A Post Before Going Postpartum

Trying to get one last post in here before the big day arrives. That's been the story of my life these past couple of weeks since officially going on maternity leave. It's an endless list of getting in as many appointments as possible, organizing the house, unpacking some more boxes from the move in November, painting the nursery and Gavin's room...did I say yet how exhausted I am? But I have to say that I have this thing about painting...I absolutely love it! Maybe it's from watching my Dad paint as a kid and seeing how much pride and precision he took in it? The nursery is a lovely shade of springy green. 'Japanese Fern' to be precise. And Gavin's room is called 'Cloudless'. A whimsical sky blue fit perfectly for a boy! I've got some large 'Curious George' decals from Pottery Barn to place along his walls. He's a big fan of George. I'm hoping that in another 13 years time those walls will be covered up by Nirvana posters and concert tickets. Just like Mom and Dad's were.

Here's me today almost done painting Gavin's room...

I've tackled most of the items on my list and plan to be ready to rock by weekends end. That is when I give baby permission to make their big debut. Did you hear that little one? I'll also be 37 weeks by that time which will put me at term and also put my mind at greater ease.

All in all it has been a slightly bumpier ride during this pregnancy compared to when I was pregnant with Gavin. The first trimester was pretty much 3 full months of nausea and vomiting. Me and Mr. Toilet Bowl became good friends. The second trimester gave me a little jolt of energy right in time for our big move down to Toronto. But that energy slowly dwindled away after a few months of the 5:30am wake up call and winter commuting to work from Toronto to Newmarket and back again everyday. I'm sorry if offend any hardcore "stay-at-home moms" out there, but I think a lot of you truly take the gift you have for granted. Instead of standing on your soap box and pleading your case to the masses you should relax a little and realize that those of us on the other side of the fence would love to be home with our kids being our own bosses. Sorry...did I speak up for myself? I don't know what came over me. I'll shut up now.

Anyways, I had a terrific 2 week break over the Christmas holidays which gave me the refresher I needed to take on the third trimester. This time I've been having a lot more back issues than I ever remember having with Gavin. But maybe that's because I'm running around after an 18-month-old? The commute still sucked. Especially getting caught in storms on the way home which delayed me seeing my little guy for an extra 30 minutes. Another thing some stay-at-home mom's take for granted...time. I've also noticed a lot of soreness in my ligaments this time around. These conditions were only aggravated by sitting at a desk for 8hrs. And then to top things off around 33 - 34 weeks we found out that the baby was breech. This sent me in panic mode and it was all I could think of. The last thing I need is to have a c-section with a toddler to care for alongside a newborn and a set of stairs to contend with...and a dog and cat who like to get in the way from time to time. I got online and looked up different techniques and exercises, elicited advice from Facebook pals, and even had a consult with a chiropractor. But thankfully we found out last week at my ultrasound that the baby had turned to a heads down position. It happened the night before the ultrasound. Me and Brandon were relaxing on the couch watching t.v. after putting Gavin up for the night when all of the sudden I felt the craziest turn! I saw what appeared to be the little person's elbow do a circle right across my abdomen. It was almost a little too much for comfort but at least they got the job done. Let's just cross our fingers that he/she stays that way!

Thankfully, I've been followed by a terrific team of Physicians in the Special Pregnancy Program at Mount Sinai. My case is considered high risk again because of my heart arrhythmia and the potential for the syndrome to be passed along to the baby (as was the case for Gavin). I find them to be so much more laid back than the high risk protocol at Southlake (Newmarket). But I guess being a downtown hospital specializing in high risk obstetrical cases this is their area of expertise and they know when and when not to panic. They are still firm on aspects of the labour and delivery that they would like me to stick to (i.e. early epidural due to the fact that pain can induce heart arrhythmia and could consequently bring on cardiac arrest). But they did say that baring everything goes smoothly I won't have to be induced this time. This would be awesome because I never got to experience the natural feeling of going into labour with Gavin. When you are induced there is no gradual progression to your labour and contractions. Once the pitocin starts those contractions start coming fast and furious! But either way I will do whatever it takes as long as it means bringing a healthy baby into this world. I've seen the incredible things that the medical world can do and had first hand experience so I am definitely not here to argue with them.

So that's been the story thus far. I think the next time I'll probably be on here will be for a postpartum post?? And of course the big question is still...is it a boy or a girl?

We'll see????