Pediatrician appt

Back at J's 9month appt, our doctor noted that at 25lbs, 30in & 50cm head circumference, Joel was close to off the charts on all counts except for head circ - and for that, he was off the charts. So, to check that out (can be sign of problems), we were referred to the clinic's pediatrician (usually just see GP). Our appointment was yesterday, and in two months, J has grown to 28 lbs (!!!), 31.25" and 51cm head circ. She was happy with his neuro & physical development though, he's just a large, happy child.

As the point of the appt was to check on his head size, the dr. first plotted his earlier measurements on her chart, and then she measured him, then measured his dad & I. I was also off the charts for headsize, and i think dad was close... Which led her to "diagnose" J with Benign Familial Megalencephaly... basically, it's Latin for "you have a large head because your parents have large heads" :P Which really, is fairly apparent from looking at us, but whatever. I mean look: three ppl with large heads. At least we're cute, right?

The Hanways, Oct 2011. Photo courtesy Inspired Images (full photoshoot here)

We have a follow up appt to make sure his head is growing proportionally, but the dr wasn't concerned, so neither are we. FTR, his head is only 8 cm smaller around than mine. EEK!

Oh, and because I can, here's his first pic with Santa. I wish they'd gotten a bit closer up, but ah well. He's pretty tired, but isn't screaming his head off, so I declare a win! :)

Baby's room!

I took a few minutes and took some shots of kidlet's room tonight. It's pretty much done... well, except the closet needs to be re-organized, but you'll see why :P

So we start our tour to the left of the door when you walk in (facing window). First thing is the crib.The crib blanket & mobile were hand-me-downs from a friend, but hte colors worked well, and hey, can't beat the price. PLUS, cute cows, pigs & sheep. SCORE! Also, the Ikea heart pillow I've had for years. I well, heart it. I'm planning on using it for Spark's monthly 'progress' shots...

This is the shelf above the crib with all of Spark's stuffies on it. Everything from a small herd of cows & teddies to eeyores & other disney ilk.

And here's a better view of the crib quilt... cute, no? Also, the diaper bag I won on eBay. Again, heart. 

Better picture of diaper bag & accoutrements. It's a Fleurville sling that I won for $70 inc. shipping on eBay. They retail in town here for $225. Um, score? Ya, I thought so too. It's missing the wipe container, but I had a Pampers one that works just fine, and otherwise it's in brand-frickin-new condition. Again, SCORE. 

My comfy chair (glider) & ottoman. In the corner where there's currently a bag, I'm going to pick up a little table to put the lamp (matches crib set) and his books (currently in front of dresser).

 

Dresser with change pad, wipe warmer (from a friend!), various wipes & such, bunch of books, laundry basket & diaper basket (white). Nothing overly exciting, but it's all part of the room...

And uh, the closet. Jam-frickin-packed. THe clothes hanging up are up to the 6-12 month 'category' (not including sleepers...) The Ikea dresser is holding all larger sized clothes, there are a ton of toys to the right of the dresser, and the crib bumpers, and toddler-bed rail are stuffed to the left of the dresser. On top is the Ergo, and a bunch of other stuff I had no home for... Need shelves in room. pronto. Where the hell we're gonna squeeze 'em in, I dunno.

So that's that. I also got his memory book today from another eBay win...  Wasn't a score like the other items I've gotten recently, but I had fallen in LURVE with it at Winners a few months back when I saw it on clearance ($13!) and foolishly didn't pick it up. So I sucked it up, and used money from the baby shower to pick it up full price. But i love love LOVE it. So purty. I've picked up the little photo albums that match it at Winners for $3-4 ea, and plan to put together little albums for the grandmas & aunties... y'know, in my spare time :P

34weeks... *

*parts of this post could be TMI to some.. don't say you weren't warned!

Time is just a-flyin'! And I think.. 'stuff' is starting to happen too..  

I'm feeling a LOT more movement since Sunday's false alarm. Mostly down low, but some tai-chi like movements under my ribs. I was talking to my naturopath yesterday, and she thinks the fluid on Sunday was likely a small leak in my fluid sack or a small secondary sack of water (possibly from the twin that didn't make it?).. Regardless, she agrees that I most likely didn't pee myself Plus, I had some yellowy-greeny snot-like discharge when I got home last night, and a bunch of EWCM-like discharge again this morning. Mucus plug starting to move on out perhaps??

I really think my feelings of "baby will be here sooner than later" is totally what will happen. I'd like him to hang out til 36w or so (Jan 4 - two weeks from today), but really, I gots no control. Really should be upstairs packing bags instead of playing on the computer, but meh   I finally got the load of small FuzziBunz diapers from a friend yesterday, so those are in the wash and will be ready to go soon. Not that we'll be using them from teh very very beginning (have Huggies for that), but probably soon enough... crazy.

And now, because you've been patient, here's a pic of me from this evening. I'll try and get a nicer one of J & I on Friday when we're at one of our work functions.Until then, this will have to do. Thoughts on this vs. the last pic (31 w)? Think babe's dropped at all?

33 week update..

aka the one where i have a minor freakout.

So let's see... last time I updated, I was just at 30 weeks, and starting my 'sick leave'. It ended up coming at a good time, as much as sick leave can be at a good time, because I ended up with a doozy of a sinus 'thing' that lasted close to 2 weeks... also, that pesky BP thing. I went into the office on the 30th (31w) for my work baby shower, and sparkle got spoiled something rotten... was really sweet of everyone. Funny.. gifts from people I never expected to get gifts from, and no gifts from people I expected to get gifts from (as much as you shouldn't expect to get gifts from anyone, but kwim?).  Here's a pic of me from that day... all huge and beachbally :P (I think people on twitter may have seen this? I can't remember) Regardless, that was the state of the belly at 31w. I will try and get a new pic tomorrow... Could be one of the last pictures... Speaking of pics though, I hadn't posted the last u/s pic we got (29w)... here ya go!

I'm feeling all right, all things considered (more shortly). I monitor my BP pretty much daily, and it's been ok. at my last appt (31w2d) it was good, but I love my GP, and she was the one who took it. I believe the protein was back at +1, where it's been for most of the pregnancy. Next appt is Dec 16 (this Thursday) and they'll do a biophysical profile (BPP), and monitor my BP & proteins again... I fully expect my BP to be outta whack though... and here's why...

Around the end of November (dates/times are blurring now), we found out that J's neurosurgeon would like to do some proactive surgery to remove a few of his meningioma that have been growing for a few years now. And given the state of the family at the moment, neuro suggested either rather immediately, or like 6 months down the road. All things considered, we opted for surgery this month, so on top of being on sick leave for blood pressure issues, my husband is having frickin brain surgery at the end of this week. While he's been through this before (in 2000, for a much bigger tumor that caused a huge seizure), it still frickin blows goats.

So ya. i'm ok. Baby is ok as far as I know. At my last appt he was still breech though (possibly "frank breech" (V-shaped; head & feet up, bum down), so am seeing my chiro to hopefully help with that. Webster Technique, anyone? She did one adjustment last week, and will do another tomorrow. Hopefully by Thursday's u/s, kidlet will be on the move. Babe has slowed down a lot this last week - didn't even flip for chocolate ice cream last night like he usually does. I am a bit worried that they'll want to induce me on Thursday... hopefully I can put that off til January, but I dunno. I just have a feeling that we'll be meeting our baby sooner than later. like, much sooner. Due to some odd circumstances (me being sick being one of them), I haven't been able to connect with the doula yet either, so if they DO want to induce me when J's still in the hospital, I won't have anyone there. am I freaking out? mmm, maybe just a little. Will try and update Thursday after my appt...

more pics - 28 weeks & change

 The belly is finally starting to round itself out... this was 28weeks... It was a long day, sorry for the long face..

We've gotten the furniture together this past week. And really, when I say "we", I pretty much mean Baby Daddy. The drapes are back up (still need a blind), the dresser is together & so is the rocker.

As you can see, I started doing baby laundry this week too.  First load was just washcloths, receiving blankets & the odd bib & crib sheet. I've done a few more loads since - some tiny clothes (!!!) hooded towels & more crib sheets... love washing the little stuff.

Pictures (no particular order)

We got the crib set up today, and picked up the dresser. The glider is also in, but they had it stored behind a whole bunch of stuff, so we told 'em we'd be back later this week. Crib is pretty though, no? And the dark wood will indeed tone down the bright green. Phew!

I was in PEI for work most of this past week, and my hotel room had a full length mirror, so I took the opportunity to take a 26week belly shot. I'm sorry this is dark, but it's the only one that's not blurry. Definitely getting a belly though (and this was before I ate out for 4 days straight!)...

Here are some shots from the shower. I don't have pictures of everything, but trust me, there was a lot of loot.

oops...

didn't realize it'd been almost a month since I last posted. Bad bad blogger/mommy. I've been busy though. Crazy crazy busy. Dad left at the beg of the month, then it was Thanksgiving, and then I headed out west to visit the rest of the fam for my last solo(ish) trip. Had a great trip, visited with friends & family, even met my future daughter-in-law! See, most of my friends here have boys... like, overwhelmingly so. And all the babies to be in the next while that I'm aware of are also boys. So when a friend in SK had a little girl at the end of Sept, I claimed her as my baby boy's bride-to-be. :D

anyway. Things have been going along pretty well here... had another ultrasound on the 14th and baby's up to about 2lbs already! Still in the 90th percentile for growth - "a big baby...", and cute as ever (you can see latest ultrasound pic here)...

A good friend threw a shower for us today, and our friends spoiled us/baby rotten :) I didn't take any pictures at the shower (waiting for pics from a friend), but I did take one shot of the goodies after we got home. outfits, toys, washcloths & such - so  much baby goodness <3 One of my favorite pieces though, is the following onesie - isn't it awesome? :D


I will add more pics from the day and a more detailed recap later, but for now I'll just say it was a great day with good friends, good food, games  & some super cute baby gear :) Thanks again to all those who made this a super special day & those who couldn't make it but sent gifts.

22 weeks! (pics..)

Here's a pic of me taken last night after work. Almost 22 weeks... so hard to believe.

Here's a shot of my dad finishing up the trim in the nursery.. I love how the paint turned out. So bright & cheery. We're going to go with dark furniture & a denim-y blue trim, which I think will tone things down a tad... 

While Dad & J painted, I was "errand girl". The go-fer of sorts. Go fer sandpaper, go fer rollers, etc. But really, the hat says it all ;) I was the boss, they were the 'honey - do' guys.

Things are trucking along fine. Happy to have baby's room somewhat finished. I'm feeling pretty good still. I've felt a few kicks, but still not really often. That I'm aware of anyway. Can't tell between digestion & baby (I'm slow like that, hah). While dad & J were painting, I took the clothes we've got so far & organized them a bit. Just to see what I had bought, and what I'd stashed in the "baby gift" drawer that I wanted to keep for our kidlet :P And now I have little piles of little clothes. At least one outfit for each size up to 24 mon :P They still need to be washed, but it's something. We got the first gifts off our registry last week too! The jolly jumper, a Sophie, and a rear-view mirror so whoever's driving can keep an eye on baby boy. It's all getting real now!

Enough 'blathering' though. will update again when there's something to update :)

the day after...

so, about 24h since I've posted, and i'm in a much different state of mind than I was yesterday. I had a good cry last night, and talked to some friends, ate nothing but crap today, and did a bit of retail therapy, and strangely, i'm feeling pretty good now.

I've uploaded the u/s pics, and they can be found on the ultrasound pic page..

half-baked!!

20! weeks! pregnant!

I cannot believe that theoretically there are fewer days until we meet the baby than there have been so far in the pregnancy.

Today was my 20 week OB appt... Things went rather well. my BP was decent (although I think the med student bust a few blood vessels in my arm. OW), heartbeat was in the 150-155 range, did the trutol test for gestational diabetes.. our maternal serum screening results were in. Based on my age alone, there was a 1:304 chance of defect (Downs, Trisomy 18 or spina bifida), but when they figured in the blood tests & 12w u/s, chances went waaaaaaaay down. Spina Bifida was 1:10,000 (virtually nil), Trisomy 18 1:5000 and Down's 1:1200ish. He was pretty happy with the results overall... said after Thursday's u/s those may go down even more.

I"m feeling pretty good. I think I've been letting myself get dehydrated on the weekends, bc I end up getting awfully lightheaded Sunday afternoons. I drink water all through the week (when i'm in the office anyway), but totally don't drink enough at home. i knwo i've got to fix that, but damned if i'll figure out how to remind myself. Here's the 20week belly pic....

I've got to go find some yoga pants & maternity jeans. Weather's taken a turn for the friggin cold here, and I don't think I'll be able to get away with capris & flip flops as long as I'd hoped, dammit.

ETA: OH! i have been meaning to post this for a while now (as it happened 2 weeks ago)... I felt *A* kick. I was laying in bed one night (on my tummy... i know, i know), and everything was calm... then *THUNK*. i was a bit freaked at first, until I figured out what it was. I probably have felt more than just hte one, but nothing definitive. Still hoping that i feel it more regularly soon. Can't wait to see little sparkle flippin & floppin on Thursday at the u/s... i'm already in lurve :)

Honey, do...

I mean "honeydew". oops :P (or do I??? hmmm...)

We bought a sample jar of paint at Home Depot this weekend, and did a test run in the baby's room. The color we're going with is Honeydew by Behr. Painting in our house is usually a bit chaotic, so it doesn't happen often. But we gave it the college try. Here's the test once the tape came down...

Now, remember it's just 1 coat of flat finish paint + primer over a dark purply grey color, so another proper coat of paint will just finish it off.We'll be painting the trim again, bc the previous owners didn't believe in taping, and couldn't edge to save their souls. Not that I/we are so great, but there's purple on the front of the closet frame,etc. For the record, accent colors in the room will be pink or blue, depending on teh results of thursday's ultrasound, and no real 'theme', although there will probably be a plethora of cow stuff...

The room is essentially 8x10, as the closet juts into the room. We're keeping the trim & doors white, but trying to figure out what to do for furniture. the crib (convertible to double bed) & dresser/change table we're looking at are available in both white & espresso finishes. It's a small room, but I think the color will be bright enough that it can hold a few pieces of dark furniture. Or should we stick with white furniture which could create an uber-bright room? To me, dark furniture is classic & gender neutral; it'll grow with either a boy or girl. Whereas white furniture... eh. I like it, but it kinda screams girl to me. Not so much in the beginning, but will a 13 year old boy want white furniture? i'm going to say no :P

I realize I'm totally over-thinking, but that comes with living with hubs for 10 years... he's the king of overthinking things :P Your thoughts??

Best comment ever!

Had dinner with some friends tonight, and when we were walking to the car, one said to me "by the way, you can TOTALLY see your baby bump now" and I think I may have swooned :P So nice to hear that from someone. Especially when you're convinced that you're hte only person who can see these things :P As proof, an impromptu 19w2d belly shot...

Got some news on the weekend that our next door neighbors are moving to a new house a bit further into town. Makes me sad, but as part of 'cleaning out the house', she gifted some baby stuff to us - tub, BF pillow, baby toiletries, etc. Love the sentiment, hate the reasoning. But if you're looking for a new place here in NS, I know of a place with great neighbors ;)

In other news, Ultrasound & OB appts are next week. Less than a week now to cast your vote for blue v pink, as all will be revealed this time next week.... Registries have been created (links on your right if you're so inclined), but they'll be updated after the u/s to stick a few more items in blue or pink :P

17weekish update...

Not much going on here. I signed us up for prenatal classes today - 6 nights over the next 3 months. Weird how they schedule things but whatev. They're free - guess you can't ask too much :P

In slightly more exciting news, i think I can say that I am finally sporting a little bit of a baby belly. Now, I'm a bit of a 'fluffy' girl to begin with, so it's really just an enlargement of the mid-belly roll (bw boobs & tummy), but ah well.

Been feeling fairly good - bit off today, but other than that, pretty darn good for almost 18 weeks. I think we're going to do up the registry next weekend. Have to go to the mall for a hair appt anyway. Suggestions on what to put on the registry? We know what crib we're getting, can't get the stroller we want at Sears (or TRU for that matter).. but it's alll the other stuff I don't know what to put on there.

First baby gift!

Isn't this adorable?? There was a parcel in our mailbox today, and it was this darling sweater from my friend Tasha in SK... (same person who knit the cow sweater in this pic). I just love it. And so glad that the sweaters will be able to be put to use soon. Yay for babies!! and yay for fabulous friends :)

yesterday's u/s..

I have uploaded the pic on a separate page - ultrasound pics. That way, if you want to see you can click through, otherwise you're not bombarded :)

Wheeeeeeee!

http://tweetphoto.com/24159059

'nuff said :D

The girl who cried positive?

So after last night's excitement, i couldn't sleep... Which lead to a tea & snack at 1am... Which then meant i had to pee again an hour later... of course i dragged out a test, and it came up within a minute or so... Yay! Which finally allowed me to get a bit ofsleep... Only 3.5h though, and when i tested at 6 (bc now i'm addicted...) possibly the faintest of lines showed up... But not right away, maybe 10min? this was taken 20min post-pee, and shows 7pm, 2am & 6 am from top to bottom.

http://tweetphoto.com/24008186
 
I'm still counting 2am, as i KNOW it turned within a minute or so, and well dammit, i want to BELIEVE. I showed J. the 2am stick this morning, and he says he's excited, but was just waking up, and has other (read: work) shite on his mind. And then of course, I had to explain to him how the pg timeline works... DGT started Apr 19 (5 wks ago), ER was 2 wks ago & ET was 12 days ago, but yet we're considered 4 wks pg. no wonder the poor man was confused.
 
I will procure a digital test tonight, but will probably wait til the weekend to pee on it....
 
oh who am i kidding. i'll post again tomorrow :P