully slow. I certainly don't want to repeat that experience, if I don't need to.

We're looking forward to seeing what week 36 brings to us!

Week 34 Image

Week 34, as expected, was a good one. I'm surprised at how quickly it slipped away. I'll get to the excitement of the week momentarily... but first the dreaded weekly photo:

This week I decided to do a comparison photo. One picture is from week 34 and the other one is from a short 19 weeks ago... week 15. Without any hints, I'm guessing you can't figure out which is which.


On a very positive note... I had a doctor's appointment last week in which I discovered I only gained one pound in the last two weeks! That felt like a pretty big personal accomplishment to me :) I am looking forward to baby Hansen coming in part so I can adequately exercise and start taking some weight off. I did try some limited exercise on Thanksgiving day... in the form of a football game. I played as the designated quarterback... but that turned into scrambling away from the blitz, running a couple of routes as a receiver, playing defense. My body just isn't built for running right now. As soon as the game ended, I knew I would be hurting... and I'm still sore... four days later. Live and learn, right? I'll think I'll refrain from playing football until after the baby is born.

We had a great Thanksgiving and started a shopping shortly thereafter with a trip to Michael's Thursday evening. From then... it didn't stop. My mom, sister, cousin Rebekah, and I went to Park City at midnight to do some shopping... and then Elizabeth and I continue all night long until 9am. She was super tired around 7am so we went and woke up my mom and Rebekah to continue. Elizabeth bowed out after breakfast around 9am and the rest of us continued... until about noon, when I basically crashed. I guess I don't function incredibly well without any sleep. It didn't help that I woke up at 4:30 am on Thursday... and couldn't go back to sleep. In all, it was a 31 hour marathon for me... with no sleep. I napped for two hours and spent the rest of the weekend trying to recover physically. I think I have a better understanding of swollen feet now!

Despite the fatigue, we enjoyed some super deals, worked on the nursery, and watched a little football over the break. Those components are all it takes for a great week!

Now that I'm a little more uncomfortable physically, I'm becoming more mentally prepared for Baby Hansen to come. It still scares me to think of how she has to make her entrance into the world... and what that means to me... but I'm guessing that over the next several weeks as my discomfort increases, the actual birth will seem less and less scary. At least that's what I'm hoping for!

Week 33 Image

Huge. There are times where I feel this way... but mostly, I think I look this way. I avoid full length mirrors... as much as possible but the size really seems stunning when Trent takes my picture every Sunday. I'm beginning to believe that my camera is faulty and is somehow distorting the pictures :)

Week 33 was a good one. Baby Hansen's bedding set arrived in the mail so we can start decorating her room a little. There are still plenty of "essential" things we need before her arrival (like a mattress for her crib) but I figure we've got time... and there was a 20% off babies r us coupon in Sunday's paper! There's nothing quite like spending a little money in order to save a little money!

We put up one of our Christmas trees last week (embarrassing, I know) but I was just so excited to do it! We put it up in our loft so our neighbors can't see it and feel embarrassed for us that we just skipped right over Thanksgiving. We're putting another tree downstairs in our front room. We'll wait until after Thanksgiving to do that one. I just figured I might not feel like putting up the trees and decorating by the time the "appropriate time" for doing it arrived. I mean, on some days, walking up and down the stairs feels like a terribly taxing task.

We certainly won't be forgetting about Thanksgiving. I love this holiday! I love the day after just as much :) Baby Hansen will get her first "Black Friday" shopping experience... with my sister, mom, and I. My coworkers have tried to convince me that being visibly pregnant will play to my advantage this year. I'm pretty sure it will just make it harder for me to maneuver quickly through the aisles. There's no one who will be giving me any special treatment on that day... people are crazy! I need my mom and sister there with me because I tend to be a spontaneous buyer. When I see everyone grabbing a particular item, I grab it too... not because I needed it... not because I wanted it... but because everyone else was getting it so it must be good! My mom helps provide me with a "sanity check" and lets me know that I really shouldn't buy some things... even if everyone else in the store is buying it.

Week 34... Thanksgiving, Black Friday, BYU-Utah football game. There's a lot to look forward to!

Week 32 Image

32... one of my favorite numbers while growing up. I think it had something to do with the Utah Jazz and some future Hall of Fame basketball player (likely to be inducted next year) who played for them. Currently, it's one of my favorite numbers because it represents progress... and it means we're one week closer.

For some reason, Trent's 32 week image hasn't had much change. He's just not growing like I am! No baby bump there...

I couldn't find my camera on Sunday... so we had to use the phone for the picture. I had Trent pose initially so I could make sure it would work. He took his job pretty seriously :)

Baby Hansen is poking out more and more every day. Even black clothes (the 'slimming color') weren't enough to disguise the red belly poking out. At least it's nice to have people know that I am pregnant... rather than wondering whether I'm just gaining a bunch of weight!

Trent's sister and mom (Deanna and Tawny) put together a baby shower for me in Lehi last week. The decorations were so cute, the food was delicious, and the company was awesome. It was very nice of them to plan/host the event and I'm really grateful. It was fun getting together with the wonderful people who came. I wish I had some pictures to post (did I mention I can't find my camera??) but I will say that Baby Hansen will be very well dressed! Besides clothes, she received a plethora of gifts including toys (very important), handmade quilts, diapers, books, and much much more! Thanks to Deanna and Tawny... and everyone who came! (Especially those who had to battle the terrible traffic to get there).

All in all, another good week... gone.

Week 31 Image

Another week crawls/flies by! The week was highlighted by the following:

• A baby shower with my wonderful coworkers at AdvancedMD
  
• A BYU football victory... finally, they shut someone out!
• Baby Hansen providing further confirmation of her sleep schedule - consistently waking up at 4am every morning
  (It use to be at 5am every morning... but daylight savings really screwed that up. She hasn't adjusted to the change, and as a result, neither have I)
  
• Daily walks on the Jordan River Trail
• 6 hours of a prenatal seminar that just about scared me to death
• and of course... last but not least... growing larger!
  

Just a few notes on the prenatal seminar. I must say, it was very informational. There were things that I didn't know which I was grateful to learn. There were also things which I didn't know that honestly, I may have been better off not knowing. Isn't the saying, "Ignorance is bliss?" What I would give to have remained in a state of bliss.

The one part of the prenatal seminar that was most shocking/eye opening was watching the movie, "The Miracle of Birth". Truly, after seeing that, I am more convinced that human birth is a miracle. The bigger miracle will be if I survive giving birth. In the movie, we watched four different births... including one with an epidural, one c-section, one natural (without medicine), and one where the doctor had to use forceps. The first one might have been the worst for me to watch. I won't get into the gory details but I will say that I started laughing uncontrollably, out loud, while I was watching it. I had a huge feeling of nervousness and uneasiness overcome me during the video... and it just made me laugh. Seriously? The baby will magically come out of me... how?

It's a good thing that I never saw that video prior to getting pregnant. That would have been a very strong deterrent to me ever wanting/having kids. One of the ladies on the video (the one who had the natural birth) seemed to be able to give birth so easily. The doctor barely got to the room in time to catch the baby before it plummeted to the ground. My immediate urge was to find that lady and hire her to be a surrogate for me in the future. As for now... I believe we are past the point of no return.

Shifting gears... I remember being a missionary in the MTC, several years ago. Even though the MTC experience was just shy of three full months, I really enjoyed it. There were times, however, where the days would seem to drag on forever. It seemed as if the days lasted forever but the weeks flew by. In a very real sense, that's how the latter part of this pregnancy has been. Some days seem like an eternity... but before I know it, it's Sunday again... a new week begins... and we're one week closer to meeting baby Hansen. Despite my hesitations/fears about actually giving birth, we're excited to meet the small active baby growing inside of me. When the doctors first told me that the baby was measuring a little small... with her head size in the 20th percentile, I was a little worried... now, after seeing that video, I'm grateful.

Week 30 Image - 75% of the way there!

I would say this is a monumental week for me. Just think, 75% on a test in school... while not desirable... is still a solid "C". Trent, Baby Hansen, and I all had a great week. For me, this was aided by the fact that BYU had a bye week. Sometimes, I feel better if they just don't even play.

We had a doctor's appointment on Friday and learned we'll now be having regular checkups every 2 weeks, instead of every four weeks. We'll have three of these bi-weekly appointments and then, an appointment every week until Baby Hansen joins us. We sure are getting excited for her to come!


While it may look like I'm trying to push my stomach out even more to make myself look even larger, I assure you I'm not. Good thing maternity clothes have a lot of elasticity... because these things are going to need to stretch! The heartburn has gotten pretty bad... bad enough to elicit a change in diet (no more orange juice)... but other than that I'm feeling pretty good.

One of my favorite moments of this last week was on Tuesday, when I was lying on my bed reading out loud. While reading, I felt something brush up against my stomach... just above my hip. It felt like a mouse or some sort of creature. I jumped up out of my bed, to find where the creature could have scurried off to. Of course, I found nothing and a moment later, I realized the baby had just given me a weird punch or kick or something. I had to laugh after the fact because of how scared I was but I kindly asked her (baby) not to do that to me again. Hopefully she obliges.

We finally got registered (mostly). It was something I had kind of been dreading. I think the reason for that is mostly because it would cause me to realize all the different things that I will have to think and worry about... like thermometers, first aid kits, burping clothes... I don't know... diapers! After registering, I'm realizing that being a mom seems like it is a lot of work. My mom was nice enough to join me at Babies R Us. It was good she was there because I had no idea where to even start. I also registered at Target. I was a little too burnt out to go to the store... so I just did it all online :) The internet = a person's best friend.

AMD Halloween - 2009

The biggest holiday at work has now come and gone. Although every year I swear it'll be the last that I end up dressing up for Halloween, I played along again this year. Amy (coworker) championed the "Golden Girls" theme and it seemed to turn out okay. I was just thankful that this year I got to wear a wig... meaning I didn't have to worry about getting color out of my hair.

For those who don't remember last year:

And this year... I was "Sophia"

We had a great "cast"
(From left to right) - Skip = Dorothy, Dave = Rose, Amy = Blanche, Me

Although I never really watched the show prior to Friday morning, by the end of the day, I loved it! I spent much of the day saying things like... "Picture it... Sicily... 1912"... and when I was asked if we had chores in Italy, i wisely replied "It was a chore just to cross the street without getting pregnant!" I then looked down at my ever growing belly and it just seemed comical. Sophia's character fit me pretty well. I enjoyed telling people to "shut up" and just being a little on the ornery side. One of my favorite parts was when Rose (Dave) thought she was my daughter (when it reality it's Dorothy) and "she" called me "Ma". I gave her a little slap in the face and let her know she was not my daughter. Good times.

While I' won't officially count myself out for next year, I certainly won't commit.

Week 29 Image

Case in point: Maternity clothing is designed to accentuate pregnancy and make a person look even larger than they may feel/really be. You don't believe me? Take a look:

If there were any other way around the maternity clothing, I'd take it. However, this will have to work... at least for the next 11 weeks. I don't have any symptoms or signs to add to the list I put out last week. I've actually felt really good this last week. Sleeping well at night is a "hit and miss" thing but I'm planning on enjoying the good nights as much as possible. My instincts tell me that a good nights sleep will be harder to come by once our baby girl joins us.

Overall, we're doing well... and we are certainly grateful for that!

Week 28 Image - the third trimester begins...

Common side effects that occur during the third trimester, according to the internet:

• fatigue
• difficulty sleeping
• heartburn
• swelling
• leg cramps
• constipation
• backaches
• shortness of breath
• spider veins
• varicose veins
  
• hemorrhoids
• frequent urination
• weight gain
• Braxton Hicks contractions
• Intense dreams
• hip pain
• itchy abdomen
• increased skin temperature
• hair growth on the arms, legs, and face... (seriously the face???)
• depression
• emotional mood swings
• stretch marks

Is that all? Really? How about the fact that at the end of the third trimester... the baby growing inside somehow has to magically come out of you? How about the fact that once she's out, even if you have no idea how to take care of her, there's absolutely no way to put her back inside... back in that safe haven when she could basically take care of herself?

I may have a fairly common "side effect" of first time mothers already... where I'm "thrilled to be a mother but am worried I won’t be a good one." (That was copied verbatim from the internet).

Here's another "side effect"... which wasn't quite spelled out like this. It is what it is though, so we'll just title it accordingly: FEELING HUGE.


Yesterday Trent and I went on a bike ride. I probably hadn't been on my bike in at least two months. To my surprise, I discovered that every time I peddaled, when my legs/thighs came up, they would brush against my belly. Are you kidding me? I become "short of breath" and experience "fatigue" quickly enough... I don't need any extra resistance or friction on my bike ride!

Just a quick shout out to the third trimester!

Boston Red Sox Baby

When we thought we were having a boy and then found out she is really a girl... one of the hardest things for me to accept was the fact that I probably shouldn't dress her in all the sports apparel I bought for our supposed boy. I already had Jazz clothes... Red Sox clothes... and BYU clothes... proudly hung in the babies closet. It was at that moment of "despair" that I discovered the color pink. Isn't it great that there is a "pink sports line" for just about every team??
It looks like we'll have a Boston Red Sox baby after all!

Week 27 Image - No Surprises

I can't possibly describe how good it feels to be writing this blog... and announcing that there weren't any world shattering surprises in the Hansen household this last week. That's the way we like it... no surprises. We're getting more excited with each day that passes to be having a little girl joining our family. In fact, Saturday was a landmark day... exactly three calendar months until my due date! I'm feeling more and more "pregnant" with each day that passes. I'm starting to understand what "heartburn" really is. I've read about some wives tales which proclaim that the more heartburn you have, the more hair your baby will be born with. I can only hope that's the truth! If it is, we'll have one of the hairiest babies ever! I'm pretty sure I was born with lots of hair... on my head, ears, and back... so it runs in the family... lucky girl!


I'm doing a little "palming" of the stomach in this picture. Afterall, I'm wearing an orange colored shirt... and I feel like I have a mini basketball in my stomach. I've never had big enough hands to palm a normal basketball but I can handle the mini ones! Speaking of sports, Baby Hansen has been moving more and more lately. Sometimes I get a few kicks or punches that feel like they might actually come right through me! She's a tough little girl... probably preparing for a future as, I don't know... a soccer player? To assist her in this, I bought her some little soccer cleats. She'll probably be 3 or 4 by the time she can wear them but they were so little, cute and inexpensive, I just couldn't resist.


Saturday my Mom, niece Morgan and I went to the Baby Expo in Sandy. It was a lot of fun! Seeing everything out there available for babies is a little overwhelming. I mean... some people must be making some serious money off baby products! My mom and I liked looking at all the fun products. Morgan liked the bounce house and the popcorn. Lots of the baby stuff was pretty pricey so I'd whisper to my mom "don't you think you could just make that for me... and save some money?" She's super talented so I wouldn't be surprised if she could duplicate a lot of the ideas.


I picked up a few pair of shoes. When I showed Trent, he made some comment about how I'm trying to make her just like me... with more shoes than a person could possibly wear. I just think you've got to train them from the start! Shoes are a girl's best friend!

Week 26 Image - What a surprise!

As far as "surprises" go... this was our most eventful week yet. I think I'll begin with the traditional weekly photo:



Yes... the sign I'm holding is correct... at least that's what we're told. What a ride! Friday morning I had a doctor's appointment where we were doing a follow-up ultrasound to check the babies heart. Last time, the baby was moving so much that we just couldn't get a good picture. The first thing I noticed during the ultrasound is that Baby Hansen's hands were up next to the face. I remembered the doctor telling me at the previous appointment that most often, girls will keep their hands up by their face while boys have their hands down near... well, let's just say their "waist area". I was surprised to see the babies hands up by the face... especially after the hands clearly weren't there during the last ultrasound.

Baby Hansen was a little more cooperative this time around... not quite as much movement. As the doctor performed the ultrasound and moved down the body in order to confirm the gender, he made a comment... "see how she....". His words trailed off in my mind. I missed the rest of his sentence. Did he just say "she"... I wondered. I think he caught himself. The doctor then said "last time, we were pretty sure this was a little boy, right?" I nodded. The look on his face said it all. He showed me the genital area, pointed out the different parts and let me know we are having a little girl. I missed most of what he said... just trying to somehow digest this shocking news. He apologized for leading me astray the previous appointment. With all the movement last time, who knows what we were looking at that we thought was the babies private area. All three of us (Trent, the doctor, and myself) seemed 100% convinced that it was a boy. So... either the baby changed gender overnight... or... well, we were wrong. My instincts tell me it is the latter.


Now the doctor did try to add a little humor to the situation. He told me we could have a "tie-breaker" ultrasound during my next appointment. After reviewing the ultrasound pictures, I don't think that is really necessary... however, I'll still take him up on it. Who knows what to believe, right? It took me a couple days to really comprehend this sudden change in events. It wasn't the message that we're having a girl that really concerned me... it was just the shift in mindset. I was expecting a boy. From the moment we found out (thought we found out) it was a boy, my excitement for that has been growing. My response would have been the same if we were originally told we were having a girl and then found out it was really a boy. Trent's adaptability to the news was much quicker than my own. I can honestly say that we are both thrilled to be having (or at least think we're having) a little girl... and we're not the only ones.

Sharing the news with my niece, Morgan, was a highlight. She'll be four in December. When I asked her several months ago if she wanted a boy cousin or a girl cousin, she insisted she wanted a girl. When we told her we were having a boy, it took her a little while to be happy about it. She finally admitted "I guess that's okay". She was pretty confused at first when I explained to her that she's going to have a girl cousin.... she said "no, I'm having a boy cousin." Try explaining that one to a 4-year-old! When she understood we really are having a girl, she was very excited. Hopefully there are no more surprise changes in the babies gender... or Morgan might need a therapist to help her sort it out!

Everything makes sense now. I blogged a couple months ago about how my softball season was not going as good as I hoped it would and how Baby Hansen must be a girl... cause we're bad at softball. Once I found out we were having a boy, all my excuses left with that bit of knowledge. Now, however, it all makes sense. The baby and I really were bad at softball... and my initial impressions while we were playing that I had a girl growing in me were correct. It always feels good to be right!

Trent and I are moving on to the fun stage now... trying to come up with names that we both like and think our baby should go by. We're very excited to be having a baby girl for my brother's three daughters to play with. I've sure got a lot to learn... besides the normal baby things (like how to do a girl's hair)... but I'm certainly up for the challenge. We're hopeful we'll have another great week... with less surprises :)

Week 25 Image

This last week was a quick one, especially with AMD's Annual User's Conference. The baby and I spent Wednesday through Friday at the Zurmatt Resort in Midway. We had lots of good food to eat and certainly didn't hold back. Friday, we had cheesecake for dessert during lunch. I couldn't decide which kind to get so I grabbed two slices. In preparation for the crazy looks I thought I might receive, I pointed to my stock of dessert and exclaimed "it's for the baby!" It seems like a logical reason to overeat and over-indulge. In fact, people seemed extremely understanding of my need for two slices of scrumptious cheesecake. I guess they don't take into consideration that at 25 weeks, Baby Hansen is now about the size of an eggplant.With User's Conference most of the week and football on Saturday, not much else got done. We still haven't done any additional shopping or planning for Baby Hansen. I'm thinking about registering a couple places since this is our first child. Any suggestions? Registering certainly isn't my favorite thing to do. I put it off as long as possible before we got married. It just seemed like a daunting task. Hopefully this time around won't be quite as rough.



We're excited to tackle another week! Without softball two evenings a week, we'll have to be creative in our attempts to stay pretty active. I must admit though, I'm glad the softball season has ended. I'm sure by the time spring rolls around, I'll be ready to play again!

Week 24 Image

I've been publishing this "weekly image" post later and later each week. I think most of it has to do with the fact that I get the picture taken... look at it... and then enter some type of state of "shock". I suppose I just don't think I look or feel as pregnant as the picture shows that I am. Some people call that denial. I mean, I know I have a "baby bump". In fact, I read somewhere that my uterus is about the size of a soccer ball now. When I read that, I just kept thinking... I want to play soccer! I just don't feel as if I look like the same person that the picture shows me as. That probably sounds very confusing, but it makes sense in my head.

Here I am... larger than life :)
For real, I think the shirt makes me look bigger than I am. Who was it who said black was a "thinning color"?? On a different note, Baby Hansen played his last softball game yesterday. In fact, we had a double header. I wasn't looking forward to playing two games because I thought one would be enough for me. Baby Hansen and I had two good games though. There's one more game tomorrow but I won't be able to make it because of some obligations I have with work. After the game yesterday, I didn't feel like I could walk very well. I did something to my left hip/quad during the game. The entire second game was played with a limp. It probably has something to do with the extra weight and the fact that I just can't cut and move like I use to be able to.

We didn't go out shopping at all this last week so we have no new things for Baby Hansen. As a result, I haven't furthered my belief that stores disproportionately represent baby girls. I do appreciate the feedback and ideas that many of you gave. I certainly can gain much from the experiences you've had. I'm also grateful for the charlie horse advice you gave me several weeks ago. Unfortunately, my friend Charlie continues to visit me periodically. I've tried drinking more water, eating bananas (potassium) etc but they keep on coming. I'll be in a deep sleep, having a wonderful dream... when the pain won't only wake me, it will cause me to jump out of bed shrieking in pain. Trent is a deep sleeper so it usually doesn't have much impact on him. Lucky guy.

Baby Hansen is staying pretty active. It's fun feeling him move inside of me. I read that the baby sleeps about 12 to 14 hours per day. I have to admit, I was pretty jealous when I read that. How would that be? I'll probably never know... at least not for the next couple years!

Week 23 Image

I'm beginning to question why it was I thought it would be a good idea to post weekly progress pictures of my "growing belly". For some reason, pictures have the capability to make people look worse/more awkward than they perceive themselves to be. After looking at this week's picture, I'm feeling pretty large. It just might be time to step into those maternity clothes.

I've received a few comments from folks at work that I'm actually "starting to look pregnant" now. I suppose that was bound to happen. Trent and I went to Target last week, roaming through the various baby isles... when Trent started laughing. I asked him what was so funny and he said there was a couple who was walking by us, just staring at me. He said they looked at me, my belly, my face, my belly... as if they were trying to figure it out. I didn't think it was quite as comical as he did.

It's hard to tell from the picture, but I'm trying to give a "shout out" to 23 in the picture. Not only does it represent an end to my 23rd week of pregnancy, but also Michael Jordan was enshrined in the Hall of Fame this last week. There have been discussions of whether or not the NBA should retire his number, 23 for the entire league. I'm kind of hopeful they will because I never cared for Jordan much... and each time I see someone sporting the number, I automatically think of him.

As the weeks fly (sometimes crawl) by, we're getting more and more excited to have Baby Hansen. I frequently find myself wandering aimlessly in stores just to look at their selection of baby items. The one thing I have noticed thus far is that available baby girl clothes in stores far outweigh baby boy clothes. Perhaps it is a foreshadowing of things to come in their respective lives. As much as I want to believe the disparity between boys and girls options is some minor form of discrimination, I imagine it's a reflection of supply and demand. Has anyone else noticed this? I'm wondering if I'm just looking for it since we're expecting a boy.

Baby Hansen and I are very much looking forward to week 24... and we're hopeful the end ofthe week will bring another BYU victory. Go Cougs!

Week 22 Image

It was an exciting week for Trent, myself, and baby Hansen. Much to our excitement, the long-awaited doctor's appointment finally made its way to us. Trent and I made sure to arrive on time to our appointment Tuesday morning. Surprisingly enough, we had to wait a while before we could see the doctor and got to have the ultrasound.

Here are some things we learned:

-Baby Hansen is very active. There were very few times where the baby stopped moving.
-Baby Hansen isn't terribly cooperative when it comes to having ultrasounds. The positioning made things difficult to see and the baby didn't seem to care in the least.
-All the babies vitals look good... what a relief!
-Baby Hansen measured in the 25th percentile for size.
-Baby Hansen is a boy. At the very least... we are very confident that he is a boy. We did see him grab himself a number of times... but the images weren't as clear as they could have been because of all the movement.

As for me, I seem to have "popped" overnight. I swear my pregnancy was hardly noticeable on Monday and then suddenly on Tuesday, My stomach was sticking out a couple extra inches.


I think the picture makes me look even bigger than I am. (Either that or I am officially in denial). I blame this partially on the skirt I was wearing. It was a maternity skirt that my sister-in-law, Alaris, was so kind to loan me. I have determined, however; that the purpose of maternity clothing is to make a person look more pregnant than they would look if they just wore normal clothes at a bigger size. I confirmed my theory today when I spent the day with my mom shopping. We looked at some maternity clothing and I tried a few different things on. I couldn't believe the difference the clothing made! It really excentuated the right areas so anyone who saw me would have little doubt that I am pregnant. Since I currently refuse to wear "maternity clothes", I'm still having people shoot me strange glances. With the extent of their inquisitive looks, I don't doubt they are wondering, is she pregnant... or just has a 'pudgy' stomach? I suppose I don't care so much whether they realize I AM pregnant or if they conclude that I have a very disporportionate stomach. Each moment I feel our little baby move, I have little doubts that this is for real.

One thing that is beginning to sink in is the following... we're not just going to be 'having a baby'. We're going to be parents! I'm going to be a mom! That's pretty scary for me to think about. I guess I just thought... "oh, we're having a baby! That'll be so much fun!" Now I'm entering the... "oh my gosh, we are going to be parents. We will have real responsibilities. Our lives will be changed forever!" stage. Yes, it is scary.

Baby Gender

(We think... we're almost positive... but there will be more info to come on the ultrasound experience)

Week 21 Image

Over the hump and on the way down! This week was a somewhat uneventful one (the way we like it most of the time) On Tuesday, our long-awaited doctor's appointment will be here. This means that we should know whether we're expecting a baby girl or a baby boy on Tuesday. We're both getting very excited about that. If you haven't yet... there's not much time to cast your vote on our gender poll!

There was a point, this last week, that I was pretty sure I was having a girl. It was nothing scientific... in fact, it was borderline gender discrimination. On Monday I started in a new softball league. I've had several weeks off from softball after the summer season ended. The first softball game was awful. Our team was beat pretty badly. Personally, I played horribly. I batted 0 for 4, had 2 or 3 fielding errors and overall, had a terrible game. I left that game thinking "this has got to be a girl... cause we're terrible at softball". Now I know that sounds bad... and I didn't mean it in an offensive way. It's just that in coed slow pitch softball, the men tend to be way better than the women. I'm all about women playing sports and competing at a high level. It's just that there are some things that men excel at more, just as there are things that women are much better at.

On Wednesday, in our second softball game of the season, baby and I played much better. My cute little niece Morgan is rooting for a girl. When I saw her on Saturday, I asked her if she was going to have a girl cousin or a boy cousin. She was quite insistent that she'd be having a girl cousin. I guess we'll see!


There's no hiding the growing belly anymore. I'm pretty sure people look at me and don't immediately guess I'm pregnant though. I imagine someday I'll move out of the awkward stage of "pudgy" and "pregnant". It is nice being a little smaller though... just because it makes it easier for me to stay active and do the things I want to do. Lastly, I think I've officially been plagued with what I've heard termed "pregnancy brain". It was my turn to teach in relief society today. I was getting excited about my lesson on provident living and felt ready to go. That is, I was ready until I looked at the announcement handout for the day and realized I had prepared the wrong lesson! (i had prepared September's Teaching for our Times lesson instead of August's) That's never happened to me before. Hopefully it won't happen again.

Moving Maddness

We're only a couple days away from the long awaited doctor's appointment. The excitement is certainly growing. On a similar note, I'm growing too :) I had to put in an order for polo shirts to wear at a User's Conference my work hosts each year. The conference is held at the end of September. I really struggled to decide what size to get... not knowing what kind of changes will take place in the next four weeks. How can a person predict something like that??

The one thing I do know is Baby Hansen is moving a lot! I feel the movements several times everyday. The most common time is after I finally drag myself out of bed in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and I get back in bed. Falling asleep again is a challenge because the baby decides it would be a great time to move around and play. The feeling is like something I've never experienced before and can't really describe. I feel somewhat relieved when I feel the movements... because it helps me know the baby is still alive! I'm not going to lie... early on, the best part of going to the doctor's appointments was hearing the heartbeat (for the exact reason of knowing the baby was still alive). I guess it's easy to wonder when you can't see/feel anything that would confirm it. I feel a lot more relief now being able detect movements and other signs of life.

On an extremely positive note, I haven't had any additional painful charlie horse experiences. Certainly I'm grateful for that!

Week 20 Image - Halfway!!

This is a 20/20 situation... meaning 20 weeks down and 20 to go! My hope is that this experience will be much like serving a mission. The first half seems to go pretty slowly... then you hit the halfway point... and the next thing you know, you're going home. The second half of my mission flew by. Any words of advice on whether or not this will be the same? My instincts tell me a resounding "no"... but I'm still hopeful :)

I didn't have too many issues with headaches but I did meet a new "nemisis". We'll call him "Charlie". One morning last week I woke up to pursue my regular routine. I grabbed the tv remote, turned on Sportcenter, and slowly started to awaken myself and stretch out. I pointed my left foot in an attempt to continue stretching (taking me back to my ballet days). Except this time, the when I tried to release and subsequently flex my foot, it became apparent quite quickly that it was stuck. Pain shot up my leg and my foot wouldn't move. I've never felt a charlie horse quite like it. I let a shrill of pain out as I tried to manually force my foot back into its normal position with both hands. After several agonizing moments, my calf muscle stopped contracting and everything was back to normal. That's not to say I didn't experience the ill-effects later. For three days after the experience, my muscle was super sore and super tight. I'm still feeling some adverse effects from it now... many days later. Did any one else meet "Charlie" while they were pregnant? I don't intend to blame every ache and pain on pregnancy, but it is an easy explanation!

Besides Charlie, the week flew by and I'm still feeling great. We're down to single digits before we get to learn the gender of the baby. That means there's not much more time to place your guess in our poll! Don't delay! Act now! (Does this sound like an infomercial? If so, I think that's great... because I really like infomercials. I try to avoid them though as I am easily sucked in and find myself uncontrollably reaching for my phone and dialing the number to order whatever product is being promoted. Just ask me about my "ronco knives"). Seriously though, if you haven't voted, there's not much time left to do it.

Baby Hansen's first time wake boarding! (18.5 weeks pregnant)

As promised... I'm delivering a quick post about Baby Hansen's first wake boarding experience. To be honest, I'm pretty sure Baby Hansen loved it!! Now, I should point out that wake boarding was the one thing that my doctor advised that I really shouldn't do. He said the risk of falling/high impact crashes was a little too high. I should have known that I wouldn't be able to resist the temptation after spending a week up at Bear Lake. We went with my sister and Jeff to Delta several weeks ago and I did well to stay inside the boat and refrained from wake boarding. This time, the desire was just too much.

When we arrived at Bear Lake early Thursday morning, I asked Trent if he thought it would be okay to wake board. He said no. I agreed. Even though I agreed with him, it still wasn't easy to shake the desire to go. The freezing cold water should have been enough to deter me... but my brother's friend Cal had wetsuits we could borrow. After watching my brother wake board for the first time, I was really itching to go. I asked Cal for a wetsuit and put it on (those things aren't easy to put on... especially with a growing belly!) Although my mom was very opposed to me (and baby hansen) going wake boarding, I did my best to convince her that everything would be fine.

I said I would only go once, stay in the wake, take a short ride, and let go of the rope when I was done or if I felt it was too bumpy. Here's a little photojournalism to document the adventure:

Getting ready to take the plunge:

The water is freezing. Even with a wetsuit, it's very very cold.
I'm trying to catch my breath after the initial shock:
It took some true concentration to make sure the baby had an enjoyable, safe ride
It's hard to tell from this picture, but I was trying to get Morgan's attention and wave to her. Unfortunately, she was far too tired (taking a nap on my mom's lap) to acknowledge me

Bottom line... the baby loved wake boarding. One time wasn't enough... so we had to go again a little later. I did, however, resist the urge to go just "one more time" after the second time... because the water was really choppy and it seemed a little dangerous.

Week 19 Image

Wow... nearly half way. I'm discovering that the angle of the weekly picture makes all the difference. I don't feel like I've grown that much in the past week... although my clothes do continue to feel tighter. I'm going to have to invest in some new skirts or something for church. Today, I had to wear my skirt all the way up past my belly button just so it would fit. The length usually extends halfway down my calf muscle but today, it went just below the knees. Besides the slight discomfort of clothing and the occasional headache, I'm feeling great. Are headaches normal?


According to a website I found, baby Hansen is about the size of a mango. The average size for a baby at19 weeks pregnant is 8.5 ounces and 6 inches in length. Speaking of which, I could go for a 6 inch tuna sandwich from Subway right now!

Trent and I are getting excited to learn whether we'll be having a baby girl or a baby boy. Either way, we're absolutely thrilled. We have another 2+ weeks until we get to find out... so that gives you a little more time to place your guess in our gender poll, if you haven't done it yet! It looks like "boy" is currently ahead. I do think some people's guesses might be skewed by the fact that my brother has 3 daughters... and so it just seems logical that we'd have a boy.

We spend the week up at Bear Lake with the Sharp family. We had a terrific time. The baby even had its first wakeboarding experience! More details on the wakeboarding to come in a post later this week. Stay tuned!

Week 18 Image

They say black is a slimming color... but I beg to differ. I had a doctor's appointment on Wednesday. It was an interesting experience, to say the least. It sure did start off with a bang. When I stood on the scale... I had to get a second glance at the number that was registering. (*Note - I've never seen a scale register a number that large in my entire 26 years of existence). My eyes widened as I turned to the nurse and insisted their scale was malfunctioning. She smiled and told me that next time I ought to consider wearing my "light shoes". I looked down at my well used, burgundy Keens with the paper thin sole practically worn off and mumbled that "these are the lightest shoes I own." She suggested flip flops... but I'm thinking next time, I'll weigh in naked, just so I can shed all that clothing weight.


I've always known that pregnancy and weight gain go hand in hand. I guess I just didn't expect to wake up one morning and feel like I've grown significantly overnight. I thought it was supposed to be gradual... so much so that it would be hard to notice the slight changes over the days and weeks. I mean, if you compared week 35 to week 12, the change should be fairly blatant... but the changes week to week would be slight, or so I thought. If anything, I don't feel slight today.


I will say, on a positive note, that I'm still feeling really good. Perhaps if I start looking more pregnant, people at the BYU creamery won't shoot me such awful glares when I order the banana split... the most humongous thing they have on their menu. Surely it is enough ice cream/deliciousness to feed a small, starving nation (or at least 3 or 4 people). I mean, if I look pregnant, then instead of people thinking (and saying through their looks) that I'm a disgusting pig of a person, they'll be more considerate of my ice cream indulgence. After all, she is eating for two people. Who cares if the other person is only a half an ounce right now and she's eating 8 pounds of ice cream/toppings. The baby needs to grow, right?

That's it for week 18! If you haven't expressed your opinion through the gender poll on the right, be sure to do so. I originally had a different poll up... but discovered when it took you to the "results page", some borderline porn pictures would appear. As a result, I discontinued that poll. Moral of the story, if you haven't voted, please do :D

Until the next post!

Wind Storm

A couple days back, the wind was blowing like crazy. We had planned using our paint sprayer that evening, painting crown molding and a couple of doors. Our original intentions were to take the items outside and then spray them, so we wouldn't have to worry about the mess. With crazy high winds though, painting was out of the question.

Leave it to us to find something "safer" and more "conducive" in the tornado-like conditions. We decided it would be a perfect time for Trent to the roof of our two-story house and install a dish up there. The pictures don't do the conditions any justice... but I figured they should be posted regardless.
I should mention that this ladder was insanely heavy. Shortly after installing the dish and returning inside the safety of our home... we heard a huge crashing sound. The wind blew so hard that the heavy ladder fell... and collided with the ground. Luckily Trent wasn't still on the roof... cause I'm not sure I could have propped the ladder back up against the house.

Who needs to hold onto the ladder while ascending? Not a professional dish installer...
one hand carrying the dish, one carrying the tools.

A close look up top. It looks like he knows what he's doing.

From afar...

Although it's hard to tell... he's still up there.

Week 17 Image

Although the changes are taking place slowly (not necessarily a bad thing!)... they are certainly taking place. Because of the heat and the leather seats in my car, I've decided against jeans as of late. It's just too uncomfortable and sticky. I'm still feeling great and staying as active as possible. I did play soccer last week (limited time) but I'm still going back and forth on whether or not I should be playing. Mostly it's just nice to have something to do & look forward to, especially since softball season is over.

Trent & I started to do some work on our nursery. I'll post some pictures of our progress later on. If Trent has learned anything from our experience thus far, it's that he doesn't particularly enjoy working with me on stuff like that because I'm an uber-perfectionist. He'll say something isn't a huge deal and I'll tell him it is... and that our "baby" will want it to be perfect. We'll see how long it takes me to burn out that line of reasoning.

Another week, here I come!

Week 16 Image

For whatever crazy reason... I feel like it is a huge accomplishment each week when I get to post a new picture. It's as if having another week pass by is some sort of huge deal! This is likely because I'm very excited to find out the gender of our baby. The more weeks that pass by, the sooner we'll get to find out.

News has spread pretty quickly at work. Many people in our ward also know now. It's such a relief not to worry about who knows and how they found out. At church today I got a few "you're not showing at all" comments. I don't really mind that. I have a couple friends who are likely "days" away from delivering their first kids. When I look at their pictures I think, "gosh their huge". I can't even imagine how much discomfort they must be experiencing now in our 100 degrees plus weather. I'm grateful that it will be cold out when I get to that point of pregnancy. Although I'm not showing a ton, My size has definitely changed. My clothes are fitting tighter... jeans are incredibly uncomfortable... and when I do wear them, I sometimes feel like I should unbutton them (at least while driving). I don't like the constricting feeling I get while sitting in my car with a pair of jeans on.

I'm looking forward to the adventures of the 17th week of pregnancy. Physically, I feel great. My last softball game of the summer season was on Tuesday (we actually won the game!). I'm still debating whether or not it is a good idea to play "fall ball" which is in August & September. I've been playing on a co-ed soccer team as well. I sought out the approval of my doctor before playing. He said it would be fine. I'm having some degree of second thoughts though (mostly because soccer can be a high impact sport... lots of physical contact... the chance of getting tripped... taking a soccer ball to the stomach... etc). I've been kind of going back and forth on the idea (while continuing to play). If anyone has any thoughts/advice on this it would be appreciated. I want to continue to be active but I don't want to take any "unreasonable" risks.

New Blog

A couple months back, I created a new blog to document our latest adventures. I haven't really shared this new blog with anyone, until now. If you'd like, feel free to check out our new blog:

http://hansenbabyblog.blogspot.com/

Another First: A major baby purchase

Today Trent & I went to our closest Babies R Us and bought the sleeping unit which our child will enjoy for it's first year or so of life. We got a super deal... so decided to get the entire set.The color of the furniture looks quite a bit different in person. I liked it a lot more when I saw it in the store. We're thinking that by saving a little money because of a sale, we can get more things things that our baby will really need: