I got good news at my OB appoint, in that my GTT and thyroid tests were fine. Anemia was ok, but since it had dropped a little she wants me to get an iron suppliment. That's fine, I wasn't too worried, I just didn't want it to be so low she'd tell me I had to eat meat or something!

The bad part of the appointment was that my weight is up, again. It's been steadily up, and by more than the "reccomended amount" every visit. I've always gained weight really easily, and had a large appetite. Of course now that I'm pregnant, both these things will happen to an even greater extent. I haven't been able to walk because it causes sciatic pain, and I've been too busy to manage going swimming. So of course my weight is going up. The Dr didn't offer me much advice other than "eat a big salad before meals and watch your portions". Hmmm yeah, that's all news to someone who's struggled with her weight since she was a pre-teen! I cried the whole way home from the appointment. I had hoped to be able to relax about food and my weight while pregnant, all I want is a healthy baby!

I'm going to try and watch my food a little better, limit my junky foods a bit, and maybe up my protein where I can to stave off hunger better, but I'm not going to go nuts. I've had lots of women who've had kids tell me to relax, every woman is different, and that maybe I'm just going to gain more weight than most. (one friend told me she gained 75lbs with her daughter, she was a normal weight to start and is shorter than I am) I also want to work on the exercise. I went to the gym at work (free!) and did 20 minutes light cycling on a stationary bike. I might go swimming with my husband this weekend too.
- posted by Wendy @ 2:01:00 p.m.

 
Baby has been kicking a LOT lately. This morning we lay in bed for almost half an hour after waking cuddling, while hubby had his hand accross my belly. Baby kicked almost nonstop, and neither of us wanted to get up and start getting ready for work. It didn't help to hear the stormy weather outside. It would have been great to stay cuddled in bed enjoying that time. I love feeling the baby move around.

I've got an OB appt this afternoon, where I will find out the results of my thyroid, anemia and one-hour GTT test. I'm REALLY hoping the GTT one comes back ok.

The hospital tour we had on tuesday was neat. I feel better seeing where it all happens, lilke that is one less unknown in this whole process. The rooms are quite tiny, though there were 15 of us in the class crowded into the little room. I still think I will want my mom there. She's done this before and attended several other births, so she should be a big help. If labour is long it might be good for hubby to have someone else there too. We got to see a brand new baby being bathed while checking out the nursery area - so cute!
- posted by Wendy @ 7:34:00 a.m.

 
I spent most of the day so far working on posters for work. We're doing an open house kind of thing and I needed to cut and paste a bunch of stuff for that. I was working on the floor to have enough space for the posterboard and holy crow was it hard to move around! Crawling around on the floor and leaning over posterboard to glue is HARD WORK with a 6 month preggo belly to work around! I'm finally done, and not a moment too soon!

At our prenatal class tonight we get the tour of the hospital. I'm really looking forward to this, I have no idea what the labour and delivery areas are like. I want to see how big the rooms are too. My mom wants to be in there with us, and I'm concerned that it could get crowded, you know? I don't mind the idea of her there, I could use the support and someone to take photos, but I don't want to feel overcrowded.
- posted by Wendy @ 1:50:00 p.m.

 
Baby is definitely getting big. It is big enough to cause me discomfort depending on its position. I'll feel pain and pressure in one side of my abdomen and if I shift around or poke my belly hard, I'll sometimes feel a funny shift and releif. It's so neat to feel like we can "interact" with the baby, even if it is just poking to make it move! It seems to respond to typing on the computer too, especially when my belly is right up against the keyboard tray. Maybe it's the noise, maybe it's the vibrations, I don't know. I do spend a lot of my days on the computer and type pretty quickly!

- posted by Wendy @ 1:00:00 p.m.

 
Well, I seem to have officially started leaking! I woke up with crustiness on both breasts this morning. I'm sure this will get annoying in time, but for now it's another exciting sign.

I go for my 1 hour GTT test tomorrow, plus my regular thyroid and an iron test. I REALLY hope my GTT goes okay, I don't want to deal with gestational diabetes. I also have a dentist appointment tomorrow. I'm nervous about that, I have bad teeth and I don't want to learn that I have more cavities. Plus my gums bleed when you look at them funny, due to the pregnancy, so the cleaning and exam should be fun. I want to get it done though, my dental coverage just kicked in at work - hooray!
- posted by Wendy @ 3:21:00 p.m.

 
Baby is bopping around a lot these days. I love feeling it move, knowing there is a growing little baby in there! It's a lot easier to feel from the outside now, so hubby can often catch some good thumps. The other day he put his head on my belly and started talking to the baby, and it kicked his face a few time! That was pretty neat, feeling the baby respond to his deep voice. I could tell he was really excited about that.

I've been finding out what makes the baby move more. Sometimes it's just a mystery, like why it's thumping away in there now, but other times I can coax movement. When I lean into a counter or push hard on my belly it thumps, like it doesn't like running out of room. When I eat something sugary like sweets or juice that usually gets it going for a bit. Also, when I knit with 2 circular needles, and the extra ends hang down and tap my belly lightly, baby seems to respond to that, which is fun.
- posted by Wendy @ 8:32:00 a.m.

 
I'm having a lot more gaslately, which is less than pleasant. Oh the joys of pregnancy! I've been testing the waters with walking, and it really does seem to be the cause of the sciatic pain I was getting. Any time I do a lot of walking, I end up with pain, days I don't walk at all, I'm almost entirely pain free. This does NOT encourage a lot of walking!
- posted by Wendy @ 5:39:00 p.m.

 
I am feeling like I REALLY look pregnant now. Alternately I am self conscious of my big belly, and proud of it. It's weird to have such a big belly, such an obvious sign of my current state.

I've had nausea off and on, and have had to head to the bathroom more often. I think baby might be more vertical now, pressing on bladder and stomach at the same time. The nausea hasn't been that bad, just a little nagging feeling, so I can mostly ignore it.

We were watching Maternity Ward on tv last night. A young woman had to have her baby by C-section at 25 weeks because of an infection in her uterus. It was amazing to see that tiny baby when they pulled it out. It was so tiny and thin, obviously not meant to be coming out so soon. But at the same time I was floored, thinking "THAT is what is inside me right now. If our baby came out now, it might actually survive and would actually look like a little human". They didn't say how the baby did long-term, but they did show it again a month later (29 weeks I guess) and it looked much better, filled out and better colouring.
- posted by Wendy @ 9:53:00 a.m.

 
I'm feeling much better. Mid-day yesterday the 'bad mood' lifted some, so I'm a lot happier. It's frustrating to feel out of control emotionally. With my history of depression, it's also a little scarey, so I'm glad to be having a better day.

I also started out yesterday feeling a little nauseous. I was worried that 'morning sickness' was going to start up again, but it only lasted a little while. I think it's related to the lack of space my insides have these days. I sit quite upright at my desk at work, and with the baby getting large (about a foot long now!) in there, not much space is left for my stomach. I found a smaller-than-usual lunch had me 'full' for quite a while yesterday.
- posted by Wendy @ 9:55:00 a.m.

 
I've been having a moody couple of days. The tiniest little things are frustrating, I'm sad for no reason, and I'm tired out. I really hope this doesn't last. My husband has been great though, so supportive. Last night I was feeling weepy and he just held me and told me it was ok to cry and it was ok that I didn't know why I was sad. Then after a while he told me silly stories to make me laugh. What a gem.

I spent my day off work yesterday looking for maternity clothes, specifically pants. I am down to 2 pairs of pants that fit right, one pair of maternity jeans with the panel in front, and some black stretch pants that are nearly worn through between the legs. Mom and I looked EVERYWHERE in town: the two maternity shops, department stores, a consignment shop, and thrift stores, but no luck. At the Bay (canadian department store) I found one pair of pants that were okay, but they were $50 and brown. I REALLY want black pants, as I have no tops that would go with brown and need to wear runners all the time. Plus $50 is a lot for pants I won't be able to wear that long.......

I'm going to try walmart again after work today, and maybe another thrift shop. What I want are some yoga-style pants that are not TOO casual, that fit mostly under my belly. Anything like that at the maternity shops was porportioned wrong. They seem to think only women with skinny legs and small rears get pregnant!
- posted by Wendy @ 9:27:00 a.m.

 
I just got the sweetest little baby gift! My coworker stopped by on her way to a meeting with a book she bought while in scotland last month: Ten in the bed. It's a mini hardcover book with the cutest illustrations. It's a slight variation on that nursery rhyme with the teddy bears, in this one it's a little child and all different stuffed animals. So cute, and I can already picture us reading this to our little one at night.
- posted by Wendy @ 1:00:00 p.m.

 
I went to a welcome wagon baby shower even yesterday. A number of baby related companies (breast pump folks, Babies R Us, Photographers, etc) come and set up tables, they did a baby CPR demo and photo slide show, and gave away a TON of prizes. Everything from baby wipes to a carseat and a basinett! It seemed like more than half the people there won something. I won a Sound N Lights Baby Monitor which was pretty cool. ( I live in a small apartment and now have two baby monitors, but that's okay!) I also got a bunch of little freebies, mostly from signing up for the Babies R Us registry at the show. Their package of goodies included bottles, a Nuk Soother, nursing pads, a safety switchplate, magnets and some samples.

I'm having what I guess is Sciatic pain, increased over the last couple of days. It's pretty bad, I hobble around funny as a result. From what I read there isn't a lot you can do but wait for the baby to shift position and/or be delivered. I hope this doesn't mean I can't go for walks, I was just trying to start that up again to keep the weight in check!
- posted by Wendy @ 7:12:00 a.m.

 
Here is a photo of our "baby corner" thus far:

I haven't organized things into the changetable yet, that's why there are bags on top and a little pile by the crib. I may get some baskets or something for inside the cupboards on the changetable, to put folded baby stuff on. I'm really happy with the crib, I think it looks really nice, and the dark colours in the bumper pad and quilt go nicely with the darker wood. It's so nice to have some of the big stuff set up so I can see it.
- posted by Wendy @ 7:07:00 a.m.

 
I sure cleaned up this weekend - I'm finally feeling more ready for baby, though it can stay inside until fully cooked please! ;)

A friend's mother offered me a changing table she no longer needed, and it is really great. It has a wide drawer and cupboards in the bottom, lots of room to store baby stuff. When we went to pick it up she took us accross the street to see my friend's sister who had two bags of stuff for us: half a dozen plastic bottles, 3 receiving blankets, 2 knit/crochet blankets, a small diaper bag, and a couple baby facecloths! I had to go back with my mom to pick up the changing table later as it wouldn't fit in my little car, and we stopped in at a Salvation Army on the way. There I found a crib for $15!! It's a nice wood one, I measured the slats and they are safe, the matress height is adjustable and the siderail comes down with a foot release, plus it came with a matress, a teddy bear bumper and a matching quilt! I couldn't beleive my luck! I want to give it all a good cleaning, tighten up the bolts and stuff, but it looks great and you can't beat that price.

I set the crib up in the "baby corner" with the changetable at the foot of it, and it makes me really happy to have a real baby space now, instead of a corner with boxes and bags in it. I might try organizing baby stuff into the changetable tonight. Maybe if I get it a little neatened up I will post a photo tomorrow. It's neat but a little spooky to see the crib and changetable set up in the corner......
- posted by Wendy @ 9:52:00 a.m.

 
My appointment went well, she didn't seem TOO concerned about my weight. I brought it up and said "I don't think I am eating an EXCESSIVE amount....." and she focussed on exercise. She said try to get in some walking each day, it might help with my sleep too. I'm releived that it doesn't seem like a huge issue to her. I gained 8.5lbs in the last month, which is quite a lot I think, but I do gain weight easily and my belly is measuring a touch on the large size. Hubby and I are both larger folks, so we may well be having a large baby.

The prenatal class was alright too. It was very odd being in a room full of pregnant women, plus I am the smallest as they are all a month or more further along. (I'm a touch early taking this class but it was the one that fit my schedule) We watched a video about conception and development, talked about the basics of nutrition, and a bit about baby's position for birth and stuff. A lot of it was stuff I had already read, but I can tell we will learn a few things. I like the instructor. She's young and pretty relaxed, a good mix between professional and knowledgable and easygoing, sort of like my OBs.

I have a day off today, I took wednesdays off from now on to use up my vacation time and get a break midweek. We're off to pick up a changing table a friend is giving us (HOORAY!) and then out for breakfast and some shopping.
- posted by Wendy @ 8:36:00 a.m.