My Gift to Crossword Puzzle Lady

Yesterday morning I gave Crossword Puzzle Lady her gift. She seemed genuinely surprised I was giving her a gift and thanked me. Somewhat disappointed she didn’t open it right then and there, we continued to have a lovely morning chat on our commute into Toronto.

This morning, she told me she was truly moved when she opened the gift last night. My little note brought tears to her eyes! She absolutely loved the gift! Thanks again Cuppa for your brilliant suggestion about the suncatcher! That was the most perfect gift idea and it was obviously well received and will certainly be enjoyed and remembered for a long time to come.

Crossword Puzzle Lady was even a little concerned for me being alone in the suburbs at nine months pregnant with my husband being in the city at work everyday, and provided me with her husbands business and home phone number in case I need to get a hold of someone in the event of an emergency (we live very close to each other). I’m about 99.9% positive as a first time mom that this baby wont pop out in 15 minutes and that I’ll have many many hours to get to where I need to be before she is born, but it’s very comforting to know that there is someone nearby to take care of me if need be.

I will truly miss Crossword Puzzle Lady! Although we just started to speak since I have been pregnant, she has witnessed Mark and I plan our wedding, honeymoon, vacations, buy a home, and been privy to many many conversations we’ve held about our hopes and dreams as we braved the morning commute on the Go Train everyday for the past 4 and half years!

Startling Realization of the Day

While cruising the highways last weekend in search of the perfect quilt for our new bedroom décor, I decided to roll down the windows and blast some tunes from an old Progidy CD I found laying around in the car.

I was really getting into the music, feeling good with the sun shining on my face; the wind blowing through my hair when I realized the days of blaring songs with lyrics like “Smack my Bitch Up” will soon be long gone!

Somehow, blaring ELMO chanting the alphabet just wont be the same…

Big Bad Belly Shots - 36 Weeks

Here I am at 36 weeks.

Thanks Christi

WOW! Look what arrived in the mail last night!

Thank you Christi! What truly wonderful gifts! I just love the adorable little open gowns…and you’re so right! They will be invaluable during those 4:00 am changes when buttons are impossible. I love the little embroidered sheep. Did you know that was my theme? Sheep? Too cute!

The book is perfect! So vibrant and colourful! Perfect for a little baby! The links are also fantastic! What a neat idea. I can’t wait to make use of all these gifts!

As for the chocolates, well…they have been almost completely devoured. Yum!

Thanks so much Christi!

Kiss my Ass

This morning, Ava provided us with a glimpse of her feisty personality.
I have a hunch this kid will be a handful.

Upon going about his morning ritual of saying hello to my belly and smothering it in kisses, my husband decided to give Ava a little talking to about her arrival date. We are all anxiously waiting for the big day, and he tried to convince her that she is more than welcome to make her grand entrance into this world a little earlier than anticipated to finally come out and meet us.

Do you know what she did? She moved her little ass straight up in the air until it protruded from my stomach creating a bizarre lumpy shape as if to say “Kiss my Ass! I’m perfectly content right here where I am!”

Belly Fest

WOW! What a truly remarkable transformation! I'm so glad I have captured the various stages of growth. It just blows my mind when I see them all together like this. Thats MY BABY in there! Look at how much she has grown!

I am a nut case

Last night I had the craziest dream. I dreamed I was breastfeeding my cats!

Hoping I wasnt loosing my sanity, I decided to try and look up what the meaning of this type of dream is, but unfortunately (or perhaps I should say fortunately), “breastfeeding” and “cat” were nowhere to be found in the same dream listing together.

The following are separate interpretations of what it means to dream of “Breastfeeding” and “Cats”.

Breastfeeding:
To dream that you are breastfeeding, symbolizes tenderness, love, nurturance, and motherly love. Good things will be at your grasp.

Cats:
If a young woman dreams that she is holding a cat, or kitten, she will be influenced into some impropriety through the treachery of others.

So, if my logic is correct at co-mingling the two dream interpretations together, the fact that I was breastfeeding my cat means…that the deceitfulness of others will influence me into some bad behaviour, and by being bad, good things will come of it!

Does this mean I can cheat on my tax return?

Maybe the meaning is as simple as I AM A NUT!

Stupid Comment of the Day

Upon joking with a co-worker about my ginormous baby, she suddenly became very serious and suggested that perhaps I should start dieting to help control the baby’s weight gain!!!

Yes, and maybe I should start smoking and develop a cocain habit while I’m at it to make her extra healthy!

No one messes with me and my Tim Hortons Coffee!

Tim Hortons coffee is a national favorite amongst Canadians. The coffee is second to none.

Saturday morning, Mark and I stopped at Tim Hortons for coffee before we began our weekend extravaganza of shopping for new bedroom furniture.

Admittedly, I am not the most patient person in the world, but when it comes to rude people, I usually bite my tongue and disregard their ignorance. It makes life so much easier, and it’s never worth the aggravation to vocalize your issues.

That is unless, you’re pregnant, and any sense of normalcy about your personality and ability to control your emotions has long been left behind along with your thoughts of ever fitting into those cute hip hugger jeans again!

While waiting in the long line up with about 14 million other java junkies to order my medium regular coffee (because my usual large double double is probably a tad bit too much caffeine for my little baby to handle), a man actually walked to the front of the line and butted in front of everyone!

Stunned someone would actually do that, I looked in front of me, and then behind me expecting that someone would surely speak up. No one was saying anything. Feeling my ragging pregnancy hormones starting to bubble over and the smoke starting to billow out of my ears, I knew there was nothing I could do to stop myself from what I was about to do.

I walked up the man, and politely told him he needs to get back in line like the rest of us. I think he was about to tell me where to go, but after a quick glance at my belly, he mumbled something under his breathe and walked out of the store.

I felt like the smuggest and most contented pregnant bitch on the face of the planet at that moment! Oh the power of a pregnant woman! No one messes with us and our bellies!

The responsible parent’s guide to tax returns

SPEND IT ALL ON YOURSELF!

Yes, that is what we are doing with our tax return this year. I know as parents to be the financially responsible thing to do would be reinvesting our returns back in our RRSP’s, paying down the mortgage or opening up an education fund for Ava, but who said we were responsible?

This year, we are using our tax return to remodel our bedroom. Out with the old hand me down furniture, and in with the new. The bedroom is the only room we have never purchased anything of our own for. Everything from the furniture, to the bed to the sheets we sleep on are hand me downs.

This weekend we purchased a new king size bed, mattress and furniture. It was so exciting to spend a weekend with my husband and do something not baby related for a change. We had a blast picking our new bed and furniture (although I had to veto the sex swing Mark wanted to mount in the corner). The look we are going for is definitely Asian inspired Sophistication. Not sure if that is real design lingo or not, but that’s what we’re calling it.

We started our day at the Pottery Barn, but quickly realized that for just the furniture alone we were looking at $8000. When Mark fell in love with a $3500 leather chair, I knew it was time to bolt before we did something stupid and actually spent that kind of money on furniture.

We shopped around, and found some lovely pieces that will work well with our budget and style preferences (think Bombay meets the Bellagio and throw in some Chinese influenced furniture …and a swanky padded headboard covered in suede for fun).

We don’t have all of our accessories yet, just the major furniture pieces and a mattress, so I’m really hoping we can pull it all together.

Big Bad Belly Shots - 35 Weeks

Here I am at 35 weeks.



Notice the wedding rings are gone! Had to put away my diamonds last night or risk having my finger fall off from lack of circulation.


And I just had to throw in this pic. This is my Phat Cat chilling with his daddy (not shown..but he's on the bowflex machine to the left). I had to resist all temptations not to turn the treadmill on full speed here!

Prediction Poll!

I want to have a little fun!

Seeing that I am down to the final homestretch
(only 35 days left before my due date!!!),
I am interested in your predictions for when I will have my baby!

My due date is April 24th.

What are your due date predictions?

Where’s that itch again?

The skin on my stomach has stretched to what I can only describe as miraculous lengths.

Skin is our largest organ (although I would have to argue my largest organ is my swollen placenta brain as of late). Receptors located throughout our skin make it possible to sense touch, pressure and tension. That is of course, under normal circumstances (i.e. NOT pregnant).

A pregnant woman’s skin however, once stretched to capacity, loses its ability to sense the location of touch accurately (at least that’s what I have presumed as I certainly haven’t heard, read or been able to locate any information about this strange phenomena I’m about to describe).

I’ve noticed when I scratch my belly, the sensation I feel across a large area of skin is the sensation I am typically used to feeling in only a small fraction of my skin. The only reasoning I can fathom behind this odd trickery of sensation is the sensory receptors in my skin have also stretched, and the sensations are therefore felt over a larger distance! (What a strange feeling that is, to feel the degree of stimulation you expect in one inch of skin over several inches).

Hubby and I played a freaky game the other night. Belly exposed in all its glory, we determined a coordinate system (North, South, East and West). With my eyes closed, he proceeded to touch a location on my belly and I had to describe the location of his finger in relative location to my belly button. I was never close. In one instance, I felt his finger 3 inches NNW of my belly button. It was only millimeters west of my belly button. Every new location his finger touched produced the same stunning results. The sensation of touch on my belly is completely messed up! Every time I would learn where he was really touching I would giggle and squirm in my own freakish astonishment.

To validate our highly scientific research, we tried the experiment on his belly. He was able to pinpoint the location of my finger exactly every time. To ensure the test subject (me) wasn’t just experiencing a brain lapse, we tried the same experiment on me again on the inside of my arm near my wrist. I was able to determine the distance of his finger from my wrist to the exact inch every time.

They really should discuss this oddity in pregnancy books. It is one of the most strange and uncanny symptoms of pregnancy I have yet experienced. The migration of the sense receptors on your belly skin! Who’da thunk it?

Baring my Midriff

We all know too well how scantily clad some young women dress these days. With images of barely dressed Brittany Spears and other midriff baring celebrities in the media, its no wonder women feel the need to expose their midriffs or show off their thongs with their low rise pants.

I think, ladies and gentlemen, that I am about to bring a whole new meaning to the midriff bearing fashion craze. My gargantuan stomach has officially become too large for my maternity tops!

I wonder if a pregnant lady walking around with her tummy exposed would be considered sexy? You can’t see any well toned abs, but there certainly isn’t any rolls hanging out, just a big round ball o’ belly.

As for showing off a thong, I suppose if having a piece of string stuck in between the crack of my cottage cheese ass cheeks sexy, I may have consider wearing one to compliment my new midriff bearing attire, but something tells me my granny panties compliment my big belly and bloated ankles much better.

Combine my newly acquired belly baring shirts, granny panties and growing bust line and it’s a sure shot I’ll be the next sex symbol on the cover of Vogue magazine. Look for my debut cover spread in the next issue! I might even shave my legs for it!

Mother Nose Best

A rather strange and peculiar symptom of this pregnancy has been my heightened sense of smell.

Everything STINKS!

I haven’t been able to wear any necklaces because I can smell the metal emanating from it and it drives me insane.

Last night, while tossing and turning in bed I could smell tacos on Mark. He had fried up some ground chicken with taco sauce for dinner and I could still smell it hours later in bed facing the opposite direction.

There is definitely a funny odour in our basement, but apparently I am the only one that can detect it.

Sitting beside people on the Go Train is the worst. I can’t believe I have never notice how much people stink!

I’m constantly sniffing the air wondering what it is that I can smell.

I don’t know why they train dogs to sniff out drugs, just ask a pregnant lady! (Oh wait, maybe a sniffing out cocaine isn’t the best job for a pregnant lady to be doing….)

A bomb sniffer maybe? That might not be the safest career path while pregnant either.

Extraordinary nostrils would be great for wine testing, but that’s out of the question too.

It’s too bad pregnant women can’t put their heightened senses to good use. There’s a whole new stinky world out there to discover!

Art Makes Me Happy

This is the latest addition to my collection of Artsy stuff.

(Which brings the grand total of my collection to about 2! I can love art but I can’t always afford it)!



Thanks Aunty Sharon and Uncle Dave for the amazing sculpture!

Rants from a Tired and Cranky Prego

Baby Ava had her 34 week check up yesterday. She is doing marvelous. So marvelous in fact, she managed to put on 1.5 lbs in only 2 weeks and she tips the scales at 5 lbs 12 oz.

Yikes! At this rate, we are for sure looking at almost a 9lb baby.

I certainly did not expect her to grow so large. I fact, before we started to trying to conceive, I weighted 100lbs. No joke! I fit in children’s clothing, and size 0 was often too big. I’m still shaking my head how my baby will grow to be a tenth of that weight.

While trying to conceive I started following a much more nutritiously dense diet to prepare my body for pregnancy. I worked at getting my weight up to a more healthy range for bearing a child and added another 15 lbs to my frame by the time we did actually conceive. Needless to say, due to my petit frame, I really expected about a 7 lb baby.

Don’t get me wrong. I am super excited she is growing so well and is so healthy, but I can’t help but feel somewhat intimidated by her size. The doctors seem to think it’s all about genetics, but truth be told, our families are notorious for 6 or 7 lb babies (with the exception on one cousin on my side who recently had a 10 lb baby).

I am left scratching my head trying to understand how this can be. I can’t help but feel nervous and intimidated about giving birth to such a large baby. No matter how much I learn about the experience of childbirth and what to expect, the bottom line is that I have never experienced it before and there is still that sense of the “unknown” that looms over my head.

I know small framed women are just as capable as delivering a big baby as larger framed women, but no matter how much I try and ease my anxiety within, I just can’t seem to pull myself together these days.

I know my mind is not in a very peaceful state as of late. I began to recognize my internal turmoil a few weeks back when I started listening to Marilyn Manson music again. I usually enjoy the more soothing music of Dido or Enya, but tend to regress to aggressive music when I feel frustrated.

Work is completely draining me with all that is left to complete before I start my leave and all the last minute demands being placed on me, the long commutes are becoming rather daunting, my nights are sleepless from all my tossing and turning and bathroom breaks. I can’t even fold a load of laundry without wanted to cry. Now, as the big day approaches, I just don’t feel like I have the mental energy left to prepare myself mentally and physically.

How do women cope in the last few weeks? I am finding this the most emotionally challenging part of the pregnancy. I have managed to avoid heartburn, stretch marks, constipation and hemorrhoids but would easily trade my emotionally fragile state of mind right now for a terrible case of hemorrhoids AND constipation, just to feel in control of myself again.

A Breakdown of Sorts

The other night, while laying in bed watching TV, I felt that familiar sensation that told me I had to pee yet again (my toilet is now on a first name basis with my ass considering how frequently they connect these days).

Letting out a big sigh (because what would be the fun of being pregnant if you can’t be dramatic every once in a while), I attempted to lift me and belly out of bed.

I usually know better than to try and sit up straight from a semi-reclined position. My once firm and intact abdominal muscles have split apart like the continents have shifted since their days of being one giant Pangaea. Although I doubt my abs have experienced continent drift on the massive scale our continents have, they certainly are no longer intact! Somewhere in between panting and wrestling with my body to sit up, my back decided to completely conk out on me. I shrieked out loud in pain and fell back down on the bed in shock from what I had just experienced. Back pain had never felt so BAD!

Regaining my composer, I tried to sit up again, only to get so far before I was met with the same incredibly stabbing pain in my lower back. It was so painful it brought tears to my eyes. Mark, decided at this point to bite the bullet (despite my constant requests for independence to do things on my own), and make me swallow my pride and help me get out of bed.

I welcomed his assistance at this point despite how ridiculously embarrassing it was not being able to roll myself of bed. I started having visions of paralysis and giant cranes busting through our bedroom window in an attempt to get me to a hospital to empty my bladder.

Deciding to try getting up from the side, I rolled over and positioned one foot on the floor, while Mark gently pulled my arm to get me in an upright position. It was a no go. I could only make it half way up before the back pain returned. It was too much. I started bawling. I don’t know if I was crying from the pain or the humiliation that I was incapable of rolling myself out of bed, but the mighty tear ducts where in full force.

What a sight we must have been. My husband trying to gently tug on my arm to help me out of bed, and me lying there paralyzed with back pain, half hanging off the bed and sobbing like a little baby. How many people DOES it take to roll a pregnant lady of bed?

In hindsight, it is pretty funny. Eventually I managed to wiggle and squirm me and my belly out of bed and got a wonderful back massage out of the deal.

That was breakdown number 2! I suppose that’s not so bad for a Prego!

Crystal Suncatcher

Thanks to Cuppa, I have found a perfect gift for Crossword Puzzle Lady.

In Cuppa’s words:

"This lady brought a ray of sunshine into your life each day by offering you her seat. A neat way to give her a gift in kind, that would keep on giving even when you don't see her anymore, would be to give her a crystal suncatcher to hang in her window. Each morning the sunshine would give her a gift of rainbows in her life and add colour to each day, just like she added rainbows of kindness to your life each time she gave you her seat.

A little note explaining the gift of rainbows and how her kindness brought colour into your life would tie it all together."

Here is the Crystal Suncatcher I bought:



I am so much in love with this idea and decided that a suncatcher in the shape of a heart would make this gift even more perfect as her kindness not only brought sunshine to my day, but she was also a part of the events that occurred around Ava’s heart issue, and now that that is all in the past, our hearts are warmed with sunshine everyday and wanted to share that warmth and sunshine in our hearts with her as well.

Thank you again Cuppa for the wonderful suggestion. I can’t wait to give Crossword Puzzle Lady this gift.

Comment of the Day

Upon sitting down at the salon to get my hair cut yesterday evening, the stylist took notice of my stomach and says, “Look at you! You must be due any day now right?”

I should have said I was only 2 months pregnant!

Startling realization for the day

I have no ankles!

They have been completely swallowed up by my calves, and even they aren’t looking so hot these days. I know people have been telling me it looks like the baby is dropping, but jeez…I didn’t think this kid would take over my ankles too!

I shouldn’t be surprised, if my stomach and diaphragm can move up under my ribs, why can’t my innards move downwards too?

I’ve been trying to do all the right things to minimize swelling, but there are just some things I will not subject myself too!

I absolutely, unequivocally forbid myself to wear any maternity support stockings. I can’t stand wearing stockings of any sort! (Not that I’d brave wearing a skirt these days anyways, my unshaven legs and missing ankles leave much to be desired)!

I know crossing your legs while sitting will increase the chance of swelling, but I am a lady, therefore, I cross my legs! (Unless of course I am just sitting at my desk at work and no one is around. I’ve devised my own make shift stool so I can sit comfortably with my feet propped up in the air all day).

I’m guilty of not stretching enough during my long hours of sitting at the computer, but shouldn’t the horrendously UN-stylish shoes I have been forced to wear this entire pregnancy help make up for the lack effort in stretching?

I do drink plenty of water, exercise regularly and eat well. One would think all the GOOD things I do to minimize swelling would help counter balance all the things I don’t do. When it comes to pregnancy however, as I have quickly learned, it’s all or nothing, and even if you give it your all, your body has wonderful ways of surprising you most of the time.

I’m predicting my wedding rings will the next thing to go! Wonderful! The last thing I need is all those judgmental people out there who, after casting a glace at your belly immediately turn their gaze to your left hand in search of a ring on your finger.

I suppose I could always offer them up another finger….

Did Ava have a visit from the grave?

Our trips up north to our hometown of Penetanguishene are almost always overnight stays at my parent’s house.

I remember living at home and feeling terrified once night time fell and darkness washed over the upstairs hallway. When I was little, I attributed my fear to the “evil” mirror placed at the end of the hallway right before the stairway. The hall light is right beside this mirror, and my bedroom is at the opposite end of the hall, so I would always turn off the light and make a mad dash to my bedroom.

One night, my mom caught me sleepwalking. She found me clawing at the mirror trying to get it off the wall.

Since I have moved away from home, I still to this day make that mad dash through the darkness to my bedroom, and still to this day feel the hairs on my neck stand on end if I am caught in the dark in that house.

My family thinks the ghost of my mom’s father (my Pépère) visits the McDonald family household.

Although there are many eerie things that have happened in that house, there are a few that particularly stand out in my mind.

The first story requires a bit of background. My brother had cataracts when he was only two years old. His entire life he has had to wear very thick glasses to correct his vision after his cataracts were removed. My Pépère also had cataracts, and wore the same thick glasses to see. One night, my brother’s friend was over. He had gone downstairs for something and when he came back upstairs, in the room immediately to his right (the computer room), he saw someone sitting in the chair at the desk wearing the distinctive cataract glasses. It was dark, so he couldn’t make out the face, but said to the figure sitting in the chair “Jay, what are you doing sitting in the dark?” The figure never responded, so he asked again, at which point my brother called out from across the hall that he was in his room!

One night Mark and I were visiting my parents, I was the last to go to bed. Mom and Dad were settled in their room, and Mark in my room. The door to my room was closed, and although it was dark, I could make out a figure (whom I thought was my mom) positioned in front of the door. She appeared to be listening through the door, face turned, ear against the door. I yelled, “Mom, WHAT are you doing?” I received no response. I turned on the light and there was nothing there.

We all hear footsteps climbing up and down the stairs at night. My dad has actually had taps turn on in front of him, and of course there is the dog who will bark or growl into the darkness at what appears to be nothing.

Last weekend, while Mark and I were sleeping, the door to our bedroom opened. I remember waking up the door opening and thinking, that’s strange; I had just gone to the washroom and absolutely remember closing the door tight. Mark got up and closed the door. Just as we were dozing off, the door opened again! This happened 4 times before we just decided to leave the door open as it was useless trying to keep it closed.

I wonder if my Pépère was coming to meet Ava? I know she certainly became active and started rolling and kicking up a storm when the door opened, but perhaps that was because my blood pressure and heart rate would go up.

Even if it was nothing, it is somewhat heart warming to think my Pépère wanted to meet Ava, and that is what I have chosen to believe for now!

And it Vibrates...!!

Little did I realize, while opening gifts at my Baby Shower, the phrases I used to describe the gifts were being recorded. Apparently, there is an old wives tale that claims the words used to describe the gifts you are “showered” with for the baby must be the same words you spoke when the baby was conceived.

Based on that wives tale, the following is the list of words that I must have spoken during the wonderful act of creating a baby:

Very Cute! So Little!
Oh my goodness (x 3)
Ohh, Awe
Look at that!
So soft
Too cute!
Very Good
WOW!
Spread Eagle
There’s more!?!?
Oh my!
And it vibrates!!!
That’s excellent
Do you think it requires batteries?
I love it! I LOVE it!

Doesn’t leave much to imagination does it?

Showered with Gifts

Last weekend Hubby and I ventured up to my hometown a few hours north of Toronto so I could attend my Baby Shower.

I am completely humbled by the generosity and kindheartedness of my family.

All of the food was scrumptious and tasty (especially the non-alcoholic punches for a pregnant momma) and the cake was yummy and simply adorable.

I received so many wonderful gifts and am sincerely thankful from the bottom of my heart for all of the lovely baby treasures, necessities, warm blankets, ingenious inventions and clothing I received.

I will be busy for the next few days personalizing and getting out my thank you notes to everyone, but in the meantime, I thought I would share some pictures from the Shower.


That would be me in the bright red sporting the big belly!


As an icebreaker, my mom had everyone cut a piece of string from a ball of yarn to the length they thought would wrap around my belly. The person who came the closest, won a prize.

YIKES! No one warned me I would have so many people become so intimately aquainted with my big belly!

Everyone who came under in length remained my friend, and anyone who guessed 10 inches or more was sent home! (Just kidding!)

This was alot of fun actually. Two people tied and guessed EXACTLY! I kept the string to measure its length. My belly measures exactly 40 inches in circumference, or one meter (if you prefer the metric system). In a strange and twisted way, that is quite impressive!

There is my snazzy new diaper genie in front of me! Apparently they are a the next best thing after sliced bread for eliminating stinky diaper smells! Less stink works for me!



Had to throw this one in. I had a good laugh when I uncovered the wrapping paper on this box. Someone thought putting their gift in a box originally for a weigh scale would be innocent!

Inside was a wonderful quilt. Much better than a scale I should think.

Big Bad Belly Shots - 33 Weeks

Here I am at 33 weeks.

Crossword Puzzle Lady

Since I live in Suburbia, I am one of the millions of people in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) who must brave the morning commute to work every morning. My personal chariot is large green and white passenger train that carries 150, 000 workers into the city every day (all of which appear to pile on the express train I happen to ride every morning).

By the time my stop arrives, there are never any seats left on the train. On a good day, you have enough standing room to comfortably move your elbows to read a newspaper.

Since very early on in my pregnancy (I guess I ballooned rather fast), I have been blessed with a seat every day by a woman I refer to as “Crossword Puzzle Lady”. She gets on the train a stop before me, and always saves her seat for me. I don’t understand why, but standing in one spot for a half an hour is near impossible for me (which is surprising because movement, such as walking for that amount of time doesn’t phase me in the least). Maybe it has something to do with an inability to properly shift my weight around, but standing without movement makes me feel ill, anxious and light headed. Yes, receiving a seat on the train everyday is certainly a wonderful blessing.

I can’t help but wonder however, why not one other person has offered me their seat instead. This is quite irritating to me. Surprisingly, we are surrounded by the same people every day, so they obviously have become familiar with our routine after four months seeing my belly grow, and Crossword puzzle lady offer to stand so I can sit.

Perhaps offering a seat to a pregnant woman is not viewed as a common courtesy to some? Am I really that old fashion?

All aggravation aside, I would like to buy Crossword Puzzle lady a gift before I no longer will be taking the train into work. I bought her a small gift at Christmas as a token of my appreciation, but this time, I would like to find something creative that really expresses my gratitude.

I am at a loss as to what to buy her. Does anyone have any suggestions?

An Intimate Affair with my Pelvis

Pelvis

Definition from Dictionary.com:

“A basin-shaped structure of the vertebrate skeleton, composed of the innominate bones on the sides, the pubis in front, and the sacrum and coccyx behind, that rests on the lower limbs and supports the spinal column.”

Definition from a Pregnant Woman:

“The gaping hole of the vertebrate skeleton consisting of a giant baby head”

I have been feeling quite a bit of what I can only describe as “pressure” these days between my legs. So much in fact, I want to grab my crotch and apply counter pressure to ease the discomfort. The best picture I can paint for you is a desire to hold myself like a small child would do so they don’t pee their pants.

I know baby settled into the head down position quite a while back, and it must be quite comfortable, because she’s been chilling in my tummy in that upside position for almost two months now.

Maybe all those kegel exercises feel like a nice scalp massage! I’m happy she favours the proper birth position, but geez kid, it feels like you’re about to fall right out!

The Wash Cloth

Somehow, knowing I will soon be spread eagle in front of a room full of people to deliver a baby seems like nothing compared to how embarassing this story is! The poor woman must be mortified! Oh the things women must endure!

THE WASH CLOTH

I was due for an appointment with the gynecologist later in the week.

Early one morning, I received a call from the doctor's office to tell me that I had been rescheduled for that morning at 9:30am. I had only just packed everyone off to work and school,and it was already around 8:45 am. The trip to his office took about 35 minutes, so I didn't have any time to spare.

As most women do, I like to take a little extra effort over hygiene when making such visits, but this time I wasn't going to be able to make the full effort. So, I rushed upstairs, threw off my pajamas, wet the washcloth that was sitting next to the sink, and gave myself a quick wash to be presentable.

I threw the washcloth in the clothes basket, Threw on some clothes hopped in the car and raced to my appointment. I was in the waiting room for only a few minutes when I was called in. Knowing the procedure, as I'm sure you do, I hopped up n the table, looked over at the otherside of the room and pretended that I was in Paris or some other place a million miles away. I was a little surprised when the doctorsaid, "My, we have made an extra effort this morning, haven't we?" I didn't respond. After the appointment, I heaved a sigh of relief and went home.

The rest of the day was normal... some shopping, cleaning, cooking,etc. After school when my six year old daughter was playing, she called out from the bathroom, "Mommy, where's my washcloth?" I told her to get another one from the cupboard. She replied, No, I need the one that was here by the sink, it had all my glitter and sparkles saved inside it.

Catching up…

Yesterday I had my 32 week prenatal appointment. I am starting to really look forward to my appointments now as I get to see little Ava via an Ultrasound.

The Ultrasound Technician took the time to show me her face. It was so exciting (although somewhat strange as the eyes are basically seen as dark circles and look hollow).

At 29 weeks, she was measuring in the 70th percentile. At 30 weeks, she was measuring in the 60th percentile and yesterday, she measured in the 55th percentile. Although the Ultrasound isn’t entirely accurate, at least she appears to be measuring more on the average size right now (about a week ahead). Maybe my baby won’t be so ginormous after all! I’m expecting about an 8lb baby. Currently, I am carrying 4.2 pounds of baby in my tummy.

Blood pressure is still good at about 100/60 (although I have no reason to expect it not to be…before pregnancy my blood pressure was so low I felt like I was about to pass out if I stood up to quickly).

I have gained 24 lbs and feel quite good these days.

My only complaints are that I can’t get out of bed very easily anymore, my fingers are starting to experience numbness, and I can’t keep up the pace with my regular exercise routine. I like to walk about a mile and half to two miles on the treadmill everyday (on the full incline), but I just can’t manage the full incline anymore.

I can still, however, manage stairs, and it’s always funny in the morning as I meander my way through the underground PATH system to my office and take the stairs instead of the escalators. People must either think I’m crazy or insane. Either way, those watching me from the escalator must find it entertaining to watch an 8 month pregnant lady bumbling and waddling her way up the stairs, and the people behind me are surely frustrated that I’m not moving fast enough.

I have been having a hard time with eating as of late. I just can’t seem to eat a teeny tiny crumb without feeling totally bloated. The fullness makes it even harder to breathe. I am used to eating about 6 times a day, but now I have to graze all day long to keep up on my nutrition while still leaving enough room in my stomach for my lungs to expand as well.

The numbers on the scale are starting to feel a bit daunting. My goal all along was to gain between 30 – 35 lbs (because my pre-preggo weight was quite low), but no matter how much you prepare for that amount of weight gain, it’s still shocking. I’m curious how much you loose right after the baby is born? I know there are of course the baby, placenta and amniotic fluid, which is probably about 11-13 lbs or so, but is that it? Would your fluids and blood volume start decrease right away as well? I suppose the shrinking of your uterus should be taken into account. Regardless, I’m pretty confident I’ll still have enough fat maternal stores built up to breastfeed my baby.

Today I officially handed in my notice of when I am going to begin my maternity leave. My last official day of work is April 1st, but I am taking my three weeks holidays up front, so “technically” my last day is April 22nd. It is quite busy at work these days (hence my sparse blog), and I can tell my mind is not on the job anymore. Just last week I managed to take down our whole Remote Access Server (the server that allows people to connect remotely to our network and work from home, an airport, hotel room…or anywhere else remotely). I couldn’t believe I had done such a thing and felt mortified when I had to explain what had happened to my boss. Here we are investing hundreds or thousands in a Business Continuity Plan to ensure we have remote access capabilities in the event of an emergency situation, when all they really needed to do was keep me away from that machine! How do you invest in protection against staff who aren’t concentrating when they work? YIKES!

It's probably a good thing I am leaving work three weeks before my due date!