Girardin Family

Book Club

2009-08-07T14:28:00.002-04:00

I forgot to tell you all about my new book club. I started it over a month ago by asking my friends on Facebook if they'd be interested. I got quite a few bites and started it up! Our first book was The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wrobleski. It was pretty good; very Hamlet-like. Our first discussion meeting was great! We all had a lot to say and it was fun. The second book was chosen by Lynne and it was When You Are Engulfed In Flames by David Sedaris. I just finished it and loved it! The whole purpose of this book club for me was to expand my horizons and read things I wouldn't normally read. I was so excited to have this actually happen! I would totally read anything written by David Sedaris now. I'm looking forward to our next meeting, which isn't until September 3! I guess I'll have to find something else to read in the meantime!

Breaking Dawn

2009-06-30T09:18:00.000-04:00

I finally finished reading the Twilight series. I have to say, I'm happy it's over. I think maybe I should have taken breaks between the books, because by the time I got to the end, I was getting pretty sick of the drama of it all. I was so tired of Bella saying she was going to die, I was hoping she would! Sad, I know. Anyway, it's done, and I'm moving on to The Tale of Edgar Sawtelle, which is our first book club book. I've started it already and like it so far. I'm happy to say there are no vampires to be found!

A bunch of news

2009-06-30T09:15:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been a while and I have a few updates for you.

1. Braylin took her first steps! It was on Monday, so about a week ago (June 22). She took 7 steps and walked all the way up the hallway. It was so exciting. She is quite "walking" yet, in the sense that she still crawls as her primary way of getting places, but she will stand up in the middle of the room and walk toward us. I'm so proud of her!

2. We took her for her one year shots yesterday and she weighs 24 pounds, 10 ounces. My big girl is still in the 95th percentile. I can't remember how tall she was, so I have to remember to ask the next time I go in. She did very well with her shots. Cried a little bit, but she was fine once we got her to the car and gave her some puffs. No fever or irritability, so that's great!

3. Braylin is now totally off formula (for over a week) and is now down to 2 bottles a day (one in the morning and one at night). Sometime in the next week or so I'll take away the morning one too, and then the night one by September (hopefully). She's not drinking her milk so good out of a sippy cup, so I'm hoping that when the bottle is no longer an option, that will improve. She drinks water and juice like a champ, so I know she can do it, she just prefers milk out of the bottle since that's what she's used to. We'll get there!

4. Brenna got all her school information in the mail yesterday. Her first bus ride is September 3 and her first intro day is September 9. She got the teacher I hoped she would get (Mrs. Albeartie) who will be so good with her. I'm so thrilled. I'm still not sure if she'll be Tues and Thurs or Mon and Wednesday.

We're off to the OEY this morning. Trying to spend lots of time together as a family since Phil is off this week. We're supposed to have Avery's first birthday party this afternoon, but I'm not sure, since it's looking a little rainy out there and I know they were planning an outdoor party. I guess we shall see.

New Cakes

2009-06-22T20:25:00.000-04:00

I've done a couple new cakes to show you.

This one is a 50th birthday cake that I made for a colleague. It was my second attempt at fondant. This one tasted WAY better than the first one... I am learning, slowly but surely!

Here is a picture of Braylin's first birthday cake. I don't feel like it's the best I've ever done, but it's ok. It tasted good, so I guess that's all that matters!

Braylin's First Birthday Party

2009-06-22T20:19:00.000-04:00

Braylin's first birthday party was this past Saturday. It was a really nice day. We ended up having it at the common room in my mother's apartment building, since there was a 70% chance of rain. Of course, it didn't end up raining, but it all worked out anyway. No one had to stand on wet grass in our backyard and the room was big enough and comfortable enough for all of us.

We had the following people in attendance: Oma and Opa (Phil's grandparents), Ann and Keith (Phil's parents), my mom, my dad and Beth, Kyle, Meghan and Katelynn, Jana, Brian and Avery, Jamie, Ann, Lena and Lauder, Carrie, Larry and Zach, and Stacey and Claire. It was cute to watch all the babies together!

Braylin did very well. She loves being around people. She wasn't too keen on opening her presents, probably because it meant she had to sit in the same place for more than one minute! We got through it though, and she absolutely loved her cake. She ate every bit of icing off it and lots of icing ended up all over her!

It's hard to believe she's already one. This was the last "first birthday" we'll ever have in our house. Who knew it would come and go so fast? I'm so proud of my girls, I just can't believe how fast they are growing up. It truly feels like yesterday that Braylin was born.

Book Club

2009-06-18T13:25:00.002-04:00

So, I've always wanted to be a part of a book club. I know several people who are in them, and I've been secretly jealous, thinking it would be something I would love to be a part of. So, last week, I decided to just go for it. I mentioned on my Facebook status line that I was looking for a book club to join or start. Lo and behold, I had a few takers. I was so excited. To make a long story short, we now have 9 people in our club and we've already chosen our first book (the Story of Edgar Sawtelle) and our first meeting date (July 24). This is so exciting! I cannot wait! I've bought my copy already, but haven't started reading it yet. I'm really trying to finish the Twilight series first. I'm hoping to finish the last book this week and then I can start our first book club book!

I also did another fondant cake this past week for a colleague's 50th birthday. I think it turned out even better than the first (it tasted better for sure... I added more vanilla flavouring to it this time; maybe that was what did it). Anyway, I also have to do Braylin's first birthday cake this weekend, so I'll post pics of both of them after that one is done.

Speaking of first birthdays, Braylin did something this week that was so cute. She waved good bye to me for the first time without someone having to say to her "Say bye bye". I was leaving for work, and I said "Bye, Braylin." She looked up at me, smiled and waved. It was so cute and broke my heart. She's turning into such a little girl!

Fondant Cake

2009-06-09T20:35:00.000-04:00

Ok, here it is. I'm actually pretty proud of myself. Brenna helped me lots with cutting out the the hearts. It was way easier than I thought it would be! I'd love to hear what anyone thinks! Happy birthday to me.... I can't wait to eat it tomorrow and see if it actually tastes good!

Pictures of my Latest Cakes

2009-06-07T20:22:00.005-04:00

As promised, these are the last 2 cakes that I did:

Brenna's 4th birthday cake

A baptism cake I did for my friend Ann and her friend Steph. They had a joint baptism for their kids, Danica and Lauder.

I'd love to hear any comments you might have on my cakes. I love doing it and am trying to learn more new techniques.

Birthday Pictures

2009-06-07T14:11:00.004-04:00

I forgot to mention that we got the girls' birthday pictures back this weekend as well. As usual, my friend Rene, who takes our pictures all the time did a fabulous job. Here are a couple:

Braylin (1 year)

Brenna (4 years old)

The Weekend

2009-06-07T14:06:00.002-04:00

So far, we've had a great family weekend. Yesterday was jam packed with events. We went to the Strawberry Fest parade in the morning, then to Art in the Park in the afternoon. I absolutely LOVE Art in the Park. Last year I missed it, since I was way too pregnant with Braylin to walk that far. So this year was extra special for me. We bought candles (Phil's favourite) and suckers for Brenna and a DVD holder for Brenna's movies. Every single year, I swear I'm going to buy something for myself, and every year, I never do. I just love it there either way.

This afternoon I'm going to take Brenna to see the new Disney movie "Up". It looks really cute and Brenna loves going to the movies. I'm really looking forward to it.

I also did a christening cake this weekend. I'll have to post a pic of it later. I'm pondering making an attempt at fondant this week. I've never done it before and it is my birthday, so I figure what better reason? I went and bought some pre made fondant to try it for the first time, so I'll keep you posted. I'll probably bake the cake tomorrow and then decorate it on Tuesday so we can eat it Wednesday. Wish me luck!

Standing Up

2009-06-03T14:22:00.003-04:00

I was so busy talking about Brenna earlier that I forgot to mention something exciting about Braylin. She's been moving around, pulling herself up, and walking with assistance for a while now. Yesterday, though, she surprised both Phil and I when she went from a squatting position to a standing position! Phil put her down on the floor in the squat, and she just stood right up! Right in the middle of the floor, not holding onto anything. We were so surprised! She can stand by herself with no assistance until she realizes no one is holding her, which is when she sits down.

Honestly, she moved around at such a young age, we were sure she'd be walking on her own long before her first birthday. Then, this past weekend, when I realized her birthday was only 3 weeks away, I thought there's no way she'll be walking by herself by then. Now, you never know!

Appointments

2009-06-03T12:24:00.002-04:00

Well, yesterday was the day of appointments for my poor Brenna. When I got home from work, we had to take her to the dentist to get her mouth checked. The poor girl has had a sore mouth for a few days, her gums are all inflamed and they bleed when we brush her teeth. She was even refusing to eat, her mouth hurt her so bad. We took her to the doctor on Monday, who said it was just a virus, and that we were to keep it clean and it would pass. I, of course, did not like this answer, as it gave me no control over the situation, and I couldn't do anything to fix it. So, I decided to take her to the dentist. Lo and behold, he says the same thing. He told us it was a systemic virus that was manifesting itself in her mouth (poor kid). He prescribed us a rinse for her to help kill whatever junk is in her mouth and told us to give her Pediasure so that she was at least getting some nutrition. So, even though he told us the same thing the doctor did (virus), at least he gave us some options that we could try to help speed up the recovery and give her a little more energy.

I'm not going to lie: I really thought there was no way we would get her to use that rinse. I thought if we were lucky enough to get it into her mouth once, there was no way she would do it again. Phil was able to get her to do it the first time by telling her that if she didn't rinse, we'd have to brush her teeth. That was not a good idea to her, so she rinsed. I guess it wasn't so bad, because Phil was able to get her to do it again this morning! Yay for both of them! I'm so proud!

So, back to the dentist. The poor kid was so scared, she cried the whole time. No one even touched her, but she was so worried it was going to hurt. Phil sat on the dentist's chair and Brenna sat on his lap. I kind of held her lips up so that the dentist could get a look at her gums. She didn't stop crying until I told her we were all done and let her get out of the chair. There were 3 hygienists/assistants trying to make her happy by giving her stickers and a new toothbrush. It truly broke my heart to see her so upset. I would give anything to take her pain away!

After we left the dentist, it was off to the hearing specialist. Phil and I wanted to get her hearing tested since she seems to have really sensitive ears. When we got into the sound booth (again, Brenna sat on Daddy's lap and Mommy sat on another chair) she freaked out. She was hysterical to the point that she was inconsolable. Even I started tearing up; it's so hard to see her in that much pain. The doctor (her name was Dr. Macari and she was FABULOUS) was so very understanding. She said she sees this kind of thing all the time, which really made me feel better. After the test was done, we found out Brenna had normal hearing (which I think we already knew), but she didn't do the sensitivity test, as Brenna was just too upset. We have an appointment to go back at the beginning of October. She's hoping by then, Brenna won't be as scared, since it will be more familiar, and also because she'll be a bit older. She says that even a few months sometimes makes a big difference in children.

The one thing that amazed me about yesterday, is this: neither of these doctors made us pay for their services. You know, just when you think the world is filled with crappy people you have TWO people in one day be so generous it makes you thankful you live in this world. The dentist waved his hand at us like it was no big deal; meanwhile, he spent more time with us than our family doctor had the day before. The hearing specialist told us "It was my pleasure... you are a great family." She made me feel a lot better when she told me that Brenna's anxiety and fear was totally normal and that she had seen it all before.

On a lighter note, this morning Brenna said she was a little older than she was yesterday, so she could do a lot more stuff. She said to Phil, "You know why I can do a lot daddy? Because I'm a superhero!" All I could think was, that yes, Brenna, you are a superhero!

Ok seriously...

2009-06-02T12:19:00.002-04:00

This is ridiculous. Why have I not posted since JANUARY???? Time flies so fast, I really had no idea it had been that long. The sad thing is, so much has happened, and I've said very little. I guess I really have to make a point to get to this at least once a week!

I know I was going to talk about books I was reading. I have actually finished reading the first 2 books of the Twilight series. I tried for a long time to fight it, but people I actually respected were starting to tell me that they were really good and that I should try them. So, I did. They are pretty good, though not entirely addicting. I find that I get really into it, and then when the exciting parts pass, I don't pick it up again for a while. To be honest, I have way too many things I want to do in my spare time, and very little spare time to do it! Scrapbooking, reading, shopping, spending time with my kids, cake decorating, blogging.... oh I need more time in the day!

So, what's been going on in our family life? Braylin is about to turn one! I'm having a hard time with this. She is my baby and I seriously wonder where I was for her entire first year. I almost feel guilty, like I may have missed something, it went by so fast. She is almost walking on her own. She has 6 teeth and is almost entirely off baby food. She is down to 3 bottles a day and we've already introduced her to milk. She says 4 words: kitty, hi, mama, dada. She makes me laugh almost every single day. She is a true joy!

Brenna just turned 4. She had a great birthday party at Jump 'n Party. She had a Mickey mouse cake that I made and she loved it. She got her first big girl bike and is doing very well with it. She is growing up so fast. Today we're taking her to the dentist. I think she has some sort of infection in her mouth; she's been in some pain and barely eats anything because she says it hurts too much. Brushing her teeth for the past couple days has been a real struggle. She also has a hearing test today (poor kid... nothing like bombarding her!). We've been concerned for a while about her ears and why she is so sensitive to sound. I hope we get some answers today. My mom is going to come over and watch Braylin for us so that we don't have to bring her to all these appointments.

Only 24 more days until I am done work for the summer. I am really looking forward to being home with my girls again. I really miss them a lot; I truly wish I could only work part time so I could spend more time with them. Oh well, you do what you gotta do! (And I WILL make an effort to update more.... not that there's anyone out there reading this, but I do think my kids might appreciate it someday... who knows?)

Just Stuff

2009-01-21T16:45:00.002-05:00

Well, I haven't been around in a while. I'm not sure why, I guess I really don't have any excuses. I'm now taking a cake decorating class every Thursday night for 4 weeks. I've already done 2 classes and I just may have gained 5 pounds! It's ridiculous. I love cake too much to just let it sit there! I'm learning lots of fun stuff and it's nice to get out of the house for another adventure.

Braylin got her second tooth this past week. Brenna is now sitting in a booster seat in the car. My babies are growing up!

A couple of Firsts

2009-01-06T15:14:00.002-05:00

Well, yesterday was Braylin's first day of swimming lessons. She was the only baby in her class (Phil took her in the pool). The teacher said there was supposed to be another little boy, but he wasn't there. This has never happened to us before ever. There has always been lots of babies in our classes. Looks like Braylin is going to get lots of attention! She didn't cry at all, even when Phil dunked her under the water. She had a great time; I was so happy to see her having fun.

The last 2 nights have not been the most pleasant in our house. On Sunday night, Braylin was up for 3 hours from 11 p.m. til 2 a.m. and nothing we did seemed to make her happy. I finally gave her tylenol, hoping it would at least make her sleep. She ended up sleeping for 4 hours after she finally passed out from all her crying. Then last night, she was up from 3:15 a.m to 5:30 a.m. She was less irritable, but just wouldn't go back to sleep. We were so tired and I've been racking my brain all day as to why the heck she's doing this again! We had finally gotten somewhere and she was back to sleeping 9 hours at night. It's so frustrating when they revert back to this stuff! This afternoon as I was getting her ready for her nap I put my finger in her mouth and rubbed it along her bottom gum. Well, what do you know? A TOOTH! There you have it my friends. It appears that we have a bad teether on our hands. I'm hoping that's the only reason why she was up and that tonight will be a better night. As soon as I can get out of this house by myself, I'm going to pick up some Hyland's (sp?) Teething Tablets, as I hear they work wonders. I'm hoping they do.... I need a good nights sleep again!

So in 2 days, we've had our first swimming lesson and our first tooth. Imagine that....quite an eventful way to start off 2009!

19 Minutes

2009-01-04T09:59:00.003-05:00

So, I finally finished reading a book! It took me over 6 months (I started when I was pregnant with Brenna). Sad, I know. I belong to this book club group on a website and someone started a thread about how many books they read in 2008. Some people had read over 45 books! Geez! That's almost a book a week! Then I got depressed since I wish I could read that many books in one year! Phil says it's because I sleep too much. He says all those people read while I'm sleeping. He says they read while their kids nap, and then they stay up past 9:00 at night to read after their kids are in bed. I say they probably have husbands that do more than sleep on the couch, so they aren't so exhausted at the end of the day.

This was a great novel about a school shooting and the effects the incident had on everyone involved. It was neat too, because the shooter was alive when it was all over, which rarely happens. It was interesting to hear his perspective, even though it was fictional.

Anyway... Jodi Picoult has now made it to my list of favourite authours. I have to read at least 2 books by someone for them to get that honour. My Sister's Keeper and 19 Minutes were both fabulous. I love how she takes the perspective of more than one character in her book. I love her moral dilemmas and both books threw me for a loop at the end, which was nice. It's always a bummer when you have the whole thing figured out before you even finish. Great reads! Now I have to figure out which book in my "to be read" pile i will tackle next. I'm not even going to challenge myself to read more than I know I'll be able to this year; I don't want to be depressed again at this time next year!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-29T11:40:00.003-05:00

We had a very nice Christmas this year. No one was sick, which as far as I'm concerned is a great bonus! Brenna got a lot of great things from Santa and Braylin greatly enjoyed all the paper, boxes and tags she could get into her mouth before mommy or daddy took them away. I think Brenna's favourite gift was a great big box of books from Santa. There were 78 books in there! Her reaction was priceless. I'm proud to say that Brenna was appreciative of everything she got. Most of the time she would open a gift and say "I LOVE it!", which pleased her parents! We spent Christmas eve this year at Aunt Hermina's, Christmas day was at Phil's parents (after we had my mom over in the morning and early afternoon) and then Boxing day was with my dad and Beth (as per tradition). By the last day, Brenna was a little tired of all the commotion, and I promised her we could stay home the next day, which she was very happy to hear. She was a very good girl the whole time and we were very proud of her!

This was Brenna's reaction to her box of books:

6 month stats

2008-12-29T11:34:00.002-05:00

Well, today we took Braylin to the doctor's for her six month shots. She did very well and I still attribute it to the fact that she has lots of meat on her legs to protect her from the pain. She only cried a little and got over it fairly quickly. My little cheeky monkey weighs in at a whopping 19 lbs, 8 0z (95th percentile). Her length is 27 inches (85th percentile) and her head circumference is 17 inches (70th percentile). I guess you could say she's happy and healthy and doing well. She doesn't have to get any more shots until after she turns one, but we'll probably take her for a check up around 9 months just to see how she's progressing. She's so much different than her big sister, that's for sure! At 6 months, Brenna was only 17 pounds, yet she was the same length exactly as Braylin. I guess that explains why they both wore size 12 months at this age. Anyway, thought the update would be exciting!

It's been a long time...

2008-12-16T08:06:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm not sure exactly where the time has gone. Little Braylin is almost 6 months old already! I truly have no excuses for not getting on here more often and my goal of recording all the fun things my girls are doing is falling by the wayside! What kind of mom am I??? Oh well, I'll just pick up from now and feel guilty later. :)

I'm proud to say that Braylin has slept straight through the night for the past 3 nights. The crib parties moved from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. and now she's waking between 6 and 6:30. I will take this any day over what was happening a month ago! She was killing me! I'm hoping that phase is over and we're on the right track now.

Brenna is doing great. We've been to 2 Santa parties in the last week and she went and spoke to Santa both times. I was really proud of her! She still refuses to sit on his lap, but we're getting closer. No tears and she'll talk to him, so I am proud.

Phil and I got Braylin's ears pierced on Saturday. She looks like a little doll. Brenna didn't want hers done; she was scared it would hurt. That's ok... we told her whenever she was ready, she could just let us know and we would take her. I have a feeling that won't be happening anytime soon.

It's a GIRL!!!

2008-07-18T08:03:00.002-04:00

Well, needless to say, I've been really busy this last month. I can't believe I haven't even made time to update the blog (not that many people read it anyway). I suppose I should start with the birth story.

On June 19 at around 4 pm, the hospital finally called to say they had a bed ready for me to be induced. We had waited almost 2 days for this call, so I was really happy. Phil called his parents to come pick up Brenna and we were off. We got there around 5, checked in (like a hotel) and headed up to the room. The doctor on call (Dr. Pattinson) came in to talk to us and told me he was going to try to break my water. When he tried, he found the baby was still too high up, so he decided to start me on the Pitocin first and hope the contractions would move the baby down faster. I was hooked up to Pitocin by about 6:00 pm and it began. Phil and I watched t.v. and chatted... the contractions weren't too bad at the beginning at all.

Around 10:00 they were starting to get painful, so the nurse gave me some Demerol. That was nice; I was able to relax a bit and I think I may have napped. They did keep getting worse though. Around 11:30, the doctor came in to break my water. I was still only 2 cm dilated, but at least he was able to do it this time. He said the baby had dropped a lot and I was fully effaced, so the dilation would start soon. The nurse asked if I wanted an epidural yet, but I said I was still ok. She left for a few minutes and came back with the epidural cart. I think I may have lasted 15 minutes until I was telling Phil to tell her I wanted the epidural. Man, do those contractions hurt after they break your water. The epidural was not as scary as I thought it would be, and I've decided that people who give birth without it are CRAZY! The epidural is a wonderful thing!!!!! A little piece of heaven in a needle, let me tell you!

I was able to sleep after that, which was nice. I did start to feel contractions again around 3, and when the nurse came in around 4, I let her know. She checked me and I was 10 cm dilated! How exciting! She did say they weren't going to get me to start pushing yet though... the baby was still a little high, so they wanted the contractions to push her down a little more. I suffered for another hour. They didn't want to top up my epidural... they wanted me to feel some contractions so that I would know when to push. I started pushing around 5:10, and our little girl was born at 6:18 a.m. on Friday June 20, 2008.

I was so shocked she was a girl! She weighed 8 lbs, 3 oz., almost a full 2 pounds bigger than her sister! I knew she was a big baby! I checked between her legs, just to make sure they really said "girl". I was thrilled to have another daughter. She was so beautiful. Lots of dark hair, and didn't look a bit like Brenna when she was born. My mother swears she looks like me when I was a newborn.

So, that is the story. It was great to be able to have a vaginal delivery like I wanted. I had some tearing and some stitches, but 4 weeks postpartum, I feel great. The pain in my bum was annoying for the first week or so, but way better than a c-section incision. I'm so happy that our family is finally complete and that we have 2 beautiful little girls!

OH, and by the way... we named her Braylin Kendall Girardin. Her middle name is after Kendall Hebert, a very special student of mine who was killed in a race car accident.

39 weeks

2008-06-18T13:35:00.002-04:00

Well, the end is near. Today I had my 39 week appointment with my OB. I lost 2 pounds, so my total weight gain so far is now 24 pounds. The baby is still measuring 40 cm, so it looks like the growth spurt has tapered off. The doctor even predicted the baby would only be about 7 1/2 pounds. We'll see if she's right... I hope she is, since I feel like I'm carrying a 10 pounder!

Anyway, time for the juicy details. When she checked me I was only 1 cm dilated still. I couldn't believe it! I thought for sure with all the cramping and pain this week that there had to be some movement! Not so much. I truly thought I might cry. She suggested that we wait one more week to see what happens, and then talk about inducing. I told her I wanted to talk about it now. She said she thinks that if we induce now there is a 50% chance I'll still end up with a c section, which she knows I don't want. I told her that at this point 50% is pretty good odds to me. If I weren't in so much pain and discomfort, I don't think I'd be so anxious to be done with the whole thing.

I'm not sure if I made the right decision, but I have prepared myself for a possible c section just n case. I just know if I wait another week, I may lose my mind. I am so sick of not being able to do anything at all because of the pain I am always feeling!

So, here's the situation as of now. We are now playing another waiting game. My doctor has submitted the papers requesting an elective induction to the hospital. My name gets placed on the bottom of a list of other women awaiting the same procedure. When a bed becomes available, the hospital calls and we go in. She was originally going to put the paperwork in for tomorrow, but asked what I was doing today. When I said nothing, she decided to tell the hospital I could come in anytime now or tomorrow. Phil is staying at work today, but will take tomorrow off to wait by the phone with me if we don't get the call today.

I'm nervous, scared, excited for it all to be done. A whole range of emotions. It's weird, since I've had a baby before, yet I'm new to the whole labour process, so I'm guessing my anxiety is the same as a first time mom's. Anyway... that's all for now folks. Hopefully the next time we meet, we'll be sharing my smooth, painless, uneventful birth story!

38 weeks

2008-06-11T20:09:00.002-04:00

Well, today was my 38 week appointment with the OB. I was actually nervous to go. I was nervous that I would have some sort of emotional breakdown if she told me I had made no progress. I really wasn't sure how I would deal with such information!

Firstly, I did not gain any weight this week. Three cheers for me! I'm still at a total of 26 pounds. Pretty good I say. Blood pressure is still good. I was still measuring 40 cm, so it looks like baby is not growing like a weed this week. Heartbeat was strong and loud. What a wonderful sound.

I asked the doc the difference between false labour and Braxton Hicks contractions. I was always under the impression they were the same thing, but apparently I was wrong. Braxton Hicks' can happen anywhere from 20 weeks on. They serve no purpose, and are just the random tightening of the uterus. On the other hand, false labour is usually more regular contractions, and serve a purpose. In my case, the contractions that I felt for 3 hours on Sunday night, every 3 minutes were false labour. The result? I am now 1 cm dilated and my cervix is completely soft. Progress!!!! The doctor told me she was going to give me a "little stretch" to try to get things going. My best guess is that she tried to stretch my cervix a little more, hoping to encourage more dilation. That was painful, let me tell you! I've been crampy ever since... mostly like period cramps. Let's cross our fingers it leads to something more! I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but I am so ready to meet my baby!

My cousin thinks I won't make it one more week. I really hope she's right. Apparently she knows some people who were "stretched" by their OBs only to go into labour soon after. OH, how wonderful that would be!

Yesterday was my 34th birthday, and frankly, I'm happy I didn't have to spend it in labour. My birthday remains mine alone.

36 weeks

2008-05-29T10:48:00.002-04:00

I had my 36 week appointment yesterday. Got my group B strep swab and an internal exam to see if I was dilated at all. Nope, nada, nothing. Despite the pain, pressure and cramping, the cervix is still closed. Ah well, what do you expect for 36 weeks. The irony of course, is that I've been trying to take it easy in order to keep baby in for a little longer, yet when I want some action, there is none to be found. My belly grew only 1 cm which was nice. I'm now 40 cm for 36 weeks. I was happy the baby didn't have an enormous growth spurt! I gained a pound for a grand total of 23. Not bad, considering I've been on my butt for 2 weeks. Wonder if it'll catch up with me in the weeks to come.

I'm schedule for another u/s on Tuesday, just to double check that baby is still head down. The doctor thinks it is, but remembers quite well that she thought Brenna was head down too, so better to be safe than sorry. I'll also do a non stress test at the hospital while I'm there. It's like deja vu. This is how it all began with Brenna. This time I will pack my suitcase AND put it in the car, just in case! Last time we were empty handed and didn't go home after our u/s and non stress test last time! (not that I could be so lucky for the same thing to happen twice!)

So, there you have it. I see the doc every week now until this bundle of joy makes it's entrance. There is always something comforting about knowing that you are truly in the home stretch. I'm positive that she won't let me go past my due date, so the most I have is 4 weeks. I just may survive this after all. Who knew???

Nesting???

2008-05-24T11:25:00.002-04:00

Either I'm nesting today, or I'm crazy and someone should stop me and have me committed.

Last night, Brenna spent the night with grandma and grandpa so that I could relax this morning and not have to do too much by myself. Phil and I went out to Red Lobster for dinner and then went to a movie (Forgetting Sarah Marshall... quite the forgettable movie). Came home and went to bed fairly early and slept in til 8. When I woke up this morning, I was excited to be able to shower and blow dry my hair. As I was in the middle of this, I looked around and noticed that the baseboards of my bathroom are utterly disgusting. They need to be bleached and painted NOW! I quickly finished my hair and filled a bowl with bleach and water and set to work. So far this morning I have accomplished the following: bleached all baseboards, trim and walls in the bathroom, swept the bathroom floor, swept kitchen floor, swept backroom floor, bleached all baseboards and trim in the hallway and all the way up the stairs, bleached the front door and the walls in the foyer. Why have I stopped to blog you ask? Well, I am currently waiting for my dear husband to get home to find the paint so that I can now touch up the areas that look awful despite my rampage with bleach. I currently have the urge to paint most of the walls in my house and am tempted to ask Phil if he'd be willing to paint the bathroom today. I also want to wipe down the front of the house where there is a thick layer of dirt right by the front door.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to speak about what a good husband I have. Most times he drives me crazy and I could complain about all the goofy things he does til the cows come home, but here is what happened today. (keep in my mind that I am a crazy person right now). He called and said he was going to put the amps back in his truck when he got home. I told him he was not allowed. He asked me why and I told him that it was not a priority and that he needed to help me with the stuff in the house. And you know what he said? "OK." No fighting for what he wanted to do... only said he would do whatever I wanted him to do. I guess the memory of my nesting last time is still fresh with him too. It's hard to forget being outside with the scrub brush and your 9-months-pregnant wife and her demanding you to work!! I guess he's not so bad, putting up with a crazy person like me!

When I was pregnant with Brenna, I remember the insane and insatiable desire to scrub the outside of the house. The siding was awful and I had to scrub it. This is the way I feel today, only my weapon of choice this time was bleach and now a paint brush. The only reason why I think I may be nesting is that this is exactly the same way I felt with Brenna. You spend days on end wondering where you'll get the energy to even get up and do the dishes, let alone do any housework above and beyond what is absolutely necessary. Then you get up one day, look around and have the insane desire to clean insane things. Baseboards and trim? Really! Aluminum siding? Yup. All must be done. There is also this feeling that I can best describe as: If this doesn't get done NOW the world may come crashing down. Now, if anyone knows me, they know that cleaning products and myself are not 2 things that usually go hand in hand. So, this phenomena is something truly unbelievable and must be attributed to something beyond myself.

I predict baby Girardin #2 will arrive sometime within the next 10 days. It'll be interesting to see if I'm right or not. Brenna arrived approximately 6 days after my last insane cleaning rampage. There may be may something said for having another child... my house never gets so cleaned as when I'm nesting. (just kidding; this will be the last one, we'll just have to move out into a clean house!)

Bed Rest

2008-05-14T20:07:00.002-04:00

Well, the inevitable has finally happened (sort of). Today my doctor told me I had to stop working and go on "bedrest". The term bedrest was used loosely; basically she wants me to stop any unnecessary activity, heavy lifting, and work. Apparently my last ultrasound said my cervix was measuring only 2.2 cm, which was a signifiant decrease from last time. The ultrasound also said the baby is measuring 10 days ahead of what it should be. I told you it was a big baby!!! I'm also measuring 39 cm for 34 weeks, which means my uterus has grown 5 cm in 2 weeks! That's nuts. This kid is a growing machine! Anyway, when I told her about the discomfort and pain I feel at work, coupled with my weak cervix, she decided that now is the time for me to stop working. Part of me is very happy, relieved in a sense, that I won't feel so much stress, discomfort, etc. Another part of me wishes I had a little more time to prepare myself, and my kids. I do have to go into the school tomorrow to do some faxing and to pick up some of my stuff, so hopefully I'll be able to say goodbye to some people anyway.

I asked my OB today if she would let me go past my due date at all. She told me that in her honest opinion, she doesn't think I'm going to make it that far. I guess because my cervix is thinner than it should be, and the baby is large, she thinks I won't make it til the end. She also said even if the baby were born today, it would be ok. My next appointment is in 2 weeks. She said she'll do an internal that day to see how the cervix is doing and if I'm dilated at all.

For some reason, all of this information makes me feel like it's all going to be over soon. It just doesn't seem like it's going to last forever anymore! It's exciting and scary all at the same time.

Happy Birthday Brenna!

2008-05-13T09:49:00.002-04:00

I cannot believe my baby is three years old today. There seems to be something wrong with that. I swear it was last week that I was holding that newborn little girl in my arms and falling deeply in love with her. There are so many things about that first day that are so vivid in my memory to this day. I remember holding her in the recover room and asking the nurse if I could unwrap her (she was swaddled up tight, but I hadn't seen any of her except for her face). The nurse laughed at me, which makes total sense since she was my baby! I unwrapped her and looked at all her little parts; she was so tiny. I then remember yelling at Phil to get the camera; she was already about 1/2 hour old and we had no pictures! I thought this was a tragedy! She was truly the most beautiful little thing I had ever laid eyes on. She still is as far as I'm concerned... she is truly a miracle and I cannot believe it's been 3 years since she came into my life. I can't even remember a time when my life did not revolve around hers.

We celebrated Brenna's birthday on Saturday with a party at McDonald's. She had a few of her friends (Lena, Sydney, Mina, Emmik, Ayla) and their parents. My mom and Phil's parents also came. I baked her 2 cakes; one was Uniqua and the other was Pablo, both from the Backyardigans tv show. She was so excited when she saw all her friends come in. They all ran around and played for a while before we moved into the party room to have food, cake and presents. When we did the cake, Brenna didn't want to blow her candles out. Her two friends Lena and Sydney had to help. Brenna passed out cake to everyone at the party and even when everyone else had some, she still wanted to hand out more. We finally got her to sit down and eat, and we opened her presents shortly after. Sydney sat beside her for presents, and Lena across from her. It truly was the cutest thing I'd ever seen. Brenna would take the card off the present and hand it to me. After I told her who it was from, she would open it, asking her friends to help her. So, all 3 girls opened almost all the presents. I was so proud of my big girl that day. She served everyone cake before herself, she let her friends help her open gifts and she said thank you to every single person there. It was almost like she was more grown up than she is.

I am so proud to be the mom of such a beautiful, generous, smart, loving, strong little girl. Happy birthday Brenna! You are truly the joy of my life.

Head's Down!!!

2008-05-07T09:09:00.002-04:00

At my last OB appointment (last Wednesday), baby was transverse (sideways, neither up or down). The doctor was optimistic that this meant that baby might be trying to turn around. This was exciting to me! Anything that makes a c-section not the "only" way is good for me! Anyway, yesterday was ultrasound #4 to check my cervical length. The tech said the cervix still looked good, that it still looks the same as last time. That's good news... I've avoided bed rest again! My OB also wanted me to ask the tech to check the baby's position, since it was breech before and this is something she also wants monitored. I'm so excited to report that the baby is head down! I was so happy to hear it! I'm so scared to have a c section as I have NO idea how to care for 2 kids while recovering from surgery! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the baby stays that way even though I know there's a chance it can still flip the opposite way. The tech gave us some good shots of the baby's face. It looks so cute... I can't wait to meet it in person. She did know again what the gender was, but was careful to avoid the "bum" area so that Phil and I wouldn't be able to see anything. She also said baby was about 5 pounds already and moved my due date up again based on it's big size. This time she said I should be due around June 16, which is 9 days ahead of my original date. I would be happy if baby came that early! I'm ready now even though I know it's not. We should have one more ultrasound at the end of the pregnancy (around 37-38 weeks) to see if baby is still head down. Let's keep our fingers crossed it is. I can't wait til my OB appointment next week to tell her the good news!

I forgot!/BPA returns

2008-04-30T08:30:00.003-04:00

I have an OB appt this afternoon and realized that I didn't even post any updates after my last one. Though time feels like it's moving at a snail's pace, it must not be, for 2 weeks to fly by so fast. Anyhow, last week's appointment went well. I told her I was feeling "big". She measured me and I was 34 cm for 30 weeks. I told her I was big! Of course, she's not concerned, as Brenna was a small baby and I measured correctly the whole time for her. I was also up 2 pounds for a total gain of 18. That seems pretty good to me for 30 weeks. I wish I could remember what I was at at this point with Brenna.

So, I have another appointment today at 3:30. My mom is picking Brenna up from day care. Thank god for that!

Someone told me that a lot of retailers in the Windsor area are taking back bottles and baby supplies that are made from plastics with BPAs in them. In short, this is a chemical that leeches from the plastic when the plastic is heated and repeatedly washed (which causes the plastic to break down). Apparently this chemical mimics estrogen, and can have harmful effects. I'm sure no one really knows as of yet what these effects might be, but i have decided to err on the side of caution with this baby. I used these "bad" bottles with Brenna (Avent brand), but Phil and I went and purchased some "safe" glass bottles in the states a few months ago. Anyway, this past weekend, I took back all of my bottles, my sterilizer and my bottle warmer. I got a store credit from Toys R Us for $250! I felt like I had won the lottery! A small part of me felt guilty after I found out that it's Toys R Us that is taking the "hit" on all of these returns. Since there hasn't yet been a recall by either the government or the company, Toys R Us is just being "nice" by removing all tainted product from their shelves and reimbursing customers who have used this product or are currently using it with their children. Thank God for companies who actually care about their customers! Some other stores in the city are doing the same thing, so kudos to them too. Let's just hope the bottle companies realize what they're doing and reimburse these stores for their generosity.

One more thing.... Phil and I took Brenna for her 3 year pictures on this past Saturday. I can't believe she's 3 already. Time flies by so fast; it feels like I was just pregnant with her! She did a fabulous job, posing for the camera. We even got a few shots with my pregnant belly, which will be a nice keepsake for both kids' scrapbooks. I was very pleased with how they turned out and can't wait to show everyone.

OB Appointment

2008-04-03T09:03:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was my latest OB appointment. I was nervous about what she would say about my short cervix, so I asked Phil to get off work early to come with me. I just really didn't want to hear any bad news while I was by myself. Turns out I didn't have to be so nervous. My cervix measured 3.2 on my last ultrasound, which is longer than it was before, and well within the normal range. I thought it was strange that it actually got longer, but I didn't question it! Who cares when it's good news? She did say to continue to take it easy and rest when I can. I don't have to go back for another u/s until I'm 34 weeks, which is another 6 weeks from now. That must be good, since I don't have to go sooner.

I put on 6 pounds this month, which was a little bit of a bummer, but I had to know it would all catch up with me sooner or later! I'm now up 16 pounds in 28 weeks. Nothing to be concerned about, I guess. I'm also still measuring a little big (30 cm for 28 weeks), but again, nothing out of the ordinary. I suppose since Brenna was so small there's no concern about this one being a bit bigger!

This week I have to do my glucose test (so annoying!) and some bloodwork that my family doctor neglected to prescribe at the beginning of my pregnancy. This is one of my least favourite parts of pregnancy. I hate giving blood!

I also asked her about the pain I've been having in my upper abdomen. Basically it's totally normal and there's nothing I can do but rest when I can. This is easier said than done, but I've been trying. Basically she said everything is all stretched out from my last pregnancy, so I would feel the discomfort earlier than I did last time. I'm not liking this pressure but what can you do? We also talked about the fact that a VBAC is looking less and less possible since this stubborn baby still hasn't turned around. I suppose there's still a possiblity that it will go into the head down position, but based on previous experience, I'm not getting my hopes up. Mostly I'm just scared about how I will take care of 2 children, a newborn AND a toddler while recovering from surgery. It'll be ok while Phil is off for 2 weeks, but after that I'm very nervous! I just remember how hard the recovery was with Brenna and it's very scary thinking of doing that again... only with TWO this time! Oh well, no sense in worrying about what you can't prevent.

I now go to the OB every 2 weeks, which is a signal we're nearing the end. Welcome to the third trimester!

Easter Adventures

2008-03-24T09:12:00.002-04:00

We had a great, but very busy Easter weekend. On Saturday morning we went to Belle River High School for their annual Easter Eggstravaganza. It was fabulous. They had crafts and games, a free Easter egg hunt and even the Easter bunny was there. Brenna had a blast. She did almost all of the games and crafts and found lots of eggs at the hunt. She didn't want to see the Bunny at first, but eventually let Phil take her up there, but she wouldn't sit on his lap. We were still happy we got a picture of her near him! Then we came home and had a nap and went up to the hospital to see Grandma G. We brought Brenna's eggs and her dyes with us, since we knew we wouldn't have time to colour eggs at home. The nurses thought it was funny to watch Brenna colour her eggs in the hospital. After we got home Grandma R. came over to bring Brenna some treats. She was very excited about that!

Sunday was another busy day. When we woke up, we saw that the Easter bunny had brought some treats and hid some eggs. Brenna liked all the stuff in her basket and had a lot of fun finding the eggs. She would find one and say "Silly Easter bunny" because of where he hid the egg. Then we all got ready and drove to Oma and Opa's house for easter lunch. She got to do another Easter Egg hunt there and she was the last kid standing. All the others got tired of searching, but Brenna just kept picking up candy until it was all off the floor! She has more candy than we'll know what to do with for a long time! Brenna was a very good girl, but ate a little too much candy at the same time that she was getting tired. Thank goodness she slept in the car on the way to the hospital to see grandma again. Uncle Kyle, Aunt Meghan and Katelynn came up just as we were leaving, so we got to see them for a little while. The Easter Bunny left things with Grandma and Grandpa G., so Brenna got even MORE goodies. After we left the hospital, we went to Grandma and Papa Robertson's for dinner. It was a nice dinner. It was only our family and Joanne, so it was quiet. Brenna had lots of fun playing and colouring with Grandma. She got a few more goodies to bring home, and the day was finally done.

Today Brenna and Mommy are having a day of rest and recuperation. Brenna is looking forward to playing with her toys and said she just wants to stay home. I couldn't agree with her more! Hope everyone else had a happy easter too!

ultrasound #3

2008-03-24T09:01:00.002-04:00

I know it's been a week since we actually went for this ultrasound, but life has been so busy with the Easter holiday and all! Everything seemed to go very well. Phil got to be in the room the whole time this time because Brenna was with me and he had to come in and watch her. As soon as the tech put the wand to my belly she asked if we knew what we were having and I said no and told her not to tell us. She told us we might want to look away from the screen, as the baby's gender was pretty obvious! I was so bummed and said "Well, I guess it's a boy then!" She told me no, that because the baby was so big and I was much more far along than last time, that either gender would be obvious. I was convinced it was a boy until about an hour after we left, when I tried to believe that a vagina would be just as obvious as a penis! (I still think it is probably a boy, though!)

I also asked the tech why my OB wanted to see the heart again, as that was bothering me a bit. She said it was just because she wasn't able to get one of the measurements, but reassured us that baby was fine. She also said based on baby's size, my due date has been moved up yet again to June 19. I'm still going with my original date of the 24th though, as I know they just come when they want anyway. The baby is also still breech, sitting comfortably in the same position Brenna was in that led to my initial c-section. Am still praying it turns it's butt around! I also asked the tech what she thought of my cervical length and she said she thought it was good. She said it didn't look any different than last time and that it didn't seem too short to her.

Next OB appt is April 2nd, so let's hope the she agrees with the tech and says my cervix is good to go for another month. I'll keep you posted!

March Break Madness

2008-03-16T18:11:00.002-04:00

Well, the March break week is over. Back to the old grind tomorrow. Brenna was sick again this year, so our time together was not as exciting as Mommy had planned. I suppose I should know by now not to get so excited and plan a bunch of activities as she likes to spring illness on me every year. I should consider myself "nurse mommy" on my week off from now on! Here is a rundown of our week anyway. We did manage to get some fun stuff in!

Sunday: We've been making an effort to do something as a family on Sundays. We took Brenna to Brews and Cues for dinner and to play some pool with Daddy. It was loads of fun. After it was all done, the fever began.

Monday: Brenna woke up with a fever. I gave her Motrin and she seemed fine. I decided to take her to the Children's Museum in London. She had a great time until about 2:00 pm, when the meltdown began and continued for approximately 45 minutes, at which time she crashed in the car. I thought it was because it was naptime, but apparently not. She had a cough, a runny nose and runny, mucousy eyes.

Tuesday: Phil talked me into taking Brenna to the doctor because of her eyes and her fever that would only break with steady doses of Motrin. We had been up 5 times with her in the last 2 nights, so knew something must be wrong. Turns out Dr. Sweet found out she had a double ear infection and infection in both her eyes! Poor kid. Did I ever feel like a horrible mother for taking her to the museum. What a trouper she was considering how sick she was!

Wednesday: Another day of hanging out at home with a sick kid!

Thursday: Brenna's fever finally broke without the Motrin. I guess the antibiotics finally kicked in. Brenna spent the day at day care so that Mommy could get some much needed rest. Of course, I made a bushel of spaghetti sauce and cleaned out some baby clothes. I'm sure I should have rested more than I did!

Friday: We went to Tecumseh mall to see Max and Ruby. There were about 5 million other preschoolers there. Brenna was a little scared at first, but she enjoyed it after a bit.

Saturday: No gymnastics today because of March Break. We hung out at home until Grandma and Grandpa came over to babysit. Phil and I went to the states baby shopping while Brenna got some much needed time with her grandparents.

Sunday: This was my favourite day of all. Phil and I couldn't figure out something fun to do. Finally we came up with the idea to take Brenna to her first movie. We weren't sure whether or not she was ready to sit for that long, but figured we had to try sometime. She had sat through live shows before, so we were keeping our fingers crossed. We explained all about what it would be like. We went to see Horton Hears a Who and she did so well! She was only fidgety a couple times, but really seemed to like the movie. I was so proud of how well she did! She's definitely a big girl now!

So, that was our week in a nutshell. Tomorrow is back to school and work for Brenna and I. We also have an ultrasound tomorrow, so get to see Baby Girardin #2 again. Should be a good day!

Doctor's Appointment

2008-03-06T11:09:00.002-05:00

On Monday, March 3, I had another OB appointment. She got the results of my last ultrasound, and it turns out I'll have to go back for a few reasons. The tech wasn't able to get a clear view of the baby's heart and spine. Let's cross our fingers everything's ok with those parts! The other reason is that I have a short cervix this time around. About a year after Brenna was born, pre cancerous cells were found on my cervix, so I had to have a portion of my cervix removed. Your cervix is generally 4 cm long, and I had one cm removed. That would leave me with 3 cm. Well, my cervical length at the time of my u/s was 2.8 cm. My doc is concerned that my cervix is getting too short, so I have to go for another u/s on March 17th. She says that if my cervix gets any shorter, she'll have to limit my activities. When I asked her what that meant, she said I'd have to go off work and be on bed rest. I'm crossing my fingers it doesn't come to that! It'll be hard to re arrange our schedules to accomodate Phil's work and Brenna's care with me sitting on the couch. I have a feeling we'll have to ask for lots of help from the grandparents, but I hate to inconvenience people. Phil's mom is recovering from surgery and will eventually have to go back to work. My mom doesn't have a job right now, but she is looking and I wouldn't want her to pass up an opportunity just to help us out. I'm sure things will work out, but it's a little stressful thinking about it. On a positive note, we get to see the baby again, which is always lots of fun.

After the doc told me all that, I got to listen to the hearbeat again. I love that sound. She said it sounded strong and healthy, so that's good! She measured my uterus and I'm measuring a tad big. (26 cm when I should be 24 at this point). I said to her "I told Phil this baby is bigger!" and she said that I could stand to have a bigger baby, since Brenna was so small. I guess she's right on that one!

The other good news is that I only gained one pound this month! At this point in pregnancy, the average weight gain is one pound per week, which should have put me up 4 pounds. I asked her if it was ok that I only put on one, and she said it was fine. Like I said before, I had a few pounds to spare to begin with!

I guess that's all the news from this appointment! Keep your fingers crossed that my cervix doesn't get any shorter and I get to keep up my freddom! :) I'm making Phil take me shopping next weekend for all the new baby stuff that I want just in case I'm not allowed to do anything after that date. I'll keep you posted!

For Sale!

2008-02-19T16:32:00.002-05:00

Well, our house is officially for sale. It's exciting and nerve wracking all at the same time. Phil and I spent a lot of the weekend getting things in order and unfortunately, we're still not quite ready. Because of my pregnancy, I have to take frequent breaks; I was feeling some pressure in my stomach and didn't want to overdo things. My job was to pack up the clutter and clean the house. My mom came and took Brenna for a few hours on Saturday, so that helped a lot. I packed up her room and some of the dining room. I did the rest of the dining room on Sunday, and then tackled the kitchen on Sunday evening. Notice that I did not get to the cleaning. It's very hard to pack and clean and take care of a toddler, let me tell you! By Monday I needed a break, so I took one. Phil is still working on the floor in our laundry room and he's done a fabulous job. He still has some last minute stuff to do, but it looks awesome! He also cleaned the bathroom floor and recaulked the tub and toilet. Our bathroom looks new!

On Sunday it rained, and we realized then that the leak in our ceiling was not going anywhere. Denial was not making it go away! We called my cousin Becky's hubby, who is in construction and he told us we'd have to replace that whole section of the roof and also the ceiling in the laundry room. We've gotten one quote so far and are awaiting a call from someone else to come look at it. I hope it gets done ASAP!

Monday was family day, but Phil had to work. He got off early, but we weren't able to do anything, as the laundry room has to get done. He finished the tiling before he went to pool. We're planning on doing something special as a family this weekend, so that we don't let that day go to waste.

So, to make a long story short, our house is officially on the market. I really hope it sells before the baby, for many reasons. Brenna and the baby can have their own rooms (less stress on me!) and Brenna can have all her toys back that are living at grandma and grandpa's house. We have to make our house look as big as possible!

That's the latest of the Girardin family news. :) Wish us luck!

Doctor's Appointment and Ultrasound

2008-02-08T09:02:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday, I had an appointment with Dr. Brkovich. For the first time ever, she had just left to go on a delivery. They said she'd be back in 30 minutes, so I sat down to wait. About 30 minutes later, the nurse asked me if it was ok if she just checked me. I told her that was ok, since there was nothing I really needed to talk to the doc about. She weighed me (189... up 9 pounds in 20 weeks), did my blood pressure and listened to the baby. The heartbeat this time was 148 bpm. I wasn't too disappointed that I didn't get to see the doctor; I really didn't want to come back another day! Oh yea, and the IPS test results were negative. There is a 1 in 640 chance that we'll have a baby with Down's Syndrome and a 1 in 1600 chance of a baby with neural tube defects. Pretty good odds.

Yesterday was my 20 week ultrasound. That was loads of fun! Phil and I got to see all the baby's parts, except the ones we didn't want to see! We saw feet and hands and we even got to see baby open and close its mouth. Such a miracle the whole process is. We saw the baby's heart beating away, and that is so comforting!

On a different note, Phil and I are thinking of moving before the baby, instead of after as we originally planned. We spoke with a mortgage broker who seems pretty confident we can get the money we need as long as we have a co signer. I think we're going to put our house up for sale this weekend and see how it goes. We're also going to look at some model homes, as we're thinking of building instead of buying. I'm so excited, yet we are nervous we won't be able to sell our house. It's a real buyer's market out there, which doesn't make it easy on the seller side of us. I want to stay optimistic, but I'm nervous too! Our real estate agent is coming over tonight to give us a "to do" list that will hopefully make our house more marketable.

Belly Kisses

2008-02-01T08:21:00.000-05:00

Brenna has known for a while that "a baby is coming to live with us in the summer". We hadn't explained to her the mechanics of the whole thing until a couple days ago. She asked me to pick her up again, and I just couldn't do it. I sat her down and told her that Mommy's belly is getting bigger because there's a baby in growing in there. I told her that sometimes Mommy's back or belly hurts and it's hard for me to pick her up because of it.

The next day we were getting ready for school and she said to me, "Mommy, do you still have that baby in your belly?" and I told her I did. She leaned over and rubbed my belly and said "I love this baby" and then kissed my stomach. I almost cried. I couldn't believe it. She had been so difficult in the few days before this, that to have a moment of such emotion was really nice for me. I just wanted to grab her and hold her and never let her go; I love her so much. Now, I am being realistic in knowing that she won't be a bed of roses when the baby does arrive and that there will be an adjustment period, but I will hold this memory close... it'll always be a special moment for me.

So, to make a long story short, we've told her that there is a baby that is growing in Mommy's belly and that it will be ready to come out in the summer. We told her that I'll have to go to the hospital so the doctor's can help Mommy get the baby out. She knows she'll be able to come to the hospital to see the baby and then we'll bring the baby home to live with us. I'm already eager for this baby to join our family.

Movement and Boobies

2008-01-23T13:15:00.000-05:00

Well, I can officially say that I can feel the new baby move. I was pretty sure last week, though the pokes and jabs were sporadic at best. I'd also go days at a time without feeling anything. Today though, there was movement that didn't stop for a few minutes. It's so wonderful!

And..... a funny story about dear Brenna. This one has to be documented so that I can tease her with it later. On Monday evening, I was in the bathrooom getting ready for swimming lessons. I always change into my suit before we go, so that when we get there, I only have to worry about getting one of us completely changed. I took off my bra and put it on the bathroom counter. She grabbed it, put her arms through the arm holes and said "Mommy, look at my boobies!" It really was one of the funniest things she's ever said and we laughed about it for a long time.

Oh yea, and I'm still having killer headaches. They seemed to go away for a while, but are back again. I can't wait til this part is over; I hope it doesn't last until June!

Doctor's Appointment.... and other stuff

2008-01-08T10:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was my first prenatal appointment with Dr. Brkovich. Poor Phil couldn't come; he's been sick in bed for 3 days (today is day 4). He was sad, as it was the first prenatal appointment he's ever missed. I've gained 6 pounds in 16 weeks and she changed my due date from June 24 to June 25. Not a big difference, and it probably won't matter in the long run anyway! I scheduled my 20 week ultrasound for February 7 so I'm really looking forward to that one! So, some of the things we discussed.....She said that because I've had a breech baby in the past, the chances of it happening again are pretty good. She said that she'll do an ultrasound when I'm 38 weeks to make sure the baby is the "right" way, and if not, she'll schedule a c-section. I'd really like to do it the "normal" way this time, only because the recovery is so much easier, but we all know that nothing with babies can be planned. I also get to have an ultrasound around 30 weeks to make sure my cervix hasn't thinnned out, and is strong enough to hold the growing baby. Because my cervix is shorter than normal, she has to keep an eye on it, to make sure it doesn't start to thin early. If it does, she may have to put a stitch in to keep it closed.

I also got to hear a nice, strong heartbeat. I didn't think it would be so loud or clear so early on. I guess I was wrong. I told her she had to tell me the beats per minute, as Phil and I like to have fun guessing if it's a boy or girl based on that. The bpm were 150, indicating a girl according to the old wive's tale. Brenna's heartbeat was almost always high. Who knows though... again, nothing is predictable!

As I was saying, Phil has been really sick for the past few days. High fever, chills, really bad cough. No working for him. The cute part of the story is that Brenna keeps asking him, "Daddy, are you still sicking?" It's so cute.

Brenna also started swimming lessons again last night. The last one she was in ended in April, so it's been a while. She did very well; I was very proud of her. She did things she wouldn't try before. She was still a little leery, but tried floating on her back in a life jacket and "made a star" by floating on her belly with her arms out. She even tried blowing bubbles, which she never really "got" before. I'm betting before this session is over she'll get it!

It's been a long time since I've updated; it was very busy during the holidays. We had a great Christmas, Brenna was spoiled and had a great time. She got the teddy bear she so desperately wanted from Santa, so she was happy.

Santa

2007-12-10T11:02:00.000-05:00

I haven't yet posted about Brenna's first experience with Santa this year, so I suppose I should do that first, before telling about her second. On December 1, I took Brenna to Breakfast with Santa at our friend's church. She was very excited to see him, but said she was scared and would not sit on his lap, but would stand beside him instead. When Santa finally arrived that day, Brenna burst into tears, buried her head in my shoulder and held on to me for dear life. Poor kid. I got up and left the room, but stood just outside the doorway so she could look in. She eventually watched some of the kids sit on Santa's lap and was willing to go and sit in the room. She kept refusing to sit on Santa's lap however, even after a lot of people offered to go with her. After all the children had gone up, my friend Heather was finally able to carry Brenna over to Santa (very slowly) and Brenna spoke to him and held his jingle bells. She said it was ok if Mommy sat on his lap, so I did. She let me hold her while I sat on his lap, and that's as far as we got that day.

Yesterday was Belle River High School's staff kid's Xmas party. This time Brenna was to get a present from Santa, so she liked that idea. I told her that she had to go up and see him to get her gift though, because she had to say thank you. I told her I would carry her up and that she didn't even have to sit on his lap if she didn't want to. Well, when Santa arrived, she was a little leery, but eventually sat and listened to his story, saying "Hi Santa" the whole time. Two children went ahead of her and when Santa called Brenna's name, she started to get nervous. I told her it was okay, that I was going with her and that she didn't have to sit on his lap. When we got to Santa, he asked her if she wanted to sit on his lap, and she said "yes". Phil and I were both shocked! I put her on his knee, and she held on to my hand and wouldn't let go. She looked like she was going to cry, but she was so brave and I was so proud of her. I told her to tell Santa what she wanted for Christmas and she said, "A teddy bear." Santa said he would bring her the best teddy bear ever. Santa then told her that she had gotten so much bigger since last year and Brenna said "Yes, I have." She was so cute and I was so proud that she was brave enough to do something that was very scary to her. Santa gave Brenna a new baby and some bottles and a feeding set to feed her. She was very happy, though I suspect a little disappointed that it wasn't a teddy bear!

First Ultrasound November 23rd

2007-11-25T09:15:00.000-05:00

Well, much to our excitement, everything seemed to look good on the first ultrasound. The tech was pretty quiet and didn't say much, but he did show us the flutter of the heartbeat, which is always reassuring to see. He said I'm 9 weeks, 2 days (as of Friday). I calculated 9 weeks, 3 days, but close enough. It makes it seem more real now that we got to see the little one!

Maternity Clothes

2007-11-19T11:04:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally broke down and pulled out the maternity clothes. I just can't stand how tight my pants are anymore! I'm 9 weeks tomorrow, so I guess that sounds a little better than being 8 weeks and wearing mat pants! I still am able to wear regular shirts (loose ones), but the pants are killing me. Even the bella band was starting to hurt; it was making the zippers of my pants dig into my belly! At least I'm more comfortable today! Friday is my first ultrasound, so after that, I'm sure I'll feel a little bit better about not hiding everything. Once I see and hear that everything is ok, I will probably start telling more people.

Build A Bear

2007-11-18T12:46:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Phil and I took Brenna to the Build-A-Bear store in the mall. When she started toilet training, I asked her what she wanted for a reward when she starting peeing in the potty like a big girl. She said a teddy bear. So, I came up with the brilliant idea to go to Build-A-Bear. She ended up picking out a cat instead of a bear and she named her Sally. She was a little scared, because it can get quite noisy, but she was happy by the end. We're both so proud of how far she's come!

Bella Bands and Poop

2007-11-15T09:04:00.000-05:00

This morning I'd like to talk about the best invention ever: the Bella Band. Thank goodness for such a thing! You wear them over your pre pregnancy pants with the buttons undone so that you can wear your normal clothes for longer. I'm so happy because I did NOT want to break out maternity clothes at 8 weeks, especially when no one at my job knows yet. I have only gained 1 pound so far, but apparently everything is shifting and moving, and it feels like I've gained a lot more! Now at least I can feel somewhat normal!

On a totally different topic, Brenna pooped on the potty today! It was so exciting. I had just pulled into work, and my cell phone rang. Heather was on the other end saying Brenna wanted to talk to me. She said "Mommy, I pooed on the potty! It wasn't so bad! Mommy happy now?" It was so cute. I told her how proud I was of her and that she is such a big girl now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's not a fluke and we're on our way to being totally trained. Wouldn't that be nice? Wish us (and Brenna) luck!

Weird Dream #1

2007-11-13T07:50:00.000-05:00

Well, the strange dreams have finally begun. Last night I dreamt that I went for an ultrasound, and the doctor took the baby right out and let me hold it. It was a boy with a full head of red hair like Brenna's. He let me hold him for a few minutes, and then told me had to put him back in, as he wasn't finished developing yet (though he did look the size of a 6 month old!). I remember this being one of the strangest parts of my pregnancy with Brenna.

In other news, Brenna's toilet training is still going very well. She's now peeing on the potty 100% of the time (well, except when she's sleeping). No pee accidents in about 5 days. She's still too scared to poop though, so she usually asks for a diaper or poops in her underwear. That's ok; we have to tackle one bridge at at time. Since it took almost 3 weeks for the pee, we're happy with that for now!

8 Weeks Tomorrow

2007-11-12T14:20:00.000-05:00

I definitely wish I would have done this while I was pregnant with my first daughter, Brenna who is now 2 1/2. What a great way to post all memories and events of our family and our pregnancy. As this post says, we will be 8 weeks along tomorrow. There are no exciting events occuring thus far. No morning sickness; I'm only tired! There are not enough hours in the day for sleeping! Phil and I are very excited about this new addition and are looking forward to June.