THE GOODS BLOG: Erika's Precious Little Life - October Edition
Updated: Jun 18, 2021
Now that it's October it feels a lot more like fall. I think that I'm willing to accept it. The temperatures have still remained relatively high, but it is a bit cooler at times and the leaves are starting to change. It feels like a lovely time for sweaters and warm beverages!
In September we drove down to Ottawa to attend Enobong's baby shower! It was a really fun party at her house with lots of food and games.
Other than that, the month was pretty quiet, which was really nice. I relaxed and yoga'd a lot. There was also lots of baby-related stuff.
Tim went back to Vancouver on a work trip - the last time that he'll need to go for his current game. He won't need to go back there again for a long time (until the next game needs it, which could be years), which will be a big difference from him going there on almost a monthly basis for more than a year. So that'll be weird! But also good timing.
BABY WATCH 2016:
Time feels like it has been flying by!!! I have now reached 25 weeks of pregnancy, which means that I have been pregnant for six months! This seems impossible and I kind of wish that time would slow down!
Month 6!
Things keep getting bigger and bigger all up in here...
I am now at 134 pounds, which means that I have now gained 20 pounds since this all began. I definitely feel a lot heavier than I’m used to, but thankfully I haven’t had too many aches or pains at all.
Here is a comparison of month 1 VS month 3 VS month 6, which shows quite a difference.
This is what happened inside of my body in the sixth month...
The baby's movements are a lot stronger now and are unmistakable for anything else. I've become aware of the patterns of when he/she will most likely start moving around, usually when I sit down or lay down. Tim is also able to feel the baby all the time too! The movements are now even visible from the outside. I’ve developed a faint linea nigra that I don’t necessarily love, but it could be much worse so it’s not a big deal. My belly button has also popped out quite a bit, which is SO WEIRD. In the mornings it’s usually still an innie, but after meals throughout the day it usually becomes an outie or at least a partial outie. So I’m pretty sure that it is going to become a full-on outie before this whole thing is over. I have now had one weird and irrational hormonal outburst. I think it started because my maternity jeans were too tight and then spiraled into other things. I sobbed for like an hour. But considering that this was the first and only time (so far) that I've cried in six months of pregnancy, I'd say that things are going pretty well!! My pelvic floor and groin muscles are generally a bit sore, but that’s really the extent of my discomforts. Otherwise, I still feel great and have very little to complain about!
On September 1st we went for our 20-week ultrasound (at 21 weeks) and Tim actually got to come this time, which was really great! This scan mainly focuses on anatomy and we looked in detail at all of the baby’s organs, bones and limbs. It was all there and all healthy! We saw his/her little heart beating away. The baby looked a lot more cramped this time compared to when I saw it at the last ultrasound! First a technician looked at everything, and then a doctor came in and also looked at everything. They both said that the baby was doing great and that everything was normal! They also asked if we wanted to know the baby’s gender and we said NO!! So they had us cover our eyes at certain parts and wrote down “secret” in the gender column of the paper that they gave to us! It was confirmed that my placenta is in fact posterior, just as my midwife had predicted. However, they said that it’s a little bit low so they’re going to check it again at another ultrasound at 32 weeks.
They gave us six different photos and here are a few!
On September 11th we went to a Yoga Birthing Workshop at HappyTree Yoga. This isn’t my usual studio, but this one offers a lot of different prenatal/postnatal classes, so when I heard about the workshop I was very interested. I’d also recently finished reading the book The Yoga Birth Method by Dorothy Guerra, so I was curious to see if this workshop was based on the same principles. It was a cool class! We covered a lot of the same material as we did in the previous prenatal class that we took, but I liked that this one involved a lot of yoga poses and breathing techniques that can be used during labour. Tim learned even more types of massage and helpful ways to assist me through the whole ordeal.
And then I did handstands...
On September 14th I met up with a photographer; Bianca Morello Photography. I am interested in having her shoot my maternity photography as well as newborn photography once the baby is born. I really love her work and am extremely excited to work with her! I think that she’ll be able to capture my vision for both shoots perfectly!
On September 15th I had my 3rd midwife appointment. This one was with a different midwife named Julie, because as it turns out, Kim, our original midwife is not going to be available in January when I’m delivering. So I think that they’re sort of shuffling me around right now until they figure out who my actual midwife is going to be. But Julie was super nice and awesome too, so I’m not too concerned about it. My appointment lasted for about 45 minutes. I was weighed, urine was tested, blood pressure was taken, stomach was measured, and baby’s heartbeat was listened to. All was normal and looking good! We found out from a previous blood test that my blood type is O negative, and so they decided to take a blood sample from Tim as well in order to confirm his blood type. Apparently as long as they are the same type (Tim thinks that they are), the Rh immunoglobulin injection will not be necessary for me to have done because I won’t be at risk to develop antibodies against positive blood. I also got a requisition for my 32 week ultrasound to check on my placenta. She scheduled my next midwife appointment to be in four weeks - and this next one is the one when I get to drink the juice!!!! (I’m SO excited about the juice (Glucodex). All of you guys have talked about the juice for years and I want some.)
We made our second big baby purchase! The baby’s crib! We spent a lot of time looking around at different cribs and finally settled on the Serta 4-in-1 Convertible Crib with Serta Perfect Day Luxury Firm Mattress. We sleep on a Serta mattress ourselves (Perfect Sleeper) and tell just about everyone how incredible our bed is and how much is has improved our lives. So it made sense that the baby should have the same! Plus the colour and style of the crib fits perfectly with the overall vision that I have for the baby’s room.
Now you’re completely baby-up-to-date!
It's a good thing that September was quiet and relaxed... Because October will NOT be.
Starting with us driving to London on Wednesday for Emily (Tim's sister) and Matt's wedding on the weekend! It should be a really awesome time full of family stuff. We'll probably have a bit of a Thanksgiving while we're there too. I'm also about to have a 2nd niece any day now, because Mya is due on the 17th! Hopefully she'll be able to avoid going into labour on the dance floor at the wedding. Ha ha!
I am most excited about later this month because we're going to New York City!!! It'll be our babymoon! I have never been there, which seems crazy and wrong. We're just going to drive down there because it's actually not too far away from Montreal. We'll also be there over Tim's birthday! I badly wanted to take this trip before the baby comes because everything that I want to do there is very child-unfriendly. I want to see all of the NYC sights! We have tickets to three Broadway shows; Avenue Q, The Phantom of the Opera, and The Book of Mormon. But I think that I'm most excited about our dinner reservation at Le Bernardin (on Tim's birthday), which has a 3-star Michelin rating; the highest honour in the culinary world. I've never been to a Michelin-starred restaurant before!! We are 300% getting the Chef's Tasting Menu.
Near the end of the month we're also going back to Ottawa because we have tickets to see I Mother Earth (with Edwin!) and Our Lady Peace! They didn't have a tour date in Montreal (?!) so we're driving down to see it.
And then there's Halloween and stuff, but we'll probably just stay at home and hand out candy. (And eat 50% of it ourselves.) And carve pumpkins.
I'M SO EXCITED FOR IT ALL!!!
THIS MONTH’S SHOUT-OUTS!:
October 7th is Colen Quinn’s 9th wedding anniversary!
How is this already NINE years ago?! HOW??? I hope that you and Jeff have a wonderful day and that you get to celebrate!
October 13th is Kristen Smith’s 4th wedding anniversary!
I hope that Dallas will be at home so that you guys can do something really special! You need to celebrate all of you guys' amazing accomplishments!
October 24th is Rachelle Spence’s 32nd birthday!
Oh Rachelle, I could not possibly love you more than I already do. Which is way too much. You are the kindest, most selfless person that I know and you deserve everything and more on your birthday! I LOVE that everything has started coming up Rachelle and I know that this is going to continue into your fresh new year! I miss your face way too much. You have no idea how much better you have made my life just by being in it. ♥
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