24 weeks

Hurray! Technically, the baby is now "viable". A word I hate, but love!

She is kicking like crazy these days - usually for a few hours once I get to work, and then a little in the early afternoon, after dinner, and then a good solid hour or two before I fall asleep.

Seems like she's inherited my love of schedules!


I'm feeling all right - my body is definitely telling me that this will be the last child! Lots of aches and pains. My chair at work is broken, so I have no back support, and that's causing some big problems.

I have my second (and last! hopefully) glucose test next week. As much as I love to hope I'll pass it, I have had several low-blood-sugar episodes this week, and I have a sinking feeling that I know why. I could test my blood sugar at work anytime, but I'd rather live in denial for a few more days. If I test positive, I will do the 3 hour test... and hope that I'm just "borderline" like the last time.

I'm starting to get REALLY excited about my mat leave. The fact that I'll be home with this baby seems like it's too good to be true. Plus, being able to be there for the kids before/after school, be available for class-volunteering, be able to grocery shop on any day OTHER than the weekend, and GASP be able to make dinner again... I can't wait. I have decided to take a handful of on-line courses during my mat-leave (let's be honest, if I didn't do SOMETHING I'd probably go crazy), so I'm looking forward to that too.

Names - we're still stumped. We have a list of about 8 names currently, and really it's a matter of fitting together 3 of them. I have a sneaking suspician that this will be a repeat of what happened with Lili - changing our minds on the way to the hospital, changing our minds again once we saw her... etc etc. Oh well.

24 weeks... the time is certainly speeding by. I guess I should post a picture at some point... I don't think I've allowed anyone to take any so far! By far the hardest thing for me to deal with this time around is the weight-gain. Having just lost over 30lbs, it has been quite the mental struggle to accept seeing my weight go up rather than down. Even though I know it's for a good reason. I've already gained more in this pregnancy than I did with either of my other two... which my OB says she's pleased with, since she feels I didn't gain enough back then. Still, it's hard for me to deal with. At least I know what I have to do to lose it all again... I just fret that I won't have the time. I'll make the time!

So, yeah, maybe I'll post a picture this week.

My first somewhat-inappropriate comment received during this pregnancy: In the elevator, on the way to work, these two (very goodlooking, may I add) men smile at me, and one says "hey, you can come up to our class and be a guinea pig!" I figure they're taking the EMR class. The other one smiles too, and says "you must be about ready to deliver!".

Sigh.

"Nope, 3.5 months to go!" I say. "WHOA, are you carrying quintuplets in there?" The first guy asks.

Lucky for him, we'd reached my floor, and I got out without comment.

Geez.

sad coincidence

So, yesterday, as I picked Cohen up from Daycare at the school, one of the providers started to chat with me a bit. She asked me when I was due, and when I told her, she said "I would have been due around that time too. May 6th."

I didn't know what to say. "I'm sorry".

She said that apparently God had other plans for her little one. "But," she added, "imagine my surprise when I call the paramedics, and Cohen's dad shows up!".

I was speechless. A few months ago I'd blogged about that call - the 14 week old fetus, how emotional Ian got because I was 13 weeks along, how he said that the couple reminded him so much of us when we were younger... he didn't sleep after that call for weeks!

And all along, it was Cohen's daycare provider.

"He probably gets calls like that all the time, so I'm sure he doesn't remember it."

I didn't tell her how shaken up Ian was as a result of that call. I just mumbled niceties and got out of there. Not great etiquette, I know... but I was in shock!

So today, I will be sure to start a conversation with her. What, I dunno.

So sad :( I feel so bad, she has to see my big belly every day and be reminded.

False alarm?

No additional bleeding since, so I'm sure everything is fine. Nice little scare though!

Some of the 1st trimester fatigue is coming back to haunt me. Usually around 10:30 and 4:30, I am hit with the overwhelming need to curl into a ball and sleep for 20 minutes. I took full advantage of that while on vacation... now that I'm back to work, it's really becoming more and more difficult to stay productive around those times. I'm considering bringing a pillow and blanket to keep in my office. I don't take breaks during the day, so I'm sure no-one would care if I snoozed for 15 minutes 2x per day. God knows, when I smoked, I probably took about 45 minutes worth of breaks each day! So yeah. The carpet is looking mighty attractive right about now.

Freaking out a little over clothes. I have 2 pairs of mat pants, and one of them are jeans, so I can't wear them to work. My other pair is only going to fit for another few weeks. I desperately need to get some more maternity pants/shirts. However - the ONLY store in Calgary that sold anything above a size 16-18 just closed. Which means, now I have to order any clothing from HERE.

Which is fine - except I have no $ for that right now. Or anytime soon. So I'm starting to panic a little - I really have nothing to wear to work. It stresses me out every morning. I'm hoping Ian takes an OT shift soon, then I can put in a $150 order, and be set for the rest of this pregnancy.

As for the little sweet princesss - slowly but surely I'm getting what she'll need. I can't tell you how many times I've hit myself on the forehead for getting rid of everything we had. Thank goodness for the generosity of friends/family! We now have 2 high chairs (which is actually a good thing, because Brae is still in a high chair too), 2 cribs (same deal), an exersaucer, an umbrella stroller (hey - anyone have a spare Graco stroller? We kept the carseat but not the stroller)...

I still need... hmm lets see.... a bath, washclothes, receiving blankets, bassinet/cradle, TinyLove Mobile (really, I won't use anything else... this damn thing was MAGIC with both of my kids, put them to sleep when nothing else would work, plus it has a REMOTE, how cool is that... yes, we gave ours away), stroller, co-sleeper, crib bedding (yay EBAY), change table/dresser (did you hear that forehead slap?), diapers (gotta start now), toys (ahhh infant toys - right now my house is filled with a billion little tiny preschool toys that are just begging to be choked on by some poor, innocent infant), nursing supplies (bras, nursing pads, lanolin, nursing pillow), bouncy chair... I know, it seems excessive. But you know, I know from experience that although some of this stuff won't get used for the first 3 months, I know that I will be too busy and overwhelmed - and broke - to be going out shopping in the first 6 months. So I'm desperately trying to get everything now.

Plus, lets face it - I'm type-A - I wan't that room (nay, the entire house!) ready for this baby. And I'm fully counting on 3rd trimester nesting to help me make this happen. Which is why, I think, I may work only until mid-April, rather than May 1. Give myself a few weeks to prepare. I have a feeling that this little girl is coming a week early. (Could be wishful thinking, I know). Actually, if I could have my way, she'd come about 2.5 weeks early, as my cousin and his wife are coming to visit from Australia around that time!

11:00am... I supose I blogged my way through the 10:30 lull. It's almost time for lunch... even though I'm supposed to avoid deli-meat, I'm having a Subway sub for lunch. I just can't stand the thought of any of the other places that are downstairs. Don't worry, I'll heat the sub up, no listeria here.

Trying not to freak out

Took the kids swimming tonight, and when I was getting undressed to go home, there was some blood in my swimsuit. Not a lot, and not bright red (bright = bad). Have been crampy for a few days, chalked it up to Braxton Hicks.

Ian offered to take me to the ER but it really wasn't very much, and my Dr appointment is on Thurs. Plus, I've been checking every hour or so, and so far, there has been no more. So I'm trying to relax.

Keep your fingers crossed, say a prayer, whatever.

22 weeks

and feelin' fine! other than the cold I came down with Thursday evening. Yup. I KNEW it was going to happen. It's a doozy too, but I'm hanging in there. More annoying than anything else.

Did I get my stuff done? Nope. Did I sleep a lot? Yes. Which, I suppose, is just as much of a treat and probably more important.

Tomorrow I vow to get at least one thing crossed off of my list.


Today I went shopping with my step-mom. Or rather, she shopped! I restrained myself to one outfit, a pack of cloths, and a pack of soothers. She got a ton of sleepers - in addition to the bag of stuff she had already bought, including those oh-so-adorable infant socks and shoes. It was fun... I am slowly starting to get everything that I need. My friend Beth has invited me to come over and raid her garage of her old baby-items. I have a crib (2 actually), and now just need a changing table. I have to get two single beds and dressers for Cohen/Lili, since their double beds won't fit in one room. My cousin has a bassinet for me. I have a carseat still, and a playpen. I have an excersaucer.

You know what... I'm going to start a baby registry even though I'm not having a shower (most likely. I mean, anyone wants to throw me one, feel free! But realistically, people don't generally throw showers for third-timers). This way, at least I can keep track of what the heck I still need.

My Dr appointment is this Thursday. I was hoping Ian could come for some moral support - but I forgot that the kids have music class at that exact same time, so he has to take them. I'll just remember to write down all my questions, I guess.

Names! No luck. We've decided one one for sure without a doubt - after both of our grandmothers. Both of my grandmothers passed away this past year, so I'd like to honour them both, but I'd also like to pick a name or two of our own! SO I'm not sure. One of my grandmothers and Ians grandmother share the same name, so that one was easy. There are a few names that I really, really love, but each of them is the name I would like to actually call her... and that name has been decided already!

22 weeks, eh. More than halfway there. Hard to believe. I think that the next 6 weeks are going to be really tough, mostly because the closer I get to my mat leave, the more intense my job is going to become. I'm trying to stay positive (not my norm, LOL, I know) and remind myself that the harder I work, the faster the time seems to go.

I saw this "Baby Story" yesterday - this poor women, diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer while 3 months pregnant. Honestly, I turned it off after that part, I couldn't deal with it. She had a 4 year old as well. She said - "we came to conclusion that God wouldn't just give us this baby only to take me away from her". Such faith. I wish I could have that type of faith! Like I said, I didn't stick around to find out if her faith was rewarded. Can you imagine?

Alright. Me and my indigestion are going to do a load of laundry and get to bed early, lots to (try) and do tomorrow!