Thursday, March 31, 2005

An early April Fool's

One more thing:



This is how Cheryl's office looked this morning. Is this funny or what? Every square inch, wrapped in tin foil. Her computer, mouse, files, business cards all wrapped individually - even her white board markers, with the caps wrapped separately. The phone is entirely wrapped - the base in one sheet of foil, the cord in a second and the receiver in a third. A coworker who's out of the office today and tomorrow decided to spring an early April Fool's on her. Well, I think she's plotting massive retaliation. Watch out, Tomo.

The countdown accelerates

So yesterday I went for my weekly visit to Dr. Bailey’s. I was hoping for some sort of progress. And was therefore disappointed to find out that I was dilated to a big fat 0, same as last week. I am really hoping to get some of the work of labour/delivery out of the way before we actually make the trip to the hospital.

I nearly fell off the table in shock, then, when the very next words out of her mouth were, “There is no way you will hang onto this baby until the 16th.” Come again?? I thought the whole point of not being dilated at all is that there is nothing happening. Well, according to her, the baby has dropped even lower this week as compared to last, and she thinks it will be coming early rather than late. She asked me to change my appointment for next week from Wednesday to Friday since she’s out of town on the former and wants to see me herself.

On my way out of the office, she was talking to the receptionist to rebook my appointment, and the receptionist was asking about the following week’s appointment (currently scheduled for the 13th) – should she rebook that one as well? And Dr. Bailey said no – she’ll still come in, but she’ll probably be bringing the baby with her.

HOLY CRAP.

I knew this point would come sooner or later, when it would be ‘any day now’, but I still didn’t really expect it to be until after the 16th. Not really. Everyone knows you always go overdue with your first, right??

It was particularly ironic because Daylene was just saying (right before I left for the appointment) that she thought the baby would come the weekend of the 9th or 10th – and then Dr. Bailey reiterated that – she thinks I will make it through this weekend, but have the baby next.

So there you have it. I am now working with the idea that I have ONE WEEK LEFT. It’s not like I’ve got a lot of stuff to do during that week to get ready… just enjoy myself and get ready to abandon my selfish, irresponsible ways, I guess!... but still, it seems like too far away and way too soon, all at once.

(Now watch. Now that I’ve been told this, I will hang onto the baby into the last week of April.)

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Daylene

I just had a visit here at work from my friend Daylene. It took a long time for me to get to know her, but once I did, I couldn’t believe what I’d been missing out on for so long – she’s just so genuine and fun. When we were going through our fertility issues I leaned on her many times, as she had been there before and always had good advice to give. Well, she just came up with a big gift bag, wished us well on the baby’s arrival, asked to be included on the list of phone calls/announcements, gave me the “you can do this” labour pep talk, etc. She’s just so wonderful. Inside the gift bag was a little yellow sleeper with orange duckies on it (and I am loving anything with orange in it these days – I can just picture it on a little redhead), and a set of safari themed stuffed animals – an elephant, lion and cheetah (not the most common of the safari animals, but probably Chad’s favourite, so that’s pretty cool, too.) This because she remembered that I mentioned months ago that our bedding set has the same animals on it. How thoughtful is that? It has been really humbling to have people like Daylene in our lives, people who go out of their way to be considerate and kind and who make this experience even better for us, with no expectations in return. It makes me want to go out of my way to find some way to return the favour to her and pass the happiness back, or at least to go out and spread the goodwill to someone else. I’m feeling very lucky today to know Daylene. Junior(ette) already has some good friends in this world, and I can't wait for them to meet.

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

Assembly required, batteries not included

One of the things I have loved most about this pregnancy has been watching Chad through it all. In the beginning, he was happy, yes, and excited, sure, but still went about daily life without much of a change. (He was very accommodating on our trip last fall, I will admit – if I said we had to leave someplace NOW to get me some food or I would start dry heaving, he made sure we left!) Time went on – I started fattening up, we had the ultrasound, the doctor’s appointments got longer and involved more – and Chad started to talk about the baby more, framing future events with respect to three of us rather than two. The last month or two has been the tops. Every day we have so many days left of work, so many days until the due date, it could be today, it could be tomorrow – are you ready? Because I am!!

The other day I came home to find something new in the nursery. I think it’s called a Gymini – Renee gave it to us a while ago. It’s basically a play mat, with toys that hang over top of it, and you lay the baby on it while they’re still young and immobile so they can kick and bat at the toys. The whole thing has tons of bells and whistles (the mat also makes noises and plays music and could probably find a cure for the common cold if given a chance), but folds down into a neat little package. I had it in its package, stored in the closet until we were ready to use it.

So I came home, went upstairs, and found the entire thing pulled out of the closet, fully assembled, and loaded with fresh batteries, sitting squarely in the middle of the rug on the nursery floor, and Chad was testing out all the different songs it plays and other features it has. I stopped in for a while to check it out with him, and then suggested either putting it back in the closet or at least pushing it up against the wall to leave more floor space available. To which Chad replied, the whole point is that the baby’s play area is here on the rug in the middle of the floor, so the toys belong on the rug, and why would you want to put it back in the closet? Clearly puzzled.

Things like this endear him to me so much. I just can’t wait to have this baby, if for no other reason then to see the look on his face when it happens. Well, maybe not immediately. Knowing Chad, he'll be looking pretty grossed out when it happens, and might even get a little light-headed. But shortly afterwards - that is something I am really looking forward to.

Monday, March 28, 2005

Baby-related things that were accomplished today

- Bought snacks for hospital stay: crackers, arrowroot cookies, fruit cups, juice boxes, puddings.
- Went to bank to stock up on twonies - now prepared for coin-operated parking.
- Packed a few more items - notebook and pen, scrapbook paper for baby's footprints, CDs.
- Went through massage lotions on hand to find the one with the most soothing smell. Also browsed at Shoppers Drug Mart for same. Narrowed choice to "Tequlia Sunrise" or "Lime Coconut". Will ask Chad for a test massage with each to make final decision.
- Returned phone call from frantic sister wanting to know why I didn't reply to email or answer phone - was I having baby? (No - I had the day off work, and was out to dinner.)

Sunday, March 27, 2005

Easter musings

White chocolate Reese eggs are nowhere near as good as the originals.

That said, it hasn't stopped me from eating them.

This much sugar cannot possibly be good for anyone.

This much sugar will surely lead to a 9+ pound baby. That in itself should be incentive enough to stop.

I'm studying (supposedly) for my International Business exam right now. But of course, I would rather play on the internet, clean the house, do ANYTHING BUT. I remember this feeling well from my time in Kingston - at this particular time of year - it's finally warm out, and still light out, and everyone's outside throwing frisbees or baseballs or whatever they happen to have handy - there's a lot of time put into Christmas exams, but a lot of winging it happens with spring exams.

My professor for this course seems to be a huge slacker - there were six assignments for the class, all of which have been submitted, and we haven't received grades back on any of them. I don't know if I'm headed into the final with 0 or 100. I'm hoping he'll give me a good mark just for showing up to write it. He seems like the sort who would do that.

Labour & delivery music, volume 1

Waiting for You - Seal . Deliver Me - The Beloved . Nightswimming - REM . Imaginary Friend - Chantal Kreviazuk . Tonight & the Rest of My Life - Nina Gordon . Into the West - Annie Lennox . Train Wreck - Sarah McLachlan . No Ordinary Love - Sade . Redemption Song - Chantal Kreviazuk . Life For Rent - Dido . Pigeons & Crumbs - Natalie Imbruglia . In A Different Place - Ride . Angels - Robbie Williams . Let There Be Love - Simple Minds . Colour Blind - Counting Crows . Porcelain - Moby . I Will Not Take These Things For Granted - Toad the Wet Sprocket

Many of these songs came from the Bodyflow classes I enjoy going to so much. Kind of uplifting background music - soothing, I associate it with good thoughts, nothing too annoying or lively. And no, the titles mean nothing (Deliver Me just happens to be a coincidence!) I'm hoping to do a volume 2 mix at some point but some songs are proving harder to download than others.

Friday, March 25, 2005

Thank you, Kal

I have no idea who Kal is - but it's someone who took the time to stop and comment and help me resize my photos in the blog. That seems to have done the trick. Kal, you and I must have been online at the same time - the reason the template changed every time you looked is because I was trying a few different things to see what worked. Your WIDTH trick worked. Thank you.



Today was the first race of the 2005 Season. The Runner's Choice store in London, Ontario does a fabulous job of organizing a race series every summer. It's grown from maybe 4 races per season to about 8 (I think??) right now. Chad decided to run today, although none of our usual race buddies joined him this time around - I think everyone needs to shake off the last of winter before they're ready for that. I thought of running when he first started talking about it several months ago, but didn't know if I'd still be mobile at this point, let alone running. So I was the official bag-holder and photo-taker. Here Chad is as the race starts... he wasn't overly happy with his time, but it's a good opener to the season and something to improve on next month, right? And the shirt he got was cool, which makes the entry fee worthwhile.

Thursday, March 24, 2005

Bloggity blog blog...

You'd think I should be able to figure this thing out, but I can't. How come I always have a big blank space at the top? Or if not, then my sidebar doesn't start til way down on the page? How come my pictures are huge even though I've resized them? Bear with me...

Random thoughts

Yesterday afternoon at work, I sat down to talk with Cheryl about maximum injectability and off peak storage and a whole bunch of other stuff that doesn’t mean much to anyone off of the 5th floor at the office. I have a little project in mind and wanted her opinion on it. It really struck me that I don’t have much time left at work. We are gearing up for another senior management presentation on April 6th, the planning and preparation for which take up half our time for about two weeks prior. Normally this presentation isn’t scheduled til mid-month, but the kind folks at the office wanted to be sure to get it in before I’m gone – so on my 3rd-to-last day it is. Nice. Anyway, I was thinking about trying to fit my pet project in around the other day-to-day stuff that I do, and this presentation, and I was thinking – it’s going to be tight.

And then I had my weekly visit to Dr. Bailey’s after that, during which I learned that I tested negative for group B strep (yeah!) but haven’t made any progress – the baby seems to be in no hurry to make an early appearance (boo! – if it’s going to happen any day other than April 14th, which is the guess Chad and I have, then I’d like it to be on April 5th – just early enough to get me out of that presentation!!) The good news is that the baby has dropped, which confirms what I thought. I never had that pregnant-lady-in-the-bathroom-ten-times-a-day syndrome until this past week, so I thought something might be up.

And then I went for a massage, about which I have nothing to comment on other than to say it was lovely, as usual.

I ran a couple of errands last night – money seems to be slipping through my fingers these days, but all for worthy causes, not mad money – anyway, I found another piece of the Chad’s-birthday-gift puzzle, a couple of shirts he might like. I say “might” because we have taste that is similar, but not the same. He buys me gifts that I would probably not think to buy myself but once I have it I always love it. On the other hand, I tend to buy him stuff he doesn’t like (and I shouldn’t even mention how awful I am at guessing his size when holding up an article of clothing before me). I am getting better at picking out things that say “Chad”, but it’s been a 12-year haul to get here.

Wednesday, March 23, 2005

And another thing...

... there is a full-force snowstorm going on - big fluffy flakes and gale force winds. Another seasonal reprieve. Another chance to relax. :)

On Tour

Yesterday was our preadmission appointment and tour at the hospital. I told Chad, as we were waiting for the elevator, that if we heard any screaming when we got up there, then I was calling the whole thing off. Luckily that didn't happen.

The maternity wing was quiet and felt private. It has locked doors on either end, and there are protocols about having your baby in the halls (i.e. you can't walk with them in your arms - they have to be wheeled in their bassinette). It seems that they take the potential for abduction pretty seriously. (One more thing to worry about that normally never would have crossed my mind!) The room they showed us seemed quite a bit larger than what I remembered when I peeked in a couple of months ago, but this time I wasn't looking so much at the size and amenities as I was at the monitors and equipment and tubes coming out of the wall... oh my. The worst part was seeing the bank of regular delivery rooms and then oh, by the way, here's the OR right next door in case you need a C section. And ah yes, the anaesthesiologists' office is in this same wing just one floor down - they can be up here in thirty seconds if needed. Good to know.

The local hospital is a surprising mix of a very modern, almost holistic attitude toward health care... without big-ticket funding to back it. The rooms are all LDR rooms you stay in for your entire visit. You've got CD players and mini fridges and a kitchenette with all the gingerale and cookies you can handle to make you comfortable. They have birthing balls and showers and this big jacuzzi tub to labour in that has a swing-open door and tilts back... and yet, there's still no epidural. You want something to wear after labour? Bring it yourself - the hospital gowns disappear when that baby comes out. The same goes for diapers and clothes for the baby, and even the vaseline to use on his or her bottom - that's on the packing list they give you to bring. If you can make do with toilet paper for your nose, you're OK - if you want a box of Kleenex, it's your responsibility.

In spite of this, yet again, the entire experience had Chad practically doing backflips. (I think the icing on the cake for him was finding out that the TVs have full service cable, TSN included.) In just a few short weeks we'll be back (and I'm trying to picture it - night or day? which room will we get? will I really want to use that tub when the time comes?) - and after making use of all the icky medical stuff they have on offer, we'll be going home as a family. I still can't quite wrap my head around that.

Sunday, March 20, 2005

Weekend Rambles



Another weekend is behind us already - HOLY CRAP. Time is flying so fast. I feel so not ready for this. Will that change over the next few weeks? If I went into labour tomorrow, I would honestly start to panic.

The final preparations around the house are done. This weekend Chad and I had some free time so we went to Michigan to visit Renee and her family, and pick up the rug (in Kiwi) that she graciously let us ship to her house. She just got a new little boxer puppy who is just about the cutest thing ever - that's the closest I've ever seen Chad to wanting a dog himself! We wrapped up the day by running several errands to pick up wedding and shower gifts for friends and family - yes, that season is nearly upon us. At home we unrolled the rug and then cleared out the non-nursery baby items from the nursery. The bassinette is in the living room, the stroller behind the couch until it's time to move it to the truck, and the bouncy seat tucked into a corner until it takes up residence on the kitchen island (where I think it will spend the most time). The nursery is now just a little sweet sanctuary for sleep. We also started packing a hospital bag, though all that really got done was we chose a going-home outfit from our little closet full of newborn cuteness.

Today I was supposed to get about ten chapters read for my upcoming exam - ha - what really happened was I slept through my class at the gym, putzed around a lot, and took the weekly belly shot, above. I'm running out of ideas here. If there's not some sort of holiday involved that I can work around or use props from, then it takes me forever to get a setup I'm happy with.

Back to work tomorrow - my second-to-last Monday. GACK. This is a short week, with a stat holiday on Friday and two appointments during the week - a pre-register at the hospital on Tuesday and a regular weekly with Dr. Bailey on Wednesday. Before I know it another week will be under our belts.

Friday, March 18, 2005

One Step Back

Today we woke up to a few inches of snow on the ground. It's all everyone is talking about (especially because it's followed several weeks of mild weather). There's a non-stop grumbling in the office today about how winter will never end.

While I'm slightly annoyed that we had to scrape off the cars this morning, will need to shovel the steps at lunch, etc., part of me is also a little relieved. With a due date around the middle of April, I have it in my head that this baby is A Spring Baby. And as spring marches ever closer, I get more and more nervous. I thought I wouldn't start to worry until next week - spring officially starts on the 20th. And that's the week of Easter, too. What could be more spring-ish than that? But a couple of days ago I was rounding the path to the back door, glanced over and saw that not only are the crocuses up - but the snowdrops are already flowering. Talk about a reality check.

We've waited for this baby for a long time. Nine months is quite a stretch, not to mention all the hoping and planning before that. This baby has been a part of our lives for so long already that actually having him/her seems almost like a cursory formality. Obviously, we are really looking forward to The Big Day. But the thought of The Big Day being a really long, and really painful one, still gives me great pause. Chad bounds out of bed every morning singing, "Only 27 more days!" He is beside-himself-excited. And I'm excited too, but it's an excitement that's tempered with a good healthy dose of fear.

So I guess I don't mind this two steps forward, one step back approach to spring - it's given me a chance to calm down a little today. Tomorrow the temperature is supposed to be back up in the 40s. There will be plenty of time to worry about things then.

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Erin Go -- Bah, Humbug



I've been asked about ten times today why I'm not wearing green. I like green well enough, but to be honest, I'm not big on colour-coding myself according to the holidays. My excuse this year is that I don't have anything green that fits anymore. Cheryl just came into my office and suggested that I casually throw a regular green sweater around my shoulders. As if I need to add any more bulk to my frame at this point! For the first time in my almost 30 years, today I heard (on The Today Show, and again on the local news) that you're allowed to pinch anyone who's not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day. I've never heard this before but if I'm black & blue by day's end, I guess I will have deserved it.

Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the Irish. My dad put some Robinson family genealogy together that traces them back to Ireland about 5 generations ago. I also have an affection for Irish music to prove my point. For your listening pleasure today, may I suggest:

The Corrs
The Mahones
Hothouse Flowers

So there - I've proven I have a bit of Irish spirit. I have no problem admitting, however, that we have tacos on the menu for dinner tonight. Corned beef and cabbage just don't cut it!

Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Too Many... huh??




Certainly not the opinion shared by Chad and myself - but Captain would beg to differ. Big changes are on the way for the three of us, ones that Chad and I are looking forward to, but Captain... we think not so much.

It's amazing how many people blog - you wouldn't believe how many different names for this one I tried to register, only to be refused because they already belong to someone else. So, Too Many Cooks it is. One last hurrah for the C-Man perhaps -- one final moment of glory before he is replaced (or at least demoted). Tear.

One good thing about a baby on the way, from a cat's point of view -- this diaper basket thing is awesome.