Nicknames...

Ellie has been in our lives for 6 1/2 weeks and already we have nicknames coming out left, right and centre. I suppose it's only normal considering Ben and I have about 1000 nicknames for each other. I wanted to compile a list of all the names we have for her, if only to show how ridiculous we are. 

Elliotte AKA:

Elliotte Moose- This name comes from a song that I made up while changing her diaper, we sing it to her all the time. 

Moose/The Moose- Clearly a variation of the previous name.

Ellie- No explanation necessary.
Little E- She is little and her name starts with E (Clever, I know).
The Butt- This one doesn't come across as kind but I promise it's said with all the love in the world. Ben and I have called each other Bum and Butt for years, we even call Rose (the pug) The Butt when she's deserving of the name. I guess it was only fair that Elliotte gets to join in on the fun.

I'm sure the list will continue to grow as more names roll off our tongues. Poor little girl...hehe

34 weeks!

Size:

Our cantaloupe is now weighing about 4lbs 13oz and is still about 17inches long. I can't believe how much weight the little one is putting on every day. I can definitely feel that the room is getting squishier in there. At this point all my pregnancy apps recommended talking to the baby because he or she can hear really well now. I feel kind of bad, I haven't done that at all the poor little one isn't even going to know who I am after birth. I guess I should start talking! 

Pregnancy Symptoms:

Movement is still strong and I'm feeling it on more and more of a constant basis. I love feeling all the pushes and mini punches from inside me and I know that I'm really going to miss feeling all the movement once the baby is out. I think this week I may have had my first feelings of being ready to be done. I'm  still not feeling pain but I was just hit with the excitement of actually meeting the baby, and SOON! I can't believe that the birth is roughly only 6 weeks away.

 Ohhh I do have one symptom that is most definitely notable. I've developed some slight swelling. We had some really nice warm weather here the last couple days and I think my body is responding, my hands have gotten a bit on the puffy side and by night time my feet look just a little fat. It's not a concern at this stage, just normal pregnancy stuff and I still have my 'goal' of wearing my wedding ring till July at least so I just have to make it one more week! 

Sleeping is still fabulous with the slight exception that our room is so hot that I just lie on top of the covers, I don't know what I'm going to do when it gets even hotter as there is only a certain amount one can undress to... bring on the fans! 

Life Happenings:

I had another midwife appointment this week. This one was actually a home visit, it was really nice, I didn't even have to leave my house! At this appointment we talked a lot about procedures that we may or may not want done at the birth and it really struck me just how close we really are. I just can't believe that we're at 34 weeks! One more appointment and then we move to WEEKLY ones! Baby is still head down (WOOHOO) and my uterus is growing at EXACTLY the proper rate (YAY) so she was quite pleased. 

We have now attended 2 birth classes and I'm really liking all that we're learning. I really feel like this is helping us prepare for what's to come and there is so much more to learn in the weeks to come. Last week for about half an hour of the class I got to lie down with pillows and try to sleep while Ben massaged me- no complaints here! 

This past week I also started a prenatal yoga class. This is something that I've been interested in for about 4 months and just haven't taken the time to research a class to go to, so when another pregnant friend suggested I come with her to the class she's going to I decided to take her up on it. Wow does it feel good! I felt a little stiff the day after but man did those stretches just make me feel like I was the strongest woman in the world after! I also couldn't believe how well I've been sleeping since the first class. I wasn't even having problems before with sleep but I have been sleeping SOOO soundly since. 

This week I really kicked up my reading as well. I"m almost through this book and I have a couple more that I want to make sure I an get through in the next couple weeks. I've been blown away at how great Ina May's book is and although there is the odd thing that she says that I would disagree with, she is incredibly wise and has A LOT of experience to back up all that she says. 

So I am now at 3 weeks left of work! That's 99 massages and 12 shifts! At this point I'm just getting really excited to be done. I still enjoy going to work but the thought of having all day to get things done and to prepare is just exhilarating to me! There is one thing about my job that I'm going to miss though, and that is the air conditioning (our house does not have this luxury). If I can work up the courage to wear a bathing suit I may just end up living at the outdoor pools for the last month...

Weekly Highlight:

A friend from college came into town this weekend and called me up for a visit. It was SOOO nice to see her again since it had been at least 4 months. We sat outside and visited for 3 hours and although I now have a wicked burn, it was so worth it to catch up and visit. I love seeing old friends! 

The 34 week bump. Believe me it is growing by the day! 

And because I like to add one of my current baby, here's Rose on her way from the Vet, full of treats and happy! 

My Favourite... Time of Day

I have a new favourite time of  day. It may only remain my fav for a week or it may be a lifelong love, who knows. Here is a detailed account of my favourite time of day for those that care...

• Our alarm wakes us up at 5:50am
• We let the snooze go once or twice, up by 6:10am
• Ben get's his coffee made and lunch ready
• I prepare my warm water and lemon concoction
• Ben leaves for work- this part usually includes a goodbye kiss
• I take my lemon water and the dog and head upstairs
• I remake the bed
• I get into the newly remade bed
• I sip on my lemon water leisurely
• I spend the next hour perusing the world wide inter web, like blogs, pinterest, anything that catches my fancy. 
• After my hour of bliss, so around 7:30am life begins and I have to get up and eat breakfast, shower and all those blah parts of morning. 

Boy do I love that hour of 'me time' 

Here is Rose enjoying our morning together. She likes to jump into the pile of pillows and just sit right behind me snoring like a baby. 

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29 Weeks!

As I'm writing this 29 week update I'm sitting in a cabin by a beautiful lake. We decided in April that we needed to get away for a few days at least one time before the baby is born, so I booked the time off and Saturday evening after work we headed out and drove the 4.5 hours to Elkwater Resort. My Aunt and Uncle own a cabin up here in Cypress Hills and they are always so willing to let us come here and enjoy what they have. So far our weekend has included, walks by the lake, great games of scrabble, excellent food, going for a stroll up to the quaint little store for ice cream (I was good and passed on the ice cream). Soaking in the hot tub (I also passed on that...), watching movies late at night, and most of all just relaxing! It's been a hoot and we still have a full day left, now on with the update!

Size:

Our little butternut squash is most likely about 2lb 10oz and over 15in! That is crazy big, however I know it's only about 1/3 the size he/she will be at term! The head is growing bigger and the bones are hardening.  At this point this little one is mainly putting on fat as well as developing those precious little lungs. 

Pregnancy Symptoms:

I still feel so lucky at how little discomfort I've experienced so far. This last week I did break down and visit the chiropractor, however it was due to a popped rib, nothing baby related and luckily an easy fix. My hips have started to feel a little 'creaky', especially after a long walk, but nothing bad AT ALL, I'm still waiting for the low back discomfort and the massive pressure of the baby pushing on 'stuff' while you walk. I did detect some swelling after our long walk in the heat yesterday, luckily it quickly went away once I sat down and cooled off so I'm not worried at all, I expect that to get worse before the end of this summer. Due to this Gestational Diabetes I have to monitor my weight much closer and I haven't gained any weight in the last 2 weeks so that's good too. I really don't want to obsess over the scale, but dealing with insulin issues you have a much higher chance for weight concerns and issues with the size of the baby so they like to monitor it quite closely (yuck). 

Life Happenings:

I guess I kind of already went over this at the beginning of the post, I'll think of something else... Other than the amazing opportunity to take it easy this week life has been pretty much the same, just the way we like it! However, Ben starts a new job in 2 weeks, which is very exciting for us. He is definitely done with being self employed, at least for this period of our lives. I only have 7 weeks left of work!!! I have a countdown on my phone and that's only 30 individual work days (I'm only working 4 day weeks now)! I'm actually not dying to be done work and if I can work past 37 weeks I'm going to try, I'm just anticipating my discomfort level once we're midway through July. 

Weekly Highlight:

Spending the weekend with Ben and Rose, I love the lake life.

Now for some pictures! 

29 week bump taken on the boardwalk by the beautiful lake.

My chubby little swollen fingers after our hike. I'm lucky the swelling went down or my ring may have been stuck on.

Ben concentrating on our scrabble match, he beat me by 3 points! Next game he's going down!

I just have to add this one too, Ben went to get a beer from the fridge and Rose jumped into his spot, I guess she wanted to play too.  

28 Weeks!

Well, we have officially entered the 3rd trimester and I'm kinda freaking out. This means that we've already ventured 2/3 of this pregnancy, and the end is near. I feel utterly and totally unprepared. I feel like every person that I come into contact with asks me if we have the nursery ready, if we've bought all the things we need, if we have names picked out etc...etc...etc. We have done NOTHING. I have no clothing for the little gaffer, there is no bedroom carefully painted and prepared we are nowhere near agreeing on a suitable name.  I wonder if it's normal to feel overwhelmed, I hope so. It's so unbelievable that in a few short months there will be an entirely new person in my life that will TOTALLY rely on me, 100%. That's a lot of pressure to perform and do things 'the right way'. I don't even know what the right way is...I also know that I have a tendency to over think things and to worry, I'm trying hard not to, but when you have a constant reminder punching you in the ribs it's easy to let your mind wonder to dark places... Ok, there was my moment of vulnerability, now moving on!

Size:

Now, despite all of my fretting, I'm still amazed and excited that our Chinese cabbage is roughly 2lb 3oz in weight and almost 15in in length. This little one is now sporting eyelashes and may be able to detect light through the womb! The brain is also doing some MAJOR maturing and billions of neurons are developing. Of course there's also a steady amount of fat being packed onto that tiny skeletal frame! 

Pregnancy Symptoms:

I feel like I've all of a sudden entered the high energy phase that's supposed to happen in the 2nd trimester. This last week I have had a TON of energy and have felt amazing! I think it may be due to my relatively drastic change in diet. I'm hypothesizing that maybe eating truckloads of carbs every day was what made me kind of sluggish, and now that my diet consists of mainly fruits, veggies and protein my system is actually responding well, I don't know. 

Last week I met with a dietitian regarding my gestational diabetes (GDM) and when she looked at my numbers she said I was doing well and that I am definitely able to control it through diet alone for now. YAY! I meet with her again this week and we'll see if she still feels that way. I have been quite rigid with myself diet wise, (excluding the ice cream I had yesterday) and I think if I continue to stand strong this little babe and I will be ok! 

Well the back pain that I complained of last week is TOTALLY gone! I'm pretty amazed actually. I think perhaps the baby shifted a little because my low back feels great. Under the right side of my ribcage I have a constant sensation of pressure and the fairly regular punch or kick, but those are still fun and not painful....yet. 

I had a midwife appointment last week and it looks like our little baby is head down. This didn't mean much to me because I know there are many more weeks in which the baby will most likely flip upside down and right side up. I'll be more excited if he or she is head down at 35/36 weeks! I also found out at my appointment that my iron levels went from low to high so it looks like Floradix worked it's magic.  I'm pretty sure I was only taking it for about a month and my numbers drastically improved, which is super excellent! 

Life Happenings:

I feel like this category is always boring and the same....Our life as of late doesn't consist of much other than work, eating, sleeping and spending time with friends and family, oh and walking the dog... This week was no different. I feel very blessed that my energy level is up, work is actually enjoyable to go to, which for a little while it wasn't. 

We had a great mother's day. We slept in, actually missed church, which was bad on our part but boy did it feel good at the time. We then had a lazy afternoon, enjoyed being outside, Ben played volleyball while I watched and also managed to burn half of my face. Later on we had a picnic in the park with Ben's mom and finished the night off by watching the Survivor Season Finale with some good friends. It was a really good day. It's so crazy to think that next mother's day I will actually be someone's mother. 

Weekly Highlight:

I honestly think my highlight has been the BEAUTIFUL weather that's all of a sudden made an appearance. It is such an amazing thing when the sun shines and the grass is green. I can't wait to soak up as much fresh air and sun as possible in the next few weeks before it becomes too unbearably hot...

 Life is good!

Here's a 28 week photo, not the most flattering, but you get the idea...everything is getting huge...

 I just had to add this one. My sister and I took lil' Rose to the dog park right in the heat of the afternoon and she was just hyperventilating like crazy when we got home. Too cute!

Another pic I just had to add. Ben just LOVES this dog like you wouldn't believe! Any time we're home those two are together, as I've said before, if Ben loves our child 1/4 as much as this dog that kid is going to have all the love he/she needs!

Since it's Mother's Day (week) I had to add a picture of the best mom I could ever have asked for. She was amazing at getting down and playing with us. She has always been a friend to me. I hope I can be half the mom she was for us!

Baby Rose!

We have a baby!

Meet Rose

And even though she poops and pee's on the floor I love her.