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...
