As the title so aptly states, I had my 19 week ultrasound today. Everything looks good, and we were able to resist finding out the sex of our new little one. Unfortunately, the baby was being quite unphotogenic (not sonogeic, as the technician put it), and the technician wasn't able to get all the measurements she needed. Fortunately, that means I get to go back in another 4 weeks and have another little peek at the baby! You can tell the photos came out quite crappy. The green writing you can't read says that you are looking at the baby's profile (head on the left, facing to the right) with the body down below and an arm raised with the hand resting between the nose and eyes. This is the same angle, but a closer shot at the baby's profile.
And it just wouldn't be fair to give you 2(!) new-to-be baby photos, and not put at least 1 of Jakob, so here is a photo my mom took the same day as the popsicle photos. It's a little over-exposed, but he's still a cutie to me!
I promise that this blog won't be all-pregancy, all-the-time. But I'm feeling icky so I need to share. I thought "morning sickness" was supposed to be a first trimester thing?!? Ok, so I had some nausea in the first trimester. I thought it was novel, because with Jakob I had a pretty symptom-free pregnancy. So I was like, ok, this is what people feel. I'm queasy, and feel like I'm living on a boat, but it's livable. I didn't need meds, so I was ok. It only started at 6 weeks, and was pretty much gone by 10 or 11 weeks.
But now? Holy cow! The DAY I hit 14 weeks (second trimester) I started throwing up. That's crazy! Friday night- lost supper. Saturday night- lost supper. And ever since yesterday, I have thrown up everything I've put in my mouth. Every meal, every snack, even a cup of coffee or 5 spoonfuls of soup. The craziest part is that I'm not nauseous at all! I don't feel sick, or queasy. Sure, I feel shakey afterwards, and weak, because I'm empty. But I feel like nothing is triggering it, other than the fact that I'm eating. I'm actually getting kinda scared to keep eating, because I don't want to keep throwing up. (Don't worry, I know I need to eat for the baby, and I will. It's just becoming an all-consuming thing now, this whole "am I going to throw up" thing).
Ugh.
In other news, I'm still working on the knitting for Veronik, so I can't show you my current project, but I have some stuff I will be able to share, so when I'm home and have access to my camera, I'll try to post some photos.
I know I said I'd post today with photos of my first Secret Pal package. But that will have to wait until tomorrow, because I have something more important to talk about today. (Sorry Secret Pal!)
I've been working on a big project, something more special than any design or publication, and I feel that it is now time that I can share it with all of you.
Jakob feels like he hasn't had enough face-time on the blog lately, so he wanted to be the one to tell you: Can you read that? It says "future big brother". Yup, that's right. In January Jakob is going to become a big brother.
Today is the beginning of my 14th week, which means I'm officially in my second trimester.
Everything looks good so far with this baby, and we are very excited to have another addition to our house. Jakob is already practicing being a good big brother- when we tell him to "kiss the baby" he lifts up my shirt and kisses my (growing!) belly. It's really cute! (Although...it probably won't be so cute when he kisses my belly after the baby is born!)
My due date is January 16th, and yes, some cold-weather baby knits have commenced!
As you can tell, I'm still here and posting. Since this baby did not decide to come early, it looks like I will be having a C-Section tomorrow as scheduled. I don't know what time yet as they don't call until after 8 pm to let me know what time to show up at the hospital.
I'm still not "ok" with having surgery, but I have at least faced the facts that it is my only option, and is inevitable. The baby's stuff is ready, the play pen is ready, the living room is ready for us to hang out in until the move, and this morning we went to the notary and officially bought our new house.
By the way, it appears I won't get a chance to type up and post the house saga, part 3. I'm actually ok with this, since I'm feeling lazy. Long story short: -We made an offer, but it was so soon to the house being put on the market that they refused and wanted to wait. -A week later they called us to see if we'd want to make another offer. We said sure, but it has to be in before the open house that weekend, and it has to be within a certain range because we weren't willing to go higher. They said fine. We made the offer. -That Sunday night (AFTER the open house) they countered our offer with an offer higher than the price point we'd set. When we complained they said that they'd had over 18 visits at the open house, and that they'd be fools to accept a lower offer at that point. We got (rightfully) pissed and refused their offer without a counter-counter. -A week after THAT their agent called us again and asked if we'd be willing to make another offer. (I guess their open house wasn't as profitable as they'd thought). We said "No, we don't feel like making another offer. However, this is how much we're willing to pay. If your guy is serious, have him make us an offer at that amount". And...their guy did. So we bought the second house that we'd really wanted.
Now then, back to tomorrow. C-Section. Right. When you go to the C-Section "teaching" at the hospital they give you a little booklet you can bring home and go over. So while I go crash and knit for my last child-free day, I'll leave you with some excerpts from:
Your Guide to a Planned Cesarean Section Delivery
What should I do the day before my Cesarean Section?
-call the Family Birthing Center the night before to confirm the time of your cesarean section.
-the evening before your planned cesarean birth you may eat a normal meal. However, DO NOT EAT OR DRINK anything after midnight (the night before the surgery).
-take a shower with antibacterial soap. You must wash your entire body and hair the night before and the morning of your C-section. This is to prevent infections.
-Remove all nail-polish, make-up, jewellery and contact lenses.
-Leave any valuables at home. The hospital assumes no responsibility for any loss of personal items. Wedding rings can be taped to your finger if you are unable to remove them.
What should I expect on the day of my Cesarean Section?
When you arrive at the Family Birthing Center a nurse will prepare you for the surgery. You can expect the nurse will:
-ask you to change into a hospital gown and remove all undergarments
-give you a hospital identification band
-check the fetal heart rate, your blood pressure, pulse, respirations and temperature
-draw a blood sample for routine tests, as well as a urine sample
-use a clipper to remove the upper portion of pubic hair
-give you a medication to decrease the acid in the stomach
An anesthetist will come to speak to you. S/He will discuss the type of anesthesia and the procedure. You will then sign the consent forms.
What should I expect in the Operating Room?
-the anesthetist will give you a spinal anesthesia, which makes you feel pain-free over your abdomen and in your legs. It will allow you to remain alert/awake during the operation. You may feel pressure or movement during the surgery. This is normal.
-A small catheter will be inserted into your bladder to drain it of urine
-an intravenous catheter will be placed in your arm
-your abdomen will be cleansed with a sterile solution
-a screen will be placed over your abdomen so that you will not see the doctor perform the operation
-once your baby is born, s/he will be assesed and then wrapped warmly by the nurse. The baby will be brought to you and can be held by your significant other
What should I expect immediately after the Cesarean Section?
Your baby will be brought to the Main Nursery on X floor. Your significant other can stay with the baby at all times, or visit you in the recovery room for a short period. You will be transferred from the operating room to the recovery room on Y floor and stay approximately 2-4 hours. You will then be transferred to the Postpartum Unit. The baby will be brought to you and feeding can be initiated once you arrive in your room.
What should I expect will happen during my stay on the Postpartum Unit?
-you will have the intravenous for a minimum of 24 hours after the surgery
-the urinary catheter is usually removed 12 hours after delivery
-you will be encouraged to walk as soon as possible
When can I eat after my Cesarean Section?
-you will be able to drink fluids once the nurse has listened to your abdomen for bowel sounds. You will continue to have a fluid diet until you are passing gas rectally. Once you start passing gas, you can have a regular meal.
There's a bit more, but I figured I'd end on that note. (No pun intended).
We had a nice little weekend. Saturday was my last day of work (!) and afterwards we went over to Yannick's sister's place for dinner with their family and his parents for Mother's Day. It was the first time I've had lobster in about a year and it was SO good! I'm a lobster purist- I prefer it withOUT the garlic butter, and this time it was so sweet and so tender...yummy! I've had no appetite STILL these days, and I had already told Yannick's mom that I would share a steak and a lobster with him because there was no way I could finish one on my own, so when she plopped a whole one on my plate after I'd eaten about 1/4 of my steak I started offering up parts. Good thing I skipped the rest of my steak- I ate the entire lobster! Mmmmm
On Sunday we prepared a quote for Yannick's work then went over to the Montreal General to see his grandmother who was recovering from surgery. Then we went to my parents' house for a barbeque for dinner. My mom (rightfully) refused to organize it, so my dad had spent the day shopping. It was a meat smorgasborg! He got angus burgers, bison burgers, salmon burgers, shrimp burgers, lamb kabobs and balogna to slice and cover with maple syrup like my mom does. Not to mention bacon for the burgers. Thank god I reminded him to buy some salad and fruit- the only veggie's he'd bought were some monster tomatoes and onion to slice for the burgers!
My parents actually managed to find a "Happy Soon-to-Be-Mother"'s Day card, and got me a sweet gift - a breast-feeding night gown from Thyme Maternity with a matching little cover up. But what I couldn't believe was Yannick. On his OWN he went and picked out the cards for his family and my family, plus he got a card for my parents from the baby, thanking them for all the stuff they've done for us and given us. THEN he got me 2 cards- one from him and one from the baby!
I'll leave you with the cover of the card he gave me from the baby:
On the inside it says: Oh, well...at least you can say that raising me wasn't a boring experience.
Yesterday was my second baby shower. I had two because there were too many people to have in one place, so last weekend was one with my friends and my parents' friends, and this weekend was one with all of mine and Yannick's family.
I'm not going to get into all the gifts that we received, or into who gave what, because I truly feel that everyone was more than generous. I never would have expected half of the stuff that we received, and it is so heartwarming to realize how loved and how blessed this little baby will be (not to mention how spoiled!). You will all get cards in the mail, but if any family or friends are reading this, thank you, thank you, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. You overwhelmed us, you really did.
I have some FOs to post, but they deserve their own post, so I will get to them later. Plus they're still in the dryer.
In the meantime I will leave you with a video of the baby gift that won the prize for being the most...um...inappropriate? wrong? Yannick and I couldn't stop laughing at it, and trying to figure out the thought process behind its design. Fun toy, or wince-inducing torture idol? You decide!
Not the most clear of photos, but that little face is our little stubborn child. I say "stubborn" because as of yesterday, the little one is still breech. Which means I am officially scheduled for a C-section. I'm not thrilled about this, but have reconcilled myself to it nonetheless. Luckily they do an ultrasound an hour beforehand, so if any turning does occur (which my doctor HIGHLY doubts) I will get a chance to deliver naturally. I know the next big question is "what's the date?" and I will share, but only on Monday as I am having a baby shower on Sunday and my mom wants to play the "guess the baby's birth date" game, and it really wouldn't be fair if any of my family who reads this knows the exact date. :p
Everything else, blood pressure, etc, is perfect. Not even perfect for me (which is borderline) but really perfect (120/80), so I'm actually doing better than normal. And I still have no pregnancy symptoms, in fact, when the baby isn't moving, I often forget I'm pregnant. I'm still wearing my same shoes, socks, undergarments, rings, etc... have only the occasional heartburn, rare back ache, no swelling, etc. I know, I know, I'm lucky. While we have had many scares (most of which were blogged about, like the amnio, hospital visits, etc) *knock on wood* there has yet to be anything actually wrong, and this has been, for the most part, an incredibly uneventful pregnancy.
Actually, I have been very lucky. I'm due in 3 weeks, I'm still working for another week and a half, still driving, going out, for as much as my life will change very soon, it hasn't changed yet. So I know I shouldn't complain if the worst I get is the need for a c-section. And I know I'll get over it, and it will be fine in the end, and I have tons of support from both family and friends to help me if I need it, and to get through the recovery, however easy or difficult it might be. But yeah, I can't help but be disappointed.
So I get 6 wks of recovery to look forwards to, while living among boxes in our old house for at least 3 weeks, then trying to move into the new one. At least I have that cute face too look forwards to meeting. You know how in Cabbage Patch Kids, because they are smiling, the eyes make that half-moon shape? Look at the bottom photo...I swear the kid is grinning, laughing or giggling, which, as anyone who knows me in real life can attest, is TOTALLY me (when I'm not being a moody little brat). I think I recognize my chubby cheeks. :)
First off, here's a shot of my 9 months pregnant belly. I'd show you one with the belly actually exposed, but I haven't figured out how to erase the stretch marks. ;)
Yannick's working all weekend again. My plan for the night? A cone of yarn, a swatch, and a pattern book that has a 4-to-6 hour pattern. Think I can do it?
In baby news: all tests results are in and everything is just perfect. I do have the occassional high blood pressure but my "normal" blood pressure is "borderline high" so the doctor isn't concerned for now, and we are keeping a weekly eye on it. Baby has decided that my ribs would be an excellent place to leave my body by, and has been repeatedly trying to escape that way. It hurts. :] Also starting to have some nausea, headaches and lower back pain but it could be because I'm tired.
In knitting news: I've finished the Baby Einstein but need to go buy buttons on Monday before I'll show some pics.
In house news: I know I need to type up the 3rd installment of the house saga series. I will. I just keep forgetting. We will be moving soon, though, so that's good. Still need to finish packing though.
4 hours. This went on for 4 hours yesterday. 4 consecutive hours after 2 hours in the morning with a break of about an hour and a half. I feel like I've been working out!
I don't get it- they say there's supposed to be a decrease in fetal movement in the last trimester because there is no more room. This kid invites friends over and has a party! Even now as I type my belly keeps hitting the keyboard tray because the little one won't stay still for a moment. I think I'm in for trouble...
I went to the hospital again tonight. Remember that test I mentioned? It was a 24-hr urine collection. Yes, exactly what it sounds like. So I went to the case room to drop it off for analysis (results by Tuesday) because too much protein is a symptom of preeclampsia. While I was there I asked them to take my blood pressure again just to see. It was high. They waited five minutes and did it again. Slightly lower, but definately still high. After much debate about whether or not they needed to admit me for observation they finally said I could leave, go home and rest (ok, I'm at work but I will be going home in an hour for a spell of knitting and vegging time). The catch? I need to go back tomorrow morning. Not to the case room but to the prenatal center (or is it the perinatal center? I need to look up the difference in the two words) where I go for the diabetes clinic. I need to have them put me on the monitors and check the baby and my blood pressure. If it stays normal I get to go home (or back to work, in my case). If it stays high I'm probably having a baby.
Like that news isn't enough to raise my blood pressure!
Because I have Impaired Glucose Tolerance of Pregnancy (IGT- meaning my body isn't handling sugars and insulin properly because of the pregnancy hormones) I get followed at the prenatal center at the hospital in their diabetes clinic. It started off at every 2 weeks until they got under control then I got to skip a month at a time, and now that I'm past 35 weeks I have to go in once a week for the checkup and an NST (Non-Stress Test). During the NST I lie on a bed and get hooked up to the fetal heartbeat and contraction monitors and a machine spits out a series of lines (kinda like a lie detector test) that shows the baby's responsiveness and any contractions or fetal movements. The visits take longer because there are always long waits for the beds, but I get to relax and listen to the baby's heartbeat for 20 minutes.
This Monday we had a snowstorm (YES in April) and I had left really early so I got there well before my scheduled appointment time. Because I was early and there was almost no one there yet I got to be seen by the nurse early and then got to take one of the beds while waiting for the doctor to show up. Everything went well, my blood pressure was great, weight was good, baby was responsive. Then I saw the doctor and he asked if I'd scheduled my 35 week ultrasound. I said yes, and that it was in 2 more weeks. He asked why and I said that when I'd called to book it the ultrasound department said it was really supposed to be at 37 weeks and they scheduled it for then. The doctor got really annoyed. Apparently there is a "thing" between them where the doctors think it should be 35 weeks and the lab thinks 37 weeks.
Personally, I agree with the doctor. The reason for scheduling this ultrasound is because when a pregnant woman has IGT or Gestational Diabetes there is a higher risk of having a large baby. This could lead to complications during delivery and a possible need for emergency action. If the baby is excessively large then the doctors might decide to induce the baby early. 37 weeks isn't early. A baby born between 37 and 41 weeks is considered "on time" whereas preemies are babies born prior to 37 weeks. Doing an ultrasound at 37 weeks doesn't have much of a benefit.
To sum up this long story, he wanted me to have the ultrasound now, at 35 weeks. Since the weather was so bad he took a chance that someone would have cancelled and sure enough they had room for me. So it was disappointing that Yannick wasn't there with me to see the baby, but I got to go right over to the ultrasound department, knit for about a half hour while I waited then see my little one waving fingers and sucking on toes. The good news is that the baby isn't big after all. The weight is estimated at 5.5lbs right now, which is smack-dab 50% average. The bad news is that the baby is in a frank breech position. This means the head is up and the bum is down, and the baby is facing my left side in a fetal position (knees to chest). I was very disappointed to find out that the baby isn't head down but figured I'd wait to speak to my own doctor before worrying.
Yesterday was my appointment with her. It was called for 10:30am and I think she saw me around 11:15-ish. I didn't care- I had my knitting with me and had gotten quite a bit of work done on the Baby Einstein Coat. Once I got in to see her I asked her my few questions and then she did her exam. Every time I go I have to get an internal exam because of the contractions- she needs to make sure I'm not going into labour. I'm not. I gave her the paper with the ultrasound results and got my first bad news of the day. Because of the baby's position and the fact that this is my first child the odds are very slim that it will turn by the time I need to deliver. She told me about a few exercises I can try before I see her again in 2 weeks, but if the baby hasn't turned by then, and she's sure that won't happen, then I will absolutely have to have a C-section. I asked her about the "version" I'd heard about, where doctors manipulate your belly to try and manually turn the baby. Because it has risks (like the umbilical cord getting tangled around the baby's neck) and doesn't usually work, and she doesn't think it will work with me, it's not an option.
I am really heartbroken by this news. I know there is nothing wrong with having a C-section. I know many women even choose it deliberately. I know that if I would have been able to attempt a natural delivery and then have something go wrong and force the need for a C-section I would have been FINE with it. But to have the choice taken away from me, not because the baby is too big, or because something is wrong, but just because the baby is upside down is unfair. I really wanted the chance to go through labour and see what it is like, to see whether I could do it naturally, would I need an epidural, what is the pain like, and to actually give birth to my child. Instead a doctor will just cut me open and take the baby out, all clinical and matter-of-fact. It didn't really hit me until late last night when I was reading a pregnancy magazine's article about labour and it hit me that I probably wouldn't get to do it. I know, I know, it's what's best for the baby. It just sucks.
Then time for the second bad news of the day. She took my blood pressure and it was high. Not borderline but actually high. (Could have been from the stress of worrying about a C-section). In any case, she told me she couldn't ignore it and that I would have to go right away to the case room and be monitored and have blood tests and urine cultures done to make sure I wasn't experiencing PreEclampsia. If everything turned out normal then I could go home and see her again in 2 weeks. If everything wasn't ok? I'd have to have a C-section. In the next day or two.
I quickly called my mom to have her call my dad and tell him I wouldn't be at work right away, and to call Yannick and explain what was going on. Then I went down to the case room. They put me on a bed, hooked me up to the same monitors and testing equipment they use for the NST (the same stuff I'd been hooked up to when I went in with contractions back in March). They took about 5 vials of blood and a urine sample. Then they tested my blood pressure again. Still high.
What did they expect? I went in for a routine examination and was suddenly told I could be having major surgery to extract my child sometime in the NEXT DAY OR SO. OF COURSE my blood pressure was high! They took it again about an hour later and it was normal, which was a very good thing. By that point I knew the urine culture was normal but the blood work wasn't in yet, so they ordered me some lunch and I had to wait. My mom came by after she finished work and hung out with me for a while. They came back again and took the bp and this time it was high again, but not super-high. "Higher than they would like" were the nurse's exact words. I asked what the likelyhood was that I would have to deliver the baby based on my current bp and other stats. They said they'd have to confer with the doctor before giving me an answer. Great. More waiting in uncertainity. They came back a while later and did it again and it was still "sorta-high" but since everything else was good they told me I could go home. I had to do one more test for which I'll get the results by tomorrow, and otherwise all is good.
So it was a long day with a little scare and some bad news. But its over, and for the time being my little kid is safe and sound right where it is.
Ta da! So tiny and so cute! They're wee! My hand included for scale.
Project Specs:
Pattern: Christine's Baby Booties, found free online here
Yarn: Regia Canadian Colors sock yarn, color Ottawa
Needles: 2.5mm
Size: Pattern only gives one size. To make bigger, use bigger yarn and/or needles.
Cast on to Bind off: April 14 - 15 2007. I would have been done on the 14th if I didn't get visitors, but the visit was worth it. ;)
Would I make this again: YES. I've already memorized the pattern just from making this pair. They are so fast and easy, and CUTE. Plus the pattern has a nice stretch to it. Great, great pattern.
What did I do yesterday? My mom and I spent the morning going shopping. For some reason I hate shopping when its for me but love shopping for the baby! First we went to Thyme and I picked up a nursing bra and a pair of pjs with peek-a-boo slits for breastfeeding with some modesty. Then we went to The Wool Shop and I bought buttons for the Ice Cream Cardigan set. I'll sew those on later then post another FO here. I ran into Uniprix to buy their verson of baby laundry detergent because we were going to go to Zellers but ran late, and had to be at T.O.M.'s for 2pm. The cake and coffee went really well, Laura and Mike (T.O.M.) were great hosts and had snacks out for us and everything. It was VERY amusing to watch my 19 year old sister play hostess. T.O.M.'s parents were very entertaining and we spent the afternoon telling stories and laughing non-stop.
I got some gifties, which is always fun. My brother Aaron gave me a belated Chanukah/birthday gift- this book. I'm so excited to go through it! The only thing holding me back is knowing how many WIPs I have going on already. Then, for no reason at all, T.O.M.'s parents gave me a gift for the baby! Two little outfits! That was so sweet of them, especially since it was the first time we'd met.
We left there with enough time to run to Zellers before they closed and we did some shopping fo the wee one. I bought a few t-shirts, some wash cloths and a blanket, and my mom bought a few onesies.
It was so late when I got home- I'd left the house at 11:00am to pick my mom up and finally walked in the door shlepping all my parcels at 6:45pm. It was a LONG day and I was zonked, but I knew if I didn't do any of my self-imposed "chores" right away then I would never get them done. I was much too tired to handle packing house stuff, but I could tackle my hospital bag. First things first meant I had to wash all of the baby's stuff so it would be ready and then I could choose the outfits for the hospital and be able to pack them. I went through all the bags of clothes we've been given so far by family and friends, and the few items I'd bought in Florida on our honeymoon when we found out we were pregnant. I pulled off all stickers and plastic tags and set everything out on the table to see what we had.
Holy crap!
This kid has A LOT of clothes! Not even born yet and already has a full wardrobe!
It took me 2 loads of laundry and staying up until 11:45pm to get it all washed and dried, and I didn't even get to wash the handknits yet. Those don't matter so much because most are sized for 9 months to a year, but I want to wash the Alphabet Blankie and I'd left it upstairs by mistake. I'm going to do another load of baby stuff today when I finish sewing on the buttons for the Ice Cream Cardigan so I'll wash all the stuff I'd knit then.
It took me until 12:30am to fold everything and put it away, and since I had to be at the hospital at 8:15am this morning for my latest checkup I didn't get around to packing the hospital bag. That's my chore for today.
Trying to fit all this stuff:
plus clothes for me, clothes for the baby, toiletries and other assorted stuff into the black bag in the front. Thank goodness Yannick is bringing his own bag with a change of clothes and some snacks!
I haven't posted much lately because I haven't had photos to share, and always feel like the blog posts are a "disappointment" if there are no photos accompanying them. At this rate I won't get any posting done, so from now on I'll try to post what I can and just be satisfied with that. I'll throw in some extra links or something to compensate. :)
My dad booked Yannick and Kevin to work all of this weekend and next weekend doing some renovations at the store. Their big plan is to repaint and move all the big units and shelves around to make room for the new units that we're having built, and thusly give the store its first round of major renovations in about 10 years.
This means Yannick will be arriving here at the store at 5pm, just in time to say goodbye to me, and not coming home until Monday. My dad has it in his head that they will be pulling all-nighters to get the work done, because the store needs to be in some kind of working order before we reopen Tuesday morning (most of the year we work Tues-Sat).
I know they'll have to stop tomorrow afternoon because we were all invited to my sister's boyfriend's house for cake and coffee to meet his family for the first time. He, like most of our friends growing up, tend to live at our place most of the time because my parents were always open to having our friends over. The door was always open and food always available. Her boyfriend's name is Mike but that is also one of my brothers' names so for the ease of this blog I'll call him T.O.M. which stands for "The Other Mike". In any case, T.O.M. has his own house so when they are not hanging out at my parents' house they are at his place so there hasn't been an occassion for the two families to meet before. Technically (that we know of) there isn't an occassion now as there are no holidays coming up, they've only been together around 6 months and don't have any special announcements to share (again, that we know of).
Yannick will also have to stop on Monday to be home for 11am since we are having someone come by to measure our house for a new Certificate of Location which we need to complete our Act of Sale. I can't be there since I'll be at the hospital for my semi-regular blood diabetes clinic check up and will have to stay late this time for the NST (Non-Stress Test, where they have me lie down for 30 minutes with monitors on my belly to see how responsive the baby is).
In any case, Yannick won't be around much. Because of this I was planning on getting as much packing done as possible since we do have the big move coming up and we're only about 35% done. (And of the 27 boxes packed so far, I've packed 24 and Yannick has done 3- but who's counting?)
About 10 minutes ago I decided to scrap the packing plan. This kid has been squirming, dancing and bopping around pretty much non-stop all day and I am getting so tired! I love this feeling and will miss it terribly once I give birth, but it's tough too. My body is getting a workout even when it looks like I'm just sitting still. I'm still working, and while I don't always come in bright and early in the morning, I am always here until closing time, 5 days a week, then get home no earlier than 6:45pm to start making supper and pack for a bit. It's starting to get very long and tiring, even just sitting at my desk at work. When I sit for more than 5 minutes the baby settles and my muscles relax, and then when I get up to walk I almost have to mince around for the first few minutes because the baby's weight pulls down but my muscles are still in the "sitting" state and to make a long story short it pulls and hurts. It goes away after I've been up and mobile about 15 minutes but the initial "getting up and walking" isn't fun.
Enough complaining. I am going to turn tonight around and enjoy it. Tomorrow I can finish my errands, go for the meet&greet then spend all afternoon/evening packing, plus I have Monday too. Tonight I will do only 2 things.
1) Start packing my hospital bag. I don't want to accidentally pack (cardboard box) stuff I need for the baby or the hospital, so the sooner I get this bag packed and put aside, the better. I went to the Pharmacy last night to get a few things I was missing, and tomorrow I will go and get the rest. In the meantime I will empty the bag I want to use, pack up what I can and tick off the items packed on my checklist so I know that they are in there.
2) Knit. Quel surprise, eh? A few weeks ago I was at my LYS and picked up some Sandes Smart Superwash wool to knit up an Einstein Coat from The Knit Stitch by Sally Melville. I had started it on Wednesday night and done about 40 rows when I rechecked my gauge and found it much too tight. So I ripped back and will restart it tonight with a larger needle. Some mindless garter is just the ticket for tonight. I'm going to push to see how much I can get done before I fall asleep.
Edited to add: Whoops- it would probably help if I mention this is MY belly eh? Baby was jumping like crazy while I was knitting but each time I took out the camera the kicking would stop. There are two kicks during the video, even I miss the first one but the second one is pretty visible. There have been a LOT more acrobatics at night so I'm going to try to get a better video one of these days.
Karine wanted to see what Yannick's knitting has been up to. Well, he has only worked on it sporadically over the last few months, maybe a total of 3 or 4 times. But he's almost finished the first ball and since it is of a decent size for a little blankie I might just give him the option of working the border now to close it off, or repeating what he has with a second ball. We'll let him decide. :)
Dianne wanted to see a belly shot- so here it is. My 29 wk bowling-ball-looking belly. Holy crap only 11 weeks left? Please ignore my greasy, pulled-back hair. I was running late for work and didn't have time to do much but throw it back in the tightest ponytail I could manage. Trust me that it looks much nicer in real life.
Last Tuesday I received a package in the mail. Excuse me, I just got kicked. Sorry- our little one got a package in the mail. Silly me. See, it was addressed to me, but the contents were purely for this little squirming bundle in my belly. I took the photos right away and was going to post but other stuff came up that I'll get into later.
The mysterious box that I wasn't expecting in the mail.
Wha....?
I'm sorry to say that even though it's not for me, my first thought was "how perfect for knitting!". In the back pocket of the bag was this really cool changing pad.
If you can't read the writing, this package came courtesy of the nice folks at Nestle!
Inside was (from top left) a magazine, an Avent bottle (yay!), some samples, a can of formula, a gel ice pack, a "baby on board" sign, a pack of Carnation Instant Breakfast for the busy mom, and some coupons.
Thanks Nestle!
In other news, I haven't been posting for a week because I've been pretty much in bed for the last week. On Wednesday the innocent little Braxton-Hicks contractions I'd been getting randomly decided to start coming more regularly- in fact one every hour. When this happened from 9:30am through to 2:30pm, I called the case room of the hospital where I will be delivering, and they asked me to go in right away. I went in and wound up being there until 9pm. With the monitor hooked up it showed contractions every 20 minutes or so. They made me drink a pitcher of water to try and stop them, and instead they increased to every 10 minutes, then every 4 minutes (but eventually stayed at around every 6-10 minutes). Finally around 7:30pm they gave me an IV with a huge rush of fluids, and that stopped them for about 45 minutes. The last 15 minutes I was there I did have 3 strong ones, but by that point they had checked me twice and I still wasn't dilated- meaning I was having contractions but not in labour. At that point they said I could go home but to stay home from work until next week (I should have returned yesterday). (By the way, the reason that labour would not be a good thing right now is because I was only 27 weeks pregnant! They would have had to give me a shot to try and boost the development of the baby's lungs and so on, and/or medications to forcibly stop the contractions).
The contractions continued about every 40 minutes on Thursday, and randomly but regularly on Friday (10 minutes, 20 minutes, 7 minutes, 15 minutes, 11 minutes, etc...) When they hadn't let up by Saturday we decided to call the case room again and they asked us to come back. Luckily I was only there for about 2 hours this time, as the same doctor checked me out as had on Wed and I still wasn't dilated so he wasn't worried that I would start labour. He pulled me off of work for another week, then I got to go home and vegged the rest of the weekend with Yannick.
On Sunday we had an open house here to try and sell our place, so I took Sam and went to hang at my parents' house for the two hours it took. I'd been doing a LOT of knitting to get the project done in time for JCA and it was nice to take a little break and just sit and talk to people, since I'd been home alone since Thursday morning.
I did the same old bunch of nothing but knitting on Monday, but yesterday was a big running around day. As luck would have it I had my monthly ob-gyn appointment on Tuesday, so I knew I could ask her about the contractions (which were now stuck at every 20-30 minutes since Monday morning). Yannick was already in CSL so I drove down to meet him at my dad's store. We gave his friend Kevin my car to drive home, and Yannick and I went to the appointment. After all the stress of the last few days it was great to hear that she's not worried about them at all. She checked again and still no dilation, so she said she's not concerned at all that I won't carry fully to term. Everything else looks good, although I did lose another pound since the last time I saw her.
From there we went to my optometrist as he wanted to check out my eyes during pregnancy, what with all the hormones and the Impaired Glucose Tolerance, both things that can affect your prescription and/or your vision. Everything was fine there too, but he'd had to dilate my eyes completely so I spent the next 2 hours with sunglasses on even though it was after 5:30pm in Winter when it was already dark out, and had Yannick laughing that my eyes looked like black marbles. I was going to try to take a photo but decided that the flash would be a horrible idea so just picture my eyes with no colored area, just the entire circle part black. (Yes, I'm a bad optician's daughter who doesn't know the names for all the parts of the eye).
Lastly last night we had our 2nd prenatal class. It was a lot of fun and was all about breastfeeding. I learned so much stuff! So many myths and misconceptions were cleared up, plus we all got to sign up for breastfeeding "buddies" from a volunteer program who will be like mentors if there are any problems. There was an amazing video that showed a newborn(!) baby placed on its mother's belly immediately after birth and left there, skin-to-skin for 2 hours. After 2 hours the baby CRAWLED(!!!!) directly to the mother's breast and latched properly and began nursing. Amazing the instincts we are all born with! It was a super-informative class and I'm so glad that Yannick is coming with me to them! (It was also really funny when one of the dads-to-be had to pin on a cloth boob and demonstrate how to hold and approach the baby to get a good latch. He was a great sport!).
So now I'm home until Tuesday. I still have work to do on the JCA knit but it's blocking right now and pretty wet so I will take advantage of the time to get some baby knits done, and veg my little butt off.
Oh- and I'm officially starting my Third Trimester today! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
As this pregnancy progresses I have felt the baby kick or move around more and more. It has been very exciting for me because it took a long time before I started to feel movements, so I love it now that the frequency has increased and the feelings are stronger. Unfortunately they haven't been strong enough for any one else to feel yet.
Yannick and I have tried sitting around for a half hour or so each night with his hands on my belly but it seems like this little kiddo has stage fright. (To me it seems like each time I think there *might* be movement Yannick shifts his hands and we have to start all over again). We've even tried just staring at my belly, because there are times when I know I've seen it twitch and jump...but of course every time I'd ask "did you see that?" the answer would always be a very disappointed "no" from Yannick.
It's been frustrating because ever since I started mentioning how often I feel the baby now, he's been trying to feel or see it to and hasn't been able to. Until now! :]
Last night for the first time ever Yannick felt the baby kick! (Or elbow or knee or punch or something). I had pushed Yannick to try again because he'd wanted to wait a few days "for the baby to get stronger" and I didn't want to wait. He put his hand on my belly and I swear within 8 minutes or so there was such a kick- it was the strongest one I've ever felt. The baby had been moving under his hand but I knew he wouldn't feel the rolls and swishes, and then all of a sudden there was this lightning-fast jab and I knew he'd *had* to feel that one, and I asked him but before he even answered I could see by his face that he HAD felt it. YAY!
To those annoyed by the baby blather...sorry! I know I'm gushing but I'm just really happy because Yannick was getting SO disappointed with each passing day and last night he was so completely elated that he FINALLY felt it...it's even more real for him now, and he kept trying to coax the baby to do it again. Baby didn't obey.
In other news I picked up some yarn last night from Veronik Avery. Veronik and Mona work at (run?) the Montreal office of JCA Crafts and I've done some sample knitting for them in the past, and they had another job for me to do now. (I DO like to load up my plate, don't I?)
The yarn itself isn't in yet but they had one ball lying around so I could swatch over the weekend. I don't know how much I'm allowed to show or tell, so this photo is my attempt at being vague and mysterious:
Have a great weekend! I'll be busy as all 4 of Yannick's nephews (4 boys between 3 and 10) sleep over tonight. Give me strength...
. I'm so excited to go through it! The only thing holding me back is knowing how many WIPs I have going on already. Then, for no reason at all, T.O.M.'s parents gave me a gift for the baby! Two little outfits! That was so sweet of them, especially since it was the first time we'd met. 
Karine
Dianne
