Random Moments from the last month (or two?)

I was reading my dad and Megan's blog the other day, and Megan started her post by saying she had let the entire month of February pass without blogging. At that moment I checked my own blog and realized I had also allowed the same to occur... Oops. I don't really have anything to blame it on, other than lack of something interesting to blog about. And complete and utter exhaustion.

I'm to that point in my pregnancy where I am constantly tired, famished, and uncomfortable. I'm only 28 weeks. The baby is due in 12 weeks. I'm hoping she comes in 9, just like Susie. Kevin is hoping I make it to May 22nd. He has the biggest test of all time to take on the 21st. This pregnancy has been so much harder on me than the other two. It seems that each gets a little more difficult. The nausea lasted much longer, the contractions have started a lot earlier, and my
body simply feels like it is going to crack in half. My doctor finally felt bad enough for me or maybe was just tired of my whining, and gave a referral for me to see a physical therapist. I've been experiencing the strangest soreness in my lower abdomen, inner thighs, hips, and bottom area. Of course I hopped online in attempt to self-diagnose my symptoms. And, I think I actually figured it out. It is called symphysis pubis dysfunction (or SPD). I kept my diagnosis to myself when I went to the physical therapist, and she didn't tell me a name for what I was experiencing. But, her description of my problem completely fits what she described as my problem. To start out, I have a small scoliosis in my back. I was told this once by a school nurse during those great old days when they would check your back in the locker room. But when my mom took me to the doctor to have it checked, they told us the nurse was wrong. Apparently the nurse was actually right. The scoliosis isn't part of the symphysis pubis dysfunction, but it of course can cause some of it's own problems or increase the symptoms of the SPD.

As for the symphysis pubis dysfunction, this is the definition according to pregnancywizard.com:

Your symphysis pubis are the two bones that connect to form your pelvis. Shaped like a heart, your pelvis is formed by three separate bones that are held together by very tough ligaments. Traditionally, these bones are not designed to allow movement to occur. When you are pregnant however, a hormone called relaxin is produced which allows the pelvis to move slightly during birth. The reason this occurs is because the hormone actually works to loosen the ligaments holding the bones together. When the ligaments loosen too much, a condition called symphysis pubis dysfunction can occur. When this happens, the pelvis joints become unstable and move around. The growing child makes matters worse because of the intense weight bearing down on these bones, and can actually cause the joint to separate.

The physical therapist told me about the loosening of ligaments when you are pregnant, just like the above definition. Then, she told me my pelvis has split apart and my left side has tilted forward. The good news? Well, there really isn't any. I have a prescribed exercise routine to complete twice a day (on top of my daily 50 minutes Prenatal Pilates which I started early in this pregnancy in attempt to strengthen my body and try to minimize the type of side effects that I have experienced anyway...however, I will continue the pilates because I do think it is keeping my body in better shape and I'm hoping it will help me rebound after the baby is born more quickly). The bad news? More than likely I won't feel any relief from my painful symptoms. At best, they just won't get worse if the prescribed exercises actually work. The even worse news? Each pregnancy just gets harder. I had mild pain with Tyler, but just in my lower abdomen. Pretty moderate pain with Susie, but still just in my lower abdomen. This time around has been so much worse. And, I'm afraid for what I will feel like next time...

But anyways, enough about me. If you actually got this far into the reading, congrats to you! The long explanations are really more for my own journaling benefit than for the benefit of any of my readers. The following pictures are the only pictures we have taken over the last couple of months. Enjoy the small glimpse into what we have been up to:

One morning, after a long night with a sick little girl, Kevin and I turned on the TV so we could sleep in a little bit. This is how we found the kids when we finally rolled out of bed. Think they are close enough? BTW, notice the Breath Right Strip on Susie's nose. So cute!
In late February, we went to the BYU vs. New Mexico basketball game. It was such a good game! Sadly, the Cougs lost, but we still had a lot of fun! Susie wore her adorable BYU bows and Tyler wore his Cougar baseball jersy (we've been sporting this thing since he was 2!). Tyler had a great time. Susie, of course, kept asking when it was time to go home. Tyler was thoroughly entertained for the entire game. He enjoyed watching them play, he followed the score the entire time, he loved cheering for every basket BYU made, and he especially had fun cheering along with the cheerleaders and the band.
Late February and March have brought on a lot of snow. Just when I thought the snow was actually going to melt away completely, we have been hit by two big snow storms. The worst part about it is the little city we live in gets way more snow than anywhere else. I think we were the only place to get any snow during the first snow storm. Just as that snow had finally melted back to where it was pre-storm, another storm came and dumped another foot on the ground. Finally, it has melted back to it's pre-storm level. Now I'm just waiting for the rest to melt away. We are basically the last city left with any snow on the ground. I think it will be another 2 weeks before the snow is completely gone.
At almost any given moment of the day, Susie is all dressed up in something. She loves dress-ups. I love how cute she is in her dress-ups. Luckily, she doesn't insist on eating, sleeping, or going out in them. Today she started with this cute Snow White ensemble on. The next thing I knew, she actually had another princess dress on top of the Snow White dress. I love this little girl! Can't wait to have another baby girl in the house. Go girls!
Susie's hair finally is growing. But, it was so uneven and scraggly I just couldn't take it any longer. I pulled out the scissors and trimmed off about 2 inches to try to even it up. I couldn't go any shorter without losing so much length that I couldn't put it in a pony tail. It still has a lot of growing to do in the front until it is all the same length. But, we are making progress. My next little girl better have straight, thick hair like Tyler (that has grown like a weed since day 1). Or curly, thin hair like Susie. At least the curl hides the uneven layers. If she has straight, thin hair that refuses to grow, I will be so sad for her. I will not know how to style it.
There's my recap. Hope you've enjoyed. Maybe next time I'll blog a bit sooner. That is if you are lucky!