Kicks!!

I've been feeling the first kicks for a few days now (Dec 17th was the first time!). It is seriously the most awesome thing ever!!! I keep thinking my tummy is about to rumble but then I realize it's her saying "hey mama!". So cool. So very cool.

We've had a rough couple days. One of my wisdom teeth decided it needed to remind me who is boss so it pushed itself up and is pushing all of my other teeth out of the way. It is also infected. This is something I should have dealt with a long time ago, and certainly before I got pregnant but I am a huge procrastinator and was hoping it would behave for 9 months (stupid me!). I was in so much pain the other night that I laid in bed for an hour sobbing until James finally told me I needed to go to the hospital. The doctor couldn't really do much except tell me I couldn't take Advil (boo!) but that I could take Morphine for a couple days until I could get into a dentist. I only ended up needing the morphine that night and have been saving the rest in case it gets really bad again. I haven't been able to get a dentist appointment (yeah.... not a whole lot of options the week of Christmas) but I am hoping for the best. Hopefully the penicillin will do its job and I can deal with my evil teeth in the new year.

On better baby news, we have decided to definitely get the 3D ultrasound done. Our appointment is February 3 in Victoria. My friend and her baby are going to come over from Vancouver and my mum is going to come down with us as well. I can't wait!

Healthy but Shy (20 weeks, 5 days)

I went for my 20 week ultrasound on Friday, Dec 11. It was pretty damn awesome! The baby slept through most of the exam but then the technician poked her to wake her up and she went crazy!! It was the coolest thing ever -- head was shaking, fists were pumping, and legs were kicking. She was not impressed to be woken up at all! That's mama's baby for sure.

The great news is that everything is growing where it should be and at the right pace. Her heart has all of its chambers and valves and her other organs are all in place as well. I'm pretty sure I saw at least 30 toes but the technician was comfortable with what she saw so I'm assuming I'm wrong.

Yes, I am calling the Fledgling "her". We had hoped to be able to confirm the baby's sex at the ultrasound but she was being shy or just naughty. There was a foot in the way for most of the pictures (but a pretty little foot indeed). The technician tried numerous angles but the precious gems eluded us no matter what. There was definitely nothing dangling down in any of the pix however. James took this to mean that it is a girl to which the technician agreed was a fair assumption. So I am going to call the baby a girl until I find out otherwise. Long before I even got pregnant we referred to our eventual baby as a girl anyways so it's only been since I was actually pregnant that I even considered it would be a boy!

James and I agreed that we can't wait another 20 weeks to find out what the Fledgling is so we are going to shell out the $150 to get the 3D ultrasound done. I have an appointment for February 3rd which seems forever away, but it is sooner than May 1 (my due date) so I think I can hang in there. Besides getting the ultrasound done for my own satisfaction, I think it will be really cool for the Fledgling to see herself moving around inside my tummy when she gets older. I know that I would certainly love to have something like that of myself and my mum so I can only hope my baby will as well.

In the Middle (18 weeks, 6 days)

Not much new or exciting in baby world. Just some waiting. I am starting to really look pregnant (although sometimes I think I just look fat) and getting all sorts of attention directed towards my tummy. I am almost 19 weeks and am anxiously anticipating feeling the baby moving soon. I have felt lots of uncomfortable stretching of my uterus but even that makes me happy because it is another physical reminder of the baby in me (although I could have done without the pain and necessity of a hot water bottle the other night!).

I had a midwife appointment last week. James was off work so he was able to come with me and meet the midwife. He was so excited and asking all sorts of questions -- totally adorable! We got to hear the Fledgling's heartbeat again which is always so awesome. James was totally invigorated after hearing it and said he wanted to go out and build something for the babe.

Our next ultrasound is a week today (20 week ultrasound!!!). I am beyond excited for it. Hopefully the Fledgling will not be shy (or naughty!) and hide her/his goods from the technician. The lame thing is that the technician will not tell you the sex of the baby then and there so we have to wait 3 business days for my midwife to get the ultrasound results before we can know. She knows how excited we are to find out the sex of the baby though so she said she would call us asap. But we will be able to see the baby and make sure it is all healthy and intact and perfect and lovely so that is more than enough for us!

I finally have energy again which is awesome. I am back to working full time and am feeling like doing stuff on my days off. Today I went through my closet and dresser and got rid of a bunch of stuff that will never fit me again (didn't fit me for quite a while before I got pregnant so I don't think it's going to fit me after!). I also organized a drawer for the Fledgling in my dresser until I can get the dresser from my mum. I folded all the tiny clothes and stuff I have knit and it looks so cute all together! I put in a request for a 3-bedroom townhouse today at our complex so hopefully something will come up in the near future. I can't wait to decorate for the Fledgling!

Next post I will hopefully have gratuitous shots of the Fledgling flashing her/his goods to show you all!

The Baby at the End of the Rainbow

I am starting to get really excited about the baby I get to have at the end of this journey. For so long the focus was just on getting pregnant. It took so long I started to think that would never actually happen. When it finally did, I was so scared that something would happen to the baby. I was terrified until I saw the ultrasound & heard the heartbeat. I also felt horribly sick most of the time for the first 12 weeks or so and could not get any enjoyment out of being pregnant. Now I am in my 16th week and have kicked the first trimester's ass and I am feeling great! I am starting to show and have been enjoying the comfort of maternity pants! I am finally "feeling pregnant" as opposed to just feeling sick and panicky and worried. I am feeling like a mum-to-be and am preparing for my role.

My co-pregnant lady Heather had her baby last week. She was due October 31 but her water didn't break until the afternoon of November 10th. I headed over on the ferry as soon as I could and got to the hospital at midnight. Due to her testing positive for Group B Strep the doctors decided to induce her when labour didn't start past her water breaking. After a long long long night and day (with only an hour or so of sleep) she was still only at 6 cm! Poor girl. I was there in the capacity of a doula (haven't actually started my training but have been studying) and did what I could to make her more comfortable and have less pain. I tried to focus her on her breathing as well as rubbed her wherever she was sore and held her hand through the contractions. It was quite the experience and I am glad I was there for her. There are things I wish I could have done more of (learned better relaxation techniques, helped her focus more) but all in all I found it a positive experience from my end. I don't really think she felt the same though! By the end of her labour (around 3 pm Nov 11) she was frustrated and tired and angry and scared. She went in for a C-Section at about 4 pm. I had to leave by 6 to catch the ferry back home so I only got to see her for about 3 minutes or so and I didn't get to see Heather after that. Hopefully I can go back for a visit soon.


Heather's labour really helped me decide on a lot of things I want for my labour. I have some experience with meditation and focusing my mind on my goals (mostly due to spell work) and I would like to develop that further. I also really want to get a copy of "Birthing from Within" and would like to take the birth class based on the book. I signed up for my pre-natal classes through the Public Health Department today which will start in February. They are pretty basic though so I really want to explore more options for coping with pain and getting the most out of the labour and birth.

16 Weeks, 3 Days

Baby Kitty

Crazy things happen when James is home from work. The part that amazes me is that Spike actually let him do this and then posed for pictures, hat and all.

Ultrasound #2

I forgot to mention in my last post that my next ultrasound is scheduled for December 11. That will be just past my 20 week mark and we will be able to find out the sex!!! Not sure about elsewhere but in Canada they are not allowed to tell you the sex before 20 weeks (basically because you can't abort past 20 weeks and some people might want to terminate if the sex is not what they want). So hopefully the Fledgling will behave and not be shy and will show us the goods!

Heartbeat V.2

I had my third midwife appointment the other day. At 13.5 weeks things are going along smoothly. The best part about the appointment was getting to hear The Fledgling's heartbeat on the Doppler. When we went in for the ultrasound I didn't actually hear the heartbeat, I just saw it on the monitor. So this was the first time I had actually heard it. It was the coolest thing ever!! It sounded like people in a tunnel talking or something crazy and sci-fi like that. James was supposed to come with me to the appointment but he couldn't get out of work in time so we called him and put the mic up to the phone and he got to hear it too! How awesome is that that with modern technology he could hear his baby's heartbeat across town?! If I close my eyes I can picture the beautiful sound perfectly. It is so wonderful.

My body is definitely changing now. I looked down in the shower the other day and the veins in my breasts were so dark my boobs were blue! Of course I freaked out for a second and then realized that that is perfectly normal, especially since I have such fair skin. James is obsessed with my tummy. There is definitely a baby there now! So cool. It's still not really noticeable to others but I love it and can't stop patting and rubbing it.