Things I’ve learnt In Second Trimester

 

Happy Friday everyone! Today marks 30 weeks pregnant! Although 28 weeks is considered “third trimester”,  it was this milestone of 30 weeks that I have been looking forward to! To me, there is just something about 30 weeks that screams: “it’s the final countdown!”

I’ve come to learn some interesting things while pregnant. Things that you don’t expect to happen! I shared with you all my experience from the 1st trimester and I thought I would fill you in on the 2nd as well!

1. You suddenly become disabled…except you never got the memo! It’s as if as soon as you start to look pregnant people realize that you shouldn’t do anything anymore! It’s kind of an old school thought and I agree, don’t push yourself too hard but for the most part guess what…I’m Not Useless (my brother would totally disagree..haha!)!

Somehow it’s ok to lift up my almost 3 year old nephew but a seed bag is off limits!

My poor concerned father almost dies of a heart attack every time I tell him a physical activity I am participating in. Zumba? I’m going to bounce the baby out! Curling? Clearly I’m going to fall on the ice and kill my child. He has actually been heard saying, “you need to spend this time being sedentary! Now is not that time to move”!

Ryan forgot to put the garbage container to end of the road one morning. It was snowing very lightly. I went to go do it myself and my mother pretty much body checked me and ran out the door. The garbage container is on wheels….

My husband REFUSED to paint the baby’s room or bathroom while I was in the house. He was sure the fumes would cause our child to come out with 3 ears.

2. The second trimester is when people who don’t really know you, start to take notice of your growing belly! One particular Sunday I was 21 weeks pregnant and a woman at church asked, “Do you really think you’ll make it all the way to your due date?”

I was kind of shocked but then laughed! Well I SURE HOPE SO considering I have 19 weeks left! Dude, if you think I am big now wait till March!

3. You can feel very lonely. Pity party..table of one please?

I am never alone. This baby is always with me. Not just physically but mentally as well! You can’t help but have your thoughts revolve around baby. You begin to think of something else and baby gives you a kick to remind you it is all about “it”. But you know no body really wants to hear about baby 24/7 so you keep your mouth shut! It’s safer that way! So your inner baby thoughts are mostly your own! 

Baby Daddy at this time will probably will be go through some realizations that his life is almost over. He will hold on to whatever youth and freedom he can! Don’t worry reality will soon slap him in the face! But in the meantime, all that time he spends away with the “boys” is just more ammo you can use to get things done!

4. It’s in the second trimester that you start to recognize the fact that you can feel your baby moving! People always say to you, “isn’t it the best feeling EVER?”.

Guess what, for some…not really. Someone needs to warn some preggo ladies that it is OK to not feel all warm and fuzzy about the baby moving inside of you. Is it cool? For sure! Is it a sign that everything is good in there? Definitely. Is it kind of freaky knowing that there is a living being moving inside of you? YEAH! 

The books tell of the innocent little butterfly flutters that you feel when the baby first starts to move. What they don’t go on to tell you about is the feeling like a RAPID MONGOOSE IS TRYING TO ESCAPE FROM A BURLAP BAG in your belly later on your pregnancy.

5. Every pregnant girl knows that there is to be some expected discomfort when it comes to being pregnant. Specifically, you anticipate the pain your lady parts are going to go through once the baby finally arrives! What you don’t EVER expect is to have those lady parts hurt during the second trimester! When I asked the doctor what the pain was all about he just giggled and said that it was great! Baby was probably head down and causing stretching. His smile and giggle made me want to kick him in his nether region!

Finally, some of my favourite quotes from this trimester:

- Pregnant girl problems when working in an open office, “I apologize to you all in advance but I am very gassy today” 

Ryan- “Now you know how I feel having to carry around a belly all day.”

Ryan – “I have a belly too and you don’t see me complaining and asking for a foot rub.”

Lindsay – Ryan gets me a glass of water. “Babe, this water is warm!”

Ryan – “I know! I don’t want you to drink water that is too cold! You’ll make the baby cold!”

Parenting advice from my father:

Bill: “Want to know how to make make them stop crying? Just quietly go over to them and then smother them.”

Lindsay: “Like, you mean with kisses?”

Bill: “No, no…like with a pillow or something.”

Silence…

Happy Friday!

xo

Baby W–28 Weeks

 

*Each bumpdate is from the week before. I am currently 29 weeks and 5 days pregnant!*

28 weeks as of January 17, 2014

This Week:

Third and FINAL Trimester, BABY!

Baby This Week:

We are in the final stretch! Baby is the size of an eggplant! Its immune system is continuing to mature! Baby may be starting to dream now too. I wonder what it dreams about? Baby can blink it’s eyes and has eye lashes!

Maternity Clothes:

I never did invest in any maternity work out gear because for the most part I had no problem fitting into my non-mat clothes. This week I discovered that my workout/lounge shirts are too short! I’ll still wear them around the house but Ryan will continuously laugh at me with my belly sticking out. We’ll see who laughs last, as I am going to start stealing his shirts!  

Stretch Marks/Weight:

I was shocked to see that I had lost 2 pounds this week. It may have something to do with getting back on eating healthy again and not drinking all the sugary drinks in Jamaica! So, since the beginning of the pregnancy I am +6.

Some nights I am amazed that newer stretch marks haven’t sprouted yet as (especially at night) my tummy feels SO tight. I started a prenatal yoga DVD this week that is suppose to help with stretching for labour and to help make more room for growing baby!

Movement:

Constant. Some days it is still hard to distinguish what body part is sticking out. For the most part the baby likes to push it’s bum right up by my right side rib. I can’t say I have gotten to the point where the movements are uncomfortable yet.

Food Cravings/Aversions:

Random craving for chocolate pudding this week. HAD to have some and made a special trip to get a box to make. It had to be extra cold too!

I find myself getting easily full again this week. It’s like it takes food longer to digest so I can’t eat as much at one sitting. I prefer snacking!

Symptoms:

Same old really. Growing belly, growing boobs (seriously, do they EVER stop?!), nice hair and stuffy nose.

The biggest “new” symptom would be my constant nesting brain. I am continuously making lists and finding more and more jobs to do before baby comes. Each item feels SO important to accomplish before baby gets here when rationally I know it’s not. I just have to keep reminding myself; baby will be fine and we will live if my sock drawer doesn’t get organized before hand…

What I Miss:

Yoga. Classes are postponed for now. But like I mentioned, I did start a prenatal yoga DVD this week. The only problem is getting to be fully relaxed during the meditation portion…especially when a certain puppy sneaks up and licks your forehead!

Labour Signs:

TMI WARNING!

I was having some bad gas pains that would come and go this week. They were SO painful and I would have to try to breath through them. Ryan was sure I was going into labour. Ha ha

Gender:

Team green! I am starting to get really anxious to know what the sex of the baby is! I obviously want to wait till the end but it is getting increasing hard as the days go by! 

My Dad, who has been team pink the whole time, told me this week he had a dream it was a boy and is now switching teams.

Belly Button In or Out:

VERY shallow. Practically non-existent.

Wedding Rings On or Off:

On and still loose! Woo hoo! Still trying to make it till the end with keeping them on!

What I’m Looking Forward To This Week:

I am SO looking forward to getting our crib this week and hoping to cross lots of items off of our to-do list!

Also, not pregnancy related AT ALL but, I am so looking forward to the first local Soup & Sandwich lunch of the winter! It’s one of the reasons why I absolutely love working in this small town!

Daddy This Week:

Daddy and I kind of got on each others nerves this week. Mommy has a long list of things to do before you arrive and Daddy thinks she has gone crazy. Daddy usually HATES talking about money. It makes him very stressed and always ends up in a screaming match. This week Mommy and Daddy sat down to work out the post baby budget and not one voice was raised! It ended up being very civil, simply a miracle!

Wisdom:

Putting exclamation points after each to-do list item does not make them happen any faster!

Best Moment Of The Week:

Getting and putting together the crib! Still feels like there is SO much that needs to be done to finish the nursery but it’s progress!

Soup and Sandwich! Yum in my tum!

First FULL week after being back from holidays/vacation was hard but also satisfying to be back to normal. Laundry and house chores are all caught up and we are back living the day-to-day. This week I figured out what my “last day of work” (more on that another time) would be and started the count down. Was shocked to see that it was less then 60 days! Holy moly, that does not seem very far away!

xo

Weekend Filled With Food and Friends!

 

Happy Monday everyone! It’s snowing kind of heavily here right now which means that everyone is out clearing snow. Which means I have the office to myself…it’s very peaceful!

I hope everyone’s weekend was wonderful! I know mine was! I remember thinking about how my weekend seemed on the quiet side, as far as plans go. But in reality, it wasn’t quiet at all! It was actually fairly busy but it was never stressful busy so I guess that is why it felt so quiet.

The weekend started out with a very tired Lindsay and Ryan. After a fast bite to eat, a couple loads of laundry, we both settled in front of the t.v and fell asleep. Ryan eventually had to get up to head to the city to work that night and I went to bed.

Saturday morning I woke up early and relaxed. Just as I was starting to get my day started Ryan come home. He didn’t want to fall asleep yet so we joined me and we ran to get groceries and have breakfast!

I have to say, that is a food category I have been enjoying ALOT during this pregnancy, breakfast! I am specifically loving French Toast!

This picture makes my tummy growl!

We unpacked the groceries and Ryan went for a sleep while I got ready for my evening ahead! That night, a group of my closest girlfriends were all heading to Renfrew to have supper together in celebration of Priscilla’s (belated) Birthday! It was great to take a moment out of all of our busy lives and sit to enjoy each others company! We went to Santé Fe’s which is a Tex-Mex themed restaurant! I absolutely LOVE their sweet potato fries!

I have to say, the roads were great on the drive there. On the way home, it was a little more frightening. The wind had picked up and a dusting of snow was covering the ground. Thankfully, we all made it back in one piece!

Sunday morning it was off to church where after the service I got to pick out a special ornament for Baby W from our minister! She got them for all the children (and children to come!) from her trip to Bethlehem. The beautiful ornament is make out of Olive Tree wood!  

After church, I hit to road immediately as I was meeting Rebekka, one of my best friends! It has been quite some time since we have seen each other as the ferry connecting our two small towns closed early this year! I have really missed seeing her but we have a nice long 2 hour brunch where we got to catch up!

Oh, did I mention we were at Cora’s, a breakfast chain place where we both ordered these AMAZING Banana Blast crepes? It’s a crepe filled with hazelnut spread and banana’s! Yum!

 

If anything this weekend, I was well fed! Ha ha! When I got home from brunch with Bekk, I took a quick nap before Ryan got home. He basically worked all weekend on nights so he headed straight to bed!

It was a quiet evening Sunday night remembering all that happened this weekend. It wasn’t a quiet weekend at all, it was actually fairly busy but there was never a moment of anxiety trying to squeeze everything in. It was a wonderfully slow paced weekend where I got to spend lots of time with quite a few of my greatest girl friends!

How was your weekend?

xo

Year of Dates–December

 

Happy Friday everyone! I hope everyone's week felt a lot faster then mine! I woke up on Tuesday thinking it was Thursday!  Fun!

Now that we are WELL into 2014, I thought I would share with you how our last date of the year went for 2013! It was hard to believe that we did it, we went on a date a month for a whole year! Truthfully, I didn’t know if we could do it. I knew there would be snags but I thought with the busy summer months, that we may end up skipping a month! But, I’m proud that we didn’t! I’m proud that we made our dates a priority!

December was Ryan’s month to plan! When we opened the envelope on December 1st, it was hard to believe that it was probably about a year ago that it was looked at!

Ryan was a little bit worried about this date. He had remembered what he had planned and wasn’t sure that we would be able to complete it 100%.

It says, “Merry Christmas my love, what a good time to do a winter activity. We are going to go for a nice leisurely skate at the Shawville arena for a free skate, then we are going to have a nice supper at Hursty’s where we had our first date lunch. Love you my love what a wonderful year we had of dates, it was amazing and fun.”

First, I got a little choked up reading the note…frigging hormones. Then, I realized why he was nervous. You see, I suck at skating. No matter how many times I try, I always end up falling. Curling? SURE! The footwear for that sport has ice grips! But strap a piece of metal to the bottom of my foot and I cannot keep balanced! With another new (and now round) obstacle in my front to throw me off balance, I was worried.

After talking it over, we decided to pack up our skates and drive around to the smaller outdoor rinks. If they were empty, we would attempt skating with the rule that Ryan was to never let go of my hand.

We drove to 4 different outdoor rinks in our area (Beechgrove, Quyon, Norway Bay AND Shawville) and they were were all busy with hockey players. I didn’t feel comfortable being out on the ice with young boys shooting a puck around and skating circles around me.

The skating portion of our date was a bust and I was kind of relieved. I just never felt 100% confident in my skating abilities to be on the ice.

So, we took the gift certificate that was included in the envelope and headed to one of our favourite local restaurants, Hursty’s!

We are creatures of habit and every time we eat together at Hursty’s, we try to sit in the same spot! I guess now we call it “our” spot and if it’s taken when we are there, we are disappointed! Luckily, it was a quiet Friday night when we went to the restaurant and our spot wasn’t taken!

I ordered the club with poutine on the side and Ryan got chicken fingers with spicy fries! So healthy! ha ha! But, oh so yummy and worth every bite!

We were stuffed after our meal and it had just started snowing! This always means that Ryan will shortly have to go to work! So, we headed straight home and went to bed.

I felt bad that this date didn’t go 100% like Ryan had planned but at that time last year, we had no idea that I would be pregnant. We did make an effort to include the skating but I think it was better we never laced up.

With all the hustle and bustle of getting ready for Christmas we would never usually have thought to take time out to have a date together. Our “Year of Dates” forced us to put down the wrapping paper and spend some quality time alone together.

It wasn’t a super fancy date but it made us slow down during a notoriously busy month and enjoy each other’s company. Last date of 2013, complete!

Like I said above, I can’t believe we made it a whole year with doing a successful date every month! Some months were easier to accomplish then others! Some months we REALLY didn’t want to do our dates because we felt so busy with other obligations. But, we surged ahead with the date and afterwards would be so glad!

Each month was so different but the end result was the same, pausing life for a moment and enjoying one another!

January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November.

Happy Friday!

xo

Baby W–27 Weeks

 

*Each bumpdate is from the week before. I am currently 28 weeks and 5 days pregnant!*

27 weeks as of January 10th, 2013

This Week:

Celebrating 27 weeks on the beach in Jamaica! Soaking up the last two days of sun before heading home and back to reality! Trying to really relax as I know that this week is going to be crazy with a 2 day tradeshow and then doctor’s appointment.

Baby This Week:

Baby is the size of a rutabaga (k?). Baby is practising inhaling and exhaling! Baby’s hearing is getting better and better every week. Baby is also getting stronger and getting more muscle tone from all of the moving around!

Maternity Clothes:

Enjoying the last couple of days of flip flops and sundresses before heading back to the snow back home! Boo! For the work tradeshow this week, I had a Old Navy shirt embroidered so that I would have something to wear that would match the rest of the teams attire! I got a lot of giggles as people asked me if Mountainview now made maternity clothes! But I was comfy all day and could get to business without having to worry about a non-maternity wardrobe malfunction.

Stretch Marks/Weight:

Yikes! Big jump in the weight this week as I hadn’t weighed myself since before the trip. Put on another 6 pounds in the last two weeks. For a total of +8 since the beginning of the pregnancy!

Nothing new in the stretch mark department!

Movement:

Baby movements are definitely sharper and more defined. At my appointment this week baby was head up but in the afternoon I felt baby do a complete 180 to head down. So weird to feel and watch it shifting so much! 

Food Cravings/Aversions:

No real cravings this week but when I was back from Jamaica I was glad to be back to somewhat normal eating schedule. Between Christmas, New Years and then Jamaica my eating has been crap! Not only does it show in my large increase of weekly weight but also in my energy. I am glad to be home where I can make my own healthier food and get back on schedule! I got groceries at 27 weeks 6 days and loaded up on all of my healthy favourites! Not to mention planned all of our meals for the week again for healthy suppers! Feels good to be back to organized!

Symptoms:

Oh geez! A couple of real “special” symptoms showed up this week…

At 27 weeks and 3 days, we were were FINALLY going to fly home after a long flight delay. I was sitting in the non-air conditioned airport, so thirsty from lack of water (it was 2 AM, no stores and no vending machines) and looked down to see my hands had swollen! My fingers looked like mini sausages and my rings were getting increasingly tighter and tighter on my hands. Thankfully, when we were back home the swelling went down and hasn’t happened again since!

Baby brain is real people! At the the grocery store I grabbed my bags out of the trunk of my car. I went and got all my food and checked out. As I was pushing my cart back to my car I noticed my cars hatchback was up. I was a little confused as to why it would be since my car keys were still in my purse. Then the realization come to me that I actually never shut it after I grabbed my bags. So for about an hour my car sat like this in the parking lot….woops!

On one of my pregnancy apps on my phone I had read about leg cramps happening sometimes in pregnancy. I thought I was lucky to have avoided this symptom. At 27 weeks and 6 days, I rolled over in bed and all the sudden I got a horrible Charlie Horse! The worse part is that it is nearly impossible to jump out of bed with a boulder attached to your stomach to stretch out your leg.

What I Miss:

Not having to sit down to put on my socks and rolling over easily in bed!

Labour Signs:

No labour signs this week but at my “28” week doctor’s appointment (at 27 weeks and 6 days) I asked the doctor about my previous weeks pelvic pain. He poked around and asked where it was. When I showed him he said that it was a great thing! It meant the baby (at the time) was probably head down and causing it to stretch my pelvic bones…Yay?

Gender:

Still no clue or guess! At the tradeshow in the city I was getting asked the gender questions every few seconds. People’s reactions were mostly shock which is hilarious! As I work in a male driven industry, they weren’t many guesses!

Belly Button In or Out:

In but VERY shallow and almost non-existent.

Wedding Rings On or Off:

One small scare on the flight home.I was worried that I wouldn’t actually get my rings off without cutting them! The swelling went down and I haven’t had any problems since!

What I’m Looking Forward To This Week:

Doctors appointment at 27 weeks and 6 days!

The last week of the second trimester! Huge milestone again!

Looking forward to being home and hopefully getting things accomplished on the baby to-do list!

Daddy This Week:

Daddy doesn’t do well with lack of sleep so the change of schedule has been harder on him. I think he is going through Jamaica withdrawals this week! ha ha

Wisdom:

Heels suck when you are not pregnant and will just make you miserable if worn when with child!

Best Moment Of The Week:

Getting home was a really great moment this week! I love being back on schedule, in my own home (aka bed) and getting back to reality! I have a long list in my head of things I want to get done and I am started to feel like that window of opportunity is so small!

I also enjoyed having my doctors appointment this week and hearing that everything looks great! Blood pressure, belly measurement, urine sample and baby’s heart beat is all perfect! I am so thankful for the lack of problems I have had! My doctor just keeps calling me “text book”!

Seeing this picture on a baby forum and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud! This is TOTALLY my hope for my child! ha ha!

Linking up today with Mama & Mou!

xo

Weekend of Panic…In Point Form!

 

Happy Monday everyone! To think this time last week I was just boarding a plane in Jamaica…how 7 days makes quite a difference! I could certainly use some of that Jamaican heat this morning! Brr!

I have to admit, to most people my weekend probably looked pretty good! Actually, probably great! But to this Mama to be, all I felt all weekend long was panic!

I promised myself that I would relax during Christmas/New Years and then again for our trip to Jamaica. I would hold off on the “nesting” things until we got back. The only problem with that is during my restful and quiet week in Jamaica, it gave me a lot to think. It gave me time to form to-do and to-get lists in my head!

Being that this was the first weekend after we got back it felt as though those lists were pressing down on me. Like they had to be completed in a matter of days, rather than weeks! This drove both Ryan and I insane…for completely different reasons.

- Friday night Ryan went out sledding for the first time since our return home. I unpacked and cleaned. I guess the busy week caught up with me because Ryan found me asleep on the floor near my suitcase at 8:30.

- Saturday was our first date of 2014!

- While we were in the city doing our date, we also went to Target and purchased our crib. Actually, the first target we went to was out of stock so we went to two Targets.

- My first moment of panic started while going down the “baby” aisles. I kept making mental notes of things I wanted/needed to get!

- We did enjoy our date but more on that later!

- As soon as the date was over it was back home and ASSEMBLED the crib! WOO HOO! Not going to lie, feels weird to have a crib in the house. Ryan wasn’t sure why I was SO insistent on assembling the crib that night but there was no sleep for this Mama until it was put together!

- While Ryan was “calmly” putting together the crib, I made a to-do list for the next day! It MAY have been a little lengthy and ambitious for only 24 hours in a day.

- Sunday morning Ryan was off to hockey and I went to church. It was hard to focus in church as my to-do list for the day kept running through my head.

- After a quick breakfast at Mom and Dad’s it was off to work!

- Something that was realized this weekend, my idea of “nesting” is entirely different then Ryan’s. My idea is that we meticulously go through each item, clean said items and place them back in a new organized manner.

- Ryan doesn’t realize that if said nesting items are not done the way that I want, then they are not considered done.

- Sunday ended by these two parents-to-be being in different areas of the home being very quiet.

- The unrealistic to-do list has 2 items crossed off. Small accomplishments…

Poor Ryan! Ha ha!

xo

Jamaica 2014

 

Happy Friday everyone! I feel like this is the first real day that I can sit down, take a breath and recap on the amazing vacation we had! It’s been a whirlwind of a week trying to get back to our normal life!

We knew about this trip about 2 years before it happened! Friends Lisa & Luc had decided they wanted to get married down south! Immediately, we started saving our pennies so that when the time came, we could go! Last August, we discovered we were pregnant. We weren’t sure what this would mean for our trip. It was important to us that we be there (as Ryan was the Best Man). Thankfully, the date worked out perfectly with me being 26-27 weeks pregnant. At 28 weeks, I would no longer be eligible for medical insurance! Just made the cut off!

We kind of consider this trip to also be a bit of a “Babymoon” for us as it would be the last trip before Baby W’s arrival! I was so looking forward to a week of relaxation in the warm south.

On January 5th, we loaded a plane in Ottawa (about 1 hour delayed) for Montego Bay, Jamaica! We sailed through customs and were loaded on the bus to our resort! It was about an hour and a half drive to our resort so of course we had to stop for refreshments!

We got to our resort and checked in around 1 AM. I was very sore and tired from the long journey and went to bed. Ryan decided to join some friends at the Sportsbar for a few drinks. The next morning I woke up at 7:30 – 8 AM to no husband. I was quite worried but we later met up. Momma wasn’t happy so I headed to the beach by myself. Ryan later joined me and did some serious ass kissing! ha ha!

I can’t say enough about how lucky we were with the weather! It was suppose to rain all week and we never did get any showers during the day! I was so happy to sit on the beach every day sunny the belly and reading!

Usually the afternoons, after lunch, were spent at the pool. The entertainment staff would be organizing lots of games and activities and it was fun to watch. Plus, the pool bar made it easy access for refreshments!

Arm Wrestling competition

Ryan with the Bride and Groom!

The bride-to-be arm wrestling her mother in law!

I would usually head back to the room for a little rest as the gang stayed at the pool. In the evening we would take off our wet swim suits and get dressed up for supper!

Live entertainment outside the restaurant

Adam and Ryan loading up on carbs! Sharing a banquette!

The sports bar was a great place to hang out and was a favourite of the guys! It had T.V, a mini casino, pool tables and computers.

If you made it past supper, around 9:30 every night there would be a show put on by the entertainment staff. I didn’t catch them all by I had fun at the beach party, Michael Jackson show and International Night.

Wake up the next morning, eat breakfast, head to the beach and repeat! We really loved this schedule (or lack there of).

On Wednesday, January 8th it was WEDDING DAY! The whole reason why we were all down there! To be there to see friends Lisa and Luc tie the knot!

Being that Ryan was the best man, the boys got ready in our room. Men really are much more relaxed on the day of their wedding compared to women! And, they have such little to do! Lucky!

We headed down to the beach location for the wedding and awaited the brides arrival!

Handsome groomsman and I!

The groom and his best man!

It was a beautiful and fast ceremony! You could tell they were both so excited and very much in love! We spent some time taking pictures on the beach before heading to the bar for some cocktails!

We all ate at the resorts steak restaurant which included a champagne toast and wedding cake! Later, we all gathered at the beach for a mini reception, dancing bare foot in the sand included!

On the Thursday a group of us decided to load one of the buses to the local marketplace to do some shopping. There were no vendors at our resort so this was our only opportunity to get any souvenirs.

We had 2 hours to shop which was plenty of time! Ryan and I got some coffee, rum, a baby onsie and of course a Christmas ornament!

On the bus headed back to the resort (creepy looking Adam in the background).

Friday and Saturday was more of the same. Sometimes Ryan would join me on the beach and some days he would sleep in. Either way, we always met up for some time in the sun. Usually, we would participate in at least one excursion on past trips but decided a week of relaxing at the resort was a lot better for us this time. I really wanted to enjoy and soak up some pre-baby moments. Sleeping in, naps, no schedule and quiet reading time!

Beach in the morning…

Pool in the afternoon…

And supper, show and bar in the evenings!

Some people *cough*my parents*cough* were worried about me travelling while pregnant. But truthfully, I never had any problems (thank goodness) and never once felt like we were in any danger. Besides Ryan, I always had an amazing gang of friends who were always there for me if I needed something. I can’t thank them enough for that!

I think my most favourite part of the trip were the quiet moments that I had with baby. Sometimes with the hustle and bustle of life, the kicks and squirms in my belly become part of my everyday life and not as noticeable. It was nice to sit back and connect with baby more. Enjoy every kick, talk to my belly and imagine what life is going to be like in a very short amount of time.

Jamaica was a great pre-baby trip! Full of relaxing, sun and quiet beach moments! Congrats Lisa and Luc!

xo 

Baby W–26 Weeks

 

*Each bumpdate is from the week before! I am currently 27 weeks and 5 days pregnant!*

26 weeks as of January 3th 2014!

This Week:

First bumpdate of 2014! COOL! What a big week this week! Began with starting and completing our baby registry and then packing for a week long trip to sunny Jamaica! Ya’ mon!

Baby This Week:

Apparently baby is the size of a head of lettuce now and my uterus is the size of a soccer ball!! It certainly feels like I have a soccer ball under my shirt sometimes! ha! Baby can not only hear noises but respond to them as well by increased pulse rate or activity! May be sucking its thumb and is beginning to occasionally opens its eyes!

Maternity Clothes:

Oh yes! I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about clothes while away for a week in the sunny south! It seemed like a waste of money to buy anything to use for only 7 days! Thankfully, my sister-in-law came to the rescue with a garbage full of summer maternity clothes! I also searched my own closet for things that worked with belly. Thankfully, all of my bathing suits still fit and I was able to get away with wearing non-maternity sundresses and cover-ups.

Stretch Marks/Weight:

Ya…I was on vacation and there was no scale in our hotel room! Woops! Makes me kind of scared to see what next week brings though with all this yummy food!

Nothing new in the stretch mark department! The ones that started are still there (obviously) and thankfully nothing new. I have been lathering up the sun screen all week instead of stretch mark cream.

Movement:

I don’t know what it was but baby was going NUTS for the take off and landing portion of the flight. I also had fun freaking out some of the non-dads by showing them the baby kick from the outside. They thought it was pretty freaky! ha ha

Food Cravings/Aversions:

For the most part I haven’t had any big new problems with food this week. I was a little concerned that I would have trouble finding stuff to eat in Jamaica but it wasn’t the case. The only hard part was explaining to the bartenders that they can’t put rum in my drinks. They would look at me like I had 3 heads when I said “no rum”. 

Symptoms:

Getting slow and stiff easier. The flight was difficult because sitting in the same position for 4 hours straight and then getting up was awful. I am also finding that I cannot sleep on my back. I use to not have a problem laying on my back but now it makes me very short of breath.

Peeing in the worst in the mornings as soon as I get up! I could go 4-5 times within an hour! Friggin’ gravity!

What I Miss:

Alcohol. It’s not that I was craving alcohol but I sometimes felt a pang of jealously as I saw our group of friends try all these yummy fun drinks that I couldn’t get in virgin form.

Labour Signs:

None actually this week but it is something that crosses my mind more often now! It really doesn’t feel that far away now.

Gender:

Team Green! The Jamaican’s love pregnant ladies and we were getting guesses right and left! They loved coming up and rubbing my belly and asking questions to try to come up with the gender guess.

Belly Button In or Out:

In, shallow and almost non-existent.

Wedding Rings On or Off:

Still on! I was worried that the heat would make my hands swell but so far so good!

What I’m Looking Forward To This Week:

Just relaxing, reading and enjoying the sun! I am looking forward to some Jerk chicken, some nuptials between great friends and enjoying my (our) last trip before baby W arrives!

Daddy This Week:

Is fired.

It took Daddy and I a while to come to an agreement about what will happen on the trip. Day 1 kind of sucked as Daddy never came home (aka hotel room) at all that night. It scared mommy being alone in Jamaica with no way to get a hold of Daddy and not knowing where he was.

I think it took Daddy a while to realize that Mommy has to rest and can’t have an super active trip. It’s not fun to stand around watching him drink all day.

Wisdom:

When in doubt, go pee!

Best Moment Of The Week:

Starting and finishing the baby registry really helped me relax! I didn’t think I would get it done before our trip and was SO happy to get it done. I’ll share more later but I am glad that Ryan and I made some of the tough decisions about the items we want. It will make purchasing things for ourselves before baby much easier now as we have what we want picked out and won’t forget (read: baby brain).

Seeing friends Luc and Lisa tie the knot was a huge highlight of the week! Just being away in general before baby comes! I actually felt like the slower pace of the week helped me stop and connect more with baby. Sometimes with the hustle and bustle of everyday life it is hard to just stop and enjoy the moment. This trip I was able to rub my belly lots and talk more to baby! We are so lucky to be travelling with the group that we did. I always felt very safe and very taken care of! One girlfriend specifically is a registered nurse and EVERY DAY she would come up to me and ask how I was. It was comforting having her there in case I did have any questions.

xo

Linking up with Mama and Mou today for Baby talk!

 

Maple Brown Sugar Fudge…Yum!

 

Happy Friday everyone! I don’t know about you but I STILL have Christmas treats that are lurking in my freezer! I have a major sweet tooth! One of Ryan's favourite treats is fudge. Usually Ryan isn’t a big fan of too many sweets but he cannot resist fudge!

Before dating him, I had never made fudge before. It took quite a few tries and lots of recipes before I found the one that he loved. This is now the one I use!

Ingredients:

- 3 cups of brown sugar

- 1/2 pound of butter

- 1/2 cup of sweetened condensed milk

- Dash of salt

- 1 tablespoon of maple syrup

- 2 cups of icing sugar

1. First thing you have to do is line a pan with aluminum foil. This way when the fudge is cooled, all you have to do is lift it out of the pan and remove the foil! No fudge is spared!

2. Add butter, brown sugar, salt, and sweetened condensed milk to a pot.

3. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and keep at a boil for 5-7 minutes. MIX AS YOU COOK.

4. Remove from stove and add two cups of icing sugar and the maple syrup.

5. Stir continuously for 2 minutes straight and then pour into lined pan.

6. Allow fudge to set in the fridge. Once it is completely cooled remove from pan, remove foil and cut into bite size pieces. 

7. Try to resist snacking on them! It’s impossible!

Enjoy!  

xo