quick update



one of my favourite things to do: read a book in the nursery

 Hello! I wanted to give an update after our midwife appointment for this week.

Although I've put on the recommended 25 lbs for pregnancy so far, Cashew and I still haven't done a ton of growing. Sylvia is sending us for another ultrasound this friday.

Last time (28 weeks) we were sent for an extra ultrasound due to growth concerns, I was quite distraught about the whole situation. I felt like I was doing something wrong and was of course very worried about the well-being of our son. I cried about it before the ultrasound had even been scheduled. When the results came back, they reported that "growth was as expected".

Shortly after, I discussed this second ultrasound with Emma, a holistic-based doula. She asked me what my intuition was telling me, prior to requiring the ultrasound. Did I feel like something was wrong or off? The answer was no. Deep down, I felt like everything was normal and he was always moving around a lot. Of course Sylvia is only looking out for everyone's best interest and it's her job to ensure that if there is a problem, we find out about it as soon as possible.

This time around, I am still trusting my instinct. We are going for the ultrasound just in case, but in my heart, I still feel that there is nothing to be alarmed about. I trust that our bodies know what they are doing and that everything will be fine. She doesn't expect them to find a huge baby inside of me and says that the results will show one of two things: 1) He's small in size, but still within an acceptable range, or 2) He's not within the acceptable size range and is much smaller than what is considered healthy and normal. If he shows to be the latter, induction will be discussed. And depending on the extent of induction needed, this could prevent our chances of having a home birth.

(this is becoming a much longer post than intended!)

Prior to us even measuring our growth at today's appointment, we discussed natural methods of induction (i wouldn't even necessarily categorize them as "induction" - they're things that, if my body is not yet ready for labour, nothing will happen) and when it was suggested to start such things. I'm still comfortable with the idea that I could be pregnant for another 3-4 weeks, but knowing that natural approaches generally take longer to see results, I wasn't sure when exactly some techniques could/should be used.

At last Friday's appointment, Sylvia gave me some "9-month tea" (contains different herbs such as black cohosh and raspberry leave, which are known to prime the uterus and cervix for labour) and instructions that I could drink 5 cups a day of it if I wanted. At this appointment, we discussed visualization, acupuncture, walking/doing stairs, evening primrose oil, etc. She recommended to of course continue the daily exercise, and that I could start taking 1000 mg of evening primrose oil per day, and could make an appointment for acupuncture for after 39 but before 40 weeks, if I wanted.

Since labour could be in our very near future (depending on the ultrasound results), we all decided it was certainly a good idea to do what we can naturally to encourage progression. I've already been drinking the tea, and will begin taking the evening primrose oil today.

We have our next appointment on Wednesday, and she should have our ultrasound results by then, so we'll have to wait and see what they show! Until then, Garrick and I are keeping a positive attitude and sticking with our gut feelings that everything is just fine. There is no point in stressing ourselves out when we don't know anything yet. And besides, during this entire pregnancy, there haven't been any other signs that something could be wrong or that we are high-risk.

37 Weeks

so i've switched our weekly counting to sundays. the ultrasound we had at 20 weeks re-dated the pregnancy back by four days, moving our due date from sept. 19 to sept. 23. at the time, i didn't feel like changing when i posted the pictures and whatnot, and didn't see it as a big deal, since they can't predict the exact day cashew will decide to show up anyway. a couple weeks ago, i had to switch my counting to sundays, since being full term was such an important thing and in that case, four days would make a difference between having a hospital or home birth. now that we're getting so close, i'm changing the pictures to be posted on sundays!

also, normally i wouldn't post such a BLAH photo of myself. but i've been feeling pretty sad about the style of my hair for the last little while, and for the sake of documenting, i needed SOME photo. besides, my hair isn't the important part.. the belly is.

having such a limited wardrobe makes it difficult to come up with a new photo outfit these days! hmm... what haven't i worn yet...

as for pregnancy and labour.. last week i noticed more intense braxton hicks contractions. they like to really kick into gear around 7 pm. as mentioned, i need to pee probably 3 times more than the rest of the pregnancy. and i'm super paranoid about my water breaking! i feel like i should always be sitting or laying on a towel haha. soo silly. also, i'm about 1 lb shy of gaining a total of 25 lbs. go me!

this sunday, 38 weeks, we will pick up our birth pool. we have it reserved for the two weeks before and two weeks after the due date. we've got all the supplies we need for the birth, other than a heating pad and tylenol. i was feeling super stressed last week about not being prepared, but now i feel better. i find it kind of humorous to stress more about having THINGS prepared, but not stressed about going through the actual process of labour. maybe that's my blissful lack of awareness of what's to come.

at our midwife appointment on friday (we see her once a week now, until cashew's born), she gave me some "9-month tea". i get to drink like 5 cups a day, if i'd like! it's to aid my body in preparing for labour.. and is slightly more intense than just the regular old raspberry leave tea. we'll be hopefully going for a walk every day, and other than that, we won't be trying to force my body into labour until 40 weeks. at that point, we'll start trying some natural methods of induction (spicy food, pineapples, more walking, climbing stairs, etc.) and at 41 weeks, we will get "drastic".. as in acupuncture lol. of course i'm doing everything i can to avoid any sort of medical induction (which would take place at 42 weeks), and any of the natural methods won't work unless baby is truly ready. my goal right now is to stay patient and trust that cashew and my body know what they're doing and will work harmoniously to safely deliver our baby into our arms.

Preparing for our home birth

More and more lately, my mind has been focussed on the upcoming birth of our son.  We are currently less than four weeks away from his estimated due date. Like I've said before, I think he's going to be late. I don't know if this could be called a mother's intuition, or if it's some sort of defense mechanism to prevent myself from becoming impatient.. But it's what I feel. On the other hand, I feel like we've got to put the final preparations into place NOW.

Throughout the day, I think of multiple things that we need to purchase or do around the house. There are so many of these little thoughts that I think my mind is overwhelmed and kind of in a fog over it all.. If that makes any sense. Since I wanted to document this pregnancy as much as possible, I thought I'd put my thoughts down on here. Plus, writing things down is bound to help organize my mind and help me remember haha.

Things To Do
- wash all cloth diapers - check
- put away the rest of the baby clothes and make sure the nursery is organized - check
- freeze some washcloths/hand towels for during labour - check
- pack a hospital bag ("just in case"). I actually decided I should at least make a detailed list of what we would need since we refuse to think about things coming to this.
- think about what music I would find relaxing during labour
- get car seat installation checked over to make sure we did it properly - check
- figure out if there are other items that we need for the birth???
- charge camera batteries
- take our yearly fall photo before cashew arrives - check

Things To Purchase
- arnica (for healing) - check
- heating pad
- quick, easy, filling snacks for both of us during labour - check?  (i'm having a hard time coming up with snack ideas lol)
- more all-natural laundry detergent?
- vitamin d drops - check
- adaptor and hose to fill up birth tub - check
- batteries (for baby monitor and thermostat - it's been dead all summer!) - check
- canvas/wood backing for baby's monogram
- containers to store the cloth wipes - check
- swaddling blanket - check

Last-minute Nursery Things
- print off jellyfish photo
- hang jellyfish photo and canvases from Kathryn
- test baby monitor - check

garrick's busy seeing all his customers one last time, letting them all know that he's got a baby on the way and probably won't make it out to see them again until after the winter rush. he's trying to re-arrange his routine in order to get all the far away people done with in the next week or so, so that once we get closer to the due date, he's no more than an hour or so away at the most. when thinking about this birth, my thoughts seem to gravitate toward it happening at night.. not during the day. so maybe garrick will be at home once things kick off! who knows..

36 Weeks

4 weeks to go! let's just say 2-6 weeks to be safe.. and i really don't think the cashew's going to make an early appearance.

speaking of his birthday, i thought it would be fun to make a calendar for the month of september, and write down everyone's guess of when he'll be born! i thought it would make a good addition to our pregnancy photo series. his official Estimated Due Date according to the midwife and ultrasounds is September 23, 2012. feel free to leave a comment below with your guess!!

we met the midwife at the hospital yesterday to do a tour of the maternity ward.. "just in case" we end up there for some reason or another. it's been three weeks since we saw her. Last time, my fundal height was 28 cm, this time it was 31 cm. so we're still growing at a good pace, just on a smaller level than most. he's still a very wiggly little guy, which is always a good sign. he's been in the same position since at least 28 weeks, when we had that second ultrasound; head down, with his body on my left side and arms and legs sticking out on the right. the midwife says he will most likely stay that way until he's born. his heartbeat was 134 bbm. and my blood pressure was slightly higher than normal, but she thinks that could be because we were in the hospital instead of her office, and i'm not exactly a huge fan of hospitals.

there was definitely a chill in the air when we first woke up this morning! it must be a sign that autumn is juuuuust around the corner. the long term forecast shows a slight decrease in temperature (sitting around 25-28 degrees, compared to the 32-26 degree weather we've had).

i managed to remember to pull out my camera when we were camping last week, as well as one day during kathryn and anthony's visit.

hanging out before we could check in to the site

catching some sun!

YAHTZEE!!

building me a fire

campfire bacon

best friend

kath & anthony

the "three" of us

35 Weeks



35 weeks, 35 days to go! approximately.. ha. this week's picture looks smaller than most.. weird. it's been a busy week, once again!! saturday garrick worked and i made their september flyer. sunday til tuesday we were camping out by scotch creek again. wednesday-thursday i tagged along with garrick as he travelled to see all his customers in the kootenays.. and that brings us to today! kathryn and anthony are currently on their way and should arrive in a couple more hours. i can't believe it's been just about 2 months since i've seen her! boy, does time fly.

34 Weeks

look how productive i am when i'm not working; i can get my picture up right on time! as well as catch up on all the laundry in two days, clean the bathrooms, dust the living room, etc. housewife in the making, right here. now if only i could cook dinner.. good thing the husband enjoys cooking.

now, i really, really absolutely LOVE being pregnant.. but i definitely look forward to being able to sleep in whatever position i choose, not just one side or the other. that's the only ailment i'm suffering from!

33 Weeks

i'm not impressed that i'm wearing a pink and white striped shirt (two different ones) two weeks in a row! grr.

robyn and russell left early this morning. i think that was the first time my sister and i have spent time together without other family members or friends around! of course, our significant others were with us, but you get what i mean. it was nice to be able to catch up and hang out for almost a whole week straight.

we spent a decent amount of time at the beach (as much as russell's sensitive skin would allow! he got burned), did some running around and errands, visited the farmer's market, went up to davison's orchard and fed the goats, hung out in the backyard, and participated in the watching of olympics! all in all, i think it was a successful trip, and i hope they had a good time!

i don't think there's too much new, pregnancy-wise. i can't believe that potentially in as little as 5 weeks, our little guy could be here! in 9 weeks, max., we'll be a little family of three (+2, for the kitties). is there anything super important that i've forgotten to buy??

one thing we must do in the next couple weeks is figure out how to install the carseat. we shouldn't have to worry too much about it, as long as our homebirth goes according to plan... but *IF* we end up in the hospital, we'll definitely need the carseat installed and ready to go! it's so surreal to be talking about packing a hospital "just-in-case" bag, adding a waterproof liner to the bed (in case that's where my waters decide to break), and gathering all our home birth supplies. how did we make it to this point so quickly? where has the time gone? aren't i supposed to be sick of being pregnant by this stage? i love having the cashew in my belly.. but i am super excited for garrick to have more time with him.

*some of you have already heard me rant about the following. skip over it to avoid redundancy!*
now that work is done with, it was time to apply for maternity leave benefits. who would think for a second that it would be easy to get money from the government? of course it's not a simply process. i did the online application, that took about an hour to finish up. i was a little concerned because it wants you to apply using the name shown on your SIN card. well that was the one thing that i never switched to my married name.. so i thought maybe that would cause a problem. i had to go to the service canada building to give them copies of my two paper ROEs, and while there, i inquired about this SIN card thing. well they tell me i need to update the name on the card before they can proceed with my benefits. in order to do that, you need your birth certificate and marriage certificate. well my birth certificate hasn't been seen in years. so i need to apply for a new one first! they give me a form to fill out and send to alberta to apply for a replacement (which costs $40.. plus $25 to have it rushed.. cuz i need to apply for maternity leave within the month). when i get home, i find out that the copy of the form that the government office gave me isn't the most up-to-date! good grief. so the registry office faxes me the appropriate one. and guess what? they no longer want you to send a photocopy of your ID with the application. you must go to a notary and have them confirm your identity. which of course costs more money, and takes more time. long story short(er), i won't be able to finish my maternity application for approximately two weeks until all this other stuff is done first. how frustrating.

i've been pretty exhausted after all the running around i've been doing the last few days, so today is a bit of a recovery day for me. There are a few things around the house that i need to do, but other than that, i'll be resting with my feet up!

i think so far i've proved myself to be a pretty good housewife! every day i've done a bit of housekeeping.. cleaning bathrooms, dusting, watering the plants, washing sheets, wiping counters.. a little bit every day! i've gotta earn my keep around here, you know? lol.

and finally, some pictures from this week!

soaking up the sun

sisters

cute

ladder ball

i'm waiting for the day when motor gets a good kick

backyard visitor

more ladder ball

backyard party

now i'm off to give the kitties some well-deserved cuddles.