Bunnies and Babies

Happy Easter Everyone!

This year is definitely the earliest Easter I can ever remember, with the weekend falling on March 26/27 which happens to coincide with Dad's birthday too! It's still pretty chilly outside but the sun is definitely making an appearance and warming up the earth. The garden soil is getting worked and the seeds are getting planted.

The overwintering garlic is coming up nicely, all 200 bulbs :)

Already we've set up a bed for peas, onions, beets, carrots, and of course the greens which include spinach, arugula, and lettuce. There was a bunch of pole beans planted today as well as cilantro in pots on the balcony.
Inside we've started leeks, broccoli, tomatoes and basil. It's going to be a feast for the senses. Oh, not to mention all the strawberry transplants and raspberry shoots awakening for their dormant winter state.

OH!! And the most important seed seed of all the baby is coming along just fine. We're about 32 weeks today and feeling the extra weight for sure. Baby is kicking up a storm ALL THE DAMN time. I have given up trying to prepare since I figure that whatever I will need will eventually come to me down the road. My biggest obstacle at the moment is finding cloth diapers and then hoping that baby latches on to breastfeeding.

I've been reading the book In the Spirit of Homebirth: Modern Women, An Ancient Tradition. The link can be found below:
https://www.amazon.ca/In-Spirit-Homebirth-Modern-Ancient/dp/1609805798

It's a great read about birth stories. All kinds of stories from 1st births to 7th births in the hospital, in the tub in water etc. It's an empowering read and giving me full confidence to make the decision to stay at home, unmedicated. Babies head is facing down now according to the midwife. Until the next update, go forth and grow happy and heathy.

With love from us xoxoxoxox

The Midwife Home Visit

Yesterday after work, March 19 I had the pleasure of getting my first home visit from our Midwife Laya. She is a longtime friend of Julian and now part of our family.
She has studied Midwifery in Uganda and been fascinated by childbirth practically her whole life.

During this visit she checked my blood pressure, the babies heartbeat, and pushed around on my belly. The results being that my blood pressure is really low and the baby is now facing down. His head near my pubis bone and his little bum at my bellybutton and the feet are hanging out near my ribs.
The baby's heart rate was 140. Which is really good. The normal heart rate is supposed to be from 110 to 160.

I have approximately a month left of work. I'm hoping to get those 600 hours just in time for the beginning of May so in my 9th month I will be able to laze around, and prepare for the imminent adventure of a lifetime. I feel so blessed. But tired. So worn out now. Baby is pushing on my stomach every hour. Kicking around and running a marathon in there. I slept from 7pm to 7am last night. 12 hours!! My feet are swelling and I'm always thirsty. But that is the extent I'm going to let myself complain, because ultimately I'm too happy to be grumpy.

How could you ever be grumpy when you're carrying around a lil miracle??!

Pinch, punch, 1st of the month

Pregnancy Cocktails

It was the first day of March yesterday and spring is just around the corner. So is my baby. Well not really but it's getting closer and closer and closer by the minute. I'm approx 28 weeks now and I'm still feeling great.
At the midwife appt the other day, baby was head was in my ribs and the little bum was just down at the bottom of my belly button. Baby is still in breach position but should turn around any day now.
Head down is a good place for baby to be by 34 weeks I think so I have a good month to go before I have to start hanging upside down.

Karin was in town this weekend. A quick little visit from a super rad chick always gets my spirits up. She is on her way to becoming and Internationally certified Mountain guide (Alpine, Rock and Ski). One tough chick and it's always a pleasure to feel her strong presence in my midst. Thanks for the visit Karin!

The other day I went for my a glucose test. It's to figure out whether I have gestational diabetes or not. The test is optional of course but I figured I better be safe than sorry. So i opted to get tested on my day off.

Wednesday is a very special day for me. I wake up gently and slowly and usually nurse a very watered down coffee while meandering around the house in my pjs. I water the plants and give some of them their weekly dose of fertilizer.  I might catch something on Youtube that strikes my fancy and indulge in some pregnancy videos or how to breastfeed blogs then off to my Prenatal yoga class at 10am, which I look forward to going to ALL week. A bunch of other baby bumps and a whole lots of stretching. It's a good time. Then I usually get the rest of my errands done during the day, if it's nice out then I'll bike around town and visit thrift stores.

This past Wednesday was a little different story. After yoga and zoomed off the lab to get my testing down. It consists of downing a whole glass of glucose syrup then waiting an hour to get my blood tested to monitor how I processed the syrup. It wasn't my idea of a good time, but I thought to myself "Just this one test then it's over and I don't have to worry."

Well I got the results back today and my midwife said that I tested high. Normal is 7.8 and I tested at 8.7. She said the first test was a screening and now recommends that I do the diagnosis test which consists of MORE gross syrup, 2 more hours in that lab AND 3 vials of blood. Honestly, I think I'm just fine.
I took the test on a nearly empty stomach and my body was just reacting to that crazy amount of syrup they fed me. I'm going to opt out of the diagnostic test and just watch my sugar intact a little more closely. I have no other symptoms of diabetes except for that weird test being a little off.  So, that is my most recent update.

I'm feeling great at 28 weeks. Only 79 days to GO~ I have a few names picked out. For a girl it's Vera. For a boy it's Gardner, Mason and Nile. But that could change completely from now till well ..... it's BIRTHDAY!

Bottoms up! Enjoying pregnancy cocktails is a luxury that we can all afford :)