J.A.M. + Creature

The Birth Of Raymond

2010-07-03T14:45:00.000-07:00

WARNING: this is long and slightly graphic, but I want to remember every detail
(written on day 4, 5 , 6 postpartum)

On June 26th the night before Raymond was born, we hosted supper at our house for Sean, Sarah, and Ryan, and Grandma and Grandpa as usual. It was the first time that the Toronto Denomeys came to visit our new house since we’d moved, and the kids were super excited to see each other again (they had not seen each other since Ryan’s birthday in December). We had a lovely BBQ of steak, corn on the cob, potato packets, BBQ veggie kabobs, fizzy punch, and coleslaw, with pineapple strawberry cake for dessert. So yummy!

S, S, and R left just before 10pm, and we settled down for bed. Miriam was exhausted from all the excitement. It was a great visit.

At 2 am, I was sleeping and dreamt about a public toilet overflowing with diarrhea. A bunch of people were standing around discussing it. Then I was in a room full of window blinds, and Josh was on the other side of one of the blinds and we could talk but we couldn’t see each other. I remember telling him “Joshy, I think my water broke”. I woke up then, and got up to go to the bathroom, but felt something wet on my leg. I thought it was pee! But in the bathroom, I discovered that my water had indeed broken for real, and felt a gush of it. I got excited, cleaned up, and went to tell Josh.

He was sleeping, woke right up, and we paged Carole our midwife to let her know. She said she’s coming over to assess everything. She was at our house 20 minutes later, and in the darkened living room we chatted, and she checked me (I was only 2 cm dilated) and the baby (heart rate was good). She said she’s meeting another client at Grand River Hospital at 10am that morning, so we should come by as well and do a non-stress test and see how things are progressing, or else page her prior to this if contractions start and become closer than 5 minutes apart.

She gave me a tincture, and made up some oil with clary sage to rub on my belly. It smelled so nice and felt good. She left advising us to get some sleep, and that we’d see her later, and that we’d have our baby that day! About half an hour after she left, around 3 am, contractions started. They were mild and I got to nap between them but couldn’t sleep through them. They were five to seven minutes apart, irregular, and as the night wore on, they spaced out a bit, which was very annoying as I was eager to get them closer together and stronger so the baby would come sooner.

At around 6 am I got up for the day, got dressed, left a note on the couch for Josh, grabbed the iPhone and iPod and headed out for walks around the neighbourhood. I blasted my playlist (which included fabulous music like Wavin’ Flag, Jann Arden, Martina McBride, Dixie Chicks, Beatles, Elton John, Andrea Bocelli, and Bob Marley) and walked to the rhythm for about an hour or two until Josh and Miriam woke up. I walked up and down the hill close to our street and forced myself to walk even through contractions, though it seemed like a marathon. I saw two rabbits frolicking in the grass. The neighbourhood was very quiet, since it was a Sunday morning, and the sun was bright but it was still very comfortably cool. It was wonderful to walk like that, knowing the baby was coming very soon and I wouldn’t be pregnant anymore! The contractions felt intense but in retrospect they were peanuts compared to what was to come soon!

When Josh got up, I think we ate breakfast, though I don’t really remember, and soon after Miriam’s grandma and grandpa woke up, Josh and I showered and headed for the hospital at 8 am, even though the contractions weren’t closer than 5 minutes apart yet, and even though our appointment wasn’t for another two hours. I just wanted to keep walking in peace, and knew I couldn’t do that at home with everyone awake and excited.

We stopped by Tim Hortons on the way to the hospital, where Josh got some food and coffee, and when we got to the hospital we walked around the block, picked some lavender from someone’s yard, and enjoyed the early morning. Soon it was getting very hot, so we decided that Josh would go back home to change into summer clothes as he was wearing dark jeans and thick shirts, and I would keep walking with the cell phone on just in case. By now, there were lots more people on the street, and I was walking around the hospital. I also walked down the street and found a cemetery, where it was shady, so I walked for an hour down the paths. I didn’t really pay attention to the graves as I would normally do, but just focused on the music and breathing and getting through contractions. It was very peaceful, with the occasional biker or jogger going by, and the city streets waking up with traffic all around the cemetery.

At 10 am, I met Josh in the hospital lobby, and we went to our appointment. Carole met us in L&D triage, hooked me up to the monitor, and had me press a button each time I felt the baby move. The baby’s heart rate stayed nice and steady (140s), I had a couple of contractions during the 20 minutes I was hooked up, and he moved a few times, but overall things were calm. It seemed like my contractions weren’t progressing in intensity or frequency, which again was frustrating! I got blood work done to make sure there was no infection brewing, as sometimes a spontaneous rupture of membranes can be caused by infection. My CBC came back normal, the baby was fine, and Carole said we should go eat a very spicy lunch, take another homeopathic pellet, and even try some castor oil to get things moving along more. I was still only 3 cm dilated (that was with the stretch that Carole did). We were to come back again at 5 pm if nothing happened, and then we’d see how else we can speed things along. My water had been broken for about 10 hours at this point, and there are differing opinions on how long membranes can be not intact before the baby should be born because the longer the bag is broken with the baby inside it, the more risk of infection. The midwives and the hospital gave us a time of 5 pm. The clock was ticking, and desperate times called for desperate measures, so I opted for the castor oil.

We grabbed the castor oil from the pharmacy downstairs and went to have lunch at a Thai restaurant in Waterloo. I had some very yummy spicy red curry, and Josh had BBQ chicken with vermicelli. I drank a tablespoon of castor oil with a ginger ale, and it was vile, nasty stuff. It tasted like paper, and felt like mucus, but I was desperate to get things going. I had a few contractions at the restaurant, slightly stronger than in the morning, and lots of gushes of water every time I got up.
After lunch, we headed back home, where Miriam was painting a surprise picture with grandma, and babcia and ciocia came over to play as well. I holed up in the bedroom to pace the floor around the bed, listen to music, and make it through contractions. They still were very irregular, and I managed to doze a little between the longer-spaced ones, and Josh napped beside me.

At two-ish, we decided to go back to the hospital, as the contractions were getting even stronger, and coming every 2-3 minutes, though still irregularly. I was totally inwardly-focused, and kept my eyes closed most of the time while pacing. On the ride to the hospital, the contractions slowed again, to every 5-10 minutes apart, but still painful.

I was very disappointed that I was still only 3 cm dilated when we got there, so Carole was hesitant to get us admitted. She was surprised that after all that time, I still hadn’t dilated, but told me to keep walking and maybe things would pick up. We put our bag on a triage bed, and I spent the next two hours pacing the halls with Josh, and then by myself since I didn’t want to have anyone around me. I just listened to the music and went round and round the figure eight-shaped halls with my eyes closed, grabbing on to the walls during contractions. The contractions were getting really intense now, and everyone left me alone just as I asked, with Josh sitting in the lounge just off the hallway, and Carole attending to another client who was also in labour at the time.

Around 4:30 pm, I climbed into the triage bed to change position since I was getting really uncomfortable. I pulled up the head of the bed as high as it would go, and leaned on it backwards with my arms over the top, on my knees. I got through a few contractions that way, and moaned through a few. Carole came in shortly after and said we can get a room now, so we went to our room and she started the Jacuzzi for me, with some aromatherapy oils and very warm water. It smelled to nice, and felt really relaxing, but the contractions were still intense and awful in the water. The rooms at Grand River Hospital are fabulous, large and new-looking, each with a private bathroom with a Jacuzzi tub, and lots of room for movement.

I stayed in there for about half an hour, with Carole checking the baby’s heart rate once or twice, and doing some paperwork in the room. She and Josh came in often to check on me, but overall left me in peace, with the lights dimmed. Josh fed me cheese and crackers, and gave me water and something else to drink, maybe it was juice.

I wanted to get out of the tub and get into a new position once I got tired of lying on my side in the water. Carole got me a giant birth ball to bounce on, and I sat on it and leaned on the bed. The contractions at this point were killer, and I got Josh to ram his fingers into my lower back to provide counter-pressure. This helped, but they were still insane, and I gripped a comb into my palm to take my mind off the pain. Since pacing the hallways in the hospital, I had barely opened my eyes, and blocked out most things going on around me, so I don’t remember the time or what else was happening. With every contraction, I moaned and groaned and clawed at the sheets, but somehow got through them.

After what seemed like hours of this, but was probably only about 20-30 minutes, I wanted to climb into the bed in the same position as I had been in the triage bed: bed high up, me kneeling and leaning over the back of it. First Carole checked my dilation, and felt that I was 6 cm, which was progress, but I felt crushed to learn that there were four more cm to go, which I though would take forever. I remember asking for an epidural, and saying all kinds of things like “just kill me”, “I don’t want a baby”, and so on. Carole said the cervix is dilating rapidly, “just disappearing before my fingers”, which gave me some hope, but I still asked for the epidural. At this point, her and Josh started a gentle campaign to dissuade me from the epi, by stalling, encouraging me, and saying there’s probably no time left to get it, and things like “you’re going to have your baby very soon!”, and “you’re doing so well!”. They knew I would regret getting the epi, and I knew what they were doing at the time, and I agreed with them in my mind, but the conflict between my mind and the pain was surreal. At this time it was probably almost 6 pm, and I was deep in the throes of transition.

The messy insanity was about to begin!

I was on my knees again, with my arms over the top of the bed, and Carole said I should try pushing a bit if I had the urge. I had the urge, but the pain was so absolutely maddening that I just wanted to kill everyone and be dead. Profanities were uttered (not directed at anyone, just in general…Josh said I had a potty-mouth, and I remember using the word mother-f*er quite a few times!), and there may or may not have been some screeching, with lots of trashing going on. I was sweating profusely, and I remember somewhat aggressively dropping the comb on the floor. Carole paged Ann (the backup midwife, to take care of the baby while Carole took care of me) who must have already been at the hospital, because she came pretty quickly. This gave me some hope that the hellish pain was getting close to the end! Carole was kept busy down below, and encouraging me lots and lots, with Josh. I remember warm fluids, hearing some running around, and lots of towels. I kept my eyes closed the whole time.

Soon, I started to push a bit with each contraction, and once I got my mind to cooperate and go along with the pain, I was able to push through it. At this point, I just gave up trying to fight against the body-crushing pain, and found that pushing made me feel more in control. I pushed with all my might a few times, and then Carole suggested I turn around and sit and pull my legs back to give the baby more room to pass through. I did that, and found pushing was easier this way. It also turns out that the “ring of fire” sensation that people talk about really does exist, and boy, is it ever intense! Ouch.

After a few pushes, Carole said the baby’s head is crowing and that I could touch and feel it, but I didn’t want to at this point. I just wanted that baby out ASAP. I pushed a few more times, felt his head being born, and then a quick easy slip out of his body at the next push. That’s when I finally opened my eyes. Then I felt lots of warm fluid, and I pulled him up on top of my belly with Carole’s help, I remember her turning her head to look at the clock, and then she covered him with a blanket. We didn’t know the sex, and Carole had to remind us to pull the blanket back and find out if he was a girl or boy, as she wasn’t announcing it (we had asked her not to, as we wanted to find out for ourselves). He was lying on his side on top of me, with his legs on my right, and Josh on my left side. I said “it’s a boy!”, and the next few moments passed in a wonderful blur of marveling at him, kissing him, covering him up as he lay on my chest, putting him to the breast, and talking to him. The midwives were very hands off and gave us time to bond.

They waited until the cord stopped pulsating, then clamped it and offered it for Josh to cut, but he didn’t want to, so they cut it, and waited for the placenta to be born. It came out in the next few minutes (we had asked them not to give me an injection of Pitocin to speed this up, and it came out on it’s own). I had a second-degree tear, and Carole gave me some local freezing while she stitched me up. The freezing injection stung a bit, but then I didn’t feel the stitches, though there was some mild cramping continuing as the uterus started shrinking. While Carole was stitching, Ann was doing paperwork, and Josh and I were snuggling little Raymond (who we thought would be named Gilbert, but we decided the name didn’t suit him after all). Soon, Ann came over and helped me get repositioned (once Carole had finished her stitching) and we tried to get Raymond to latch on, but he wasn’t very interested.

After about an hour of cuddling, and then some nursing, I decided I wanted a shower. My BP was fine (in fact, it was the highest it’s ever been, 126 systolic!), but I did feel a bit woozy, so I waited a few more minutes, ate half an egg-salad sandwich from Tim Hortons that Josh had brought, asked for Raymond to be weighed (I guessed 7lbs 5, Carole guessed 8lbs, Josh guessed 7lbs 2) and then I got up and showered and dressed. While I was showering, Josh watched Ann do the newborn assessment. Raymond was deemed perfect in terms of health.

We packed up, Carole and Ann did some paperwork and tidied up (Carole had to change into scrubs because she got blood and goo on her clothes), Josh went to get the carseat from the car, and we left just after 8 pm. We got home, Miriam met Raymond, and grandma and grandpa did too, and we all settled in for the night. The rest is another story!

Here's the only picture we have that doesn't include any nipples, vaginas, or other such parts. Taken a few moments after Raymond's birth:

And of course, the requisite placenta picture. Ann is assessing it, while Carole looks on (brandishing a giant local anesthetic needle and getting ready to stitch my tear).

Labour Day!

2010-06-27T00:21:00.000-07:00

Some action started tonight! Baby will be born today, thanks to the full moon tonight!

I'm going to record as much as possible since these memories fade but are always fun to look back on. (Things might be graphic!)

Last night, we spent a lovely evening with Grandma and Grandpa as always, and Sean, Sarah, and Ryan, who came over for supper (BBQ steak, grilled veggie kabobs, corn, potato packets, punch, coleslaw, and pineapple-strawberry cake for dessert...all so yummy!). The kids had a BLAST, got super excited and did a lot of running around and jumping on beds. They didn't get to bed until 10 pm, which is 2.5 hours later than their usual bedtimes, sweet little monkeys.

We all went to sleep around that time, and I felt totally normal (i.e. no signs of labour). I dreamed about diarrhea (not personally having it, just a public toilet clogged up with it), and that I was walking around a room full of window blinds. Josh was behind one of the blinds and I tried to peek through to tell him my water broke. Then I woke up and got up to go to the bathroom, but felt really wet on my leg. Felt a trickle, figured it wasn't urine (not totally incontinent...yet!). I dripped all the way to the bathroom, then felt a gush. That was at 2 am.

I woke up Josh, had a few more gushes every time I walked around, and one while I was lying down on the couch. Paged Carole our midwife, she came over about 20 minutes later to check things out. Baby was sleeping, doppler heart rate was 120, then baby woke up and started moving and heart rate went up to 140s. My BP still good, she swabbed the fluid and it is indeed amniotic (immediate reaction on the swab stick). It's clear and there are no worries with it. Carole gave me a tincture, some clary sage to rub on my belly, and said I can try the breast pump to get contractions started. I hadn't had one at this point yet.

Then after Carole left, I tried the sage and the breast pump, and within a few minutes had a contraction. Very mild, but there. That was at 3 am. Since then, I've had a whole bunch, all around 5 minutes apart, but still sort of irregular. I'm using the Contraction Master app on the iPhone to time them. They are getting more moderate in strength, and I continue to have small gushes of fluid every time I move. Carole said things we'll be seeing her today and having our baby, and if nothing happens before 10 am, to meet her at the hospital since she has another client's appointment for a non-stress test at that time.

Now we just hope things progress on their own, since the countdown has started from the water breaking. We have about 12 hours since that time to have labour going strong (and ideally to have baby born!) to keep the risk of infection not high. I'm to take my temperature every four hours, and if nothing happens in 12 hours, we'll do blood work and a non-stress test to see how baby is doing.

Now I'm listening to Bob Marley and recording this, bouncing on Sue's exercise ball and timing things. Josh just went to lie down and all is peaceful again. Miriam hasn't woken up, and I think the grandparents woke up when Carole was here, but they haven't come upstairs yet. I'm sure they've figured things out, but we'll let them sleep until we really need them. Now it's time to rest and let things progress. I'm going to go lie down on the couch with the iPhone and my music. :D

The escapades of a person desperate to get this baby out

2010-06-25T18:10:00.000-07:00

Had another appointment with Carole on Thursday. Measuring 38 weeks, hurray! All is well with the baby, and my stats are great too. The waiting game continues, and I hope not to make it to my next appointment on Monday. There's a full moon tonight, and Carole predicts a very busy weekend for the midwives, birth-wise, so I hope to be among the bunch, ideally tonight :) June 25 would be such a nice birthday (although there are only a few hours left today, and no sign of labour right now...so this had better be a precipitous labour or else June 26 is also a lovely day for a birthday!).

I've been super-desperate to get labour started, so I asked Carole to do a "stretch and sweep" and anything else (non-drastic, non-medical) that might kick-start some action. She gave me a tincture to drink (done), homeopathic pellets to use (done), and said to make sure I eat some of Josh's super-spicy Vindaloo when we went out to our last dinner date before the baby is born, yesterday (done). I asked her how long the S&S takes to do, and she said "as long as you can stand it". Hmmm, that didn't sound very comfortable, but I knew that from researching it beforehand, and asked her to do it anyway. She attempted, and it did indeed hurt like the dickens! OUCH! Apparently, my cervix was still very posterior, so she could barely reach it. She had to ram her arm up practically to her elbow, and it still kept "slipping away" from her reach. She managed to reach it eventually and stretched it to 2 cm dilation, but wasn't able to do the sweep as I was in too much discomfort. Dangit! She did say it was very soft though, so perhaps my Evening Primrose Oil routine had some effect. Also, the baby's head is nicely engaged in my pelvis, or as she said "not floating around". I've had some bloody show after this adventure, and got my hopes up again, only to wake up this morning still very much pregnant...

All this most likely means very little, as these assessments are evidently poor predictors of impending labour. Things can seem unfavourable (like the posterior cervix) and labour can start a few hours after that assessment, or you can be dilated 4 cm with a super-soft anterior cervix and baby practically falling out of your crotch, and still not give birth for weeks (ACK, I hope that's not me!). Ultimately, there is just no way to know for sure, but it definitely is fun to anticipate and hope...

What isn't fun is getting obsessed about it and driving yourself insane, like I've been doing this week. I go back and forth between "I'm going to be fanatical in inducing this labour myself, RIGHT NOW!", and "que sera sera, baby will come eventually, I'll just stop focusing on it and relax". Also not fun is the prodromal labour I've been having. Each night I get two or three contractions, not very strong, but still different than the Braxton-Hicks ones I've been feeling since mid-pregnancy, and get all excited. They start in my lower back and take over my abdomen like period cramps, so I get even more excited (it's amazing how much hugely-pregnant women look forward to cramps! This is probably the only time in our lives...). I look at the clock, feel another one after about ten minutes, and get even more excited, and then they stop. BOO! How long can this go on? Stop teasing me, you evil universe!

On another note, I got my bead swap beads in the mail this week! SO EXCITING! There are about 20 of them, one from each woman in my online due date club. Each one of us sent 20 of the same bead to a central person, along with some quote or inspirational message, and the central person divided them all up and sent one of each bead back to each person. The point is to foster a sense of community, unity, and support, even though it's from people we don't know in real life, but that we've gone through our pregnancies with in the virtual world. The beads are all so lovely, and so meaningful, and the messages are very thoughtful. I strung mine up on some green ribbon as it was all I could find, and pasted the messages on a big piece of paper to focus on during labour. Here's a picture of my necklace, which also makes a great nursing necklace once baby is born. YAY!

Putting up closet shelves

2010-06-25T18:08:00.001-07:00

I guess pregnant women and power tools DO mix, after all!

Pictures

2010-06-25T18:01:00.001-07:00

Here are some new pictures, as we near the very end of this pregnancy (the end can't come soon enough for me...come one OUT BABY!).

Here is what happens when I try to sneak in a ten minute nap. I get a ribbon makeover and assorted toys piled on me. But I guess the most surprising thing is that I am actually able to fall asleep and feel rested while this is going on! Ahh, the things you get used to after sleepless nights!

Here's Josh's fabulous garden, who's bounty we have started feasting upon recently. The herbs and lettuce are ready, but we're still looking forward to tomatoes, sunflowers, radishes, carrots, pumpkins, and peppers. There are also fruit bushes, and the raspberries have started blossoming lately...mmmm.

37 week appointment

2010-06-16T17:10:00.000-07:00

Had another appointment today, and am happy to say that I FINALLY measure 37 weeks, right on. Carole said I must have popped recently since I was measuring small before and the baby is a good size now. I sure do feel like I've gotten bigger lately! Carole also said to make sure we have a shower curtain available! She thinks this birth will be fast, and we might not make it to the hospital, so we should have a shower curtain to birth on to contain the mess since I said I don't want to clean anything up! Haha. I think that freaked Josh out a little when I told him.

My BP is nice and low (90/50...almost time for a bolus!), weight is in the low 140s, and everything else is perfect as well. We went over birth wishes and my expectations (YES to Vitamin K, immediate skin-to-skin, delayed assessment, and to us discovering the baby's sex ourselves, NO to erythromycin, Oxytocin, bathing the baby, induction or augmentation, restrictions on eating/drinking, position/mobility restriction, continuous fetal monitoring, episiotomy, directed pushing, early cord clamping, baby going anywhere without me or Josh, staying more than 4 hours afterwards, any oral supplementation for baby, or IVs for me). As midwives, the team is very hand-off anyway, and they automatically follow all of the above, but it was good to go over things to make sure we're all on the same page. I'm SUPER SUPER excited for the big day (or night)!

Now it's just a matter of time. We joked that next week, ideally the 24th, would be most convenient for both of us, so that's the goal, although I secretly still look forward to every night being woken up by contractions (chances are that labour will start at night, as it does for most mammals). I got my tooth extracted yesterday, so that's crossed off my list of things to do before the baby comes, and we're all settled and ready, so come on out baby! Incidentally, my next appointment is the 24th at 9:30am, and Carole joked that we might not even make it to that one!

Come on out!

2010-06-14T16:46:00.001-07:00

My friend Margaret visited today from Mississauga, with her two kids. Miriam loved playing with two-year-old Ariela, and she LOVED holding and touching 2.5-month-old Maksym. Here are two of the very few pictures where they sat still and looked at the camera (rare, because there was too much fun to be had!).

And on a much scarier note, here's a picture of me holding the baby atop the sumo wrestler that has attached itself to my abdomen. I am positively elephantine, which I didn't realize until I saw this ghastly picture, and am now devoting every minute to getting this baby OUT! I feel like I'm walking around pushing a major kitchen appliance in front of myself! Of course, the tent-like dress doesn't exactly make things look smaller, but I'm going for comfort here. ACK!

Off I go for a speedy sprint around the block, followed by a few hours of nipple stimulation and a bucket of Kung Pao chicken.

The usual complaints and last minute stuff.

2010-06-09T19:28:00.000-07:00

I feel grotesque and like I can't possibly get any larger in the belly area. Ugh, how much longer?!

I'll be 37 weeks (full term!) on either Sunday or Tuesday, depending on which due date we go by, and then I'm bringing out the big guns to try to get this creature out of me. I'm taking matters into my own hands, which even means ramming wooden spoons into my calves, like this.

Over the past few days, the baby has entertained itself with some bladder head-banging. It's so uncomfortable, it almost tickles. I can feel it pressing its head into my bladder and cervix (yes, you can indeed feel your cervix if you have another human being pounding on it!) every few minutes. OUCH!

I'm peeing every hour, literally, and still getting short of breath, even if I'm just sitting on the bed with Miriam in my lap reading her books. Whoever said that increased urination means the baby has dropped, which means you can breathe more easily, LIED! And let's not get started on the freakish leg/butt pain, which I thought was bad the past few months, but for the past two days is absolutely INSANE. It shoots so unexpectedly and so strongly that I'm bursting out in screams and gasps every few minutes. ARGH!!!

But at the same time, I'm feeling very nostalgic about this pregnancy ending in the next few weeks. I know I'll miss being pregnant, and probably won't be pregnant ever again. I'll miss the baby moving, the anticipation, the preparations, and the excitement. Everything is pretty much ready, since I've been nesting like a manic eagle (I assume eagles make big nests) over the past few days. Hospital bag is packed except for my comfy pants (which are in the laundry) and some snacks to eat in labour. I'm just waiting on some CDs from the library to finish up my iPod playlist. The baby's clothes, diapers, and dresser are set up. Clean house - check. Miriam excited - check. Route to hospital planned - check. Breasts and arms present - check. Midwives pager numbers accessible - check. WE'RE READY!

Actually, now that I'm listing stuff, I have to write out what we still need to do, so I'm not awake at 3 am thinking about it:
* pick middle names
* add pens, camera, and phone (with all cords) to hospital bag, as well as last minute stuff (toothbrush, meds)
* go over route to hospital with Josh (I know it, but I have to confirm with him if he knows it)
* save midwives' pager number on Josh's phone in case we need to call them when we're not home as their pager number is on the fridge
* more nesting if my body lets me - cook and freeze some meals, unpack the last three boxes from the move (all my winter clothes), finish small projects around the house (like putting up hooks on backs of doors)
* get the car back from the fixers who are fixing the dent from my accident (since it has the car seat in it!).
* get at least one more massage (tomorrow!)
* pay physiotherapy bill
* get my infected tooth extracted (on Tuesday) as it can't wait until the baby is born. This should be fun!
* take Miriam to the activities I've been planning - free weekly kids' concert, drop-in preschool story times at the library, KW Multicultural Festival (next weekend?)
* do final thyroid blood test at the end of June (if I make it that far)
* midwives appointment next Wednesday, and then weekly after that
* get all paperwork set up for maternity benefits to start
* finish sewing - need to hem the wrap, and slap those rings into the ring sling

ACK! The list is still HUGE! I guess it's another night of planning-obsessing insomnia for me tonight!

35 weeks picture and appointment.

2010-06-01T14:41:00.001-07:00

Here's the latest and (hopefully) last belly picture! 35 weeks along. (One of our first pictures at our new house, so please excuse the raggedy dress).

Midwife appointment today: met Nicole, back-up midwife, along with a student, Olivia. Getting more and more excited about the next few weeks. Things are looking good, baby is normal and active, head down, but I'm still measuring smaller. I've given up worrying about it, since the midwives aren't concerned. Miriam and grandma came with me, and read stories.

Dinner time!

Getting to the end...

2010-05-29T17:56:00.001-07:00

I'll be 35 weeks tomorrow! Just two more weeks until full term, and then I can start the heavy lifting, acupressure, and spicy food. Haha.

We've moved to our new house this week, and things have been smooth and really fun so far. Every day we get some projects completed, and even though it'll take at least another week or two to feel like things are organized, we can see progress daily. Miriam is LOVING having a porch and back yard, and we're spending a lot more time outside. We've only been here two days so far, but she's so far decorated the porch with sidewalk chalk, made yummy mud cakes, helped daddy plant tomatoes, observed countless ants and bugs, and otherwise enjoyed herself digging through boxes and unpacking all her "old" toys. We barely venture into the outside world, since there's so much to do and enjoy around the house.

On the day of the move, while I was driving the Civic packed with Miriam and the cats to our new house (Josh took the other car, and the movers took everything else), I got into a little accident on the highway that scared the stuffing out of me. A giant tour bus veered into my lane, not seeing me, and by the time I beeped the horn and he pulled back to his own lane, the front of the bus bumped into my side and caused me to swerve across two lanes. It was the scariest thing ever. I screamed, but the car righted itself and no major damage was done. Everyone was ok, and the situation could have been much worse, but it gave me a huge scare. Thankfully, insurance will cover the cost of the damage (a few scratches and a dent)

In happier news, I looked over my baby "to do" list and was surprised at how much we've got ready so far. Only a very few minor things to do. We have everything we need other than a diaper bucket which I have to get at Home Depot (and maybe some whimsical drawer pulls for the change table, if I can find some). I've started throwing things together for a hospital bag, we've got the names set, I've organized our files (work and maternity benefits papers), almost finalized my iPod playlist, and composed the mass email birth announcement. We even managed to attend a sibling prep class with Miriam, today at Credit Valley Hospital, and it was surprisingly beneficial. She seemed to enjoy it, learned a lot, was engaged and participated, and she's very excited about the baby. She was mesmerized at the video of birth, and liked the part where we diapered and swaddled our stuffed animal babies. She LOVED seeing a two-day-old newborn, and burst out with excitement a few times. She even liked holding the realistic weight baby model (approx. 7 lbs). We also talked about things we can do with the baby, and things that are not a good idea (like sharing her small toys with it, or holding the baby while not sitting down). I would say the class was worth the $25!

Next midwife appointment is on Tuesday, and tomorrow I'm taking what I hope will be our last belly picture (35 weeks!). Hurray!

32 weeks

2010-05-13T01:40:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that in five weeks, I'll be at full term! Even though I'm uncomfortable and increasingly moody (and currently awake at all hours of the night), I'm trying really hard to enjoy this pregnancy, especially the last few fleeting weeks, since it is most likely our last. I'm 32 weeks today, and the baby's development this week is focused on weight gain, lung maturation, and storage of minerals. I'm going to have a peanut-butter-banana-chocolate-soy-milk smoothie for breakfast to help it out (along with a few grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches)!

Things are progressing nicely with the baby, though he/she will likely be on the smaller side (just under 7lbs, unless there's a sudden growth spurt) as my fundus is measuring two weeks behind. At my appointment a few weeks ago, Carole was not worried at all when she measured my belly, and didn't mention it again for the rest of the appointment, but I was a bit concerned, and asked for an ultrasound requisition, in case I decided to get an ultrasound done. Being a neurotic, crazy, labile pregnant woman, my anxiety increased as I drove around Kitchener after my appointment, and on a whim I drove over the the U/S place and begged them to squeeze me in without an appointment. They had a spot, thankfully, and after about an hour I was out of there. I got a few pictures of the baby, and was afraid of catching an unexpected glimpse of the boy/girl parts, but the tech was adept enough to not show me that area.

Carole called with the results two days later, saying everything is fine, the baby is growing on track (as far as head, abdomen, femur, and other measurements go), the cord and placenta are normal, and my due date is on track as well. My level of amniotic fluid was on the lower side of normal (normal is 90-230, and mine was 117), and since then I've been drinking water like a maniac to prevent dehydration. The baby remains active, has a normal heart beat, and at my last appointment this week I had grown accordingly, but am still two weeks behind, which I will likely remain for the rest of the pregnancy.

My next midwives appointment is June 1st, where I'll meet our second midwife, Nicole, who I'll see a few more times before the baby is born. I have appointments every two weeks now, and then we go to weekly appointments once I reach 36 weeks. At each appointment, I test my urine (beautiful!), weigh myself (141 lbs this week!), get my BP taken (110/70 generally), get my belly measured, hear the baby's heartbeat, ask questions and chat with Carole, and have her feel the baby's position (has been head down the past two appointments, and though it can still change, it's unlikely at this point).

At the midwives office in the waiting room, there is a white board where they write down all the babies born each month. They have the date, the baby's first name, and whether it was a home or hospital birth. It's so neat to see the stats, and especially the baby names that are being chosen. Last week, there were a few Joshuas, a couple of Lilys, and even a Chestnut! Every month there are at least one Ethan, Emma, Sophie, and Aidan, along with some names I've never heard before. I can't wait to see our baby's name up there!

Things left to do:
* sew sling and hem wrap. I got some lovely, super-cheap fabric on sale at Fabricland recently, but it's in a box somewhere thanks to my packing-machine husband who is very excited about our upcoming move. The sling fabric is a very light cotton, with three colour panels of blues/greens, and the wrap fabric is a woven linen blend in dark purple with thin lines of rainbow colours. So delicious!
* maybe go through another baby name book in case we missed some names we might want to add to our list.
* move and organize our house, especially installing closet shelves, arranging sleeping set-up, and unpacking as much as possible to prevent post-partum chaos.
* finish compiling announcement email, with everyone's email addresses saved in the draft for easy distribution.
* get: diaper bucket, nursing pillow, a pack of washcloths. We have more than enough clothes, as I discovered when I set up the dresser recently.
* give notice at work, fill out all mat. leave and benefits paperwork, and organize a file for all the documents.
* finish labour playlist for iPod.
* pack bag for hospital.
* bake and freeze some meals for post-partum period.
* ideally take Miriam to a sibling prep class for kids, if I can find one that is running (no luck so far).

It's time to get ready for work (and some sandwiches)!

2010-05-02T11:48:00.001-07:00

Quick post today.

* New belly pictures, the first from 25 weeks, the second from 30 weeks. Hopefully, there will only be one more after this, 35 weeks, and then we'll have the baby before it's time for the 40 week picture.

* Less than a month before the big move to our new house! And less than two months before the baby is born (hopefully!).

* I'm making cupcakes right now, zucchini chocolate with two kinds of frosting, cream cheese, and peanut butter. If they turn out delicious, which I am thinking they will from the smell coming from the oven, these will be the cupcakes we will bake once labour starts, and we'll eat them to celebrate the baby's birthday. Miriam is already very excited about this, and has been dreaming of what kinds of sprinkles to put on top. She often asks "is it the baby's birthday soon?!", and I think she's more excited about the cupcakes than the actual baby being born.

Oooo, oven timer is beeping! YUM!

Third trimester!

2010-04-13T13:37:00.001-07:00

I'm in the third trimester as of Sunday! We're in the home stretch now, and hopefully the next 9-12 weeks go by fast. And I'm hoping this last trimester isn't as uncomfortable as the second one (but it will probably be worse, as the "experts" assert).

Yesterday, we had our first appointment with our new midwives, the KW ones, and met our primary midwife, Carole. She's great, the office is great, everyone is friendly, and it's very similar to the Mississauga midwife practice (do-it-yourself weight and urine tests, homey atmosphere, etc). Miriam and Josh came too since we were all in KW for the day, and Miriam enjoyed cuddling the rubber fetus models. She wanted to take the biggest one home! The baby's heart rate was a nice 145, everything is growing on track, the baby was active, my weight is 137 lbs, and my blood pressure is perfect.

At one point, Carole asked Miriam "is it a boy or a girl in mama's tummy?", and Miriam, sitting on the couch with Josh reading a book, looked at Carole with a very serious face and answered without hesitation "boy". At that reply, Carole said she's now certain that the baby is indeed a boy, since based on her experience (+10 years), young children are rarely wrong at "predicting" the baby's sex. She's done some anecdotal studies about this phenomenon, and it amazes her how accurate the predictions are, almost like young kids have some sort of mysterious intuition. She said "if this baby is not a boy, I'll eat my hat!". Josh, ever the skeptic, joked that we should ask his parents' dog Trax, to predict the sex as well, since animals are said to be intuitive as well! It will be interesting to see if Miriam's prediction is right (50% chance, I guess!).

After the appointment, we spent the day at the new house, Josh doing yard work and some renovations in the basement, Miriam chasing butterflies in the yard with glee, "helping" Josh to water the new plants, and digging for grubs, and me, sitting on the deck steps trying to be comfortable, filling out paperwork for the midwives, and counting the hours until the evening when we had our hospital tour scheduled.

The three of us then went to the hospital tour, and it was neat to be back at GRH. Not much has changed, and even the same people still work at Tim Horton's that I remember from last year. We were one of about six couples (the only ones not having their first!), and one of two using midwives instead of OBs. The birthing unit is beautiful, new, updated, all private LBP rooms, huge and comfy, with private bathrooms each with jacuzzi tubs, couches for sleep-overs, a fully-stocked kitchen, a new family waiting room (which is thankfully not too close to the birth room, to prevent ecstatic grandma sneak-ins), and enough room to actually walk around in, instead of being forced to wander the halls while in labour. I AM SO EXCITED! I wanted to check in immediately, and to spend the rest of the pregnancy there! Of course, we'll probably not use the majority of the amenities, like the robust meals, or the endless snacks in the kitchen, since we'll likely get out about four hours after the birth, but we'll be sure to take advantage before the baby is born. So compared to Trillium, where Miriam was born, GRH is a five star resort!

Other news:

I've tested my blood sugar three times at work so far, both before and after meals, since I'm skipping the glucose tolerance screening and testing that pregnant women get offered. My CBGs have been 5.0, 6.1, and 4.9 (that was after two mini cupcakes, too!). So it's safe to say I don't have gestational diabetes, happily.

I was in baby-mode this weekend, and purchased a sweet coming-home outfit for the baby. It's pale green, with big colourful dots all over it. I also got a few green onesies. We have enough blankets and hats, and last week, Josh bought the car seat and got it installed, so we're almost all ready! I also unpacked all the baby clothes and diapers and blankets into the new dresser/change table combo we got from my mom's friend at work.

I also went to a bead store and bought a bag of beads for my due date club bead swap. It's through my online due date club, and the way it works is that all the members (there are 28 of us) buy 28 beads, which we send to a central person with a self-addressed envelope, who then distributes all the beads so that each person gets one bead from each other person, along with a positive and inspirational message. When you get your set of beads, you make a necklace/chain to be used as a sort of souvenir from this pregnancy. Some people also use them during labour, as focus points, or as nursing necklaces. I've never done it before, but bead swaps have been going on as long as due date clubs have existed, and each month does their own. It sounds like such a fun idea! I love the community, connection, inspiration, and knowledge that there are a bunch of us going through this together. We have to mail our beads out by the end of April, and I can't wait to see the lovely beads I'll get back. I'll have to post a picture of my finished necklace when it's done, which might look something like this:

2010-03-30T15:47:00.001-07:00

Thrilling news this week: my friend Margaret had her second baby, a boy, yesterday! She had a successful VBAC, for which I am so stinkin' happy for her, and is now home and settling in with her new family. Congratulations, Marg, Tomek, and big sister Ariela! I can't wait to meet the as yet unnamed creature!

In other news, we got the keys to our new house this week, and have slowly moved some minor things in. In addition, we did some general cleaning, and had an eco energy audit done too. Our minds and souls are already living in our new house, even though our bodies are not, and we can't wait to fully move in. I really want to start setting up the baby's stuff and nesting!

Nothing really new with the pregnancy lately. Baby remains active and growing, and I remain with my recent pregnancy-related complaints. Being on modified duties at work helps somewhat, but even quiet weekends at home are uncomfortable and painful. All this hormonal pelvic-bone loosening had better be worth it when labour starts, or I will be seriously p*$$@# off at Mother Nature!

Josh took Miriam to the mall this evening after supper, so that I could relax by myself, so I'm off to read trashy celebrity magazines on the couch and eat a bowl of Kashi cereal. Ahhh, it's nice to relax...

Two Yummy Treats

2010-03-20T17:14:00.000-07:00

I've been craving Booster Juice smoothies lately (the baby wants fruit and yogurt, which are healthy, so it's ok!), and have gotten them three times in the past two weeks so far. I've tried Raspberry Rapture, Canadian Colada, and tonight I had Berry Cream Sensation. So very yummy. Miriam liked it too, and kept asking what a "buava" is (she meant guava).

I've decided that when I'm in labour and after the baby is born, Josh will be the designated procurer of Booster Juices, and I've very considerately mapped out the two Kitchener B.J.s that he can go to. I can't wait!

Speaking of labour, we plan on baking (healthy) cupcakes with Miriam in early labour before going to the hospital, sort of like a celebratory "happy birthday to baby" cupcakes. Miriam loves to help with baking. We're going to ice them with cream cheese icing, and of course, put sprinkles on them. It'll be a nice way to pass the time, and so yummy to come home to.

Vent-o-rama!

2010-03-19T05:58:00.000-07:00

I am definitely not enjoying this pregnancy as much as the one with Miriam. It seems like I've missed the blissful second trimester altogether, with its high energy and comfort, and am still stuck with problems of the first trimester and prematurely suffering the problems of the third. Ahh, here comes a vent!

I still had a wave of nausea last week, and actually vomited a bit in the morning. It was on an empty stomach, so it's wasn't as violent as in the past, but toilet-hugging and retching is not pleasant either way. I've got no energy, especially now that I've been hit with a monster cold (how ironic that we lasted the entire winter without a single illness in this house, and now that spring weather is here, Josh got sick last week, and I'm sick this week...I just home Miriam is spared!). I'm getting up to pee constantly at night, and can't get comfortable even though my belly is definitely not big. I'm sleeping during the day, but an insomniac at night for a few hours. The darned pelvic pain is really ridiculous, and constant, and draining, and I feel like a 90-year-old frail ortho patient after hip surgery. UGH. Maybe once this cold is over, I'll have more energy? Either way, I can't do much with it since my family doctor has advised me to limit lifting, walking, and standing (modified duties at work...) to minimize the pelvic pain, so I can't even move boxes, lift Miriam, or go for long walks. Shopping is out (heavy bags, lots of walking), as is doing much around the house (basic chores and cooking and laundry are ok, but I was really excited to start packing and organizing stuff). It's sad and depressing, to be so limited.

At my last appointment, the midwife was surprised at how active the baby is. He/she kept kicking away the doppler when the midwife was listening to the heartbeat, and literally pushing her hand away. I said "this is NORMAL! This is how it plays, all day and all night long". No wonder I'm being awakened by this little beast all the time. And apparently, my rectus abdominus muscle is separating on the right side of my belly, so I should not be using my ab muscles too much, hahaha. The midwife said "you are going to be one of those women whose babies bruise them from the inside". Yep, good times!

It would be nice if it were the end of June already, and the baby was fully cooked, and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thirteen weeks left at the earliest, so it's really not that bad, but time goes so slowly when one is miserable. Maybe the third trimester will be my best? I'm hoping!

On a happy note, here's a picture of Miriam in her princess clothes (which she even wears out in public).

Fun with numbers

2010-03-08T08:11:00.001-08:00

# of pounds of weight gain for me this pregnancy so far: 10 (with hopefully another 20-30 to go)

# of days until baby's birth: hopefully not less than 98 (37 weeks) and not more than 121 (July 8th is when my parents go to Poland for a few weeks)

# of minutes, according to google maps, it will take to drive from our new house to Grand River Hospital: 17

# of minutes to find parking at GRH, walk to the entrance, find L&D, and get settled: probably only 10 or so, but will feel like 325 while in active labour

# of people working on my unit who are currently pregnant: 4 that we know of!

# of anatomical locations that baby likes to kick me in: 7 (cervix, diaphragm, spine, and the four abdominal quadrants RLQ, RUQ, LUQ, LLQ)

# of times Josh has felt the baby move so far: 2

# of bruises at the bottoms of my feet due to new orthotics secondary to pelvic pain: 2

# of minutes it takes me to prepare before and after urination at work: 28 (gross estimation), due to taking off fanny pack, disassembling pelvic girdle, untying giant pants, and then repeating the process backwards after urination

# of times Miriam has watched her Pirate Dora movie this week since I'm too tired/sore to play after work: 12

# of times I've vomited in the second trimester: 2 (once after some yummy fish, and once after Miriam vomited in the car while I was driving, but I managed to pull over and open the door before I burst too).

# of times I get up at night: 3-4 (once to put Miriam on the toilet, and 2-3 times for me to pee)

# of times I WAKE up at night, in addition to the above: 1-2 due to baby moving, and once just for fun, because my brain doesn't understand that I need sleep

# of baby hats we have in our collection: 11 (no joke! And that's 9 too many)

# of lists I've made so far in this pregnancy: 1, 001

# of points on one of those lists (baby name finalists): 8 first names (2 for boys, 6 for girls)

# of uses for this list: 0, but it was fun anyway!

Pelvic pain, baby stuff, and other.

2010-03-05T13:35:00.000-08:00

New developments this week:

* relentless pelvic pain. Feel like I'm growing a tail and like my pelvis is slowly cracking into many pieces. This is coupled with some very unpleasant shooting pains down the back of the legs. I increased my massage appointments this month, and got my new orthotics (also painful, but hopefully in the long run will help), and went to see a physiotherapist, who recommended, among other things, a pelvic girdle-type belt, worn low below the belly, to cinch my pelvis back to it's normally stable shape. Apparently, thanks to the hormone relaxin, my pelvis will gradually turn to mush and drive me crazy until the baby is born. FUN!

* I've been acquiring stuff off my "to get" list, which is super-exciting! My mom scored a dresser/change table contraption from someone at work, and I purchased the change pad and two covers for the top at Once Upon a Child. I'm trolling kijiji and can't wait for garage sale season to begin (with the weather so pretty lately, it should start soon!). Still need a nursing pillow, a stroller (we sold our old run-down one on kijiji this week), diaper pail, and some sort of storage shelves for the beasts and their toys/books. Plus odds and ends.

* house developments are getting more and more exciting as we near the closing date (three more weeks!). My mind is already living in our new house, and I spend hours awake at night anticipating and planning.

* next midwives appointment is on March 12, and that will be our last one with the Mississauga midwives. We're moving our care to the KW midwives in mid-April, when my appointments will be every two weeks as opposed to monthly, since that's the beginning of the third trimester (I can't wait to see what my pelvic pain will be like THEN!).

* baby is very active, and loves to dance at night.

BIG TO DO LIST

2010-02-26T12:55:00.000-08:00

It's time to get organized! Here's my to-do-before-baby-comes list:

* move to our new house
* set up house and do all renovations - especially set up the kitchen, get a dishwasher, put up storage shelves EVERYWHERE
* find family doctor in Kitchener
* make playlist for iPod for labour (need song suggestions)
* put together a birth announcement email with everyone's email addresses for easy send-out
* take belly pictures every five weeks (only 25, 30, 35, and 40 left!)
* transfer care to our new midwives, schedule appointments (April 12, May ?, June ?)
* continue monthly thyroid blood test (March, April, May, June, and six weeks post-partum). Find blood lab in KW.
* get: dresser with change pad on top, ring sling, and some sort of sleeping arrangement for baby and me.
* sew curtains for bedrooms
* buy fabric for wrap
* get and install car seat ***
* go to La Leche League meeting in KW
* plan out maternity leave and Josh's parental leave - do all paperwork, give notice, put together a file in the file cabinet of all important documents
* go to Grand River Hospital tour, and pre-register
* fold and put away baby's clothes and junk
* plant a vegetable garden
* make list of fun stuff in KW - Early Years Centres, libraries, parks and playgrounds, community centres, farmers' markets, and also not-as-fun-stuff like vet, dentist, massage therapist, dry cleaner, bank, and post office.
* acquire a Joovy Ergo Caboose stroller (new or used)
* sign up for some sort of class for Miriam and myself (music? crafts? dance?)
* go to Miriam's kindergarten parent info night (end of June)
* feed the freezer - stock up on home-made meals for post-partum (chili, lasagna, casseroles, soups, other easy stuff)
* stock up on a pile of classics books for post-partum
* narrow name choices down to two-three for each sex
* pack hospital bag

Now I'm excited to get stuff done!

Registry

2010-02-24T12:16:00.001-08:00

I've put together a "registry" of sorts, to keep myself organized with notes and things we like and want to get for the baby. Most big baby stores have a limited variety of items, so I put ours on myregistry.com. We can add items from any store, real or online, instead of just one. And since I love looking at other peoples' registries, here's ours, in case you are nosy too!

Website: www.myregistry.com
Search by our last name, using either of our first names.

Things we have enough of (as I discovered when I unpacked all of Miriam's old stuff): hats, bibs, socks, booties, and other cute baby clothes. Cloth diapers, breast pump, other types of carriers (other than the ring sling), blankets. And did I mention we have enough hats? If anyone needs baby hats, let me know, and I will send you a case. :)

As an aside, according to my pregnancy calendar, I am 51% of the way to the end!

Belly pictures!

2010-02-16T06:27:00.000-08:00

I'm 20 weeks pregnant this week, which means we're half-way to the end! For this momentous occasion, here are the Q 5 weeks belly pictures I've been taking. It's so neat to track the progress.

Four weeks, the day we found out the great news.

Ten weeks, with the nudie big sister-to-be getting ready for her bath:

Fifteen weeks:

Twenty weeks:

Note to self: STOP taking belly pictures at the end of the day, disheveled and in slouchy pajamas!

20 week ultrasound

2010-02-10T16:55:00.001-08:00

Some ultrasound pictures from today!

It was lovely, baby was moving around a lot and chewing on its fist. We saw the tongue move in its mouth as it was swallowing amniotic fluid. YUM! It was also touching its face and kicking its legs. Everything looks good, and we have our next midwives appointment next Tuesday. According to this ultrasound and the one in December, our due date is June 28, and I'm currently 20 weeks and 2 days pregnant (but the earliest ultrasound is the most accurate, so we're going with early July due date).

Big Ultrasound

2010-02-09T22:52:00.000-08:00

We have our big ultrasound this afternoon (it is now almost 2 am as I type this, and I got home from work late and have not gone to bed yet)! We'll post some pictures in the evening :D

BIG NEWS!

2010-02-04T22:30:00.001-08:00

Oh, I forgot to mention the big news that occurred recently...

We bought a house!

In Kitchener, detached bungalow with lovely basement for my in-laws, nice neighbourhood, closing date March 23rd.

I can't wait to start nesting!

The Sex of the Baby

2010-02-04T22:14:00.001-08:00

Since we're not finding out the sex of the baby prior to birth (our big ultrasound is less than a week away! Let's hope the creature keeps his/her legs together!), I thought it would be fun to do a few online sex prediction games to see what we're having (very scientific!).

Here are the results:

* Chinese Gender Chart says GIRL
* Old Wives Tales test says 40% chance of BOY, 60% chance of GIRL
* Baby's Heart Rate test says GIRL
* The Drano test says: you're crazy for even thinking about doing this test! It's toxic!

The verdict is that this baby is a GIRL! It's odd, but I have a feeling that it's a boy, and with Miriam, my instinct was right.

And my favourite clairvoyant, Madame Zaritska, has the following wisdom to impart:
"The day you deliver, outside will be cloudy. Your baby will arrive in the middle of the night. After a labor lasting approximately 48 hours, your child, a boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 11 pounds, 12 ounces, and will be 16-1/2 inches long. This child will have dark amber eyes and a lot of black hair".

YIKES!

BOOKS!

2010-01-31T16:34:00.000-08:00

I'm compiling a list of classics to read from now until the first few months post-partum. (As mentioned above, the Jane Austen books were my saviour in the early days of Miriam's earthy existance, and also, the Anne of Green Gables series was very enjoyable this past year when we moved, yet again, and Miriam had her toddler/preschooler attitude moments...ahh, the comfort of books!).

A few mamas from my online community suggested these, and I'm excited to get into them:

* Four Great Plays by Henry Ibsen
* Orlando
* The Eyre Affair (series)
* anything by Elizabeth Gaskell (esp. Wives and Daughters)
* George Eliot (Middlemarch, Silas Marner, The Mill on the Floss)
* Mayor of Casterbridge
* Elizabeth Gouge books
* Edith Wharton
* Louisa May Alcott

There, that should last me until the baby is a few weeks old.

Other than that, we may have some big news coming soon, but I don't want to say anything until things are finalized.

Giant pants, and a short list of things to get

2010-01-22T11:18:00.001-08:00

Not much to report this week. Things are going along smoothly.

My work pants problem has been solved by my very sneaky mother, who "borrowed" seven pairs of OR scrubs for me last week. They are super-huge and have a very-uncool-but-so-useful high waist, drawstring, that I can tie them up at my ribcage and go about my merry business, bending under patients' beds to my heart's content. Thank you, mama, for teaching me that stealing is wrong!

The creature is doing some sort of karate in my belly right now. From all this kicking, I'm not sure he/she liked all that home-made macaroni and cheese, and the spinach salad I had for lunch.

I've put together a little list of things we want to make/buy/steal/borrow and otherwise acquire for the baby. It is much shorter than the list we had with Miriam, since we saved a lot of her clothes, toys, and books. If the baby is a boy, he will learn to love (or hate) pink clothes. Thankfully, we have a few blue infant clothes that Miriam also wore (I guess it was beneficial that we didn't find out Miriam's sex before birth, as we got both blue and pink stuff). We'll get some new stuff too, but for most of the items, I'm sure we can get used or self-made, to save both money and the environment (and to minimize the production and consumption of new junk...that's my eco-friendly blab for the day!).

* breast pump, preferably Medela Harmony, simple, non-electric, for occasional use (my old one was great, but unfortunately Larry ate it...that's right, we have a cat that eats breast pumps, among other things...and yes, he really did EAT it, the rubbery parts at least...and YES, he did mostly vomit it up). This can be new, if on sale, or used.
* glass bottles (2-3) with rubber sleeves to prevent breaking with droppage, again, for occasional use. New or used.
* pack of receiving blankets (approximately 6). New, used, or homemade (as in, a large piece of blanket fabric, cut into smaller ones).
* a few onesies and a few sleepers
* a bunch of washcloths (again, new or made from a bigger towel)
* some bibs (if this baby is like Miriam, there'll be quite a bit of wet shirt-fronts we want to avoid)
* ring sling and wrap (to be made by me!)
* Boppy-type pillow...I have no idea what happened to our old one, but it was very useful.
* dresser with a change pad on top (we didn't have a change table for Miriam, and used the couch/bed/floor, but it was quite annoying to have diaper stuff all over the place and my knees got sore from all the kneeling...I think a change table set up would be useful, if only to keep things organized, and to prevent dislocated kneecaps). This will definitely be used, and will provide me with an excuse to hit up the garage sales this spring!
* I have to dig out our old diaper stash to see if we need any more diapers or covers. I'd like to try a few all-in-ones too, if I can find them cheap/used.

That's all for now! I just wish I were crafty enough to make a change table like this:

And seriously, there seems to be a bouncy castle set up in my uterus right now!

Appointment, names, movement, and a lovely Jane Austen picture

2010-01-15T12:49:00.001-08:00

Had a midwives appointment this past week, and met one of my other midwives, Barb W. Professional and business-like, more clinical than Stephanie. So between the two of them, I have all the personality traits desirable in a midwife covered. I haven't met Tori yet, so we'll see.

Everything went well, baby's heartbeat was approximately 150 bpm, and we could even hear a big kick while trying to find the heartbeat! I didn't feel that one though. I've gained three pounds, and my urine is fabulous. Blood pressure is great too, 100/60. We talked about red raspberry leaf tea, hospital vs. home birth, and our common Polish heritage, and we scheduled my next ultrasound, the "BIG ULTRASOUND" for February 10th. Josh is taking the day off work, and we'll probably end up going to El Sombrero for lunch again. YUM!

Last week, I went through this entire book:

and made a giant list of the winners, both boy and girl, both first and middle names. Then a few days later, after Josh poo-pooed many of them, and agreed on a surprisingly large number of them, I pared it down to the finalists and matched them up with middle names. So now the list is official, and we have two first names for boys with six combinations including middle names, and six first names for girls, with a bunch of combos. I love them all, and just can't wait to pick after the baby is born!

In other news, I can feel the baby moving more and more over the past few days. It feels like gentle taps and prods, and isn't really often, only once or twice per day so far. I had forgotten what it feels like to have a creature living inside me! At least it's not jumping on my cervix like Miriam used to do. Although I do feel sometimes that my hips and inner organs are falling out again, and I'm sure this unsettling feeling will just intensify with time. Oh goody! At this rate, I'll need a couple of pessaries soon!

There are certain songs, smells, and books I associate with my gestation of Miriam, and I wonder what those memories will be this time around. When I was pregnant with Miriam, I always carried around my little vial of tea tree oil, and sniffed it numerous times per day (I probably got high off of it, in hindsight!), and even now when I smell tea tree oil, it reminds me of that time. Also, any song by the Kelly Family, or the Bee Gees (especially "Alone" by the latter) brings back those bittersweet memories of bouncing on my birth ball. And since I read most of the Jane Austen books while pregnant or shortly after Miriam's birth (they were one of the things that kept me sane in those weepy first few weeks post-partum, when it feels like life will never be the same again and that this whole thing was a huge mistake!), I also associate them with that pregnancy. Ahhh, the memories!

Now I have a craving for tea tree oil, this exact vial:

So far in this pregnancy, I haven't been abusing any such substances, and though I've been reading a few books, none of them stand out as "THE book that reminds me of this pregnancy". Perhaps it's too early. I need to find an author as fabulous as Jane Austen...

Goodbye, dreaded first trimester, hello delightful second trimester!

2010-01-06T13:44:00.000-08:00

First trimester is over, nausea has more or less subsided, and I haven't vomited in over two weeks now (although I did feel really close to it today in the car on the way home from work, but that was most likely due to over-consumption of cheese from a very nice gift basket from a patient). I've got a bit more energy now, and things are looking and feeling good.

I'm fourteen weeks this week.

Got a baby name book from the library, compiling a top secret list of favourites. Baby-naming is such fun! Miriam insists that the baby's name will be "Milkie" (named in loving memory to breastfeeding, which she always called "milkies"), and I hope she forgets this by the time the baby comes, but so far she's pretty insistent. Maybe we'll have to use it as a middle name...?

In craftier news, I'm sewing a ring sling! I've never made one before, though I did make (and used all the time) a no-sew wrap before Miriam was born, and one of my favourite pictures from her infant-hood is with her in the wrap. I'll make another wrap this time too, but need a sling to add to the collection of baby carriers. In addition to the pouch, the mei tai, and the Ergo, we'll be all set! Here's the picture I'm talking about:

Here's the ring sling I borrowed and used for a few weeks when Miriam was a baby. I'm modeling the one I'm sewing on this one, which was fabulous. I'm making a pocket on it too, but have yet to find such groovy fabric (I'm making two of them, the first one is a prototype with some dorky fabric)

Here's a more recent, and random, picture from Xmas, of Miriam practicing her nursing skills on mama.

This is what I need!

2009-12-23T23:33:00.000-08:00

Fittingly called "Promiscuous" pants...don't they look super-comfy! But there's no way I'm paying $28 for pants!

I'm browsing through some baby name sites during my battle with insomnia, and have narrowed down the time-frame of names I like to early 1900s. So most likely we'll be picking a name that someone's grandparents or great-grandparents had...post your geriatric name suggestions now, please!

Insomnia, ultrasound, and giant pants

2009-12-23T22:26:00.000-08:00

Oh no. It has started again. The killer insomnia I had while pregnant with Miriam is starting again. It is 1:20am and I have been staring at the ceiling above the bed for the past hour. This has been going on each night around 1am for the past two weeks or so, but so far I haven't resorted to prowling the house like a ghoul, like I did with Miriam. ARGH! I'm not looking forward to six more months of this every night, but on the bright side, I get to update this blog without interruptions (except from Stevie and Larry, who are prowling too, curious to see why I am up).

Speaking of the cats, Larry has once again taken to curling up on my lap every time I sit down anywhere, and using my belly as a pillow. He can sense the mystical energy in my abdomen. Ha ha, just wait until the creature starts kicking you in the head, Larry!

On a very happy note, we had an ultrasound yesterday. It was the 12 week Integrated Prenatal Screening test (to assess risk of Downs Syndrome, neural tube defects, and a few other anomalies). We weren't going to get it done, since I prefer less interventions/testing to more, but I couldn't resist an ultrasound peek (the two blood tests afterwards are not fun, but I've been getting poked every four weeks to monitor my thyroid levels, so what's another two needle-jabs?).

Anyway, it was lovely (the ultrasound, that is). At first, Josh had to wait in the waiting room as always, and the tech didn't say anything, which always freaks me out. But then she made a somewhat exasperated sigh, and said "someone is really moving around in here!". I breathed in relief (there is always that fear...), and dared to look at the screen above my head. The creature was moving around, and I got glimpses of limbs, head and torso. We chatted for a while while she did all the measurements, and then said I could call Josh in to see too, and get some pictures. We heard the heartbeat again, saw the baby moving its arm, and were told that it has a head, body, and four limbs. I should hope so!

As soon as my official report is in, I'm going to analyze it to death. All I know so far from the screen is that the crown-rump length was 6.7cm, and when I obsessively researched it online, I learned that this is the CRL corresponding to a 13-14 week pregnancy. Of course, the first ultrasound (at 6 weeks) is the most accurate in terms of dating the pregnancy, but the tech said we can probably expect the baby in late June. This is good news, since I get to get off work earlier than expected...February sounds like a good time :D :D :D...

Two days ago, I spent over an hour at the Motherhood Maternity outlet in Heartland. After trying on all manner of pregnancy rags, I finally purchased a pair of jeans, a pair of cords, and three shirts. The pants have the giant rolling belly panel I like so much, but of course they are slightly too loose still. My belly has started to get rounder in the past week, and now I undeniably cannot suck it in any longer. It's not so much that the baby or uterus are huge, it's just that my guts are spilling out mid-abdomen now, supported by the solid and patient uterus below. So I am definitely fuller after a meal (of which I am having much more lately, every 2 hours!), but even in the morning after a night fast, there's still a roundness. Now I just have to find some comfy scrub pants, and I'll be all set. This is proving to be very difficult, so I think I'm agonna have to go on down to de Walmart and git me some hoochie-mama velour pants.

Speaking of bellies, Miriam has started signing to the baby before bedtime. She pokes at my belly and makes up gibberish songs which she finds hilarious. The nightly routine when we are lying in bed during book-time, is "I want to sing for the baby" (lifts shirt, presses lips to belly) "Midi modi bidi bodi toto!" (giggles in glee). Then I pretend to be the voice of the baby saying "Oooo, that was a lovely song, big sister Miriam! I can't wait to meet you!". Out of the blue today, while sitting around after supper, she pensively said "why is it taking so long for your baby to come out, mama?". Hopefully, this excitement over the baby will continue after the it is born!

Today (meaning Dec. 24) is Polish Christmas Eve at my parents' house. Creature will get a good belly-ful of pierogi, barszcz, uszka, and "Greek" fish (or at least he/she will get squished by a massive load of these delectables weighing down on him/her!). Yummm. And the next day, we're having a Denomey Xmas Xtravaganza at our house (that's right, we had to clean the bathrooms and wash the floors!), where we'll be serving Irish Beef Stew (with a can of Guinness...yes, I called Motherisk to confirm the safety of cooking a stew for two hours with some beer in it). Oh, how I love the gluttony of the holidays!

Guess I'd better attempt to force myself to try to sleep now. I was going to post the U/S pics but for some reason Josh scanned them upside down, and the scanner is too loud to rescan them right now. I'll rescan them in the morning. And unfortunately, all my belly pictures are still on the camera, not uploaded to the computer, so I can't post those right now either, since I can't find the cord.

First Appointment

2009-12-20T15:46:00.000-08:00

Quick update:

Had first midwife appointment on Wednesday. Our midwives are Stephanie (had her last time, absolutely lovely, we had a great time catching up!), Tori, and Barb W. There are three this time since July will be summer vacation time, so the chances of one of them being off while I'm in labour are high.

Heard the heartbeat at the appointment. Approx. 160 bpm. Felt my uterus halfway up to my umbilicus. BP, urine, and weight are all great.

Appointment took one hour, we bonded and chatted, it was so enjoyable. Decided to do the IPS prenatal screening after all, so we have an ultrasound and blood test booked for this Wednesday. I ran into an old acquaintance at the appointment, who is also pregnant and due on the exact same day as me ("must have been a busy night for both of us!" she said!). It's so nice to be in such a warm, homey, non-clinical environment, to see familiar people, to curl up on the couch-bed during appointments, to be treated as an intelligent person instead of an ignoramus who doesn't know that drugs and alcohol during pregnancy are bad for the baby, and to have the autonomy to decide about what kind of test/care/procedures to undergo during pregnancy without pressure! I love midwives!

Next appointment is in January.

On another note, if anyone has baby name suggestions, feel free to post them here or on Facebook. The criteria are: need boy and girl names, not unisex, not trendy/popular, we like old-fashioned but not common, and nothing that ends with an "ee" sound or that rhymes with our last name (Naomi Denomey?...no! Because we know it will be mispronounced as De-NOE-mee). Bring on the suggestions!

2009-12-11T06:21:00.000-08:00

This is what our creature looks like this week:

2009-12-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

I'm almost eleven weeks along now (on Sunday), and even though the nausea seems to be settling, ever so slightly, it's still very annoying. Plus, I'm hungry all the time, and craving food from childhood pretty ravenously. I drove to Starsky a few days ago to stock up on fatty Polish cheeses and buns...oh so good! Plus, I am stuffing my face with red meats of all kinds, and if you know me at all, you know that even chicken grosses me out sometimes, much less red meat. But for the past few weeks, I salivate at the thought of Lick's juicy burgers, or a scrumptious beef stew. Droooool. I'm making paneer curry tonight, which I usually love, but it's really just for Miriam and Josh, and I'll be happy with a few (six or seven) slices of rye bread with Polish cheese and tomato.

I had a dream last night that the baby is a boy. I put him in a cradle, wrapped in woolen blankets, and he got too hot. He had very short dark hair. And my mother-in-law was shooting little explosive-type toys around him. Ahhh, the bizarre dreams begin, but at least this is better than the killer insomnia I suffered with Miriam.

First midwives appointment is in one week!

Nine weeks this week

2009-12-04T09:27:00.000-08:00

It is now the beginning of December, and I am almost 10 weeks pregnant. That means I'm nearing the end of the first trimester, which hopefully means the end of the relentless nausea, tiredness, irritability, and vomiting, and the beginning of energy, a glowing appearance, and food tasting non-nasty again! I've been feasting on this:

and then spending my evenings getting close to my new friend:

In the past few weeks, I've had one ultrasound at six weeks where the heartbeat was visible, and I've heard the heartbeat twice (at work, with that handy venous doppler!). In the next few weeks, we'll be sharing the news with those who don't know yet. Also, my first appointment with the midwives is coming up in about ten days, and I'm looking forward to it tremendously.

Now I'm off to Whole Foods to find some nitrite-free deli meats for a giant sandwich, which appeals to me uncontrollably right now! Here's a picture of our creature this week:

Back in October...

2009-12-04T09:08:00.000-08:00

In July, our new baby will be joining our family of three (plus two cats), who presently look like this.

Big-sister-to-be, Miriam (who still fits into the hallway cupboard):
Mommy (the one on the right!):
Daddy (not the cat, the human):
And new baby makes four:

As an aside, this is how I had planned to tell Josh the news when I found out on October 27th. The little note was supposed to be sneaked into our mailbox where Josh would find it since he always gets the mail. But I was much too impatient to wait, and instead left the note on his pillow with the positive pregnancy test. However, it took him so so long to get ready for bed, that again I grew impatient, and instead gave the test stick to Miriam to bring to the kitchen to show daddy. This plan also did not work out, since Josh did not understand the meaning behind the stick! Finally, after explanations and dissuading Miriam from touching the peed-on end of the stick, we were all on the same page and very excited.