Party in my Belly

39 weeks 4 days

I took this little video last night. I did get some movement, but the real party started afterward when I was trying to get to sleep.

Time's getting short!

39 weeks 1 day

OK, so I was under the impression that March 3rd was a Friday, but have since learned that it's a Thursday, meaning I'm due a day earlier than I thought. Pregnancy brain strikes again! Anyhow, things are going pretty well. My right hip is bothering me today, but really, that's not a whole lot to complain about, now is it?

I had an appointment with my midwife on Wednesday night. Mom got to meet her! We all cracked up at Jesse taking my measurements and using the doppler. I'll try to get a video of him if I end up having an appointment this Wednesday. (It's scheduled, but Trouble could surprise us all and come early.) He's quite the little midwife! All was well at the appointment, though I may have a slight UTI. Treating it naturally for the time being. I'm asymptomatic, and will hopefully stay that way. Jayme figures Baby T is just over 7 lbs at this point. It'll be fun to find out if her guestimate is right. Everything is in order for the homebirth, with the exception of the pool liner. So I'm hoping to hang out for a few days yet. We're having issues with Canada Post. (Go figure.)

In other news, I've reached the beached whale stage. Turning over in bed is getting more difficult, and I'm moving more slowly. With Jesse's pregnancy, I prided myself on the fact that I never developed the typical pregnant waddle. Unfortunately, I can't brag about that this time. And toddler wrangling has become quite the chore. Jesse takes full advantage of the fact that my get-up-and-go has got up and gone. Here's the evidence of my hugeness:

I've also been working on getting everything else in order. The crocheted mattress cover is finished, washed, felted and lanolinized. I'll post pics of that later. The dipes are all washed and in order. I did chicken out though and bought some sposies for the meconium poos. They're from "Broody Chick" though and are chlorine free, frangrance free, hypo-allergenic and fully compostable. I may not even use them all...just enough to get us to the easy-to-deal-with breastmilk poos. I can't wait to use the new cloth dipes on this baby. They are sooooooo sweet! Here's a peek at some of them:

I've also picked up a little outfit for Baby T. As much as I've looked, I've barely been able to find anything that's gender neutral. So when I saw this at Dominion, of all place, I had to get it: 

I guess that's enough for now. I'll update with more later. Including the mattress cover. Oh, and I need to share a pic of the woolens I have for Baby T! I finally got them washed and lanolinized over the past few days. (Yes, I'm fully aware that only the hardcore cloth diaper nuts will appreciate my excitement over this.)

Brazen Baby

37 weeks 2 days

This baby is trying to psych me out! I contracted for a good 4 hours last night. Between 12:45 am and 1: 45 am I had 12 contractions. And not Braxton Hicks either. They felt like the contractions I had the morning I woke up in early labour with Jesse. I was half tempted to call my midwife and let her know, but I figured she was probably in bed by that point, and I didn't want to wake her up for no good reason. The contractions didn't peter out, even though I was chugging water and lying down, but they didn't pick up in frequency or intensity either, so I figured it was not going to happen. After putting all of my cameras on to charge and half way packing an emergency hospital bag (just in case), I decided to try to get some sleep. By the time I was woken up at 6:15 am, they were gone.

Now, I know most people are totally over being pregnant by this point. But that's not me. I'm not ready yet. I don't have everything set up yet, I'm not psychologically ready, and my mom won't get here til February 23rd. So I'd actually really appreciate this baby staying in until much closer to the due date. If Trouble lives up to his/her name though, we may be welcoming our wee bundle a bit earlier than that.

And now, the reason for me having trouble getting my ass out of bed in the morning:

Love, Will Miss, Looking Forward To....

I'll post a weekly update tonight (if I get a chance). All is well with everyone. For now, I just want to post this. So often people get so caught up in the misery of the last few weeks of pregnancy (and granted, some people are totally entitled to feel that way) that they miss out on the good stuff. Personally, I rather enjoy the last few weeks (for the most part) and cherish this time that I get to have the baby all to myself. So I made a list of all the things I love, what I will miss, and what I'm looking forward to. Thought I'd share it.

~I love the belly. Even though it's huge, I love it. I'll miss it when it's gone.

~I love feeling beautiful. It's the only time in my life that I'm really not self-conscious about how I look. (After all, "round" is a perfectly acceptible shape when you're knocked up.)

~I love having clear skin. I've had acne since I was 11. It goes away completely around 20 weeks.

~I love being off work and finally getting into a normal sleep routine!

~I love my weekly massage appointments.

~I love the belly kisses, hugs, and rubs from my toddler.

~I love the movement. At this point, I sometimes feel like Sigourney Weaver in Alien 3, but it's still awesome.

~I'm going to miss the my midwife and her assistants. I feel so cared for and special.

~I'm going to miss the belly and the movement for the reasons above!

~I'm going to miss having the baby all to myself. It's the closest I'll ever to be him or her.

~I'm going to miss this magical/mystical feeling of growing another human being.

~I'm going to miss underwire bras.

~I'm looking forward to the birth!!!

~I'm looking forward to nursing a baby that fits in my arms.

~I'm looking forward to being a more chill mama. I was a bit of a basket case with my first. I now know you're not going to ruin your child for life by giving them a pacifier.

~I'm looking forward to trusting my instincts more and being more confident.

~I'm looking forward to seeing how Jesse is with the new baby.

~I'm looking forward to finding out the sex!!! And finding a name that suits the baby. I can't wait to figure that out!

~I'm looking forward to my mom's homecooked meals.

~I'm looking forward to using itty bitty cloth diapers again.

Pity Party Table for One....

I spent 5 1/2 hours in the ER today. Trouble's fine. I'm technically "fine." I've just been in misery these past few days dealing with an old problem that reared its ugly head. (Pun not intended. OK...so maybe it was.) Even though the wait was rather hellish, I lucked out in that the doctor that saw me was actually the resident who'd attended Jesse's birth. It was really nice to see her again. She has an absolutely wonderful bedside manner, and asked me what I wanted to do to resolve the issue. Anywho, now that I'm home and doped up on atasol 30s, I'm going to try to get some much needed sleep. I haven't slept much at all in about 4 days. I so hope everything returns to normal by tomorrow...

A jumble of things....

36 weeks

It's been a while since I updated, and I have a couple of new belly pics. I'm feeling rather huge, and looking it as well. Baby is approximately 5 1/2 lbs at this point, about right on par with what Jesse would have been at 36 weeks as well. It's also showing on the scale, as I'm not up 15 lbs from my lowest weight with this pregnancy. I'm still only up 3 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight though.

35 weeks

And here I am at 36 weeks

In other news....

We're slowly getting ready for the baby. Trying to get some junk cleared out of the house, getting space cleared for the home birth, and getting stuff ready that the baby needs. The clothes are all washed and the dipes are ready to go (though I'm waiting on more to arrive in the mail), and the cradle is put together. I actually did that part myself, and I'm rather proud! Lame, I know. Check it out though:

I'm getting rid of the vinyl covered mattress pad though. I should have gotten rid of it with Jesse, but I didn't know any better back then. I'm getting an all cotton cradle mattress. And I'm crocheting a wool cover for it that I'm going to felt and lanolinize (keep your fingers crossed that it actually works!). Here's the progress so far:

And apparently a king sized pillow case will fit over the mattress perfectly, so I'm going to try to order a couple pair of organic cotton pillow cases as cradle sheets.

I've also had appointments with both Jayme and Dr. B (Jayme's back-up) since my last post. Everything is looking good. Baby is measuring about a week ahead, but that's pretty normal since the head is not engaged yet. Baby *is* vertex though and staying that way. Finally! I've written up two birth plans...one for a home birth and one in case of transfer to the hospital. I might post them at a later time. Dr. B has me scheduled in with the maternal fetal assessment unit for a 41 week biophysical profile, since it's very likely I'm going to go post-dates again. It's an appointment I can easily cancel if Trouble decides to surprise us all and show up earlier than that.

Another thing I wanted to share is that I found another couple of pairs of maternity jeans that don't fall down!!! You can see one pair in my 35 week pic. It's so difficult to find pants that work for me when I'm pregnant. We only have one maternity clothing store here now - Motherhood Maternity - and most of what they carry is this "secret fit belly" and they just suck! And they account for about 90% of the pants in the store! Frustrating! Anyways, I did  have success, and now have some pants to get me through the end of this pregnancy. I hope.

I think that's about it for now...I've probably left out a ton of stuff, but I want to take a nap while Jesse is napping. Ta for now!

A fall, a freak out and a fever

34 weeks 3 days

I took a bit of a nasty spill today in the family room. There weren't many toys on the floor, but I managed to step on the one with wheels that sent me flying towards the bathroom door and then the floor. I mostly landed on my left hip and bum (where I have tons of extra padding, thank goodness). My foot was freaking killing me. I was quite proud that I managed not to curse. Well, as long as you don't count, "Oh God, oh God, oh God" cursing. Had Jesse not been there, I'm sure I would have dropped an f-bomb or two...or three. Probably some more creative expletives as well. The pain dissipated quickly though. Poor Jesse was frightened to death. I asked him to put his toy away and he came and got it and took it behind the ottoman. He didn't know what to do to help.

Shortly afterward a friend arrived with her two girls for a playdate. It went well. It was a nice distraction, actually. Afterward, I realized that I hadn't been feeling the baby move since I fell. And this kiddo is usually like a fetus on crack. So I was worried. Really worried. I eventually dug out my doppler and found the heartbeat. It was in the 150s. HUGE sigh of relief. Now tonight Trouble is once again practicing an Olympic calibre gymnastics routine and I'm feeling much better about things.

The only thing that's got me worried is that Jesse's had a fever all evening. I took his temp a short while ago and it's 38.5 degree Celsius (axilla). Adjusted for core body temp would be about 39 degrees. So, fairly high. I'm going to give him something when he wakes up ...poor kiddo is miserable. I hope I have some acetaminophen or ibuprofen there for him. He hasn't had a fever in nearly 2 years. If there's nothing there I'll have to run out to an all night pharmacy or grocery store. So it looks like tonight will be a long night for me. I hope my sweet kiddo feels better tomorrow.