What will the New Year bring?

   No one really knows. But New Year's Eve is time to ponder new beginnings and possibilities, as well as to reflect on the past year and all the things that happened, good or bad. For many people it's time to set ne goals and make New Year resolutions with the hope of bettering oneself. I love the feeling that I get entering the New Year. It's the feeling that anything is possible and anything can happen.

   Last year for New Year's eve I was really hoping that I would get pregnant and have a baby. We just decided that we were going to try for a forth child and I was full of hope that it would happen. I remember trying to imagine what being pregnant again would be like. I tried to envision what our next child be like. Would it be a girl or a boy? Would they be born in August, or October? Would they be born naturally, or would I have complications in childbirth that would result in our child being born via c-section?

39 weeks and .......... NOTHING.

   I am 39 weeks today. I thought that this baby would have showed up by now, but nothing is happning. Two weeks ago I was convinced that this little boy would have come in early November. I was really worried that he would arrive too early and I wouldn't have all the things ready yet. Boy, was I wrong. He never came really early. Now, since I am a mom, I will be worried that he is going to arrive late. I really don't want for him to be late since that would put a damper on our Christmas plans. With this awful flu that we all had I am very hesitant on taking a newborn into a restaurant on Christmas Eve or big family dinner on Christmas day. Since he can arrive up to 2 weeks past his due date, that would make his latest arrival on December 13th! That would make him less than 2 weeks at Christmas time. And I don't think that taking a 2 week old into a place where they can catch flu or cold virus is very wise. As a matter of fact, taking a less than a month old into any large gathering of people would be unwise. Especially since we have all just finished being really sick for a whole month! A newborn would not do so well with it. So that would mean no to our annual Christmas Eve dinner at the Boathouse, and no to extended family dinner on Christmas Day. I would hate to miss out on any of these but I have to look out for the best interest of our family.
   Daddy and I decided that if Monkey In-Waiting is going to arrive after the 29th, then we will forgo all the Christmas gatherings this year, but if he comes before then we will still take him. Since today is the 22nd, that leaves him a week to make his appearance and for all of us to still be able to enjoy all our Christmas festivities. The problem is that I am not feeling like he is about to make his entrance any time soon. Starting at 30 weeks I was getting tons of Braxton Hicks contractions daily. Since I got sick I have not gotten many at all. I now get maybe 3 a day. I think that it's time to start doing all the natural ways of inducing labor.

Our baby boy is full term.

This is what a full term baby in my belly looks like!

   Yey, I made it ti 37 weeks! It means that our baby boy is full term and can come at any time. It also means that sometimes between now and 5 weeks from now we will be holding our precious little bundle in our hands. I am excited! But I am also really scared. Everything is about to change. Everyone's role in this family is about to turn up side down and chaos is about to enter until we can figure out the new ways of functioning in our family. Babies do that. And our life just started having predictability for the first time in years. We just had it to the point that I knew what everyone's role was, what everyone's schedule was, and what everyone's expectations were.Now I am about throw all of that into the wind and rediscover everything.

Girly is on the mends, and I am all worried.

   So yesterday we finally got the prescription filled for Girly Monkey. She is on day 2 of the antibiotic and I am hoping that tonight I can get more sleep. I am not even wanting more sleep, I would just like to enter REM sleep once. She has been waking me up every night with coughing fits so I never even get to the REM sleep. It torturous! She has a coughing fit and if I don't go over to her room and pat her back and make her drink some water she coughs herself into throwing up. But now that she is on medication I am hoping she gets better. I hate seeing her be so sick. She has lost about 6 pounds (or 15% of her body weight). She is very pale too, and has no color about her. It's not very fun seeing you child be sick. But she is coughing less today, and she is eating more too. So maybe, just maybe she is on the mend today.
   So if Girly Monkey is looking like she is getting better then why am I worried? Last night I had a lot of pressure in my pelvis and I am worried that our baby boy will be eager to come before I am ready for him. There is still so many things to be done. I did a second load of baby clothes today and did a quick inventory. I think that we have most of the things that we will need. I am slowly collecting all the items on my Homebirth list and I will have to start putting it in a large storage container so that it's all easily accessible when I go in labor. I would also like to try out the water birthing pool soon to make sure that it's holding up fine from last time. I am not even sure if I will use it this time. From the amount of contractions I have been having I might be walking being 5cm dilated already. The last 2 times my water broke before real labor started, so it might be the same this time around.
   I am just worried that I will not get it all done before Monkey In-Waiting arrives. I had visions of being all disorganized and drowning in things needed for the birth but not being able to find anything. Pregnancy gives you the strangest thoughts. Dreams are not any better when I do have them. They all start off normal but usually end up creepy and scary. Kind of like in that episode of Fraser when Niles and Daphne have dreams about baby and pregnancy. I do not read anything into them except that they are an image of my worries and needs that manifest themselves more in pregnancy (since we have more worries in pregnancy). I am just crossing my legs and not letting Monkey In-Waiting arrive before the weekend is over since I need the weekend to finish everything up. Nope, he is not arriving before the 11th. Crossing legs better work!

Something better on the horizon.

   First of all, Happy Halloween to all you little Ghouls and Goblins out there (and their parents too). Halloween is such a fun day for kids, both big and small. For that one evening, children let their imagination soar and they let themselves be transformed into someone else. It is not a holiday worshiping the devil (what I heard in my house growing up) but a day for fun. The history of Halloween is very interesting indeed. I don't know very many kids that don't enjoy dressing up and receiving candy. My kids are not any different. They start looking forward to Trick o' Treating in September, and usually get their costume ideas by end of summer. Since I make most of their costumes I need to know well in advance what they are planning on being. Once they decide, my Monkeys are bound to change their ideas oh about ...... a million times. This year was not any different. I had everything from angry birds, to 60's girl, to football player, to Garfield. 3 weeks ago I had to finally tell the Monkeys that there are no more changes to the costumes as I had to start making them. So we ended up with a Fisherman, A Hello Kitty, and a Knight. Making the costumes at home allowed me to keep the costs down, plus I don't have to feel bad about buying a costume for one year that will eventually find it's way to the landfill. I try to make costumes that are either recycled (second hand stores are great for the supplies) or are made up of parts that the kids will use again.

Barefoot, pregnant, and washing dishes by hand.

   Could this statement get any more cliche? But that is exactly what I was doing last night before I went to bed. Why was I doing this? Well, since our dishwasher broke yesterday I had to wash up a day's (and a half) of dishes by hand. I know, there are millions of people out there who never even had a dishwasher to begin with, and here I am complaining about doing something that they have to do every day. It's not even that I hate washing dishes by hand. It's all about timing! This "wonderful" dishwasher surprise comes only a bit over a week after Daddy crashed his truck. And on top of it half of my oven broke too. How is that possible to have only half of an oven. Well, my top heating element is not working now, so I am running my oven on bottom heating element only. My last bread came out too brown on the bottom and not browned on top. Plus it wasn't baked in the middle.And all of this only few weeks before Monkey In-Waiting is supposed to arrive. The timing is just really off!

The colours of the fall.

   The last couple of days have been so very hectic in our house. With Monkey In-Waiting due very soon there are so many things to still finish and very little time remaining. Plus I felt like everything I touched fell apart. Yesterday, we finally bought the mattress for Little Monkey's bed only to arrive home, open the package, and discover that it was not the right kind of mattress. I have been planning on getting him latex mattress, since we all have switched to latex mattresses, but when we got home we discovered that we picked up a spring mattress instead. So now we have to drive all the way back to the store this week and exchange it.
   On top of it all, we have fallen few days behind in schoolwork, and need to catch up. I really dislike falling behind in anything, but even more so since this baby can arrive as soon as 2 weeks from now! I would really like to finish this semester before this baby monkey arrives. And I have to still make the Halloween costumes for all the monkeys. And I am so very tired all the time now.
   But the weather has been very lovely the last couple of days and me and the boys got a chance to enjoy some of the beautiful colors of fall while Girly Monkey was in dance class. So while I am throwing myself a "pity party" for all the things that I don't have time to do, you can enjoy the beautiful pictures of fall colors.

Pregnancy Q&A - part 3.

   Today I would like to answer final list of questions that many pregnant women may have. I hope you find this informative.

Q - What do contractions feel like?
A - Oh, the age old question. All first time moms want to know what it feels like. If you have had a child before you know exactly what these little buggers feel like, but describing them to someone else is very difficult. First of all, let's talk about the different kinds of contractions, namely Braxton Hicks contractions and real labor contractions. Braxton Hicks contractions are "practice" contractions that help your body prepare for labor. If you are first time mom you might start feeling them somewhere between the end of second trimester and late third trimester. If you had children before then they will come much earlier. This time around I started getting them around 13 weeks! They only came sporadically, but I was a little concerned how early they started. So what do they feel like? The best way that I can describe them is that they feel kind of like having pulled a stomach muscle. The stomach gets tight and you can mostly feel them at the top of your uterus. They are not painful and generally you don't need to stop doing anything while they are happening. They will get a bit more frequent and more intense as your pregnancy progresses.

Pregnancy Q&A - part 2

Yesterday, I have talked about some basic questions that newly pregnant women might have. Let's continue this with more questions and answers that may be helpful.

Q - I have read that now that I am pregnant things like coffee, sushi, soft cheeses and deli meats are off limits for me. Is that true?
A - All moms want the best for their unborn child. This is why it's so easy to go overboard and worry yourself to death over things that are very unlikely to happen. There are numerous medical professionals and websites that provide a list of "do not eat while pregnant" items. With Funky Monkey I followed the list with diligence that can only be assigned to a first time mom. No soft cheeses, no deli meats, forget even a sniff of coffee, and no matter how big my headache was I refused to take a Tylenol. I was not the only "better safe than sorry" mom. As a matter of fact you are very unlikely to see first time moms in the line-up at Starbucks, or your deli counter. The issue is that there is really very small risk in having any of these things. Coffee is fine in moderation!  Women in Japan eat raw fish even during pregnancy, and I highly doubt that French moms-to-be avoid cheeses like Brie during pregnancy. I would be more concerned with pesticide residuals on my conventional veggies than small risk of being sick from deli meats ( then again, why would you want to eat most deli meats? Most of them taste horrible and are cooked in plastic bags). So in my other pregnancies I relaxed a bit and enjoyed the occasional cup of coffee, or a slice of Camembert cheese without feeling guilty. There are risks in everything we do, so just be aware that eating salad can make you sick too.

Pregnancy Q&A - part 1

   Before I was pregnant with Funky Monkey I had no clue about anything "pregnancy", except for what I had seen on TV. From big Hollywood blockbusters that misinform to some "documentaries" that misrepresent what the real pregnancy, labor and delivery are like, I have conjured up an image of what pregnancy would be like. Boy, was I wrong!
  Here are short questions and answers to the most common pregnancy concerns taken from real life.

Q - I think I might be pregnant, now what.
A - Unlike in the movies, you don't need to rush in to your doctors to confirm early pregnancy. Home pregnancy test are more sensitive than the doctor's office ones (First Response home pregnancy test will test positive at pregnancy hormone levels of just 6.5 mlU/ml - thousandths of an international Unit per milliliter, whereas most doctors levels will not test positive until 75 to 100 mlU/ml). That means that the home pregnancy test will show up positive many days prior to the one from doctor's office. When I was pregnant with Funky Monkey I rushed to confirm my positive home pregnancy test at the doctor's office. I was already 2 days past when my cycle was supposed to start, so I wasn't super early. To my dismay, the doctor informed me that my test was inconclusive and I had to return in few days. Eventually, the urine test at the doctor's office confirmed what I had known for days. With Girly Monkey I knew that the pregnancy tests done at home were more accurate so when I went to the doctor and they told me that the test was negative I asked for a beta hCG test (blood test) to confirm pregnancy. Blood tests have an advantage over urine test because hCG (the pregnancy hormone) gets secreted into blood few days before being secreted into urine. Now there are 2 kinds of beta tests, quantitative and qualitative. Qualitative test has a threshold that you have to reach before it will come back as a "Yes" or "no" answer. Quantitative test will check the actual level of pregnancy hormone in your system. Anything over 5 is considered to be pregnant.

End of a chapter melancholy.

   As I am nearing my 33rd week of pregnancy I am getting a bit sentimental. For few weeks I thought that it was the influx of pregnancy hormones that enter pregnant-woman's brain in the last trimester, but then I realized that it's something profoundly different. I have been pregnant 4 times (not including the molar pregnancy); that means four times morning sickness, four times getting my ultrasound, for times entering my third trimester, and this is going to be fourth time I go through labor and delivery. It also means 7 ultrasounds, over 20 blood tests, five Glucloa drinks ingested to test for Diabetes testing, four B-strep swabs, 40 uterus measurements, 45 times hearing baby's heartbeat, over 60 prenatal visits, and 36 months spent being pregnant. The result of all of this will be four beautiful kids that I helped to bring into this world.

   After four times being pregnant I think that I finally figured things out. I know what to expect of my pregnant body. Unfortunately, I learned all this just in time to quit having more kids. It seems a little insane to me that when I finally understand all the intricacies of being pregnant it's time to stop. It's similar to driving blindly three times and finally finding a map at the end of fourth trip just in time to never drive again. And since this map is specific to just only my trips I can't even share it with anyone else, at least not in it's entirety.

I would much rather be teaching art now than making a birth plan!

   I am 32 weeks pregnant today! At my last midwife's visit I was asked about my Birth Plan. Well, since I have been through this routine 3 times before I never thought that I needed it. Since none of my previous births went as I envisioned I would rather just "wing it". With Funky Monkey, I had envisioned a peaceful birth, surrounded by people I love, in a privacy of my own hospital room, with the whole thing lasting no more than few hours from start to finish. Well, was I wrong. The labor lasted over 30 hours, I spent 2.5 hours pushing, ended up with whole bunch of interventions, and there were more people looking at my nether regions than I care to discuss (they must have had about 15 different students coming and going, and all of them wanted to see how everything was with me).

There are not enough .......

Ahhh .. the care-free summer days!

   .........hours in a day.

  How many people are heard saying that in a week. I felt that way this whole week for sure. For some reason the hours and days started escaping me and my to do list started multiplying. Every one step I made forward made me realize that I was running 2 steps behind. It might be that being 31 weeks pregnant causes my head to be a little preoccupied with all the things that still have to be done before Monkey In-Waiting arrives. I keep on making "to finish before Monkey In-Waiting gets here" and "still need to get it" lists but nothing gets checked off of them. Or maybe it's that the newness of school work has worn off, and no matter how entertaining or fun I make the lessons Monkeys will do anything not to work on them. Or maybe it's Girly Monkey's birthday in few more days that's distracting all of them. Or maybe it's just that everyone is still getting over being sick. Funky Monkey has got a runny nose now and Daddy Monkey has been really sick this week, Little Monkey and Girly Monkey are still coughing. It's only me that has not got sick .... yet! I am just exhausted from tending to everyone's sickly needs.

Only 10 weeks left to go ... maybe!

7 months pregnant
with Funky Monkey

   This week marked 10 weeks away from my due date. This means that I have gone through three quarters of this pregnancy and that there is only one quarter left, at the most. Truth be told, I really don't expect this baby to wait until last week of November to arrive. Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part. This pregnancy has been by far the most difficult one yet. I always tell everyone that being pregnant in my 30's is much harder than it was in my 20's. When I was pregnant with Funky Monkey I was only 24. To tell you the truth I didn't even really notice I was pregnant. I mean my baby bump got bigger, but I didn't feel any different. I read about heartburn, and nausea, and swollen feet in all the baby books but I never experienced any of it. It did help that I didn't have any kids to run after yet so I had lots of time to nap and pamper myself. Funky Monkey arrived on his due date but I would have been fine carrying him a little longer if not for the excitement of meeting him.

7 months pregnant
with Girly Monkey

   With each pregnancy it became more difficult and harder on my body. Girly Monkey's pregnancy was just a little harder than Funky Monkey's pregnancy. Morning sickness lasted a bit longer, and I got breathless a little earlier in the pregnancy. It was harder also because
Girly Monkey decided to stay in a little past her due date. Once I got to Little Monkey, though, I really started feeling it. I had bad heartburn, my feet got swollen all the time, and Little Monkey was bruising the inside of my ribs. I was really ready for him to come out. He must have listened too because he arrived almost 2 weeks early. The funniest thing is that all three Monkeys made their appearance into this world weighing almost the same amount. As a matter of fact they were all within 2 oz of each other. Funky Monkey was 8lbs7oz, Girly Monkey was 8lbs6oz, and Little Monkey was 8lbs5oz. So it might be that they receive an eviction notice from my body once they get to just over 8lbs. Well, if this trend continues, Monkey In-Waiting should be 8lbs5oz. I am putting that out there as my official prediction for his weight. And I am also guessing that he will arrive at

M is for Midwife!

WARNING: This post contains graphic descriptions of birth and medical procedures!

Home visit from a midwife a day after delivering
Little Monkey

   Yesterday we had a Midwife appointment. Everything looked good with Monkey In-Waiting. His heartbeat was 140 beats per minute, my belly measured at 30 weeks, my weight hasn't gone up any in 9 weeks (since I started a little heavier the recommendation was for me to try to only gain 10 to 15 pounds, and I am at 10). We talked about my Gestational Diabetes, coping, labor, birth plans, kids .... Have I mention how much I love having a midwife, or should I say midwives. Well, I do love having them!
   When I was pregnant with Funky Monkey I had a general practitioner take care of me during pregnancy and deliver Funky Monkey. Let's just say that this experience had me wanting a bit more. It really bugged me that she was always focusing on my weight gain and not my health. At every visit I heard how miserable I am going to be weighing that much ( I gained 40 lbs by the end of the pregnancy). The truth was that I was eating the same as before and exercising, it's just that my body needed to gain that much. In the next pregnancies I always end up at the same number on my scale by the end of pregnancy so I am convinced that my body just needs to get to that number whether I start lower or higher. But all she could see was my number on the scale. And that did nothing for my self esteem.

Gestational Diabetes doesn't scare me any more!

   Last week I got a phone call that many moms-to-be are very fearful off; I failed my Gestational Diabetes test and had to go for Gestational Diabetes counselling at the hospital. The night before I was really regretting that I had to go at all, and I felt a bit sorry for myself. I just didn't understand where did it come from. I ate healthy, I have plenty of exercise a day (after all, I am a mom of 3 kids, there is no rest time for me), and I don't smoke or drink. So why did I have to go and learn how to have a healthy life-style?
   Grandma and Gramps came over in the morning to look after Monkeys. It was a chore waking them up as they were super tired and grumpy. But I managed to have a breakfast with them before I left. The hospital is about 30 minutes away from our home so I had a bit of thinking time. I almost forgot what it is like to be by myself, with my own thoughts, in the car. It really felt weird not having people talking to me from the back seat.
   I got to the clinic a bit late and was directed to the classroom where one other mom-to-be was in the middle of watching a movie. I was really glad that I didn't have to sit through the whole movie. Thanks to some of my wonderful friends and the internet I already got a lot of information about GD. And the movie was very cheesy and outdated, like one of these that we had to watch back in school.

27 weeks today!

Monkey In-Waiting

   So today is Friday and I am 27 weeks pregnant with Monkey In-waiting. This is the last week of second trimester and I am getting a little nervous. Don't get me wrong, I have been through labor and delivery three times now and that's not very scary anymore, but I am dreading how little time I have to accomplish all the things I need to before this little boy arrives.

No question about gender anymore!

   I think that I would have been further along with my list of to do's if not for the shock of having a boy that took few weeks to get over. With the last three Monkeys I was very confident of what gender they were, so when we found out that we were pregnant again I searched deep inside my motherly intuition and produced my answer, this little baby is going to be a girl.