37 Weeks - 3 Weeks to go...

So today marks a major milestone - I'm 37 weeks pregnant, and therefore baby is now considered to be "Full Term", and ready to be born any day. This week in pregnancy seemed so far out of reach at the beginning of my pregnancy, and it seems like time just flew by, and it snuck up on me. We're working on some of the final preparations - like setting up the playpen which baby will be sleeping in for the first few months in our bedroom this past weekend, and I also have to add some final items to my hospital bag and diaper bag, which are already stowed in the trunk of our truck.

The nursery is all ready to go though, and so I was finally able to take some photos on my day off this past Friday. Most of the baby clothes are washed - just two more loads need to be done, but we're seriously starting to run out of closet space, so let's hope they still fit in there.

And now that we're so close to the birth, I'll finally release the little guy's name - it will be Riley Mayson Henry.

I also had another appointment with my midwife this morning, and my plans to work until the end of the pregnancy were quashed. My blood pressure has started to rise, and the midwife thinks my schedule is too hectic, and that I don't sleep enough, and has recommended I start maternity leave sooner rather than later. So I have decided that since it's best for the baby and me, this Friday will be my last day at work. My boss was very understanding about everything as well, which made the whole process a lot easier. The midwife also said that according to my symptoms, measurements, and the baby having dropped 2.5 weeks ago and being engaged in my pelvis, she guesses that I'll go into labour sometime this week or next. She said it could still take longer of course, but she didn't it would.

That means stepping everything into high gear, and getting everything on the "To Do List" done.

So without further ado - here are the photos of the nursery:

Riley's rubber ducky collection (he's actually gotten 4 more in the meantime):


The hamper and his shoes:


His name above his crib:


The comfy chair, with nursing pillow:

Part of his closet (look at all those clothes!!!!):

His crib:


The change table and hamper:

36 Weeks...only 4 weeks to go

Yikes, there are only 4 weeks left - meaning in just 1 week baby will be considered "full-term", so technically he could come at any time. The thought still scares the begeebies outta me - I can still hardly believe that I'll be responsible for this little guy who will one day call me "mom".

Well this past weekend hubs and I had some maternity photos taken, and then we headed off to the city of Kingston. Every year on the weekend between our birthdays (his is Nov. 9th, mine Nov. 19th), we drive to Kingston, to start our Christmas shopping, and to do a little bit of sight seeing. Hubs also started a tradition the first year we got married - he buys me a Christmas ornament from this one very special little shop called "Truks" right downtown Kingston. It's just a little flower shop, that also sells the most unique decorative items, and he insists on buying the ornament there each year. I LOVE the tradition, and I adore my dear hubby, and what lengths he goes to just to bring a smile to my face!

Now without further ado, here are some of our mat pics:

5 weeks and 1 day to go....or not?

Yesterday was a great day. My awesome little sister and my mom threw hubs and I a co-ed baby shower. They went all out with decorations, and awesome party room that the entire family prepped, and the cutest little invitations. Hubs is suffering from a bad cold so we weren't sure if he was going to come with me, but he popped some DayQuill and sucked it up for the afternoon, and we both had an amazing time. We were surrounded by most of our loving families and friends, and got spoiled rotten on top of it, which we are ever so grateful for! I'll post pics as soon as some get sent to me (I didn't take ANY), but the family took lots, so I can't wait to post them!!!

And well, once the evening drew to a close, we dropped by my parents' place for another slice of cake (yummy!!!), and then headed home. Hubs literally took a swig of NyQuill, and went to pass out. I joined him after doing some more laundry and tidying a few things.

Well I hit the pillow, turned off the light, and snuggled in to get comfy....when I suddenly felt a contraction. Okay, well that's nothing new, I've had Braxton Hicks contractions for a while now - but this one felt stronger. So the light came back on, and when I looked down, I saw my belly turn into a big lump, and it was so intense that my belly button popped out. I'm thinking "No, it couldn't be....this is just another BH contraction, just a little stronger than usual." So I turn the light off again, get settled....and sure enough 10 minutes later another contraction starts, just as intense as the first. Now it's got my full attention. 2 more contractions come at similar intervals, and at this point I wake hubs up to give him a heads up - he of course is completely doped up on NyQuill, and I'm thinking that this is so not the right night to go into labour.

So anyways, I got up again to time the contractions - which then started to get less and less intense - Braxton Hicks, I knew it. Back to bed I go....only to have them start full force again. What the heck is going on? I was exhausted at this point, and figured that I should probably try to get some sleep either way - if this was the real deal, I'd need all the energy I could get - if not, I'd need to be able to keep my eyes open at work in the morning.

In the end I woke up a few more times to go to the bathroom - each time my belly was really tight and hard, but the contractions themselves tapered off towards morning, and at 4:45am the alarm clock woke me up as usual. I was crampy, but nothing more - so here I am at work. Too bad - I mean I don't want him to be born prematurely, but at the same time I know he should be fine at 35 weeks gestation, and today is hubbies' birthday too, so this would have been the best birthday gift ever. Oh well, he'll just have to make due with the CD and German Beer I bought him.

Everything's pointing to my body getting ready for birth: more intense contractions, baby dropped lower into my pelvis, loosing my appetite, and a few more symptoms that are a little too TMI for a blog. So something tells me baby boy won't be holding out for December, and the whole family's betting on a November baby. I guess we'll see what the coming days/weeks bring, either way we're ready for him now, so any day is fine with me!

I'm soooo tired these days...

It seems like no matter what time I get to bed these days, I'm always still extremely tired throughout the day. Right now it's just after 9am, I've been at work for a measly 2 hours, and I'm already counting down the hours till I get to go home and go back to bed.

Last night I got a whole 4 hours of sleep - yay. Days like today are the ones where I re-think my strategy of working right up until baby's birth - I keep thinking that maybe I should have taken some time off beforehand, but then again it'll take precious time away from the 10 months of mat leave I will be taking.

Anyways, just a pity post today, not much else to say other than that, and we're obviously anxiously awaiting baby's birth!

That little bugger!!!

So this year I decided to buy another pumpkin for Halloween, and I left it on our patio table till we got a little closer to October 31st, so it wouldn't spoil prematurely if I cut it too soon. Well Saturday morning rolled around, and I still hadn't carved it, and hubs asked if I still planned on doing that, or if I wanted him to do it.

I told him I wasn't sure yet (yes, I knew I only had a few hours to get this done), and went into the dining room to let the dogs in from outside. Well when I looked out on the deck, I realized my decision had been made for me...our pup, Koda, had taken it upon himself to decorate the pumpkin for us - either that or he was just hungry (I swear that dog eats everything).

So here's what I found on the deck - Koda and the mangled pumpkin:

6 weeks to go...

So today marks 34 weeks, and only 6 weeks to go until the little man is supposed to arrive. I think I've definitely hit that point that every pregnant woman eventually hits, where the discomfort of the big belly and the aches and pains start getting to you, and you're really getting anxious for baby to be born. I LOVE feeling our baby move, but I could also do without those 3-4 bathroom trips per night, the crampiness, aching belly, insane heartburn, and newly returned nausea.

Hubs and I finally managed to finish the nursery this past weekend, and I'll be posting some pics as soon as we hang the last 2 paintings up - it turned out better than I thought it would, and we're both really happy with how it looks. We also managed to install the car seat in our truck, which was easier than I feared - once hubs caved and let me follow the directions of course, because he just *had* to try it without the instructions (no worries, I was gonna double check to make sure it was done properly either way)...men!

So now that all that is finished, and we're almost done washing all the baby clothes, we just have to pack the rest of the hospital bag, and then we'll be all ready for baby to arrive.

My awesome little sister and mom are also throwing us a co-ed baby shower this weekend, and we can't wait to go! It was supposed to be a surprise, but apparently our schedule was so hectic that they couldn't plan it without at least telling us about it, since they were afraid we might otherwise not make it to our own shower...lol!

Anyways, I don't have any new pics of the bump, but I'll be sure to post photos of the shower next week.

I also had my midwife appointment yesterday, and everything's looking good. Baby's heartbeat is 146bpm, and I'm measuring 34cm, so bang on for 34 weeks. There are a few minor issues though - with my sugar being right on the borderline, they're worried about Gestational Diabetes, so on Saturday morning I will have to go for a 3 hour blood test. My iron results also came back as low despite the daily iron supplements I take, so I'm being retested for that as well at the same time. Fun times - could there possibly be a better way to spend my Saturday morning? Bah!