'Wasting' Time...

The waiting game has begun and I've discovered a great way to pass the time - making baby cards. I'm sure there are a million other things around the house that I could be doing, but for some for reason choosing card stock, stamps, and designing cards seems like so much more fun. I truly hope this doesn't become a full time obsession, but it sure does help with passing the time. I'm sure these cards will come in handy when all my wonderful friends have their upcoming babies - and there are two due next month alone! Anyway, I mostly wanted to show off my other creative outlet since the baby's room is completed. I'm sure I'll be spending some time on my photography as well, but you'd be surprised at how hard it is to move around at 39+ weeks.

Fred Flintstone Feet

Despite my many attempts to keep my feet from swelling during my pregnancy, I failed. During my second trimester I could put my feet up for a few hours after having them swell on me and the swelling would eventually go down. But now, they are permanently swollen. Getting even bigger when its hot outside. Because of this fact, I had to buy, what I like the call, my fat flip flops. They are actually orthopedic flip flops that I purchased at my chiropractor's office and they aren't the worst piece of foot wear I've ever owned, but they definitely aren't the nicest. I've had to wear the lovely flip flops for the last couple months (thank goodness its not winter, I have no idea how I could pull off giant winter boots at work). So I have now nicknamed my feet 'Fred Flintstone Feet' and now understand why he never wore shoes - cause he couldn't find any that fit! So a warning to all those expecting mothers, your feet can swell during pregnancy (some worse than others) and be prepared to not be wearing your fancy heels, or flats for your whole pregnancy. I can't wait to put my heels back on - just saying :)

The Baby Room!!!

We finally completed the baby's room (minus one canvas print that we'll be hanging over the crib). Taking on the project of hanging the entire alphabet around the room was a bit daunting and definitely took a lot longer than we anticipated, however I am so happy with how it turned out. You'll notice I included a picture of the closet, which Clayton helped to install. I figured the more storage space the better - and I was right! Thanks to everyone for the wonderful baby shower gifts that we received. You'll notice there isn't much more room on the top shelving unit for clothes. Here's hoping baby can wear a few of the smaller items more than once. I'll definitely post another picture once the canvas print is hung over the crib. It'll be the finishing touch on my 3 month project.

Baby's Room - Sneak Peek!

The baby's room has been a work in progress for the last few weeks, not that there has been a major amount of work, just not enough time to get everything completed yet. Here is a little sneak peek of what we've been working on. Fingers crossed the majority of work will be completed this weekend and I'll have updated photos showing the nearly completed room!

The Nesting Phase

I finally have some time to catch-up on my baby blog and thought I'd start with describing what is so commonly referred to as the "nesting stage". Despite Clayton's thinking that I haven't enter into the so called nesting stage, I'm pretty sure my behaviour towards house cleaning/tidying/maintaining has changed significantly in the last few months. It started with wanting things to be tidy all the time. Don't get my wrong, our house is usually in fairly good order when guests come over, but on a day to day basis, chores can definitely fall to the bottom of the priority list. I remember people telling me how they couldn't go to bed without the sink being empty and how I thought they were absolutely crazy! Well, I think I have turned into one of those people. Even though I'm exhausted before bed I find myself tidying things and wanting to quickly do the dishes - you can't tell me that I haven't started nesting after hearing that. There are definitely other examples of this need to make changes to our house, the other big thing being the need to 're-vamp' all the rooms - not just the baby's room. Here is a little sample of one of my projects. A little paint and a couple new pieces and I think the bathroom looks way more modern than when we first moved in. On to the next project!

Baby's First Kick

Well its official! Baby has started to move around enough that I can tell its the baby moving and not my stomach (or something else). I'll always remember the moment that I felt the first kick, or movement, as I was getting a massage and was in an utter state of relaxation. I have now learnt that when I'm sitting on the couch, not thinking of a million things I need to do, and really getting to a relaxing mood that baby will start moving around. Its a really amazing feeling and I keep wondering what baby is really up to. Perhaps a kick, or maybe just repositioning. Either way, its such a wonderful feeling to know baby is moving around happily.

Clayton also got to feel the first signs of movement the other night. I think he's waiting for a few big kicks to know for sure, but he definitely felt something. I estimate that the movements will become bigger over the next months but right now they are big enough for me to feel, but not so big that I can see the baby moving around in my belly. Soon enough. Happy swimming little one!

Not my belly, but you get the idea ;)

A Different Perspective

I've been a little behind on getting a shot of my growing belly, so Clayton and I finally took the time last night to take a few pictures. Despite his attempts, I wasn't really liking my side profile and had to resort to thinking of new/different ways to get a shot of my growing baby belly. Here is my favorite shot of the series - something a bit different from your standard side shot. I quite like how it turned out and I must thank Clayton for his patience as I tried to direct the shot from in front of the camera.

Whoa?! Where did my Ankles go?

Last week I got to experience another 'lovely' pregnancy related condition - swollen ankles. And let me tell you, it wasn't pretty! The lead up to my abnormally large ankles is actually a great story - I got the opportunity to spend three wonderful days in Banff at the Banff Springs Hotel. The mountains were beautiful (as always) and the weather was amazing, I could walk outside without a jacket. And yes, its duly noted that part of the reason I didn't need a jacket is my overheated body (i.e. bun in the oven symptom). Anyway, after enjoying my time in Banff, I then had the task of driving home. During the several hours I spent in the vehicle, lack of pit stops and the purchase of not so healthy food, I managed to arrived home safely and noticed that my shoes were a little tight. Much to my demise, after managing to get my shoes off, I looked down in horror to see my abnormally large feet! What happened?! Let me tell you, my ankles had appeared to double in size! I'm sure in actuality it wasn't that bad, but the next few days my shoes did seem quite tight. I'm happy to report that the swelling has gone down and my ankles are indeed normal size again, so I definitely attribute my condition to the lengthy time I spent in the vehicle. I have learnt my lesson, I need to walk around every couple hours or so, or my body will revolt. I now dread the coming months when no matter how much I try to avoid swelling in my feet and ankles it will undoubtedly happen. Ahhhh, pregnancy.

The Ultrasound Story

The day we went to get our first ultrasound started like any other day. We both headed to work, but knew that at 12:45 that day we'd get to see our baby for the first time. But let me back up in time, to 11:00, since this is the real driver for the ultrasound story. Contrary to my original understanding, you actually have to prepare for an ultrasound examination. The instructions are as follows: eat only one piece of dry toast the morning of the ultrasound and drink only clear liquids until 90 minutes prior to the exam. At 90 minutes prior to the examination you must empty your bladder and drink 1 litre of water - or so the instructions said. Knowing that I didn't want to mess anything up for the exam, I drank my two 500 mL bottles of water at 11 on the dot. Everything seemed fine, until 12:00 rolled around and I had to pee. Only those who have been pregnant or are pregnant can truly understand this next statement, but when you have to pee, YOU HAVE TO GO! I tried to think of other things, such as getting to see our baby, but the fact that my bladder was full to the max kept creeping into my head. So I thought to myself, I'll just go to the bathroom a little, then drink some more water on the way to the clinic. So I do and had instant relief. Clayton picked me up from work and we were on our way to the clinic.

The clinic was about 20-25 minutes from the office, so I was determined to make up for the water I just lost. Ha. About 10 minutes into the drive and some more water consumed, I had to go again! I tried to get Clayton to help me think of other things this time, but nope, had to go. So we pulled over to the nearest place that had a washroom (a McDonald's - I was that desperate) and I went to the bathroom again.

We FINALLY got to the clinic, parked and I went to check in. The lady at the counter asked how I was feeling - I answered honestly, I still was pretty uncomfortable. She said I could let out half a cup, but that was it. Being at the point of major uncomfort, I went again - half a cup and preceded to the waiting room to be called into the exam room.

I was called into the exam room right at 12:45 and was asked by the ultrasound technician how I was feeling. Again, I said I wasn't feeling very comfortable. She said she'd check my bladder and see if I could let any more out. Guess what?! She checked and said I could let our another THREE CUPS!!! Can you imagine? I was seriously contemplating why I even had to drink any water. But in the end, we could both see baby, arms, legs, little arms, button nose, heart beating - it was amazing. And worth the pain and possible embarrassment on the way to the clinic :)

Introducing Baby Davis!

No words can describe how excited we are - we finally got to meet baby. Here is our first glace at baby up close.

The ultrasound story will follow soon!

The Half Way Mark (Week 20)

A little bit of fun information on baby's development. I'm somewhat afraid of what's to come, something about the baby being the size of a watermelon in week 37 - what?! Those are big! But I can handle this week - baby is about the size of a cantaloupe.

Week 20: Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, speaking of the diaper situation... baby's genitals are now fully formed.

Two more sleeps until the ultrasound. Can't wait to see baby!!!

Preggers Brain

I have to admit that I've never been one to have a so called 'blonde moment' and seeing that I'm not blonde it seemed to make sense that I wouldn't get one. But when I heard the term "pregnancy brain" I figured that couldn't happen to me either. I mean, I am pregnant, but having memory loss - impossible! Well, true to form, what I thought would never happen to me, officially has. And the worst part is I already have TWO stories to prove it! Now fully describing these two stories here wouldn't be the best use of my time - really I just don't want to relive these moments again...lets just say that on both occations I had a tempory memory lapse and couldn't remember what was going on. I can honestly say that has never happen to me. Never! So be fully warned, the term "pregnancy brain" can very much happen to you - despite what you think is possible.

My (Baby) Belly

The infamous baby bump: It would seem inevitable that I would, at some point in time, develop a baby bump. As each week progresses I can definitely tell my body is changing - my pants are tighter, my shirts seem smaller, nothing fits! But more to the point, I knew at some point it would become evident that I was actually getting a baby bump and not leading most people to the conclusion that I ate a bit too much over the Christmas break. If you've ever heard the term - "she just popped" then you'll know what I mean by my next statement. It seems like overnight I just "popped". I went from the 'constantly bloated belly' to 'baby belly'. And we all know what that means - Let the belly pictures commence! Here is our first attempt at a baby bump picture, or at least the only one that I'm posting for all to see. Although I have not yet mastered the side profile, I will soon become a pro at showing off the bump. And yes, that is most likely going to be attributed to the fact that you can see if from nearly every angle.

Picture taken during Week 17.

First Trimester Learnings

We are now in Week 17 and I should be feeling the baby moving around soon. Numerous sources keep informing me that a moving baby early in pregnancy can actually be mistaken for gas. I am however confident I can make the distinction :) Although, since everyone keeps telling me I could mistake the baby moving for something else, maybe its harder to notice than I think. I'll definitely have a post for the first time I feel the baby move. How exciting!

Since I'm a little behind on my postings, or at least updating all the exciting things I've experience in the last four months I thought I'd try and summarize my first trimester learnings (and experiences) with a top ten list. Not that each of these items don't deserve their own blog, I want to start posting more recent items (and pictures!) sooner than later.
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My Top Ten First Trimester Learnings (not in any particular order, since all are equally worth mentioning).


1. Pregnancy Test Accuracy: Since we'd received a positive result with our home pregnancy test, I figured it was time to book a doctors appointment to be sure the test was accurate. Unbeknownst to me, pregnancy tests are close to 99% accurate. So remember, if you get the two pink lines, happy face or plus sign, then its fairly certain that you are having a baby!

2. Nap Time: Power naps are a must! Remember, that you are carrying another person inside of you and that your body just needs extra rest. I found myself falling asleep on the couch several times before the doctors confirmed our pregnancy, and I kept thinking it was weird since I grew out of my nap phase after University. But nap time is officially back, so when your body tells you its tired - have a nap.

3. Increased Bathroom Breaks: Yup, be ready to be visiting the ladies room every couple of hours. This includes visits in the middle of the night. I can't remember the last time I slept through the night, but you'll have the routine figured out in no time that you'll be sleep walking to the bathroom.

4. Shrinking Wardrobe: As each progressive week approaches, I find my wardrobe begins to shrink. Not only was I battling the weather and making sure I was dressed appropriately, but let me tell you, not everything was fitting like it should. When you work wardrobe consists of form fitted blouses, tucked into my dress pants, I could only continue to pull off that look for about two/three months. Thank goodness long, flowy tops are in, otherwise I wouldn't know what to wear to work. Weekends are a bit easier, as Lululemon is always my saviour.

5. Heart, burn?: I have to say that I never experienced heart burn before now. I couldn't even self-diagnose myself. I know that heart burn can be quite common during pregnancy, so one day when I wasn't feeling the greatest I thought I'd try some heart burn medication - and guess what?! It worked. I now have tums beside the bed for the few times I actually do get heart burn and it works wonders.

6. Mmmmmmm, water: You'll have to get used to the fact that the 8 glasses of water you are normally suppose to consume in a day is even more important now. Between my morning tea (decaffeinated of course) and the bottles of water I go through, I'd say I'm pretty close to reaching my quota. Not to mention the fact that when going out to eat, water is one of the few choices you actually have.

7. Snacks: Best to remember to carry a little snack with you in your purse for those times you get hungry and can't wait until you get home. When you get hungry, you're HUNGRY!

8. Taking Personal Time: Remember to take time for yourself. Its such an easy thing to say, but totally another thing to actually make sure you do it. Trying to figure out all the things that need to be ready for when baby come can definitely start taking up a lot of your time, but remember, the baby can pick up on how you are feeling. There is no reason to feel guilty for taking a little you time. Relaxing on the couch, putting your feet up, or having a bath. Times when your brain isn't running in overdrive (as mine so often is).

9. "Bun in the Oven": I officially know where this term comes from and have experienced it first hand. Having been a person who was mostly cold all the time, its been a real revelation to not have to wear a jacket outside when its the middle of winter. Don't get my wrong, when I go on long walks I need to wear my coat, but running out to the vehicle or doing errands no longer requires me to bundle up. There truly is a 'bun in my oven' - keeping me warm ;)

10. No drinks!: Not that I had to learn this, but when you go to a tropical resort for a week (all inclusive I might add) there is always a constant reminder that the number of drinks you can choose from has decreased substantially. Basically water, juice and milk are all I've been drinking since day 1. Get used to the idea that it'll be a few more months until you can enjoy a glass of wine.

Honey, We're Pregnant!

For my first blog entry, and the start to our journey to becoming parents, I thought I would first set the stage by telling the full story - you know, how we found out that we were expecting. I suspect everyone has an interesting story about how they found out. And here is ours...I should note that I won't be getting into the specifics, but needless to say, we decided that we better buy a pregnancy test to see whether or not we'd indeed been successful. Being a person who follows the motto: seeing is believing, I kept telling myself it couldn't be true until we actually saw the 'positive' on the pregnancy test. So unknown to Clayton, when we got home from the drug store I decided to be proactive and see right away whether what I thought to possibly be true really was. After following the instructions step-by-step I looked down to see one pink line appear, then waited another few minutes to see the second line appear. Sure enough, two lines meant: WE'RE PREGNANT! I made sure to bring the instructions into the kitchen with me (as I've been know to not follow instructions correctly) to show Clayton the results. He grinned from ear to ear, and that was how we found out we'd soon be Mommy and Daddy (to more than just Caesar and Riddick). Thus, our official journey begins, and as such, I begin my baby belly diary.