Alexys Claire

This is our Little Woman. Only 5 wks old and already holding her head up and looking out the window. She amazes me more and more every day. Bryan has been gone all this wk for a class in California. It's been so hard here by myself. It's going to be even harder when he leaves for longer periods of time. It'll be hard on the both of us. I may have to be a single parent at times but he has to miss out on little things she does and her growing up so fast. I tell you, I don't know how single mothers do it. I have a lot of respect for woman who parent by themselves. I can sit here and say I just don't know if I could do it... but I guess you find the strength to do it. You would have to. I'm going to have to find the strength next time he gets picked to go TAD (Temporary Assigned Duty) somewhere. And unfortunately, he's next in line.

We've learned so much so far. And we've had a lot of nights with very few hours of sleep. Bryan wakes up when I get up with her but I'm always the one to get up at night during the week because he works. He gets weekend duty, lol. He lets me sleep in. It's nice to catch up on some sleep sometimes. I've been strictly breastfeeding until recently. It's taking a toll on me to have to feed her so often. She eats more when it's just breast milk because of how fast they digest it. Plus only one of my boobs is producing milk. The lactation specialist at the hospital seems to think that's why she wants to eat so often but I don't think that has anything to do with it. When I pump, I get at least 3 ounces out of the one boob and she only eats 2 ounces of formula. 3 ounces should be more than enough. Whatever the reason, it wears me out and I've decided to cut down on it. I thought I would just stop all together, but then I got Mastitis again. For those of you who've breast fed, you know how painful that is. And on top of that having your boob engorged with milk.... OUCH! So I let her empty it and now I've only been breastfeeding about twice a day. I just have to get sneaky about it. Like when she's tired, I pull her up to my chest and put a pacifier in her mouth. It satisfies her need to suck and it calms her down till she goes to sleep.

Bryan's mom and two sisters are coming in two days. They're super excited to see Alexys. His younger sister's name is Claire, and that's where Alexys got her middle name. I loved the name Claire but I think kids should have their own identity so it became her middle name. They're staying for a wk and then Alexys and I fly to California to see my mom (her Bobcia). Then 3 days later we fly to Kentucky for three wks to see my Dad's side of the family. I'm the first neice and grandchild to have a child. So this is the first great grandchild and great niece. Very exciting times for both our families. (=

27 weeks

I know I haven't written in a while and I have only one excuse... I've tried to stay busy. (= It helps that we have a social life now. I can't express how great it feels to have close friends here in town. It's hard to find people you can trust and be around non-stop.

So now about Baby Pickle. We had an ultra sound done last week and everything looks great. It's amazing how clear 4D Ultra Sounds are. Pickle looks so much like Bryan. From the hair line to his nose and lips. We found out that he's breech so we'll have to go in on March 12th, when I'm 33 weeks, to see if he's turned. If not, they wanted to send me up to Anchorage to have a procedure done to try to turn him. They informed me of the risks and I immediately informed them that I would rather have a C-Section rather than have a risky procedure done. As you can see, when they did the Ultra Sound one of his legs was up by his head, the other leg that cannot be seen is down close to my cervix. He was doing the splits.

They couldn't confirm or deny that it was a boy this time because of the position he is in but we still feel confident with the gender. Hopefully we'll see at 33 weeks, but if not, it will be somewhat of a surprise to us all. (0=

17 wks!

I'll get back to you guys on writing something, it is after all, my birthday. (= So the husband and I are going to sit down, eat some spaghetti and watch The Incredible Hulk as well as Wall-E. Oh and end with some pumpkin pie. Yum!

15 wks!

I am now almost 16 wks but this picture was taken a few days ago. Just thought I'd give an update. It's confirmed to be a Boy! No names picked out yet, so for now I refer to him as Pickle. (= Don't know why.. It's just what I call him.

It was amazing to see him on the ultra sound last Thursday. It made it that much more real to see him moving around inside me. They recorded the whole thing on a VHS. I was shocked, I mean, VHS?? Who has a VCR now days? One of these days I'll have to get it transferred to a DVD. I only got 3 pictures and two 30 second videos on DVD. Arg!

My headaches have gotten increasingly worse since I got pregnant. I went the ER last night to get a Dimeral shot to subside some of the pain from a 4 day headache. So today I went to the clinic and got some headache meds. Tylenol is just not strong enough for me. Never has been. I'm glad to feel normal again and be pain free. WooHoo!

We're still waiting on word from our landlord to see if we can get a dog. He said we couldn't get a big dog, so I had Bryan ask if we could get a small dog. I told him to use the excuse that when Bryan gets underway for a month or two at a time I'd like to have some company so I'm not here by myself all day everyday. Snakes just don't do it as far as keeping me company. Rosy's cool, but not to sleep with me at night, lol. He said he would have to ask the wife. He's not yet gotten back to us. He said he would be back to do more work on the house in a couple days, but that always means a couple of weeks. I won't feel to terribly somber if he says no because we're moving into Coast Guard Housing next June. We can have any kind of animal we want when we move there. Yes Bryan and I decided in the long run that it would be cheaper all around to live in housing. As it is, we don't have enough space. Especially not with a baby on the way. If we were to move to another place that had more space and a washer and dryer, assuming we could find one, it would be close to $1,500 a month. We only pay $900 a month now. But that accompanied with the $315 a month we spend on our propane heat and the electric bill... it starts adding up. It would be cheaper ultimately to have a 3 bedroom house in housing than try to find one elsewhere and have to pay for heat as well. Heat is rediculous here. Everything is either propane or fuel. Electricity is so much cheaper.

So that's all that's news for now in the Sauerman household. Below are pictures of Baby Pickle at 14 wks 4 days. Just so you know, they spelled my first and last name wrong but there's nothing I could do about it once they had already done the ultra sound. The first picture reminds me of Dr. Evil, lol. The second one I think is cute cause he's got his hands to his mouth. For some reason he looks kinda lumpy in the second picture. Very strange, and not something you tend to see on a 2D ultra sound. Don't ask me, I'm not a doctor. (=

13 and a half weeks!

As I write this, my husband is walking a crib that was given to us and that I've taken apart to the side of the house to put in storage. His parents are coming this weekend and we need all the room we can get. As it is, his Bow flex takes up most of what will be the babies room. I had to take apart the crib because my aunt is going to be sending us one that has been in the family for a while. We might be moving just a few months after the baby is born anyway so I figure there's no point in putting up a crib when the baby will be in a bassinet for a while after it gets home.

I go to the doctor to have my first ultra sound on Nov. 6Th. You might be thinking that it's a little early. Not only do we hope to see what the sex of the baby is, but we also want to make sure we'll only be having one. A week ago I was informed that twins run in my family. Nice! Thanks for the heads up guys. My aunt says she had a dream about me while she was under anesthesia getting her appendix taken out. Says that someone in our family that is on the "other side" told her I was going to have twins. Little creepy, I guess everyone has their beliefs. I don't want her to be wrong.. or right for that matter. Makes me nervous though. I'm counting down the days now.

For the past couple of weeks I haven't done much but sit around. Who am I kidding, since we moved here I haven't done much but sit around. LoL. There is nothing to do here. No clothing stores, nothing that even resembles a Wal-Mart. We do have a Safeway, but that doesn't do much for bargain shopping. We have a little Conference Center that plays a different theater movie every 6 months, but only one at a time. Yippee! So I recently decided to start going to the gym. I say gym but it's essentially just a little workout room in Coast Guard Housing. It's a nice workout room though. I'm walking on the treadmill for about a half hour, a mile and a half. Sometimes at a 5-6% incline. And I do a little arm and leg weight lifting. Nothing too strenuous. It's better than sitting around all day, watching TV, wasting away at the kitchen table on the computer. (= I do love my Internet though. Hell, MySpace is how I keep up with my friends who I miss so much and live so far away. Entirely my own fault of course. I wish I had friends around to share this experience with more personally. My friend Michelle especially. And my mom. My mom is someone I miss completely. I miss going to pick up my husband from work and being able to go to lunch with her before he got off or just sitting with her at her desk. It was awesome having her work right across from his ship. I really wish we would have chosen to stay in the Bay Area. Again, my own fault. But I guess you have to go through things by yourself at some time or another. I just wish it wasn't for three years. Until 2011 I'm separated from almost everyone I love. I say almost because obviously I'm here living with my husband. (=

Why did I get pregnant now? For almost a year we didn't get pregnant. I had actually given up all thoughts on being able to get pregnant. Don't get me wrong, we didn't by any means plan this, but we weren't preventing it in any way either. I was one of those people who would have had to plan ahead and mark the time and day on a calendar for it to happen. We just happened to in a sense "get lucky". I remember when I first had the notion that I was pregnant. I was late by a couple of days, which had happened before so I didn't think too much about it. When I was about 5 days overdue for mother nature to visit I brought it up to my husband... over the phone. Why over the phone you ask? Because he was underway on a military island called Attu. The last island in the Alutien chain. He said he wanted me to go get a test the next day, otherwise he wouldn't be able to stop worrying about it and said he wanted me to call him when I was doing the test. I said okay. So here I am, the next day, phone in hand, peeing on a stick, lol, and waiting.......... Didn't take but about 10 seconds till that sucker turned up positive. Whoa... no way. I started crying... I remember being completely freaked out. Bryan was MORE freaked out. Guys have a completely different way of reacting to things than women. His first thought is, "WHAT? Now every thing's going to change. No more buying things for just for fun. Now we can't get that ATV I was thinking about getting". Ha, that's one way to look at it. He's 27 and this is his first child, unplanned, so needless to say it took a few days for it to sink in, for him to start appreciating that having a child was not the end of the world. He came around though. I knew he would. Had me worried till i got reassurance from my mom that guys don't react the same way we do.. LoL, understatement of the year. We can afford a child, we're both old enough, and we have more than enough family behind us on this. His parents.. this will be their first grand child! *big grin* My mom has 3 grandchildren, none of which she gets to see, so this is almost like her first, even though this baby won't be able to take that position. (= My Aunt Leslie, her husband and three children, and my Grannie will be nothing less than enormous supporters of this child. All this said, this baby will lack for nothing. I went to the doctor the next day to get tested and yep, we were going to have a baby. I was 6 weeks that day, or so they estimate. We'll see. (=

We've decided on a girls name, Alexis Claire. Claire is Bryan's baby sister's name. She's 19 and I just love her name. So I decided fairly early that her name would be the middle name if it was to be a girl Bump. Alexis is a name that Bryan and I love. As for a boy name, haven't thought of one. It's not been as easy coming up with a boys name. We're taking suggestions. (= Unless it's one like my mom gave, Martin Luther Sauerman... LOL! Only serious names need mentioned here.

As for cravings, cereal, and bacon. Ha, not together though. I've always been a big fan of cereal, but since I acquired my Bump I like it even more. As for bacon, omg, the smell of bacon makes me salivate. Ha ha, seriously. I could eat it every day I think. Ugh, one thing I hate, when Bryan makes anything with Tuna in it. ACK! Talk about one of the strongest smells in the world.

Just so everyone knows... I've never gotten morning sickness. for the first 11 wks or so I would feel sick but never threw up. Yay me! According to the American Pregnancy Association this is what's happening to my baby this week: Bump is about 3 1/2 inches long, and weighs about 1 and a quarter ounces. It has unique fingerprints and the kidney and urinary tract are completely functional which allows the amniotic fluid Bump has been swallowing to be excreted. Covering your baby’s skin is a fine, soft hair called lanugo.

'Always' Maxi Pads

This is an actual letter from an Austin , TX, woman sent to American company Proctor and Gamble regarding their feminine products. She really gets rolling after the first paragraph. It's PC Magazine's 2007 editors' choice for best webmail-award-winning letter.

Dear Mr. Thatcher,

I have been a loyal user of your 'Always' maxi pads for over 20 years and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach In tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants.

Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my time of the month is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call 'an inbred hillbilly with knife skills.' Isn't the human body amazing?

As Brand Manager in the Feminine-Hygiene Division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customers' monthly visits from 'Aunt Flo'. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood
swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior. You surely realize it's a tough time for most women.

The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in Capri pants... Which brings me to the reason for my letter. Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi-pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words: 'Have a Happy Period.'

Are you f------ kidding me? What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness - actual smiling, laughing happiness, is possible during a menstrual period? Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James? FYI, unless you're some kind of sick S&M freak, there will never be anything 'happy' about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlua and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Walgreen's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory.

For the love of God, pull your head out, man! If you have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like 'Put down the Hammer' or 'Vehicular Manslaughter is Wrong',

Sir, please inform your Accounting Department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flex-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bullshit. And that's a promise I will keep. Always.

Best,

Wendi Aarons
Austin, TX

Alaska = Devotion

I want to start out by giving a little information about how we ended up living in "The Last frontier". Bryan && I have been together for 10 months as of August 12th. We're from different parts of the country but both ended up in the Bay Area of California. He's in the Coast Guard && my mom works for the Coast Guard. So I gradually became friends with many Coasties && that's when Bryan && I met in early October of 2007. We've been inseperable since. We got an apartment together in November in the Lake Merritt District of Oakland && soon after, he had to make a choice of where he'd want to go next. I told him right away that I would stay by his side. We wanted to choose a place neither of us had ever been. Somewhere laid back, away from the lively Bay Area lifestyle.

Looking at the above picture, that's exactly what we got when we chose Valdez, Alaska. The biggest change of our lives. Bryan grew up camping, hiking, fishing && hunting. My upbringing was the exact opposite. We both decided to throw ourselves into the unknown. I was excited && scared at the same time. When you think of Alaska, you think of wild animals && tons of snow. Both are not far from reality. Despite the snow on top of the mountains depicted above, we took this picture in June. It's gotten no warmer than 65 degrees since we got here at the end of June. I've heard that we'll have snow before Halloween this year. We had no idea what we were in for.

The day we got here we viewed the place we had only seen online through pictures. It was furnished. Something we'd planned for because of the lack of furniture we brought with us. We only brought what we could carry in the back of the truck. As you can imagine, we didn't have much. After seeing this place I knew we had to look further because it was far too dark && depressing. Bryans mom went for a walk down the street && happened upon another place for rent && peeked in the window. She came running back down the road && told us we had to come look at this place. It had wood (fake of course) floors, && the entire inside of the house had been redone. We called the number immediately && decided it was where we wanted to live. Although it was a trailor, it was the Taj Mahal of trailors as our landlord put it.






Above are pictures of the inside of the trailor && the last picture is looking out or kitchen door. The view is unlike anything I've ever seen. I still can't get over the fact that we live someplace this gorgeous!

How amazing is it to be able to take pictures of a glacier! They're all melting of course, at least the ones in the glacier field are where I took this picture.

On another note... I just found out on Labor Day that I'm pregnant. Everyone said that it was only a matter of time. I guess Valdez has a reputation for people moving here && getting pregnant. No matter, I'm completely excited about it!! I'm only about 5 1/2 weeks along so the baby looks like a tad pole according to sites I've visited, LoL. Soon it'll look like a baby whale, then an alien, a monkey && finally at around 16 weeks it starts to resemble a human. =) I can't wait to find out what we're having. Bryan && I were already talking about marriage so when he gets back from his patrol we're going to have a court house wedding until we can afford to have a larger one with family && friends in New Mexico. I can't even voice how exciting this is.