Things I'm looking forward to:

-sleeping on my tummy
-seeing my feet
-being able to paint my own toenails
-eating more fish
-eating hotdogs
-consuming alcohol (a fancy drink would be nice)
-exercising
-shopping for clothes that fit
-looking sexy again 
-wearing baby in the moby wrap
-tiny fingers and toes

(unpainted toes)

Ultrasound

Had my early morning ultrasound today. I had a very nice ultrasound tech check everything out. She showed me baby's smushed up face, and we both had to laugh at how wiggly he was. She showed me his little bum up in my ribs, and he was showing us his testicles. That made me laugh.

Everything is looking good, so I doubt there will be an emergency c-section, unless I go into labor before the 23rd.

[baby update] 37 weeks and 5 days

Doctors appointment: It went really well. Baby is doing well, he measures right on target, and moves all over the place. I'm surprised he hasnt slowed down with the wiggling given that hes running out of room. I mentioned my contractions, and she checked my cervix. Its now dialated 2-3 cm instead of 1-2 cm, so those contractions did something. She told me that if my contractions got to 5 min apart, just come in, and they'll get him outta there as an emergency c-section. I kinda figured that.

The food truck was the highlight of my doctors appointment. I think it was this year that the city of Vancouver allowed more food trucks and less hotdog vendors. Pretty sure that all we had for the longest time were hotdog carts. Who needs a hotdog when you can have mexican food?

This sucker was conveniently placed infront of my bus stop. Annnnd since it was taking FOREVER for my bus to get there, I got in line for a taco. There were burritos, beef, chicken, and I think a vegan one, but I was after one thing...the FISH TACO!  I've been meaning to have one for a while now, and this one did not disappoint. It had deep fried cod, slaw, chipotle mayo and fresh salsa, and it was delightful. I regret not having another one, but my bus finally arrived.

Other than the awesome taco and healthy baby, there isnt too much new with me.

Sleeping isnt fun anymore. My hips haven't been that bad this pregnancy, but in the last week or 2, I've noticed that they are getting super sore. I'm thankful that Tony isnt a light sleeper, because the way I move around in bed, you'd think you were in bed beside a whale.

Oh, and I'm feeling more whale like. This morning I rolled over, and the whole ordeal of it all made Tony snicker at me. I didn't mind only because I'm sure I would have done the same thing if I were in his shoes.

Ultrasound is tomorrow morning, and we'll see how it goes.

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Previous baby updates:

[baby update] week 37

[baby update] week 36 and 5 days

[baby update] week 35 - phone call and a headache

[baby update] week 35

[baby update] week 33

[baby update] week 31

[baby update] week 29

[baby update] week 27

[baby update] week 26

[baby update] week 25

[baby update] week 24

[baby update] week 22

[baby update] week 22 + Surgery

[baby update] week 21

Dear little boy

I got a phone call today about doing bloodwork and paper work for your upcoming birth. Thats happening the day before your birthday. I just realized today that in exactly 2 weeks, you will be out! I also realized that I will not be getting any sleep those last few nights. I'll be too excited to see you, well also maybe a little nervous.

I cant wait to see you. I'll get to count all your fingers and toes. I'll get to see what you look like. I still picture you as being a bald little guy. I pictured the same for your sister, and look what happened. Maybe I'm just crazy and you'll have a wack of hair like her.

I've bought you cute little sleepers, and onesies. I even got you an ugly doll. Your sister may have claimed that as her own though.

So my spunky little boy, we shall meet very soon. You hang tight, and try not to push your bum up in my ribs, ok?

37 week photo

There's my beachball...ahem, I mean baby.

I've got an ultrasound booked for this thursday at the hospital here in Vancouver. They'll be checking amniotic fluid levels to see if they're still measuring a little lower than normal  Praying that everything is ok.

What do you do in a power out?

You'll see in a sec...

So last week, in the wee hours of the morning, I awoke to an explosion like sound that sounded like it came from my alley way. I sat up quietly to not disturb Sadie (the lightest sleeper ever) and realized that the fan was off, and my iphone stopped charging. That's when my sleepy head realized that the explosion was the cause of my power outtage. So at 6 am, I laid there waiting for the power to come back on, and after 5 minutes I figured it would happen soon.

Wrong. It didnt come back on for 8 hours.

Turns out, the weather was nice out that day. Like a regular summer day, not the coolish weather we had been experiencing. We were trapped in our apartment with no fans and no way of knowing when the power would come back. So when Tony woke up, we figured we'd be smart adults and do the most logical thing...Eat the ice cream for breakfast. Naturally.

Our landlord found out that the power should come back on in a couple hours. Being in need of coffee, we took Sadie out for a walk. We ended up having a sushi date first. It was lunch. I was hungry. Can't deprive a pregnant lady of sushi. 

 I never order edamame, but I changed it all up. yum soy beans.

 Sadie loved the edamame, and surprisingly, she also loved my gyoza filling. So I ended up eating the wrappers with soy sauce, and she ate the pork veggie fillings. When we take Sadie to restraunts, she does this thing to the waitresses. She plays coy and cute, and then the waitresses come and touch her hair, and talk to her, and then they cant stop coming by - bonus for us. But when they go home at night, I swear they'll end up pregnant. Tony thinks that I got pregnant from seeing the most adorable baby ever at a restraunt one time. He thinks an egg dropped right then.

I should call this "The Sadie Effect", although I have yet to see pregnant waitresses waddling around.

See? Hungry pregnant lady. Just writing this post makes me want more sushi. We took a stroll after sushi for an iced coffee and on our way back home, I checked my phone to see when the power was supposed to come back on. Instead of finding that out, we saw that BC Hydro was fixing the outtage near our place. Turns out, they had to replace an entire power pole right behind our apartment building. No wonder the explosion was so loud and scary.

We got home, and our power was on (it only affected our street and the next one) , and the remainder of the ice cream was only a little melty, everything else was ok. I was so relieved as we had just done a huge grocery shopping trip the day before. 

[baby update] 37 weeks

Ok, so this is a baby update a few days early only because I normally now do them after every doctors appointment. So last night, I was sleeping, and woke up not feeling well. Like cramping pain, and such. I figured it would go away, or if it was anything, it would be a rougue contraction. Well, those "rougue" contractions started happening more often. After a couple hours, I timed them, cause what the hell. I was debating going to the hospital, but then I realized that with Sadie, I had these too, and they went away after a few hours. Well, it was a little disappointing, they went away. I probably should have gone in, but in my tired brain, I figured that it would be more hassle to get up, get someone over to babysit, and then go in to the hospital.

So the contractions disappeared like I figured. It took a few hours though, so I'm tired. Sadie woke up only once last night and then she slept until 8 - so nice of her. If they come back though, I'm gonna head to the hospital because I shouldnt let things progress too far.

So little boy, are you going to be early now? I have a feeling you will be.

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Previous baby updates:

[baby update] week 36 and 5 days
[baby update] week 35 - phone call and a headache
[baby update] week 35
[baby update] week 33
[baby update] week 31
[baby update] week 29
[baby update] week 27
[baby update] week 26
[baby update] week 25
[baby update] week 24
[baby update] week 22
[baby update] week 22 + Surgery
[baby update] week 21

next time, I'll move the plate further away from the edge...

Now I know why some of my muffins have little bites out of them.

breakfast with Sadie

I love our conversations at the table

[baby update] 36 weeks and 5 days

Today was the big appointment to take out my cerclage. I was a big ball of nerves all the way there.When I'm nervous, I pick at the hangnails or skin on the sides of my thumbs (gross I know). They've been bad all week, but today I made my left thumb bleed today without realizing it.  Thoughts of tugging out a stitch thats embedded in my cervix were not pleasant thoughts, not at all. I tend to let my imagination run wild with things like this.

We got in the little exam room where the nurse told me that the resident would be in to see me first. She was really nice, checked on me and baby - we're both fine. Then my doctor came in to do the procedure. *shudder* All I could think about was that I was in the exam room closest to the waiting room. If I yelled, I might alarm those poor other women, who might think their doctor was killing someone. 

My doctor explained that if it got too painful, I was to let her know. She didnt want to torture me. Very sweet of her.Tony held my hand, and she got the stitch removed and the resident got a show. I didn't yell, and it wasnt as bad as I figured. Uncomfortable as hell, and creepy to listen to her cut the stitch (which is as wide as a curling ribbon) but hey, its better than having an extra hospital visit and a needle in the spine to deal with. I'm a little sore, but nothing crazy. I expect that to go away tomorrow. Cervix is dialated 1 cm, but thats ok, cause its thick and the same length as measured in the ultrasound.

Oh, the ultrasound reports got to her today. Yay! I mentioned the lower fluid levels, and because of that, am getting an appointment booked with the hospital to get another one done before the next appointment.

So, for the next few weeks, I've made it a rule that I'm not going to carry Sadie to her naps, and I'm gonna avoid doing a lot of cooking. Score for having ice-cream in the freezer.

Things I'm thankful for:

Baby tv on youtube - keeps Sadie entertained with short clips of animals and things while I relax.
Frozen burritos - go microwave food
The big box fan - its getting hotter out, and I would melt in this greenhouse of an apartment without it
Parks and Recreation - new show that's like the office. Just got the first 3 seasons, and I'm on season 2
Project Runway - So excited!
For my family - who prays for me throughout all these crazy procedures and appointments.  
My mother in law - she watches my Sadie so that I dont have to lug her to my appointments.
My husband - who calms me down from being super stressed, and who takes care of us after working all day


Still am nervous about the c-section, but there's nothing I can do about it, so I'm gonna try and stop worrying as much. Its nice to have some new (to me) tv shows to watch to keep my over active imagination from freaking me out.

I'll try and take a picture of what my belly looks like tomorrow. To me, it looks like I'm trying to smuggle a beachball under my clothes.

-----------------
Previous baby updates:

[baby update] week 35 - phone call and a headache
[baby update] week 35
[baby update] week 33
[baby update] week 31
[baby update] week 29
[baby update] week 27
[baby update] week 26
[baby update] week 25
[baby update] week 24
[baby update] week 22
[baby update] week 22 + Surgery
[baby update] week 21

a walk down memory lane

There I am, still pretty bald. Celebrating my 1st birthday with my cousins. Chocolate cake is by far the best one for first birthdays in my opinion.

Sadie wore that dress at 7 months around December.  Its such a pretty little yellow dress. It was pretty small on her at 7 months, but the styles are different. Too bad I didnt have her cute mary jane tights then to go with that dress at the time.

These posts remind me that I have to find her some more pretty vintage dresses, as shes so cute in them.

Embracing the frizz

I am trying to give my hair a break from all the product that I throw in it. I always put in hair mousse to keep the curls under control. I've also been washing it too much. This photo was taken after 2 days of no shampoo and no product.I didnt mind the frizz that much, except when it got hot out. Maybe I'll go out in public with it....
hmmmm.....maybe not. I'm not that self confident yet.

Maybe a haircut first, then go out? Maybe...

picnic at the park

 The weather finally cleared up enough to make it picnic worthy at the park. We brought snacks and drinks and chilled on the grass and soaked up the sunshine.

Sadie was driving me a little bonkers this morning, so it was great to let her burn off some energy. She loves being outside, and tore off towards the swings.

I love being outside with these guys.

We got home, and tossed this little girl in the tub to cool down and get the grime off before going for her nap. I've been using the Nourish organic baby wash on her, and I love it because it doesn't bother her super sensitive skin, and she smells like a little coconut afterwards. I never figured that she would be so sensitive regular soaps and creams.

I think we know why she had a bad nights sleep the other night

I felt around inside the sharks mouth and found 2 new molars and a front tooth.

Poor little shark.

Since when was sleeping optional Sadie?

Its currently 3:11 am, and Sadie is not sleeping. We are all NOT sleeping. This has happened for 2 nights in a row now.

Last night, she went to bed an hour later than she should have. Usually its not a huge deal, we just wake up earlier because of it. Well.....no.You see, she woke up at her usual 1:30 time, for a bottle. I'm ok with that. Then she went to bed, and woke up at 2:30, then 4, then 5...and as you can see, it just got worse. I ended up taking her out of our room at 6:30 am as she was crying so loud, and Tony had to work that day. Maybe part of the issue was a few mornings ago, I didnt feel like giving her a bottle, so I gave it to her and she took it herself in her crib. I think now she just wants a bottle every time she slightly wakes up. I'm not game for that.

So at 1:30 this morning, I got her a bottle, she got quite upset that she couldnt hold it, so I let her. Then she didnt drink that much, and went to bed. Then she woke up again at 2:30. I gave her the rest of her bottle, and she then decided that sleeping was not for her. She wasnt all "happy lets play" she was more like "im miserable, and I want to cry". I tried rocking her, rubbing her head, soother, then remembered that I felt a sharp tooth in her mouth the other day. So we did tylenol and orajel. Well, it hasnt helped, or its not her teeth.

I dont know anymore. She had crappy naps today, and one crappy nap yesterday. I'm used to her napping in the morning for 2 to 2.5 hours and then a 2 hour one in the afternoon, and yesterday she did a 1 hour nap, and today same thing. Maybe its her sleep schedule that is changing, but its all getting her all out of wack, and driving us crazy. 

Tony and I finally felt like we'd try letting her cry until she went to sleep. Ya, lets see about how thats going to work when you have to share a room with her. We really need to move to a 2 bedroom apartment...SOON, cause I can't deal with crying for that long, or with the lack of sleep. We would all sleep better in seperate rooms.

There was much crying, pleading, and tears this morning, but now, after an exhausted cuddle, shes sleeping.

That better not jinx it...

I'm going to bed, its 3:35 am and hopefully this makes sense given the fact that I'm hitting a blurry publish button.

So if any of you have tricks to getting toddlers to sleep at night, please let me know. Keep in mind, we all share a room, and its not going to change until we move in the fall :(

Recent reads...

I've been reading a lot of books lately. It helps that I have a few ebook apps and a lot of time on my hands. Besides re-reading The Hunger Games series (love love loved it!) I've been downloading a bunch of baby/pregnancy books. These are a few that I've read in the last few weeks:

You: Having a Baby by Dr. Oz and Dr.Roizen
Talk about information galore! Being that its written by 2 doctors, it had lots of technical information. Probably some of which I will never remember.  It was a very medical take on the whole pregnancy/birth process. I liked it compared to the "What to expect when you're expecting" book,  because it was more interesting and gave out a lot of information that I found to be more current. The only down side I found was that some of the information went over my head a bit. I will admit, some parts of it I skimmed.

Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy
I saw this book online, being that it was cheap and had a good rating, I downloaded it. Although there was some language, I was giggling in my bed, trying not to wake Sadie while I read it. She explains her experiences, and  I regret not reading this sucker before I had Sadie. It was hilarious and told you all the things nobody ever tells you about pregnancy or birth. It talks about all kinds of things, including pooping, and made me laugh out loud. I even read some of it to Tony, who also thought it was hilarous.

The Baby Whisperer by Tracy Hogg
I read this sucker before Sadie was born, and re-read it again. Tracy is all about routine and structure - something I totally agree with. I got a lot of good information with this book. This book was wonderful in helping me find out how to deal with setting up a routine and getting Sadie into proper sleep habits. I found it quite helpful in also figuring out what she wanted instead of guessing. I thought some of the stuff that she did was a little out there in terms of how you talk to your baby, but most of it was really good. The best part is taking the quiz to find out what type of temperment your baby is, and how to deal with that accordingly.

 It Gets Easier!...And other lies we tell new mothers by Claudine Wolk
This book had me wishing that I had read it before Sadie was born. It was a good light hearted book that I could have used to de-stress with. It came from a mom who choose bottle feeding over breast feeding, and I hadn't read a single book on a mother who did. It didnt make you feel guilty about choosing formula over breast feeding, and that was reassuring for me, who was debating quitting. I still wish I could have breastfed Sadie longer. Anyways, we're getting off topic here...So this book also talked quite a lot about what to expect in the hospital, how to deal with visitors (loved that part), and talked about keeping a baby on a schedule.Something that the Baby Whisperer was all about, but this book didnt sound so hokey about it.


So these are some of the books I've been reading lately. Any good suggestions on books that you've read lately? Anything thats as good as The Hunger Games? I'll just throw it out there, if you haven't read The Hunger Games yet, you really really need to.

[baby update] 35 weeks - a phone call and a headache

Today started off just like any other. Tony went to work, Sadie and I hung out - by the way, she now tries to do the Itsy Bitsy Spider when I sing it to her - so cute! Anyways, its now her naptime, I've been resting, crocheting, and having lunch. It was all great and wonderful, until the phone rang.

At first I thought it was the timer I set for the buger I was making, but no, no it was my doctors office in chilliwack. They hadnt seen me in a while, and wanted to follow up- thats fine.

Apparently my ultrasound reports from the hospital in chilliwack were not being faxed to my vancouver doctor. The doctor who needs these ultrasounds. The doctor I asked at every appointment to have the reports sent to!

How do I know this? Well, my chilliwack doctor was making sure someone was following up with me about the low amniotic fluid levels they measured at the last ultrasound. HUH??? I wasnt told any of this, and I'm certain my vancouver doctor would have talked to me about it had she received those reports. So I semi calmly called the hospital, and had them send in the reports that they didn't fax to my vancouver doctor. I'm so BOILING MAD because I asked every time for them to send them to her, and gave the info for my vancouver doctor each time. They nodded and smiled and said they would. LIARS

So now, I'm upset, I'm pretty angry, I'm super worried, and I'm stuck waiting for a phone call to see if things are really urgent.  I'm gonna try and not worry, and drink a ton of water in the meantime. Oh, and Google = not your friend, especially when you look up medical crap.

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Previous baby updates:

[baby update] week 35
[baby update] week 33
[baby update] week 31
[baby update] week 29
[baby update] week 27
[baby update] week 26
[baby update] week 25
[baby update] week 24
[baby update] week 22
[baby update] week 22 + Surgery
[baby update] week 21

Giveaway on Miss Larissa Bree's blog!

There is something for all you coffee (or tea) drinkers out there.

Who doesnt want something pretty to cover that ugly paper cup that you drink out of? Well, I've crocheted a reusable coffee sleeve that fits a Tall and Grande sized coffee cup from Starbucks.

Its made from cotton yarn, so its washable, and I'm pretty sure if you stretched it, it would fit a Venti sized coffee cup. I've put it in with Larissa's blog giveaway. She's also giving away some awesome Funk Off products from one of her favorite Etsy shops, a starbucks givecard, and a pretty potholder her friend Olivia.

Visit Larissa's blog and follow her instructions on this post to enter.You have until July 31st @12am.

its a baking type of day

Its the perfect day today. Not too hot, but cool enough that having the oven on wont kill us all with heat. I probably almost set off the fire alarm today too. A couple days ago, I put in a cheapo frozen pizza, only to discover later that it was cracked in half, and the cheese ooozed all over the bottom of my oven, stinking up the kitchen, and burning cheese to the bottom. I may have forgotten to clean it. whoops...

I turned on the oven, and as I was mixing my ingredients,  I noticed smoke coming up from inside through my elements. Needless to say, muffin baking went on hold as we scraped burnt cheese out of the oven. 

I may have messed up on the recipe a tad, and thats probably the reason they look more like frankin muffins, instead of pretty ones. I used this recipe from the Joy of Baking website, only I forgot to melt the margerine and add it in the mix. I just tossed in a square of margerine that was kinda too soft and melty. Oh well. They still taste great. I also cut down on the sugar so Sadie can eat them. She's big into muffins.

---Oh, I should also mention something from the baby update that I should have addressed. Its not that I'm super impatient for this little guy to come out, no. Its just that I hate huge big needles, hospitals, and thinking about being awake for any type of surgery, no matter now minor. So its not that I want this little guy out faster, its that I'd rather either wait on taking out the stitch, or see if we can get both surgeries (c-section and stitch removal) done at once.If not, I'll live. I'll be praying for a lot of courage to get through it all though. Hopefully, we can get the stitch out at the office--dreading that part, but  its better than a hospital stay.

On any given day, I feel:

Huge
Tired
Full of energy
Frustrated
Thankful
Gross
Anxious
Emotional
Excited
Blessed