Still baking

Well, Baby B is still baking. 10 days until my due date & no real sign that this little one is ready to leave the warm & cushy confines of my womb. There's been some promising progress over the past 5 days, but no contractions. As much as this is an exciting time...like Christmas Eve, only better, & once it's over you can never relive it....I'm just so ready for Panda to get here. The last two weeks have def. been uncomfortable, anxiety riddled & filled with curiosity. What will labor be like? When is it going to happen? Is the baby going to be healthy? Just a swirl of questions & concern & excitement.

At my appointment yesterday my blood pressure was quite elevated, so I have to go back & have it checked on Friday. If it's still high, I'll be sent to the regional hospital to have some testing done. The doctor didn't specifically say, but I'm assuming if the testing does not go well, we'll probably talk about induction or something along those lines. High blood pressure & pregnancy don't mix. Thankfully I'm 38 1/2 weeks at this point & my BP didn't rise any earlier than this point...at least we know baby is def. viable & ready for the world.

Either way, we're preparing ourselves mentally for the biggest life change we're ever going to face!

The final countdown

Can't believe it's been over a month since my last post! Pregnancy def. puts a damper on things as you get closer to the end...lack of energy, aches & pains. The honeymoon period is certainly over. One of the hardest parts is people that haven't been preggers not really realizing what a physical strain it is. I toss & turn all night & haven't had a decent nights sleep in a couple of months. I have a bruised tummy muscle, either from strain or baby pinching a nerve because it's resting in one spot...it can make it unbearable to even walk sometimes :/ Sore legs, exhaustion...some of the lovely things that come with the final stage of pregnancy. & sometimes people still expect that I can walk fast or far, or be physical in ways I just can't. It can be tough, trying to balance protecting your own health & well being [& that of the baby] & still be active with friends.

Don't get me wrong, it's a lovely experience than I wouldn't trade for the world. In 36-ish days we'll be meeting our little one & what could be better than that?! It's just not the glowy, lovely, perfect time it's always made out to be. Pregnancy has it's highs & lows, just like most of life's grand experiences.

Now it's a waiting game. Will I have the baby early? On time? late? What exact moment is our little one going to choose as the perfect time to enter the world? At least our bag is packed, we're as prepared as two people can be [besides that tinge of fright that I'm sure all soon-to-be-parents feel]...& just twiddling our thumbs, waiting it out.

A+!!!

I passed my glucose test w/ flying colors! No Gestational Diabetes for me. Or "The Diabetes", as some people like to refer to it, hehe. Tuesday's appointment went well. Panda's heartrate is at 152 bpm, which is healthy & good. My tummy is still measuring ahead...this time by 2 1/2 weeks! I've read lots of info & the measuring of the "fundus" isn't all that accurate, so who knows what the reason is. But...because of measuring ahead we get to see Panda in ultrasound form not once, but twice more. Once on June 6th & again on July 7th. Exciting! Time is really going to fly by what with these two ultrasounds & now having prenatal appointments every two weeks.

We leave for Nova Scotia on Monday for a week. Looking forward to getting away & going to Apple Blossom. But traveling can be stress inducing, so doc told me to take it easy & really make sure I don't get stressed by travel or people or what have you. My blood pressure has always been in the normal range, but at Tuesday's appointment she said it was slightly elevated from last time, so just keep calm.

One thing RAISING my blood pressure is all this nonsense with our apartment building. We love our apartment & it's location...we've been here 4 years in August...but I have to say the past year has been trying. That's when the building went under new ownership & the new owners don't really know the first thing about taking care of an apartment building. Our living room window started leaking when it rains about 6 months ago & I immediately mentioned it. For a long time she never brought it up again & then finally, a couple of months ago, said they were going to replace the window...wonderful! We waited & waited. No word. Then this past month our building has been aflutter with construction guys working on other people's apartments. Well...I should say, hanging out in their truck smoking pot & working on people's apartments when they feel like it. We get a call last night stating our new window will probably be installed today...by those "dudes". I highly doubt they know the first thing about installing windows, but whatever. We moved all of our furniture out of the way of the window, threw blankets over our sofas...& then the guys show up after 11am only to start installing a window in someone else's apartment. It's now 2:30pm & I have my doubts they'll get to our window today as I never see them here past 4 or 5pm. & of course we're leaving Monday & we specifically told her we want to be here when they're working on the place [I'm sorry, but they guys seem really shady]...so it's probably gotta be today, tomorrow or not until June. *deep breaths*

Pics of the nursery :)

Just a few pics of the nursery.

Click for larger images & more

can be seen on my Flickr.

Someone's gettin' shivved...

It's been one of thooooose weeks. You know the kind. Everything goes wrong, your frustration level is at an all time high. You wanna bitch slap someone, but that just wouldn't be appropriate. Yeah...I knew you'd get it :)

After fulfilling our civic duty on Monday night by voting, we decided to paint the nursery. Started off great, ended not so great. It's kind of like when you're 16 & decide you're going to totally rearrange your bedroom, clean & pull down those NKOTB posters for something a little more "mature"...like that kick-ass poster of Leonardo Dicaprio you got for your birthday. About half way in [okay, who're we kidding, about 15 minutes in] you're hot, sticky, totally bored...you look around & just throw in the towel. There's always tomorrow. When you're a grown up, it seems unacceptable to throw in the towel, but you still look around & think "what the hell was I thinking?!". But by midnight, we were finished & breathed a huge sigh of relief. Another thing ticked off the checklist.

Called the cable company. Want to remove the hook-up & copious amounts of wiring from the spare room/nursery. But of course, because our cable service is the most complicated service on the planet, being hooked up to our high speed connection & operating through a maze of wires that run from one room to another that operate BOTH of our tv's, they'd have to send out a technician to reconfigure everything &...the big &...they'd have to charge us to do so. I DON'T THINK SO. As annoying as it will be to live with a tv hooked up in the nursery [sorry, I don't want by baby being lulled to sleep by my husband's annoying Battlestar Gallactica fetish] I'm not about to shell out money for someone to come do their job...the sneaky bastards. Unless you're a technician or they showed you every little thing they did while installing it, a regular human being [ie. my husband & I] will be totally unable to dismantle & re-assemble the whole shebang appropriately.

Then...the cake taker...is when the beautiful crib bedding set I ordered a while back was finally scheduled to be delivered yesterday, via UPS. ALL day the online tracking status said "out for delivery"....I realized this was a lie when midnight came & went. A small part of me was concerned a delivery man would be knocking on our bedroom window at 3am, package in hand, but I figured that was silly as he'd at least be courteous enough to use the front door, no? This morning I checked the status, which now seemed to be miraculously updated & AH-HA! an apparent delivery attempt was made yesterday at 1:33pm?! Nope, don't think so...as I was here ALL FRIGGIN' DAY waiting for that damn thing & they can use the excuse that I probably didn't hear them ring the doorbell or knock all they want, but A] where's my attempted delivery notice & B] I know exactly what I was doing yesterday at 1:33pm....sitting on my couch eating bon-bons & watching Location, Location, Location...so there. After a phone call, I was told it'll be delivered today between 1&2pm. But come on, UPS! This is not the first time I've encountered problems with you...just bring me my stuff, on time...don't dick a pregnant woman around.

The week can only get better, can't it?

Pour some sugar on me

Another pregnancy first...my one hour glucose test was Tuesday. Did anyone else find the drink to be somewhat tasty? hehe. It tasted like flat orange soda, except a little more sweet. Delish ;) I chugged it back & had an hour to kill, so luckily they had scheduled me for my regular prenatal appointment upstairs. Panda's heartbeat was at 152 beats per minute & sounded beautiful :) My belly, however, is measuring a week 1/2 ahead! eek! So, they're going to schedule me for another ultrasound in 2-4 weeks so they can see what's up...big sumo wrestler sized baby, perhaps?! I pray not. But at least I get to see Panda again before the big day. & I'll now be having appointments every two weeks instead of once a month, since I'm nearly 27 weeks. Exciting. The doc also gave me the okay for travel [Nova Scotia in less than 3 weeks] but told me to keep things as stress free as possible...& that it's a good thing we're ferry travelers & not making the 5 hour drive.

So I went back down an hour later to have my blood drawn & the poor nurse has quite the job getting my spaghetti veins to cooperate, so I have a nice little bruise on my right arm & she had to draw the third vial from my left arm. No immediate results...guess I have to wait until my next appointment on the 20th to find out. If I fail, I have to take the 3 hours test before which I will have to fast. ugh.

Panda was super duper active yesterday, from 2pm straight through to this morning! Not sure what got into him/her, but it's really wonderful feeling your baby move & kick...except for the total lack of sleep. I can't wait to meet 'em...my feelings change all the time: sometimes I think it's a boy, sometimes a girl. It'll be a wonderful moment when the doctor announces what it is. Could there be a better or more honest surprise?

Skate for poverty

Saturday we went to the Skate for poverty event being thrown by Syndicate in an effort to raise money for poverty [duh!] & also spread awareness that skateboarders really aren't so bad. A few of the mayoral & council candidates also came out to show their support, so that was cool. Lots of skater boys doing tricks & trying to show off, hehe. It was fun, even if it was a bit cold.

[Click images to view larger]

The joys of pregnancy

The pros & cons of pregnancy:

+ Clear skin. My skin has not been this healthy, rosy & clear in ages.
+ Not having to suck in one's gut.
+ Food. Getting to eat food, lots of it, & not feel guilty. Unless it's a third serving of
cheesecake, then you get a few stares.
+ Getting others to lift things for you. It's fun.
+ Auntie Flo holding off her visit for 9 whole months. woot.
+ Feeling your baby kick & move inside you. If that's not a pro, I don't know what is.

- Not being able to get a decent night's sleep.
- Peeing. All the time peeing. & if the baby kicks my bladder one more time...
- Waddling. I think I waddled before, but look out Daffy, I'm gaining on you.
- Barely being able to get out of a sitting position unassisted.
- My guts residing right under my boobs. Surely not an attractive sight.
- Did I mention the bladder kicking?!

Weird things about pregnancy:

001. New & darker freckles. I feel like people might now question if my husband

& I are related.
002. Patches of darker skin in certain areas of my body. Just...odd.
003. Eating a meal & feeling like it's just sitting there, in my chest, with nowhere
to go.
004. Not being able to see my feet without bending forward.
005. The amazing, yet absolutely strange, sight of your baby moving around in
your belly. Am I part of some secret science experiment?

All in all, I've had it pretty easy [knock on wood]...no morning sickness, not a single complication, baby has treated me really well & will get lots of hugs, kisses & milk as a reward when they finally arrive :)

What's in a name?

At almost 6 1/2 months pregnant, it's high time we narrowed down our names for little panda [our nickname for unborn baby Bezanson]...but the sheer WEIGHT of such a big decision can be chest crushing. Growing up with a name I was never quite fond of, I have always felt added pressure that one day when I had kids of my own I'd have to pick JUST the right name, & that pressure has only become magnified as my due date draws closer & closer.

Patrick & I have narrowed things down from a looooong list. At first there were probably 30 names for a girl & the same for a boy. We eventually cut it down to 5 each & now, we're at a comfortable 3 each which we'll take to the hospital & then try to get a feel for just who our gunk-soaked & squishy-faced newborn really is. But besides the first name pressure, is the added nightmare of middle names. How many? One or more? Traditional & maybe a homage to family members? or something completely oddball & off the beaten path?

It's all quite exciting, with a side of nervous jitters. I don't want my child to look at me one day & say "I hate my name". I want them to feel strong, confident & at peace with it...like it fits them like a glove & they can't imagine being anything else. A mother can dream, right?

Here's lookin' at you, kid.

It's hard to believe, but I had survived nearly 29 years without seeing the movie Casablanca. Living under a rock has suited me just fine, thank you very much. But when The Imperial Theatre decided to play it last night...their first showing of a feature film since the 1950's...it seemed a no-brainer. We had to go. Our good friends Tim & Leah kindly bought us all tickets [If they would have paid for dinner I would have wondered what they expected in return ;)] & I have to say, the movie met all of my expectations, even if I thought it was kind of cool I was one of the last people on planet earth to have avoided seeing the film.

Bogie & Bergie were the perfect couple in black & white. I couldn't get over the wit & humor that held up, even by today's standards. At the end of the movie they raised the screen & the stage was set to look like Rick's Cafe Americain & everyone was welcome to mingle & order drinks & dance. We were starving, so we stayed long enough to see the contestants in the look-a-like competition [everyone was encouraged to dress up, but being 6 months preggers limits what will fit around an ever-growing baby bump] & were amazed by two people in particular, who really wowed the crowd with their costumes. To vote for your faves, you made a donation by placing your money in a ballot type box corresponding with their picture. We placed our votes, then headed out for some late-night Wendy's which really hit the spot...only to get caught in a thunder, lightning & rain storm as we left. It was a really fun night & I'm glad I FINALLY lost my Casablanca virginity ;)

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!!

Recycle, reduce, reuse & all that good stuff ;) We've been growing increasingly more "earth conscious" over the past few years & have been trying our hardest to do our part. We use canvas grocery bags, recycle our bottles, have tried to cut down on our plastic use in general...our world is a precious thing & I don't want my kids, my grandkids, my great grandkids to be left with a shriveled pile of dirt that's beyond repair. So do your part too, pretty please.