Smiley Boy!

He is already changing so much!
Went to the doctor on Monday and Ethan is a whopping 9 lbs 4 oz!!! :-D

Ethan & Harper

Today we had a visit from Sharon and Harper. Sharon is a friend from with and Harper is her cute little 3 month old daughter. They brought DVDS, a baby information book, homemade oatmeal cookies and homemade macaroni and cheese! Ethan and Harper shared toys. Harper got to use Ethan's rocker and Ethan used Harper's floor gym. He really enjoyed himself :-)

Introducing Ethan!

So I gave moved this blog from information about my pregnancy to daily (hopefully!) tidbits about our little guy.
Ethan is a very good baby. He really only cries if he is hungry and whines a little bit if he's gassy. I'm having some milk production issues but I'm on meds and have been seeing a lactation consultant so I'm hoping to have that under control very soon. As of last Tuesday Ethan weighed 7 lbs 8 oz. we have another atonement with the lactation consultant tomorrow so I'm going he has gained some more which should mean my supply is starting to increase :-)
Ethan will be 3 weeks old this week so I know I'm getting a late start but here are some photos.

He's Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope you all understand why I have been M.I.A. this week, but Ethan is finally here and keeping us as busy as ever.
Last Tuesday, Joe and I arrived at the hospital at 9:00am to have Cervidil inserted. Cervidil is supposed to rippen your cervix and bring on labour. It was inserted by 11:00am and they monitored me for an hour before sending us home. I started getting mild cramps within a few hours and later that eveningmild contractions. I went to bed and woke up around 6:00am to my contractions getting a bit stronger. They were averaging about 5 minutes apart but still not very painful. I called the hospital and they said to head on over whenever but before 11:00am since the Cervidil needs to betaken out within 24 hours. Around 8:30am, we decided to go to the hospital but I had to visit the washroom first. I went to the washroom and when I wiped I saw streaks of blood and water and the Cervidil insert. I would later find out that that is likely when my water broke. After that, my contractions were getting quite strong. They admitted me to Triage and I was already in a lot of pain. They checked my cervix and I was only 3cm dilated. They finally got me a room and on my way to my room I started throwing up from the pain. They put me in a wheel chair and brought me to my room. I was already asking for the epidural so they called the anesthesiologist to come. He came quickly and tried giving me the epidural. I'm not sure how long he tried for, but after a while he told me that if he could not get it in in the next 5 minutes then he would have to give up. I was freaking out at that time, telling him he can;t give up and praying to God to let this work. He finally got it in but I knew very quickly that it did not work :( Aftter that I started getting some intense pressure in my bum. It felt like I was going to crap myself. The nurse checked me and I was at 8cm already! The next little bit consisted of me breathing my way through contractions. Joe was my rock that day and I could not have done it without him. Soon the pressure in my bottom became too intense and I told the nurses that I felt a need to push. They checked me and sure enough I was 9.5 cm. They had me wait a little longer and soon I began to push. I don't think I pushed for very long before the doctor told me that the baby had pooped inside the womb and they needed to give me an episiotomy to get him out quickly. They gave me a local and within a few pushes Ethan was out! Joe cut the cord and they whisked him away to work on him. He didn't cry right away which scared me but after they cleared out his lungs I heard him crying.

Click here for some gorgeous photos from the birth :)

Click here for Ethan's newborn photos\

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the day that I am getting Cervidil inserted to hopefully start dilating me.
If it works, Joe and I can be parents by tomorrow!!! So excited to meet you, Ethan! xo

Weird eh? Today he is a fan of my left side lol

Non Stress Test

Had my Non Stress Test today and they sent me home after the hour. Blood pressure was fine and because they sent me home, I am assuming baby is fine lol.
I have one more day all to myself before having to start my induction. So nervous and scared but can't wait to meet our little guy :-)

Can You Tell He Likes My Right Side? Lol

Ultrasound Results

Baby is around 3126 grams which is 6.89 lbs lol no huge baby here! It's all me LOL
Head down and I got a score of 8/8 so it looks like baby will be delivered vaginally.

40w2d

Not the best pics, but here is our baby boy OVERDUE! :-)

40 Week Update!

No change with cervix or baby coming down :-(
Going for an ultrasound tomorrow because even though doc says Ethan doesn't seem very big they just want to check why he is not dropping.
On Sunday I go to the hospital for a non-stress test.
If I'm still pregnant by then they will start Cervadil Tuesday and serve me home for it work it's magic, lol. Wednesday morning they will start my induction.

Ethan! Daddy is waiting for you!

39 Week Appointment!

Blood pressure: Normal
Weight gain: + 4.5 lbs (hoping it was just excess turkey this weekend! lol)
Dilated: Nope
Effaced: Nope
ETA: At least another week unless water breaks
Next appointment: Monday, October 15th, 2012 @ 10:15am

Can you tell which side he is on? Lol

Poor feet!

38 Week Appointment

Blood pressure: Normal
Weight gain: +1.5 lbs
Dilated: Nope
Effaced: Nope
ETA: At least another week unless water breaks
Next appointment: Tuesday, October 9th, 2012 @ 9:45am

Letters for Ethan

Since finding out about Ethan, I've been meaning to write him a letter to put in his scrapbook. Tonight I finally got around to writing it lol. I figured that he could come tomorrow and my chance to write him that letter would be done. Joe also wanted to write him a letter and had the great idea of sealing it and telling him to open it on his 10th birthday which I thought was a great idea :-) Joe is writing his cant wait to read what he wrote :-)

All We Need Now Is A Baby To Fill It! Lol

Daddy Working

Ethan, your daddy looks so cute when he is working :-)

37 Week Appointment

Ethan's heartbeat: 160 bpm
My blood pressure: Normal
Weight gain: Lost 1 pound! Lol
Next appointment: Tuesday, October 2nd, 2012

New Photographer!

So last week I got the unpleasant surprise of the photographer we can booked for Ethan's newborn photos cancelling on us. She returned my deposit and let her customers know that she was no longer offering any type of photography besides birth photography. This kinda pissed me off since I got a good deal through her the first time, and I had a feeling that I wouldn't do as well looking for a new one. I then went on a hunt to find a new photographer. I went through some old emails back in June (when I was looking the first time) and most photographers were charging anywhere from $150-$250. I then decided to email this one photographer, Julie, who added me on Facebook to her group a few weeks ago. I told her my dilemma and let her know that we are on a tight budget and she agreed to do his newborn photos for the same price that Kayla was going to charge us. I was so thrilled and relieved that I didn't have to spend any extra money. She then asked if we were interested in doing birth photos. I asked Kayla if she was still planning on doing ours for free (like she originally offered in order to get practice and build her portfolio) and she said that she can no longer do them for free, that she would have to charge me $400 which apparently is a deal because most birth photographers charge around $2500??? Anyway, I wasn't too impressed by that, considering she cancelled our newborn photos I think she should at least have offered to be true to her word and do our birth photos. I told Julie that I would still love to have them done but it really depended on how much she would charge. She ended up offering us a great price and we booked her :) So excited! Here is a link to her website which has some goregous photos. Can't wait to see how Ethan's turn out in a couple of weeks (or less!!!!!!!!!!)

http://julienicolephotography.zenfolio.com/

37 Weeks! FULL TERM!

OMGGGGG! Ethan can arrive any day now! So excited!!!

More Free Gifts!

This time from Nestle!








A backpack style diaper bag, formula, a NUK bottle and a pack of Huggies Newborn diapers :)

36 Week Check Up!

Gained 2 lbs! Blood pressure is normal (118/something). I have another appointment next week but in two weeks the doctor will start checking my cervix. Through this exam he can tell if I'm starting to dilate, efface,  an approximate weight of the baby and an approximate time of when I will deliver. Exciting!

9 Months Pregnant!

Swelling

So I've finally started to swell. My feet and my hands, which have resulted in me taking off my engagement ring, something I really didn't want to do :-( Oh well! I'd rather take it off now then have it cut off lol.

Birth Photos

We booked Ethan's newborn photos back in June with Kayla Varrette Photography. Recently she posted that she would like to start doing "birth" photoshoots and were offering the first few for free for practice! If you know me, you know I love the word free, lol. So I asked Joe what he thought and after he agreed, I told he we were in. I didn't know what to expect but after seeing what she did for one couple this past weekend, I am super excited. I hope ours turn out just as gorgeous. If you want to take a look at how beautiful these photos are, click here.

Omg! 35w4d!

Appointment

I had my 35 week check up today with Dr. Anstett. Blood pressure is good, weight is "good" despite the fact that I've gained 8 lbs in 2 weeks. Doctor wasn't concerned but it makes me feel a little sad. The swab for Group B Strep was done today and he listened to Ethan's heartbeat (which was 150 bpm). Felt baby's position in my uterus. Head is down, back was along my left side. Dr. Anstett said that if I were to go into labor today that he wouldn't try to stop it, which was very exciting for me! Lol
Whenever I go to the doctor I always forget to ask questions lol. I should start writing them down. I'm curious to know whether we will have another ultrasound. I'll have to remember that for next time!

Freezer Meals!

I am well aware that once Ethan arrives I will have even LESS time than usual which is why I have decided to make and freeze meals.
My other dilemma is that once this baby is outta me, I want to begin my weight loss mission immediately. Which for me means no gluten!
Here is an idea of what I want to prepare:
Chili
Butternut squash soup
Gluten free muffins
Cabbage rolls
Stuffed peppers
Chicken burgers

Any other suggestions???

Also, if anyone wants to volunteer to donate some ready-made meals, you are more than welcome to! Lol

Appointment

My regular doctor is on holidays this week so I had an appointment with Dr. Raby today. Pretty uneventful-- blood pressure normal, didn't gain any weight this week and baby sounds good :-)
My next appointment is in 2 weeks :-)

Snuza!

It's here! Can't wait to use it with our baby boy :-)

Baby Shower!

Today was my baby shower! I could not believe how much love people have for our soon to be family! Everyone was very generous. A huge thanks to my mom and sister who worked so hard cooking/cleaning/preparing for the day.
Here are some pics. More will be posted soon!

Belly Moving at 31w2d

It's very clear this time, lol. Check out the 11 second mark of to the right, near the cluster of beauty marks lol:

31 Weeks

Ethan is the weight is 4 navel oranges!

Ethan's Dinosaur Mobile

For Nonna

Ethan's first baseball bat

Snuza

Since we pretty much found out I was pregnant, I wanted to get a Snuza. 

I wrote a post about it here. Anyways, there are a few different models. The one I originally wanted was the Snuza Halo. It vibrates when it detects lack of movement and then alarms if it still doesn't detect. It also costs  about $150 + tax + SHIPPING since I haven't been able to find it in Canada. So it would end up being around $200. The other model is the Halo Go. From what I've read, the only difference is that the Halo Go doesn't vibrate, it just sounds an alarm for us to wake him or the alarm will wake him. It is significantly cheaper. Around $100-$150... + tax + shipping. Well, I went on www.zulily.com and they had the Snuza Go for $78.08 + tax + shipping. I decided to get it since it would end up costing a lot cheaper and the reviews were still great. My total came to. $101.22. Can't wait to check it out!

P.S. One more point for the Snuza Go! When the Snuza Go's battery dies, it can be replaced by the customer. When the Snuza Halo's battery goes, it needs to be sent in and replaced.

http://www.snuza.com/content.php?product=go

Similac Gifts!

So although I am planning on breastfeeding our baby, I signed up everywhere for free gifts :)
We got ours from Similac yesterday. It came with:
2 Instant powered formulas
2 Instant liquid Similac advanced and sensitive
12 liquid formulas in ready-to-use bottles and 
12 nipples that you just screw on the mini bottles!

Pretty cool eh? I hope we don't HAVE to use them but we have them just in case :)

More Drama

So as some of you may know, I got into a pretty bad car accident yesterday. Joe's mom and I were in my car on the highway on our way to her specialist appointment and traffic was stopped. Well I guess the idiot behind us didn't realize we were stopped and slammed right into us. First thing that crossed my mind was baby. My belly didn't hit anything so that was a good sign. The truck behind us pushed us into the car in front and we bounced off and hit the truck again. Our heads snapped back and hit the headrests twice. Our glasses flew off of our faces. Brenda was screaming holding her head and I was just focused on staying calm and calling 911. I took a quick look at my car at the back and it was totaled. The ambulance, fire truck and OPP came very quickly. The put Brenda in a gurney and I sat in a chair in the ambulance. In the ambulance my back and neck started seizing up. Not fun. They took me straight up to Labor & Delivery to check on baby. I didn't care that my head, neck and back were killing at the time, I was just scared for Ethan's life. They hooked me up to the Doppler and I got to hear our baby's heart beat. The doctor said it sounded good but was a little fast from the excitement. She said they would monitor his great for a few hours. She gave me Tylenol for my headache and had a nurse come in to take my blood. They wanted to make sure mine and baby's boys didn't mix. The police officer came into my room to take my statement. He told me that the other driver got a Careless Driving ticket and that if he flight it, I would have to go to court. After I was released from Labor & Delivery I went to the ER to check out my head and neck injury. After waiting about 4 hours, the doc said it looked like I had a minor concussion or just muscle strain in my neck. He wrote me a note for physio and said I SHOULD feel better in a few days.
When we got home I called my insurance. Thankfully, they are covering my totaled car, deductible, ambulance fee, towing fee and rental car. This morning I am still in a lot of pain. My sleep was not pleasant and I've had a non-stop headache since yesterday. I am just so thankful to God that we are all alive and healthy.

Getting Stronger

So for the last few weeks, Ethan's kicks and punches have been literally making me jump in surprise. I think Joe finds it quite amusing lol.
One thing I find a bit funny is that Ethan goes not cooperate for anyone. Hopefully that is not a preview if what is to come lol. He would be kicking like crazy and then as soon as I tell Joe to feel, he would stop. This had been happening pretty much as long as I've been feeling him on the outside. Well tonight he was kicking like crazy and really high too, like right under my ribs. Joe softly put his hand on my tummy and  BAM! Kick. A few seconds later BAM! Another and another. Joe looked so happy since he really hasn't felt him kick in a while. He also commented on how much stronger his kicks are now. I think he understands why they make me jump lol.

Hospital Visit

So last Friday Joe and I made surprise hospital visit. On Thursday Ethan was very lazy and I barely felt him kicking. At night and early morning is when he is usually most active and I couldn't feel anything. I was starting to get worried. I tried different things to get him to move for us. Drank something cold, are something sweet, poked around on my belly, flipped to both sides a bit and still nothing. Finally I asked Joe if he could run out and get some orange juice and instead came back with Mc Donald's breakfast (with an orange juice of course! It was 7am, we took advantage of that lol). Told him if that didn't get him moving that we should go to the hospital. Clearly, that didn't work. Really scared and nervous we went to the doctor hospital. They were very good. We went up to Labor & Delivery and told them our concern and admitted me. I laid down on the bed and as soon as they hooked the monitor up, you could hear his heartbeat. Best sound in the whole world! The nurse just sat and listened for a while and said "let's just see if we hear him move". Sure enough you hear a big "swoosh!" and another big "swoosh!" that sound is him moving. While this was happening I wasn't feeling anything. It was really weird. She grabbed the doctor, who just happened to be my Ob/Gyn, Dr. Anstett, who said everything sounds fine and that the baby must be running out of room in there so I should be feeling more rolls than kicks now.
Sure enough, that day and all weekend I felt rolls. He has been making up for lost time, that's for sure! Lol. Last night I was having those round ligament pains which feel like your uterus is stretching and sure enough today, I'm feeling kicks again. So weird. I've come to the conclusion that this child will worry me for the rest of my life, in and out of the womb, lol.

Upcoming stuff:

August 13 - Doctor's appointment
August 18th/19th - Prenatal Class
August 26th - Baby Shower!
...September 4th - Back to Work :-(

Second Hand Stores

So let's start off by saying I have never been one to shop at second hand stores. Although we didn't have money growing up, I think my mom was a little weirded out by them lol.
Well, today I was on a hunt to find an old crib mobile so I could convert it into one for Ethan's room' no luck finding one by the way.
I started looking in the baby clothes section and was pleasantly surprised! Most of the clothes were in great condition and the prices were awesome! I ended up buying the baby 3 things there for under $10!
2 sleep sacks
A teddy bear suit
I also found a book by one of my favorite children's book author, Jamie Lee Curtis. It was a large book with 4 stories inside includingthe books on CD. And although I have 3 out of the 4 already, together with the CD it only cost me $2.99 :-)  It is also in great condition.