As our due date approached and then passed by, I frantically tried getting everything in order for the arrival of our little one. Little did we know, Muppet had no plans on arriving on time, in fact, our little monster decided to stay so long, that our doctor decided we needed to be induced on December 27. Originally she wanted us to come in on Boxing Day, but later decided we'd probably like a day of shopping. We were so crushed to hear that we would have to be induced, and I spent all the days leading up to our induction crying and trying to figure out how we could postpone our appointment. We both really wanted to do things as naturally as we could, and didn't want to force the baby out before it was ready, as this was truly the opposite of our plans. Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any answer, so I tired to face the upcoming hospital visit as positively as possible (not so easy).
I did keep busy though by finishing up Muppet's Christmas stocking, though I was so sad to know the baby would be missing Christmas holidays and all the presents we had gotten for the little one, including the most adorable Baby's First Christmas ornament made by our friend Lesley Wellington from 'The Cat's Pyjamas'. She makes the cutest cake toppers and ornaments and I know I will be buying many for years to come! You can purchase her amazing and unique artwork from her website which links to her Etsy store: www.lesleywellington.ca.
On Christmas eve, we headed to Chris' family's house to celebrate Christmas. It was a little difficult to get into the spirit of the holidays knowing our baby wouldn't be able to celebrate with us, but everyone did their best to keep us in good spirits and even helped me keep my mind off of the sad news by looking up natural ways to induce labour. We read that drinking red raspberry leaf tea, primrose oil, pineapple juice and walking around a lot can help speed up labour. At this point, I was willing to try anything, so I spend Christmas eve drowning in tea and juice and playing with Sawyer at the dog park in the snow. All day I had constant braxton hicks contractions, but around 11pm, after opening Christmas presents, I started to notice the contractions were coming in a pattern. I quietly began timing them, without telling anyone, and after an hour of them being evenly spaced out, I showed Chris. Neither of us wanted to get our hopes up, as we had experienced this before, and they just turned out to be plain old braxton hicks, so we decided to just keep an eye on them. As the evening wore on, they got stronger and more frequent until they were 3 minutes apart. We decided to head home so I could labour at home (if this was labour) and be closer to the hospital. All night I had contractions, until finally around 4am Christmas day, we decided to go to the hospital.
At the hospital they decided that I needed to dilate more before they could admit me, so they had me walk around for 2 hours through the mostly empty hospital. Thank goodness for all those railings throughout the hallways! I was constantly stopping, turning to the wall, gripping the railing and pressing my head into the wall. By the end of our hospital adventure, my forehead was very bruised. I was finally admitted into the hospital and brought into our room, which was the room of my dreams! It was large with it's own bathroom, kitchen, rocking chair, television and birthing ball. It was nice and private, which was very important to me. They found my contractions to be strong, but not quick enough, as they slowed down from 2-3 minutes apart, to 5-6 minutes, so they had me go and walk the halls again to see if that would speed things up. Around 7am, I called my family, as they were expecting us to show up for Christmas breakfast around 8am, and I was pretty sure we weren't going to make it. ;)
After calling my mom, we went to see if we were progressing, but sadly my body was not learning how to labour properly. They decided to break my water, and when they did that, they found that the baby had already passed some meconium inside me which can be a sign of the baby being under stress, or simply be dangerous for the baby to ingest while in utero. They decided they needed to monitor the baby, so I had to be hooked up to some machines and had to stay in my bed (which was exactly what I didn't want). Again, I was a little crushed. After a few hours of moitoring, our nurse spoke to the doctor and they decided that the baby looked okay, and that I was able to walk around as long as I checked in every half hour for monitoring. I am so thankful for our nurse. She really understood how I felt, and tried to do everything to make this labour easy on us.
After 5 hours of not progressing any further, they decided I had to have pitocin to speed up my contractions. Apparently my body was not getting the hang of this "labour" process. I again didn't want any medical intervention, but knew they were concerned about the baby being inside with meconium, so I said yes. My labour pains intensified strongly from then on, as pitocin not only speeds up contractions, but makes them sharper as well. I tried to deal with the pain, but it came to a point where I was so tired from having no sleep and being confined to a bed again that I gave in and got an epidural. My feelings on the epidural are mixed, as I really appreciated the sleep I was able to get, and don't think I could have pushed in the final stages of labour without it, but I didn't like feeling just strong pressure without the sharper pain, as it didn't make sense in my mind. I also hated being confined to bed. They found the baby was sunny side up, which was causing me to have intense pain in my lower back, so in came the "Baby Whisperer", who reached in the turned the baby around. It was a little crazy!
They topped up my epidural with another medication that would wear off when it came time to push, and that just knocked me out. I couldn't feel anything, not even pressure, and I fell into a deep sleep. The next thing I know is someone is shaking my shoulder and telling me it was time to push! Push what? I didn't even know I was still in labour! I was supposed to push with each contraction, but because of the drugs, I couldn't even feel when I was having them at first. After a while, the drugs began wearing off, and the pain came back. All I wanted to do was get up and walk around, but I was hooked up to machines and my legs were numb from the epidural, so I was unable to. This became the worst part of my labour. I would take the pain over not being able to move around any day! I started to feel claustrophobic and began panicking. I kept saying, "I need to get up, I need to get out of here!" The nurse and Chris both tried keeping me calm, but I could see the worry in Chris' eyes and just wanted the whole ordeal to be over. As I pushed and the baby's head came out, they told me to wait and not to push, and I'm pretty sure I freaked out and said, "Either take it out or put it back in!" I was not happy with it being half in and half out. *shudder* With the next contraction I pushed hard, and finally our little Muppet was born!
Chris, the proud new papa, looked down and exclaimed, "It's a boy!" I have never seen him prouder. :) Chris even cut the cord! As they cleaned him up (and stitched me up), I remember saying, "He's so cute..and I can't even see him!" That's really how you feel, no matter what they look like, to you, your child is the most amazing and beautiful baby ever created. In that moment, I couldn't tear my eyes away from Chris and the baby. It is a vision I never want to forget, as I've never seen such pure love shown before.
Little Oliver Sullivan Ysebert Gallant-Turner *whew* was born December 26 at 1:20am, weighing 7lbs 4.6 ounces and measuring 20 inches in length. He just missed Christmas and was a little grouchy because of that. He also made us miss Christmas, so we think of him as our little Grinch. :) I also think it's interesting that he arrived the day before we were going to be induced. Maybe that was his gift to us. I have to say, this is a Christmas we will never forget, and now this wonderful winter holiday will be even more special to us each year, as we truly spent Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day waiting for the arrival of the best Christmas present ever.
And I have to say...Our hearts grew three sizes that day. <3
Week 37 was probably one of the slowest weeks I've had in a long time. I spent most of that week cleaning, cooking, making stuffies and just taking little breaks to rest. If it wasn't for my cold, many times I would forget I was pregnant, until I try rolling over in bed. :) I have found that the weight seems to have lifted, so to speak, as I think I must be getting used to carrying around this big belly now. My back has been pretty good lately, and my swelling isn't too crazy either, so I'm having a great ol' time! People ask all the time if I just "can't wait" for the baby to come, and honestly, I'm still very happy being pregnant, so there truly is no rush. Of course I'm excited to actually have the baby here with us, but until it's ready, I'll continue to enjoy being pregnant.
One of the exciting things that has happened for us during week 37 was the purchase of blinds for our front bay window! We have lived in our house for 5 years without any window treatments, probably putting on free shows for our neighbours (and we wonder why they always seem to be moving in and out). We went with a faux wood slat style blind, and I must say, they really look great! Chris also put them in all by himself! He has become quite the handyman lately! He put up a light fixture, fixed our toilet, installed a new thermostat and now has shown talent in window dressing. ;) Thanks for being such a big help honey! <3
We have started our Christmas shopping too, which is actually going pretty well, though I have no idea what to buy Chris for Christmas. The hardest thing is not to buy everything we see for the baby! I know that it won't even realize that it's getting presents, and well, it already has a nursery brimming with new things thanks to friends and family, so there isn't much point, but I have gotten a few things- like this matching bib, change pad and burp cloths from 'baby momo' on Etsy. I just could not resist the bee pattern!
I am also planning on making Muppet's first stocking for Christmas, if I have time...so Muppet, stay in a little longer! :)
An important trip we try to make each week is visiting the dog park, so Sawyer can have some fun meeting new friends and being free to poop to his heart's content. :) We can't wait to bring little Muppet to see all the different kinds of doggies, and see his/her reaction to puppy kisses. Our last visit was great, though very chilly. I'm glad we went when we did though, because the snow started coming down hard and still hasn't stopped!
Here is a little video of us at the dog park, filmed by Chris. Enjoy!
I am so excited about the snow we are getting! It feels so magical to be sitting indoors by our window, drinking hot chocolate and enjoying the lights on tree. I cannot wait to share all of this with Muppet! <3
At 37 weeks, Muppet is considered full term! That means, in most cases, Muppet could be born safely at any time! Eek! Muppet is about the size of a small watermelon, which is something I've been waiting for, as people always say when you are pregnant, "You look like you have a watermelon under your shirt!" :) Now I can say, "I do!". Muppet has me craving a lot of chocolate milk and hot chocolate lately, and I hope it stops soon, because chocolate seems to be a major trigger for heartburn for me. But, I just can't stop. Mmmm....chocolate....
My book of the week is 'Alligator Pie', written by Canadian author and poet Dennis Lee. This has to be one of my favourites as a child. I remember spending countless hours engrossed in the illustrations, devouring the rhymes and repeating the poem Alligator Pie in a sing-song voice around the house. Dennis Lee also wrote 'Jelly Belly' which I also loved, and wrote the lyrics for the Fraggle Rock theme song! I had no idea! This collection of poems is fun for all ages, as the rhymes are quirky and often downright crazy! I remember how each time I picked that book up, I would discover something new to catch my attention.
Week 36 has to go down as one of the busiest weeks I've ever had! We had our last prenatal class, a breastfeeding class, Muppet's first baby shower, my maternity photoshoot and two days of decorating the tree, and most things occurred while I had possibly the worst cold ever known to (wo)man.
Our last prenatal class was a little sad, as we were really enjoying them, plus I know we will still have many questions and are still not fully prepared for this little baby. That being said, I am so glad we took them, as it got us both in the right mindset for the arrival of this little one, and really gave us a good start to knowing what being parents is all about. Our last class was fun, as we got to visit mini stations around the room to practice changing diapers, dressing babies and swaddling. It was very amusing to watch Chris change the diaper of our practice doll. It's legs were quite stiff and wouldn't bend well, but Chris managed, and even had the diaper facing the right way! I was quite proud of him! ;) Another awesome thing about that class is that we were all given a few baby board books and a baby music cd to encourage us to make reading a part of our children's lives. I almost cried, because books just do that to me.
Our breastfeeding class was also a lot of fun, except for the fact that I couldn't breathe due to my cold. Chris was a champ and went to find me some water at one point too, which was very nice. :) My favourite thing about that class was trying the different feeding positions, and then watching Chris play with the doll, forgetting that everyone else in the room could see him. The class provided us with more information on who to call or contact if we have any problems with breastfeeding and made me feel a little more comfortable with the fact that it may not all come together at first, and that a little patience and persistence can help a lot.
One of the best things that happened that week was Muppet's first baby shower! It was an amazing day and I am so thankful for all of the hard work and generosity shown by so many people. My friend from elementary school and her mom graciously hosted the shower and well, if you knew these ladies, you would know the lengths they would go to ensuring everything was absolutely perfect! There was so much delicious food (including my Razzle Dazzle cupcakes), punch, decorations that matched the beautiful invitations, adorable tea bag favors for the guests, prizes for some fun games and well, just excellent hostess-ing, which is now a word. I couldn't believe how many of my friends and family showed up, and honestly, I was blown away by their thoughtfulness. Muppet is the luckiest baby already to be surrounded by such wonderful people! Thank you everyone again for all your love and support!
Another first that week was my maternity photo-shoot with Yvonne Long from 'Photography By Yvonne'. She was our photographer for our engagement photos, and our wedding, so it was only natural to want to continue sharing our life's precious moments with our favourite photographer. She is just so easy to work with and makes you feel at ease, even when you bring your crazy golden retriever to the set who doesn't have the ability to calm down. I really wanted to have some professional photos of our "growing" family before Muppet was born as it really is such an important moment in our lives. Yvonne was able to capture photos of my large belly, of Chris and I loving the belly and of us both with Sawyer, though he never sat very still, so we'll see how those turn out. :) I am so excited to see the photos, and I will post some on my blog when I get them.
Until then, here is a little video of Sawyer's adventures in the photography studio.
After our photo session, we headed out to Chris' parents for our annual "Decorate the Tree" night. It is a fun night filled with Christmas music, glittery lights, decorations, food and festive drinks (I had hot chocolate). This year Chris' brother and fiancée were unable to join us as they are still in San Francisco, but luckily they were able to Skype with us, so they could share in the celebrations. It was a very fun night, but I wish I didn't have my cold, as sadly I was unable to taste a thing. Hopefully the taste buds will be in working order for Christmas, as I have two dinners to eat and you all know how much I like turkey dinner! :)
Inspired by "Decorate the Tree" night, we decided to decorate our tree the next evening while listening to my favourite Christmas music sang by the Muppets. This was the first year I let go of the reins and accepted help from Chris. Usually I am the tree nazi, and no one can touch my tree, as I am super picky... but I have realized that from here on, we'll have children and I want them to partake in the tradition of decorating the tree, so I had to give in. Oddly enough, it wasn't as difficult as I had thought it would be. Chris put the fun decorations on the tree, and I put on the bows and more decorative items, like the bunches of sprigs covered in glitter. In the end, I was very happy with our tree and for the first time, felt that it really was 'our' tree. I am so excited to see the shining lights reflected back in Muppet's little awe struck eyes. It seems like such a wonderful time to bring a little person in the world, for them to be surrounded at birth by such joyous music, happy people, glittery surroundings and beautiful snow. It is such a wondrous season!
At 36 weeks, Muppet weighed as much as a crenshaw melon and was about 18.5 inches in length. Muppet has been shedding it's lanugo (downy hairs) and the vernix caseosa. I have had a few painful moments which I am assuming were braxton hicks contractions, but not very often, so most of them must be going unnoticed by me. Muppet is still very active at night, and seems to move around like crazy when no one else is around. I swear, it stops moving as soon as it senses someone else is in the room!
My book choice this week is 'More Spaghetti, I say!' by Rita Golden Gelman. This book is a classic (and another amazing book about eating spaghetti)! It is a fun rhyming and repetitive book about a monkey named Minnie who is too busy eating spaghetti to play with her friend Freddie. He begs her and begs her to make time for him, but she just cannot stop eating delicious spaghetti. Finally, she has had her fill, but Freddie has a fork in his hand and has started eating! I wonder if they'll ever find time to play together? This book is fun and very short, as it's a book for children just learning to read. I find it's a little bit like Dr. Seuss in a way too, so if your child is into his work, pick this one up for a little change. The illustrations are also simple and cute and really make you want to dive into a bowl of yummy spaghetti.
Week 33 was a busy week (it seems like each week is rather busy, now that I think of it...). We were able to take Muppet to another concert, this time with Canadian indie folk-rock musician Dan Mangan who is best known for his songs "Robots" and "Road Regrets" at the Aeolian Hall. The opening bands were also amazing! The first opening band (The Crackling) featured the drummer from Dan Mangan's tour, highlighting as the lead singer with the rest of the band mates playing along and for one song, Dan Mangan actually came out and played the drums, so it was a bit of a role reversal. We had an amazing time, as the music was spectacular, the band was incredibly charismatic and, and hey, how can you have a boring night when you are encouraged to join in singing with the bands? The hall was packed, the acoustics were wonderful and the crowd was such an odd mix of hipsters and elderly needing hip replacements! Also, I felt like we were drowning in a sea of plaid. At one point, I leaned over and asked Chris if we had mistakenly gone to a lumberjack convention. After the concert, which included a super fun sing-along of "Robots", we were able to meet the musicians, and they were so humble and generous. One of them even has a side project writing children's music, which I cannot wait to hear!
We got their autographs, talked a bit, and Chris even bought me an adorable Dan Mangan shirt! (Please note, that is NOT my body... My shirt is "slightly" stretched around the midsection... ;) Muppet is so lucky to have been exposed to so much talent before he/she is even a year old! We are pretty sure that Muppet will be a Dan Mangan fan for life, as it bopped around like crazy through the whole concert.
If you haven't been exposed to the brilliant music of Dan Mangan, I invite you to click on the link below! He's truly a great artist and I'm so proud he's Canadian. :)
Our next fun activity was going to our prenatal class, which we have become quite fond of. We not only enjoy learning about pregnancy and labour together, but we also enjoy having an extracurricular activity that we can both take part in. We are now trying to figure out what fun classes we can take together in the future, after the baby is born. In this class, we learned all about the different stages of labour, different pushing positions, and we even watched a video. Luckily for us, this video was not from the 70's or 80's like most of them seem to be. :) After class, I was pretty set on wanting to get a birthing ball, as I think it would really help me cope during labour.
All during week 33, I suffered with a crazy bad cold, which ended up going into my chest, causing me to have some bronchial irritation. The unfortunate thing is that you can't really take much for illness when you are pregnant, because you don't want the medication to affect the baby, so mostly I just stayed in bed shivering, sneezing, coughing and whining. I even ended up taking a day off work (which I never do) because I was feeling so weak.
Taking that day off of work also shortened my work week, which was kind of sad, as that was my last week of work before I started my maternity leave, and even though I was still sick, I made sure I went for my last day, as I knew I was going to miss everyone. I can't believe I am all done! In one way, it feels great, because now I have time to focus on getting everything set and ready before the baby comes, but on the other hand, I do feel a little out of the loop. So far though, I am not bored. :) I have no time for boredom! Christmas is coming!
Speaking of Christmas, during week 33, I took down all my fall and Hallowe'en decorations and put up my winter decorations. I haven't gone into "full-on" Christmas yet (I wait for the snow to fall first before Santa can make an appearance), but I did put out my snowmen and Christmas coloured candles, potpourri and blankets. I am going to work on making a Christmas pillow this year too, with a snowman stitched on it. I felt the need to get my winter decorations out because I am starting to worry I won't have time to decorate once December hits. I don't want to be behind in case the baby comes early! I guess it's a good thing we bought a fake pre-lit Christmas tree last year, as I don't imagine I will want to cut down a tree and string lights on it this year, with the baby coming so close to Christmas. * Note: It takes me a couple days to put lights on the tree because I am crazy and believe each branch needs 2 sets of lights on it, and you cannot just throw them on, or wind them around the tree...yes, this is a very stressful process, but once it is done, you can't see anything but the tree...for real, it's blinding. I blame my mother for this obsessive compulsiveness. ;)
Every year my family goes to different tree farms to find the perfect Christmas tree. We have been doing this since I was born, I'm pretty sure. It is so much fun! We all bundle up in snowsuits, head out into the fields and start judging trees. (This process can take a long time, as my mother and I are very picky...). At the end of our day (truly, it does take the whole day), we go and sit by the fire-pits and drink hot chocolate or cider and go for wagon rides through the farm. Sometimes the farm has marshmallows for roasting, or free candy canes. Mmm! I'm still going to go this year, though I'll probably have to wear my father's snowsuit, as I'm pretty sure I won't fit in mine. I just love the family tradition, and even though I won't be buying a tree this year, you can bet I'll be scoping out the trees for next Christmas, as we can't wait to include Muppet in on this family adventure!
During week 33, Muppet weighed a little over 4 pounds, about the same amount as a pineapple! Right now, the baby is gaining around 1/2 pound a week, so the weight gain isn't just because of all the cookies I've been eating... ;) Apparently, the amniotic fluid has also reached it's maximum level, leaving less cushioning in my belly, which is why Muppet's movements feel so much stronger and intense lately. I have to say, Muppet is one strong baby! Somedays, Muppet stretches both upwards and downwards at the same time, resulting in me having to suddenly pee while clutching my ribs. :) I really enjoy watching the rolling motions of my tummy, and feeling the hardness of a little foot through my skin. Sometimes it is so hard to imagine that Muppet's little foot, that so far has only existed inside me, will one day be kicking a ball, or tap dancing on the floor.
My book choice this week is called "Someday", and is written by Alison McGhee. It is a wonderfully touching story that I consider to be the new "Love You Forever". Don't get me wrong! I love "Love You Forever", and I will surely have that one on my shelf, but it is nice to have options under the tear-jerker category in children's literature.
"Someday" is a beautifully illustrated story about a mother's love, hopes and dreams for her child as the child goes through many milestones in her life, until life goes full circle, "Someday I will watch you brushing your child's hair". It's a very simple, but moving story of motherhood that touches on a child's highest highs, and saddest sorrows, because truly, that is what life is all about. I gave this book to my mom when I found out we were expecting, as it really captured how she was feeling, watching me go through another milestone as her daughter, but now, also as an expectant mother.
Please read this book with a box of tissues beside you...
I did keep busy though by finishing up Muppet's Christmas stocking, though I was so sad to know the baby would be missing Christmas holidays and all the presents we had gotten for the little one, including the most adorable Baby's First Christmas ornament made by our friend Lesley Wellington from 'The Cat's Pyjamas'. She makes the cutest cake toppers and ornaments and I know I will be buying many for years to come! You can purchase her amazing and unique artwork from her website which links to her Etsy store: www.lesleywellington.ca.
