The Next Chapter

Bump Update - 35 weeks

2013-06-05T11:07:00.000-06:00

Size of Baby? The size of a Coconut - Hearing is fully developed, his lungs are fully matured, and his circulatory and musculoskeletal systems are complete. In other words, if he were to be born today, he would be a fully functioning baby boy and would most likely not need any help from medical machines.

Total weight gain? Up 32 pounds. Gah.

Gender? Sweet baby boy

Maternity clothes? Skinny maternity jeans, maternity tank tops, regular maxi dresses/shirts and the occasional leggings when it is on the cooler side. Can no longer fit into any pre-prego clothes at all (except for cardi's) In other words, my clothing options are quickly dwindling...

Sleep? Well considering I've had a bad head cold now for almost a week (today is the 6th day), it hasn't been pleasant. Between my rib pain and not being able to breathe, it hasn't really been that fun to say the least!

Belly Button in or out? That sucker is OUT and proud!

Best moment of the week? Not a whole lot happened this week, so I would say the best part is realizing that I have officially reached the once a week OB appointments. Translation = he's almost here!!

Miss anything? Sleeping on my stomach. And being able to wear my normal clothes. You know, same old.

Cravings? You guessed it, still on the chocolate milk kick. He REALLY must be using up tons of calcium!

Symptoms?
- It is so weird, I unfortunately received my very first stretch marks last week, but they seem to be disappearing?? Ever since I got them, I've been lathering (and I mean LATHERING) bio oil on my belly at least 3-4 times per day. So apparently that is helping?? Definitely not complaining!
- Still experiencing swelling in my feet
- Rib pain is back in full force and worse than ever. Unfortunately there isn't anything I can do about it until he drops so I've basically just been trying to suck it up.
- Definitely still feeling TONS of movement
- Oh, and the inevitable... constantly having to pee

Mood? Anxious and excited!

Appointment Update? Well now that I am going in every week until I give birth, I will just do updates so I can keep track of his progress over the last stretch. My appointment yesterday went well -- we went over the ultrasound and everything looks good including the amniotic fluid so I guess I'll never know what it was that happened 2 weeks ago? His heartbeat is the lowest it's been so far (138bpm) which my doc said it will start slowly going down every week until it reaches a normal steady heartbeat. I am still measuring ahead a bit. My doc isn't going to change my due date, but she is still pretty convinced he is going to be making his appearance in late June. He still hasn't dropped like I had originally thought last week, but my doc thinks it's going to be within the next week so he must be right at the cusp! My appointment next week will be the strep b test so fingers crossed that it comes back negative!

Looking forward to? My last day of work! Next Friday can't come soon enough!

Case of the (pregnant) Monday's

2013-06-03T15:16:00.001-06:00

Oh Monday. Can't say I ever liked you. You seem to especially irritate me lately being that I only have 2 MORE WEEKS LEFT of work. As in 10 days, or more specifically, NEXT Friday!

Holy cow I can't wait.

It kind of seems like my clients have this weird intuition that comes over them. They seem to somehow know that I am leaving next week so they are all of a sudden coming to me in herds.

Damnit, I just wanted to "relax" these last 2 weeks. I mean, how dare you! Ha.

Anyway, I've basically lost all ambition at this point which is not cool considering I've been pretty busy. Being busy means one thing: your clients don't give two shits if you have no ambition. In other words, suck it up buttercup. On the bright side, it's been making the days go by faster so I should probably be thankful.

On that note, let's talk about how much pain Lacey is in these days.

Get ready for Complaining Connie in 3, 2, 1.....

I've heard ALL the stories: the last month is the worst. Holy hell they weren't lying. The last couple of weeks have been insanely uncomfortable. I have been experiencing sharp pains in my pelvic area which I had come to the conclusion that I probably have SPD (no, I'm not a hypochondriac - it is somewhat common in pregnancy). I had all the symptoms of it - sharp pains when I get up from sitting or laying down to the point of almost collapsing every time, cracking/popping noise coming from my hips, etc. Now I'm not so sure since it seems to have been replaced with extreme rib pain (unless SPD is something that can come and go). I'll tell you one thing - if I could take back every single complaint about my self-diagnosed SPD condition, I would. This rib pain is almost unbearable. It hurts to sit, it hurts to lay down and it even hurts to stand up. It just hurts period. I keep saying that I seriously think that I cracked a rib or even broke one (or two) - that's how painful it has become.

A few months back I started to experience some rib pain but it would kind of work itself out over night. I would be completely fine when I woke up the next day. Now, is a completely different story. The pain doesn't go away. I'm guessing J is experiencing some serious lack of space in there.

I look like I swallowed a watermelon. Okay, make that two (or three). I don't think my belly can get any larger. My skin is stretched to the max and my belly is now pretty much rock hard. That on top of the rib pain, I feel like J is going to be making his appearance in June. My parent's have had a feeling that he would be a June baby since I was 7 months pregnant. And now I feel the same way. I just have this gut feeling (literally) that we aren't going to make it to July.

So let's get this on paper - My prediction: He will be born the last week of June.

As in, 3 weeks from now.

Holy crap.

Bump Update - 34 Weeks

2013-05-29T07:00:00.000-06:00

Size of Baby? The size of a butternut squash - He can hear me singing and actually finds it incredibly soothing, he is also urinating about a pint a day already!

Total weight gain? Officially up 30 pounds. Gah.

Gender? Sweet baby boy

Maternity clothes? Same as last week - skinny maternity jeans and maternity tank tops and regular maxi dresses/shirts. The only non-maternity clothing I've been wearing lately is work pants (I can still wear those with my belly band) and a few shirts and of course some cardigans and sweaters while in the air conditioned buildings.

Sleep? Same old, same old. I think my body is finally used to sleeping on my side though which is nice if it wasn't for the fact that I am up 300 times a night to pee. Also, trying to get out of bed 300 times when you have a beach ball permanently attached to you... not fun. At all.

Belly Button in or out? That sucker is OUT and proud!

Best moment of the week? Not really a whole lot happened this week (it was pretty uneventful). BUT, I can definitely say that I've noticed that his movement is WAY more distinct this week. Sometimes he moves and it shakes my entire body!

Miss anything? Sleeping on my stomach. And being able to wear my normal clothes!

Cravings? Still on the chocolate milk kick.

Symptoms?

- Alas, I have succumbed to the nasty stretch mark. Gotta say, it was pretty devastating when I woke up to not one, but three. I'm thankful that I'm almost 9 months pregnant and have only just got my first one, but nevertheless it still sucks rocks. Thankfully they are pretty faint (for now....). I've also noticed that they appeared right where J likes to stick his bum out. Thanks J.
- Still experiencing swelling in my feet

- Rib pain has disappeared for the most part, but I think that is because J finally dropped a bit. Still can't walk more than 20 minutes without my lower back and hips being in excruciating pain though
- Definitely still feeling TONS of movement. His new thing these days is kicking my right hip. It makes me jump every single time - it freaking hurts!
- Oh, and the inevitable... constantly having to pee

Mood? Anxious! Very, very anxious.

Upcoming appointments? Another L&D class tomorrow (so far they have been extremely informative), next OB appt is June 4th

Looking forward to? My next OB appt to see what the doctor has to say about my ultrasound last week. Oh, and the fact that I only have 2.5 weeks left of work!!

Dear Jaxon,

2013-05-24T06:40:00.001-06:00

I've never written to you before. To be honest, I always kind of thought that this new fad everyone is doing of writing letters to your unborn child was a little weird. But that was yesterday and today is a new day. A day of which I all of a sudden had this urge to do just that. To write a letter to my unborn son.

As you know, being our first born and all, this is entirely new to me and your father.

Your father - I've never said (nee: typed) that out loud before. It's still weird for me to think of your dad as a father. To think of my husband as a father. It's still so surreal!

Anyway, getting off track already (just thank the pregnancy brain).

Being our first born, I want to apologize to you now for any embarrassment we may cause you in your life. Specifically your first few years. We are new to all of this so I am sure that we are going to make some mistakes along the way, but just know that we are trying our very best. I'm pretty confident that we will get the hang of things eventually, but just in case I happen to put your diaper on backwards, or your father dresses you looking like a baby hippie, we apologize in advance.

We've learnt SO much over the last 8.5 months to prepare us for this life changing event, but I feel like there is still SO much more to learn. Stuff that we will have to experience once you finally enter this crazy world. One of the things that I do already know is that we absolutely, without a doubt, already love you more than we could ever imagine. This is something that still seems so strange to me - to love someone this much without even meeting them. I can't imagine what it is going to be like to look into your eyes in less than 7 weeks and feel any more love for you then I already do. I know it will happen. I hear all the stories. But I feel like if it is possible to love you any more than I already do, my heart will explode.

Another thing you should know is that your father couldn't be any more excited to meet you. He rubs my belly and calls you "Bud" or "Buddy" all the time. It's funny, you wouldn't let him feel you kick for the longest time. Whenever he would put his hand on my belly, you would immediately stop kicking. Stubborn just like your mama. However when you did finally allow him to feel you move around, he was in disbelief. It made it become real to him that he will finally have his little hockey buddy. Which reminds me of another thing I should apologize for in advance: I am SO sorry for the amount of hockey that is going to be shoved down your tiny little throat in your lifetime! Perhaps you might end up liking soccer of football more (which is okay!) or you might end up like your uncle Mat and cheering for your fathers arch nemesis team out of spite (at least that's what your grandfather likes to think). But either way, be prepared. There isn't anything (other than his family) that your father adores more than hockey!

We cannot wait to finally meet you and to see who's looks and personality you inherit. As much as I complain that 7 weeks feels SO far away, I know deep down that it will fly by and you will be here before we know it. So until then my sweet boy, keep baking and we will see you soon.

Love,

Mama xo

Bump Update - 33 weeks

2013-05-22T12:16:00.001-06:00

Oh baby J, you had us in for quite the scare yesterday.

I was laying in bed having my usual morning cuddles with the pups when all of a sudden I feel a gush of water. I immediately jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom.

What the hell... my water just broke?! But he still has 4 weeks to cook until he's full term...

I had a regluar OB appointment scheduled for yesterday afternoon, but I figured I would call my doctors office when it opened and see if I could go in right away. The gush happened at about 6:50am and my doctors office didn't open until 9am. I decided that I was just going to get ready for the day as usual and would call once I got to work since I wasn't experiencing any discomfort at all.

When I called, they told me the earliest I could get in was at 10:20am. Once I got there, I waited for an hour in the waiting room. They knew what had happened but apparently they weren't too concerned? I started getting irritated at the fact that I knew (thanks to my incessant googling) that if my water did in fact break, I would need antibiotics asap in order to prevent any infections reaching Jaxon. Finally when my name was called, the nurse took my blood pressure as usual (which was normal) and weight (eek). When the doctor came in, I was informed that she was a resident, which I was totally okay with. She asked me all the details of what happened and proceeded to take the most painful swab sample ever to test it right there on the spot. It came back negative for amniotic fluid. She kept insisting that it was most likely urine, but I know for a fact that it wasn't (I'll spare you the details). She took my belly measurements (which he is back to being right on track again according to her), his heartbeat (which is back up to 152bpm) and the usual belly check and told me that he wasn't head down (which my actual doctor has been telling me for weeks that he is).

I get back to work and get a call from my doctors office. Apparently the resident has to brief my doctor on all the appointments and I was informed that she should have scheduled an ultrasound since although the swab test is pretty reliable, it isn't always correct. The only way to know for sure is by ultrasound. So we scheduled it right over the phone for first thing this morning.

I went in for the ultrasound and I was nervous. I knew that it had to do with the fact that I was worried that either A) it would show that my water did in fact break, or B) something would show up on the ultrasound that they missed on my previous ones. Lukily, none of the above. He is completely healthy and currently weighs in at 5lbs 9oz!! Holy baby heffer! He is definitely taking after his dad (Ryan was almost a 10 pounder!) Although the tech seems to think that I am a lot further along than 33 weeks which is something that my OB has been suspicious about for weeks. When I first found out I was pregnant, I had no idea when my last visit from Aunt Flo was so my family doctor basically guestimated a due date for me (and then proceeded to change it 2 more times for no reason at all).

Anyway, I am so thankful that I got to see him one more time and it was incredible! The tech that I had was amazing. After she took the measurements of amniotic fluid and a couple measurements of J, she took a couple of minutes to let me watch him. You can definitely see the baby fat on him now in his face (I think he is going to have the cute baby fat rolls like daddy had!). I could see his pouty lips and chubby cheeks and best of all, I could see him blinking away. Oh, and he is in fact head down by the way...

I still don't know what the fluid was since I won't see my doctor for another 2 weeks. I'll have to remember to ask (ha! "remember", that's funny) when I see her next. I'm sure at that point she will let me know whether or not she thinks I am indeed farther along so stay tuned for that :)

Size of Baby? The size of a durian (again, I have no idea what that is...) - He now keeps his eyes open while awake, his bones are getting nice and hard, he is getting the hang of coordinating breathing with sucking and swallowing, and just like last week, his brain is developing more and more every week.

Total weight gain? Up 29 pounds - uh, ya. I gained 4 pounds compared to last week. Not really sure what happened there...

Gender? Sweet baby boy

Sleep? I officially cannot sleep in anymore which is a miracle in itself coming from a NON-morning person. I've always been that person that waking up "early" meant getting my ass out of bed before 10am. Even that was a stretch most days. Since my second trimester, I haven't been able to sleep in past 8:30am on weekends. During the week I still would get up at my normal time for work, but since last week, I'm wide awake at least an hour early now on weekdays. What is happening to the world! I mean, don't get me wrong, I LOVE IT! I've always said that I wished I was a morning person. Clearly my body is getting me prepped for my soon to be non-existent sleeping life.
As far as actual sleep goes, it's still pretty shitty but I've come to terms with it being like this for another couple of weeks so I think I've made myself think it's not so bad. Basically, I'm getting used to it.

Belly Button in or out? That sucker is OUT and proud!

Best moment of the week? Definitely finding out everything is ok with J and that early labor is not in the cards (at least for now).

Miss anything? Sleeping on my stomach. And being able to wear my normal clothes!

Cravings? I've been drinking A LOT of chocolate milk again lately. This is the point where J's bones are hardening so he is probably taking up all my calcium (and I don't drink white milk by itself). So I guess this would explain the sudden abundance of choco milk!

Symptoms?

- Still no stretch marks (knock on wood).

- Heartburn seems to have gone away (knock on wood again)

- Swelling in my feet and lower legs

- Still having some extremely uncomfortable rib pain which my doctor basically told me to get used to since he is literally running out of room in there...

- Still getting tons of kicks and jabs

- Constantly having to pee

Mood? Anxious! Very, very anxious.

Upcoming appointments? Another L&D class tomorrow, next OB appt is June 4th

Looking forward to? My next OB appt to see what the doctor has to say about my ultrasound today.

Jaxon's Nursery

2013-05-21T07:44:00.005-06:00

As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we finished Jaxon's nursery so I thought I would share some photos. We've been getting really good feedback from people and it has increasingly become my favorite room in the house (for more than one reason, of course).

So without further adieu, the nursery:

Those 3 frames at the top don't have anything in them yet (they will have b&w photos of J when he is born)

I had taken photos of his closet but to be honest, it's kind of a mess right now so there really isn't much to see. It is a Far cry from what I originally wanted for his nursery (thanks to hubs wanting an input!) but I gotta say, he did a great job!

Bump Update - 32 Weeks

2013-05-15T09:26:00.002-06:00

Size of Baby? The size of a squash (is it just me or does the fruit/veggie comparison seem to be getting smaller? Hm) - Developmentally, he is pretty much all set. At this point he is just building lots of baby fat!

Total weight gain? Up 26 pounds total. I seem to be on a constant path of gaining a pound a week (which according to my doctor is suppose to happen at this point).

Gender? Sweet baby boy

Maternity clothes? Been rocking the skinny maternity jeans and maternity tank tops. Also wearing the heck out of my maxi dresses/shirts. The only non-maternity clothing I've been wearing lately is work pants (I can still wear those with my belly band) and a few shirts and of course some cardigans and sweaters while in the air conditioned buildings.

Sleep? Still the same as it has been for weeks - it really depends. I find that I have a very difficult time getting up in the mornings again. While my iron supplements my doc prescribed has helped with the exhaustion during the day, I often wake up feeling like I need at least another couple hours of sleep. Still getting up about 2-3 times a night to use the washroom.

Belly Button in or out? That sucker is OUT and proud!

Best moment of the week? Celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary!

Miss anything? Sleeping on my stomach. And being able to wear my normal clothes!

Cravings? Nope. Seems they have magically disappeared

Symptoms?

- Still no stretch marks (knock on wood).

- Holy heartburn batman!!

- Swelling in my feet and lower legs

- Rib pain has come back in full force. I was in such excruciating pain on Saturday that I was contemplating going to the ER to make sure none of my ribs were fractured

- Still getting tons of kicks and jabs

- Constantly having to pee thanks to J being right on my bladder!

Mood? Still super excited and VERY anxious!

Upcoming appointments? Next OB appt is May 21st. Birth & Labour classes start tomorrow!

Looking forward to? B&L class tomorrow night and of course the long weekend!

One year later...

2013-05-12T09:03:00.004-06:00

Happy 1st Anniversary to the best husband a girl could ask for!

I can't beleive that it's been a year already! I keep saying that I would give anything to be able to relive our wedding day all over again. It truly was the best day of my life.

2013 is a big year for us; it's a year of many, many firsts. I can't wait to experience life with this man and see what life has in store for us in the future.

Here's to the next 50!

*Photos by Holly Howe Photography*

Bump Update - 31 Weeks

2013-05-08T14:40:00.002-06:00

I started my every-two-week appointments with my OB on Monday and I have to say, it made me really excited! Most women I've talked to dread these appoitments since it is such a hassle to have to go to the doctor every 2 weeks, but I love it. I love being able to hear his heart beat and it just makes it that much more real that he is almost here!

I've mentioned before that my OB always jokes at every appointment that Jaxon is going to end up being a girl since his heart rate has been consistant with a female HB throughout my entire pregnancy (although this is an old wives tale). Well we finally have a lower HB. It was 140bpm which the lowest it has been up until this point was 155bpm.

She also checked his positioning and he is still head down (RIGHT on my bladder, thanks J) and she also mentioned that we might be able to see him one more time for an ultrasound. He went through quite a growth spurt over the last month and is now measuring about a week and a half ahead. Because my due date has been changed so many times, she is going to see how he grows over the next two weeks and will determine at that time whether or not to do another ultrasound. I'm secretly hoping that she does!

How far along? 31 weeks

Size of Baby? The size of a pineapple - All five of his senses are fully developed! His brain is also going through some major developments now as well as his eyes (his irises can detect light).

Total weight gain? Up 25 pounds total

Gender? Sweet baby boy - Jaxon Daniel (we are in the process of potentially amending his middle name to incorporate my late grandfather so this may change in the near future)

Maternity clothes? Been rocking the skinny maternity jeans and maternity tank tops. Also since the weather has been sweltering lately, I've finally been able to fully whip out the maxi's. The only non-maternity clothing I've been wearing lately is work pants (I can still wear those with my belly band) and a few shirts and of course some cardigans.

Sleep? Can I just say that I cannot WAIT to be able to sleep on my stomach again?! I've also been dying to sleep on my back the last month or two which is weird since I'm not a back sleeper. I think my body is just over sleeping on my sides (it hurts your hips like heck after a while!). Not to mention that trying to switch sides is a task all in itself. Oh, and I'm not even going to talk about the excessive amounts of pee breaks at night (or all day I should say).... Baby boy's head sitting right on my bladder is not pleasant.

Belly Button in or out? That sucker is OUT and proud!

Best moment of the week? My work baby shower last Thursday and starting my every-two-week OB appointments. I just love going in to hear his heartbeat. It gives me a sense of comfort knowing that everything is ok! Oh and the weather! The weather has been spectacular!

Miss anything? Sleeping on my stomach. And being able to wear my normal clothes!

Cravings? No real cravings this week

Symptoms?

- Still no stretch marks (knock on wood).

- Holy heartburn batman!!

- I get minor swelling in my feet and lower legs pretty much everyday

- Rib pain has subsided over the last week (thank god) but my lower back is almost constantly in pain

- Still getting tons of kicks and jabs

- Exhaustion is also making a comeback which I just found out on Monday was because my iron and hemoglobin was low

- Had a couple minor braxton hicks contractions

- As mentioned above, constantly feel like I have to pee due to his head being right on my bladder

Mood? Excited more than anything but now that we are getting closer, I'm starting to get a bit nervous of the birthing process. I've always said that I would most definitely be getting the epidural due to the fact that I have an extremely low tolerance for pain, but the more I read about it, the more I don't want it!

Upcoming appointments? Next OB appt is May 21st. Birth & Labour classes start next Thursday (every week for 6 weeks).

Looking forward to? Definitely the B&L classes. Despite reading and researching throughout my entire pregnancy, I still feel like I don't know anything!

Bump Update - 30 Weeks

2013-05-01T10:11:00.004-06:00

Holy crap we are officially in the final stretch! 10 SHORT weeks to go (give or take) until we meet our sweet boy!

How far along? 30 weeks

Size of Baby? The size of a large cucumber (sometimes I wonder where they get these comparisons from... a cucumber? Really?) As his skin is getting smoother, his brain is getting wrinklier! He is also strong enough to grasp your finger (he is getting stronger everyday) and he weighs in at about 3 lbs now!

Total weight gain? Up 24 pounds total. It gets really hard seeing the scale go up into digits that I've never seen before. Whenever I feel discouraged, I just think about how it is necessary for Jax and it makes it better (but I still feel like the size of a house!)

Gender? Sweet baby boy - Jaxon Daniel (we are in the process of potentially amending his middle name to incorporate my late grandfather so this may change in the near future)

Maternity clothes? I went and bought some more the other day. I've officially outgrown my regular tops (they are all WAY too short on me now!). I've been really hard on myself the last two weeks since nothing would fit me. I would just sit and stare at my closet thinking I am SO fat and have nothing to wear. So I bought some tops to be able to wear with my maxi skirts and also bought two pairs of colored skinny jeans that I am pretty much obessed with and wish I could wear them after pregnancy!

Sleep? Same as my last update, some nights are better than others. Overall I'm just uncomfortable 24/7 so I've come to terms with the fact that it is only going to get worse before it gets better again. Our brand new $4k bed that used to feel like sleeping on clouds now feels like I'm sleeping on bricks (aka a huge waste of money). Ryan insists that it's just me and that he still sleeps like a baby on it. I'm just going to have to take his word for it I suppose!

Belly Button in or out? Oh, it is most definitely out...

Best moment of the week? Finishing the nursery!! I can't believe it is finally done. We've been adding things here and there for months so to finally see the finished product is pretty exciting! All that's missing is Baby J!

A fellow prego-friend and myself went and got some much needed mani/pedi's on Saturday since neither of us can touch our toes...

Also went for my first pre-natal massage yesterday. I don't know why I waited this long to get one! I've already booked my next appointment for next week and plan on going every week from here on out.

Miss anything? My normal clothes!! Now that the weather is nice out, I can't wear any of my cute spring/summer clothes and it makes me sad. Also miss feeling normal! Like for instance, not running out of breath trying to put socks on.....

Cravings? No real cravings this week

Symptoms? Alright, so I need to start bullet pointing this shizz now!....
- Still no stretch marks (knock on wood).
- Holy heartburn batman!! Experienced it for the first time in my life and WOW is it NOT pleasant! I pretty much get it every single day ESPECIALLY at night. I get woken up by it in the middle of the night which I found to be weird?
- My feet and lower legs tend to get swollen by late afternoon if I don't drink enough water.
- I also just noticed over the last week or so that the pain in my hip is gone (hallelujah!) but I still have pretty bad lower back and rib pain.
- Still TONS of movement from Jaxon. He is definitely getting stronger since his kicks and jabs are painful at times! I think he is still head down since I can feel a lot of weight in the nether regions especially when I stand up. Sometimes it feels like I'm a kangaroo carrying bricks on my bladder!
- Exhaustion is also making a comeback although it isn't as bad as it was in my first tri. I'm fine during the day, but once 8pm hits, I can barely keep my eyes open.
- I've also started to get braxton hicks contractions which are... interesting.

Mood? On one hand, I've been a little irritable lately and have been complaining to Ryan pretty much 24/7. Poor guy. On the other hand, I am so incredibly excited I can hardly contain myself! I feel like hitting 30 weeks has really amped up our excitement!

Upcoming appointments? May 6th starts off my every-two-week OB appointments. We also start birth & labour classes on May 16th (every week for 6 weeks).

Looking forward to? My 2nd baby shower tomorrow!!

Bump Update - 28 Weeks

2013-04-17T10:03:00.001-06:00

I can't believe we are 12 weeks away! I'm at the point now where I am just ready; ready for pregnancy to be over and ready to meet our son. I've been told by many mom's that by 9 months, you just want everything to be over with. I'm only a week into my 7th month and I am already feeling that way. I am so over the pains and aches and I just want to finally be able to see Jaxon! Not to mention preperation wise (as in the nursery, getting all the baby essentials, etc) we are basically done. I just have to go pick out a glider and am waiting on a few things to be delivered for his nursery and then it will be completely finished! Even his diaper bag is pretty much stocked and ready to use. What can I say, I'm a planner and like having things done early!

How far along? 28 weeks

Size of Baby D? The size of an Eggplant - His skin is getting smoother and less wrinkly every day thanks to the healthy fat he is gaining. All his organs are basically fully developed at this point so the remainder of his stay in womb-town is dedicated to gaining a little more weight and getting nice and chunky :)

Total weight gain? Up 22 pounds :/ Apparently I need to put down the ice cream! I keep being told I'm all belly so I will just have to take their word for it ;)

Gender? Sweet baby boy - Jaxon Daniel (we are in the process of potentially amending his middle name to incorporate my late grandfather so this may change in the near future)

Maternity clothes? Bump is getting a little out of control lately so I'm not sure how much longer I can go without buying some maternity stuff! I'm still only rocking the maternity leggings for pants (everything else is still pre-prego with the help of the belly band - I'm actually pretty surprised that I still have a pair of jeans that are working for me at this point!). As for shirts, I have two maternity tanks that I wear basically everyday under looser pre-prego tops.

Sleep? Still pretty rough but I've come to terms with the fact that it's not going to get any better at this point. With my back and hip pain I am constantly uncomfortable although some nights are definitely better than others. I typically only have to get up once a night now to use the washroom so that is a plus!

Belly Button in or out? It is definitely out!

Best moment of the week? I thought the day that I first felt him move was unbelievable, but this past week I actually felt his foot with my hand and it blew my mind! I was laying in bed watching tv and he was kicking up a storm just as he normally does each evening (his most active time of the day). I was just laying there giggling at how energetic he was being when I could feel pressure every once in a while in certain spots of my belly. At one point, I pressed down on the pressure spot with my hand and I felt the outline of his little foot. It was so surreal!

Miss anything? I miss being able to walk around the mall for more than 30 minutes without my hip feeling like it's going to give out! I also miss being able to move around normally (putting on socks is becoming quite the task!) - ditto from last week!

Cravings? No real cravings this week

Symptoms? Still no stretch marks (knock on wood). Still experiencing pain in my right hip and lower back. Over the past week I am also experiencing sore ribs in the front and back. I am taking a wild guess that it is Jaxon wedging his feet up in there since he is head down now. It's getting harder and harder to maneuver my way around. TONS of movement!

Mood? Just pure excitement! I can also feel myself getting more and more anxious too as the time draws nearer. I think this has to do with why I am almost completely prepared already... still with 12 weeks to go. I'm honestly surprised I don't have my hospital bag packed yet... lol

Upcoming appointments? My last 4 week OB checkup is on May 6th -- after that, I start going every 2 weeks! Crazy! We start birth & labour classes on May 16th.

Looking forward to? Starting birth & labour classes in 4 weeks -- not sure why I am so excited for this but I think it's because it gives me something to do since basically everything else is ready!

Bump Update - 27 weeks

2013-04-10T10:38:00.002-06:00

Thought I would whip out my sweats that I wore a couple of weeks ago and do a little comparison. It's crazy how much of a difference 10 weeks make!

How far along? 27 weeks

Size of Baby D? The size of a...rutabaga?? What ever that is...? Ha. He is now inhaling and exhaling and is now gaining more and more brain activity as the days go on.

Total weight gain? 17 pounds total

Gender? Sweet baby boy - Jaxon Daniel :)

Maternity clothes? Mix of both but still mostly regular clothes - The only maternity pants I've been wearing are my leggings -- the belly band is still working wonders for my regular pants. I've been wearing maternity tank tops under cardigans or loss fitting sheer tops. I also can't wait to be able to whip out my maxi dresses!

Sleep? Sleep has been rough over the last week or two. I just can't seem to get comfortable. Last night I was up probably 4-5 times and for once it wasn't to go pee. I would just wake up from being uncomfortable and then I would toss and turn (with some added grunts in there) for a while each time.

Belly Button in or out? It is officially not an "inny" anymore which is still really weird for me! It's now flush with my belly, but by the end of the day, it's poking out a bit.

Best moment of the week? Hard to answer this question considering the death of my grandfather, but in a way he had a hand in this. His death brought my entire family together from all over the country so one of my cousins decided that since we were all together in one city for once, they would throw me a surprise baby shower. It meant so much to me to have those who mean the most celebrate baby Jaxon amidst the pain and sorrow we were all feeling. It was a great night and gave us something to laugh and smile about.

So thankful to have my bestest friend there with me that week. She lives in London but happened to be in town for Easter. I don't know what I would have done without her being there for support!

Clearly it was a surprise considering I am in sweats and no makeup! I didn't think anything of my whole family being there since everyone had plans to have a few drinks (water for me obvi), reminisce, and just have some good laughs together before all the emotional stuff started the next day (the wake was the following day). I wasn't planning on having a baby shower since I have no family over here on the west coast, but I am so thankful that they did this for us. We now have basically everything we need for J's arrival!

Cravings? No real cravings this week

Symptoms? Still no stretch marks (knock on wood). Still experiencing horrible pain in my right hip and lower back. It's getting harder and harder to maneuver my way around especially getting out of bed or even just moving positions in bed. TONS of movement! His heart rate is still high (155 as of my last appt on Monday) so he is still extremely active to say the least! He is already head down according to my Doc which freaked me out but she insists there's nothing to worry about.

Mood? Excited for his arrival and VERY thankful for family for getting us the remaining things we needed. We just have a couple of things left to pick up to complete his nursery and then we are all set!

Upcoming appointments? Gestational diabetes screening on Apr 12th and my last 4 week OB checkup on May 6th -- after that, I start going every 2 weeks! Crazy! We start birth & labour classes on May 16th.

Looking forward to? Finishing the nursery! It's ALMOST done!

I will see you again someday xo

2013-04-08T13:45:00.004-06:00

My sweet grandfather passed away on Saturday, March 30th.

I mentioned a couple of times how he hasn't been doing well but the truth is, it really depended on the day. He would have bad days but then turn around and have an absolutely amazing day where he would be sitting up joking with the nurses. I think we all had it in the back of our mind that he would pull through this, just as he has every other time.

It was nearing the end of the day on Thursday, March 28th, and I was beyond ecstatic to have Friday off; I was having a great day. While I was getting some last minute paperwork done, I got a phone call from my Aunt. She knows that I was at work so my first thought was my grandfather. My heart stopped. I answered it and just as I had suspected, she informed me that he had taken a turn for the worse. The pain he was in was becoming unbearable and for a man that never EVER complained, he was telling everyone to let him go. His doctor told my family that he suspected it wouldn't be long.

After thinking all night about it, I decided that I was going to wait and not fly out just yet. Instead I would see how he does throughout the weekend and go from there. Again, I still had it in the back of my mind that he was going to pull through this.

Early Friday morning I get woken up by my Aunt again telling me that the doctor had officially given him 24-48 hours. I was up and at the airport by 5:30am on Saturday. I went through security and decided to stop by a cafe on my way to my gate to get a hot chocolate. The lineup was huge but I was in no rush and had lots of time. While I waited, I decided to text my Aunt since it would have been 8:30am her time to check up on him. She had spent the night with him so I asked her simply "How'd he do last night?". After a few minutes, I get a text back saying, "Lace, he just passed away".

I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces.

There I was, standing in a massive lineup waiting to get my guilty pleasure, oblivious to what was going on across the country. While I was contemplating what kind of hot chocolate I would be getting, my grandfather lost his long battle.

I stood there in a state of shock for what felt like hours just staring at her words: "Lace, he just passed away". Finally I managed to snap out of it and immediately ran to the washroom.

After awhile, I managed to regain my composure enough to head towards my gate. I decided that I was only going to let myself think happy thoughts about my grandfather. The last time I saw him was at my wedding. This was a thought that was becoming more and more comforting to me.

That day was emotionally and physically exhausting. I had a layover in Montreal which I ended up missing my connection since my first flight was delayed 2 hours. There was 17 of us that had the same final destination, and everyone had been placed on another flight that was leaving in 2 hours. When I went to get my new boarding pass, it was discovered that they completely missed me altogether so I had no choice but to stay overnight in Montreal. I had a complete meltdown in the middle of the Montreal airport. Thankfully, they put me up in the Sheraton for the night, but not before they lost my luggage (they later did end up finding it thankfully).

It was a long day, but I was just grateful to finally be home with my family on Sunday. We had many tears but also lots of laughs together remembering him and his crazy personality. There truly was nobody like him.

His funeral was on Wednesday April 3, which also happened to be the 25th anniversary of my mother's death. It was a hard day, but I couldn't help but feel like she was there with us.

My grandfather was a true hero - fought for our country in 2 wars and was the proudest Canadian I knew. He wasn't just a hero for our family but a hero for our country.

Bump Update - 25 weeks

2013-03-27T10:38:00.002-06:00

I've come to realize that there are many things you will encounter while being pregnant. One of those things are people who think they can say anything they want to a pregnant woman. At the beginning, these things would hurt my feelings and get me upset, but now I just can't help but laugh! I would never in a million years say any of these things to a pregnant woman, so maybe that's why it seems so shocking to me!

Most days I feel like the size of a whale (oh, hello growing belly!), but I get told constantly that I am small for being (almost) 7 months pregnant. I mean hey, I'll take it as a compliment!

Well, our next door neighbours are getting some renovations done and the other day I was walking in to my house and these 4 construction guys (who barely speak English) told me that I am "huge" and that I should get a second opinion to make sure I'm not having twins.

Yup, that sure did happen.

I just laughed, rolled my eyes and walked into my house.

There is one girl I work with who tells me how huge I am every.single.flipping.day. It bothered me at first, but then I realized that she is a twenty-something single girl with no kids so what the heck does she know? So now I just laugh and walk away.

Then this morning I was talking to a co-worker (around 50-ish) and all of a sudden she leans forward and whispers "you know Lacey, you really don't need to wear tight clothes, we all know you are pregnant" and gives me a little wink. The picture below is what I am wearing today. Yesterday I wore a maternity top for the first time and it was quite large on me still therefore making me look a little frumpy. She overheard me telling someone that I might need to put it away until my belly grows a little more. When I asked her where that comment came from, she told me that I'm suppose to be wearing maternity clothes and that I shouldn't be ashamed to wear them.

Oh, I didn't realize that I was "ashamed" of wearing maternity clothes. So what did I do? I laughed, and walked away.

This is the same woman that I snapped at during the beginning of my pregnancy when she told me I was getting chubby (when I was in that "is she or isn't she" stage). But now, I feel like I'm becoming a pro at taking digs here and there and realize that there are always going to be people that have something to say and all you can really do is laugh about it :)

How far along? 25 weeks

Size of Baby D? The size of a head of Cauliflower - He now has a new sense of equilibrium since he now know which way is up and which way is down. He is also continuing to grow more fat and hair on his tiny body!

Total weight gain? Officially up 15 pounds. I feel like over the last week I have filled out more which is a little discouraging but I just continue to tell myself that it's for the health of out sweet boy :)

Gender? Sweet baby boy - Jaxon Daniel :)

Maternity clothes? Still mostly just wearing my maternity tank tops and leggings as far as maternity clothes, but I busted out my chambray maternity top yesterday that I bought a few months ago. To be honest, I felt frumpy in it all day since it is still big around the belly so I'm going to have to hold off on most tops until my belly grows a little bigger.

Sleep? Sleep has been good, although I get frustrated sometimes when I have to get up often to use the washroom. Lately its been 1-2 times per night, but I will have some odd days where it is more around 3-4 times. Still having crazy dreams every night too (I tend to have a couple per night actually - seems like every time I wake up and fall back asleep, I have another weird dream).

Belly Button in or out? Still the same - almost out! If I eat a little too much, just the top sticks out. Super weird.

Best moment of the week? Definitely last Sunday (Mar 24th) which is a little ironic since it is the anniversary of my Grandmothers death. I usually dread this day, but I get the feeling my grandmother wanted to somehow be a part of this pregnancy and this was her way. As I have been mentioning for weeks now, Jaxon is a kicking machine! But Sunday was completely unreal; nothing like I've ever felt so far. The kicking and punching was constant the entire day and was the most distinct I have ever felt it. I've also mentioned that Ryan had yet to feel him move since Jaxon has been SO stubborn. Usually the moment Ryan puts his hand on my belly, he would stop moving. Well Ryan not only got to finally feel him kick, he got to see him kick as well. It was such a surreal day - I couldn't get over how active he was!

Miss anything? I miss being able to walk around the mall for more than 30 minutes without my hip feeling like it's going to give out! Also, now that the nice weather is making an appearance, I'm starting to miss sitting out with a glass of pinot!

Cravings? No real cravings this week - seems as though I have finally kicked the chocolate cheerios faze!

Symptoms? I can definitely feel when he is on/closer to my bladder - I have to pee so much more those days but thankfully they are pretty far and few in between! Linea nigra is still very faint. Still no stretch marks (knock on wood). Still experiencing horrible pain in my right hip and sometimes in my lower back. Overall, it's starting to become more and more difficult to maneuver my way around (like in and out of bed, putting socks on, etc) but I've been feeling fantastic!

Mood? Realizing I only have about 2.5 months left of work is getting me more and more excited! It means I am that much closer to meeting him!

Upcoming appointments? Next OB appointment is scheduled for April 2nd.

Looking forward to? Finishing the nursery!

Bump Update - 24 Weeks

2013-03-20T07:00:00.000-06:00

Nothing too exciting to report this week. Nothing really changed compared to last week but I figured I would still post an update for my own records.

As far as personal life goes, thank you to those of you who emailed and commented about my Grandfather. Things have gotten worse since last week. He got transferred over to the palliative care unit and they have disconnected his defibrillator and pacemaker which means he only has 10% of his heart working. In other words, he is on his death bed and the doctors basically told us to expect the worst. I was planning on flying out this week so that maybe I'd be able to see him one last time, but apparently Quebec/Ontario is having a wicked snow storm so I can't get a flight to the east coast until Saturday. So we'll see what happens from now until then.

How far along? 24 weeks

Size of Baby D? The size of a Cantaloupe - His skin is becoming more and more opaque and has a new pink glow to it.

Total weight gain? Haven't weighed myself in a couple of days but I figure I'm still around 12 lbs total gained

Gender? Sweet baby boy - Jaxon Daniel :)

Maternity clothes? Still just wearing my maternity tank tops and leggings. Everything else is still pre-prego clothes. I've pretty much mastered the layering look since I have to wear my maternity tanks under a lot of my shirts since they are getting shorter!

Sleep? Still give or take depending on the night but it's been getting better. I sleep like a log lately which is becoming more and more harder to get up in the mornings. Funny thing about that is it only affects me on weekdays (figures). I can't seem to sleep past 8:30 on weekends anymore (I've always been a late sleeper so 8:30 is definitely uncharacteristically early for me).

Belly Button in or out? It's almost out! Once or twice this week I ate a little too much, and the top of it stuck out a bit. It was super weird!

Best moment of the week? Nothing really happened this week that was different from last. I did mention last week though how I finally had my first "stranger acknowledgement" and since then I've had 2 or 3 more strangers ask about my pregnancy. I must say it is so nice to finally be at a point that it is blatantly obvious that I'm pregnant! I've ordered a couple more things for the nursery too - I can't wait for it to be done!

Miss anything? I miss being able to walk around the mall for more than 30 minutes without my hip feeling like it's going to give out! -- dito from last week!

Cravings? Still on a chocolate Cheerios kick. I've gone through probably 4 boxes in the last 3 weeks....

Symptoms? Pee breaks at night have started to subside - I get up once a night on average now instead of 2-3 times. Linea nigra is still very faint. Still no stretch marks (knock on wood). As mentioned above, still experiencing horrible pain in my right hip -- It's worse when I walk somewhere for more than 20-30 minutes. My legs are also starting to get VERY restless some days (feels like I have no circulation). -- dito from last week!

Mood? Anxiety is still there a bit but it isn't as bad as it was.

Upcoming appointments? Next OB appointment is scheduled for April 2nd.

Looking forward to? Having Ryan feel him move (little bugger is stubborn!) and finishing the nursery!

Bump Update - 23 weeks

2013-03-13T09:55:00.003-06:00

I know I sound like a broken record, but I can't get over how fast this pregnancy is going by. Like when I think about how I only have 3.5 months left of work, it BLOWS my mind! Or the fact that I am almost in my 3rd trimester. It seriously feels like it was only a month ago that I was sitting in this exact spot texting Ryan a picture of the positive pregnancy test.

Things are definitely starting to become more real lately. Jaxon is a kicking and punching machine! There have been two times in the last week where I had to stop what I was doing. Although they weren't necessarily painful (yet), they were definitely strong enough to be uncomfortable. And in a strange way, I loved it!

He's grown so much in the last two weeks, in fact, I have noticed that when it comes to eating, I have to eat several VERY small portions thorought the day now and can almost never finish a meal. Yesterday I had a small spinach salad and a piece of steak not even the size of my palm, and I was SO uncomfortable the rest of the day; I felt like I could explode.

I've been feeling a lot of anxiety and stress lately which I am trying to deal with. I've mentioned before that my Grandfather is very ill. There was a rough patch in December when we found out that he has cancer in both his lung and hip (on top of his pre-existing heart condition). At that time, he had chosen to do the hip replacement surgery to eliminate the mass on his hip despite the surgeon telling him that the chance of him making it out of the surgery was highly unlikely and not recommended. Thankfully (for my own selfishness), he changed his mind and decided that he would rather live a little longer on pain meds and deal with things as they come. Despite everything (being on morphine everyday, etc) he has been doing very well - until last week. He got sent to the hospital via ambulance due to catching pneumonia. Although they have gotten it under control, they also found out that the cancer has spread to his left arm (which he can no longer move). I've been having anxiety over the fact that I am almost into my 3rd trimester. The inevitable is going to happen, we all know that. We've been told that it is very unlikely he will live to see 2014, and I have also come to terms with the fact that he probably will never meet Jaxon (we aren't going home with him until December). What I am having a hard time with is the fact that he could go between April and July when I am not allowed to fly. I would never be able to forgive myself for not being able to be there for the funeral. I know it's something that I am not going to be able to help, so I have been trying all weekend to prepare myself - just in case.

Crummy picture I know - was in a rush this morning, what can I say!

How far along? 23 weeks

Size of Baby D? The size of a Grapefruit - His face is fully formed now and he can distinguish my voice from surrounding noises (he can now hear horns honking and dogs barking too)

Total weight gain? I kept joking that Baby J was going through a growth spurt because of how much my belly has popped recently, but I've also gained 2 pounds in the last week (up a total of 12 lbs now) so I think that is definitely confirmation that he is a growing boy!

Gender? Sweet baby boy - Jaxon Daniel :)

Maternity clothes? I'm now in a mixture of pre-prego clothes and maternity clothes. I have two maternity tank tops that I have been wearing (and LOVE), and also been wearing my maternity leggings. Other than that, the rest is pre-prego stuff along with my belly band. I can still get away with my regular dress pants for work, and one pair of jeans, so I'm hoping that stays that way so I don't have to buy maternity versions! I am noticing though that my regular tops are getting shorter and shorter on me though!

Sleep? It's kind of been give or take lately. Some times I sleep like a baby (see last weeks update) and there have been a couple of nights (ahem, last night) where I just can't get comfortable. I think it has a lot to do with the pain in my hip. I noticed last night too that it's starting to get uncomfortable to sleep on my tummy -- I think it's finally time to nix that all together. Boo.

Belly Button in or out? Still in but it is inching it's way out more and more every week!

Best moment of the week? A lot has happpened this week! First, I THINK I may have SEEN him move! I was having a bath last night and I started to feel him bounce around. I looked down at my belly and I could have sworn I saw a little bump go up and down for a split second. I can now also feel him hiccup quite often as well which I can't help but smile when he does! Lastely, I have officially had my first stranger comment on my pregnant belly! Up until yesterday strangers would definitely stare at my belly, but nobody has every actually said anything. I finally had a lady ask me how far along I was and I was only happy to share :)

Miss anything? I miss being able to walk around the mall for more than 30 minutes without my hip feeling like it's going to give out!

Cravings? Still on a chocolate Cheerios kick.

Mood? Anxiety (with the whole Grandfather situation) and also starting to get anxiety a bit when it comes to work. I have a high stress job and have been finding myself waking up with slight anxiety almost every week day. Although I am usually used to it, I've been chalking it up to hormones. Other than that, just extremely excited for the future -- I just can't wait to meet him!

Upcoming appointments? Next OB appointment is scheduled for April 2nd.

Looking forward to? Having Ryan feel him move and finishing the nursery

Maternity Fashion - Bottoms

2013-03-11T19:38:00.000-06:00

Now that my regular clothes are starting to get tighter and tighter, I have finally come to the realization that I have to start purchasing some maternity clothes -- despite my hestitation on the matter.

I always said that I was going to keep wearing my regular clothes as long as I possibly can, but that timeline is quickly drawing to an end. Lukily, my third trimester is during spring/early summer, so at that point I will be able to live in maxi dresses/skirts (which I fully intend to do).

The weather here is so unpredictable and although we have been having spring-like weather a lot over the last couple of months, we've been hit with random snow storms as well so I can't really get away with maxi's just yet. So I made myself a list of "basics" to purchase for/if the time comes. Below are the bottoms I plan on buying if need be -- I can still get away with some of my pre-prego dress pants and a pair of jeans so if I can get away with wearing those for the next month until Spring officially arrives (aka maxi season), then those are two things I won't have to buy!

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1. A basic pair of jeans. Truthfully I've "looked" at a few maternity jeans here and there, and honestly, I've been dreading the whole idea of it (I think this has a lot to do with my hesitation on waiting to see how long I can go with my regular jeans). The stores that I have quickly browsed through all looked like mom-jeans aka VERY unflattering. I saw these online and think they look perfect and very un-mom like ;)
-- Silver Jeans in photo found here --

2. *OPTIONAL* Although some people may not think a fun pair of jeans such as colored skinnies as being a basic necessity, I do believe in not having to sacrifice style just because you are pregnant. That being said, I will definitely be including a pair for my own style sanity.
-- Sold Design Jeans in photo found here --

3. Dress pants are a huge necessity for me being that I work in an office. As mentioned, I can still get away with my regular pants, but when the time comes, I will be investing in these ones.
-- Pants are found here --

4. One word = leggings. I thought I loved my leggings before pregnancy, well now I basically live in them. They have been a pregnancy saving grace and probably one of the biggest necessities!
-- Leggings in photo found here ($49.50). Cheaper version found here (these are the pair I bought and LOVE) --

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1. Again, being that I work in an office atmosphere, a pencil skirt is a must for me.
-- Secret Fit Belly skirt found here --

2. As mentioned above, I fully intend on living in maxi dresses and skirts throughout my third trimester. From what I have gathered from other moms, they are lifesavers. The fact that I can still dress them up for work is a bonus so with that said, a basic black maxi dress is a definite necessity. It can be dressed down on lazy days, or dressed up with a simple crop jean jacket and statement necklace.
-- Old Navy maxi dress found here (bought this dress and can't wait to wear it)--

3. I feel like you should also have a fun colored maxi skirt as well. I almost didn't buy this skirt, but because it was so cheap, I figured why not and I am SO glad I did. It is so fun and flattering on and the color will be perfect for Spring!
-- Old Navy maxi skirt found here --

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I am a huge believer that you don't need to break the bank in order to look cute while pregnant. That's why I am going to continue to buy things as I need them and buy items that are versitile!

Next up, Tops!

5 Things They Don't Tell You About Pregnancy

2013-03-08T15:25:00.002-07:00

So here's the thing -- I've read about 5-6 different books when I first found out we were expecting. I learned A LOT while reading and knew what to expect for the most part. However as the weeks have gone by, I've noticed that there are quite a few things that they don't tell you. Maybe because these things aren't the most flattering, but honestly there really isn't much about pregnancy that IS flattering. So why are we holding back?

I figure why not. So here are a FEW things that I have personally experienced during pregnancy that I was never told about:

1. Pregnancy Brain. Okay, so maybe some books do mention it, but all they say is that you will experience slight memory loss which is due to your body being exhausted from growing a little human inside of you. HA! Forget memory loss, nobody ever mentioned pregnancy makes you downright stupid at times. Nobody mentioned the fact that I would spend an entire day before I noticed that I was wearing my underwear backwards, or that my fellow prego-friend would show up to work with two different shoes on. Did we just enter a time warp and go back to being 5 years old?

2. The fact that when you sneeze, cough, laugh too hard, etc you WILL pee yourself a bit and you won't be able to help it. So while pregnancy brain will make you feel like a 5 year old, all it will take is one little sneeze to make you feel like you aged 50 years. Awesome.

3. You will lose your mouth filter all together. So maybe this doesn't necessarily apply to everyone, but it certainly applies to me. I've always had a really good filter - I know when is a good time and when is a bad time to say certain things. Or to not point out when someone is being an idiot. Well, since becoming pregnant, my filter seems to have disappeared. I have a co-worker that likes to think that he is always right, even when he isn't and will be an arrogant ass about it. It drives everyone in the office mental. Well I happened to call him out one day. I couldn't stop my mouth. It's like my brain was screaming "Noooo!" but my mouth wasn't listening. Oh, and said co-worker stormed off like a 3 year old slamming my office door shut, but he got over it shortly after. Yippee...

4. Morning sickness is a load of crock. First of all, they need to rename it "all-day sickness" and second of all, it doesn't just magically disappear once you make it out of your first trimester. Mind you, it DOES get better after the first tri, but it certainly doesn't necessarily go away for everyone. Heck, I'm almost into my third tri and I power puke at least once every couple of weeks. How's that for a visual?

5. Brushing your teeth turns into a gagging game. My fellow prego friend and I were talking about this last weekend about how every time we brush our teeth, we have to make sure we are near the sink for fear of gagging turning into full-on puking. I mentioned this to her thinking she was going to think I was nuts, because I always "brush" my tongue while I brush my teeth (for some reason I thought I was the only one that did this). Come to find out she does the same thing. So moral of number 5? Pregnancy heightens your gag reflexes. Want to "brush" more than the tip of your tongue? Good luck.

Bump Update - 22 Weeks

2013-03-06T07:00:00.000-07:00

Well, we are officially past the half way point - actually, we've been past it for 2 weeks now. Holy moly where has the time gone! I feel like it was just yesterday that I was standing in the middle of my bathroom, wide mouthed, staring at two pink lines. It has been a surreal adventure thus far and I am even more excited for the last half of this experience.

How far along? 22 weeks

Size of Baby D? The size of a papaya (approx. 11 inches and now weighs a full pound!). At this stage he likely has his own sleeping pattern down pact now and sleeps about 14 hours a day.

Total weight gain? As of my OB appt on Monday, I am up a total of 10 pounds.

Gender? Sweet baby boy - Jaxon Daniel

Maternity clothes? I got my order in the mail last week and although everything is super cute, my belly needs to get a little bigger for everything to fit properly. Out of the whole order, the only thing I can wear right now is the leggings only because they don't have the band over the belly (they fit right under my belly). So for now, I am still sporting the belly band and elastic trick, and of course my new leggings. Everything else is still my pre-prego clothes.

Sleep? It's been pretty good lately -- Although I get up 2-3 times a night to use the washroom, I fall right back to sleep instantly and wake up feeling like a slept like a log the whole night. In fact, I'm convinced that I am now so used to getting up in the middle of the night now that I am still half asleep as I pee. Some mornings I wake up wondering if I actually did get up during the night, or if I dreamt it lol

Belly Button in or out? Still in but it is inching it's way out more and more every week!

Best moment of the week? Hearing his heart beat and my doc telling me that he is a very healthy and active baby boy! I can't remember exactly what his heart beat was at this appointment, but it is still VERY strong (she jokes every time that if it wasn't for the blatantly obvious ultrasound evidence, she would still put money on it being a girl).

Miss anything? Was definitely missing bud light lime this past weekend! This is really the first time I have actually missed alcohol. I think it has to do with the fact that it was Spring temperatures out (until we had a freak snowstorm 2 days later). The sun and warm weather always makes me want to kick back with a BLL!

Cravings? Chocolate cheerios - weird, I know.

Symptoms? Frequent pee breaks. Linea nigra has made it's appearance, although it is still very faint. I'm still experiencing an extremely sore right hip (and now lower back as well). Some days it gets to a point where I can barely walk and when I do, I almost always have to have support otherwise I would just fall to my knees. Oh the joys of pregnancy!

Mood? Very content and excited :)

Upcoming appointments? Next OB appointment is scheduled for April 1st.

Looking forward to? Having Ryan feel him move, finishing the nursery!

Revamping a Rental

2013-03-05T16:02:00.003-07:00

Last weekend was pretty productive. Since we decided to keep renting our current house for the time being and put house hunting on hold, we decided to make this place more of our own.We painted the ENTIRE house, excluding our master bedroom (for now). I say we, but really the credit goes to Ryan. I helped with the nursery (which I ended up NOT getting the decor that I wanted), and I helped a bit with the living room but that was about it. And don't worry, I sported a sexy mask the whole day.

Evidence of said sexy mask - those things are really hard to breathe in!

I've always kind of hated this house. Not because it's not a nice house (it's actually pretty nice...just needs a little sprucing up), but because most of our furniture is hand-me-downs. We had sold all of our furniture 2 years ago when we thought we were moving back to the east coast. When our plans changed, we decided to hold off and buy new furniture when we bought a house, but we decided (aka I convinced Ryan) that we might as well bite the bullet and get the things that would make this place feel like ours.

Not going to lie, I was being sulky (I blame it on hormones) at the fact that I would be on mat leave for a year and really didn't want to spend day and night cooped up with a newborn in a place that I hated. We've lived in this house for almost 2.5 years but somehow it still doesn't feel like home. If I am going to be cooped up in here, I want to at least be proud of where we are -- even if it is just temporary. Thankfully we have some pretty wicked landlords who let us do whatever we want and told us to fill our boots; revamp the place and make it our own. So that is what we are in the process of doing.

The house is a bi-level with the front of the house having extremely high ceilings, which our landlords had painted the front wall a really pretty deep red. I love it; it makes the house feel warm and welcoming -- it gives the house character. The rest of the walls in the living room, kitchen and dining room were a bright beige color (almost white) that was coated with years of dings and stains. Try imagining this next to a deep red -- although it wasn't necessarily horrid, it wasn't really that flattering either. We chose a warm beige that had a tinge of brown in it so that it was dark enough to offset the red, but light enough that it didn't make the rooms look dark/small.

Ignore the mess - we still have to hang more photos, curtains, and re-arrange the room once the love seat comes in

Our old couches (I will spare you their horridness by not posting pictures of them) were taken from our friends basement and were straight out of the 80's. Think white and floral. I had to actually go and buy couch covers so that I didn't have to vomit every time I walked into the living room. We ordered a new couch and love seat last weekend (unfortunately our love seat is on back order). Below is a better picture, only difference is we got them in chocolate brown as per above photo. The reclining seat in both pictures was a pure coincidence.

Our dining room has always been a cluttered mess. We don't have a whole lot of room in this house, so not only do we have an ugly white hand-me-down table, but we also had our computer desk stuffed in the corner as well. Last night we took off the hutch and extension part from the desk so that it wasn't so big and clunky. Since the walls have all been painted, all that's left is to strip, sand and re-paint/stain the kitchen table and top of the computer desk this weekend to match the rest of our furniture. Oh, and to buy new dining room chairs. =/

As for our bedroom, we are just going to re-paint it since all the furniture is new. I have some ideas for the color but they aren't official yet. All I know is that the back wall is going to be wallpapered as an accent wall and that the color of the room is going to be a soft neutral color.

Lastly is the nursery. I had planned on having grey, white and aqua for the nursery but hubs wasn't having it. He felt like it wasn't boyish enough. We compromised and he got to choose the color and how to paint the nursery for this house, and when we move I will have total reigns of the new nursery. I'll post pictures once it is done, but so far all we have done is the walls painted, and the crib/change table is set up. We don't even have curtains up yet so there isn't much to see.

I can't wait for everything to be done - after this coming weekend, we should have most of the house completed aside from the nursery and waiting for our love seat, but I am still super pumped. I think it is safe to say that nesting has officially come a few months early for this prego.

A Peak at Life Through my iPhone

2013-02-25T12:49:00.003-07:00

What our Saturday night looked like: Hubs putting together the crib, and "I" put together the stroller and car seat. And I say "I" loosely since the instructions were mostly all gibberish to me....

We've decided to keep renting out our current place for now and we will be buying a home after Christmas. It was just becoming too stressful trying to find the perfect home and being 6 months pregnant. There is such a huge weight lifted off my shoulders, not to mention I get to paint/decorate now instead of later! It's the little things... :)

I got to say, Baby J's closet is starting to envy mine. His closet is half full already and that isn't including the loads of stuff grandparents have bought and haven't ship over yet. The snowsuit isn't going to fit him until winter of 2014-2015, but it was 65% off so I couldn't resist. Oh, and those overalls... I die!!

Left photo is 17-ish weeks - Right photo is 20 weeks (taken last Wednesday, I believe).

Crazy the difference 3 weeks makes!

Well hello there 6 month bump!! (Please ignore the dirty mirror....) Took this photo this morning - Ryan couldn't believe how much bigger I got over night! It's kind of hard to tell compared to the photo taken last week, but the bump is DEFINITELY more pronounced today! I walked into work this morning and got a lot of "Holy crap, where did that come from since Friday!"

How amazing is this diaper bag! I've been on the hunt for the perfect bag for weeks now and I am SOO pumped that I found this one! I really wanted to find something that didn't scream "DIAPER BAG!" and was a little more stylish than the usual teddybear or Disney covered bags. I ordered it on Friday from Zulily.com for $55 (originally $282!). I'm seriously addicted to this site. Such amazing deals!

Nursery Inspiration

2013-02-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

Now that we finally know what we are having, I have been having fun scouring the internet for nursery ideas. Don't get me wrong, I've had an entire board dedicated to nurseries for months now, but about 80% of it was girl themed (we were convinced we were having a girl!)

I have a pretty good idea of what I want, and Ryan only has one request: to not have an animal print theme. I'm not big on the whole animal theme myself so I couldn't agree more (not that there is anything wrong with it - just our preference). I have always envisioned our child's nursery to be simple neutrals with a splash of color as an accent. Basic but modern, if you will.

When I originally started pinning ideas -- back when Jaxon was an unknown gender -- I had NO idea what I wanted, in fact, I was completely overwhelmed. What I DID know however, was that I didn't want the predictable over usage of pink for girl or baby blue for boy (again, just personal preference).

After looking through what was probably hundreds of different ideas, I think I have finally found exactly what I was looking for.

When we found out Jaxon was a 'he', I immediately thought of these two pins:

Source: awelldressedhome.com via Britt on Pinterest

Source: spearmintbaby.com via Sunny on Pinterest

I just LOVE the color combination but I feel like the whole yellow/grey combination for boys has been kind of beat to death with a stick lately.

I had been racking my brain every night for for 2 weeks and have found the perfect nursery for our little boy. Is it bad that when I lay down at night I fantasize what his nursery will be like? Don't answer that. Anyway, I think I finally found exactly what I wanted:

Source: get-on-the-floor-0.blogspot.com via Lacey on Pinterest

Source: rosenberryrooms.com via Lacey on Pinterest

Source: pinterestschunt301.blogspot.com via Lacey on Pinterest

I still LOVED the idea of grey being a prominent color in the decor, especially the grey and white stripped walls. So all I needed to swap out was the yellow for a different accent color. One night as I was laying in bed, I pictured aqua/turquoise being that color and I immediately had my mind made up. It's the perfect bright splash of color I was looking for without it being too girly.

I'm so excited to start decorating his nursery but unfortunately it isn't going to be anytime soon. We are moving before J gets here so his nursery is literally going to have to be last minute since we haven't found the perfect house yet. Cross your fingers and toes that we do soon for my own sake and sanity. All I want to do is start his nursery!

My View on Pregnancy

2013-02-18T12:23:00.001-07:00

Being pregnant has been one of the most amazing and interesting things I have ever experienced, full of goods and bads.

I had a pretty rough first trimester and I remember telling Ryan one night that it was BS how some women would say that they absolutely loved being pregnant and that if they could, they would be pregnant forever. That was downright bologna to me. My first trimester was horrible. Obviously I am grateful for this little boy growing inside of me and always have been -- I've never lost sight of that. The fact that I didn't love being pregnant at that time had nothing to do with my feelings or connection towards my son. I find that a lot of people like to get this twisted. It had nothing to do with me being ungrateful. As someone who has experienced miscarriage, I am far from ungrateful. I just would have rather gone to bed and wake up the next morning having him in my arms -- avoid all the pregnancy annoyances. One can dream right? I remember a co-worker at one point asking me how I was enjoying pregnancy, and being the straight up person I am, told her the truth: so far, I hated it. She looked at me like I had three heads, and told me that it will pass. Thankfully, she was right.

Fast forward to today, I am at the halfway point. Although I am feeling 1000x better and would even go as far as saying that I actually enjoy being pregnant now, I still don't love it. Seeing Jaxon a couple of weeks ago actually looking like a baby and not just like a little jelly bean, brought everything into perspective. And then for the last couple of weeks feeling him move around in my tummy, does make me wish that I could hold on to that feeling forever. I will never say that I love being pregnant because it does have its downfalls. In a perfect world, I would love to be pregnant without all the horrible ~~morning~~ all day sickness, brutally painful migraines, and constant aches and pains in my hips and lower back. But unlike my first trimester, I've come to realize that I get it now. I get what those other women were saying. I mean, I wouldn't go so far as to saying I wish I could be pregnant forever, but I understand now that all the pregnancy annoyances are what lead up to a miracle. In fact, all those times that I was praying to the porcelain gods, or all the times I was laying in a dark room with an ice pack on my head, I would just tell myself that it will all be worth it once I got to see this little boy.

It's all about perspective. Being a first time mom, I've come to realize that this whole process brings on more and more perspective as the months go by; as the countdown draws near. Like I said at the beginning, I've never lost sight of the fact that all the negatives of pregnancy lead up to a little miracle, but once you start feeling those little kicks, it all becomes real. Your perspective completely changes and all of a sudden all those things that you were cursing at the beginning, you would welcome back if need be. I've had several revelations in my second trimester and am excited to see what new perspectives I come across into my third trimester. I am still dumbfounded at the whole pregnancy process. The fact that I have a little human growing inside of me. I can feel him kicking around in there as I type this and I can't help but think about how extraordinary this all is, annoying pregnancy symptoms and all.

Bump Update - 19 Weeks

2013-02-14T18:14:00.001-07:00

I haven't done an update in 3 weeks! I'm finding it difficult to find the time to take bump pictures, upload them and then write a post so I'm just going to stick to doing them whenever I have time.

Now that we finally know what we are having, we are definitely having fun shopping for baby boy! I even came in to work on Monday morning to a nice gift for Jaxon waiting in my office. We are (pretty much) halfway through pregnancy and he is already one spoiled little boy :)

Although this post is all about week 19, I'm going to include the bump photo of week 18 as well.

This dress makes my bump look bigger than it is (it was my first maternity purchase and right now it is still pretty big on me

Photo taken Feb 14th

How far along? 19 weeks, 1 day

Size of Baby D? The size of a large mango. He is currently working on his five senses -- taste, hearing, sight and smell senses are developing in his brain.

Total weight gain? I compared our at home scale to the doctor and it's pretty accurate so I've been weighing myself every morning. I tend to vary between 5 and 7 pounds gained depending on the day.

Gender? Sweet baby boy :)

Maternity clothes? Still just the belly band but I really need to go invest in some maternity jeans since I only have one pair of my regular jeans that I can get away with! I'm still good with tops and dress pants as long as I have my belly band.

Sleep? It's been alright for the most part but I've had to ditch the body pillow. It was such a lifesaver for the longest time, but lately it has just been a pain in the butt for some reason. I can still comfortably sleep on my stomach which has been great. I've asked my doctor if it's ok and she said yes, I'll get uncomfortable way before it could ever hurt the baby so I'm enjoying it while I can!

Best moment of the week? For last week, finding out the gender! I also got to hear his heartbeat for the first time (155 on Monday at my OB appt and 157 at the ultrasound). For this week, getting to see Jaxon again! Today he was being a little wiggle worm and STILL had his hands at his face (tech seems to think he is a thumb sucker). She did manage to get the rest of the measurements they needed and baby Jaxon is measuring right on track :) As of last Wednesday I am now feeling him wiggle around in there several times a day now too which is strange but wonderful :)

Miss anything? Nothing at the moment (for a change!)

Cravings? Ice cream... I made hubs go to the store at 9pm the other night to get some. I just had to have it then and there. I'm still leaving out the food aversions question since I haven't really had any since the VERY beginning of my pregnancy.

Symptoms? Urg, I constantly have to pee (especially during the night which is frustrating). Linea nigra is making an appearance, although very faint -- funny story, I was just coming out of the shower the other day (sorry for the visual) and hubs walked into the room and I must have been in the perfect lighting because he all of a sudden exclaims "what is that?!" and points to my belly. I told him that most woman get it during pregnancy. His response? "Is it suppose to be some kind of navigation pointing to where the baby comes out??" Yes, babe. That's exactly what it is. Good thing he was joking -- I couldn't stop laughing!

Mood? Super excited for the second half of pregnancy! I just want him to be here :)

Upcoming appointments? My next OB appointment is March 4th.

Looking forward to? My third trimester!

It's a...!!! {Gender Reveal}

2013-02-07T10:11:00.001-07:00

I had my 18 week anatomy scan yesterday afternoon which we also found out what the gender was. I have been waiting for this appointment for WEEKS and about a half hour before my appointment, I started to get super nervous. I think it was a mix of being worried that Baby D isn't as healthy as we thought and that maybe he/she would be too stubborn and wouldn't show us the goods (which in turn would make me have to wait even longer!).

We went to a different office than we had with our previous ultrasounds. I chose this one because it was just down the road from my office. I went up to reception to let them know I was there, and they asked for a requisition form which I didn't have. I 've always had one for every other appointment, but when I was leaving my last ultrasound, they just told me to call to book my 18 week scan and didn't say anything about getting another requisition form.

I started to panic.

I already had somewhat of a lack of patience before pregnancy, but add the hormonal changes in with it, and I could have cried right there. Don't worry, I didn't.

The receptionist finally got a copy from my OB office and everything was fine, but we then had to wait 30 minutes in the waiting room. Do you know how uncomfortable it is to have to sit and wait with a full bladder? It's not pleasant.

Finally 30 minutes past my appointment time, we get called in. Our ultrasound tech was amazing. We later found out she was from the East Coast which automatically made sense why we clicked with her.

She did a couple of measurements and after a little while, she finally asked the golden question....

"So, you guys want to know what you are having?!"

Uh, ya!

It's a Boy!!! Meet Jaxon Daniel :)

Ryan and I were in COMPLETE shock. I would have put money on it being a girl. Whenever I thought about our baby, it was a girl. Even our family was sure it was a girl. But boy, did little Jaxon have us all fooled! When I called my parents afterwards, one of the first things my dad asked was how accurate it was (he was sure it was a girl as well but is over the moon to have a grandson!). I told him that the tech didn't even have to give me a percentage. She showed us his goods and he is most definitely ALL boy!

One thing I will say though, Baby Jaxon is stubborn already (just like his mama, I'll admit). When the tech was trying to get measurements of his face, he immediately put his hand up over his face and would not budge for over 30 minutes! She had me up walking around, moving my hips back and forth, drinking more orange juice, but mr man would not move his hand! So now I have to go back next week to finish which I am secretly happy about since this would have been our last ultrasound. But now I get to see him one last time before he makes his grand entrance into this crazy world :)