Rough Week

I have definitely had a rough week! I've caught a bug that has caused me to be very sick to my stomach. I couldn't keep anything down - not even liquids. Cal and Blake had a touch of it as well, Cal's stomach has felt queasy and Blake has had diarrhea.

I finally called my Dr.'s office yesterday (Thursday) and the secretary told me to come in right away. So I was waiting for Blake to wake up and in the mean time the nurse from the clinic called me and suggested I go right to the LDRP unit at the Sturgeon to get a non-stress test and probably some fluids and gravol via I.V. She also told me to bring my bag, just in case (which made me panic a tiny bit!)! So I called Cal and my Mom, got my bag together and when they both got here Cal and I headed to the hospital. Turns out I was dehydrated so I got hooked up to an I.V. with fluid and gravol. The gravol made me feel very sleepy but not much better. The non-stress test showed that the baby was happy and not under any stress at all. Thank goodness, because if the baby had shown any signs of distress they may have induced me. The heart rate ranged from 132 to 142, but when it kicked and moved it went up to the 150's! The monitor that monitors the uterus showed some small contractions, which I refer to as the "twinges"!! Before I left they tested my urine again and the amount of keytones (not sure if the spelling is right) went down, which showed that I wasn't as dehydrated as when I arrived. So I was allowed to go home, but was told that if I continue to be sick to my stomach I have to come back. So far I haven't been sick to my stomach again and I've drank and ate and slept, so I'm hoping I'm on the road to recovery. I'd like to be back to my normal self before going into labour - I need the energy!

Thankfully Cal stayed home from work today and I got to sleep in! I felt a lot better when I got up. I've felt so bad for Blake having to be cooped up inside all week, so we took him to the play gym this morning. He had an absolute blast and was so tired when we got home! He's sleepin' like a baby right now!

I'll let you know how the next NST goes (if I don't have the baby by then) and hopefully we'll be posting baby news soon!!

Luv Tracy

6 Days to Due Day!!

That's right - just 6 more days until my due date! At least this time around I've only had 1 due date!!

I had a Dr. appointment today and everything is good, as per usual. The last few weeks I've lost some weight, but that happened with Blake too and it's not a large amount so no one is worried. My blood pressure is great, there is no protein in my urine and baby is moving lots! Right now I weigh 10 lbs less then I did at the end of my first pregnancy. I hope this will help with the weight loss after the baby arrives!! Today the babies heart rate was 137 bpm. Baby has dropped some more and is "engaged". I can definitely tell - there is a lot more soft space at the top of my belly!! I'm hoping this baby has a lot of hair, because my heart burn has not lessened one bit. I'm popping Tum's like crazy! I had a lot of heart burn with Blake too. The Dr. checked me out today and I am 2 cm dilated, but my cervix has not thinned out yet, therefore she predicted I would not go into labour before my due date. So I made another appointment for Monday, February 9th and we'll see if I make it or not and if I do we'll see what's changed in a week! Cal would like the baby to be born on his birthday so maybe he'll get his wish :) Valentine's Day would be cool too, but not sure if I want to wait that long!! The Dr. also asked me to go for a non-stress test this weekend to make sure baby is still happy and if I am overdue I will have to go in every couple of days for a test. She said if the baby is happy she will let me go 8-10 days before inducing me. I really hope it doesn't come to that! All in all, everything is great and I'm feeling pretty darn good! I'm sleeping not too badly and I'm not feeling too impatient (yet)!

This week has been good. The three of us are over our various illnesses and we've had a very productive week! We crossed off a ton from our to do list. Babies room is all ready, we took some stuff to the Goodwill, sold some clothes and toys to Once Upon A Child, took the bottles back, cleaned the house (including the basement!), and made a few meals to freeze for after baby arrives! Next on my list is to get everyone's birthday and Valentine's gifts bought, signed, wrapped and ready!! Oh and I'd like to get a hair cut and a pedicure :) And if I get all of that done, I'm sure I'll find more! The list literally never ends!

On Thursday evening I had a great dinner out with some of the ladies from my New Mom's Group. We always have fun when we get together! Blake and I went shopping with my Mom and Dad on Friday morning. We took Blake to see the quads at Riverside! He had fun and Grandpa even found him a quad helmet in the right size. Blake's tried it on a few times and it sure looks cute! He also got a model of a quad that he loves playing with and tried to take to bed with him a few times!! He's such a funny kid! Lately he's been getting a kick out of "scaring" people. He laughs a full out belly laugh if you get scared! It is one of the best sounds in the world!!! This weekend, if we haven't had the baby, we're going to walk around the RV show and see what's new in the RV world. The walking will do me good!

Take care everyone! We'll email everyone as soon as we can when baby arrives and Lindsay will likely post something on here and Facebook!

xoxo Tracy

38 weeks and counting ...

Time seems to have sssllooowed down!!! I guess that's what happens as you near your due date. My Dr. appointment today was good. The babies heart rate was 128. What the heck?! It's all over the place. The Dr. checked my cervix today and said it wasn't ready. So I made an appointment for next Monday - same time, same place!

The past few days have been rough around here. Last Tuesday Blake and I went to Stacey and Alana's for a visit and had a lot of fun. Then on Wednesday I got hit HARD by the flu bug. All of a sudden I was soooo... sore it was unbelievable. I could barely move. Cal had to come home from work. Until Cal got home, Blake took care of me!! It was really cute! He totally understood that I was sick and actually let me lay on the couch! He even gave me his blankie :) As the day went on the sore throat, cough and severe stuffiness also began. Let me tell you, it was NOT fun! I've never felt like that before. Thankfully the whole body soreness only lasted 24 hours, but the rest of it has continued. Today is the first day my throat isn't sore and I can comfortably swallow! I told Cal that if I was to go into labour, I'd ask for a c-section because I had zero energy and would definitely not be any help during labour!

As you know, Blake's been stuffed up for awhile and I thought I'd better take him in AGAIN. And ... he has an ear infection. So he's on antibiotics and it should be clearing up! Oddly, Blake doesn't seem to be affected much by ear infections. He continues to play and sleep and eat well! We can't get enough of his little personality! His new words this week are cool, hockey and you're welcome! Anytime he hears thank you, he replies you're welcome! Oh and I didn't mention his quad obsession last week! When we were outside last week two of our neighbours had their quads out and Blake was smitten!! Last summer he wasn't too sure what to think of my parents quads, but this summer I bet he'd love to go for a ride! We now say hi, bye and night-night to the quads in our neighbourhood :)

Cal started feeling ill and finally went to the Dr. on Saturday morning. Thank goodness he did, because he has bronchitis. We were hoping to take Blake to Cal's hockey game on Saturday afternoon, but we all missed it. Hopefully they'll be another one this season that Blake will be able to attend!

So we've basically been laying low and re-couping, which seems to have worked because we're all doing a lot better today!

This weekend I did meet up with a lady I found on Facebook who was selling all her newborn cloth diapers. I'm pretty excited because I got a wicked deal!! The plan is to wash my own cloth diapers for the baby and to do the same for Blake when we start potty training him. Yesterday my parents brought over the crib mattress and change pad they bought for us, so the room is pretty much ready! We'll add the finishing touches when we know if the baby is a boy or girl :)

Take care everyone!

Love, Cal, Tracy, Blake and Baby

37 Weeks!

3 more weeks until my due date :) I had a Dr. appointment this afternoon. The babies heart rate was 153 bpm. I'm measuring 38 weeks (same as last week). The babies head is down, but not "engaged", so it still has to move into my pelvis. The carpel tunnel in my right hand is getting worse. My right middle finger tip is numb all the time and my hand feels very stiff and swollen. The left side only bothers me at night, but is fine after I get up. Surprisingly I can still wear my wedding rings during the day! The baby continues to be very active and enjoys kicking its poor Mom in the ribs!! But I must say, I enjoy watching my belly move and wiggle as the baby moves and kicks!

We had a great week and weekend. The weather was fabulous!! Blake and I spent quite a bit of time outside. He loves being outside and shovelling! One night he insisted on taking one of his shovels to bed with him. I laid him down and then passed him the shovel and he tucked it in beside him as if he was cuddling with a teddy bear! It was so cute!! On Wednesday Blake and I met my friend Melissa and her boys at Beaners and the boys all got hair cuts. Blake always looks so grown up after a hair cut. After Beaners I took him to the pediatrician. He had a croup like cough start on Tuesday night and I thought I might as well get it checked out, since he had just been sick over Christmas. The Dr. said his chest and ears were clear and it was likely viral, but he did a nasal swab to rule out an infection and gave us a prescription for one dose of a steroid to clear out Blake's airways and help the cough. It seemed to work and he slept well Wednesday night and didn't have the terrible cough. Blake and I went to Stony Plain on Thursday morning. We visited my Dad's office and then had lunch with my parents. Blake stayed over night at their house that night. Cal and I went for dinner and to a movie. It was nice to get out, just the 2 of us! We had the carpets cleaned on Friday morning and my parents and sister brought Blake back home later in the afternoon and then stayed for supper. It sounded like Blake had a lot of fun visiting Grandma, Grandpa and Aunty!! On Friday night my Mom, sister and I tried to go to the movie Bride Wars, but it was all sold out :( Cal had school this weekend, so on Saturday Blake and I met my Mom and Lindsay at the swimming pool and then we went for lunch. Blake sure enjoys swimming! He had fun filling a watering can in the sprinklers and splashing around. Saturday afternoon we met Cal outside and played outside before supper. On Sunday my Mom and Dad came over for a visit again and Cal got home early from school so we went to Toys R Us to buy some things we needed for the baby. Blake wasn't feeling well on Sunday. Still stuffed up and just not himself. He seems to be better today, but I'm going to call Dr. Radisic tomorrow, because he asked us to call if Blake wasn't feeling better in 4-5 days. Poor kid keeps catching everything that's going around. It really concerns us, but Dr. Radisic says it's totally normal and just that time of year. Have to trust the doc I guess!! We just don't like seeing our boy sick.

Tomorrow Blake and I are going over to one of our New Mom's Group friends house for a visit. The kids love Timbits so we're picking up a box and some coffee's for the Mom's! 2 other ladies in the group are expecting too, so we look forward to having our kids near the same age! So far we don't have many plans for the rest of the week. Cal and I have some things we'd like to cross off our to do list before the baby arrives, so we'll chip away at those. Cal did get the babies car seat installed this weekend! And we bought some shelves for the babies room last week, so we'll hang those tonight probably. Anyways, my thoughts seem to be all over the place tonight so I think I'll sign off for now!!

Take care everyone!

Luv Tracy

4 more weeks!!!!

Wow! Today I am 36 weeks, 1 day!! I had a Dr. appointment today and everything is good. I'm still measuring big - 38 weeks. I should be measuring 36 weeks! I really hope that doesn't mean this baby is going to be a lot bigger than Blake :) I had the Group B strep test today, hopefully it comes back negative. The babies heartbeat was 143, a bit higher than 2 weeks ago. I'll be visiting the Dr. every week now and have to carry my papers with me in my purse in case I go into labour! I still can't believe this pregnancy is almost over!! I feel like I've blinked and it's passed!!! But we are getting very excited to meet the little one and find out if we're having a boy or a girl! It's such an awesome moment when you hear the words, "It's a ____!" I felt all along with Blake that I was having a boy, so I wasn't very surprised when he was born! LOL! But with this pregnancy I can't say either way. I flip flop back and forth and for quite awhile I thought it was a boy, but now ... I don't know! It's fun to guess but of course we just want a healthy baby.

Blake is continuing to be a goof! LOL! He really "hams it up" at times!! He's started to call Cal by his first name occasionally. It is soooo... funny when he calls, "Cal!" instead of, "Dad!" Makes us laugh! I guess Blake gets that from me calling his Dad, Cal all the time. I always thought it was silly when a wife spoke to her husband and called him Dad, but now I think I understand! We're trying to talk to Blake about the baby every day. Just mentioning that Grandma and Grandpa will be staying with him when Mom and Dad go to the hospital to have the baby, rocking his doll, sorry "Buddy", in the bouncy chair and going to see the babies room. He seems to understand and hopefully he will adjust quickly! My sister gave us a book about being a big brother. It's really cool - you personalize it with names, dates, pictures, etc. I've filled it out and have started adding pictures and Blake loves to look at it.

Thankfully, our weather has warmed up and tomorrow is supposed to be +3! Yippee!! Cal's off work tomorrow, he switched from Monday to Tuesday off so he wouldn't miss his spinning class! We'll definitely be spending some time in the snow and sun tomorrow! Talk to later ;)

Luv Tracy

Oh the weather outside is frightful ...

It continues to be cold, windy and snowy! This weekend is supposed to be warm. I won't believe it until I see it, or should I say feel it! It was supposed to be warm on Monday, but only reached -15, which I still don't consider "warm." Blake and I did get outside though. We went for a sleigh ride/walk with Heidi and then shovelled some of the sidewalks when we got home. Cal bought Blake a little shovel, so Blake had fun pushing snow around! Next time we go on a sleigh ride, I will not be bringing Heidi! I was twisted around the whole time, pulling the sleigh with one arm and Heidi pulling on the other arm!! Not so comfortable for this already sore body :) Blake was funny in the sleigh. He just sat back and took in the sights! Weather permitting, we will be taking a sleigh ride to the park this weekend!

For the most part, Blake and I have been keeping indoors. Surprisingly we are doing very well! I thought for sure we'd get cabin fever, but he's so busy playing and running and dancing, etc, etc that the day goes by quite fast and we are having a ton of fun!! He's not too happy with me sitting for long - he comes up to me and tells me to move! I'm trying to teach him to say excuse me please, but move is his word of choice right now. It is very clear that is what he is saying and what he wants, because he's pushing on me at the same time!! He's mimicking us a lot now and especially when we're dancing. It's quite funny watching him do "the chicken" or "the bus driver" or any other crazy dance move we come up with! And we can not believe his vocabulary lately. He's been cracking me up the last few days with, "It's stuck!" He jams something into a spot it doesn't really fit in and then yells, "It's stuck!" It's hilarious!! He's learning a ton of new words and surprises us with them every day!

We've been thinking about whether or not to continue taking Blake to the day home 1 day a week, as we'd previous planned, but at this time we've decided not to. Once the baby is born, I hope to register Blake in a few different programs so that he's still socializing with kids his age and not just with Mom all the time! We looked into a "My First Preschool" program at the YMCA near our house. It starts in May and I have a few New Mom's Group friends whose kids are also going to register for it, so hopefully that will work out for us. We were planning on beginning swimming lessons again in January, but have changed our registration to March instead. By then the newest addition will have arrived and Blake will likely really need some one on one time!!

I'm doing pretty good! 36 weeks on Sunday. I'm STILL stuffed up, it's been over a month - crazy! At least I don't have a cough or a sore throat anymore. I have a regular Dr. appointment on Monday. I'm uncomfortable at night and having to visit the washroom every hour (at least that's what it feels like), so I'm not getting much sleep. I honestly believe this is all just part of the preparation for when baby arrives!! Mother nature's way of getting you ready! But I won't complain too much (no one wants to hear it anyways, right?!) and in the grand scheme of things I am healthy and happy!

Cal was back at work on Monday, after 2 weeks off for Christmas vacation. We had a good time during his time off and I look forward to having him home again for awhile (at least 3 weeks) when the baby is born!

Take care everyone! And stay warm ...

Tracy

Happy New Year!!

We rang in the New Year at home. Our friends Eric and Christa (Blake's godparents) came over for the evening. We ordered pizza and had appetizers! It was great! After Blake went to bed we watched a hockey game, a movie and were in bed by 11:30 pm! Last year we were in bed before midnight too. Boy are we getting old or what?! We were planning to go for a nice brunch on New Year's Day but couldn't find anywhere that wasn't $50 a person or that opened earlier than noon. So we stayed home and Cal made us all brunch!

The weather has been SO cold. We're a bit disappointed because we had hoped to play outside with Blake during Cal's vacation and go for a few sleigh rides. I think cabin fever is going to hit soon! We've ventured out for groceries and to the movie store, but other than that haven't gone far. Tomorrow is supposed to be -41 with the wind chill. Yuck! What can you do in this weather?! Next week is supposed to be warmer so Blake and I will get outside for sure.

Today I went wedding dress shopping with my sister and one of her bridesmaids and Lindsay found "her dress"! It is soooo.... gorgeous! I'm so excited for her :) But it got me thinking about bridesmaid dresses and how I'm going to have be very strict in order to be happy with myself in a bridesmaid dress in November!!! I'm not sure I would have been happy with myself in a bridesmaid dress before getting pregnant, so it may be a bit of a challenge! And with two kids? Geez, I'm going to need a major kick in the butt! LOL! Guess I'll worry about that after the baby is born!

We are looking forward to this exciting year and everything it will bring. We wish you all a healthy, happy 2009! Keep warm :)

Love Cal, Tracy, Blake and Baby Cameron

* I just had to add this little story in, because it's too cute not to share!! Last night when Blake was done his bath he kissed and said goodnight to his bath books. Today, after supper Blake, Cal and I were downstairs playing when he grabbed one of his blankets, laid it on the couch, put his head down and said, "Night, night!" He was obviously ready for bed, so Cal asked him if he'd like to go take a bath and Blake said, "Yeah!" So we told him to get his blanket and we'd go upstairs. Cal and I started for the stairs and Blake ran over to where most of his toys are and starting waving and saying, "Night, night!" to all his toys!! As if that wasn't cute enough, he then kissed all his stuffed animals and his doll goodnight! It was so cute it brought tears to my eyes :)