Yes, it’s true! I am now 33 weeks pregnant or 5 weeks away from delivery day, or 36 days shy of meeting our little blessing….but whichever way you look at it, i’m definitely getting closer! This week has been a week of what I call “slow down” and it took me a while to realize it but I think my body is finally telling me enough is enough! I’ve been so busy every single weekend and have been wildly attempting to get things done that need to be done pre-Christmas but I’m sad to say it’s coming to the point where I can’t do it all anymore. This past weekend I spent an entire day out and about with Mike and Jacob trying to get most of my Christmas errands done and truth be told…it sucked the life out of me. I developed a bout of insomnia in the past couple of days and I’m unable to sleep comfortably or peacefully at all lately. This morning when I woke up I could feel the baby up in my lungs and I was having a lot of nausea as a result but it all seems settled down now which is probably why I am awake and blogging instead of in my bed snoozing.

This morning I had my 33 week appointment with my OB where all the standard appointment business was completed. As usual my urine was “clean” meaning it didn’t have any protein/sugar that would elude there was a problem…I’ve gained another 2 pounds and my blood pressure was up a tiny bit but nothing to be concerned about (those were the doctor’s words, not mine). We verified the plan with my OB about what would happen if I went into labor before my c-section date and the plan is that we would proceed with a vaginal delivery attempt if that situation should arise….honestly I don’t think he remember’s people’s plans because lately I’ve noticed he’s been saying something different every appointment! Grrr. My next appointment is schedule for December 30th with a colleague of his because he’s going to be on vacation and before that appointment I have a bio-physical profile scheduled…I’ll be having one every week from 35 weeks onwards up until my c-section date to check on the “living conditions” in the womb as my doctor puts it.

I finally bit the bullet and bought the diaper bag I wanted and I feel pretty good about the situation because I saw another mommy with it at the OB’s office and I love the sleek design and the fact that its not huge….one thing I regret doing with Jacob was carrying around so much unnecessary crap; I definitely plan not to do that this time around. The next thing Mike and I need to look at are Baby Monitors since we gave our old one to my mom for her house when Jacob sleeps over and we’d like to leave it there….we need one with better reception for our new place anyways so we’ve got to research which one we want this time around. This weekend (Friday probably) Mike and I are going to Home Depot to pick up the paint we picked out for baby girl’s bedroom and I think the plan is to paint her room the weekend after Christmas….we’ll see when my mom has time since she’s helping out and she’s REALLY good at painting, and fast too! This week when we were out and about Mom picked up the curtains I wanted for the baby’s room so now i’m on the hunt for a cute light colored (preferably white) curtain rod to go with them! I think I’ll get Mike to build the baby’s change table/dresser some time soon so that it’s done and we don’t need to think about it. I need to get out to Ikea to get some picture frames that I want for the baby’s room that are white and then once we get the letters for her wall (I think Mom is getting these, but I’m not sure) I think we’ll be good! We have the white toy stand from Ikea that we had in Jacob’s room and changed the color of the bins to white, pink and green (Thanks Vero for that Idea), the white dresser and change table combo, and then the crib that Jacob used which is a maple color and doesn’t match but eventually we’ll have a white twin bed in that room so we’ll just put up with the non-matching piece of furniture for now! I’d like to find a small white bookshelf to put in the room so that I can put some baskets on one shelf and books on the other but so far nothing has jumped out at me.

Christmas is so soon and I still have a lot to do (that’s another post for another time) so I’m trying to get it all done and relax next week! My stomach is GROWING too much if you ask me and I’m way tired but what else can you do when you’re 33 weeks pregnant during the busiest time of the year! Here’s to another good week down, and hopefully another good week to come.

I’m so peeved it’s not even funny! I’ve been working on a calendar for my mom and her husband for the past 2 days and it’s been a very slow slow process. First I couldn’t get started when I wanted to (2 weeks ago) because we had computer problems and coudn’t access all our stored photos….then we were without real internet for a few days during our move. When we finally were able to get to it 2 days ago the connection speed was soo slow that it was taking forever to upload one picture to the website where we were purchasing our calendar. UGGG! I needed to add just 2 more pictures and was planning on doing it tonight but of course BLACKS PHOTOGRAPHY’S WEBSITE IS DOWN! I’m so mad and frustrated…..now it won’t be ready by Christmas and I’m not willing to get one of the crappier versions from Walmart so mom if you’re reading this….Merry Christmas from Jacob….you’re getting a Calendar it’s just not going to be ready by Christmas.

I had a really productive day today in terms of getting ready for Christmas which is just 12 days away! What? Isn’t that totally crazy? I feel like Christmas totally snuck up on me this year! We had to get our Christmas shopping done and we needed to do it ASAP because its really getting harder and harder for me to walk around for long periods at a time. I think I did pretty good today and we spent about 8 hours on the go! I was able to get almost all of my Christmas shopping done and now I’m just after stocking stuffers for my mom’s stocking. We have cut back A LOT this year and it feels really good, I hope nobody is disappointed by that. After spendingn all that time walking around the mall and stores I got home to giant swollen ankles but that seems to be settling after some rest on the couch with my feet up and several large glasses of water!

Tomorrow I hope to have an equally productive day by cleaning up around the house, unpacking a few boxes, doing 2 loads of laundry and taking Jacob to a children’s christmas party we are invited to. I think tomorrow night we should finish decorating around the house, have a nice dinner and finalize our grocery list for Christmas! If I can find some time tomorrow I might start wrapping presents but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to find the time to do so….bummer! It’s hard to believe that Christmas is so close…I know I already said that but I’m really quite shocked! After Christmas I’d like to enjoy the celebration of the New Year with our itsy bitsy family before it comes an itsty bitsy bit bigger!

Did you know I am having a baby in no more then 38 days?

It was really nice today to go out with my co-workers for our annual Christmas luncheon and I especially enjoyed the conversation that wasn’t entirely focused on parenting, family, pregnancy, etc. I think the social part of work is what I miss the most when I am not there….the way that you can suddenly be connected and disconnected from everything that goes on at home at the same time. It was just so nice to sit down for a nice lunch and chat about what was new in all of our lives. I wasn’t planning on going since I haven’t really been getting out much by myself since my “passing out” episode at the mall but I took a risk and it paid off because it really felt nice to be out and about on my own. Michael from work gave us a beautiful hand made hat for the baby that he got at the One of a Kind Craft Sale here in Toronto! It’s so cute but I woudln’t expect anything else from Michael because he has really great taste! I am looking forward to going back to work for my “maternity goodbye” in the new year and seeing everyone again….like I’ve said already it’s really nice to chat with other adults who have some things in common with you other then parenting.

We thought of a new name idea today for baby girl and it’s far different from any other name we’ve considered yet. In the past Mike and I had jokingly said this name out loud but we’ve never considered it until today…and it’s definitely growing on us. The problem has been that we are quite fond of names that everyone seems to be fond of too and we’ve never been those kookie people who considered something completely crazy when it came to naming children…we definitely have always been drawn to very simple quaint names especially names with a biblical connection of some sort because of their strong roots and significance. I have to admit this name is not the most simple and it is definitely not biblical but we like it so for now it is added to the list. I have been thinking about this name all morning and pondering the ways it cold be short formed, trying to think of ways kids might make fun of it and truthfully I’m not coming up with anything too horrible. I think we have to put our foot down now and say no more adding names to the list…we need to eliminate now so that we can get down to 2 or 3 before the baby is born….Once we see her, then we’ll decide.

A few people have asked recently what we need for the baby because they wanted to get us gifts for the new baby and I’ve been trying to go through what we do have so that I can offer a good list of ideas but its really hard! What I do know is that we do NOT need the following:

Clothes - Size 0-3 (Between my mother and I we really stocked up on these when we were at Carters)
Receiving Blankets - I bought a couple new ones and we had some unopened from Jacob
Crib Sheets
We do not need any of the big equipment since we’ve saved it all from when Jacob was little or we’ve already received it as gifts from other people.(i.e Exersaucer, Highchair, Stroller, Car Seat, Basinette).

So I guess if I had to make a list of what we do need I would say:

Clothes - size 3-6 Months for spring and 6-12 months for summer
Bottles - We are giving the Dr. Brown’s Bottles a go this time.
Diapers - size 1 or 2 ( we are using either swaddlers or kirkland brand)
Dishwasher Rack for Nipples and Bottles

I can’t think about anything else right now because I’m not very good at coming up with ideas for gifts and truthfully nobody needs to buy us a darn thing….everyone has been so generous in our lives as it is and we definitely are in a good position with this baby….

6 more weeks at most until baby number 2 arrives! Time is definitely going slower now for me which I’m sure has a lot to do with getting into that tired again stage of pregnancy. Being 32 weeks pregnant is a very pivotal time for me because it is the time that I started to experience fluid problems with Jacob that eventually resulted in his early delivery. For the most part this pregnancy has felt nothing like Jacob’s pregnancy which was very overwhelming and anxiety filled from day one. I’d like to believe that throughout this pregnancy I’ve been far more laidback (although more hormonal) about the little aches and worries of pregnancy. By this point in Jacob’s pregnancy I had been to labor and delivery twice and I havent been once this pregnancy which to me seems remarkable…maybe its a sign that we’ll carry the baby right up to the delivery date this time around. I have my next appointment a week from today and then two weeks after that I’m having my bio-physical profile to see how the fluid around the baby is doing and to see if she’s practicing breathing like she’s supposed to in preparation for our c-section at 38 weeks 1 day….of course if any concerns come up between now and then I could end up with a bio-physical profile ultrasound earlier then 35 weeks…..we’ll just have to wait and see I guess.

Aside from feeling pretty tired I’m not doing so bad on the pregnancy “symptoms” side of things. I try to sit down when I can to put my feet up and so far I have no swelling in my hands, face or feet and my blood pressure seems to be hanging in there. I can feel the baby growing because my hips and pelvis are definitely a bit sore but nothing too unmanageable. I am hoping that I can continue feeling this good until after Christmas because I need some energy to finish up my place, get the baby’s room ready, finish Christmas shopping and have enough gusto to have an enjoyable holiday. I don’t think any plans are in the work to do the baby’s room until after the holiday so I don’t have to really worry or stress about that right now…add to that the fact that she’s sleeping in our room for the first while and all is well. Last week I was able to sit down and pick out the colors for the nursery and I think I’ve picked out a cute combination. Overall, I think we’re really good to go and despite the fact that nothing is set up yet I think I feel like everything is in place and if baby should arrive earlier then anticipated all will be well.

I am trying to rack my brain for other tests that need to happen before my c-section and the only test that comes to mind was the group B strep test but I’m almost certain I don’t need to have that test when I’m having a c-section. Does anyone know?

All in all, it’s another week down and 6 more weeks to go at most!

I loved my old Christmas tree because it was large, beautiful, majestic even and I have had it for 5-6 wonderful years as my companion during the holidays. The tree was purchased at Costco when it was on sale for a totally awesome price making the tree seem even more perfect. Every Christmas we’ve been hauling out this huge 7.5 foot Christmas tree and finding space to have it around and every Christmas I remember why I love it so much…because of how big and beautiful it is when it’s lights are sparkling. This year we’ve moved to a bigger place with 10 foot cielings and I was so psyched to pull out my fabulous Christmas tree and get it set up but I was very disapointed when Mike hauled it out and we discovered just how much space it was going to take up in our larger but differently shaped living room. The tree was just too massive, too majestic, too large for our tastes in this new place and to add only more fuel to the fire the pre-lit lights had burned out and would need to be replaced. For a moment I wanted to cry because I wanted MY tree to be in my new living room and I wanted my whole 4 person family to experience that tree next year but sadly it is not to be. After some thought we decided we would replace the Christmas tree for a beautiful but smaller Christmas tree and so off to Canadian Tire we went in search of the perfect tree for our new place and our new family. I didn’t realize how expensive Christmas tree’s are these days….but after some thought we settled on a Noma 6.5 foot self forming tree whose diameter was a mere 49 inches - our old tree was 61 inches in diameter….at least. There were moments throughout the evening where we contemplated a real Christmas Tree but my allergies to the vast majority of Christmas Trees prevented us from taking the plunge….I seriously considered suffering with the allergy symptoms for the sake of a nice new tree but then I thought this year is not the right year since I am unable to take any reliable form of allergy medication while pregnant.

Our new tree is different but it has more of a home feel now rather then that majestic feeling of the old tree…but feelings of home are a good thing. The tree stands in our window now, without decorations until tomorrow but it is the perfect tree for our family…it is charming and reminds us that the glory and majesty of our old large tree is not what Christmas is all about…the true meaning of Christmas is about the glory and majesty of Christ and His birth, and to that no tree can compare.

I’ve been laying pretty low the last couple of days just trying to relax because I’ve been having a lot of braxton hicks contractions and I’ve had a couple today but I think I am going to set a few goals for what needs to get done this weekend. We have a few obligations this weekend including a skating lesson, Santa Experience, and Jacob’s portrait session tomorrow but other then that I’d like to get a few things done around the house.

I’d like to get started on the decorations for Christmas including the tree and the lights outside of our house - so in order to get those two things accomplished I first need Mike to pull the tree out of storage and then I need him to set it up. Yesterday Mike promised me he’d put the lights up outside of the house so I think I’ll ask him to do that while Jacob naps today. I’d also like to make a grocery list for our big Christmas shop so that we don’t buy too much stuff that we don’t need. Lastly, I’d like to unpack a few more boxes around the house but more specifically I’d like to get our own bedroom finished since it’s been neglected over the past couple of days and I dont’ want it to get all disorganized!

If I can get those things started this week then I think next week Mike and I can start tackling the boxes that are in the storage room and I can start going through Jacob’s old clothes to see what’s consignable and what is not. Next weekend we have a holiday christmas party to attend and I need to finish my Christmas shopping….of course if my MOTHER would just give me some darn ideas for Christmas presents it would all go a lot easier.