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July 21, 2003
37 Weeks
First things first – my doctor’s appointment with my *new* doctor. The appointment went really well, did the weight and urine testing routine, weight was up more than I would really like, but I have been so incredibly swollen lately that I can’t say that I am surprised – I am retaining a LOT of water. Blood pressure is still excellent, which is great and the Little One’s heart rate was at 150 – it has actually been around this number for almost every visit oddly enough! The funniest thing is that I dropped in my fundal height measurement this week. I have been almost consistently measuring a week and a half to two weeks ahead, but today only measured a half week ahead. I wonder if that is because the baby has dropped a bit more… Have to wait and see what next week’s measurement is! :-) What else… we will talk about the birth plan at then next visit, when our doula can be there as well. Apart from that, we talked about what will happen if I go into labour when she is on vacation, who would be on call for that time; it will be her partner in the practice who will see me for the one visit while my doctor is away, and she will also be the on-call doctor for the same period of time too, which is nice. My doctor will be on vacation from July 24th to August 4th, but I don’t think that I am going to go early at this point, so I’m not that concerned right now about the fact that it won’t be my doctor delivering… I just really can’t see myself going early. BUT all that can change so quickly, so who am I to say anything concrete? :-) She was quite excited about having me as a prenatal patient, and was also clearly looking forward to having the Little One as a patient as well, so I feel I can say with some certainty that she is going to be a great doctor. Oh! The last thing is that when she got a good look at my feet, the first thing she said was: Oh, you are going to PEE when you give birth! LOL I replied that that was just FINE by me, as long as I could fit back into my runners! :-) Too funny!
After getting home from the appointment, we went online and bought our first batch of cloth diapers… Woo hoo! :-) We also bought some washcloths and the fitted moses basket sheets we’ll need, we saved money buying these things from the online retailer over Sears, particularly the diapers, which is great. Sears had a 5-pack for about $55, and you had no choice but to get the diapers with the prints on them, which neither Simon nor I particularly liked and the online retailer had a 10-pack for about $72 and you could order the plain cotton diapers. We expected to get the diapers next week, but ended up getting a big box in the mail later in the week. This was quite a surprise at the same time that it made us feel good about choosing this company because if we decide that we like this brand of diapers, we know we can place an order and have it delivered that very week, and this was with regular post! :-) Oh, I suppose I should say what diapers we ended up going with for our first batch, huh? Kushies (or Kooshies is the older spelling) Classic diapers, which are almost all-in-ones, I *think*. They don’t have a built in diaper wrap, those are the ultra ones, but they do have an inner waterproof layer. Anyway, they are BEYOND cute, I do have to say. I snipped out all the labels again and we ran them through the wash along with the other linens that we bought. Simon is beginning to get tired of washing yet *another* load of baby stuff, just after we had finished washing and folding the last one :-) It’ll all settle down eventually though.
Another thing we ordered when we got home were the diaper bags we have decided to get. We have chosen to go with the Land’s End diaper bags, just from the sheer number of positive reviews I have heard from all sorts of mums about them. They are also reasonably priced compared with others I have seen at the stores here, and look WAY better, so I know that both Simon and I will be able to carry them with ease and no embarrassment issues :-) We chose the large over the shoulder one the Do-It-All bag, and also purchased the Little Tripper. We splurged and got our monogram on the larger bag, I thought it looked really smart. Initially Simon didn’t understand why we needed the little one AND the big one, but after I explained that there are going to be many occasions where we won’t need to take a big honkin’ diaper bag, just a little one, he agreed that it was a good decision. We should be getting them next week sometime! Then there will be the whole issue of stocking the bags… Something that is so up my alley, as I am sure you readers can tell by now :-)
We went shopping again this week, this time to Toys ‘R’ Us, we don’t have a Babies ‘R’ Us here, it’s just one store. There were a few things that we could only get at TRU, like the bath tub and changing table pad. We ended up getting some more bottle supplies there that I hadn’t been able to find at Sears, like a scrub brush for the Avent system, and also the refill bags for the disposable bottle, which I will use to freeze my breast milk in. What else did we get… Actually, I think that was it. We got home and unwrapped the change table pad, brought it upstairs and laid it down on the change table… It didn’t fit! In either direction! This was SO disappointing to me, because I really like this pad. It is softly curved toward the edges, so that the baby has a hard time rolling around on it, and was so much better than the ones at Sears, where the edging was just literally floppy – I could *not* see how the ‘guards’ as they called them would in any way deter a moving baby. But for this one not to fit! Argh! I looked up the sizes of the Sears ones, and they are the same size too, so even if we did go with them we’d be in the same position. SO… what we are going to do is I am going to buy some foam, we’ll cut it to length so that it fits perfectly on the table and I will buy one of the waterproof changing sheets to lie over it and then put on the fitted change table sheet that we have already purchased. I think that this is going to work out really well actually, because it will be quite a bit cheaper than buying the pads in the store, but still, I really like that curved shape! Oh well…
Now for something funny… We received from Simon’s aunt this stuffed Marmot – a ground-hog type animal, there are only 25 in existence and are therefore an extremely endangered animal. The Marmot has been having some adventures here however, with the kids, the following is from an email that I typed up to Simon’s aunt to tell her about these adventures:
Name: Nova Scotius Marmotus
Habitat: Nursery, then Infant’s Crib.
Predators: Chesapeake Bay Retriever, Brook; Domestic Short Hair, Miss Scarlett.
Upon re-locating to Nova Scotia, the Marmot initially lived in something called a baby carrier or car seat. It was a good life, a comfortable home. Unfortunately, with the move, it came into contact with a new predator, the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, commonly referred to as Brook, also known as Puppy Dawg. Because this new burrow was located at a level at which was easily accessible by this Brook, the Marmot faced a massacre. It managed to survive its first encounter with this terrible animal, despite being carried in its mouth down the stairs to the kitchen, all the while being shook viciously. It is fortunate that the animal was trained to have a soft mouth, otherwise the Marmot would not have survived. Upon discovering the Marmot in Brook’s mouth, Brook was chastised, and the Marmot was replaced into its burrow for healing. Unfortunately, only one day later, Brook was once again found with the Marmot in its mouth. Brook received a very stern lecture, and apologies were made to the Marmot, who was then moved to the infant’s crib in hopes that it would provide more protection from such a fierce animal.
The Marmot lived happily in the infant’s crib for almost two weeks before being discovered by the other predator of this new place, a Domestic Short Hair, commonly referred to as Miss Scarlett, but also being known as Scarlett, Holy Terror, Little Miss and Raccoon in Motion, or RIM. At the end of one day, the Marmot was discovered in the doorway of the nursery, lying on its side, obviously in pain from the great fall down from the crib and the journey to the door. The predator was nowhere in sight, leading the caretakers to wonder whether it was the puppy dawg or the Little Miss who managed to get the Marmot from the crib to the doorway. The Marmot was replaced back in its burrow. The following night several massacres occurred. As the caretakers were going to bed, the Marmot was discovered even further onto the hallway landing area, it was a very fortunate thing that it was found at that time, otherwise it may not have lasted in such an unprotected area over the course of the long, dark night period. Again, the potential predator was nowhere to be found. Later that night, as one of the caretakers was making the long trek to the bathroom, she noticed a shape on the floor of the nursery door. Curious, she went to investigate, once again finding the Marmot, lying unprotected on the ground. She replaced it in the crib and went about her original purpose for getting up.
The following morning, the morning of this communication, there was a loud thud as the caretakers were eating a leisurely breakfast. This sound was followed by the tinkling of the Little Miss’s bells on her collar, but in an unfamiliar pattern. The female caretaker, herself being unable to move without severe pain, asked the male caretaker to investigate what the mysterious sound pattern was regarding. Upon walking to the stairs, the male caretaker found the Holy Terror in full fledge, batting viciously at the Marmot, who had been putting up a valiant effort to protect itself from such a terrible animal. The pair were located two thirds down the stairs. The Holy Terror, upon being discovered, immediately sustained her attack and lay down on the stairs in hopes that it would be forgotten, this horrible transgression. The Marmot was very carefully examined, but no gaping wounds were found. A new burrow must again be found for this poor, poor animal. It must be noted that the Marmot and the Holy Terror are approximately the same size.
We hope you have enjoyed this commentary from Nova Scotia, of the adventures of the Nova Scotia Marmot.
Anyway, we sent this off and promptly got a response from his aunt that she had sent it to the company who MADE the animals… Later in the week she passed on the reply that she had gotten from them that essentially said that they were pleased that the animal had such good caretakers :-) This is all just too funny to Simon and I. Little did we know how far this simple little email would go! LOL
At my yoga class this week, it was the funniest thing. As I said last entry, the women in the class now have the tiniest little bellies now… So, as I was getting the things we need for practise one of the ladies came up and asked how far along I was, when I told her that I had three and a half weeks left, she said, wow, you’re so big though! LOL I couldn’t help myself from laughing, because it was just too funny. I mean, it was as if she didn’t realize that she, too, would have this gigantic belly in a few more months… :-)
I phoned my grandmother this week as well, because I wanted to thank her for the clothing she had knitted for the Little One. I can’t for the life of me remember if I had written about this already, so I will now, just in case I hadn’t. Apparently, as soon as I had finished telling her that she was going to be a great-grandmother, she picked up her knitting needles and started to knit :-) So, we got this big box in the mail about a week after my shower, literally stuffed with tiny knit things. It was absolutely incredible opening it all up, she had packed it so carefully, with tissue paper in between each layer of knit items – I was so deeply touched. So, I phoned her to thank her instead of sending her one of my regular thank you notes, I knew she would like the phone call more. I talked with her for quite a while, she is of the generation that is not used to being able to talk on the phone for long periods of time, but I just kept insisting that it was alright, I had a good long distance plan :-) What the cutest and sweetest thing about the conversation was that she was so clearly excited for me and Simon – she was asking me all sorts of questions but before I could almost start to answer, she was asking another one – very unlike her, and I know her quite well. She was my favourite grandmother, we would have sleep-overs all the time when I was small, get up early and have oatmeal and do puzzles and neat things, I know that I have a special place in her heart. Another thing that was amazing from the conversation is that she remembers all four of her children’s birth weights… isn’t that incredible? My dad was the heaviest, at 9lbs 15 oz, and that was back in 1948 – a pretty big baby! I was so pleased that she enjoyed our conversation that much – it made my heart feel a little bit warmer that day :-)
Okay, now for something about the kids. Recall that this is what we call our puppy (I don’t know when we’re going to stop calling her that – she is over a year old now…) and our cat, they are truly our kids if you forget the fact that they have four legs and wear fur. Anyway, they have started to act a little odd of late. Brook, the puppy, has started to REALLY follow me around in the house. She won’t necessarily follow my commands, but she will physically follow me around now. Also, she’s become more sensitive to when we scold her, even for little things that wouldn’t have even made a dent in her emotional state as late as last week. So… we are thinking that she is just sort of realizing that something is going on with me, or perhaps my hormone levels are changing (yet again) and she is responding to that as well. Now, Scarlett, is also acting quite oddly in comparison to the behaviour she has exhibited for the past five months or so. Since my belly has started to grow increasingly outward, she has not sat on my lap at all, nor has she tried to, even when my legs are stretched out on the sofa and there is plenty of room. Recall that she is really a tiny little kitty, topping the scales at 7.5lbs, so it’s not like I am lamenting the fact that my 14 or 18lb housecat is no longer being affectionate sort of thing. She has, a number of times in the past week, climbed onto my lap, whatever part is available, to curl up and go to sleep. For as long as I am sitting there, which at some times, is a few hours. I do have to say that it is so enjoyable to do this once again with her that I look for excuses not to move her, I have missed this company so much! So, we’re not sure what is going on *exactly* except that both of our kids have now realized that there is something special going on, and they are being particularly attentive to me – aren’t they sweet? :-)
Symptoms: With this past week, something has changed with my sleeping patterns. My belly is so big now that subconsciously, my body has stopped moving around in bed at night when I am sleeping. This is to the absolute *delight* of Simon, who now doesn’t have to worry about me flailing around limbs and such, and he has regained a portion of the bed and is himself sleeping much better as well. So, this is a good thing. I think! :-) The other thing this week is that my sciatica has REALLY started to act up again. This weekend I was literally in tears trying to do some things like, oh, walk up the stairs, put my feet up on the sofa so that they would go down in swelling a bit, and what is worse, getting up out of bed to go to the bathroom. If I even *remotely* activate my right leg as I am moving in bed, it feels like a knife is being shoved deep inside my right buttock, and then twisted around. Lord, it hurts SO much. Not much that I can do however about it, because I am no longer able to do the physio exercises, they make my pelvis just ache – something that is more dangerous than my sciatica pain. So… I may make an appointment with the physio to see if there is anything I can do about it, without stressing my pelvis too much. The last thing is something that is really amusing to me. I have now started to *have* to go pee twice a night :-) Now, you may not think that that is anything at all, but I have an incredibly large bladder and have had to go only once a night essentially and then immediately upon waking for the day. However, almost with the start of this past week, I have had to go twice nightly. Simon thinks this is hilarious, except for the nights when my sciatica was acting up and my gasps and hisses of pain were almost too much for him to handle. Anyway, it’s like clockwork almost, once around 1:00-2:00, then again around 4:00-5:00, and finally again when I wake up. I find this latest symptom amazing because obviously the Little One is grown to the point where the accumulation of liquid in the bladder overnight has become too much, and I have to go create more room for this tiny person more frequently than halfway through the night… Amazing :-)
**Talk to Me**
Did your doctor go on vacation close to your due date, and did you find you liked the other doctor(s) in the practice enough not to be concerned, or were you nervous about going into labour without the person you had built up a rapport with?
All you cloth diaper-ers out there, come one, come all and give me your tips, comments, concerns… Whatever! What solution did you have for cloth wipes? I’m still looking at a couple…
Did your pets start to act ‘odd’ for lack of a better word when your due date started to approach?
Namaste, Laura and the Little One
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