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By all accounts and due dates I have hit my third trimester of pregnancy ~ the home stretch. It is weird to think in a mere 3 months we will have a little one as part of our family, yet at the same time, it feels like I have been pregnant forever. I spent the first 3 months in bed sleeping and complaining that I was too tired to do anything (only to find out why). The second trimester I felt great, I was active, motivated and more “like myself”. These past few weeks have been hard. I am growing so fast that I am finding even the simplest task hard to complete ~ putting on socks, bending down to get containers, and cleaning the bath tub are among almost impossible things to do. I am tired again as I am not sleeping well, besides the joint pain which wakes me (my hips are killing me), the bathroom breaks make sure I am up every hour. It is almost as accurate as an alarm clock. Joel doesn’t even hear me anymore.
I am looking forward to the holidays as they are just around the corner. Besides enjoying 10 days off work with Joel, we have a few things planned. We will finish setting up the nursery including baseboards (despite Joel’s protest), carpet will be installed in the basement, we will clean the house and put it back in order, and then we will enjoy some family time.
This year is a different one for us as some of our family will be away for Christmas. Sarah, Jay and Martin are heading down to beautiful Arizona for 10 days to enjoy among other things, the warmth! I am very jealous and wish we were joining them this year, but know they will also enjoy their alone time together.
Since we would not be together at Christmas, we knew we had to celebrate early so Martin and Barb hosted us for “Christmas dinner”. We enjoyed a great meal (turkey, stuffing, the works!), our gift exchange and 2 games of Cranium. As many people know I often opt out when games get brought up as I am very competitive. I know this about myself, and realize it doesn’t show off my best qualities therefore I choose not to play, and am fine with watching. The Hayward’s are not known for their graceful wins (Songs of “We are the champions” are often sung full volume), but I decided since last time we were at Sarah and Jay’s and played a game (that I sucked at but had fun playing) I would give it another try. My mom had bought me Cranium a few years ago for Christmas and I had never played before, so Joel and I brought it over and we played after the gift exchange. We split up into 2 teams ~ Sarah, Barb and myself vs. Jay, Martin and Joel. Although our first game was a learning experience, we still had fun winning.
Martin and Barb bought me a beautiful baby carrier ~ a peanut shell! (what a perfect name since we have nicknamed the baby peanut) The carrier says it will work from newborn to toddler, and includes a video to learn different ways to wear it. We also received a gift for peanut, a very cute little hat and the Robert Munsch book “I Love You Forever”. This is one of my favourite books (even now) and while reading it the following day I spent 30 minutes crying.
My parents have had a good week as their house finally sold. It had been on the market for about 3 weeks and my mom was prepared to pull it off the market for Christmas. Luckily she does not need to worry about it anymore and they are getting ready to move the weekend of January 22nd.
That weekend also happens to be the weekend of my shower, the day after my birthday, and the day before my sister in laws birthday! We have planned a family dinner to celebrate the birthdays on that Saturday night.
I went this past Saturday with my friend Dana to register for gifts for my baby shower. I found it hard, overwhelming, but fun all at the same time. Dana was so patient with me while we spent the entire afternoon in the baby section of various stores.
This week my mom has been over to paint the nursery for us. Joel and I are both impatient when it comes to painting and neither of us are perfectionists like my mom. She did an amazing job and so we will start setting up the furniture later this week and weekend. (Assuming Joel does not have to work ~ if he does I will ask for my dad’s help) Once that furniture is set up, I can wash all the bedding and move it out of the downstairs bedroom which will also mean I can start cleaning my house. This excites me because I know it will be a big job that needs to be done before Christmas Eve, and if I can do a little every night it will not be as overwhelming.
Well, I better get going and feed my little peanut. Enjoy ~
I will write about what a great weekend we had at a later date, for now here are some pictures my mother in law took. Enjoy ~
Tomorrow marks a special event ~ 100 days until I am due. Now of course we all know that it is unlikely (not impossible, just unlikely) I will deliver on my due date (which I am saying is March 15), but I am still excited! I have started to purchase essentials for the baby and me (post pregnancy) each pay cheque ~ things like diaper wipes, breast pads, etc. I started packing my hospital bag, which although that might shock some of you, those who know me well will say it is very typical of my personality. I like to feel organized and since I cannot yet set up the nursery, or rearrange my room to accommodate the bassinet, this was the next best thing.
This week had many work highlights. Yesterday I attended the WCB Basics seminar which is a full day class offered to explain basic WCB principals including how they calculate your rate. Although I went in thinking it would be dry, it was actually super interesting. I feel confident explaining what I learned to our industry and why a safety program will benefit them. We are always gearing our messages to the “WIIFM” (What’s In It For Me) group, and now we will have another resource to show them safety pays.
I am in the middle of designing the December MRFA (Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservice Association) newsletter which will be printed and mailed late next week. I will also start working on our electronic December newsletter next week.
I have made many changes to our tool kit which is a free resource we provide to restaurants (within our WCB rate code) to assist them develop a workplace safety program. When I first started at MTEC, this tool kit redesign was one of my priorities. I knew restaurant owners, managers, supervisors, and workers would have a limited safety background (as I did) and this guide was supposed to lead them step by step to building a full safety program. After reading it my first week (and yes, I think it really did take me a week to read it cover to cover), I knew we had to reorganize it, simplify it, and make it much more user friendly. I asked Christine if we could make this our priority for the year, and she loved that I was willing to make open suggestions to how we could improve it. (It was created before she started here and knew it needed work) This week I just completed edit number 3 of the book, and we hope to launch it for the beginning of January! (Both online and paper based) Our new tool kit, although far from perfect, does provide industry specific examples, sample forms and checklists, and is more of a step by step guide on how to build a safety program. You literally could pick up the book and if you followed each section until complete, you would have a solid safety program. Of course, we did not include everything, but for our industry this would be considered an advanced program. We are still a far way away from the construction industry, but are starting to see some real growth within our program.
We hosted our first in house free WHMIS training session last Tuesday! We had 12 participants attend from various organizations/industries. (This was not specifically designed for restaurants, although the MSDS example is for a dishwasher chemical) Christine hosted a similar session in Thompson yesterday and had 9 attendees for the course. We have scheduled more classes for January – March.
MTEC has hired someone to replace my maternity leave that will start working with me one day per week in late January or early February. I have agreed to continue supporting MTEC with producing and distributing their monthly electronic newsletter as well as any website changes or maintenance while away for the year.
Enough about work.....
This weekend Joel will move the dogs downstairs on Sunday after my mom completes a few touch ups on the basement. It is fully painted, and carpet has been scheduled for December 22nd to be installed. Joel should receive the linoleum this week to put in the puppy room, but for now their crates will just rest on the subflooring. (Pictures coming soon)
My mom is also planning to paint the nursery ceiling tomorrow. Once it is dry, she will start on the walls and hopefully all will be complete for next weekend. If it is, that means I can start setting up the nursery! I am starting to get a little impatient with the mess in our house, and feeling some pressure to get it done before Christmas (only because that is my preference), but seeing an end in sight is really starting to lighten my mood.
Saturday evening we have plans with family. Since Sarah, Jay and Martin will all be celebrating Christmas in Mesa Arizona (so jealous!); we are having our family dinner and gift exchange. Barb is making dinner, and although I offered to bring something she declined. This is actually a huge relief as I would like to clean the house, finish laundry and get a few things organized.
Sunday will be a relaxing day I think. My parents will be over as they have another open house from 2-4pm.
Monday I will attend my workout class for the research study, Tuesday I have the MFPA (Manitoba Food Processors Association) Christmas dinner to attend with Christine, Wednesday we have a doctor’s appointment (probably our second last one with Dr. K before I start going to the Boyd Medical Group for appointments), and Friday I have the MTEC Christmas lunch as well as Joel’s Christmas party to attend. It is shaping up to be another busy week!
That’s all for now ~ enjoy!
Another fun survey I received.......
Are you over 35?
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EXPLANATION: There is some evidence that the older you are when you conceive your baby, the more likely you are to have a girl. The sex of the baby is partly controlled by the level of the hormone gonadotropin, and this declines with age.
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Were you living with the father of your baby when you conceived?
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EXPLANATION: One very large study of 86,000 people shows a figure of 51.5 per cent male births for those living with a spouse or partner before the child's conception or birth, and 49.9 per cent male births reported by respondents who were not.
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If you are married, how long had you been married when you conceived?
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EXPLANATION: The theory is that the longer you are married, the less sex you have. Infrequent sex means that you are less likely to conceive close to when you ovulate. Male sperm move faster but don't live as long as female sperm. So by having infrequent sex, you are less likely to have sex close to the time you ovulate. That means that a longer-lasting female sperm is more likely to win the race.
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Is the father of your baby over 40?
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EXPLANATION: It seems that the older a dad is the less likely the male sperm are to fertilise the egg and the female sperm win the race. The latest evidence is that the quality of sperm does deteriorate with age and older men produce fewer male sperm.
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How many children do you already have?
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EXPLANATION: The research here shows that the more children you have, the more likely you are to have a girl. This may be linked to the fact that the more pregnancies you have, the higher your levels of the hormone gonadotropin. This seems to be linked to a higher chance of having a girl.
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Were you eating a high or low calorie diet when you became pregnant?
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EXPLANATION: A study divided 740 British women into groups according to their calorie intake. 56 per cent of the women who had the highest energy intake had boys. 45 per cent of the women who had the lowest energy intake had boys. The average calorie intake for women who had boys was 2,413. The average calorie intake for women who had girls was 2,283. It has been suggested that our bodies only invest in boys (who are more fragile and statistically less likely to survive) when food is abundant. In times of famine or low food production we "play safe" with more robust girls. Remember, whether you're having a boy or a girl, a healthy diet is very important before and during pregnancy.
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Does the father of your baby work in any of these occupations: airline pilot, deep sea diver, submariner, timber mill worker, flour mill worker?
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EXPLANATION: Some studies have looked at the father's occupation and the ratio of boys and girls. Occupations that involve stress or pollutants seem to lead to more girls. But these are small-scale studies that have only looked at certain occupations.
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Were you under stress before you became pregnant?
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EXPLANATION: We know more boys are born at times of stress, such as after wars, and research carried out so far seems to confirm this. One theory is that the mother's high stress levels lead to increases in both testosterone and cortisol. This may lead to changes in the egg, which makes it easier for male sperm to penetrate. Just how this happens no one is sure, but there is much mystery still about the moment of conception.
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Which season did you conceive in?
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EXPLANATION: Farmers have noticed this effect in animals for many years. A study of 63,976 births in the area of Essen, West Germany, from 1965 to 1970 showed that more boys were conceived in early summer, and more girls in winter. In spring and autumn the figures were the same. This may be related to a better diet in summer, or could be because more viral and infectious diseases are around in the winter. Male sperm and embryos are acknowledged to be more fragile and it may be that they are more affected by mothers catching infections.
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Did you conceive after having your ovulation induced hormonally?
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EXPLANATION: Studies carried out among women who used hormones, such as Clomid, to induce ovulation show that you are slightly more likely to have a girl if artificial hormones are involved.
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In your pregnancy, have you suffered from severe morning sickness (hyperemesis gravidarum)?
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EXPLANATION: Some experts think that the link between severe pregnancy sickness and female babies is due to high levels of oestrogen.
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Were you born in a tropical climate and living in a tropical climate when you conceived? (Only answer yes if the answer is yes to both parts.)
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EXPLANATION: A global survey of birth data showed that more girls are born in the tropics than anywhere else in the world. Scientists are not sure why. One possible theory is that it is the effect of the hormone melatonin, which has been shown to cause changes in the reproductive systems of animals in response to the length of the day. More females are born when the days are longer. Or it could be that high temperature alters the survival of male or female sperm in semen.
Based on your answers, the research suggests that you are slightly more likely to have a boy!
Since the change in my due date, I have had a hard time wrapping my mind around how far along I am and keeping track of it. So, based on my first due date, this would be almost 25 weeks. Based on the new one, this would be closer to 23 weeks. To help me, I am going in the middle, and saying this is 24 weeks. :) Please disregard the fact that I am wearing pj pants. Enjoy ~
Our house is starting to come together and I am seeing an end in sight! My cousins came over last night to work on our basement which means we are about a week away from having our drywall complete. Once that happens, my mom has offered to paint for us. Thursday we will go to look at, and hopefully pick out flooring, and then this weekend will be spent debating paint colors. We will also pick up the paint for the nursery since my mom has also volunteered her services for that. It seems everything else that needs to be completed in the house is waiting for the basement to be finished. I have cleaned out our dresser which will be moved to our spare/computer room, but we have chairs in its place that need to be moved downstairs. We have a lot of cleaning to do in the nursery, but until the dogs move downstairs there is no point in starting that job. We have furniture waiting to be put together in our downstairs bedroom, but again it is for the nursery and until it is cleaned and painted, it must wait downstairs. We have our fireplace room full of boxes that I am organizing and labeling for under our 3rd floor, but until the sanding is done, they will not be put away. Luckily, an end is in sight and slowly I will be able to put our house back together.
I have been cleaning and organizing a lot lately, but am starting to get really tired again. I was successful in cleaning the linen closet this weekend, and started on the 3rd floor storage. I should be able to finish this weekend coming up, although it promises to be a busy one with both our friend Kevin’s birthday and my dad’s.
Saturday was an exciting day as we picked up our brand new van! Now I know vans aren’t that exciting for some, but honestly this vehicle is sweet. I was set on getting an SUV while Joel wanted me to at least look at a van. He explain the practicality, and of course the price difference. I was still set on an SUV but decided to humor him and at least look at one. After seeing the only domestic van they still make, I was sold. We got a 2010 Grand Caravan SXT. The SXT model was the only one we looked at because of its adjustable pedals. For anyone who is short you will appreciate this feature. Since getting pregnant, I could see the steering column in my little car and my growing belly getting closer and closer together. We knew the car would likely last until I was 7 months pregnant and likely not much longer. When I drove Joel’s Jeep 2.5 weeks ago, I could barely get in so I knew that vehicle would no longer be an option. The van we picked up is perfect for us! It has very simple “sto-n-go” seats for both the rear and middle row (although the rear ones are considerably easier than the middle to “sto”), the side windows roll down, all doors except for the front 2 are automatic from both inside the vehicle and on the remote keyless entry, it comes with built in “uconnect” which is a hands free phone, remote start, touch screen radio controls, back up camera and a rear DVD player. For someone who was set on an SUV, I am really impressed with this vehicle and think it will be perfect when the new addition arrives. Now to put my car up for sale….
After picking up our new wheels, we headed out to Steiner for a visit with Chris and Sarah. While Sarah prepared a yummy supper for us, I sat with their son Ryan. Ryan was born last March (actually Sarah was due around the same time I am). Joel and I were both really impressed with Ryan; he never cried and spent most of the night flirting with me. Even while we ate, he sat quietly on the floor playing with a Fisher Price toy. He had huge smiles every time I would look at him, wave, or talk to him. I would tell him that his friend (or maybe girlfriend) was in my belly and he would giggle away. He sat on my lap and was fascinated by my necklace, but never made a fuss. It made me really look forward to this time next year and made me reconsider any worry I had about travelling with a little one.
I bombarded Sarah with a lot of questions, not about my pregnancy, but more about labour, what to expect when we bring the baby home and certain baby products. Sarah had lots of great advice which I really appreciated. I find women often have advice for me, but being able to ask the questions I want answers to was really helpful. There are many lists, checklist, advice articles, blogs, newsletters, etc. that I have read, but being able to actually discuss it was much more helpful.
Sunday Joel spent recovering, (he may have had a few too many bevies with Chris) and besides the little cleaning I did, I relaxed too. My parents stopped in for a quick visit to see the van and drop off a couple of items they picked up while in the states.
They have hired a woman to take over my maternity leave and I will start training her in the new year once per week. Although I will still be contracted for our monthly newsletter and website updates, she will perform all of the regular day to day duties. She seemed very organized, and I think will fit in well here.
Joel and I have started to talk about our plan for me returning to work. Luckily I do have flexibility within my position and Shannon offered open hours for my return. This means if we decide I could come back part time (financially), MTEC will accommodate that for me. Or if I need later/earlier hours to be able to pick up/drop off at daycare, they will work with that too. I am very lucky to have these options, and returning to work will be hard enough so it is nice to have the support. I have a home daycare I am hoping will have space for us, but we will also start looking and adding our names to waiting lists just in case.
We have picked out names (sorry they are a secret for now) for both a girl and a boy, and have a few back up names in case the peanut doesn’t match the selection. We borrowed a book from Chris and Sarah because we were finding the internet sites slightly overwhelming. There were hundreds of names listed for every letter of the alphabet. Joel’s attention span is short, so the internet would hold his interest for the first 50 “A” names, and then he would start puttering in the kitchen, or find something else to do. He definitely had an opinion about the names, but since most of the sites included every culture, tradition, and variation of that name, it got to be a daunting task. We would scroll names, and for every 100 we saw, 1 would be worth considering. This book was smaller, and included information like chances of mispronunciation, misspelling, popularity, alternate spellings, nicknames, etc.
I do have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon where we will receive my triple screen results. I had called about 1.5 weeks ago to confirm everything was negative, but it will be nice to hear what the doctor has to say. I should also be getting my referral to an OB-GYN. I am 24 weeks pregnant (based on my original due date which I prefer). I have really noticed my growth this past week (seriously I think I doubled in size) and there is no mistaking my pregnant belly. I will have Joel take a picture so I can post it later this week to show you. I am still feeling a lot of movement in the early mornings, but by early afternoon peanut seems to relax. By mid afternoon peanut is right back at reminding me (s)he is there. Joel and I often feel movement in the evenings while lying down watching TV, but by 8pm most of that has stopped for the night.
My mother in law’s prediction ~ girl March 11 7lb 7oz. and for those who do not read the comments, Jobina's prediction ~ girl March 13 7lb 5oz.
I love hearing what everyone thinks, so keep the guessing coming. For now, that is all… Enjoy ~
I can finally say Joel has officially finished his part of the basement. (... I thought of a much better idea for our laundry room, but it will have to wait for now) We just have to wait for my cousin to finish the drywall and next week we will go look at carpet and lino. If all goes well, hopefully by the end of the month the dogs will be downstairs. This means I can start setting up and decorating our nursery. Right now everything is in boxes in our spare bedroom downstairs (previously stored in my parents garage but since their house went up for sale we moved it into our place), so it will be nice to have order back in the house.
We unofficially bought a car on Tuesday night from Pembina Chrysler Dodge Jeep. We had test drove a Grand Caravan from Gauthier’s on Regent last week and were quite happy with it. The back sto-n-go seats were easy to set up and take down, there was plenty of room for the dogs, baby, stroller, groceries and any other items we may be hauling. With (automatic) sliding doors on both sides and a power lift gate, it makes it easy to access any part of the vehicle. The ride was comfortable as most vans are, and the one we drove even had a DVD player in it. Joel and I both thought if we are going to get a van, we wanted a “pimped” version (I still think I am too young for a van, but such is the choice when you have 3 “kids”). When it came down to negotiate with the dealership on Regent, we couldn’t believe their “tactic”. We had to write up an offer before they would appraise our trade in and put down a $500 deposit. We had to tell them what we wanted for the trade rather than them providing us with a figure. After writing up our offer, and putting down the deposit, they came back and said they would not give us what we wanted for the trade in. No problem, we can work with you on that. But the next steps are where it gets sketchy. They wanted us to make another offer with a lowered value on the trade in to see if they would accept it. Joel told them there was no way he was doing that and to come back with an offer on the trade. They did, and it was a joke! Joel actually put on his jacket and was walking out the door. So our salesman went back “on our behalf” to the business manager and the new offer was $2300 more than the first! Joel knew they were trying to play games and was not impressed. We ended up leaving knowing that we could find a better deal either in Steinbach or at the dealership on Pembina. We decided the try Pembina first and everything there went so smoothly! We told them what we were looking for, the reasons we wanted it, and asked them to locate one that had the options we were set on. They appraised the trade in at $2700 more than the best offer from Regent! The payments are still less than those pitched at Regent, and the salespeople, business managers, and finance people were so helpful. I would recommend this dealership to anyone; it was a great experience with no hassles.
This Saturday we are planning on visiting our friends Chris and Sarah who live in Steinbach. They built their house just over a year ago (the same time we moved into our house, they were moving into theirs) and had a baby boy last March. They have probably been (with the exception of family) two of the most excited people for us when we announced we were pregnant. Sarah and Chris are both so “into” being parents. So before we head out to visit, we will pick up the van and hand over the Jeep.
The baby is kicking more and more and seems to have a schedule when it comes to eating. Our peanut kicks a lot around 8:30am for breakfast, 11:45am for lunch, and then somewhere around 6pm to make sure dinner is coming. Peanut also enjoys kicking while I am lying down watching TV or reading in the evening, but has a new routine which is waking me up at 5am kicking away. Not surprisingly, Joel and Martin are both early morning people. If Joel “sleeps in” until 7:30am on a weekend, it is a surprise. He is usually up for hours before I crawl out of bed.....
Sunday I have big dreams of tackling the basement storage area. Since the house is a 4 level split, we have storage below one of our levels. It is only about 3 feet tall, but works perfectly for those big Rubbermaid bins full of once a year items like a Christmas tree and decoration, etc. Since we knew we would be finishing the basement this year, we kind of slacked in the organization of these items, so this weekend I am hoping to have enough energy to tackle the job. Joel will pull everything out for me, but I will need to sort, repack, and label our storage containers. I would also like to get our upstairs linen closet back in order. I usually straighten it once a month, but I need to actually pull everything out and start fresh. We have accumulated so many odds and ends that don’t have a home so they end up in that closet.
Once the basement is finished, Joel have I will move the 2 large chairs we have from his grandparents out from our office. Hopefully that will free up enough room to move our dresser (which is completely empty after my organization this past weekend) to that room. This will leave more room for the basinet beside the bed, and will allow Joel enough space to finally get a night stand.
So I am still nesting and organizing and cleaning, but have found I am starting to get tired again. I was feeling better than I had in months, but really feel drained lately. Might be time to start having naps again….
Oh further to the predictions, my dad is guessing a boy because of all the movement. He is still unsure of the date.
So now, that is all, enjoy…..
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