Week 30!

Good heavens above....WEEK 30. It's really sinking in now!

I've had so many things I wanted to do throughout this pregnancy to document every little detail. So far, I've barely been able to throw some chalk on the chalkboard each week. I hereby vow to make it a priority to soak up every moment of these next 10 weeks, and document the little things. I've seen this list on a bunch of other baby blogs, so figured this was a good place to start!

How far along: 30 weeks
Total weight gain: since we don't have a scale at home, I really can't say! The last time I weighed myself at the midwife clinic, I was up about 15 lbs from where I started. I also weighed myself again on the way out and had lost 3 lbs in the previous 20 minutes, so I don't think my body cooperates very well with scales...
Maternity clothes: still able to squeeze into some of my regular clothes, and when you're at home most of the time, anything goes! Maternity jeans are the bomb, I will never wear regular jeans again. And I'm thinking it's time to add a few more maternity tops to the rotation since some of my "I could wear this while pregnant" tops are failing miserably.
Stretch marks: thank heavens, none so far! Bio oil is working!
Sleep: nooo problem! Still wake up for a few bathroom breaks, but other than some weird, not even pregnancy-related dreams and needing to shift positions, I get a great sleep most nights!
Best moment this week: seeing family on the weekend at my cousin's brand new house, Eric finally being around with his hand on my belly for one of baby's big spazzy kicking sprees and hearing my wonderful man and Daddy-to-be tell me how fun this pregnancy has been while on our way down to the pool for a swim :)
Miss anything? let's just say the annual Icewine festival was NOT as festive as DD with a water bottle. Dreaming of summer sangria already... I would say lying on my stomach as well, but I had a FANTASTIC massage this week with the miracle belly hole pillow so I could lie face down!
Movement: big stretches that I can feel all the way across my belly, lots of kicks way over on the right side, lots of dancing to music, and even started kicking when we were all together on the weekend getting ready to play a game with all the family. Baby could hear the excitement and wanted to join! And lots of hiccups!
Food cravings: can't say I've had any hardcore CRAVINGS, but sweet seems to be taking priority over salty, whether it be lots of fruit or Nutella straight from the jar...
Anything make you queasy or sick: the smell of hard alcohol (no martinis for me!), sometimes meat turns me off but nothing has made me actually feel sick, thank goodness!
Gender: how many days until April before we can find out!?!
Labour signs: good heavens above, NO! 
Symptoms: TAILBONE PAIN! Gotta get my tush up and about more and try not to sit for too long because that tiny little tailbone is SORE. Starting to notice a bit more discomfort in my lower back and hips but feel WAY better after my massage today
Belly button in or out: still an innie, but it's getting dangerously shallow...
Wedding rings on or off: on
Happy or moody: if moody, it usually doesn't last long...mostly very happy!
Looking forward to: February! Valentine's Day, my birthday, Hypnobirthing class

The Business of Being Born

Ok, so this is called a RANT.

All that needs to be said is if you haven't seen it, WATCH IT.

I wasn't sure what to think about The Business of Being Born, knowing that it was focused on home birth, midwives and the like. I was worried it would be too biased, too one-sided, too crunchy/hippie... Yes, it was definitely focused on this side of things, but I thought both sides of birth (hospital/interventions vs. home/natural) were presented in a very open and factual way. This is my favourite way to think about this debate: simply look at the facts. When comparing percentages from the States to the rest of the world...it's pretty surprising.

What has hit me the most about hospital births and interventions is the snowball effect. In the hospital, you are on their schedule. As soon as you are admitted to a bed, you are on the clock. And most likely, your body's schedule doesn't match up with theirs. Now you're progressing too slowly and things need to get moving. Pitocin it is! If you're lucky, you can convince the nurses to give you the lowest dose, and not get hooked up to an IV permanently. But usually, Pitocin goes in, and you're bed bound for the rest of your labour. The traditional means of walking, changing positions and countless other tricks to speed up labour simply don't measure up to a needle in your arm. Pitocin kicks in and, oh wait, so do the side effects! You get itchy, so in goes a medication to counteract that. That medication dulls the effect of the Pitocin, so the response is, MORE PITOCIN! Now your uterus is going bananas with crazy intense contractions, you simply can't keep up, so....it's epidural time. Epidural goes in, slows things down. More Pitocin to speed things up. Oh right, there's also a baby to check on in there! Wait, what? You mean baby isn't "tolerating labour very well" with your uterus going nuts for the past few hours? Fancy that, as their once natural environment has been turned inside out and they just want to get the heck outta there. One more check of the clock, and it seems baby really isn't sticking to the time table, so in you go for your Cesarean. You can worry about your split stomach muscles and nice big scar after you see your baby for a full 4 seconds over the sheet before they are whisked away from you to be cleaned and swaddled and probably formula fed.

Okay. So much for putting it lightly...

I 100% realize that sometimes these interventions are necessary and will save your baby's life or your own. I am completely thankful that we have the medicine, technology and techniques to step in when things just aren't working the way they should. I definitely believe that there are doctors out there who will do whatever they can to support your birth plan, whatever that looks like, rather than make their own schedule a priority. And I know without a doubt that no matter what we plan, I could have one contraction and beeline it to the hospital, or could have this baby refuse to switch positions and end up in a C-section.

BUT.

If you have had a complication-free pregnancy, if you are healthy and full-term, if baby is in the right place at the right time.....why not work through your contractions in your own bed, in your own clothes, with your own candles and music to relax you? Why not have a bean bag warmed up in your own microwave to sooth your back and washcloths in your own freezer to cool your face? Why not take a shower in your own shower and pace the rooms of your own home? Why not do things YOUR way, so you feel safe, comfortable, and as in control of the situation as possible?

Even now, I almost hesitate to picture it, wanting to stay open minded about whatever situation comes our way during labour. I never would have pictured having a home birth. A midwife, a doula, making a birth plan. This was before I started reading, researching, asking questions, reading, going to classes, reading, watching videos and just becoming informed about my options. Sure, you can read the studies on how, all things equal, a home birth is just as safe as a hospital birth. But it's reading the stories, getting educated, watching movies like this, and really thinking about what's most important for your birth experience that will bring you to make the right choice for you. If that's a scheduled C-section, go for it, if that's what is right for you and will give you the birth experience you want. For me, all I want is to have my baby in my arms when they first open their eyes to the world.

That's all.

(said in Meryl Streep's Devil Wears Prada voice)

Week 29

Making progress! Week 29 photo was taken after a long day of navigating the city (in the snow, of course) to pick up our glider and crib. The crib has yet to be put together, in attempt to savour some extra space in the room, but the glider has been tested and approved! Thanks to Mom and Dad for bringing the van for pick up duty!

Oh, Eric started getting jealous of my chalking and decided to do one of his own.

Will baby follow in Daddy's footsteps with the obscure Blue Jays shoutouts, or echo my enthusiasm?

Pea's Favourite Food

Ironically, it's not peas, as this mama loves almost all foods, but hates peas.

This baby loves MELON.

For the past few weeks, cantaloupes and/or honeydew have been on sale, and I figured it would be a nice change and a good snack to have around. All cut up in the fridge, it didn't last too long. And every single time I've had it, baby starts going nuts! It's become like an inside joke and pretty entertaining to watch my belly go crazy with each bite. Yesterday was a double whammy as I had some music on my laptop during melon snack time...what a show!

Now that we're days away from the 30 week mark, I'm becoming more and more aware that the big day is getting closer and closer, meaning my time enjoying this pregnancy will be over all too soon. As excited as I am to meet this little one, I know I'll be sad to have this time come to an end. Feeling these wiggles and kicks, pokes and stretches....except for this very second when I felt a nice big jump on my bladder. Ok, maybe I will be ready.

Week 28

Still not ready for the reveal of the whole room, but here's a glimpse of the new walls in baby's grey nursery - and my awesome shirt :)

 

We really need to get a hook for this thing...I guess it's good bicep training for holding little pea

who is not so little at 2 lbs! 

Paint on the Walls!

Well, little Pea's room is finally getting a makeover! When we moved into our condo three years ago, I literally painted every single wall in the place...except the second bedroom. It was a golden yellow colour, which we could live with, and I told myself that room would wait for a makeover until it was ready to become a nursery. So the time has finally come! This is one thing that I've been excited about for a long time. Being away in Calgary, I knew I had to wait until January to start on baby's room, so that gave me plenty of time (hours, days, you know how it is) to PIN a zillion ideas on Pinterest.

Fortunately, I've always wanted a more gender neutral nursery, and with greys becoming so popular, and loving the look personally, that became the original colour palate for the room. Then, literally A YEAR AGO, I found this and pinned it:

from Pinterest

Especially since we were working with such a small space, I LOOOVED the idea of the stripes along one wall. Not too busy, but adds some interest (and hopefully a "lengthening" effect) to the room as a whole. Pretty sure I also pinned that cute alphabet print on the wall...

I'm not totally sure how it will look with the Espresso colour on the crib, but since the crib frame is white, it should all work. My plan is to have baby's name above the crib, the far wall of the room decorated with a framed photo collage, and to fit in some sort of display shelf/bookcase for the little details. The blessing/curse of baby's room? One full wall of windows. Natural light? Awesome. Wall space for shelving/furniture? Not happening.

Second debate? Since the crib has both white and dark espresso, I'm still undecided on the colour of the change table (Ikea dresser) and potential bookshelf. My initial thought was to keep everything dark for contrast (plus, we have quite a few things in Ikea black/brown so they could eventually go in a room together once we have a house). But looking at ideas I've pinned of other grey and white nurseries, it seems the trend is to do all white furniture.

Another Pinterest idea

Still somewhat undecided on those little things, but the one thing I was solid on were the grey and white stripes. Luckily my mom was able to come down to help with the painting, giving us so much quality catch up time my throat was sore by the end of the day from too much talking! We were both crazy nervous about choosing the right grey, and more importantly, how the stripes would turn out. I don't want to share any pics until everything is done, but.....the stripes worked GREAT! We were both holding our breath as we peeled the first piece of tape off the wall, only to uncover some pretty perfect lines, and nice, crisp, white stripes against the grey wall! Success!!

I'll just share ONE little detail, the first thing to officially decorate Pea's room. A year ago, I was at the One of a Kind show with my mom, and we saw the cutest little shop set up with nursery decor. On the wall were these canvas object prints, and Mom and I both let out a huge "Awwhhh!" at the one of the little twig. I've loved it ever since, and it showed up under the Christmas tree at home this year (thanks Mom!!). Isn't it cute? Definitely worthy of the first nail in the new room.

Twig print from Pi'lo

Week 27

And the last photo of the yellow walls in baby's room!

Wonderful...I just realized I'm wearing the same shirt as Week 26. Could you tell this was moving back to Toronto week? Yuck.

Baby Shopping Part 2

Next Saturday rolled around and we were off for Part 2 of baby shopping. First stop was to Macklem's, one of Toronto's oldest baby stores. I knew they had Dutailier gliders, which we really wanted to decide on, as well as AP Industries furniture and I really wanted to see the Neo crib and price out the other pieces as well. 

They had a pretty small selection of gliders, but one was the Dutailier 184 which was a favourite from Baby Shopping Part 1 at Moms to Be and More. Except....cheaper! And in a better fabric and colour! We both tested it out again, and decided that this was the one. Not too big, definitely comfy, good headrest, and has a lock feature to stop the gliding when you just want a chair. Love it!

This isn't our fabric or colour, but here it is!

Dutailier 184 Glider

After the glider buy, we stopped by another store in the Beaches. The weather was so amazing on the weekend that there were people, and strollers, everywhere! Too bad we were stuck in the car/baby stores. Made it back to Moms to Be to catch the end of a talk on the crib mattresses that are scheduled to be on a 50% off sale this week.

Next stop, change table/dresser, and other finishing touches like crib sheets!

Baby Shopping Part 1

Our past 2 Saturdays have been spent in the car, making our way to pretty much each corner of the city to visit baby stores. A bit chaotic, a lot of fun, and too many choices!

We set out to finally set foot in some stores to see what was out there and get some ideas of what things we might consider getting before baby arrives. It was also our mission to start pricing/deciding on a crib, change table/dresser and glider. Our biggest ticket item was the glider because with our limited condo space, it's possible, or more than likely, that the glider will live in our main space, meaning it would become a key piece of furniture, get lots of use, and would be seen by all who enter here. This also gave us a bit of an excuse to splurge on a really nice chair for ourselves, that just happens to rock....literally.

Weekend One commenced, and we made our first stop at Moms to Be...And More. I've been on their site constantly for the past few months, as they have a huge selection of baby items, including the big ticket items and our favourite Dutailier gliders. Quite the selection indeed. Great store with a ton of really nice products, but not ALL super high end so you walk in knowing you can't afford a single thing. We spent most of our time upstairs testing gliders and took a peek at a few cribs, however, most of the furniture was out of our price range. I had a few cribs in mind, just styles I liked, one being the Oeuf Sparrow crib, as well as the Neo Convertible Crib from AP Industries. They did have the Sparrow, which we took a peek at, but it was definitely at the very high end of our price range, and since no cribs include mattresses, we knew we had that added expense.

Downstairs we went, to check out the rest of the store. As we moved into one room, a saleswoman was putting up a sign on a really nice looking crib. Which crib? The Oeuf Robin crib, which just so happens to be the very first crib we ever saw on our very first baby store experience out in Vancouver over Thanksgiving weekend. Not only was the original price marked down, but the fresh sign announced an additional $100 off. Well.

Oeuf Robin Crib

Did we intend on buying our crib right then and there? Heavens no. Do I typically take days to make smaller decisions than this, the decision on our child's crib? Absolutely. Did we walk away proud owners of a crib that day? Why, yes we did. First, it was an amazing deal. The amount we saved from the original price more than covered the cost of a mattress and probably some bedding as well, which I was thrilled about. The sale was for the floor model, but after carefully inspecting it, we saw no obvious flaws. We were also told that it had just been put up on the floor a few days earlier, so it hadn't even been out that long and was simply on clearance to get it off the floor to make room for a newer Oeuf model. Add to that the sentimental value of this being the first crib we'd seen (and liked) in Vancouver, plus the fact that the colours were fine (white and espresso) and it was a smaller model (condo sized!), that solidified our decision. We have a crib!!! It's currently living in the Moms to Be warehouse until we are ready to bring it home and assemble it (our first parenting nightmare, I'm sure...)

That same Saturday ended with a stop at Ikea, considering our frustration with not finding any sort of dresser or change table under at least $700. After a long day, the last thing you want to do is drag yourself through Ikea...especially to find that when it comes to using a dresser as a change table, you have ONE option. That's right. ONE. Ok, so I'm sure you could technically make any of the smaller dressers work, but they were either too tall, too short, too wide or too narrow. Nothing just right, except the HEMNES 3 door chest. Wide enough to accommodate a change pad plus diaper caddies or baskets on top, and drawers for diapers, etc. and clothes. Not my fave, but it will do! We still haven't decided 100% or made the buy, but this will likely end up as baby's change station, full of dipes!

Ikea HEMNES dresser

Week 26

Still sick...

Week 25

25 weeks at Christmas!! Merry First Christmas Baby! And a poor sick mama who wanted to be in bed in PJ's instead of try to be photogenic...

Christmas!

Although this Christmas was a little different for us, with so much running around, living out of suitcases/boxes and the emotions and plans surrounding Eric's grandma's passing, we still made time for a little Christmas magic.

Way too much food, cuddles with my man and a kicking baby in front of the fire, the cutest baby gifts and oh, way too many Christmas cookies....this year's Christmas was a special one, our last before baby steals all the thunder.

I got the most amazing gift from Daddy-to-be...

Petunia Pickle Bottom "Boxy Backpack" Diaper Bag

Can't wait to bust this out for summer outings with baby! I had a feeling I was getting one of these for Christmas, but the style and pattern were surprises, and I love it! In real life, it's more green than yellow, which it looks like in the photo (and on the website) and I looove the backpack straps!

These spring onesies were also from Daddy:

Oh, and I got the most thoughtful gift of all on Christmas morning: SICK.

Just when I thought I'd escaped it, this horrible cold that was going around, BOOM. Christmas Day, sore throat. And so began the increasingly worse sickness, to the point where it totally knocked me out for a full two days. Thank goodness this happened on our two free days, just after the funeral and before New Years. Let me say this...I'm all for everyone who tries to go natural, with homeopathic remedies, etc. etc. But not being able to take a decongestant for a head cold was AWFUL. I felt like my head was going to explode for about a week. Terrible.

At least we got a few good pics in the days leading up to my "flat on my back, can't get out of bed" sick days.

December in California!

I always thought that a babymoon was the best thing ever invented. Already being in Calgary, I figured this wasn't in the cards for us. Then lo and behold, after being told that Eric wasn't needed for the weekend in California marking exams...someone backs out last minute and we're in! I was ecstatic. Four days in the sun before packing, heading home and entering Christmas chaos? Yes please!

We had an amazing weekend exploring parts of Hollywood, driving down the coast to Malibu, enjoying evenings at the Third St Promenade across from our hotel and some amazing meals, and of course, lots of quality time together.

Baby's luxury crib....yeah right!

Week 24

So, remember how I said I wanted to make my life easier by getting chalk markers for my chalkboard and weekly posts? Here's the maiden voyage of the chalk marker.

Pros: feels awesome to write with, more solid line than chalk, generally easier/less finicky to use
Cons: letters are too thin, obviously can't do any shading (not like I'm that pro anyway), doesn't come off chalkboard

Oh, wait....what was that last one? DOESN'T COME OFF CHALKBOARD. That's right. This rushed photo was taken at my parents, smack in the middle of Christmas running around, so there it stayed until we returned. Upon said return, ready for some creative Christmas shots, I set off to wipe off the old, with the reassurance of the simple chalk marker instructions to SIMPLY WIPE OFF. Yeah right. It literally faded about 1% and would NOT come off AT ALL. Wonderful. Thanks a lot, chalk markers. Really, Merry Christmas to you too.

Ok, so I think a possible solution would be to wipe off IMMEDIATELY afterwards, but still...not what I expected. Might give them another try, but not sure I want to risk it. You win, Crayola. Back to you.

Yikes...

Talk about time for a New Years resolution...

December, December, December...could you have thrown us any more craziness? Don't answer that.

We basically hit the ground running as soon as December 1st hit. Our last weekend in the mountains was bittersweet...man, I miss Calgary already. We had a short week back in the city to pack for California, and had an amazing weekend in Santa Monica and LA which deserves it's own post. Four days after, we were back in Ontario!

Christmas is always crazy. Homeless Christmas is even crazier, with more boxes. Among the chaos, we were able to spend time with friends (including two new puppies and one new baby!), I met my second midwife at my 24 week appointment, and three days before Christmas, Eric got a call to get to the hospital in Waterloo, where he made it just in time before his Grandma passed away. Definitely a hard time for his family, and logistically, some changed plans for us and definitely a different mood around Christmas. As unfortunate as the timing was being around the holidays, thankfully this didn't happen while we were away, or in early January when Eric would be crazy with work. At least he had the time off already to be able to be with his family and be there for the visitation and funeral.

During this time, I realized I had a thing or two to learn about being supportive in the right way. Everyone deals with things differently, and I know there are some big differences between our families as it is, so it's always a different perspective to see what happens in a time like this. Sometimes I need to watch my mouth, or simply shut up and just listen. Sometimes offering solutions or looking on the "bright side" isn't the right thing to do. Especially with grieving. Everyone will need to do this in their own way, on their own time.

Thankfully with the way events worked out, we were still able to keep most of our plans, and had Christmas with my extended family on the 23rd, Christmas Eve and Day with Eric's family, and Christmas with my immediate family on Boxing Day. We alternate each year, which makes it busy for us, but fair for everyone. We'll see what happens in the next few years once baby is added to the mix!

Well, this poorly constructed attempt at trying to "catch up" is starting to sound rambly, so I need to get working on the rest of this blog, posting my weekly pics, and my resolve to start posting more often so I don't have to do a catch up like this again!

Christmas Kicks :)