Well, everyone’s well overdue for an update – thanks for your patienceJ First things first..I’m still pregnant..the baby hasn’t made an early appearance…yet! Haha So much has gone on over the past month or so..time has flown. Pat and I went down to Nova Scotia to visit our families one last time before being confined to our home here in OntarioJ I was able to finally meet my nephew Karsten and got a good feel of life with a newborn! My longtime friend Sarah and my sister Jenn threw me a baby shower in Yarmouth and then my girlfriend Agatha in Greenwood surprised Pat and I with a Jack and Jill shower! We felt so blessed by everyone’s thoughtfulness and generosity! Thank you so much! We started out with one outfit for the baby and now we’re all set for our little guyJ As of today, I’m 39 weeks along (which means one week until my expected birthing time) and it’s hard to believe we’re at the end of this journey and about to start the next stage of this exciting time! I seriously forget that I’m pregnant a lot of the time and find it amazing that there’s a baby in my belly! Pat and I took a tour of the hospital and he got so excited when we saw some newborn babies! So far, I’ve gained about 28 lbs and my belly is measuring right on every week. We had one scare where the baby’s heartbeat was irregularly fluctuating between 130 and 170 bmp. We were sent to the hospital to double check and everything turned out to be fine! It’s only nervous wracking once they start asking so many questions that you begin to double-guess yourself! The neat thing was that we were in the first triage room where women were coming when they started labour but not yet 3 cm dilated so we were able to see and hear different people experiencing the first stages of labour and really start to picture ourselves doing the same. So needless to say, this week has been a huge week to try and get most things in order before the baby decides to comeJ We’re still not totally decided on a name…we’re down to 2 – Parker and Sandler and although we’ve still been reading baby books, we keep coming back to those two names. I think we’ll take most people’s advice and if we can’t decide beforehand, we’ll wait to see him face to face and decide then (AKA wait until the pressure can NOT get any stronger to make the on-the-spot decision! Haha) Last week was especially stressful as my girlfriend Michelle was admitted to the hospital with GBS (a virus that caused her antibodies to attack her nerves) and my dad was admitted to the hospital after having a heart attack. Michelle was in for a week and went through an exhausting series of tests and medicine and now has about 6 weeks until she’ll get back to full power. My dad was brought to Halifax and after a week of tests, had heart surgery that went very well and is now home resting and healing. So needless to say, it’s been quite an emotional/stressful week for the baby! Michelle is unable to come up for a visit mid August but my parents are still planning on coming up at the end of August (of course depending how dad’s feeling) - we’ll see closer to the time. Besides that, we’re getting ready for the big day and I’m especially getting my mind in focus for the birth. Unfortunately, I misplaced my camera so I’m unable to put on an updated picture but the baby has dropped down into position and now even all my maternity clothes are tight and my belly pops out the bottom! It’s quite funny but at this point, I’m just happy to find something other than a sheet that’ll fit me! Haha My next Dr's appt is on the 6th and he's going to check me out to see how things are progressing so I'll keep you posted. And just so you know, if I don't update right away, it doesn't necessarily mean I'm in labour! lol
Well, everyone’s well overdue for an update – thanks for your patienceJ First things first..I’m still pregnant..the baby hasn’t made an early appearance…yet! Haha So much has gone on over the past month or so..time has flown. Pat and I went down to Nova Scotia to visit our families one last time before being confined to our home here in OntarioJ I was able to finally meet my nephew Karsten and got a good feel of life with a newborn! My longtime friend Sarah and my sister Jenn threw me a baby shower in Yarmouth and then my girlfriend Agatha in Greenwood surprised Pat and I with a Jack and Jill shower! We felt so blessed by everyone’s thoughtfulness and generosity! Thank you so much! We started out with one outfit for the baby and now we’re all set for our little guyJ
As of today, I’m 39 weeks along (which means one week until my expected birthing time) and it’s hard to believe we’re at the end of this journey and about to start the next stage of this exciting time! I seriously forget that I’m pregnant a lot of the time and find it amazing that there’s a baby in my belly! Pat and I took a tour of the hospital and he got so excited when we saw some newborn babies! So far, I’ve gained about 28 lbs and my belly is measuring right on every week. We had one scare where the baby’s heartbeat was irregularly fluctuating between 130 and 170 bmp. We were sent to the hospital to double check and everything turned out to be fine! It’s only nervous wracking once they start asking so many questions that you begin to double-guess yourself! The neat thing was that we were in the first triage room where women were coming when they started labour but not yet 3 cm dilated so we were able to see and hear different people experiencing the first stages of labour and really start to picture ourselves doing the same. So needless to say, this week has been a huge week to try and get most things in order before the baby decides to comeJ
We’re still not totally decided on a name…we’re down to 2 – Parker and Sandler and although we’ve still been reading baby books, we keep coming back to those two names. I think we’ll take most people’s advice and if we can’t decide beforehand, we’ll wait to see him face to face and decide then (AKA wait until the pressure can NOT get any stronger to make the on-the-spot decision! Haha)
Last week was especially stressful as my girlfriend Michelle was admitted to the hospital with GBS (a virus that caused her antibodies to attack her nerves) and my dad was admitted to the hospital after having a heart attack. Michelle was in for a week and went through an exhausting series of tests and medicine and now has about 6 weeks until she’ll get back to full power. My dad was brought to Halifax and after a week of tests, had heart surgery that went very well and is now home resting and healing. So needless to say, it’s been quite an emotional/stressful week for the baby! Michelle is unable to come up for a visit mid August but my parents are still planning on coming up at the end of August (of course depending how dad’s feeling) - we’ll see closer to the time.
Besides that, we’re getting ready for the big day and I’m especially getting my mind in focus for the birth. Unfortunately, I misplaced my camera so I’m unable to put on an updated picture but the baby has dropped down into position and now even all my maternity clothes are tight and my belly pops out the bottom! It’s quite funny but at this point, I’m just happy to find something other than a sheet that’ll fit me! Haha
My next Dr's appt is on the 6th and he's going to check me out to see how things are progressing so I'll keep you posted. And just so you know, if I don't update right away, it doesn't necessarily mean I'm in labour! lol
31 Weeks – Yes it’s true! My nephew Karsten has finally made his way into the world on May 31st weighing in at 8lbs 8oz. Jenn had a pretty good labour and birthJ Check out the details on her website http://babyparkersblog.blogspot.com/ And of course I’ve been hounding her for details and am looking forward to meeting Karsten and getting a good feel for what early motherhood consists of when I go home to visit end June/start July!
As for things here in Ontario, despite the heat wave which has had us seating it out in the low 40’s with humidity (YOWZAS!), we’ve been trying to stay sane and I’ve been doing a lot of swimming in the river (thank GOODNESS for that as we don’t have AC..yet!) I’m growing right along on schedule with the baby at about 3.5 lbs (around half it’s birth weight!) and still moving up a storm! Now I feel more pointy things sticking out and he seem sto push more on both sides of my belly at the SAME time so I think it’s getting a bit cramped in there! Lol
We had our first OBGYN Dr’s appt (after 8 weeks of waiting!!!!) and it was just like Jenn’s were – 10 min tops! We got to meet the man who would deliver our baby and Pat finally got to hear the baby’s heartbeat!! It was a special moment as I’ve been trying to get him to hear it through a toilet paper tube which I’ve heard can happen anywhere after 31 weeks! Haha We also started prenatal classes which will take us until the end of June and I am proud to say that Pat is way ahead of the male population in that class in that he alone knew what Braxton Hicks contractions were! (ok, well he knew the name at least..but that’s a start, hey ladies? LOL!)
Now that the bell is in full bloom, I’m just realizing that besides my belly update pics, I don’t really HAVE any pics of me pregnant..and especially none with Pat!! So Pat took some pics on the weekend (this being one) and I hope to take some friends up on their offers to take our pic when we go home to NS..heh heh..here we come!:)
Now to just make it through another few weeks of non air conditioned work and home and then vacation and then only a few weeks until baby is here!! Yikes! But especially seeing Karsten into the world, Pat and I are getting more and more excited (or dare I say we are getting excited..period!) J as the fear is waning away and we’re picturing our life with this little creature in it...and yes, the hormones have me crying everytime I see a dad with his little son..even as I was at the Department of Motor Vehicles!!! Lol Geesh!
29 Weeks - Oh it’s been so long!!! Sorry to keep everyone waiting (yes I’m THAT important! Haha) ;) Well I’m 2 weeks into my third trimester and I’m feeling pretty pregnant! I love laughing at myself totally winded after going up our one staircase, grunting and huffing while trying to put on socks and lace up my boots, and going to bed between 9 and 9:30 every night just to wake up 4-5 times a night and toss and turn and wake up with a sore back (although not so funny at the time!). On the other hand, coming into the third trimester has brought along another wave of hormones which left me being “extra” emotional and sensitive (if that’s even POSSIBLE! Lol) so needless to say it was a rough week or two where Pat and I had to really come together and sort out what was the hormones acting out and what was Janaya…I’d like to say we figured it out..but you’d better ask pat for a more accurate answer..lol.
The big excitement lately is that my nephew is “scheduled” to arrive in 4 days now! WOW! Jenn’s feeling great and super excited to finally meet the baby (and maybe to finally let the world in on the baby’s name!) I’m excited to hear all about labour and the birth and to see what my nephew looks like! (and if the details are too horrid, I’ll just choose to skip the labour part and have the stork deliver the baby! Lol So we’ll continue to wait patiently…she has a slightly higher chance of going into pre-term labour so really he could come any day!!! YIKES! How is it that I just ignore (or forget) the fact that I’ll actually have to go through that part too eventually? I’ve come to terms that I’m pregnant…but have I come to terms that I’m going to have to HAVE the baby? Hmm..
Although I always see this belly as humongo, I must be getting noticeably bigger to others because just this week 3 people have told me how big my belly is (and while I’m in uniform which doesn’t even give a big belly profile!) One girl told me I just look more like I have that “leaning back all the time” pregnancy look! Yikes! I have been having a lot of back pain lately..mostly first thing in the morning but also at the end of the day. I’ve officially gained 16 pounds to date but I can feel it getting a bit higher as lately I’ve been hungry all the time (oh yeah and Ben and Jerry's and Haagan Daas Ice cream went on sale!!!). Everything I look at makes me say “YUM!” and Pat has to keep me in control when we go grocery shopping! Lol
I feel the baby moving all day now vice just as I wake and go to bed. But instead of kicks, I feel mostly movements..I feel him sliming around from one side of my belly to the other and sometimes up just under my ribcage which feels like a big balloon air bubble so I have to push him back into placeJ It’s neat though feeling him at almost every minute of the day..especially because I feel like it’s this secret that we share…”hey mommy, I’m moving around in your belly and NO-ONE knows but us!” heh heh it’s especially handy when I have events like earlier this week when I had to sit through 2 days of law-talk for a course I was on. I would get bored or sleepy but the little one would move around or give me an elbow in the gut saying “wake up mommy!” I laughed inappropriately several timesJ
The baby’s heartbeat is a steady 147 beats per minute and nice and strong! Pat and I have narrowed names down to a list of about 7 or so..still taking in suggestions of course but we’ll let you know when we get down near the end. It really is so hard to talk it over with people because everyone is unique and has their own opinions and then the other times I’m not sure if they’re just saying things to make me feel good about the names we like..lol..it’s so tough but I’ve learned to listen to Pat when he says “we’ll pick the name WE like..no matter what anyone else thinks”…he’s so smartJ
Well, I’ll write to let you know how things go with Jenn and post a pic of my new nephew! Until then, above is a pic of Jenn at 38.5 weeks and me at 29 (with apparently a baby pushing out cause my belly looks oddly shaped!! Lol)
