Happy Due Date DJ!

So I guess this is what 40 weeks pregnant look like....

I have been thinking all week about what I would write in my due date post all the while hoping I'd be writing a birth announcement instead.

Here I find myself at the date that I have counted down for 9 months and I still have no baby to show for it. I guess I do in terms of a big belly, but not exactly what what I had in mind :)

So here is what pregnancy at 40 weeks is like according to Amalah. She has a different approach and sense of humor then the baby center emails I receive and thought that her version of 40 weeks is much more representative

Your Baby:

• get out get out get out.
• get out get out get out get out.

You:

• get out get out get out. get out. get out.
• get out get out get out get out.
• and for real: GET OUT.

So first, the bad news. Less than 10% of babies actually show up on their due date. While the word “overdue” pretty much feels on par with the f-word during the final weeks of pregnancy, the sad truth is that many of us will end up there.

You may continue to trudge to work everyday, silently fuming about how this was SO NOT WHAT YOU MEANT by your plan to “work up until your due date.” You may start working from home, blaming an inability to fit into your shoes or keep the bottom few inches of your belly covered. You may be trying to convince your older children that no, FOR REAL, the baby still is coming, you swear, despite the fact that the cheerfully circled Big Brother Day!! on the calendar has come and gone. You may just be sitting around, waiting. And waiting.Endless walking? Mucus plug? Contractions? Spicy food? Sex? Anyone? Can I have some sign that this is almost over? Don’t make me break out the castor oil.

So there you have it. Being 40 weeks pregnant is not pleasant and a place most woman hope to never see. Myself included. You have now passed the day you have hoped would arrive for months and now you just keep waiting. For me, my new countdown date is Nov. 11. That is the day that they will induce me in the event that there is no natural labour in the next 11 days. That seems months from now.

For me, 40 weeks pregnant means no plans, no play dates, no spontaneity, and no fun. I go to sleep every night and ask James if tonight is the night. Every night he says no. Last night I got a maybe. When will he just say yes because that is what I want him to say. Even if he is wrong every night except that one special night when DJ arrives.

In the grand scheme of things what is one (or even eleven) more days of waiting for a lifetime of happiness with our second child. Now that puts things into perspective.

So now I will drink my Raspberry Leaf tea that has been steeping well over the recommended 15 minutes and enjoy my little ones kicks from the inside for what could be the last time. Or there could be many more moments like this over the next 11 days. But I know that one day soon we will meet this little critter that has already brought so much joy to our lives.

Happy Halloween!

Updated for pumpkin pictures!

Hope your Halloween is 'Spider-iffic'!

Here is Grady getting ready to carve his first pumpkin!


I didn't think he would, but he wanted to get right into the pumpkin and dig out the seeds.


I was too busy carving my pumpkin to get many action shots but here are the final results after a few hours of hard work!


James first pumpkin - Elmo!

James' second pumpkin - the New York Yankees emblem.


Aunty Bo - Missing eye ball guy

Grandma - Spider

I did Dora.

Uncle Dave's Flander.


Another successful year of pumpkin carving!

A Halloween Trial Run

Since I have nothing of substance to report as I waddle around anticipating my water to break or to be suddenly woken up with contractions this blog is all about pictures!

With that said, here are a few pics from yesterday's Halloween class!

Discouraged

I thought I should do a quick post to let you know we are still waiting for DJ. I really thought DJ would be here by now. I always tell people not to expect early babies and here that is what I did without even realizing it. I was just so sure that DJ would be as early or earlier than Grady that I lost sight of the fact that my due date isn't until this Sunday....

I had a quick doctor's appointment where we determined baby is still very high so there is nothing she can do to help speed up the process. So the waiting continues...

My mom arrived on Sunday and I am so grateful for her and all the help she has provided even before that baby is born. I originally thought she would be more help after the baby was born, but it turns out that the closer you get to 40 weeks, the more tired you become, and the nicer it is to have a 'playmate' for your 2 year old.

Grady loves his Grandma and has shown it many times over the past few days. From waking up in the morning and asking where grandma is before he even says hello to you to leading you back to your chair to sit down so he can play with Grandma by himself. I hope this will help when the baby arrives as he will still have a playmate while James and I try to adjust to having 2 kids.

Grady is spending the day with Nana, who he loves to bits, tomorrow while Mom and I head out to do a little retail therapy and maybe even eat a meal in peace and quiet. But not not before heading to Grady's usual Thursday morning class to have some Halloween fun with his friends! I'll try and post some pictures if I can get him to stay in his costume long enough. I am not going to lie, I am a little concerned about the costume. He loves all things Halloween right now including the pumpkins, scary books, and the blow up decorations across the street. But the costume we are not so sure about......

39 Weeks

I have officially been pregnant longer with DJ than I was with Grady.

Here are some reasons why I beleive DJ should make an appearnce this week:

• My mom has arrived.


• I feel like an overstuffed turkey


• I am packed


• I am tired all the time


• I am not sleeping great at night


• I can no longer shave my legs. Seriously.


• I have all these frozen meals in the freezer that I promised myself I wouldn't eat until after the baby is born (Thanks to Dashing Dishes and Nana!)


• Grady is finally sleeping through the night on a more regular basis. Knock on wood.


• My clothing selection is so limited that I sometimes wear shirts with stains on them.


• One pair of the four pairs of casual pants that fit are capris. The weather is supposed to be cold this week so I am down to 3 pairs....


• I outgrew my seven maternity jeans weeks ago!


• We have visitors lined up for the whole month of November to meet DJ. DJ could still be in my belly or freshly born instead.


• All four of us have a Halloween party to attend next weekend.


• I may seriously go insane if I have to do another weekly photo and update!

Tomorrow is the day that James and I both independently chose as DJ's birth day in the baby pool. Let's hope we were right!

Genetics

Way back when Grady was born I was convinced that all Grady got from me was his blue eyes and my big toe. Strange but true. Besides that, Grady was all his Dad. Just recently we discovered that Grady got something else from me....

Grady can roll his tongue!


I learned in high school biology that being able to roll your tongue is all in the genes. Not too many years ago, my sisters each called me and asked me if I could roll my tongue when they were taking this same class. It turned out that only about half of my family can actually roll their tongue. I thought everyone could do it. It just seems so simple....

Around this same time, I learned James cannot roll his tongue. So guess where Grady got this new found talent from. You got it - ME!!

Photo by this.life photography

James first noticed it a few weeks ago and with some practicing in the mirror Grady has mastered it! He laughs every time we do it together. I love that I can add another thing to the list of Grady got from me!

38 Weeks

Could this be my last pregnancy picture?

It could very well be as Grady was born in week 38. In this pregnancy, Grady's birth day is the eqivalent of Saturday. Saturday! So since this could be the last pregnancy post, let's have a little fun!

The picture above is a comparison of this pregnancy to last pregnancy at 38 weeks. Obviously it was a little warmer last time around. I almost pulled out the same dress to put on for the picture. That quickly became too much work. Observations? I seem to me maybe smaller this time? Looks like I am carrying lower as well. My hair is also longer. Finally. I have been growing it since April and still can't get a pony tail in it. To top it off, I get my hair cut on Thursday so pony tails are not in my near future....

I know this one is small, but if you click on it, it becomes bigger. This is my growth this pregnancy. I look at the first picture at 14 weeks and I remember thinking how big I was. I hadn't seen anything yet. I can't WAIT to lay on my stomach again. Not only for sleeping, but for reading books and doing puzzles with Grady. This whole side laying thing is getting pretty old.

As for my doctor's appointment today... it was uneventful. I thought it was funny that when she was feeling my belly she asked me if I knew if we were having a boy. Odd. I responded with 'no, do you know we are having a boy' she said simply no they don't write that in the file. I found that odd. Could a second little boy be joining our family soon? More trucks, diggers, Diego, and trains? Maybe we'll find out this week.... then again, maybe not!

All packed

This is the pile of things I have gathered that need to be brought to the hospital. I may add a pillow or 2 to the pile yet. I thought I learned about over packing last time. Apparently not.

Maternity Photos

We had maternity photos taken last Thursday and Leah from This. Life Photography sent us a sneak peak today. After seeing these photos... I just can't wait to see the rest!

The Woombie

It is no secret that we had a Grady in a grow bag until he was just over 2 years old. Did we plan this? No. Would we do it again? Yes. It was a great bed time routine for Grady and in the last several months prevented him from climbing out of the crib. Bonus. We only took him out of it when we moved him to the big boy bed as we were scared the he would fall out of bed wearing it. Other than that, the grow bag worked great for us!

Moving on to baby #2.... we decided to purchase a Woombie blanket. James and I couldn't swaddle to save our own lives with Grady. Enter Woombie. Very similar to a grobag but it doesn't have arm holes. It is essentially a swaddle blanket that zips up and keeps baby's arms snug and secure inside the blanket where they can not wake themselves or scratch themselves with their startle reflex. It sounds all fine and dandy except we don't know anyone that actually used one.

I actually sent my mom to buy one for me in her city. Here in Calgary, it is exclusively sold at one store not so close to my house. With Grady in tow it would be our only outing of the morning. So my mom agreed to make what I thought would be a quick trip to the baby store. Instead of being quick, it sounds like she got a product demo on many other items besides the blanket :) Most importantly, she bought the blanket. Not without calling to consult with me on the color. I told her any gender neutral color would do.. They had baby blue, baby pink, light green, light brown and bright orange. If you know me, you'll know I picked bright orange.

I'll try and remember to update you in a month or 2 and let you know if I think the blanket was worth the price tag. But no promises as I will have new mommy brain and can't guarantee I will remember this post!

37 Weeks

37 weeks, 2 days. 19 days left per the ticker. 19 days. Or it could be tomorrow. Wow. For your viewing pleasure here I am at 37 weeks exactly before thanksgiving dinner.

Front.

Side.

Back.

I love how from the back you can't really tell I am pregnant, then you get a side view and there is no mistaking it!

I had my weekly doctor appointment today and it was pretty uneventful. I asked a few questions about some things after baby is born, in particular breast feeding. Grady and I got off to a rough start in the world of breast feeding so want to try and remedy it earlier this go around. Supply was the issue, so not sure if anything can really be done. I already have a prescription to start the 'breast feeding drug' on day 3 if my milk doesn't come in. So I am happy about that.

Other than that, I am measuring right at 37.5 weeks and baby's heart rate was 142. Highest we have seen it in months! Baby must be getting excited to make its grand appearance!

The waiting continues.....

Pumpkin Hunt!

Today we spent a great morning with our friends John and Stacey and their boys Nicholas and Noah at Butterfield Acres annual pumpkin hunt. Grady and Nicholas have been friends since they were born. I still remember visiting Stacey and Nicolas shortly after he was born when I was very pregnant with Grady. I was holding Nicholas and Grady was kicking from inside my belly. These 2 boys go way back....

The great weather and great company helped make this a perfect way to spend a morning in October.

First, we rode 'old blue' a blue, but not so old tractor out to the pumpkin patch to look for the pumpkin we got to take to the barn to decorate. I do not have many good pictures of the tractor ride as Grady cried through a portion of it. He was convinced he did not want to go anywhere near the tractor. James dragged him on anyway and he seemed to enjoy (or not hate it) after a few minutes.

Once the tractor stopped we all piled out and hunted for our pumpkins.

I think Nicholas and Grady grabbed some great pumpkins. We had to look pretty hard for Nicholas' pumpkin as they were well hidden under many many leaves!

We got back on the tractor (no tears this time) and headed back to the barn to decorate. First we drew on the pumpkins and then we got to move onto the messy fun stuff that included lots of glue, peas, noodles, colored rice, and feathers!

The boys did a great job of decorating the pumpkins which I am sure will be on display in both households all month!

To finish off the morning we got a group shot of all of us in our orange attire!

I hope we are able to make this an annual event as it was so much fun!

After nap time, we headed to Nana's for a great home cooked meal. Grady had a little turkey and a lot of pumpkin pie! There is nothing like a home cooked turkey dinner. I am already looking forward to Christmas dinner!

Happy Thanksgiving!

PS - I guess DJ's birthday will not be 10-10-10. Would have been such a cool birthday to have.....

Weekly Doctor Appoinmtents

So after an eventful Friday, I thought I would recap my more routine weekly appointment that started this week. Usually I go on the way home from work which is the last or second last appointment of the day, so it is always late. Tuesday's appointment was a pleasant surprise. My appointment was for 9:10 and I was out of there at 9:22. Yes.... a mere 12 minutes later. It was fantastic. As for new info....

-the baby's heart rate was 137. This baby has not broken 140 the whole pregnancy.... which according to old wives tale means boy. Not sure

-baby is 100% head down. Since the ultrasound at 26 weeks when the baby was breech, the doctors are really into confirming each and every visit that baby has flipped. Apparently it would be rare for the baby to switch back to breech at this point.

- DJ's head has not 'dropped'. Apparently in second and subsequent pregnancies some woman do not 'drop' until labor starts. I was actually quite surprised that DJ was still high as I feel lots of pressure on my bladder if a move a certain way. Especially when I am exercising. So really this is a useless piece of information. Moving on...

- I am 1 cm dilated. This also is really insignificant as woman on second or subsequent babies can walk around dilated to 3cm and not know it. So I am not holding my breath that this means I will be giving birth this week.

So there is this weeks recap... until next's week appt....

Nothing beats a Friday morning spent at labor and delivery

I hope you sense the sarcasm in the title....

I haven't been feeling great all week. Dizzy spells here and there but nothing serious. It started Tuesday morning the same day as my doctor appointment but I didn't mention it as by the time I got to the appointment I felt fine and my blood pressure was normal so thought that was the end of it. Wrong!

This morning I felt fine. Not great but better than previous mornings. We had arranged to meet a friend and her son at the pool at 9:30 which we did. Grady did great wearing his life jacket and seemed to be having a great time. They have this river that has a current and jets resulting in some bubbles. The second we stepped into the evil river I felt awful. Very dizzy and even a bit nauseous. I told my friend that I needed to get out hoping to feel better. But I didn't.

We decided to leave and I felt so awful that I opted not to drive. We are so lucky to have Nana living close by so I called her hoping she would come and pick us up. I quickly called my OB to see if I could get in. I wasn't optimistic as they conveniently close at noon on Fridays but I didn't know what else to do. The receptionist said if I was really concerned to go to the Maternal Unit at the hospital. Although that was not how I hoped to spend the morning, I also did not want to spend the entire long weekend worrying so we opted to take a drive to the hospital.

To make a long story short, my blood pressure was fine, the baby movement was good, and the it turns out the dizziness is not related to my pregnancy at all. The doctor thinks that the dizziness is being caused by my never ending cold combined with pregnancy congestion. It is some sort of inner ear thing that starts with an 'L'. She gave me a prescription for a steroid nasal spray, but I opted to try a more natural approach first. My bff Deena recommended a Neti Pot to clear my sinuses. It is actually kind of gross. You pour saline solution into one nostril and it drips out the other nostril. I have done it exactly once so far. I really hope that it clears up my sinuses and makes these dizzy spells disappear before baby arrives.

So now we have our trial run under our belts. Bring on the real deal!

Cheese!

Imuch prefer this face in pictures

then the thumb sucking we used to see all the time.

I just wish

he would keep his eyes open!

Cheese!

Excited. Scared. Nervous. Excited.

That is what I am feeling at any given moment at 36 weeks pregnant with baby number 2.



My how it is different this go around. With my first pregnancy I was just over the moon excited about becoming a Mom. No longer did I have to watch other moms with their newborns and wander when it would be my turn. It was my turn and I just couldn't wait to start this new chapter of my life. I was naive. Unprepared. Inexperienced. Excited. Excited. And more Excited. With baby number 2, I know what to expect and how the first few weeks can be rough. I know how it feels to be sleep deprived, emotional, frustrated, and completely in love with your new child all at once. It is an emotional rollar coaster to say the least. It was for me anyway. As this pregnancy is coming to a close I have a rush of emotions that I didn't experience with my first pregnancy. Excitement is still the dominant feeling, but every so often these other nasty emotions creep in....


Excited. I am beyond excited to meet the newest member of our family. Will it be a baby brother for Grady who will grow up adoring his big brother, playing together, and becoming best friends. Or will it be a baby sister for Grady to protect over the years and eventually try to date her friends in highschool. Either way we are thrilled and just beyond excited to see what our completed family will look like. Equal or overruled by testosterone!


I am excited to hold the baby for the first time and hear its first cries. I can't wait to see James holding his 2nd child for the first time with less fear than he did the first time. The day Grady was born was the best day of my life and I expect DJ's birthday to be the best day as well. I could tell the story of Grady's birth over and over and never tire of hearing it. I am so excited to live what I expect to be one of the best days of my life all over again. I get shivers just thinking about it and how close we are to meeting this precious child of ours.


Scared. I am at that point in pregnancy where you start to remember what you must go through to meet the baby and get to the excited stage described above. Labour. It could be the labour from hell, or the best labour you could ever imagine, or it could even be a c-section. It doens't matter how the baby enters the world, it will not be fun. When I had Grady, at some points I actually forgot that we got a baby at the end. I just wanted the labour portion to stop. I would consider Grady's birth to be a relatively good one as far as labour's go, so I am a little nervous that I will not be as lucky this go around. Minutes after Grady's med-free birth, I told the James, my Mom, and the nurses taht next time I was all about the epidural. I clearly remember the nurse telling me that if my birth is anything like the first, there will be no time for an epidural. Essentially I was told not to hesistate once labour has started, go straight to the hopsital, do not pass go, do not collect $200. I am hoping that it happens so fast that I don't have a chance to feel the pain. A girl can hope, can't she?


Nervous. I am nervous about having 2 kids. The adjustment to having one kid was hard. Overwhelming. Tiring. Frustrating. But when that one kid napped, you got a breather. I don't envision that being the case this time around. How am I going to occupy a busy 2 year old while I breastfeed a baby? How will Grady react to the tears that his mommy is sure to shed at one point or another? How will Grady adjust to being a big brother? Will Grady know that I still love him as much as ever even though I will preoccupied with a baby the majority of the time.


I wander how I can possible love another child as much as I love Grady. Grady is the center of my universe and has been since the day he was born, even concieved, and right now it is hard to comprehend that I have enough love to give this second child. I trust that it just works itself out. The old saying that 'love doesn't divide, it multiplies' has to be true. It just has to be. There is no other way to explain how parents all over the world have multiple children and just continue to love each one as much as the other. It is baffling. I never knew this kind of love until I became a parent.

I wouldn't have it any other way.