Since I'm a little behind on blogging, there is a lot to talk about and I'll try my best to remember the details. I've had some help from friends and Warren to be ok with not liking this whole pregnancy thing. So I'll share what I've been feeling.
First of all, I'm ready for more activity. I've decided that I lack the structure I had pre-pregnancy and really there's no excuse. Most people have the attitude, "Who cares; you're pregnant. Love being lazy and eating what you want." What I want is to feel fit and active, not lazy and full. I've been following on Pinterest, youtube, facebook and Instagram different ladies who are so inspirational during pregnancy. I've been having a tough time with the whole, "loss of control" and "body changes" and I've decided there's more I can do. I ALWAYS feel great after a workout, so why can't get I get this feeling 5-7x's a week?
In my earlier blogs I was saying I was still active, but it's definitely been decreased lately. I have not been doing much cardio for about a month now, but still seeing Joe for weight training. So, I am making a pledge to go to the gym every weekday this week for cardio. 30min minimum on any machine. I'm not going to set goals for intensity or pace; the goal is to just be there.
I also started Prenatal Yoga this week and I'm going to love it. The class only has 6 ladies and it's at Breathe Pilates in Walkerville. It's for 6 weeks, and although the yoga so far is not as challenging as I've done, I need this more than anything to help with my quest for balance with change in my life.
I'm not getting all of the "beautiful" things that go with pregnancy. My backne (back acne) is out of control and the medication is really not helping. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to go through painful laser hair removal again when I'm done having kids. I'm hoping after pregnancy I'll return to my hair-free days once this baby's out, but I have no idea what's to come. My boobs are huge for me (just found out I'm a D cup, no big deal) and I do not like them one bit. It's funny how I've always said it would be great to move up a few cups, but I am looking forward to my mosquito bite-size boobs to return. It won't be for a long time; I am fully aware of this.
My nails are not strong, my hair is not thicker, and I definitely do not have the "glow." My acne is worse on my face than it's ever been and I'm pretty sure I have more wrinkles, despite my facial routine and skin care regimen. I miss having a tan, so I started using some self tanner this week. I can feel my legs rub together with every step, and I'm officially out of breath after two flights of stairs. I'm full after half a dinner plate like I just ate Christmas dinner and two helpings of dessert. I'm almost 23 weeks and therefore in for another 4 months of discomfort.
Ok, there are some positives. Some women love the feeling of their belly. Now, it's definitely exciting to feel the baby having a dance party in there, but when your belly hangs over your pants when you sit down..... you know what I'm talking about. Many people are kind and tell you daily that you look great, but it's hard to believe it when you feel so uncomfortable. Hmmmm, another positive..... no period?
I was struggling with this guilt of not loving pregnancy, because I truly feel blessed to be able to carry a baby. I was able to get pregnant 6 months post competition and have had really no issues with this pregnancy. I'm going through the normal symptoms. But this is me, and I do not have to like it.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
20 Week Ultrasound Pics
On March 26th, 2013, we went for the final and most exciting ultrasound: The Anatomy Ultrasound.
It takes over an hour and the technician takes over 100 pictures. It's amazing what they can read and see on the grey, fuzzy screen. Some of the pictures include the ventricles in the brain, the kidneys, and they can even screen for a cleft lip or palette.
The technician was great. Warren could not come in for the first 45minutes while she took all of the necessary photos, but then he was able to join us for "just looking" and it was amazing.
I had no idea how big the baby was, but she had the wand of the ultrasound all over my belly and a couple of times she had to find the heart beat and even that location changed. Once it was in the upper right corner, then the lower left. Apparently the baby still has lots of room to swim.
The technicians are not allowed to give much information, since it's the doctors that communicate the results, but she did say, "everything looks perfect" so I'm going to go with that statement as good news.
Warren was amazed by the whole thing and I'm so glad he was able to be a part of it. He was going to skip a call-in anyway, but it didn't even happen.
I don't have any photo editing software to point to what's going on in the pictures, but I'll try my best to describe it.
PHOTO #1: It's a side profile of the head and the round bump in front of the mouth is a hand.
PHOTO #2: Another side profile shot (opposite the first picture), however in this one you can see a full arm and the hand is in front of the nose again. The elbow and knee are close together. The foot is in the top left corner.
PHOTO #3: The baby is kind of turning away from the camera so the curved line at the bottom of the picture is the spine, and on the left side you can see the leg bent at the knee. The white dot in the middle left of the head is the ear.
I was also told that the thickness between the inside of my uterus and the skin on my belly is about 3.5cm so therefore we'll be able to feel a lot of movement from the outside. The other good news is that I have a really long cervix, and that means I have decreased chances of having an incompetent cervix and therefore less chance of being on bedrest. My placenta is at the back as well, so that is also great news.
We're pretty excited with this ultrasound. Next visit with the OB is April 18th.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
OB Appointment #2
Great news all around!
First of all, the doctor informed us of the results from my IPS... and we have 1 in 100 000 chance of having a baby with a chromosomal defect or neural tube defect. Those are the best odds you can get.
Then, the second greatest news was that I only gained 2lbs in the past month! YAY!!!
He measured my belly and we heard the heart beat again and he said everything was on course.
I had a few questions answered and we were out the door in 20 minutes!
About the belly belt... he said that the discomfort I'm feeling is due to my uterus growing and bouncing while running; it's not going to change wearing a belt. He said the belts are used generally in the third trimester when your lower abdominals are stretching and the belt can provide some relief from that sensation. I just have to change my cardio. Which is fine... the challenge is now starting after my three week hiatus. I miss it, but I also love laying down after work.
So, this week Baby Bawss took over again and I fell asleep within 15 minutes of getting home, and slept right through my personal training session and continued to sleep for another 2 hours. I slept from 3:45 to 7:00. Had a sandwich and talked to War a bit, and then back to bed at 9pm. The baby is supposed to be the size of a small melon this week, so I guess s/he was hard at work growing.
Now my vacation week begins, however it's not all vacation. Of course, I have a list of jobs I need to accomplish, plus I am starting to wallpaper the nursery closet. If anyone wants to join me, I'll be happy to have the help. Warren's in a hockey tournament this weekend, and Myles doesn't really help much. Just sleeps and occasionally asks for food.
On Friday of next week, we are going to The Soo and I'm excited to share my belly with everyone there. It is the only time we'll be in The Soo until after the baby is born.
As for other updates, most people at work predict we're having a boy. I still have no premonitions.
First of all, the doctor informed us of the results from my IPS... and we have 1 in 100 000 chance of having a baby with a chromosomal defect or neural tube defect. Those are the best odds you can get.
Then, the second greatest news was that I only gained 2lbs in the past month! YAY!!!
He measured my belly and we heard the heart beat again and he said everything was on course.
I had a few questions answered and we were out the door in 20 minutes!
About the belly belt... he said that the discomfort I'm feeling is due to my uterus growing and bouncing while running; it's not going to change wearing a belt. He said the belts are used generally in the third trimester when your lower abdominals are stretching and the belt can provide some relief from that sensation. I just have to change my cardio. Which is fine... the challenge is now starting after my three week hiatus. I miss it, but I also love laying down after work.
So, this week Baby Bawss took over again and I fell asleep within 15 minutes of getting home, and slept right through my personal training session and continued to sleep for another 2 hours. I slept from 3:45 to 7:00. Had a sandwich and talked to War a bit, and then back to bed at 9pm. The baby is supposed to be the size of a small melon this week, so I guess s/he was hard at work growing.
Now my vacation week begins, however it's not all vacation. Of course, I have a list of jobs I need to accomplish, plus I am starting to wallpaper the nursery closet. If anyone wants to join me, I'll be happy to have the help. Warren's in a hockey tournament this weekend, and Myles doesn't really help much. Just sleeps and occasionally asks for food.
On Friday of next week, we are going to The Soo and I'm excited to share my belly with everyone there. It is the only time we'll be in The Soo until after the baby is born.
As for other updates, most people at work predict we're having a boy. I still have no premonitions.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Nesting?
Last Saturday and this Saturday, I have spent the entire day going through places where we store things, and have completed a THOROUGH cleaning of these areas. It is a great feeling to throw stuff out, donate and re-organize so you know where things belong. I was quite excited to break out the label maker... I know... I'm a loser.
Last week I tackled the office, basement and attic (War's help for the attic, because it was mainly his stuff). Yesterday was my makeup and scrapbooking area as well as the front closet.
Now we wait for the renos to finish in the nursery. When my new closet is ready in the nursery, I can move my clothes (which are in different areas of the house currently) there and this will free up various spaces in the house. I will also be moving my makeup into my vintage vanity that belonged to my grandmother. I can't wait until everything has its place.
So what has to be done to get the room ready? Well, we've had 2 quotes to have the original hardwood floors re-finished. The first guy says, "ya, it's no problem, we'll replace the missing slats and it'll look great. $1100 plus HST." The second guy says, "I can refinish these floors, and they'll look great, but it's a short amount of time before they begin to split and crack and you'll have to wear shoes up here. It's not good for kids because they can get slivers. Trust me, we need the business, but I'd just be taking your money and you would be disappointed in the results. I turn down these type of jobs, even for people flipping houses and doing quick renos, because I stand behind my work, and you will not want these floors." He highly recommended we just lay new floors overtop and we are excited to do this. He can still fix our stair case to match the flooring that we choose for $300.
Warren and I started looking into flooring and by doing it ourselves (well Warren doing it) we are going to save a few hundred, with the stair project included. I'm pretty excited for new, durable flooring. We're looking into the Costco flooring. Friends of ours have used it and War has installed it before.
So the floors can get started anytime. Warren is done the mudding and sanding, so we just have to move the furniture out of the room and prep the floors. I can't wait. Of course, I already know what furniture we are putting in the nursery, and my job is to sand and paint these items. If winter would move on already, I could work on this outside. I'm off work next week, so I'm praying for nice weather to get this accomplished. I have a dresser, two cabinets and a vanity to paint.
When the floors are done, then we have to organize the closet. This has been a challenge. We have a small space, angled ceilings, access to an attic door and then all of my clothes AND shoes and future baby stuff to put in there. Eeeeks. We have to make the most of every centimetre of space. Oh, and hardly spend any money on this project, too. I cannot get rid of any shoes, that is out of the question before you even suggest it.
I'm hoping all of this will be done by mid April. I will post pictures of the finished room. Once I have an assigned location for baby stuff and freed-up space in the remainder of the house, I can focus on baby items I need to purchase ahead of time. I don't want to get any big items now, because there is no room and I will go crazy with the clutter. Yes, I know the view towards clutter may be different when the baby comes, but I'm hoping to accumulate items as I need them. Clutter and mess will always make me twitch, so I don't think it will ever get out of control.
In addition to the nursery renos, I have the itch to redo a few rooms in the house, much to Warren's dismay, but I intend to only be purchasing paint and vintage/used items and making them my own. Pinterest is dangerous... enough said. Plus I know that if I don't get these jobs done before the baby comes, they will never be done. Look out, Kelly's back on her energetic, no-watching-TV, must-be-productive-all-the-time horse. Giddy-up.
 |
| aaaaahhh... organized closet |
 |
| Need to find a certain text, BAM! It's right there, labelled for you. |
Last week I tackled the office, basement and attic (War's help for the attic, because it was mainly his stuff). Yesterday was my makeup and scrapbooking area as well as the front closet.
Now we wait for the renos to finish in the nursery. When my new closet is ready in the nursery, I can move my clothes (which are in different areas of the house currently) there and this will free up various spaces in the house. I will also be moving my makeup into my vintage vanity that belonged to my grandmother. I can't wait until everything has its place.
So what has to be done to get the room ready? Well, we've had 2 quotes to have the original hardwood floors re-finished. The first guy says, "ya, it's no problem, we'll replace the missing slats and it'll look great. $1100 plus HST." The second guy says, "I can refinish these floors, and they'll look great, but it's a short amount of time before they begin to split and crack and you'll have to wear shoes up here. It's not good for kids because they can get slivers. Trust me, we need the business, but I'd just be taking your money and you would be disappointed in the results. I turn down these type of jobs, even for people flipping houses and doing quick renos, because I stand behind my work, and you will not want these floors." He highly recommended we just lay new floors overtop and we are excited to do this. He can still fix our stair case to match the flooring that we choose for $300.
Warren and I started looking into flooring and by doing it ourselves (well Warren doing it) we are going to save a few hundred, with the stair project included. I'm pretty excited for new, durable flooring. We're looking into the Costco flooring. Friends of ours have used it and War has installed it before.
So the floors can get started anytime. Warren is done the mudding and sanding, so we just have to move the furniture out of the room and prep the floors. I can't wait. Of course, I already know what furniture we are putting in the nursery, and my job is to sand and paint these items. If winter would move on already, I could work on this outside. I'm off work next week, so I'm praying for nice weather to get this accomplished. I have a dresser, two cabinets and a vanity to paint.
When the floors are done, then we have to organize the closet. This has been a challenge. We have a small space, angled ceilings, access to an attic door and then all of my clothes AND shoes and future baby stuff to put in there. Eeeeks. We have to make the most of every centimetre of space. Oh, and hardly spend any money on this project, too. I cannot get rid of any shoes, that is out of the question before you even suggest it.
I'm hoping all of this will be done by mid April. I will post pictures of the finished room. Once I have an assigned location for baby stuff and freed-up space in the remainder of the house, I can focus on baby items I need to purchase ahead of time. I don't want to get any big items now, because there is no room and I will go crazy with the clutter. Yes, I know the view towards clutter may be different when the baby comes, but I'm hoping to accumulate items as I need them. Clutter and mess will always make me twitch, so I don't think it will ever get out of control.
In addition to the nursery renos, I have the itch to redo a few rooms in the house, much to Warren's dismay, but I intend to only be purchasing paint and vintage/used items and making them my own. Pinterest is dangerous... enough said. Plus I know that if I don't get these jobs done before the baby comes, they will never be done. Look out, Kelly's back on her energetic, no-watching-TV, must-be-productive-all-the-time horse. Giddy-up.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Breakfast with Girlfriends!
I had a great start to the day. I went to my friend Kristy's house for breakfast and joined three other friends. All of us are pregnant and went to high school together. Tres fun.
Of course pregnancy dominated the conversation and it was great to hear all of the different perspectives and opinions. I feel very lucky to have such great friends who are all an excellent resource. It will be so much fun when we all have our babies this year.
We all guessed at when everyone's babies would be born, the gender and the weight and here are the guesses for me:
Laurie predicts I'm going to have a girl born on Aug. 8th weighing 8lbs 8oz.
Kristy predicts I'm going to have a girl born on Aug. 9th weighing 7lbs 6oz.
Of course pregnancy dominated the conversation and it was great to hear all of the different perspectives and opinions. I feel very lucky to have such great friends who are all an excellent resource. It will be so much fun when we all have our babies this year.
We all guessed at when everyone's babies would be born, the gender and the weight and here are the guesses for me:
Laurie predicts I'm going to have a girl born on Aug. 8th weighing 8lbs 8oz.
Kristy predicts I'm going to have a girl born on Aug. 9th weighing 7lbs 6oz.
Frances predicts I'm going to have a girl born on Aug. 10th weighing 7lbs 2oz.
Jennifer predicts I'm going to have a boy born on Aug. 11th weighing 7lbs 8oz.
And my prediction (no gut feeling or anything, I just wrote the prediction as I did for the rest of the girls... totally at random!) is that I'm having a girl born on Aug. 2nd weighing 7lbs 2oz. I want it earlier and lighter than the others!
We'll see what happens!
Here are some pictures from this morning of us all with our bumps.
 |
| Jennifer (due 3/22), Laurie (due 4/3), Kristy (due 4/7), Me (due (8/6) and Frances (due 8/30) |
 |
| Jennifer (due 3/22), Laurie (due 4/3), Kristy (due 4/7), Me (due (8/6) and Frances (due 8/30) |
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Big Changes This Week!
I've been reading that during your fifth month, your baby doubles in size. Apparently s/he grows to about 6"!! See more details here!
On Monday, I really noticed that I "popped" as people say. My weight is shifting around and I'm looking more pregnant than bloated. The shape I'm taking is more comforting now, whereas before I was really struggling with the weight gain and not looking pregnant. I'm looking forward to the weather getting warmer outside so I can wear more clothes in my closet, and well, also because my winter jackets do not fasten anymore.
The other change that happened this week is in my fitness. Thursday's run required a few more breaks and caused a twinge of back pain. We did a shorter route because we were late getting started. Yesterday the weather was beautiful and I was looking forward to our run. We did not even run a full kilometre, and I needed a break. It was because those round ligament pains under my belly were worse than before. And the back pain started almost immediately. Now I have to clarify that these feelings were more like discomfort than pain, but I knew that if I kept running it would have led to pain.
So we walked all the way back to hospital, except ran past the mental illness residential facilities because all the smokers are outside and Bethany gets a little scared.... haha, ok I don't like the cat calls either from that population, thank you very much.
We return to the hospital and I am frustrated and disappointed. I was hoping to continue running for at least another month, and then switch over to the hamster wheel at the gym. Some active ladies at work suggested a support belt, which could possibly be covered by Green Shield if my doc writes a script, but I won't see him until Mar. 20! Of course, the unfit people at work were like, "why are you even running anyway? That can't be good for you." And so I bite my tongue because their smoking and lounging habits are far superior, and clearly have a good sense of what it's like to be fit and healthy.
I also tried Joe's bootcamp this week, and that was great. It's not like the Axfit bootcamp which is a ton of plyos, so it was manageable. Last night though, after I got home from the gym, I struggled to stay awake for Warren to come home (yes, his shift was done at 7:00pm) and then crashed by 8:00pm. I still have days when I'm exhausted, but I think now I can attribute it to my busy schedule, and a bit of a growing baby.
I still feel the baby flutters, but again it all depends on my position. I don't get them when I rest at night, as much of the reading tells me, it is still just when I'm squishing the baby. I know it's a matter of weeks until I feel them at rest.
Does anyone know of a protein shake I can drink during pregnancy? I don't want any aspartame or artificial sweeteners or weird chemicals as part of the ingredient list, obviously. Let me know if you've heard of anything fit for pregnancy. I really miss them.
On Monday, I really noticed that I "popped" as people say. My weight is shifting around and I'm looking more pregnant than bloated. The shape I'm taking is more comforting now, whereas before I was really struggling with the weight gain and not looking pregnant. I'm looking forward to the weather getting warmer outside so I can wear more clothes in my closet, and well, also because my winter jackets do not fasten anymore.
The other change that happened this week is in my fitness. Thursday's run required a few more breaks and caused a twinge of back pain. We did a shorter route because we were late getting started. Yesterday the weather was beautiful and I was looking forward to our run. We did not even run a full kilometre, and I needed a break. It was because those round ligament pains under my belly were worse than before. And the back pain started almost immediately. Now I have to clarify that these feelings were more like discomfort than pain, but I knew that if I kept running it would have led to pain.
So we walked all the way back to hospital, except ran past the mental illness residential facilities because all the smokers are outside and Bethany gets a little scared.... haha, ok I don't like the cat calls either from that population, thank you very much.
We return to the hospital and I am frustrated and disappointed. I was hoping to continue running for at least another month, and then switch over to the hamster wheel at the gym. Some active ladies at work suggested a support belt, which could possibly be covered by Green Shield if my doc writes a script, but I won't see him until Mar. 20! Of course, the unfit people at work were like, "why are you even running anyway? That can't be good for you." And so I bite my tongue because their smoking and lounging habits are far superior, and clearly have a good sense of what it's like to be fit and healthy.
I also tried Joe's bootcamp this week, and that was great. It's not like the Axfit bootcamp which is a ton of plyos, so it was manageable. Last night though, after I got home from the gym, I struggled to stay awake for Warren to come home (yes, his shift was done at 7:00pm) and then crashed by 8:00pm. I still have days when I'm exhausted, but I think now I can attribute it to my busy schedule, and a bit of a growing baby.
I still feel the baby flutters, but again it all depends on my position. I don't get them when I rest at night, as much of the reading tells me, it is still just when I'm squishing the baby. I know it's a matter of weeks until I feel them at rest.
Does anyone know of a protein shake I can drink during pregnancy? I don't want any aspartame or artificial sweeteners or weird chemicals as part of the ingredient list, obviously. Let me know if you've heard of anything fit for pregnancy. I really miss them.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Updates at 18 weeks... ish
I'll be 18 weeks on Tuesday, and that's close enough.
As for some updates, there have been a few new developments over the past two weeks. Firstly, we went to Burlington and Barrie last weekend and were able to share our exciting news with great friends. We spent the weekend with Neil and Kathilee, and Andrew Kilmer joined us for Saturday and Sunday! Saturday morning we all drove to Barrie to visit our friends, Mark and Kim, and meet their 6 week old, Adeline. Kim shared her knowledge and advice of cloth diapers, and I'm convinced now for sure that I want to go this route.
After our great visit on Saturday, we went to Yorkdale Mall so I could find some fat.. er... mat clothes. And I did. Luckily H&M had a large maternity section and had great selection. I finally found my skinny dark blue jeans and they were $40! I also bought a pair of cords for $10. I'm hoping I can be creative with my shirts and blazers so I won't have to buy too many tops. So far, they all look to me like you are going for the balloon-look. No thanks. I'm hoping to have a cute baby belly and I can show it off. Not tent it.
As for how I'm feeling, still great. I really can't complain. Although my first trimester has passed, I occasionally get the bad hunger pangs (I may or may not have had a full pasta lunch at 9:00am on Tuesday) and still tired some afternoons, which involve a lot of time on the couch. The biggest changes I'm seeing are in my workouts. When I run on my lunch, I'm slower, out of breath more quickly and need a few more breaks, if the red lights are not in my favour during our run. Bethany is great though, and she takes a little rest with me. At the gym, my workout partner is lifting heavier weights, and sadly I cannot. Nor can I recover quickly between sets. I'm out of breath with ANY exercise. Can't wait until I get out of breath while eating.
My bump is significantly growing though, and looks more pregnancy than being bloated, so that's exciting. As well, depending on my position, I can feel the baby working out (ha, it's definitely participating in some sport in there... like War and I won't produce a stellar athlete)! It's usually a position though that squishes the baby, for example, if I'm sitting on a stool and leaning forward. War thinks the baby's trying to tell me to stand up straight so it can move. Whatever is happening, it's pretty cool to feel it.
As for a pic... brace yourself kids.... here is a sneak peek of my growth.
As for some updates, there have been a few new developments over the past two weeks. Firstly, we went to Burlington and Barrie last weekend and were able to share our exciting news with great friends. We spent the weekend with Neil and Kathilee, and Andrew Kilmer joined us for Saturday and Sunday! Saturday morning we all drove to Barrie to visit our friends, Mark and Kim, and meet their 6 week old, Adeline. Kim shared her knowledge and advice of cloth diapers, and I'm convinced now for sure that I want to go this route.
After our great visit on Saturday, we went to Yorkdale Mall so I could find some fat.. er... mat clothes. And I did. Luckily H&M had a large maternity section and had great selection. I finally found my skinny dark blue jeans and they were $40! I also bought a pair of cords for $10. I'm hoping I can be creative with my shirts and blazers so I won't have to buy too many tops. So far, they all look to me like you are going for the balloon-look. No thanks. I'm hoping to have a cute baby belly and I can show it off. Not tent it.
As for how I'm feeling, still great. I really can't complain. Although my first trimester has passed, I occasionally get the bad hunger pangs (I may or may not have had a full pasta lunch at 9:00am on Tuesday) and still tired some afternoons, which involve a lot of time on the couch. The biggest changes I'm seeing are in my workouts. When I run on my lunch, I'm slower, out of breath more quickly and need a few more breaks, if the red lights are not in my favour during our run. Bethany is great though, and she takes a little rest with me. At the gym, my workout partner is lifting heavier weights, and sadly I cannot. Nor can I recover quickly between sets. I'm out of breath with ANY exercise. Can't wait until I get out of breath while eating.
My bump is significantly growing though, and looks more pregnancy than being bloated, so that's exciting. As well, depending on my position, I can feel the baby working out (ha, it's definitely participating in some sport in there... like War and I won't produce a stellar athlete)! It's usually a position though that squishes the baby, for example, if I'm sitting on a stool and leaning forward. War thinks the baby's trying to tell me to stand up straight so it can move. Whatever is happening, it's pretty cool to feel it.
As for a pic... brace yourself kids.... here is a sneak peek of my growth.
 |
| 17 weeks and 4 days |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)