On the road again graduates

[Carybear]

Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

Rayray ... Sloane is beautiful! What a beautiful head of hair!

 

[skyesmom]

Merry Christmas girls!! all the best to you and your little rainbows!!

(i'm stalking these past days but a bit overworked so i am sorry i couldn't reply to all your updates personally! but i'm really excited for all your news and those little rainbows!!)

 

[Starry Night]

Merry Christmas, everyone!

And I wish bfps for sky and Cary in the New Year!!!

 

[Left wonderin]

Merry Christmas and here here for Starry wish for Sky and Cary

 

[Starry Night]

Left - you're so adorable! I didn't know they even made maternity Christmas sweaters. I love it. You look a little unsure about it. LOL Love the antlers.

 

[skyesmom]

Left and Starry you girls made me cry!!

Left, i love your xmas outfit!! so so cute!

 

[Left wonderin]

I hate getting my photo taken !!! I always end up with a weird face on lol !!!!!!!

 

[RedWylder]

Merry Christmas or whatever Holiday you might celebrate! I'm with family down south and don't have much computer time so haven't been able to respond but I'm loving the updates. Left you look perfect and Rayray she's just too dang cute with her hair.

 

[Left wonderin]

Merry Christmas Red , hope you are having a lovely time I need a reminder as you have no ticker how many weeks are you now ????

 

[Starry Night]

Red - I'm with Left. I'm trying to do the math but am trying to figure it out! I know you're due 1 1/2 months before me so you must be nearing viability if you haven't already.

afm - one week until my anatomy scan! I'll 'only' be 19 weeks so not really halfway but I can't believe I am soooo close. Really, really hoping the technician will tell me the gender at the scan. I don't want to wait another 2 weeks to find out.

I'm starting to think I won't get as big as I did with DS. I mean, we'll see. I don't have that many photos of me pregnant with him as I was on bed rest much of that time, but I have a photo from 25 weeks and I was pretty darn huge. I'd like to stay smaller. My appetite is definitely smaller so that should help.

 

[RedWylder]

I'm 23 weeks! V-day is next Tuesday!!!

Starry I can't believe how far you've made it either. You're right behind me! It seems like yesterday I was going in for my anatomy scan.

If you loose count, remember I am exactly 10 weeks behind left and topanga. So they must be coming up on 34 weeks! I cannot believe that this is the same group of women who were ttc this time last year.

Oh and I am with you guys, 2014 must be Skye and Cary's year!

 

[Topanga053]

Happy holidays everyone!

Left- too cute! And I can't believe that showers aren't done over in Ireland. Really, it absolutely never occurred to me that they were a cultural thing! I can't believe you've never been to one! ALL of my friends have had one (expect for one friend because she and her husband had just moved out of state and didn't know anyone in their new home yet)... I can't even tell you how many I've been to over the years!

Starry- I can't believe your scan is so close! I hope they tell you the gender then too! So excited to hear how everything goes!!

Red- Yay for V-Day soon!!! I remember how unbelievably excited I was to hit that milestone. Just a huge weight off your shoulders, you know?? And yikes, I can't believe that Left and I are coming up on 34 weeks this Tuesday. Where did the time go!????

Afm, I'm getting so, so excited for my shower!! DH and I have been so busy that I haven't had much time to see my friends recently, so I'm so excited to see them all and for them to see our new house! Two weeks from Saturday... I'm dying!

We bought and assembled the crib yesterday. It's so nice to have one more piece of furniture in the nursery! DH was so sweet too. Every time we went into Target when we were TTC, I would make him take me past this crib and I would touch it and say that I hoped one day we would have a baby to put in it. So when we went to go get it, he said how nice it was that I was finally getting the crib I'd been wanting for so long.

DH has been amazing recently. We get along well anyway (most of the time! ), but he's been unbelievable in the last couple of weeks. He's so worried about Lauren now. I'm not allowed to lift anything, he's getting almost everything for me so I don't have to get up too often (even though I'm fine!!), and he's so worried about the weather. It's been really icy and snowy here the last couple of weeks. Last night we were walking through town and I almost slipped, so from then on, he would hold me and tried to convince me to stay in the store while he got the car and picked me up at the door. And this morning he wouldn't let me go outside and start my car before work, so he got out of bed and shoveled and started my car, even though he has the day off and could have slept in!

And when we were setting up the crib yesterday, he started talking about how excited he was to see more done in the nursery and he was really ready for her to get here. I know you ladies don't know DH, but this was so huge for him. Two years ago, we were fighting about whether to start TTC because he didn't think he wanted children. He was worried about everything, from money to quiet to our relationship. So coming from someone who only reluctantly agreed to try to make me happy, it's been absolutely surreal to hear him talk about how he can't wait to meet her and see how worried he is about anything happening to her. I KNEW he would be an amazing, doting father when the time came, but I also knew that he wouldn't be able to see it until we actually had the baby. And sure enough!

I just feel so blessed right now. From DH originally not wanting kids through the loss and the long time TTCAL, it feels so amazing to be approaching 34 weeks and feel her kick and see DH fall more and more in love with her everyday. I feel so blessed and I thank God every single day (usually multiple times a day!) for what I've been given.

Ok, I'm done... sorry for the novel ladies!

 

[skyesmom]

oh wow Topanga your story made me tear up! that is so so lovely!

i guess baby becomes more real for some men when it's kicking and they know the gender and see it at the scan, for some only when they are born... and i also know men who can't wait to be a daddy even like teenagers (my ex high school sweetheart was like this but i was far from being ready at 18!!!!)

but it's so so great to see him like this, and shoveling and coming to pick u up in front of the store.. oh those things make me melt!!!!!

kudos to your DH!!!!!

 

[Left wonderin]

Topanga your DH sounds like a wee dote and so excited at the near arrival of his daughter . you sound like I feel , I CAN'T believe it could be only 6 weeks till they are here !!!! The last few weeks have flowed by !!!! I'm sooooo excited and nervous at the same time . I still need to pinch myself that it is all real and I too thank GOD for all my blessings every single day , I still can't quite believe it .

My OH had to tie my laces this am for the firs time , bending down now is a bit of a challenge lol...... I can't wait to spend the next 6 weeks stalking you lol ........ Comparing symptoms of a different kind lol !!!!!!

 

[Topanga053]

Thanks ladies! It's been so wonderful to see him this doting (and I certainly don't mind all the attention either! ). He calls me Hobbles now (since I waddle a lot). After Christmas Eve mass, I was walking up the aisle toward him and he held out my coat to help me put it on and said, "Come on, Hobbles, get in." It just tickled my funny bone! Really, he's been amazing!!

Left- too cute about your DH tying your shoes today!! DH hasn't had to do that yet, but I wear a lot of flats/boots, so I can still slip into my footwear. It IS hard to bend down now though, isn't it?!?! Like you, I still can't believe it's real most days!! I just honestly never thought I would be here! My ticker says our EDD is only 46 days away... that is CRAZY!!!!! I mean God, 46 days is NOTHING!! How are you sleeping nowadays???

 

[rayraykay]

ahhh hahaha yes! At the end my DH was totally putting on and taking off my shoes. It's so hard!!!! It feels weird now not to have a belly to work around.

Topanga that story about your DH is truly touching. Watching your loved one turn into a dad is a pretty emotional experience. It's been one of my favorite things about all of this. PS I LOVE the Lion King. I hope you have a wonderful shower, you deserve it.

Red- YAYYY V day!!! I was also thrilled to hit that milestone. I can't believe how fast time is flying. Soon, you'll have your babe in your arms!

Left- What an adorable picture and sweater. I love it. Thank you for sharing!! It's nice to put faces to names especially since I feel like we all know each other so well. You look amazing!

Starry!!! One week from the best scan ever!!! Yippie skippieeeee!!!! I am vibing girl for you... I am also so glad you didn't catch the bug your family had. Baby related nausea is okay.. means baby is nice and snug in there... :-D

Cary and Skye- 2014 is the year of the rainbow baby for both of you! I can feel it!

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday with their family. Thank you for the compliments on Sloane... I wish you could all meet her and I could meet all of your babies! And all of you!!

xoxoxo

 

[Left wonderin]

46 days OMG !!!! And as for sleep not so good theses days hard to get comfortable. And then I'm like an elephant turning in the bed !!! I have on avg 2-3hours of unbroken sleep a night the rest is cat napping . Funny though I'm surviving pretty ok on it ! How about you ?

 

[Starry Night]

One time my mom told me that when she got to the end of her pregnancies she would have to get out of bed just to change positions. For myself, I just could not sleep in bed at the end. I had to sleep half-propped up on the couch.

afm - in-laws are coming over for the next few days so I will be MIA. A little nervous as there is a blizzard rolling in for our entire province and it's going to be a looooong drive for them. The weather updates keep getting worse and worse too. And we're supposed to meet them in the city for supper. That in of itself is a long drive. It would be stupid to go but if they're driving for 9 hours then it seems mean to back out of a 2 hour one. Super stressed!! And at 2am (go to sleep, Starry!!!) it is easy to feel morbid, especially after reading a book about WW2 in Nazi Germany that is narrated by Death itself. Good book though! The Book Thief.

And my belly has popped since Christmas! I'm 'officially' looking pregnant.

 

[skyesmom]

oh congrats to the popping belly Starry!!!

Topanga and Left and Starry, after reading all your no sleep stories, it sounds like the old myth of pregnant women sleeping all the time is a fluke! especially when you hear people say stuff like: "oh get all the sleep you can now, because later when they're born you won't be sleeping any"... as if getting some sleep while pregnant is a piece of cake!

i know in europe you can buy these special sleeping pillows for pregnant women that prop your belly up from the sides and can also prop your back, they call them beluga pillows (yeah like the whale), i don't know if they're a common thing in us and canada but a couple of my friends have tried them and all of them swear by it:
https://www.moms-rus.com/products-page/accessories/theraline-maternity-nursing-pillow/

oh well... for now it's daydreaming for me but 2014 will change that!!!

 

[Starry Night]

skyesmom - I think the stories come from the fact that when you're pregnant you are extra tired and fall asleep at inopportune times. In first trimester I HAD to be in bed by 9 otherwise I was throwing up all over the place. Now I get tired but things like heart burn and discomfort can keep me up. There is also pregnancy insomnia (like tonight) but I also take a lot of naps in the afternoon where I can sleep for hours at a time.

But yeah, there is no catching the extra Zzzzz's in the final weeks before baby comes. I'm just glad that my kids will be somewhat close together as I still give DS 'quiet time" which will hopefully let me get some rest....just hope the new LO will sleep during DS' quiet time.

And the "get the sleep while you can" is one of those nasty "let's scare the new parents" statements others like to make. Some LOs really do struggle to get a sleep routine but I think the average LO finds some sort of routine and you work your sleep around it.

Also, I'm one of those who NEEDS my sleep. There is only so much I can martyr myself. In the beginning when DS still had his days and nights a tad mixed up I started to sleep through his crying. I was just too, too tired. I would feed and comfort him to the best of my ability but once it got to the point where I was on the verge of blacking out from exhaustion I put him back in his crib, tears and all, and fell back asleep for about 45 minutes when I could do it all again. Those 45 minutes were bliss, too. You also learn to sleep through the minor fussing and 'talking'. He was in my room for 3 months so I just got used to it and slept until he was crying 'for real'.