Baby Epp

yup, predicted that one...

2008-06-23T22:54:00.002-06:00

so two days after that last post, on Wednesday, Danica took her first steps. 10 days before her 1st birthday.

We were at my parent's place, picking up the utility trailer to use on the weekend to haul some junk away, and Tony and my dad were outside hitching it up. Mom and I were in the kitchen, I was sitting on the floor and Danica was walking around holding onto the cupboards. She had made it nearly to where the stove was, when she turned around and stood without holding anything, and gave me a big smile. I thought to myself, "Man, she's really stable at standing for longer periods of time now!" and before I could even finish the though, she took about 4 or 5 steps straight towards me across the kitchen! It sure surprised me, but I was sooo excited. She looked very happy and proud of herself, until I started shrieking for Tony to come quick, which scared her and she ended up crying, lol.

She's done a few more steps on her own every day since then, and I'm sure it won't be long until all hesitation and insecurity over her new skill is gone.

time flies

2008-06-16T11:17:00.002-06:00

I know I've been neglecting this blog, life is just so busy and every time I come here, I don't know what to say.

Danica's doing great, she's almost 1 already!! She's walking around, still holding on to fingers, but I'm sure her first steps will come soon. She zips around on her knees pretty fast, can climb the stairs, and loves to sing, dance, and babble. No words yet - i thought she was saying "mom-mom" to me in the right contexts a couple of weeks ago (she'd never really said those babble-words before), but then she started saying it to the dog too, sigh.

We're planning her bday party right now, looks like it will be a backyard bbq (yay for June bdays), as long as the weather's nice. She loves watermelon, so that will be part of the party for sure!

new skills

2008-04-03T11:38:00.002-06:00

Well, Danica has been all about the standing with help and walking with help for the past couple weeks, and today she pulled herself to a stand with no help at all! She has also mastered forward motion in the past couple days, by way of a commando-style belly crawl.

No new teeth, but more hair, and lots of funny traits, she loves to make people laugh.... wiggle wiggle is one of her favorite games, she'll look at you and wiggle her head side to side, and then expect you to do so back to her, which is rewarded by a huge smile and more wiggles. And her fake laugh and fake cough are pretty entertaining too.

All the recent pics are on my camera, and my computer is acting up, so I can't upload any new pics, but she is one sweet baby!

too cute

2008-03-07T14:28:00.002-06:00

Danica shared with me for the first time yesterday.

We've been working on teaching her to "give that to mommy/daddy" - things like her spoon, when she's done trying to feed herself what's on it, so we can put more food on it for her to try again (she actually has pretty good aim!), and things that she shouldn't have in her hands...

So i was in the kitchen making her lunch, she was eating her puffed wheat (she's getting pretty good at that finger dexterity thing too), and she picked one up and got my attention and held it out to me, so I went over and put my hand out and she dropped it in my hand and gave me a big smile.

It was a pretty special moment for me.

my poor baby

2008-03-07T14:19:00.003-06:00

This past weekend we went to Calgary - Anthony and his friend took in monster trucks while Danica and I shopped with my friend Amanda and her 6 month old son, one of Danica's little friends. Danica was not feeling so well on Saturday during shopping, she was a bit whiney and very cuddly (thankfully I had the baby bjorn with me, so I just carried her in that most of the day).

Anyways, when we returned to my sister's where we were staying, Danica had quite the fever, I was actually pretty worried about her... but it came down to a more moderate fever temp quite quickly which was good, I was not looking forward to trying to take her to a clinic (or perhaps emergency, it was just borderline) in a different city/province.

Since then, she's had that fever off and on (more days on than off), and has developed quite a cough and a really snotty nose. She sneezes a lot, which usually results in some pretty impressive snot strands (I've started carrying around a snot rag for her...but she likes to wipe her face on my shirt too...ew!)

We took her in to the clinic back home, and she got some Amoxicillin (yay for banana flavored goop), and were advised to try advil, these seem to be doing the trick and she's back to her old playful self, save for longer nap times (which I don't mind), more waking/eating at night (which I guess is ok), and the occasional whiny/fussy moments. At least even when her fever was highest, she still had an appetite (at least for milk and cereal, forget trying to feed her veggies right now!)

But it's hard to see your baby sick...I don't even usually call her "my baby" but that's definitely been what I've called her all week. Other than a couple little colds that didn't really affect her, this is her first time being sick. We did get some cute pics of her cuddling with her dad, though...she was a lot more snuggly than usual which was pretty special. Still have to try to get a picture of her snot strings!

so much new stuff

2008-02-15T11:47:00.003-06:00

(i guess that's what happens when i only blog once a month...)

She has 2 teeth now, the front bottom ones. And she is now officially mobile - she lays on her tummy and pushes herself backwards with her hands. She has been up on her knees a couple times but not for long.

She is also getting quite the sense of humor, and tries to get our attention by leaning over and tipping her head sideways to the floor to play "peek". She LOVES the baby in the mirror, and is quite social with other (real) babies too. Her favorite thing to say is "dadadadada" (tho she doesn't know what it means yet), and she says it a LOT.

Oh, and she plays with her animal toy - the one with levers/buttons for each animal, to make them pop out of their little home (can you picture it?) but she can only do the chicken one, and she does it over and over and over "Cluck-cluck --- baCAAAAWWWW"

Hmmm...what else? we made valentines treats for a bunch of her little friends and delivered them yesterday, she helped out by sleeping well during her naptimes this week so I could bake & decorate on her behalf.

She had her first non-family member babysitter when we went out for v-day supper, she did very well, they played for a couple hours and she had fun. She's back to her normal happy self despite a pretty stuffed up nose this week...

I'm sure there's more but I hear her awake from her nap now so I'd best go.

2008-01-22T23:25:00.001-06:00

Well as of this past weekend, Danica's first tooth has cut through. Just look at those little red cheeks. It was ok, though, about 3 days of fussiness and the likes, less interested in food and her usual activities. Tiring for me, but overall not as bad as I thought teething would be, so far.

Oh, and she's getting more hair! Yay!

Her first christmas was good, she got quite spoiled but of course was only interested in trying to eat the wrapping paper. She's wearing her Christmas dress that Baba (my mom) made her in this picture.

2007-12-10T11:16:00.001-06:00

I think i worry too much, but Danica pretty much can't fall asleep without her soother. Now this is typically the only time of day when she has her soother, but it's an absolute requirement for her to fall asleep (unless we're driving and it's her naptime). At night for sure, it falls out when she's asleep and she stays asleep fine, usually during her naps she sucks it almost the whole time. I know she's only 5 mos old, but I'm already thinking about when would be the best time to wean her from it (or possibly cold turkey, we'll see). I know that one of the main concerns with extended pacifier use is the teeth/mouth thing, and the other is the language development issue... now the latter shouldn't be a concern here as she rarely has it during the day when she's awake (usually just in church when her talking/babbling would be a bit too distracting for those around us), but I'm not sure about the first issue regarding teeth/mouth development...any input?

another milestone

2007-12-07T14:25:00.000-06:00

as of this week, Danica is sitting up on her own. Her balance is still a little tippy at times, so we stay close to her on the floor, but she can manage a couple minutes at a time.

She can't pull herself up to sitting yet, but she sure enjoys this new vantage point for playing with her toys when we place her in this position.

Danica's first post....

2007-11-26T12:54:00.001-06:00

j 7gyu bhn8uo mop j jmi hkbhkitttttt7/b ugvcccccccc6d97hy9k0hhyyyhbv fcdx ddbfgbh nxsaszzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

(guess who has discovered the keys on the keyboard? All I can get out of what she typed is something about mops, bugs, and of course a good long nap at the end....)

2007-11-23T12:43:00.000-06:00

So Danica has discovered gravity, which means her newest favorite game is throwing anything and everything off a surface to see it fall... her toys don't stay on the exersaucer or the table for very long, and this morning she tried to push the phone off the computer desk. Ah, it's cute now but i'm sure it will get old quickly, lol.

She also really enjoys "horsie rides" - bouncing on momma or daddy's knee while singing a silly song...it inevitably gets her giggling.

I don't think I ever posted pictures of her at the pool for the first time, so here's a couple for you to enjoy...

oh what fun this will be

2007-11-19T22:46:00.000-06:00

Given that Danica loves to be in an upright position a LOT (you should see her face when we hold her up to stand, it just lights up!), and given that our arms can't hold her up all the time, and given that she enjoys her exersaucer for a while, but then wants other diversions, Christmas came early to Danica today and she is now the proud owner of a new Jolly Jumper.

We put her in it a couple times today, and she's getting the hang of the bouncy part, and is already turning herself in circles. We have a perfect doorway for her to be in, between the kitchen and the dining room, and given that kitchen tasks such as cooking, baking or doing dishes often keep me busy during the day, it's going to be a good setup. We just have to get some of those soft foam mat squares now so she has a bit more grip, lino and hardwood are a bit slippery in pyjama feet!

someone's having a fussy day today...

2007-11-16T10:50:00.001-06:00

might be due to the fact that she only napped for 30 mins yesterday morning, and another 30 in the afternoon, instead of her regular 45-60mins + 2-3 hours...

it took me an hour to get my first smile from her this morning, usually I get one right when she wakes up.

this could be a long day...and we're stuck at home with no car, so we can't even go shop it off!

So many firsts

2007-10-31T22:31:00.001-06:00

So much is going on each day between taking care of Danica and trying to do the rest of life's stuff (housework, shopping, travelling, etc), this has translated into very little computer time for me over the past month (as you may have noticed by the lack of posts).

And so much happens over the course of one month at her age...it's amazing to see her grow and see how many new things she has experienced.

- She can now roll over from front to back, and from back to side.

- She loves sitting in her exersaucer & playing with the toys

- She loves to just sit and observe everything around her, especially in new environments.

- Her first trip out of the province (to Calgary) was a great time, she did very well travelling, only fussed for about 10 minutes on the way there and 30 seconds on the way back.

With her cousin in Calgary

- She loves to study her hands, which is usually followed by chewing/sucking on them rather loudly.Danica at 3 months

- She has started sucking on her bottom lip, this produces quite a cute face.

Oct 31 - in her halloween colors

- At her shots this week, she weighed in at 17 lb 1.5 oz....obviously she's growing just fine :)

- We had a baby dedication at church for her on Thanksgiving weekend...

Thanksgiving family picture

- Today marks exactly one year since we found out she was coming into our lives.

I'm sure there are many things I'm forgetting, but hopefully the pictures make up for it!

little turkey

2007-10-05T11:09:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was supposed to be my first day away from Danica all day - there was a mini-conference at work regarding the project I had been working on this spring, and I really wanted to go and hear all the updates on how the project turned out and what the next steps are. My mom was available & willing to babysit, and since Danica takes a bottle occasionally, we figured it would be all good.

Well, for some reason, Danica decided that the bottle just would NOT cut it, so after trying for over 30 mins, mom called me with a pretty upset baby in the background and I went home and fed her. After that I just decided to stay home with her, even though there were 3 hours left in the conference.

I guess we'll try again another time.

2007-09-17T21:29:00.001-06:00

it's so cute, she's trying so hard to laugh...today was her most successful attempt so far.

the realization that changed my life:

2007-09-12T10:39:00.000-06:00

there's such a thing as size 2 diapers.

We have been using the Kirkland brand diapers, and their first stage is size 1-2. As of late, girlie has been blowing those out every time she poos, creating quite a mess to clean up. So we bought the next size up, which would be size 3, right?

Well, size 3 were super HUGE on her, and we had the same blowout problems, AND the pee would often leak out too. Not fun. So yesterday I went to London Drugs to buy more size 1-2's, as my mom (and her costco card) are out of town right now. And what do you know, right there on the shelf they had size 2's... not 1-2 combined, but its very own size, and the weight range was right where she's at right now! I was very excited, and they seem to be holding their own so far... bigger than the 1-2's, but smaller than the 3's. (obviously)

So now here's the question, which non-huggies/pampers brand would you recommend we try? I'm not about to pay $20 for every pack of size 2's we use for the next couple months, and the Costco brand we like to use is not an option at this stage. So, dear readers...what should it be? Superstore? Walmart (i think they have a couple generic brands, right?)? Zellers?

as promised

2007-09-06T12:22:00.001-06:00

here are some recent pics of the girlie.

stories from the waiting room

2007-09-01T12:05:00.000-06:00

At Danica's 6 week checkup, we were waiting back in the area where they do the weights & measures, she was sitting in her carseat. There was a little girl (about 5) with her mom, she was getting weighed. She saw Danica and said "Mom, can I play with her?" The mom said "well, honey, she's trying to sleep right now." The girl was fine with that, and then started admiring Danica instead... "she is SOOOOOOOO cute! Mom, look how cute that baby is! She is just so beautiful!" (You could tell this little girl had been around others who were cooing over babies in this way, her mannerisms were so "grown up")...The nurse came to take them to their room, and while they were leaving she said to her mom "mom, i just can't get enough of that cute baby!" It was so funny.

This week, we had Danica's first round of immunizations, and we got there just when her nap time usually starts, so she was pretty fussy. This turned into full blown wailing, and i was cuddling & trying to soothe her, when another mom came back from the shots with her two kids...she made some comment about my little one not being too happy after getting her needles, and i said "oh no, we haven't even gotten them yet!" Thankfully, when she did get them, she screamed bloody murder for about 1 minute, then calmed right down and went to sleep before we even got back to the waiting room.

2007-08-22T11:34:00.000-06:00

first off, sorry to all of you who are still checking this spot and haven't had anything new to read in a month. I do plan to keep blogging here, I just haven't been on the computer very much at all in the past while.

Danica is doing great. She's growing like a weed, and is so much more alert and sociable now. Her smiles are great, especially at the end of those middle-of-the-night feeds, it makes it all worthwhile. She has become quite attached to her soother, but hey, she puts herself to sleep if she has it, so i'm good with that! And it's better than trying to break a thumb-sucking habit later, which is what she's started doing if the soother isn't there.

Mommyhood is still enjoyable. Last week was rough, Danica was crying & crying and was pretty inconsolable, i figured out it was either caffeine, tomato sauce, or pepperoni on my part that was bugging her, i have cut those out and she's doing fine. I know milk is a likely culprit a lot of the time for fussy babies, but i'm still on milk products and she's back to her normal happy self.

I will post new pictures when i have some, seems like i've been pretty slack in taking pictures as of late, except when there are "occasions" such as visitors (my best friend Lynne & her 9-mo old boy came to visit last week, we have some cute ones of the two of them) or this upcoming holiday, and with not being on the computer i haven't uploaded any recently to post here.

the hardest part so far

2007-08-01T17:46:00.000-06:00

perhaps a mis-quoted Kenny Rogers says it best...

On a warm summers evenin, in a house, going nowhere
I became the gambler; we were both too tired to sleep.
So I spent time, a starin' out the window at the darkness
til desperation overtook me, and the voices began to speak.

They said mom, We've made a life out of readin babies' faces,
And knowin what their cards were by the way they hold their eyes.
So if you don't mind us sayin, we can see you're out of aces.
Since you can't give her some whiskey, we'll give you some advice.

Ya gotta know when to hold 'em, Know how to fold 'em (the blankets, that is)
Know when to walk away and Know when to run
You never count on sleeping when you're still rocking the cradle
You just might get time for sleeping when the fussin's done.

Now evry momma knows that the secret to survivin'
Is that the nights don't last forever, and knowing she's for keeps.
cause evry babe's so precious, despite all of their cryin'
But you'll still hold to the hope that one day you'll get some sleep.

one month already

2007-07-30T14:51:00.000-06:00

This past month has gone very quickly. Some of it's a blur, some of it is clear as day in my memory. A friend asked me how I enjoy being a stay at home mom so far, and honestly, I don't really feel like a SAHM yet. I feel like i'm on summer vacation and i get to hang out at home or go bumming around all day, with the added bonus (and responsibilities) of having Danica to keep me company. I'm sure when fall comes and i'm still at home things will maybe feel more SAHM-ish. Maybe...??

Here are some recent pics of the girlie..

4 weeks old

Awwww

At the beach

phew

2007-07-27T13:51:00.000-06:00

thank goodness for this site...now i don't have to make up words...

professional prego pics

2007-07-19T13:38:00.000-06:00

here are some pics that my friend Angela took for us a week before Danica was born...i really enjoyed being pregnant and wanted to capture that time through pics. Angela is a great photographer, we had so much fun at the photo shoot, and she is very talented and creative...she does weddings, engagements, family pics, digital design stuff, etc so check her out if you need a photographer...

who says girls can't spray?

2007-07-17T14:41:00.000-06:00

Danica is pretty talented - despite all the talk about having to be cautious when changing a boy's diaper, she has found a clever way to spray me with pee when I change her...

It involves peeing when the diaper is off, and then farting, right at the exact time that the pee is running past that hole...it created quite the spray that coated my arm and midriff pretty well!

my favorite things

2007-07-17T14:31:00.000-06:00

At various points in my pregnancy, various friends recommended ideas/products to me, and some of them have become very dear to my heart in these first few weeks of mommyhood (which is still going well, by the way...the lack of posts has been due to us being out and about most days, shopping, coffee-ing, etc...not sitting at home on the computer).

First off has to be the best, most inexpensive stain treater ever - Sunlight bar soap. My best friend Lynne told me about it, and it's great. Poop stain on a white onesie? Just rinse, and rub the bar over the area, then throw in the laundry for whenever it gets washed. It comes out white, no hint of the stain. Same with spitup, etc. And the best thing is that it's about $2 for 2 bars, which will last a VERY long time.

The "boppy pillow" (as Shelen calls it) is great for breastfeeding, i'm a bit lost without it when i'm feeding away from home, even though i usually grab other pillows or use my ginormous purse (why carry a diaper bag until i absolutely need it for snacks, toys, etc...).

The slings mom made me are good (mayan style with the two big rings), but i find Danica's still a bit little for them, her head gets all scrunched up. But the loop style with the curve for the butt is just wonderful right now, great for going out into the garden for a bit and keeping her near but not in reach of the dog (who is doing really well with the new addition to the family, btw). Becky, thanks for being an inspiration for "babywearing".

We ended up buying a stroller - it's a Graco Mosaic - it holds the carseat but still folds down small enough for our liking, and is tough enough for gravel, grass, etc. It steers with one hand and is very light and easy to fold/unfold one handed.

And of course, i'm all about muffins. They make the perfect snack during those late night (early morning?) feed times, i can munch one handed while Danica gets her fill too. Thanks to everyone who has offered to bring some by, and those who already have. Definitely something I will be bringing to any new moms I visit in the future.

Oh, one last one i just remembered - the Bravado washable breast pads. Work like a charm, are very comfortable, and don't stick like the disposables i've used do. I may not be into cloth diapers, but i am game to wash breast pads every couple days. Thanks Stacey!

i'd have to say breastfeeding is going well..

2007-07-09T15:12:00.001-06:00

had a dr's appointment today, Danica now weighs 9lb 7oz... the goal is for babies to be at their birthweight again by day 10, she is 12 oz above her birthweight on day 11!

notes

2007-07-07T11:53:00.001-06:00

Things are going well. I'm feeling pretty good, enjoying my new Pamela Anderson look, and am actually about 6 lb heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight at this point. Feeding is going well, Danica also sleeps very well, and loves her cuddle time with daddy.

My niece Liv (1 1/2) keeps talking about "baby cousin bee-ca-ca" (she can't quite say Danica yet), and even picked out a gift for her on her own - they were going through the checkout at a store and she picked something off the rack and turned to her mom and said "baby cousin?", I thought that was very sweet.

The neighbour next door has a newborn girl a week older than Danica, and it's funny because often i'll hear her baby Mercedes crying and think it's Danica, especially when i'm in the bath downstairs and it's just a faint muffled cry.

I have my moments, good days and tougher days, gotta love the hormones. But overall, all is well.

I still have a couple pre-baby posts to catch up on, like a last round of belly pics, pics of the nursery, etc. so i'll hopefully get to those in the coming days...

the birth story

2007-07-07T11:17:00.000-06:00

Ok, here's the long awaited story, reader's digest condensed version.

Thursday June 28 2007 started like any other day. It was my second last scheduled day of work before my mat leave was to begin.

Went for lunch with a friend, and after lunch I noticed that it REALLY felt like there was a bowling ball between my legs, but I didn't think much of it. Was having braxton hicks contractions throughout the day, but not more than usual, and not painful at all. Tracked them for a bit using an online contraction tracker, but they were actually getting farther apart, and were very irregular.

Went home after work, didn't feel too good, decided to spend a quiet night at home instead of going to aquacise. Anthony went off to his ballgame at about 5:45, i was just hanging out on the computer. About 6:30, I noticed that i was having contractions - they were pretty obvious. Along with the tightening and pain in the front, i had a TON of back pain. Not pleasant. I decided to make a chart to time them, so i got that ready and printed off 5 pages worth so i'd have plenty of space to chart things for the next number of hours.

Contractions were about 4-5 mins apart, lasting 30-45 seconds each, and I decided to call Anthony home from ball around 7pm. He was home by 7:15, and decided to have a quick shower and clean up from ball, then we'd decide what to do. I believe it was at this point that I told him I was going to ask for meds when we went to the hospital, as it was more intense than I had expected (and i was thinking that this was just the beginning, that it would get a lot worse and i'd be in pain for hours and hours and hours). We decided we'd head to the hospital after he was ready to get things checked out and see where I was at.

I decided to grab a quick shower too, to see if that would help me manage the pain, it felt pretty good. After getting out of the shower, about 8pm, I had a very strong painful contraction and felt a "pop"...yup, my water broke. At least I still had my towel on, so i was able to catch most of it. But man, did those contractions ever come strong and hard and fast after that! OW!

So now we knew we were going to the hospital to stay. We called my parents who had gone to the lake earlier that afternoon, to let them know they might want to come back in the morning...but we'd update them once we'd been checked at the hospital. Anthony got the rest of the things together, and we headed out the door. He had grabbed me a bag of hash browns to use for ice, I had a pail in case I puked (i sure felt like I would) and an old towel to sit on. I tried to get in the front seat, to no avail, so i went to get in the back and had a VERY strong contraction. I was bent over the trunk of the car moaning and groaning, must have been quite the sight for the neighbourhood! I asked Anthony to come pray that I'd make it to the hospital through these super painful ones, and he came and started praying..."Dear God, thanks so much for this beautiful day..." at which point I interrupted and said "PRAY THAT I MAKE IT TO THE HOSPITAL!!!!" so he quickly prayed just for that and off we went...it was 8:12 pm.

Got to the hospital and the registration lady took one look at me and said "I'll just get your name and healthcard and let them know you're coming. Anthony signed a form and off we went. We got upstairs and there was a whole contingency of nurses waiting, they checked me out and said "she's 7cm already!" They didn't have time to do the whole 20 min fetal monitoring thing, they listened until they heard baby was fine and then took me down to a delivery room. I had asked to get put on the epidural list when i got to L&D, they said they'd take care fo me in delivery. Anthony called my parents and said "um, i think you'd better come home tonight..."

The contractions were SUPER DUPER hard & strong and fast at this point, i ended up biting anthony's hand through a couple of them just to make it through. Of course the delivery folks let me know it was too late for an epidural, they offered me some NOS, i accepted, but when i put the mask on to breathe it in, i found i couldn't get a deep enough breath to fill my lungs, which is what I really needed, so I just threw the mask away and grabbed Anthony's chest hair instead :)

I was in quite a daze, but all i remember is at 8:55, the resident Dr. said "ok, time to push now!" and i thought "You have got to be kidding..." but it was. I started pushing as best i could, but the contractions were so short that i couldn't get 3 good pushes in like they wanted me to. They were also one on top of another so i couldn't push every contraction, it was just exhausting. I remember thinking "oh i don't like this at ALL, i don't want to do it" but yet realizing that this was the only way this kid was going to come out. My dr. arrived (9:20ish?), and shortly after that i got the hang of the pushing. The head came out nicely, same with the shoulders, and Dr. Misfeldt said "ok, grab the baby and pull it out!" That kinda surprised me (we had never once discussed any plans/preferences for the labour/delivery), but I got Anthony to grab her too, and we pulled her out together. It was a cool moment. 9:49pm.

They put her on my belly and started drying her off, and i remember trying to fumble for the edge of the towel to see what she was, noone had said if it was a boy or a girl yet. So i said "What is it?" and a nurse checked and said "A girl!"

It all went so fast that i was a bit stunned by the whole thing...i remember calling and leaving a message at work 6 hours after leaving there for the day, and saying "um, i won't be in tomorrow, i'm in the hospital with my new daughter!" We had about 3 hours in L&D, got stiched up (2nd degree tear, 3 stitches!), rested, fed, had a shower and went up to our room. Anthony went and moved the car out of temporary parking and got the camera and bag sometime during those 3 hours (he was planning to go do that once he had gotten me settled in assessment, but there was no time). Both sets of new grandparents were there and we got to share the joy of our new little girl with them.

just settling in at home

2007-07-02T20:02:00.000-06:00

So we're home, and things are going well. I'm not sure when i'll get the time/energy to post the birth story, but i have written down notes so i don't forget all the lovely details i want to share with y'all....

thanks for all the well-wishes and congratulations!

She's Perfect.

2007-06-29T14:46:00.000-06:00

Introducing to the world!

Danica Joelle Caroline Epp

June 28, 2007; 9:49 p.m.

8 lbs 11oz; 20.5 in. long

It's time to oooo!! and aaawwwe..

(posted for the proud parents by Karen.)

39 1/2 weeks

2007-06-28T11:08:00.000-06:00

had my weekly appointment again today. She didn't check me, but the rest of things still look pretty good. Baby's measuring at about 38+ weeks, so at least this kid isn't going to be huge or anything... heartrate was 150, but s/he kept kicking the doppler out of the way, lol.

My bp was a bit high, just under the cutoff where the Dr. would be concerned, but enough that she said she wouldn't let me go much overdue...so we'll see what next week brings. But the swelling in my feet has lessened this week, which has been nice.

oh, and gained 2 lbs (the ones i lost the past couple weeks), so back to 25 total.

Interesting...and a bit weird.

2007-06-27T16:14:00.000-06:00

Anyone care to make a "mask" of their pregnant belly? (think of the paper mache masks you used to make of your face in elementary school...) Yeah. Let's hang THAT in my nursery!

I do like the idea mentioned near the end of the article of doing a henna tattoo on the belly, though...maybe next time around if i've got a big belly near the end of summer when the Fringe festival is on...

guess what?

2007-06-27T09:40:00.000-06:00

still here.

lots of braxtons again last night, especially during aquacise.

And today i get to go upstairs to 5th (postpartum) and meet Dylan, Damon, and Caley. (i am officially the last woman standing from the cluster around my due date). Maybe, just maybe, all the oxytocin and prolactin up there will get things started for me :)

Went on a mammoth grocery shopping trip last night to stock up on canned goods, meat, etc. so we won't have to do much more than pick up the fresh stuff (milk, produce, etc) for the next month or so. Also got extra stuff to make up a bunch of casseroles next week, i figure if i have plans for my first week off, then baby will come and "spoil" those plans, right? And if not, at least i'll have something to do to keep me busy. The plan is to make cabbage rolls, meatballs, lasagna, chili, and some baking. I'll probably do a bit extra if i can, and maybe make the rounds to all these new mommas.

almost forgot...

2007-06-26T09:20:00.001-06:00

although my current job started as a 6 month term position that's done in 2 weeks (i'll be on holidays after Friday, though), it has been extended, which means that i have a job to come back to after mat leave if i want to! woot!

Read the details here if you're interested...

still here

2007-06-26T09:04:00.000-06:00

Nothing new on the baby front, had a ton of braxton hicks last night (anyone care to comment on how i can tell if/when those start turning into 'real' contractions?). And this kid put on quite the show for Anthony & I after our guests were gone - s/he was moving & kicking so much that i swear my belly would bulge out a good couple inches from it's normal position. If s/he's that active again tonight i think i'll have to get out the video camera.

Starting to feel a bit gypped, though...I knew 5 people, including myself, who were due between June 29 and July 4, and it looks like i'll be the only one left after today or tomorrow. My neighbour had a little girl last thursday, my sister's friend had a boy on sunday, Anthony's coworker's wife is having a c-section this morning (Anthony lost that bet on whose would come first), and another friend is still hanging in there but was supposed to have her membranes scraped yesterday.

Ah well, my time will come sometime within the next 2 weeks.

i guess i'd better update more regularly now..

2007-06-25T09:09:00.000-06:00

a few people this weekend mentioned to me "you hadn't posted on your blog in a couple days and i was wondering if baby came, but obviously not!" So i guess that means that i should at least post every day to let you all know the baby status.

Monday June 25, 9:15am - no baby yet.

but s/he's really low, and i'm definitely waddling.

sleep is not comfortable at all, i woke up every hour all night long (yeah i know, practise for when s/he does arrive :)

lots of braxton hicks contractions this weekend, but just sporadically and painless.

my pelvis has definitely spread, it's not very comfortable. But at least our bodies have the ability to do that, otherwise how the heck would we get these babies out, eh?

And i'm still waiting for that "burst of energy" to come - i have been SO tired and un-energetic the past few days. A perfect excuse to take naps and lounge around reading, though!

what an obedient child!

2007-06-22T11:25:00.000-06:00

Well, from early on, we told this kid that s/he couldn't show up until daddy was done school and mommy was done her tasks at work (even though i'm still scheduled to work for one more week). S/he listened well, and now daddy is done school, and mommy is done her pile of work. So you can come any time now, little one!

S/he has definitely been moving down and getting in position for the big journey, my belly has changed shape a lot over the past week or so. Much easier to sit without feet jammed in my ribcage, that's for sure!

now i'm ready.

2007-06-21T11:58:00.000-06:00

I forgot to mention we set up the crib on monday night, and moved a few things into the nursery. Today i put a load of new blankets, washcloths, etc. through the wash, so that will all be ready to go. Still have to set up the dresser so I have a place to put all this stuff.

Mostly packed my hospital bag this morning, still have a few things to add but the majority of it is now there.

But the biggest thing that has contributed to me feeling ready is how uncomfortable i've been at night the past few nights...I have not been sleeping well, and am really starting to feel it. Once we had the crib set up, i said to this kid "ok, that's your bed over there, and it's all ready for you now, so anytime you want to come out and sleep there, i'm good with that."

I am SO looking forward to sleeping on my stomach again.

Got the belly pics done last night, we had a great time at the photo shoot, and i'm looking forward to seeing the final product (of the pics, and of what's in this belly, lol). Didn't get my haircut the other day, got stuck downtown in traffic for 30 minutes, would have been at least 30 more minutes to get to the appointment, so i called and rebooked, then had a major meltdown while going back through the traffic to get home. So if you saw a teary frustrated pregnant lady driving a silver car on tuesday, it probably was me.

38 1/2 week appointment

2007-06-21T11:55:00.000-06:00

All is well yet again. I feel like a broken record, but i am thankful that everything is going smoothly. More swelling of the feet this week, glad it's sandal weather.

Baby's heartrate was 152, my bp was good again (a bit high last week), lost another pound (23 lb net gain to this point now)...

My dr. goes on holidays July 1, but will be in S'toon until July 9, so she figures I should have the kid before the 9th, she said she'd come in for the delivery even though she's on holidays, so that's nice.

Doesn't look like this kid will be making an appearance for Papa's 60th birthday (today)...sorry dad!

i know this doesn't apply to most of my readers, but...

2007-06-20T11:57:00.000-06:00

La Senza now carries nursing bras, for anyone who may be looking...

11 days (give or take)...ack!

2007-06-19T15:49:00.000-06:00

I am excited, and a bit nervous about the arrival of this kid.

I’m nervous about the “when” – when will it all happen? I like to know things in advance and plan for them. I can’t in this situation. That's strange for me. I don't think i can think of another life situation (except maybe death) when you know it's coming but don't know anything about the "when".

I’m a bit nervous about the transition to mommyhood, the adjustment. I hope I settle in smoothly. It will be a big change, even tho it’s a welcome and highly anticipated change. And if you know me, i'm not that great at handling change. Getting better, but still not that great.

update

2007-06-18T13:32:00.000-06:00

Well, Friday was probably the most uncomfortable day i've had yet. In the morning, my back was feeling pretty sore (has happened a couple times over the past month), but this time it was worse than usual. I laid down and put some heat on it, which helped it feel better for a bit. I was having a lot of braxton's that morning (probably 10-15, painless but quite strong...i normally just have 1 or 2 per day at most), and i realized that the back pain would get worse when the braxtons were occurring...it wasn't 'labour' per say, but it sure was not comfortable. I went to work and just tried to be as relaxed and comfortable as I could be.

By early afternoon, most of the pain and discomfort had gone, and I was able to make it through the rest of the workday. My thoughts are that something was happening to prepare for the big show, and i think baby has moved down quite a bit...the bum is a couple inches below where it used to be when i'm sitting...and i have less pressure in the lungs/ribs, which is nice :)

I am very sick of sleeping on my sides, my shoulders and hips have been very sore the past week and it's terribly hard to roll over or get up, going to the washroom at 3 am is very interesting. Once i get up, my pelvis feels like rubber and my legs are unsteady, i need to hold onto the walls to make it to the bathroom...am i ever glad the upstairs bathroom is functional again!

I have a massage booked for this afternoon, hopefully that will ease some of the tension in the lower back & shoulders; no, i'm not going to get her to massage my feet/ankles to find that magic pressure point. I still have a few days' worth of work to get done here and at my old job...

Tomorrow is haircut day (just a trim, nothing drastic), and wednesday we're doing pregnancy pictures - my friend Angela is taking them (dreamingphotography.com), she does amazing stuff. Thursday is hopefully white chocolate brownie night with a girlfriend...maybe my last "girls nite out" before i'm a mom (with a baby on the outside). (on a side note, i sure think that we should start a tradition of mommy stagettes, one last big girls nite before someone has their first child...)

I still have to pack my hospital bag, i have my list (thanks Shelen!) and i have started a pile, just need to collect a few more things and put them in an actual bag of some sort. I had a bit of time last night but figured it was more important to get the camera memory cards cleared off so that's ready to come with us to the hospital. Really, i can grab a couple essentials off my list before we run out the door if needed, downloading & sorting pictures will not be happening while i'm in labour. I have my priorities straight :)

Bought a crib mattress on saturday - got a great deal on it at the Bay. They had 20% off, and the one I wanted was discontinued, so they sold me the floor model for 20% off plus another 15% off. So we got the top end one instead of the mid-line one, ended up paying the less than we would have for the middle one. And i had gift certificates, so with the mattress cover and a car window sun shade, i ended up paying $4. Sweet stuff. And the super helpful sales guy even carried it out to my car for me, i was a bit worried when i went to the mall to buy one, as i didn't know how i would manage to get it from the mall to my parking spot, even though it was pretty close.

Anthony & "Nana" (his mom, that's her "grandma name") painted the nursery, it looks amazing (pictures to come now that i have downloaded them and have internet at home again). So we'll set up the crib and other furniture this week. Baba (my mom) brought over the crib bedding she made (much cheaper and better quality than the store stuff, yay!), so we're all set!

We even celebrated a mini-father's day for Anthony yesterday, i made him a nice brunch, and we (junior & I) gave him a nice set of steak knives we had found at the mall. I found a very sweet "for the father to be" card which made me cry as i was standing in the aisle at walmart, so we got him that too....

0 to 3 weeks to go...and i finally feel almost ready.

carseat safety?

2007-06-14T12:17:00.000-06:00

So last week, I asked Anthony to install the carseat and then take it to the local carseat clinic to get it checked to ensure we knew how to do it properly... apparently a large number of carseats are installed incorrectly, and i can guess that most of those people thought they were doing it properly, so we figured we'd just get it checked to be sure.

Well, the lady at the clinic said "oh, i've never seen one like this before!" (it's a graco, and it's one of the two that met the Canadian standards when Consumer reports tested them earlier this year....). So Anthony had to proceed to show her how to install it, how the clips worked with the car's built in carseat anchors, etc.

Yup, he taught her how to do it. She just checked that it was tight and level. Good to know he knows what he's doing, but what's the point of the checks if the people there don't know?

37 1/2 week prenatal appointment

2007-06-14T12:13:00.000-06:00

Again, all is well.

heartrate was good, baby's growth is good, i actually lost a pound, which surprised me given the amount i've been eating lately...

I have my prenatal sheets to carry around with me now 'till the end...which probably won't be this week, i'm a "fingertip" dilated, no thinning yet, pretty much what I expected.

The crib has arrived, we'll be picking it up tonight (actually Papa Les will be, i asked him if that was a grandfatherly type thing to do, he agreed that it was, AND they have a van...), what will be the baby room got a major cleaning last night, it now only has a desk, a couple chairs, the computer, and a dresser in it that will all move to the new office this weekend, so we are on track to paint the baby room this w/e. Things are really coming together quickly!

just a note

2007-06-12T11:42:00.000-06:00

with today being June 12, i can now officially say i WILL have this child within the next month. July 12 would be 10 days overdue plus 2 days for a potential induction to "take" and to get through labour.

cool.

i'm getting excited. Not quite ready yet on the home front (painting will take place this weekend, crib & dresser come tomorrow), but once that's all set up, we're good to go. And other than that, i feel ready mentally/emotionally (as ready as i'll be), and i'm trying to get lots of rest and naps in so i'm in a good position physically too when the time comes.

Apparently, it's gonna be a girl.

2007-06-12T11:31:00.000-06:00

Sunday at church, I finally remembered to ask Patti, our resident baby gender guru for her prediction on what we're having. Patti has quite the reputation when it comes to predicting such things.

"It's a boy" she said without hesitation...."which means you're having a girl."

See, Patti's reputation is that she's always wrong. She's only been right 3 times in over a hundred guesses, as the story goes.

So there ya go. Anyone else out there want to wager a guess?

seems silly to me

2007-06-11T11:19:00.000-06:00

So, i was reading a baby-reaing book last night (really don't remember which one, i've had a few lent to me that sit in a pile by my bed, and i just grabbed one last night), and one of the "helpful hints" seemed a bit odd at the time, but now seems almost ridiculous.

They were talking about calming a fussy baby, and said that when standing & rocking them you should rock front to back instead of side to side, as "that is the motion the baby is most used to from being in the womb while you walked around during its gestation".

Yeah.

Wouldn't that require the baby to be either facing front or back in the womb all the time in order for the motion to be front-back? If the kid's position changed, the walking could very well be rocking it side to side. I know my kid has had its back along my side for a large part of this pregnancy, instead of face out or face in....

And for that matter, walking isn't really rocking anyways, it's more forward movement than equal back and forth movements. PLUS, with the way I am walking these days, there is a LOT of side to side movement in my walk (aka "waddling", as other late-pregnant women do)... AND walking is hardly the only movement that the kid experiences in utero - i have realized lately that often when i'm just standing i'll be rocking side to side on my legs, just keeping those hips moving...

So i just have to say "Psssssssssssht" to that "helpful hint". Maybe some kids prefer that movement in rocking over side to side, but i would hardly attribute it to movements felt in utero.

Baby Epp has a new cousin!

2007-06-11T11:13:00.000-06:00

Congrats to Ang & Russ on the safe arrival of Liam Russell Ens, Saturday June 9, 7:26am, 7lb 3oz, 20" long. He's beautiful!

Girl dreams 2.5, boy dreams 1.5

2007-06-11T11:10:00.001-06:00

So, another dream about having baby....(you'd think this topic has been on my mind lately or something!)

This time, we were at "home" - someone's home. Might have been my parent's but it was different than their actual house. We were sleeping in a big queen bed, and when we woke up in the morning, i noticed that we had had our baby overnight while both of us slept. It was a girl.

For some reason, my parents were there in the house but we didn't want them to know we had had our baby so we were trying to figure out how we'd hide the fact from them. We decided to hide it under my shirt so it would look like i still just had my belly....

Yeah. Not sure why a couple of my dreams have involved me having this baby without being aware of it (i.e., passed out, or sleeping)...not sure i want to delve into that too much. As for hiding the kid from my parents, i think that would be the last thing i'd be apt to do!

i've lost count...

2007-06-08T12:36:00.000-06:00

prenatal appointment # ?? yesterday was all good. Gained 5 lbs since the last one (only 2 weeks ago, eek!), bp is fine, baby is growing fine, all is well.

Asked my dr. about delivery, and she does all her own patients. She is on holidays starting July 1, but will be in town the first week, and said she'd come in to do the delivery if s/he's born that week. If it's after July 7, it will be someone else, as she's going out of province. But she figures it should come before she leaves town.

Now i'm on to weekly appointments, so i booked my next 3, which will take me up to my due date. Being optimistic, i didn't book one for the week after my due date...I guess we'll see if i need one more or not.

Next week's appointment is the group B strep swab. No biggie. I had to chuckle to myself at our prenatal class, as one of the (very) pregnant ladies was asking the health nurse if that swab was ABSOLUTELY needed, as she was scared/embarrassed about getting it. I just thought, "if you're going to be giving birth in the next month or two, you have more to worry about than just a little swab - if you think that's something to avoid, what are you gonna do with all the poking, probing, and checking that will occur when you're in labour?"

This kid is definitely growing, though, i can feel a lot more baby and pressure up under my ribs, not terribly comfortable. Interestingly, i've had a few people say to me over the past couple weeks, "You sure aren't very big for being due in a month!" Yeah. Not something you'd like to hear when you're feeling quite big and cumbersome.... I'm plenty big, thanks. Wouldn't wish for bigger (like i was secretly wishing for a few weeks ago...). I know that part of not looking so big is that swimming has really strengthened my abs, and i'm not sway-back or even letting it all hang out front yet, i'm able to sit/stand pretty straight and i know my abs are holding my belly in, when i relax & let it go, it sticks out a couple more inches...

But then, i have also had a couple people say pretty much the opposite to me - a friend was walking about a block behind me the other day and she said she thought to herself "hey, that's a pregnant lady walk.... hey, that's Lynette!" so she recognized from behind from a block away that i was not walking "normal"... and a colleage said to me yesterday "you're sure leading with the belly these days when you walk".... i can tell i have started more of a waddle as of late, and these two comments confirm that. So i must not be that small!

But hey, with 3 - 5 weeks left, i'm not complaining about the heartburn, pressure in the ribs/lungs, waddling & general cumbersome-ness... i'm just glad that it's only now getting to this point of discomfort. The end is in sight!

tidbits

2007-06-06T14:01:00.000-06:00

it is not a fun feeling when my feet start to swell. The skin feels really tight and stiff and hard to move. Thankfully it has not been severe at all, and it's still only on the occasional day (especially hot days). i have a footrest under my desk, and try to get up and move around; and of course swimming feels superb. but stretchy puffy feet don't. Glad it's sandal weather and they're not confined in shoes, though.

I realized that one of the most common sounds this kid hears is typing.... probably up to 6-7 hours per day, 5 days a week, right at the height of my lower belly - the kid is actually resting against the keyboard tray when i'm sitting at my desk. So perhaps s/he will find typing to be a soothing sound when s/he is out of utero....good excuse to sit on the computer during the day on my mat leave if it does soothe him/her!

I swear my belly is growing every day. I noticed a change from last night to today for sure. And i have also noticed that at night when i want to turn over now, i need to use my hand/arm to lift my belly up to get enough oomph to turn to my back, then to the other side. The pull of gravity on my belly when i'm trying to get off my side is quite something. I guess it's to be expected, according to the ticker this kid is gaining over 1/2 oz per day!!! (that's about 1/2 lb per week...crazy stuff).

another dream

2007-06-06T09:13:00.001-06:00

So, this time, baby was born, 7lb 4 oz (not bad, eh? especially since in the first dream he was over 9 lbs). It was a girl...at first.

I'm not sure where Anthony went, but i was released from the hospital the same day, and decided to go for coffee with my friend trent, so we hung out at this coffee shop for a bit with baby. Baby didn't have a name yet (don't ask me how we got released from the hospital without one...), we just called her baby.

Then I was at home, changing the diaper but all the baby supplies were kept in the garage, and it was Anthony's job to run out and get me wipes and a new diaper, etc. each time we needed to change baby. But now, baby was a boy. But the parts were all mixed up, with the position of the penis and testes interchanged...yeah. Still no name for "baby".

Then later on we were at church, but ebenezer was now in the zellers store at the end of lawson mall, so from church you could go walk around the mall. I was carrying baby around in a sling under my shirt, as for some reason i didn't want people to know we'd had the baby yet.

And that's about all i remember.

So we're still dead even for boy-vs-girl baby dreams, 1 1/2 for each.

gifts & blessings

2007-06-06T08:51:00.000-06:00

(but first a little note, i am SURE enjoying the cooler weather today! Feels SOOOOOOO good...)

The past few days have been exciting and have taken me off guard a bit, we've been getting baby gifts from people out of the blue, completely unexpected. But very appreciated.

Sunday we went to buy a toy from a friend of a friend whom we've met a couple times, and along with the toy, she had a gift for us - a beautiful cozy yellow blanket, some lil' goats milk soap, and a "baby on board" sign for the car.

Then Monday, a package came from the States, from a friend I hadn't heard from in quite a while, there was a very cute pair of baby sunglasses, a cuddly blanket/teddy bear thingy (not sure exactly what they're called), some very cute bibs (including one that says "that's it, i'm going to grandma's!"), and something else I'm forgetting at the moment.

Then yesterday, the social club at work threw a cake party for me and the other pregnant lady here (she's due June 15), and on behalf of my coworkers we got a very cute outfit set (onesie, pants, bib), and a fisher price caterpillar toy.

This is in addition to all the other blessings and acts of giving/generosity that have been shown to us over the past few months...I know i'll miss some, but here's a bit of a list, mostly for my own recollection so I can look back and remember how blessed we have been.

The first load was from my sister, she sent a huge rubbermaid container full of goodies - onesies, socks, sleepers, etc. from my niece's baby days that she is not using at the moment, a baby bjorn to use, books on pregnancy and raising baby, some maternity clothes, their infant carseat to use, and a whole whack of other stuff. They're also sending their change table our way when Liv is done with it.

Mom was very instrumental in helping build my maternity clothes wardrobe, she was in the states for a few weeks, and picked up all sorts of pants, etc. down there from discount racks (smart lady had measured my pants before she left so she knew about what measurement to buy, instead of relying on size which can vary so much). Then, she altered the things (both from there and things I bought) that weren't quite right so they were fully usable. THEN she sewed me 5 maternity shirts (and there was blood, sweat and tears that went into those, let me tell you - she was alterning non-maternity patterns to try to fit over this belly of mine...), and now she's onto making crib bedding and quilts, receiving blankets, etc. Oh, and then she comes and cleans my house and plants my garden and bedding plants/flowers, and comes and walks the dog and brings baking over. (she secretly loves my dog, even though she's "not a dog person").

Dad, meanwhile, has been over mudding & drywalling our new office, helping with other stuff around the house & yard, etc. which has been a HUGE help since Anthony has been swamped with school and homework as of late, and i'm not really able to do drywalling & sanding these days...

THEN, there's our other mom & dad, they have been a HUGE help and support as well. Mom has been shopping with me countless times to get baby stuff, from consignment sales (which are not fun to navigate alone) to looking for laundry baskets (see post below) and paint colors (with this mind, not fun to try to make a decision on). They've also been over helping around the house, Phil has been down in the office pulling down walls, re-insulating, etc. And they've offered to come help with the painting in the office & baby room, which i sure plan to take them up on!Even things like car-pooling to Grandma's birthday party and letting us take their car on to Moosomin have been such a blessing!

Ok, moving from family (tho i'm sure i'm forgetting someone in that category), the Owen's (Leon's girlfriend's family) have also been SO supportive and generous to us - they have a 1 year old foster baby, so they're doing round 2 of having babies in the house, and have lent and given us so much - particularly, a huge box of size 1-2 diapers that Destiny had grown out of, a baby bathtub to use, and a bunch of other stuff, along with so much support and encouragement.

And Gingerich's (technically family - Larissa's sister & bro in law) sold us their exersaucer for a ridiculously low price, then when they came to drop it off, had a TON of baby and toddler toys tha they just gave to us for nothing! So we don't even need to buy any of that stuff.

Combined with some great deals at consignment & garage sales, we have everything we need and really have not spent a lot of money at all. Basically the only things we've bought new/full price are the crib & dresser (arriving next week! woo hoo!), going home outfits for boy & girl, and...um...well, we'll be buying a stroller and high chair at some point. And that's it.

We are so blessed.

the cartoons say it all

2007-06-04T16:12:00.000-06:00

A couple random notes here that have been floating in my brain...

Saturday was a very emotional day for me, I had not slept well the night before, and Anthony mentioned my snoring/loud breathing in the morning, which made the tears come. No idea why. And then my sister & i were talking about strollers, and i got all teary and sad at the fact that we don't have a stroller picked out, and it turned into "i am going to be housebound when this kid comes if we can't get a stroller but how can we get one now when i don't know what kind to get and don't want to end up buying 3 or 4 different ones??" Yeah. I had to tell myself it was the hormones and lack of sleep, and that it would all be ok. And some cuddles from Anthony and reassurances from him that we could go get a stroller any day i wanted to helped as well. (any tips/suggestions on which style/type to get??)

I also have been noticing how people are generally more amicable towards me and go out of their way (in more ways than one) to accomodate me, such as holding doors open, giving me a wide berth (which I do appreciate instead of bumping into people/shopping carts, etc), and generally looking at my belly, then looking at me and smiling. It's as if bringing a baby into this world elevates your status for a bit...i don't think it's even a conscious thing, it makes me wonder if it's like this in all cultures... (Of course there has to be an exception to every positive trend, and mine would be standing on the corner of ruth & munroe for a VERY long time yesterday when I was walking the dog, waiting for a car, any car, to stop and let me across the street. Grrrr.)

And the other thing that the above cartoon reminded me of was a great picture opportunity from yesterday - we went to a Kadesh fundraiser lunch at Anthony's parent's church, and his prego sister and i were talking (and giving our kids some quality cousin time with our bellies together). Pete Friesen came up, he's a wonderful older man that Anthony has called "Grandpa" since he was very young, he's been a close family friend of their's for 30-ish years. He jokingly stuck his belly into the mix with ours, and so we made him pose for a picture with us. Haven't seen it yet, but that will be a print to keep. He referred to himself as "grandpa pete", and i corrected him and said "no, it would be GREAT-grandpa, 'cuz you were grandpa to Anthony!"

5 days 'till full term

2007-06-04T16:05:00.000-06:00

that's a scary yet comforting thought. Scary because hey, it's almost at the point where i can say "any day now" and mean it, but comforting 'cuz if it was any day now, s/he would likely be just fine.

There.

2007-06-01T09:51:00.001-06:00

Just ordered the crib & dresser online from Sears. Estimated date of arrival, June 13. Hopefully by then we have a room in which to put it.

Oh, and i found the perfect laundry basket - it's the right color & style of "wicker", it has a cream colored cotton liner, and the best thing is that it was free! Yeah. I was laying in bed the other night and noticed my laundry basket in the corner of my room. It hit me that it was exactly what i had in mind for the baby room. So we'll just move that one across the hall, and i can buy myself another one for my room that can be whatever I find that I like...score! Gotta love prego brain, though, to not have realized this before.

arrival dates

2007-05-31T10:22:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I had the "one month 'till my due date" realization. Eek! I don't know if anyone is ever fully "ready" for baby to come, but i can say that right now, we are in a way not ready, but in a way, quite ready.

For example, although we do not have a baby room (it's still an office, while the new office space is being mudded & sanded, hopefully primed & painted in the next week), we have clothes, diapers, wipes, etc. And mom and I are going out tonight to get the rest of the baby toiletries needed (butt cream, baby wash, etc - yay for "seniors day" at Shopper's drug mart - 20% off!). We don't have the crib yet (no place to put it), or any other furniture for the baby room save the rocking chair, but we have blankets, crib bedding, and stuff to put on the walls.

Emotionally & mentally, I think we'd be fine if baby showed up any time now (not that i'm wishing for an early baby). I feel "ready" in that respect.

Work wise, i have a ton of stuff to get done before my last day (scheduled for June 29), but I also know that there are others who could easily take over if I am gone before then. At my current pace, i should be done all the work on my plate here by June 22. And that's the day that Anthony is done classes.

Since the beginning, i've been preparing myself for an overdue baby, whenever I think of the due date, it's always "June 30, but the baby will be out by July 12 for SURE" (10 days over plus a couple days if they induce and it doesn't work or if they induce and the labour takes a long time). But lately i've been feeling as if i won't make it to my due date (mental/emotional feeling, not physical stuff, nothing there that would indicate an early baby). Not hoping or wishing the kid will come early, but just a feeling that it will be a June baby instead of July.

As for dates, there are tons of "meaningful" dates around my due date that would be very cool if the kid showed up on one of them: my dad's 60th birthday is on June 21 (but tony's still in school), Anthony's grandpa, who I never met as he passed away when Anthony was young, had his birthday on June 25. My own grandma who died when I was in grade school had her birthday on July 4, and Anthony's grandmother (still living) has her birthday on July 7. The other neat thing about July 7 is that the kid's birthdate would be 07/07/07 - very easy to remember and never mess up on forms.

Oh, and both my sisters & their spouses & my niece will be in S'toon for dad's birthday and the weekend immediately following, so they all think that it would be swell if their new niece/nephew would come while they were here and they could thus meet him/her right away.

I guess time will tell...

another crazy dream for the books

2007-05-30T11:57:00.000-06:00

scene: my kitchen
those present: Anthony, my mom and I (and baby, still in utero).

Something weird was happening with my stomach, the baby's legs were sticking out the top of my uterus just under my skin...it turns out i had a unique condition where there was a hole at the top of my uterus where baby could get in and out. Now this wasn't harmful to baby or me, it was just interesting.

So these feet were sticking out, it was the first time this had happened, but the other weird thing was that my skin was semi-transparent, so we could see the legs very clearly...and we could see that it was a girl. We were trying not to look 'cuz we wanted it to be a surprise, but really, everything was right there.

Baby came out the top even further, to the point where she was completely out of the uterus, just hanging out below my transparent skin. She had beautiful blue eyes that looked like all the Nelson girls' eyes (me, my sisters & my niece have the same shape eyes with variations on the color of blue). And she was very cute. I had to hold her as if she was not inside me, as my skin was not strong enough to support her (but interestingly enough it was stretchy enough that she could move around quite a bit under there).

This was the first time she came out, then we discovered we could coax her out and show her to people, all before she was born. It was the coolest thing (in the dream....).

And i remember thinking that we had to get the girls' name nailed down for sure now that we knew it was a girl, we still had a few weeks left before delivery, but i knew we'd need that girls' name when she came.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So now i've had one very distinct/memorable dream that it was a boy (see Dec. 20 post), and one where it was a girl. I guess time will tell....

2007-05-25T10:23:00.000-06:00

I am looking for a laundry basket/hamper for the baby's room, i have a picture in my mind of what i'd like, but have not found it anywhere I have looked yet (Home outfitters, michaels, or zellers).

I would like a light colored basket, preferably square or rectangular, and a tall style (as opposed to the shorter wider shape typical of most plastic laundry baskets for carting around laundry). I would love it if it had a linen colored cotton-type removable liner in it. I don't need a lid for it necessarily.

These are the small baskets we got from ikea for storing things in for the change table, shelves, closet, etc. and it would be great if we could kinda "match" the look in the laundry basket.

Has anyone seen something in their travels? Any suggestions on where I should look for such an item?

guinea pigs

2007-05-24T11:11:00.000-06:00

This past weekend, i subjected baby and myself to a round of "guinea pig" treatment - we were in a research study examining preeclampsia and sleep apnea in pregnancy. We were in the non-preeclampsia control group.

It was a very interesting experience. I stayed overnight at the sleep lab at RUH, they put electrodes all over my head – 4 glued to my scalp, one on the forehead, one on the chin, one below the chin, one on the neck, one on each temple; one on my upper right chest wall and a corresponding one on the lower left to measure my heartrate, one on the right side ribs/belly, one on the left of the belly, and one on each leg. Then I had a fetal doppler monitor on (it was cool, I could hear baby’s heartbeat in the receiver in the next room all night, tha-thump, tha-thump…and its kicks – whomp!), a blood oxygen sensor on my right index finger, a blood pressure monitor strapped to my left wrist with mini-cuffs around my middle and ring fingers (those were NOT comfortable – they inflated and then slowly deflated like an arm bp band does, but it alternated fingers probably every minute all night long). Then there was a chest band around my upper chest to measure my breathing, and a nose prong apparatus (like an oxygen line) taped to my face with a thingy hanging in front of my mouth that measured my breathing as well.

I slept ok, I still woke up when I had to turn over, but it took me a bit longer to fall back asleep after each turn than usual, just from being in a new place and having the stuff strapped to me. The electrodes were all plugged into this box-thing the size of an old tape walkman, I wore it around my neck when going to the washroom, etc. and it hung on the wall during the night.

I reacted to the tape they used, so I have red patches all over wherever they taped an electrode on…it’s kinda funny. Not itchy at all, just red. The one on my neck is quite conspicuous. And i still have glue stuck to my scalp, i've washed my hair a few times and i still keep finding new patches of it.

They said my baby was very well behaved all night, it stayed in a good position for the fetal monitor to pick it up all night long, most move around and the monitor loses the heartbeat through the nite. So they’ll now contact me if they find I had any breathing problems in the night (but I don’t think I did). And then they’ll mail me my $100. yay!

34 1/2 weeks, again all is well.

2007-05-24T10:58:00.000-06:00

Prenatal appointment #7 (if i can count) today was fine, nothing new to report. Weight gain of 1 lb this month for a total of 20. Baby's heartrate was 140, head is down. I go back in 2 weeks.

Now on to some other random things that i've been meaning to blog just for posterity's sake...

- I had my first Braxton hicks on the weekend, i was bending over to get something from a lower cupboard, and when i stood up, my stomach (uterus) did not relax with the rest of the stomach muscles...it was a tight little ball for about 30 seconds, no pain, just tight. I've had a few more since then, usually in the early evening, nothing regular or painful. A friend of mine who is due late August has been having them for a few weeks already, and the "baby progress" emails I've gotten mentioned them a few weeks ago, so i was kinda wondering if/when i'd start getting them.

- After weeks of wearing sandals, i put on shoes again the other day when it was cold and rainy...yeah. My feet must be a tad swollen or just bigger, i swear they used to fit just fine! Now i wonder which of my pre-pregnancy shoes i'll never be able to wear again. I'm not a huge shoe fanatic but there are a few pairs that just fit that i quite like, which will probably be given away if this is my new foot size.

- A couple weeks ago, for some reason i thought to myself "i'm not very big, i wish my belly would get bigger". Yeah. Well, it has. On Sunday, i swear the kid put on at least a pound, my belly was sooooooo heavy i could not stand any more, i had to lay down and even then the pull of the belly towards the bed was incredible! Maybe s/he just changed positions and was sticking out further or something, but something definitely shifted from sunday morning to sunday afternoon. Oh, and my belly is officially bigger than a good-sized watermelon too, my mother-in-law brought one over on the weekend and i could not believe that my belly was bigger until they took pictures to prove it - i'll have to post those. From my vantage point, my belly didnt' seem that big... Oh, and i'm not wishing for bigger any more, i realized with anywhere from 0 to 7 weeks left (if i go overdue), this belly will be growing a lot on its own, i don't need to hope for that.

- I have the baby room color picked out, it's a muted yellow, not bright, but not pale either. We're going to get paint for the baby room and the new office tonight, i'm excited about that. The new office is close to done, then we will move the stuff out of the baby room and paint that, and then we're ready to put things in it.

- I also bought a baby book on the weekend, for recording details of baby's first few years. My parents did one for me when i was a baby, and i love looking at it, so it's something i really wanted to do for our kids. I got it at McNally's - they had about 25 different ones to choose from, so i spent time looking through all of them. I really like the one I picked, it has a couple pages for mommy & daddy’s history – where they were born, what they were like growing up, where they met, how they got engaged, when/where the wedding was, etc., then a family tree back to great grand parents (our grandparents), then goes into the pregnancy – when/how we found out you were coming along, how we felt, what daddy thought you were (boy/girl), what mommy’s guess was, the meaning behind the name we picked & other names we considered, the labour/delivery story, what was happening in the world the day s/he was born, baby’s first home, baby’s room, special visitors & gifts, christening/dedication ceremony, then onto the first smile, first tooth, first steps, first words, etc. This one also has a page for birthdays 1-5 and the last page is the first day of school (that made me cry when I was looking at it)…

Ok, i think that's all for now.

what's in a name?

2007-05-23T13:34:00.001-06:00

Lately baby names have been on my mind a lot.

We had some ideas for girls names from last summer when we were naming our dog, actually...there were a couple names we saw that we thought "no, we'd use those for a child, not for a dog". So that was our starting point for girls' names.

Boys names were a bit harder to come by at first, Anthony came up with one that is still high on our list, i found a nice meaningful middle name to go with it, and we both like it. We've 'lived' with it for about 3 or 4 months now, and it has not changed, nor has our love of the name. We also have another boys' name, found through reading the baby name book together while travelling to Moosomin in February, and a good middle name to go with that name too.

However, since the beginning, our like of the original girls names has waxed and waned, we weren't completely sold on any of them. We had two first-middle name combos that worked, but i wasn't in love with either, so the hunt was not yet over. We also had another first name that we were toying with, but no middle name to go with it and no direction for that hunt. So we dug out the baby name book again, and started going through that, a couple ideas came to us but nothing that we loved...just "that could work" type girls' names.

Until today. A first name had been floating in my mind for a bit, i shared it with Anthony last week and he liked it, but again, we had no middle name for it. Until this morning, when a really nice middle name popped into my head, and it goes very nicely with the first name. This is the first time it’s felt like “aha, here’s a girl's name we could live with forever” – I even called tony and he likes it too. So we’ll sit on it a while and try it out in our minds and see how it ‘fits’…but at this point, I think we have both a boys' and girls' name "picked".

(it's been nice to have the boy's name to throw around our head for the past while to get used to and imagine yelling out the back door, etc., so now we'll do the same with this girl's name.)

Now given that we know so many people having babies in the next while, we are aware of the fact that others may choose the same or a similar name. This is why we have decided to not mention our name ideas to anyone, and also why we have other names on the back burner. Plus, I fully believe you have to meet the kid before fully settling on the name, it may or may not suit him/her when s/he arrives.

But here's a summary of my preferences in names...(anthony's pretty much the same).

I dislike common names. I dislike strange names. I DISLIKE trendy names.

I want something that you see and recognize as a name, but that the kid will perhaps not have others in his/her class with the same name.

I want names that you can see and know how to pronounce, that you can hear and pretty much know how to spell.

I like names with good meanings, I like when they have connections to our heritage (swedish/ukranian, german/russian/mennonite/english).

I am not opposed to choosing a name in honour of someone we know, if it's the right name and the right person (though none of our current picks do this...)

And of course, i spend time thinking about the 'flow' of the name, with and without the middle name thrown in there, the initials and what they may spell or suggest, possible nicknames and teasing names that could be derived from the name, etc.

(by the way, does anyone know the location of those websites where you type in a name and it spits out all the possible negative nicknames and derivations that kids may come up with from that name?)

Now we just have to settle on the spelling of the names, i am not a fan of changing spelling just to make it 'unique', but both the boy's and girl's names have a couple different ways they can be spelled in normal usage...

craving

2007-05-17T09:49:00.000-06:00

The past couple days, i've been having weird cravings - weird because they're not just for food. Now don't get worried and think that i want to eat non-edible items like laundry soap or dirt (which actually happens to some pregnant ladies - follow the link). I have been craving smells.

The one smell that i really want to experience is the smell of the greenhouse at Dutch Growers (or other garden centres)...that warm moist earthy smell. And I want to smell the inside of the Co-op lumber store too. I may have to go to those places this weekend just to inhale it all.

These smell cravings just come upon me, usually while i'm sitting at work - all of a sudden the memory of a certain smell just pops into my head and i have such a strong urge to go smell that scent right then and there. It's weird.

I also have some food cravings, not terribly strong, just urges for certain things. Like very super cold ice water. I have taken to filing up my water bottle with ice every morning then adding the water, and the ice lasts until about 1pm, so at least i have COLD water for half the workday. I am eagerly anticipating the popsicles and ice chips in the labour & delivery ward.

Last night, i got home after 10 and was craving a fruity slushy drink (non-alcoholic of course). Fortunately, upon opening the freezer, i found frozen blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries (which I had forgotten we had), so i threw those in a blender with some frozen fruit punch concentrate and ice, and made a delectable treat. It was quite potent in taste, i think next time i'd skip the fruit punch and just add a bit more water and maybe some sugar, but it was just what i was desiring.

i guess i must be bigger than i thought...

2007-05-16T08:39:00.000-06:00

this morning when I got to work, the elevator going up had just arrived, and a gentleman got in, saw I was coming, and held it for me until I got in. He asked which floor i needed, i said "3", so he punched 3 and said "are you sure you don't need 4?" (4th is where labour & delivery is...)

i thought it was pretty funny, i wasn't offended or anything, but i think as soon as he said it he realized that it wasn't a very "politically correct" thing to say to a complete stranger - as soon as the words left his lips he was like "i'm sorry...." I just laughed and said "still got 7 weeks or so left...but at least my office is only a floor off from 4th!"

poor guy, he looked a bit flustered and awkward after his comment - totally one of those things that just popped out of his mouth without thinking about it.

epiphany (aka why i wouldn't make a good feminist)

2007-05-14T10:50:00.000-06:00

given my love of cooking and baking, my love of not having anything on my feet, and my positive experience (thus far) of being pregnant...

i quite enjoy being barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.

all is still well

2007-05-10T08:59:00.000-06:00

I honestly can't complain about anything major in this pregnancy. Yes, i have the aches and pains and stiffness some days, and other days are awful in trying to get comfortable to work, visit, or sleep. But overall, i have had no major discomforts or anything since those first days of fatigue and nausea and heartburn (which seem like a very distant memory). Even now, heartburn is only slight, and only on the occasional day.

I did, however, notice my very first baby-related stretch mark this morning on my tummy. Oh well, i figured i'd get them at some point and was pretty surprised that it took this long for them to show up. But i still really like my belly - i am actually excited for it to get even bigger. Some days I look at it and think "there can't be a 4 pound baby in there, it's not big enough!"

I have to say that swimming has really helped in the aches/pains/general discomfort area. I really notice it when i miss a swimming class - i am way more sore and uncomfortable for those days until i can get back to the pool. It is just so good to stretch everything out so well and to move around in the water, as well as the quick soaks in the hot tub after the class is done (it's quite funny to see 10-15 pregnant ladies head straight to the hot tub after class is over, given that society in general thinks that pregnant ladies are NEVER supposed to go in a hot tub). Last week I extended my leisure card for two more months, so now it expires on July 11, by which time i should most definitely have this baby (that would be 11 days overdue, and the standard in s'toon is to only let you go 10 days overdue). I am looking forward to being able to just go be in the water and even just float (instead of aquacising) as the more cumbersome days come along.

With 7 1/2 (ish) weeks left, i sure hope that i can say that i have no complaints when I get to the end. I know there will be more cause for discomfort as the day grows closer, but at this point i think i should be mostly fine. And the free massages at McKay school help too, i have my second one booked for after the long weekend, which leaves me one more to enjoy in June.

2007-05-03T10:39:00.000-06:00

does (or did) anyone out there actually do their kegel exercises?

"What do you mean 31 weeks?"

2007-04-29T21:52:00.000-06:00

So Anthony just came in and was looking over my shoulder at the pics I posted below, and he saw the last one and said "What do you mean 31 weeks?" I said "Um, that's how far along we are..."

I guess it hadn't hit him that we're in the single digits for weeks left now, i asked him how he felt about that and he said "We don't have a baby room yet!"

I'm not to worried about it, it honestly seems like we have a lot of time left (as long as this kid doesn't come super early or something like that).

belly pics

2007-04-29T21:39:00.000-06:00

Well it's been a while since i've posted new pics of this ever-growing belly, so here's a collection for your perusal.

Feb 25 - 22 wks

Mar 11 - 24 weeks

April 2 - 27 weeks

April 29 - 31 weeks

prenatal class

2007-04-29T21:25:00.000-06:00

Fri & Sat this past weekend, we attended the S'toon public health prenatal classes. I have to say they were pretty good. I learned a lot about the pros and cons of various medication options, and of course they made us practise the "he he he hoooooooo hooooooooo" breathing and stuff. I have to say the light shallow breathing made me quite dizzy when i tried it in class, but i also tried it in the middle of aquacise when holding in the chinup position for 30 sec, and it was way better then, so i suspect it's one of those things that is more useful when there's actually demand being placed on your body.

We also have more ideas for how we plan to prepare for labour (I told tony he has to practise the massage techniques on me a LOT before it actually starts), and some things to try when we're in labour. Of course when it actually happens it may be totally different and things i currently think might help me may get thrown out the window, but i like the idea of going in with a toolbox of things to try to help manage the pain and such.

I am not opposed to having some medications to help manage the pain if need be, but i also want to see how far i can go without anything...just how much i can handle. I don't want a drugged up baby at birth, so it was nice to hear about options that don't impact baby, but take the edge off (i.e., laughing gas). And i'm not completely opposed to considering an epidural, but i think that would be a very last resort thing for me (before 7 cm, of course, lol) if things were taking a very long time and i was near exhaustion and running out of energy for the actual delivery.

Of course, we'll just have to see when we actually get there. But the main thing i've gotten from the class, the books i've read, and some very informative and helpful emails and comments from some of you, is that the more relaxed I can stay, the better. So that is my ultimate goal, and having things like an mp3 player loaded with my favorite soothing, calming music, a few creature comforts packed for the hospital, and hopefully staying around home for the first part of Stage 1, we can accomplish that. And like i said before, i may or may not want or use these things when labour actually comes, but at least the options will be there. And hey, maybe i won't even have time to utilize any of the things i've prepared in advance (wishful thinking, i know - i'm actually mentally preparing for a long labour, that way if it's short, it will be a bonus!)

Oh, and one last thing, i have realized that i really dislike the term "Transition" (referring to the phase between 7 cm and fully dilated). From what it sounds like, that's where most of the pain and agony occur, and then the only reward is getting to finally push the kid out (which sounds like it can be quite the ordeal in and of itself). "Transition" makes it sound like an intermediate step that is over quite quickly and is just changing from one phase to another (yes, i know it's the period of change from labour to delivery, but man, that's where a lot of the action happens!) So I vote that we rename that phase...any suggestions?

Prenatal app't #6

2007-04-25T08:38:00.000-06:00

Once again, all is well. BP is good, my glucose test came back perfectly in the normal range {phew}, baby's growth and heartrate is right on track. I did gain 7 pounds last month (eek!), but that only brings my total to 19, which is still in the right range. And people keep reminding me how much this belly has popped out in the past month - i know baby didn't put on 7 lbs, but probably at least a couple of those were baby, and the girls are bigger yet again too. And i'm holding on to more fluids (but not very swollen), and i got weighed at the end of the day as opposed to my usual morning appointments. There. That's my rationalization.

I also got my Win-Rho shot, i don't particularly like getting needles - the thought of something metal stuck into my body kinda weirds me out (yeah, i know, that's how epidurals come, and that's exactly why i really don't want an epidural - not because of the philosophical aspect of pain relief versus none, but because the thought of that needle going into a teeny space right by my spinal cord really freaks me out.) Anyways, back to Win-Rho: my sister in law Ang got hers in the "hip" so i was all ready for that, and it turns out my doc injects it into an arm vein! No complaints there.

I go back in a month - i thought i'd be on 2 week appointments now, but maybe not. So i'll see her at 35 weeks, then 37, then every week. Is this usual? I thought after 30 i'd go every 2 weeks. I guess if everything is going this well and there's no concerns, maybe she's starting the more frequent appointments later on...

weekend adventures

2007-04-23T11:39:00.000-06:00

On saturday, my mom and I went to the SPOTTO consignment sale around noon, there was nothing there. Last week’s sale was so much better. So we didn’t get anything there. But then we went to fabricland, I got material for 5 maternity shirts – spring/summerish shirts with either short sleeves or tank style. I hope they turn out well, they have so much potential and are so fun!!! I was planning to try to make them, but mom said “it will take you a long time and you’re working and I have time this week so I’ll just do them up for you….” Awwww. I’m not gonna say “no” to that offer!

So then, we were looking for some material for crib sheets, and we ended up finding those pre printed crib quilt panels – mom was thinking of making me a crib quilt but has never done the piece quilting before and wasn’t sure that’s what she wanted to get into, but the ones we saw were SOOOOOOO cute, there were two that had yellow and turquoise in them (the colors we'd like to do in the room), and they were just super cute, with cartoonish animals on them, very funky not babyish stuff. So we got both, they were $5 each, MUCH cheaper than the $150- $300 you pay for a crib bedding set in store (and i've never seen one of those that i like anyways). I was very very excited, because i didn't have a ‘theme’ or anything for the nursery, but I obviously needed bedding, and wanted something fun but not babyish. And the only thing I really thought about was how cute animal prints were, and how that was probably as close to a “theme” as we’d get. We found some really cute sheeting material to go with those quilts, one was part of the same line and just had the random animals from the crib quilt on it with a turqouise background, then we got a solid yellow and a very cute striped turquoise and green. I’m very very very excited about all that.

So THEN, we went downtown to browse around a bit, and at sears, I found Mr. Lion. He is the cutest bright yellow stuffed lion with turquoise on his toes…and he looks exactly like the lion on each of the quilt thingies! So I just HAD to buy him, I am SOOOOOO excited about Mr. Lion. This is the first thing i've bought for this kid that i saw and didn't care how much it cost, i had already made up my mind that it was coming home with me (good thing it was a pretty reasonable price). Here is a pic of Mr. Lion that i found online:

So I guess we have kindof stumbled onto an official baby room “theme” now, I’m glad it’s not babyish and can work for either sex and isn’t pale green or yellow and icky. And I’m glad the kid can still enjoy it when s/he is 1 or 2…

Funny thing, I was telling my coworker about Mr. Lion this morning, and she was at Sears sat morning and had Mr Lion in her hand three times and then put him back trying to decide if she should buy him or not. And he was the only one left. So it was the same one, and she almost bought him, and then I would have never known he existed and not had him for my baby. She said she was glad he had found a good home.

The other thing I got at sears was a potential coming-home outfit for the little one, it is a onesie with an embroidered giraffe and elephant on the front, tres cute, I just need to find some pants to go with it, it can be for either sex, but if I find a cute girls outfit I’ll get one more girlish one and use this one for if it’s a boy. I sure hope I’m not tempting fate, but the only size they had was 10 lb. I told the kid that s/he doesn’t have to fit into it right away, it can be big on him/her when s/he wears it home.

good deals

2007-04-17T14:52:00.000-06:00

Saturday I went to the Children's Market consignment sale with my mother in law and 2 of 3 sisters in law, it was great.

I have to say the sale was VERY well organized and run for such a large endeavour, despite the crowds it was a very pleasant experience.

My sale deals: a diaper genie for $6, a wooden baby gate for $18 (regular $50), avent sippy cups (2 for $3, regular $6-8 each), a sun shade for the back window of the car $2, a mosquito net for the stroller $1, a very cute pair of unisex 0-3mo shoes ($3), a never used pregnancy diary book (1.50 – for my next pregnancy as this one is 2/3 done), some bottle liners and breastmilk storage bags (the store price on the package was $17, I got them for $2), a basically brand new Jolly Jumper nursing pillow for $8 (yellow and blue, to boot!). Shirley found a couple high chairs and a car seat, she was very pleased with those purchases.

I am looking forward to going back at the fall sale, when I actually know what clothes to buy, so much out there is so gender-specific that I don’t want to buy a whole lot until we know what s/he is. I'm also looking forward to the SPOTTO sale this coming saturday - ya never know what you'll find!

slightly more random question

2007-04-16T08:36:00.001-06:00

where does one find a good diaper bag, other than the not-so-good quality stuff at walmart/zellers, etc?

edit: also, any comments on the benefits of an actual "diaper bag" versus a large purse/other generic bag?

question

2007-04-11T14:23:00.000-06:00

Right now, we are facing the need to make some tentative arrangements for Anthony's time off when baby comes, as he is actually going to be in school from Apr 30 to June 22 for his first year apprenticeship classes, so he needs his tentative holiday plans submitted before he goes to school so his boss knows what will happen when baby comes - which will probably be pretty soon after Anthony returns from his schooling (and hopefully not before he's done his classes, though we have no control over that, so if it happens, it happens).

We were thinking that he'd request a minimum of one week, but up to two weeks off depending on when baby arrived and when we are discharged...for example, if this kid shows up on a Wednesday, he'd take the rest of that week plus the full week after it off; whereas, if the kid shows up on a friday night, he'd probably just take the full week off (plus the 2 weekends = 10 days)... of course this would all be subject to change if there were any difficulties such as a c-section where i was in hosptial longer than anticipated, etc.

For those of you who have already had kids, how much time did your husband/partner take off when the baby came? Was it enough, or did you wish he was home for longer? How long were you in the hospital? I assume it was good to have him around for the first days at home....and also i'd imagine his sleep is quite disturbed for the first bit as well, so going right back into work might be hard for him.... ???

somebody has hiccups...

2007-04-10T08:34:00.000-06:00

i just hope this kid doesn't get hiccups like his/her momma - mine are so violent and painful!

but what a weird sensation - it feels like a muscle twitch in my abdomen. Prior to Sunday I had only read about baby having hiccups, but Sunday night, all of a sudden there were these very regular twitching movements unlike what i had felt before - it wasn't legs or arms flailing, it was closer to where the torso is positioned. And just a little flick, in a regular rhythm.

S/he had them again monday morning when i got to work, and now again right now (tuesday morning).

It's amazing to realize that there is a PERSON developing in there, it is becoming more and more real. One thing that hit home this weekend is that almost a year ago, my friend Ang had her baby Hayden at 28 weeks - this is where i'm at now - and little Hayden was just the most precious thing when he was born (and still is, of course). Even at 28 weeks, all his features were there, every little part was in place and formed and distinguishable, even at 2.5 pounds total. And that's where my little one is at right now - all the features are in place, s/he looks like him/herself (if that makes sense), and there's just a bit more growing and adding some more weight to go. That is just incredible to me.

Growth spurt?

2007-04-03T14:56:00.000-06:00

The past couple days, i have been hungry. Very hungry. Every 2 hours.

I've been snacking like crazy, and have been relatively successful in choosing nutritious snacks, but it's a bit nuts when it feels like i just finished eating something and i'm already hungry again. I think i counted 5 snacks (aside from lunch) during my work day yesterday, and have already had four today, with 1 1/2 hours of work left. I think *someone* must be going through a growth spurt (I'm sure hoping it's the little one inside, not me....)

Related to this, I had an epiphany yesterday: this baby is moving and kicking all day (quite vigorously), AND is growing and developing, and ALL the energy that it needs for all these activities comes from ME. Yeah, i know, it's a pretty obvious thing, but ya know when you realize something for the first time even though you've "known" it forever? Yeah.

I am realizing that I’m not invincible.

2007-04-02T12:52:00.000-06:00

For quite a bit of this pregnancy (since after the morning sickness phase passed), I have been feeling very well, better than even my pre-pregnancy state. But now things are changing. I am much more tired, MUCH more weepy and emotional, and have general aches and pains, specifically in my lower back/pelvis/hips, and of course the wonderful round ligament pain. But I hadn’t really slowed down all that much, I was still trying to do everything that I normally do – work full time, keep up on housework, cooking, etc, and maintain a pretty active social life. I would have days of course where I’d just be exhausted and not able to do these things, but I would see them as the exception rather than the norm.

This morning, I realized that it is OK to slow down, and probably even necessary at this point. My body is doing a TON of work growing this baby and preparing for having and sustaining the kid once s/he arrives, and even though I had never really thought about all the changes it is going through, this is really a whole body experience. Before being pregnant, I just kinda thought “Yeah, my belly will get big and that’s what pregnancy will be like for this body.” But oh no, there’s a LOT more to it than that.

This morning I was reading an email update “27 weeks” from babycentre.com, and I noticed a couple references to an article on “ways to make things easier for yourself at this stage”. One suggestion was to have paper plates, etc. to use on days you just don’t have energy for dishes. Something clicked, and I realized that it’s OK that I haven’t done my dishes in over a week (thank goodness for a dishwasher to clean the ones we eat off, but the pots/pans and cooking utensils are piled a mile high). And it’s OK if I decide to go to bed earlier instead of doing a bit more housework. And it’s ok if all I want to do is sit and cuddle with Anthony instead of facing the world. It’s ok if I’m feeling emotional and just need to have time to myself and feel sad for a bit instead of wondering what’s wrong with me and why I’m having a sad day when everything around me is objectively “fine”.

I’m glad I realized all this at this point, because I think realizing I need to step back and take care of myself before some of these other tasks/priorities in life will make these last 3 months go much better. So I’m going to take breaks when I need them, and let this body have some extra rest when it’s tired and achy. I’m going to choose not to feel bad about the pile of dirty dishes and the unswept floor. I’m going to surround myself with positive and supportive people who love me happy or sad, weepy or glad, and feel free to express the emotions I’m feeling, while still realizing that they are simply emotions (and hormone driven ones at that), and not a perfect indicator of how things are really going.

can you imagine?

2007-03-28T14:32:00.000-06:00

Another reason i'm glad i live in Saskatchewan...

My sister was telling me that in Calgary these days, if you're pregnant and think you may want to go back to work after your year of mat leave, that you put your name down on a waiting list at the childcare facility you'd like your kid to go to NOW, and you start paying a retainer fee - about 1/2 the monthly childcare fee - every month between now and when your kid actually enters childcare there.

Can you imagine paying that every month for about 16 months before you even need it JUST to secure a spot for your kid?

kicks and such

2007-03-28T13:13:00.001-06:00

I got an email from the BabyCentre the other day, and the main topic was "can you feel your baby moving?" It listed guidelines for this stage of pregnancy in terms of movement, one of which said "If you are concerned your baby isn't moving very much, try a movement count period. Pick a time that your baby is active, and count the movements. You should be able to feel 10 movements (any combination of kicks, flips, wiggles, etc) within a 2 hour period. If you do not feel 10, see your doctor."

I'm not sure if this kid is just hyperactive or something, but during his/her active times, it is not uncommon for me to feel 10 strong, noticeable movements within about 5 minutes or less. The active times are pretty regular throughout the day too, i've been glancing at the clock when i notice movements lately, and they seem to be on a pretty regular schedule.

The first ones of the day that i notice are around 6 am when Tony gets up, these are pretty light and just last a few minutes. Then there's periodic movements through the morning, with at least one good chunk of activity around 10:30-11am. Next is the 1pm chunk, followed by another around 4, (these afternoon ones sometimes last up to an hour or so). Then one in early evening (7 or 8pm), and one around 11pm or midnight. I have not woken up in the night due to baby moving so far, but i'm sure s/he has another chunk of activity during the night sometime.

I've heard that baby's sleep/wake patterns after birth are often similar to those developed while in utero, if this is the case, this kid should pop out ready for lots of activity during the day at 3 hour intervals, followed by less activity at night. I guess we'll see!

6 months and all is well

2007-03-23T14:42:00.001-06:00

wow. 2/3 done.

Had prenatal app't #5? (i've lost track) yesterday, everything is good. I had another med student for this appointment, this time he was a 4th year (3 weeks away from being done and then just his residency left), and he knew what he was doing. He actually ended up doing the whole appointment himself, as the nurse had told him just to get started with me, and the dr. didn't know she had a student shadowing her today, so she was in with another patient.

But "Dr. Luke" (when can we start calling the students dr's?) did very well, asked all the pertinent questions, answered my questions well, knew exactly what tests to order at this stage (glucose test here we come!) When my dr. came in to check on what he had done, it was all good. She got him to explain the WinRo shot thingy to me (I'm - , tony's +), so i'll get that at my next appointment. Too bad he's going into neurosurgery for his residency, he had great bedside manner, excellent communication skills, and would make a great family physician in my opinion. Of course, i'm sure those skills will also come in very handy when explaining the recommended brain surgery to a patient and his/her family...but I digress.

Another 3 pounds gained, which makes my total to date 12 lbs. I'm good with that. No swelling, no spotting, lots of movement, good bp, good heartrate from baby, fundal height is right on....nothing to be concerned about. Other than the sickness at the beginning, and general achiness these days (especially in the hips, and in the round ligaments and pelvic floor area), things have been quite good for me physically during this pregnancy.

Emotionally, i've been doing pretty well also. I've had a couple freak out moments when i've realized a bit of the magnitude of the changes that this will bring to our lives, and realizing that i'll be a parent, responsible for the wellbeing of this child. And of course, the hormonal cries and hyper-sensitivity, which have been even more noticeable in the past week or two. Feeling a bit more tired now as well, but not nearly as tired as the first trimester.

Hoo boy.

2007-03-23T14:23:00.000-06:00

I have officially reached that "always too warm" stage of pregnancy. Too bad it couldn't have happened in the first two trimesters instead of continuously being freezing cold through the winter.

At least I have a window in my office so i can have some fresh cool air while working, now i'll just have to buy a bunch of short sleeved and sleeveless mat shirts for the next three months. And thank goodness for a/c at home!

The Belly

2007-03-16T11:52:00.000-06:00

It's interesting how one has to adjust to this new appendage out front. I keep bumping into things, pulling my chair up too close to desks/tables (i used to be able to sit that close!), and trying to open doors which end up hitting my mid-section instead of missing me entirely.

And it's an interesting sensation - understand that and at different times in my life, i have carried some extra weight on my stomach area. Not a lot, just some tummy bulge. When that tummy came into contact with things, i wouldn't notice much, it was just gushy and would move out of the way. Now, this new belly is hard and firm and has someone in it, so it's quite a different feeling when it comes into contact with something.

Anthony of course gives the belly tons of attention, he kisses it goodbye every morning when he leaves for work, greets it when i arrive home, and often tries to feel for and poke baby parts (especially when doing so pushes on my full bladder, what fun). I think i've mentioned how sometimes at night I'll wake up because all of a sudden his hand is on my belly, and i have to explain to him that baby isn't moving at that time, so he can let me sleep and wait 'till later. His father was notorious for finding and tickling his sister's feet while they were in utero, to the point where his mother suffered cracked and dislocated ribs from the baby's reactions to this stimulation. Yeah. Not fun. Anthony knows that he will be in BIG TROUBLE if he ever tries that, but he always teases me and sees how far he can push it. I may have to sleep with one eye open in the coming months... But this aside, it is really neat to see him interacting with his unborn child in these ways.

The girls at my youth group (14-17ish) are fascinated by the belly. They talk to it every week, and last week they were asking "Can we feel the baby move?" I said "Well if s/he were moving right now you probably could, but s/he's pretty quiet at the moment." I then proceeded to show them and let them feel where the bum was, and poke at various other baby body parts in there. Most of the girls had never experienced this before, and they thought it was the coolest thing. So then I sat there for 20 mins with six hands on my belly (yes, there was room for all six) waiting to see if this baby would move for them.

I really don't mind people touching my belly (IF THEY ASK FIRST). I'm a pretty open person, and touch is comfortable for me as long as i know the person somewhat. My close friend Candace has felt my kid moving quite early on (after Anthony), and my coworkers have poked and prodded baby parts like the girls did.

I also know that society seems to have this fascination with pregnant bellies, and that at some point, strangers may want to touch the belly, perhaps will do so without asking, etc. I think THIS will bother me, but when it's people I know who have asked first, i really don't mind. I think part of it is that i'm so fascinated by it that it's neat to have others share in it as well.

awwwww

2007-03-11T23:12:00.000-06:00

Making it work...

2007-03-08T09:04:00.000-06:00

Had our first prenatal breastfeeding class last night, it was pretty good. I went in fully expecting the one-sided view that "breast is best" so it didn't really throw me when that's exactly what we got - a lot of information on "boob-good, formula-bad", the areas in which breastfed kids do better, etc. That stuff i basically knew, and pretty much tuned out for. (the one thing of note that i learned is that powdered formula is not very safe as there is no way to ensure that it's sterile from certain bugs/bacteria - babies have been known to get meningitis due to powdered formula. Concentrate or ready-to-go is safe.)

The interesting part was just hearing about all the options and different things to try if you do end up facing difficulties in breastfeeding, instead of automatically "giving up" and switching to formula. Our current goal is to try to breastfeed exclusively until about 6-8mos (adding the recommended solids around 6 mos, of course), but i have been concerned about "what if things don't go well?", so to hear that there are a number of things to try before making the choice to switch was reassuring. I'm a pretty determined person (to a point), and i am also the type of person who will exhaust all available options before "giving up" on something that i had set my mind to. So the class gave me hope that with this attitude, we should be able to get past the difficulties that do arise, and should be able to make that 6-8mos goal.

Anyone out there want to share their experiences with breastfeeding? Am i being too idealistic/optimistic or are my thoughts pretty reasonable? If you feel comfortable sharing, what challenges have you faced and what things did you try to address them? At what point do you decide that for your own sanity/baby's health that it was time for formula? Or did you choose to not breastfeed at all?

Info. for Moms & Moms to be

2007-03-05T11:41:00.000-06:00

I've heard about a couple things happening in the S'toon area for moms/moms to be, so i thought i'd post it here for anyone who may be interested.

First, there's a website at http://members.shaw.ca/saskatoonevents/ about things to do in s'toon and resources for S'toon area regarding babies, prenatal stuff, etc. One thing to check out is her list of local sales (consignment & other) that are happening this spring with baby/maternity stuff - link found here: http://members.shaw.ca/saskatoonevents/sales.html This lady has really done a lot of work pulling this information together in one place, makes it easy to use and become informed about this stuff.

Second, for all you belly buddies, there are a couple research studies happening on campus right now that you may want to check out (i'm a big believer in participating in research if/when i can, depending on the study). First is one on "feelings in pregnancy" - http://www.feelingsinpregnancy.ca/ (oh, i guess it's also happening in Moose Jaw!), the other is a "sleep during pregnancy" study. There's no website for this one, but they're studying sleep patterns of women with preeclampsia during pregnancy compared to those without preeclampsia - so whichever group you fit into, they'll take you. Somewhere around 30 weeks, you get to spend a night in the sleep research lab hooked up to heartrate monitors (you and baby), and stuff like that, and they're also looking at breathing problems during sleep, which can be quite common for pregnant ladies (especially with all the changes to the nose/sinus area due to hormones). If you're interested in getting more info. on this one, you can call Dr. Reid at 966-8287.

2007-03-05T11:25:00.000-06:00

It amazes me to think that this child has a (slim) chance at surviving if s/he was born right now.

The Ultrasound

2007-03-02T17:36:00.000-06:00

The ultrasound was good. Baby is doing fine, s/he is 1lb 4oz right now, and was moving and squirming and swallowing and stuff. My due date is right on, and they found nothing to be concerned about with baby or with me. I have a good amount of amniotic fluid, and no placenta previa (where the placenta covers the cervix).

The lump on the top right is the bum, head is down, though s/he still has lots of room to move and flip, so it could change many times between now and the end. So it’s the head that’s pushing against my bladder these days, and the hands and knee that are giving me the strong jabs down there too.

I looked at the face and thought “It’s a girl…”. Anthony could see the screen when the technician was doing the femur measurements, and thought “Ok, that looks like boy parts” (but he also said it might have been the umbilical cord”. So we’re divided, and have no real clue what s/he is. But I did go and buy a cute girl hoodie yesterday after the appointment – Robyn had called me to tell me that someone had returned a couple pairs of mat cords in my size, and they were on discount for $7 each, so I went and grabbed those before anyone else could….it’s nice to have more pants that fit, and for such a good price too!

Pictures to come, my scanner is acting up right now.

EDIT: Forgot to mention the heartrate was 156 bpm.

Dear baby Epp,

2007-02-28T14:44:00.000-06:00

Why do you have to be SOoooooo active, squirming and jabbing your mom so much when she is required to sit here with 24 oz of water in her and hold in her uncomfortably full bladder for an entire hour?

Maybe you could take a nice nap for the next bit, so mom doesn't feel quite so much like she's going to burst with every jab.

Love you! Dad and I are excited to see you this afternoon!

~Mom

Ultrasound day

2007-02-28T08:54:00.000-06:00

So today, we get to see our baby for the first time. Anthony's picking me up after work and we'll go meet this little one...

I am most interested in seeing how s/he is lying in there, i have a hunch that the bulge on my right side is the bum, and the flutters/jabs at bottom left must then be arms. Unless it's upside down in which case those may be leg movements. I'd really like to put a name to the body parts i have been poking at. Really, now would be a good time to find out if i'm actually smacking him/her on the bottom or donking them on the head. Yeah.

Another thing that will be good is to confirm there's just one in there. I know rationally that if it were twins, there would have been other signs by now, but this past weekend, three people saw my expanding girth, found out i was at 22 weeks, and asked "are you SURE it's not twins?" So those conversations put that thought into my brain....yeah. I figure the dr. would have not had such a hard time finding a heartbeat the first couple times if there were two to choose from, and we probably would have heard more than one at some point.... maybe?

Don't know if i'll have a chance to post after the appointment today, but probably by later tomorrow there should be an update.

More members in the belly buddy club...

2007-02-27T17:10:00.000-06:00

Welcome to our friends Mark & Nicole who have joined the belly buddy club, with an EDA of August 25.

This is in addition to Mike & Amanda - EDA August 23, Tracy from my old job - EDA early August, and i'm sure there's at least one more that has currently slipped my mind.

I also realized the other day that all 3 of my closest girlfriends from high school have had babies in the past 8 months...Angela in May, Stacey in December, and Lynnette in January! And they've all been boys! So we'll see if i cap off this little group with another boy, or if my darling girl will have her pick of boyfriends! Funny how we'll all have had our first child within 14 months of each other, especially since some have been married for nearly 7 years and others for about 2 years.

Fetal Movement Categories

2007-02-24T22:34:00.000-06:00

So, with baby epp being much more active as of late, i have realized that there are definitely different types of movements/feelings that I have experienced...

1. The Jab - presumably a leg or arm, this feeling is in a very specific spot, and produces a sudden poke or kick-type feeling. Sometimes causes me to jump a bit, and i'm sure they only get stronger.

2. The Flip - a larger scale movement, accompanied by the feeling you get in your stomach when you do a bit of a free-fall on a fair ride or roller coaster. May or may not be accompanied by jabs or squirms. Happens maybe once every 2-3 days.

3. The Squirms - again, more widespread than the jab, but less general movement than the flip. Sensation is in multiple areas at once, and is not just one contact, but many smaller patters. Can last for a few minutes at a time, punctuated by jabs. These are the most frequent movements, often felt for a few hours each day (thankfully just during the day).

4. The Clench - I think this one is actually the uterus muscle squeezing in, holding for a few seconds, then releasing. Belly feels quite tight and firm while this is happening. Not painful at all, just like when you squeeze a muscle tight. Happens maybe once or twice a day, often while using other abdominal muscles (i.e., to sit up in bed, etc.).

5. The Bzzzzzz - No clue what this one is, but you know the feeling you get when you're on something that is vibrating? Now imagine that feeling just in your uterus area (sorry, guys!), it just quivers for a few moments. Has anyone else felt this one? Any ideas as to what causes it? Happens for a few seconds, maybe every 3 or 4 days at most.

Friday's quote of the day

2007-02-24T22:27:00.000-06:00

"I'm going to be a daddy!" - said by Anthony, accompanied by an incredulous look and silly grin when he felt this kid move for the first time, and saw my belly move on the outside.

We had quite an eventful evening last night, and when we finally arrived home after 1am, baby was quite active. I called Anthony to come quickly, and he was able to feel a lot of the kicks and movements that I was feeling. He was so very excited, and it was definitely a moment where this all became more real for him. I joked that now he had proof that i wasn't just getting a fat belly from overeating.

What a special moment, though. It really put into perspective how different his experience of all this is from mine, i go through each day with the reality that there's a child growing inside me, but for him, it's been a fairly abstract concept, only becoming more concrete with experiences like seeing the positive pregnancy test (i knew, but that was his 'proof'); noticing my belly suddenly expand overnight, and now feeling the movements that I have been feeling for a while. And each moment when it has become more real for him, it has also become even that much more real for me, as I see his reactions and the silly little grin.

I just know Anthony is going to be a great dad, and a wonderful partner in parenting for me. Just seeing how he already talks to the baby and interacts with my belly is very heartwarming...

baby likes blues

2007-02-23T09:12:00.000-06:00

So, it was baby epp's 2nd live concert experience last night, it was a great show with Michael Kashammer opening and then Colin James with his Little Big Band.

I gotta tell you, this kid LOVES blues and jazz. S/he danced all night long when the music was playing! I don't think i'll forget the experience of grooving along to the music along with my baby in this way.

Maybe some of the talent we've seen while s/he's been in utero will rub off and perhaps one day we'll get to go see them perform on stage! I can imagine Uncle Ging would be happy to give some guitar pointers, and of course, mommy will be teaching him/her piano (until the stage where the kid no longer wants to learn from mom, of course. After that, it would just be torture for both of us.)

No thursday nite swimming for me

2007-02-22T14:55:00.000-06:00

Well, as much as I love Thurs nite swimming, i have to miss the next two weeks.

Tonight, well, let's just say there was a different pregnant lady who had tickets to Colin James tonight, she and her partner were going to go with friends of ours, but she is worried that the volume level will be harmful to her unborn baby. So our friends (who bought the tickets in the first place) offered them to us gratis. How can we say no? Good company, good music, and yeah. I'm not worried about the noise. Out of curiosity i mentioned the woman's reason to my dr, and she just laughed and said "well at least you'll get to enjoy the concert, and if it's good, loud music, baby will probably just kick a bunch".

Then next week, it's a choice between swimming and a free steak dinner at John's Prime Rib. Ok, maybe not so much of a "choice", as it's a work meeting over supper, but they asked if i was available and of course, free steak or swimming? Not a hard call, even though I love both. Especially given my general beef craving over this pregnancy.

Prenatal appointment 4

2007-02-22T14:45:00.000-06:00

and all is well.

There was a JURSI shadowing my doctor today, i think i was one of his first prenatal patients ever because he really didn't know what to do, how to check the fundal height (i think that's what it's called..??), or what to ask...the dr. was really good with teaching him the stuff, though. And it was nice, because I had a list of questions (what can i take for my sore throat, what about these aches/pains, why are my hands numb in the morning, etc.) that seemed to be good textbook issues that prego ladies have, so he was able to learn a lot from the questions and her answers (as did I).

Weight gain was only one pound this past month, i was SURE it would be a LOT more, as i've been eating everything in sight, it seems, with my latest favorites being donuts, chocolate milk, and ice cream. But I guess all that extra energy is being burned by this baby growing! (and don't worry, for every "bad" snack i have, i've had at least 5-10 fruits/vegs throughout the day, so i don't worry about having the other foods). So far, the official record says i have gained 9 lbs, but i suspect it's less than that, as my estimate for where i started out was based on my home scale, which I have found out weighs in about 8-10 pounds lighter than the office scale. So i think i'm closer to 0 overall, not that it matters.

Baby's heartbeat was good again, s/he was still trying to kick that doppler thingy away, though.

Ok, here ya go. Belly pics

2007-02-19T14:51:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the long wait, it's been weeks since i've had time to post, to actually figure out which pics are associated with which week of pregnancy....but now, for your perusal...

(yeah, i have no clue why i make funny faces while getting my pic taken...)

Ok, i have no idea how the layout will look once i publish, so here's the key:

Black shirt - 8 weeks (basically pre-pregnancy size)

Orange shirt - 12 weeks

White striped shirt & khakis - 16 weeks

White shirt & jeans - 19 weeks.

i am SOOOOOO excited!

2007-02-14T14:51:00.000-06:00

Horray! I can now stomach Hawkins Cheezies (my favorite crunchy indulgence) again!

I ate some when i was about 8 weeks in, and i just felt AWFUL afterwards. But i saw a bag at the store this week, and they were calling my name. So i got them, and they're SOOOOOOOO yummy. Oh how i've missed them...

20 weeks and all is well

2007-02-14T08:26:00.000-06:00

Half way there, it's hard to believe. I wouldn't say that this first 4.5 months has gone quickly, but i imagine parts of the next 4.5 will definitely fly by (and probably parts of it will drag on and on and on...)

Other than being busy, things are going well. Baby is moving a TON now, Anthony still can't feel it on the outside, though. But the highest levels of activity are during the day when i'm at work, so maybe on the weekend during the day he'll be able to feel something.

I realized that although it's a pretty cool feeling, that sometimes it isn't all that great (gasp!). Let me explain. To me, a lot of the smaller movements just feel like my stomach does when I'm really worked up and nervous over something and my gut is churning and I can't eat. So then when my body feels very similar to that due to baby, my mind interprets it as being nervous and anxious, and then i'm sitting there feeling uneasy and trying to figure out what's bothering me, what's making me feel that way.

I've also been going to the bathroom a LOT more in the past week than is usual, and moreso than i've experienced thus far in pregnancy (except for maybe a week around 9 or 10 weeks). I'm not used to having to go so often, and it's definitely an adjustment...i'm beginning to understand what my fellow "belly buddies" (and those that have been there before) mean when they say the first thing they do when entering a new building is scout for the bathrooms.

Last week the girls went va-voom yet again, and i outgrew the last of my pre-pregnancy bras that still fit to that point. Thankfully, LaSenza had a sale on, and i was able to find a bunch in my new size for about $9 each - very nice comfy ones (good thing they were cheap, as i suspect i'll be bra shopping again before this is all over). Tony is impressed at my new voluptuous-ness, and scarcely believed me when i told him that there is more to come...I put on one of my pre-prego bras (one of the smaller ones that i had, but it fit fine before), and MAN, does that ever put it into perspective where i've come from and where i am now!!!