32 Weeks - Baby Shower in Calgary!

This past Saturday, Nate and I headed to Calgary for the weekend. Two very good friends of mine, Morgan and Jaime, threw a joint baby shower for me and another friend, Christie (I'm due about 6 weeks before she is).

My "Calgary Friends", as I call them, are part of a larger group that we refer to as the BI ladies. BI stands for Beyond Infertility, and we started an online message board years ago to help support each other in the process of trying to become parents. There are about 30 of us all across Canada and couple outside (overseas and in the U.S.) and we have all become really good friends.

There are 3 of us in Edmonton, and 5 in Calgary, all of whom I see on a fairly regular basis, especially considering we spent a lot of time in Calgary because of our IVFs.

The shower was so much fun! The food, the decorations, and the games were all incredible. Christie and I were so impressed with everything and we had such a good time. Our babies were also spoiled rotten, and not just by those in attendance. You can check out the photos here.

Below is a picture of all the wonderful gifts I received for our baby boy. You will notice the adorable little stuffed owl matches a larger version that mom and I found in Vegas! I had to take a picture of "Mama" and "Baby" owl together.

After the shower, we stayed the night at Morgan & Rob's. The next day we headed out and stopped at one of my favorite places: The Holistic Institute of Health & Fertility. I had booked a one hour prenatal massage with Tracy and it was ah-mazing. I think one of my favorite parts was lying on my ginormous belly on top of the special contoured bolster. It was so comfortable and you get so much more pressure than just lying on your side. I highly recommend it! Every pregnant woman should have a prenatal massage if possible.

After I left there feeling like a giant wet noodle, we headed home. It was a fantastic weekend, and one I'll never forget.

On that note, I will leave you with this week's belly picture from a different perspective:

31 Weeks

Today mom and I took some informal maternity pics in the nursery. It seems rare these days that I actually do my hair and make-up, so I thought we might as well take advantage!

Nate and I also had our first "Bump Camp" session put on by my cousin Jackie's baby planning company Urban Chickadee. Today's class was all about baby gear and prepping your home for baby, and both Nate and I found it really helpful as well as a lot of fun. Next week we learn about baby wearing and cloth diapering, and I'm really excited!

Turkey in the Oven

I have had the same family doctor since I was 2 months old, and my mom and I love him dearly. When my mom was pregnant with my younger brother, she used to draw things on her belly so that when he did her prenatal exams she would surprise him and give him a laugh. One of her more memorable ones was drawing a turkey on her belly.

Today my mom had an appointment with him, and I tagged along to ask about a pediatrician referral. We decided to play the same trick on him (25 years later!) and my mom drew the turkey on my belly. Quite the butterball at almost 31 weeks I admit!

While we were in the exam room I asked him to take a quick look at my belly as I had a weird rash. When he lifted up my shirt he just about peed his pants laughing. It was great!

Here are a few pics (on the side view it says "Bake for 9 months"; please don't mind the stretch marks and my ugly belly button scar):

Wall above crib is complete!

My incredibly talented mama painted this canvas for me based off of a pricey print we saw at a baby boutique. The colours of the print also didn't quite match the room, so having it custom made with her own twist was perfect!

The dragonflies I found at Bed Bath & Beyond and I used sticky tack instead of the thumbtacks provided to mount them (they look metal but are actually really light plastic).

Now all that's left is the crib skirt and my mom is painting a plaque to go above the window that says "Owl always love you."

30 Weeks!

Around 2 months to go (10 weeks), so I am 3/4 of the way there! 30 weeks is a huge milestone for me. I have been looking forward to 30 weeks for a long time. So what is being 30 weeks pregnant like?

What I love:

My big round belly. Feeling the increasingly bigger movements from my baby, and "playing" with him by pressing on my belly and having him respond. Feeling him react to my voice and singing. Waking up at night to some serious ninja kicks. Feeling him have the hiccups. Feeling him roll and wiggle. Watching my belly move all over the place. My wonderful hubby constantly rubbing my belly and talking to it; telling our baby he loves him and kissing my belly each morning before he goes to work. Hugging Nate and laughing because my belly is SO in the way. Having strangers ask when I'm due, is it a boy/girl etc. The crazy nesting instincts... I just want to clean and organize everything in sight! Baby laundry. Organizing and reorganizing the nursery. Using my big belly as a TV tray. Watching the dogs' and cats' reaction to the baby kicking them when they lay on me. The first kick/movement when I wake up. Doing any baby related task or project.

What I could do without (but am by no means complaining; I have it easy!):

The morning sickness that never left (thank-you Diclectin for making it tolerable!). Not being able to fall asleep easily at night. Not being able to get comfortable at night. How daunting it is to simply bend down to get something I've dropped (do I really need that??). Not being able to do as much as before without totally exhausting myself or suffering major aches and pains. Peeing 5 million times a day. Swollen feet (I don't remember what my ankles looked like!). Greasy skin (aka the pregnancy glow). Indigestion. Yep, that's about it. I am one annoyingly happy pregnant person!

Tomorrow we are going on a hospital tour of the Royal Alex led by my MIL (who used to work there in L&D). My SIL & BIL are also coming as Tessa is 11 weeks behind me and so it works out great timing wise for all of us to check out the new women's hospital. We just found out this week that they are having another baby boy! I am so excited for another nephew and that our little guys will be so close in age. 3 boys in the family is going to make for some crazy (but fun) times!

Online Baby Shower Gift!

This arrived in the mail today (well, it could have arrived much earlier  but we just finally checked the mail):

I'm part of a Facebook Group for expectant moms due in November 2011, and one of our members organized an online baby shower. We were each given the name of one member, plus their registry information, details about the baby and the rest of their family, etc. The limit was around $40.

I was SO EXCITED to open my package! I absolutely love everything and she made the incredibly cute Pug lover onesie. I cannot wait for our baby boy to wear it! I will have to take a picture of him with the pugs and send it to her.

29 Weeks

Wow, I can't believe I am 29 weeks! It's so close and so far at the same time.

We had our latest OB appointment on Friday, and everything is great. I don't have Gestational Diabetes (YAY!) and my blood pressure and weight gain is good. Baby has a strong heartbeat (145 bpm; I love that sound) and the only thing of slight concern is that my uterus is measuring about 32-33 weeks. I'm going for a growth ultrasound in a couple of weeks to check our little guy's size. He could be bigger than average (well he sure has chubby cheeks already so it's possible!), or, I could have more fluid than normal. My doctor also said it could just be the way I'm carrying him. So we'll see. I'm not too worried. I am however going to pay attention to cutting down on the carbs and sugar GD or not. If he is big, I don't want him packing on unnecessary weight.

Last night I had my first minor scare this pregnancy. I started to get really crampy and felt like I had pretty bad period cramps as well as some back cramping. I had been hot and sweaty all day, and was probably a bit on the dehydrated side, so I drank a ton of water and laid down. I tried to time the cramps and thankfully they were all over the place so not regular contractions. It was very uncomfortable but not exactly painful, and I fully planned on calling my MIL (L&D nurse at our hospital) if they progressed but thankfully they stopped after about 30-45 minutes. It did make me realize however, that I am totally unprepared for how bad labour is gonna hurt! I really really hope I get to be one of those lucky women who have a quick and easy labour when baby is full term and ready to come out. I can dream right??

3D Ultrasound - 26 Weeks & 29 Weeks

Well we went for round two of our 3D ultrasound tonight with both of our moms. Last time, our little guy was breech and nothing we tried would get him moving much. He just wanted to stay snuggled up to the placenta, lol. This time, he was head down! In fact, he just flipped last night which is very convenient. To guarantee some action, I drank Coke, ate Skittles, had more suckers (they were a better kind this time lol), and he was very very active. Plus he's a lot bigger, and those cute little cheeks were even chubbier! We were able to see his little boy parts in 3D too. There's no mistaking we are having a boy!! You can see the photos here, and there are some posted below as well.

Here are a few from the first round at 26 weeks:

And here are a few from today at 29 weeks:

I'm totally biased of course, but I think I'm having the cutest baby ever. We are so in love with him already. Hurry up November!!!