Pregnancy Stuff to Remember - 35 weeks

Size of baby: I'm not answering this anymore... it's stupid.

Total Weight Gain: About 17 now.  Feeling like humungo-preggo girl.

Maternity Clothes: Yup

Gender: Still a boy.

Movement: All the time.  The boy never stops.  Never.  Never ever.

Symptoms: Awful round ligament pain... There are times when I can't take more than 5 steps without being frozen in pain.  I've also been having some pretty intense contractions.

Sleep: All I can say is thank goodness for Tylenol of the PM variety.

What I miss: Definitely sleeping on my back. Being able to roll over during the night without having to wake up.  The wonderful bliss of the second trimester.

Cravings: Honeycrisp apples and mini babybel cheese.

Best Moments these last 4 weeks: Can you tell by reading that I'm not in such a happy place right now?  I've just hit that incredibly uncomfortable stage and I'm very aware I have 5 weeks left.  I know I'll miss being pregnant after he's born, so I know I just need to remember the good stuff.

What I am looking forward to: January 4th... the scheduled delivery day!

My Little Halloweenies

Oh yeah... I am THAT far behind.  These days my time is spent on getting up from a seated/lying down position, and trying to work up the energy to do it. Hopefully I'll find the time to do a 35 week update before this baby is a year old.  Le sigh.

I realize Halloween was about a million years ago, but since I use this blog to help me remember (pregnancy/being a mom is rapidly depleting my brain cells), I'm going to go ahead and rehash it anyway.

These were the original Halloween costumes... you know, before we knew we were going to be trick-or-treating on the surface of the sun (aka Dallas this fall).

Then these outfits were picked for their school Halloween parties.  And in regards to Mattias's costume, when I say "picked", I mean I ran to Target and bought the only outfit left in his size that was cool enough to wear in 80+ degree heat.

For actual trick-or-treating, Elise wanted to match Mattias, so she suited up in her Supergirl costume from last year.  While Mattias was not so into wearing his costume to school, he did warm up to it for the trick-or-treating part.  His favourite thing was to run down the sidewalk, one fist in the air while yelling, "HOOPERMAN!" (he can't pronounce the letter "s").

 At the end of the night, the kids got a pretty good haul.  I surreptitiously stole problematic candies out of their buckets (seriously, who gives a two year old Airheads?), as well as a reward or two for walking my 31-week pregnant butt through the neighbourhood. 

My favourite part of the night?  Watching Mattias as the realization set in that people were giving him CANDY and all he had to do was walk up to their door and say, "Twickertweat!", "Tankoo!" and "Happy Ween!"

Happy Ween indeed.

Today

This is my daughter, Elise.  She is 5 years old. She loves to play soccer.  Paint and draw.  Read.  She loves ballet and tap.  Making her little brother laugh. The colour pink.  Roller-coasters and waterslides.  She's a girly-girl with a tough side... the absolute best of both worlds. 

She makes me laugh.  Loves everyone she's ever met. Blows me away with how smart she is.  She has the innate ability to drive me bananas, but at the same time; I am so very proud the be her Mom.  And today, she makes me thankful.

Without today, Elise would not be alive.  If it wasn't for today, I would have had to say goodbye to my first-born over 4 years ago.  If today had never happened, this would be one of the last pictures I have of my daughter...

During a month that is supposed to be filled with thanks, I am most thankful for today, November 14.

Because on this day, in 1891, a baby boy was born in a small farm house in Ontario, Canada.   He would grow up and make an astonishing discovery that would save my daughter's life 117 years later.  Not just the life of my daughter, but countless others. 

Because in addition to everything I wrote about her above, Elise also has type 1 diabetes.  Her body NEEDS insulin to survive, but no longer produces it. 

It was nothing she did. Or didn't do.

Nothing she ate. Or didn't eat.

There is no cure. No special diet. No secret spice. There isn't a bark that grows on a tree that can be brewed into a tea.


But there is insulin.

Today, I don't have to watch my daughter literally starve to death because of a faulty pancreas.  And that is why I am thankful for today, the birthday of Dr. Fredrick Banting; inventor of insulin. 

He saved my daughter's life.

Pregnancy Stuff to Remember - Week 31

Size of baby: I'm not answering this anymore... it's stupid.Total Weight Gain: I was up by about 14 pounds, but lost 5 during a round of food poisoning.  Yuck.

Maternity Clothes: Pretty much yes all around now... I managed to find some cute maternity stuff on clearance while on a girls trip out to SF a few weeks ago.  Yay!


Gender: Still a boy.

Movement: 24/7, baby!  He loves to do a jig every night around the midnight hour.  Or is it a reel?  I could never tell the difference between the two...

Symptoms: Back pain and feeling like I'm going to fall on my face from being front-heavy.

Sleep: Hit or miss depending on if the baby using my uterus as a dance club and how much my back hurts.  I get by with a little help from Tylenol PM

What I miss: Definitely sleeping on my back. Being able to roll over during the night without having to wake up.

Cravings: When I was in SF I got to satisfy my strawberry-rhubarb pie craving.  Three times!

Best Moments these last 5 weeks: My D-Mamas trip to SF (first time away from the kids... ever!). While I was there, I was in a maternity shop and as I turned around this lady gasped and said, "you are just the cutest pregnant woman ever!"  It does wonders for the ego hearing stuff like that...

What I am looking forward to: Getting ready for the baby to come. Colder weather. Meeting our newest little man!

Nine more weeks!