32 Weeks

How Far Along:

32 weeks - January 12 - 18, 2014

 

Size Of Baby?

Squash! Can't say I am a fan of squash!!

Baby is practicing sucking, swallowing and breathing! Baby is capable of sucking his/her thumb now. Baby's skin is becoming soft and smooth.

Less than 2 months to go! I keep forgetting February is short month too!!

  

Maternity Clothes?

My baby shower attire: 

  Mondays outfit:

Tuesday's Day of shopping attire: 

Another non-maternity shirt that fits better as maternity! 

Stretch Marks?

Still just a small one, but nothing really noticeable.

 

Gender?

Team Green!

What the Doctor Had To Say:

No appointment this week. Just tracking my blood pressure at home. I did end up calling my OB about my blood pressure, thinking my meds needed to be increased, but he was on holidays and the on call dr wanted me to be triaged first. So I sat in triage for 4 hours hooked up to monitors, my blood pressure was 140/98 and they found a trace of protein in my urine. So I ended up having blood work, which luckily came back all clear. Baby passed the non-stress test, a few contractions were noted, but just Braxton and hicks. They wouldn't increase my meds, told me not to travel this weekend, but gave me no rules to follow. They told me my blood pressure is unstable and refused to treat it! I was sure bed rest was headed my way with the way the nurse was talking. 

Needless to say my stress levels with this whole situation has increased. I had been keeping a calm approach towards the whole thing and by the time I was driving home, I was upset and in tears over it all. It finally took its toll and it probably wouldn't have, if I was dealing with my OB, whom I trust. Tuesday can't come soon enough, so I can get this taken care of properly!
  

Sleep?
   Marginally better, but still waking frequently with discomfort, although I'm still not sure what the cause is, my ankle, leg cramps or the need to roll.

Baby Purchases This Week:

The rest of the babys hats came in the mail: 

More information to come on these beauties!! 

Hit up the Babies R Us sale:

The bath tun, mommy hooks, carseat cover, bath products, drying rack, healthcare kit, mirror, scratch mittens, snot sucker, mattress wedge.

(And costco for those sleepers) 

We decided to go on our babymoon after all, with strict intentions to relax, along with a few stops of course to get the baby essentials: 

Which included our stroller, our pack and play, bouncer, change pad, change pad covers, bassinet and pack and play sheets, swaddle blankets, baby monitor, newborn sleepers, hooded towels, breast pump bottles, bottle nipples, the bummsie, 2 pillows (they match the nursery perfect and will work great for the rocker), bottle warmer and sterilizer, sound machine and wash clothes! We are set!! Let the washing and organizing begin! 

Made this Week:
Crocheted away 

Started working on the baby mobile: 

These are all stuffed now, just need to embellish them with fabric details for eyes/ears/wings and then buy some dowel and paint them white and hang the animals from it and voila baby mobile will be done!!  

Cravings/Aversions?

Cannot get enough water! It is all I want at this stage, along with milk with dinner!

Cheesecake Factory Chocolate Cake found its way back to our hotel and we sure did enjoy that too!! 

   

Movement?
  Baby was super shy at my baby shower - of course, but when I got home it was all action. I think baby must be able to sense different environments by sound because as soon as I got in my car to go, baby was kicking.

Baby was also reassuring me, kicking all the way to the hospital on Thursday, and while we were there!! It did help putting my mind at ease! 

Feeling?

Still pretty good for the lack of sleep I am able to get. I am beginning to get more leg cramps in the night, but nothing intolerable.

I actually had enough energy for a full day of baby shopping on Tuesday. I felt soo proud of myself! Although doctors orders have restricted my outings to "taking it easy".

Stressed about this blood pressure/pre-eclampsia scare. I know I will feel better when I talk to my OB, but in the mean time, I feel like I'm just sitting and trying not to worry, but reality is that it's on my mind non-stop and I'm worried.

While on our babymoon, the jacuzzi tub did it's job and relaxed me completely, along with some naps and just a sense of accomplishment of getting all our baby stuff. All baby purchases needed before baby were made!! I am glad we went despite the doctors medically advising against it, but I'm sure it was for the reason of leaving the country. I felt safe knowing that I was close to Canada if I had to get back. 

  

Highlights:
My baby shower! It really was awesome being showered with my closest friends and my side of the family's presence. We are very blessed to have such an amazing support group filled with wonderful ladies and I am sure a lot of advice! Baby V was spoiled to say the least, but received a lot of awesome gifts.

Speaking of gifts, Alison sent us this sweet and thoughtful gift!! Thank you soo much!!! 

Can't wait to see Baby V in that adorable hat her mom made!! 

 We did decide to head to the states, knowing that if anything should happen, we were not far from Canada, and could just head home. Luckily I felt great all weekend, probably better than I would have sitting and stirring at home. It was nice to get away with M one last time. We found lots of time to relax and managed to only goto the stores we needed to goto, to which I had most items set aside at already, knowing shopping the whole store was against doctors orders. 

Belly Button?

In, but it is getting flatter and flatter. 

 

Wedding Rings?

On, but with this pre-eclampsia scare, I think I will take them off soon!! Once again, I will see what my OB is thinking.

Best Moment of the Week?

Baby shower wins. Although going away with M is a close 2nd for our baby moon, despite not being able to go far, just getting away together for the weekend was nice! It is also a good feeling knowing  we have everything we need for baby now! A huge weight off my shoulders!

Crazy Pregnancy Moment:

The "I think I might pee my pants" debacle. Sure enough the baby is breech and therefore bounces on my bladder as if it is a trampoline often, sending me to the bathroom frequently. Monday was no acception. We were getting ready to go to our friends house and of course I had to pee, so I did. Then right before we left (5 min later) I thought I had to pee again, but no luck. Baby was playing games with me! So we get in the car and are driving and that's when it dawned on me, this is why pregnant  women pee their pants. They get sick of running back and forth just to not pee. Well while in the car, I announced to Mike that I might just pee my pants and that I was in fact NOT joking! It was bad! Every 2 minutes my bladder felt like it might explode. Mikes response was "at least we have leather seats". The pressure was insane! Baby continued dancing away on it. I didn't end up peeing my pants, but when we made it to our friends, I went pee and (tmi) was only able to pee the smallest amount!! I would have swore my bladder was super full!! 

  

Bump Pic:

Excuse the rough appearance of this weeks bump pic! It was taken right after we got home from the states. Yes I think my face has gotten a little rounder... I'm trying to ignore that fact... And these comfy jeans make my legs look wider, as they are a more relaxed fit! 

22 weeks:

Looking Forward To:

   Seeing the baby next week at our next ultrasound. I guess there is one perk to have blood pressure issues! I also cannot wait to see my OB and hopefully get some answers regarding this blood pressure scare! 

Babymoon Weekend Rewind

Our babymoon was excellent, although it was off to a bumpy start after Thursday's trip to triage. I called my OB's office to report my high blood pressure readings and because my OB was on holidays, the doctor on call wanted me to come in and get triaged just to be safe. So I headed in, was there for 4 hours, hooked up to monitors to check on the baby, my urine sample came back with a trace of protein in it, so they ended up taking blood work too. The nurse was warning me that bedrest was headed my way, and that chances of me going away this weekend was slim! Then the resident doctor came in, told me baby was doing well, they found some contractions on my non-stress-test, but nothing major and are assuming they were just Braxton and hicks, since I didn't feel pain with them. But due to my unstable blood pressure which was high when I went in, it was medically advised to not travel out of the country this weekend. They didn't increase my meds, but just told me to take it easy.

I came home, not feeling overly reassured with what my current medical state was, was upset with the current news about my blood pressure and now protein in my urine. M and I had to decide what we were going to do, and decided to go away anyways, with the intentions of relaxing more than shopping. We figured if I stayed home, I would have sat around and worried/waited for something to happen. So I decided to call ahead to the few baby stores we intended in going to and had them put my items on hold, so we could just go in and buy them, with little walking/shopping needed and that worked out well. The stores were very accomodating. 

Friday we got up, got ready, dropped the dogs off at the farm and headed to Buffalo, New York, which is about an hour and a half away. We had no wait at the border. Stopped at a few stores, grabbing the stuff I had on hold, had lunch at Applebee's, finished up at 2 more stores, shopping minimally, knowing I shouldn't be walking around too much and then we went and checked into the hotel. 

Our room was awesome!! 

It had everything we needed!! We ordered in take out to our room from a pizza place and relaxed the night away with a swim in the pool, which was a little cool, and followed it up with a soak in the jacuzzi tub! 

Friday nights sleep was not overly great, as I only brought one pillow and my maternity wedge, figuring there would be more than enough pillows, which I'm sure would have been enough if I didn't need a wall of pillows on each side of me! 

Saturday we went down and had breakfast and then hit up Destination Maternity looking for a formal dress for this weeks conference. Um dress shopping was miserating!! I felt like I would be better off in a garbage bag than in some of the dresses I tried on!! I had an idea in my head and didn't find it, but I did luck out with 2 dresses for the price being cheaper than one. I was beat after that excursion, luckily they have juice and protein bars, as well as a little lounge, where M and I relaxed for a bit before headed out to do one more store. We headed to Victorias Secret, with hopes of finding some button down pjs for nursing. We didn't find that exactly, but a few night shirts/sleep dresses that would work and of course were on sale! On our way out, we grabbed a piece of chocolate cake to go from The Cheesecake Factory!

After that we headed back to the hotel for lunch, relaxed the afternoon away, followed by a nap! This tub was seriously my favorite thing this whole weekend!!

Getting in and out of it was a trick with my belly in the way, but nothing relaxed me more and my blood pressure came right down after each soak! 

After my nap, we got ready for dinner, and knew we had 3 quick stops to make because I forgot a few things and we couldn't find coffee for Mikes Dad at the Walmart we went to on Friday. But we were able to quickly find those things and then had a nice dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, TGI Fridays! We both had a nice steak dinner! 

Back to the hotel we went where we watched The Blind Side, shared some chocolate cake and headed to bed. M had got me more pillows from housekeeping and I slept soo much better, but I did miss our bed!! 

Sunday morning, we packed up, repacked the car because it was FULL, had breakfast and headed home! Once again we lucked out with no wait at the border and no crazy traffic on the way home! It was smooth sailing and prefect timing because the roads around home were getting bad and the snow was coming down!  

Everything has now been purchased for the baby, now we just have to get it all ready, washed and organized, which will probably start next weekend, as we are not around much this week. The nursery is a big mess right now, waiting for me to go up and start sorting through it all, finding homes for everything and getting everything ready to be washed! 

Mike did build the stroller yesterday, while I put together the bouncer. M was worried when he saw the size of the box, which was small, knowing the stroller is not small, but he had it built in 20 minutes! It was super easy! 

Overall we had a fantastic weekend, just us, before the baby comes, which of course we look forward to. I'm glad we went, despite the doctors recommendation, nothing horrible happened, I was truly able to relax this weekend and I know I wouldn't have been able to if I was at home this weekend! I of course took extra measure calling ahead to the 2 baby stores where most of our shopping was done. I also knew we were just 10 minutes over the border, should I need to get to a hospital in Canada. 

I am soo very lucky to have such a supportive and encouraging husband, who did everything he could to help me relax this weekend, knowing my health, as well as the baby were constantly on my mind! We are both really looking forward to tomorrow's appointment with our OB, as well as seeing Baby V. Hopefully some of the worry will be put aside. 

Check back tomorrow to see all our purchases!!

And don't forget to enter the custom onsie give away found HERE.

TheA-Dorable Designs Give Away

Alright let's get started with the first give away of the year!!! A little something for a little one!!!


I was searching all over the place looking to have custom baby hats made. I couldn't find anywhere local, that was able to do exactly what I wanted, so of course I turned to etsy!! I scrolled through hats and came across TheA-Dorable Designs page. After scrolling through her items, which there are several to choose from:

Burp clothes and bibs

Towels and hooded towels

A little something for the twins in your life

Onsies and of course hats

All of which are customized to your liking!! She has a ton of different fonts and colors available!!

So I decided to have these hats made:

I didn't see the exact colors I wanted, so I messaged her on etsy and she responded right away and gave me some other options.

The colors turned out perfect!! Shipping wasn't badly priced for coming to Canada and I honestly couldn't be happier.

Thea (the shop owner) was great to work with, responded quickly, shipped fast and the quality is great!! I cant wait to see Baby V sporting these hats!!

In conversations with Thea, she has kindly decided to do a give away to one of my lucky readers!! A custom onsie of your choosing!!!

I was going to do a rafflecopter give away, but we are going to do one "the old fashioned" simple way!

The winner MUST be a follower of Life As I Know It, either with GFC, bloglovin or facebook - this is not an entry.

This give away is open to Canadians and Americans.

Mandatory Entries:

- "favorite" TheA-Dorable Designs on etsy. Leave me a comment letting me know you did.

- leave me a separate comment indicating which onsie you would choose!

I will pick a winner next Friday, January 24th.

Good luck!!

Baby Shower

This past weekend I was honored with my very own baby shower! During my struggle with infertility baby showers were honestly the hardest for me! As happy as I was to celebrate friends upcoming babies, knowing that having a baby was something I may never experience never left the back of my mind. I would often fight back tears during the showers and on the way home I would definitely lose some. I honestly was convinced that this day was never going to happen for me.


But this past weekend was the very opposite! It was a small shower my sister and Mom hosted with my closest friends and my side of the family. It was perfect, nice and intimate. Getting ready in the morning I lost a few tears in the shower and a few more on my way there. I honestly just felt soo blessed to be able to experience having a baby shower for my baby, the baby that has opened our eyes to our very own miracle. It is crazy how easily it was to convince myself that this day would never come, and then when it did, I was just overwhelmed with peoples kindness, support and generosity!!


I am bummed that I didn't get a pic with all the ladies whom attended, but I do have pics of pretty much everyone there!! My MOH from my wedding took some great pictures, and to make matters even better, she came all the way down from Sudbury - 7 hour drive away!! It really did mean a lot that she took the time to attend, especially since we don't get a lot of time to visit. Hurry up and move home C!!! Do you think I got a pic of her? Nope of course not!


On to the details:

My sister tried her very best to stick to the same colors in our nursery, which is aqua and grey. 

My shower invites and game cards:

These were made by sisters neighbour, who actually runs an etsy shop called Crease Studios. The cards were adorable!!! They really did turn out great!!!

Each guest had to fill out the "who knows mommy best" quiz and wishes for baby. 

The cake:

Was made my other sisters neighbour!! 

What I wore: 

The gifts: 

The books: 

Each guest was to bring a book instead of a card, so Baby V's library is well stocked!! 

Needless to say Baby V was spoiled!!! We are soo grateful for everything we received!! The Moses basket above had been a family airloom in Mikes family for years, Mikes mom made the chevron cover for the mattress and she also made me the quilt!! Kelly gave the other homemade blankets!! Soo cute!!

Each guest was given a clothes pin with either a moustache or bow to determine what they guessed Baby V will be. Then they couldn't cross their legs or someone could steal their pin. It was funny how many people were stumped on the sex of Baby V! I guess I'm not the only one!!  But the guesses were once again right down the middle. 

Overall everything was perfect!! M, I and Baby V are so blessed with great friends and family filled with love and support. We are soo very grateful for the generous gifts we received!! 

Now I just need to get organizing everything, which I figure I will do after our babymoon this weekend. Crazy to think after this weekend we should have just about everything we need!! Then it is just organizing and waiting for baby!! 

31 Weeks

How Far Along:

31 weeks - January 5 - 11, 2014

 

Size Of Baby?

 

Baby is becoming more pink and less red this week as fat fills in under the skin. His/her irises can now dilate as well!

 

9ish more weeks to go!! This week we hit less than 2 months on the count down!!

Maternity Clothes?
  Still able to mix in a few non-maternity items like this shirt:

Love that it is a comfortable option, although it didn't get much wear previous to being pregnant! It was a bit big, but now it fits better! It might just get put away with my maternity clothes when we are all said and done in 2 months! 

Ready for my OB appt on Friday:

Stretch Marks?

Still just a small one, but nothing really noticeable.

 

Gender?

Team Green!

What the Doctor Had To Say:

Baby is a growing machine! Still measuring ahead as far as my belly is concerned. Blood pressure is back to being borderline. So he has decided to do another ultrasound come my next appointment, where he will also most likely decide to increase my blood pressure meds. In the meantime I will monitor closely at home. We will also most likely come up with our birth plan at our next appointment. Baby is back into breech position.
  

Sleep?
  Is not happening. Hit my all time high for bathroom breaks in one night (3) and have just been tossing and turning non-stop seeing every hour on the clock. Napping isn't even going well! My dreams this weeks were out of this world! I dreamt we adopted a baby elephant??? And mentioned the other one below in crazy pregnant moment! 

Baby Purchases This Week:

 Purchased a car seat net used, as well as a baby on board sign. 

The baby's custom hats I ordered from  TheA-dorable Designs on etsy came in and I couldn't be happier with how they turned out!! 

Can't wait to see the baby in them!! I have an awesome give away coming up from the shop within the next week or two! Stay tuned!!

Made this Week:
Crocheted away

Cravings/Aversions?

I am definitely eating smaller meals now. Cravings have pretty much curbed at this point since I'm not loving the side effects. Water is my best friend right now. 

I did spoil myself with Cinnabon after maternity clothes shopping. I always wondered why Cinnabon was soo awkwardly located in the mall, until Friday when I rewarded myself with Cinnabon after trying on clothes (what a chore). It is conveniently located near the maternity stores!! Duh! What prego isn't going to smell Cinnabon and hit it up? Haha

   

Movement?
  Feeling lots of tumbles and rolls, kicks and hiccups. Baby V is quite active and I am loving it!! 

While shopping I had a stop and breath moment, not sure if it was a contraction or just a really BIG movement, but it made me stop for a moment. My energy level for shopping is dwindling, so our babymoon shopping trip should be interesting. Not sure if it's my foot that's causing the issues or just not being active for a month - maybe both! 

Feeling?

I feel great despite the lack of sleep. I think being able to get up and move around more freely is helping, as I finally feel able to get things done myself, but in short intervals. 

Reflux and heart burn have been big contenders this week. 

Weight Gain:

It's been a while since I've updated this, but now that my cast is off the weight they take at the doctors office is now more accurate. My cast weighed 5 pounds!! We are looking at about 20 - 22 pounds so far. 

  

Highlights:
We had our prenatal birthing class this week. We opted for the one day course instead of weekly classes. Turns out we knew some of the couples in our class from high school and we are all due around the same time! The class was informative, just long with horrible chairs!! 

 

Belly Button?

In, but it is getting flatter and flatter. 

 

Wedding Rings?
On and loose.

Best Moment of the Week?

Hearing sweet baby V and getting those adorable hats in the mail was pretty darn exciting! Also knowing that our baby is going to be here in less than 2 months feels soo surreal!     

Crazy Pregnancy Moment:

  Had my first dream about the baby's sex. Although it made no sense because first it was a girl, then a boy... Crazy pregnant dreams. But the name stuck out for the boy! So although the sex wasn't clear, the baby was cute and the boy names we struggle with was settled. 

  

Bump Pic:

And bare belly shots... 

Looking Forward To:

    My baby shower!!! I honestly feel sooo honoured and incredibly lucky to be able to celebrate my baby shower with my closest friends and family!