1 Month Old
It's been 1 month since Maya was born!
She celebrated her milestone this morning by pooping all over the wall when Simon changed her diaper. Then she grinned at me the whole time he cleaned it up (and she smiled again later when we told Lauren & Andrew about the incident)! What a rascal!
We've learned a lot about our new baby in the last month. Maya is a great eater, excellent nighttime sleeper, and a very snuggly little girl. She adores having baths with me and gets instantly calm in the water. I can't wait until she can start swimming... I have a feeling it'll be natural for her!
Our month has also been a busy one! We like taking Maya out with us, having friends and family visit, and giving her lots of experiences early on. In the past month, she's been visited by my mom & brother, my aunt, uncle & cousin, Simon's grandparents, and a number of our friends. We've also gone to the Outdoor Vanisle meetup, two potluck dinners, a restaurant, Coombs market, the grocery store, and friend's houses. Plus we all went to see the new Harry Potter movie!
I am so glad to have Simon home with me while we adjust to being parents. It is a little tricky to juggle it financially, but worth the time together as a family! It is amazing for me to watch Simon with Maya and it's clear that she already adores him!
Maya is Here!
She's here!! And she's amazing!
Born October 28, 2010 at 9:12pm. Weighing a whopping 9 lbs, 10 oz! 20 inches long, with a 36 cm head circumference.
She is sweet, cuddly, patient and alert. We are enjoying every minute with our wonderful little girl!
October is Here!
October has arrived! And Maya is still cooking away. But there is only 15 days left on the countdown!
There isn't much to update at this point as we just wait for her arrival! Our bags are packed, the carseat is ready, we have piles of cloth diapers, and lots of excited family members waiting to see her!
I have been using the HypnoBabies MP3s which are incredibly useful and relaxing. I'm feeling really great about the birth and looking forward to an unforgettable experience! We have a great midwife and doula, and even an awesome student midwife who will be attending to us... So it is reassuring to feel very well taken care of.
Simon is counting down the days until he will be off from work! He has already given notice of his parental leave for October 15, and with the Thanksgiving holiday that means he only has 9 more days. Pretty exciting stuff! I am thrilled that he will be home for the first 8 months of Maya's life. Very few dads get to have that!
If you've been following along with my Bump Pictures, you will see that I am nearly ready to burst! My belly is measuring a little bit big for where it 'should' be at this point, but nothing really alarming. I'm just hoping she isn't born at 12 lbs and won't get to wear the newborn clothes and diapers we have!
Updates will be sent out once the little one decides to make her appearance! Until then, no news likely means I'm still sitting here waiting.
40 Days?!
The countdown today says that there are 40 days left until Maya's due date! I've found out that babies are considered full term at 37 weeks... which is in less than 4 weeks. So not much more waiting to go until she is here!
Our baby shower was awesome and we are completely stocked with SO much baby stuff! The little clothes are adorable and I can't wait to dress her up in them. There are only a few more things that I want to get done before she arrives!
We have been attending prenatal classes and not really enjoying them. The instructor talks really weird and annoys Simon, plus she says a lot of incorrect crap and annoys me. We skipped last week's class on 'medical interventions' (which we also plan on skipping!) and went to a movie instead. A much better use of an evening! Our last class is tomorrow and titled 'Your Newborn'. At this point we're both feeling confident about the rest of the pregnancy, birth and newborn stage!
I've been knitting like crazy, but not a whole lot of stuff for Maya. Mostly I knit and then trade for other baby things I can't make myself (like fancy cloth diaper pail liners, fitted cloth diapers, t-shirts, etc). It didn't take long for me to become disenchanted with knitting for other people. No one understands how long it takes and how much effort goes into everything! Plus I seriously hate customer service and have no patience lately for dealing with anyone. So after these last few orders are done, it's back to knitting for my friends and family only!
Most days I feel pretty sore and very giant. I can't wait to sleep on my belly again!
Almost Here!
We've received lots of good pregnancy-related news lately!
I had a bit of a scare with failing the screening for gestational diabetes, but after spending a bunch of time at the lab (and numerous needle pokes), they've given me the all-clear! Phew! What a relief. Of course I am still watching what I eat, but having GD would have been a real pain in the butt.
Also an update on the placenta positioning... it's moved up! So that means I won't need any special interventions at the birth (like a c-section). It was the ultrasound tech that told me things looked good, so I will wait for the final news from the radiologist to be extra certain.
Got to see Maya on the ultrasound last week and she is looking so big! The little monkey is already over 3 lbs. It sounds big to me... maybe she will come early? I will have to ask the midwife. Maya also put on quite the show for us, waving her little arms around and putting most of her hand in her mouth. She was yawning and squirming and definitely made for an interesting ultrasound! The tech was super nice, and also pregnant... we have the same midwife!
I've been tired and getting increasingly uncomfortable as my girth expands so rapidly. I also started having BH contractions a week or two ago, and they are definitely painful. Things are better if I take it easy, drink lots of water, and eat frequently, so I've been trying to do that. I can't wait until I can sleep on my stomach again... that will be blissful!
Only 11 more weeks until the due date! I wonder when she'll actually arrive. I keep thinking of October 22... but the full moon is on the 23rd, so that's likely as well. Our nursery is all ready, we just need a baby to put in there!
First Pictures - 3D Ultrasound!
We had the 3d ultrasound today at Som Visao in Vancouver and it was fantastic! What a great experience!
We're hoping to get the video online soon, but for now... First pictures of our DAUGHTER, Maya Mackenzie!!
Less Than 100 Days?!
I just noticed today that the little counter on the right of our page now says 99 days until the due date! ACK! How did that happen?! I'll be 26 weeks tomorrow, so just a little further until the start of trimester #3!
We are off next week for the 3D ultrasound.... soooo excited!
Baby is moving more and more each day. Yesterday we could feel the little one's butt as a huge bump on my belly from all the moving around in there. He/she has also shown a particular preference for the song 500 Miles by the Proclaimers (whoops... not the Pretenders!), kicking and wiggling like crazy for the duration of the song. We'll have to see if there is any preference for that song after birth!
Our baby shower is at my mom's house on August 15... let me know if you didn't get an invitation but would like to attend!
Updates!
There are a few updates to share!
1. Baby's Sex - We don't know! Vancouver Island has brand new stupid rules that say the radiologist (who the clinic sends the ultrasound pictures to) does not have to tell parents their baby's sex, even if they request it. So our report says the baby's sex is "undetermined".
2. Another ultrasound - Apparently the placenta is lower than normal and the midwife wants me to go back in August for another ultrasound. If the placenta has moved (90% chance) I can deliver normally, but if it stays low, or gets lower I will have to have a c-section. A low placenta also means I need to be super super careful not to rupture it (eek!). Luckily the odds of that happening are low, but it's nice that they can keep an eye on it.
3. Yet another ultrasound - Simon and I have also decided to give the 3d ultrasound a try! We go on July 17 and we will know the baby's sex after that! YAY! It'll be so exciting to see the little one up close and in great detail. If you don't know about 3d ultrasounds you can read about them here. The clinic we are going to is called Som Visao in Vancouver.
4. Baby shower - It's that time already!! My mom has offered to host the baby shower at her home in Delta on August 15. I sent out a mass invite on Facebook, but if you weren't invited and you would like to be there, just let me or Simon know. We'd love to see you there!
5. Bump pictures - I take a picture of my expanding belly and post them here every Friday! You can see all the past weeks by clicking on 'Bump Pictures' in the right sidebar.
It's (Probably) A....
GIRL!!
We have to wait for the midwife to confirm since the ultrasound clinic cannot tell us directly (oh, policies...) but we did get a very good peek a the ultrasound and it definitely looked like a girl!
Both of us were expecting a boy, so this is a surprise! I'm really excited that we can do Girl Guides and Simon can't wait to take her climbing and mountain biking. And I'm already planning tons of cute knitted things!!
The ultrasounds itself went really well. The tech was super nice and showed me everything as she measured it. Baby weighs about 11 oz right now! I got to see her heart, brain, kidneys, bladder, leg and arm bones. She was also yawning a LOT and kept turning away from the camera!
I've also started to feel REAL kicks. Usually she gets going in the evening when I lie in bed and gives me a number of really good boots to the belly. I can feel them with my hand now! It seems that Simon has a calming influence because as soon as he puts his hands down, the kicks stop. I know he'll get to feel a bunch of movement soon because she really gets going in there. It's the weirdest feeling ever but it makes me super happy and excited whenever I feel her flipping and kicking!
We will verify that it IS a girl as soon as we hear from the midwife! Our next appointment is on June 14.
Midwife Appointment & Update
We've just returned from this month's appointment with the midwife and everything is looking great!
It was a bit of different appointment since we met at the hospital where the midwife is currently waiting for a baby to make its way into the world. She has lots of time between attending to the labouring mom, so it was easy to squeeze in a quick check-up!
Baby's heartbeat sounds great (she finds it so fast with her fancy doppler!), and my bloodpressure and everything is perfect. She did say that I'm measuring a bit big for 17 weeks (I already figured as much according to the other mom's I've been talking to online), and even double-checked that there was only one baby on our first ultrasound scan! The scan DID have one baby (phew!) and also said that I was due at the same time my calculations predicted, so I think I'm just growing this baby extra big. The midwife isn't concerned and I like looking pregnant, so it works out!
We also go the bloodtest results back and the baby's chance of downs syndrome, spina bifida, etc. is extremely low and therefore unlikely that he/she is affected. Another relief!
The ultrasound to measure the baby and (hopefully!) find out if it's a boy or a girl is on May 31. We can't WAIT!!
