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 where Ladybird needs to do more acrobatics....

31 weeks!




















This was actually taken at 30 weeks 5 days but the two days don't really make a difference, I don't think.

I had my doctor's appointment on Friday and it was pretty typical. I was weighed, my blood pressure was checked, I was measured, and all that fun stuff. The doctor felt around to see where Ladybird is positioned and it's not good news. She's freakin' transverse. She was transverse at the 20 week ultrasound as well ... only now she's transverse the OTHER way. Ten weeks ago, she had her head on my right and her feet on my left. Now she has her head on my left and her feet on my right. So she's moved, but she just moved into another sideways position! I'm starting to get a little nervous about it. Breech I can handle. Breech is possible to deliver. Transverse lie? I'm getting cut open to get her out. I really want to avoid a c-section if at all possible because the idea absolutely terrifies me to my very core. So, she better turn and turn soon. I've been reading online and some websites make me feel better by saying that babies can turn all the way up until labour and other websites make me feel worse by saying that transverse babies past 30 weeks are unusual and likely won't turn on their own. Oy. I'm not going to start panicking too much until I actually speak with my OB (hopefully within the next couple of weeks) but I'm not going to lie and pretend that it's not bothering me. Man, if she doesn't turn, I'm holding it against her for the rest of her life.

"Mom, I can't believe you won't let me go to the party! That's so unfair!"

"Oh yeah?" *lifts shirt to reveal c-section scar* "Well, I can't believe that you didn't turn around!!"

Aside from panicking about trying to get a sideways baby out of my body, I've been feeling good. I'm starting to get more tired again, but it's a different tired than the first trimester. I feel like I'm just using up my energy to keep myself from toppling over because my belly is getting so big. Standing for longer than ten minutes makes me feel like I'm going to fall over and even doing things like washing my hair or putting on my makeup makes me feel breathless. Lovely! But, really, I can't complain. It just takes me longer to get ready and I need a chair more often than I used to - things could definitely be worse! :)

As far as life news, Boyd and I are actively hunting for a house. We went to look at four properties today and, unfortunately, were pretty disappointed. There was one home that was absolutely gorgeous but it was in one of the worst areas of the province and I really don't want to be living alone, taking the baby for a walk, and having to pass through the projects. It's too bad. But we're trying to remain optimistic that our house is out there for us and that we'll get it before the baby is born. We have another six that we want to look at, so possibly tomorrow or Wednesday. Everyone keep your fingers crossed for us! I really just want to get into a home of our own, get our routine back, and start getting the baby's room together! My mom found us a beautiful quilt on Etsy and the seller is going to make some matching bumper pads as well.




















Cute, eh? The back of the quilt is the same fuchsia colour and there are little airplane outlines stitched on it. Then we'll just look for some plain crib sheets in green, yellow, purple, etc. that match the colours in the quilt. I'm pretty pleased! She just needs a room so we can set up her crib and get that beautiful bedding into it.

So that's the update on the outside of my uterus. Let's check out the baby update to see what's going on the inside!




















Ladybird is about 16 inches long, a little over 3lbs, and looks much more like a newborn now. She's putting on more fat, her skin is pink rather than red, and her arms, legs, and body are in proportion with her head. Exciting! Her fingernails have grown to the end of her fingers and she may scratch herself while in the womb. She's running out of room in there to move a lot, but she does squirm more and I'll still get bigger kicks and jabs. Studies show that fetuses at this stage also have periods of dream sleep! Awesome!
(PS - Hey Ladybird, see that baby up there? HEAD DOWN!)

The one where Ladybird busts a move

Sorry for the late update! All those pregnancy discomforts seem to have found me, so I've been dealing with unexpected pain for the last few days (since about Saturdayish). It's definitely nothing to worry about, but it's making life pretty hard. Everything hurts these days - my back, my front, my legs, my feet ... it's crazy. I'm having a difficult time sleeping and staying in any one position for too long starts to bother me. If I sit too long, it hurts. If I stand too long, it hurts. If I walk too much, it hurts. I know it's normal and due to the quick growth that I'm experiencing but it's still hard to deal with. So I just haven't really felt like sitting in this computer chair long enough to update ... but now I'm just going to have to sit here even longer since I have lots to say, haha. Oh well!

Let's see ... what first? On Saturday (the 10th) the girls from work threw me a baby shower. We had dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory - yum!! - and then some of us went to the ball game afterwards. It was lots of fun and we got some very beautiful and thoughtful gifts! I have no photos because I didn't bring my camera, but just imagine me stuffing spaghetti into my face and then clapping along to all the fun, goofy ballgame songs and you'll get the picture! :)

Some point during the last week, I ran out of my omega-3 prenatal capsules that I've been taking to ensure that my baby is a GENIUS (haha) and Boyd and I went to Shopper's to pick up some more. When we got home, I popped the last capsule from the old bottle into the new bottle when I noticed the expiry: July 2009! What?! So I checked the expiry of the now-empty bottle and it was the same thing - July 2009. I was not happy. Now, yes, I should have checked but I just don't check expiry dates on things unless they've been in my medicine cabinet for a while. I didn't think to check the expiry on brand new bottles of vitamins. Boyd brought both bottles back to Shopper's and they were very apologetic. All the bottles on the shelf were expired and they finally found a bottle in the back that expires in 2011. Luckily, taking the expired capsules will cause no harm to me or the baby. I was basically just taking capsules with little to no potency. Kind of annoying, but at least there's no harm done. And, thankfully, they've taken all the bottles off the shelves. So, just a little head's up - always check the expiry date even if it's a brand new bottle! Luckily for me, omega-3 isn't essential ... but what if it had been something essential? Kinda scary...

Monday, we officially switched over to 27 weeks pregnant and possibly into the third trimester? I'm not entirely sure when that starts because everything I search says something different, but I know I'm either there now or getting close! Very exciting and slightly terrifying! I ended up leaving work basically as soon as I arrived on Monday because of how much pain I was in and called in in the afternoon to secure Tuesday off as well. I absolutely hate doing that but I knew that I'd be pretty much useless since my job is basically all lifting, bending, or sitting. I literally spent all Monday and Tuesday either reclined on the couch on my back or laying in bed. All I wanted was to be comfortable. Yeah, that's not going to happen for a LONG time! I was happy to be back today, though. Things are still sore but I was WAY TOO BORED to be gone any longer.

This morning, I had my last OB appointment here in Winnipeg. My doctor is away on holidays so I had to see a different doctor. WOW! What a difference seeing a good doctor makes! She sat down, asked me how I was doing, actually talked to me about some issues, told me how my weight gain was going, measured my stomach to see how the growth is going (my OB has never once done this, although she wrote on my charts that she did), took my blood pressure and told me what it was, felt my stomach to tell me what position the baby is in (!!), and even told me what Ladybird's heart rate was. Wow. It was unreal! If only I had had appointments like this the entire time. Wow.
So, in case you're all wondering - my weight gain is on track (although I apparently gained a ton of weight since my last appointment, but the doctor said that it probably isn't nearly that much since I was weighed on a different scale this time), my uterus is measuring 27 weeks exactly, my blood pressure is 110/60, Ladybird is breech with her back toward my right side, and her heart was pounding away at 148. Excellent. I also got my file photocopied since I need to bring it home for my doctor in Nova Scotia, so I read over it at lunch today. I feel much more informed about what's going on in my own body now. It's a good feeling.

After my appointment, I headed back to work (yay!) and ended up getting some beautiful gifts from two of the families that I've had the pleasure of working with. I'm so grateful to have had the chance to work with such wonderful people. I can't even believe their thoughtfulness. So a huge thank you to the Bowerings and the Jacksons for thinking of me and my family! You guys are fantastic!

So I think we're all caught up now with what's going on pregnancy-wise. Life-wise, the big move is getting closer and closer. Two weeks from tomorrow is my last day of work (the 29th) and then I fly out the next day. I'm looking forward to seeing my family and friends, but leaving my life here in Winnipeg is going to be so so hard. I'm not going to lie - I'm getting really sad about it. I don't do well with major life changes and the next few months are nothing BUT major life changes. This is all really difficult for me. I'm really going to miss my friends and my life here.

But anyhow...
If you actually made it through ALL that text, I'll leave you with a baby update to see how Ladybird is changing this week, a video, AND a couple of cute photos.



















Ladybird is still approximately the size of an eggplant (but probably not as rubbery). She's about 14.5 inches long and is up to 2lbs already! Wow! Her eyes open and close, she sleeps at regular intervals, and might even be sucking a finger or thumb! She's moving around a lot lately and you can even see it happening now. Even Maggie likes to get in on the "let's feel the baby move" action:















(Yes, my kittenface smiles.)

Check out this little video we shot - when Boyd is home, we like putting his iPhone to flashlight mode and then putting music on to watch her dance and try to figure out where the light is coming from :)

(It's a little long and she gets annoyed with us and stops moving toward the end, so you don't need to watch the WHOLE thing if you don't want to!)



Watching the phone wiggle always makes me laugh!

And, lastly, quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever bought for her (thus far):




















Oh, cute. Pyjamas. With hearts. Wow.
Except you haven't seen the back!




















Oh yes, that's an "I Heart Dad" butt flap!
Oh yeah.

The one where Lisa feels like a house

We're now at the 22 week mark which means I'm 5 months pregnant. Woo. It also apparently means that I've gotten gigantic. Now, I know that's not true and I'm still all belly but I just feel really really big. I've always been very skinny and my weight never fluctuated more than five or so pounds here and there (except for the weight I put on during university, but even then that was a gradual four-year "filling out", if you will). So the fact that I've probably put on a good 15lbs in the last three(ish) months is insane to me! I'll find out exactly what I weigh at my next doctor's appointment a week from today, but I'm assuming it's around 15lbs total. Everything I read says that that's pretty much on track, but still ... yeesh! My body really isn't used to this. Everything feels cramped and stretchy and my back issues are coming back. And I'm only going to get bigger!!

Here are a couple of pictures from today. Yes, I'm in my pyjamas. It was Pyjama Day at work. It would be silly and kind of backwards to change out of pyjamas and into regular clothes after coming home from work, now wouldn't it?




















Zoinks! Belly, where did you come from?
(I need to stop putting my hands behind my back for these pictures because it makes me look thicker than I am. I still have a waist, so really, I shouldn't be complaining...)




















Hellooooo Ladybird!

Besides my all-of-the-sudden feeling gigantic, I've also been torturing myself by reading horrors online. I'm not really afraid of giving birth. The idea of contractions doesn't bother me. I feel like I'll be able to manage the pain. However, I decided to read up on tears and then I found a website that showed diagrams of the various degrees of tears. And now, I've decided that this baby is NOT coming out of me. So, if there are any moms out there who would like to share their tearing (or non-tearing) experiences from their first delivery, please do! I'd rather not have a twenty-year-old living in my uterus, but good lord do I ever not want to go through a fourth-degree tear. *cries* Someone just tell me it'll be okay and that life goes on...

In other news, I've slowly been collecting a few more things for Ladybird. We got a huge donation of clothes at work and, once we found out we're having a girl, me and the girls from work went through the clothes and chose to "save" a few things that were just WAY too cute to be ruined by writing "daycare" on them in black Sharpie. Most of them are bigger sizes, but Ladybird will need some clothes when she's a toddler, so it all works out. Here are a couple of my favourites:




















Love it!














Detail on the sweater. It's super cute.




















Little white sweatsuit ... it's adorable as well!














Little pink bird detail on the pants. Apparently, I like clothes with birds on 'em.

I've been putting some thought into the nursery and how I'd like it to look. Granted, I have a ton of time and we don't even know where we'll be living when Ladybird is born, so it's hard to have a vision but I still like to think about these things. This brought me great frustration when I realized that there is very little airplane-related out there for girls. Seriously. Try searching for a non-boy airplane crib set. They don't exist!! Annoying! I'm going to check out the big fabric warehouse here in the city over the weekend to see if they have any girl(ish) airplane fabric so maybe someone can at least make her a blanket or something. I did, however, order this for her (in pink and brown argyle) and I'm SUPER excited for it to arrive!

Anyhow ... that's about all that's been going on over here! Let's see what the baby update has to say about Ladybird this week!


















As noted last week, we don't get a new food item to compare to! She's still a papaya this week. So, I just took this diagram off BabyCenter.ca to show what's going on in there. Ladybird is about 11 inches long from crown to heel (about the size of a Barbie doll!) and weighs in at just about a pound. Her facial features are distinct and her eyes are fully formed, but they have no colour yet. Her little tooth buds are forming beneath the gum line and, apparently, nipples have started to sprout! Hmm, teeth and nipples should not be in the same sentence, ever. She's definitely aware of sounds outside the womb. She's showing either a strong like or dislike (can't figure out which) to certain music and certain baby cries at work.

The one with the second doctor's appointment...

I headed to my second prenatal appointment this morning. I wasn't sure what to expect but I had a feeling that it wasn't going to be anything overly special or important. Boyd, unfortunately, had to work and wasn't able to be there. He wants to be at all the appointments but, like I said to him, this one is probably the best one to miss because I really didn't think it would be too interesting.

And it wasn't!

I got in right away. They weighed me and I now weigh 121 lbs. I'm up 7 lbs from the last appointment 7 weeks ago and (I believe) about 11 lbs in total. That seems like a pretty okay number to me and they didn't say anything to me about it, so I assume all is good there! We went over the results of my blood tests. I'm immune to everything I'm supposed to be immune to, but I'm not immune to Fifth's disease - I got tested for it since I work in daycare. My blood type is A positive (good to know) and, of course, my iron is low. My iron is always low so that news didn't exactly come as a huge shocker. My OB recommended that I get an extra iron pill in addition to the prenatals and the iron-rich foods. So, I'll be heading out shortly to go shopping for iron supplements! My life is so exciting. She also checked my blood pressure - which I assume is fine since she didn't say otherwise - and I got to listen to the heartbeat again. That was awesome, of course. I love hearing it. This was the only point in the appointment that I really wished Boyd was there because the heartbeat was so much louder and stronger than the last time. Makes sense - the baby's much bigger now! My OB said it sounded perfect, asked if I had any questions or concerns, and I was on my way. Done and done for another month. Next up baby-wise is the ultrasound in TEN DAYS! Eeeeeee, I can't wait!

After the doctor's appointment, I unexpectedly took the rest of the day off work (for um, asbestos-related reasons) so now I'm just relaxing on this gorgeous summer day. I was able to snap a couple of pictures after I came home, so without further ado ... me at 19 weeks.




















Good ol' camera self-timer shots. Ignore the dirty laundry in the basket. Actually, be thankful that it's even IN a basket. So there.
And, because my dearest Mommy wanted to see my new maternity pants...




















Woot! And now I won't wear them for the rest of the week because they're already starting to stretch out too much and I've only had them on for ... five hours? Now I definitely do not want to/plan to gain extra weight in my bum/thigh area, but it would certainly help to make these pants fit better. Eh, whatever. Really, I'm perfectly happy that I'm just all belly right now.

And that's it on the Lisa front. Let's get a baby update and see what Rufus-Doofus is up to this week!















Rufus-Doofus is the size of a mango! He's now coated in a greasy white substance called "vernix caseosa" that helps protect his skin from the amniotic fluid. Sweet, so he's got his fur coat AND a layer of grease. This kid is the cutest thing ever. His sensory development reaches its peak this week! The nerve cells for the five senses are all developing in their specialized areas of the brain - how very cool. And, as usual, he's busy kicking and summersaulting in there while he still has the room to do so.

The one where Lisa hits 17 weeks...

17 weeks, what what? We're almost halfway there and that's crazy!

Things are getting bigger and stretchier and a bit more uncomfortable. It's nothing that I can't handle on a normal day, but I'm finding that I'm having a really hard time at work. I have a sore back from Monday morning until Friday evening and it's starting to wear on me. There are things that I just can't do anymore (or that I do and feel crazy pain from doing). It's really bothering me. I'm only 17 weeks and I'm not huge - so why is this happening? I get dizzy, light-headed, and feel out of breath doing something as simple as waiting in line at a store. My back absolutely kills me by doing simple tasks at work like changing a diaper or putting someone to bed. It's starting to make me feel a bit useless ... other people work while they're pregnant and they're fine. Why am I having such a hard time?
Starting Monday, I'll be switching shifts at work to hopefully ease some of the pains I've been feeling. My early shift involves a lot of getting the room ready (putting out chairs, putting out new toys, etc.) and handling nap room duties (moving quickly from sitting to standing to bending to put babies in cribs, etc.) so I'm hoping that relieving myself from some of those duties will help. I just feel like a big failure though. I should be able to do my job. Ergh.

Anyway...

Canada Revenue gave me back a whole bunch of money on my tax refund that I deserved but didn't know how to claim (education stuff) so after paying off the car (yay!!), most of my credit card, and a few other odds and ends, I have a bit left over for myself. So, I bought my first pair of maternity pants on Sunday. Woo! They've got the huge panel that goes all the way up my belly and they're super comfy - it's like wearing pyjama pants. They're a little baggy, though, so they're not the most flattering pants (my bum completely disappears in them) but I look forward to having comfy pants to wear again. My regular jeans still fit me if I wear them under my belly, but I don't like low rise pants and that's what they've turned into. I'm a mid-rise girl and my regular jeans just will not button up that way anymore. So yes. Maternity pants! Comfort! Huzzah!

As far as baby updates go, let's see what Rufus-Doofus is up to at 17 weeks!














Rufus-Doofus is the size of an onion! Maybe that's why I've been crying so much lately...
His skeleton is changing from cartilage to hard bone. Fat is starting to develop and will continue throughout the rest of the pregnancy to make him all squishy and adorable. He's getting much more flexible and I should start feeling him moving around pretty soon! Exciting!

The one where Lisa hits 15 weeks...

Yep, today marks 15 weeks pregnant. I've been feeling really good lately. I've been sleeping better (not getting up to pee constantly), I feel more energetic, I can't remember the last time I threw up (well, I remember it, but I don't remember what day it was), and I just have a general feeling of pleasantness*.

*Well, not today. Today was an all-around crummy day and I was certainly displaying the horrendous moodiness of pregnancy. I blame the universe, though. Absolutely nothing went right today in all aspects of life.

I feel like I'm starting to show. Not much, but it's noticeable to me. I've always had a bit of a tummy, but when I suck it in now, the tummy is still there (and when I don't suck it in, the tummy is DEFINITELY there). My pants are getting tighter (I usually wear my pants mid-rise, but now I've been wearing them lower below my belly) and things just aren't quite fitting me right. It's also getting really hot here - it was 23 degrees today - and I'm getting very uncomfortable having to wear sweaters all the time. I have a few shirts from last summer that fit me, but other than that ... I'm running low on clothes. It's pretty frustrating. Maternity stuff is A) still too big for me and B) crazy expensive, and regular stores seem to only have flowy tank-tops in stock and it's still not quite hot enough for tank-tops. I wish I could just go to work in my pyjamas or sundresses every day. I'd be a much happier camper (especially since the extra heat I'm feeling lately gives me super wicked headaches).

Anyhow, here are a couple of "belly pics" since I know people want to see that sort of thing.
Sorry for the terrible quality/darkness. Boyd took way better pictures this afternoon but I was making stupid faces in all of them. That's totally my fault. I always make stupid faces...
First one: suckin' it in.
Second one: totally NOT suckin' it in.

I received a letter from the hospital stating that my ultrasound is scheduled for Thursday, April 29. That's next week, people! At first, I was a little concerned/curious as to why my ultrasound is so early. From what I've heard/read, ultrasounds usually aren't scheduled until about 18-20 weeks. I'll only be 16 weeks. But then I thought about it and, really, does it matter? If there's something concerning that shows up, I'm sure they'll schedule another ultrasound. And it's only in recent years that women even receive this ultrasound. Years ago, women went without having ultrasounds unless something was really wrong and they all turned out (mostly) okay. So, I'm fine with having it "early". Besides, Boyd somehow miraculously was able to get the 29th off (seriously, divine intervention or something) so I don't really want to call them and ask why it's so early lest they reschedule and then he can't make it. Sure, the baby will look all creepy and alien-like, but hey - that's cool. We'll both be there to see it and that's important to us.

Sadly, the hospital that I'll be going to is one in the city that will not tell you the sex of the baby. I'm hoping (s)he won't be modest and I'll be able to tell myself. I've looked at enough ultrasound photos online that I think I'm pretty well-prepared to differentiate between 16-week-fetus boy parts and girl parts. However, we do plan on getting a 3D ultrasound very soon to find out the sex for sure (or as sure as we can). Once we get Boyd's schedule for next month, I'll call and see if we can arrange an appointment on one of his days off.

And, with that, we'll leave you with a baby update!













Rufus-Doofus is the size of an orange! Neat. He's busy in there, mastering his hiccuping and squirming/wiggling around. In a few weeks, I should be able to feel him (although I do find it weird that I can't feel something the size of a navel orange moving around in my belly). His legs are now longer than his arms (yay for being proportionate!) and all his joints are functional. Cool beans.