35 weeks

5 weeks to go...so hard to believe, time is really flying by now. We keep saying to each other, soon it won't just be the two of us! The baby is around 5.5 pounds now. It doesn't look visible that the baby has dropped but I can really feel that it has. There is such enormous pressure on my bladder all the time now. I probably go to the bathroom 20 times a day and I really wish that was an exaggeration. It's worse when I stand up.

I've given my notice in at work so next Friday, April 3, will be my last day. I'm really glad. Working is really taking a lot out of me and there's lots I can be doing at home, as well as resting more! My work was nice enough to give me job security until May 17, 2010...normally you only get 1 year. The problem with that is if I do decide to go back, almost all daycares require babies to be 12 months old before they are accepted...so that would leave me with a month up in the air. So it's nice that I don't have to force myself into work when I'm miserable just so I can prolong my maternity leave!

Last night we went to our prenatal class and it was a super helpful class. It was all about natural methods to deal with pain relief. We did some relaxation exercises, breathing patterns and the husbands were even taught massage techniques. It's never a bad class when you get a massage out of it! And the snack was cookies and milk so that was great too!

And now for the horrendous pictures taken late last night before bed...don't judge my outfit, I don't have many pj's that fit anymore!

Prenatal Class

We got there late (oops!). I'm normally always early for everything but ever since I've been pregnant, I get everywhere late because it takes me longer to get ready and I always have to go to the bathroom one last time before leaving the house, even if I just went 5 minutes before! And then of course I forget everything and forgot the actual location of the class on the counter and we had to go back for it!

Anyways, we're in a class with about 14 or so other couples. Everyone there is due between April 20 and May 3. When you have your baby, you just start bringing the baby to the class. It runs for 10 weeks and will cover everything from labour to after the baby comes, breastfeeding, getting back to a normal routine, bathing, etc. So I think it's going to be a really good class. Last night we just covered some initial questions from everyone. Next class will be all about natural coping methods to handle pain. The 3rd class will be all about the pain medication available, the effects on the mother and the baby. I'm very interested in both of those classes. Most of you know that I've had a drug free pregnancy to date and my hope (however realistic!) is to have a drug free labour as well. I'm obviously not sure what I'm getting into yet so I will not be disappointed in myself if I do have to use some type of pain relief but my hope is that going into it not wanting to use anything, I will question everything more carefully and not be so quick to put just anything into my body and the baby's.

I have no pregnant friends at the moment. So I spend all my time around skinny girls with nice, flat bellies. This is all well and good but when you're sporting a basketball around your waistline, you start to feel a bit like a whale! So this class was excellent in that I could be around other pregnant women who are at the same point as I am.

That's about it, nothing major to report from the class but I think it'll be useful and I'm glad we signed up for it.

This weekend we're going to keep working on the baby's room, Shawn is busy stripping, sanding and refinishing furniture, I've been washing everything in sight and making meals to freeze so that we can eat well during the first couple of weeks home without needing a lot of work to make it happen.

34 weeks

6 weeks to go! The baby is pretty close to 5 pounds now and is fully developed, even the lungs. Now he/she is just gaining weight and getting more uncomfortable in there. I had a doctor's appointment today and everything is good, heartrate is 150 today and the baby's head is at the bottom, where it should be for labour.

Tonight we start prenatal classes so I have to make this one short but I'll post again tomorrow and let you all know how it went.

33 Weeks

7 weeks to go. 4 weeks until I'm considered full term. Baby is 4.5 pounds now. Sleep is getting difficult, there's a lot of pressure on my bladder making bathroom breaks necessary ALL the time. Kind of annoying. We got the crib on the weekend and set it up so the room is starting to take shape...it looks weird having it in the room...makes it seem real!!

13 weeks is when we started taking pics so I thought it would be neat to compare.

13 weeks:

23 weeks:

33 weeks:

I'm not going to lie, I'm feeling kind of like a beached whale right about now and I still have more growing to do. I can't see my feet, can't breath properly, can't bend over, have problems sleeping, getting comfortable, too much pressure on everything when I walk, blah, blah, blah...I know, what a complainer, hey?! It's a good thing though. Several weeks ago, all I could think about was how horrible labor would be and how much pain I would be in. Now as the days go by, I'm starting to care less...as long as the baby comes out, I'm happy! And Shawn and I are both getting less scared and more excited to meet our baby.

32 weeks

8 weeks left! We've made a giant list of everything that we need to do to get prepared for the baby's arrival and are trying to get something done each night. I'm sure we'll never be fully prepared but at least it feels like we're doing something to get ready!

At my doctor's appointment this morning, the baby's heartbeat was 155. I've gained a whopping 34 pounds so far. Yikes. No comment from the doctor that this was bad or unhealthy...I keep having to remind myself that I started quite low and could've used a few pounds at that point!

Chels is coming for a visit and we're super excited for that! Should be a super fun weekend...Mom and Bill, Michael, Kristina and the kids are all coming for supper on Sunday too. Hopefully the weather cooperates...normally it should be nice and warm in Calgary but Chels is apparently bringing the crummy weather with her!