24 Weeks

I know I know...where's 23 weeks? Well, it couldn't be helped. I was on my baby moon last week and didn't have internet access. And it was good! I've decided to put 23 & 24 weeks in one post so I hope you're comfortable 'cause it's gonna be a long one. I suppose I'll continue with my vacation which was exactly what I needed. I only got a few days off for the Christmas holiday and prior to that, my last week off was in September. We dropped the dogs off at my in-laws Sunday afternoon, had a quick lunch with them and then we were on our way. It took us about 3 hours to drive to Wiarton and by the time we got there it was dark. We didn't have a problem finding the place but there was no way to see what was around us. We spent that evening unpacking and getting comfortable, aka snooping! After checking out the place we decided that dinner was going to be simple and quick. We got into the truck and drove the 9km to town. We ordered a pizza & garlic strips from New Orleans and headed back. I'll never order from them again. It was too saucy and doughy. So after dinner & a movie was...another movie! We raided the library shelves before we left so we had plenty to choose from.

Day 2 started with a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs, toast & a tall glass of milk. We watched the Olympic games while we ate then headed into town to do our shopping for the week. That took us a whole hour and once we were back and everything was put away, I wasn't sure what to do. I decided to do my cross stitching and continued that for the next couple hours while watching season 1 of Sex and the City. Lunch followed and then back to cross stitching and Sex and the City. Paul tried to set up a painting station for his little men but that didn't work out to well. The sun began setting soon after he started painting and then the lamps didn't give off enough light. And to top if off, he hadn't brought his desk light. So after a short struggle he gave up and started a fire in the wood burning stove. Dinner was next and then we cuddled on the couch for a few movies.

The rest of the week was similar. I would usually be the first one up. I grabbed a book and read in the morning sun until Paul woke up. Breakfast and some Olympics followed. Cross stitching and painting until lunch. Then it was Sex and the City or True Blood until dinner. Board games, fires and movies were the evenings agenda. We did go into town later in the week to pass some time and check out the little shops. There wasn't much there though. One evening we spent some time feeling our lil' bean move around. He was so active that we could see my belly moving! We also spent some time walking in the woods around the cottage. We tried to guess what kind of animals made the various tracks we saw in the snow. We had a great relaxing week and I only wish we could do it more often.

As for other news, this baby is in constant motion. It seems he's always on the move when I'm sitting and sleeps through all my moving around. I love it! And so does my mother-in-law. We went out for coffee with my in-laws one day and my lil' bean was moving around quite a bit. She asked if she could feel him and of course I figured he would immediately stop once she felt my belly, but he didn't. She got a few good kicks and it was so exciting. What I'm not excited about is the back ache that's started, which I'm sure has to do with me being on my feet all day. It's not too bad right now so I think I've got to be more diligent with doing yoga in hopes that it won't get any worse. And of course taking a seat every few hours at work.

Another unavoidable travesty is the fact that it's getting harder to bend over. My belly isn't very big and I'm already adjusting my pose when I need to put my shoes on. It's not too awkward right now but I'm not looking forward to tying my shoes at 35 weeks! But I guess that's what family and friends are for lol.

Some doctor news this week has to do with my optometrists and my midwife. I'll be seeing my midwife in a few days and we'll be going over my ultrasound results. I'm sure everything will be fine but it's always good to be reassured. I also went to see my optometrists this week and although she noticed I was pregnant without me saying anything :) and everything is fine, I was a little disappointed with her. She's a great doctor but a horrible story teller. She's got two kids of her own and by her own admission, she can't tolerate pain. She told me that at her first prenatal doctor's appointment she asked when she should book for her scheduled cesarean section. And of course the doctor talked her out of it but she wasn't happy about it. She went on to repeatedly describe labour as the "most horrible pain you'll ever feel". Especially back labour, which is what she went through. She didn't have anything good to say about it. Not even the usual "it's horrible but worth it once you're holding your baby". Now don't get me wrong, i'm not ignorant to the fact that it's going to really, really, really hurt, but come on. You don't go on for 10 minutes telling a pregnant lady how horrible childbirth is without reassuring her it's all worth it. Or at the very least give her something positive to take away from your experience. And then to top it off, she told me "you'll know you're done having kids when you spot a mother dealing with a crying baby or changing an explosive diaper and you're happy it isn't you". Kinda makes me wonder what kind of grandma she's gonna be??

Well, let's change the topic to some administrative stuff. I've registered for prenatal classes at the hospital. They start on May 1st and are two consecutive Saturdays. I've also registered for our PreBirth clinic which involves filling out hospital forms and spending some time with a nurse. This will give us an opportunity to ask her questions if we have any.

As for us getting ready for baby...I've started thinking about it! I've been mulling over nursery ideas but still haven't decided on something for sure. I'm leaning towards a colour scheme of blue, green and brown. I'd also like to incorporate frogs into the mix. As a kid Paul was the "frog catcher" and I thought it'd be nostalgic to include it in our son's room. I've gathered some pics for inspiration and any comments and ideas would be appreciated.


And for the star of the blog...my lil' bean is now the length of an ear of corn. He is having REM sleep which may include dreams. The bones of the inner ear are starting to harden and all the noises he's hearing will be familiar to him once he's born. No need to worry about the barking dogs scaring him. He'll be used to it by then. He's gaining a little more fat and his lungs have started to develop surfactant. This will allow them to expand once he's born and theres also blood vessels forming in them. White blood cells have started production in order to fight infections and diseases and his brain is growing quickly. The fingernails are now completely formed and eyelashes have started to grow. Can't wait to meet this little guy.

22 Weeks

I think I'm going to start with the most exciting news. Paul & I went for our anatomy ultrasound this week. Luckily our lil' bean decided to co-opreate and we can proudly announce...."It's A Boy!"


Yep, another Paul Jr. It was so unreal seeing our son on the screen again. He had his hands by his head and his legs were all stretched out. He would curl them and kick them out. We got another good look at his heart. And when the sonographer showed us a close up of his face, we saw his mouth opening and closing as he swallowed amniotic fluid. He's got a perfectly round head, which he gets from his dad. I can't wait to meet him.

There didn't seem to be anything wrong but we won't know for sure until we see the midwife again. And that won't be for another 10 days or so. First we'll be relaxing, away from it all for a week! And it couldn't come any sooner. We booked a cottage in Wiarton and we're leaving this Sunday. I plan on having the wood burning stove going all week and enjoying time off with my baby daddy!

And of course my legs could use the rest. I stand all day at work and by the end of it my feet and legs are so tired. It's worse at the beginning of the week because of the weekend backlog. I usually find time to sit mid-week until Friday. I can only imagine what it's going to be like at 30 or 35 weeks. I'll just have to make time to rest my legs. The last thing I want is varicose veins.

The thing that's really surprised me is the dreams I've been having. I was never the kind of person to remember my dreams so I assumed they weren't very eventful, but that's changed. I'm now having vivid dreams that I remember when I get up in the morning. And they're so weird sometimes. It's actually kind of fun to wake up and wonder what was going on in my head during the night.
At 22 weeks my lil' bean is the size of a spaghetti squash and weighs a whole pound. His brain and nerve endings are developed enough that he is now experiencing the sense of touch. He may be stroking his face or playing with the umbilical cord! His eyes are developed except for the pigment of his iris. And if you could see him, he'd have deep wrinkles waiting to be filled with a layer of fat.

21 Weeks

I am now on a downhill slope, and good thing it's not a steep one. I predict the next 19 weeks (which sounds long) will go by quickly and be full of "to do" lists. Between Paul & I, we have absolutely nothing ready. Oh, except for being registered at the hospital! But now that Paul's 30th birthday party has come and gone, we can start concentrating on getting the house and ourselves ready for our lil' bean.

We've trashed an old couch, the old bar that was left here and an old coffee table so far this week. And now that that's out of the way, we can go out this weekend to pick up materials for the downstairs closet. After that's been built, I can start putting away some of the odds & ends that have been lurking in awkward spots since we demolished the upstairs closet.

There will be more renovations that need to be done before baby but I won't get into that right now. What's really on my mind is my anatomy ultrasound later this week. I can't wait to see my lil' bean again and hopefully find out if I'm having a boy or girl. And I'll finally get to see all the movement I've been feeling, which has become stronger & more frequent!

Most of the guys at work are also offering their help a little more than they used to. It's nothing too big but they offer to take my garbage out for me, or help me carry supplies back to my room. It's nothing I can't handle at this point but they seem to really want to help so every once in a while I let them.

What I wish someone could help me with is this acid reflux. It doesn't happen every day but at least 3 or 4 times a week. I'm hoping it won't get any worse but who knows. As my lil' bean gets bigger, everything will migrate up and I think I'll be running for the Tums more and more. But I guess it doesn't hurt to hope for the best. And then there's the itchy skin. Winter always does a number to my skin but my growing belly is making it worse. I find myself using lotion everyday, sometimes twice a day. And if I don't...it feels like someone is jabbing me with needles all over. Not a good feeling but the lotion is doing a good job of keeping the needles at bay. I can't wait for some warmer weather. Even though this winter hasn't been too bad so far, the shorter it is, the better!

As the time passes, I find myself thinking about birthing classes and what kind of experience I'd like to have during delivery. At first I thought about a specialized birthing class like Hypnobirthing or the Bradley method but the more I think about it, the more I realize that it's not for me. It's not that I think I can't do it, but I know how I like to procrastinate and all that extra time I'll need to put into a class like Hypnobirthing won't work to my benefit. After talking to Paul about it, and of course he's leaving it up to me, I've decided on a doula and a general information birthing class. I think it'll be the best way for me to reach my goal of an unmedicated delivery. After all, I don't do my own taxes, or fix my own car. I leave that up to the pros. And to me, a doula would be worth her weight in gold. She'll know exactly what to do when the time comes so that I can concentrate on my breathing and staying relaxed. And an extra person around to encourage me can't hurt!

And of course there's my lil' bean, who this week has grown to be the size of a carrot. His/her permanent teeth are still developing and the fat that my lil' bean will need at birth has started to form in places like the chest and neck. He/she will take the next few months to build up enough fat to keep him/her warm. He/she is still practicing swallowing and will continue until birth. As for now, my lil' bean seams to be having fun jumping around and I don't mind it at all.