32 weeks

By now, your baby is just shy of 4 pounds and is nearly 17 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb.
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8 months today! I seem to be getting bigger and bigger every day (Mike reminds me!), and the baby is still very active, which usually seems to take my breath away.. literally!

I am sleeping pretty good, minus Ben waking in the night. Not sure what is up with that.. used to be such a great sleeper. If he doesn't wake, I tend to be able to sleep through the night and not have to get up to pee.

The little things are getting harder to do, like putting on my socks/shoes (and Ben's!), bending over to pick stuff up, etc. Not too much longer to go though, so I will grin and bear it. It actually makes me giggle when I have problems doing these basic tasks..

I splurged and ordered a sling today for when baby arrives. It was 30% off, and I have wanted one for quite a while. They are great quality (Cathy has one!), made locally and are so gorgeous — and the company is appropriately named Gorgeous Baby! I think this pattern is perfect for Spring/Summer, and neither too girly or boy-ish. Reversible to a lovely cocoa brown, too. And the colours match the nursery to boot!

Speaking of.. the nursery is starting to come together. I have prepped, sanded and primed the dresser. Once that is out of the way I will feel much better. I am so anxious to see it all finished — or at least the colour on the walls!

2 months!

Today marks 2 months until my due date.. 60 days. 60! Could be 45, could be 70. Who knows.. either way, it is sure approaching really fast! On Saturday I will be 32 weeks, 8 months!

Wow.

31 weeks!

Week 31: Your baby's arms, legs and body continue to fill out -- and they are finally proportional in size to her head. She weighs about 3.3 pounds/1.5 kilograms and looks more like a newborn. She measures about 16 inches/ 41 centimetres from crown to toe.

You may notice your baby isn't moving around as much. Don't worry; she's just running out of space in your uterus. As long as you can feel her squirming, you'll know she's just fine. Believe it or not, she still has plenty of growing to do. You can expect her to gain at least two more pounds/900 grams before delivery.

Your baby's organs are continuing to mature and she is passing water from her bladder: good practice for the urinating she'll do after she's born. Soon you can wonder what your baby is wishing for -- brain scans have shown that fetuses have periods of dream sleep around month eight.

You've probably gained three to four pounds / 1.3 to 1.8 kilograms this month. Gaining a pound/450 grams a week is quite normal during the last trimester as your baby has a final growth spurt before birth.
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63 days to go!!

This past week has been quite difficult as I have yet another cold. It seems as soon as Ben gets the start of a cold, I get it. Full force. The coughing at night is wearing on me.. and Ben hasn't been sleeping through the night for a while so that is extra tiring. I REALLY hope that changes when the baby comes. Oy vey.

I am enjoying being pregnant though. Brings back a lot of wonderful memories with Ben. I smile when it moves and kicks, I don't think that ever gets old. When my whole belly moves, it still makes me laugh!

But with these good warm happy fuzzy feelings also bring a lot of nerves. I am scared of how Ben is going to react initially. Obviously he will have to get used to the baby, but I am trying to prepare myself that it might not be "love at first sight" for him! I worry that there will be so much jealousy from him that it will break my heart. Being a stay at home mom of two also scares the socks off of me. With no vehicle. It will be interesting!

One feeling sure takes front and centre over everything else though.. I am so excited to meet this baby!! Who is it? Boy? Girl? C or D?!?

30 week check-up

This morning was my 30 week check-up.. got to sleep in, too. Ahhh. Ben is sick with a cold, so Mike was staying home to take care of him so I could go to my appointment and still work. With my maternity leave quickly approaching, and only working 2 days a week on my payroll job, I gots lots to do!

Everything is a-ok though. I gained 3 pounds, BP fine, good pee, measuring right on track. The heart rate has dropped (due to its growing size) from 150 to 132. Nice and consistent though. It even gave a nice big kick when he was counting LOL! When I got to see the baby on the TV via ultrasound, it looked huge! Sure has grown in four weeks! It's turned into position more, not breach, but it's early to say if it will stay that way until d-day. It was curved slightly so it will probably do more flips and flops until then!

I have given up on finding the sex. It clearly doesn't want to share it! And now that it's even bigger, it's harder to see as it's curled up more. I told Mike I just need to respect it's wishes LOL! It's not that far away, and now I am looking forward to having that wonderful surprise of announcing boy or girl! Only until recently have I started to hear the names we have picked out, and it makes me smile wondering who this little one is :D

I go back in 4 weeks, and then after that it's every 2!

The Nursery!

Things are FINALLY starting to come together with the nursery. Before Christmas, we were hard at work to get it cleared out, and Mike did a great job sorting and putting a bunch of un-needed stuff (larger stuff for when the baby gets older) into the crawlspace.

Last weekend I went through Ben's old clothes and separated all the gender-neutral stuff. Just need to wash it and put it away!

I got the paint this morning.. a wonderful light fresh minty-seafoam green call Spirea. Relaxing and cozy.. I love it :D

The armchair and ottoman (Thank K & T!) is currently getting a new slipcover made out of creamy white chenille. So soft! I have the dresser, have the paint, just gotta paint it! I think I will start on that next weekend. Mike has cleared out space in the shop so I might get him to move it out there, start a fire in the stove so it's not freezing and paint away! Want it to be able to cure for a while so it's good and durable. That will be painted a creamy white like Ben's dresser, called Pot of Cream.

The fabrics.. my favourite part! I am making a pillow for the chair (and perhaps something else) out of this awesome striped fabric:


Then perhaps a valance or detail of some sort for the drapes/curtains out of this cool cottonwood branch fabric. This area always stumps me. We have a blackout roller blind already for in there, and some white drapes that tie at the top. Want a bit more colour there though. I am trying to think of a way of using a painted piece of wood/branch as the actual curtain rod, similar to what I saw in a magazine once. I already have the perfect branches from the summer when our hazelnut trees got trimmed! Can't find a pic online, so you'll have to wait and see.


And this is the funky fabric I am going to make some artwork with.. I'll leave it at that :)


Will post pics of the room as it progresses more...

30 weeks

Your baby's lungs and digestive tract are almost fully developed. While your baby may soon slow up growing in length, (he measures about 15.7 inches/ 40 centimetres from crown to toe by now), he will continue to gain weight until he's born.

This week your baby continues to open and shut his eyes. He can probably see what's going on in utero, distinguish light from dark and even track a light source. If you shine a light on your stomach, your baby may move his head to follow the light or even reach out to touch the moving glow. Some researchers think baring your stomach to light stimulates visual development. But don't expect 20/20 vision when your baby is born -- newborns can see a distance of only about 8 to 12 inches/ 20 to 30 centimetres. (Children with normal vision don't reach 20/20 vision until about age 7 to 9.) To complete the picture, your baby now has eyebrows and eyelashes.

A pint and a half/around a litre of amniotic fluid now surrounds your baby but that volume decreases as he gets bigger and has less room in your uterus. As you and the baby continue to grow, don't be alarmed if you feel breathless, as if you can't get enough air; it's just your uterus pressing against your diaphragm. There is a light at the end of the tunnel though. At about 34 weeks (or just before delivery, if this is your second or third pregnancy), your baby's head will move down into your pelvis as the baby gets into the right position for birth. That will make breathing and eating a lot easier.
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This morning I went to do my blasted 3 hour GD test at the lab in town. What TORTURE! It's not bad enough they make you fast for 10 hours but then they keep you in a boring dull lab for 3 hours, and give 4 vials of blood all the while. Zzzzzz. I got a lot read in my book (fab!) but I was ready to come home. Then I remembered that I haven't gotten my Rhogam shot yet. I have to get that done at the hospital, so I got the great idea that I would go do that after words, while I had the truck and the time to do it. Plus my next doctor appointment is Monday and I wanted to say that I did everything! I finished at the lab — hurrah! — and left totally looking forward to my granola bar in the truck. Which I sadly forgot at home :( Thank goodness for the applejuice they gave me though..

I did get it all done though. And I am sick of labs and needles and blood and needles and labs. Fingers crossed for good results. We had a good evening though... I made a yummy turkey stew with biscuits for my friends and their twins. My feet are tired though. My body is tired. Time to go relax and head to bed early. I say that every night..

A strange encounter..

Yesterday morning, after dropping Ben off at daycare, I walked to the grocery store on the way home and stopped for a coffee (and to use the bathroom facilities!). I ordered, went over to the bar to wait for my yummy latté and there was a lady standing there that smiled. I smiled back!

She then said to me "No baby yet!?". Um, no! I know I look really pregnant when I wear my rain coat, because I can hardly zip it up and it's all snug. I said that I actually have about 10 weeks left. "10 weeks!? Wow!". Yes, that is what I like to hear. She is now staring at my belly. STARING. "I guess you are going to have one big baby!". LOL..

Let it be known that I have NO IDEA who this lady was. NO idea. I really really think she thought I was someone else. I have never seen her around, I don't go to that Starbucks that often to be a "regular" or anything.

The conversation then moved onto how much weight she gained with her pregnancies, yadda yadda yadda. People say the strangest things when you are pregnant. It's like no holds barred. Why don't you come right out and tell me how many stitches you got? Did ya poop on the table?!

Oh well. It made me laugh. And scratch my head.

29 week update...

Weeks 29 to 32, month 7: Squash. Average size — 38.6 to 42.4 cm / 1153 to 1702 grams. Baby’s energy is surging, thanks to the formation of white fat deposits beneath the skin. (Have those kicks and jabs to the ribs tipped you off yet?) Baby is also settling into sleep and waking cycles, though — as you’ve also probably noticed — they don’t necessarily coincide with your own. Also this month, all five senses are finally functional, and the brain and nervous system are going through major developments.
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Third trimester! Month 7! And we have upgraded to a squash! I know I say this all the time, but I can't believe how fast time is flying.

The baby moves all the time. ALL the time. I seriously doubt that it sleeps sometimes! I can get Mike to feel it move nearly all the time, to the point that it is "old" news! It's still exciting to me though. But it kicks so hard and rolls around so much still that it takes my breath away.. literally!

I haven't gone for my 3 hour GD test, as I got sick with another cold. Saturday morning. Gotta just get it done. I am also going to ask for another ultrasound, find out how the baby is growing. More for peace of mind that anything, with the last couple scares I had. At this point I could care less about the gender — neutral nursery is already underway!

What else is new.. not much. I feel good, trying to keep the weight off as much as possible. Glad that the holidays are over and can get back to my walks and such. I think I did too much yesterday though and I was extra tired and sore. My feet were starting to swell, the first time this pregnancy, so I knew it was a sign to slow down. Have a shower, read and go to bed. That helped.. feel much better today!

This is the year!

As Cathy so lovingly put it – this is the year I will have my second baby! In 81 days (give or take!) I am going to be a momma of TWO!

Time is flying by.. oy vey!