One Year Since my Figure Competition

It's really amazing what the woman's body is capable of - these photos were taken at exactly a year apart (June 16th).  On the left, is the day of my competition; I was the most fit, healthy and leanest I've ever been in my life.  It took patience, dedication, perseverance and hard work to achieve that body.  On the right, I'm 33 weeks pregnant.  I am still fit, but relaxed and in awe that I am growing another person.  Both bodies are great accomplishments and I feel so fortunate to have had them both!

It will be interesting to see the post-baby transformation... that my be my biggest body challenge yet!

Baby Shower Registries

Today, I walked to Sweetheart Baby Boutique to complete another location for my registry.  Building a registry is not easy.  I have to make sure there is no overlap with products at all three places.
I am registered at Babies R Us, mainly because they have the best selection and products often go on sale.  I registered at Sears because if you guess your due date correctly, you get the balance on your registry in Sears gift cards to be used for anything at Sears!

So, I registered at Sweetheart Baby Boutique because I wanted to support a Windsor company, they have many Canadian-made products, as well as all organic and natural baby products.  They also are the store that carries cloth diapers and I plan to give cloth diapers a solid try.  After learning about it, it doesn't seem that bad and I really have nothing to compare it to.  Did you know the diapers that we wore are still in landfills?  And I learned today that newborns have to be changed at least 12 times a day.  That is a ton of diapers.... poor Mother Earth.

As per Kelly style, I have created a spreadsheet that keeps track of all of the items I have registered as well as the store where they are registered.  Sears and Babies R Us make it easy to remove and add items online, and with Sweetheart, I can just email the owner the changes.  The downside with Sears and Babies R Us is that sometimes items are on liquidation and therefore the company doesn't know if the stock will be replenished.  Sweetheart is great because you can order online and purchase in store.

I did not register for clothes, because I think those just get purchased, because how can you not want to buy baby clothes?  Plus, I have wonderful friends who are ready to give me donations.

My work shower is June 14th and my mom's shower is July 7th.  We are planning a little get together after the baby is born on Sept. 2, which is exciting because we can get some gender-specific things!  I feel so blessed for the family and friends we have; we are so excited to share this baby with everyone.

28 week ultrasound pictures!

This morning I went for my follow-up ultrasound so the doctor could have another look at the kidneys. The tech actually said they look fine so not to worry.  I wasn't worried anyway; I was just excited to see the baby again and to see how much it has grown.  The tech was wonderful and she allowed my mom to come in to see the screen after she was done taking the required pictures.  I wish I could add arrows and comments on the photos, but I don't know how to do do that, so hopefully the captions will help you to identify what's happening in each photo.

In the top photo, the baby is slightly turning away from the camera and has both hands in front of the mouth.
In the bottom photo, there is one hand in front of the mouth, and an elbow is bent just below the chin.

The top photo is again of the head and hand in front of the mouth.
The bottom photo is a foot.  The tech said the foot is measuring at 2 inches!

The top photo is a lower leg and foot and the bottom photo is the bottoms of both feet.

Both photos are of an arm.

The tech was generous; she said they are only allowed to give out 2 photos.  We were ecstatic.  She was also able to tell me how the baby is lying within my belly and it totally makes sense based on the sensations I feel.  The head is down low and the bum is on the right.  The feet are on the upper left and hands are on the lower left.

My mom came with me because she took a personal day.  Warren couldn't come with me this time, because he obtained a long-term teaching placement that goes until the end of the year!!! We are super thankful and grateful.

Anyway, I continue to feel great and I am so happy this baby is looking healthy.  Less than 12 weeks to go (If I'm on time ;)!

THIRD TRI BEGINS TODAY! dun... dun... dun...

Hello everyone!
Wow, I can't believe I have 12 weeks to go until I am a mom.  Until my life changes forever.  12 weeks left of just Warren and I.  12 weeks of sleeping in, making dinner is optional, and spending money on me.  Yikes.

I just had another OB appointment today and I gained 4lbs last month.  So my grand total of weight gain is 22lbs so far. Generally, I still feel great and am doing well.  At the last appointment, the OB said that the baby's kidneys were measuring in the upper limits of normal, and so she wants another ultrasound just to keep an eye on them.  Oh, boo hoo, I get to see my baby again.  She wanted the scan done within my 28th week and I did not hear from the clinic, so that was one of my questions.
The other question was is it normal for my wounds to take so long to heal?  For example, Myles scratched me like over 2 months ago (freaked out over the swiffer.... fo real) and I still have a red mark. And my backne has cleared up but I still have all of the marks from when it was raging.  She said not to worry, and it will clear up when the pregnancy is over.  Phewf.

Other than that, everything is fine.  Some days I am more tired than others, and then I get anxious that this looming cloud of fatigue is about to hang over me.  Then other days I am great.  The lesson is to take it day by day.

As for work, my mat leave has been replaced and she starts at the beginning of July.  So she'll have about 3 to 4 weeks of training before I say seeeeeeeee ya and I'm out.  I feel relieved that is taken care of.  I'm still doing ok at work... I did have to sit someone up today who forgot how to bend at the waist.., it was like trying to sit an ironing board.  After I saw her, I thought maybe that wasn't the best idea to do pregnant, but I felt fine.  The biggest struggle at work is my pants need constant adjustment.  They don't fit over my belly or under; I refuse to buy maternity scrubs.

As for working out, it is going awesome.  Joe really made my day today.  He said I look leaner in my face and arms, and also said I don't look pregnant from behind! I was super excited since he is always honest.  I told Warren what he said and again, Warren has told me that same thing so many times and says that I just don't believe it.  hahaha... deja vu to when I was training.... I'd listen to Joe when Warren already told me the same thing. I did 110lbs on the leg press for 20 reps and am still lifting 35lbs for military press on the hammerstrength.  The only thing I've really lightened up on are deadlifts, squats and lunges because I get short of breath so quickly.  I think I need to break up with my regular work out clothes though... my shirts ride up on the gravitron and my shorts just don't fit the same.

As for the nursery.... the goal is to be finished this weekend!  It has been a very busy last 4 weeks and when the weekend comes, I've either booked something or I crash.  I will have more updates soon!

Baby Brain is Killing Me

I'm definitely behind in blogging.....

I've been thinking about things to write about, and they actually have mostly been positive.  Afterall, I'm getting used to this pregnancy thing and it's not as bad as it was a few weeks ago.  However, today has been tough.
It's very busy at work this week (I have about 30 patients on my caseload, and averaging 6 new referrals a day, which according to some people at work, are ALL PRIORITIES).  Now, it can be easy to get a bit mixed up when it's busy at work, and as well when you have a few other commitments at work that are not patient-related (committees, fund raisers, social events, etc).  However, I feel like this baby is using parts of my brain for growth.

Yesterday, I went for the glucose tolerance test.  You wait about an hour after drinking a sugary drink, and then get 2 vials of blood drawn.  They tell you to bring something to read because you cannot leave the lab for the hour that you wait.  So, of course I brought a few options.  One of them was my OT college documents that I need to renew my registration which is due at the end of the month.  After my test, as I was driving home, I noticed the documents were not on my passenger seat.  So, I thought, maybe I just didn't bring them home from work.  However, when I got to work this morning, they were not here either.

I call a medical lab (because I could only find one contact number online and in the phone book) and tell her I think I left some documents at the lab at Tecumseh and Kildare.  She puts me on hold, comes back and says there was nothing there.  I cannot be connected to the lab I visited, nor did I get to explain characteristics of the documents that I was missing.  So, I was convinced she put me on hold for fun and I was headed to the lab on my lunch break to check myself.

I inhaled my lunch, ran to my car and as soon as I opened the passenger door, it was there.  I did not see it yesterday OR this morning.

Also, I had to visit patients on 4 different floors today, and of course once I finished visiting all 4 floors, I noticed I was missing my keys.  Again.  I lost them twice yesterday.  Thankfully they were on the floor right below me.

On Saturday, I was convinced I had a full day on Sunday to finish the nursery, until I went for a walk with a girlfriend, and she was asking me about updates on different friends and then it clicked.... I had a baby shower to attend on Sunday.  Totally forgot.  And even better, never scheduled it in my phone in the first place.  Thank God I had someone already take care of the gift.

So, this is not like me at all to be so forgetful and unorganized.... I feel completely scatter-brained.  It's so frustrating because I feel like I'm losing my mind and wasting time looking for things.  Anyway, maybe I just need to slow down.  This second trimester has been great for energy and so for the past 3 weeks, I have scheduled something every night after work or on my lunch hour.  And a few times I've gone to bed around 11:00.  Maybe I need to just not do as much... and listen to Warren's advice.  I'm stubborn though.

As for positive developments, I will post a video of the bump soon.  My body has proportioned itself differently and I'm feeling better about being pregnant, mainly because I "look" pregnant.  And I can place objects on my belly and watch them move when the baby moves.  That's exciting.

I'm at 26 weeks today! 2 weeks til the third trimester.... eeeeks!

Donations, Consignment and Mom2Mom Sales

During my week off, I was able to spend some time looking at baby items.  I'm still not ready to have the items in my house, but was ready to learn about the things I will need.

On Monday, March 25th, 2013, I went to the Little Gems Consignment Shop with my friend, Kristy.  They had great items in there; it was a mix of new and used and every used item was clean.  I didn't buy anything because I still don't know what I need, but I will definitely be returning there after my shower for any other needs.

After that, we went to Babies R Us so Kristy could help me prepare for my registry.  After spending over an hour in there, I left with a list of about 50 items.  It was a huge relief and a BIG help.  I felt a lot better after going through the store with Kristy.  She's unbiased and provided me with a lot of insight and it was definitely not overwhelming like I thought it would be.  I am very thankful for that calming experience.

That week, I was also able to spend some time with my friends, Mara and Genie.  They also provided some insight with their experiences being new moms.  Mara said I can use her "breast friend pillow" when my time comes.

On Friday, we went to Sault Ste. Marie to visit family for the long weekend.  My in-laws gave us a generous gift that will be used for the nursery renovations.  My cousin Jeannette hooked us up LARGE.  She gave us the car seat, 2 adapters, bottle warmer, boomerang nursing pillow, bunting bag, Medela breast pump, 3 boxes of disposable nursing pads and a snuggly with the newborn insert.  This is just awesome considering how expensive these items are!

This past week, my friend Jen (she just had a sweet baby boy, Gavin Richard, on March 22) let me borrow her heart rate monitor and belly belt.  We've played with the monitor a few times and it's really exciting to hunt for the baby and then hear the rapid swooshing.  On the same day, I was able to pick up the vintage bassinet from a co-worker.  It's absolutely perfect and will look amazing in the nursery.  What's also special about the bassinet is that it has been used by many people at work and all the names of the babies are written in the base of the bassinet.

Of course my mom continues to purchase items for her house, but consistently offers them to us.  So we have a selection at my parents' house as well.  My mom is also letting us store the baby items at her house to help me keep my sanity.

This past weekend I went to the Mom2Mom sale at the WFCU.  Holy crazy moms in there.  It was a giant sale of mostly used items.  Again, I didn't buy anything because I don't know yet what I will need, but it was a good experience to just be there.  It was jam-packed and it was a good thing that Genie had the stroller as a buffer while perusing the isles.  I will be ready for the fall sale with a list and possibly football equipment on to make my way through the crowds.

It's really working out for me to not know the gender of this baby.  I would be buying way too many things at this point.  I think I can continue to hold out for a few more months.  In the future, I'll have to go back and read this post for strength.

Nursery Updates!

After flip-flopping with our decisions about the nursery renovations, we've decided to lay new laminate flooring.  Sanding and cleaning and sanding again to prep the floors for painting was too much work, as well as a painted floor requires maintenance.  Warren did some shopping around, and of course, Costco comes through with the best value for quality flooring.  I've been helping and it's pretty easy to install this flooring.  Warren does all of the cutting, but I help with some of the measurements and the layout of the pieces.  We absolutely love the result.  Warren is going to finish the last little bits today, then we can move on to painting and wallpapering.

Richard Fraser, from Fraser Hardwood Flooring, is doing our staircase.  He was here on Friday to fix the broken step.  He was able to salvage the original step, which I was very grateful for.  Not only is it a cheaper option, but we can maintain the classic characteristics of the old, original wood.  He should be able to sand and finish the steps to match our laminate stain in about two weeks.  I think the nursery should be done by the end of April!

Here are some before pics.... so you can see the original flooring, no baseboards or window trim, and the closet ready for wallpapering.  Enjoy the mint, high gloss walls.... it's a matter of time before they are gone!

My personal handyman.  He's pretty hot, too.

New flooring! Garden Select in Mocha Walnut from Costco.

Almost done!

Our Supervisor, Myles, who has a fear of the Dyson as well as any electrical tool.  He keeps a safe distance and bosses from the doorway.

I'll post more updates as soon as there are more drastic changes.