Ready or not...

So, week 39 has come and is quickly passing! What a week it has been. I had my regular doctors appointment yesterday morning and it led to a crazy, emotional day. The Dr. thought the baby turned breech. The heartbeat was in a much different spot, she couldn't feel the head and the shape and feel of my stomach had greatly changed. Being a first time mom - when she voiced her concerns I immediately told her that the baby had moved the day before and it was quite painful.

You may guess where this led. I got the talk re: cesarean. Are you kidding me? After everything - to be having that discussion - while Tim wasn't even there - was blowing my mind. I was told that there would be an emergency ultrasound to determine position but to start thinking about my options. Options included booking a date for surgery, trying to turn the baby manually and/or attempting to deliver breech IF one of 2 Dr's who can deliver breech babies happened to be working that day.

I left in a daze. I didn't want to freak out because part of me thought she might be wrong, that I would know if the baby had moved that much! Regardless, telling Tim what took so long proved to be quite emotional. He just held my hand and assured me that we would get through this, just like everything else. Then we were silent for hours as we waited for the ultrasound.

30 seconds into the ultrasound I saw the telltale round skull when the tech was scanning down low. The sigh of relief was audible. Once the tech finished, Tim was brought in and he was equally relieved when he saw my face. Crisis averted.

Other than that craziness, I feel great. Taking the time off work has been awesome! I have time to do little projects and get in lots of naps. I hear they are harder to come by once kids enter the picture.

Later gators!

Long Overdue!

Many months ago I talked about the nursery and all the hard work we put into it. I was going to post photo’s – but unfortunately our cord that connects the camera to the computer broke. A friend came through with a cord last week (by chance she had the same camera – which broke, but she never threw out the cord) so here we are.

I’ll just post the photos, hopefully in order and you can enjoy!

I'll be back tomorrow with an update...I see the doc in the morning so I figured I would wait in case she has anything interesting to say.

Candee

Week 38

Middle of the night pee breaks: 4-5: every 2 hours
Pounds Gained: 0 (3^rd week with no gain, woot woot!)
Blood Pressure: 120/80 Been the exact same measurement at every appointment
General Disposition: Definitely crabbier
Major Cravings: Sausage: Why do I keep craving meat???
# Items left to do on "List of things to do before baby comes": Very few…
# times I have cried this week: 0
Tums consumed in one day: at least 10

So what’s new? A lot! We are officially term and can have this baby any day now. This thought really helped us get the rest of our ‘to do’ list done. We even packed the baby’s bag for the hospital last night. Okay – mine isn’t done yet, but I don’t have cute little outfits with matching hats that are fun to fold, re-fold and fold again until they sit just right on the bottom of the diaper bag. If only I was kidding.

Baby is doing great. Heartbeat is good and actually the doctor commented last week that she thinks the baby is going to be a big one! Not surprising to me or anyone I tell really – especially considering how enormous I am (if you love me, you will tell me it’s all belly).

I am doing so so. I am officially over my happy go lucky pregnant lady routine. I am so swollen I don’t recognize my legs or feet. I ache…literally. Both wrist have carpel tunnel, both hips are so loose that when I stand up I have to rest for a minute to give them time to adjust so I can walk, and the legs…don’t even get me started. Okay – done complaining. I slather myself in oils, take baths and try to rest up (Tim might disagree with that last statement).

Okay, but for one second can we please talk about how excited I am!?! Our baby is coming soon!!!!!!!!

We did the first part of our birthing class last weekend and have the follow up end of course this Sunday. We were a bit worried about the course (it’s pretty hippy dippie) – but in the end could not be happier about how it turned out. Tim and I are doing all we can for a natural, undedicated childbirth and this course has already helped prepare us.

Don’t know when I will be back…but I will.

Until then,

Candee and Baby

Where have I been?

I have been away from blog land for some time now. I have a lot of excuses and thankfully they are pretty legitimate. Our computer had some parts break which made it inoperable – so we had to order some from Dell which took some time. Secondly and more importantly, our dog Princess became very ill. We noticed she was not herself last Monday and called the vet. They could not see her until the next day – but we didn’t worry too much. Things went downhill very quickly from that point on.

Besides signs of depression and no appetite, Princess was vomiting profusely and had constant diarrhea. Part of the major concern was that they were both very bloody. They started a series of tests which included blood work and x-rays. She was hospitalized for several days and was on IV fluids and antibiotics. At first they were concerned that she has swallowed a foreign object – but the blood tests showed that she had hemorrhagic gastroenteritis. That is a fancy way of saying the above was caused by a bacteria. Thankfully we had her in to the vet right away because she could have gone into shock and had a much worse outcome.

Though she was hospitalized during the day – we had the option of watching her ourselves at night instead of admitting her to the emergency hospital for night care. As worried as we were – I decided to take over her “nursing”. It was hard because we had to water her from a syringe and forget eating. She was still…ummmm….expelling at both ends. I slept on the couch and woke up when she got sick to comfort her and try to clean the mess (which was insane!!!).

After she came home she was put on several different antibiotics. It took about 3 days to get her to eat her own food again (I think she was scared it would come back out so violently). Also, the vet had suggested scramble eggs until her stomach was fully settled. I think Princess got really used to the eggs. She could eat 3 in one sitting!

Needless to say, Princess is doing so much better. She has her spirit back – which also means she is back to causing trouble! Although she is much skinnier than we like – which is hard considering she was only 10 pounds to begin with – she is doing great! We rented a carpet cleaner and Tim was so great to clean the carpets…several times each! He also got down on hands and knees to scrub the floors. So our house is now illness free.

I’ll be back this afternoon with a mommy and baby post!

Candee

Week 36 Update

This has been a great week! Check out these stats…

Middle of the night pee breaks: 3-4, usually every 2.5 hours or so
Pounds Gained: 0 (Thank the Lord! Say it with me people!)
Blood Pressure: Good
General Disposition: Depends who is talking to me
Major Cravings: None
# Items left to do on "List of things to do before baby comes": 10-15
# times I have cried this week: 1
Steps to getting out of bed at night: down from 12 to maybe 3 and no “ouches”
Tums consumed in one day: at least 5

So what’s new? A lot! I had a baby shower on Sunday and it was super fun. Everyone was so generous and the baby (and Mommy and Daddy) totally got spoiled. On Monday Tim and I did some shopping for some last minute items that we’ll need incase the baby comes. We also finally got our car seat and stroller after months of my indecision. The trick is to bring a man with you.

Then I find out that the stroller is a traditional gift by the Cox Aunts, Uncles and Dad and Karen. I didn’t believe it at first – too good to be true and all that – but Dad called and confirmed! So I was very happy and my week of feeling so blessed continued…

The baby is big now…probably measuring over the 6 pound mark and still around 20 inches long. That’s like a real little baby! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! As you can probably tell – I (we) are getting real excited to meet our little one. Most everything I think, say or do somehow relates back to the baby. I am sure my pod mates are ready for me to start mat leave already.

I feel great. I am still tired but I am using up my holidays at work and that has been helping a bit. Afternoons are the worst. Not only do I have to stay awake at work – but I have to try and be productive! Speaking of which…I should go.

Be back soon,
Candee and Baby

Reflections

As far as years go, 2009 has been the best of my life. It had its hardships – but all were overcome and I am leaving this year with a sense peace and very little unfinished business.

The Good:
After being engaged for nearly 2 years – Tim and I started to plan our wedding for May 2009. It was hard work – such hard work that I often compared it to having a second part time job. When I wasn’t at work or doing my extra activities, I was meeting with someone about something. As money conscious as we are – there was a fair amount of stress trying to balance our needs, wants and checkbook.

The wedding really was a beautiful time for us. Although the wedding was the highlight, having our parents, siblings and family and friends for the week preceding the ceremony was the best! We visited, ate and drank to our hearts content.

The wedding was awesome! I have no real complaints. There were a few issues – like the cake that was supposed to feed 100 people was easily big enough to feed 300 people. There were a few no-shows…and honestly that is probably the biggest annoyance of the day. Other than that it was the best. I couldn’t have dreamed up a better day. I kept looking at Tim thinking “Wow…he’s my husband now…” After this long together you would think that such a simple thing wouldn’t have mattered – but it did then and still does now.

Right from the wedding we headed off on our honeymoon. One of the best parts of the trip is that because of the swine flu – we were able to stay at a really fancy resort for a much better price. Oh…and all that gourmet food…mmmmmm.

Coming home from Mexico to find out we were having a baby was surreal. Although we had been trying to get pregnant – I remember doing and saying nothing for a long time. So long that Tim started to get worried.

Less than 10 days later I quit smoking. I had deluded myself into thinking it would be easier to do this once I found out I was pregnant. If getting pregnant took a year – I wanted another full year of smoking. Creating and nourishing the life inside of me was not and sometimes still isn’t reason enough in my head not to smoke. To quell your fears – I have not resumed my nasty habit and don’t plan to.

The Bad:
*I had to re-write this section a couple times. I don’t like complaining so I decided I would just list point form.

• Work struggles.
  My brothers did not come to our wedding.
  Quitting smoking. (This gets to be in both the good and the bad column)

So what would I change about 2009? Nothing, Nada, Zip. For real people!!! I am not exaggerating. 95% of my year rocked and the parts that sucked are worth it if they made the rest better.

I am not big on New Year Resolutions…but I thought I would list some of the things I look forward to in 2010.

Meeting our baby and all of our firsts together.
Learning to be a mom.
Loving my husband more and more each day.
Making decisions about our life and what we are going to do with our futures.
Resuming my piano lessons.
Losing the baby weight.
Continuing life smoke free.
Paying off my last student loan?!? When I left school I had nearly $55,000.00 in debt. The goal is to be student debt free by the time I am 30. Tim and I both have worked so hard to get rid of the loans and we are down to 1 loan. Although I am immensely proud of this – I also want to accomplish a goal that I set 6 years ago when I graduated.
Our big visit to Ontario.

To all of you who might be reading – Thank YOU! As only my family and friends have this address, that means you played a role in making 2009 the best year ever. I think we can all look forward to 2010 and all the greatness to come!

Week 35 Update

Middle of the night pee breaks: 4
Pounds Gained: 4, 584, 625 + the donut I had this morning
Blood Pressure: Depends who is talking to me
General Disposition: Depends who is talking to me
Major Cravings: Food
# Items left to do on "List of things to do before baby comes": 7, 654, 216
# times I have cried this week: 5
Steps to getting out of bed at night: 12 1. From side to back 2. Flatten back 3. Say ouch 4. Slightly lift opposite hip 5. Say ouch 6. Wedge extra pillow or blanket under raised hip 7. Say ouch, ouch, ouch 8. Swing top leg to gather momentum 9. Say ouch while simultaneously grabbing groin and realising swinging leg was a dumb idea 10. Sit upright 11. Sit on edge of bed for a minute to gather strength for the rest of my journey 12. Turn around and say snarkily to husband who has offered help "I don't need help - I'm not an invalid...just pregnant" and storm off to the washroom.
Tums consumed in one day: at least 5

It’s been so long – I don’t quite know where to start. Life has been going…well just going really. Christmas has come and gone and the baby got his/her first Christmas presents! Daddy bought baby Vancouver Olympics gear to match moomy (this is a typo but exactly how I feel so I will leave it…haha) and Aunt Sue got the baby a teddy bear. This is the first teddy bear and therefore shall now hold a special place in the hierarchy of all teddy bears to come.

In baby development, our little pumpkin is now likely fully developed and focusing on putting on weight and gaining even more brain power. At this stage, the baby is around 5.5 pounds and could be as long as 20’’. The doctor says the baby still appears to be head down which I can kind of tell by the location of the heaviest movement. The baby’s feet/legs/bum sit within the perfect eye shot for me no matter what I am doing.

I am doing well. No new aches or pains or complaints. One of my old complaints (fatigue) is definitely getting worse. I am soooo tired and at this point I don’t even care enough not to complaint about it. I know, I know…I ain’t seen nothing yet. But for now – I just want to complain about it and garner as much sympathy as possible. Every day I am my own champion at work, “you can do it, you can do it.” I manage to – but only the lord knows how.

Must go, until next time!
Candee and Baby