The one with the random mid-June update ;)

Cool dudette!

Update time!  Yippee!

My sweet little Charlotte is now closer to three years old than two years old.  Eek!  Where does the time go?  She is already talking about her birthday party and has asked me probably 5 times today if it was fall yet... (granted, it was freezing out so that may have had something to do with it  ;))

Every day, she continues to amaze me.  She is about 27 lbs now and I think around 34 inches tall.  Still teeny and I think she always will be.  She wears mostly 2T stuff and mostly size 6 shoes.  She has all her teeth and had her third hair cut about a month ago.  She is fully toilet trained (except wears training pants at nighttime) and can do the whole routine all by herself.  She can put on her own jacket.  She can go up and down stairs with ease.  She can climb up into her booster seat at the dinner table.  She uses her forks and spoons very well.  She can do a somersault.  She just keeps getting bigger and more independent!  *sniffles!*

At the mall after her third hair cut

The hairdresser gave her a little braid.  She was so proud of her "purple braid"!

Charlotte started daycare at the beginning of April due to some confusing no job/new job circumstances that ended up with our regular sitter finding new employment.  We were very VERY sad about the change, but Kelsey is still in our lives, and Charlotte is really enjoying her time with other children.  I am so happy she was able to spend the first two and a half years of her life at home and now she is at the age where she craves social interaction.  She is loving daycare and tells me all about her days, who her friends are, who she played with, which children spit, which children talk at naptime, and so on and so forth haha.  I love hearing her sing new songs and talk about her friends.  My heart melts when I pick her up and she hugs her friends goodbye.  Love love love.  Unfortunately, starting daycare also meant her first ear infection.  Boo!!  But we made it two and a half years with no antibiotics ever, so that's pretty good!

Last month, Charlotte went on a trip to Calgary with her Gram for 5 whole days!  She went to visit Auntie Rochelle, Uncle Paul, and her cousins Isla and Lucas.  She had a wonderful time and still asks if we are "going to go to Calgary today".  She really enjoyed the plane rides and even got to visit the flight deck on her way home.  Apparently, she walked into the flight deck, looked around, and said "I think this is an airbus" (it was).  Cracked the pilots right up!  :)

She is still as funny as ever and as sweet as ever.  She certainly has the two year old attitude down pat, but her sweet, kind, loving nature still shines through.  She loves to spend her time rocking her dolls and her bunnies.  She has one bunny that she got for Easter who she named Charlotte Bunny and Charlotte Bunny is HER baby.  She rocks Charlotte Bunny and pats her back.  She feeds her and hugs her.  It is all very sweet. This morning, when I told her we were staying home from work/daycare because I didn't feel good, she told me "It's okay, Mommy.  I will hug you all better."  One day, she told me "Maggie (our cat) can't play with the toys because she has no hands.  I'm going to go to the store and buy her some hands so she can have a turn."  She is a darling.  I truly hope she never loses that kindness and compassion.

Mommy and Charlotte ice cream date

Here are a few of 2.5 year old Charlotte's favourites:

Book: Alligator Baby by Robert Munsch is a big favourite right now.  We have read it every day for the last 3 weeks since we bought it.

Activity:  Pretend play - she loves acting out life's little moments with her dolls and stuffed animals.  She is always feeding them or putting them to bed and copying pretty much everything I say to her during those routines.  Makes me feel pretty good when I see her hugging her bunny saying "goodnight, sweetie, sweet dreams, I love you".  She also loves playing with her Crazy Coupe outside - filling it with dandelion gas and going to Superstore for groceries  ;)  Her imagination is amazing and she comes up with some really fun ideas every day.

Food:  I don't know if she really has a favourite.  She eats peaches n' cream oatmeal every day for breakfast at her request.  She really likes apple slices and peanut butter as a dip for snack.  She is still a great eater and enjoys a wide variety of foods.

Toy:  Charlotte Bunny (although I don't know if I count her as a toy but rather an entity in her own right) or her doll that has snap on clothes that she has named Susan.

Colour:  Purple (mine too, and I'm pretty sure that's why it's her favourite  ;))

Word:  Why?  Why?  Why why why?  WHY?  ;)

My little ladybird

Even though she is really starting to exert her independence and test boundaries, she just makes every single day a little brighter.  Her smile lights up the room.  Her laugh is infectious.  She is soft and snuggly.  She is brave and strong.  She makes funny jokes.  She is smart.  She is social.  She shows empathy.  She is kind.  I just love seeing what new things each day brings!

The one with the even longer overdue update

Well, here we are for my semi-annual update. I certainly didn't intend for this blog to fall so far behind, but (no offense to my lovely readers) it's kind of low on the priority list. However, since I have a spare moment or two right now, I figured I would update! Hooray! Aren't you thrilled?

Life is busy and wonderful these days!
Charlotte turned 17 months on the 14th and she is beyond amazing.

















She has exploded with words since the last blog update and she's coming up with more and more of them every day. She probably has about 30-40 words, a couple of two-word utterances, and has added "thank you" to her sign repertoire. She recognizes all of her colours, can distinguish between shades, and will name them when asked (or when not asked - she LOVES pointing out colours). She can also recognize and say all of the letters in the alphabet. Right now, these are two of her favourite activities. If you want to keep her busy for a while, just ask her to go get all the blue magnets off the fridge or read her "LMNO Peas" by Keith Baker and she will be happy as a clam. It's gotten to the point now where she no longer cares about what things are but rather what colour they are.




















Oooh, letters!

She has 12 teeth now and is only missing her four canines and her two year molars. We had her weighed about a month and a half ago and she FINALLY hit 20lbs! She was 20lbs 4oz to be exact, haha (although she was wearing her clothes, so that most likely accounts for the 4oz). She's still a teeny little thing but she fits well into her 18 month clothing. She's in a size 4-4.5 shoe. She's graduated to a booster seat at the table and no longer eats off a high chair tray. Her hair has grown quite a bit in the last two months and we can now put it up into adorable little pigtails :)




















She still loves loves loves her books but has started to branch out into some new activities. She's discovered how awesome balls are and loves to throw them. She also enjoys playing with her kitchen set and her building blocks. She enjoys colouring and we keep a piece of paper taped to the coffee table with her little box of crayons so she can colour as she pleases. She's also started loving to dress up. She wants to wear her outdoor gear ALL THE TIME. If her hat is anywhere nearby, she wants it on. She wants to wear her coat around. She loves her scarf. She runs around wearing her shoes. I think it's time we invest in a tickle trunk!
















She's hit full-on toddlerhood but she doesn't really act like a toddler. She doesn't throw tantrums and if she does have an outburst, she's very easy to talk to and calm down. She really seems to get it and we're able to explain things to her and reason with her. She's kind, sweet, and very easy-going. She signs "thank you" without prompting. She pets Maggie softly and gently. She is so very pleasant and I adore her more and more every day. She has a great sense of humour and her little giggles are music to my ears! She's so funny and when I tell her she's a little turkey, she runs around saying "turkey turkey turkey turkey!"

Aside from Charlotte and her awesomeness, life has been good. We took a trip in January to go to Calgary to visit Rochelle, Paul, Lucas, and Isla for the babies' baptism and to Winnipeg to visit friends and family. It was a very short but wonderful trip. It was so nice to see everyone and it made me want to get back to Winnipeg as soon as possible! I wish we could have stayed longer (or, ya know, move back..........).






















I have also found myself a new job that I start on March 30! I am leaving the field of Early childhood education (somewhat) and am venturing in a new(ish) direction. I will be coordinating and facilitating child and family programs at the local Military Family Resource Centre. I will be making more money and working less hours which is SO unbelievably important to me so I have more time to spend with my daughter. I am terrified, nervous, and very very excited. It allows me to use my ECE diploma and skills but I will no longer be working as a front line ECE. I knew working directly on the floor was not something I wanted to do or could handle once I had my own children and spending the last six months working back in the field has solidified the conclusion that this is no longer the career for me. I love my work as an ECE but it's MUCH too physically and emotionally demanding for me at this point in my life. I know my limits. I'm very excited to start something new and see where it takes me! And, incidentally, my first day is my Daddy's birthday so it must be meant to be :)

That's all the news on our end these days! We're all really looking forward to summer coming and simply spending more time together as a growing family :)

The one with the LOOOOONG overdue update!

I know, I know! I swear I didn't intend for Charlotte to turn one and then the blog suddenly stops. Things have just been busy - nothing special, really, but just life.

We had a wonderful Christmas and even though I only had two days off work (four days total since Christmas was on a weekend) we still managed to see both of our families and have our own Christmas time. It was busy and a bit stressful but we made it work. Charlotte was very excited about Christmas morning. She didn't really know what was going on but she danced around and ate cinnamon buns in the living room and got new toys, so she was happy. She was absolutely enamored with snowmen and Christmas trees and I'm a bit sad that the season is over. Granted, she was the same way with pumpkins around Hallowe'en so I'm sure she'll find something new to obsess over ;)
























She turned 15 months yesterday and continues to amaze me. She still doesn't talk much but she understands so much and picks things up so quickly that it's almost scary. She points a lot and she'll point to something if you ask her (i.e. "Charlotte, where's your humidifier?"). She currently signs "more", "all done", "sing", "milk", "I love you", and "toilet". She knows what a horse, cow, sheep, cat, dog, duck, lion, and Santa say. When she asks to sing, she will choose songs herself (for example, she'll smack her lips together if she wants "Pop Goes The Weasel" or will say "E-I-O" if she wants "Old MacDonald"). She recognizes letters (has a fondness for "O" and will walk around, carrying her "O" magnets going "Ooooo") and can recognize some colours. Her comprehension is outstanding and I often forget just how young she actually is.

















She's still teeny and probably always will be. I'm not sure how big she is, but I imagine she's hit 20lbs by now. She just went through a growth spurt and finally fits into the 18month clothing she owns. She has 11 teeth - four front, three bottom, two top molars, and two bottom molars. Her hair is growing longer and her curls are adorable. She's started to change her looks and I get told she looks a lot more like me now. It's nice to hear :) I did birth her, after all...

















She still loves her books and reading is still one of her favourite activities. She got a kitchen for Christmas from Santa and has been enjoying "cooking" there and feeding us her concoctions. She also got a lion from Santa and LOVES it. She runs around the house, hugging it, and saying "roar!" She has a couple of dolls and enjoys feeding them, brushing their hair, and patting their backs. She just loves pointing at things and figuring out what things are. Right now her current obsessions are the ladybugs on her blanket and Maggie's toy mice. I can't quite tell if she likes the mice or hates the mice, but she'll walk around the house with a toy mouse in each hand, following Maggie, attempting to give them to the cat. If she sees a cat toy on the floor, she points at it and kind of yells. Maybe she's mad that Maggie doesn't clean up after herself.

She has little traits that make me chuckle. She likes to put her cup in the cup holder of her high chair tray when she's done taking a drink. If it doesn't fit, she puts it on the table. When she's eating snack, she'll put something (a cracker, a piece of fruit) back in the bowl before taking something else to nibble on. She's developing her little personality more and more every day and she's certainly a character!

























She's still doing great with her eating and sleeping habits. We've finally, FINALLY, rid ourselves of bottles! Hooray! She's doing perfectly fine without them and doesn't seem to miss them one bit. She's eating three meals and two snacks a day and, usually, sleeps 10-11 hours at night. She has one after-lunch nap that is usually 2 hours on average, but can sometimes be as short as an hour and a half or as long as today where she slept for FOUR hours. Nutty. It's usually 2, 2.5 hours though. She doesn't eat as much in one sitting as she used to (which makes sense, because she's not growing as rapidly as she was in her first year) but she still eats well. She still loves all her usual favourites: pasta, meats, potatoes, corn, peas, english muffins, toast, crackers, grapes, bananas, blueberries, waffles, etc. There's not really a whole lot she won't eat as a whole - somedays she'd rather have one thing over another, but as a whole she eats a really well-balanced diet and loves her healthy foods.
























She's just the light of our lives. She has a very sweet, caring, pleasant personality and is so very easy-going. Charlotte, we love you!

I promise to update again before she turns 2 ;)

The one where Charlotte is eight weeks old

Happy eight week birthday, baby girl!
























Gee, can you tell she's a girl? Holy pink.

She is such a funny kid. She's smiling regularly now and there are certain things we can do that will pretty much guarantee a smile. She loves when we wag her arms around, blow raspberries at her (I think she likes to get spit on?), and whack her noggin with a paper towel tube - gently, of course. What a weird kid. She has discovered both her hands and her feet and will spend a great deal of time just staring at them. She still can't figure out how to get her hands into her mouth or how to touch her feet, but she's working on it :)

Another game we like to play is "pull yourself into sitting!". She loves it and if she grabs onto our hands just right, she'll pull herself up. She loves to sit and chat with us, so we pulled out the Bumbo chair the other night to see if she's ready for it. She seemed to really like it and we've sat her in it a few more times since then. Thank you so much for giving it to us, Nola!!
























"Hey, what's over there?"

















Still a little on the tilted side, but she loves it!
Never would have thought my eight-week old baby would be strong enough to hang out in a Bumbo, but here we are! She's got the strength for it, that's for sure. She just loves being in the sitting position. We sit with her (our knees bent up and her sitting with her back against them) all the time and she's happy as a clam that way.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depends on how you look at it) my background with child development puts me in a fun position being a mother. I love seeing what she's doing and figuring out whether or not she "should" be doing those things. There are a few things that I think she's ahead of the game with. She seems to have already learned cause-and-effect outside of her own body (secondary circular reactions) and will do whatever she can to activate her motion-activated toys. She's not completely purposeful in her actions yet, but she knows (for example) that if she kicks her legs and flails her arms hard enough, the lights and music on her bouncy chair will go off. And let me tell you, she works SO hard to do it too!



She's been cooing for what seems like forever. She's also making consonant sounds at this point - not consistently, but we definitely get "gah"s and "bah"s out of her on a daily basis. I wonder if she'll be an early talker... we'll see!



















"Oh Mommy, you're so interesting!"

She finally outgrew all of her newborn sleepers (finally) and I have to put them all away now. Some 0-3 clothes are still too big for her, depending on the brand. I find Joe Fresh sleepers fit her perfectly, but their onesies are a little wide. Old Navy 0-3 shirts are fantastic and fit her great. Plus, they're soft as all heck and cheap! She's just about outgrown her 0-3 parachute pants, so I bought her another pair in 3-6 because I adore those pants. And, sadly, her skinny jeans are way too small for her ... but only in the waist. They're still too long. Weird. Her hair is starting to grow back in! Hooray! She still has a silly hairline, but the bald spots have adorable fuzzy baby hair sprouting. It's looking like she's going to keep her dark hair. I'm quite pleased about that :)

She has her next doctor's appointment on the 15th - her two month appointment! I can't wait to see how much she's grown since her six week checkup ... but I'm not really looking forward to her getting her shots. Poor babe. :(

As far as life with the adults goes, we're doing well. Boyd is home for a whole week at a time this month, plus a few 3-4 day stretches. We're trying to get ready for Christmas as best we can. Christmas cards will be going in the mail today and we'll probably put up the tree sometime this weekend. I can't wait! Charlotte saw the lights on the tree at Grammie and Grampie Joe's house and her face was priceless. The lights turned on and her eyes got wide, she pursed her lips, and made an "ooooh!" face. I wish I had recorded it. It was the perfect reaction. Today we're going to head to the mall to do a bit of Christmas shopping and just enjoy a day out.
My birthday is coming up next weekend, so my mom and Joe will be coming to babysit so that Boyd and I can go out. Hooray! I'm very excited about it. The plan is to go out for dinner and then go see The Wizard of Oz at the Neptune Theatre in Halifax. Can't wait!

That's all the news here! I'll leave you with some pictures of early morning playtime at the Chapman house. Enjoy!

The one where Charlotte is four weeks old

Four weeks! Wow! The first two weeks dragged like crazy but the last two have gone by pretty quickly. That's exciting. I really look forward to what the next little while brings. Taking care of a newborn is quite taxing. It's like being in a relationship where the other person is constantly demanding everything from you, yet does not acknowledge that you even exist. I can't wait for the interaction to increase!









































Teeny little baby feet!

Charlotte is still growing like a weed. I'm not sure how much she weighs now or anything of the sort, but I can just see her getting bigger and bigger. She's starting to outgrow some of her newborn sleepers and is fitting into some regular clothes now. She just looks more like a baby now and less like a newborn. Not that she was really newborn-looking to begin with... We're still trying to figure out who she looks like and we haven't come to any conclusions. She must just have the best of both of us because she certainly isn't one of those babies that looks just like one parent or the other. I mean, really, right now she kind of looks like a gremlin at times... but we love her just the same!

She has been more vocal lately, giving some goos and aahs. Right now she's yelling at the sun on her play mat :) She focuses really well on us these days and seems like she's trying to talk to us. Tuesday morning, I think she may have smiled at me while I was changing her diaper and chatting with her. It was pretty awesome :) She still adores her play mat and kicks her legs like crazy when the music plays. She also really likes the throw blanket that we have on the back of the couch - it's navy with yellow suns, moons, and stars embroidered. I think she really likes the contrast and will stare very happily at it while we burp her.

Her nighttime sleep pattern seems to have emerged. I try to put her to bed earlier in the evening (like around 9ish or so) but I've decided that it's completely futile to attempt to put her to bed before 11:30. It's like the clock strikes 11:30 and she's like "okay, time for bed". Otherwise she sleeps a bit, wakes up, is grumpy, has a poop, is gassy, or something that just keeps her up until then. She wakes up once in the middle of the night to eat and goes back to sleep until 7am. This morning when she woke up, I checked the clock and, sure enough, it was 7:06am. "Right on time!" I told Boyd. Hopefully this isn't a fluke and that it stays this way for a while. It's really nice to have something relatively consistent at this stage in the game.



















Having a nice sleep on her dad.



















She's getting so round! Must be all the flies she's catching ;)

Today she got to meet her Auntie Rochelle and Uncle Paul for the first time. How exciting! And tomorrow she will get to meet her Auntie Holly for the first time. Hooray!




































Thanks for coming by, guys :)

Tomorrow is Rochelle and Paul's "congratulations on getting married!!" party and Charlotte has a brand new party dress all ready to go. Hopefully it will be a good outing ... outings lately haven't exactly been stress-free, so let's hope that tomorrow goes smoothly.

And that's all the news for this week!

The one where Charlotte is three weeks old

"I'm this big now!"




We had our three-week check-up on Tuesday afternoon. Charlotte is 7lbs 10oz now, so she's gained 8oz since birth. She's nice and pink, her lungs are clear, her heartbeat sounds great, and all seems well with her.
I'm healing well apparently. I was asked how breastfeeding was going and, of course, had to cry and explain what happened while being made to feel bad about my decision. I was offered an appointment at the Open Arms clinic to do a feeding assessment if I wanted to give it "one more shot". I said I didn't know if I wanted to do that.

"You're done trying?"

Well, I guess so. Saying it that way makes me sound selfish and like I don't care about doing what's best for my daughter, but yes. I am done trying. I'm done having to explain myself. I'm done having all these crummy feelings come back. I want to just be able to accept what's happened, deal with it, and move on. I've had two feeding assessments with the public health nurse. I've tried everything. I hate that people think that I've just given up without trying. I don't know what else anyone can tell me or show me. Sure, feeding works relatively well when someone is helping me but guess what - I don't have four hands! I can't hold her hands out of the way, position her properly, pull her chin down, and do breast compressions all at the same time. Sorry. I don't have someone here 24/7 to be my breastfeeding partner. So just leave me alone! I've done what I can and I'm still doing what I can to make sure she's still getting some of my milk through pumping. I completely understand the importance of breast milk, but why is there such a push for breastfeeding? When I breastfed her, I didn't get any of that nice bonding that we're supposed to have. She'd fall asleep and I'd spend the whole feeding feeling frustrated trying to wake her up. I can still have skin-to-skin, eye contact, and all that when I feed her my breast milk from a bottle. I just don't get it. Argh.

Anyway...

In the last week, Charlotte has started focusing on things much more. She is definitely looking at things now, especially our faces. She still loves her play mat and loves watching the light-up sun when the music plays. She's getting stronger and holds her head up for longer periods of time. She moves a ton - when we put her in the middle of the cradle at night, we wake up to find that she's wedged herself into the side somehow. When she's on her tummy, she kicks her legs so hard that I'm surprised she doesn't move forward when she does it. Super strong baby!
We're slowly easing into a routine. Nighttime is still hard and we're trying to figure it out, but the day seems pretty predictable lately. She's usually up sometime in the hour of 7am, eats, goes back to sleep until about 9:30ish, will usually eat again, spends some time awake and playing, and is usually asleep again by lunch time. She has lots of awake time in the early afternoon and usually again in the evening. She's usually up once or twice in the middle of the night to eat and will sometimes go back to sleep easily and other times will be up for hours fighting sleep. We just need to figure out a good bedtime routine and to get her to sleep in her freakin' cradle! That's still a huge struggle. Last night she just slept with me on my chest because I was too tired to bother fighting.

That's the news for this week!



















Watching the sun change colours and play music



















Staring at the puppy



















Hey, there's a baby in that mirror!



















So goofy!

The one where Charlotte is two weeks old

We missed her one week milestone because life a week after giving birth is ridiculously hectic and I had a hard enough time trying to find time to pee, let alone update the blog.

However, here we are at two weeks (yesterday, anyway)! Things are going okay. We're all still adjusting to our new life and new roles. I won't lie, it's been pretty rough but everyone says the first few weeks are the worst and I believe them. Hopefully soon things will begin to slow down and we'll start seeing a bit of pattern or routine emerging.

Charlotte seems to be doing very well. She's getting bigger and bigger right before my eyes! She left the hospital weighing 6lbs 7oz and was up to 6lbs 13oz just six days later so she's definitely growing well! I imagine she's probably back up to her birth weight now, if not really close to it.







































"So my diapers are still a little big on me, so what? Wanna make somethin' of it?"

She sleeps for good stretches throughout the day and (usually) at night. Last night she slept from 11:30pm until 7am when I finally decided enough was enough and roused her to eat. Her naps during the day are usually a good couple of hours. We are able to put her down when she's sleeping which is very helpful - she's happy sleeping in her swing, her bouncy seat, and laying on her play mat. Sleeping in her cradle at night takes a little longer for her to settle into for some reason, but we always manage to (finally) get there even if it takes what seems like forever.

Eating is not going as smoothly as sleeping. We've been having lots of breastfeeding issues that we're trying hard to work through. Right now I'm having a really hard time with it and I'm looking forward to the day that it stops feeling like a horrible chore and starts becoming that enjoyable experience that everyone says it is.

She's generally a pretty content baby. She gets gassy and then gets really upset about it, but aside from that, she's pretty happy. She still gets the hiccups all the time and I'm happy that they're now happening outside my body. She loves her play mat and likes watching the lights and listening to the music. She likes when we sing to her and is starting to focus her eyes more and more. She grasps our fingers and even grabbed and held onto a toy the other day. She's very strong and will hold her head up for short periods of time, especially if we're holding her upright on our chests. She loves to look over our shoulders to see what is going on. She doesn't protest much to tummy time at all. She usually just ends up turning her head sideways so she can lay on her tummy and still see what's going on.

As for me, I'm doing okay. Adjusting has been really hard and I still have moments where I wonder what on earth I've gotten myself into. It's also overwhelming to have Boyd away during this time. I've been so lucky to have both my mom and Boyd's mom here to help me, but it's still hard because there's no real sense of routine yet and we all know how I feel about routine. I know it'll all come in time, but it's hard to remember that in the moment when you're exhausted and the baby is screaming to eat when she just ate twenty minutes ago and you don't want her attached to your boob for another hour because you just want to go soak your stitched up bottom in a hot bath. But anyway... like I said, I know it'll all come in time.
Physically, I'm feeling much better this week. I'm not taking any more pain medication on a daily basis and I can walk around for longer periods of time without getting sore. I think my episiotomy is healing well but I certainly don't have the courage to look. I'm not bleeding as much anymore and getting up and down isn't difficult. I've lost almost all my pregnancy weight - down from 145 to 119 - and the belly is quickly disappearing. It's really weird to see myself skinny again! It feels like it's been forever. It almost doesn't look natural because I'm just so used to seeing myself with a thick middle for so long.

We have our 3 week check-up on November 2nd so we'll see what news we have then!



















"I love my turtle because we look alike!"

The one where Ladybird is done cooking

37 weeks on Monday means that Ladybird is officially full term. This means she can come anytime now and not be considered a preemie.




















It also means that I'm gigantic! I'm curious to see how much bigger I can possibly get in the next two and a half weeks. (And yes, I found and unpacked my camera cord - yippee!)

I have a lot going on right now and I'm just trying to take it easy as much as I can. It's really hard to do that, though. I have some personal/family stresses that I'm dealing with right now (nothing that I will post about) in addition to just trying to find some sort of semblance of routine in my life so I can not go insane when Ladybird makes her arrival. Right now, this is the bane of my existence:




















See the walls? Still the same as when we moved in. See her stuff? Either still packed or strewn about the room. See this room? Driving Lisa insane.

Countless people have said things like "it's okay, she won't care that her room isn't ready" or "all a baby needs is food and a place to sleep" just to try and make me feel better. Don't say that to me because it makes me feel worse. I know she won't care. She's a newborn. I know she doesn't need a whole slew of stuff. I get that. I need her room done and organized for me. Anyone who knows me knows that I am organized. I need organization in my life. I know when she arrives, I won't have time for getting organized. I know life will be turned upside-down when she gets here and the last thing I want is to be living in a house where everything is upside-down as well. I absolutely do not want to have all her stuff still in boxes or strewn about when she gets here. I don't want to be digging through boxes or piles, looking for something, while she's crying in my arms. Oh, here Ladybird, let me put you down on the floor amongst all this stuff while I desperately search for a new sleeper/diaper/pack of wipes/burp cloth/whatever I need at the moment. Yeah, no thanks.

Thankfully, it's on its way to being done. Boyd primed the walls last night and has one more coat of paint to do today. Mom came by on the weekend and we got all her newborn and 0-3 month clothes washed and dried. I washed and dried all her diapers so those are good to go. I'm hoping that by Monday the room will be ready - not decorated and pretty, but at least functional and organized. That's all I need. And I need it by Monday because that's when I head back to Antigonish and will not be coming back home here until Ladybird is with us.

I'm off to my mom's tonight for the first of my childbirth classes and a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning. So, on that note, I need to get up and moving. We'll end with Ladybird's 37 week baby update to see what's new!
















Yep, we made it to the watermelon. Most of her lanugo (fur coat) has disappeared now as well as the vernix caseosa. She'll swallow them (gross, Ladybird) and store them in her bowels for her first BM after birth. Awesome, thanks. Most babies have their heads cradled in the pelvic cavity by this point. I'm not sure if she's dropped or not, so I'm guessing she hasn't. She is basically ready to go at this point, but is still just growing and developing in there while she waits to come out - she's refining her sucking, inhaling, blinking, etc. and putting on weight.

The one where Lisa promises she didn't forget about this blog...

Better late than never, right?

We're at the 36 week mark and only have about three and a half weeks left until Ladybird's due date. We've still been very very busy over here at the new house so that doesn't really help with the whole "OMG she's coming SOON!" extravaganza. Keeping busy always just makes time fly and, right now, I don't like that! I still have a ton of stuff to do and I really would like it done before the baby arrives. I've had countless people tell me that it's no big deal and that the baby won't notice if nothing is done when she arrives. Well, yeah. She'll be a newborn - she'll barely know that she's human. I'll notice, though, and if I don't get it all done before she arrives then I won't have time once she's here because, ya know, I'll be taking care of a newborn. I just like having some type of routine and I know a newborn throws all routine out the window. I can't even imagine how it's going to be when she arrives and I hadn't even had a routine to begin with. I was really hoping for a few weeks of normalcy before she arrived just for my own sanity's sake. I'm jealous of all those people who have everything washed and prepared and the nursery all finished and who get to relax in their last few weeks of pregnancy. Not me. Ugh. It doesn't help that I'm huge and sore, so even trying to get things done takes twice as long as it should. I'm never moving across the country and buying a house when pregnant ever again!

Ladybird, however, is faring through all of this just fine. I can feel her getting bigger and bigger and sometimes I feel like she's just going to bust out of the front of my stomach, haha. That's not the way out, kiddo! She still moves around quite a bit but not as often as before. I find she has a big movement spell in the morning when I get out of bed, another one late afternoon/early evening, and usually as I'm trying to go to sleep at night. Obviously she moves around more throughout the day, but those seem to be the big ones where I'm uncomfortable because I have a full size baby moving around inside me. She still stretches out a lot and it's still hilarious. She hasn't dropped yet and I'm not sure if I'm looking forward to it or not. On one hand, it'll be great to breathe again and not feel that pressure on my ribs, but on the other hand I'm already dealing with lots of pelvic pain and I'm not sure how much more I can take once she's further down there! It's so funny to think that she's basically just a regular ol' baby in there now. I'm so curious to see what she looks like now. I imagine much less Skeletor-like :) As much stuff as there is to finish up around here, I really can't wait to meet her. The hospital will only let me go to 41 weeks before they induce (not 42 like I had thought/hoped), so I guess she'll begin her journey out by October 18th? We'll see! Everyone is convinced that she's going to come early - everyone except me of course.

Anyhow, the sun has finally made an appearance outside after a few days of being away, so it's giving me a bit of an energy boost to get some things done! We'll leave with a baby update to see what's new in Ladybird's neck of the womb!


















Ladybird weighs about 6lbs now and is pretty much the same in length (anywhere between 18 and 20 inches long). Her face has filled out now and is smooth and plump! She continues to store fat and her knees and elbows have started dimpling because of the fat deposits. Cute! Her skull is nice and firm, but not hard to allow her to come through the birth canal. The amniotic fluid has reached its max in there and apparently the placenta now weighs about a pound itself!

The one where Ladybird could be an infomercial product...

Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. Shipping and handling not included.

Yes, Monday marked 34 weeks pregnant so we have six weeks left until her due date! Hooray! I enjoy that now when people ask when I'm due, it's easier to just say "six weeks" instead of "October". It sounds a lot sooner that way too and people don't make that face like gee, you're a whale if you're not due until October. Six weeks til she's due ... eight weeks until she's way overdue ... it's all coming nice and quickly!

I had an appointment at the hospital today and met with with one of the two midwives there. I really like how the hospital here does things. Apparently it's the only one in Canada that works as a collaborative practice - the midwives and the obstetricians work together as a team rather than separately. It makes me happy because I was really hoping to see a midwife when I moved home, but was told by the NS midwife society (or whatever) that they couldn't see me since I was coming home so late in my pregnancy. Anyhow, it was a great appointment. The midwife was super friendly and very thorough. Everything is still going really well with me and the baby. She's still head down (hooray!) but I do still feel her kicking my right side quite often, so I asked if she might be diagonal. The midwife could easily feel her moving around on that side and asked if Boyd was tall haha. So, she must be all stretched out! So much for the fetal position.

After my appointment with the midwife, I went to my appointment at the Open Arms clinic, which is a family clinic located in the hospital. It was really nice and informative. They gave us a brief tour of the birthing area and said we can come back as many times as we want, so we'll go back again so Boyd can see it all. Aside from not having any bathtubs (boourns!) it all looked and sounded very nice. I think it's going to be a really relaxed and positive atmosphere - plus, I can bring my own snacks and Boyd will have a cot to sleep on in my room. Bonus :)

Now I'm just trying desperately to survive the hottest day on record here in Nova Scotia without ripping anyone's head off. I'm absolutely melting and pretty miserable. It's been a crazy hot week and we won't see any relief until the weekend when Hurricane Earl heads our way. It worries me a bit, since the oceans are SO warm and he's a category 4 right now. Hopefully we won't have much damage! Tomorrow we're moving a few things into the new house and removing some wallpaper to get the dining room ready for painting this weekend. We closed yesterday and got our keys - it's all so exciting! I just can't wait to get in there and get my life routine back on track!

It's too hot to even be on my computer (the heat from the laptop on my wrists is actually driving me CRAZY) so we'll wrap this up with a baby update to see what my stretchy little lady is up to this week!



















Ladybird is about 18 inches long (woah!) and just under 5lbs now! She's huge! She's getting rounder and fatter to help regulate her body temperature when she comes out. Her hearing is fully developed so she can hear me bitching and complaining about this heat. Her central nervous system is still maturing but her lungs are almost fully developed now. She's starting to shed her lanugo (remember her fur coat?) but her vernix caseosa (cheesy substance) is increasing. 99% of babies born at this point would survive outside the womb with no major problems. Yippee!

The one with 49 days left...

Yep, you read that right. 49 days left until my due date! I'm 33 weeks today. This pregnancy has just flown by - hopefully the rest of it will fly by as well!

This past week has been very busy and stressful with regards to the new house. There's been a major roadblock happening that we finally got over today (not our fault at all), so everything should be able to proceed as originally planned. Our closing date is still the 31st of the month (next week!) and we'll be moving in on the 7th of September because that's when Boyd will be home next. That's nice, though. It gives me some time to get the rooms painted and I have baby stuff and all our wedding gifts (two years later!) that my mom and stepfather will be bringing over the long weekend to unpack, sort, and put away. I'll have enough to keep me busy until all our stuff from Winnipeg shows up at the doorstep.

Aside from the house stuff, it was a nice week. On Friday, we (me, my mom, and Boyd's mom) went to Costco and Babies R Us. We got a ton of sleepers for the baby and we finally chose a stroller! I'm very very excited about it. We were finding it hard to decide on a good stroller. I wanted a travel system (just for convenience sake) and Boyd wanted something that he could go jogging with. Well, we found a jogger travel system at Babies R Us! We're going to pick it up sometime this week, I think. It's this one:























The Baby Trend Expedition Jogger travel system. I played with it in the store quite a bit and, so far, I love it. It's a super smooth ride and the front wheel swivels to make maneuvering it even easier. I also love that it's just plain black and grey with no fancy annoying print. It's easy to fold up and the back wheels even pop off to make it more compact. Hoorah! Babies R Us is also having an event where you get 20% off if you bring in old baby gear to trade. Mom got a car seat at a yard sale so we're going to use that to trade in and get 20% off this system! Perfect. Boyd's mom very graciously offered to get it for us - thank you!!

As far as pregnancy goes, things are still going relatively smoothly. However, now that Ladybird is head down, I'm feeling much more uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong - I'm thrilled that she's moved into position - but her being sideways was much more comfortable for me. I'm experiencing way more pressure now, much more back pain, I hardly sleep at night anymore, and her movements will sometimes cause me to actually jump because they're so uncomfortable. I'm getting a lot more of what I assume to be knees, feet, and elbows poking at me from the inside. At least before, those kicks and jabs and punches were off to the side. Now they're right in the front or up in my ribs. Ouch. She still loves to stick her back and bum out and it makes me laugh more and more because she's getting so big that my belly gets really funny-looking when she does it.



















Hmm, can you tell where she likes to hang out? Haha, what a goof :)

I have my next doctor's appointment on September 1st and I believe I'll also be going for a tour of the maternity ward at the hospital. I think. All I really know is that I have two appointments - one with the doctor (one of the other doctors in the practice) and, right afterwards, an appointment with the clinic there. So we'll see what happens that day. It'll be an adventure!

I think that's all my news, anyhow. Let's have a look at the baby update to see what the little one is up to this week!


















Ladybird is the size of a honeydew melon now! I believe it. Her senses continue to develop and her eyes blink, her pupils dilate, and her eyes close during sleeping times. She listens to noises outside the womb and will react to certain sounds. Aside from crying, she's basically now doing everything a newborn would do. Most babies will move into position for birth now, so her head may very well descend into my pelvis now and press firmly against my cervix. Sounds comfy!

The one where Ladybird is showered with love and delicious food (pt.II)

My lovely Mommy hosted a baby shower for me and Ladybird this weekend. Thank you so much to everyone who came and everyone who thought of us even though they couldn't make it. The amount of people and gifts was pretty overwhelming - it's very nice to know that there are so many people out there who care about me and my family. So, again, thank you!

Here are a few pictures from the day. As always, click on them to enlarge.















Chatting with my high school homies :)















A portion of the guests + tent + food + gift mountain

A montage of me opening presents:

















































I don't think I've ever opened so many presents in my life. This kid has way too much stuff already!















OMG it was hot outside!




















Nice little Mommy-daughter-mommy-daughter moment.
Thanks for your help, Momma :)















The beautiful handmade cradle that Mom and Joe got for us. So nice!















The aftermath of the afternoon! Wowza! Thank you everyone!

Okay, I'm done putting up pictures. That took fo'eva! If the layout of the photos looks weird on your computer, just deal with it. Blogger doesn't make putting up photos a very easy task, unfortunately.

So, today marks 32 weeks! I met my new OB today and everything went really well. Blood pressure is good, I haven't gained any weight since my last appointment, her heart beat is nice and strong, no word on my glucose test so I assume I don't have the baby diabeetus - and the best part of the appointment? He checked and said that Ladybird's head is where it should be - down! Hooray! All that swimming and hanging out on my hands and knees paid off, I suppose. Now she better not move back to being sideways. I'll have appointments about every two weeks now and will get to meet the other doctors and the midwife in the practice. Exciting!

OH! And speaking of exciting news - we bought a house!! Yes! We found an adorable bi-level in Lower Sackville (for those non-Nova Scotians, it's about 20 minutes from downtown Halifax and 20 minutes from the airport ... perfect location!) that has three bedrooms, nice big living room, beautiful kitchen/dining room, one and a half baths, a laundry room, a nice big deck, a fire pit, and - get this - a pool! It's a newer house (only 12 years old) in a great little subdivision with everything we need (grocery stores, restaurants, banks, move theatre, etc.) about five minutes down the road. And the best part? The previous owners are already out so our closing date is at the end of the month! Hooray! We're very happy about this whole thing and it's so nice to know that we'll have a place to bring Ladybird after she's born. Just a couple more weeks and we get to move into our new house. I can't wait! After our ridiculous house-hunting experience in Winnipeg, I'm still in a bit of disbelief at how quickly and smoothly this process went for us.

So there's definitely been a lot of excitement going on around here. Lots of things to keep me busy (read: slightly overwhelmed) but that's good! Now, what kind of excitement is going on in Ladybird's neck of the woods? Let's check out the baby update to find out!

















Ladybird is just under 4lbs now and is about 17 inches long! Not much more to go, kiddo! Her lungs won't be fully functional until birth but she is inhaling amniotic fluid to practice her breathing. No wonder she gets the hiccups so often. She sleeps about 90-95% of the day and her movements will peak this week. She's running out of room! Her growth does begin to slow down now, but she'll continue to put on weight (and lots of it!) over the next few weeks.