31 Weeks (yesterday)

Let me first say I am beyond annoyed with blogger. I just finished writing a great witty post, as usual, and I lost it. I lost it all. So this is my second attempt at the same post. OK - let's get to it.

Here is the my picture taken yesterday at exactly 31 weeks. Although I have no makeup on and I am not even sure I combed my hair after I showered, I really wanted to tell you about the outfit I am wearing in the picture.

While I was on vacation visiting my parents (post to come....), my mom and I went to Walmart to look around and get some 'girl time' in before I left later that day. I went on a mini shopping spree. For just over $50 I got this shirt, a long sweater, long leggings for post baby, and 2 necklaces (including the one I am wearing in this picture). Not bad for an hour shopping trip if I do say so myself! The best part about the shirt in this photo is it had been marked down to $12. I tried it on with my leggings and my mom and I loved it, but it had a hole. We searched for a different one to no avail so got a $3 discount bringing the total price paid for this shirt to $9. My Mom was able to fix the hole with her sewing machine in less than 10 minutes. What a deal!

So back to the leggings. As some of you may have figured out, me and leggings are a work in progress. Just when I am getting more comfortable wearing flip flops and capri leggings, the season is changing and I need to convert to the longer ones. My question now is what shoes to wear? My logic is boots - like Uggs. But does it make sense to spend $200 on boots to wear with leggings that cost $6? James would argue no. I would argue that what good is a pair of pants that you can't wear outside the house because you have no boots? So now I am already scheming about what kind of boots I will buy. I of course want to have the boots purchased and in my closet before the baby is born as I foresee said leggings being a staple in my post baby wardrobe..... I'll keep you posted.

For comparison, here is my 30 week photo during my pregnancy with Grady.

Dare I say I look smaller this go around?

On second look, I don't think so. I do not feel smaller. I am already uncomfortable moving around and especially bending over. I now unload my groceries while sitting on the floor and organizing them into what goes where as to minimize bending over to pick the groceries up. At first I thought maybe it was because I am bigger than last go around, but now I think it is because I didn't spend nearly as much time sitting on the floor. With a toddler around my day to day activities are very different than they were when I was pregnant with Grady. There was no playing on the floor, carrying around a 30 pounder, going to the park, putting a child in and out of car seat, picking up toys etc etc. Things are different this go around.

Different but better.

The Post I'm Glad I didn't Write

Here is a picture of our little thumb sucker taken last weekend.

What you can't tell from looking at this picture is a mere 3 weeks ago I was ready to write a post about how Grady no longer sucked his thumb. He had quit. Cold turkey. From the picture above, you know this is not the case. Let me start from the beginning....

The Friday of the August long weekend, Grady was grumpy. Not just usual grumpiness, really grumpy. We didn't think much of it and continued on with our weekend. After 2 rough nights and a very difficult Sunday, we finally brought him to the walk in clinic. I am on a first name basis with the check in ladies. Not really, but might as well be since we have been there monthly for 3 months! After a relatively short wait, we get the diagnosis. Throat, ear, and eye infection. Lucky, Lucky us. How is this happening. Again.

The biggest reason we took him in was the intense drooling. Picture Grady sitting on the couch watching 'cars movie' with drool continuously leaking from his mouth. That is essentially what was happening. It meant his throat hurt so much that he did not want to swallow his own saliva. We were scared he had strep as James had it a few months ago and said it was extremely painful. The doctor took one look at his throat and although it was not strep, he said there were tiny little ulcers visible. So it was obvious that our little boy was in a lot of pain. He was quite the trooper all things considered.

What does this have to do with thumb sucking? Let's fast forward a week. A week of fighting with Grady to take his meds. A week of sleepless nights. A week of tantrums. After this pleasant week, I made an observation. Grady was no longer sucking his thumb. At all. We kept a close eye on him for a week and he just didn't suck it any more. I had the naive thought that it would last. After more than a week of not sucking his thumb I think his throat started to feel better. He took the odd suck before bed. The odd suck when he woke up. The odd suck when he was watching TV.... and before we knew it, he was sucking his thumb like he never skipped a beat.

As a parent it was an odd feeling. We really have no issues with the thumb sucking. It is his method of self soothing and he'll stop when he is ready or when he is old enough to make a deal with us. With that said, when he quit for a week I was thrilled. No impending battle of getting him to stop in years to come. No more germs constantly filtering through his little bod. No more pictures where his face is covered by his hand. So when he did start again, at first we tried really hard to get him to take it out. It was exhausting. So after a day of this, we gave up.

It was nice for the week that is lasted, but our little boy is still a thumb sucker and we love him just the same!

New Trend

Grady, James, and Nana went to Calaway Park while I was at work last week. Grady is wearing a Thomas shirt as you can tell from the photo. What you may not be able to tell is that this is actually a pajama shirt. The one he had been wearing since 7pm the evening before.

James tried to get him dressed in the morning and Grady insisted on wearing the Thomas shirt all day. He did give in and put on regular shorts. This was likely because we could not find the matching Thomas shorts the day before so we was wearing other bottoms.

I went through a phase in grade 7 where I thought it was cool to wear pajama bottoms to school. I still remember, they were while 'esleep' shorts with pink ice cream cones on them. I was that cool.

Maybe Grady is reimposing this same trend in 2010. Do you think it will stick?

I hope not.

30 less a day

That is how many weeks pregnant I am now. I know... we are just about at 30 weeks. This pregnancy is flying by more quickly than I ever expected. With Grady, the pregnancy seemed to pass slowly as I was just so excited to meet our first child. Don't get me wrong, I am equally excited to meet our second child, I just don't have as much time to think about and enjoy every moment. Yet another thing that is just a little different this time around.

This, my friends, is the time of my life I have looked forward to for my entire life. Being married, expanding our family, and enjoying our family. This moment is what I have waited for. I was one of those kids who loved her dolls. Each one was named Lori-Anne. A name I thought I had made up until I met one in grade school. Not so made up I guess. I nurtured these dolls, turned my closet into Lori-Anne's room, and pretended they were real. I wanted to be a mommy.

There was a time in my life, before I met James of course, that I thought this time in my life would never come. I didn't date much growing up and decided that maybe I wouldn't ever get married and have a family. It was at this time that I chose the CA (chartered accountant) route for my career. If I wasn't going to have a family, I might as well have a career. Approximately 4 months before I started said career I met James. And for the first time in my life I pondered the what ifs? What if this was it? What if we got married? Had kids? How many would we have? Would we have boys or girls? What if? What if? What if?

And here I sit - with most of my what if's answered and I have to remind myself to cherish every moment. I don't want to let the next few years pass me by only to look back and wish that I took more time to enjoy these years, document them, and to make the most of these years that are proving to more difficult, tiring, and rewarding than I ever imagined.

As I sit here and write I feel DJs kicks and I am excited and sad at the same time. Excited I am fortunate enough to be having our second child with my husband who I can literally feel kicking me from the inside out. Sad that in due time I will forget what that once felt like. I wish I could record that feeling and enjoy it for years to come. As much as I love nurturing DJ nestled within my belly, nothing can express how happy I am that DJ will soon be snuggled in our arms ready for kisses.

Believe me, there will be lots of kisses.

Doctor's Appt - 29 Weeks

Yesterday I made my monthly trek to visit the prenatal doctor. I really enjoy these appointments but not so much the wait! I make my appointments at 4pm so I don't have to miss much work. This is the second last appointment of the day. Guess what that means? They are never on time. For the third time in a row I have been at the office for an hour for my 10 minute appointment. Very frustrating. On the other hand, I love my doctor which makes the wait worth while.

So onto the details.

1. Being anemic at this point in pregnancy is very normal. Although all my research pointed to this, it was reassuring to hear it from the doctor's mouth. They don't even follow up on your blood work. You take your iron supplement and they assume all is well. Good news.

2. I am RH negative. This apparently is a very rare blood type and the universal donor. I did not even know this until I was pregnant with Grady. My mom and Grandma have the same blood type. Here is your medical lesson of the day courtesy of about.com:

A woman is at risk when she has a negative Rh factor (which I do) and her partner has a positive Rh factor (which James does). This combination can produce a child who is Rh positive (which Grady is). While the mother's and baby's blood systems are separate there are times when the blood from the baby can enter into the mother's system. This can cause the mother to create antibodies against the Rh factor, thus treating an Rh positive baby like an intruder in her body. If this happens the mother is said to be sensitized.

Since a small number of unsensitized women may have problems with the end of pregnancy, many practitioners recommend that she be given an injection of RhIg (also known as Rhogam) at 28 weeks gestation, to prevent the few cases of sensitization that occur at the end of pregnancy. Each dose of RhIg lasts about 12 weeks. The mother will also be given RhIg within 72 hours of birth if the child is Rh positive (which I received, in the butt I might add and not in the arm like they do at the doctor's office).

So there you have it. In case you didn't read it, to dumb it down, I have to get a shot to make sure that my blood doesn't fight the babies blood. So the shot I did get. And it hurt more than I remembered. Could be because the office was running so late that all the nurses had left and the doctor had to give it to me. You would think the doctor would give a better needle, but since they don't do many this is not the case.

Long story short, the shot has been administered and I don't need another until after that baby is born. Yeah!

3. The baby's heart rate is a healthy 135 - again indicating a boy by old wives tales.

4. I asked that doctor about the position of the baby since my 25 week ultrasound revealed that DJ was in fact breach. She said it was a little early to be checking and at this point in the pregnancy is really just a timing thing. But after feeling around and the location of the heartbeat she figures the baby is head down. Now this is just a guess and the baby could still switch back. For the time being I am content knowing the baby may be head down. I have become increasingly concerned with having a c-section but am trying not to dwell on it... yet. She also said that should the baby be breech at 35 weeks I would have an ultrasound to confirm and then have the option of having a doctor perform External cephalic version (ECV) where they manually try and turn the baby from the outside. It is supposed to be painful. Let's hope it doesn't come to that. See how easy it is to get ahead of yourself!

And I think that about sums up what I though was an uneventful appointment. Somehow, I still managed to write a good sum about it!

Happy Birthday James!

Happy Birthday James aka Grady's Daddy!

James' birthday ends 2 full months worth of many, many birthdays in our family. Most we are fortunate to celebrate in Calgary and a few are celebrated by family afar. Regardless of where they are celebrated they are talked about immensely around our house. There is card coloring, song singing, candle lighting, and gift opening. Of course Grady likes to take part in it all!

It starts out with singing happy birthday for a few days leading up to the event and trying to get him to insert the correct name instead of his own! This one has been the biggest challenge!

On the big day we start by putting the candles in the cake. Or Trifle in this case, made by Nana, requested by James.

This is the first time we have used a sparkler as well in the cake and it seemed to be a real hit but the smile on Grady's face!



The past 2 birthday cakes (both mine) Grady has burnt his finger either on the flame itself or on the candle after it was blown out. Not a bad burn or anything, but bad enough that we decided that we would not light the candles for James birthday. Notice the candles lit in the picture below? Grady insisted the candles be lit. So we lit only 3. I have a great picture of James and Grady blowing the candles out... but it isn't exactly a flattering one of James so I didn't post it! After the candles were blown out Grady started yelling 'more fire, more fire'. We are going to have our hands full in a few years!

Next up is where Grady helps you open you presents whether you are ready or not. He was already trying to rip the paper off before cake was even served. I don't think Grady was overly impressed with the espresso machine and accessories in the box. You could tell he was thinking 'where are the toys?'. I'm not sure he fully comprehended it wasn't his birthday... again.

We will have cake again tonight for the last time before November when Aunty Bo has her birthday. If only Makka and Grandpa John lived here we could have cake twice in October as well! That is a long time for a little man. We are already discussing having a 'birthday party' for DJ when she/he comes home from the hospital just so we can have more cake and blow out a candle! Being a woman with a sweet tooth... I personally think this is a great idea!

Happy Birthday James! Hope you have a great day!

28 Weeks

Here you have it - Me and DJ at 28 weeks! Time is a flying by..... I think this also marks the start of the 3rd trimester. Not that it matters to me, but it makes us sound a little closer to the end!

If you look closely at the picture you can see that my belly button has popped. Who am I kidding, it popped weeks ago. Grady likes to push it like a button. My belly button looks like his now. Grady has what appears to be an 'outtie' belly button which in reality is an umbilical hernia that apparently corrects itself overtime. Anyhow, he loves to put his head on my belly, give baby kisses followed by a big smile! I hope this continues when baby is outside my belly!

So far the iron pills (and prune juice) are fine. I get occasional bloating and stomach hardness after taking them, but all in all it could be much worse. Much, much worse.

Besides that, the pregnancy is going really well. Although there are some small differences to my pregnancy with Grady, I am very lucky to be happy (most of the time) and healthy. One of the differences I am noticing is the timing of DJ's movement. Grady kicked mostly during the day and hard enough that I felt his kicks even if I was busy working, cleaning, reading etc. With this one, (s)he is quiet most of the day and I generally do not feel movement unless I am relaxing. The other odd thing is DJ gets most of the kicks in between about 8pm and midnight. The kicks aren't waking me up but when I get up to pee every night (another difference to first pregnancy) when I return to bed baby will be kicking. I hope this doesn't' mean DJ is a night owl, because his/her mommy is definitely not!!

The biggest difference I find to my first pregnancy is being tired. All the time. It is so tiring carrying around a 30 pound child and the extra weight of baby. It is tiring getting up and down off the floor while playing with Grady. It is tiring not getting to sleep in on the weekends or kick back in the evening during the week. Sometimes I think it is a blessing in disguise to be at work where there is no heavy lifting and I get to sit in a chair most of the time.

With that being said, I am looking forward to being done work. The contract that I am covering was for a maternity leave and she is returning to work on Sept. 20. We will overlap for 2 weeks and my last day will be Sept. 30. With a week vacation in there that is 31 working days. The great part about finishing my contract is I can take a few extra months off at the end of my maternity leave and take the time to look for a part-time job if that is the route we decide to take. Only time will tell what we decide is the best decision for our family of four.

Our New Wheels

Yes. We did it. We bought a mini van.

Do I feel too young to drive a mini van? Yes. Did we get all excited driving of the lot with our brand new Honda Oyssey? Kind of. Do we think we will love having a mini van? Definitely.

Owning a mini van is not the car you dream of owning since you were little or even the car you hoped to have as an adult. A mini van is all about practicality. We are the parents of 1.8 kids and becoming more and more practical each and every day. Enter mini van purchase.


Grandma "aka Makka" was here at the beginning of July, so with a built in babysitter we decided to head over to Honda just to look at the vans and see what they had to offer. Don't get me wrong, we were pretty sure we wanted one. James spent many conversations with other Dads that had mini vans asking which one they had, what they liked, what they didn't like, and if over all they were happy with their purchase. Each one said they loved their mini van. Didn't matter whether it was Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Dodge, Ford.. they all loved them. I am sure that many people knew we were expecting before we announced we were pregnant as James was obsessed with learning about mini vans!

So off to Honda we went. James test drove the van and got the specs and the price. Turns out for the month of July Honda was offering $6,000 off the Oyssey - what a deal! So now we had a timeline. Do we buy the van a few months early and get a good deal on 2010 or wait until later in the fall when we originally planned to make the purchase. One thing we did know. We really liked the Honda. It just has a luxury feel to it. All leather interior, power everything, auto sliding doors, auto trunk open/close, back up camera, 8 seats and more! I was ready to buy that day, but the rational part of me told me we needed to look at at least one more van before taking the plunge.

So 2 weeks later we headed to Toyota. The hot seller on the Toyota is the all wheel drive feature. James has AWD on his car and really likes it. Considering winter lasts about 9 months here, it is a good feature to have. We actually always thought we would buy a Toyota for that fact alone. We met with the sales guy, took a test drive, looked at the packages and features but still liked the Honda better. I guess we'll be getting winter tires....

So on the July 31st, the last day of the cash back offer, we headed back to Honda to make the purchase. This time I did a test drive as I will be the primary driver of said mini van. I felt really comfortable during the 2 block test drive. Just kidding, it was more like 6 blocks. The most embarresing part of the whole trip was when he told us that everyone who buys a car has to ring the bell. They wanted me to do the honor. So I walked up to the bell and pulled the string but nothing happened. So James said let's do it together. So we did. First of all, it was really loud. Second, everyone started clapping. It was beyond embaressing and we slipped out of show room as quickly as possible!

James also said that since I would be driving it the most I could pick the color. I picked white. I love the way white cars look. We walked in expecting to get white. Then I got cold feet. James wasn't crazy about white and although I love white on a car, not sure how well it would transfer to our giant van. We also liked the blue, but they could only show the color to us on the truck. It looked great on the truck, but again, how would it look on the giant van? As you can tell, we decided on dark grey. Together.

I am beyond happy with the way our new wheels look and mostly how it feels. Not sure how much longer I could get Grady in the back seat of our car......

PS - Kolby - we have a nice comfy spot saved for you... in the trunk!

Mr. Independent

We have noticed lately that Grady wants to do everything 'self, self'. This ranges from getting in the bath tub, putting on his shoes, openning the garage door, pouring his cereal etc. etc. Where did this independence come from?

There is a part of me that welcomes his willingness and ableness to do some things by himself. Pouring his own milk is not one of them. This has resulted in many temper tantrums over the past few weeks of who does what and what Grady is actually capable of doing all on his own.

These temper tantrums are nasty. Tantrums I am sure all parents go through at some point, but man are they frustrating. Our son is stubborn (he gets is from his Dad. haha) so throws these tantrums regularly and he has stamina. Some times multiple times an hour. It involves throwing himself on the floor, the driveway, the grass, the grocery store floor, and screaming. Don't forget the kicking that comes with it too. That is swell. Sometimes you wait it out (like when you are at home). Sometimes you try your best to get your child under control (when you are at the mall). Neither is fun. One is more embarrassing than the other.

Babycenter.com explains temper tantrums as "the emotional equivalent of a summer storm — sudden and sometimes fierce. One minute you and your child are in a restaurant enjoying your dinner, the next minute he's whimpering, whining, and then screaming at the top of his lungs because his straw is bent. Children between the ages of 1 and 3 are especially prone to such episodes."

The reassuring part is that Babycenter.com goes further to say "it's unlikely that your child is throwing a fit to be manipulative. More likely, he's having a meltdown in response to frustration".

That makes sense to me. He understands what I ask him and he tries to tell me that he wants Cheerios and not the Life cereal I gave him for breakfast. But the 'my cereal' that he tells me is not the answer I am looking for. This simple miscommunication results in yet another tantrum. You'd think it would be as easy as just switching the cereal once I realize he did not want Life cereal, but once he has entered tantrum mode, it is hard to pull him out.

I remember before I had my own kid and I would watch parents with their kids that were freaking out and think my kids would never behave like that. I will be able to control my kids. Now I know better. I am sure people are watching us with Grady thinking the same thing.

So what is the moral of the story post? To be honest, I am not sure there is one. I started the post intending to share about Grady's new found independence (hence the title). And it ended up being about tantrums... go figure! Although the 2 are closely related I am quickly finding out! Maybe the morale is don't judge the parents in the grocery store whose children are out of control? Maybe the moral is giving a preview of what is to come for those who have younger kids? In reality, I think the post just reflects the frustrations of parenting and venting to other moms who may be having the same issues.