Baby's room photos

We've almost finished the baby's room.

All that's left is doing a little sewing to create curtains, cushions, and a skirt around the change table, but until the sewing machine is working, this is what Jamie's room is going to look like!

Dresser and lamp for night time

Change table, rocking chair from my grandma, and B's awesome home made shelves

Crib w/ protective "crib tent" to keep kittykats out!

Done

It's only 18 more days until our c-section date (29 days from my estimated due date), and I can officially say... I'm Done!  

And no, that doesn't mean everything is off my to-do list, or that I'm truely mentally prepared for bambino's arrival (as if anyone ever is), but I am done with being pregnant and achy... I'm done with having to consciously work to turn over when in bed at night... I'm done with losing any shape to my feet... and I'm done with not being able to do normal stuff or fit into normal places (for example, I was in our storage area and tried to go through a space sideways... lol... that really didn't work well, and I sent stuff tumbling off shelves everywhere).   

Mostly I'm done with this constant emotional roller coaster that both myself and B seem to be on (more me due to baby I would think).  Over the last 5 days I've basically been a mess.  Tears spring to my eyes with surprising stealth moves and then set in and don't leave for what feels like an eternity. 

Please tell me that we'll be able to just relax and be carefree again... have fun... find the humor in every day mishaps... because right now that's such a stretch.  

We are as ready as we need to be for baby's arrival.  Over the last couple of days B & I (plus my mom), have been very productive in getting the nursery to a good enough state.  And I've got my hospital bag packed (and repacked a few times... plus a few more coming up I'm sure!).  Our diaper delivery service comes on friday to drop off our pre-baby diapers and the rest of the gear... and then we will truely be ready to rock and roll.  The rest of the stuff can be accomplished before or after her arrival without any troubles. 

Brian putting up the baby safe blinds

B's been a god-send too.  He's put up shelves when gravity seemed against him, and fought a valiant battle with the old blinds making sure the baby's room was now safe.  And our fur-babies (Todd and Hali) are winning out too by getting a wider window sill created for them in our bedroom!! 

Now if the weather would provide some nice breezes to help keep it cool until bambino decides she's well baked and my emotions/hormones would settle a little and we would be golden!

23 days to go

Well, this has been a very baby focused day.

Doc appointment went well.  Though our doc freaked me out by saying that she anticipates that wee Jamie is going to weight over 8 lbs by my c-section date... could you imagine if I was actually going all the way to my actual due date?!!?  YIKES!

Otherwise, all it going well with momma and bambino.  Dr. Ferg even joked that I am too happy, chatty, and not complaining enough for where I'm at in my pregnancy (compared to the others that are coming into her office these days).  ha ha ha... and here I am thinking I'm suffering!

My poor feet are swollen, though apparently not badly.  But I find their puffiness a little disconcerting, especially that you can leave your finger prints in them.  Ewww!!

Then tonight we went to the hospital for a tour of the maternity ward.  It was really good to see the delivery and operating rooms, plus the room rooms.  I'm hoping for either a private room or single room, but there's no guarantees. But here's my question....

WHAT'S WITH THE BABY BOOM GOING ON RIGHT NOW???????

Seems like everyone is preggers!  Was the poor economy in the fall driving all of us to create our own in door entertainment?

Can I Begin A Count Down Yet?

So, here we are... less that a month to go until baby day arrives, and I have to admit, I'm starting to get more than anxious to be done with being pregs and craving to have munchkin out and about!  

Yes, it's for totally self serving reasons... mommy is getting very uncomfortable now!

As strange as it may sound, I have conversations with her at night.  She doesn't say much ;) but I like to tell her that she's doing great and if she's feeling too cramped in there, she's welcome to join us all out here.  Though whenever I mention that, she seems to hunker down as if to say "no thank you, I've got a good thing going on right now."

However, on the flip side, I'm a little freaked out about the reality of it all.  LOL.  Another part of my mind is constantly asking...
- Are we really ready?  
- Will we be good parents?
- What if.... (fill in the blank with anything possible)

And are we ready?  Well, I think mentally we're as ready as we're going to be, but I still feel like there's a tonne of stuff to get done around the house.  For example... the crib still needs to be set up. 

I'm proud to say I have packed a bag for the hospital already though, just in case.  It was the strangest procedure to go through so far.  I mean, in my adult life, I've never spent a night in the hospital, let alone a few nights.  And I've never had a baby before... so the 'planner extraordinaire' is in completely foreign territory now.  What on earth do you bring with you?  

I've gone over tonnes of suggested lists, got advise from friends, and then, just ended up winging it for the most part. I think I've got the essentials covered, but really... I guess I'll find out when we're there.  Luckily either Brian or mom could grab something for me if needed, seeing as the hospital is only about 10 mins away.

So the big question(s) comes down to... what have I missed preparing? and when is she really going to arrive?

I suppose I have to learn patience and trust that time will reveal the answers to both.  

mat leave & amazing people

Well, here I am, officially on day 3 of my mat leave.

I've got to admit that the whole idea that I now wont be back in the office for a year is very, very surreal! On my first day of my leave, I went into crazy 'okay, now I've got to tackle my list' mode, and by noon had already managed to go through all the amazing bags of hand-me-downs from Megan (thanks Megs!), done 3 loads of laundry, cleaned up some of the clutter, etc etc etc... then I crashed.  So my second day was a write off, with me spending most of the day in pjs, napping and just chilling out.  Now on day 3, I'm already realizing that I need to figure out some sort of balance for my activity levels for the next month and a bit before bambino arrives. 

Oh... but there is still so much to do!!!  Luckily I have... 40 more days to get it all done =)

One thing I've been absolutely floored by is the generosity of people - both of those I know, and from complete strangers.  For example, Megan (Deb's daughter and my step cousin) has handed us down just a tonne of baby gear; from clothes to a jolly jumper and swing, its AMAZING!  Especially in these tight times, all those hand-me-downs make such a huge difference on our bottom line. Not to mention reduces all the material stuff that is going out in the world.  YAY for recycling!  And then, one of the nurses at Royal Jubalee (who is the one that does my iron infusion IV each week) brought me a wipes warmer the other day and didn't want any compensation for it. Totally unexpected =)

Not to mention all the wonderful gifts that we've received from our friends and family.  I've got to say I am genuinely overwhelmed by it all.

So luckily, other than a few odds and ends, we only have a few bigger items to get.