1 down, 9 to go!

We had a dr's appointment today....looks like our little Jelly Bean's quite content in his/her little abode there!

We're only dialated 1 cm!

1 down, 9 to go!

Next appointment: Wednesday, January 2nd. (Not until next year!) Maybe we still can go see Glass Tiger?!

Hmmmmmmmmmaybe not.

Having been prepared to go into labour today, this is how I'm feeling:




lol

Oh well, that just means I have more time for nesting!

The big day is here!

It's hard to believe it, but our due date is here, and no baby yet! We're so close!

I've not posted on this blog as much as I'd have liked to over the last few months, but am very happy that Cat has kept it up. Looking back over all the posts, it's a great record of all that we've been through over the last months!

When I sit back and think about it, I've been really lucky. The last 9 months were nowhere NEAR what I was expecting them to be! I got nothing but warnings about how Cat was going to be so moody that you'd think she'd need psychiatric help. Or that she'd crave mustard and banana sandwiches every night at 3 am. Or that she'd cry at Xerox commercials. Or that I'd have to do EVERYTHING around the house!

Pffft. Compared to what people "prepared" me for, this has been a breeze. Cat has been a perfect wife and mother-to-be! Sure, we've had days where we've wondered how we were going to be able to make it to the finish line (or as I like to call it, the next starting line), but overall, it's been hard not to be positive about everything! She's got such a positive, infectious spirit, and an uncanny ability to just roll with whatever is thrown at her. They say that a husband needs to do everything he can to help his wife get through pregnancy. I'm exceedingly lucky to have a wife that takes the same attitude towards me - she's gotten me through the tough times as well!

So, yeah, delivery is next. And I'm under no illusions that it's going to be a parade down main street. But the last nine months were supposed to be hell too, and we managed to survive that, and have some fun in the process!

1 day left!

Happy holidays, everyone!

For those of you who don't know, no, Santa did NOT bring us a baby for Christmas (which is great, seeing as how I didn't want to miss out on Mom's homemade perogies for Christmas dinner!).

Baby hasn't yet dropped, we still have loads of "birth quakes" (lots of waves and kicks that make my belly look like I'm strapped to one of those old time ab machines!), my water hasn't broke ("broke"? "broken"?), no real contractions....

I have an appointment tomorrow, when my dr will give me that exam that "sometimes speeds things up", so we'll see what happens!

I still really do want to see Glass Tiger perform on New Year's Eve though! ;)

So, as it turns out, I guess I'm in the 98% of women who don't deliver on their due date (fast forward to TOMORROW when I'm surprisingly in labour!).

Donovan's a fantastic husband, I'm super lucky - he will stay up with me for all hours of the night (he can do this now that he's not working this week!) and just help me nest the crud outta our house! Last night we were up until 2am, vacuuming and dusting and organizing things. He doesn't hesitate and he doesn't complain, he's just so understanding of my craziness and is totally supportive and helpful! I love him to bits!!!

On another note, I miss sleep terribly! Went to bed at 2am, got up at 6am. It's 8:47am right now and I've been roaming around the house for a few hrs - I want Donovan to get his rest in.

I wish I could get my rest in!

1 day to go............

Baby's heartbeat - 39 weeks!

Cat and I don't have a lot of video of her and the baby over the last 9 months, but we do have enough that we probably should have been posting a long time ago!

Below is a video we took yesterday, at our weekly appointment with our OB/GYN. Just a quick snippet so that everyone can hear the hearbeat! (For excitement's sake, we've also overlaid some video from our ultrasound, done way back in August! Look at that baby jump around!!!)

Sharing Duties

I keep reading about how when the baby comes, the husbands need to step up to the plate and do more around the house to help Mom out. Well, Donovan already does his fair share, AND mine lately, since I can't seem to find the energy to even think about doing anything but resting.

So now that Donovan already has that part nailed down, what else can we do together? What other duty can we share to help unburden the other parent?

Would you believe BREASTFEEDING?!! HAHAHA! It's true!!! Check out this link that I found:

http://www.righthealth.com/Health/male_breast_feeding/-m-1-od-definition_wiki_Male__lactation-s

COLOMBO: A 38-year-old Sri Lankan man, whose wife had died three months ago, appears to have the ability to breastfeed his two infant daughters, doctors said on Wednesday. The man, from the central town of Walapone, lost his wife during childbirth.

"My eldest daughter refused to be fed with powdered milk liquid in the feeding bottle. I was so moved one evening and to stop her crying I offered my breast. I then realised that I was capable of breastfeeding her," the man admitted.

Dr Kamal Jayasinghe, deputy director of a Sri Lankan government hospital, was quoted as saying it was possible for men to produce milk if the prolactine hormone became hyperactive.

Better pick up an extra tube of nipple cream from the drugstore tonite! HAHAHA!!!

The Right Decision

Yesterday was my dr's app't - the second last one before my due date!

Donovan came along too and videotaped the dr using that li'l doppler system for us to hear the heartbeat!

Everything's great, baby's moving lots, seems healthy, etc etc etc.

So why on earth would the dr ask me if I would like an internal exam? Her reasoning why I might want one is because "sometimes it speeds up the process". Why would I want to do that? I'm not overdue, everything's going well, and besides, I have too much nesting left to do before baby comes! (Counters come tomorrow - baby has to hang in there 'til it's done!)

When she first asked me, I said "Sure, why not". And I meant it. Why not see how things are going?

But then I recalled a conversation I had with a g/f of mine who told me "If they ask to give you an internal exam to speed things up, tell them no! It hurts like hell!"

So I told her to wait until next week's appointment!

I told some friends about this, and they told me it was because of the internal exam that they went into labour! One g/f had the exam on a Thursday, and her baby was born Friday evening! Same deal with another g/f!

WOW.....I just realized......had I agreed to the internal, then the baby could very well have been born TODAY.....on it's Baba's birthday!!!!!!!!!!! Just like she wanted!!!

Oops............sorry Baba Baz, I just can't imagine having a baby now! Good lord, I could have in labour by now!!!!!!!!!!

Looking back, I know I made the right decision. I mean, counters are going in TOMORROW! That would SO help ease my nesting needs!

Whoa.

I just got off the phone with my mom, who informed me in a giddy tone that the big event is scheduled to happen next week.

NEXT WEEK?!!

I prefer to say 11 days - that sounds a lot farther away than "next week" does!

So much to do, so little time.....but then, can anyone REALLY be truly ready for baby? There's always gonna be SOMETHING that needs to get done....right?

Right??!!??!

Do I have any reason to be freaking out now?!?!?

On another note.....

I feel like we're living in a home for seniors. My sister informed me the other day that if my water breaks and I'm in bed, then we might as well throw away the mattress, because once amniotic fluid gets in there, there's no getting it out.

So we've plastic'd the bed.....the first of many items of furniture I have a feeling we'll be covering.

Now when we sleep at night, and roll over, all you hear is the crinkle of the plastic, and if you're not careful, you could seriously slide right off the bed!

Last week, I finished washing all the new baby clothes, including those teeny tiny little socks. There were probably 10 pairs of socks in the package I bought from our Grand Forks excursion (because, you know, they don't sell baby socks in Canada!!! lol). Anyhoo, I through them all in the dryer, and when the cycle was up and I went in to collect, I was missing one freakin' sock!

How does that happen?

I thought the sock gremlins only came after adult socks....now I know!

Updates:

- My fingers are so sore and swollen that I can't even THINK about ATTEMPTING to make a fist. My hands just won't do it.
- Still not one night I can confidently say I've slept through.
- My tailbone feels like it's been shattered into a million pieces.
- My knees feel incredibly weak - I feel like I'm going to tumble over every time I try to stand up!
- I'm feeling lots of knees or feet under my hand when I rub my belly, and I'm really going to miss it!

My bag is kinda sort almost packed....baby's bag is good to go.....the upholstery in the car has been shampooed, so we're ready to put the car seat in it and it's all nice and clean for baby's ride home!

Whoa......next week......is it just me, or has this time completely flown by???

38 weeks down, 2 to go!!!

Wow, LOADS of Braxton Hicks contractions lately! They just kinda sneak up on me - as in, Donovan and I'll be out somewhere, Christmas shopping or whatever, and I'll just stop and try to catch my breath all of a sudden - my whole belly hardens up and I feel tons of pressure and some pain! And they're pretty frequent, too!

Guess that's what happens now that we're in the final stretch here!

I have to say, I am THE luckiest gal in the history of the world! I have the GREATEST husband of all time! He's super attentive, giving, and selfless - I feel bad sometimes when we're in the store, and in a hurry to get stuff done, but I just physically can't walk any faster than a turtle - Donovan doesn't complain or get upset - instead, he offers to carry my purse or my coat, gives me his arm, and contently keeps pace with me! And if we're at a table, waiting for dinner at a restaurant, or just taking a break from walking, he'll take my hands and just start to rub the constant pins-and-needles feeling outta 'em! How did I get such a great guy?!

And I can already tell he's going to be an AWESOME dad, too! He's very good at rubbing the baby's bum out of my ribcage, when baby perches him/herself up in there and I can't breathe! And he loves to sing, read, talk to and kiss my belly! He's so excited, as am I, as is EVERYONE ELSE, and I can't wait for this baby to come already so we can all meet him/her, and spoil them silly! :)

But baby can wait until after Christmas....too much to do still!!!


Yesterday, we purchased a ring sling. All my girlfriends who have babies SWEAR by these things. Research says, "A large part of confidence is the ability to read baby’s cues successfully. When a baby is held close in a sling, a parent becomes finely attuned to baby’s gestures and facial expressions....Every time a baby is able to let his parent know when he is hungry, bored, or wet without having to cry, his trust in the parent is increased, his learning is enhanced, and a parent’s confidence is reinforced. This cycle of positive interaction enhances the mutual attachment between parent and child, and it makes life more enjoyable for everyone."

Who knows if it's true or not, but I'm willing to give it a shot! Besides, the babies look so cute when they're all curled up inside the sling, right next to momma!

Another app't next week - this past week's app't has me worried - I asked the dr if my baby seems to be growing well, that it's at a healthy size and weight, and she said, "Oh yeah." I told her I put a bet in Donovan's work's baby pool that I'm going to have a 9lb 6oz baby, and she said that's a pretty good guess! She seems to think baby's between 8-9lbs right now! Good lordy!

Dr's appointment at 36 1/2 wks

Donovan was busy painting the kitchen today, getting it ready for the cabinets to go in tomorrow, so he was unable to attend my dr's app't with me today, but he did give me a list of questions!

First off - CONFIRM THERE IS ONLY ONE BABY IN THERE! We get freaked out sometimes b/c we'll feel a kick in my upper right side and then almost immediately something else happens in my lower left....but that's just all the one baby! Baby's THAT big already where s/he needs to stretch out and take up all the space in my belly. Phew!

Baby's in the head-down position, so that's DEFINITELY the bum we've been feeling poking out against my ribcage. (Not that I had any doubts, but it didn't hurt to ask, JUST to be sure!)

Because of the fibroid in my uterus, it was hard to determine my exact fundal height (a measurement of the size of the uterus), but it seems as though everything is progressing normally and is right on track.

I found out today that I tested positive for Group B Strep , which basically means that as soon as my water breaks, I need to go immediately to the hospital so the nurses can begin administering antibiotics. It doesn't necessarily mean I am infected with anything, but that I'm at least a carrier of GBS, and so as to avoid any complications to our baby during childbirth, I need to be hooked up to meds asap. Apparently it's "common" - one out of every 3 women test positive for this.

I shouldn't be freaking out, but I can't help but be concerned.

Anyhoo, I got to hear the heartbeat again (my favourite part!), and we're at a steady 148! Go baby, go! :)

What a long day! I'd better go put my feet up and rest now!

4 weeks left to enjoy more days like today!

Well, we officially have LESS THAN ONE MONTH to go (assuming this baby will arrive on time!) before we get to meet our little one, so Donovan and I made sure we savoured every ounce of our fun-filled weekend with each other!

From Christmas parties on Friday and Saturday, to Walking With Dinosaurs (at the MTS Centre) today (preceded by lunch at "our" restaurant, E&C), and ending off with a free dinner at Montana's (thanks to the crappy service I received out in Calgary at the Montana's there), Donovan and I enjoyed time with just the two of us, something I would imagine will be hard to come by once baby arrives.

Which is, by the way, in LESS THAN ONE MONTH!!! Did I mention that already?

We discussed how excited we are that we don't know what the gender of our baby is, how cute it is that it sticks it's little bum out of my side all the time, our fears and anxieties about becoming first-time parents, and of course, how yummy the free spinach dip was! :)

It was fun to see everyone last night at Dono's work Christmas party - their reactions to my belly (they hadn't seen me in a couple of months), and how they immediately proclaimed that we're having a girl because of how I'm carrying! I don't understand it myself, I believe everyone's different.....but it's still fun to hear everyone's reasonings behind their guesses.

Funny though - just the other night, I dreamt we had a girl, and Dono dreamt we had a boy. I love this "not-knowing"! The suspense of the surprise is absolutely thrilling!

Wow....less than one month to go..........where has the time gone?! So close to meeting our little one, yet still so much nesting to do! I need more time! (Or Molly Maid!)