Hospital Bag Checklist

I did a LOT of research about what to pack in my hospital bag. I watched YouTube videos, checked out Pinterest, asked friends, etc. I am the type of person that likes to be prepared and I didn't want to leave anything at home that I may have wanted during my hospital stay. I heard so many women say they overpacked so I wanted to be sure that I only took what I thought I would need. HA! Well, here you will read about all of the things that I took and all of the things that I actually used. Every woman is different and may not agree with me, but these are my opinions about what to take and what to leave.

I used a free hospital bag checklist printable from the blog Wit & Wander. It is a cute template that separates your packing list into different areas. I printed it out, then used whiteout to change things I knew I wasn't going to take as well as wrote in items that I wanted to bring.

Here is what my final packing list looked like:

I started packing weeks in advance. I added items to my bag as I gathered them, but there were many items I couldn't add until the morning I went to the hospital.

Here are my suggestions of what to bring from each section and why:

Clothes for mom:

• Nursing bra or tank top - Once you start breastfeeding (if you choose to do so) at the hospital, your nipples are going to be pretty sore and it won't feel good to have them rubbing against the hospital gown or other clothing. I used these Ameda breast shells, which were provided by the hospital, so that no fabric was even touching my nipples because they hurt so bad. Nursing bras/tanks help to keep these in place. Also, you won't really need nursing pads because your milk won't be in yet. I still took two pair, but didn't use them.
• Maternity clothes to come home - I actually had to wear Rex's basketball shorts home instead of my leggings because I was sent home with a catheter (see birth story for why). But yes, you will need some comfy pants and a loose shirt. I suggest sweats, leggings, exercise pants...not jeans. 

Toiletries for mom

• Mirror - It's not going to be super easy to hop up and use the bathroom mirror, so it's nice to have a portable one. 
• Comb/brush + hair elastics/bobby pins - Bring whatever you need to put your hair back, up, or comb it down. I preferred my hair down with my bangs back because I was often laying down.
• Toothbrush/toothpaste - Obviously.
• Deodorant - Obviously.
• Glasses/contact lenses - Obviously lol.

For dad

• Change of clothes - He'll be staying overnight with you, maybe even two nights, so he'll want extra clothes.
• Toiletries - Whatever he needs, such as toothbrush, face wash, gel, whatever.
• Snacks - This depends on the hospital. We did bring snacks, but our hospital had refrigerators full of food for the dads. It was awesome.

Other

• Hairspray - This isn't a necessity, but I like to make sure my hair is in place when I have it up. I'm not even sure if I actually used mine.
• (I used dry shampoo in my hair before I went to the hospital because I wasn't sure when I would be able to shower. I didn't end up using it at the hospital).
• Make-up remover wipes - I bought some of these from Costco and they are amazing! It was super convenient to stay in bed and "wash" my face.
• Facewash/moisturizer - Even though I had the wipes, I did take a shower and it was nice to wash my face.
• Lanolin cream - I didn't actually use this because I got a prescription for Newman's Ointment, which is similar. But as I said before, your nipples will be sore and it's nice to put cream on them.

For baby

• Car Seat - Would you like to take your baby home? :)
• Going Home Outfit - Yeah...make sure you bring a couple because the one that I brought didn't even fit Kingston. I was glad I had some pajamas for him to wear home. Also, I really didn't care to make him look all cutesy  (even though I really cared before I went to the hospital) - I just wanted an outfit that was easy to put on and would keep him warm. 
• Blanket - We used a little blanket to put over him in the car seat when we left the hospital

In the diaper bag

• Extra Outfits - I took 3 outfits to the hospital (2 pjs and one outfit). I really only needed one to take him home in. The hospital puts the baby in a shirt during your stay and that is the easiest way to go.

Important

• Driver's License - Can't remember if I needed ID? 
• Copy of Insurance Card - I can't remember if I needed this. I checked in to the hospital the week before I delivered, so they may have already had this information.
• Boppy - I didn't actually use my boppy in the hospital since there are so many pillows, but now that I use it every single time I nurse, I wish I would have used it at the hospital. 
• Flip Flops - I wore these to the hospital and home. I think I wore socks when I walked around my room.

Extras

• Camera - We had a couple of different cameras. We set one up to record the birth. We mostly used our phones to take pictures after the baby was born.
• Phones/Chargers - Obviously.

Here are my suggestions of what to leave home from each section and why:

(Again, these are my opinions from my experience. Everyone is different)

Clothes for mom

• Pajamas - I stayed in my hospital gown the whole time I was in the hospital. You are constantly being checked down there and it would be such a pain to have pants on. Plus, why not stick with wearing something that you don't have to wash? 
• Warm Socks - The hospital usually has socks with grip bottoms that you can have. 
• Sweater - I didn't use one at all. You can control the temperature of your room and you can have as many blankets as you want.

Toiletries for mom

• Makeup - HA! Honestly, I would never have put on makeup while I was at the hospital. I thought I may want to do my hair and makeup so I brought all of the supplies. I was glad I wore a little bit of makeup during delivery, but I was not interested in applying any more throughout my stay.
• Shower essentials - I read somewhere that the only shower item provided at the hospital was baby shampoo. That was true for my stay and that was totally fine. I brought shampoo, conditioner, and body wash and I didn't use any of it. I was fine to just use the shampoo provided there for my one shower. 

For dad

• Button down shirt - This is listed so dad can do skin to skin with baby. Yeah, no, we didn't do that.
• Blanket - the hospital has endless amounts of blankets (you can always contact your hospital to find out what items they will have).

Other

• Extra bag for dirty clothes - I didn't wear my own clothes during my hospital stay, so I didn't need the extra bag.

For baby

• Stocked diaper bag - Honestly, I would leave the whole diaper bag home and just put some outfits for the baby in your own bag. You do not need diapers or wipes as the hospital provides them. 

In the diaper bag

• As stated above, I would leave the whole diaper bag home. That means I didn't use any of the items in this section of the checklist. Really, the hospital has everything you need to take care of a baby.

Important

• You do not have to have copies of all of the documents listed. Find out what your hospital requires you to bring as far as paperwork and stick with that.
• Towel for seat in car - This would be important if you water broke before you went to the hospital, but I was induced so I had no need for it.
• Robe - This is one item that nearly everyone says to bring to the hospital. I actually didn't bring one and I'm glad because I would have had no reason to wear it. I wore the hospital gown the whole time and it was perfect.

Extras

• You can see on the picture of my list above that I crossed many of these items off because I didn't plan on using them. I didn't take any of the crossed off items.
• Underwear - Lots of women on blogs and YouTube complain about the mesh underwear. Um...they were heaven. I don't know how on earth you would use anything different unless you bought ultra-stretchy huge underwear. Anyway, I had two different kinds at the hospital (maybe they ran out of one?) and one kind was far better than the other. They were kind of like boy brief underwear. Anyway, I used these for weeks after I got home (especially since when I tried on my normal underwear they didn't fit because of my new mom butt).

_________

The hospital will have the things you need to take care of yourself as far as recovery items go (pads, ice packs, numbing spray, etc.). I get that some women want to put something cute on and do their hair and makeup after having the baby. But that was totally not me (even though I thought it might be). I was happy to be in the hospital gown (you can get a clean one whenever you want) and sit on my warm, comfy bed. I might be able to function more with my second baby since it won't all be new, but I really think this blog post of mine will come in handy to help me remember what I really need to bring and what I can leave home.

What has been your experience with packing your hospital bag and what you actually used?

xx

Baby Dastrup Birth Story

Wow, hello world! Long time no see. Where do I even start!?! Here I am writing the birth story of my baby who is basically a toddler now. Okay, so he is almost 2 months old, but guys - he is big! I have really wanted to write about his birth because I haven't done it yet and I don't want to forget details. If you don't want to read about labor and delivery, you may want to move on to another blog ;)

Despite my hopes and desires to go into labor early and on my own, baby's due date, September 10th, came and went. Honestly, I thought the last month of pregnancy flew by the fastest. Sure, I was feeling a little miserable at times (aka getting up to pee every hour during the night), but overall, I thought I was doing pretty well. At my 38 week doctor appointment, I was told I was 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced. Ahh! I was shocked and so excited. I knew it didn't mean I was going into labor right then, but I was grateful my body was working correctly and knew what to do to get the baby out. Each week I went to the doctor, I was surprised that I was still pregnant. I guess I had a feeling I would deliver early (and all 4 of the women at work who were pregnant had their babies early). Rex and I enjoyed our time together those last few weeks. We went to the BYU women's volleyball game two days after my due date.

It was always fun when somebody asked me when I was due and I could say "Last Thursday." I went on at least one walk every day the last couple of weeks. It didn't seem to help me go into labor, but at least it got me out of the house. Anyway...onto the main purpose of this post!

 - September 17, 2015 -

5:00 am - Rise and Shine! Rex and I rose early to get ready to head to the hospital at 6:30 am. I was 41 weeks along and nervous but excited to meet my baby boy. I ate oatmeal and pears for breakfast because I figured it would be sit well with my stomach. Rex gave me a blessing and we both cried. We were excited, nervous, grateful...all the feels. We arrived at the hospital at 6:30 am and you would have thought I was moving in. I really want to write another post about what to pack in your hospital bag because I did weeks of research and I have a thing or two to say about it.

The rest of our stuff was in the car...

I got checked into my room, got hooked up to contraction and heart beat monitors, and got my IV. I must say, the IV was one of the worst parts about the whole day. I don't know why, but it hurt for hours. I've still got a scar from it.

Heat pack on the IV to help with the pain

7:40 am - I started on pitocin to induce labor. I eventually started to feel contractions, but no pain. They felt like a blood pressure cuff tightening around my belly.
8:40 am - Increased pitocin dose. Still no pain.
9:40 am - Doctor came in to break my water. I was pretty nervous that it would hurt. Each time I had my cervix checked it was very painful because of the way my uterus/cervix sits far back. I didn't experience much pain when he "broke my water," but was warned that my contractions would start being painful if they weren't already. Yep. First contraction after water was broken was crazy different.

*Side note* I like to educate myself well on topics that interest me. I have always been very interested in birth stories and different methods of laboring. I have seen many live births in the hospital and at home, and have watched hundreds of birth videos on youtube (weird, I know). I understand benefits of non-medicated and medicated births. I think it is important to be educated and then take that knowledge and choose the method of childbirth that will be the best experience for you and 
the baby. I did what was very best for my family and me. 
No regrets whatsoever.

Back to contractions and pain. My plan wasn't to "see how far I could get" without an epidural. I knew I was going to get an epidural and simply wanted to experience unmedicated contractions first. I also knew that it could take 30-40 minutes for the epidural to fully kick in, so I didn't want to go too long without it. I went back and forth trying to decide when to get it.
10:34 am - Got an epidural. I was pretty nervous because I knew it could involve some pain. I sat up with my legs over the bed and curled over with my head on Rex's chest (and in process got amniotic fluid on his shoe haha. It doesn't stop coming out after your water has broken). The numbing needle in my back was the most painful part. It was the most intense sting I have ever felt, but only lasted a few seconds. Overall, I thought my epidural was done very well. It did take about 30-40 minutes to kick in. And I will say loud and clear that it was the greatest thing ever. I hadn't felt that relaxed since before I was pregnant. Not only did it take away the pain of contractions, but it also relieved the aches and pains of being pregnant.

11:40 am - Increased pitocin dose because my contractions were irregular.
12:15 pm - Dilated to a 5 and increased pitocin.
12:55 pm - Increased pitocin to the highest level. For the next little while, my nurse would decrease and increase the pitocin depending on how my contractions were. I wrote in my notes on my phone: "I feel so peaceful and relaxed. Halie is the best nurse ever. Mom, Bill, Dad, and Heather are here."
1:15 pm - Fully dilated!!! Wahoo! That was fast! The plan was to rest and descend for an hour to see if the baby would drop lower on his own (although they kept telling me his head was super low). I covered myself with warm blankets and tried to rest. I was seriously so relaxed that I could barely keep my eyes open. Oh, and can we talk about water retention for a minute?!? I was SO puffy - my face, my feet, everything. I was puffier leaving the hospital than I was going in.
3:25 pm - I started pushing. At first I didn't want to use a mirror because I was nervous to see a baby coming out of ME. But then I decided to use it because I wanted to see my progress as I pushed. It was strange to push when I was numb because I felt like I was just making my face purple. After a while of pushing, I got a fever and had to take an antibiotic and tylenol. At that point, the nurse called my doctor and he was on his way. Throughout my whole labor, baby's heart beat was great and we never had any worries. It was such a blessing. It was very helpful to have so many people in the room while I pushed. I needed the energy and excitement since I was so relaxed. I had Rex, my mom and Bill, my dad and Heather, and my Barton grandparents there. At one point I tried listening to music to try to pump me up and give me energy to push, but I found that distracting. I have to say a word about the most important person that was there - Rex. He was right by my side and counted out loud to 10 with each of my pushes (except for one of my pushes where nobody counted and I immediately said "I need somebody to count!"). I love him so much. I used an oxygen mask during much of my pushing, which probably helped but it wasn't super noticeable. I loved the moment my doctor said "Are you ready to have a baby?" The team placed a cloth on my chest so they could place the baby on it right after he was born.
4:51 pm - Kingston Ray Dastrup was born.

They placed him on my chest and I placed my hands on his slimy, perfect body. He gave some good cries. One of the first things I noticed was that he had arm rolls haha. After a couple minutes, Kingston was checked out by the respiratory team and my doctor began stitching me up. I tore in three different places so I received three sets of stitches. Well what do you expect with a 9 POUND baby!?! We were all shocked at his weight and I couldn't help but laugh. At 9 lbs and 22 inches long, Kingston was ready to walk out of the hospital.

When I was done being stitched up, Kingston was brought to me so I could breastfeed him for the first time. I was pretty out of it as my legs were still numb, I was tired, and it was something very new for both of us. Overall, breastfeeding throughout the hospital stay was pretty good.

The biggest stressor of the hospital stay had to do with peeing lol. As soon as I had enough feeling in my legs to walk, the nurses helped me walk to the bathroom. I wasn't able to go, probably due to inflammation and oh, you know, a 9 lb baby coming out of me. So the nurses did a one-time catheter to empty my bladder. A few hours later I could tell I had to go to the bathroom, so I tried to go again, but nothing came out. Then I got a more permanent catheter put in. Hours later Rex noticed that it might not be working and I had to have it taken out and replaced. Just so everyone knows, catheter insertions hurt extremely bad. I got the new catheter in and all was well. The next day I was scheduled to go home and I was told I had to be able to go to the bathroom and empty my bladder most of the way (the nurses check how full it is with an ultrasound machine). I was able to go to the bathroom 4 times that day, but was not able to empty my bladder enough (even though I had no idea it was still full). Sooo I had to go home with a catheter. For 3 days. Dumb. I cried. Not only because I would be going home with a catheter, but because I had to get another one inserted. Ouch. Anyway, it was a different nurse that inserted this one and she did a much better job than the others. She was a goofy nurse too, which helped me not take the situation too seriously.

Some of the things I loved about being at the hospital:
I got food whenever I wanted. I got to eat/drink jello, chicken broth, sprite, and water while I was in labor. I had four different nurses and they were all perfect for the specific time I had them. I had help taking care of myself and the baby. The mesh underwear - some women hate them, but they are so comfy and I used them at home for weeks after (I had two different kinds and one was way better than the other).
I was in no hurry to go home from the hospital. I knew I would have a lot more responsibility and didn't quite feel ready. As soon as Rex and I got home, he had to leave to get my medications from the pharmacy. We called our sister-in-law to come stay with me as I was already bawling. That was the start of many bawling sessions throughout the first couple of weeks. It was totally changes in hormones. I would be eating a meal with Rex and would start sobbing for no reason. I was so blessed to have two sister-in-laws and my mom stay with me for four nights in a row.

Anyway, those are some of the details of Kingston's birth. I could write a million things about life since then and hopefully I can get some more blog posts up about our happenings. But for now I will say that Rex and I love Kingston so much. I love to watch him grow and learn. He smiles so much and laughs at the silliest things. He hates naps and going to sleep. He is a kicker and mover. He brings us so much joy and we are very grateful to be a family. Much more to come in the future!

I will end with a little note about the meaning of Kingston's name. We chose the name Kingston for a couple reasons. Rex is Latin for "king" and I can't think of a better person to name our baby after than his dad. Kingston, Ontario was also the last area of my mission. One day I was talking to my dad on the phone about Kingston's name and he suggested the middle name Rey (spanish for King), thinking that would be neat. I looked up meanings for the english spelling of "Ray" and I liked the German meaning that is "mighty protection." I thought that was fitting for Kingston being the oldest brother. And I love the idea of him being a ray of sunshine, radiant and happy. With all of those reasons, it was easy to settle on Kingston Ray for our sweet boy. Happy two months today!

 

First Anniversary

Rex and I celebrated our first anniversary a couple of weeks ago and it was so fun to spend the day together. We made dinner reservations at The Roof Restaurant because we received a gift card there as a wedding gift. Before dinner we planned to go to the Salt Lake Temple and do sealings, as I figured it was probably the only thing I would be able to do at the temple being so pregnant. Sadly, the temple was so busy with live sealings that day that we were turned away. We didn't really have a backup plan, so we just walked around Temple Square and then over to the City Creek Center to window shop. Finally our dinner reservation time arrived. We were so excited - a fancy buffet and a beautiful view of the Salt Lake Temple. Rex was such a gentleman (as always) and carried my plate from the buffet to the table. We enjoyed taking our time since it's not exactly the type of restaurant that will be a frequent visit for us.

 

It has been the happiest year of our lives. We get along so well, love to be together, and can't wait to be parents. I'll probably cry more seeing Rex with our baby for the first time than I will even seeing our baby haha. He'll always be my number one!

Manti Temple, Manti, UT - August 16, 2014

Rex & Heather // Highlight Video // Manti Temple from Wozy Films on Vimeo.

Rex & Heather Reception from Wozy Films on Vimeo.

(password for reception video: dastrup2014)

Side note: my first anniversary gift was the second band that goes to my wedding ring. I had been looking forward to wearing it all year and what do you know...my pregnancy fingers are too big to wear my ring. Guess I'll wait a few more weeks :).

Baby Nursery

There are a couple of posts that I really want to write before the baby comes and this is one of my most anticipated ones. We originally rented a two-bedroom apartment because we knew we would want to have kids soon and I didn't want to be moving while pregnant. Even with a two-bedroom apartment, I don't know how anyone can dedicate a whole room to a nursery. We have too much stuff and baby has to gets to share a room with our camping, sports, exercise, craft, etc. stuff. At first I really wanted to buy a room divider so I could feel like I have a nice space that is just the baby's and mine while feeding, etc. Well, I love how his little 3/4 room turned out and I feel like it will be a nice, welcoming space to spend with the baby, regardless of our stuff lining one of the walls.

I am not one to enjoy the decisions of what to decorate with. When there are thousands of different options for items like crib bedding sets, I have a difficult time deciding what to purchase. However, when I saw these crib sheets, I thought they would be perfect because they incorporate lots of different fun, bright colors. Plus, I love elephants. The sheet set is what inspired the rest of the nursery.

I wanted to be wise about how much money was spent on the nursery and decided to do as many DIY projects as I could. I made this adorable mobile to hang over the crib. I used a Cricut to cut out all of the circles and then used double-sided tape to tape them onto strings of various lengths (there are two circles stuck together with the tape and string in-between). I painted the inner part of an embroidery hoop white and then used a hot glue gun to glue the strings and ribbon onto the hoop. I should have taken pictures of the process to make a tutorial. The three framed pictures were fun to make. I painted frames I already had using paint I had in my craft supplies. I used photoshop to alter the elephant, used one of the scrap papers from all the circles I cut out with the Cricut and put a different colored paper behind it, and the big picture was a super fun free printable I found that can be personalized with name and color. The little gray elephant tote is from TJ Maxx and will be his laundry basket. Behind the white blanket is a little shelving unit with my stuff on it lol. I got the three plastic baskets for the top from Dollar Tree.

 

The fabric garlands hanging above the changing table and bedroom window were also a fun craft to make. I got the two gray totes for the changing table at Big Lots for $5 each. They were the only ones left and I had to settle for the fact that they didn't match because the price was right.

 

I seriously cannot thank friends and family enough for the gifts and wonderful hand-me-down items that we have received. I love that my nursery is made up of items from loved ones - the crib was my little brother's 10 years ago, the glider from my sister-in-law Kristen, the changing table from my sister-in-law Britta, and lots of clothing from various friends and family members. Thank heavens for having so much family on both sides! I can hardly wait to rock my little one in his nursery. Two weeks until due date!

xx

Momma H

Summer Update

I want to be better about posting more often instead of feeling like I have to make a big production out of each post. It looks like last time I posted was at the beginning of June. Here are some highlights since then:

• Rex started taking Anatomy at UVU mid-June and it has consumed much of our lives since. I used to have some sort of pride about BYU having the most difficult classes, but no question about it - UVU is the hardest Anatomy class. Rex works so hard and it has been fun to study together.
• I switched from monthly prenatal doctor visits to having visits every 2 weeks! Baby is almost here!
• I had a combined baby shower on June 27th with my sister Julie who is due a couple weeks before me. Our sister-in-law Sarah was in town and threw the cutest shower with beautiful decorations.
• Following our tradition, Sarah also did a photo shoot of my pregnant belly and me in her parents' yard, our usual location. It is always fun to spend time with her and this time she had her new baby girl strapped to her.
• Rex and I joined his brother Tom at the Real Salt Lake game on July 4th. I had never been before and I had a great time. The fireworks were amazing too and seemed to never end.
• July 6-11th I was involved in recording a CD with Brevitas, a professional choir that I have been a member of for three years. We rehearsed Monday-Wednesday and then had three long but successful nights recording in a beautiful church in SLC. Our CD, titled Silence and Music, should be available this fall.
• July 13th Rex and I joined all of my siblings + spouses for a sibling date. We went to Los Hermanos for dinner (all 12 of us + one baby) and then everyone came to our apartment for dessert, games, and talking. It was SO fun to be with everyone and it was great motivation to clean my apartment really well ;)
• July 18-19th we had our annual Graden Family Retreat. We all slept at Julie's house and enjoyed spending time together, eating good food, looking at pictures of my parents' Africa trip, and staying up late.
• July 26th we had a Dastrup family dinner at Rex's sister Amelia's house. Four of the seven siblings were there and at 7:00 pm we commenced our weekly video call with Rex's parents and the other siblings. His parents are on a mission in Russia, so we do a weekly video call where everyone gives a recap of their week.

I am still working a few times a week and will be done in a couple of weeks. I have been crafting and am almost done with the decorations for the baby's room. I will post pictures as soon as I have everything put together. 

xx

  

 

Haircut + Graduation

I had been thinking about getting my hair cut for a while, but did not have plans as to when I would actually take the plunge. On May 7th, I went to the salon with my mom. While she got her hair done and as a birthday present to me, I got a manicure, scalp massage, and lastly I had a pedicure lined up. Before I started my pedicure, I started talking to my mom and some of the hair dressers about if I should chop my hair off instead. I was really nervous. Last time I did a haircut that extreme was in high school and I had grown much more attached to my hair this time around. After about 20 minutes of debating what to do, I finally sat in the chair and told my stylist to "just do it." She braided my hair and chopped off the braid.

Seriously, the moment my short hair fell, I was in love. I have had no regrets and it has been so fun to have a short cut for summer. I also feel more "mommish" with a short hair cut.

The next day I graduated with my Master's Degree in Exercise Physiology with an emphasis in Coaching Wellness. It may seem embarrassing to admit that one of the main reasons I went to graduate school was so that I could graduate "with a hood." I thought it would be so cool and that I would feel so accomplished. I am very grateful to be done with school and for all of the relationships that I developed while at the University of Utah. I am also very grateful for my extremely supportive family that sat through nearly 2 hours of graduation ceremony with their little kids. We all went out to dinner after and it was fun to celebrate.

Angie and I were the only ones from the program who went to graduation.

The Coaching Wellness graduating class! This was right after our master's presentations.

Ultrasound and Gender Reveal Party

We were SO excited to find out that little baby Dastrup is a BOY! I knew I wanted to know the gender and back in April, before I ever had an ultrasound, my sister-in-law Amelia said she wanted to make us a gender reveal cake (she is the same one that made our beautiful wedding cake). To be honest, I wasn't dying to know if baby was a boy or girl until about the week before the ultrasound. I was so busy trying to finish school and felt that if I knew the gender, I would be even more distracted. Finally, at 19 weeks and 1 day, I got my first ultrasound and it was so much fun to see our little baby moving, kicking, and especially sucking his thumb! [side note: I don't know why my videos appear blurry and why they are so tiny. Oh well...I tried.]

Seeing the baby's feet was my favorite! Cutest little toes in the world ;) Our ultrasound tech printed tons of pictures for us and we were so grateful! Rex and I looked away while she found out the gender and then she put those printed pictures in an envelope. We had her text Amelia the gender so she could get started on the cake.

After the ultrasound it was just a waiting game until the next evening. We planned a fun dinner with the whole family at Amelia's for Saturday, April 18th. Amelia worked very hard and had a whole party for us! It was so fun to see everyone's guesses about if baby Dastrup was a boy or girl. Those who thought the baby was a girl wore a little tutu pin and those who thought baby was a boy pinned a little tie to their shirt. We had a delicious dinner and then we cut into our cake to find that the inside was BLUE!

We had a cute photo booth for everyone to take pictures with their gender guesses.

Baby BOY Dastrup coming in September! 

Heart Beat #1

I know, I know, I am behind on posting. I really wanted to get this first heart beat video up because it was a special moment. My doctor is wonderful and made it even more special. Rex took a video before this that was about 6 minutes long where the doctor was trying to find the heart beat (not the most comfortable thing). I wasn't nervous that anything was wrong, I was just nervous we wouldn't find it because I was just shy of 10 weeks and the baby was so small. Right when Rex stopped filming the first video, he turned the camera back on and captured this one :) Take a look at my face when I first hear the heart beat - pure joy! (p.s. we had to crop the video a little, so the size is smaller and the quality isn't great)

Of course I didn't take the doctor's word for the heart beats per minute, so I counted when I was watching the video (for the hundredth time) and it was about 180 bpm, which is about right for a baby that size. I was SO excited that he found the heart beat because right after that he got a call on his cell phone that he needed to go deliver a baby. My next appointment is on Monday so I'm excited to hear the heart beat again, hopefully after a lot less pushing on my belly this time!

I am in my second trimester now, but sadly am not feeling better. Except for today, which is probably why I am blogging. My gag reflex is even stronger now and I still feel yucky most of the time. But there is still hope! I feel overwhelmingly grateful that I've been able to go to school every day and do well in my classes. Come May I will have my master's degree + a cute baby bump.

I would blog about topics other than the baby, but my life is pretty similar week to week - go to school, work, try to survive being sick, fall asleep on the couch around 8 pm, get ornery that I have to get up and get in bed later, then wake up again at 5:00 a.m. the next day. I do have another blog post coming with a video where my sister and I announced that we were pregnant at a family dinner, so maybe after that I'll try to post something on a different topic.

Have a happy day!

Newsflash

Well, are you ready for the most exciting news (at least for us) for 2015?! We are so happy to announce that we will be a family of three come September! I found out I was pregnant early in the morning on January 2nd. I wanted to take a pregnancy test on New Year's Day so badly, but I tried my very hardest to be patient. I was given two pregnancy tests from a friend and sister who recently found out they are pregnant. I started with the dollar store test and was so extremely excited when I saw a faint second line. After that, I took the other test and it was confirmed that I was indeed pregnant! I snuck back in bed, waited a few minutes, cuddled up to Rex and said "It's so late..." (it was 8:00 a.m. which is usually late for us). He laughed, got out of bed to say his prayer, and then I leaned over and asked: "Are you ready to be a daddy?!" We celebrated that day and were conveniently invited out to dinner at Rodizio Grill that night by Rex's brother and his wife. We spilled the news to them because we just had to tell someone.

That first week went by so slow. I was pretty sick for the first three days, but then the sickness went away and I felt great. I was convinced that I had a baby bump at 4.5 weeks, but I'm pretty sure (after looking online) that it was impossible to have one that early and that I must have just been too excited.

***Fast forward (since I wrote that first part weeks ago)***

I will be 11 weeks along on Thursday! I won't say it is going by fast or slow, just normal. I will post about our first visit to the doctor sometime in the next couple of days. Of course I am SO excited for our little one to be here, but I will say that pregnancy is much more difficult than I anticipated. It's different for everyone, but this has been life for me for the past 5 weeks:

• Sick sick sick. All day almost everyday. I realize that it could be worse since I'm not throwing up all day, but it is still not fun (or cool) to have an upset stomach most of my days. And the worst part is that it's the worst at night - my only time with Rex - so I go to bed pretty early and he has been the greatest to pick up my slack with housework.
• Waking up 2-4 times every night to go to the bathroom. How is this happening already?! 
• Not sleeping well. I can't really sleep on my back anymore so my hips are pretty sore each morning from switching from side to side all night. I'm used to falling asleep right when my head hits the pillow and not waking up until my alarm goes off, so this one has been a change for me.
• Although I haven't gained weight yet, none of my jeans fit, so I am left with leggings and exercise pants (which works for school and work considering my field).

On the plus side, I haven't experienced many difficult pregnancy symptoms that other women do, so I feel blessed. In a video call with my family on Sunday, I was asked how I am doing. I gave the camera a thumbs down, indicating not good because it was a more sick day. However, I got thinking this morning and realized that I should have clarified - I may not be feeling well, but I am doing well. I have so much to be grateful for (Rex, baby, almost done with school, apartment, family, etc etc) and I can always be happy regardless of how yucky I feel. Tune in soon for a video of the first time hearing the baby's heartbeat!

Oh, and p.s. this post explains my asian food posts lol (although now I don't even want to touch oriental food)

Orange Chicken + Fried Rice

Don't ask me what is up with Asian food and me lately, but it is just so simply delicious! Orange chicken has always been one of my favorite foods and I decided it was high time I found some at Costco. Below is a picture of my Costco purchase. It was $14.99 and came with two bags of frozen chicken + two sauce packets. Each bag is at least two servings (it should probably be 4 servings per bag, but for us it was two...).

I made one bag of chicken with the sauce and I can't even tell you how amazing it was. It was crispy and hot and dare I say almost better than Panda Express. I'm glad Rex still thinks I'm cute after I made "yummy" noises for about an hour straight [I felt like I was in What About Bob?].

What's some orange chicken without fried rice? Luckily, we have an oriental market near our house so I headed over there to purchase soy sauce and oyster sauce. I found an amazing fried rice recipe on Pinterest that is comparable to Panda Express. [Note: I used freshly cooked, hot brown rice even though it says to use cold, and I didn't have frozen peas/carrots, so I used frozen mixed vegetables and it was delicious].

Here is the link to the recipe: http://www.iwashyoudry.com/2014/02/05/quick-easy-brown-fried-rice/

[Picture found on the website]

This was a delicious meal that you just have to try! I'm excited to make it again soon.

xx.
| Flower |

oh, and here are some extras, for fun.

The first picture expresses my true feelings toward this deliciousness.

Green Smoothies

If you haven't given in to the green smoothie trend, you may want to jump on the band wagon (not because it's trendy, but because they are healthy + delicious!). I was first introduced to green smoothies through my mom's e-mails to me when I was an LDS Missionary (see "O Canada" tab above). I laughed each week as I read her e-mail detailing every ingredient in her smoothie that day.

Rex and I love to have a variety of options for breakfast and smoothies make it easier to wake up for my early morning train ride to school. The great thing about smoothies is that nothing has to be measured and you can add any ingredient that sounds good. We like to prepare our smoothies beforehand by putting the ingredients in a quart-sized ziploc bag (which we put back in the freezer after we empty it so we can refill it later). Rex is so wonderful and makes breakfast each morning while I'm getting ready. All he has to add to the pre-made smoothie bag is liquid and protein. Our smoothies usually turn out purple, but they have greens in them. Here's an example of what we do:




Smoothie bag (2 servings):

• 1 1/2 cups frozen mixed fruit 
• 1/2 cup blueberries
• 2/3 banana
• 1 Tbsp flaxseeds
• 1 Tbsp chia seeds
• 1 1/2 handfuls spinach                                     

To make the smoothie, follow these steps (this is for a Blendtec blender, adjust if different brand):

1. Pour 1 cup milk in blender.

2. Dump in whole smoothie bag.

3. Add heaping spoonful of peanut 

    butter.

4. Add 1/2 cup water.
5. Blend and enjoy!

Other ingredients to try:
               Cilantro                    Oats                           Cucumber                       Oranges
               Almond milk            Soy milk                      Almond butter                 Cottage cheese
               Kale                          Vanilla extract           Unsweetened cocoa     Pomegranate juice
               Plain yogurt             Greek yogurt             Apples                              Etc.