Third Trimester! Counting down...

I've been enjoying my third trimester so far. Granted, I've had some pretty severe back pain and I still have a bit of morning sickness. Mostly the back pain though. But I'm so happy and excited to have our little boy in like 2 1/2 months!

I just love feeling him kick and wiggle...he does a lot of that. He means the world to us and after all the waiting and everything we've been through, we appreciate him so much. I feel so blessed I can't even explain it.

I've been getting a lot bigger recently. I guess our baby is doing some serious growing :) At my last check up I'd gained at least 25 lbs since my first appointment and 10 of those were in the past four weeks. Here are a couple of pictures for ya. (Taken yesterday at 28 weeks. Only 83 days to go!)

Larry's Before and After

Super sad, pale Larry before surgery:

Larry feeling better and getting some color after surgery!

It's been quite a battle with the nemesis called Crohn's Disease. Poor Larry has been so sick for a long time. He finally had his surgery on Nov 29th at St. Marks hospital. It's nice living so close to the hospital because it made it easy to visit and go back and forth. The surgery was originally postponed to see if one more treatment would help over two months...well it didn't really. Then it was postponed for an additional week due to a sudden cancellation. (His doctor was sorta banned from the hospital for his attitude problem. We like him though!)

Well, as I said, last Monday he finally had the 3 hour long surgery done by a different surgeon, Dr. Cavin. He was really helpful with the whole process. Larry had about a foot of both the large and small intestine removed as well as his "faulty gallbladder." He also had an ileostomy done which pretty much means a little part of his intestine is sticking out of his stomach and he has a bag on him. I know, isn't it lovely?! This way his intestines can heal and he can continue treatment to try and keep his disease under control.

Unfortunately the ostomy didn't turn out how it's supposed to, but it still functions right. Since he's been on prednisone (another nemesis of Larry's) the tissue was really damaged and tore so easily it made the tissue difficult to work with) We're hoping the ostomy dealio is temporary and they can hook him up later.

After the surgery I was surprised to see that he actually had color in his face. He looked pretty good (and handsome as usual). The pain was pretty bad at first but got better.  He was discharged from the hospital on Thursday Dec 2nd. He's been doing okay but seems to hurt more now :(

I really am proud of Larry for being so patient and strong through everything. I don't know how he does it. But through it all he's taken good care of me. I love him so much :) We've really appreciated the prayers, meals, and support of friends and family. It has meant a lot and uplifted us. Thank you so much!

22 Week Ultrasound

I had my follow up ultrasound on 10/27/10. The month prior, the doctor was unable to see the heart well so he wanted to check it when baby was bigger. This time it was clearly visible and everything looked normal. Yay! We could still see the bright spot but the doctor wasn't concerned about it. This time we had a different doctor. He seemed more relaxed and told us our baby boy looks great and he thinks it's highly unlikely that he has a chromosomal abnormality. He thinks the club feet are isolated and his only issue. And he assured us that it's easy to treat. We're so grateful to be able to relax more about everything. We just love our baby boy so much!

I've been doing a lot of research trying to understand it all. We're hoping to take him to Shriner's Hospital. Right now the plan is to have him evaluated by an orthopedic surgeon when he's born. We'll then wait a week to get his casts on so he can relax at home with us. The treatment is called the Ponseti method. It's a non surgical method that uses physical therapy and casting to correct the feet. There is only a minor surgery involved instead of a series of big surgeries.

To put it simply, he'll get casts on both legs that go from his toes to groin. They'll be changed once a week. When he's about three months he'll have a tenotomy, which is a simple surgery where they cut the heel cord (achilles tendon) to allow the muscle to lengthen. Then he'll have a cast for a few more weeks. After that he'll wear a bar with little shoes attached to it. He's gonna be a good snowboarder in no time.

I'll have to give him sponge baths since he can only have a real bath once a week. I feel like he's a tough little guy and will probably handle it all better than me. I just love him so much already, I feel bad he has to wear casts right from the start. But it'll fix his cute little feet quick so he can walk normally and play like little boys should.

So...back to the ultrasound. Baby boy was doing yoga so it was hard to get clear pictures. I'm not sure how doing yoga influences a good profile picture though. They only gave us a couple pictures and the profile ones were unrecognizable. I feel kinda bitter at the tech for it. I've nicknamed her "poundy woman" because she was pretty much attacking me and baby with the ultrasound wand to get him to move. We didn't appreciate that ;) We only got two distinguishable pictures...

This is his cute little face...he looks kinda like a kitten. Thank goodness he's not a kitten though :) 

This is his cute little hand.

Since we didn't get a lot of pictures, it made me really want a 4D ultrasound for Christmas. (Hint hint...wink wink.) I just want to see him better on ultrasound...it's $150 though. Larry isn't going for it at this time. I'm determined to get my wish though! Maybe I'll wait to ask again when he's on some serious pain killers...hmm. Speaking of which, the poor guy has been really sick. He should be getting his surgery soon hopefully. I feel so bad for him.

I wanted more pictures so I pulled out the ultrasound video from his 18 week ultrasound and took screen shots. Yeah...I'm talented like that. Ha.

My baby has the cutest little toes! :D I just can't get over his cuteness.

Look at the cute little club foot.

I think this is the other club foot. I know one of them looks more turned in than the other. See his cute leg with the little foot turned to the side?

 He is so precious! Look, he's sticking out his little tongue. I love this little boy!

Our Little Boy!

 Look, he's smiling!
What can I say? We are SO in love with him already. On September 29th we went in for the big ultrasound. It was so exciting and wonderful to see him on the screen and realize what a miracle he is. He measured right on target for his due date, February 27th 2011. Then the big moment came where we saw his legs kicking about and, as we could see right at that moment, the ultrasound tech told us we're having a little boy! We both thought so and mentioned it many times before we found out. But there was something about that moment. I just felt so in love with my baby boy. It was just pure joy.

He was kicking and moving a lot during the ultrasound...which he's always been good at. I just adore him and love feeling him kick. He especially likes to kick when I eat strawberries. Hehe. He was so cute on the ultrasound (of course :) he kept licking his lips, sticking his tongue in and out. He must have been thinking about strawberries.

The ultrasound tech started looking closer at his feet and told us that she was going to have the doctor come in because she thought she saw that one of his feet was clubbed. Well the doctor came in (little did we know he was about to scare us like none other) and told us that he wanted to take a good look at our little boy. I started to worry a bit. Then he said that both his feet were clearly clubbed and that he'll need to be treated right after he's born. (If you look in the "I'm A Boy" picture you can tell that his feet are turned down and inward.) Fortunately it can be fixed so he'll be able to walk normally. He may just walk a little later than babies tend to. He'll most likely have surgery and start physical therapy from the time he's born. And he'll wear casts that go from his feet to the top of his legs for about 6 months. Then he'll wear a brace on his feet that looks like a little skateboard. We have decided to take him to Shriners Hospital. We're really grateful to have all the options of such great children's hospitals right here in Salt Lake City.

Well, as I was saying, the doctor told us about his clubbed feet. We think they're so cute and he's still perfect of course. But I felt sad that he'd have to go through the challenges of getting them fixed. Yet I was relieved that it was something they could correct. But the part that really scared me was when the doctor looked at his heart and told us about a bright spot, or calcium deposit in his heart called an echogenic cardiac focus. He said it's pretty common, but with the clubbed feet, it could indicate chromosomal abnormalities. They were especially markers for downs syndrome. Way to scare the crap out of the happy parents to be! I quickly came to terms that it's okay if he had downs, though I hope he doesn't so he can have an easier life. It was the other syndromes they told us about that are really severe that scared me, since those babies can't live. I grieved and struggled and focused on that...took the fun out of things. We went home and cried and worried so much.

They did a quad screen to look into the likely hood of down's syndrome and stuff. A couple days later, (which seemed like forever) my doctor (Dr. Watts) called and said they were normal and negative for an increased risk of down syndrome and it was only 1-2%. He also tried to reassure me not to worry about the other syndromes. Yet I still went to fearing the worst. I'm finally feeling better and being rational. I feel at peace when I focus on how his brain and spinal cord are normal, he has long legs, and measured perfectly. The chances of the chromosomal abnormalities are really low yet I still worry here and there. I have to try really hard to be positive and have faith that my little boy will be okay. Because he will! I'm having a follow up ultrasound to check on his heart  in a couple weeks (they couldn't see the right ventricle well because he wouldn't hold still and kept moving). They also want to check on the bright spot.

If you're wondering what we're planning on naming him...well...we're not going to decide until he's born. It's kind of a battle between me and Larry as we don't quite agree. How do I explain this...Larry Allen II wants to name him Larry "Allen" III since his due date is on Larry Allen I's birthday. It does seem appropriate since his dad is in heaven and probably thought it was a wise choice for our little boy  to be sent to us at this time. So I like it but I just wanted to choose his own unique name. I want to name him Hayden Elijah, which is a great name if I do say so myself ;) I have my reasons and meaning behind it to. Mostly because I always thought my first little boy would be named Hayden (then I met Mr. Larry and found out he may have other plans). But also because of the meaning of the name Elijah, after the prophet who had some strong characteristics that I'm convinced our little guy has.

I can't say how much we've appreciated all the prayers and support. It really has strengthened my testimony of the power of faith and prayer. We're so grateful for our family and friends who called to talk to us, came and visited, brought us meals, (and baby gifts for our sweet little guy) and helped us stay positive. We are so grateful that our Heavenly Father is entrusting us with such a precious son to raise and love as our own.

Now for more pictures of our preparations for our little BOY!

See he's growing and so am I!

I got him this little outfit. It's so fun to shop for him. It can take a little time though cuz he's special and I have to find him clothes without the built in feet. And  they need to be loose enough to fit over his casts. 

The nursery :D  We've already gotten quite a bit done...we were too excited. It's coming along great! It's fun making a cute and cozy place for our little guy to relax in.

Our baby on the way!

Okay, so I haven't updated the blog in a long time. You probably already knew that Larry and I are expecting the cutest, sweetest baby ever February 27th 2011. The due date is special because a few other significant things that happened on that date.
1. Larry's Dad's Birthday
2. Larry II and I got engaged
3. I got my Patriarchal Blessing

Of course, baby's aren't born exactly on their due date all that often, but you never know.

Here's the lo-down on the pregnancy so far...

June 16th: Positive pregnancy test! 3 1/2 weeks

July 6th: First ultrasound, saw and heard baby's heartbeat! 6 weeks 2 days

Okay, so you can't see much here because the baby was so small. But notice the waves at the bottom of the pictures. That's the baby's heartbeat :) It was such a relief to hear the heartbeat. We could even see the tiny heart beating on the ultrasound.

July 27th: Second ultasound, baby already looking cute and moving arms and legs! 9 weeks 2 days. Baby measuring right on for due date.

Baby grew a lot! First profile shot of our baby. Larry thinks the baby looks just like him. Ha. I know some people have a hard time understanding what they're looking at. Baby's face is on the left side of the pic. If you don't get it, I'll just assure you that you're looking at the most precious baby ever. Okay, I'm biased already. I hadn't shared the ultrasound pic yet because it's so special to me.

August 17th: Well, that's just today...the newest thing going on is that I can hear the baby's movement with the fetal doppler. He/she moves a lot, it's so cute :)

It took a lot of time, prayers, and well, fertility medication to have our baby coming along. Then more medication to sustain the pregnancy. I struggled a lot with my fears (due to my history of miscarriage) but Larry gave me a couple blessings that helped me a lot early on. We appreciate all your prayers and know they have helped. It's also been so great to have the doctor tell me everything looks great and is going well.

It's been a difficult pregnancy as far as morning sickness goes. I've never thrown up so much in my life...like you all wanted to know ;)  I've been on medication for it and thankfully, only get sick in the evening instead of all the time now. I'm not complaining, though. I was told early on that it was a good sign! So that helped get me through it.

Anyway, in October I'll have an ultrasound to find out if we're having a little boy or a little girl. Neither of us have any clue. It seems most the time I have it in my mind that it's a boy...but hey, I go back and forth. Girl or boy, it doesn't matter. We're just grateful to have a healthy baby.

I'm about in my second trimester now at just over 12 weeks. Speaking of which, I've read different things...not really sure when it starts. Either way, it's a relief. I still have a hard time with my worries but it gets better and better with time. It's been especially nice to be able to listen to the baby's heart beat every day with the doppler. My doctor was impressed with me for being able to find it starting at 8 weeks. I think it was one of those tender mercies to be able to hear it and calm my fears. I'm so grateful to have our baby coming to us. I know he/she is a very choice spirit of our Heavenly Father.

Not being able to communicate well can be funny

It seems that Larry and I, like many couples, have trouble communicating. This phone conversation was a good example…
Larry: Hey, did you look at Sams?
Megan: Club. No, you said to look at Home Depot.
Larry: I know, did you look at Sams?
Megan: Club.* No, but I can. I didn’t know I was supposed to. I just looked at Home Depot.
*(anyone who knows me really well knows I have a pet peeve of shortening names of things. Hence, if you ever say Sams, I will complete it by saying Club.)
Larry: What are you talking about? Did you look at Sams or not?!
Megan: K I’m getting confused now.
Larry: S-A-N-S….Sans!
Megan: What the heck are Sans?
Larry: WHIRLYBIRDS!
Megan: Oh, FANS!
Needless to say, Larry is now deeply questioning my intelligence. The funny part is how I was talking about fans, but couldn’t comprehend that “Sams” was “fans.” I seriously blame pregnancy for my recent lack of comprehension.

Our Two Year Anniversary

Larry and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary on April 22nd. We've been through a lot together and I'm grateful for all the support we've had from friends, family, and above all, our Heavenly Father. We decided to take some much needed time off to relax together.

First we had a short trip to Park City. We stayed at the Marriott where we went for our one day honeymoon. It brought back memories of our wedding time because the room looked the same. When I say "room" I should say "house." It was bigger than our condo! Anyway, it was nice to stay there but I think we regretted spending lots of $$$ on dinner. Oh and the hotel. But I like it there so I was fine with that :D I just like spending time with Larry so I was happy. We don't have cable at home so we got a bit caught up watching TV. We watched like three hours of animal planet. Some show called "fatal attractions" about people who keep wild animals as pets...and then their "pets" attack them. It made me sad to see animals kept in those circumstances. They're wild animals! Anyway, enough of my rant on that. Oh and I know, very romantic ;)

This is a cupcake :)

Me and Larry enjoying our stay in Park City


We came home for a day and prepared for our camping trip. Then on our anniversary day we headed to Southern Utah. We pitched our tent at the Snow Canyon campgrounds. It was really pretty and the weather was nice after the first day. We enjoyed cooking meals on the fire and sleeping in our cocoon sleeping bags. Those things are pretty comfy. We played a monopoly card game and other games; that was fun. It reminded me of the days when we were dating. We went bike riding and hiked a lot (which helped me realize I'm not in very good shape anymore). It was fun and we really enjoyed being together with all of life's stresses and worries put behind us.


Yes...that is a marshmallow fork stuck to me.






Out final day we made a little visit to my sister Emily and her family for a few minutes. Then it was off to Zion National Park. We were lucky because it was the "national parks are free week." We drove around and enjoyed the tunnels the most. Ha. I'm scared of heights so I was ever so slightly nervous while driving up the canyons. Larry had fun teasing me by trying to scare me here an there. Fortunately he is safe driver so I was fine. Before we left Zion, we took a short hike to see the weeping wall or something. It was all very pretty. Then, Saturday night, we headed home. Sunday my sister Heidi gave her homecoming talk...she's been home for two months so I'm sure she's glad they finally had her do it! K, there is our little update :)

Our camera died so I didn't take pictures of Zion. But here are some more pictures from the rest of our trip.(there are a couple more on facebook too) Larry looks ever so handsome, but me...well, I was camping without my blow dryer and such...so you know :( Anyway, we really enjoyed our trip. I feel so much love for Larry and I couldn't be more grateful to have him as my eternal companion. Here's to hoping for an especially great year together and many more to come!

This is the rock wall where pioneers wrote their names with grease in the 1800s. I seriously started climbing up there but Larry informed me that I would probably die so I took his advice and well, didn't climb it ;)

Larry (being inspired by the Pioneers) proceeded to deface his very own rock wall (other people had done it too...which doesn't make it right, but just sayin!)


He was very proud of himself...

We are now the "Bal5meier" family.

I just think Larry is the most handsome guy I ever did see...I love that hubs of mine.



My diamond in the rough...I had Aladdin songs stuck in my head after doing that.

Yay for sand dunes! I know the pic is blurry...



Larry really liked the old volcanos and lava rocks. Crazy stuff.

What Can I Say?

So...I'm in the blogging mood. I don't do it enough...I'm pretty sure because I usually don't care to share whatever I'm up to or how I'm doing. But it's a nice Sunday evening so why not write a bit? I don't have any pictures to glam up this post though. That's my new goal...we need pictures! We have very few pictures of us together since we got married. I chalked it up to having braces...But on March 10th I got them off! WoohoO!! Now Larry can't call me train tracks...it's amusing watching him pause to think of some new nickname to give me. Hehe. Sucker.

Anyway, I'm loving this Spring weather. We're going camping in a month for our anniversary...I know it doesn't sound luxurious but we're so excited! I love nature and Larry so put the two together and I'm one happy girl! We'll take pics and post a lovely story about our adventures (in Southern Utah) after it happens.

A couple other updates...on January 25th we got a new niece, Aurora Grace Arnold ("Rori"). We haven't met her yet but she's really cute! Also, my older sister Emily...wait a second, I don't know why I bother saying "older" I mean I AM the youngest. Hehe. Anyway my sister Emily announced on Valentine ’s Day that she and Brett are having another baby. Their youngest is almost four so it's been a while. We're happy for them. They just found out they're having a GIRL so that ends the streak of boys on my side of the family.

I'm still doing my daycare biz and that's going well. Our store is going just fine too. We have some new ideas that we're excited about and we feel that we'll have success with. More to come on that later.

Lastly, I just wanted to mention, for anyone who was interested to know, that we didn't get the results of what caused our last miscarriage as was anticipated. Usually they’re “unexplained” but still! For those who don't know, I was in the Eager Study, on my last month in the study, when we finally had another baby on the way (18 months after we lost the first.) I was happy to be staying in the study but had a feeling it wouldn't work out again. Yeah I hate when I have feelings of stuff I so don't want to hear.

Well, I was given a container in case I had another miscarriage. Sorry if that's too much information...I took it with me to the hospital (I was having problems obviously) and miscarried there. We made it very clear to the hospital staff over and over again that we needed the "sample" :( kept in the fridge and without any thing added to it. The Eager Study was going to perform a genetic test (costs about $4,000) free of cost to us.

Well...I waited weeks and weeks for the results. Finally I found out that the nurse at the hospital didn't follow the written and verbal instructions we gave. They added formalin to the specimen which destroyed it. Thus, we didn't get the answers we really needed. Infertility is really expensive and frustrating! My doctor recommended testing that cost an additional $3000 but we had to decline and take other routes with lower costs. I always feel weird talking about this very personal family matter on the blog but I feel like sharing for some reason…for those who care to know.

I have to admit, it's hard being in "the baby business" when I do want one myself and don't know when that will happen. I'm still a youngin’ but that's what tends to scare me. Most 21 year olds don't have these types of problems so it's a matter of concern. I got a new doctor who is helpful and concerned too so that helps! I know that we'll have a baby when we're ready to be fit parents...or something like that.

I really do trust in the Lord's wisdom and timing. I've had plenty of experiences along the road of life this past couple years to realize that there's wisdom in why things have happened how they have. I never even thought I'd be married at this point in my life so I feel blessed to have the opportunity to become a mom at a young age. I think Larry worries about my desire to have a baby when I can just have him instead ;) Just kidding Larry. But I think most women naturally desire a baby of their own when they see cute babies being born left and right.

Sometimes I feel really discouraged and "wo is me." This morning I was being a baby myself and Larry was helpful to remind me that Heavenly Father really does know more than I do. Then at church everything pointed to how God's wisdom is perfect and we can find good in everything that happens to us.

Life has been tough in the Balsmeier family for many reasons but that's only made me realize how much Heavenly Father really does know and love us. And I find myself enjoying (did I just say that?) the challenges that life brings...not sure "enjoying" is the right word. What I mean is, I'm seeing the "tender mercies of the Lord" in my life more and more. I'm literally seeing the spiritual growth in me and then I realize...oh yeah...He does know what He's doing! We all have challenges that go unseen to others but never to our Heavenly Father. Don't ever forget it! Wow, apparently I just wrote in my journal and made it public to the world. Oops. I just hope it helps someone somehow.

2009 Happenings...

Um...I don't feel like being creative or even writing in complete sentences. Here are some noteworthy happenings of 2009. It was a difficult year but it had its blessings and we made progress in our lives.

Remodeled our condo (new carpet and paint)
Completed another semester at LDSBC. Took the rest of the year off.
New nephew Vaughn Jaten born Feb 12.
New niece Kailyn Bidwell born Feb 18.
Remembered our baby's due date Feb 23.
Got laid off from my job.
Taught Relief Society for the year.
Went to Kansas for Jordan & Blake's wedding.
Celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary.
Larry gave me two baby guinea pigs for our anniversary.
Became a 21 year old.
Took our first vacation together-had fun in San Diego.
My grandma passed away August 27.
After much unemployment, started my own daycare.
Larry sold his beloved car.
Started our own business, MegBeeBaby.com.
New nephew Ethan Balsmeier born Sept 23.
Larry got a promotion and raise.
After a long wait, got pregnant again.
Had another miscarriage.
Larry turned 26.
Went to Kansas for Christmas.
Welcomed in 2010. We hope it's a very good year with many blessings.