Its crunch time!

Just wanted to update everyone on our situation right now.  Most of you might know that my husband is now playing for a team over in Spain.  That means that I am at home in Arizona and am now 37 (almost 38) weeks pregnant.  Its not been the easiest separation, I won't lie...but its a decision we made together that we felt was best for our family at this moment.

Travis playing in Santiago Spain

Our baby girl is healthy and I am healthy...we are blessed beyond belief!  We are so anxious to meet her soon.  Travis will get to come home for the birth (at least we hope the timing is right).  Of course it can't be perfectly planned, but we are praying that God allows him to be here at the perfect time.

I won't lie, its not been the easiest situation to be separated while I'm so far along in my pregnancy.  There's so much to do to prepare for a baby ....I don't think either of us fully understood until just recently.  So many decisions have to be made in such a short amount of time its quite overwhelming. There's so many things to think about as a first time parents...who will be our pediatrician? do we have the nursery prepared? What else do we need in the nursery?  bedding? rocker? changing table? do we have all the baby necessities?  What vaccines will she get?  Will I breastfeed? How do you breastfeed? What kind of diapers? Cloth diapers, regular diapers? Which ones?  Do we have all the essentials for the day of her birth?  Will we do blood cord banking? What kind of humidifier do we get?  How will I prepare for labor?  What car seat? How do you put together this car seat and stroller? ha!
ahhhhhh some days I feel like my head is going to completely explode with trying to answer all these questions.  Its definitely been crunch time since I've been home these past few weeks to answer and find everything we need.  I'm just trying to take it day by day and TRYing not to get overwhelmed and just enjoy the experience as much as possible.

On top of that I'm moving slower and slower and basic tasks are getting more difficult.  These last few weeks of pregnancy have been quite a struggle.  I have a pretty bad case of sciatica right now, which is incredibly painful at times and my belly is getting so HUGE --its insanely uncomfortable.  I'm not sure why but I don't think I ever expected it to be so uncomfortable ha! I was naive that is for sure!  I never knew rolling over in bed would become so difficult and hot baths would become my nightly routine (feels like heaven on the belly).  I definitely don't bend down much at all anymore and can't do basic chores and tasks around the house on my own....at least not easily!  I'm thankful to have family and good friends close by to help out with SO much!  That has been a huge blessing.

I'm sure a lot of people think we are crazy to be separated at such a fragile time in our life.  I wanted to take a minute to talk about this because I know that some people really don't understand our lifestyle (My fellow basketball wives I'm sure can feel me on this topic).  I've had so many people ask me why we do this especially in these circumstances and don't understand.  Bottom line is that no one can understand unless you've been in our shoes.  And on top of that you really don't need to understand.  Just like people with so called "normal" jobs we are just making the decisions that we feel are best for our family.  No, its not easy all the time but we have learned that this is God's plan for our family and are grateful for all that he has provided us with.  

I'm definitely the type of person who doesn't like to ask for help and I don't like people feeling sorry for me or anything like that.  I think that has been the hardest part was for me to realize that its ok to ask people for help (thankfully my family usually just offers the help).  Everything happens for a reason.  We are overjoyed with the blessings we have and to be able to meet our sweet little girl very shortly!  I'm trying to enjoy these last few weeks of pregnancy as much as possible.  I still can't believe she will be so soon!!  Wish me luck :)

I'm trying to remind myself that this is the easy part...once she is here my life will TOTALLY be flipped upside down.  But I'm so ready!

Little did I know...

So in my last post I said I don't know much yet about pregnancy and BOY was I right!  I knew nothing.  The past 2 and a half weeks I have a experienced a COMPLETELY different pregnancy that I had in the first 28 weeks.  I knew weird and uncomfortable things would happen, but I definitely underestimated how uncomfortable things would get.  I think I literally had it too easy in my first two trimesters so the "pregnancy Gods" decided to throw me for a loop and made sure I really felt the true pains. 

At 28 weeks I was put in the hospital here in Ukraine with some minor complications.  They found a hematoma in between the placenta and uterus and I was put on bed rest for a little over a week and was put in the hospital for 3 days.  This type of situation is common for many pregnant women and can be caused by emotional or physical stress and the only real way to fix it is by resting.  Because I have been very active during my pregnancy many people have asked if this is what caused it and the answer is no.  Working out did not cause this complication.  I had in recent weeks slowed my workouts routine down a huge amount and had always been very very careful about what types of exercises I was doing and took note of my heart rate and intensity level during any workouts I did.  I also went by the notion to listen to your body while doing any workout and never continued with an exercise if it didn't feel right or agree with my body anymore.  The thing I didn't realize is that where I wasn't listening to my body was during normal household activities that I do every day.  Its easy to be cautious during workouts, but its not something you think about while doing normal activities such as cleaning/cooking/walking the dog/grocery shopping, etc.  The day that I started having complications I had done way too much around my house on my own and never stopped to rest when I should have (or when I felt over tired) because it was all just second nature to me to do those things without taking breaks.  This is one thing I have learned in the past few weeks is that I am not superwomen, I can't do it all anymore and I need to listen to my body at ALL times.  

The craziest part of all of that happening was not how I felt.  I honestly didn't feel all that bad (just a bit tired) I was more disturbed by the fact that I was put in the hospital in Ukraine.  Most of you can probably not imagine what that is like AT ALL if you've never traveled outside the US or other more modern countries.  Imagine the worst hospital bunker from a WW2 movie and multiply it by 10...thats where I was put for 3 days by myself,  with no one that spoke English and in a room with 6 other women.  It was pretty much the scariest thing I had ever seen in my life when they first showed me where I had to stay.  And because it was a shared room (which they all are) my husband was not allowed to stay with me, he could only come visit during the day.  Needless to say I was an emotional wreck for about 24 hours straight.  I didn't sleep at all the first night because I was terrified and uncomfortable.  Even though it was a scary situation for me,  I finally calmed down I realized that the doctors were taking good care of me (even if I couldn't understand them lol) and that is what was most important.  Thankfully everything healed and the baby and I are perfectly healthy now.  Now that its been a couple weeks I can look back and be thankful for the care they provided (even if it wasn't in the best conditions) and I am stronger to have experienced that.  It also made me appreciate the facility and care we have in the U.S. that much more!

The hospital room in Ukraine

Needless to say the whole situation made me even more keen to get back home and deliver my baby in the States.  I'll be leaving Ukraine in a couple more days and will spend the rest of my pregnancy at home where I am more comfortable.  

29 weeks

I am now 30 weeks pregnant and feeling huger than ever!  The uncomfortable factor is starting to get to me and more of the pregnancy woes are hitting me all at once.  I really can't complain too much though because I am blessed to have a healthy baby and be out of the hospital and feeling relatively normal again!  

30 weeks

Here's to learning more and more about the crazy journey to creating a new life :) It's hard work, but I know its worth it!

Still have a lot to learn but here's my 10 tips for pregnancy ... SO FAR!

Pregnancy has been such an interesting journey so far.  As most of you know I have continued to work out and eat "somewhat" healthy throughout my pregnancy and I think that has played a big part of how I feel overall, but it doesn't mean that I haven't had my ups and downs with it!  Every week I experience something new...sometimes good....sometimes bad.  Overall I have been blessed with an uncomplicated pregnancy, no puking (thank goodness) and an overall good energy level.

The Progression

I can remember a year or two ago thinking how scared I would be to get pregnant and go through that because I swear, the stories women tell are SUPER scary.  They make pregnancy seem like its this awful thing that you have to go through to have a baby.  But for me it honestly hasn't been that way.  Every strange or painful occurrence is all part of a bigger plan and its all so worth it when I feel my baby girl moving around in there.  It still feels like a little alien or something and it freaks me out, but I love it!

I'm 27 weeks now and this week has been an interesting one so far.  I've begun to feel her kick me in the ribs and I can just tell that she is SO much bigger now.  In just a matter of days it seems like she has grown all the way up into my rib cage.  I can't even believe it!  I have also been experiencing the most painful and somewhat crippling calf cramps! Every day this week I have woken up to the most painful paralyzing cramp that I have ever felt.  I was actually limping for a couple hours after one incident yesterday because it was so painful afterward.  Last week I didn't have leg cramps but my eyes were so dry they were burning...if its not one thing its another.  But they are all small little parts of the whole journey.  I don't know everything but I am learning something new every day so here's my tips for those of you who will have babies in the future....

10 Things I've learned so far about pregnancy SO FAR:

1. Don't expect pregnancy to be perfect.

I went into pregnancy thinking I would be able to do it all, but you just can't!  You have to accept that you body is changing and there are things you can't do. .... But at the same time there's still a lot you CAN do.  I don't like when people make me feel like I'm a crippled person. I hate when people tip toe around me or won't let me carry something just because I'm pregnant.  I'm pregnant...AND healthy....I don't have some sort of heart condition or something haha

2. Weird things are gonna happen.

Seriously you never know what to expect with your hormones or your body.  One minute you could be happy and the next you start crying in the middle of the grocery store.  Or one minute you're eating a nice dinner and the next you get really dizzy and feel like your gonna pass out (that happened)!  But its all just part of the change.  I'm just getting used to weird things happening!


3.  Eat .... A LOT!!!

I don't think I ever go more than one hour with out eating or at least snacking on something!  That's also what has saved me from getting sick! Always keep food in your purse when you leave the house otherwise....BEWARE.  If your belly is empty you will probably not feel great!


4.  Always pee BEFORE you leave the house!

That one is no joke! I'm talking every 20 minutes some days.  Make sure you go before you leave the house...like RIGHT before not 20 minutes before!


5.  Talk to other pregnant women and new moms

I have been thankful to meet and talk to so many incredible women who have shared their birth experiences with me to help me be more prepared.  Everyone is different, but its good to know how many different ways of going about pregnancy and labor there are so that you can be prepared for the best or for the worst.

6. Sleep is your best friend.

I've always enjoyed a good nights rest, but no joke I don't think I've ever slept as hard as I have during pregnancy.  I can just tell that my body needs it!

7.  If you're married, appreciate the little things your spouse does for you (and MILK IT HAHA)

I can't imagine having to do everything without my husband around during this pregnancy.  We didn't see each other at all during my first trimester, which was not fun.  And then he was injured and on crutches for 3 weeks recently and let me tell you it was SO much harder managing little tasks that he normally helps me with since I've been pregnant (carrying groceries, walking the dog 3 times a day, washing the dishes when I'm so exhausted I don't want to stand up, etc.) So I truly truly appreciate the moments when he is around and shows me that support.  It really does make a big difference!!  For all you ladies who don't have a significant other to help you during pregnancy I give you BIG props! Its not easy doing this alone.

8.  Don't let little things overwhelm you or let people's opinions stress you out

Every woman will have a different experience during pregnancy.  Take others advice, but always do what's in your heart.  You know what's best for you and your baby!

9. Exercise

Not every day is going to be a good day, but when you feel up to it take advantage of it and get a workout in or get your body moving in some way.  You will feel so much better!  When you exercise normally you have more energy...its the same for pregnancy as well!

10.  Smile and laugh a lot

I truly believe that your baby can feel your emotions, so remember when you're upset your baby might be too.  I've noticed that when I'm relaxed and happy, so is she! Give him/her something to smile about and be happy :)


Those are my tips so far.  I'm sure I'm going to learn a whole lot more along the way...so I'll keep you posted :)

Ukraine and Babies...update on the Petersons!

So I finally decided it was time to start updating my blog again.  I've been on a long hiatus, but since things are getting interesting again and I have more time now I figured I might as well update everyone on our life!

So if you didn't know, Travis and I are currently in Ukraine.  He is playing for BC Goverla in Ivano-Frankisk, Ukraine.  This is his second season with this team.  I moved out here in October and have just been thankful to be with my hubby again full time.  Last year, I mostly stayed at our home  in Phoenix because I was honestly burnt out of traveling so much and not having a normal life.  I needed a break and to be able to work for myself for awhile, which I really haven't had the opportunity to do since he's been playing.  It was a good break for me and it made me realize what is really most important to me.  Over our time apart I came to the realization that the grass is always greener and that I need to enjoy the little things in life a bit more than I had been.  After a season being apart, I came to the conclusion that it really doesn't matter where we go, home is where my husband is.  Thats really what is most important.  So needless to say, I don't think we will be separated much at all in the future, which we are both happy about!

Niko likes Ukraine too!

Travis' season was going very well until he recently fractured his ankle in a game.  He was on crutches for 3 weeks, but is now back in the gym a little bit trying to strengthen.  He will hopefully get back on the court next week and he is ready!

Travis on the game program.  As the team's captain this photo is on posters all over the city here.

2013 was a good year for us and I think we both learned a lot.  Lots of exciting things happened in our family.  My sister got engaged, my brother got married.  Travis' grandparents moved closer to us in Phoenix.  We bought our first car together and made a lot of improvements to our house.  And what tops the list is that we found out that we are having a baby girl!!  Nothing can really compare to finding out the news that we were having our first child and are going be parents! I mean how crazy is that?  We are going to be responsible for another human life pretty soon...but we are so ready! We waited a long while to tell people after we found out in August because of a previous loss.  After that devastating experience we had last Spring, I was very skeptical and scared about how this one would turn out.  But God has truly blessed us, we have a healthy baby girl on the way and we couldn't be more grateful for this gift we have been given.  I am now 23 weeks along and feeling better than ever.

Its crazy to finally be able to feel the baby moving and kicking.  She is very active and I'm loving every second of being able to feel that---its really quite an amazing thing to experience :)  I've been lucky to have a somewhat easy pregnancy from what I hear.  I haven't had any morning sickness, just a little bit of nausea in the first trimester and of course exhaustion, which is normal.  Now that I'm in the second trimester I have been feeling amazing.  I really believe that staying active and trying to eat healthier has helped with my symptoms.  I'm a big believer in feeding your baby good food and that the healthier I am the healthier my baby will be, so I've been trying to stay active (within reason) and been eating clean (90% of the time haha).  I haven't had too many cravings...at one point I was craving mandarins every night, but at least thats healthy.  And just recently I was craving a bagel with cream cheese, which is so strange cause I've never been a bagel person.  Thats the mystery of pregnancy I guess.

The bump at 19 weeks

21 weeks

We are so looking forward of what's to come in 2014, especially for the arrival of our baby girl :)  I can honestly say that I have never been happier in my life.  I am learning to appreciate all the small wonders and joys in life and not take ANY second for granted.

We hope that you will follow our journey as we live overseas and transition into parenthood! One of my resolutions is to update my blog regularly, so I'm gonna make that happen!

Here's to 2014! Cheers from Ukraine
<3 Jackie

Czeching out...

Now that the season is officially over, it's crazy to think that in just a few days we will be leaving our sweet town of Prostejov, Czech Republic and heading back to our home in Phoenix!  It's exciting...yet bitter sweet.  One of the ironic things about living in a different city every year is that once you finally get used to the place you live and start really appreciating the great things about it (which usually happens as the weather gets warmer), it seems like its time to leave.

I think Travis would agree that we have really enjoyed living in Prostejov.  At times it was hard to appreciate the idea of living in a small town (again), where you understand nothing (as usual), and where most of the time time we lived here it was freezing cold (typical), but when it really gets down to it there is SO much beauty in this town and so many amazing people here that we have met.  We have made connections and friendships and had experiences with people that we will NEVER forget.  And that is what this experience is all about.

Things I will miss about Prostejov:

1. The beautiful town center

2. Sipping lattes, milkshakes and smoothies at our favorite outdoor cafes in the center

3.  Taking walks with Niko in the woods and to the park

4. Eating fresh strawberries from the market down the street

5. Potato pancakes and goulash (YUM)

6. Eating out for lunch for less than 8 bucks for the two of us
(158Kc=7.5USD)

7. Being able to walk to the grocery store

8. Playing in the backyard of our apartment building with Travis and Niko

9. My awesome English students

10. Ice cream cones from Aida

All in all, I think we can honestly say this has been an experience we will never forget.  We don't know what the future holds for us, but we know that someday we will look back on this time in our lives and remember all the positive experiences we had here in Prostejov.  You never know...we might be coming back here sooner than we think.  "Never say never"...thats my motto!

Polish history time--Auschwitz

Hi everyone, Travis here.  Now that my season has just finished, Jackie and I have one week left here in the Czech Republic before we go home.  We had an interesting idea to go visit Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland, which is only a 2 and half hour drive away.  So we packed up the car in the morning and took off toward Jackie's motherland of Poland.  We had a brief detour due to a highway being closed and we almost didn't make the trip because we had no idea how to get there, but thank goodness we brought the iPad!  

Upon our arrival we checked in to go on a tour of the camp and had a great guide named Ivan who took us through the whole museum of Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz Birkenau.  It was definitely an interesting place to tour and very eye opening. It was amazing to experience that type of world history.  

Entrance to Auschwitz 1 "Work for Freedom"

This was a sarcastic phrase the Nazis used as a greeting at the entrance to Auschwitz

Two, thick barbed wire, high voltage electrical fences surrounding the camp

Auschwitz I

This room was filled of the remains of pots and pans from the camp.  

This was one of many rooms filled with household items and human remains of the prisoners including items such as, brushes, glasses, razors and human hair.

Inside the main gas chamber at Auschwitz I, where millions of Jews were exterminated at the Nazi occupied camps in Poland.

Railway entering Auschwitz-Birkenau where prisoners were taken of rail cars for immediate selection.  They were either fit for work or sent to the gas chambers.

Memorial to the one and a half million men, women and children murdered 

Ruins from the destroyed gas chambers

Inside the prisoners barracks

After the 3 and half hour tour we left Auschwitz and headed back home to Czech and enjoyed the Polish scenery

The famous Polish "zcz"

Polish flag crossing the border

Beautiful Polish sunset

Victory at last

The season is finally coming to a close.  Travis' team, BK Prostejov, won the semi-final round for the Czech league last week against Decin.  The series was the best of 5 games, we had the home court advantage.  We won both of the first two homes matches, but lost both away games, and were lucky enough to play the 5th and final game here in Prostejov. Needless to say, it was a nail biter and an extremely exciting win for our team!

Here's some action shots of Travis that I was able to get at the game.

Slam dunk!  18 points for Peterson

I am so proud of my husband, he played a fantastic game to help his team to the VICTORY!

So the team is officially at least the 2nd best team in the Czech Republic, which is great, but now it's time to go for the GOLD!    

Now they are facing off in the finals against Nymburk, who have consistently been ranked #1 in the league all season, so it's going to be a tough series.  Right now they are down 2-0 to Nymburk, but will now get a chance to redeem themselves on our home court with 2 more back-to-back games this weekend.  It's the best of 7 games, so it should be an interesting final series. 

Keep checking in as I will be giving updates on our departure status as well as the results for the final series!