Adventures of Ninja Girl

I didn't get much reading done, I was too busy enjoying the sounds of BGB's heartbeat.

Our Non-Stress Test went very well yesterday. BGB was an active little ninja and passed with flying colours. I had a tiny glimpse of what heart failure feels like when her heartbeat bottomed out at one point. Thankfully, the monitor lead just came lose when I coughed. Once the nurse repositioned it, we were right on track again. Until she tried to take my blood pressure and it was super low too. I felt fine so she tried another BP cuff and, viola, perfect. Phew!

BGB kept up her ninja routine after we got home. As Jonas's ADHD meds wore off after school, he got louder and more animated, and BGB responded in kind. In fact, it was super cute when she did what felt like an all-over body wiggle when he suggested that we name her "Alexander Christopher".

You read that right. Alexander Christopher. Not Alexandra or Alexandria. Not Christina or Christin. Christopher is the name of one of his awesome uncles, so I get that. He has no idea where he came up with Alexander, but he's not in favour of the feminine alternatives and he thinks Alex would be a great nickname for her. I think I like his suggestion of "Sam" better but we'll try this combo on for a while. Who knows, maybe it will be the one that sticks.

Cheers!

Fetal Non Stress Testing

32 weeks, and 8 to go. Wow! Time is flying. BGB and I start our weekly Non-stress Testing today. I've been asked a few times what the test is, so I thought I'd give you a quick overview of it:

"This simple, painless procedure is done during pregnancy to evaluate your baby's condition. During the test, your healthcare practitioner or a technician monitors your baby's heartbeat, first while the baby is resting and then while he's moving. Just as your heart beats faster when you're active, your baby's heart rate should go up while he's moving or kicking. The test is typically done if you've gone past your due date, or in the month or two leading up to your due date if you're having a high-risk pregnancy.

During the procedure, you lie on your left side, possibly with a wedge under your back that allows you to lean back. A technician straps two devices to your belly: One monitors your baby's heartbeat and movement; the other records contractions in your uterus. The technician listens to and watches your baby's heartbeat on an electronic screen while your contractions are recorded on paper.

More detailed information can be found here:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_nonstress-test_1272943.bc?page=2



Basically, they want to make sure that BGB is doing ok in there, moving and reacting well, etc. They also want to make sure that her exit route is barricaded and she's not planning an early escape.  As long as the results are good, I have to admit that I'm really looking forward to 20 to 30 minutes of listening to her. Let our mom and daughter one-on-one time begin!

 

Cheers!

BGB Week 31 Update

BGB and I had our appointment with our local OB today. At 31 weeks and 9 to go, we're both doing great. I'm feeling very pregnant the last couple of weeks, and have definitely reached the slowing down and take lots of naps stage. This was definitely easier at 30! Thank goodness for Steve and Jonas and flexibility at work.

In addition to our now weekly OB appointments and bi-weekly ultrasounds, we're going to start going to the hospital for weekly non-stress testing. They're basically going to monitor the baby for about a half an hour every week to make sure she's doing ok. They'll be watching for regular heartbeat and movement and, of course, any abnormalities. That means they'll be checking us twice weekly now, and will be more likely to pick-up if something starts to go wrong. With Owen's 33 week milestone staring us down, this added vigilance should be very reassuring. 

We talked yesterday about an elective c-section. Our OB reviewed all the benefits and risks, and bascially said "Whatever you two want, is what we'll do." Given our track record, a c-section is an appealing option for a number of reasons, but there are also risks to it and that we need to carefully consider. The decision may yet be taken out of our hands but for now, it's something we're considering.

No matter how it happens, in anticipation of the big day, our hospital pre-registration forms are in hand, the d-day procedures mapped out, and we go for a tour of the birthing in a week or two. If things go as planned, I'm going to work until mid-January, unless the weather really stinks or I run out of steam. Time is flying!

Cheers!

Wordless Wednesday: Creative Christmas Fun

I'm not much of a crafter, (as evidenced by the fact that it takes me about two years to knit a baby blanket) but I'm always on the hunt for ways to make gift giving a little more fun and creative - for both me and the kiddos. Starting way back about 10 years ago, when we gave everyone cookie jars with Steve's wonderful home cookies, we've always had a propensity for giving, shall we say, less than commercially popular gifts. Last year we gave the grown-up men our secret family pancake recipe, and this year we wanted to take it up a notch. (Making pancakes is a tradition handed down from Steve's dad, to Steve and now to Jonas.) Thanks to Pinterest, I've found some dandy ideas and thought I'd share some of favourites.

Cheers!

Fort Kits: Flat sheet, clothes pegs, rope, flashlight, glow sticks, etc.... all in a personalized pillow case.

Build Your Own Snowman Kits: hat, scarf, mittens, rocks, buttons, carrot

S'mores Kits: graham crackers, chocolate, marshmallows, fondu skewer, tea light

Hot Chocolate Kits: hot chocolate, mini mashmallows, choco chips, peppermint

Cookie Mix in a Jar: Include layers of all the dry ingredients from your favourite cookie recipe.

Don't forget to add the recipe too!

Let the Christmas Season Begin!

We kicked off our Christmas season this past weekend with a visit to Barrie. We celebrated an early family Christmas with my Dad, Step-mom, brother, sister, brother-in-law, my two gorgeous nieces, and of course, Jonas, Steve and I. Sadly, we missed Tasha, who couldn't be with us this weekend due to work commitments.  :(

Given that none of us has yet mastered the art of growing one of those money trees, we set a low spending limit on gifts for the kids and concentrated on what really matters - being together. The food was delicious as always, and we had some fun with our family tradition of Christmas crackers, with those funny hats, jokes and little surprises. The company, as always, was the best part. The kids enjoyed opening their presents, but I would venture to guess that when the actual presents are long outgrown and forgotten, they will still have wonderful memories of playing together. Just as it should be, in my humble opinion.

The only thing I don't like about our family Christmas Eve tradition, whether it's in November or December, is that it never lasts long enough. If only Santa could deliver us a pause button for all these special moments.

Cheers!

7 Month Food Cravings

I was going to blog today about Jonas's home session tonight, but I'm exhausted from it so will save that for tomorrow. Instead, I thought I'd give you a fun pregnancy update.

We're at 31 weeks now, with 9 to go. I've gained 30 pounds so far, and the baby is expected to gain about a half a pound per week until she comes out and joins us. I'm trying hard to eat a healthy well-balanced diet, but do have some weaknesses. Food cravings are part and parcel of most pregnanies, and this one is no different.

My sister says she can tell that I'm pregnant because everything I pin on Pinterest is about food. In that spirit, here for your viewing pleasure, is BGB's current favourite food list.

Cheers!

EDIT: I forgot an important one - curried chicken and rice!

(The more spicey the better!)

Good News for BGB!

BGB and I just got home from Mount Sinai and all is well. Nine and a half weeks to go and she's doing perfectly. In fact, her placenta is now well out of harms way! YEAH!

She's very active and is growing well. She's average in terms of her growth and scored perfect on all her other tests. I passed my tests too, with good blood pressure and weight gain. (Good weight gain? HA!)  They're going to check my thyroid again at our next check-up, but that seems to be well managed by medication, much like my nausea.

I've been having a few more Braxton-Hicks contractions the past week or so, and I don't have the energy I did when I was at this point in the pregnancies with the boys, but that's to be expected. I'm not 30 anymore after all.  A long weekend of little sleep is probably making it worse this week but a few more naps a couple of sleep-ins this weekend will hopefully help at little bit.

Next week we see our Oshawa OB and we go back to Mount Sinai is two weeks, and will alternate seeing the doctors weekly. That will likely be our permanent schedule until this little peanut decides it's time to come out and see the world, or until Old Man Winter decides it's time to give us a serious wallop, whichever comes first.
 
Cheers!