The Faulk Family

 A warning in advance--this is really long and detailed, so if you don't want to read a detailed birth story (with pictures), then stop now!  This was an important record for me to make and I didn't want to spare any details. :) Technically the story of my labor begins on Riley’s due date: July 24, 2013.   Because I have to go back to school as a teacher very soon (my first meeting is August 14), I was desperate to see if I could use some “natural” methods to get the labor going.   So, on Wednesday, July 24 around ten in the morning I took about 1.5 ounces of castor oil, which is known to get labor kick started occasionally by basically freaking out your bowels so you have the runs—lovely.   I waited for a few hours but nothing happened at all.   Bummer.   My mother and sister came to Salt Lake and we celebrated Pioneer Day by going to temple square and having lunch at the Lion House.   After lunch I started to have some horrible pains in my stomach.   They didn’t feel l

For one of my baby showers, my friend had me write down the 10 things I have loved most about pregnancy and the 10 things I have loved least about pregnancy (loved least?  hated?).  I thought I would share my lists here! The 10 Best Things About My Pregnancy 1. Growing "Up Top" Yup, they got bigger.  Finally.  Also Daniel's favorite thing about pregnancy maybe? 2. Feeling the Baby Kick and Move Definitely the coolest (and simultaneously the weirdest) thing ever. 3. Designing a Nursery I love a good interior design project so this has been a blast for me. 4. Eating for Two Enough said. 5. Feeling Connected With Other Women I think it's cool to finally be experiencing something millions of other women have gone through.  It makes me feel connected! 6. Learning About Pregnancy and Birth Being pregnant has given me the opportunity to learn SO much about pregnancy and birth and it's fascinating! 7. Strengthening My Relationship With My Husband D

             Pregnancy is fascinating. It's one of those things that I've wondered "what it felt like" my whole life.  I mean seriously--a HUMAN BEING growing inside of you?  Creepy. I wondered what it felt like when the baby kicked.  I wondered what it felt like to actually give birth.  I wondered--let's be honest here--what it felt like to be fat.  So many unknowns that felt so far away from where I was in life. Then suddenly, here I am.  I am pregnant. Even as my husband and I started trying to get pregnant I thought it would never actually happen.  I'm not really sure why--maybe it was because my mom had trouble getting pregnant, or maybe it was because I had so many friends that struggled with infertility.  I'm not sure.  It took us 3 tries to get pregnant (whoop-de-doo), which I know is nothing, but it was interesting how each time we found out I wasn't, my mind went immediately to "of course I'm not."  Of course this is

Well, it's been a while friends...as usual. BUT I'M BACK!  Hopefully for good this time with a lot of updates.  School is out, my shows at the Desert Star are over and now I have NO EXCUSE not to blog.  At all.  A lot of things have been happening around here since my 20th week of pregnancy!  We're now in week 33 and here is a video update on how things have been going the past, ahem, 13 weeks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAoBhlmudl0 It's easier to just have you watch that outrageously long video than to retype all of the same info here.  It all boils down to the fact that I am in the last few weeks of my pregnancy and overall things have been going great.  Here is a really crappy photo of me this week at 33 weeks pregnant: I seriously don't know why I'm always wearing horizontal stripes while pregnant.  I'm pretty sure this is a common knowledge no-no.  Still, I just don't care.  Maybe if I was fat EVERYWHERE and not just in my stomac

Well...we're HALFWAY! I'm 20 weeks and 4 days today.  It feels SO GOOD to be on the other side of halfway--not only because that means I'm that much closer to actually having this baby, but also because my crazy sickness seems to have subsided.  This is the best I've felt my entire pregnancy!  I cannot say how great it is to eat food again, to enjoy a meal, to not wake up throwing up, etc.  It is AWESOME! I just had my 20 week scan a few days ago, and it went great!  The baby is healthy and right on schedule.  Also, it's still a BOY.  I didn't want to finally get used to it being a boy and then find out it's actually a girl, which I've heard has happened at these scans.  What's weird is that he was SO wiggly at the last ultrasound, but during this one he didn't seem to want to move.  The ultrasound tech was trying to get a certain angle of his heart, but she couldn't because his arms were crossed over his chest.  We tried to make him mov

So...big life change!  If you know me at all or follow me on facebook or follow me on instagram, then you definitely know by now that we are PREGNANT ! Many people have been "waiting" for us to get pregnant for a while since we live in Utah and have been married a whopping 3.5 years (the ladies at my church thought I was infertile...).  Well, luckily infertility was not the issue we just wanted to wait until the time seemed right.  We wanted to make sure our marriage was strong before we brought kids into the picture.  Having a baby during the summer seemed like the best option since I'm a teacher, so luckily on our third month of trying--success.  The baby is due July 24 as of now.  In two weeks I'm having my big 20-week ultrasound where they measure the baby and everything so we'll see then how accurate the date is.  Also, if you haven't heard... Let me tell you how shocked I was.  I COMPLETELY thought it was a girl.  I didn't want a girl more th