Baby J is ONE!

One week ago today my little lady baby turned one. She is one year old. How the fork did that happen?!? My sister also turned 29 (again) so October 18^th is a doubly special day. Is doubly even a word? It is today.

Sidenote: there is a dilemma to your kid and sister having the same birthday… Facebook. I updated my status with the prerequisite cheesy mama love post and made a mental note to write a second post later that day with all the cheesy love for my sister but then I got busy with work, rushed to get home to decorate the cake, made dinner, smothered baby J with love, did bedtime, cleaned up, passed out early… so basically life happened and I forgot. Not an excuse and I feel bad. I promise to make it up to her next year. On her third 29^th birthday.

For the big ONE birthday we obviously had to celebrate so we planned a party on the weekend with family and friends, and I also insisted on doing a smash cake. My friend and amazing photographer Kelly did me a favour and suggested we do it in the morning and not during the party. So smart. She also did me another huge favour and made the trip to our house TWICE (30+ minutes each way) to take the photos and then to attend the party.

It was an amazing party. I didn’t do all the decorating I wanted or make all the nibblies I had planned but it didn’t matter. Our house was filled with family and friends and I think everyone had a pretty great time, especially baby J who was loved on by everyone. I can’t wait to tell her about it one day.

The smash cake was the most stressful part for me. I ordered the onesie and the tutu, bought a little crown headband in Palm Springs back in February that of course I lost, had grand plans to make and decorate the cake thanks to Pinterest and sent my brother-in-law to wait for the party store to open because I forgot about balloons the night before. I baked the cake and chickened out on the decorating but thankfully my sister stepped up and it turned out beautifully. And then Kelly arrived to take pictures and when I saw them I literally caught my breath. I am in love with them.

As you can tell baby J hated having the cake all over her and wouldn’t even taste it. Not an icing fan.

That last one, that is my favourite picture of her ever and I want it on all of the things. And a massively huge more-than-words-can-actually-say THANK YOU to Kelly for one of the best gifts we could have ever dreamed of during baby J's first year of life. 

Happy Birthday little Lady, we love you to the moon and back.

Baby J: 4 Months

Here I am again on the eve of my daughter's 5th month birthday and I haven't yet published her 4th month update. I do manage to feed and clothe her, I promise! I really don't know how life can fly by like this but I am already counting down the days when I have to leave her and go back to work... 7 more months and then my baby girl will be spending more of her days with someone else. 
I could really do with a lottery win right about now. Or I need to invent the next iPod. 

SLEEP: Not much new happening here but it's a routine (I use that term loosely) I can live with because Turtle sleeps through the night. Thank you baby, momma is soooo grateful!

SKILLS AND DEVELOPMENT: We continue to see Turtle learning new things all the time and her little face concentrates so hard, it's adorable. She is working on grasping objects and if she drops something, oh boy look out - baby gets so mad! But I think the best sound I have heard so far is her laugh - a deep belly laugh ending in a squeal - and so far we have only heard it when she is in mid-air. So my baby is a daredevil... pretty sure she gets that from her adrenaline junkie uncle and I hope it's a sign of things to come because I want my daughter to be fearless. I'm a wimp and I don't want that for her.

FAVOURITES: Can I just say that the jolly jumper is God's gift to moms?? I can get a solid 20-25 minutes of happy baby which is enough time to empty the dishwasher, load the dishwasher, change laundry loads AND make my hubby's lunches for the next two days. I LOVE IT!!! 

NOT SO FAVOURITES: 

• carseat = screaming
• tummy time = screaming
• putting lotion on after bathtime = screaming

At least I know when to know earplugs?

MY THOUGHTS: I literally love her more every single day. I am constantly in a mental battle where I want her to stop growing and stay small enough for me cuddle whenever I want, but then she reaches out to try and hold her bottle herself and I can't wait to see what she will learn next. 

Baby J: 3 Months

Turtle is going to be 4 months old tomorrow. This means, 1) I am the worst mom in the world because I can't even manage to post a couple paragraphs for a month, and 2) someone figured out how to speed up time. The logical part of me says to skip 3 months and just start fresh with 4 but the mom inside me feels way too guilty and I don't want my daughter to need therapy because I couldn't be bothered to talk about her spit bubbles (which she blows constantly btw). So here goes, let's give this memory a workout.

SLEEP: I really can't complain here because our little Turtle is sometimes sleeping through the night. The nights that she wakes up she has a bottle and goes right back down. We are working on her bedtime routine and start anywhere between 7 and 8pm, then it's bottle and bedtime. Just after she turned 3 (months) she really started to fight the swaddle so I got brave and tried a sleepsack. Some babies have a tough time transitioning but I'm not sure Turtle even realized the difference. So we're full on in a sleep sack now. I am also really digging our morning routine: daddy is a morning person so he is usually awake and gets baby, changes her diaper, feeds her and then plays with her until he has to get up and go. This means a bit more sleep for mommy and that means we all win.

Naps are a completely different story. Turtle still won't really nap and I think I need to give up the dream that she ever will. 

SKILLS AND DEVELOPMENT: My little baby is becoming a person! We have really started to see Turtle come into her personality and watching her discover everything is so amazing. I never thought I would be so excited to see someone grasp a toy in their hand. And she has found her voice! My mom got a motorized mobile for her crib and Turtle absolutely loves it, she lays underneath and 'talks' to the bugs as they 'fly' by. 

FAVORITES: Turtle completely flipped and now enjoys the mamaroo, plus I found the swing our friends have and she likes it too. She doesn't last a long time but she will actually chill for a good 15-20 minutes and we switch her between the two throughout the day. I do have to say though that her favourite is to be held facing out while you're standing. It's exhausting. She also loves the songs from our Mother Goose music class, specifically one called 'Roly Poly'. I sing it over and over with her in my lap and do the hand gestures and she is in heaven.

Daddy might be the biggest favorite. As soon as Turtle sees his face she breaks into a huge grin and gets so excited. They play and have conversations with each other and it's the most wonderful thing to see. She already has him wrapped tightly around finger.

NOT SO FAVORITES: Her car seat (an infant seat), entertaining herself (this just doesn't happen) and naps. 

MY THOUGHTS: I love being Turtle's mom. Yes I get tired and frustrated when she cries for the eighteenth time that day (we still have digestive issues but they are getting better) and look forward to her bedtime but every night I miss her. I sneak into her room and watch her sleep, tell her again how much I love her and marvel at how quickly she has grown in such a short time. She has changed so much recently and I am excited to see what 4 months brings us.

Bumpdate: 36 Weeks

Wow 36 weeks! So exciting! We are approximately 3 weeks away from meeting Baby P! I can’t believe we’re so close!

And I’m not exactly ready (insert bug-eyed emoji here)… I need to get the nursery finished (it looks like a tornado hit) and I need to pack my hospital bag. Oh and install the car seat. Get a video monitor and stroller. Get a haircut.

Anything else I need to do??

 

How far along: 36 weeks

Size of Baby: a large cantaloupe / 6lbs

Gender: Baby P is all girl (at least that’s what the last 3 ultrasounds have told us, fingers crossed!)

Symptoms: My hips have started to hurt a lot. My hubby was apparently paying more attention in our prenatal class because he informed me that this is about the time my hips start to move to make room for her head to drop. As if my waddle wasn’t bad enough.

Stretch marks: I found a new one last night L

Sleep: I can still sleep pretty good for the most part but the sore hips and constant bathroom trips mean I am not quite as rested as I could be.

Husband: picked her coming home outfit. It has adorable white and purple socks. He did oh so good.

Belly Button: in and pretty sure staying there.

Movement: Most movement I have ever felt!  But still soooo shy. Every time I put a hand to my belly she stops so there is no chance whatsoever that my husband is going to feel her.

Cravings: I have a new one – McCain Deep n’ Delicious Marble Cake. Yes I am talking about that 90’s deliciousness that stoners would buy from 7-11 when they got the munchies on Friday night. While grocery shopping one day we ended up in front of them and I had to have one. Then a second one when that was gone. And yes I totally have a third in my freezer. I will say that I am very restrained and only have one piece a day. No clue how I am managing that but I am so yay me.

Maternity Clothes: I am officially over my clothes.

Best part of the week:

1)      I met up with another momma-to-be I met at prenatal class on Monday (turns out our hubbies graduated high school together and we are both having girls about 3 weeks apart) and we went for a long walk with Milo and then lunch on one of my favourite patios. We got along right away and it feels great to have a new friend going through the same thing as me at the same time.

2)      Taking Monday and Friday off this week and next!

Worst part of the week: coming back to work on Tuesday. I am done. But I officially have only 4 days left before I am off on maternity leave. For a year. With a brand new baby. Whaaat?

Missing most: alcohol. I’m sorry this never changes but I would really love to hang out in the sun and have a few beers or ciders or glasses of wine. Let loose and be silly. Drink a couple margaritas and get the happy tequila feeling.  

Looking forward to: meeting our baby girl – SO SOON!

Happy Hump Day!

Bumpdate: 31 Weeks

How far along: 31 weeks

Size of Baby: a pineapple / 15-16", 2.5-38 lbs

Gender: a sweet baby girl 

Symptoms: Still so so sleepy and feeling so lazy. I also feel quite pathetic seeing as there are pregnant women every day running huge companies and they don’t skip a beat. I should be able to function normally for 8 hours but no, my mind constantly wanders.

Stretch marks: Getting more used to the cocoa butter smell of Palmer’s lotion and not seeing hideousness yet (knock on wood!)

Sleep: love my sleep, love my snoogle. If you don’t have one, get one. I am so keeping this around after I pop… the one drawback is putting the pillowcase on. Pretty sure I would be out of breath even if I wasn’t pregnant!

Husband: saw my stomach move!!! Hasn’t felt her kicks but finally saw my belly twitching away.

Belly Button: not popping at all. pretty convinced of this.

Movement: I think baby may have flipped because now I’m feeling all the kicks just below my ribs. I’m pretty sure this is what’s supposed to happen but these higher up kicks or movements startle me. As in completely distract me so hope I get used to them soon.

Cravings: Kraft Dinner AND Dr Pepper 10. Haven't gotten my hands on any DP 10 yet so I may be destined to suffer forever on this one. We have been eating KD the last couple Sundays for lunch but now I want it every day for dinner. Last night my hubby made spaghetti with meat sauce and  tonight I am going out for dinner with family friends so will have to wait until tomorrow. I’m sure my husband will be thrilled that my big dinner night is going to be KD. Might have to cook him some chicken or something haha.

Is it actually a pregnancy craving if I don’t move Heaven and earth to get it at the moment I want it??

Maternity Clothes: still wearing them and still counting down until I wear the cozy Fall sweaters and bundle up in a blanket. I am so over summer.  

Best part of the week: having Friday off so knowing tomorrow is my FriYAY! And of course celebrating my sister B’s wedding on Saturday!

Worst part of the week: Something is wrong with Milo so we are taking him to the vet this afternoon to try and figure it out. When we get home from work he is lethargic and trembling, can’t jump on our bed or the couch, has a hunched back and won’t lift his head all the way. But my mom took him for a walk this morning and he was full of energy, playing and running and jumping into her truck. So I am very worried and also very confused.

Missing most: alcohol! Especially with the wedding this weekend. But our sweet babe is worth it, B and I will just have to celebrate extra hard at Christmas ;)

Looking forward to: a busy but fun Friday and Saturday with all our family and friends… followed by a very lazy Sunday.

Bumpdate: 29 Weeks

So here we are in the 2^nd week of my third trimester. Again - how is this all going by so fast? I feel like someone put my life on fast forward and the pause button is broken. I thought people feel pregnant forever but that is definitely not the case for me. Don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait to meet our little babe, but it just feels so fast.  At this rate she will be here before we know it.

How far along: 29 weeks

Size of Baby: an acorn squash / 17", 3lbs

Gender: a sweet baby girl 

Symptoms: I am now feeling super pregnant. My bump feels big, pretty sure I have a full-on waddle happening, I’m up 2-3 times every night to pee, I want to eat everything in sight from 10am until I go to bed and by the time I get home from work all I want to do is get off my feet and lay down.

It does not bode well that I feel like this now when all the baby will do for the next 11 weeks is grow over twice in size. Ugh.

Stretch marks: still feeling very lucky here.

Sleep: also feel very lucky here because as long as I have my snoogle I sleep like the dead. Except for waking up to pee.

Husband: amazed me last week with how wonderful he was with our nieces (and nephews) while on vacation last week. He played, cuddled, teased and thrilled them with seadoo rides and I couldn’t stop watching him. I can’t wait to see him with our baby girl.

Belly Button: still a total inny

Movement: quite a bit more movement this week! I always feel her little kicks after I eat fresh fruit and drink my morning coffee. I have finally seen my stomach move while lying in bed at night but am never quick enough to tell daddy. He still hasn’t felt her and I really hope he can soon. I hate that I can’t share her with him yet.

Cravings: all the food. Pretty sure this is because I have to keep a diary of everything I eat but thankfully I haven't had any issues with food and GD, everything is going really well. And I am indulging my cravings as long as I am getting dairy and protein, etc.

Maternity Clothes: I cannot wait for fall so I can cozy up in my leggings and comfy shirts but no, this crazy summer heat is relentless! Thankfully we have AC at work I can still wear leggings but am limited to light shirts; otherwise I rotate between a few summer dresses.

Best part of the week: feeling our baby girl’s movements more, it’s like she’s somehow communicating with me.

Worst part of the week: coming back to work. Not work itself, I just miss waking up without an alarm, napping when I want to, relaxing.

Missing most: see immediately above

Looking forward to: hubby is painting the nursery this weekend! When the painting is done we (he) can build the crib and the change table and we can start setting everything up.

SO EXCITED!!!

A Baby P Moment

The cutest thing happened last night or more accurately this morning see as it was around 4:45am but that’s beside the point. I just don’t want to forget these little moments and that is exactly why I have this space.

Milo woke me up at 4:45 (yes AM the little f*****) and when I let him outside to do his business our cat Jinx abandoned his porch bed and decided to come in and snuggle with us. We all went back up to our bedroom (where hubby was of course blissfully asleep) and climbed back into our appropriate beds. I wrapped myself around my snoogle with the long part of the pillow supporting my belly.  Jinx is also a big fan of the snoogle and loves to lay right on top of it. This time he lay on top of it right along my belly and started to purr.

The sweetest thing happened next.

After a few moments of Jinx purring our baby girl started to kick. They were right next to each other and it was like they were having their own little cuddle with him purring and her kicking away. I laid still so I wouldn’t disturb them and eventually fell back asleep.

Now I have no clue if she was able to feel his purring or if he was able to feel her kicks but I like to think that they did. And I can’t wait for more little moments like these.

What will it be like when they finally meet each other? I hope they are the best of friends

Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Monday is a holiday here and we are heading up to the Okanagan to spend a week with my hubby’s family at the cabin.

Bump Date: 23 Weeks

How far along: 23 weeks

Size of Baby: Papaya / 8 in, 1.5 lbs

Gender: Mother Nature completely fooled us - we're having a baby GIRL!

Symptoms: Holy baby brain... I have to write everything down but that doesn't help when I'm talking to someone face to face. So forgetful.

Stretch marks: I can see them coming (insert blue sad face with tear emoji) not sure if anything will help them now but still lubing up. 

Sleep: We are in the middle of a heat wave and thankfully both at home and in our room at the cabin we have AC. I wouldn't be able to sleep at all if we didn't. And I have been napping every day because well, vacation. Going back to 'real life' next week will be hard.

Husband: being so sweet, making sure I eat when I need to and constantly filling up my ice water. Taking really good care of his girls :)

Belly Button: In and staying there for a while 

Movement: I'm feeling a few movements here and there but I think the heat is affecting our baby girl as well. I am doing my best to stay cool with frequent dips in the lake, lots of ice water and sleeping in the AC. I am trying so hard to take of our little babe.

Cravings: I would kill for a lime margarita. Tonight we will see if a virgin marg will do the trick.

Maternity Clothes: thankfully I have a bunch of dresses and tank tops that work as well as they can in this heat wave. I also scored a comfy maternity swimsuit top so that has been getting a ton of use this week.

Best Part of The Week: Vacation.

Worst Part of the Week: Knowing we only have one more full day here until we have to pack up and head home. Thankfully we work for 4 weeks and then are back up here!!

Missing Most: the wine struggle is so real this week - we are in Naramata, BC also known as wine country. We wine taste every time we are here. Obviously I am out of commission so have had the pleasure of DD'ing my hubby and SIL. I will make up for it next year!

Looking Forward To: thoroughly enjoying tomorrow. Oh and the AC tonight. This heat wave has got to end sometime soon?!?!

Bump Date: 22 Weeks

I always end up doing bump photos at work...

How far along: 22 weeks

Size of Baby: Spaghetti squash / 1 lb

Gender: Sweet baby GIRL!

Symptoms: Other than the usual tiredness and massive boobs (can’t even imagine them getting bigger) I am feeling pretty great right now!

Stretch marks: Still looking good but have decided to switch to coconut oil because I’m hearing mixed reviews on message boards about Bio Oil and that even though it’s promoted to pregnant women, it contains retinyl palmitate which is like Retin A and potentially dangerous. Coconut oil seems to be good for everything and I read that if you whip it up once and put it in an air tight container it will stay like that. Seems worth it to me.

Sleep: Still sleeping really well thankfully and so looking forward to sleeping in and daily naps while on vacation next week. Thankfully we drive there so I will be bringing my snoogle and a couple other pillows.

Husband: was initially experiencing a tiny bit of gender disappointment (don’t hate on him, I discuss it here) but now I smile from ear to ear every time I hear him say “our daughter…”.

Belly Button: in and showing no signs of popping.

Movement: YES! I thought I felt an actual tiny kick yesterday and then this morning I felt it again 3 times! As a FTM I’m can’t be sure that they are kicks but what else could they be?

Cravings: I have been drinking coffee again, all of a sudden on Monday I wanted coffee instead of tea and had it again yesterday and today.

Maternity Clothes: my mom has spoiled me with a couple new things from H&M plus I found a great non-maternity light dress last weekend and may or may not have purchased in multiple colours. I will do a post on my favourite pieces soon.

Best Part of The Week: Between finding out we are having a baby girl and finally feeling her little kicks, this week has been overflowing with baby love.

Worst Part of the Week: Monday morning was rough. I woke up exhausted and feeling completely drained and seriously considered calling in sick (but didn’t).

Missing Most: this never changes for me – wine!

Looking Forward To: being on vacation next week and our first lake trip of the year.

Baby P is a...

Imagine our surprise!

Old wives tales (and apparently mommy’s gut feeling) cannot be trusted at all.

But we are also thrilled to bits and really the only important thing actually is that baby is healthy. And we are pretty sure that she is although she was being difficult during the ultrasound (is this that a sign??) and so I have to go back to check out the kidneys, etc. So they managed to get the top (brain, heart) and bottom (gender) and we have to go back for the middle.

After some gentle prodding baby girl pulled her face away from the placenta (she was right up in it) and lifted one of her hands to rub her eye… it was SO CUTE! Then we saw her opening and closing her mouth… another adorable moment. We don’t have any pictures of these adorable moments but they are burned into my brain plus I hope to get more when I go back in a couple weeks.

I have to admit that my hubby took a bit longer to “settle” with the news, not because he doesn’t want a girl, more because he has no clue how he will relate to a little girl. He was imagining himself teaching a son to ride dirt bikes, use power tools and run his landscaping equipment – and eventually his landscaping company – but at first he couldn’t imagine doing those things with his daughter.  I assured him that I want him to still do those things with our baby girl, that I want her to experience everything she can, with both of us, and that there isn’t any reason she can’t take over his company one day. And how cool is a woman that uses power tools? I wish I could. Then I reminded him of the special relationships that both his older brothers have with their daughters (both firstborn) and told him that I can’t wait to see her fall in love with her daddy. I truly am so excited for the moment they meet each other.

So Friday passed in a blur as it sank in that I am getting my own mini-me (YAY!) although of course we managed to do some baby shopping (show me all the purple!)… followed by more baby shopping with Nana on Saturday. I have to confess that I didn’t buy a ton of stuff, baby girl won’ t be in summer stuff until next year and who knows what size she will be, but it was so much fun to actually look at all the colours!

Sunday I actually got up and made breakfast for Daddy-to-be (Sunday is always my lazy day and hubby ends up doing all the cooking), baked him a carrot cake and gave him a new hat, then we went for lunch with my stepdad and father-in-law. After our ‘celebrations’ I had a quick visit with a friend and then went home to finish up all the prep for this coming week. It was a busy weekend and by the time I crawled into bed last night I was so drained and worn out.

Now I just have to concentrate on making it through this week, this coming weekend – a work golfing weekend – and then I am off for a week. We are heading up to the cabin to spend a blissful five days in one of my favourite places ever. So excited!!

Any recommendations for a preggo on vacation? There will be naps…

Linking up with:

Manic Monday | Monday Morning Gossip | Weekend Recap