This blog is moving!

 

 

Well folks, after much thought and consideration, I've decided to take the plunge and move my blog to something better! I now own my own domain and will continue doing all my blogging from there. All of my posts from here on blogger have already been moved to my new site. 

 

I'm liking the look of it already, but It may take a bit to set up and get use to, so please bear with me. I will continue to post to Facebook but there are options to follow on there as well! Sadly my Adventures in Mommyland title was already gone, so it'll now be called Moments in Mommyland.

 

I've really loved the way blogging has helped me to connect with other mommies out there and I hope this will help me to continue to do so. Thanks for all the support!

 

- Carolyn

 

Moments in Mommyland

The first 'I Love You'

I received a very special gift from my son over the last few days. Though it has been our tradition since he was born to say 'I love you' whenever he goes down for a sleep, the words were never spoken back.  At almost 21 months now his vocabulary has really taken off! Anything Momma or Dada say around him is generally now repeated back (we've got to watch ourselves!) and he has even begun stringing several words together. It's amazing to see the knowledge that he has absorbed about things we never realized he was paying attention to!

Thursday morning had been a little rough for me. I went to my 38 week prenatal appointment expecting to hear words of progress from the doctor only to be disappointed. Nothing was happening with my body to really signify that labor would be happening in the coming days or weeks. She couldn't even do the planned 'sweep' to try and help things a long. I left a little grumpy, only to then come across a parking ticket on the windshield of the car. Fantastic. That certainly wasn't helping my mood!

After some lunch it was time for Goobers nap, which he decided he didn't want. I go in to check on him almost an hour later and find one extremely messy diaper. Certainly explained why he wasn't sleeping! I begin taking it off and he instantly grabs his bum with both hands, covering them in the mess. Yuck! To make matters worse, he looks at his hands and starts saying 'chocolate' and as if in slow motion, I see his fingers move towards his mouth. I quickly grabbed his hands away and in turn, the poop ended up all over me. At this point I was exhausted and just feel like bursting into tears. But I managed to hold it together and clean the both of us up. He yawned and as I carried him to his bed to give the nap another go he looked right at me smiling and said, "Momma, a la loo. A la loo!" It took me a moment to register what he was saying, but once I did it immediately brought a huge grin to my face and happiness just welled up inside of me. I repeated back to him, "I love you too hunny" over and over as we snuggled for another minute til I laid him in his crib. As I pulled his bedroom door closed, I could still hear him saying it over and over, a la loo... a la loo... Five minutes later, he was fast asleep.

Isn't that timing wonderful? How many people can say they got their first I love yous from their child right around Mothers Day? After all, he is too young to really make me anything with his hands, or buy me flowers. But he found a way to tell me, even at such a young age. How wonderfully special!

Camping with two under two - is that just crazy?

Okay I know I have some friends out there who have done this, and up until a few weeks ago I would have called those friends insane.
But here is the thing. I really love camping! I grew up camping. And I'm not talking sleeping in a cabin with running water and electricity kind of camping. I mean real camping! My parents crammed four of us into a teeny tiny two person tent that leaked when it rained for many years and we had an absolute blast! Around the age of eleven we moved up in the world and bought a trailer. Nothing fancy like those RVs that come with TVs and satellite and pop out sides, but an enclosed space to shelter us from the rain and give us the luxury of being off the ground. The biggest thing for me was that it had it's own toilet and I no longer had to make that scary pitch black middle of the night run to the washrooms while scaring off bears and raccoons with my flashlight. Talk about spoiled!

Last year hubby and I did our first family camping trip with our almost one year old. We'd purchased a nice tent and all the other necessities we'd need to make it an annual thing. Our son was still on formula, in need of diaper changes and for the most part on a different diet then us. He was also in between crawling and walking, which means he was sitting in the dirt 24/7. This made things pretty challenging for me as I felt like I was always either making food/bottles, washing dishes or attempting to keep a rock out of my child's mouth. The dirt thing didn't really bother me, and trust me he ingested a ton of it. One thing I was not expecting though was how wonderfully he slept! He thought the tent was funny and slept a good 10-12 hours each night.

With a new baby due here any day, we assumed camping would be off the schedule for this year. The last thing I wanted to do was have my young baby crying at 3am in a dark tent and waking up all the neighbours around us. But with the possibility of us being able to go for a few days coming up I actually find myself really wanting to do it. And I don't think it would be as hard as I initially thought.

If we were to go, and it's still a big if... my parents have offered us the use of their trailer. This would make a world of difference! It means a proper bed for us, our toddler and a place to put our infants bassinet. It means easy access to a washroom (with a tub), a soft place for diaper changes (and storage) and a quiet safe place for naps and nursing. Noah is another year older and no longer requires different food or milk then us. He can also walk, run and enjoy exploring the nature around him. Baby Asher would be around two months and will hopefully be fully on breast milk and content being worn, pushed in a stroller or sitting in some kind of bouncy seat or pack n play. We'd also have help in the form of family members. That sounds do able right? The biggest hurdle would be the usual one with camping, and that's the packing before and unpacking after aspect. But is that really a reason to shy away from a fun family adventure? I don't know...

Over it.

Okay, I've officially reached that point. That fun time where I am so over being pregnant!

It's not that I am in horrible pain or swelling up or anything like that. Thankfully, I am actually fairly comfortable despite my size. But I now feel as though this baby should come or else I'd just like to forget that I am pregnant all together.

It'd be nice if I could distract myself from the fact, but how is one suppose to do that when one has to pee every 20 minutes and can't walk for more then 15 minutes without looking progressively more and more like a penguin?

My son is getting seriously annoyed with my incapabilities now too. He can no longer sit front facing on my lap for a story, cause 'Bubba' is in the way. Lifting him up to the change table or the stairs makes me feel like my second child could slip right out, so I avoid doing that at all costs. And mommy just can't get low enough on the ground to play with him anymore as he'd like. I'm sorry goob! At least he still sees me as just mommy and not some pregnant lady.

And speaking of, that takes me to my newest annoyance. The conversation I have with everyone I run into each day at various activities. "So, how much longer? You look like you're ready to pop! You are looking great! What are you having?" Etc. etc. Even a small child at Target yesterday pointed to me and informed his mommy that there was a baby in my belly. I know these comments are far from offensive and are being said in well meaning, encouraging ways. And up until recently I quite happily engaged in the conversation and enjoyed it! But now I'm bored by it and to be honest, I don't really want to talk about it. It just reminds me that I'm still pregnant.

I guess I'm just being a hormonal grump right now, and I've already apologized to my husband for it. But it's just how I feel. I am very grateful to be carrying a healthy baby, don't get me wrong. But can he just come out now so we can enjoy him and get on with our lives?

Full Term (baby!)

Before I say anything else I've gotta say this. How awesome is the weather this weekend in the lower mainland!? It's currently sitting at around 25 degrees and we are all in shorts and t-shirts around here. We've been sipping smoothies, enjoying the fresh air and looking at the beautiful mountains off in the distance. I love our city!

My first born enjoying the great outdoors

Okay, back to pregnancy stuff. I am 37 weeks pregnant which means I am officially full term! The end is in sight! That being said, I'm not exactly sure how I feel about that. It's odd, because everyone else seems more excited about that fact then I am. I'm very happy to be full term and I realise that means that baby could show up anytime now in the coming weeks, but at this present moment that doesn't make me overly anxious or eager.

I remember being at this point not quite two years ago and being so impatient about our first borns arrival. I felt like I was going crazy waiting for the contractions to start or for something to happen. I was frustrated with the state my body was in and I was nervous about what labour exactly was going
to be like.

37 weeks pregnancy with Noah

It's different this time around. If were to go into labour tonight that'd be fine, I'm not looking forward to it but I'm also not frightened. If it wasn't for another two weeks I feel like I'd be fine with that too. Maybe it's a second child thing? I'm not in a hurry to disrupt the nice little family balance we have going right now, but when it does happen I'm sure that'll be fine too. I guess you could say I am feeling pretty complacent about the whole thing.

I can say this though, I am definitely looking forward to kissing pregnancy goodbye for a few years. I think it's pretty common knowledge to those who know us that we don't plan to stop at just two children. We definitely want to have at least one more, possibly two, if God blesses us in that way. But my body needs a break. Two pregnancies within two years is really hard, and I'd just like to enjoy having my body back for a bit before I do this again. Right now we say we'd like to wait until this coming guy is close to two before we venture down this round again, but we'll see what happens. We tend to get baby fever pretty easily (and I am not just speaking for myself!)

37 weeks pregnant with #2- sorry for the crappy cell phone picture

So, a little week 37 pregnancy rundown.
Energy wise I feel pretty good. I am still taking 20 ml of Floradix a day and I am pretty sure that's why I feel as good as I do. I had full blood work done on Thursday and I am finally not anaemic. Yippee! It's borderline though, so I can't stop with the liquid iron. I have been napping daily for about 20 minutes while Noah does and that gives me a little extra zap to last through the day. Blood pressure and babies heart beat have been continually good at my checkups and my weight gain seems to have plateaued right around 18 pounds. This coming Thursday my doctor plans to check me for, shall we say, progress, and If I am dilated enough she will do a sweep. The only discomfort I am experiencing is the constant backaches and pelvic pressure. Nothing a warm soak in the tub every evening or a back massage from my hubby can't fix. I'm also pleased that I haven't puffed up at all. I was about 10 pounds heavier to start with in my previous pregnancy and I think that's really made a difference as to how I look and feel about myself. Hopefully it won't take me too long to get back into my comfy summer clothes!

Well, that's all I've got for now folks. Time for this momma to go back to the couch and put her feet up for a few minutes before heading out to a BBQ. To all my local people - enjoy this gorgeous weather! And to all those who aren't quite as fortunate at the moment, feel free to come visit ;)

What's for dinner? You tell me!

I have a problem.
It's 2pm and this is the third day in a row where I have no idea what to cook for dinner. And one can only serve soup and sandwhiches for so many meals right? I know, major wife fail! I'm sorry boys!

Can I blame this one on pregnancy? I am after all 37 weeks (as of tomorrow) pregnant and my brain just doesn't work as good as it use to. For some reason the energy to bake comes so easily to me and I've started stocking up on frozen treats in my freezer. But I'm a lost cause when it comes to preparing suppers in advance.

Fast food would be an easy options, but I took Noah to McDonald's yesterday for lunch and it messed up his system in a gross way. Don't ask. And to be honest, fast food isn't super appealing to my taste buds lately anyways (or the wallet.) Except Timbits - oh how I love timbits...

So, the way I see it, I have two options. Good ol tuna noodle casserole or pancakes and bacon. I know which my husband would vote for.

Pancakes and bacon it is!

Bucking the trend - Childrens birthday parties

I look back on my childhood birthday parties with great fondness. Though I always hated that my birthday took place in the dead of winter, my parents allowed me to have as many of my friends as I wanted in our home to celebrate. In fact, my average birthday party consisted of about 20-25 kids. We didn't do anything fancy, just played a few fun games, ate the typical hot dogs and cake and opened a few gifts. And you know what? It was great! I never felt deprived or unloved in any way shape or form.

These are the moments I'll always remember...

Things seems to be different now. Not everyone is affected by this (may I take this opportunity to give those of you who aren't a huge pat on the back?) And maybe it was just me, but I felt an immense pressure once I started having children to have an elaborately themed birthday party. I think social media is to blame for a lot of this. I saw via facebook, pinterest and parenting magazines the kind of parties parents were apparently throwing for their children and I felt as though I had to do the same. I felt like if I didn't put such great effort into my child's party it somehow made me a bad mom.

...this...

When my sons first birthday was only a few months away I started to plan and stress over everything. I bought craft supplies and spent hours making hand made invitations. I colour coordinated plates, table cloths, utensils and décor. Planned out the menu and guest list. I seriously considered making little labels for every little food item on display, but then I got exhausted. Oh. and I really wanted to make one of those fancy banners to hang up somewhere but admitted defeat the week before. Have I mentioned how un-crafty I am? And really, I didn't nearly go to the lengths I have seen done, and that was just simply because we didn't want to spend any more money on it.
Did the party turn out great? Yes absolutely. But I think it would have been just as great had I not done all that but was still surrounded by our friends and family.

...and this

I've heard from other moms that school aged children parties have even gotten so crazy that 9 year olds are going for limo rides downtown to the spa and spending hundreds of dollars. Are you kidding me!? What's the limit? Where does it end? Is it because children's parties are now such a big deal that they have to be topped every year which is leading to this kind of excessiveness?

Well, I've decided that I am certainly not going to try and keep up with it. Nope, not happening in this house! I'm going against the new 'normal' and doing things how I was raised. Noahs 2nd party this year will consist of the basics. Food, friends and family, a few gifts and an already coordinated table wear set from the dollar store.

Ahhh, now doesn't that sound easy?

Toddler Noah update

I've had a few blog posts about different things pertaining to Noah in the last month or two, and I was given great advice by lots of you mommas who have been through such situations. So once again, THANK YOU and I thought I'd update a bit on how he is doing.

Naps!
I was given so many different suggestions on this one and casually tried out a few. One thing is for sure, he is definitely not ready to give up his nap. The few times he didn't nap he was falling asleep around the house by 5:30pm (his stuffy chair, on the couch, behind his tool stand, etc.) So I went with the idea of pushing his nap back about an hour and so far that has been working awesome! He generally goes down now around 1:00pm with out any battle. Often he still doesn't fall asleep until closer to 1:30, but waking up around 3:00/3:30 seems to be perfect for him. He is generally falling asleep around 7:30/8:00pm for the night which is totally fine with us and has allowed us a bit more flexibility with our evening plans. He still wakes up in the mornings at the same time.



Potty Training
This was a no go. I was hesitant to try with the new baby coming soon anyways, so it wasn't a huge disappointment in my books. As good as he is about letting us know when he poops, and as much as he likes to sit on his toilet for fun, he was totally intimidated by doing so without his diaper on. Every time I tried it he began to cry and wanted to get off the potty ASAP. I took that as a clear sign that he just wasn't ready. No biggie, we'll try again a few months down the road.

Crib vs Toddler Bed
We've decided to keep Noah in his crib for another couple of months. We have a toddler bed for him in the garage a long with new bedding all ready to go, but decided to hold off. It's not that we don't think he could handle it. In fact, I'm pretty sure he could. It's more a decision hubby and I made for our own personal sanity. To be honest, we worried about the idea of Noah being woken up in the night from the baby crying and running to our room to 'join the party.' Then not only would we need to get the baby back to sleep, but also a toddler. Sleep is precious those first few months! We've got beautiful bassinet for baby Asher and my dad even made a more solid bottom for it so that we can use our angel care monitor in it. We are hoping to introduce the toddler bed around Noah's second birthday, which would be August.

Tantrums
So this is brand new. Noah has entered the fun and wonderful phase of tantrums! Over the past week or two he has started to drop to the ground and cry when he doesn't get his way. He doesn't pound his fists or kick his feet or anything like that; just drops and cries. Our system is to completely ignore the behaviour to show him that behaving like that won't get him his way. A few days ago he did some kind of bad behaviour that required him to apologise to me, which he does by giving momma or dada a hug and a kiss. He wouldn't do it and tried running to Matt for comfort. Instead, us parents joined forces and went and sat on the couch together and ignored him completely. Wow... did that make things interesting. Noah got so mad that daddy was on my side that he stood in one spot for 15 minutes and screamed and cried. We had never seen such a meltdown before from him. Once he had calmed down a bit I reminded him that he needed to apologise to me and he slowly walked over and gave me a hug. After that he wanted some snuggles from his dada and was a completely different child 5 minutes later.

 

He is generally a very happy and sweet boy! He loves to be around people, play with his blocks and cars, read and run around outside. I can't believe he will be two in only a few short months. Stop growing up so fast Noah! Oh how the time flies - we just love our little man.

Crazy nesting!

What a productive morning I've had! I didn't necessarily feel like cleaning when I woke up this morning, but after my coffee and breakfast I figured it was about time I swept and washed my kitchen floor. It wasn't easy to do with a belly my size but it had been bugging me for a while so I strapped Noah into his chair with a few books and got to it.
After that I thought, "Hmm, that looks so good the rest of the kitchen should match!" So I proceeded to wipe down the counters and the kitchen table. Then I noticed a few hand marks on the TV stand, so I wiped that down too. And the ottomon. And the piano. And a few other random peices of furniture. I only just dusted a day or so ago, but I saw a thin layer already forming again in various places so out came my dusting mitt and I proceeded to dust my entire house. The downstairs tile and bathroom was looking a little dingy too, so while Noah played with his toys in the den I got down on my hands and knees and scrubbed it all. Then Noah and I went upstairs and folded and put away laundry. And tidied his room.

Yeah, I know. I'm a crazy woman. You'd think I'd be exhausted now but I'm actually not. As I sit here eating my lunch I could list off to you another half dozen things I'd like to do, but I'm a little scared that I will already regret all this activity later today. At least now if my energy suddenly disappears before the baby comes I'll know that my house has had a decent clean in the past month.

What makes this whole situation even more funny is that on Sunday I was in so much pain in my pelvic area that I could barely move without tears. Seriously. But by 8pm he moved a bit and the pressure changed and I could function again, praise The Lord!

By the way, can I just say how happy I am to use norwex products to clean my house? It gets the job done well without me having to worry about what I am inhaling or about Noah getting into some kind of chemicals. So awesome!

Anyways, that was my morning. Hope you are all having happy productive days as well!

How low can you go

Holy moly... this baby is so low now that I think he may just fall out.

I know I don't look my usual chipper self - but my energy is zero today!

So at Thursdays prenatal appointment my doctor asked me how I was feeling compared to last week. I told her I was actually feeling fantastic! I could breathe again, eat, the heartburn was at a minimum and I was sleeping more comfortably. She figured baby must have moved into a better position, since a lot of second babies don't actually drop till much closer to their delivery date. I laid down on the table and she began to measure my fundal height starting from the top. "Wow... where'd he go?" She said. Well, she confirmed our suspicions. Baby has dropped into my pelvis!

Thankfully I was still able to move fairly easily... that is until yesterday. My only guess is that sitting/bouncing on my yoga ball for a majority of the afternoon helped him move down more, because last night I seem to have dropped substantially lower. We went to Walmart to pick up a few of the last things we needed for the hospital bags (disposable newborn diapers for meconium poops, breast pads and what my husband calls 'industrial sized' panty liners) and walking was super difficult! I came home and got straight into the tub for a warm soak. When I got out and looked in the mirror I couldn't believe what my belly looked like. I could just see the outline of this baby hanging over my hip bones and my belly button was pointing downward. I don't remember ever having that with Noah!

I'm hoping this is a good sign that baby is getting good and ready earlier, but I'm trying not to tease myself. It could still be 5 weeks if they had to induce me. I'm eager for my 38 week appointment to find out if I'm dilated at all, cause based on how I'm feeling right now I don't see him staying in too much past my due date.

PS - A big congrats to our friends Jasmin and Kimbal on the arrival of their baby boy this morning! She had a successful vbac!!!

PPS - There are 4 of us girls due in the next 4 weeks now. I am super curious how it's all going to play out!!!

Reality sinks in.

Whoa whoa whoa... Waaaait a minute. We're going to have two kids soon!?

I think reality hit last night. My mom was over and we were chatting about the upcoming delivery, what we still needed to pick up for my hospital bag and other newborn topics. I suddenly felt a little bit panicky. I'm 36 weeks pregnant now, which means that this baby will most likely be here in the next four weeks. In fact, he could even show up in a week from now! Not likely, but possible. Scary!

I thought that maybe I was suddenly getting nervous about the delivery. After all, labour is no Saturday afternoon picnic. But I don't think that's what really freaks me out. I think it more has to do with the shift of going from a one child family to two. My moms response? "We'll, there's no going back no hunny!" Gee, thanks momma.

I also suddenly starting thinking about Noah and how this little 20 month old will no longer be my only little boy. He will always be my baby, but things will be different. I started getting emotional just thinking about when I have to leave him for the hospital. I wish I could just take him with me, but I know that's ridiculous and that he wouldn't want to see me like that anyways. He doesn't even do well seeing me get my blood pressure checked at the doctors office! I do find myself worrying about who will watch him when we have to go to the hospital and how he'll respond to it. 90% of the time my mother babysits him, but she'll be with me at the hospital this time. I guess we'll be relying heavily on our cell phones to stay in touch and make it as easy as possible for both Noah and the sitter.

I hope once baby Asher comes I'm good at balancing my time between the two children and that they both feel loved and important. I'm sure I'll figure it out. Just like we moms do when we have our firsts and are trying to figure out how to sleep, eat and manage the household chores with a crying baby. I'll adjust. So grateful that Matt is able to use two weeks of his vacation time for the arrival - that'll be a huge help!

I think this is one of those situations where I just need to have faith that everything will be okay. Gods got a plan for our family and I trust that He knows best in every circumstance. But I certainly wouldn't turn down a few extra prayers going up for us in the coming weeks ;)

Toddler nap battle - fight the fight or accept a change?

I'm not sure what to do anymore.

For a few weeks now Noah and I have had this nap battle going on. His night time routine is the same, with the exception of going to sleep now between 7:00-7:30pm (it was previously 6:30.) He wakes every morning between 6:00am and 7:00am and starts showing signs of tiredness around 11:30am. He has his lunch and into bed he goes by noon. Some days he falls straight asleep and stays that way for about two hours. The other few days a week he talks to himself for however long I leave him in there.

Usually by 2pm I call it a day (since that's when he'd usually wake up) and take him out, but then he turns into a huge grumpy mess by 4:00pm and can't keep his eyes open past dinner time. So I know he needs the sleep. Today for example, Matt and I have plans to go out for the evening and he will be at Nana & Papas, so he needed to sleep. I was in sleep training mode for two hours; going in, laying him back down and telling him he was tired and needed to go to sleep. Just before 2pm he finally gave in.

It's been suggested to me that perhaps he just doesn't need to nap anymore, but if that was the case wouldn't he be quite happy until bedtime? I wonder if it more has to do with his active brain and being over stimulated? The no napping does seem to happen more often on days where he has had a busy morning by being out at church, playing with friends, etc. If that is the case, how do I calm him down? We do the same routine for naps as we do for bed. Diaper change, stories, cuddles, etc. In a recent chat with my husband we did bring up the fact that his Fisher Price Aquarium that attached to his crib recently died. Could not having that music be enough to keep him from sleep? Or could it be that it's too bright in his room during the day with all this sunshine lately?

*Sigh* I really don't know. But I'm hoping we find a solution quick and get this settled before the new baby shows up. If any of you have been through this and have some suggestions I am all ears!

********************

PS - I've been considered not posting my blog entry links on facebook once I write them as I often wonder if people feel overly bombarded with my life. I really don't want to come across as annoying! I won't be offended if people don't want to read it, since the main reason I do it is for me. But then I've had people in the past tell me that they do want to read it but wouldn't know if I didn't post the link publicly. So please, if you like that I post it on facebook let me know. Otherwise I may just avoid doing that from now on and those interested can bookmark it or subscribe :)

Cookie recipes!

I had a request for my sugar cookie and chocolate chip cookie recipe, so I figured I'd post it on here in case others wanted to enjoy them as well. They are tried and true and never fail - well, they fail at lasting very long in this house anyways...

Sugar Cookies

2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking power
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp. milk

Sift flour with baking power and salt in separate bowl.
Cream butter in mixing bowl until soft. Beat in sugar, egg, vanilla and milk.
Add in flour mixture bit by bit until stiff (if you don't need all of it that's okay.)
Chill in fridge to help stiffen a bit more for 15-30 minutes.
Roll out dough and cut into desired shapes.
Bake at 350 until edges just start to brown, usually about 8 minutes. (or do like I do and take them out before any browning for extra soft cookies.)

Chocolate Chip cookies

2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup margarine/butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Desired amount of chocolate chips/m&ms/Reece's pieces (I use about 1 cup)

Mix shortening and margarine together.
Add in sugars, eggs and vanilla.
In separate bowl mix together dry ingredients.
Slowly add dry mixture to wet mixture.
Add 'chips'
Roll into small balls and bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes (once again, I take mine out before any browning occurs - but you will need to leave them on the pan for a good 5 minutes to allow them to harden  up before moving them.)

Dropped?

My heartburn has all but disappeared. I am able to actually eat a full meal. I'm sleeping fairly comfortably every night now. And most importantly, I can breathe!
All around I am just way more comfortable then I was, except for the constant urge to pee. My husband even commented that I looked lower and my mom said I look different. So I'm thinking this baby has dropped.

What do you think?

One week ago...

Sorry I'm facing different directions...



Today (35+5)

I know dropping doesn't necessarily mean anything. I dropped with Noah at 37 weeks and still didn't have him until almost 42. But I am hoping that by dropping almost two weeks earlier this time around that it will at least help me dilate sooner or cause my water to break or something. Between 39-40 weeks would be an ideal time to meet this baby!



Glorious sleep!

I almost hesitate to write this out of fear that it will somehow jinx me... but I have actually slept really well for the past three nights! Before this stretch I was going on a good week straight of restless nights thanks to back pain, baby movement and the constant need to pee. The need to pee is still there, however it's not strong enough to wake me up from a deep sleep lately. I'm not sure what, if anything, has changed to allow me to sleep. But boy am I sure a happier woman!

I have noticed since about Thursday that baby Asher hasn't been so high into my ribcage. Before I was literally waking up most mornings with baby body parts almost as high as my breastbone. It made it very uncomfortable to breath! That has since stopped and my waddle has gotten worse. As of Thursday morning the doctor said he hadn't dropped and I am kind of thinking he is just going to slowly make his way lower. Even over the past 48 hours he seems to be getting lower. I took a picture (above) so that I can compare.

Speaking of sleep, Sundays and toddler naps just don't mix. Our church service goes from 9:30-11:00am followed by a half an hour break and then 'family' bible hour (aka Sunday School) for another hour. This means Noah can't nap until at least 1pm which really throws him off. A lot of the times on Sunday he won't nap at all. That was the case today and by 4pm we had one very cranky toddler. Thankfully due to my good sleep the night before, I had enough patience to handle it and even sympathise with the poor kid. We snuggled on the couch and watched some 'Go Diego' together before he went to bed at 5:30pm.

I had big plans this weekend to get some organising done around the house, but that didn't happen. Yesterday I was barely home and when I was, I was doing Fleetwood Cloth Diaper stuff. Matt accomplished lots on the garage though (he has been mudding, sanding and painting it) and installed the baby car seat into the van. At least he got some stuff done!

Well, tomorrow is Monday again already which takes us another week closer to babies arrival. I've been counting down on my whiteboard and I think it's around 35 days til due date. I think it may go fast. Hope you all had a great weekend and are looking forward to a good week ahead :)

A sneak peek

I am 35 weeks or, depending on how you calculate, heading into week 36 of pregnancy. Only two weeks until I am term and can officially be on the look out for labour! At the most, I am looking at another 6 weeks or so. I have started packing the baby/hospital bag, the infant car seat is going into the van this weekend and I am trying to get things organised around here in preparation for his arrival. Clothes are washed and other then a few random items we are pretty much set for Asher to come.

Latest photo from last weekend.

I am definitely feeling very pregnant now. I have now gained 18ish pounds and my skin is suddenly feeling very tight. New stretch marks are popping up at the bottom of my belly despite my best efforts of slathering creams and such all over it every day. Losing battle, whatever. I don't sleep much, but find taking daily warm baths and massages from my husband help to make me at least a little more comfortable. I'm still going to a prenatal massage therapist once a month and have my next appointment in a week. Cannot wait! I find it really does help, especially with sciatica. Oh, and I am giving up and going to my salon on Saturday morning to chop off my hair. I haven't cut it in about 9 months and I love the length it's at, but I honestly just do not have the time or energy for it anymore. With summer coming and what little of my free time I have left about to disappear I just cannot justify it anymore. When it's long like this I can't wash and wear. When its shoulder length I can shower, throw some gel in and the curls look nice on their own. So that's what I am going to do!

I am now into weekly doctors appointments! I know that means we are getting close, so it's exciting. The biggest thing we learned this morning is that Asher is still head down. Despite his hiccoughs being up high and his constant movement, she believes he is in that position to stay. Most likely what I have been feeling (and seeing) is him turning front to back and shifting side to side. At this point, any of those movements will feel massive to me. He may continue to do that for a while, but he is out of full flipping movement.
You know how he was measuring smaller then Noah? Yeah, that's out the window now. He is weighing and measuring in at the exact same as his brother at this week. However, when he decides to show up will have a big impact on his size at delivery. If he doesn't go two weeks over there is a good chance I will have a 7-8 pounder. Come on 39 weeks!
The coolest thing about my appointment this morning was that my doctor now has a hand held ultrasound machine, so I actually got to see our baby! She showed me his head (it looked scary big...), his butt and his back. Then she helped me to distinguish what parts of his body were which by guiding my hands around my belly. Super cool. She confirmed that what we've been watching sliding all over the place is his knees.
Other then that, his heart beat is in the 150s, my blood pressure is still perfect and I haven't been swelling at all, so all is well.

This update turned out to be longer then I meant, so I'll wrap it up now. Besides, my toddler seems to have decided to skip his nap again today so I guess I ought to let him out of his crib. Take care all!

Trying something new

I think nesting has kicked in, because my brain has been in organisation and routine mode this past week. Some days I'm just too uncomfortable or tired to actually get into it, but today has been awesome so far!

My pretty new organizational board :)

Over the weekend Matt and I went out to staples and got me a nice big bulletin/white board for the kitchen. It really helps me to organise my thoughts, keep track of what I want to accomplish and help me stay on task. I love to check things off a list!
This morning I've already dusted, washed diapers, folded laundry, cleaned the kitchen and did a half an hour of focused learning time at the table with Noah. He really seemed to enjoy it! Its something I hope to stick with once the baby comes. It'll ensure that Noah is still getting concentrated mommy time and he so loves to learn! We did puzzles, colouring, animal flash cards and this little fine motors activity book. I was such a proud mommy because he successfully clipped in the buckle page. I could tell he was proud of himself too because he had a huge smile afterwards. Yay for learning! By the way, if anyone has some other suggestions for toddler learning activities I'd love to hear them :)

 

 

 

He is also getting to an age where he can actually participate in whatever chore I'm doing which is very helpful. Before it was a matter of how long I could distract him while I quickly rush to get something done. Today he sat on the bed and 'helped' me with laundry while we had a conversation about what clothes belonged to whom. It was so nice! I find myself cherishing those little moments with him right now, because soon enough it won't just be the two of us at home during the day. I'm sure I'll miss him!

There are still a few things I'd like to accomplish before this baby shows up. Every few months I like to clean out and reorganise my kitchen cupboards, so that's on my list to do. I'd also like to do a good bathroom cupboard clean up, organisation and hopefully install the childproof locks like we did in the kitchen. A clothing clean up would be good too. Put away all my winter maternity clothes and maybe pull out my regular spring/summer clothes in preparation for postpartum. Lots hope the weight comes off as easily as last time!

 Definitely going to need my husbands help with a lot of these tasks as bending is kind of difficult. Usually he's a fairly willing participant thankfully ;)

Hope you are enjoying this beautiful sunny day!

Anticipating a change?

I just don't know what's up with my son lately, but he is not sleeping well. This has been going on now for about a week. I know children go through many phases that include teething, growth spurts, mental development, etc. But I am having a difficult time understanding why my 20 month old is so out of his routine.

He only naps once a day on average for about 2 hours and usually he is very good about going straight to sleep. At night he sleeps from 7pm-7am and again, usually without issues. But this past week he has skipped several naps and fought many others. At night he is waking a lot between 1-5am, and last night he was actually up from a good three hours straight at this time. He wasn't crying or even upset, he was just wide awake in bed talking. I finally went into the room at 330am because I was awake anyways and just held him for 20 minutes. After a good snuggle and chat about all the people he loves he asked for his bed and then went straight to sleep. What gives?

The only two things I can figure is that he is either going through some major brain development right now and there is just too much information floating around his head for sleep. Or else, he is somehow sensing a change approaching in his world and is trying to make sense of it. In either circumstance I don't know if there is a whole lot we can do to help him. He is still a happy and content boy for the most part, except once the lack of sleep starts affecting him. I just feel bad because the poor child has had bags under his eyes for a week now...

So what do you think? Anyone else have their toddlers go through this before a new arrival? Or is this just a typical phase for a toddler?

Better days!

I'm feeling a little better! Still large, still uncomfortable, but not in as much pain. I've discovered that a daily bath and rotating between walking around and sitting is the best way to avoid too much pelvic pain.
I am also trying to lift Noah as little as possible. My doctor told me months ago I shouldn't really be lifting a 30 pound toddler but seriously, not easy to avoid! My mother has also been helping me out a lot by coming over or having me over so that I'm not on the go as much. Matt's been great too once he's home from work, encouraging me to sit down more and concentrate on getting more calories into me. Im officially up 18 pounds now! I haven't been doing anything different, so Im assuming that this sudden poundage is just baby Asher starting to chub it up. If he continues at this rate ill probably gain close to the same amount of weight as I did with Noah, around 25 pounds. Oh, and I'm gettin new stretch marks now. Yippee... Haha.

I'm so curious as to how big he will be! He still seems to have a lot of room in there to flip and move around, so either I'm super stretched out on the inside or else he's smaller. I'm pretty sure he's head down today, but as I said in my last blog, his position has been changing every 12 hours or so. Who knows how he'll be positioned by tonight! They say by 34 weeks most babies have settled into a permanent position. This one certainly hasn't!

Labor and delivery has been on my brain a lot the last few days. I'm not freaking out about it yet. I feel confident in the decisions I've made and am okay with whatever has to be done to keep baby and I safe. I've done it before and I can do it again. I have faith that everything will be okay no matter how things go. Honestly the thing that worries me most is making sure that Noah is okay and taken care of. We have several wonderful friends who have offered to be on duty and I plan to leave it in Matt's hands to give them directions while we are at the hospital. What more can I do?

Anyways, I better wrap this up. I think I'm rambling a bit. I've got a few ladies coming over to talk diapers this afternoon so I better get prepared. Thanks for all your help promoting my site and giveaway by the way! You guys are so awesome!!!

Rough 24 hours.

This post will consist of me airing out my frustrations. Please feel free to close this post and move on with your happy day. Honest! I don't mind! But this is my blog and this is how things are going at the moment for me.

The past 24 hours have been rather rough.
Noah skipped his nap yesterday and because of that we had a very unpleasant afternoon full of time outs and meltdowns. I had a dentist appointment in the evening so mom came over to put Noah down for a very early bedtime while Matt did some errands.

Last night I didn't sleep well. I was up about three times due to pain in my back, into my thighs and mostly around my pelvic bone. Getting up out of bed this morning was extremely painful and I could barely walk. Lifting my legs to put on pants and socks was excruciating.
 I broke down in tears by mid morning while talking to my husband on the phone because I just didn't know what to do. Do I go to the doctors? There's not a lot they can do for pelvic girdle pain. It usually cures upon delivery. Do I let Noah watch TV all day? I hated the thought of that!

My mom called shortly after and asked if I needed her to come help - answer to prayer! She came over and took Noah out for a walk while I soaked in a warm bath for an hour. That helped a lot, at least enough so that I could once again be mobile. Now the pain was mostly just isolated to my pelvic bone and felt like menstrual cramps.

We got Noah some lunch and then Nana took Noah upstairs to bed. Finally, I could just put my feet up and relax while he slept peacefully in his crib. I started an episode of Downton Abbey and pulled out some chocolates. But nope, Noah decided to go for round two of no nap and I had to go back into sleep training mode. Not an easy thing to do when one is in pain. I hung out in my bedroom and went back and forth to his room to calm him down every 5 or 10 minutes. By the time 1:45 came around he'd be doing this for over an hour and I was ready to give up. I decided to go sit with him in the rocker and talk to him about how tired he was and how much he needed his sleep. Within a minute of me holding him he had passed out in my arms. Unbelievable. I dropped him in his crib (yes, dropped, because my belly can't reach over the crib bar) and prayed he'd just roll over and stay asleep. Thankfully he did.

It is now after 2:00pm and this is usually the time that Noah would be waking up from his nap. But because he only fell asleep 15 minutes ago I guess our afternoon and evening will play out differently then normal. I don't even care.

I wish I had a doctors appointment this morning. This baby is all over the place in my belly. I'm pretty sure he has been breech, transverse and every other direction over the past 48 hours. I'm at the point now where if it means csection so be it. It's not my preference, but I just don't care how he comes out as long as he's safe at this point. And hey, a 38/39 week delivery wouldn't be so bad either. That'd mean baby Asher would be herein the next 4 weeks!

Well, my newborns diapers arrived today, so I think I'm going to go look and 'coo' over them a little bit to bring myself some joy and excitement. Lame, I know, but teeny tiny cloth diapers make me smile.

I sincerely hope you are all having a better day then me. Really! I do!
Until next time...

PS - is it the weekend yet!?