Wellington Watch, 34 weeks

34wks (8.5 months)

Weight gain so far: 28lbs

Okay, first off I need to clarify something. There seems to be a bit of confusion around my weeks to months conversions. Right now, I am claiming to be 8.5 months, which would have you think - Wow! 2 weeks to go! Because we've all grown up with the scientific knowledge that the average pregnancy lasts 9 months. But then you look at my 'countdown to baby' ticker, and see that - WHAT? - 40 days to go?! How can that be? 2 weeks is only 14 days, not 40!

The sad truth is, that woman are in fact pregnant an average of 10 months, according to the way doctors date a pregnancy. The weeks/months start on the first day of your last period, which means that in reality, you are being counted as pregnant before you are actually pregnant. I know. Weird. BUT, in a way in makes sense. Because we all know the average pregnancy is 40 weeks. And there's an average of 4 weeks per month. 40 divided 4 = 10! 10 months. So really, I'm 8.5 out of 10, not 8.5 out of 9.

Anyways...moving on...

Doctor Appointment:

I have my next appointment tomorrow, so nothing new to report this week.

Symptoms/Feelings/Etc:

1) I feel like the time is going by really quickly, and it's hard to imagine being in that waiting mode where I'll just want to 'get this kid out of me!'. Right now I'm totally in the 'Not yet! Not yet!' mode. I know that once he's here time will fly by at a heartbreaking speed, and I'm not about to start wishing this time away quite yet. Plus, as long as he's in my belly, he's really easy to take care of.

2) Lately when I wake up, my arms, hands and fingers are really numb.

3) The 'discomfort' in my nether regions is increasing, to the point where I usually cringe or moan in reaction. This freaks Warren out tremendously, often promoting him to ask if I'm 'giving birth'.

Amanda/Belly Pics:

We were sitting out tonight, enjoying our new solar lights (in the tree) and the glow of the citronella torches. Warren snapped a couple photos of Wellington and I.

Banff, Bears & Bathrooms

Last weekend Warren & I took our 'babymoon' to Banff (if anyone doesn't know, a babymoon is the last 'romantic' trip you take as a couple before your baby is born). Although, I wouldn't call it a babymoon so much as a 'doggymoon', since it's likely the last trip we take with the dogs in tow for a while.

While we were gone, my awesome Dad & Mark The Plumber started renovating our upstairs bathroom (really, our only bathroom since downstairs is basically a toilet in the middle of a big empty room). They started demo around 8:30am, and this is basically the chaos we left behind as we headed off to the mountains:




And this was the serenity that greeted us at the Juniper Hotel & Bistro:



The Juniper takes 'dog friendly hotel' to a new level. Porter & River had shiny bowls, treats & a nice bed waiting for them too:

When travelling with (our) dogs, the main objective is to drive around and search for nice places to go for walks and possibly have a picnic. Whilst driving about, we came across this scene...if this doesn't say 'Banff National Park', I don't know what does:

Here's the knuckleheads resting up after a great bear-free stroll, with River looking content and pleased with life, as usual, and Porter looking grumpy and unimpressed, as usual:

A couple beauty shots from another walk we took, this time after having a bagged lunch outside at a picnic table:

Anyone who knows Warren, knows he is deathly afraid of bears. We were camping with my family one year, when we were woken up in our tent by a Park Ranger walking by warning everyone there was a mama bear and her cub down by the river. Warren pulled a Swiss army knife out from under his pillow and refused to leave the tent. It's a deep seeded fear.

On our last night at the Juniper, we took the dogs for a 20 minute 'pee walk' behind the hotel, before settling in for an evening of room service, a movie and the Survivor Finale.

I took this photo of Warren & Porter a mere minute or less before we encountered a BEAR. I'm really glad it wasn't the last photo of them ever taken, only to be found later by a walker-by who stumbled upon our camera and mangled remains. Okay, maybe I'm being dramatic. But it was scary!

When the bear appeared, out of the bushes, mere meters in front of us, and started to 'gallop' towards us (or so we assumed), the four of us bolted back up the hill in pure terror. There was probably a 10-15 second moment right then when I truly believed I was going to die. That Warren would die. That our parents would find out on the late night news. That is not a fun feeling. As we ran up the hill we began to debate what to do. Going UP the hill meant running further from the hotel. Running down the hill meant running towards the hotel AND the bear. So ultimately I made the executive decision to run LEFT, through the bushes.

We ran through those bushes like we were auditioning for the Bourne Ultimatum. The adrenaline made my pregnancy disappear. 10 minutes earlier I'd been slowly climbing the hill like an elderly woman, and now I was leaping over fallen trees and under thick brush like I was Superwoman. We later learned that bears can run as fast as race horses, and our attempted escape would have likely been in vain, if the bear had in fact been pursuing us. But when we came to the clearing, we saw the bear had kept on his/her merry way, unphased by the encounter.

Warren & I were not unphased, however. We bolted across the clearing, continued down & out of a small ravine, back to the hotel. We arrived in the lobby panting like maniacs.

Warren & Amanda: (Gasping for air) We...saw...a bear!

Young Guy at the lobby desk: Really? Just now? Wow! I've been here for months and haven't seen one yet. I'd sure love to though! Did you get a picture?

Warren: Picture? No way...we were too busy running for our lives!

Young Guy: (laughs).

Hmm. I guess one man's worst nightmare, is another man's dream hike.

In retrospect, we realised that when the bear 'galloped', it was simply it's reaction to being startled by us, and it just wanted to pass us by as quickly as we wanted to run away. But it was the 'what ifs' that freaked us out. What if we had turned back 1 minute sooner? What if River hadn't held us up by taking a poop? We would have come face to face with that bear when it came out of the bushes.

Needless to say, we were rattled. We said 'I love you hon!' to each other a lot that night.

To end off this riveting adventure, here is a photo of my second breakfast-in-bed in a row:

Wellington Watch, 33 weeks

33 weeks (8 months, 1 week)

Weight gain so far: undocumented this week

Warren stories:

1) We were walking around the mall and I caught my reflection in the store windows a couple of times.

Amanda: Geez Louise! Why didn't you tell me this fleece made me look so big?

Warren: I don't think it's the fleece.

2) We were driving around and I grunted or sighed or grimaced or some other thing that goes along with the discomforts of being pregnant...

Warren: Do you need to pee?

Amanda: Nope... (grunts or groans or grimaces again).

Warren: Are you giving birth?

Amanda: No, I am not giving birth.

Warren: Okay. We're all good then.

Symptoms/Feelings/Emotions/Etc:

1) Wellington's movements. How I love them. Lately I would describe them as 'slow rolls', and they don't hurt at all. I think my hands are on my belly 90% of the day.

2) I am becoming increasingly petrified at the thought of squeezing him through 'that hole'. I know 'that hole' gets a wee bit bigger, but that in itself will be a painful process too.

3) My wedding rings were starting to feel tight and it was a struggle to take them off. So I'm no longer wearing them. Instead, I'm wearing a saphire ring I bought in an antique shop in England, when we got engaged. It's meant for my middle finger, so it fits just right on my wedding band finger :-)

Hmmmm...I think that's it for this week.

Treading Water

Warren & I are trying to accomplish a lot on our time off this week, so blogging is going to suffer a bit. Wellington Watch and anything else I have the energy to post will likely happen on Friday. Until then, adieu!

5 On Friday, May 15th, 2009

1) Star Trek Movie = Excellent! Very funny, awesome character development, clever story line, great CG effects. This all coming from a girl who had no previous Star Trek knowledge before seeing the movie. I only wish I'd been warned about the opening action/labor & birth sequence.

2) Finished reading 'Lullabies for Little Criminals'. It was a really quick read, and very engaging story. The subject matter is quite sad, like all neglected kid stories are, but there is something so inspiring about these stories when they're written from the kid's point of view. Kids are so resilient. And it always reminds me how kids actually don't need a lot, and how it's usually the really simple, basic things that they crave from their parents like love, acceptance and protection.

3) In addition to *hopefully* renovating the upstairs bathroom, looks like we are also going to get the exterior of our house painted. See, when other couples start 'nesting' they do things like bake cookies, knit sweaters and clean out cupboards. Warren & I take on mammoth, stressful projects that will be the bane of our existence.

4) Our neighborhood is part of the City's 'Neighborwoods Program'. This program removes dieing Elm trees in select communities, and then offers the residents of those communities new trees to be planted in their from lawn at no cost (except $30 for the water bag). We ordered 2 trees, then came the decision to pick which type of trees we wanted. There were 6 types to choose from. I was leaning towards 2 'ornamental' trees, as opposed to the really huge Oak or Elm trees. Warren really wanted an Oak. When I asked him why he said 'because then we'd have an Oak tree that was planted when Wellington was born'. He really knows how to tug at my heart strings. So, that was it. One ornamental tree, and one beautiful Oak tree that we'll photograph Wellington beside each year, as they grow together. Maybe when the tree is really big, we'll carve his name into it.

5) We're off to Banff this weekend with the dogs. Wish us luck! It's always an adventure traveling with those two knuckle heads.

6) PS - Channel Warren is Back On Air.

Wellington Watch, 32 weeks

32wks (8 months)

Weight gain so far: 25.5lbs

Doctor Appointment:

Another uneventful appointment this week. Wellington is still head down and he's cool as a cucumber with a heart rate of 136 bpm. Belly is measuring on target. My doctor & I joked a little about 'birth plans', because I mentioned that I thought the whole concept was a bit silly. 'It's going to go how it's going to go' I told her. She agreed. She said if I show up with a beautiful birth plan printed on frilly pink paper that I will be doomed.

Symptoms/Feelings/Etc:

1) I've noticed a definite increase in moodiness this past week. How come 'moodiness' generally doesn't include 'good' moods?

2) The other day I was wearing running shoes with ankle socks, and when I took off the socks there was a deep indent where the elastic had been, and my poor ankles had a homely looking MUFFIN TOP.

3) Wellington's head, or the bottom of my uterus, or WHATEVER, is beginning to cause me pain (or as the books like to call it 'discomfort'). Turns out there are a whole schwack of nerves 'down there', and the pressure against these nerves does not tickle.

4) Warren & I were sitting outside eating dinner, when I experienced some...ahem...gastro intestinal issues, that lasted...ahem...a wee bit longer that usual.

Warren: (after I started laughing hysterically) What was THAT?!

Amanda: (couldn't speak, was laughing too hard and trying desperately not to...ahem...let out more gastro intestinal noises).

Warren: No, seriously...was that YOU? Seriously? It sounded like someone started a power tool or a hydraulic lift... I thought the neighbors were trimming their hedges or something!

Warren story:

1) All week Warren has been saying 'You're ALL belly!' and 'From behind, you don't even look pregnant!'. Clever little bugger has been reading my blog. He quickly lost points however, when he told me one of his clients is 9 months pregnant and ready to pop and that she's 'much smaller than I am'.

2) Reverting back to my 'moodiness', Warren has started doing this thing where, if I'm being 'testy' he'll start looking cautiously down at the floor, with a pouty look on his face, like he's searching for something that he can't quite see. Then, in frustration, I'll burst out with 'What?! What the heck are you looking for?!" and then he'll whisper, "Oh, just the egg shells I need to walk around".

Funny Baby Item:

Don't be surprised if Wellington is sporting 'The Donald' in his birth announcement photos.

Belly Pics:

Photo Session Outtakes:

5 On Friday: May 8th, 2009

1. This is a photo from last weekend of myself and my 'tall-blond-viking-bombshell' friend Becca, on our way to the S.A.I.T reunion. We've been pals for 9 years now. Her friendship is the best thing that came out of my time at S.A.I.T. , that's for sure.

Becca & I with our friend Kelly Belly, at the reunion.

2. Yesterday, everyone in my Pod at work (pod is what we call our 'cluster' of cubicles) wore blue, by total fluke. When you have an office job, you tend to find things like this entertaining. (Editors note: John, the tall man in the middle, is not developmentally challenged. He's making that face on purpose. Also, after the photo was taken I kicked myself for not taking off my black cardigan first - stands out like a sore thumb and distracts from all the blue!).

3. Finished the Jodi Picoult book 'Mercy'. It was meh. Wouldn't recommend it. Now I'm on an official Jodi break, and am reading a recommend from my mom called 'Lullabies for Little Criminals'. So far, it's great. Keri B - I will let you know if I still like it when I'm done, and maybe you can 'download' it to your fancy dancy e-book thingy.

4. Warren and I are taking the week of May 18th off, to hopefully work on the bathroom renos and other house 'nesting' type things we want to get accomplished. We may even go on a mini road trip with the dogs. I mentioned to Warren my hesitations about a 2-dog road trip, because Porter has anxiety issues and I know that a road trip with him will be less-than-relaxing. But Warren said he'd rather be on a road trip, with restrictions on what types of things we can do, than be stuck at home the entire time. Hopefully this is a sign that we'll be willing to travel with baby, knowing that it will be 'hard'.

5. My mat leave posting is up now. Over the next month we'll be reviewing resumes and then setting up interviews. Tick-tock-tick-tock.

Wellington Watch, 31 weeks

31wks (7 months, 3 weeks)

Weight gain so far: 23lbs

Things NOT to say to a pregnant woman:

1) Are you sure you should be eating Greek salad?

2) Are you at least trying to eat healthy? (said as pregnant woman grabs a fried spring roll off the tray at the company team building party).

3) You're not drinking coffee, are you?

4) You're sure starting to show in your face - I really notice the plumpness.

Things you SHOULD say to a pregnant woman:

1) From behind, you don't even look pregnant!

2) Wow, you are ALL belly.

3) You have really blossomed! (instead of 'you're getting really big').

Nursery Update:

Ladies and gentlemen - we have an assembled CRIB. (No mattress yet, but that's just a minor detail, right?).

So my question to the parents out there - to bumper pad, or not to bumper pad? I don't really understand why, if they're considered unsafe, they are still sold in stores? Are they still considered unsafe? I don't think we'll get any, but I'm curious to know what y'all did.




Symptoms/Feelings/Etc:

Lately I've been feeling this very strong desire to be affectionate towards Warren. To hug him, kiss him, grab his butt cheek as he walks by, snuggle him in bed (this takes effort, since I'm often cocooned in a nest of pillows). These affectionate advances sometimes make Warren uncomfortable and he'll whisper "Not in front of the baby...". He also says that when I use a cuss word.

I also have fleeting moments of short anxiety attacks. These are very short lived and are a result of feeling selfish and afraid of 'giving up' my freedom. I quickly snap out of it and remind myself "Yaaaah....because sitting on the couch doing nothing is SOOOOOO rewarding...".

Lastly, and I'm not going to go into the details, but I do want to document here that I have had one dream/nightmare that we lost the baby. I'm going to assume that's fairly normal.

Warren story:#1:

When I told Warren that the resident doctor asked me about contractions, he went into a mini panic-mode.

Warren: Well, maybe we should have a 'code word' that you can email me when IT happens.

Amanda: What, like 'The Boy Has Landed' or something?

Warren: Umm, sure...or maybe something more straight forward like 'I'm in labor'.

I guess I misunderstood what he meant by 'code word'.

#2:

Out of nowhere, Warren came into the kitchen and asked me if I was afraid of the pain of labor.

Amanda: Ya, for sure. But I'm trying not to psyche myself out about it. Why do you ask?

Warren: Well, all this time I've been thinking about this great thing that is going to happen, and I just started realising that a very BAD thing has to happen first.

Indeed.

Now, some obligatory 31 week Amanda photos / belly pics:

5 On Friday: May 1st, 2009

1. A sign that Facebook has infiltrated our lives a bit too much #1:

Over the weekend I finally got around to printing & framing some wedding photos and hung them in our room, with the word 'love' about the frames. Warren came home and when he saw my handy work he proclaimed : "Thumbs up. Warren likes this".

2. A sign that Facebook has infiltrated our lives a bit too much #2:

On Wednesday, Warren confessed that 'Bruce the bat' was not the soft furry creature I'd made him out to be in my head. No, he chose to tell me on Facebook that Bruce hissed at him with beady bat eyes, but that he didn't tell me because he knew I'd freak out. So we had a back and forth conversation on Facebook about this, when we were literally one room apart from each other at home.

3. Have you hugged your Realtor lately? Seriously people, Realtor's need hugs. Especially the tall, hard working, really nice ones.

4. This week I had a crummy morning at the office. After a refreshing lunch break with my dear friend Shawna, I promptly returned to my desk and moved my 'last day' up a week on my wall calendar. Take THAT, stupid crummy morning at the office :-)

5. Email conversation between Warren & I (Warning - Erin K should NOT read this):

Amanda: Boo! We went into overdraft on the mortgage account! *

Warren: Crap! You know what else? We still need to file our taxes AND update the registration for both cars!

Amanda: Man, being a grown up SUCKS!

Warren: Tell me about it!

*For the record, we did not go into overdraft because we didn't have enough money, but rather because we forgot to TRANSFER the money...not sure which is worse, really.