Pregnancy Update!

Its been a while since I have blogged, but now that I am at home I am feeling much more relaxed and I have the time to sit down and write!

I have been at home a couple of weeks now. I was having a lot of issues working a full day on my feet and running around. I worked on my feet all day when I was pregnant with Ella but the pace of the job then was a lot slower and I was in better shape going into that pregnancy than I was going into this one. For sure I will need a plan for how to rid of the baby weight this time! I had issues with my sciatic nerve when pregnant with Ella but this pregnancy they are a lot worse. Then to add to that low back pain from picking up a two year old and I was also getting round ligament pain in my stomach so my Doctor decided thats it for you!

I have to say, I feel a whole lot better being at home. I still have a million and a half things to do here but I can sit down and take a break when I need it, where I couldn't really do this at work. I also get to spend the day with Ella, which is what I have always wanted; being at home with my kids. Yes, this does cut into how much maternity time I get later with the baby but I have been planning for years that after this baby I would finally open my dayhome so there is really no reason I can't do that before the baby is a year old.

We had an ultrasound at around 19 to 20 weeks. Everything with the baby was fine and it was wonderful to see how much it had grown from the last time and to see it moving around. I wanted to know what the baby was but the little one had another plan. This worked in Matt's favour because he really didn't want to know. So we will wait. Only 15 more weeks, give or take, and we will get to meet our little love.

Ella talks about the baby a lot, for a two year old anyway. She will come up and ask to feel the baby. They even play together already. Ella will blow raspberries on my tummy and then the baby will respond with a kick right after, each time. I think she is going to make a great big sister!

This past week we had a few interviews with doulas. Matt still doesn't understand why we would need a doula this time around. He thinks now that it would have been helpful to have with the first labour. In his mind this would somehow take away from his roll, rather than enhancing it. From talking to the doulas I still have plenty of time so I am going to get some reading for the two of us to do. One book is called Birth Partner, by Penny Simkin. I have had this one referred to me a few times so it will be good for both of us, but more so Matt to read. The other is called The Doula Book; How a Trained Labour Companion Can Help You Have a Shorter, Easier, and Healthier Birth. Again, this is something that I want to read but I think it would be really helpful for him to read. There were a lot of avoidable complications with Ella's birth that I really don't want to see happen again. He says he understands where I am coming from but I still don't really feel like he understands ALL of it. Not that I can blame him really, going through labour and watching it are two very different things. Even if we don't end up with a doula I am hoping that reading The Birth Partner will help him to understand what to do with me better. One of the changes I want to make with this labour is that I do not want to get an Epidural. I really think that hindered my experience with the first labour. I wasn't able to feel my contractions or that urge to push. I wound up doing a lot of purple pushing and all with a lack of coaching.

While we didn't think we had enough going on, we also got a puppy! He is a maltese-yorkie cross, aka a morkie. He wont get very big at all. Right now he is only 3lbs, I'm guessing he wont be bigger than 6lbs full grown. Ella just loves him. He's still having a few issues with house training but we will get through that. A couple of weeks ago the dog made a mess on the floor. Just as I finished cleaning up after the dog, Ella peed on the floor. I had been trying to get her to go on the potty.  On to the next mess I went, but as I was cleaning up that mess Ella looks at me and says "Bad dog!" I told her, "No, YOU made this mess!" Since then any messes of any kind are now created by the dog.

What can I say? Some people were born to be Doctors or Police officers, I was meant to clean up poop and pee all day. I wouldn't change it for anything.



Post written August 26, 2010 moved from previous blog