See how I've grown!

9 weeks

30 weeks along

40 weeks (ignore the messy hair!!!)

My midwife just dropped off her rescusitation equipment and told me what I needed to do to my room to make it ready for birth. All I need to do now is go into labour!!

02:48 AM

I am waiting for you, Little One. You have kept me guessing about when you might decide to come out for weeks. You started giving me contractions yesterday morning but you haven't slowed down this time. Your big brother knows there is something special going on with Mommy. He hasn't joined me for a nighttime visit since you started your guessing games a couple of weeks ago. Tonight he wandered downstairs with a worried look on his face. Does he know something I do not? Does he know you already?

Things always happen at 0300 AM. The stirrings in my belly are getting stronger and harder to ignore.

We are ready for you, Little One.

Welcome to my blue house.

Our home recently underwent phase 1 of a makeover. Doesn't the fresh paint make a world of difference??

Phase two happens at the end of September when we get new windows installed on the main floor, and then we will be adding a half bath to the main floor as well.

Is there something special about today?

Some fun facts about pregnancy for my faithful readers:

• Human gestation is not actually 9 months long. A healthy baby can be born at anywhere between 37-42 weeks gestation, on average. Some moms can go as long as 43 weeks as long as they are closely monitored by health care professionals.
• There is more than one way to calculate due date:
  

  Based on LMP:
  If your cycles are regular and 28 days long, then you can determine your due date by adding 9 months and 7 days to the first day of your last menstrual period (LMP). For example, if your LMP began on September 5, then your expected due date (EDD) would be June 12 of the following year.

  Based on date of Conception:
  If your cycles are 28 days long and you know your date of conception, you can determine your due date by first subtracting 7 days, and then adding 9 months. However, this method will probably not work for most women unless they have had intercourse only once during the fertile period of that cycle and remember the date.

If you use both of these methods to calculate a woman's due date it can vary by up to a week, especially if you are a woman who has a longer or shorter than average cycle.

• Ultrasound Scan:
  An ultrasound can determine the development of the baby and provide a more accurate due date. This method is superior to other methods because the doctor is able to examine and measure each of the baby's organs on ultrasound screen. These measurements can then help in determining the size of the baby, i.e. stage of fetal development, and consequently the due date. If you have more than one scan, it is possible that each of your ultrasound scans gives a different due date. The date computed from the last ultrasound scan is likely to be the most accurate. Again, remember that these dates are simply estimates, and therefore are only indicative of the actual delivery date.
• Only five percent of babies in the United States arrive on their estimated due date.
  

See? A woman could possibly have three or more different due dates for her baby and all of them are probably pulled out of thin air.

That is why there is nothing special about today.

Hi Grandma...Part 2

Here are some more pictures for Grandma taken while the kids were on vacation.

Hi Grandma!

Mom has been gently reminding me that there have not been enough pictures of the kids on my blog lately. They have not been very co-operative when the camera comes out . I hope this helps. See you soon, Mom!

Baby shower!

I belong to a very close-knit online community. It is so close-knit that I am not even going to mention it here. It is so close knit that even though the members are spread all over the world they pitch in together to celebrate everyone's milestones.

The baby showers are always amazing. I have had three now and they are always perfectly what you need. Emm's shower was a box of hand-decorated baby undershirts that I still have and use with my other babies--and remember fondly every time I use them. Char's shower consisted of a pre-decorated scrapbook, ready to have pictures pasted into and a side order of story books for Emmett.

That brings me to today. Today two lovely ladies came to my house from The City bringing with them a bounty of casserolles and stews. We sat and chatted like old friends even though we had just met for the first time in person today. It turns out we share a love of the Flight of the Conchords and hate how gender-specific the Sears Wishbook is. They were delivering what other members of the community contributed hard earned money towards the purchase of.

It is stunning and touching how a group of people can band together and help another person that they haven't even met. I have never seen the love and respect we have for each other in any other online community.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who contributed. I don't even know who it is since I am not allowed in the thread they started to organize this yet. You know who you are, though!

Be strong and let your heart take courage.

Be strong and let your heart take courage. Psalm 31:24

My new mantra. I need some words of wisdom to get me through this waiting time and again to get through the hard work of having a baby. These words are really resonating with me today.

I am slowly going crazy.

Case #1

With the kids gone I took advantage of the quiet time to clean up their rooms. I changed the bedsheets and made up the beds. One day I wandered in to Char's room to close the window and noticed the comforter was messed up a little. I scratched my head and chalked up the messiness to pregnancy pudding brain and flipped the comforter back up again. A couple of days later, the same thing happens. Am I going nuts? Do I just THINK I am going to straighten the bed and then get sidetracked and forget to follow through? Am I losing my mind?

The mystery was solved last night when Mom and I were standing in Char's room, looking at the again messy comforter. Lucy strolled in with a purposeful look on her face, aiming for the bed. She saw us, her eyes got wide and then she turned around and walked out of the room as nonchalantly as a guilty Basset Hound could.

Case #2

So, I go to bed last night with the contractions I have been having for the past three days. I have learned to sleep through most of them. Around 0430 I start getting some that are harder to sleep through, and the baby is moving, AND suddenly I am hit with a wave of ravenous hunger. I head downstairs, stand and rock through a couple of the bigger ones, and pour a bowl of cereal.
Suddenly I am noticing how messy the kitchen is. I fill the sink with soapy water, wash up the dishes, scrub the counters, microwave and back splash and put everything away.
Next, I get it in my head I must try the new blueberry muffin recipe I saw in magazine I just got in my mailbox. Right now. I pull out mixing bowls and ingredients and soon there are blueberry cornmeal muffins baking in the oven. All the while my belly is working away, but the pains are getting less painful (darn it!) This doesn't stop me--do I think I should go back to bed and rest some more?? No! I remember there are strawberries going South in the fridge and I have a fabulous recipe for flaky strawberry muffins. As the blueberry ones are finishing up, soon I have a tray of bright pink muffins ready to go. Do I stop at two batches of muffins? Of course not! I remember how much I like another muffin recipe I have that calls for the little bits of cereal in the bottom of the boxes in your pantry. I wash the mixing bowl one last time and whip up a third batch of muffins. The muffins are now cooling, the kitchen is clean and I am waiting for Richard to get up so I can clean the bedroom floor since we have had painters walking up and down the stairs for the past two days. I can't stop moving!!!

Something just hit me--what kind of muffins did I just make? One batch is pink, and the other is blue. Coincidence? Am I completely off my rocker??

Friday Funnies

This is The Flight of the Conchords. If you like They Might be Giants, give them a shot!

Things you do when the kids are gone.

You shop in stores that put pretty tissue paper in the teensy non-plastic bags the merchandise fits in.

You carry a smaller purse

You leave your knitting on the couch.

You don't have to wait until after bedtime to watch your favourite show.

You sew with Grandma. (Burda pattern 9640 done in a pre-quilted cotton, if you want to know.)

You tidy up the toys and several days later they are still tidy.
You miss them.

I'm not missing you at all.

It is so quiet in my house.

I kissed my kiddies goodbye on Monday and so far am enjoying my new found freedom. I bought fabric yesterday. I picked up my knitting. I am going to get my beading supplies out. I have plans to go to the library. I cook delicious food the kids would turn their noses up at. I sleep in. I have reconnected with my husband. We found out we can still find things to talk about that aren't about the kids. I nap. I have reconnected with friends (and Margie the yarn store lady, ahem....).

Maybe the title is a bit misleading. I miss my kids, sure. But I am not worried about them because I know they are in capable, loving hands right now. The difference is that I am not pining for them.

So far so good!

My nest is empty.

Last year the kids went to The City to visit the grandparents that live there. The visit was so successful it was decided they should go every year. This year the plan was to send them in about a week. I got a phone call this morning from my Father in law. He wanted them today. To take to the family cabin Way Up North In The Boonies.

After a little freak out I packed them up and sent them on their way. I didn't even get a kiss goodbye from Emmett as he was too excited about the promise of boat rides to think about missing me. He was so excited in fact, when I got out a suitcase and put it on his bed he emptied his pyjama drawer into it, closed the lid and declared himself packed. I am relieved that they are comfortable enough with my in laws that they did not have to be pried away from me to get in the car. I just didn't realize how much I would miss them so soon.

Whatever will I do with myself? The in laws said they can keep them almost two weeks if we want them to. I was thinking of going Up North myself, to visit the new baby of my wonderful friend, but taking a trip seems quite daunting in my delicate condition. Richard is going to paint the house--I can help with the low bits. There is a quilt I started when I was pregnant with Emmett that needs finishing, books to read, and loafing to be done. Stores to explore that I could not with kids in tow. I may get out my sewing machine and make something new for the baby. Where do I begin?

I am not going to cry--that is the one thing I won't do. Nope. I just need to dust in this corner. That is why my eyes are wet. Really.

It's too bad....

.....I have lost the cord to my digital camera or you could see what my sweet, sweet friend Poppins gave me yesterday.

She knit my little Sprout a delightfully preppy orange and off-white striped cardigan in the softest cotton blend yarn you could ask for. She calls the sweater a creamsicle. I think my babe will look adorable in it when the leaves start to change in September.

Thank you very much!!!

Boot Camp, Potty Style. Part 2

Well, boot camp is off to a slow start, but we are sticking with it. On the suggestion of Emmett's therapist we have added a new level: the potty treasure bag. Since Emmett's tastes change it was hard to come up with a consistent reward for depositing something in the potty. He didn't seem to make a connection.

We made a trip to the dollar store this afternoon and he helped me pick out some small toys and stickers and odds and ends that I put in a big colourful bag. If he deposits something in the potty he gets to choose a prize. There is a fishing game in there he wants so badly and is right now sitting and signing fish. I have a feeling he is going to sit until bedtime if that is what it takes to get the game.

I actually feel kind of mean right now making him do this since he wants it so badly he is crying, but I have to stick to my guns.

Potty training is not for the faint of heart.

Boot Camp, Potty Style.

Emmett and I are still battling over the potty. I have read books upon books, pumped my mommy friends for info and still feel like I am beating my head against a brick wall. Emmett doesn't seem to care when his pants are wet or soiled, which is a big incentive for most kids to train. He doesn't respond to bribes. I don't know if he is unaware of his body's signals or if he just ignores them. I do know that breaking his concentration away from an activity to go to the potty results in tears and fighting.

I am trying one more thing. The dreaded timer. My life will now revolve around the microwave timer. After the morning potty trip the pull up stays off and the timer gets set to 99 minutes (I would like an every 2-hour potty schedule, but that is as high as any timer in my house goes. I may have to get a new one soon) Every time the microwave goes off, Emmett must sit on the potty. When he gets up the timer is reset. Rinse and repeat. So far nothing has fallen into the potty. In fact, Emm soiled his pants 4 seconds before the timer was due to go off yesterday.

I am just hoping that if the routine is established, Emmett can train his body to follow. My family doctor used the timer method with one of his kids with success (tangent: I LOVE having a family doctor that remembers what it is like to have young kids and therefore can offer actual, family tested advice to me......and he doesn't prescribe antibiotics like they are candy./tangent)

Well, while I was writing this Emmett came up to me and signed "dirty" and pointed at the potty. He went all by himself!!! It wasn't perfect--we needed a rinse in the tub, but this is good, good news!!

I guess we are on the right track after all.