sliding into third...

i can't believe it but this week we are sliding into the third trimester. it's still so surreal.

i feel kicks, i feel hiccups and we've seen the ultrasounds and yet most days i still can't believe i have a little turkey growing inside.

this feels like such a huge milestone. i am so thankful to be here.

the first trimester was rough, in more ways than one. i was grateful to be on bedrest so the only thing i needed to worry about was growing a baby. most days had me green with nausea and completely exhausted. on top of the regular first trimester fatigue i had the medication i was on that threw in an extra dose of exhaustion.

i think the worst part of those first 13 weeks was waiting for the bomb to drop. preparing my mind and heart for the inevitable bad news. i'd been here before. twice. and both of those times ended in such heartbreak. we did have a scare this time around too. some very minor spotting. i was sure that was the end. and yet somehow it wasn't and i'm so thankful for that.

no doubt the hardest part of the first trimester was the emotional rollercoaster. once that second pretty pink line showed up i wanted to shout it from the rooftops, but we knew this time around we had to play our cards a little closer. i remember telling lucia in spain. she was the very first person i told. i HAD to tell her because she and i had a very rough and REAL conversation back in june. she knows me so well. in june i felt so defeated. she got me through. i wanted to be able to celebrate with her.

slowly but surely we started telling more and more people. i remember wanting to tell katie SO BADLY. it was nearly impossible to keep it in, but i was waiting to tell her in person and we had a couples night planned. i'll never forget chilling out with Katie and Em and just casually sliding it in that we were pregnant!!! Somehow Katie knew it was coming. She kept telling me it was coming when we moved into the new place. And frankly, Katie got me through the first 13 weeks. She listened, comforted, understood, encouraged, hoped and prayed.

each day crawled by until we were FINALLY in the second trimester. i could not WAIT to get into that second trimester mostly because everyone says your energy returns and the nausea disappers...um someone forgot to send our kid that memo!!!

i will say it has gotten better. my nausea and puking is down to once a week on average. i've got more energy.

there have been so many "fun" parts of t-2. we FINALLY got to see an ultrasound of a baby looking somewhat like a baby - although this little goof prefers to show off his/her spine instead of their cute smile.

i can feel small kicks/flutters. once again because of the baby's position and the fact that i have an anterior placenta, the kicks aren't as strong and clear as most. it almost feels more like a tickle than a kick!

t-2 has also meant...SHOPPING! i will admit, shopping will be a lot more fun when we finally know if it's a boy or a girl. there really aren't THAT many choices when it comes to gender neutral stuff. but i refuse to give up our dream of that "moment" in the delivery room when we find out if baby has a hot dog or a hamburger for the sake of a little shopping.

i'll never forget one day in december. d and i went into one of our favourite stores - M.Y. Home. for the past few years whenever we walk in there i've been wanting to go to the kids section, but won't allow myself to do so because it was just too hard. there we were. in december. in the store SPECIFICALLY to look at the kids stuff. d and i hugged and i had a few tears. it was such a great moment. so surreal.

there were also tears when we ordered the nursery furniture. and when we picked up the stroller.

christmas was so fun. our little bumpkin was spoiled rotten by his/her Mamie (D's mom). i felt like it was our baby shower as we opened up all the sweet little sleepers and soft little toys. slowly but surely our home is already being overtaken by kid stuff and i must say i LOVE it!

t-2 also meant classes. last weekend we did a two-day brining baby home class through the ottawa childbirth education association. it was amazing and so worth it. i would highly recommend the class to any new parents. most of what made the class was our instructor Erin. she is truly doing what she was meant to do in life. she was so informative, yet funny and friendly and non-judgemental. the class really fit with our philosophy about how we'd like to raise our kids. it truly was the perfect fit for us. in a surprise twist we were each given a doll to hold for the two full days of class. the dolls were weighted to the appropriate average newborn weight and one of us had to be holding the baby at all times (except for lunch and overnight). that alone was quite the eye opener...just trying to juggle the baby with other things we were doing. in the end denis ended up holding the baby for most of the weekend while i took notes. we also explored issues such as attachment parenting, breastfeeding, baby wearing, cpr, cloth diapers and the list goes on and on. we had a great group of parents too!

we also started our prenatal classes here in kemptville. we really love our instructor for that class too and she also happens to be the public health nurse who will be visiting us after baby is born. yeah!!! d and i are definitely the senior citizens of the group and it is a more "generic" class. so far we haven't seen any "scary" birth videos yet, but i think those are coming!

i still can't believe we are in t-3 now. something tells me this is going to be the fastest trimester by far. this is supposed to be the "nesting" trimester and appropriately enough we are doing MAJOR renovations. denis is pulling down walls as we speak and the workers start tomorrow. i cannot wait to have the nusery done. i have a general vision, but still need to work out a few details. if this kid comes early, they may end up sleeping in a drawer! at least we have a shop vac close by for some white noise!!!

another exciting part of the next month is my shower!!! i'm most excited that my parents are coming in for the weekend of my shower. they will get to see our new house (in whatever condition it will be in at the time) and see me pregnant. it'll also be fun to celebrate this great big adventure with friends and family!

i really really hope the next 13 weeks go quickly because i'm getting super impatient. so is denis. we just want to meet this little nugget already. and i know we aren't the only ones. he or she has two older cousins in winnipeg who have been waiting a long time for this. and they found out this week that they will be coming to ottawa for canada day with my parents. we are going to have two weeks together for cousin bonding. they are already bargaining with each other to decide who gets which baby chores. we are also going to have a special "tia night out" just the three of us in montreal to see taylor swift! i really hope hayden can handle all of the screaming from the young girls!!!

well, it's time for this mama to hit the sheets. i'm fighting a cold and today has been a particularly rough day. i hope you all have a wonderful week and STAY WARM!

night lovelies...

Comments

[Stéphanie Pouliot]

Best wishes for your 3rd trimester! You & D will make such great parents! April is just around the corner!
Many good things to come and how great for the “Winnipeg cousins” to visit near Canada day, that’s amazing!
Have a great week!

[katie squires]

THIRD!!! Already??? WOW time is flying by...I bet it doesn't feel like that for you though eh :) LOL WOW...not long now :)