First Time Mom 2 Be

15 weeks pregnant...

2011-07-30T23:53:00.000-04:00

How much did becoming a mom change my life? So. Much.

I love it, but it's demanding. Ever since Naomi was born (oh yeah - did I mention we finally named her Naomi as opposed to Jade?) I haven't really found the time or desire to go back online and post on my blog. I guess that was my way of being in the moment. Living everything in its fullest and when she goes to bed, use that time to rest or complete some chores that are too challenging when she's up.

But now I owe it to myself to come back and blog again: I'm pregnant again and baby no. 2 deserves a diary in memory of my pregnancy too!

So, here are the milestones you missed:

My EDD is January 21st which means I'm 15 weeks pregnant.
The first trimester was HORRIBLE. Morning sickness was very difficult to deal with and could have been named "all-day-and-night-sickness". The fact that I'm still breastfeeding 13 months old Naomi might have contributed to the excessive lack of energy and hypoglycemic episodes.
I started feeling the baby move after 13 weeks. He/she moves a lot more than Naomi did.
2 weeks ago, we heard the heartbeat for the first time. Toc toc toc toc toc. 160 bps!
I again this time opted out of the prena-test, I should only have one echography. It is scheduled on September 1st. If Baby is cooperative, we should discover his/her gender then.

Thought of the week: what they say is true - the belly grows much faster in a subsequent pregnancy.

Coming soon! First belly picture!

Baby Gourmet Review

2011-02-25T18:01:00.006-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I received a sample of the Baby Gourmet baby vegetable and fruit purees for review.

About my little tester: 7 months old Naomi. Had only been fed breast milk and homemade purees up to that point. She can be a little fussy with the homemade purees and made it very clear to me that she would not eat just anything I provide in a spoon. Hehe...

The samples were wrapped in a box made of recycled material that looked like this:

Inside, was 9 pouches of food purees:

The first thing that got my attention was the packaging. The pouches BPA-free and vacuum-sealed for 15 months of freshness on the shelf. They have bright colours with cute baby pictures and have an attractive look and feel.

I liked the fact that the puree was kept in a soft pouch because it was easy to squeeze it out and use only the quantity needed at a time. I was actually able to drop the puree directly onto the feeding spoon as Naomi was eating and twist the cap back on when she was done for a safe, uncontaminated storage in the fridge. This would not have been possible with a traditional food container in which the spoon is dipped. Not only did this allow me to reduce waste of whatever she is normally unable to finished, but I was thrilled that my usual feeding cup became obsolete and completely optional. I hate dirty dishes... especially carrying them in a diaper bag!

The food is excellent. "One spoon for Mommy, one spoon for Naomi" excellent... She liked every single flavour she had. The trick is simple but efficient: the taste of nasty vegetables is disguised with flavourful fruit combos. Oh and, did I mention her hatred of brocoli? I was yet to find a food combo that would make her accept brocoli (even the sweet potato did not work) until she tried the juicy pear & garden greens I did not think it would be possible. The garden greens are in fact organic brocoli and organic spinach with a zest of organic lemon juice. Yum! She gave me her complete approval.

Did I mention the purees are organic and without added sugar, salt or preservatives? I'm giving it my Mommy approval right there.

This is a review so I must also try to find the product's weaknesses...

I couldn't really find much to be honest... The product had to be ordered online when I first checked. Then I read it would soon be available from every Walmart in North America but I haven't seen it there yet. The website says it should only be a couple of days before it's available at Walmart but it seems the delay has been pushed a couple of times...

The price is affordable and competitive at $19.99 for a mix of 9 pouches (shipping is free) when you compare with other organic baby food on the market. However, at this price, I don't know who would want to purchase the 12 pouches package for $33.99. I can't find a justification to account for the price difference. I would expect the 12 pouches package to retail around $26, if not less since you're buying more.

In the end, if you're looking for a convenient and healthy organic option to feed your baby when in a rush or on-the-go then I think this product is what you've been dreaming about. If you're planning to use them for every meal, then you might find them costly if you went with the 12 pack purchase, but your baby will adore you! I wish it was already available at Walmart so I could stock a few before my long trip to New Caledonia next week!

A Birth Story

2010-07-18T00:22:00.001-04:00

Friday, June 11th 2010

8:30 - Noticing my first real contractions. They are not painful but they last about 45-60 seconds and come back every 5-12 minutes. I charge my iPod touch and start carrying it around as I installed an application (Contraction Master) that let's me time and record my contractions. I'm excited about this as my due date is tomorrow. I'm going to have this baby soon! Let's make sure these contractions are efficient: I make an appointment with an acupuncturist nearby in the early afternoon.
13:00 - First meeting ever with an acupuncturist. I'm a little bit impressed since needles have this tendency to make me light headed. Changes I notice with the treatment: I get waves of heat and cold sweat. More importantly, my contractions stop.
15:00 - Contractions are back and come back more rapidly. Still not painful though... I'm gonna see how long this will last...
23:59 - no change.

Saturday June 12th

All day - no change.

Sunday June 13th

3:00 - I wake up. These contractions are starting to be more uncomfortable. I proceed to call my dad, who lives across the globe and is awake (mid day) to give him some news. I have a warm bath and wait about 30 minutes in there but the contractions don't slow down or weaken. I call my dad again and decide it's time to wake the daddy-to-be and get ready for the hospital.
7:00 - admission to the hospital. A nurse plugs me onto a fetal monitor for 30 minutes and then estimates I'm now 4 cm dilated. Meanwhile, my mom arrives at the hospital and the nurse suggests I should walk a little bit while they get my room cleaned up and ready and should come back in one hour.
7:20 - I walk to the car with my mom & the dad to be with the intention of driving to a nearby restaurant to grab a quick breakfast. Once at the car, I figure the idea is not the best: my contractions are feeling much stronger already and I don't feel comfortable sitting in a car driving away from the hospital.

8:00 - The room is ready. Another nurse has taken over and reevaluates my condition. I'm now 7 cm dilated!!! Things are moving really fast! Whenever the contractions were peaking, dad to be would push against my lower back to relieve some of the pain. It really helped a great deal. The hip rotations on the exercise ball are very comfortable too and I would have but to my greatest surprise I did not enjoy the bath. WHAT?! I'm a water-lover. A great swimmer. I was absolutely convinced that the comfort of a warm bath would be the perfect environment for me to go through my contractions. I was so wrong! The water made me comfortable, yes, during the contractions only. However, at the end of each contraction, my body would push and during that phase, feeling weight-less on my back in a tub full of water made me feel like I was losing control of my body and was falling back. That was a bit panicking every time until I changed position in the tub and ended up leaving it to return to my room.
Sometime around 11:30? - Don't blame me for not remembering the timestamps at this point. My mind was busy with breathing :) I went to the bathroom and my water broke on the toilet. Yay. No mess. My cervix is now 8.5 cm dilated. I remember asking my boyfriend to find a nurse and get me an Advil or something mild for the pain at some point but when she came to see me, she laughed and said and Advil would not help with that strong pain and that it was almost over anyways.
12:30 - My doctor has arrived and the pushing really begins... It hurts. A lot. It burns but it's almost over. They see her hair and next thing I know I feel a strange sensation as if a monkey was drowning in Jello inside me but I know these are my babies legs and knees kicking inside while the new dad is pulling our baby out and putting her on my chest.

13:02 - Our little Naomi is born! 9 lbs 4 oz and 53 cm tall.

Still reading?

2010-06-29T12:08:00.000-04:00

Wow! I'm impressed to see exactly the same number of followers from Blogger than the last time I checked about 3 weeks ago! Thanks for your patience and loyalty.

I'm taking advantage of a short baby nap to write the latest news.

You've guessed it - I have birth announcement to make - Sunday June 13th 2010 at 13h02, our baby girl was born weighting 9 lbs and 4 oz and with a head full of hair, after 9 hours of active labor.

Here's a picture of my little angel at the hospital.

Stay tuned for more info on the birth story soon!

40 Weeks

2010-06-10T23:52:00.003-04:00

Today was my 40 weeks follow-up and I'm glad to report some progress.

At 39 weeks:
...Baby was floating ---> now at station -2 (see image below)
...Cervix was slightly effaced ---> now 50% effaced
...Cervix was 1 cm dilated ---> now 2 cm dilated
...Baby's heartrate was 150 bpm ---> now 130 bpm
...Overall pregnancy weight gain was 33 lbs ---> now 30 lbs

I have experienced the bloody show for 2-3 days now but still no contractions.

Now, my due date is in 2 days so it shouldn't be very long before I get to meet my lovely baby. Isn't it exciting?

38 weeks

2010-05-30T14:52:00.001-04:00

We're now at 38 weeks and Jade is supposedly the size of a watermelon now. I took a few pictures yesterday in front of the mirror. They're not great but good enough to remember the size and shape of the belly in this final stage of development.

My legs, calves, ankles, feet and toes are still swollen. VERY swollen. My energy level is moderate and my quality of sleep has been better. What doesn't help is the temperature has been surprisingly higher than normal for this time of the year in the last 2 weeks.

So far, I've had 2 bad episodes of indigestion that kept me up all night. I'm guessing this is not too bad...

My weight gain until now is at 32 lbs but changes are seen up and down on a daily basis.

Jade has not yet started descending in my belly. The fact that I spend so much time on my back with legs up probably does not help.

We are scheduled for a visit at the hospital this Thursday evening and I can't wait! :) My goal is that the renovations in the basement will also be done and over by that time and that the hospital bag will be completed and sitting in the car in case Jade should arrive unexpectedly.

37 weeks update

2010-05-21T21:56:00.000-04:00

This week's medical update has got to be the most boring one so far. I could have just copied and pasted the results from the 36th week mark and be done with it.

Here we go!

Weight gain: no change since last week, still 24 lbs increase since pre-pregnancy weight
Blood pressure: normal
Glucose: normal
Baby's pulse: normal
Baby's position: head down, floating, normal
Cervix dilation: same as last week, 1 cm
Ankles: same as last week, they look like two balloons
Belly button: as usual, "inny"

The weight stabilizing itself is actually very good news because the rate at which I was gaining these last 3-4 weeks was pretty alarming. Apparently, at this point in pregnancy, the mother's body will start to lose some of the pregnancy hormones so as to allow for the birth process to start. This would explain how the baby can keep growing and building fat without the mother necessary gaining weight.

I will try to take a belly picture tomorrow.

Off Work!

2010-05-21T21:45:00.000-04:00

Ok, this is old news... But I have good reasons!

Thursday May 13th (just about a week ago) was supposed to be my last day of work before a 4 weeks vacations, immediately followed by maternity leave for about 10 months.

I'm saying "was supposed to" because on that very day, I heard news that was going to change the way I'm now looking at those 11 months ahead of me: I won't have a job to come back to after my maternity leave is over. With the current economy, it was only a matter of time before the public sector would have to start making layoffs and the time has now come.

Because there's always a negative and a positive side to everything here are my thoughts on this:

- I'm among the unlucky to be laid off and the financial insecurity stresses me out with the baby coming.

+ I'm lucky that I was told ahead of time, and have many months of maternity leave to figure out what I'll be doing next.

Before heading back on the job market, I might try a career change and give it a shot with a web business instead. Wouldn't it be great to NOT go back to work after my leave and be able to work directly from home, enjoying the first few years with my child? Not an easy task, but... possible!

Ranting about the Perineal Massage

2010-05-10T11:16:00.000-04:00

Warning: this post may contain TMI (too much information) for some of you... Continue reading at your own risks.

We all heard stories about this pregnant woman who gave birth and had a partial or complete tear of her perineum in the process. As a first time mom, I was naive enough to convince myself it only happens to others and must be quite the minority who experience a tear during labor.

Boy was I wrong!

A study conducted in 1999 showed that only 63 out of 417 women who were giving birth vaginally for the first time maintained an intact perineum throughout labor. That's only 15,1% !!!

I'm officially freaking out about these stats. Fortunately, the subject of the study was to demonstrate the efficiency (or lack thereof) of practicing the perineal massage for 10 minutes on a daily basis from the 35th week of pregnancy until birth. A group of 411 women were asked to do that routine and from that group, 100 women kept an intact perineum post-partum. That's 24.3% - still low, in my honest opinion, but an appreciable 9% improvement rate compared with women who did not use the massage!

So... Wanting make use of all the tools I can, I decided I would try to improve the odds by submitting myself to the very same routine. The technique was shown to the dads-to-be at our last prenatal class and we got started on what seemed like a very promising activity...

I won't lie, it's unconfortable and it burns. But I'll take "unconfortable and it burns" a little bit everyday, if it spares me the major tear and bleed and complications that follow birth. Overall, it's a very small inconvenience for what it's worth.

My only problem now is: DF is away for the week so I need to adapt and do it on my own. I've tried but couldn't find a position that made it possible yet. I'm not so flexible anymore and the positions and angles that I can use to get access there are very limited. Not to mention I don't see what I'm doing.

If you are a business driven entrepreneur looking for a good idea to develop, I think you should look into making some kind of a self massager for the perineum. I'm sure I'm not the only one finding it challenging if not impossible to perform the massage on my own with the big belly in the way and I was very surprised to find out nobody has yet come up with a device that would help single pregnant women do just that!

It could be as simple as a soft balloon that could be pumped bigger gradually once in place, to help stretch that sensitive skin progressively. A meter could indicate the level of pumping used each time so that the mother would see her progress from one day to the next.

Food for thought?

35 weeks belly update

2010-05-08T00:15:00.000-04:00

Busy week

2010-05-06T09:36:00.001-04:00

I thought this week would be relaxing since DF was back from Ottawa and not yet gone to Japan.

I was so wrong.

Monday = swimming
Tuesday = RESP presentation
Wednesday = swimming
Thursday = prenatal class
Friday = whatever will need to be done before DF's flight for Japan

On the other hand, I'm so excited that there's only 1 week left at work before taking my vacation! The weather is starting to be nice and it'll rock being able to sleep more and rest my feet in the air whenever I feel the need to.

I can't wait.

34 weeks follow-up

2010-05-03T10:23:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday was my 34 weeks medical visit and second time in my new doctor's office.

In short:

Weight gain since pre-pregnancy weight -> 21 lbs (YIKES! It was 16 lbs just 2 weeks ago)
Blood pressure -> slightly higher, but still normal
Position of the baby -> head down, heart beating to my right side now (I've only heard her heart beat on the other side so far so she has shifted position)
Cervix -> completely closed and firm - no sign of early labor yet
New symptoms -> swollen ankles and hands... Which could explain the increased weight gain.

The doctor said I was having a Braxton Hicks contraction as she was looking for the baby's head... I didn't feel it. Really. I'm sure the real contractions will be easier to notice though! lol. Probably a good thing since I'm going to have to time them.

All in all, I'm doing great and so is Baby.

The clinic has received my medical file from the CLSC but apprently, the most important sonogram (30 weeks - confirming my placenta is no longer previa) was not in it. I have to follow-up on that.

My next appointment is scheduled for next Tuesday, 3h45 pm. I'm hoping I can bring the swelling down by then.

Return of the cankles

2010-04-29T22:58:00.001-04:00

...and THIS is what my feet look like after a day at work + a little bit of driving.

What's so wrong about liking uncommon names?

2010-04-28T10:24:00.000-04:00

Unless DF and I are both struck with a profound feeling of incompatibility of her name when we first meet our baby girl, all odds are pointing that she will be called Jade.

I just love everything about that name:

It has a soft feminine ring to it, both in French and English
Jade is a gem that inspires not only beauty, but also strength
Green is my favorite colour
The name is easy to spell
The name is short
The name keeps its meaning in French and English
It blends well into the more complex last name without adding rhymes or another "c" or "r" : Jade Cascarano

Until lately, there was another point to that list of things I liked about that name : it had not been overused and sounded kind of different. I did not hear about anyone who knew a "Jade" until recently. I spoke to daycare educators and they all said they didn't have any in their groups... yet!

Then, I saw the latest statistical update for 2009 names given in Quebec and was struck in shock...

Jade was the FIFTH most popular name given to baby girls in the last year!

That bothers me. I know it shouldn't but still... it's not like it was the 25th... NO! We're really talking about the 5th most popular name of last year. Do I still like that name? Absolutely! Do I like it less? Well... The name itself is the same, but I really wish it were less popular.

I wanted my daughter to forge her identity and personality around a name that suited her like a glove and made her feel unique. If you found as many jades as you would find rocks laying around, would they still be considered gems or would they be tossed around like vulgar green pieces of rocks ? Whether I like it or not, rarity does play a certain role in my appreciation of the name and I was profoundly disappointed to learn that in a few years from now, there might be 2-3 other girls with the same name as our little one in her class.

So that's all leaving me a bit confused. Whenever I tell someone about my disappointment, it seems like I always get the all white or all black answer:

Some will tell me to start reading baby names book while I still have time to think and find another, better name.
Others will simply not care and not understand why I want my baby's name to feel a little more "rare" and "unique".

The problem is, I can't seem to be able to simply disregard the sudden news of popularity of the name. Yet, I also don't see how I could find a name that would fit our baby better. Now that I've twirled my mind around that name, it belongs to her and I'm reluctant to even open the discussion about considering other names, unless I'm really struck by one that would outshine Jade... which has not happened yet.

Entering Week 33

2010-04-23T14:18:00.000-04:00

Considering little Jade was already 4 lbs and 7 oz, 3 weeks ago, makes me believe she might be already in or close to the 6 lbs weights category. My guess is based on the sole belief that a fetus is known to gain approximately 0,5 lbs each week at this point. Of course, the size and weight given here are those of the average fetus. Since Jade does not have average size parents, it makes sense she might be a bit over the normal curve in terms of size and weight.

Baby’s senses are continuing to improve -- when light peeks in through your (extremely) stretched belly, those tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate. And, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs… time to start practicing your lullabies! Growth (at least inside your womb) is starting to slow, and you may notice baby descend into your pelvis at the end of this month.

So... This month is the month of the honeydrew. Hmmm... Sounds delicious with strawberries. : )

Parents and Kids Fair

2010-04-19T16:04:00.001-04:00

This is an annual event but for me, it was a first visit. It took place at Place Bonaventure in Montreal, last weekend (April 8th-11th 2010.) If you're curious, you can check it out here: http://parentsandkidsfair.com/

HUGE!!!

Now I know how an elephant feels in a porcelain store! I felt too big and there were too many people walking around me. I wish I was like one of those moms carrying a stroller just so I could:

fill it with stuff that was given to me
lean on it when my legs get tired
put pressure on people to walk out of my way

Gladly, I was able to convince DF to be a good sport and come with me for moral support and, more importantly, so that we could make on the spot decisions if we found a good deal.

We returned home with the following:

UppaBaby Vista 2010 Stroller in red as shown on picture below (graciously sponsored by my brother and parents - MERCI à Charles, Émilie, papa et maman pour ce cadeau collectif. On l'adore !!!!)
A kit of 24 washable diapers from Alicot with all the essentials. After seeing 3 presentations from 3 competitors we felt pretty confident we would not find a better deal for such a good product. (MERCI Séb pour ta recommandation !)

2 days and one mistake (purchasing a 3 steps convertible car seat which didn't fit in our car) later... We also bought the following Chicco car seat (compatible with stroller).

Which got successfully installed in our Kia Rondo no later than last Saturday morning (THANKS Honey for the trouble!)

Saturday, Teddy (Jade's Teddy Bear) got to try, the diaper, the stroller bassinet and the stroller seat and even got a free ride to the park with the dogs (THANKS to Luka and Chibi for acting civilized around Teddy and the new stroller).

So, as it is, we're really not missing much... Baby monitor and Diaper bag and the only 2 pieces that come to mind and that should be fixed shortly also: we are currently considering the Angel Care System for a baby monitor (as seen at the Parents and Kids Fair) and possibly the Phil and Teds' Diddie Diaper bag in black as shown below.

32 weeks belly picture

2010-04-18T23:53:00.001-04:00

The belly is getting harder to hide every week... Jade is stretching a lot and making good use of the space she has in there.

More about Anna-Laberge Hospital...

2010-04-14T09:57:00.002-04:00

I promised more information as to what makes this hospital interesting and attractive to me so here it is.

I believe:

Labor and delivery is a natural process experienced by all mothers of all races and species since the beginning of times. Pregnancy is not a disease, nor an injury.
Labor and delivery are painful. Many options exist to help a mother deal with the pain, before resorting to drugs.
The pregnant woman is the one birthing. The doctor or ob/gyn is there to help her and offer solutions if any complications should arise during labor or delivery but should limit his interventions to what is necessary for the health of the baby and mother.
In its first hours of life, the baby should be given the time to be in skin to skin contact with his parents, get acquainted with their smell and find its first meal before being handled by any other person (friends, staff, family members)

In this hospital:

The laboring woman is provided hospital meals instead of the IV drip.
All the rooms are private rooms.
All rooms have a bed for the father to sleep in. Some of those rooms have a double bed so that the new dad can share bed with the new mother. Babies can sleep in the same room with their parents.
All rooms have a tub, swiss exercice ball and birthing chair that can be used during the contractions.
The hospital is open to self-hypnosis, music, massages, pushing in different positions, wearing your own clothes, walking around the hospital during contractions or even outside in the yard.
In most cases, the labor and delivery of the baby will all be done in the same room instead of being transported to a delivery room.
In April 2008, a study conducted by La Presse positioned Anna-Laberge Hospital as the #1 best birthing location in the Greater Montreal, among 16 other hospitals.

I'm hoping to get a confirmation from the doctor who would be following me sometime today. I can then tell you more about her as well.

Considering My Options

2010-04-09T08:42:00.000-04:00

Let's recapitulate the steps I went through helping me choose the right hospital for giving birth.

In order, those were my preferences:

~~Midwife that would help deliver a baby in the confort of our house~~ -> not available in my area
~~A birthing center~~ -> not available in my area
~~BMP Hospital (a baby-friendly hospital 1 hr away from our house)~~ -> they will not follow patients who reside outside their territory.
HM Hospital (a "regular" hospital with a more conservative, narrower approach, 20 minutes from our house) -> it's the hospital on my territory and I'm currently being followed by their team of gynecologists.

Needless to say, I was less than happy with that option since it was my last choice. But then, I was told at 20 weeks, that my complete placenta previa meant I would need to be scheduled for a ceasarian birth.

- Oh!

So what difference does it make for me when I know it's going to be a scheduled ceasarian anyways? Not much really... I stopped my research and was satisfied that the closest hospital, which was already assuring my follow-ups would be right suited for the task.

But then, my story got an unexpected twist : 3 days ago, I was told I am no longer with placenta previa. Considering the distance separating the placenta and the cervix at this point makes the 20 weeks diagnostic very unlikely... As a result, my confidence in the staff is again shaky to say the least. What that means is also that I'm back on a normal pregnancy and there is no need to seek a ceasarian birth at this point.

- Oh!

Current situation : I'm 30 weeks and 5 days pregnant and feel again trapped with my last choice of a hospital for a natural delivery, but the first 3 options are no more available than they were initially. Only, the pressure to do something about it is getting a bit more intense as I'm getting close to my expected date of delivery (June 12th).

Yesterday, my prenatal class teacher told me about another hospital that was also certified "baby friendly" and was no further than BMP hosptial from our house. The reason she suggested I should look into is:

They do not restrict their follow-ups to residents of their territory only
She knows one of the gynecologists there she can refer me to and would probably accept to follow me

The hospital is Hospital Anna-Laberge, in Châteaugay. I got so excited about those news that I woke up at 4 am this morning and couldn't go back to sleep afterwards.

I'll tell you more about what makes this hospital so special in a different post...

Jade's 30th Week Sonogram

2010-04-06T15:21:00.006-04:00

Finally some news and answers!!!

Today was the day I would get my 30 weeks sonogram for the purpose of determining the exact position of my placenta. If you have followed this blog for a little while, you probably know that my 20 weeks sonogram had shown a complete placenta previa, which placed me among the "risk pregnancies" and I had to follow stricter guidelines in terms of the movements and level of effort I could do, to avoid any potential risks of a hemorrhage.

What this sonogram showed is that the placenta is now completely clearing the cervix and sitting at a very safe distance from it. What this means, is that mother and baby are completely healthy and back on the track of a normal pregnancy, with no reason for scheduling a cesarean birth prior to the first contractions.

Other conclusions we can draw from this echography are that Jade:

weighs 4 lbs 7 oz, which is the normal size of a 33 weeks old fetus (yes, she is THAT big already)
the OB/Gyn says there is no doubt she will be well over 9 lbs.
she has a full head of hair
her head is low (mommy is very proud of that - please keep it down)

I am overwhelmed with joy.

Looking back at First trimester

2010-04-01T11:03:00.000-04:00

Why do I feel like I'm back in First trimester?

I need to nap as soon as I come back from work... Sometimes the nap goes on until the next morning.
I'm actually able to sleep
I can't stand for more than 20 minutes before getting light headed
Less random tears from seeing something cute, less nightmares from seeing violence on t.v.
My breasts are almost back to their original size
My dreams are "normal dreams", i.e.: if I fall asleep reading a book, I'll dream I'm one of the characters
Food cravings and aversions have dissipated
People on the train don't offer their seat (usually - but yesterday a really nice man did!!! I'm still in shock. He's my new hero.)

How do I know I'm NOT back in First trimester?

My belly is way too big for this, and people notice/ask about my pregnancy
My baby is way too active for me to forget it's there
My legs swell easily
My breasts, though back to a normal size, have recently secrated stuff they never had before
I can count to 30 weeks without doubt, and
My 30 weeks echography is scheduled on Tuesday!

It seems like either my body has now adapted to the higher level of hormones and is going back to a more stable state OR maybe the fact that I'm sleeping more/better helps me deal with all the symptoms I've seen fade recently.

The mystery is complete.

Nerve wreck

2010-03-31T11:28:00.000-04:00

Guess what I'm doing this afternoon?
Teaching a 2 hour Word 2003 class to a group of employees at work.

How do I feel about it now?
Uhhhh... I wish I could run far far away.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that the employees aren't nice or that I'm not confortable with the material I will be teaching, but I've always been very uneasy with adressing large groups of people.

It all started in High School when I started having those panick attacks right *after* each one of my oral presentations. I got so bad that the school psychologist had to see me for a session of hypnosis before each oral in order to prevent the afterscene.

Last year, I was asked to teach the fundamentals of MS Office to people on my team at work and that went fine. But it was different! I realize now that the class was much less structured and I had only 3 participants who worked with me a daily basis so we kept things very casual.

This afternoon's group is constituted of 6 participants who are all expecting a professionnal level class and work in different teams that I do not interact much with. This is day 1 of a long road on which I will be giving MS Office classes every day until my maternity leave. The bar has been raised to another level and I'm so scared of facing that group. I feel exposed and vulnerable.

My heart is racing and I'm stupidly sitting at my desk with no other excuse than my poor stress management.

Wish me luck.

Milk? Colostrum? This soon?

2010-03-30T09:49:00.000-04:00

Did I just miss a chapter in my book? I don't quite remember reading that my breasts would start producing colostrum this soon! Actually, I don't remember reading much about this part of the breast development but I guess I was not expecting them to leak until the few last days preceding labor/birth.

Is this really what it is?

They didn't actually leak much but I noticed some dry beige crust on them when I woke up and sure enough, when I removed it, I got a few more drops of the thick liquid.

Whatever that was, it's probably a good idea I get myself some pads if I am at risk of getting more leaks in the weeks to come. I can only imagine the embarassment of a bigger leak while at work. EEEeeeek!!!

Better safe than sorry!

This is what 20 weeks will do to you

2010-03-28T14:13:00.003-04:00

Remember this picture of my belly at 9 weeks?

This is me NOW.

This shot was taken this morning, at 29 weeks

Same clothes, no makeup, same smile, same wet hair pulled back in a ponytail, same location... Only difference is the belly and this pic was taken without a flash.

29 weeks follow-up and GlucoDex results

2010-03-26T16:50:00.000-04:00

So today was the day I would meet the last obstetrician of the trio. My first impression is that we are going to get along very well.

Before meeting her, I had heard that she was the one who performed the delivery of triplets at that hospital a couple of years ago and since then, she was in charge of the clinic for risk pregnancies.

The first thing that caught my attention when I met her was that she was sporting a baby bump: she is currently pregnant with her third child. :) Then I noticed that she looked smart, efficient and nice.

My GlucoDex results came back from the lab and they are absolutely puuuuuuurfect! What a relief! I can still eat normally! :D

About the placenta previa...
She thinks I have about 80% chances that it moves to the side of my cervix and the 30 weeks echo should give us a heads up on that soon. She asks me for the date of the appointment and when I responded that I didn't receive a call from the hospital yet, she flipped: "don't do it at the hospital!!!" she says...

Uhhhh... why not? where should I have it done?
I'll do it for you at the clinic. I want to make sure it's done right. We've had 2 examples of poorly performed placenta previa echographies done by the hospital staff recently so I'm not taking any chances!!!

Bottom line -> she scheduled me for my 30 week echography on Tuesday April 6th and because she will be the one performing it, I should know more about the steps to take on my third trimester once it's done.

When I asked about my leg circulation problem, she wrote me a prescription for compression stockings that would be made to my exact measurements. I can't wait to try them!