What's In My Hospital Bag

It took me a long time to finally get around to packing some of the basic essentials needed for our hopefully short hospital stay when little bubs comes. Since we've done this two times before I really tried to keep things minimal. One, I know the hospital will provide a lot when it comes basic care items like diapers, wipes, pads, and food; and two, we live about 10 minutes from the hospital, sooo... its not the end of the world if for whatever reason we have an extended stay, Sevio can easily run home for some extra clothes/snacks/entertainment.

Check out whats in our bag, yes one bag, this bag... (Danica Studios "Margot" Bowling Bag, and I love it!) along with Rylee's gift to the new babe, "Cookie" the monster (locally made at the Monster Lab).

I was thinking comfort and practicality when I packed these items. I'm planning a water birth so having a darker nursing tank will be nice for modesty (of what I will be left with) and less risk of getting stained. I also packed some basic toiletries (completely obvious items like toothpaste and toothbrush are not pictured), this way I can get cleaned up before heading home in my comfy lounge wear... and let's face it, stretchy pants are a girls best friend at times like this. 

1. Face Wash | Oz Naturals   2. Face Moisturizer | Oz Naturals   3. Nursing Pads | Lansinoh   4. Deoderant | Jason in Calming Lavendar   5. Lip Balm | Salt Spring Soapworks   6. Iphone   7. Camera | Canon Rebel T3   8. Banana Chips   9. Water   10. Nursing Tanks | H&M   11. Lounge Pants | Lululemon   12. Sport Nursing Bra | Motherhood Maternity

For little miss I stuck to the bare minimum because like I said before the hospital will provide many of the essentials. So as every hospital requires, a safety approved infant carseat (which obviously does not fit in our bag). For clothes I have one sleeper (the same one Rylee wore!), two onesies, and some mittens. And to wrap her up we have a lovely muslin swaddling blanket.

1. Carseat | Evenflo   2. Sleeper | Zutano   3. Mittens | Carters   4. Swaddling Blanket | Aden & Anais   5. "Best Sister" Onsie | Carters

Again stickin' with the basics I packed Sev some lounger pants in case we're there for a bit and a fresh outfit to go home in. I also packed his swim shorts just in case he gets in the tub with me. And simple snacks... what man doesn't need some fuel when putting up with a wife who's giving birth?

1. Jeans | Bullhead   2. Basic Tee | H&M   3. Swim Shorts | Quiksilver   4. Lounge Pants | O'Neill   5. Socks | Puma   6. Underwear | Under Armour   7. Protein Bar | Clif   8. Popcorn 

Bump Watch : 39 Weeks

Little bub is now 39 weeks and we are just awaiting her sweet arrival... ever so patiently (NOT!). I honestly can't wait and wish she would come early. But alas, my children like the comforts of my womb and tend to overstay their welcome, so I'm preparing to wait for the full 40+ weeks.

She should be roughly the weight of a mini watermelon this week, around 7+ lbs . We got to see her last week with an ultrasound. I guess my tummy hadn't grown since 35 weeks so just on the precautionary side my midwife wanted to make sure all was good in there and that she was still growing. Turns out all is a-ok she is growing at normal rates, she is just really good at hiding!

In other news we think we have come up with a name (finally!), it may get tweeked a little bit, but what we got I think we're pretty solid on. I'm not going to lie, I honestly thought this kid was going to be unnamed for the first month of her life... but no worries, we got it! I also registered at the hospital and packed for our hopefully short stay there.... so all is prepared... just waiting... waiting...waiting...

Bump Watch : 37 Weeks

Our little bump is now considered full term at 37 weeks! She should be about the size of a bunch of swiss chard and roughly just over 6 lbs! 

Its hard to believe we will be meeting her very, very soon! Some days I wish she will come early but then reality sets in that another three or so weeks of waiting isn't so bad. This extra time is definitely necessary, I still need to pack my hospital bag and only just pulled out the newborn clothes from storage yesterday! Yeeesh! I'm so behind the ball when it comes to being prepared so I need all the time she will give us.

We at least can scratch getting a new vehicle off the list! Due to our little Chevy Aveo dying suddenly (timing belt breaking = engine exploding) last week we were propelled into a full speed car search. We are now proud owners of a fully loaded (Yay for A/C!) Mazda MPV! We can now fit all carseats and still have room to spare! This was a big step to upgrade, and a stressful one, but I'm happy the search is over and were able to get everything we were looking for at a very reasonable cost.

Bump Watch : 35 Weeks

Well we are into the home stretch, complete with stretch marks, lucky me! Our little honeydew melon has only has 35 more days, give or take, till she will grace us with her presence! 

She has finally moved into proper position, head down, and thats probably why I have been feeling like my pelvic bones are seperating, we're both getting ready for go time. She should be fully developed in there and from here on out working on packing on the pounds. 

As for us, we're trying to get ready for her arrival. We're still on the hunt for bigger vehicle, I've rearranged our room to fit her bed in, I bought newborn diapers and new cloth diapers, and I've been having some fun decorating her space in the kids room (check it out here).

Bump Watch : 32 Weeks

This baby is thirty two weeks old people! I'm a little bit stressed that the end is in sight and there's still a few somewhat important details to sort out... like a car that will fit us all, but I'm leaving that in Sevio's hands!

I finished my last day of work on Saturday, so I am officially a stay at home mom again. It's earlier than expected but the timing is perfect allowing me time to get organized around the house, prepare some freezer meals, and spend some quality time with Rylee and Zach before the newborn madness begins.

As for little bub, she's moving LOTS and has one healthy little heartbeat! The midwife said she's lounging sideways in there... which is unusual to me (the others were always head down), but at this stage its not a concern.  She should be about the length of a stalk of kale (16 or so inches), and weighing just about 4 lbs!

Bump Watch : 28 Weeks

We have hit the third trimester! Just about three more months till we get to meet this little peanut! To be honest, I feel like three months is light years away.

Over the past two weeks I feel like my belly has exploded, and it has, and I shouldn't be surprised this babe is now the size of an eggplant! Things are going well, apart from having to put my shoes on... that is becoming more and more difficult. I also officially gave my notice at work for the end of May, yay! I'll have two months to get ready for this babe and time with Rylee and Zachery before my hands are full with a newborn.

Bump Watch : 24 Weeks

Ahhhh time is flying, so much so I missed the 22 week update! In the past month lil'miss has been way more active, not just for me but for her daddy too! We can now feel her and see her kicking away regularly and its so neat! 

About the length of an ear of corn this lil' lady is growing bigger and stronger by the day. Over the past month I have noticed her little flutters turn into full on bumps. At about 21 weeks Daddy got to feel her movements for the first time and now can easily see her movements. This part of pregnancy is so neat and special, its a feeling that never gets old.

As for me, I've been feeling great and extra hungry lately... Sevio is baffled daily by how much I can eat. I've also been trying to up my iron intake with lots of green veggies and keep as active as one can when your in a climate that likes to pour every five minutes... so not cool!

Stay tuned for the next bump watch!

Gender Reveal!

Last week we had our second trimester ultrasound and we learned some pretty important things with little baby 3.0! Say hello to our little one above... it was pretty cute to see its little hands together like it was praying and then when we finally got a face shot it stuck its sassy little tongue out, a character already!

First things first is that all looks normal for baby's development, no concerns there which is great! Our pregnancy buddy, the sub chorionic hematoma, has decreased in size! And by decreased, I mean by more than half its original size.... so that is awesome, amazing, fantastic....!!!! 

And now... da da daaaaa.... the moment you've all been waiting for, the gender! As inconclusively as they tell you these days... baby 3.0 is officially a ..... GIRL!!! Rylee was adamant that she was having a little sister (because she already had a boy...) and she was right! We're all just so excited! 

Bump Watch : 20 Weeks

Hey there we're half way there! Hard to believe it and its exciting that as each week quickly passes our baby is growing stronger, which is essential due to the risks that a sub chronic hematoma poses (read about that here).

This week has been awesome! One day I was getting worried that I hadn't noticed it moving in awhile and just that night I felt it again and actually could see it for the first time! Bummer that Sevio is in Mexico right now and missed it... but its something exciting to come home to.

Baby should be about the size of a banana and I feel like I've moved into the "yup she's pregnant" stage! Haha the tummy's rounding out more and although its small I'm noticing bending over and getting up is not the same, neither is the bladder... I'm visiting the bathroom much more frequently and dealing with the good ol' pregnancy "Peezing" (sneezing and peeing at the same time... and yes I just full on admitted to that, other moms I know you can relate! Other ladies... if your thinking of becoming a mom... be prepared for these kinds of things people don't talk about!).

We're looking forward to next week we will finally get to find out what he or she is! Join the baby gender poll... place your vote here!

Bump watch : Week 18

Two more weeks have come and gone and our now little bell pepper is 18 weeks! (well technically 19 because it took me a week to post this picture... my bad!)

My belly has popped out to that awkward "is she pregnant?" stage... cute... no not quite. I've had a few flutters over the last couple weeks, every time I feel it I get excited, I can't wait till Sevio and Rylee will get to feel it too. 

We are all booked up for our next ultrasound (March.11th) it's a combination of the regular second trimester screening (and Gender Reveal!), as well as seeing what this hematoma thing is up to... I may be setting myself up for disappointment but I'm really hoping its gone or at least shrinking substantially... I guess only time will tell, till then we keep praying.

Bump Watch : Week 16

Our little bun in the oven is 16.... going on 17! Each week gone by is a milestone and means we are that much closer to a happy, healthy, full term baby! This week, He/She is the size of a yummy avocado and our special moment of the week was that we got to hear its heartbeat, which came in at 150 bpm! 

As for the subchorionic hematoma, we had our ultrasound and received the results last week. It has grown, its about 9cm long, so as an extra precaution our midwife has referred us to see an obstetrician. The news that it's grown set me back a few notches, pregnancy is unpredictable, but this hematoma thing in particular really takes the cake and sure as heck takes a toll on my emotional state of mind. 

The day before our midwife appointment I started to spot again, dark brown blood, which in essence is good (brown=old), but regardless of color it's still worrisome when you know nothing is supposed to be escaping from down there until 38 or so weeks. The fact we got to hear our little overcomer's heartbeat the next day was a huge relief.  Every set back hurts, and absolutely scares me, but through it all I'm actually learning what it is to hope for something. Sevio is way better at this than me and keeps reminding me to take it one thing at a time, one appointment at a time, one week at time... so here's hopin' for 22 more weeks of watching this bump grow!

Waiting Game

Here's a shot of a cool momento... Baby Zach hit twelve months the same time his baby brother/sister hit twelve weeks! 

It was this week that we got the official due date of July 23rd, as well as confirmation that there is only one baby in there (thank goodness!). It is also the week we got some news that rocked us a bit. As I mentioned in our pregnancy announcement we had a miscarriage scare around the 10 week mark, after an ultrasound at 11 weeks we have finally got the results of what the heck is happening in there...sort of. 

Apparently I have something called a subchorionic hematoma... the name itself just sounds awful!  It only happens in about 20 percent of pregnancies and is basically a blood blister between the uterine wall and placenta. Good news is it can go away, heal itself. Bad news is it can grow and become a problem! A problem that can cause preterm labour or placenta abruption... AHHH!!

Tuesday we have another ultrasound to determine if this thing is growing. Praying its not. But all we can do is take it one day at a time, try not to worry (which is impossible), and take it easy.

Bump Watch : 39 Weeks

This is supposed to be my final week pregnant, and I can only hope that is the case! I'm so ready to move on from this preggo state to being a momma of two (I say that now...). As I've said before I'm totally not looking forward to the delivery part (who would?) but I actually feel like I'm prepared for it, I guess knowing that I've done it before gives me the courage that I can do it again. 

After our last Dr. visit I was left a little on edge just because I have no idea what to expect in a Thai delivery room. Our Dr. speaks English but it's minimal and as time has gone on we've noticed that there is definitely a communication barrier. He said if baby hasn't come by my due date, Jan.13th, he will set me up to be induced but when I said I'm not comfortable with that and he just kind of laughed it off. Since there have been no complications with me and babe throughout this pregnancy I'm really tempted to reschedule this next appointment for next weekend, that way it will give a bit more time for Lil'Man to come out on his own, and then and only then we can talk about inducing. I know I don't have a degree in medicine but I just feel like its a bit rushed to be induced, and through my experience with Rylee they were willing to wait it out for two weeks past my due date (she was 11 days late fyi) before even considering the option of inducing.

I personally do not believe the "due date" is when the baby needs to come out, I stand by the opinion that babies come out when they are good and ready to come out (as long as its safe of course). So...am I crazy to want to take things into my own hands here?

Anyways, thats my little rant, apart from all that I feel great and am ready to meet the new addition to our family. I'm seriously wondering what he's gonna look like, and so excited to see Rylee's reaction to her very own real baby brother!

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Bump Watch : 38 Weeks

Over New Years we took full advantage of the beautiful scenery of Hua Hin (our mini getaway destination) to capture week 38 of this pregnancy!

I've been wanting to get some pictures with Rylee and I'm pretty happy with how these ones turned out. We dressed up in similar attire, hair, and poses comparing our belly bumps. This is especially cute because when we ask Rylee where the baby is theres a 50/50 chance she'll point to my belly or she'll lifts her shirt and point to her own belly.  I'm constantly amazed by how much she comprehends about the baby and am very interested and excited to see how she reacts when she meets the baby for the first time. 

I don't think much has changed from last week other than my womb getting more cramped with this  growing lil'man. As for me I think that little thing called "nesting" is kicking in, I just spent all morning rearranging, organizing, and cleaning our little apartment. I'm feeling slightly stressed we aren't prepared enough for his arrival, last time around had everything and more to get us through the first year...now I don't know if we have enough to get through the first week! The biggest thing is that it's been extremely difficult to find affordable newborn clothing here, and even more so finding boys clothes! I'm kicking myself for not coming more equipped with baby stuff... very annoying knowing everything you need is packed away in storage thousands of miles away!

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Bump Watch : 37 Weeks

Time is a ticking and this bun is almost ready to come out of the oven!

At 37 weeks I am definitely done with being pregnant! Life as I know it can be described with one word, UNCOMFORTABLE! I waddle a little slower, my clothes fit a little tighter, and I sleep a little less.

With a visit to the doc today we learned the baby's growth is normal in every area and that his approximate head size is 9.4cm (here's hoping thats the same or smaller than Rylee's was). He's got his head in the game, head down. And this may be too much information but my cervix is soft and open slightly by a half cm. I had to laugh when the Dr. said this makes for an "easy labour"...since when is labour ever easy?!?

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Bump Watch : Week 32

Week 32 people! Can you believe it, cause I sure can't! Do you even know what that means?!?! That means in about 8 weeks this little guy is gonna make his way into this world...8 WEEKS! It's such a bittersweet feeling knowing that very soon we get to meet him and all his cuteness, but heck I gotta go through that thing called delivery... sooooo not looking forward to that!

I'm definitely beginning to feel the pains of being pregnant, walking will never be the same again, the waddle is here! My hips ache with feelings like all ligaments have been pulled and stretched to their limits (a nice warm bath would be my dream come true for this stage). I'm exhausted most days due to terrible sleeps because I'm so uncomfortable. BUT on a happier note, lil'man is moving a ton and thats always reassuring to know he's alive & kickin' in that confined bubble of his. It's also comforting to know from this point on his main goal in life is to fatten up, most development is done and if born today he has a great chance at survival without any severe complications.

Bump Watch : Week 29

This is a bit overdue, considering I'm just about 31 and half weeks along now! But look at the bright side... you will get to see another picture very very soon! 

The first set of pictures are showcasing the henna tattoo I got done by a local woman, Suzie, while we were staying in Batu Ferringhi. I was the first preggo belly for her, which is cool, she hand painted it all in about 20 minutes all the while putting up with lil'man thinking he was in the middle of a soccer game...I'm amazed it turned out so well considering all the moving and kicking he was doing!

The second set of pictures were from our last night in Malaysia where we decided to take full advantage of our surroundings. At sunset we took to our lovely hotel beachfront to capture some silhouettes of my growing bump.

Pregnancy: What To Expect...

Need a natural dose of birth control? Proof your pregnant? Or just a good laugh of what it's like to be a "radiant, glowing mom-to-be"... Here are my top 5 pregnancy symptoms I am currently experiencing at 26 weeks! 

1. How does insomnia sound?

You may think I'm talking post-delivery when your up all flippin' hours of the night, but no, hate to break it to ya... insomnia begins during pregnancy! It's a bit of an oxymoron, a rational thought would be, "hey I'm about to be sleep deprived for about 1-2 years so let's go into storage mood", however, your body thinks more along these lines, "sleep-deprivation...let's prepare early so we can be in routine for when that baby comes along!" (and yes, right now it is 4am!)

2. How bout that awkward moment when you can't do your pants up?

When elastic pants, belly bands, and the hair-tie expander trick become your best friend (given maternity fashion has come a long way but let's be honest ...growing out of your cute skinny jeans takes some time to process and accept).

3. One word: Sneepee!

This can be added to your vocabulary early on in pregnancy and potentially can be a lifelong disability. Definition: In the act of sneezing one briefly loses control of bladder function and has a little accident in their big-girl underpants!

4. Stretch marks

Do those oils, and creams actually work!? I know with my first I put that stuff on religiously and lo-and-beyold one week before she popped out these blueish-purple marks appeared out of nowhere! I mean, hello, your tummy (and boobs) are quadrupling (at least) in size what do you expect...? (I was I bit naive the first time around obviously) *on a side note lots of water helps your skins elasticity and is essential for all things pregnancy related!

5. Quick learn this phrase: "Could you pick that up for me please?"

Say goodbye to the "bend...and snap!" (Legally Blonde reference) AKA gracefully and/or attractively being able to bend over and pick something up. Get used to sumo squats and replicating your best Serena Williams grunt for the getting back up!

There you have it, the beauty of pregnancy, just remember all these woes are so worth it the moment you get to hold this tiny little miracle in your arms... 94 days to go (give or take)!!!

Bump Watch : Week 23

I originally planned to post a picture of my growing bump every four weeks (if I'm a keener I may find time to post another one next week just for the heck of staying on schedule...no promises though!). But last weekend we went to some limestone waterfalls and I couldn't pass up the opportunity for using the gorgeous Thai landscape as a new background! Definitely a little more interesting than the ordinary bedroom walls I normally use.

To date, lil'man has been quite active moving around and its exciting now to actually see his kicks and wiggles! He should be about the size of a large mango and weighing in just over a pound. At this stage in his development he can now hear what I hear, just a little muffled due to being tucked away in the womb. Exciting times these are now that we can literally see his growth on my ever expanding belly... approximately 17 weeks to go!

Bump Watch : Week 20

This is a monumental week in the pregnancy that deserves recognition... we have hit the halfway point! Not only are we halfway, but we got to see and hear baby last Monday! Baby has got a healthy heart rate at 141bpm, and everything seems to be developing just the way it's supposed to with no apparent complications.

Baby is approximately 15cm long from head to bottom and about 26cm from head to heel, and for all you visual people out there, that is about the length of a small banana!

Some facts for this point in the pregnancy are that the baby has the ability to swallow and is also producing meconium, that black, sticky by-product of digestion (we can look forward to that first dirty diaper filled with this lovely gooey tar...yum!).