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.