Week 38

Sunday, September 13, 2009

It is hard to believe that already 9 months have passed and I am now in my final week of this pregnancy, my last pregnancy. A scary thought to think about for me, but when I think about our wonderful family, I do realize that 4 is a perfect size family for us!

During the last week we had our 4th and last ultrasound to determine if my placenta has in fact imbedded itself into my uterus. From what they can tell they think that it has not done this as there are no abnormalties, which I was glad to hear. We can not be 100% sure until the surgery, but so far so good. We also had our last Dr appointment and the paperwork is already for Friday! My blood pressure was good and I had gained another pound, putting me at 32 lbs in total for this pregnancy. That is so much less than my previous 45 - 50 lbs. I actually didn't mind hopping on the scale with Noah!

She went over all of the complications and process of the surgery and covered everything with me. At home, we have Noah's crib up, bag packed and everything is ready to go. My Mom will be taking vacation time to stay with the girls and they are excited about having Nannie sleepover! So far I am not nervous but I am sure that will change the night before! Check our album for an updated picture of his heart, the nurse & specialist loved it, which made us very happy to know he has a nice strong heartbeat!

Next update will be pictures of Noah! Everyone is so excited for his arrival!

Week 36

Monday, August 31, 2009

I cannot believe that we only have a few more weeks and Noah will be here with us! It is crazy how fast the time has gone. Over the last few days we have been working on redecorating our room so that we can put up Noah's crib and still have plenty of room for us :) That is now all done and in a few days we will be putting up his crib!

I had my OBGYN appointment and I gained 3 more lbs in the 2 week period. My total weight gain is 30lbs which I am thrilled with! When I carried all of my girls I gained at least 45 lbs - 50 lbs per pregnancy, so I am happy that with Noah I will have an easier time getting back to my old size!

My OBGYN has booked me another ultrasound for Sept 9th. She wants them to be able to tell her if my placenta has imbedded itself into the c section incision. We are hoping very much that it hasn't. Apparently if a placenta places itself by the incision it will not be satisfied with the blood supply, etc and will therefore start to attach itself to the uterus to gain a better quality of nurishment. If my placenta has done this then she will have to be prepared during the c section as I could lose significant amounts of blood when they try to detach it as well as the possibility of a hysterectomy. We will not be having any more children after Noah however I am concerned about the hysterectomy and hormone replacement I may have to have following, so I am a bit anxious for the 9th, but trying not to think about it too much until then! My placenta did move up 4cm between ultrasound so I am hoping that is a good sign that it is not attached! On a positive note it will be very exciting to have a peak at him again before he arrives. This time my sister in law Tiffany will get to come along since Sandy will be in school, so that is exciting as well :)

Sleeping is becoming more difficult and my body is getting me ready to breastfeed by ensuring that I am awake every 3 hours. I have still maintained my daytime energy despite being tired, which makes me happy!

Week 34

Thursday, August 20, 2009

WOW... we are almost exactly a month away from Noah's arrival! I had his baby shower this past weekend and enjoyed receiving all of the blue and green things that he definitely needed! I was very prepared with clothes, but the baby shower helped with all of the other items like towels, diapers, etc.

I had my doctor's appointment and it was very nice that Lissa and Jess (my sister in laws) could come along to hear Noah's heartbeat and experience a check up with me. She hadn't received the ultrasound report, but was concerned about where my placenta has moved and therefore we will most likely be going in for another one with Dr God right before he is scheduled to be born so she can have the exact location of my placenta pinpointed. The problem is currently that if she makes the incision into the placenta I could experience more bleeding and as a result a possible hysterectomy. So we will be able to have more information in a few weeks.

I do appreciate that my OBGYN is so direct and open about everything as I always feel that I am getting the full story from her which definitely helps ease my mind. The rest of the Dr visit was very normal, he is still breech and I have gained another 2 lbs in the last 2 weeks which is exactly what I should be at this point. I am also now measuring the correct amount of weeks as well! Very excited to see how much he will weigh. If you are interested in making a guess, please feel free on our vote page!

Week 32

Friday, August 07, 2009

It is hard to believe that we are only 6 weeks away from meeting our little man! Very exciting! We had our Dr appointment last week and I have gained in total 24 lbs so far, which is good in comparison to my last pregnancies. This is when he will begin to gain between .5 - 1lb per week! He is still very active. He has hiccups at least twice a day now, which is exciting because I know he is getting ready to breathe on his own!

We had our 32 week ultrasound this week which I am always anxious for! He has decided that he did not like to be sideways and now is breech, which is very typical of my children. Sandy thinks it is because this is their one last chance to do what they want to do before they come out and everything is planned for them. Good news is that my placenta has moved up 4 cm so if he decided to come early and I had a natural birth there would be no complications. The only concern of where it has moved to is that it is blocking the c-section incision so I may lose a bit more blood during the surgery but it is apparently something that my Dr would have dealt with many of times! Either way I am glad that I am at the top of the table not able to witness it all!!

We also found out that he is currently weighing 4lbs 4 ounces which is great! He is 4 ounces bigger than Ella was at this point. When she was born she was 2 weeks early as Noah will be and weighed 8lbs 4 ounces, so I figure he will definitely be an 8 pounder as well!

I am all done work now and beginning my maternity leave, so I am sure the rest of the summer will fly by! I am going to try to balance the fun with a little bit of rest as well, although that part will be hard for me!

Week 30

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Well I am finally in my 3rd trimester and looking back it seems as though time has gone by very quickly! It is hard to believe that in just 2 months from now Noah will be here with us! Very exciting! The girls are doing well with waiting and I think summer helps because we are on the go so much, they do not have a lot of time to think about it!

We went to 2 OBGYN appointments since my last update. Everything is progressing well and I am measuring a week behind. At this stage they measure the length of your uterus and the amount of cm should match your number of weeks. I am always off since my children usually like to shape themselves in odd positions. Currently Noah is sideways (transverse) which didn't surprise me at all! My Dr made a comment about how all of my children like to do this, followed by "we have a solution for this guy!"

My total weight gain at this point is 23 pounds which isn't too bad. I can't get over how different I am carrying with Noah. I found with the girls I gained extra weight and carried it all over, but with Noah I do not feel the weight gain to be the same. I also find that my hips are not widening either! She now has me on Iron twice a day, although I admit I am only taking it once a day right now. I find it really hard on my system. I am going to change to the 2 iron a day here soon as I know I am not that far away from my Section.

Noah is very active! The girls are really enjoying watching him and feeling him move. Caile was able to see where his hand was the other day and she was gently pushing on it and he would push back. It was very cute! He seems to love amusing his sisters already!

Week 27

Sunday, June 28, 2009

It is hard to believe that we only have 11 weeks left before we meet our little guy! It is amazing how quickly the time passes by! Now that we are back from vacation I think the days will go by quickly as we are now counting down to me being done work! I am very excited to spend the month of August with my family!

In the last few weeks I have completed my very last pregnancy diabetes test. I find this drink just horrible mainly because I do not like anything orange flavored and I am not a fan of drinks with fizz! I am anxious to meet with my OBGYN this week to find out the results on my iron levels. I have been having the dizzy spells again, but they are very random!

Other than the dizzy spells I have been feeling very good and I have a lot of energy lately, which worked out well for vacation! I have also been able to keep my late bedtimes which I enjoy! The heat of the summer has begun which means being pregnant I am finally warm! I am usually so cold all the time that I actually enjoy being pregnant in the summer!

I have uploaded a beach profile picture this time so that you can get a better idea of the shape of my belly. I seem to be carrying him the same height as I did all of the girls, but without the weight gain all over which is nice :)

Week 24

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

It is hard to believe that we are a month past our ultrasound! This little guy has definitely been growing and increasing in activity. His kicks are much stronger now and our OBGYN is still always impressed with how much movement she hears when she places the doppler on him.

Our OBGYN called with our maternal serum results and the tests came back negative, so that was great to hear! We had our appointment as well and I am have now gained 16 lbs, which is 6 more lbs than what I was with Caile and Ella. Hoping that the gaining slows down and evens out from here! I am happy that at least it is all staying on my belly and I haven't been gaining all over as I did with the girls! She thought my iron may be getting low as she thought I looked very pale. She gave me my blood work for the diabetes testing and is hoping to see my iron results at the same time. This is the fun test I never look forward to as I am not a fan of pop or orange flavor. After our next appointment on July 2nd, we will then begin seeing her every 2 weeks. We discussed the ultrasound and she was thrilled that he is a boy! I was very relieved that she was not concerned about my placenta being that close!

I now have most of my energy back and I am able to stay up until midnight which is much closer to my usual bedtime. I don't like sitting very long, so I find some of my work shifts make my legs much more stiff than ever before. I am very happy that I have less than 2 months of work left. I will be taking the month of August off to enjoy time with Sandy and the girls. We have lots of plans to make me forget how big I will be then haha...

I am very thankful that so far this little guy will have lots and lots of clothes to wear. One of my best friends Cheryl has been so wonderful, giving me all of the clothes that her son (Currently 2 months old) is growing out of. I cannot get over how many cute outfits we have and I am getting very excited to meet him! We have also decided on our boys name! It will be Noah! We love the name because it meets all of our standards for a name, it is short, easy to spell and say, suits both a man and a boy AND we love it! Now we need some help with a middle name. We always choose a name that is a connection with our family or friends. So we would love to hear which name you think suits Noah best!

Week 20

Monday, May 11, 2009

We now have a birthday for our baby :) We went to our OBGYN appointment and she booked us for our csection on September 18th! She had looked at booking us earlier in the week, but thought it would be best for baby to wait until the Friday, which works just as well for us!

I have gained another 4 pounds so I am at 9 lbs total so far in this pregnancy. Here is where the real weight gain begins! I will go back to see her in 4 weeks time and then she will have the results of the maternal serum test and the ultrasound details.

We had our ultrasound today and our baby was not shy at all! The girls were very very excited and anxious for the nurse to tell us what we were having. Usually we wait for the Dr to come in but since this baby was being very open the nurse shared earlier! We are having a baby boy The girls were thrilled. Alex and Caile really wanted a brother and Ella wasn't sure but as long as she has a baby she was happy. They enjoyed watching and asking questions about each measurement and part. They were very excited to see that he had 5 fingers on each hand!

The Dr then came in and examined a few other details like the baby's liver and everything looks great. He was slightly concerned with my placenta as it is about 1 cm from my cervix. So I would be considered to have marginal placenta privia. It is more of a concern if you are delivering naturally which I am not as they cannot have the placenta delivered first. He is hoping that it will move up as many do in the next 10-12 weeks. If it happens to become worse and cover my placenta there is the possibility of bedrest! So I am trying to think very positive as I cannot imagine myself staying still that long!

Well that is it for now, our baby boy is doing well and received his first bag of clothes from his little buddy Simon who was born very big, so he had lots of hand me downs already! We have him covered now for the first few months!

Week 19

Monday, May 04, 2009

Well I am officially at my half way point, which is very exciting yet deceiving as well. Really 5 weeks go by at the beginning of your pregnancy and you don't even know you are pregnant, so no wonder the time goes by so fast haha...

We are 1 week away from knowing whether we have a little girl or boy in there. Still many guesses and comments coming my way, so it will be interesting to see who is right! Ella would really like to go to the ultrasound so we are debating this week whether we should bring them or not. It is a longer ultrasound so I just don't want them to get bored, although Ella is very obsessed with everything to do with this baby, so they may be just fine. They are all anxious to find out as are we!

This week we also have our OBGYN appointment and we will get to book my c-section and find out our baby's birthday! That is if this baby decides to cooperate. I have had this weird feeling all along that this baby could decide to make his or her entrance a few days prior just to be in control!

I am feeling well and have experienced no more nausea at all which is great! I am starting to feel the hardness of my belly when I am doing different things. Picking up Ella is awkward now and even my sleeping positions have now changed. My belly doesn't seem to be growing as rapidly now which is nice! I went to the city last month and bought some of my favorite cocoa butter body butter from the Body Shop and have started dosing that on! I am hoping to make it through this 4th pregnancy with the little to no stretch marks that I currently have!

Well that is it for now! Next entry will be very exciting! Baby's birthday and who is hiding in there

Week 17

Monday, April 20, 2009

Here I am almost to my half way point and definitely entering in the best part of pregnancy for me! Finally I am only gagging when I brush my teeth and no more dizzy spells lately. I have had a lot of energy, although I still fall asleep usually through my tv shows at night, I have been able to stay up later! This for me is the best part up to about 30 weeks when I become uncomfortable, so I will enjoy the next few months lol...

We had our OBGYN appointment last week and she was pleased to see that the early ultrasound had gone well. She wants to see me back in 3 weeks so that we can book our c-section date and have our baby's birthday! Very exciting for me! I was pleased to see that I have not gained any weight in the last 4 weeks, so I am holding strong at gaining 5 lbs so far this pregnancy! I know I will catch up at the end though! She said we definitely have a very very active baby since she could only catch the heartbeat in small spurts as the baby kept moving, we also experience that here as well with our doppler!

So we are now counting down the next 3 weeks to our ultrasound when we finally get to find out if we have a little girl or boy in there hiding. Either way I will be fine with whomever is in there, however we all know that if I could choose we would be having another girl ;) I am so used to girls, that I have no idea what I would ever do with a little guy. I guess we would figure it out!

The girls are very excited. Ella wants to listen to the baby non stop, Caile loves to kiss the baby and Alex wants to know each day how big the baby is now. Luckily I have some images and size charts so I can show her, so she is satisfied. Caile & Alex would like to have a brother so they can make sure he is good and Ella would like a sister. This baby will definitely be surrounding by lots of loving sisters!

Week 15

Monday, April 06, 2009

It is amazing how quickly your belly grows once you hit your second trimester! I am amazed every time I try on a pair of pants LOL... We are very excited for our ultrasound in a few weeks when we will get to discover the sex of our baby.

Well for the update, my nausea is slowly getting better, but I really cannot go very long without eatting or I am gagging and resisting the urge to run to the bathroom. The end I am sure is only a few weeks away. As bad as it has been, my pregnancy with Ella has been the worst yet for morning sickness, so I did a bit better this time! I have felt the baby move for the first time today! During the meeting at work I felt the strong flutter toward my bladder and I recognized it instantly! It was a great feeling!

We have made a lot of use out of our Angel Sounds doppler! Alex was able to listen to the baby for the first time last week. She actually wanted and found the baby's heartbeat all by herself. She was very excited. Caile and Ella have listened to it a few times. It is so great to see their faces light up when they hear the heartbeat! It really helps it become more real for them, besides my growing bump :)

Well that is about it for now. I am very happy spring is here. I have been able to get out for many walks and just spending time outside. I want to keep my body as fit as I can as I grow larger and larger! I have many many fruit cravings, so I have to try and balance the sugar in them! I guess I should be happy as fruit is a far better thing to crave than fast food LOL...

Week 13

Monday, March 23, 2009

Last week we went to our OBGYN appointment and I was able to hear the heartbeat for the first time! I was very nervous that she was going to look for it this early, but she found it right away! Poor Sandy didn't think she would take me before her appointment and came in a few minutes after me and missed it. He was very disappointed! The appointment went well and she gave me my bloodwork for Part 1 of my Maternal Serum testing. Apparently now it is done in 2 parts versus just 1 for all of my other pregnancies. I have also gained 5 lbs, still getting used to the numbers going up on the scale LOL...

The next day I was speaking with Candice and work and I offered to buy her Angel Sounds Monitor. I wasn't going to buy one at first, but since Sandy missed it, I had really considered and I thought it would also be much more real for the girls when we tell them! Candice had her husband bring it that day so we could take it home that night. The first night I found the umbilical cords beat and was a little worried as it was slower than average, but the next night we found it :) Sandy was very happy to hear it! I had to pry him away from it or I would have had to lay there all night!

Today was our early ultrasound on the 7th floor of the IWK. We had a familiar nurse and then Dr Vandenhoff. Everything was great with our "perfect baby" as they liked to call it, which made us very happy. They measured the fluid on the back of the baby's neck and it was very normal. This fluid predicts your chances of having a child that might be born with down syndrome, etc. Right now baby is measuring 6cm from head to bum! He booked us for a 20.5 week ultrasound with him again and at that time we will be able to find out what we are having! So now we are beginning to share the great news with many more around us!

That is it for this update, other than the fact that we now bought our van, so everyone will fit once the baby is born :)

Week 11

Sunday, March 08, 2009

It is hard to believe that my first trimester is just about over! The last 11/12 weeks have flown by! Good news to report is that my not so pleasant case of shingles is now long gone. I am hoping that they will not return, especially during this pregnancy. I am trying my best to keep my immune system up!

The nausea has begun in the last week or so. It is different than in the past as it seems to be most of my day. I have had to stop taking my iron as it was really causing me to feel ill. I have to try and eat every few hours of the day, because if I go past 4 hours I start to feel extremely sick! I am hoping this will only last for a few weeks and I can get back on my iron. Certain foods just make my stomach turn lately, so I can't wait to enjoy everything again!

We have begun our hunt for a van and surprisingly I am excited for it! I always cringed in the past at the thought, but given how crammed we are in our car currently it will be nice to have space!

That is it for this update, not much to report! My belly is growing very very rapidly and Tiffany likes to tease me about it! We are still not publicly sharing the news so I am hoping my belly slows down for just a couple more weeks. If I only gain belly weight this time instead of all over I would be thrilled and so far so good! The maternity jeans have also come out! They are so comfy and since I had to retire all of my jeans they are now my favorite thing. Thank goodness to one of my best friends Cheryl who has been my maternity clothes supplier lol...

For our next update we will have been to our early ultrasound and my OBGYN appointment so we should have lots to share!

Week 9

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Well it has definitely been an interesting last few weeks! The last entry I had wrote about having a UTI and my visit to outpatients. Well a few days after that we went away to PEI and I noticed that I was starting to get a rash. I also became very swollen and sore and thought I may be having some sort of reaction to the Amoxil. When I came back from PEI I went in to see my Family Doctor and once she examined me she determined that I had Shingles. She also checked my paperwork and noticed that I did not in fact have a UTI. She had to immediately call an OBGYN as she had not experienced anyone having Shingles while they are pregnant. Once she was off the phone she explained to me that for now she would not give me anything as I was visiting my own OBGYN in a few days, but that the risk of miscarriage had just greatly increased. I was upset, but was also anxious to talk to my own OBGYN.

A few days later Sandy and I made the trek into the city to see my OBGYN. I did the usual, pee in the cup, get weighed and have my blood pressure taken. I noticed that I have gained a few pounds already and am currently at 130lbs. A few minutes later Dr Delisle came in and went over the usual initial questions. She was glad to see me and assured me I could come back as many times as I wanted to see her After all the questions I told her about the results that she would have regarding the shingles. She immediately made me feel better and said the Shingles would have no affect on the baby. The only bad part was that I could not have meds and would have to suffer it out, but I was very relieved at her news! She also booked me an ultrasound later in March with Dr VanDanhoff (aka Dr God as they call him at the IWK). I was very excited that he is still there and we can have our early ultrasound with him!

The nausea has started, but I think it is linked to the increase of iron I have been taking lately to get past the dizzy spells. I am hoping it will not develop into anything worse. Crossing my fingers for now! Also if you haven't noticed already my belly is growing at a rapid rate! My Size 4's and most of my Size 6's are being retired already! Big difference in the last 2 weeks!

Week 7

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

In the past 2 weeks not a whole lot has changed. I do notice that my sense of smell is insane! I think it is driving Sandy a little crazy cause everything smells strong and I am always sniffing around the house trying to figure out where different scents are coming from. Everything smells bad as well! I came home to flowers on the table last week, walked in the house and thought something was burning LOL... turns out it was the smell flowers he brought home

I have had a few dizzy spells which tell me that it will be soon time to start the iron. I always have low iron when I am pregnant, so it is usually the norm for me to take a suppliment. I have had a few afternoons where I am starting to feel nausea. I figure I might make it a couple more weeks before it becomes an every day thing. Keep my fingers crossed that this time I will have none

I went to my family Dr yesterday. She actually worked with my OBGYN Dr Delisle at the IWK. Apparently Dr Delisle was one of the teaching Doctors. She said she would transfer my paperwork immediately and I should hear from Dr Delisle's office soon! Very excited to see her again! She is an amazing Doctor! She did give me the bloodwork papers so I can get that done this week and we have a start on things!

I did talk to her about the Prevacid I had been taking. I have it prescribed to me due to the high acid levels my stomach produces. I have damage to my esophagus and tend to get ulcers as a result. I know when I am pregnant the acid tends to be worse. I did stop taking the meds at the 5 week mark. She did tell me that Prevacid is pretty safe, but she recommends no medication for at least 10 weeks, so I am going to see if I can get to my 19 week ultrasound mark and then after that I may start Zantac or go back on it depending on how I am feeling.

If my picture looks a little pale it is because unfortunately right now I am. I had to go to outpatients last night as I have a UTI. Common early in pregnancy. They have me on amoxil, so I hope to feel normal again in a few days. I never had these until I had Ella, I am sure it had something to do with shifting my bladder around LOL

Week 5

Sunday, January 25, 2009

It is hard to believe that we are now beginning our 4th pregnancy! Some days it feels like yesterday that Ella was born. Already this baby has decided to take after his or her sisters and play tricks on us. I had to take 3 pregnancy tests to get a positive! We definitely suspected that we were since my cycle is exact and already twice this past week certain smells caused me instant nausea!

I have began looking back at my last 3 journals, which I recommend for ALL mom's to keep. Not only is it a great resource for your next pregnancy, but your children will really enjoy it some day! I figure at this point I have about 4 weeks of symptom free time until the morning sickness hits me or at least I am hoping. Each pregnancy has become worse for sickness so I am hoping I at least have that much time.

This week I will be contacting my family Doctor and getting her to begin the referral process to have me see my OBGYN in the city for my entire pregnancy. And then the tests shall begin

Noah Joseph