39 Weeks

Yes, peanut is still super comfy apparently. We are 39 weeks! Yay :) I had another doctors appointment on Friday and everything is still looking great. I've been getting quite anxious about going overdue lately. I know there are risks to the baby if you are allowed to go past 42 weeks, as sometimes the placenta cannot continue to adequately nourish the baby. However, I know many women who trust their body's and prefer to let things happen naturally. So, if mom and baby are doing well they will just continue on with the pregnancy. If I wasn't as anxious as I am and didn't have the history that I do I would probably be ok with this. However, I do not want to go too far overdue. I'm so scared something will happen!! I expressed my concern to my doctor and she agreed to induce me at 40 weeks 5 days if I was still pregnant then. I feel much better with this plan. So the longest I could be pregnant is now 13 days!

I've been getting a TON of contractions the past week. I mean I get them all the time, but these are becoming much more uncomfortable and quite frequent at times. I keep getting my hopes up that labour is starting. Oh well, peanut will come when he/she is ready... I'm still not sleeping at night, and am officially a day sleeper. My belly continues to be extremely itchy. I was close to tears one morning last week as it was so itchy I wanted to rip the skin off! I continue to use the bio oil and tons of lotion. I also picked up some Aveeno Anti Itch Lotion which I use just before bed and that seems to be helping a little. Anyway, thats enough bitching... I'm extremely grateful to be 39 weeks :) :) Oh, yes... my cravings these days? quesadillas, nachos, tacos, etc. Especially quesadillas, I could eat them for every meal of every day! My appetite definitely doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

Well, thats really about it for this week. I see a different doctor on Wednesday as my usual doctor will be away. I hope she doesn't miss peanut's birth, as she has been a great support throughout this pregnancy. I'm hoping this other doctor will do a membrane sweep at my appointment. I will be 39 weeks 2 days, so I don't think it would be too unreasonable. I'll update on Wednesday and let you know if she did it.

If you haven't already made a guess in our baby pool, you can do so here: Amy and Ralph Shaw's Baby Pool. We left out the guess for gender, as so many people already know and would have an unfair advantage. So, go ahead and submit your guess.

Here is my 39 week belly :)

- Amy

Insomniac

in·som·ni·ac

       [in-som-nee-ak] 
noun

1.

a person who suffers from insomnia,  the inability,especially when chronic, to obtain   sufficient sleep, through difficulty in falling or staying asleep.

I CANNOT sleep!! It is so frustrating, I'm close to tears! I've never been a good sleeper; I've always been a night owl, but these past few weeks have been so draining. I can't sleep at all at night and am only able to get in a couple of hours during the day. Everyone keeps telling me to rest up now because I won't be able to when peanut is here. I wish I could! It's not so much that I'm uncomfortable because when I do finally roll over from one side to the other I'm actually ok, it's more that my mind just won't stop. I'm just so excited and anxious for peanut to get here. I keep playing scenarios through my head of when I finally go into labour. Will it be in the middle of the night? or while I'm out shopping? I am a planner, I need to know everything that's going to happen in advance so it's really difficult for me not knowing when the big day will be. 

I had a doctor's appointment last Thursday. Everything's great with peanut and I. I've gained a little more weight than I wanted to, but what do you do? The Dr. said baby had a big growth spurt according to my fundal height soooo I'm just going to blame the weight gain on peanut and not the massive amounts of chocolate I've been eating. I told her how anxious I've been feeling. I just want our baby here safe and sound! She thinks I likely have an anxiety disorder, which I've sort of suspected I've had for a few years now. So, I think I'm going to try and meet with somebody to learn techniques to decrease my anxiety, and I want to avoid medication if I can. This is definitely not something I want to pass onto peanut when he/she is older. I want to take care of this now! 


I forgot to post a recent pic of my belly in my last post so here it is at 37 weeks 4 days. You can see all my lovely stretch marks. They are making my belly so itchy. I'm applying Bio Oil twice a day and regular lotion about 2-3 times a day to cut down on the itchiness.

Oh, and here is a video Ralph took on his phone of me shopping in Walmart when I was still on bed rest. I'm not sure exactly how far along I was.... I'm thinking around 28-30 weeks... Usually when we went shopping back then Ralph would push me in a regular wheelchair, but that night one of their employees suggested I take the electric one. I felt SO ridiculous, I couldn't stop laughing while riding it. It even beeped when you backed up. Hahaha!

I got my hair done yesterday. I figured I won't be able to get it done for a while after baby is here so I got it done while I still had the time. My hairdresser was shocked to see me still pregnant. Haha. 


Ok, so I think I've pretty much abandoned the 365 project. Maybe I'm just not creative enough to come up with an interesting photo each day, or it could be the fact that I'm just tired and lazy right now. Once baby is here I'm sure I'll be posting lots of photos, but I just feel guilty each day that I don't post one so I'm saying I'm done for now. 


I've started reading the "Hunger Games". So far I've only read the first chapter, but I think it's going to be a good read. I haven't read a book other than a textbook in at least 9-10 years which is so sad because I used to read 1-2 books a day when I was a kid. I have a hard time concentrating on a novel, but I'm bound and determined to make it through this one then hopefully continue on with others.


Ralph and I went with a friend to see "Safe House" last week. It was a good movie, I recommend it. I felt kind of silly though because I had to bring a pillow for my back. Oh well, I was comfortable and could enjoy the movie that's all that matters. 


Well, that was a long and random post. Since I'll be 38 weeks pregnant tomorrow and I've pretty much updated you on everything I may not post tomorrow. I may post a belly pic, I'll see how I feel. It's 6:45am, I'm going to attempt to sleep here in a few minutes. Wish me luck!


- Amy

35 Weeeeeeks :)

I know I say it in every update, but I can't believe I made it another week! We obviously want little peanut to stay in there a couple more weeks at least, but we CANNOT wait to meet our precious baby!! We finished the letters for the nursery wall and they look awesome in the room. Ralph bought a staple gun, and stapled the ribbon to the letters. I had to leave the room when he was doing it because staple guns freak me out! Here is one of the letters hanging:

There's really not too much to update on this week. I had a regular doctor's appointment this week that took all of 5 minutes. As my doctor said, I'm now just a regular patient (other than the constant contractions! ha!). Everything is great with peanut and I. 

We decided to move one of our playpens into the living room upstairs. We originally had it downstairs in the family room, but I figure I won't want to trek up and down the stairs all day with a newborn so I'll be hanging out in the living room. We will be using the bassinet part of our other playpen for baby to sleep in for the first few months beside our bed. I'm doing really bad with my 365 project... so here's a photo of the playpen in our living room....oooohhhh ahhhhhh!

I was bored so I made a little collage of my belly pics from 20 weeks til' today. The bottom middle and bottom right photos were taken today:

And just because I love my husband and I like this photo, here we are at my nursing graduation, 2010:

- Amy

34 Weeks 1 Day

I'm 34 weeks 1 day today! This is such a big milestone, I can't believe I've made it this far. Our next goal is 36 weeks because I can deliver at my local hospital at that point. I mentioned in my update last week that I had been having more contractions than usual; this has continued for the past week. I am getting them at least every 10 minutes. They have been every 3-4 minutes for the past few hours, and are getting a little painful at times. I'm currently chugging back water hoping they settle down.

I've been in craft mode the past week. We bought wooden letters from Walmart to spell out little peanuts name, and will be hanging them on the wall in the nursery. I've painted them, I just need to buy ribbon to hang them. I've also been making gifts for people, and can't wait to give them out. Oh, and I started a new blanket. The nursery is pretty much complete, and we love how it turned out! I'll post photos when little peanut is here. 

I had somebody comment to me yesterday that the baby looked really low and I could give birth any day, but I've been carrying low like that the whole time. Oh yeah, I've had stretch marks on my hips for weeks now, but noticed in the past week that I am now getting some on my belly. Ah well, it's all part of the joy of pregnancy :) I am by no means complaining! Bring it on!

Here's the belly today at 34 weeks 1 day:

Here's a couple of photos from crafting. 365 Project Days 36 & 37:

- Amy

32 Weeks 2 Days

Oops, I guess I dropped the ball on blogging the last few days. I've just been really tired lately. Ever since my hospital admission last week, I've at least been back on a half normal sleeping schedule. I get up around 9am but I'm so tired by the end of the day that I've been falling asleep around 7pm. I usually blog at night, hence I've skipped a few days. I napped midday today so I'm not too bad right now. I think I'm going to have to fit a daily nap into my busy schedule...

Anywhoo, I'm 32 weeks 2 days today. Ralph and I did some more baby shopping on the weekend. We got the crib mattress and a few other small things. Now we just need a dresser and some little things and we're done. I'm getting really frustrated trying to find a dresser. The crib and glider/ottoman are espresso so I started off looking for a dresser in a matching colour to no avail. We then decided we didn't care about the colour and just need something, still nothing! We've looked in all the stores here and in Moncton, and refuse to pay $500! I've been stalking Kijiji and found a nice one today that just got posted yesterday. I called and BAHM sold! So, if anybody has a nice tall dresser with 4-5 drawers in it for sale please let me know.

Ralph and I also went out for dinner and a movie on the weekend. We went to the Keg, figuring it could be our last chance for a quiet dinner just the two of us. Then we went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie. I've been too scared to go to a movie while pregnant since I went into labour with my girls in a movie theatre. I know it is completely irrational but I couldn't bring myself to go until now. It was a good movie but I was SO uncomfortable!! My back was killing me, my ribs were killing me, and the loud noises had little peanut bouncing off the walls of my uterus. So, that may be the last movie for a while.

I went on Skype yesterday with my mum and sister. It was so nice to see them and show them all the baby stuff. I wish they lived closer so they could enjoy this pregnancy with me, but they are hopefully coming to visit in April and I can't wait!

That's really about it. We are just thankful for everyday that little peanut stays put.

Here's the belly today at 32 weeks 2 day (this is a maternity top....yeah it's not covering the belly anymore, lol).

I've missed so many days for my 365 project so I'm just going to post a few photos now to catch up.

On the ferry from Vancouver to Nanaimo playing around with my new camera.

Strange coloured pigeon in Campbell River, British Columbia.

The little place on the left is called Dicks fish and chips in Campbell River, British Columbia. They serve the most amazing deep fried Mars Bars!! I brought my family there when they came over for my graduation in 2010. 

Flowers somewhere in Campbell River, British Columbia.

- Amy

Babies are expensive

Well, I had an eventful past week. My contractions picked up to every 2-5 minutes early Wednesday morning. We headed to the hospital, and after being there around an hour they picked up to every 2 minutes, and were regular. I thought for sure this was it. The doctor checked me out and I somehow, someway was not in labour! I got some IV fluids, morphine and fell asleep. I had my ultrasound already scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, so I had that and everything looks great with baby and I. I stayed over Wednesday night too just to make sure the contractions didn't get worse. I was discharged home Thursday afternoon with contractions around every 6-8 minutes. When I was telling people I was going home they couldn't believe it with contractions that often, but the contractions aren't doing anything at this point. They are more frustrating than anything. So, now I get them around 5-6 times per hour, every hour of every day. FUN!

On the bright side of things, we finally went shopping for baby! Yay! Ralph pushed me around in a wheelchair so I wasn't doing too much. We've bought a stroller/carseat set, 2 playpens, a swing/bouncer, some clothes, diaper bag, diapers, wipes, a blanket, and some other small things. Oh, yeah I'm not sure if you're aware, but... babies are expensive!! Ha! Luckily we got a really good deal on the stroller/carseat set, playpen, and swing/bouncer at Babies R Us yesterday. We've decided we are going to buy most of the clothes second hand. We figure babies usually grow out of clothes pretty fast, therefore only wear things a handful of times. So, if we buy them second hand they should still be in good condition and we don't have to pay full price for them. Of course we are still going to buy a few of them new, I just got a little onesie on ebay yesterday. 

We also started clearing out what will be baby's room on the weekend. It was sort of a guest room, but we've moved the bed out and now it's filled with all the new baby stuff. It's getting so exciting! I have 11 weeks left max. However, it's rather unlikely I will be holding on that long, but you never know. 

I'll leave you with my most recent belly shot, taken yesterday at 29 weeks.

- Amy

Third Trimester

We've finally made it to the third trimester! I still have 12 weeks to go, but I am so relieved to have made it this far. I'm continuing to have the constant contractions, and am beginning to feel quite large and uncomfortable. I'm sure I will look back weeks from now and laugh at the fact that I thought I was big. This is strange territory for me. Baby's movements are getting stronger each day, and I can now feel little body parts... I'm not quite sure what body parts I'm feeling, but it's very exciting! I'm scheduled for another ultrasound and Dr. appointment this week. I will update after those.

Here's my most recent belly shot taken last night. 27 weeks 6 days:

And one from Christmas (I didn't realize how tiny our tree was until I saw this photo. I look GINORMOUS!):

Ralph and I are going to go baby shopping this weekend. We haven't bought one single thing yet. We have been feeling nervous and guarded when it comes to buying things. However, we feel that 28 weeks is the first BIG milestone and we want to celebrate accordingly. I am so excited!!! I feel like reality will set in more when the house begins to fill with baby stuff. I'll let you know what we buy. 

I finally finished the crochet baby blanket! I figured out that it took me approximately 30 hours! I have the attention span of a raisin right now, so I'm sure it took way longer than it needed to. I'm pretty proud of it, as it's the first blanket I've ever made. I posted a black and white photo below which doesn't really do it justice, but the colours would give away the baby's gender. Many of our family and friends know the baby's gender also, but some don't want to know so we are trying to keep it a secret for them. 

We had a good Christmas. We slept in til' 10am, since this will be the last year we will be able to do so. I got lots of nice things, and tons of chocolate! Can't wait to have a little one to buy for next year.

I will try to update next weekend after the ultrasound, appointment, and shopping. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and have a wonderful new year.

Amy

27 Weeks

Well baby has decided to hang out for another week. I'm 27 weeks today! I'm still getting constant contractions, around 4-5 an hour, but I'm hanging in there. I can't believe it's only a week til' Christmas! Since I have to take it really easy I haven't been able to do any Christmas shopping. My husband Ralph has been such a trooper; he went out and bought all the gifts... even for himself. Ha! Well at least he knows he will like them. He's also been really good about doing all the housework and cooking. I really am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband! Of course I feel super guilty about not being able to help with these things.... well the cleaning anyway. Those of you that know me know I don't cook. Below is my most recent belly shot - 26 Weeks 5 Days.

My options for entertainment are limited these days. I spend a lot of time on the internet, watching TV, and crocheting. I'm currently crocheting little peanut a blanket. I'll post a pic when it's done. I'm just winging the design, and it looks pretty good if I don't say so myself. I recently discovered this app for my iPad called Stumble Upon, it's also available on iPhone and theres a website. I get kinda bored checking Facebook or Twitter every 5 minutes, so I find myself looking up random things on the internet. This website/app finds those random things that suit your interests, such as video's, photos, news articles, and websites for you. I highly recommend you check it out!

- Amy