Our Baby Blog

6 months

2011-12-20T18:31:00.000-08:00

3-4 months old

2011-12-20T17:29:00.001-08:00

Newborn Baby Girl

2011-12-20T11:58:00.001-08:00

A Poem for my daughter....

2011-12-17T22:37:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn Jean

I have discovered a new love, a new life, a new peace,

My daughter Brooklyn, so precious, so sweet.

My heart beats for this amazing little girl,

She’s the twinkle in my eye, she’s a precious ocean pearl.

She has my heart, it’s forever hers,

I love to love her and look forward to all her “firsts”.

She is my life, my religion, I need her like a drug,

I would drive miles and swim oceans just to get one of her little hugs.

I knew I wouldn’t understand the bond until I had my own,

Now I can tell you there are no words, you just have to be a parent to know.

August 14^th, 2009 was the best day of my life, one I will never forget,

I cherish her bright blue eyes, her soft skin, even her silhouette.

I will support her always, love her forever and teach her right from wrong,

Teach her to stand up straight, to be honest but most importantly to be strong.

I will teach her to be positive and try to explain that life isn’t always fair,

That sometimes people aren’t always kind and sometimes kids don’t like to share.

Every night I put her to sleep in her crib, sad it’s the end of the day,

She’s just so much fun, I cant wait for tomorrow so we can play.

Sometimes I watch her sleep and lean down for a kiss,

My sweet baby girl, my endless bliss.

She’s a sleeping beauty, a sight to be seen,

She is love and hope, she’s my angel Brooklyn Jean.

I can stare at her for hours and smile all the while,

My life is so much richer with this soulful little child.

I am so fortunate to have such a healthy little girl,

I wonder if she’ll play volleyball, or get Mommy’s little curls.

She is my greatest accomplishment! I’m so proud to be her mother,

I hope I can give her confidence and one day, a sister or a brother.

Thank-You Lord for this gift of love and life,

This is life changing, for which there will never be a price!

By: Her Mommy

Changes.....

2010-04-24T21:29:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn is 8 1/2 months old, 21 lbs and 30" tall. She is certainly a big girl and starting to show her little personality. She cracks me up everyday and she's trying new things all the time. She figured out how to crawl up the stairs a few weeks ago and it's fun to stand behind her and watch her climb. Today she had a full on conversation with me and although I have no idea what she was trying to say, she had me in stitches listening to her endless baby blabber. She shrieks like no other when we're out in public or running errands. It draws a lot of attention but seems to make everyone laugh. She also said "Hi" to a man at Wal-Mart the other day (first time I had heard her say that to anyone). She likes to stand over the laundry basket and pull out all the clean laundry Mummy just folded (so adorable). She thinks mirrors are hilarious as Im convinced she believes there is another baby staring back at her and reaches out to touch her all the time. Sometime she even kisses the baby in the mirror (which I caught on video, hilarious!).

She has figured out how to stand on her crib bumpers to get a better view when she stands up in the morning or after she has woken from a nap and cries out "Mum!?, Mum!?, Mum!?". As soon as I open the door to her room she is standing in her crib and cracks a huge smile when she realizes it's Mummy. Melt my heart! I will be lowering her crib to the bottom level in the next few days.

She likes to crawl on me like a jungle gym every day which makes it hard to get anything done some times but I think it's adorable. Some times she crawls over to the dogs water bowl in the kitchen and splashes in the water before I can take it away from her (grose!) and some times the dogs will lick her fingers and she starts laughing hysterically which is pretty funny.

She likes to eat sweet things like pureed apples with granola, mango, raspberry's, blueberry's, and bananas but she's not so keen on chicken and vegetables so I made my own vegetable baby food and froze it in little baby jars. She seems to like the home made stuff much better (who wouldn't like the fresh stuff!?).

I went to a baby sale at the rec centre today and got some cool toys, Einstein DVD's and clothes for her for dirt cheap. She really get's bored of her toys fast but then again, she is getting older so she is getting more and more advanced thus needs more stimulating toys. It's amazing how fast they grow and how fast their needs change. She just out grew her car seat in height and the car seat is supposed to last "most" baby's until they are a year old. She is already wearing clothes that range from 12 months to 2T and wearing a size 4 or 5 shoe!! Those are BIG feet! lol.

Look what I found...

2010-04-08T20:19:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn surprised me today on two separate occasions.

When I went to get her out of her crib after her afternoon nap, I walked into the nursery with much to my surprise, Brooklyn staring at me over the top of the crib! She had a huge smile on her face as Im sure she was very proud of herself for figuring out how to finally see over the bumpers and over the top of the crib (she usually looks at me through the slats while she's on all fours). I thought it was hilarious (a mischievous grin is priceless). I grabbed the camera and managed to catch the moment.

She's so tall, she's going to be climbing out of her crib in no time!

Oh ya and the second time she surprised me was when she had a full on tantrum!! Kicking, screaming, swinging her arms, beet red, she went nuts on me! It's the first nasty tantrum she's ever had. I figure since 2 of her naps today were only 30 minutes each (they are normally 1- 1.5 hours) and she's teething on top of that, makes for a very tired baby girl. It was a bit of a rude awakening. Happy parenting right!? Ha ha.

She's C-R-A-W-L-I-N-G!

2010-04-01T07:53:00.000-07:00

Baby B is C-R-A-W-L-I-N-G!!!! There's no holding back, Brooklyn is roaming all over the place. It's so awesome to watch her thinking and figuring things out, like the first few times she crawled. I could see she was focused in on something and could tell she was thinking, "how can I get over there". She started with quite an awkward looking crawl, with a lot of dragging and pushing off on the tips of her toes, ha ha. It's adorable.

Time to baby proof!!!

Sadly, Brooklyn has started weaning herself at 7 1/2 months! I will miss nursing her very much. It's such an amazing experience and creates such a strong bond. It seems as though my baby girl is getting bigger, older and more independent but I suppose it's got to end sooner or later (the breast feeding that is). She started weaning herself about a month after I introduced solids. She has just lost interest in nursing since all the tasty solids came into play.

It's amazing at how fast they hit their milestones and often more than one within a week or two of each other. One day she cant say anything, the next day she says "Mum" over and over and a week or two later, she's crawling and starts to wean herself *sigh*....it's exciting to see her grow and try new things.

The other day I walked into her room first thing in the morning because I could hear her talking and calling out. When I walked in, she was up on her knees with each hand holding a slat on the crib like she was in jail, peeking out over the bumpers! As soon as I walked in, I startled her, she lost her balance, bonked her head on the crib, fell over and started screaming. I couldnt stop laughing! She got over it pretty quickly though (she had a little boo boo on her head that day though).

She's 7 months old!!

2010-03-15T14:04:00.001-07:00

I havnt posted in ages! Here's the latest....

Brooklyn is already 7 months old and is the apple of my eye! She is more and more fun everyday. She said her first word about a week ago and melt my heart, it was "Mum"!!! She says it over and over and over all day long because it's the only word she knows. It cracks me up when she's laying on the floor playing with a toy saying "mum, mum mum"! Im trying to teach her how to say "kiss" and "da-da" . I kiss her a lot and say "kiss" right before I do kiss her so she will associate the word. I cant wait until the day she asks me for a kiss or just gives me one after saying the word. How cute will that be!?!!

She is sooooo close to crawling. She get's up on all four's and rocks back and forth, then falls flat on her face, it's hilarious! She has "scooted" and "dragged" herself and even moved her knee forward the last two days. Im excited to see her crawl but at the same time I know I won't be sitting for very long anymore or have the freedom to run around the house doing chores or cook.I have to baby proof the house and put up a baby gate and all that jazz pretty quickly here.

My in-laws have had our dogs for almost 2 months now so that is something else I will have to re-adjust to as Brookelyn spends all her time on the floor. There are bound to be physical accidents with baby and dogs if they are all in the same room because the dogs wrestle carelessly and don't look for the baby. It doesnt help that the dogs always want to be within 6 feet of me at all times. I trip on them all the time and they are quite a nuisance when it comes to managing the two of them and baby B.

She has started solids with the rice cereal and seems to be getting the swallowing down. I spoon feed her the mushy cereal three times a day and now she loves it...opens wide every time. The first few times she would just spit it out, it was funny. I gave her the spoon since she was grabbing at it and curious about it and she ended up gagging herself because she stuck it in her mouth too far (which I have a picture of, lol). She didn't like that too much.

I'm already planning her 1st Birthday in me head, ha ha. I know it's very pre-mature but Chris and I bought her Birthday dress a few weeks ago for her Birthday in August, ha ha. It was so cute, we couldnt resist. Now let's hope it fits her come August or I will have to find another one. I find it hard to determine size with her. She is 7 months but wearing 12-18 month clothes and I have major problems with the length for her. Her tops and shirts are short in the body (her belly is exposed so she cant wear some of them) as well as the sleeves and of course the pants run short in the legs. She is OFF THE CHART in height and in the 75% isle for weight so we know this kid is going to be a giant! ha ha.....hopefully a graceful one, tee hee.

My girlfriend Michele took some amazing photo's of Brooklyn and this is one of my favourite's! I had it printed on canvas and it turned out beautiful. I get to stare at this photo every day, I love it!

Pics of my sweetheart!

2010-03-15T13:55:00.000-07:00

My angel!

2009-10-23T10:22:00.000-07:00

My little Pumpkin

2009-10-18T11:58:00.000-07:00

Motherhood is a privilege and I am enjoying this stage of my life immensely. I cant stop kissing my little girl or staring at her for countless hours. She is such a good baby that it blows me away sometimes...I am very lucky.

She started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks (only a week and a half ago) but it's been great.She hardly ever cry's and when she does, I think it's funny, lol. She has her own little high pitched squeel that makes us laugh every time we hear it. I finally understand what my elders and friends have said all along..."it's different with your own kids" and it's the truth. I embrace all of her and that includes her fussy moments (which like I said are few and far between) and I appreciate the fact that she seems to know exactly what she wants and find her que's so easy to read. She smiles a few times each day now which is cool and she has really good neck control for 9 weeks old. I do some tummy time with her every day, several times a day and slowly increase the length of time as she seems to enjoy it more and more all the time.

I took Brooklyn to the pumpkin patch with good friends of mine and their baby and it was a hoot. We missed daddy that day but next year will be sweeter because Brooklyn will be over a year old and should be walking and talking by then and will also have her first costume (the pumpkin was Baby Mattia's costume that we borrowed for a few pictures and Brooklyn ended up falling asleep in it).

I think my little pumpkin looks so adorable in orange! ha ha

Baby

2009-09-19T21:21:00.000-07:00

My baby is such a dream! She is so perfect! I cant get over how much she looks like Chris but I cant wait to see her looks mature and hopefully I will see her Mummy in there somewhere at some point, ha ha. I am happy she looks like Chris though...and so is he:)

She has identical eyes and lips to her daddy and chubby cheeks like me but then again, all baby's get chubby cheeks, thighs and arms until they start moving & crawling etc.

Brooklyn hardly ever cry's but she sure does love to be held. It's so easy to read her que's and I am greatful for that. She is 5 weeks and weighs 9 lbs 8 oz...hard to believe she's gained 3 lbs since we brought her home! It goes by so fast!

Breastfeeding has been challenging unfortunately. I don't seem to have quite enough milk to satisfy her needs so we have had to supplement her with formula. I'm taking domperidone, fenugreek, brewer's yeast, special lactating tea and another supplement a friend of mine picked up for me in hopes of increasing my milk production but so far, Im still struggling with that. It's a lot of work feeding her every 2 1/2 hours and she nurses a looooooong time (30-60 minutes). I feel like I'm strapped to the couch most of the day because I AM!! ha ha. I am looking forward to being able to work out soon to drop the remaining 15 lbs I need to shed to reach my pre-baby weight. Unfortunately, my c-section still hurts a lot when I walk too much or do too much (like lifting things, vacuuming etc). Hopefully in another week I can start doing some pilates in my living room but for now, SLEEP is more important than pilates, ha ha.

Brooklyn is sleeping in 3 hour stretches at night and I am really looking forward to that increasing to 5, 6 or 7 hour stretches (hopefully soon, lol). She eats every 2 1/2 hours during the day and of course every 3 hours at night.

3 weeks old

2009-09-04T16:48:00.000-07:00

Brooklyn is 3 weeks old today. We went to the health unit and had her weight done. She is finally gaining and Mommy's milk is increasing, slowly but surely:)

The nurse said they like to see baby's gain about an ounce per day and Brooklyn has gained 10 oz since Monday (in 4 days)!!! That's double what they "like" to see. I was thrilled. She is already taking 4 oz each feed (the minimum is 2-3 oz and she's eating 4 oz!). It seems like we're on the right track and I have worked very hard pumping and feeding this kid every 2- 2 1/2 hours! Its tiring but worth it. She was almost 8 lbs today but not quite. She weighed in at 7lbs. 14oz! I can tell she's gaining weight because the newborn diaper's that she was swimming in just a week ago are fitting awfully tight these days.

Things are starting to get easier at this point as we figure things out. Brooklyn is sleeping in 3 hour stretches at a time at night and I am pretty happy about that. We are starting to get into a routine and I am greatful that Chris and I put Brooklyn in the crib from day one as it makes everything easier in my opini0n.

Pro Pics of our precious girl

2009-08-25T13:05:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures my friend Michele took of our beautiful baby girl at 5 days old. Thanks for capturing the beauty and innocence of our little girl Michele. I cant thank-you enough.

Baby Brooklyn has arrived!

2009-08-21T03:36:00.000-07:00

Puking...lots and lots of puking (that's a fake smile)!

Unbearable, excruciating, insane, 11 out of 10 P-A-I-N!

The above picture is after 11 hours of labor and specifically after 3 STRAIGHT HOURS OF PUSHING!!! They sent us to the OR for a c-section shortly after that picture was taken....Mama had nothing left and Brooklyn was quite content in Mama's belly-she wasn't budging! Stubborn already! ha ha.

My precious baby girl has finally arrived. She was born Friday, August 14th at 2:57am via c-section and weighed 7lbs 1 oz and measured 20 1/2" long. Her early delivery (3 weeks early) took hubby and I by surprise after I went to see my obstetrician for my 37 week check-up. Doc said my blood pressure was too high (145/100) and wanted to induce me that night or perhaps the next day. She checked my cervix and said I was already 3 cm dilated and 75% effaced, I couldn't believe it! My initial reaction was "tonight's not really a good night and tomorrow doesn't really work for me either", ha ha. I was blown away that I was going to have my daughter within 24 hours because we thought we had at least another week to prepare. I phoned Chris from the Dr's office and told him I was coming home to get him and that we needed to head to the hospital for a non-stress test and some blood work. He didn't believe me when I told him we might be having our baby "tonight". I raced home, finished packing my bags (which were more or less ready to go) and we headed to the hospital.

All my tests came back "normal" except my blood pressure remained high. It didn't help listening to a woman in active labor in the delivery room across from us...my blood pressure certainly wasn't coming down listening to someone scream who was clearly in absolute agony. She was screaming bloody murder and Chris and I were continually getting more and more stressed listening to her scream and moan! It was like being next in line at the slaughter house, ha ha. Thankfully, she delivered her baby within 45 minutes of us arriving and the next thing we knew, we could hear her baby crying. We looked at each other and smiled because we knew it meant that there is a wonderful prize at the end of all this.

My obstetrician wanted to induce me that night but thankfully the maternity ward was full so they sent us home after booking me for an induction at 9am the next morning which in turn gave my mom and mother/father-in-law time to drive here and make it in time for Brooklyn's birth.

My OB broke my water at 11 am the next morning and after one measly little cramp, nothing progressed on it's own. At 2pm they started me on IV oxytocin 6ml/hour and steadily increased it every 15 minutes until contractions started. It wasn't until about 3:30pm (and 60ml/hour of the oxytocin) that my contractions started and boy they were close together right off the bat. They gradually got more painful and were never more than 2 minutes apart! It was FAST and FURIOUS alright! They were bearable for maybe an hour and then it wasn't fun anymore, lol. The nurse was pretty funny actually because I was laughing a lot, saying how comfortable I was and how easy my pregnancy had been and she responded, "don't worry, we'll wipe that smile off your face real quick!"...we thought that was pretty funny..and she was right, lol.

I inquired about the epidural early and passed on the laughing gas. When my pain was intolerable they started me on fentanyl (a short-acting analgesic) and although it slightly cut the edge off most of the contractions, I found it minimally effective and in addition, started throwing up after my first dose of the stuff (I had about 7-8 doses total...one every 15 minutes). When the pain was a "10!!", I asked for an epidural....sorry, "begged" for an epidural, ha ha. The epidural was great but unfortunately it only froze the left side of me initially and it took an additional 45 minutes for the right side to kick in which was awful because I had pain relief on the left side but the right side was still in absolutely, excruciating pain. My poor husband got scratched up a bit until the epidural was fully effective (from me squeezing his hand and arm). I squeezed the snot out of his hand, then arm and eventually worked up to his shoulder throughout the whole ordeal, ha ha. He held my puke bowl (I threw up a lot but since I hadn't eaten in over 8 hours I was only vomiting water), rinsed it out, put lip gloss on my lips when they got dry, changed the relaxation CD in the beginning, rubbed my back, held my hand, held one of my legs when I finally started pushing, encouraged me and never left my side. He was my rock through labor from start to finish.

I was in labor for a total of 12 hours and ended up pushing for close to 3 straight hours! I started pushing at 11:30pm and Brooklyn was born by c-section at 2:57 AM. The problem with inductions is that there is a higher incidence of c-sections because you are forcing your body to do something it's essentially not ready to do. Brooklyn was quite comfortable in my belly and didn't want to come down apparently . All my vigorous pushing failed to help her reach the birth canal and they finally had to call it quits because her heart rate was increasing and we were getting no where! I was disappointed because I tried with every bit of strength and determination I had to deliver her the natural way and it just wasn't in the cards for us. I found out later though that they were keeping Chris and I in the dark with how little I was progressing. They kept telling me this was all normal but then I asked the nurse if she had any children and she said "no" and then further told me she was "new" so I felt like she should have been honest with me. Chris and were the last to know they were going to send us for a c-section and the way I put 2 and 2 together was when I looked over and saw my Mom and Laurie both crying.....then I knew this baby wasn't coming out the natural way and then I asked my doctor directly...."are you going to send me for a c-section?" and he calmly said that since the baby hadn't even remotely progressed in 3 hours, that the best option to get her out safely was to send me to the OR for a c-section. After 3 hours of pushing, I was incredibly exhausted but I was so determined to deliver her naturally, I gave everything I possibly had to get her out but since I was an induction, the odds were against me. I was very disappointed that I couldn't deliver her vaginally and DID NOT want to have a c-section. I had a little cry, hugged my Mom and mother-in-law and they wheeled me down to the OR.

We had to wait for the obstetrician on-call to arrive to perform the surgery and it felt like hours waiting for her to arrive but I believe it was about 30 minutes. In addition, I was still in a lot of pain because I was still having contractions below the epidural and had to wait a half hour for this Doctor to show up. They had everything prepped and ready to go though so when she got there, they just had to wheel me down to the OR. Chris was given a pair of scrubs, booties and a mask and told to stand by while they prepped my body for surgery in the OR. Once they started cutting through my abdomen, they brought Chris in and he was with me at the head of the bed. I was a nervous wreck and had the shivers pretty bad. The docs told Chris he could get up and look over the sheet if he wanted to see them take Brooklyn out of my belly and of course he did. Chris said it was amazing to see them pull her out of my abdomen...his words were, "it was crazy, I saw everything", ha ha. I'm glad he got to see it but wish I could have seen it too (but probably not a good idea, lol). I told Chris to follow her to the warmer but he felt torn to stay with me or go with her but I insisted he go with baby B. They showed me the baby and then took her to the warmer where I could watch them assess her and clean her up. I thought it was awesome that Brooklyn started crying as soon as they took her out of my stomach. She cried immediately which was such a relief because we didn't have to wait to hear her cry and there was no doubt that she was okay and healthy. I was overwhelmed with joy and couldn't believe she was finally here after 9 months of waiting to meet her. Chris said I kept going in and out of consiousness after that though which I remember as well. The worst part of the whole ordeal was when I felt them cutting me with the scalpel at which time the anesthetist pushed more drugs through my IV to numb the pain....it was awful and I freaked out. Ironically, I felt the pain and cutting on the same side that didnt freeze with the epidural initially. That part was scary.

Chris gave me a kiss, the nurse snapped a few photo's of us with our camera and he went with baby Brooklyn up to the maternity ward. I had to stay in the OR and get "put back together" so to speak. Unfortunately I had to stay in PAR (post-anesthetic recovery) for an hour and a half so I never got to see Brooklyn, Chris or the rest of our family until 4:30am! It was a long day for everyone but especially Mama. I felt like I ran a marathon and then got hit by a bus! I could barely lift my arms off the bed the next morning because my muscles were so fatigued from squeezing and pushing against the railings.

Brooklyn looked perfect and we were overwhelmed with joy. It was a very emotional reunion up on maternity when they wheeled me back up there. I was thrilled to see my husband and my beautiful baby girl! Life couldn't be better!

My induction is today!

2009-08-13T01:41:00.000-07:00

Well, it's almost 2 am and I cant sleep knowing that at 9am this morning, my obstetrician is going to break my water and get things going! Chris and I are still in SHOCK because we thought my induction was still a week away and I had planned to spend that week looking for a bassinet or a co-sleeper of some sort for the bedroom and making more casserole's and chili to freeze, ha ha. Oh well, too late now. We can't believe Brookelyn should be here some time today, August 13th!

I went to my 37 week check-up at my OB's this afternoon and she was concerned because my blood pressure was too high (145/101). It seems to be slowly increasing this last month of my pregnancy. She checked my cervix and was quite pleased (as was I!) that I am already 3 cm dialated and 75% effaced, baby is head down and engaged thus she feels it is time to get baby out to avoid any potential complications due to pre-eclampsia and my long history of pre-existing hypertension pre-pregnancy.

I was in shock at first and resisted a bit. I phoned my hubby at home who had just got home from work and he thought I was joking when I told him the doctor was sending me to the hospital for some tests and suggested breaking my water today or tommorrow. His words were, "TONIGHT!????@*%!", "ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" ha ha.

I went home briefly to get my pre-packed bags (thank goodness, although I was throwing snacks and granola bars in all the pockets as we were leaving like many of my friend's have advised, lol) and Chris and I left for the hospital. We headed up to Maternity where they were expecting me where they did another non-stress test, blood work, urinalysis and monitered my B/P for a few hours. It certainly did not help having a woman in the room across from us in active labor, screaming bloody murder while I was supposedly trying to "relax" to get my blood pressure to come down. Chris looked like a dear in the head-light's, in a completely foreign world up on Mat. listening to a woman that sounded like she was acting out a scene from a chainsaw massacre movie. I almost started crying just listening to this poor woman scream out in pain.... I felt my anxiety and blood pressure increasing!

Anyways, thankfully the lady who was in labor screaming delivered her baby within an hour of us arriving. The next thing we knew, we could hear her baby crying and we looked at each other and giggled because it was such a relief- music to our ears and a little foreshadowing into our next 48 hours -when we get to hear our baby girl cry for the very first time. It was a reminder that at the end of all this, we too will have our daughter in our arms and get to embark on this amazing journey together as a family.

After all my tests came back "normal", except my blood pressure remained high, my OB showed up and wanted to break my water that evening (ie. last night) but the ward was full, thus there was no available bed and they were under-staffed so they booked me for an induction first thing in the morning.

I phoned my Mom on the Coast and told her to stand-by until my OB came in to give us the "executive decision" so my mom is leaving at 7 am tommorrow morning and Im hoping I don't deliver before noon or she might miss the birth. I also had to call my mother & father-in-law at a lake resort they were staying at with family. The resort only had one phone at the head office and my mother-in-law had told the resort staff there that her daughter might phone if "god-forbid" she went into labor early and to come find her if that was the case. I never thought in a million years I would actually have to disturb them on their special trip as I didn't see this coming by a long shot, lol. Mom-in-law phoned us back and it turns out that since Chris's dad was out fishing on the lake, enjoying a few good cold one's Im sure, the resort staff took a boat out to find him on the lake and bring him back to shore, ha ha. Unbelievable!!!!!!!!! Pretty cool they went to so much trouble. I felt so bad since Mom and Dad don't take special vacations or trips like this very often and they had to cut it short by a day but it's out of our hands at this point. They packed up the car within a few hours and left to come to the Okanagan.

So here I am, unable to sleep, wide-eyed with excitement to meet my little girl! I was hoping to get a good night's sleep (my last one for god knows how long) but after laying in bed for almost 2 hours, I got up to organize a few more things and of course blog my crazy, unexpected day.

This photo is during my non-stress test at Vernon Jubilee Hospital on Aug.13th....Brooklyn was born the next day!

Maternity Photo's

2009-08-11T19:49:00.000-07:00

Here are some Maternity photo's that my girlfriend Michele Dyson took of Michele Dyson Photogrpahy.

37 weeks

2009-08-11T08:24:00.000-07:00

Oh my...this is my last "fruit/vegetable" post, so sad, ha ha. Baby is the size of a watermelon and I can no longer see me toes or get out of bed without making some sort of noise or grunt from discomfort. I am starting to get quite uncomfortable in that Brooklyn is kicking so hard and so often, that I wonder how big she really is. Chris and I watched my belly in disbelief last night..there were moments of laughter where Brooklyn truly looked like an alien trapped inside, trying to get out! ha ha.

I have noticed in just a matter of 2-3 days she has gotten significantly more active and significantly stronger (must be all the protein and dairy I have been eating -in small portions of course, since I can't eat much at all at any given time at this point in the game) and has completely taken over my body.

I recently started having some lower ligament pains and two sleepless night's this last week with Braxton Hick's contractions (a first for me this pregnancy as some women have them all the way through pregnancy). I cant seem to sleep because of these contractions and because when I finally do dose off to sleep I am woken by a nightmare or fear that my water broke and I am in active labor, ha ha!

I know the end is near and I think I may be a bit paranoid or over-anxious about going into labor before my induction in roughly a weeks time because the truth of the matter is, it could happen on it's own any time now (although not likely for a few more weeks).

All part of the process I suppose:)

I would have had 34 week ultrasound pictures to post on here from 3 weeks ago but the ultrasound technician wasnt the brightest tool in the shed shall we say and gave me the wrong sonogram pictures of someone else's baby with another patient's name on the photo's (I didnt realize it until my sister-in-law pointed it out when I got home that morning). Not only that, the same women said to me at my 10 week dating ultrasound, some time ago, (when she was escorting me to the ultrasound room), "so, is this a happy occassion?"....I couldnt believe it! Just because I was by myself (Chris had to work that day) doesnt mean that I am single and got "knocked up" or something....I mean, people do work during the day (plus I had my wedding rings on but she was obviously too absent minded or inexperienced to notice) and even if I was single and this wasn't a "happy occassion"...she should keep her mouth shut because if it was a sensitive subject I could have easily broken down and started bawling because it wasnt a "happy occassion" or because I didn't have a partner....I think that lady needs some additional training and needs to mind her own business, geesh! ha ha.

Until next post, ta ta!:)

The Nursery is finished!

2009-08-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

Yahoo! Brooklyn's nursery is finished! Im thrilled with the way it turned out...Chris and I worked really hard on it and just finished the final touches. All we have left to do is put some baby photo's in our empty picture frames....and of course, we NEED BROOKLYN to arrive safe and sound!

36 weeks....2 weeks (roughly) until my induction:)

2009-08-06T00:15:00.001-07:00

Here are some 36 week baby bump pics. The count down is officially on with about 2 weeks to go until my induction and our baby girl is in our arms! I can't wait to meet her!

more shower pics...

2009-08-05T22:45:00.000-07:00

MIL's baby shower.....:)

Baby Shower Pics...

2009-08-05T19:38:00.001-07:00

Stacie's Baby Shower

2009-07-31T18:56:00.000-07:00

I returned from my trip to the Coast over a week ago and unfortunately Vancouver was having a record heat wave and I ended up coming home a day early because I was so hot, uncomfortable and exhausted/lethargic from the heat...not to mention started swelling up and retaining a lot of water. No one had air conditioning so I was quite happy once I got home to my air conditioned house/bedroom. I couldn't bare the heat being 9 months pregnant and carrying an extra 35lbs on my frame.... I gained 5 lbs of water weight the week I was there and lost it once I was back home a few days, lol.

My baby shower's were awesome! My girlfriend Stacie went above and beyond anything I ever expected! It was an absolute dream shower and my mother-in-law planned a quaint family shower the following day that was also lovely.
Thank-You Stacie, Deneen, Laurie (ie.Mum) and Nana for making baby and Mama-to-be feel so special!

We were very spoiled by all and I had an amazing time because all of you were there:)

34 weeks ultrasound

2009-07-23T13:53:00.000-07:00

I just had my 34 week ultra sound and everything is great. Brooklyn is an estimated 6 lbs 8 oz with another month to go yet. I figure she will be a 9 lbs babe easily! lol. Her head is an estimated 10.5cm so that's a little bit disturbing but hopefully it wont grow between now and then, ha ha. Her feet are measuring 3" which isn't too much bigger than they were at the 28 week ultrasound but plenty long, to say the least:)

I leave for the Coast tommorrow and I can't wait to see all my friends and family at my two baby shower's and do a little shopping while I'm there. I havn't been to Vancouver forever and Im excited to get away for a week...I just wish hubby and my fur-baby's could come with me:(
I'm definitely going to go for sushi while I'm there!

Maternity Photo

2009-07-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

Photo taken by: Michele Dyson Photography

Nursing Baby Shower

2009-07-18T11:40:00.001-07:00

So I had my first baby shower on Friday night with all the staff and nurse's from my unit at the hospital (ie. Psychiatry). It was really nice to see everyone and share a laugh. Darlene did a great job throwing the shower and it will be sad to see her go (she is moving to the Coast next month). My Mother-in-law, Chris's Nana as well as his Aunt made the 1 1/2 hour drive (and MIL drove 5+ hours) to come to the baby shower so that was special too and my good friend, Michele, also made the trip from Penticton. I havn't seen most of them in ages so it was great to see them all. It was also nice to see all the "desperate house wives" on my block come and represent, ha ha. Jen (has two girl's- 16 months and 3 1/2 years old), Brittany is also expecting and due two months after I am and Sherry just had an adorable baby boy in March.. four baby's in two years... yowza!

Thank-You to everyone for all the fun, hugs and gifts. It was a night I won't soon forget.

My due date changed!! YAHOO!!

2009-07-09T12:01:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, I am so excited. I saw my obstetrician this morning and she changed my due date and said that because of my pre-existing hypertension, she wouldn't let me go past 39 weeks due to high risk of pre-eclampsia and some other possible complications. She will examine me at 38 weeks and decide then on a number of things since baby Brookelyn is sitting breach right now. If baby doesn't turn on her own by 38 weeks (which she more than likely will), I will have 3 options....

1. A scheduled c-section (not too keen), 2. turning the baby manually (quite painful but I think this would be my first choice) or 3. delivering the baby in the breech position naturally (Im not keen on this either but will have to research it first). My OB may also "scrape the membrane" at 38 weeks if my cervix has softened some (which brings on labor sooner than later).

So Brookelyn will definitely be an August baby! Yahoo!! She should be here between August 18th-25th if all goes well. I have one final ultrasound booked in 2 weeks and starting next week will be going to the hospital once a week to have the baby's heart rate measured for 20 minutes at a time. These are all just precautionary things so I dont mind going but thank goodness I only have 3 shifts left at work because I have a hec of a lot of appt's in the next 7 weeks!!!

32 week belly

2009-07-09T08:31:00.000-07:00

Here are my 32 weeks belly pics...less than 8 weeks to go!!!!

Baby Squash- 7 months along

2009-07-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

At 32 weeks our baby girl is roughly the size of a squash however, I think she's leaps and bounds ahead myself. She feels huge in there, kicking and moving constantly. Baby "B" kicked Chris's hand right off my belly the other night. We were laughing hysterically, it was so awesome!!!!

I LOVE Diaper Cake's!

2009-07-04T18:17:00.000-07:00

Diaper Cakes....

Man, they have so many cute things for baby's, it never ends. I have seen some really cute knit toque's for new born's on ebay and at the hospital gift shop. I wish I could knit or crochet but I figure its a little late to learn since baby will be here in less than 8 weeks!

My favorite thing right now are "diaper cake's" and I cant wait for one of my friend's to have a baby shower so I can make one. They make the coolest centre piece's at a shower, they're totally practical because they're full of stuff that a new mom needs and they look like so much fun to make (I even watched a "you tube" tutorial on how to make one so Im well-prepared for my next friend that get's pregnant:)

Someone was awfully creative to think of making a centre piece cake using diapers, toys and pacifier's, ha ha.

31 week pics/new hair dew

2009-06-29T23:52:00.000-07:00

Mommy-to-be Poem

2009-06-26T16:19:00.001-07:00

I just thought this poem was sweet.....

Expecting A Baby

I just found out
it's no longer a maybe,
I'm now expecting
a sweet little baby!

I am so very excited
it's so wonderful for me,
I'm just amazed to know
I'm now a mommy-to-be!

There are books to read
to answer my concerns,
it's sure a good thing
God gave us 9 months to learn!

I will always remember
the moment I first knew,
the excitement that I felt
learning it was true!

An awesome job I've been given,
to welcome a little one here
to bring to this world
more love and good cheer!

I just found out
it's no longer a maybe,
I'm going to be blessed
with a precious little baby!

Copyright 2003
Christine Michaels
www.WelcomeBaby.com

Happiness-29 weeks

2009-06-18T01:40:00.000-07:00

This last week has brought about many new things but the most significant change is a feeling of pure and utter happiness that I've never felt before. I can feel my baby girl kicking all the time (some times all day) and it is such a wild and incredible feeling. It wasn't until I hit week 27, 28 and now 29 that the intensity really increased and keeps getting better. I get distracted at work when I'm trying to interview a patient or check over doctor's order's and my baby girl is doing summer salts and back flips in there, ha ha. I instantly start laughing and can't wipe the enormous smile off my face! My hands are pretty much permanently attached to my belly most days because I can't get enough of feeling her kick and move around in there! It's hard to put into words.

Sometimes I just sit and stare at my belly and watch her manipulate her environment and watch little limbs poking out from different directions. It is so cool! I almost feel a form of euphoria or bliss if you will. I guess I'm just getting more and more excited as my due date approaches and enjoying the 3rd trimester much more than the first two (isn't it usually the other way around? ha ha). I feel great!

Some of my friend's say they're really uncomfortable or it hurts when the baby kick's them in the ribs but so far, I can't relate. Granted, most of my pregnant friend's are between 5'1" and 5'7", ha ha. My obstetrician told me a while back that pregnancy would be a lot easier because I'm so tall and said "you just won't experience the same ache's, pains and discomfort someone shorter will" and so far, she has been right........then again, I still have 10 1/2 weeks to go so I may eat my word's yet but so far, so great! I guess I have a lot of space in there but I know the baby is going to at least double in size yet so I may get a kick to the ribs towards the end, who knows:)

PS. The photo of the pregnant belly with the baby's foot print is not me...it was taken off the internet.....I dont know if it's real or super imposed:) Pretty sweet if it's the real thing.

Robeez!!

2009-06-16T04:41:00.001-07:00

Oh my gosh, I want all of them! I even saw some cupcake one's online too. Soooooooooooo cute!!!

Well,
I have Robeez fever right now....Robeez are little shoes/mocassin's for baby's and come in the most adorable color's and patterns! I received my first pair from a friend of mine last week (even Chris commented on how cool they were) and I love them!

I actually heard about them last year some time and heard a rumor that it was a woman in Vancouver that designed/made them because she was sick and tired of losing her son's socks and shoes(we all know baby's tend to lose a lot of those)so she designed a leather mocassin/shoe that was elastacised at the ankle that wouldn't come off easily. If you want to read up on her story or just learn more about Robeez, you can go to http://www.robeez.com/en-us/about/sandra.htm?PriceCat=2&Lang=EN-US&RefID=GOUS_robeez&SID=bb9dd70c-3aca-45f9-a633-e216d8cb10

28 week ultrasound!

2009-06-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

We saw our baby girl and my has she grown! The ultrasound technician was flabbergasted at how big her feet were. She said Brookelyn's feet were measuring almost 3" long already and apparently that's huge for 28 weeks gestation! lol. I can't say I'm surprised since I wear a size 11.5-12 women's and Chris wears a men's 13! Obviously this kid is going to have big feet, ha ha. Surely I will be able to symphathise with my daughter with regards to how difficult shoe shopping is when the average shoe store stops carrying anything bigger than a ladies 10. It won't be easy finding shoes once this kid is full grown and by then she will probably start stealing mine when she's a teenager, ha ha.

Overall, the technician said our baby is measuring at 30 weeks (Im only 28 weeks)...meaning, she is bigger than a "typical" 28 week gestation baby. She was estimated to be around 3 1/2 lbs at this point so who knows how big she will get over the next 3 months!!!

We saw her blinking, stick out her tongue, open and close her mouth, turn her head and of course she had to kick a bunch throughout the ultrasound. The technician said she even had some hair already. I wonder if she will have a head of black hair like I did when I was born or if she will be blonde like Chris was when he was a kid.

I can't wait to see who she looks like....I am getting so excited to meet our precious baby girl *sigh*.

Oh ya and we saw her bits and she is 100% girl! Tee hee.

27 weeks!

2009-06-03T23:41:00.000-07:00

Im 27 weeks and can't believe I still have over 3 months to go before I meet my baby girl! Nine months is a long time to be pregnant (and all that goes along with that....you know what I mean mum's out there). I lost my ankle bones about a week ago (I think they're called "cankles" because you can't tell where my ankle's stop and my calves begin, ha ha), my hips have spread almost 3" and I pray "the girl's" stop growing because I almost got a black eye yesterday when I had to chase after my umbrella at the beach after it was carried away in the wind, ha ha (ok, perhaps TMI but you get the point). It's getting awfully hot here (it was 31 degree's today) and although I'm not going to complain after a long, miserable winter, the doggy/kiddy pool in my backyard is looking more and more appealing. In fact, I dipped my feet in it today and it was quite refreshing.

Brookelyn is kicking a ton and had a little spastic fit yesterday while Chris had his hand on my belly. He was blown away by all the movement! He hasn't felt that much activity all at one time before so it was funny to watch his facial expression's.

baby eggplant

2009-05-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

At 6 months, my baby girl is the size of an eggplant (or bigger), lol. She is kicking more and more all the time and it's sooooooo awesome! I love feeling her kicking my belly, it truly is the most amazing feeling in the world! I cant get enough.... all though last night was the first night I didnt get any sleep because she was kicking me all night long, it's good prep for what's coming 3 months down the road....no sleep!! It's just hard when I have to get up at 5:30am for a 12 hour shift at the hospital.

26 week belly shots

2009-05-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

I am definitely starting to feel HUGE! I seem to be averaging about a 5 lb weight gain a month. I think I've gained 23 lbs so far. It's getting continually more difficult to tie my shoes, paint my toes and well, just simply bend over. It's scary to think I still have over 3 months to go yet.

The best thing about being this far along in my pregnancy is how often I can feel baby Brooklyn kicking. It really is the most wonderful feeling in the world...it's just so special. I love it when she's moving around in there because I know she's healthy, growing and dong well.

Here are my 26 week belly pics....

Pics of Nephew Soren

2009-05-20T11:28:00.001-07:00

Baby Soren is here

2009-05-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

My nephew is the cutest little baby boy I have ever laid eyes on! lol. He is perfect! He weighed in at 8 lbs 10 oz and 21 1/2" long. After the initial 15 hour drive to Saskatchewan (you could probably do it in 12-13 hours but my bladder made us stop ever 1- 1 1/2 hours which was incredibly annoying! The jiggle of the car and baby girl sitting on my bladder made for 9 pit stops on the way there and 7 or 8 on the way home *sigh* ha ha). We had so much fun with baby Soren and the rest of the family. Janice is a trooper and despite not sleeping very much, managed to stay up and visit with us the whole time we were there. I on the other hand, tend to cry when I'm sleep deprived but Janice clearly does way better with sleep deprivation.....perhaps she is still running on adrenaline, lol.

Let me tell you, baby Soren is an absolute doll. He has blue/grey eyes and dirty blonde hair and if it's anything like my brother's hair as a child, Soren will soon be a platinum blonde, ha ha. I posted some of my favorite pictures from the weekend. We passed him around like a hot potato and just couldnt get enough of him. I cant wait to see him grow and develop his little personality.

Nursery Update

2009-05-10T21:03:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate to have my mother and father-in-law visiting with me this last week and Mom sure had her work cut out for her. Mom and I went to Fabricland and after leaving dad in the car for a little longer than we anticipated (over 2 hours...sorry dad!) we found some cute prints, and ribbons, etc. The store had a very limited selection thus it took a long time to find 3 or 4 fabrics that complimented each other for the crib bedding and bumpers but a master piece was created by week's end. Mom did all the hard labor and understandably, I think her neck was pretty sore after 3 days hunched over a sewing machine for hours on end (God bless her, haha). Anyways, the crib bedding and the bumpers looks adorable... I am in love with them. I have the best mother-in-law ever:)

22 weeks

2009-04-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

22-24 weeks baby is about the size of a papaya.

Chris felt baby Brookelyn kick at 21 weeks....finally! But hasnt felt her since, lol. He got one good kick and that was it.

We went to see a movie on Saturday night and about half an hour into the movie, baby booted me in the stomach and scared the snot out of me! ha ha. I literally startled and jumped in my seat. Once I realized what hit me I started laughing my ass off. I think it's so funny! She really did scare me though and then did it again about 10 minutes later. Chris saw me jump the second time...it was so funny. She hasn't kicked me that hard since but Im sure its not the last time she will do that. I didnt realize she was that strong but she's over one pound now (maybe more) and the kicks and nudges are getting stronger and stronger all the time.

Baby Sale Haul. What a score!

2009-04-25T16:42:00.000-07:00

I went to a Baby sale at the local church today and what an experience that was. I've never seen so many pregnant women and mummy's swoon to each table like they were selling the last few drops of water 0n earth! Ha ha. I was fortunate enough to get in before it started because my friend Jen was one of the organizer's of the event and since I just came off a night shift at the hospital, I just met her at the Church early to help her set up. She was done by the time I got there so it left me plenty of time to look around and scope out what I wanted but after an "early bird" came in an bought my blue Bumbo seat out from under me for $10, it was game on! I wanted that Bumbo seat so bad....and it went for $10 (unheard of), I almost cried because they sell for $60 new. I managed to get some great texture/noise toys, several Disney books, a few pink sleepers and a baby rocking chair that has 2 speed's /5 songs and everything was $50. What a deal!

2009-04-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

21 week baby bump (gained 18lbs) & we finished painting the nursery. We are still in the early stages though as we have lots left to do yet. I will post pics as we add to it:)

Chris did a great job putting up the chair rail and we painted the bottom a light green, I love it! Now for all the pink accents, ha ha. Too much fun!

21 weeks

2009-04-20T22:51:00.000-07:00

21 weeks- The baby is the size of a banana

Im now 21 weeks and I think I have gained about 18 lbs already! EEK! I definitely think we will have a big baby....I think that is a given.

I played volleyball this past weekend in a women's tournament in Merritt on Saturday and Sunday and it was a blast. I was surprised I could still smoke the ball with an added 18 lbs on my frame. Granted I wasn't jumping as high as I did pre-pregnancy but I still managed to do pretty well regardless. I definitely missed some balls on defense though as I was too slow and obviously wasn't about to dive on my belly for a ball. It was tons of fun and a bit of a farewell for me since it will be at least a year before I can play again:(

Baby Brooklyn

2009-04-17T22:11:00.000-07:00

Well, Chris and I have had our baby girl's name picked out for quite some time so I thought it was time to let everyone know. I spent all day custom painting her name on wood letters for the nursery and they turned out great! Her name is going to be..........

BROOKELYN!!!!!!!!

Sonogram pics-19 weeks

2009-04-08T21:34:00.001-07:00

Our Baby Girl (19 weeks)....

Her bits....tee hee

her little foot.... sucking her thumb or waving...

It's a PINK PARTY!!

2009-04-07T20:32:00.000-07:00

Yay, it's a PINK PARTY for our Baby girl! Looks like we will have a little Princess come September! I am thrilled beyond belief! She was so cooperative and certainly put on a show for us today at ultrasound. She was movin'-and-a-shakin' and did some great leg extensions! She also gave us a sweet wave! Her legs looked really long compared to other sonograms I have seen and we saw her flexing and kicking in real time... just awesome! I think daddy even had a little tear in his eye (I had many, lol).

Baby Bump Update

2009-04-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

Baby Bump Update

I am just shy of 19 weeks. Only 2 more days until we find out if it we're having a little girl or a baby boy. The waiting is killing me! For the last 6 weeks I have often wondered how hard it would be to break into the ultrasound room on my floor at the hospital and turn on the ultra sound machine, run the probe across my belly and find out what's been growing in there, ha ha. Silly I know, but I am so excited to find out, tee hee.

Here is a picture of my growing belly (19 weeks). I can't believe I have gained 12 lbs already. It doesn't feel like I've gained that much weight but Im right on track so I feel really good about it. The only problem lately has been really bad lower back pain....I guess the placenta is sitting on my coccyx and holy cow does that ever hurt. I feel like I lost a bull fight and got stuck with the horns, ha ha. I hear it will soon pass once the placenta and fundus raise up higher as I get further along.

18 weeks

2009-03-31T12:36:00.000-07:00

Well, the last few days Baby has been kicking a lot and I love every minute of it. In fact, yesterday was the first day I could feel the baby kick from the outside when I put my hand on my lower belly. I jumped across the room to get Chris to put his hand on my belly too but of course baby wouldn't kick again. I got 4 big kicks in an hour but unfortunately none of them were when Chris's hand was there. It was exciting because I have never been able to feel movement from the outside and I finally can. Im sure it will be another 2-3 weeks before baby kicks frequently enough so Chris can catch one. In the mean time, we have our 19 week ultrasound next week and I am so excited, I can barely stand it. We'll find out April 7th if it's going be pink or blue.

All the dreams and wacky nightmares I have been having are all about a baby boy but some of the old wives tales point at a baby girl. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, one week unitl G-Day (ie. gender day) ha ha. I have to say, I really admire those of you that opt to wait until their delivery day to find out the sex of the baby. It really is the ultimate surprise but hubby and I really want to be prepared in every possible way. I'm super excited about painting and decorating the nursery and customizing it for a baby boy or baby girl. I have so many idea's and do-it-yourself projects that I can't wait to get started, ha ha.

Stay tuned......

Mike & Michele's Baby Eve

2009-03-30T23:28:00.000-07:00

Friend's of mine from Penticton just had a beautiful baby girl about a month ago. When I met baby Eve, she melted my heart and left me excited to meet and hold my own baby, come September. Baby Eve is an absolute doll as is her big sister, Nevaeh and it was just awesome to see my dear friends again (it's been over a year).

I sure miss you guys! Cant wait to see you again soon. I have posted some pictures from Michele and Baby Eve's baby shower:)

Baby Avocado-16 weeks

2009-03-22T19:21:00.000-07:00

We are leaving week 16 soon, but baby in my belly is the size of an avocado at week 16 (moving on to a baby sweet potato:)

16 weeks-I felt the baby!!

2009-03-17T21:12:00.000-07:00

WOW....The night before last was the first time I felt the baby move without a doubt! It was the first time I was 100% sure because it felt exactly how some of my friends and co-workers describe.
It felt like a little tickle, sort of like someone's eye lashes blinking on your cheek but on the inside of my belly. I felt it twice in the same spot! It was probably two o'clock in the morning and Im sure I fell asleep grinning ear to ear that night! ha ha.
I went to bed all excited last night in hopes of feeling something again but no such luck. Maybe tonight, he/she will tickle again.
So exciting! 3 weeks to go until we find out if baby is a prince or a princess! I can't wait!

15 weeks-Baby Orange

2009-03-15T14:26:00.001-07:00

15 weeks and our baby is about the size of an orange

March 09

2009-03-14T20:35:00.000-07:00

I bought Chris a tuxedo cake for Valentine's and had the baker personalize it for me. He liked the idea but he's still a DQ, ice -cream cake kind of guy. I think tuxedo cake is d-e-l-i-s-h since I recently discovered it (it's vanilla, chocolate and I think there's some sort of cream cheese layer in there. YUM!).

We recently picked up the crib Grandma got us from Sears and put it together last week. It looks amazing! Thanks Grandma H. It's perfect and exactly what we wanted!! (I will post more pics once the linen and bedding is picked out).

That's it for now.

Baby Bump's Debut! 14 weeks

2009-03-02T17:35:00.000-08:00

Here is baby bump's official debut! Its kind of hard to believe that Im showing so much already (at 14 weeks)! Everyone thought I wouldn't show until I was much further along because Im so tall but it just goes to show that every woman is different......and that baby is perhaps going to be g-i-n-o-r-m-o-u-s! Eek! ha ha.

I should add that there is a lot of bloat there too. My bump is usually smaller first thing in the morning but regardless of that fact...I am certainly starting to look pregnant and I love it! ha ha.

13 weeks-The size of a peach

2009-02-28T06:34:00.001-08:00

Well, I'm 13 1/2 weeks and it boggles my mind how after about two o'clock in the afternoon I have a full-on baby-bump and appear pregnant but then it deflates by the time I wake up the next morning. It must be water retention and bloat but either way, its a tease! ha ha.
The baby is the size of a peach right now and as I was lying in bed the other night, I swore I felt the gentlest, "love tap" on my belly. I stopped reading and tried to focus to see if I felt it again but I haven't felt it since so I imagine I am supposed to chalk it off as "gas" but everyone knows what gas feels like, (ie. gurgles, bubbles, air etc). Anyways, I know it was probably nothing but it was the first little tap on the belly I felt like that and one can only hope. I cant wait to feel the baby move! I think I am just excited about that as I am about finding out the baby's gender at the end of March! Exciting times.

12 weeks

2009-02-16T23:27:00.000-08:00

I had an appointment with my obstetrician today. It went well and I got to hear the baby's heart rate for the first time with the doppler (last time I could just see it beating on the ultra sound but couldn't hear it). It was beating between 155 and 160 BPM and was music to my ears!
My OB told me my initial blood work came back "normal" but that I was blood type B- thus I am Rh- which apparently is rare in that only 15% of women fall into this category. If Chris is Rh- as well, then there won't be a problem but since we don't know, I will receive an immunoglobulin injection at 24 weeks to ensure that if and when my blood and the baby's blood cross the placenta, the baby won't end up with an iron deficiency because our blood types are potentially incompatible. I guess I should spare you with all the technical stuff, ha ha.

Anyways, I'm feeling good, still sleeping an average of 10-12 hours at a time at night but I hear that will soon pass now that I have entered the second trimester (thank goodness!). I'm still waiting for that "pregnant glow" they talk about!?? Right now I just have some unwanted pimples, fatigue and a big bloated belly that I call a "fake" belly because it comes and goes as it pleases! Oh the joys of pregnancy, lol.

Chris and I have opted to find out the baby's gender at our 18 week ultra sound so we can't wait to find out! Chris is planning a hockey theme with Boston Bruins colors for the nursery since he is so sure it's a boy and I am hoping to run with a pink and brown theme in the hopes of a girl but we truly will embrace whatever gender we are blessed with. My next ultra sound will fall on or around March. 31st so that's when we will find out!!

10 week ultrasound!

2009-02-02T12:11:00.000-08:00

I had my 10 week ultrasound this morning! What an experience..............

I got home from a 12 hour night shift and opted to stay awake another 4 hours until my u/s appointment since I figured it would be too torturous to go to bed for just 2 hours and have to wake up, drink a litre of water and head to the x-ray clinic. I chugged a litre of water 1 1/2 hours beforehand, on top of the decaf latte I made myself at 7:30 am and headed to the clinic with a very full bladder and quite uncomfortable! When I got there, I had to sit in the waiting room for 30 minutes and after about 20 minutes, I asked the receptionist if they were running behind at all because I was bursting at the seams and new I wasn't going to make it another 10 minutes. She said, "why don't you go let a little bit out!" .....just a little bit, oh my word!!!! She told me to count to 8 and then stop.....torture I tell you! Torture!!!! As hard as that was, it helped tremendously.

I was over come with joy and instantly teared up when I saw my little peanut on film! I could see him/her moving around and saw it's heart beating strong at 152 BPM! It was so awesome to finally see that there really is a little being inside of me growing rapidly everyday! It was the best feeling in the world! All my pregnancy symptoms were instantly forgotten:)

I am just overjoyed and cant wait to meet our little sweet pea come September!

8 weeks!

2009-01-22T22:15:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm 8 weeks and 2 days and finally starting to feel pregnant. That's a good thing and a bad thing, ha ha. I have been beyond, utterly exhausted after my 12 hour shifts and the the thought of eating turns my stomach but despite that, it's better if I eat because the nausea will resolve as long as there is something in my stomach. Overall, I am pretty lucky thus far. I will spare you with the other details.

We have our first ultra sound booked in 2 weeks (I will be 10 weeks by then) on Feb. 2nd so we are super excited to see our little peanut on film and get to finally hear his/her heart beat. I cant wait!

My first Pregzilla moment!

2009-01-09T17:02:00.000-08:00

So I had my first Pregzilla moment with Chris last night. I have to admit, I'm starting to believe I am suffering from heightened senses. I could smell liquor on a guy 15 feet away from me at the blockbuster (and usually Chris is the one with heightened senses naturally), my sleeping patterns have been poor as of late (Im sleeping so lightly and getting up to go to the loo a lot) and last night I "went off" a bit because about an hour after I went to bed, I was woken to Chris dragging his 50 lbs hockey bag across the kitchen tiles and since it's on wheels it was super loud despite the fact that my bedroom door was closed. Then I heard him drag it down the basement stairs! I was sooooooooo mad he woke me up! Fifteen minutes later he comes to bed and our bedroom door sticks ever so slightly so when he comes to bed it often sounds like he's breaking through the door (scares me every time). Then to top it all off, he undoes his zippered hoodie and I freak out because it seriously sounds like he's unzipping a 40 foot sleeping bag and it's stinkin' annoying & disruptive! Even worse, he was talking in his sleep all night (which he NEVER does) and I woke up feeling like a bag of you know what today!

After Chris got home from teaching today, I had to warn him that I would have a full-on pregzilla moment if last night repeated itself! ha ha. Either I am hyper sensitive to sound or he is being inconsiderate so when I got on him about the hockey bag and the zipper, he said, "are you listening to yourself? So I can't undress in our bedroom, I have to pre-undress?". I simply requested no zippers for the next 7 1/2 months and didn't think that was too much to ask, lol. I realized it sounded pretty ridiculous and we burst out laughing! I started laughing so hard, I was crying! After all is said and done, yes I am hyper-sensitive to noise and Chris is going to try to eliminate zippers from the bedroom when he can. In addition, I will start sleeping with ear plugs again, ha ha.

Too funny!!! At least I can see it sounds a bit ridiculous but hey, if all it takes is eliminating zippers and his heavy hockey bag....so be it right!? tee hee!

Pre-Natal Blood Work & Lab experience

2009-01-09T13:38:00.000-08:00

Well, I had all my pre-natal blood work done yesterday and a urinalysis, plus a Dr's appt. in order to get a referral for a new GP who does maternity. Its unfortunate because I'm just getting used to my new GP whom I quite like and who was assigned to us just one year ago. Now I have to find yet another family doctor to follow my pregnancy and get to know someone all over again.

I had to pee in a few different cups yesterday, one at the lab and one at the Dr's office. I hate it when they don't give you gloves, grrrr. They give you a tiny, little Dixie cup and expect us to nail the target like the boys can. One of these days a motivated health care professional needs to design a new prototype for a urine specimen cup with a wide mouth funnel on it or something....then again, they could just provide us with gloves, ha ha. My lab experience here was quite different than in Vancouver. Vancouver has the infamous "Metro labs" where you go into a lovely, private cubicle or a private room to have blood drawn.

Out here they have an old school, polyester partition from 1975 and a stranger sits next to you and has their blood drawn at the same time. You can see some of the action while sitting in the waiting room because it's all in one room, about 10 feet away. In addition, it smelt pretty nasty in there.... like a men's locker room at best. I know pregnancy can cause heightened senses (ie. smell) but it was the lab tech who commented on the wretched odor before I did. There must have been 18-20 people in the lab that day and clearly, some of them hadn't bathed in weeks! The lab tech said to me "you should be here in the summer, it's unbearable" ha ha. I thought, OH CRAP! I AM going to be here all summer!! (I will be there monthly if not bi-weekly towards the end of my pregnancy). Gross!

My Belly Before Pics

2009-01-08T21:05:00.001-08:00

We are 6 weeks pregnant!

2009-01-07T21:44:00.000-08:00

Well, 3 weeks have flown by and we are already 6 weeks pregnant. Its sort of an anxious time as well as a joyous one because statistics alone say 30% of pregnancies end in miscarriage within the first 12 weeks. We are trying to stay positive and know I am healthy so that helps keep us positive and optimistic! It's been hard keeping this fabulous, life changing news to ourselves and in fact we havn't...ha ha. We told our family's right away and of course my co-workers since safety is a major issue for me at work while being preggers. We occasionally get forensic patient's with violent history's and have had some eldery clients strike out at us a lot lately. I figured it was important to let my co-workers and management know so I can avoid nursing any acute patient's who have a history of violence or assault etc. I'm bummed I won't be able to attend "Code White's" (a code white means; violence and/or aggression stat!) for the next 7 1/2 months which is the best part of my job for me (call me crazy I know). It's high adrenaline and always a great opportunity to use your skills and collaborate with other health care professional's. I knew that was coming though and it certainly is a small price to pay to keep baby safe:)

I feel GREAT believe it or not. I havn't had any morning sickness at all *knock on wood* and the only symptoms I really have are going to the loo a lot, ha ha. I am greatful I have snuck by symptom free thus far! Chris is lucky too, no pregzilla stories as of yet but it's still very early! ha ha. I will keep you posted. I imagine my hormones are still brewing, ha ha.

I played volleyball tonight in my women's league and Chris came to watch. He got pretty nervous a few times when I dove for a ball across the gym floor. You generally dive on your hip and on your side but occasionally you do end up diving on your stomach so a few times it was pretty close and he was gesturing at me to be careful. Sounds like my defense will suffer this season since I shouldn't be diving at all just to error on the side of caution. I have looked into it and it is safe to play volleyball for an extended period of time while preggers. The good thing is this season only runs January to March and I will only just be starting to show by the end of March so Im happy I can squeeze one more season in since I wont be able to play in the fall (September to December).

We're pregnant! Yahoooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-01-07T08:25:00.000-08:00

Wow, we can hardly believe we're pregnant! After just 3 months of trying, we are blessed with baby Colgan on the way! We couldn't be more thrilled!! In fact, it's taken about 3 weeks for the news just to set in. Chris didn't even believe me at first.

I decided to make it fun for Chris so I put him on a scavenger hunt for what he thought was an "early Christmas present". The frustrating part was Chris insisted he could wait another week to open all his gifts but he was messing with my plan. I insisted he play along and eventually he did. After all, I did go through a bit of trouble working out clues and rhymes which would eventually lead him to the surprise in the Christmas tree.

After a long, drawn out scavenger hunt around the house, it finally led Chris to a little green velvet stocking in the xmas tree where he pulled out 2 positive pregnancy tests (one marked Dec.19th and the other Dec.20th)...his face went blank! Luckily I was following him around the house with my camera so I have pictures of the whole ordeal. He instinctively said, "No, really?", followed by, "are you sure?!", then, "you should test again", ha ha ha. It was hilarious. He was in shock!

Shortly after his scavenger hunt and sharing a moment together, we went to Kelowna to finish our Christmas shopping...or in Chris's case, START his Christmas shopping, ha ha. Chris insisted I buy another pregnancy test but recommended I use a different brand this time around. We eventually split up for an hour so he could go buy my Christmas present so I wandered over to the Shopper's Drug Mart and dropped abother $15 on a digital pregnancy test that would read "pregnant" or "not-pregnant". I think it was worth the $15 just to see "PREGNANT" across the display screen, ha ha When I saw Chris an hour later, I whipped it out of my back pocket (all the while grinning ear to ear of course) and said, "well, we're definitely pregnant daddy", ha ha. It was still so surreal even after 3 positive preg tests, haha.

We went to Milestone's for dinner to celebrate where we sat and stared at the word "pregnant" on the little window of the test. It was a pretty awesome day:)