34 weeks

6 weeks left, give or take.  Ben and I are feeling the excitement, and nerves now!  In as little as a month and a half we will be parents!  We will be responsible for a tiny little pint sized life.  To care for, to love, to protect - it's nerve wracking!  I fear the unknown, I don't like going into a situation that I haven't first carefully researched and read all that I needed to on before hand.  Call it a Virgo trait, call it a neurotic type-A personality trait - whatever name you give it, it's me through and through.  The problem is, I don't feel that I've done that yet with preparing for this baby.  Don't get me wrong, I've read - a lot.  Like 3 full pregnancy books cover to cover, plus I have three different websites that give me updates on what's going on with me on a daily basis, and numerous articles that I've saught out to try to sponge up as much information as I possibly can, but I still feel like I'm unprepared. 

Is anyone ever fully prepared?  Our parents went into parenthood with the loose advice from their friends and loved one's, and perhaps a doctor or two - they never had the resources that are out there today, and they were lucky if they got one grainy black and while ultrasound in the whole ordeal, and somehow they figured it out, they had their babies, and their babies grew up just fine.  I know this trepidation is all in my mind, I know I'll be just fine, and that I could probably write my own book or two on pregnancy and the like based off of all the information that I have stored in my brain, however I always fear that I will run into a situation where I don't know enough.  That I'm going to bring home this beautiful bundle of squirming love, and suddenly something is going to happen that I haven't read up on, and panic.

When I first found out I was pregnant, I was going through the first few shaky weeks hoping and praying for my sticky bean, that everything would be alright, and that my pregnancy would be viable.  It was a stressful time, and as I was lamenting to one of my fellow pregnant friends she gave me some really good advice, she said "The worrying will never stop.  It starts at conception, and it doesn't end for the rest of your life - welcome to parenthood".  It's true isn't it?  I'm 28 with a family of my own living in a different city from my mom, and just the other day she sent me a text warning me that she heard about and e-coli outbreak in Edmonton, and that I should be very careful with buying meat from Costco for the next bit.  The worrying will never stop, I suppose I need to make peace with that.  This is my new life now - I'm not longer just roaming the earth responsible for myself, but now I am expecting this helpless little bundle that I am taking an unwritten vow to love, protect, care for and I suppose, worry about.  Welcome to Parenthood.

Alright, enough with the philosophical ramblings...  lets recap my week now shall we?  And what a glorious week it has been!  My last week working 8:30am-5pm, my last week attempting to "dress up" or look presentable in an office setting, and my last week with staff, and phone calls and emails to answer from employees and would be hopeful employees.  I had been counting down for months, I swear I just did a recap where I stated I only had 65 days left, and somehow I got there without my noticing.  My replacement was all trained up, and comfortably settled in my desk with her own answering machine message on my phone, and all my email contacts safely stored in her new Outlook Email program.  I had taken a desk in one of the unused offices this week, and I basically just let her do her thing, and I stood by for the odd question or situation.  The transition went smoothly, and on friday at 3pm, the staff gathered in the board room with cake and cards and wished me well on my new adventure.  The end of an erra, the end of the "day job".

See I'm not just leaving for a year, I'm leaving indefinitely.  For years I have wanted to be a stay at home mom, to be able to attend soccer games, piano recitals, and field trips with my children, and be there for them for help with homework and science projects, and Ben and I figured out a way to make that dream a reality - and here's the best part:  I get to have my cake and eat it too.  I'm a makeup artist by trade, but I had resolved early on that I would always need a day job, that makeup, although a deep love of mine, would not pay the mortgage alone, and that I would always have it on the back burner while I worked a 9-5 instead.  For years I worked week days for the pay cheque, and weekends for my soul, my creativity, and my passion.  But from here on out, I can tell people I'm a makeup artist through and through.  I have my own thriving successful company, partnered with one of the best photographers in the city, and for the first time in my life, I am able to make money doing something I love!  It's an amazing feeling!  I get to not only work for myself, but I get to make my own hours, decide when and who I do work for, and schedule it all around my kid(s).  I'm living the dream!  MY dream!  2012/2013 are turning out to be awesome years!  And I can imagine it's only getting better from here on out! 

On the weekend Melissa and I spent Saturday doing 4 shoots, and then Ben and I worked to finish off the last little bits of the house to get it ready for company, as Sunday was our Baby Shower! 

Ben and I were completely overwhelmed by the unexpected turnout and generosity at our shower on Sunday!  We had people travel from all over to come together to celebrate little Lump, and I know I was fighting the urge to get a little choked up a couple times during the festivities!  Our little girl is so loved already, and it really meant so much to us that so many people came out.  The day was perfect, the weather cooperated beautifully and Ben's Mom and Dad threw together an amazing event!  We just can't thank them enough!  When all was said and done, we had trouble fitting everything in our car to drive home at the end of the day, and we had so much fun going through everything and sorting the items into piles to put away in the nursery.  Our baby's room is so full now I can't see her needing much else these days!  Thank you again everyone, Ben and I cannot express our gratitude and appreciation to you all enough!!! <3

On Monday I got to spend my first day of Mat leave at work with Melissa!  I couldn't sleep in, so I ended up getting up early, and running some errands to get groceries, and put on some laundry and such before heading to the studio to work on two lovely ladies, before coming home to spend a nice evening wtih my mom and Ben!  I could really get used to this whole "home during the day" thing!  My house has never been tidier, nor my kitchen counters cleaner, or laundry more caught up!  I can have dinner ready and waiting for Ben at 5:30, and because we don't have to come home and start making dinner at 5:30, and THEN start cleaning the house and putting laundry on, we get to really enjoy our evenings together now!  We went for a walk in the leaves the other night!  I can't remember the last time we had time to just enjoy each other's company at the end of the day, rather than just working along side each other!  I'm not so ignorant that I think it will always be this way, I know there are going to be times that Ben comes home to find me holding a screaming teething toddler  looking ragged and crying that I was too exhausted to come up with something to eat, and that I didn't get a chance to use the bathroom the whole day!  I know I won't always be a Stepford wife, but right now, it feel really damn good!

Anyway, on to the recap!!

How far along? 34 Weeks

Total weight gain: 26 Pounds  - increasing every week now!
Inches gained in the waist: 11.5” (47” waist now!)

Maternity clothes? Yes!!

Stretch marks?  Sadly yes… they have arrived… although I only noticed them on the lower portion of my belly on Thursday so I’m not sure if they count for this week, but since my view of the North of the Equator that is my tummy is very limited, they could have been there earlier this week as well, so I’m going to say Yes to this one this week.  Here’s hoping they fade quickly and completely!

Sleep:  Sleep in a nut shell, sucks.  I can’t get comfortable, my hips start aching when I lie on my side, my back hurts when I lie on my back, I go from cold to Fever in 2 minutes flat, and I can’t seem to stay asleep for more than a 1 hour block of time.  All in all, not great.   

Best moment this week: The Baby shower, so many loved one’s there to rub my belly and wish me well!! 

Miss Anything?  Sleeping straight through the night would be awesome…  Also having shirts that cover my belly would be nice too... 
Movement:  So much!  She used to just roll and kick when I laid down, but now she doesn’t even wait for that, and a couple times at the baby shower she showed off her snazzy moves to friends and family as I was standing too! 

Food cravings:  Nothing really these days.

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nope

Gender: GIRL!     

Labor Signs: Still just BH contractions now and then

Symptoms:   more of the same

Belly Button in or out? Still in as of right now, but it is becoming shallower and shallower every day, and when I pull my skin flush I can make it pop out, so perhaps it will pop after all?  I still have another 6 weeks to go, and Lump is doing a hell of a lot of growing lately…  (hence the stretch marks!)
Wedding rings on or off? Off, but still easily wearing my school ring. 

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Very Happy!

Looking forward to:   My little one’s arrival! 

 

Toys R Us Saga

So as I've mentioned, I'm not happy with Toys R Us.  So I decided to document exactly every phone call, every email, and every promise and put it right here on my Blog for everyone to see.  

Aug 19^th 2012

Online order for a Crib Mattress put through:  139.99 + 5% tax + $15.02 for shipping:  $162.67
Put through on Visa. 

Aug 27, 2012

Arrived home to find a Car Seat sitting on our front step.  After much confusion we discovered that our crib mattress had been mistakenly shipped to Ontario, and we got someone else’s car seat.  We called Toys R Us, (1^st call) and were instructed to bring the Car seat back to Purolator and have it shipped back to Toys R Us.

Aug 29, 2012

Called TRU  (2^nd Call) to ask what to do about the crib mattress and was told to put through another order, and as soon as the TRU warehouse received the Car Seat back, we would get a credit on the Visa.  As a result of the issue the TRU associate on the phone who put through the new mattress order said she would give us $20 off – Verbally authorized $141.01 to be put through on my Visa. (119.99 + 5% + $15.02 for shipping) 

Sept 5, 2012

                Arrived home to find TWO crib mattress on our back deck.  No charge on Visa yet. 

Sept 7, 2012

                Visa card charged $338.57.  (Was charged the full amount twice (no $20 off discount), and charged 3 times the shipping I was charged the first time.  $501.33 paid in total when it should have been $141.01 –

$360.32 over charged)

                3^rd  call made to TRU

-Informed to bring the second mattress to the nearest TRU store to get the cost of the mattress and the tax credited back to Visa – Shipping and promised $20 discount will be credited through the Online Customer Service once TRU had the second mattress back.  Informed that our initial $162.67 had already been credited and that it would take 3-5 days to appear on Credit Card.

Sept 8, 2012

Brought second mattress back to TRU store.  Was treated rudely by Baby’s R Us manager about original cost of mattress (credited us sale price without asking to see our confirmation emails to get the full price we had paid - and then got defensive when we informed her it was the wrong amount).  Eventually Credited $146.99.  $213.33 still outstanding.

Sept 13, 2012

                4^th-6^th call made to TRU – Still no additional credit on card

                Inquired when the rest of our credit would be put through, turns out nothing had been credited.  Ben was transferred to several people, and was instructed to wait to be called back within the hour.  After more than an hour without a call – Ben called in again.  He was informed the credit was put through (not the first time we've heard that).

                -Ben asked when he should call back if nothing had been done – was told Sept 19^th.

Sept 18^th, 2012

                Received an email notifying me of a Credit to my Visa card for $21 in the next 3-5 days.
(no credit on card yet)

Sept 19^th, 2012

                7^th Call to TRU (really not happy now) Still outstanding $213.33

                -Informed that there was a request on my account for a credit for $162.67 that had been requested on Sept 18th (so much for that credit having been done on the 13th as we were told)

                -I inquired about the additional shipping I was charged as a result of TRU shipping two crib mattresses at once ( $29.57 still not accounted for, for additional shipping) – there had been no credit issued to cover that cost. – TRU Customer Service Rep informed me he was issuing me a credit for the remaining $29.57.

- Rep offered me a $30 discount coupon for a future purchase – I requested that he apply it to this order since I probably won’t be spending a lot of money with TRU in the future as a result of these issues.  Was told that was “essentially what I’m going to do” … whatever that means

- Requested a deadline to call back if I was still missing money owed to me, I was told 2 weeks – which means Oct 3, 2012

Sept 20, 2012

                Received an email notification of a credit request to my Visa card for $146.99

(no credit on card for this credit OR $21 credit email from Sept 18^th yet) – Also, this credit was supposed to be for $162.67 which was the total cost of the initial order that turned out to be a car seat.  Once again, TRU did not attempt to credit me for the cost of Shipping the first order.  Still owed $213.33 with $170.99 accounted for in email credit notifications apparently coming to me in the next 3-5 days.  Still waiting for notification of the remaining $42.34, plus any additional “we screwed up” Credits TRU is willing to give us.  

Sept 21, 2012

 - Credit for $21 appeared on Visa

Sept 24, 2012
 - No other credit emails recieved, and no other credits appeared on my Visa.  As of Sept 7th, I have had a balance on my credit card that I have been waiting for TRU to clear off as a result of their errors.  This issues has been going on for more than a month.  I am 6 weeks away from welcoming my daughter to the world, and my baby is going to arrive before my money does.  As of today, I start posting this blog to spread the word of TRU's horrible Customer Service.

Sept 25, 2012
 - Credit for $146.99 appeared on Credit card.  Still outstanding:  $45.34
-Received a comment on my Blog Post on the TRU Canada Facebook page:

"Hi Heather, we can definitely understand your concern with this and would like to ensure that it is addressed for you. Due to your security settings, we were unable to send you a private message. Could you kindly provide us with your Order number and we can have it directed to our Customer Relations Team? Sincerely, Toys"R"Us Canada"

-Gave them both order numbers.  As of today there are still no additional credit notifications sent to me through email.  

Sept 30, 2012
-Still no additional credits, nor any contact attempted from TRU either by email or phone call, frustrated I left this comment on the blog post comments on the TRU Canada Facebook Page:

"Exactly what does "Right Away" mean to your company?!? It's been just shy of a WEEK since I posted this (on top of the 30+ days that I've been dealing with this issue), and I have yet to have any other resolution be brought to my attention either by email or phone call. I mean obviously by the looks of all the other complaints on this page I can imagine your Customer Relations Team must be swamped, but I'm not impressed that a charge on my credit card can go through within minutes, but a credit takes weeks and weeks! Are you going to pay me the interest that I'm racking up by holding a balance on my credit card too? Get your shit together Toys R Us, or I know one baby who will NEVER be a Toys R Us Kid. And that's a lot of money spent on years of birthdays, Christmas presents and general toy giving that you will not be getting a red cent of! If I don't hear from you by Wednesday, I'll be contacting Visa, Trouble Shooters, and anyone else who will listen to my issue and get my money back. Have a nice weekend."

Oct 2, 2012
-Comment posted from TRU Canada in response to my comment: 

"Hi Heather, we apologize for the delay. Your concern was forwarded however will follow up with them in regards to the status. Thanks." 


..... To be Continued...  

33 Weeks

Only 7 weeks (give or take a week) left to go!

We were so close to finishing the nursery this week, and then hit a bit of a snag...

These are the things we had left to do in there when I last left you:

1) Bedroom Door - When we bought the house, for some reason that bedroom didn't have a door.  And our Master bedroom, which had formerly been two smaller bedrooms that the previous owners had made into one big room, had two doors, so we took one of the extra doors on our room and installed it as a place holder for the nursery (mainly just so we could close that door and make use of the extra room).  But in 1960's construction every door in our house is a different size, and so our "place holder" didn't fit properly, and we had to really pull the door hard to get it to latch, which isn't great for checking on a sleeping baby.

2) Closet Door - Again, no closet doors when we bought the house.  From our Master bedroom closets, to our front entry hall closet, everything is wide open.  No idea why.  When we were negotiating the purchase we requested the closet doors be put back, and the owners told us they bought the house 11 years prior without a single closet door as well - so this isn't anything they had done.  Since we had put so much time and effort into that bedroom, we really wanted to finish it off right and put in a proper closet door (bifold)

3) Cornice/Curtains - this was really just me and my design style.  As you may remember from my pictures of the room, the pallet was pretty nuetral and a little bland, so I had decided that I wanted to install a Cornice over the top of the wood slat blinds and put up pretty purple curtains to girly up the room a bit and add a pop of color.  The curtains wouldn't be useable - strictly for design, as we would still use the wood blinds, but I just wanted to soften up the room a bit with some fabric.

4) Crib Skirt - The whole time I had been figuring out my Nursery and the needs I would have for my little one, I kept going back and forth on a Crib Skirt and a bumper in the crib.  Once we got the crib, and it was all put together I realized that it did look a little simplistic, and since I had left over material from making the curtains I decided to make a crib skirt for the crib as well - just to hide the bottom portion of the crib, and add my pop of purple in there as well.


So that was our list.  The previous weekend Ben and I got up Sunday morning, and bought the lumber for our Cornice, and headed out to the Fort to his parents house to get it perfectly mitered (Ben's saw isn't big enough to accommodate a 10inch slab of wood).  Then this last week Ben got to work putting the Cornice together and giving it 2 coats of white paint, while I hemmed my curtains, and then Saturday morning we decided to attach the curtains using grommets and hooks (so we could take them down and change them or wash them, rather than stapling them directly to the wood).  This was the finished product - I love it!

 As you can see - much prettier!  And the Cornice hides the folded up wood slats, making all the lines look clean and simple!


The next step was that bedroom door - this is where our week gets a little more frustrating...  We went over to the hardware store to get a proper door, and it turns out, our 1960's house didn't make anything in "standard sizing" (who's surprised?!?) so we had to buy a whole kit - which included a new door jam, meaning we had to tear out the newly framed pretty one that we JUST installed the trim for! Then after we pulled everything down, installed the new frame, and Ben perfectly cut the new door to the right size, he leaned it up against the garage so he could lay down poly in his garage and paint, and the wind knocked the door over splitting the side in two! Needless to say, he was a very very angry man (He litterally threw the broken door across the backyard and jumped up and down in the middle of it to break it further in frustration!)

So then on Monday night, Ben went out to get another door, but rather than getting a full other kit (for $80) we opted for just a door slab that was $25 to save us some cash.  Unfortunately with just buying the door slab, we then had to measure and chisel out the spots for the door hinges, and the door knob - so that's what we spent out evening doing, but we did get the door hung, and as soon as we pick out a door knob, we'll install that too!  In the meantime Ben has painted the door, and we are hoping to hang it back up tonight and cross that off our list!


As for the Closet Door - we understand why the previous owners didn't bother putting a proper door in in the 11 years they lived in our house... again, it's an issue with standard sizing, but this time it's the problem with the door being way too big for a bifold door, to the point where it would have to be custom made to spec, and cost a few hundred more than a "standard" door.  Needless to say, I've veto'd the closet door - I would rather put the money towards our little girl, and things she needs, rather than a door, so baby girl gets a pretty curtain as her closet (which is what we have in our Master Bedroom too, so it's really no big deal).  Perhaps one day, when we have a few hundred to play with, we'll outfit the whole house with properly fitting doors and closets, but right now, there are more important things to spend our money on!  So I will be going out tonight or tomorrow night to pick up curtains and a curtain rod to finish up that item.

Then there's the crib skirt - this is currently a work in progress, as I have measured, and cut the components, and I've hemmed one of the three pieces - I just have to hem the rest, and then sew velcro strips to the top underside of them to attach them to our crib mattress frame, and we're good!  I'm hoping to finish that project tonight!

We have our baby shower this weekend, and with that, we have people coming from out of town, and we would like to show off the room that has consumed our summer and all of our free time, so we are putting in extra hours this week to finally get it DONE!!

Construction aside, these are my last few days at my day job, my replacement is trained up and has already started taking over my responsibilities, and I've already given up my desk and phone!  I'm currently squatting in one of the unused offices in the back, and I'm basically just on call for my replacement in case she needs help with anything as I finish my "Research Director Manual" for her.  I can't believe this week is here already!  I swear I just wrote a blog post about how I had 60 some days left...

Oh, and as for the Toys R Us Saga, I had to call them again yesterday (for the 6th time) to once again try to get my remaining money credited to me.  I don't like to be bad cop, but I'm so annoyed with them, that it was time.  Not to mention, for the first 5 calls,  Ben was the one who called in, and he was more than nice and patient- but this issue has been going on a month now, and they still owe us over $200 (a balance that I would very much like to clear off my credit card!), so it was time to try a different approach to get our point across.  It's a good thing I did too - because even the "requested credit" they had put through for us was still $30 short of the total amount they owe us!  Here's the funny part, they attempted to give me a $30 off coupon for a future purchase for all the trouble!  Ha!  I told them that they could apply that to the current issue instead since we had no intention of giving Toys R Us any more money in the future if this was how they were going to treat us.  Sucks to be them - my child isn't even born yet - that's a lifetime, and thousands of dollars that we COULD have spent at their store as Lump grows up, but it's looking more and more like Lump will NOT be a Toys R Us kid!  I was given a two week date of Oct 3rd to call back if I don't have the entire amount back in my account by then.  I ended the call with "You had better hope I don't have to call back in two weeks!"

Just to be clear, it's not the initial mistake that has us so mad - not at all.  Mistakes happen, shipping slips were reversed, no biggie.  It's not even the accidental shipping of two mattresses rather than one - data entry issues happen, it's the fact that WE are the one's that have to stay on top of getting our money credited back to us, and we seem to have to take them by the hand and tell them exactly what numbers to punch into the computer too!!  They have my credit card info, and had no delay in charging me - but when it comes time to owning up to their mistake and getting my money back to me, it's taken a month, and 6 phone calls to try to clear up the issue!  Why do WE have to be the one's to call them to remind them?  They should be on this!  The second that car seat got back to the warehouse my credit card should have been credited - but instead they are only just putting in a "REQUEST" for a credit a MONTH later!  Ah! ...WooooSawwwww... *deep breaths*  I'm okay.  Obviously annoyed, and I feel that I'm justified in my frustrations...


ANYWAY....     

Lump is doing well, although I had a bit of a scare the other night.  Ben and I were grocery shopping, and in the first couple minutes of arriving at the store I started cramping up and having contractions.  Because this happens a lot when I walk around, I just took it easy, and went slowly through the asiles as we packed our cart full.  After about 30 minutes the cramping hadn't stopped and my stomach was rock hard and the pain was starting to really get to me and I needed to sit down - I was starting to think that I might have to make a trip to the hospital to get checked out, but luckily once I got home and I was able to stretch out and change positions, I got a little relief and everything eased up.

Now the funny thing is, when I started my "baby Journey" I was recommended to a "trying to conceive" online forum where I met a wonderful group of ladies who were all trying to start and increase their families.  These amazing ladies are all over the world, and we have all become quite close during this whole experience.  Three of us got pregnant around the same time, and our due dates are all in the same week - I'm first on Nov 6th, then Tessa is on the 7th, and Lynn is on the 8th (all expecting girls I might add!).  On the exact same day, at the same time I was experiencing my cramping up in Edmonton (and debating a trip to the hospital), Lynn was checking into labour and delivery at the hospital down in Texas, and Tessa was being examined in Idaho - all for the exact same reason!  Now if that's not a connection I don't know what is!  All of us are just fine, and all babies are still perfect!  The only advice the doctors had was basically to make sure to drink lots of water, and take it easy!

That aside, I am moving a little slower these days as I'm much bigger - I grew another inch this week, and gained another 2 pounds, Lump is pushing on everything, and her kicks are getting a little more powerful to the point of startling me at times.  Emmy is also weird about sitting on my lap, and I think it's because he keeps getting kicked when he tries to curl up with me (it could also be the fact that there is less lap to enjoy these days) so Ben has been getting more kitty cuddles lately instead, which is sweet, as long as the love is still going around, I'm fine with that :)

Here's the bump - Ben called it my Bullet Belly:

 
 You know that feeling when you've been wearing a pair of pants that are just a wee bit tight on you, and your belt ends up digging into your waist all day to the point where you can't WAIT to get them off to get that instant relief?  Well I feel that on a regular basis now - but when I pull my waist band away from my tummy to attempt to get that relief - nothing changes.  The pressure is all internal.  I could be naked as a jay-bird and still feel that tightness around my waist when I sit.  The only answer is to "lounge" more often than not.  I lean back in my chair, recline, and stretch out on the couch as much as I can to get some relief.  If you hang out with me, and I look like I'm settling in for a nap - that's the reason, it just feels better, and I think Lump is happier too, since she tends to kick the tight "belt" spot when I'm sitting upright.

In happy news though, we had another OB appointment, and my little lump is in the appropriate "delivery ready" head down position - which is a bit of a relief because for the longest time she was quite content to sleep in the fetal positon with her head up just below my ribs and her rump to the right of my belly button.  Now her bum is taking the place of where her head used to sit, and those flicks and pops I feel on my full bladder are her little fists of fury!  Also, I use the term "full bladder" loosely, since I am running to the bathroom so frequently, these days, and each time I go I feel like I've waited too long and that my tank is really full, and then I'm left exiting the bathroom annoyed that I had even moved from my chair.  Ben has been taking bets on when I wet myself, but I'm adamant that it's not going to happen!  ...So then I suppose to ensure it doesn't I have to still get up when I feel that urge, regardless of how small the quantity...  oh well.

Anyway, I think I've rambled on long enough - here's the Recap!

How far along? 33 Weeks

Total weight gain: 24 Pounds – Baby is packing on ½ pound every week, so of course that weight is also going to show up on the scale!   
Inches gained in the waist: 11” now!  (I’m sporting a 46.5” waist!  Woo!) 

Maternity clothes? Yes!!

Stretch marks?  None!

Sleep:  Meh – some nights are better than others, I still find myself “waiting to wakeup” more times than not – not that I’m feeling like I’m well rested and I’m done sleeping, but more so I feel like there’s a certain anticipation in my sleep these days, and I keep waking myself up several times a night making sure that I’m not over sleeping… it’s annoying as hell. 

Best moment this week:   Finding out our little one is Head Down!!

Miss Anything?  Breathing, peeing at normal intervals, just moving with ease in general
Movement:  Very much so!  I think Lump takes after her daddy when she rolls over – Ben doesn’t roll slowly, he more so hauls himself up, and throws him self around instead to move from A to B (bless you Memory Foam mattress!), and I feel like that’s what’s going on with her!  

Food cravings:  Nothing  that comes to mind

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nope.  

Gender: GIRL!     

Labor Signs:   Just the cramps and BH Contractions

Symptoms:   You name it – I got it

Belly Button in or out? Still in!
Wedding rings on or off? Off, but I’m wearing my school ring

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Very Happy!

Looking forward to:  Baby shower!

32 Weeks

32 week Blog post, written on the Tuesday!  Wooo!

It's been a great week!  I've started training my replacement at work, and I'm counting down to my Mat Leave ( Only 8 more work days left!  eep!) Then I'm taking the last week in Sept as "vacation" so I can work along side my wonderful business partner Melissa for a week full of Boudoir before filling out the EI forms and going on "official" Mat Leave!  Then I plan to put my feet up, read a book or two, and prep my freezer full of yummy food that is easy to pop in the slow cooker or oven while I'm fussing over my new little one!  I can't wait!

Ben and I finally had a relativly calm week (aside from the Toys R US issue, but more on that later).  We put together our little one's dresser on Tuesday night, and discovered that Ikea put the wrong drawer tracks on one of the pre-made pieces, so we ended up running down to Ikea this week to exchange them before we could call the Nursery furniture done.  Then we finally got to filming another Daddy Experience Vid:

(I honestly love the expression on Ben's face in the "freeze frame")

Then we had a great dinner with friends Thursday night, and got to cleaning and tidying the house Friday night!  Anyone who's moved and needed to pick up a few pieces of furniture knows what a pain those ridiculously large cardboard boxes are, so it felt good to finally clear them out of our living space, and start collecting and putting away tools!

Saturday Ben and I did some running around before I went off to work to a Boudoir Shoot, and then Ben met up with me later and we went to What the Truck which is a Food Truck "gathering" in chruch hill square.  There we met up with friends and filled our bellies with yummy food! 

Sunday I worked again, and then we headed to the Fort to see Ben's parents and Grandmother (it's been a while!).  It was really nice to have more of a weekend this time around!  I mentioned to Ben that this week felt longer than the last few, and he agreed but also pointed out that we had taken a long weekend the last two weeks - but I honestly think the feeling was more because of the fact that we didn't work the whole time, time flies when you're working hard!  

Anyway, here's the Belly this week!  I was mentioning to friends earlier today that for most of my pictures I don't realize that I'm as big as I am until I see the photos - but this time around, I definitely feel it.  I'm huge and I'm feeling every inch of it!  I suppose it's appropriate that my little girl will be born around Thanksgiving (hopefully a couple weeks after..) because I have that "I ate too much turkey dinner, and want to throw up to feel better" feeling going on these days.

Ben and I picked up Cat food and litter this weekend, and because I can't carry the two 14KG buckets of litter, I opted to carry the large bag of cat food, and the Cashier asked me if I was okay, and I responded I was, and she said "I don't want you to go into labour!"  And I said "well I hope I don't go into labour!  I have 2 more months to go!"  She gasped and stared at my belly with her jaw hanging and said "wow".  I just muttered "Yeah, I know I'm huge".  I really don't blame her, I look full term these days! (I'm terrified as to what the next few months will bring me!)

I said earlier that I would talk about the issues we had with Toys R Us, and so here's the story: 

I ordered a crib mattress through Toys R Us online, and they mixed up the order and sent me someone's car seat, while they got my crib mattress in Ontario, we were both told to send them back and we will be credited, so we did. In the meantime I called in and ordered a crib mattress again and explained the situation. Because of the hassle, the girl gave me $20 off, and put through the order. The other day Ben and I came home to find TWO crib mattresses on our back deck. We were waiting to see what happened with the billing and sure enough, not only did I get charged for an additional 2 mattresses, but the first one hasn't been credited yet, and they didn't even give me the discount they had said they would!

So I ordered one mattress, was charged for 3, and received 2 and a car seat!

So then we were instructed to haul the second mattress back to TRU to get our mattress price credited back to us (but we still had to wait for the online customer service to credit our shipping costs), and then the manager who helped us was actually a little rude to us!  She didn't ask me for my confirmation email info, and instead just credited me the "sale price" which was about $20 less than what I had paid, and when I said the amount was wrong, she got defensive stating that she has no way of knowing what we paid (she could have just asked to see the email BEFORE she put through the transaction rather than getting pissy afterward!).  The baby isn't even born yet, and Ben has already stated a few time that he want's to never shop at TRU again. 

That whole fiasco combined with the fact that our dresser came with the wrong parts, and I just discovered tonight that a nursing cover I ordered online that I haven't received is stating it was delivered to me - we certainly seem to be batting 1000 when it comes to buying things for this little girl!!

All that aside, I really don't have any complaints, I've got a wicked awesome waddle, the weather is cooled down so I'm not as "moist" as I've been most the summer, I still have a couple shirts that still cover the belly, I have stunning new Display pictures from my Maternity shoot, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of passing off my job to my replacement (a task that seemed mountainous a couple weeks ago).  Life is good!  

In fact, it's great!  Currently as I type this, I have my shirt up to expose my large round belly, and Ben has his hand on top and he's playing with lump moving her around (he gently pokes her, and she kicks in response, or he finds a "lump" and trys to follow it around my belly as she moves).  We can't wait to meet our little girl, and we're so excited to begin this new adventure together into parenthood!

Recap Time!

How far along? 32 Weeks

Total weight gain: 22 Pounds  - Same
Inches gained in the waist: 10” Same

Maternity clothes? Yes!!

Stretch marks?  None!

Sleep:  Sleep is starting to be broken up by 2 am pee breaks, but I suppose that’s to be expected these days as I have the bladder of a cat now.   

Best moment this week:  The moments that I stand in the doorway of our newly built nursery and imagine seeing our little girl fast asleep in the middle of the crib J  

Miss Anything?  Taking a normal breath, my normal stride, even being able to comfortably wear my maternity jeans!  (I think this might be the last week I get any use out of them, as I find I’m having to start leaning back when I sit as the top of the denim part has been digging into the curve of my belly! 
Movement:  I love feeling all the rolls and kicks!   

Food cravings:  Nothing really these days.  The Olive phase has subsided.   

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Not really no. 

Gender: GIRL!     

Labor Signs: Still just BH contractions

Symptoms:   Leg cramps have sucked pretty hard as of late, but I think that was in part to my forgetting to get all my water in in a day!  Since I’ve made a conscious effort to drink more H2O, I haven’t had a cramp since! 

Belly Button in or out? Still in! (I haven’t seen Ashton in weeks, and when I saw her on Thursday that was one of the very first things she asked me!)
Wedding rings on or off? Off, but still easily wearing my school ring. 

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Very Happy!

Looking forward to:  Leaving my Day job! 

 

  

31 Weeks

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have entered into the single digit countdown!  Where have the last 30 some weeks gone?!?

 I seem to be sporting more of a watermelon shape these days... 


So when I left you last, I had just celebrated my 28th birthday by building our Crib!  (I know I JUST wrote the post, but play along!)

This week Ben and I had time booked off that we remembered, and only worked Mon-Wed before taking off for a 5 day weekend!  Not only that, but we left town too - meaning we didn't work on the room the whole weekend either!  Woo! 

On Thursday we got up and did a little work in the Nursery (paint touch ups and the like) and Ben finished making a little access panel for our tub to fit into our wall:

(I've been avoiding posting any shots of the paint color to leave it as a surprise for the finished product, but Ben was so pleased with his handy work, he put this up anyway, so I guess it won't hurt to share it)

Cute huh?  I said "It looks like a little picture frame!  Our little girl is totally going to draw in there one day"  Ben said he was aware, but in the mean time, it's drawing free, so I suppose a picture was in order!

On thursday I also went to see my hairdresser for a much needed trim (the last time I had my hair cut, I was about 7 weeks pregnant, so it has been a long time coming!)  And then Erik and Athena totally surprised me by taking Ben and I out for dinner to Naanolicious on Whyte Ave for my birthday (awesome if you haven't been yet!).  That Erik, I tell you!  He really caught me off guard with this one!  I had no idea!!!

...actually...  On Monday on my birthday, Erik posted this to my facebook wall:

With the comment: "Birthday greetings from me and Ryan Gosling. More so from Ryan Gosling. ... in fact I'd actually like to distance myself from his remark, if I may. See you Thursday. :)"

And since I'm typically the one in our marriage who manages the schedule and I wasn't aware of anything happening Thursday, I called Ben and the conversation went a little something like this:

Me: Hey what's going on Thursday?
Ben: What?
Me: Are we doing something Thursday?
Ben: Ah, what do you mean?
Me:  Erik just posted on my wall and said "See you Thursday" did you make plans?
Ben:  *Sigh*  Erik and Athena are taking you out for your birthday, but Erik said to keep it a surprise, he didn't tell me he was going to tell you
Me:  Oh!  Bahahahahaha, he's awesome at surprises!

Dinner was awesome, and we always have a great time with Erik and Athena regardless of when we make the plans!  Thanks so much for taking us out guys!  That was super sweet of you!  <3

On Friday, as a result of our "lack of play" this summer, I requested that we head down to Calgary earlier in the day, and spend a couple hours on the beach at Sikome Lake before heading to my mom's place - Ben agreed, and we hit the road at 9am.  We both had a great nap in the sun, and even ended up with a bit of a sun burn (that's the price you pay when your skin hasn't been soaking up the sun all season!)  Then we headed to my mom's place and treated her to dinner before curling up on the couch and watching a movie together (while my mom gave me a pedicure!  It was wonderful!  My poor feet have been so neglected this summer due to the fact that I can't reach them comfortably!)

On Saturday we slept in as much as we could, and then got ready for the day, and I dropped Ben off at my brother's place to help him with some work around the house (okay, so we didn't relax the whole weekend, but my Brother has been doing his house renovations by himself for what seems like the whole year, so Ben had no problems going to give him a hand and spending some time with him in the process).  Meanwhile I met up with an old dear friend for lunch!  Lisa and I met at church when we were little, and have been best friends for our entire lives until drifting apart a little when I moved to Edmonton.  It was so great to see her and catch up, I didn't realize how much I had been missed her until I saw her and gave her a big hug!

Before leaving for lunch I felt like my belly was especially large in the morning, so I grabbed my mom's measureing tape, and discovered that I was now sporting a 45 1/2" belly!  Meaning I have grown an inch and a half in 4 days!!  Which could probably explain why I have been feeling so uncomfortable the last couple days - the pain I had been feeling around my belly button could be the result of some serious stretching going on!

Sunday I had the pleasure of giving my 13 year old cousin Shannon her first makeup lesson, and a big goodie bag full of customized makeup for her!  Shannon and I share a birthday, and she wasn't allowed to wear makeup until she turned 13 (a rule that I too had when I was growing up) so to help get her there, I made her a promise that if she obeyed the rule and waited, then not only would I come down and give her a proper makeup lesson, but I would buy her a custom pallet and all the necessary tools too!  Needless to say, she followed the rules!

I can't believe that girl is 13 already!  We had a lot of fun at the lesson, and I hope she really enjoys her Birthday Gift!

At the same time, Shannon, her brother Richard, and my Auntie Liz gave me the gift of a spa pedicure for my birthday, and I'm so excited to get my toes painted!  I have had bare toes all summer, and it saddens me every time I look at them (which is a lot, since I wear flip flops every day!)  I'm the kind of girl who rarely has color on my finger nails, but never is without on my toes!  I was also informed that if I go into labour with color on my toes the nurses will take it off, since they need to check the nail beds while I'm delivering - I didn't know that before!  My aunt is a nurse though, so she's a pretty good source of information in that respect :p

Also on Sunday night, I got a great email around 8pm when Melissa sent me my Maternity Photo Gallery!  I am just in awe, I can't believe that it's me in the pictures - there is so much beauty and elegance in every photo, and Ben looks so handsome!  We clean up pretty well on our own, but Melissa just has such a talent for bringing out the love and beauty into each picture!!  I think I've looked through the Gallery 40 times already, and I can't stop clicking through each picture!  Each time I land on a new picture I say "I love this one" only to click to the next photo, and say the exact same thing!  Ben and I couldn't be happier with the photos!  I can't wait to get the disc from Melissa so I can share some!! In the meantime, here's a couple that she posted on her photography page:

On Monday very very early in the morning I woke up at 4am with a very large air bubble trapped in my ribs and causing me a great deal of pain, and after rolling around to every position I could think of to release the offending air, I ended up wide awake with no hope of sleep in sight.  After lying in bed for about an hour, I finally turned to my phone and went on facebook to lament about my situation.  Within 2 minutes I get a text from Ben who was in the basement apparently dealing with a similar situation!  He got up to go to the bathroom and also found himself wide awake and unable to go back to sleep at 5am, and also reached for his phone and saw my post!

He had been sleeping in the basement at my mom's place because back at home we share a King sized bed together with my body pillow and our fat black cat, but at my mom's place there just isn't enough room in the double or even the queen for all 4 of us (yes, the body pillow is a must!), so he graciously gave me the whole Queen bed, and slept in the double in the basement.  So the chances that we would wake up at the same time in two different ends of the house are pretty bizarre!

After Ben joined me to cuddle and chat for a few hours, we resolved just to get up and drive back to Edmoton then, rather than waiting for 9am- so we very quietly packed up our things, and then woke my mom at 7am to say goodbye.  We arrived back in Edmonton at 10am which was when our lack of sleep hit us, and we crawled back into bed for a much needed 3 hour nap.  Then after running errands, and watching a very horrible movie (Escape to LA) we started putting the dresser together before falling into bed around midnight.

Phew!  All caught up!  Time for the baby recap!!

 

How far along? 31 Weeks

Total weight gain: 22 Pounds  - Up one
Inches gained in the waist: 10” up an inch and a half (I’m sporting a 45 1/2” waist!) 

Maternity clothes? Yes!!

Stretch marks?  None!

Sleep:  It completely depends on what I’ve done during the day!  On days that I work myself to the bone I sleep like a rock, but on those days where I have taken it easy and relaxed a little, I seem to toss and turn the whole night!  It’s really not fair! 

Best moment this week:   Getting to see the Maternity photos!  These are keepsakes that I am going to treasure forever!   

Miss Anything?  Moving with ease?  Ben teases me about my grunting and gasping, but it’s just a given as I try to get around these days, there is so much more pressure on my lungs and just in general on my organs – everything is very compact, and moving these days is some what reminiscent of a struggling beached whale.   
Movement:  Not only is she rolling around in there, but she’s doing so with such force that my belly jiggles in response like a shock wave just went through it!  I swear she’s moshing!

Food cravings:  I really wanted fruit and chocolate the other day – but that’s still a Heather-ism, so I don’t think I can count that.   

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Not really no. 

Gender: GIRL!     

Labor Signs: Still just BH contractions

Symptoms:   Pretty well all the typical one’s except for any sort of nausea, or heart burn (still avoiding that one!)

Belly Button in or out? Still in!  But on the weekend my belly button was really hurting, and it looks so stretched out, perhaps it will pop after all?
Wedding rings on or off? Off, but I’m wearing my school ring again as the weather is a little cooler these days. 

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Very Happy!

Looking forward to:  Baby Shower! 

30 weeks

So I know I'm a week late writing this update....

I started it, I did - I wrote a whole paragraph about week 30, which then proceeded to turn into the blog post that you see previous to this one, so I deleted the first paragraph, gave it a new name, and resolved to write my 30 week blog post later that night when I have some down time.  Of course there is no "down time" these days as it evident by my "all work and no play" post, so the 30 week blog post never made it out. 

Today is 31 weeks, but lets just pretend shall we? 

30 week bump (and my new pretty dress!)



So it's August 28th, and it's been a whirl wind week, we have accomplished much and even had a little break in there for my birthday too!  Because of my failing "Mommy Brain" these days, the only way I can recap the week, is to go day by day by going through my calender, so here goes!

Wednesday Aug 22nd - OB appointment - I passed my Glucose Screener, and all my levels were normal.  My belly is growing a week ahead, but lump is exactly on schedule (aside from the long arms legs, and big feet -which are all about 2 weeks ahead).  I use the term "schedule" loosely, because she is growing exactly how she needs to, and all these measurements are just put together into a big pot to determine averages, and I don't know about you - but I've never fit into a Doctor's "perfect average" chart either.  

Thursday Aug 23rd -  I had my final Bump and Groove class, and wished all the ladies well in their upcoming weeks.  There was a girl there who was dancing on her due date, and still doing great, so I hope baby arrived safe and sound for her! 

Friday Aug 24th - As a result of Ben and I missing a vacation day (we booked it off, and then forgot we did, and went to work - we realized our error when we checked the schedule a few days after the fact.... even when we book time off we still go to work!) we booked this day off!  I called up Dee to give me a hand painting the bathroom, and Ben had a "Man Date" with Erik to the Expendibles 2.

Saturday Aug 25th - After doing hair and makeup for a client, Ben and I headed to Fort Sask to have my Birthday BBQ with the family!  It was nice to leave the house and spend time with loved one's, although the topic of conversation still revolved around our renovations - at least we weren't working!  And there was cake!  So I really can't complain - I'm spoiled :p

Sunday Aug 26th - I had a couple engagement sessions booked so I was out and about a little bit during the day while Ben worked on the room, but when I came home, I was surprised with a special birthday dinner Ben had cooked me, made up of some of my favorite foods  - Milestones Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip, and penne in a rose sauce with grilled chicken!  He even went out and got non-alcoholic Sparkling Wine for me to toast to my birthday with!  He's a good man that one!  After dinner, we got to work installing the baseboard and trim in the Nursery.

Monday Aug 27th  my 28th birthday!- Work as usual, followed by a quick dinner, and then Ben and I finished the trim in the Nursery and put together the crib!  (Don't look at him that way, that's what I wanted to do!)


And that pretty well brings us up to the Preggo Weekly Recap:

How far along? 30 Weeks

Total weight gain: 21 Pounds  - Up two
Inches gained in the waist: 8.5” (Same)  (I’m sporting a 44” waist!) 

Maternity clothes? Yes!!

Stretch marks?  None!

Sleep:  So far so good!  Still sleeping through the night for the most part, but I have had a couple rude awakenings when I go to stretch while I’m waking up, and my calves cease up on me – Ouch!

Best moment this week:   The birthday celebrations, and finally getting the crib put together!   

Miss Anything?  Bending over in any capacity.  I end up doing a sort of ballet plea where my knees go out on either side to make room for my belly.  I’ve gotten to the point in my pregnancy where I see something on the floor, and for a second stare down at it debating how badly I need to pick it up. 
Movement:  She’s aquiring a more powerful kick, and there are more full body rolls now! 

Food cravings:  Can’t really think of anything these days, the olive phase has slowed a little bit.   

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Not really no. 

Gender: GIRL!     

Labor Signs: Still just BH contractions

Symptoms:   Pretty well all the typical one’s except for any sort of nausea, or heart burn (still avoiding that one!)

Belly Button in or out? Still in!
Wedding rings on or off? Off, but I’m wearing my school ring again as the weather is a little cooler these days. 

Happy or Moody most of the time:  Very Happy!

Looking forward to:  finishing the Nursery and Bathroom!!!!