We can't do just one thing at a time, we like to do it all at once. This has been the most eventful time in Team Olson's history. Maybe an update on our lives?
Brian's graduating! This summer Brian has been finishing his PhD. He defended on September 3, 2010 which means he will be officially graduating in December 2010. The writing of his dissertation and the defense of the dissertation has been the biggest and final steps of his education at Vanderbilt. That paper has been written with the blood, sweat, and tears of my dear husband and words cannot describe how proud of him I am.
Brian's new job! The completion of his PhD means Brian has finally entered the professional working world. He began an engineering position at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Crane, Indiana in July 2010. He's doing something with radars. (I'm not the person to describe what he does. I'm no engineer. For all I knew during his defense, he was using made up words...) He is liking his new job, and learning as much as possible about radars. He's now getting up at 5am to go to work! This is a big deal for a long term grad student. :)
We've moved! Of course since Brian's job is in Indiana, we are now living in Indiana. This has been good, but very difficult at the same time. We LOVED living in Nashville. We really really miss Nashville and our life there. We are now in Bloomington, Indiana. It's the home of Indiana University, and fun small town. It's been an adjustment going from the "big" city to such a small town, but Bloomington does have a lot of perks. Because it's a college town, there's a lot of good restaurants. There's most of the shopping here in town that you need, and we are about an hour from Indianapolis for anything else we might need. I do like it here but there's been so much going on that we are still exploring the city and what it has to offer.
We're selling our house! This really is so much more stressful than the buying, in my opinion. Or just not as fun. There was so much stuff crammed in our little 2 bedroom townhouse. We started in March/April cleaning out and prepping for the house to go on the market. The house was listed in early June 2010, and we have had very little encouraging news since then. This may not be the best time to have a house on the market considering the economy, unemployment, etc. I am a little worried the house will not be sold when February rolls around. Please, someone buy my house! I'll make you a great deal on it!!! Until someone takes pity on me and buys it, we are paying rent in Bloomington and mortgage in Nashville. ugh!
Anna's New Job! I feel very fortunate to have found a job in Bloomington at Southern Indiana Pediatrics. I left my beloved NICU and all my Vandy family in August 2010 to join Brian in Bloomington. I do really like my job here, and my new coworkers have made me feel very welcome. I work 8 hr days. I have not stayed up all night since mid- August and it's been 7 years since I've gone this long with out seeing being up in the wee hours of the early morn. It's stressful starting over again, being the new girl and the low man on the totem pole, but I do like my job. I LOVE seeing the happy healthy babies. I LOVE LOVE seeing a few NICU graduates in the office.
Anna's Lactation Exam! This summer I thought I didn't have enough to do, so I decided to sit for the International Board of Lactation Consultants Exam. This is a very difficult, expensive exam to become a Lactation Consultant that's only offered once a year in July. So in the midst of packing, selling houses, working on dissertations, resumes, packing, moving, and being pregnant I took this exam. Brian moved to Bloomington the DAY BEFORE I took the exam. I will find out if I passed or failed at the end of October. I feel very confident I failed. I have been getting lots of encouraging words from friends and family who all think I passed. My new job is not dependent on my passing, so at this point I'm not too worried. In hind sight, I should have waited to take the exam.
and oh yeah, by the way....
WE'RE HAVING A BABY! Due February 15, 2011
As of the time of this writing, October 12, I am 22 weeks. Under normal circumstances I am terrible at updating this blog. I had visions of posting weekly pictures of the growing belly and all these pregnancy updates... but yeah, I still haven't unpacked at the apartment yet. Sorry, friends! I'll try to make up for it now.
The first trimester: this could have been much much worse considering the stress I've been under. I had many of the usual symptoms of pregnancy- the exhaustion, the nausea, the soreness. I had a bit of a scare in June when my OB told me my progesterone levels were low, so I had to take supplements. This is scary because without enough progesterone, the body cannot sustain pregnancy. The supplements brought on some rather nasty migraines, especially when I was working. I did have a lot of nausea but only puked a time or 2. I might not be able to drink orange juice ever again.
The second trimester: things are great! My belly is growing by leaps and bounds! Brian marvels over how hard my belly is. A baby is not squishy like fat is. I want junk food and dairy products ALL THE TIME. Milk and cheese and ice cream and yogurt and more cheese, please. I think I could eat pizza every single day. Bread is a wonderful thing. Maybe a cupcake? but Oh! the indigestion! Tums is a necessity that goes everywhere with me. Other random things are yummy- like chips and salsa. even better if there is a giant bucket of queso on the side. Strawberry cake instead of chocolate cake. I really only want my milk if it's on ice. I can't remember the last time I ate an actual salad. Also, I miss alcohol. I want beer. I will steal Brian's from him just to smell it.
I am pretty sure I am feeling him move around. At first I couldn't tell the difference between gas and baby. Things are certainly not in the same place they used to be, so my full bladder feels different as do gas pains. I have self diagnosed round ligament pain that I feel when I stand up. It's really bad if I've been sitting for a long time or if my bladder is really full. I've had a few contractions/Braxton Hick's that haven't been too bad just yet. I can now generally figure out where my little guy is hiding- and my belly will now be slightly lopsided depending on his location. Brian says I occasionally waddle. Stairs are killing me- I huff and puff when I'm walking up stairs.
Pictures:
Look at what my pee can do!
A 6 week Ultrasound on June 25,2010
The 8 week Ultrasound on July 8, 2010 at the OB office in Nashville
The "big" ultrasound done at 19weeks 2 days. We found out we are having a BOY!!!!!!
Belly shots, sorta:
We went to Disney World in September, because that is way more fun than unpacking. These were taken on September 17, 2010 at 18 weeks 3 days.
This was the day of the ultrasound- September 23, 2010 at 19 weeks 2 days. 2 days before my 30th Birthday. I felt I needed some pictures of the belly.
This was the past weekend with my family- October 10, 2010 at 21 weeks 5 days.
