Grey Cup 2010

So I have officially survived the Grey Cup! When we decided to go to Canada's version of the Superbowl I was a little bit concerned. I knew I would be huge at this point and bordering on uncomfortable but I had no idea how bad it would be.

I was one of two women in a group of 12 who went to the game and I was so nervous. I was terrified of getting to the game and getting home and having big crowd anxiety. We parked the car super early and took the park and ride bus to the game. It was relatively quiet because we were over an hour early and the line-up to get in was not bad at all. I managed to go for one pee break before the game started and I didn't pass out on the long walk up to our seats.

Although it was cold we came well prepared. The boys kept me happy with a steady stream of Hot Chocolate and it was a great game. I only had to hike down all of the stairs for one more pee break the entire time! David and I left the game with about three minutes left to avoid the crowd and we were home by 8:30p. It was perfect.

Here are the few photos we got of the game before our camera died:

S

The Perfect Surprise

I have the most incredible husband in the world. On Saturday after yoga and lunch we got back to the condo and when I walked in to the house I was bombarded with balloons and friends!

David secretly planned a shower for me with all of my good friends. He sent out custom invitations, ordered a custom cake, ordered personalized chocolate bars for favours and organized all of the food and games! It was incredible! I couldn't believe that he even knew what women do at showers! All of my friends were amazing and we had such a fun afternoon. I can't even thank David enough for everything that he did for me. He is the most incredible person I know and I am so lucky to have him in my life.

Baby E will be starting life with some pretty great things thanks to some very generous people and I can't wait!

S

31 Weeks

Week: 31
Weight Gained: 35 pounds

Belly Button: Flat

Cravings: Milk! And anything that will calm my heartburn.

Sleep: Tough and really inconsistent. I am awake constantly and now I am getting leg cramps!

Best Moment of the Week: Going to my HR Maternity leave session at work!

Worst Moment of the Week: Leg cramp.... for sure.

Thoughts from Dad: "I am getting excited for things to come."

This week has been fairly uneventful. We have been in the process of preparing for Christmas and it is taking up most of our time. I have been baking up a storm and we managed to set up the Christmas decorations on Wednesday. The house is finally coming together!

For some reason, we have both been super exhausted this week. We have been really crappy about attending yoga and we have decided to be as anti-social for the time being because we have so much coming up. On the plus side we have established a new Saturday morning routine that we are both really excited about. We are starting to realize that we don't have much one on one time left and I think we both started to panic. So every Saturday morning we wake up, have breakfast in bed, go to yoga (David does the hot class while I hang out with the prenatal yoga ladies) and then we go for a nice quiet lunch after. It is a nice excuse to catch up on our week and spend some quality time together.

Baby E is doing great as far as I can tell. We still have our morning dance parties in the belly and every time there is music on this kid goes nuts! As of this week the baby can also see light and all 5 senses are developed. It is still head down and to the left and feet up and to the right so I get a lot of kicks in my ribs.

We have the Grey Cup on Sunday so I will try to update with some more photos.

More soon!

S

Calf Cramps and Christmas Gifts

Last night, David and I were introduced to the wonderful world of muscle cramps as a result of pregnancy. I woke up in the middle of the night with the most excruciating pain in my right calf. Now... I consider myself to have a fairly high pain tolerance... this made me feel like I was going to puke and actually made me start crying. Nothing we did made the pain go away and I couldn't move from the position I was in.

Looking back on it now I can laugh. In the middle of clutching my leg and crying all I could think was "I have to go pee!". David had to half carry me, half help me hop on one leg to get to the bathroom.... pleasant. I was told that it could be dehydration, potassium deficiency of calcium deficiency (it is definitely not a calcium issue since I drink a mountain of milk on a daily basis).

Aside from calf cramp issues and strange middle of the night aches, pains and pee breaks, we have been very busy. Our first major Christmas event is on December 4th and we have been prepping like crazy! I have been in full on baking mode and David has been trying to maintain a clean house.

In the midst of all of this we still have to do all of our Christmas shopping. I know that we have a month until the big day but we have a dinner or Christmas event every Saturday and Sunday for the next four weeks! We have to be ready well in advance. I still have to pick out a gift for our friends gift exchange and our family one and so does David..... yikes!

Hopefully we can get everything ready in time!

S

No Comments?

I noticed today that we have never had a comment on our blog... why is that? I want to hear from you people! Where is my peanut gallery? Whether I know you or not, please feel free to leave comments at any time.

Thanks!

S

The One Where I Get Sent to the Hospital...

Ok, so it sounds a lot more serious than it actually was.

Last Tuesday we went in for our routine OBGYN appointment. As usual we arrived early and got it quickly (I love my OB!). She weighed me (up again!) and we listened to Baby E's heartbeat. Then she asked me about movement. I was honest and told her that I had only been feeling a few kicks each day for the last four days which was unusual for Baby E. As soon as I said the words.... I knew that our day was about to get longer.

We were promptly sent to the hospital OB assessment centre for a non-stress test.... ugh. I was super embarrassed walking in to the hospital knowing that I had probably just been too busy and pre-occupied to notice any of Baby E's smaller movements. We were admitted and I was strapped to a hospital bed sandwiched between one girl who was due in a week and was in to be monitored as a result of her gestational diabetes and one woman who was being prepped for her c-section that morning..... I did not fit in.

We were seen by a nurse who really could have cared less about her job and was super difficult to understand. I was told to pee in a cup (again...) and get comfortable in the bed. Side note: do they seriously think that it is easy for a woman with a large protruding belly to pee in the tiniest sup imaginable? I mean.....seriously! I can't even see what I am doing! Half the time I end up with most of the pee on my hand instead of in the cup... gross.

Anyways. Once strapped to the monitor I was told to stay still and press a button every time I felt the baby move. We were not told how long we would be there or what they were even looking for. So David and Baby E and I chilled out for a while. We were just listening to Baby E's heart rate and counting movements. As I suspected, the minute I started to relax Baby E started to go crazy. Everything turned out to be perfect!

That's the last time I admit anything to my doctor knowing that I am fine. Oh, and for those who are curious... I passed my gestational diabetes test with flying colors! Yay!

More later,

S

Movement

Karate chops to the bladder and round house kicks to the ribs hurt..... a lot.

That's it. That's all I have to say. For now....

S

Sickness and Pregnancy

I have to admit something.... I kind of always thought that pregnant women were over-exaggerating when they went on and on about how crappy it is to be sick while pregnant. I was wrong.

I have been trying to fight off a cold since Thursday and I am fighting a losing battle. There is nothing more exhausting than weighing an extra thirty pounds than your used to and trying to do all of the things you would normally do. Add blowing your nose, trying to breathe and working through a wicked headache to the mix and it is damn near impossible to accomplish anything other than sleeping.

I took Friday off to recuperate and slept the entire day. I probably could have done with an additional week of sleep be even us preggo sickies have things that need to get done. I was already starting to feel like giving up on keeping up with my normal schedule and being sick threw me into full on countdown mode. I cannot wait until Christmas!

S

David's New Job!

So for those of you who don't know, my husband was just given an incredible work experience opportunity with our organization. Starting in January he will be moving to the same downtown office that I work in and he will be working completely different hours. His new job will involve working within the market to buy and sell gas and therefore he has to work eastern market hours. That means that he will be downtown from 6:30 am to 3:00pm!

We are so excited for him to start this new position. It will be more of challenge for him and the hours actually work really well with having a newborn. The best part about the change is that he is guaranteed his old job once his work experience is up and if an opportunity arises for him to stay in the position permanently he can choose to do that as well.

Can't wait for January!

S

30 Weeks! 3/4 Baked!

Week: 30

Weight Gained: I am officially up about 33 pounds people! Ahhhhhh!

Belly Button: Flat. Parts of it are sticking out.

Cravings: Nothing really. I have gotten to that stage where I can barely fit anything into my stomach and I am constantly full.

Sleep: Still non-existent with frequent pee breaks.

Best Moment of the Week: Finally getting all of the nursery furniture all set up and ready to go!

Worst Moment of the Week: Getting sent to the hospital for a non-stress test after my OB decided Baby E was not moving enough and getting sick.

Thoughts from Dad: "That's the last time that I stay up until 2am building you something unless it's a bike that I get to ride too."

Yay! 30 weeks feels like a huge milestone. For some reason I am only now really starting to realize that this is all actually happening. We are starting to get SUPER excited to meet Baby E. I am also starting to feel like people look at me differently when they ask how far along I am and I tell them I am in my 30's. It just seems so much more serious now.

The last couple of weeks I have gone really downhill physically. I am struggling to do simple tasks such as putting on my own shoes and picking things up off the floor. I feel like I weigh 400 pounds when I try to tackle any stairs and I have officially kissed my balance goodbye. The extra weight I have gained is also really taking a toll on my back and hips. I can only stand and walk around for so long before everything starts to hurt and I am forced to sit down.

Baby E has been super active this last week. I am starting to get used to really hard kicks and punches. The baby's head is down and to the left and the feet are up under my right ribs. It is not uncommon for Baby E to get a foot stuck under my ribs for a few hours which makes me feel like I can't get a full breath of air.

Aside from all of these things that are driving me crazy, I am nothing but excited. I am secretly starting to hope that we do not make it all the way through January and I cannot wait to see what Baby E looks like.

Let the countdown begin!

S

A Day Full of Furniture

After the back order issues on Friday we made the decision to cancel our original furniture order and start looking for replacements. We spent all day on Saturday shopping for baby gear and managed to find a beautiful crib and dresser for Baby E's room.

After two trips back to the store and some help from our neighbour we managed to get the two giant boxes into our condo. We were going to wait until Sunday to put everything together but we were way too excited! We stayed up until 2am putting everything together and it looks great!

Putting together the furniture makes everything feel very real. We are so excited to add the details to the room and bring Baby E home! Here are a few photos from our furniture building night. I will add more photos of the final room setup soon.

Backorders and Breakdowns

This week was really hard for me emotionally. I think my hormones are starting to kick in full swing and there has been a lot happening.

The hardest part of this week was finding out that our nursery furniture was backordered once again. I would have been ok with it if it had only been for another week or two.... but it was until January 31. The thought of having my nursery furniture show up after the baby is born was just too much for me.

On friday I had a full on meltdown of massive proportions. I spent all afternoon crying and did not calm down until David picked me up from work to go home at the end of the day. It was completely embarassing but I couldn't stop. I am really hoping that this is not the start of a new super-emotional phase....

S

29 Weeks

Week: 29... 11 weeks to go!
Weight Gained: Haven't weighed myself this week. I think I am probably creeping up on 30 pounds gained!
Belly Button: Popping out more and more!
Cravings: Still on the Chocolate kick! David surprised me this week with some really incredible gourmet chocolates.... so delicious!
Sleep: Ok. Still getting up a couple of times a night. I find that I am waking up on my back and I can't breathe because of all of the extra weigh on my body.
Best Moment of the Week: Having an extra day off on Thursday.... yay for Stat Holidays!
Worst Moment of the Week: Getting emotional and having a small breakdown on Friday and finding out that our nursery furniture was back ordered again.
Thoughts from Dad: "I had a tought time taking care of your mom this week. Hopefully this doesn't last much longer."

This week was short but exhausting. I am starting to find that I am getting very emotional. I have been pretty stable for the majority of my pregnancy and I have managed to keep my cool. I think my hormones are starting to kick in and I am starting to get very tired of being big.

This week I am also starting to really feel the physical effects of being three quarters of the way through my pregnancy. My hips are killing me and I am having issues bending over. David is my official shoe helper. He has to help me put my shoes on and get out of seats. I am still adjusting to all of this extra weight!

We were busy this week but having Thursday off was the perfect break. It make the week feel so much shorter and it was a nice opportunity to catch up on a few things.

Our prenatal class on Wednesday was very interesting. David learned a lot that he didn't know about postnatal care and it was also an opportunity for dads to learn about breast feeding. It was funny to watch all of them learn something new. I bet that they never thought they would talk about some of the things we have covered in class.

This week should be busy. We are coming up on the craziest times of the year for us. As of this next weekend we have something booked almost every Saturday and Sunday until January. Although it is all stuff that we can look forward to we are also nervous about getting overloaded. We will keep you updated on everything we do.


S

Our Babymoon

David and I took some time to relax this weekend. We managed to get away and enjoy some adult time before Baby E arrives.

On Saturday afternoon we booked into the Fairmont Hotel MacDonald. We quickly changed and went down to the pool for a relaxing swim and a chat with a few other guests in the hot tub. for dinner we went to the Creperie where we enjoyed a beautiful two hour dinner with dessert included. After dinner we walked over to the Food and Wine festival where we ran into a few friends and David sampled a few different types of vodka.

On Sunday we slept in and enjoyed some relaxation time in our huge king sized bed. We then went down and enjoyed brunch in the main Ballroom. It was fantastic! I thought that David would never stop eating. We worked off lunch with a walk through the Art Gallery and then David took me to get a pedicure.

All in all it was a great weekend and a really nice change of pace for us. Here are a few photos from the weekend:

S

28 Weeks

Week: 28
Weight Gained: Still hovering around 25 pounds
Belly Button: The right side is making an exit!
Cravings: Sweets! I have finally started craving the typical pregnancy cravings. All I want is chocolate!
Sleep: Still crappy but I am getting used to it.
Best Moment of the Week: Staying at the Hotel MacDonald with David for our Babymoon!
Worst Moment of the Week: Sitting through the most incredibly boring prenatal class.
Thoughts from Dad: "Hurry up and get here! I am tired of waiting!"

This week was very busy. We have been working on catching up at work and trying to get a few chores done around the house. Our busy week ended with an amazing weekend though! We managed to take some time for ourselves and go on a babymoon over the weekend. It was fantastic!

Baby E has been moving so much lately. We have dance parties all morning at work and get some good kicking in right before bed. It is so much fun but I am still getting used to it. It is fun knowing that I am never alone anymore.

We are having so much fun already and there are so many things to look forward to!

S