Baby Parker - due May 25th (my birthday!)

Labour and Birth Story

2008-06-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

We had an appointment on May 29th with Dr. Webster and scheduled an induction for June 2nd. I wasn’t keen on being induced only because of what I have heard about the pain associated with the oxytocin/pitocin. I just hoped I would be ok to go into labour either on my own before then or with the gel. However, I liked the idea of our little guy being born as close to June as possible mainly because the end of May already included our anniversary and my birthday. I wanted him to have as much of his own celebration time in the years to come as possible.

On Thursday (30th) I started to read up a bit on some of the ways to induce labour. Since I had still been feeling pretty good and had no real signs of impending labour, we decided to try some of the suggestions in the hopes that maybe it would help me to move things along by the weekend. This included everything from eating pineapple to ‘enjoying some quality time together’ ;) I also read that if you massage your breasts that it helps release oxytocin, so we watched a movie on Thursday night and I decided to give it a try. Within about 15 minutes, I started feeling slight tightenings in the upper part of my uterus. It was very subtle and barely noticeable so I didn’t know if it was just the placebo effect of me thinking something was happening or not. I figured they were probably Braxton Hicks as I had heard people talk about the tightening feeling, but I had never had them so wasn’t sure. There was no pain or discomfort.

Thursday night I awoke about every half hour to feel the tightening. This time I felt like I had to keep going to the bathroom to poop. The next morning I went online to talk to a few friends about whether or not I could possibly be having contractions. By this time it felt like minor period cramps and the need to poop, but I was still in no pain and very little discomfort. A few friends told me that I would KNOW when it was real contractions, so I figured it was probably just false labour. At least my body was showing signs of something!

Friday afternoon I started to write down when I was feeling this slight crampy feeling. I rated it from a light feeling to a medium feeling, usually hard to distinguish as it was so subtle. I felt like one of those first-time mom’s who was totally reading into things! For the afternoon, they seemed to be happening every 10 minutes on the dot. Even so, because I was still feeling no pain or anything, I didn’t think they could possibly be the real thing.

Instead of thinking about them and getting my hopes up, Nathan & I decided to go out for the evening for dinner and a movie. We knew I was being induced Monday so decided this was a good way to spend the evening. He insisted we keep timing this “feeling” I was having, even though I thought he may be being a bit overreacting. So when I started to feel the “need to poop” (best way I can describe it!), he would time it. We went to Rudder’s and had dinner, and timed it at every 5 minutes. Nathan was getting more convinced that this was the real thing mainly because the times were so perfectly 5 minutes apart. However, I didn’t believe him as I felt pretty good, and didn’t feel the kind of discomfort that I had heard people talk about.

We decided to go to the movie afterwards and that’s when I started to feel them a bit stronger. We were watching Indiana Jones and I wasn’t very interested in the movie, so the discomfort was becoming more apparent. Nathan told me to squeeze his hand when I had the discomfort and then he would count in his head between each one. He kept counting 300 seconds exactly. Since I wasn’t really watching the movie anyways, we decided to leave halfway through (Nathan got a refund as soon as he said “my wife is having contractions” lol) and we decided to go to my parents to ask my mom what she thought. I honestly didn’t think they were contractions, but I was pretty sure that false labour didn’t happen so accurately every 5 minutes.

At my mom’s they seemed to settle down a bit, and were less noticeable again. Nathan still counted them every 5 minutes, but sometimes it was hard to tell if they were even really there because they were so subtle. I felt pretty normal other than this slight discomfort feeling. We stayed there until around 9pm and then decided to go home so I could get some rest in case labour started later that weekend. Nathan said since we lived outside of town, we should stop at the hospital on the way home to see if they would assess me and then I would at least know if anything was happening or if I still had a few days left etc. I tried to protest as I felt like such a goof. Here I was all dressed nice for an evening out, smile on my face, and I would be walking into the hospital asking them to check me. I knew they would probably think I was some overly-eager-naïve mom-to-be who was probably 1cm along and still had at least a few days to go. To ease my husband’s mind as I knew he wouldn’t sleep if we didn’t go, I agreed to go and get assessed. I considered lying when I got there and say I was in bad pain just so that I wouldn’t look so stupid.

When we got to the hospital, a nurse greeted us and I told her how I had been feeling this discomfort feeling like I had to poop but that it wasn’t painful. Since we lived out of town, if she could just do an assessment so we knew where things stood. She explained that the discomfort feeling is a typical beginning and I still probably had a good few days ahead of me before the real labour began, but she said she would just check things out anyways. Since it was night, it was really quiet and nice. I went into the case room and expected to hear 1 (maybe 2) cm along. I got ready for the “see hunny, we can go home now”.

She hooked me up to the fetal monitor to see how the baby’s heartbeat was doing and also if I was having contractions. We watched the numbers, and as I felt that discomfort feeling, the numbers started to rise. Maybe I was having contractions! I started to get excited. She then assessed me and said, ‘ wow, you are 5cm and 100% effaced. Time to get you ready for the delivery room!’. I couldn’t believe it!! Here I was planning to go home for the night. Good thing for my husband’s persistence as I probably would’ve been driving in from Beaver River at 9cm or something!

We made some phone calls, and told my mom to come over. I really didn’t feel like I was really in labour. The nurse – Heidi – was AMAZING! I am soo glad Karsten decided to make his entrance on this night, as she was so good with us. We went over our birth plan and I had mentioned that I wanted the option of an epidural. She mentioned that if I was already this far along and still not feeling any pain, then she was pretty confident I probably wouldn’t require one. We agreed that I would just continue to go with the flow of it all, and that she would work with me to figure out the best options as the time went on. She was so caring, genuine and confident, I felt like I could put my 110% trust in her judgment. That made such a difference as I felt so relaxed.

We made our way to the delivery room and just spent some time – me, mom and Nathan – talking and passing the time. I was a bit bored, so decided to try out the tub and just take some time to relax. It was so nice and I just laid in there with so many thoughts running through my mind. I couldn’t believe that this was actually it! It wasn’t at all what I had expected at least this far.

Once I got out of the tub, the contractions were starting to become a bit more noticeable. I started to walk around a bit with Nathan, but found this more uncomfortable. Instead I used the birthing ball and that was so much better. I felt pretty normal and the nurse couldn’t believe how much I was “still smiling”. The contractions seemed to be coming a bit closer together, so she checked me again and I was 7cm. This was around midnight. I always wondered how people could give birth in the middle of the night as the thought of it made me think you’d be SO exhausted from the day. However, I have to admit I was glad to be there at night now because no one was around and it was so quiet and relaxing. It felt like we were the only ones there.

After midnight, the contractions started picking up pace so I went into the tub again. This helped me to relax. I went back on the birthing ball afterwards and the nurse asked if I would like to try the gas. I hadn’t even thought about it because I wasn’t feeling too much pain, so I asked if there’d be any disadvantages to taking it because I didn’t feel like I needed it. She said there wasn’t because I could control the intake and the effects wore off pretty quickly once I removed it. When I had my wisdom teeth out, I had used the gas and LOVED it. I had dreams of running down the street yelling “I love my dentist! I love my dentist!” So remembering how much I loved it then, I asked if it was the same stuff. She wasn’t sure, so I decided why not try it out. As soon as I started inhaling, all the nostalgic memories of being at the dentist came back. It was so relaxing. It was the same stuff! So I decided to use the gas as it was relaxing and made me want to smile.

Soon after I began progressing fairly quickly and the pain was starting to become much more noticeable. I was SO glad she had me try the gas, as without it I think it would’ve been much more painful than it was. Sometimes I would miss the start of a contraction so by the time the gas kicked in (it takes about 30 secs once you start inhaling) the contraction was already peaking, so I learned quickly when to start inhaling right at the beginning of the contraction. Before too long, the contractions seemed to be happening very quickly one after the other. I was sucking that gas back! The pain was definitely noticeable now!

I was checked again and I was 9cm! She asked me if I would like to go over the toilet. I wasn’t sure as I didn’t feel a need to go to the bathroom, but said that I was fine with whatever she thought. She said sometimes it helped relieve some pressure (and of course get rid of anything still left before pushing). I brought the gas with me and kept inhaling. When I went on the toilet, I felt like I had such a big poop to get out. My body started to push really strongly and she realized I was getting ready to push the baby out. She talked to me calmly and led me back to the delivery bed and called the doctor. I remember her saying “you better get a jingle on quick, this baby’s coming”. I was able to tell what was happening, but with each contraction I was so focused on the contraction and the gas. The contractions were now one on top of the other and my whole body seemed to take over. I was sucking back the gas big time! I didn’t really have too much time to think about the pain, but I knew I didn’t want to let go of that gas mask. The doctor came very quickly and they said I was ready to push. I told them I didn’t know if I could without the gas, but they just encouraged me. My coaches were amazing and they were all reminding me to breathe, and then hold my breathe and keep my chin down to push. I knew those things but in the moment of each contraction it was hard to remember. Their reminders helped SO much. Everyone was so great. I pushed for about 25 minutes, although it seemed a bit shorter to me. Through each push, the head started to emerge and they showed me in the mirror. Then his head came out and it was still in the sack. It wasn’t until his shoulder emerged that it broke the sac and the water went everywhere. I never knew your water could break after the baby started to come out! Then the rest of his body came out without much trouble and little Karsten made his debut at 2:50am! He was so sweet and seemed to be pretty strong already trying to lift his head and roll around on the table. He weighed in at 8lbs 8oz (which was a surprise to me that he was that big!) and 20.5 inches long. Nathan and my mom each cut the umbilical cord and the rest was fairly easy at that point. We finally made it back to our room around 5:30am. I couldn’t believe I had given birth – and even more to such a beautiful baby boy – Karsten Wrey* Parker.

*Wrey comes from Nathan’s grandmother’s name who was a very special part of his life. She died a couple of years ago and we wanted to honour her by using her name. Her name is Winnie (W) Reynolds (Rey) = Wrey.

Week 40 – My Birthday, but doesn’t look like his :)

2008-05-25T18:19:00.001-07:00

Here we are at the official due date mark! It’s actually hard to believe the time is here! The last few weeks have been pretty good. I have been eating like a pig though and now have gained 30 lbs. So much for the weight gain slowing down in the final weeks. lol

We had our doctor appointment on Thursday and it was short and uneventful. They didn’t do any checking or anything, just said ‘come back when your water breaks or when you’re having contractions 5 minutes apart’. No check for dilation or anything. It was pretty busy there though! We have an appointment set for May 29th in case I still haven’t gone, in which we’ll be booking an induction for Monday, June 2nd.

How am I doing? Still pretty good. Part of me actually enjoys being overdue 1) because I tend to get things done by the exact deadline, so now that I’m “done” all the things I wanted to finish before the baby arrived, now I have extra time on my hands to do other things I didn’t think I’d ever get to do. hehe and 2) As much as it would be awesome to have the baby on my birthday, I like the idea of him having his own birthday time so he doesn’t need to grow up always sharing his “Happy Birthday” songs with his mom :)

However, we are VERY excited to meet this little guy. We call it “scaredcited”… a bit of being scared of what’s to come (overtiredness!) but excited to finally get to meet this little man that we have waited for. I just wish we knew what day he was making his debut, the not-knowing is the hardest part. lol

On the pre-labour front, not much action happening. On Thursday and Friday, I was really tired for no ‘apparent’ reason. I just wanted to lay and veg all day – no ambition to work my brain or my body. I was thinking ‘oh no, if I have to push now, I’d be no good!’. Then on Saturday morning I woke up with a huge surge of energy and was like an energizer bunny all day. I even tried napping and couldn’t. Today I’m still feeling really good. I wonder if it’s the energy burst before the labour happening?

Other than that, I’ve had no Braxton Hicks (ever!) that I’m aware of, but DID lose my mucous plug (or part of) over the last few days. The baby is definitely bigger and can feel AND see his foot poking out the side of belly. Love that!

This morning we were all ready to go to church and then for a birthday lunch and enjoy the sunshine and what do you know? Our car wouldn’t start! We checked and no lights were left on, so hard to say what it is. Turns out it was our battery, so we finally got it working by the afternoon. Poor Nathan – I am so glad I wasn’t in labour when it happened, I think he would’ve been beside himself. We spent a wonderful day at home with visitors and family. It was such a nice birthday and we are so excited for the week to come!

Stay tuned!!

Week 38.5 - 10 'Official' days to go!!

2008-05-15T03:57:00.000-07:00

Only 10 days to go!!

How am I feeling? Oddly very well! Makes me think I will be overdue, because I haven’t yet felt that anxious ‘let’s get this show on the road’ feeling. It’s not to say I’m not noticing this little guy is getting heavier. I have been taking it easier and can’t go a day without napping or else by early evening I am useless. So I have been taking it as easy as I can physically and that seems to definitely help. Most days my energy is good as long as I don’t overdo it and I feel pretty normal. I do find myself out of breath more, especially on hills or if I need to stand in one place for too long. The oddest thing is too that I have found it harder and harder to breathe through my nose at night as the weeks progress. It’s like as the baby grows, my nostrils close in a little bit more. So weird! This week, I have had to sleep with my mouth open more which is a bit annoying. Lol Overall, I am still sleeping at night which is a definite plus.

Our latest doctor’s appointment went well, nothing new to report. I only have one scheduled appointment left. Hard to believe! I have now officially gained 26 pounds and all seems good to go. The baby still moves from side to side lots, so I’m thinking he may be on the smaller side, but probably depends how far I go in this pregnancy too.

The to-do lists are pretty much all checked off except for little things here and there. In many ways, I am feeling very naïve and clueless embarking on this whole new change of life for us, yet I’m excited to finally meet this little guy. Movement-wise he hasn’t seemed as active in the last week (which I guess is a sign he has less room to move around) but he’s still pretty active around the 9-11pm timeframe.

The only other real difference I’ve been noticing lately is bending over is getting pretty tough. I drop something on the floor and it’s a whole plan of action on the best and easiest way to get down there and scoop it back up.

Well, the countdown is on…although I still don’t feel any rush. I kind of like the idea if I’m overdue of the ‘extra’ days of “hmm what should I do today?”… those days don’t come very often and I know will be very far and few between (if at all) once this little guy comes. As long as he doesn’t grow too much bigger, I’m still ok with being overdue. If he comes anytime though, that’s great too. I think Nathan & I are as ready as we’re ever going to be…!! :)

Week 37 - Baby Nephew, Nursery Pictures and 3 weeks to go!

2008-05-03T06:11:00.000-07:00

The first news is that my sister finally opened the envelope and we’re having a baby nephew!! We were selfishly excited because this will give our little guy a boy cousin very close to his age which will be great for them both. Now we just need to get them to move back to Nova Scotia! :) My sister is due 10 weeks after me!

Well, 3 weeks to go to our due date!! Nathan and I are guessing the baby may come a bit later…around June 2nd :) We can’t believe how quickly the time is flying by and I am still feeling really great overall. I had a bout of about 3 days where I was starting to get really overtired which usually equals emotional for me, so I braced myself, but thankfully with a few days of extra rest I was feeling back to normal again. Yay! I feel like this pregnancy has treated me really well overall.

What’s new? I am definitely napping just about everyday now, but still feeling pretty good. I usually will be up earlier in the morning, nap in the afternoon and then stay up until bedtime. Has been working well and my body seems to thrive the best that way. I definitely have no problems napping, so hopefully that will be good when the baby arrives too. Other than that, I sleep through the night quite regularly… once in awhile I’ll wake up for a couple of hours between 2-4am but usually do something productive and then head back to bed. I actually managed to put away all the baby clothes at a time like that! It’s only happened a handful of times in my whole 3rd Trimester so that’s good J I haven’t had to get up to go to the bathroom at all at night which is nice (and odd I guess?), but I definitely go lots more during the day.

Everything on the homefront is coming together. I managed to get my hospital bags all packed and ready to go. Nathan has just about finished up the nursery, which is so exciting. Here are some pics!

Our little guy seems to be doing wonderful. Every doctor visit is short and all is great. The doctor said that my pregnancy was ‘by the book’ and couldn’t be better. He says the baby seems to be a good size, not too big or small. He guessed around 7lbs 2 oz. We shall see! Nathan & I were a bit worried in the beginning because we both weighed in close to 9 lbs and my dad was 11 lbs! Yikes! We were both long babies too, so this little guy may end up looking like a string bean for the first little bit. Lol

He continues to move a lot! I’m going to try to videotape it next week. I just love to watch it. Last week we could see his foot sticking out of my hip side. So weird – and cool! He still moves the most between 9-11pm at night and first thing in the morning.

My weight gain has slowed down, I’m now at 23 lbs gained and actually don’t feel that big, although when I see a picture I’m like “whoa belly!”. I have noticed the past few weeks if I’m on my feet too long, I start to feel it in my lower back. As well, turning over in the night takes a bit of extra effort to lift the belly and turn sides.

Who knows, maybe my next post will be welcoming Baby Parker :)

Week 35 - Almost there!

2008-04-18T15:52:00.000-07:00

Less than 5 “official” weeks to go! Now that seems REALLY close! We’ve been spending the last few weeks trying to get everything “finished” up on the homefront – between finishing up the last of our renovations, transitioning for the business and getting the nursery and everything ready. The nursery is just about finished, so I’ll probably have some pictures in my next update! Nathan has been working on some mural paintings for the little guy. Hopefully he enjoys animals :)

This weekend we hope to get the bags packed and at least the basics finished to ease our mind in case of any early arrival. So far I’m still carrying high and all seems good. He is quite a little mover, not really kicking but moving a lot. His whole body seems to twist and turn all around so my stomach makes the oddest shapes. It’s actually pretty funny to watch it, although whenever I want to show someone he decides to stop and likes to play shy. How does he know? lol

The last week or so I have started to notice I am more tired. I think my 3rd Trimester tiredness has now hit, so am taking naps often and trying to get as much sleep as I can as per everyone’s advice. I still feel better than when I wasn’t pregnant, so that’s the nice part! It seems to come and go in spurts, so am just doing my best to go with the flow. :) I am still sleeping through the night which is good. Other than a few rotations to turn sides, I haven’t had any trouble sleeping. If anything, it’s usually the opposite. I can sleep anytime!

My belly is quite hard now and I’m now sitting at 22 lbs gained, and the little guy still seems to be growing and my belly just gets tighter. One thing is he gets the hiccups often. It’s pretty cool but can feel weird after you feel this rhythmic tapping-feeling constantly. He usually has them a few times a day!

We’re still waiting to hear the if we have a niece or nephew on the way! :) My sister had the sex of her baby sealed in an envelope a month ago now and it’s been quite an adventure! She wanted to wait until her boyfriend returned from out west, so she left the envelope in Ontario while she came to Nova Scotia for a visit and my baby shower. When she was here, he surprised her and brought the envelope with him. Yay! He was only here for 48 hours before she had to fly back, so they decided the time went way too quickly and they would open it together when they got back to their home in Ontario and have a special time instead of being in a rush. Janaya flew back to Ontario, Pat still had to book his way back since he flew down to NS last-minute. He arrived later that week, and guess what? The envelope was still in Nova Scotia!! So, their friend mailed it to them, but it got returned for insufficient postage. So, it’s currently in transit with Canada Post and ONE MONTH later we’re still waiting :) What a story to tell this child someday! LOL

So that’s been the latest on our end! It’s funny, but I still find it hard to believe I’m pregnant, let alone due in 5 weeks! I don’t think I’ll be one of the people who are anxious to get the pregnancy over with. I find the time just zoomed by so fast!!! It will be nice to meet this little guy though, we’re so curious what kind of personality he’ll have. :)

Week 32 - Lots happening!

2008-04-03T05:30:00.000-07:00

I can’t seem to keep up with how quickly the weeks are passing! Last weekend was the baby shower for our little guy and I just felt so blessed. Thank YOU to everyone who was able to come, and for the generosity of so many people. We received a bunch of everything including clothes, items for the nursery and just about everything we need for the arrival of Baby Parker. Huge THANKS to those who helped with everything including my sister-in-laws Andrea & Hannah, my amazing mom, great friends Krissy & Darcie and anyone else who helped do something so sweet for us.

My sister was also here from Ontario for over a week, so we had the chance to take another belly shot and swap pregnancy stories. She is finding out the sex of her baby this week! In Ontario, they’ll tell you the sex at an ultrasound but since her other half was out West, she had it sealed in an envelope. Ever since, this envelope has become the #1 question everyone keeps asking. We’re all awaiting the opening. Lol

So far my 3rd trimester seems to be going well. I have really been enjoying pregnancy overall. My belly is still growing and is really hard. Movements are very strong and oftentimes I get jabbed unexpectedly which makes me laugh. The last week or so, our little guy seems active much more during the day AND night. Now I wonder when he sleeps. Hehe :)

As for my sleeping, it’s still going pretty good, but I have needed to bring in some strategies. I got a body pillow to help out, but it seems to work best when I actually sleep on the body pillow. Those nights when the body pillow finds its way sliding away from me are the nights I wake up. Otherwise I have been fortunate as the sleep is still going well. I do find it hard to lift my belly and turn from side to side, but thankfully I don’t wake up too often most nights. I think I do have less energy than my 2nd Trimester now, mainly because I find myself needing a nap everyday lately. But my spirits are still good and I feel good, so I am just listening to my body. :) Just means I can’t plan to do TOO much in a day, especially when it means being out and about, otherwise I start to feel the effects the following day in my energy.

We had our dr. appointment this week and again it was like 5 minutes in and out. I think because all is usually the same and well, we’re in and out of there pretty quickly. Nothing new to report! I now ‘officially’ have gained 20 pounds, so I expect I’ll be somewhere between the recommended 25-35lbs by full-term.

Last night for prenatal class we toured the labor and delivery at the hospital. It was SO warm in there, I think I am going to have a few fans on stand-by. My tolerance for heat isn’t the best normally, so can’t imagine when I am in labor. I was familiar with most of it as I had been admitted there when I had my water intoxication episode in Week 23, but it was good to see everything.

We’re getting the nursery underway as well. The crib was on backorder, but should be here by the end of the week. Yay! We will try to post some pictures if we manage to get it finished anytime soon. Hehe :)

Here are a few shower pics!

Week 30.5 – Whoa baby belly!

2008-03-19T10:02:00.000-07:00

It’s been 3 ½ weeks since my last belly picture and boy, is the little man growing :) I have now gained 18 pounds, and loving my belly. I can’t stop rubbing it and watching it. It’s at the stage now where we can make out our little boy’s body parts at times. Just last night, my belly button moved about 2 inches from the center when the little guy was moving positions and we could see his bum sticking right out of my stomach. It was really weird and cool to watch! I almost don’t have a belly button anymore, I wonder if it’ll pop out in the next few weeks?

That’s probably the biggest highlight of the last few weeks is the constant movements and how obvious they are! Unfortunately, he seems to lay low for most of the day, but around 9pm he starts up for the night very active. This makes it harder for other people to witness all of his feats. Hehe

Well, I’ve been getting lots of questions as to what is a “peepee teepee”? The best way I can think to explain it is a picture :) They are basically a piece of cloth that is made into a cone-shape and you use them to help avoid getting peed on by a baby boy. Do they work? Who knows! They’re just funny! :)
The even funnier part is I actually found a game online called the Peepee Teepee Launcher to illustrate it perfectly! Although I don’t plan to talk on my phone while the baby’s on the change table. LoL http://babystrology.com/baby-games/peepeeteepee/

We also picked out our nursery. We decided to go with an animal-type theme after finding a great deal on Kijiji for pretty much the whole set of everything (who knew that nursery themed stuff could be so expensive otherwise?). So, we went with the “Zanzibar” theme and are getting excited to finally get it all up and ready. :) Between kijiji, friends and ebay, we’re gathering much of what we need at a low cost. I’m such a scavenger, I find it hard to pay regular price for just about anything. Lol

This morning we had our doctor appointment and all is well! We had a bit of a wait, but once we went in there everything went quickly. Our friend Krissy was there for an appointment to so even better. I got to ask more questions that were on my brain for the last week since she’s now on Baby#2 and works with moms as a public health nurse all the time. Thanks Kris! The doctor confirmed the body parts of the baby in the places I suspected they were. I found a belly mapping website online, so wanted to see if it was right and sure enough it was! Now I know where his little feet, hands, head, bum are and how he’s lying. :)

This weekend will be busy with the baby shower on Saturday (March 22nd) and my sister is coming down for it! Yay! It’s hard to believe it’s here already! I’m looking forward to seeing everyone especially!

Those are the latest updates! I’m going to update again next week with shower pictures and the newest updates. :)

Less than 10 weeks to go…!!

Week 28 – “Peepee teepees” it is!

2008-03-04T18:07:00.001-08:00

Let’s just say we saw “the goods’!! It’s a boy!! We had our ultrasound at UC Baby and it was so neat. We arrived there at around 2:45pm and they took us in right away. I was laid out on the ultrasound chair and both of our families took their seats on the couches in front of a plasma TV. Introducing our Little Bean!! The ultrasound tech. alternated between 2D and 3D pictures. The 3D pictures were amazing, as you could get such a good glimpse of our baby’s features. Such a cute button nose, and my mom remarked on the ‘beautiful lips’. For about the first 20 minutes, the ultrasound tech said she was 90% sure it was a girl. Nothing obvious showing up, but still a bit hard to say for sure. The baby was in the frank breech position which made it tougher to get some good pictures, so I was trying different positions on my sides.

As we all stared at the screen at the new baby ‘girl’, out of nowhere popped out something on the screen. Freeze frame! It was a penis! It was a boy!! So, now Nathan was beaming a little brighter and we now knew 100% who was making their way into this world in just a few more months :)

After about 45 minutes, we were given a DVD video and pictures to take with us. So neat! We are keeping the name a secret until he is born, but when Nathan & I are alone, it is so nice to be able to talk to our little boy by name. So nice not to have to say “it’ anymore. :) Plans are underway for the nursery and collecting baby things. It’s hard to believe there are only 12 weeks to go. Time is going by VERY quickly!

Today we had our doctor appointment. Our baby was breech on Friday at UC Baby, so I was reading online over the weekend ways that you can try to encourage the baby to turn. About 25% of babies are breech at this stage, so I wasn’t too worried, but definitely was interested in any techniques I could do to encourage the little man to go head down. One of the common things it said? To talk to your baby and encourage them to. Sounds so silly, but I’ll admit it, I tried it! I talked to the little guy all weekend encouraging him to turn around for us. Hehe :) Well today we went in for our doctor appointment and the first thing the doctor said was that our baby was in perfect position. I sat right up in disbelief, and asked her was she sure? The baby was in frank breech just on Friday. She checked again to double check and sure enough the baby had done a full 180 turnaround. I was so proud of the little guy. :) Nathan said to take in the moments now as in a few years he may not listen oh so well. Hehe :)

So all is looking good, progressing as normal. I measure 28 cms (for 28 weeks), have now ‘officially’ gained 15 pounds and everything is good. Our appointments with the doctor are usually about 5 minutes long, pretty quick. I hope my labour goes as smoothly as this pregnancy has! My glucose test also came back good. Yay! Our next appointment is in 2 weeks and every couple of weeks from here on in.

Now to find the peepee teepees! :)

Week 27 – UC Baby coming up!!

2008-02-27T08:50:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe I'm now in my 3rd Trimester! My energy is still up which has been so nice. I am looking forward to the upcoming spring sunshine and longer days too! :) Well, the countdown is on until UC Baby…3 more days to go. Hotel booked and all so as to enjoy a nice few and exciting days ahead! I'll be posting another post in just a few days with some pics from the 3D ultrasound. So stay tuned!

All seems to be continuing to go well. I am feeling good, nothing really happening other than the ever-growing belly and feeling lots of movement. I love feeling the Little Bean kick and move around. It's hard to believe he/she is now 2 pounds. He/she is most active in the late evening and through the night. Makes me wonder if we have a little night owl on our hands? During the day, he/she is fairly quiet, but at night lots of movement and kicks.

Have been rubbing on the cocoa butter lots, and seems to be doing the trick. :) I've now gained 14.5 pounds, which seems to be about normal for this stage of the pregnancy. This morning I went for the all-famous glucose test. Brought a book along on pregnancy (what else!) and waited for a good 45 minutes for my number where I got to enjoy the lovely orange pop drink. It actually wasn't bad at all, just felt like the days when I was a kid enjoying an orange pop as a treat. After I was done, I even wondered if I had the orange mustache? Hehe I waited an hour and then went back for the blood work. I will likely find out the results at our next appointment on March 4th.

Speaking of sugar, the Easter season has been such a tease. I don't know why the chocolates get put out so early in the year but for the last few weeks Mr. Munchy and Cadbury eggs seem to always be calling my name. LOL Would that be cravings or just plain normal? :)

Lately I have been having more weird pregnancy dreams. I dreamt we had a baby boy and he was born with a mustache!

People continue to ask, so we have finally registered at a few places. I have been trying to cut down on Kijiji, but it's just too addicting. Hehe :) We're registered at the following places:
www.Toysrus.ca (Online & In-store)
Walmart (In-store only)

I'll be posting again in just a few days!! Will we need a peepee teepee? Stay tuned! :)

Week 25 - Almost 3rd Trimester!

2008-02-11T16:35:00.000-08:00

Wow, 25 weeks already! I have been fighting a cold for the last week or so, but thankfully it hasn’t been too bad. Just been breathing in the humidifier and waiting for it to pass. Despite my cold, I am still feeling pretty good energy-wise and am in great spirits. Nathan & I are both getting really excited to meet this little one, especially as the kicks are getting bigger and the movements more frequent. Pretty cool!

I’m definitely noticing “pregnancy brain” a lot more than usual. Now do I not only walk into a room without knowing why, or opening the fridge without any idea what I was going to get on a regular basis, but just the other day I actually dialed a phone number in the microwave! LOL I do find myself doing those sorts of unexplained odd things often, and my memory is bad…it’s usually bad anyways, but now I am so oblivious. So I often am apologizing to people! I found a cute cartoon that I’ll include with this post :)

I had my prenatal checkup last week and all looks pretty good. I measured exactly 24 cm for 24 weeks, low blood pressure, the heartbeat is 147 and I have gained 10.5 lbs. All seems to be progressing really well and I have been feeling great! However, they did find on my ultrasound that I have a borderline short cervix. They said not to worry, but that it was something we needed to be aware of, mainly because it means I have a higher than average chance of delivering pre-term. Chances are though I will progress as usual and will go full-term, but just to be safe I’m not allowed to lift anything that takes effort or do any unnecessary bending, as well as not to stay on my feet too much at a time. It also means no traveling outside of the country, and just being aware of any changes in my body. I guess that only a small % of the pregnancy population has a shortened cervix. You can find out more online if you’re interested. So, will be interesting to see when my actual delivery date will be… as long as it’s after 32 weeks, there are usually no big concerns. Watch me go to 42 weeks! LoL

Less than three weeks, and we’ll be off to UC Baby! I’m getting super duper excited! :)

Also, some people have been starting to ask what we need, and it’s so hard to be able to say exactly besides diapers of course! We have been getting a bunch of the bigger baby stuff from Kijiji.ca which has been so great. We were even able to get a great glider for the nursery for $60! We have most of the bigger things, and have started a few registries for the smaller things (I’ll post those in my next entry once we finish). Time seems to be flying by so quickly! A baby shower is being planned for Saturday, March 22nd from 2-4pm in Yarmouth by my sister-in-law(s) and a few friends. My sister is coming all the way from Ontario! Yippee!!!

I think that’s all the latest news for now! I feel SO SO blessed.

Week 23 - My Pregnancy Adventure

2008-01-30T13:14:00.000-08:00

My belly has definitely been growing lots over the last few weeks. Wow. I have now gained about 11 lbs, but will have my ‘official’ weigh in next week at my next appointment. At the rate I feel like I’m going, I think I will probably be gaining the recommended weight of 25-35 lbs no problem. A friend said to me early on, “you’ll be amazed at how big your belly will get”. I already am….and I still have 17 weeks to go! LOL

Well I didn’t think I would have anything too exciting to report this week, until Friday that is! Here is a recount of my adventure! For those who have heard this story already, feel free to skip this paragraph :) It all began when I was scheduled to go for my follow-up ultrasound, as they needed a few extra pictures of the hands and feet that were missed last time. Since it was going to be fairly quick, I dropped Nathan off to my parents where he was going to do some work, and I had about 5 minutes left before that “one-hour before” deadline for drinking my water. So I grabbed my 1L bottle and chugged it all down. So proud of myself. What I didn’t think about was the 500ml+ I had just had for breakfast with my smoothie.

I decide to leave a bit early instead of waiting around, and decided to get some errands done in town on my way. As I scoured for a parking space, BINGO there was a perfect one just outside from Pharmasave. From there, I could access all the spots I needed to go without too far to walk. The minute I pulled the car into the space, everything started moving around me. Not spinning, but just moving up and down. I turned the car off, and sat still to see if it would pass. After a few minutes, it wasn’t getting any better and it was nothing I had ever experienced. It didn’t feel like dizziness, but like I was drugged. I decided I should probably tell someone in case I passed out or something. I knew a friend who worked across the street, so got out of my car but then almost fell over. I couldn’t even stand up straight. It felt like I was really drunk, or on a really rough boat ride. I knew if I attempted to cross the street I probably wouldn’t make it without falling all over the place. I turned and saw Pharmasave and thought a Pharmacist might know what was happening.

I staggered across to the doors and went in knocking into the wall and just about falling on the floor with every step. The woman at the counter ran over to help me and I told her I was pregnant and something was happening to me but I had no idea what. She said there was an RN on site that day and ran to get her. They both ran over and sat me down, while taking my blood pressure, blood sugar etc. All looked ok. I felt nauseated from the motion sickness of it all and started gagging. So, over came a barf bucket and a plastic bag. What an attraction for the customers I was! She asked if someone could take me to the hospital and we called Nathan to come since he wasn’t too far away. In the meantime, she had me put my head between my legs and I just felt like I was on a rough boat ride…everything was moving back and forth, up and down. Nathan came and we headed to the hospital. By this time it had been about 30 minutes and it was still going strong. I guess I was now white as a ghost and we headed to the desk for the ultrasound. The poor technicians didn’t know what was happening. Out came a stretcher, wheelchair and then I started throwing up (yum!). They brought me up to pre-natal and admitted me where I stayed for most of the afternoon. The doctor came and tests came out well, it was very puzzling. It stayed strong for about 3 hours, where I couldn't walk or move without starting to fall over. Even my head was so heavy when I tried lifting it, it would just want to fall back down. After about 3 hours it seemed to start to go away. Basically I was suffering from 'vertigo' but they don't know what was causing it. The best guess was that perhaps it was water intoxication. When I got home, I did some searching and it sounds like that was probably the culprit. It’s quite uncommon, and usually requires LOTS of water to be consumed, but for me being pregnant where my organs are pushed, my levels are all over the place and my sodium levels are lower than normal, it may have been just enough to do the trick. It was only mild compared to cases where people drink tons of water, but the fact that I drank it so quickly could’ve sent my body out of whack.

Here’s an excerpt of what’s online:
“If water enters the body more quickly than it can be removed, body fluids are diluted and a potentially dangerous shift in electrolyte balance occurs. The body has too much water and not enough sodium. Sodium is an electrolyte. A decrease in sodium concentrations can cause an electrolyte imbalance. Over-hydration is disruptive to nerve cell function and can produce symptoms of vertigo.”

So that was quite a day! The good news is all seems well with Little Bean and he/she is still moving and kicking around lots!

I had my follow-up ultrasound again yesterday and saw the staff that helped me on Friday. They were happy to know I was feeling better. This time I made sure to drink my water over a much longer period of time. I brought my mom to this ultrasound so she could “meet” Little Bean. We tried to see if we could see the sex of the baby, but not much luck. We are pretty sure it’s a boy but will find out in a few more weeks!

The other exciting news was Little Bean received his/her first "official" gift of toys and books! :) All the way from the U.S.A.!! I had to pry them away from Nathan. hehe :)

That’s been the latest news on our end. Tonight we head to prenatal class, the last one for this month. I’ve been having trouble sleeping for the last week or so. I think I am used to sleeping on my back and now that I’m trying to sleep on my side more, I keep waking up. Either that or the baby is kicking. Hard to say. I bought a body pillow but it’s much bigger than my body, so seems to overtake me at night. LOL Hopefully tonight I’ll learn some strategies :)

All in all, I’m feeling really great and so thankful. I feel like I’m feeling better now that even before I was pregnant!

Week 21 - Definitely feeling pregnant :)

2008-01-16T17:26:00.000-08:00

Wow, over halfway there! Hard to believe and the time just seems to be flying by so much. My belly has taken on a real growth spurt in the last couple of weeks. We went for our prenatal appointment and I had gained an ‘official’ 6.5 pounds. Well, I weighed myself today and I am now at 9 pounds. My belly is definitely showing its pregnancy now and I am feeling the little guy/gal move around quite a bit! I feel the most movement when I’m lying in bed at the end of the day. At times it feels like he/she is even doing somersaults and Nathan & I can see the movements poking through my belly. That is the neatest thing! It seems like we have quite an active little baby :)

The baby is now 10 ½ inches long, so is already half the length in size. At the prenatal appointment, my pregnancy seems to be going ‘by the book’. I have low blood pressure, heartbeats are 145 and the uterus is measuring exactly the weeks I am pregnant. Our last appointment was about 5 minutes long. All looked well and we heard the baby heartbeat again!

I’ve definitely had more energy in the last couple of weeks. Yay!! I’m not needing to nap as much as before, and am enjoying this while it lasts. I just need to be sure to take it easy as I tend to get excited and want to DO more whenever I get energy coming my way. LOL

We were also contacted and told that we need to go in for another ultrasound, but they reassured us that everything was ok. We had a technician a couple of weeks ago who normally didn’t do ultrasounds, so I guess they need a better picture of the hands and feet. So, we’ll be heading back next week for another ultrasound. We’re looking forward to it and hoping to maybe get a glimpse between the legs. Hehe We’ll see! So we may have another picture to post, but I can’t imagine getting a cuter one than the last one we were able to get…until we go to UC Baby for the 3D one :)

Tonight we just returned from our first prenatal class. We knew a couple of people there, and most of the girls were due between April and June which was neat to see as we’re all fairly close together in our pregnancy. Tonight we didn’t do a whole lot except the introductions and overview. Hopefully the classes will be worthwhile and good! One thing I did learn was they said they only allow two people in the room to coach with you here at the hospital. Hmmm…. so now need to figure out how to swing Nathan, my mom and my sister all in….another thing to investigate!

My latest dilemmas have been maternity tops… at that stage where things are either too snug or too big. I imagine my belly will be growing quickly now though so soon will be wearing the bigger things. The second is we have no idea where to start shopping or looking for things. I’m such a bargain hunter, so am trying to figure out what the deals are, but have no idea where to even start. Not sure when something’s a good price or not. So need to start doing some comparison shopping and asking around. If you have something you would like to get off your hands, let me know! All baby items welcome! :) Between my sister and I, we now need to find double of everything. LOL

My sister also has started a blog! It’s not ‘released’ yet to the public so shhh…. But thought I would post it now for all of you that want to follow along with her too. She is hilarious so I think you’ll enjoy! http://www.babypbnj.webs.com/

Just got a kick from Little Bean… guess that means he/she wants to say hi ;)

Week 19 - Beanie Babies

2008-01-04T16:33:00.000-08:00

It's been a few weeks since I've updated, mainly because of the busyness of Christmas and the New Year. We had lots of fun over Christmas with both families coming down for the holidays and even 'Little Bean' enjoyed receiving a few gifts :) So much has happened since my last entry. Where do I begin?

The biggest news is that my sister came home from Ontario to announce that she was expecting her first baby 10 weeks after us (due on August 4th)! She is 9 weeks along now, and I am 19 weeks. We are very excited to have little cousins so close in age (now we just need to convince her to move back closer to home ;) My mom is now super excited to have 2 new grandbabies on the way!

My tummy has been growing and shrinking, I guess depending on what I eat. hehe :) So far I have gained about 6 pounds total but I'll know officially at our next appointment next week! It's definitely hardening up and I am now wearing maternity shirts here and there. I'm at that in-between stage where my shirts are getting too tight but the maternity shirts are still on the bigger side. As for the maternity pants, well the hard part is the middle part seems to hang down to my knees. lol So I am still wearing my regular pants (thank goodness for stretchy ones!) and trying hard to still figure out enough outfits in my wardrobe that fit my body :) As for the boobs... we won't go there... crazy...

In my first trimester, I wondered how people actually enjoyed pregnancy with all the tiredness, nausea, food aversions etc. But I have to say, now things are getting to be more enjoyable. :) I am half-tempted to start parking in those "mom-to-be" parking spaces. hehe :) It seems like my energy has picked up a bit, but still a bit hard to tell. The BEST thing has been that the baby is now kicking and moving lots. Yay! I started to "officially" feel the kicks noticeably enough on December 19th, so it was a nice Christmas gift. Even now typing away, the baby is kicking away. Loving the feeling and definitely helps to remind me no matter how my day is going of what is truly important. Nathan has felt them too and we love to just lay and watch :)

Well, today we had our big ultrasound! They were 45 minutes late taking us in, so my bladder was VERY full. I was just about in pain. lol Thankfully she let me empty out a bit... 6 cups worth later...lol. It took over an hour to do the ultrasound (I was expecting an in and out appointment like our first one). The baby was quite active (there's that word again!) but also very "cooperative" so said the technician. I was so proud. hehe :) We were able to see just about everything, what a difference! In our town (and most of NS) they won't tell you the sex, so we'll have to wait until our appointment with UC Baby in February to find that out. Nathan & I looked at some pictures online before we went but the technician said that she wouldn't even give us a glimpse for us to guess. Boo! She did say "his" at times which made me think more that it's a boy, but then she assured us she calls all the babies "his"... so hard to say if she was telling us the truth or not. Overall, it was very neat to actually SEE the baby and it helps make it that much more real. So unbelievable really. Sometimes I feel I need someone to pinch me. hehe :)

I think those are all the major updates for now. I'm still a bit of a fussy eater as my full appetite still hasn't returned to what it once was, not sure if it ever will now? But I am feeling more like myself. :) Definitely a bit more emotionally stable and the time has been FLYING by so far. It seems to be going by so quickly, makes me think that May will be here before we know it. Eek! I guess we need to start getting some things we need soon :)

Well I will update soon again... here's just one last picture that reminded me of the way I feel right now trying to decide what to wear each morning. hehe :)

Happy 2008!!

Week 16 - The belly is emerging!

2007-12-12T13:36:00.000-08:00

Whoa, my belly is starting to show more now! It wasn’t until the last 24 hours really, just in time for my update picture. Hehe I think it may have had to do a little bit with all of the eating out we’ve been doing this week too – not sure that’s necessarily a good thing! Either way, I’m starting to feel a bit more pregnant and am guessing I will be needing to start wearing maternity clothes before too long! I think Christmas eating is starting to get to me AND the baby! I still look down and am baffled and amazed. It is definitely starting to feel bigger now!

Yesterday we had our 2^nd clinic appointment so I wanted to wait until we went before I did my update. It was a great appointment and we actually knew a couple of people there so the time went very quickly. They weighed me in and I have gained 3.5 lbs in total (I think I gained another few between yesterday and today the way my belly seems to be sticking out today!). We also finally got to hear the baby’s heartbeat loud and clear! Yay! That was a relief. The doctor said the baby had a very strong heartbeat and was quite active (that’s the 2^nd time they’ve said that, is “active” an indication of his/her personality? LoL). She mentioned that I should be feeling movements sometime in the next few weeks. I’m looking forward to that. She said I may feel them already and I told her I think I had. When I pointed to the place where I had been feeling them, she laughed and showed me where the uterus was currently. I guess because of the size of the baby and uterus at this point, the “flutters” I was feeling must have been gas. Lol Ah well, I tried! :)

Symptoms-wise the last couple of weeks can be summed up in one word: EMOTIONAL. The tears came out of nowhere and I probably have cried more in the last couple of weeks than in the rest of the year combined. I was even crying watching Dr. Phil! I’m not an emotional person by nature, so in some ways I welcomed the ‘release’. Sunday was the last day of the impending flood, as it seemed like I was often holding back tears, and now am starting to feel back to normal again. Mentally, after that waterfall, my mind seems to have more energy and I am able to do more in the day than before. Physically, my body is still often tired, but I think it may be getting better. Hoping for that energy kick soon!

The time continues to fly by! I think mostly because of the Christmas season, the days just seem to be zooming. Sometimes I lose count of what pregnancy week I’m on! Our 20-week ultrasound is scheduled for January 4^th so I am looking forward to that. Yay!

Merry Christmas everyone!! :)

Week 14 - "Little Bean"

2007-11-28T14:25:00.000-08:00

Our baby now has a nickname – and a friend of ours insisted he/she had to have their own nickname, so I’m sure she’ll be happy :) Baby Parker is now often referred to as the “Bean” or “Little Bean” by his/her grandma, and mom & dad. Not sure where it came from, but it has now stuck! hehe It's exciting to think that Little Bean is now sucking his/her thumb and moving around. I am looking forward to when I will be able to feel these movements!

The time seems to be going quickly now, perhaps because of the time of year. We had our first prenatal clinic appointment soon following my last entry and all seemed well. There are five doctors and whoever is on during your appointment is who you see. When I went for the first visit, they gave me a whole load of information brochures etc and did some prodding around to see if everything looked ok. I had to go for more blood work and all seems well! My next appointment will be on December 11th, which I can’t believe is right around the corner already.

Overall, I am mainly just feeling tired. I nap everyday and don’t seem to have a lot of energy, but am trying to be discerning with my time so that I can rest and listen to my body. I have gained 2 pounds so far, and am supposed to continue gaining 1lb/week for this trimester, so should start to see more of a belly soon! I am definitely seeing my belly sticking out a bit more, but looks more like I just ate a big supper, not a round baby belly yet. LoL

My appetite is slowly returning. Still not back to normal, but nice to have more foods that I like returning to my senses. Most of my symptoms from first trimester have disappeared.

I find now this pregnancy is going quickly. It seems like just yesterday my 2nd trimester felt so far away, and now it’s already here! I can’t complain, I have been blessed so far in this pregnancy in so many ways.

Week 12

2007-11-14T17:22:00.000-08:00

I have been feeling much better since my last entry. On Nov. 1st, I woke up, got out of bed and just felt like someone flicked a lightswitch inside of me..I just felt so good and much more myself. I’ve read that it happens that suddenly, but I was only at the end of my 10th week, so didn’t expect it that early. My symptoms haven’t totally disappeared, but definitely feeling much better than before – more energy, more appetite, more positive. I wasn’t sure if it would last, but so far so good. Maybe I got lucky and my symptoms have started disappearing earlier?

So, I’m now in the middle of Week 12. This means no more Metformin medication for me, yay! I don’t mind, but somehow it feels good not to have to worry about taking them :) I am eating healthier now that my appetite is coming back, which I’m sure helps with my energy and mood. It feels SO nice to be eating better. I really wanted to before, but for some reason my stomach just wasn’t liking the thought of most foods. Nathan is super, as he cooks almost every meal, which definitely helps lots! He enjoys cooking, so I am very thankful for that !

I still feel tired at times, but it’s different than earlier in my trimester…I feel tired, but still positive, whereas before I was feeling tired and depressed. I don’t mind napping and after following the advice of many friends, I’m going to take full advantage of naps while I am still able :) I’m still looking forward to the “2nd trimester” energy kick that comes at some point? Hehe

Clothes-wise I’m dwindling. I haven’t gained any weight on the scale yet but my waistline is expanding and my clothes are barely fitting. My body shape is definitely changing! It doesn’t help that I don’t have a good winter wardrobe to begin with (my favorite is summer clothes!), so am trying not to resort to the frumpy look too much. A friend of mine gave me a whole bag of her clothes that are a size or two bigger than my usual, so that worked out perfectly for now! A few friends have also graciously lended me maternity clothes (THANK YOU!) so once I get out of the in-between stage of my own clothes barely fitting, but still no belly for maternity clothes, it’ll be nice to have a bit more selection. :)

Tomorrow is our first appointment at the pre-natal clinic! I’ll share any new updates in my next entry. Everything is going well so far! We feel very blessed :)

Week 10

2007-10-30T15:35:00.000-07:00

Almost finished the 1st Trimester! In some ways, it feels like the weeks have been going so slow, and yet in other ways it’s hard to believe I’m almost finished the first trimester already. This last week was probably my hardest so far. I have been so fortunate not to have morning sickness. This last week the tired part really hit me. Not just tired as in the need to sleep, but just feeling my whole body and mind shut down. When it hits everything seems to take so much effort – going on the computer, reading, watching TV, conversations...pretty much anything requiring mental concentration. I think the 'hormonal' part has hit, emotions and all. It comes and goes in waves, but has been more pronounced this last week. I think maybe because I haven't been eating as healthy as I usually do, this probably doesn't help. Ironically, I’ve also been an insomniac. This is SO NOT me. Nathan’s been SO supportive, and I’ve been feeling like such a slug. He keeps reminding me that my body is undertaking a huge job right now and to listen to it. What a wise husband :)

Eating has still been tough. I never thought those words would ever come from MY mouth. The main foods I seem to be able to tolerate are rappie pie, hashbrown casserole, English muffins with peanut butter and sometimes applesauce and cereal. Thankfully, I still am ok with our morning smoothies, so feel like I’m at least getting some daily nutrition. I really hope my appetite returns soon!

It feels more and more real that there is a baby being formed inside of me. Miracle really. In some ways, hard to believe, and also just awe. I am SO thankful for the support of Nathan, my family and friends. Nathan has been phenomenal. That’s the only way I can say it. My mom has just been amazing. This baby is going to be so very loved.

Next week I’ll be going for all the blood work and then going to the pregnancy clinic. They’re also going to just double check my TSH levels for my thyroid, because they were high last year (ie. hypothyroidism) and sometimes pregnancy can set them out of whack again, so just to make sure. From there, I’ll keep the updates coming!

Week 9 - Meeting Baby Parker

2007-10-27T05:46:00.001-07:00

This week we had our first ultrasound! Our appointment was for 10am and we arrived - me shivering because I had just finished drinking 2 Litres of cold water - and waited to go in. It all went pretty quickly. I went in first and laid down while she gelled my stomach. A few minutes passed by and she didn't say a word. Eek..I started to get a bit nervous. Finally, I just piped out "Please tell me there's a baby in there"...and she smiled and said "of course" (almost as if she was thinking, why wouldn't there be! lol). So I was relieved and grinning from ear to ear. She wouldn't let me see the screen but did her thing and then went to get Nathan so we could see together. Wow. SO neat, surreal and still unbelievable. We saw the baby's heartbeat and could see its body no problem. He/she was moving around like crazy...even the technician remarked that the baby was very active, already at 9 weeks. All I could think, is hopefully it isn't a sign of things to come! lol I asked if we could get a picture (as sometimes they don't give them this early) and she printed one off, and it didn't do little Baby Parker justice. He/She looked like a blob. lol I wanted to ask for another picture, as the ones we saw on the screen were much better, but thought that may be a little too demanding. :) The whole experience was only about 15 minutes, much quicker than I imagined, but such a great experience to finally "meet" our little one. We'll be going in for our next ultrasound at Week 20 and then we'll be doing the 3D ultrasound with UC Baby at around Week 28.

The doctor said that according to the heartbeat and activity of the baby, there is only a 1.5% chance of miscarrying from here on in. That is such great news and a sigh of relief. Everything seems to be progressing well!!

Week 8

2007-10-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

We bought our first baby item (well my mom did :) – baby bassinet we got used (but practically brand new!). Who knew a bassinet could vibrate, play music, turn a mobile and turn on a nightlight all using a remote control? LOL I’ll be the first to admit, I am not very baby-knowledgeable. I know, this will be quite an adventure (in many ways I’m sure). Nathan & will be discovering a lot along the way. I plan to be bugging my mom, my friends and using Google often ;)

Symptom-wise I have been so-so. This last week has been the hardest. I haven’t been sick, but already feel like a wimp. The biggest thing for me has been Food Aversion 101. I even have a hard time looking at the Sobeys and Superstore fliers! The sight of food just makes my stomach turn. It’s turned into a struggle, as my metabolism has increased so much so I have been needing to eat more, but it seems like I can only think of eating one or two items each time. And they change constantly! Really hoping this only lasts a few more weeks. Talk about total opposite from what I am usually like! LOL I read that pregnant women often get food aversions to the foods they enjoyed before they were pregnant. Well for me, I LOVE just about every food, so now the opposite of that leaves me with so little choices. Maybe I should try eating cow tongue and chicken hearts. Hehe

My super-sonic smelling doesn’t help either. I can smell the ‘impurities’ in the air everywhere. Most food smells rotten to me. At night I have a hard time sleeping because the air feels so stuffy and unclean. Sometimes I need to open the window and just take deep breaths or go outside for a bit. So strange.

But the good news is, I haven’t had any morning sickness. So I know it could be much worse. My pants don’t fit, but I haven’t gained any weight yet. I swear my stomach has grown quite a bit but I think I might be just examining it too much. Hehe I’d have to say Nathan has been phenomenal. I couldn’t be more supported by such an amazing husband.

Well last night we raided Nathan’s grandparents freezer for rappie pie. Does that count as a craving? It was the only thing I could fathom putting in my mouth for some reason. Good thing for great neighbors :)

Our ultrasound is on Monday so looking forward to that! Will post again with our experience!

Week 6

2007-10-19T12:54:00.000-07:00

The half-way mark of the first trimester. Yay! We met with our doctor following our positive test and he sent us for two HCG tests to confirm 10 days apart. It was nice to hear those official words of “Congratulations” :) So far I have been pretty fortunate. I was nervous at first because I hadn’t been feeling any different at all. Now the symptoms are starting to become more evident, but thankfully no sickness or nausea yet (fingers crossed!). The main symptoms I’ve noticed so far:
- The biggest is probably the change in my appetite. I have become VERY selective and fussy which is SO not me! I find it hard to want to eat most foods, they just don’t appeal to me. When I look in the fridge, I just think ‘yuck’. Luckily, Nathan cooks for us both so when it’s placed in front of me I’ll usually eat it just fine. But if I had to pick out what I want to eat, I have a hard time. Also, there will be a select number of foods that I will be ok to eat each day. Once I have it once though, I’m done. I don’t want it the next day. This is making leftovers a hard thing. Hehe I have definitely become a totally different person when it comes to food. Is this what normally fussy people feel like? Sheesh, I used to eat anything and everything except chicken hearts and cow tongue. LOL I know nutrition is so essential though especially at this stage, so luckily our diets have been pretty healthy over the last few years. I am trying to eat a good balanced diet each day, but am needing to find more creative ways to appeal to my senses.
- Cravings-wise I haven’t had anything that has stayed – it’s more one or two foods each meal-time that seem to appeal to my senses. It’s more the process of elimination than cravings.
- I also feel lightheadedness at times. Mainly if I get up too fast, or change direction too quickly. At times the room has moved a bit.
- I’ve also noticed my heightened sense of smell. Poor Nathan hears about this often, as I sniff around for things that need to be cleaned. LOL The worst part is I can pick up the smell of people’s breath like never before. That is no fun. Then it makes me so much more conscious of my own too! Don’t worry though, if you’re not standing right up close to me, I won’t smell you :)

Those are the main symptoms I’ve been noticing. Just in the last few days, I’ve noticed my energy has been a bit less, but it seems to be more ‘brain tired’ than physically tired. So I have been taking time throughout the day just to lie down and rest. I haven’t gained any weight, but yet my regular pants are already tight. I’ve already moved up another pant size. lol

Since we conceived on fertility drugs, we’ll be going in for an early ultrasound at to make sure that there isn’t more than one baby! I don’t think there is though, because from what I have read it seems that my symptoms would be far stronger than they are. We’ll know soon enough!Stay tuned!

Week 5

2007-10-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

We’re pregnant! It’s hard to believe this time in our lives has finally arrived. Wow. I had an inkling I may be pregnant, mainly because my temperatures were remaining high, but I’ve spent so much money on pregnancy tests over the last few years (seriously considered investing in stocks!) because of “possible” pregnancy symptoms, that I decided to hold out and not think too much about it.

Well, not too long after we were scheduled for a follow-up doctor’s appointment, I decided I should at least go in being able to tell our doctor the news – good or not. So, that morning I got up, took the test, and voila – positive! It was both exciting and surreal. It still doesn’t really seem real! I climbed back in bed and trying hard to hold back from my pure excitement, I just played casual and told Nathan that we were pregnant. It took a minute for him to register what I said and then his face was priceless! We were so happy :)

We decided we had to tell our parents first, as this would be the first grandchild for all of them. Not to mention my mom has been stocking up on baby supplies for the last four years. Hehe :) We bought a cake that said “Congratulations Grandma & Grandpa” with some balloons and flowers, and surprised them! We feel so blessed to have both sets of grandparents fairly close, whose support will be invaluable. Nathan had a very special bond with his grandmother, so we realize the importance of having them active in our child’s life.

We debated on keeping the news quiet for at least a few more weeks, especially with the risk of miscarriage. However, after the excitement of sharing the news with our families, we realized it was too hard to keep tabs on everyone and I couldn’t bear to keep my mom silent after she had been waiting for so many years to be a grandma! So, we decided to share the news with friends and well, between Facebook and MSN, news traveled quickly!

We feel SO blessed, so thankful and so amazed at this miracle in our lives. I plan to keep this journal as a chance for our family and friends – especially those from away – to stay connected to our progress as we await the arrival of Baby Parker. Our due date is May 25th – my birthday. :)

Background Story

2007-10-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

Around three years ago, Nathan & I decided we wanted to try to start having a family. We had been married for three years and felt like we were as ready as we could be. I went off the pill and it just seemed like things started going downhill quickly. I thought perhaps it was just all the changes in my body taking place combined with the stress of being so involved at my work. It wasn’t long before I started to feel like I was ‘falling apart’. My energy was so low, I could barely get myself through the day. People said it was probably just stress, but it just seemed like something wasn’t right. I just didn’t know what. I started to track a bit of what I was going through just to make sure I wasn’t imagining it, and I realized I was sleeping 13+ hours daily and was still exhausted. I literally could sleep standing up if I closed my eyes. I just felt SOO tired all the time.

To coincide with this, I was having other symptoms like anxiety attacks, poor memory/brain fog, depression and literally felt like my body was falling apart. Soon enough I realized I wasn’t even getting a period. I started taking my temperatures to see if they were even following a pattern and they weren’t. Nothing. If anything, I discovered my temperatures were much below normal.

So began my quest from doctor to doctor. One told me I “looked” healthy so dismissed me right away, another said I was getting too technical on him when I told him I didn’t think I was “ovulating” and a third prescribed me with depression meds within the first 3 minutes. Almost 8 months later, I found a doctor who listened. He sent me for tests and found my hormones were out of whack and my ovaries enlarged. At that time, we were in transition to move to Nova Scotia, so we decided I would take the next 5 months off and do nothing. Total reduction of stress in an effort to start healing my body.

In September of 2005, I was ‘officially’ diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome – an endocrine disorder that affects the hormones in your body. What I didn’t realize is that your hormones are responsible for the function of every organ and part of your body – everything from your brain to your liver! No wonder my body felt like it was falling apart. I was told I could take fertility meds to get pregnant, but I just felt like there was so much more happening to my body than infertility. I knew I couldn’t have a baby without first taking care of myself. I began journaling often, and getting through each day just felt like an uphill battle. Over the next two years, I worked to change my diet and lifestyle. In December 2006, I learned that my TSH levels were high indicating hypothyroidism. The levels tested back to normal a few months later. I began seeing professionals and asking questions – everyone from an endocrinologist, OBGYN and even a naturopath. I researched online, read any book I could find (not that many were published at that point) and just began talking about it. Slowly, my body seemed to be regaining strength.

Today, I am feeling much more in control. The amazing part is how many women I have met who have been dealing with PCOS. They call it the ‘silent epidemic’ that is affecting so many women in our generation. PCOS is still very much a part of my life, and something I can’t ignore, but it has taught me so much about myself, and the importance of taking care of myself. I used to be someone who was very busy, often at the neglect of things that were more important. Now I can’t be. Because if I do, I get sick. That means I need to be very discerning with everything from how late I stay up, to what I do in my day. I also need to be careful about what I eat and how I treat myself. It’s like a domino effect, and once the dominoes start falling, it requires so much effort to get them back up. Do I wish I didn’t have to deal with PCOS? For sure. But, at the same time it has become one of the greatest blessings in my life. I feel I have grown in wisdom, in strength and have realized just how unimportant so much of what I was concerned about really is.

In June 2007, we decided I was as healthy as I could be to start the fertility process. I went for laproscopic surgery and they discovered an 8cm cyst. Whew! In August 2007, I started on Clomid and Metformin to begin the fertility process and conceived on the first round. So, here we are today, expecting our first baby and God’s timing couldn’t have been more perfect. :)