Let the Labour Watch Begin

Friday was my last day in the office. The next four days will be my earned vacation days, and then my maternity leave officially begins on May 8. I have ONE YEAR off — amazing! It feels so weird to exchange my working identity with my still unknown mommy identity. In the meantime, there's nothing to do but wait for labour. Well, that and clean and organize and make things as perfect as possible for my baby boy's arrival.

Not much else has happened since my last post. Last Friday I had a 24-hour sickness that I'm calling food poisoning. Someone kindly pointed out to me that vomiting and diarrhea can also be signs of early labour, so I had a minor panic over that on my way to see my OB for my regularly scheduled appointment. But she assured me that if I'm not having contractions I'm probably not in labour. Okay, that makes sense. I'm having a fair number of the belly-tightening episodes that I call Braxton Hicks contractions, but certainly no real contractions.

Finally, can I just say that my husband is awesome? He did four loads of laundry this morning before I even got out of bed. Yesterday he cleaned the bathroom, which is the one chore that is always mine. I hope to prevail upon him today to clean all the floors. He always does more than his fair share of the housework — and cooks dinner more often than not — but he has been outstanding in the last couple of weeks as my pregnancy has become increasingly cumbersome.

Yesterday we went out for a nice dinner to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary. It's not until May 15, but we celebrated early for obvious reasons. Dinner was awesome — fantastic steak followed by "chocolate heaven" for dessert. When we got home, Keith handed me a card and a gift. We don't usually do anniversary gifts, and last year I didn't even get a card ("I didn't think we were doing cards"), so you can imagine my surprise. And he did good! It was a beautiful white gold chain with a heart-shaped diamond-crusted pendant. So pretty.

Here are some pictures:



And finally, a belly shot that I love (38w5d):

Read more...

FULL TERM!

Can you believe it? The past few weeks especially have flown by. I've been blessed with an incredibly easy pregnancy so far — couldn't have asked for any better. The aches and pains are just now setting in, but I knew it was only a matter of time. Surely nobody completely escapes that particular pregnancy problem. I can't believe I'm so close to the end.




I got a little artsy with that last one, huh? What do you think? LOL

Actually, I'm pretty much in love with my belly right now. I think it's perfect and endlessly fascinating. The baby's movements are so strong now, and so close to the surface. So undeniably real.

I can't quite fathom that I'm going to be a mommy sometime in the next three weeks. I can't even fully wrap my head around labour and delivery, let alone how drastically my life will change once I have a newborn. It's overwhelming. It's thrilling and terrifying at the same time. I hope I can be a good mother. I hope some maternal instinct takes over and guides me whenever I'm full of doubt, which will probably be often.

I feel unprepared, like I don't know nearly enough about taking care of a baby. I don't even know enough about the stuff involved in taking care of a baby. I really don't think we have everything we'll need, but I couldn't tell you what we're missing... if that makes any sense.

Anyway. Despite the anxiety, I'm happy, and I know we'll be just fine. I can't wait to meet my (still nameless) son!

Read more...

Pictures

30 weeks
(Well, 30w6d, to be exact. I was lazy last week.)



31 weeks
(showing off my fabulous new rocker/glider)

Read more...

28 Weeks

"I get a kick out of you!"



Hmm, not much to report this week. I had my 28-week appointment on Wednesday, and everything's good. My OB measured my uterus for the first time and announced that it's measuring a bit large but it's "nothing to worry about." Baby's heartbeat seemed louder than usual, possibly a result of his increasingly cramped quarters.

I think I'm slowing down a bit. My hips and legs are occasionally sore and achy. I get a massive head rush if I bend over. It's hard to kneel down. But these are minor complaints; I'm still feeling quite good overall, and I'm so grateful that this pregnancy has been easy and uneventful so far.

Read more...

Moving Moments

More and more I am feeling my little one move. It's endlessly fascinating and I can't get enough. The first time I felt something that I was sure was the baby was 21w5d. It was a faint tap, but it definitely caught my attention and I spent the rest of the day with my hand on my belly hoping to catch more. It's still very sporadic, though, with one day bringing lots of taps and bumps and the next day nothing.

My cat likes to sit on my belly and purr. I've been wondering if the baby can hear/feel the purring and what he thinks of it. Well, yesterday, when Austin was stretched out right across my belly, a warm weight that was purring up a storm, the baby kicked him! I don't think the cat felt it, but it made me laugh and I guess it answered my questions.

Here's my 24-week belly pic. This was the first day I wore a maternity shirt to work.



As you can see, I've changed my blog design yet again. This was my Saturday morning procrastination project. I really like this one, so I think I'll be leaving it alone for a good long while. I've finally added a blog roll (on the left) and my TTC and pregnancy journey (on the right). I'm liking the three-column layout. I'll try to post more frequently!

Read more...

Halfway!

I made it to 20 weeks! To celebrate the halfway milestone, here's my first self-conscious belly pic. I was a size 14 pre-pregnancy, and for the longest time I just felt like I was getting thicker (read fatter) around the middle. I think it's finally clear that this is a baby belly. I've gained 12 pounds so far. I can live with that number.



And here's another first: my first purchase for baby. I bought it on impulse last week at Toys 'R Us while I was desperately searching for Christmas presents for my stepsister's girls. I got choked up just looking at the baby boy clothes and even a little teary at the checkout. Damn hormones! LOL



You might have noticed that I still haven't posted the promised ultrasound pics from the anatomy scan a week ago. I think I'll hold off until after the holidays... because today I found out I have to have another anatomy scan! Apparently the ultrasound doctor wasn't able to get all of the measurements he needs, so I'm going for a do-over on January 2. I hope to get some more pictures then.

Read more...