Almost 36 Weeks...Getting There!!!!

It's hard to believe that this pregnancy is almost over!  It feels like it just has flown by.  Maybe it's because we haven't had to have any specialist appointments and extra ultrasounds as we did with Q.  We have only had 2 ultrasounds this entire pregnancy (a dating one in December, and our anatomy scan in January), while we had 7 ultrasounds with Q (2 for dating, 1 for anatomy, and 4 for her foot including a Level 2).

I don't know if I'm already starting the whole nesting process or what, but today I definitely felt some renewed energy and have been doing laundry, errands, and right now a batch of blueberry muffins are in the oven.  Next up are going to be cookies and granola bars (if I have all of the granola bar ingredients).  At my midwife appointment on Monday, after describing my lower pressure symptoms, my midwife (Grace) confirmed that the baby's head is in my pelvis and also got me to do my GBS test now as opposed to around 37-38 weeks.  The test is a swab that determines whether or not you have to have antibiotics during birth.  Fingers crossed that it comes back negative!  I'm trying to be optimistic that I won't have to have an IV this time (for induction, antibiotics, or epidural).  My birth plan continues to be that of a natural plan - exhausting all non-pharmaceutical forms of pain management before having an epidural.  It's not that I'm afraid of an epidural, as I had one with Q and it was definitely a life saver...I just feel like my body would be capable of having an all natural childbirth.  I also want to be discharged from the hospital ASAP post-birth.  Obviously babies have their own agendas and schedules, but there's always room for optimism!

How far along? 35 weeks 5 days
Total weight gain: 42 lbs
Maternity clothes? Definitely...although my jeans have gotten a lot less comfortable to wear, so thankfully it's warm weather time now!
Stretch marks? *knock on wood*
Best moment this week: Finding out that Yoda is still head down and is descending into my pelvis already!
Miss anything: My skinny feet
Movement: Quite a bit still.  Mostly rolling-like movements or he/she sticks her bum out which makes my belly lopsided.  Yoda also is liking to punch me way down low, which isn't so comfortable.
Food cravings: Donuts
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Gender: Team Green
Labor Signs: Getting more Braxton-Hicks now and also feeling pressure "down there" whenever I'm sitting
Belly Button in or out? I'm going to say "out" now, although I don't have the weird alien looking belly button.
Wedding rings on or off? Only my wedding band. :( Had to take off my engagement ring on Tuesday because of swelling.
Happy or Moody most of the time: This week was a moody week.  I'm definitely getting uncomfortable and my feet and hands have swollen.  My feet look like sausages come the end of the day and are throbbing!  Sometimes it feels like my skin is going to split...not fun.
Looking forward to: Getting as much social time in with friends the next couple of weeks, including a date night with Steve!

Quinn is doing AWESOME and is as cute as always.  Her vocabulary is still expanding and she tries to repeat certain things that we say.  Lately she's been saying "Zat?" which appears to mean "what's that?".  For example, today she said "Zat?" when Steve was carrying a ladder.  We said "it's a ladder, Q" and she repeated back "ladder".  What amazes me is that after a few days she'll just say "ladder" or other words that she has randomly learned.  Sometimes it really surprises me with what she retains.  She's such a little sponge!

Q's also having fun with Pretend Play.  She'll sit her stuffed animals in a row and "feed" them food, always putting the food on a plate first.

Another one of Q's favourite activities is blowing and chasing bubbles.  She loves to shake the bubble wand and also is loving the chase...although sometimes the chase takes her around the side of the house and I'm not so fast at keeping up with her.

Well, that's it for now as Q is waking up from her nap and I can hear her calling for me!  Until next time! :)

Spring Has Sprung!!!!

Well the warmer weather is FINALLY upon us!  And not a moment too soon either, I don't think.  With the warm weather comes the realization that it's May...meaning that Yoda's due date is NEXT MONTH!!! Wow!  I feel like this pregnancy has flown by - maybe it's because it's been quite stress-free as compared to Q's pregnancy.  With Quinn, we were always concerned about her club foot, had a lot of specialist appointments and ultrasounds, and not to mention I was still working in quite a bit of discomfort.  This time around, things have definitely been easier in the pain department but not completely easy-going.  I was having quite painful Symphysis Pubic Dysfunction as I did with Q and heartburn that required some medication to control.  Lately though, both of those have quieted down *fingers crossed*.

At my midwife appointment 3 weeks ago, we found out that Yoda was breech.  I promptly made an appointment to see Jackie (my former chiro associate) for Webster.  After 2 treatments I had another midwife appointment and Yoda had turned!  I was thrilled!  Now I just see Jackie for other aches and pains since she knows a lot about treating pregnant women.

Here's the "Yoda Survey" for this week:

How far along? 33 weeks 2 days
Total weight gain: 40 lbs
Maternity clothes? Always...and still so comfy!
Stretch marks? Touch wood that no new ones have popped up other than the ones that I got with Q along my hips
Best moment this week: Yoda took a comfortable position on one side of my stomach the other night.  It was kind of funny to see a lopsided belly
Miss anything: Being able to go up a set of stairs without being winded
Movement: Really big movements that make my whole belly move
Food cravings: Chocolate lately
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!
Gender: Team Green
Labor Signs: Nope, just occasional Braxton-Hicks with exertion
Belly Button in or out? Kind of in between.  You can see it through all my shirts though.
Wedding rings on or off? On. 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Can I say both?  Today was a great day, but yesterday I was more frustrated because I pulled a muscle
Looking forward to: Meeting Yoda next month! WOW!

How is Quinn doing, you ask?  She's as awesome as ever and definitely has her own personality.  She's starting to ask to do certain activities more now, which is both helpful and not-so-helpful (i.e. when I have to say "no" to her).  She loves to go for walks around the block or to the park in her wagon.  She'll start yelling "wagon" whenever we mention it.  And at the park she's a big fan of the slide and especially the swings.

Quinn Loves the Swings

(I do apologize for just the link and not the embedded video...but the video is on my phone)

Q's vocabulary continues to grow and she's starting to string words together into little sentences.  Usually her sentences can be about 2-3 words long, but she definitely gets her point across!  Some of her new words include - "hug", "water", "eye-keen" (ice cream), "sauce" (this goes for any sauce, be it ketchup or syrup), and "knucks".

So the story with "Knucks" is that it's something that Steve taught her when we were in Phoenix.  The whole bumping knuckles thing.  Anyway, we kind of forgot about it to be honest and were wondering what she was saying last week when bumping her hand against Steve's.  Then a light bulb went off for us and we realized that she was remembering what he had taught her a couple of weeks before!

"Knucks" with Quinn

Arizona Vacation

It's been a while since I've written a post...no excuse for that!  We just got back from a lovely vacation to Arizona though, for our 5th Easter in a row.  Q definitely got spoiled by her grandparents and started saying so many new things!

Some of Q's new words:
- "Tin!" (in response to "what's your name?")
- "outside" (although it sounds more like "ah-sigh")
- "pool" and "sim" (super close to actually saying "swim")
- "all done"
- "Tate" and "Tert" (for my aunt/uncle Kate and Kirk)
- "Maree" (for our cat, Marley)
- counting to 10

On that note, Q can count to 10 with a little bit of help!  Usually she can be counted on to get 1, 2 and 6-10 in the right order, but she misses some of the numbers in the middle unless she has some help.  Still though, we were completely dumbfounded that she has been able to do this!  Check out the video link below :)

Q Counting

And here is the latest Yoda update:

How far along? 30 weeks 3 days
Total weight gain: 36 lbs (I'm assuming that there is still vacation bloat going on...hopefully!)
Maternity clothes? Always...and still so comfy!
Stretch marks? Nope! Knock on wood!
Best moment this week: Hearing Yoda's heartbeat at the midwife office...super strong and healthy!  And then Yoda booted the doppler which was quite funny
Miss anything: Being able to touch the floor without feeling like I am going to throw up
Movement: Big stretches and my belly jumps around a lot
Food cravings: Cinnamon raisin bagels...I'm going to go make one right after this post
Anything making you queasy or sick: Only trying to reach things on the floor
Have you started to show yet: The bump is out in full force
Gender: Team Green
Labor Signs: Nope, with just occasional Braxton-Hicks
Belly Button in or out? In, but likes to kind of pop out whenever I laugh
Wedding rings on or off? On. 
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! It's been a good week :) 
Looking forward to: Meeting Yoda in hopefully less than 10 weeks!

I went shopping at an awesome maternity store when in Arizona and got some great PJs and nursing tops.  Target also carries nursing bras for a great price, so I picked up some of those as well.  It's crazy to think that this baby is going to be here so soon and yet it seems so far away!

Can't Keep Up

It's official now - we no longer can keep up with the new words that Quinn is saying.  It seems like she learns a new one every day...it's just crazy!  Some of the new ones include "yellow", "mine", and "ta-ta" (mimicking when we say it to her to get something out of her hands).  She's still working on stringing words together, but she's getting there and it's definitely easier to figure out what she wants now that she's more vocal.

Another word that she started saying is "bash" (meaning 'bath').  She knows that's what the tub is for and gets excited whenever it's bath time.   We were watching golf on the weekend and she was pointing to the lake, or the fountain on TV and saying "bash".  Well, at least she knows it's an area of water!

Quinn also says "pee" when she's in the bathroom.  She's definitely not ready for potty training quite yet, but things seem to be starting along that route.  I'm trying to say to her "Mommy has to use the bathroom" or "Mommy has to go pee" and then she watches as I go into the bathroom...so at least she's learning that the bathroom is for "pee"...but she hasn't figured out what "pee" really is yet.

Baby wise things are going well!  Lots and lots of movement still at night.  I took a video the other day and will upload it once I figure out how! :)

Crazy Hair

Quinn was such a bald baby for so long that it's hard to believe that she has as much hair as she does.  And even then it's not a ton of it...but is it ever crazy!  It's quite curly, especially around her ears and the back of it that it gets puffy and frizzy.  So much so that now I put it in pigtails or a ponytail.  Q's starting to tolerate having her hair done a bit better...usually I have to give her one of the other hair brushes to hold while I'm putting in the elastics.  The pigtails are just too cute though!

I forgot to mention last week how great Quinn is doing with knowing what different animals say.  Here are the highlights:
- cow - "mmmmmmmoooo" (she draws out the 'm')
- duck - "gahhhhhh" (more of a growl)
- kitty - "mmoooooow" (sounds a lot like 'moo')
- doggy - "woof woof"
- puppy - *panting* (apparently puppies and doggies say different things)
- birdie - "teet teet"
- monkey - "ah ah"

She's also good at saying "ball" and today said "circle" pretty well.  Her vocabulary astounds us every day.  She'll just all of a sudden spout off a word that you never expected!  She's been saying "bye" for a while and the other day started saying "s-ya" (see ya)...she just runs the syllables together.

I also forgot to mention that we had a good result on Yoda's anatomy ultrasound when we saw our midwife the other week.  All of the measurements were great and there weren't any abnormalities reported, so we breathed a huge sigh of relief.  Hopefully that means that we don't have to have any other ultrasounds unless completely necessary.  Yay!

How far along? 23 weeks 6 days
Total weight gain: 20 lbs as of yesterday...I managed to get rid of a pound this week!
Maternity clothes? Yup and comfy as ever.  Wearing the same size in everything and haven't had to change sizes at all.  Still have some tops that I bought after Q was born that are still fitting though Stretch marks? Nope! Knock on wood!
Best moment this week: Watching my belly jump as Yoda got the hiccups for the first time
Miss anything: Being able to climb stairs without getting out of breath
Movement: Definitely!
Food cravings: None this week that come to mind
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not this week
Have you started to show yet: The bump is out in full force
Gender: Team Green
Labor Signs: Nope and the Braxton-Hicks have been at bay all week
Belly Button in or out? In, but looking weird!
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! It's been a good week :)
Looking forward to: Going to NS and showing off Q and the growing belly :)

"Turtoe"

Our little girl is a babbling machine!!!  This week's new words include "turtoe" (turtle) and "happy".  She also started saying "yes" occasionally instead of always "yep"...and also sometimes says "danks" (thanks) when prompted.  She's definitely good with "pease", so thanks is on its way.  This morning when I gave her her sippy cup of juice at breakfast (another words that she can say - "joos"), she said please when asked, then said "danks" without being prompted.  That was definitely a first!

Q has also started to twirl.  About a week or so ago we noticed that she'd spin around in a circle like she was dancing.  Then she started doing it on demand...and now when she does on her own, she says "turl" as she spins.  Super cute!

Quinn's also getting used to being around babies since we get together with a friend of ours with a 3 month old at least once a week.  She's getting used to being very gentle and today was showing the baby all the toys on his play bar.  I hope that she keep this up when it's her own little baby brother or sister!

Our Valentine

Now onto the Yoda update...

When I was pregnant with Quinn, I developed pubic symphysis dysfunction that ultimately ended up in me having to go on modified work hours and then on early sick leave as it became too painful to do my job.  I thought that maybe part of the reason why that had happened was because I had gained so much weight (around 67 lbs by the time that I gave birth) and wasn't active during my pregnancy.  This time around, I promised myself that I wouldn't gain as much weight and that I would maintain my activity level to try to have the healthiest pregnancy and hopefully avoid unnecessary pain.  Well, all that changed last Monday when I started to get some of that familiar pubic symphysis pain.  Although this time, it's presenting in a different area of my pelvis and is actually more painful than what I had with Quinn.  I asked my midwife about it when I saw her on Wednesday, and she said that it unfortunately looks like I'm just predisposed to having this happen.  So discouraging!  I keep trying to stay active throughout and it's usually OK during the day if I'm keeping busy...I just find that by the time things are winding down at night that that is when it usually hits.  Really sucks to try to get comfortable to sleep while saying "ow" all the time.  Also, heartburn is starting to get me down.

We did have a great midwife appointment last Wednesday!  We met our second midwife, Amy, who will be at the birth.  Just to say again about why you have 2 midwives at your birth - your primary midwife (ours is Grace) is the one who delivers your baby and looks after the mother...delivers the placenta, does any repairs "down there", etc.  Your second miwife (Amy) is the one who looks after the baby...gets him/her weighed, helps with the initial latching for breastfeeding, and all other things baby.  Also, if your primary midwife can't attend the birth for some reason, then your second midwife takes her role on and your third midwife (we don't know who that is yet) steps in for your second.  It's really nice to know who will be there for the birth of your baby.  Our second midwife from Quinn's birth is taking some time off to have her own family, but it would have been nice to have her because we really liked her.

Anyway, here's the weekly update!
How far along? 23 weeks 1 day
Total weight gain: 21 lbs as of yesterday...I definitely need to reel it in this week...not happy!
Maternity clothes? I packed away all of my pre-pregnancy sweaters on the weekend
Stretch marks? Nope! Using 2 different creams on different areas
Best moment this week: Hearing Yoda's heartbeat at our midwife appointment (last week)- 140 bpm
Miss anything: Not being in pain :(
Movement: Definitely!  Our nightly dances continue!
Food cravings: Last week it was molasses...and carbs...so I made brown bread and some ginger molasses cookies :)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not this week
Have you started to show yet: You can definitely tell that I'm pregnant!
Gender: Team Green
Labor Signs: Not as many Braxton-Hicks this week, which is nice!
Belly Button in or out? In, but getting flatter!
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! It's been a good week :)
Looking forward to: Continued pregnancy fun...and hopefully less pain and heartburn!

"Where's Mama's Baby?"

The fun times continue at the Oakey household!  Quinn is learning new things every day at a crazy pace and is constantly expanding her vocabulary.  Here are her new words:

• Buppy (when she says "Grampy"...better than the growling that she used to do)
• "box" (blocks)
• "dutch" (duck/ducks)
• ball (obvious one here)
• "teetee" (kitty...meaning Marley or her little stuffed one)

And I can't remember if I had said them before, but Quinn can also say "shoes" and "cheese", along with "up" when she wants to get up on the couch or be picked up.  We're working on "thanks" and sometimes she says it.  Quinn also has learned how to drink from a straw, which is exciting.  We only have 1 toddler cup with a straw, so we're working with that one...but she also can use plastic drinking straws as well...so far she's loved smoothies and to drink my skim milk.

Quinn's hair is also getting longer now and is crazy curly and unruly.  Usually now I have to put it in a ponytail or pigtails to try to maintain control.  It looks so cute but she looks so grown up and not like a baby with her pony/pigtail.

I think that I mentioned in previous posts that Quinn will point to my belly when we ask her where the baby is.  She's also just started to randomly point to my belly and say "baby" - she did that the other day when I came into her room to get her up in the morning.  I was greeted by "Mama!!" followed by "Baby! *with pointing*"

Pointing out Mama's baby

All's well on the baby-to-be front!  Here's the updated survey, although we'll pretend that I'm 22 weeks already (even though that is technically tomorrow):
How far along? 21 weeks 6 days
Total weight gain/loss: 18 lbs as of this morning
Maternity clothes? I think that it might be time to put away most of my pre-pregnancy shirts, as they're getting too short now.  Although I still am fitting fine into some tops that I bought post-Quinn before I was able to get back into my original pre-pregnancy clothes
Stretch marks? Nope! The cream that I've been using seems to be working...or at least making my belly really soft and smooth
Best moment this week: Meeting some of the other moms-to-be from the Ottawa area who are also due in June
Miss anything: I really wanted bologna sandwiches early on this week
Movement: Every. Night.  I couldn't get to sleep until 3am Friday night because Yoda wouldn't quit! Food cravings: The skim milk craving continues, and I drank 4L in a week.  Also I craved Ruffles All Dressed chips (they were delicious!!!)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not this week
Have you started to show yet: I popped a little bit over the past week, which is fun
Gender: Team Green
Labor Signs: Braxton-Hicks when walking on the treadmill or if I turn in a weird direction
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Our next midwife appointment with Grace on Wednesday

21w5d