Week 27

A toast to five wonderful years!

A selection of fine cheeses Mom got for us at Bulk Cheese Warehouse and the finest non-alcoholic "champagne".

Jeff and I celebrated our fifth anniversary on Friday, May 24.  We celebrated by heading to Moose Jaw where we had a nice afternoon tooting around town.  We went for an early evening swim at the spa and ended up doing some water yoga in a half hour class they were offering.  We then had a really nice supper at Harwood's. 
We woke up the next morning and treated ourselves to room service and breakfast in bed followed by an hour-long couple's massage.  It was a great little break together before baby comes.  We left Moose Jaw feeling all loved up and happy.  It has been a great five years and we have so many adventures still to come!

Breakfast in bed - what a treat!

When we got back to town we headed straight to the Cathedral Village Arts Festival where we bought some original art for the baby's room.  We rushed back to the house in time to get ready for a fancy night out with friends at the RCMP Charity Ball.  We picked up Cori and met up with Jocelyn, Michael, Jim and Maria there.



At the RCMP Charity Ball

We had a great time visiting and even got a few dances in.  Jeff and I even managed a smooth(er) polka!  I was glad to have an opportunity to wear a fairly expensive maternity cocktail dress I had bought for another event we ended up not being able to go to.  I even tried heels and kept them on for probably half the night.

Don't we look spiffy?

Today I woke up and tidied up the house knowing we would have lots of people over.  I then headed over to Whitmore Park United Church where I had been asked to come and speak about Carmichael.  I was warmly welcomed by the congregation and had a great time speaking with them before and after the service.  When I got home our backyard was filled with busy people helping us put in a new fence!  Thanks so much to Mike, Schweitzer, Heather, Walker and my wonderful in-laws!  It is going to look FABULOUS once it's finished!  Debbie made up an awesome lunch of homemade burgers, pasta salad, fries, veggies and dip and ice cream bars.  Then she cleaned it all up!  We are so lucky, and that was so nice!  And even though Ward has been busy with three inventories from hell he spent his whole day helping Jeff.

I snuck off toward the end of the afternoon to attend a baby shower for our friends Tara and Anthony who just had a little boy named Adrian.  He is so beautiful!  I really enjoyed snuggling him and kept thinking, I want one.  And I am getting one of my own soon!

Tara and our friend Jessie (who is expecting in December) and I had a great talk about cravings and I realized I am not alone - London Fogs, dairy, fruit, bagels - these are all common!  Glad to know I am normal...

Here is my belly this week (in front of our awesome new fence!):

27 weeks (well technically 28 but only just)

Week 26

I am officially into my third trimester!  The second trimester flew by!  I have less than two months left at work and the baby is due in less than three months!  Holy cow!  Life is feeling very hectic these days but having a long weekend out at the lake makes things a lot better.  Especially if that time is spent with some of the people we love most...our parents!  We left town Friday afternoon and spent a great few days with both sets of parents out at Diefenbaker. 

Our parents at Diefenbaker Lake: Deb, Ward, Mark, and Gail




Alaina and Jeff at Diefenbaker Lake

 

I also indulged and bought a little something that I just could not not buy for our future child.  They will be a CBC-phile like me out of the womb I am sure!



CBC onesie and tee-shirt - any kid of mine will wear these with pride on Canada Day like their Grandma Gail!

Things are progressing on the nursery.  Plaster is all repaired and sanded and so painting will take place pretty soon, but maybe not this week.  We are getting ready to put a new fence in so that will be the primary job for the week.

 

Here is my belly for this week and an extra fancy angle as a bonus.  Jeff is such a creative photographer!





Week 26



Week 26 viewed creatively



Week 25

So any thoughts I had about coasting my way through the last two months of work vanished when I became acting Executive Director at work Monday morning.  It will be stressful but I am confident I can handle it.  Also, I have the most amazing, dedicated staff in the world who just pitch in and get things done - so I am lucky that way.  Big changes though!

As for baby news, we had a very interesting session at our perinatal classes Tuesday, which involved watching videos featuring several real deliveries.  We also had an extensive discussion on episiotomies vs.  tearing.  Whewf!  Very glad we are learning about all these things before we are in the throes of labour and having to make decisions.

Had a doctor appointment the next day and everything continues to be going swimmingly!  I have now put on 15 lbs. total (a bit less than average weight gain for this far along).  Baby's heartbeat was 155 bpm.  Dr. Lett says I am measuring perfectly for how far along I am.  We also had a good talk about delayed cord clamping and were pleased to hear that is the practice of Dr. Lett and her colleagues.

Friday, the baby was kicking, no, booting me all day long for some reason.  I told Jeff about it and then he put his hand on my belly and baby booted his hand a good three or four times, much to his amazement and delight.  I love watching his face when he feels the baby kicking.  It's pure bliss to share that moment between all three members of our little family.  Friday started out a bit rough and with a few tears.  It was my due date from our first pregnancy.  But this little one inside reminded me all day that they were there, and he or she is healthy and full of life.  That made the day a lot easier.

Saturday I went into the lab and did my glucose tolerance test for gestational diabetes.  They give you this bottle of orange drink that you have to consume in five minutes and then you are supposed to wait around for an hour, then they take your blood.  Here is the drink:

Glucose tolerance test orange drink

I've heard horror stories about how gross this stuff is.  The first few sips were fine.  I thought everyone was over-reacting.  As I kept drinking it got worse and worse though and caused me instant heartburn.  Got through it and they even let me walk over to the store next door while I waited to have blood drawn. 

Had a great early Mother's Day celebration with Debbie and the rest of the Harrison crew out at the Cottage restaurant last night.  I even got a present as a mom-to-be: a beautiful keepsake box with charms Debbie had gotten when Jeff was born - one with his name and birthdate.  What a treasure! 

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms out there!  I can only aspire to do as wonderful a job as you all did and continue to do.  And especially to my own Mim, Gail...I love you SO much!  You are the most amazing mom anyone could wish for.  I am so blessed that you are mine.

Here's my belly this week:

Week 25

 

Week 24

Well we appear to have a very active little squirt in my belly!  Baby has been moving around and kicking with purpose.  Jeff felt his first good kick this week - it was so cute to watch his face register a look of surprise and awe knowing that was our baby he could feel.  It was a pretty special moment. Last night mom and dad came over and they were able to feel some kicking too!  Pretty exciting.

In other news - pregnancy hormones!!!  Last night I sang in my choir concert and during one particular song called "Rock Me To Sleep" I started crying and couldn't stop until the next song was almost over.  In my defense, the song was about mothers and babies...

Friends of ours welcomed a handsome baby boy into the world on Monday and he is so precious!  I ran into the new dad in the hospital cafeteria this week just as they were getting ready to be discharged.  He took the time to tell me all about their labour experience and some things to expect.  I really appreciated hearing about how things went for them and it actually reassured me quite a bit.  Congrats to you guys!

No other real news to report.  We have a doctor appointment this week on Wednesday and so should have a report next week.

Here is the belly picture for this week:

Week 24