The Cramping is Creeping up MORE!!!

Well ladies......the cramping is getting MORE and MORE intense and way more frequent!!!

I am really in the home stretch now-my body is telling me. I've been feeling contractions a lot more recently-mainly in the evenings; however, I felt them quite strong this AM when I woke up.

Dennard keeps telling me "Time them Sweets!!! Time them!!!" lol

Last night I had to strongest of contractions to date. I was dropping home a lady from church after Sunday PM Bible Study and we were chatting in my car outside of her home. Roughly 15mins into our conversation WHAM!!!! I was hit with a very strong, longgggg contraction.

The pain was so intense, yet I didn't want to let on.  I politely kept my attention on her as normal as she continued talking; however, to keep my composure and focus the pain somewhere else, I dug my nails deep into my steering wheel. The stronger the pain got, the deeper my nails dug into the steering wheel. lol

It was quite intense! It lasted a good minute or so and soon passed-much to my relief!!

Tonight after work I experienced a few more contractions, but they were dull and tolerable. Later on this evening as I was doing some church book keeping in the living room and I was hit with another contraction, but this one was strong and even longer than yesterday. The intensity wasn't as bad, but the duration was much longer-roughly 2-3 minutes.

I just stopped what I was doing and waited for the pain to leave; however, Dennard, sitting across on the other side of the couch saw in my face that I was feeling pain and discomfort. He leaped off of the couch and began to rub my back :-) It was very sweet and much appreciated on my end. The pain was bearable; however, he wanted to come to my aid to help.

The prenatal classes really helped him understand what we as woman go through during this time and how the husband can be of assistance and support.

After rubbing my back for a few seconds he then demanded that I stand up so I could rest on him like we learned in prenatal class. It was so funny! lol I wasn't in labour; however, he was treating it as if I was. To humor him, I went along with it. lol   I just couldn't bare to tell him I would be ok....I just allowed him to do what he felt was best until the pain subsided. lol

Seeing him interact with me during these early stages gives me a small glimpse of what to expect come the 'real deal' in the hospital. If he is even half of what he has been to and for me when the time comes, I will be luckiest pregnant woman in the world :-)

Below is a picture I took Friday night after work. I love this picture. It's a picture of Dennard sitting in the backseat of our new car with all of our church equipment and baby seat packed in.  Dennard and I debated back and forth about any extra room in the backseat to fit an extra person. He was adamant someone could squeeze in the middle between the baby seat and the end of the piano . He jammed himself in like a sardine in a tight can. It was hilarious!!! Unfortunately, there was NO room- as I had thought! lol I couldn't resist but snap a shot of him stuck in the car. I laughed hysterically as he literally could not move or get out. It took me a few attempts to get a clear picture because I was laughing so hard I couldn't keep my hand still.

Here is a picture of my car seat. I LOVE it!!! :-) I picked it up from Babies R Us last Thursday when I started to feel the contractions increasing. I didn't want to take any chances of going into labour earlier than the 15th and not having anything to bring my baby home in. I have quite the story about how I was able to get this car seat, but I'll save it for another blog entry! lol Let's just say, God worked a miracle for me-literally!!!

Still hanging on!! 37 Weeks Pregnant

Hurray!! I made it through the weekend :-) I am 37 weeks!! Little Sweets is officially 'full term'.

Friday at work some of my coworkers and my boss were saying their good-byes to me- they thought I might go into labour this weekend due to all my cramping and coughing (lol). Glory to God and thanks be to the power of prayer, I am still hanging on!!! My goal date is June 30th. If I can at least make it to my baby shower, I am a happy camper :-) lol
At 37 weeks, Little Sweets weighs close to 6lbs, 20z and is roughly 19" in length. My mom thinks the baby will be 21" long when he/she is born. With Dennard and myself both being quite tall, our baby is bound to inherit our height.

Unfortunately, I am still fighting this nasty cold :-( My nose is forever congested and my chest cough has become more deep. I feel drainned most of the day as my cold is keeping me up during the night. Friday I went to bed with a splitting headache and last night (Saturday) I went to bed horribly congested with a dull headache.

I am praying this cold will soon pass as this is the most crucial time in my pregnancy when I need the most rest. I need to get as much sleep as possible to prepare for labour and sleepless nights feeding the baby.

Yesterday, I had my mom and two sisters over for brunch. Over croissants, hummus, naan chips, strawberries and sparkling non-alcoholic wine, we toasted Little Sweets and enjoyed the afternoon together. I showed them Little Sweets new room and all the precious things I have washed and put away for his/her soon arrival :-)
After brunch, Cheryl and I headed to Square One to do a little window shopping. Roughly 1/2 way into our shopping, my feet were BEYOND killing me. It got to the point where I couldn't even stand anymore. The pain was intense-as if someone had beaten my feet with a baseball bat!!!  Cheryl kindly offered to switch her shoes for mine in hopes that her cream sandals would be a bit more comfortable. Fortunately for me, they were far more comfortable; however, unfortunately for her, my black sparkle sandals didn't go so well with her cream and soft pink skirt. lol

We got quite the chuckle out of her new look! lol She was a trooper to sacrifice her fashion sense for me and for my comfort! lol 

During brunch in the AM, Jenn took some amazing pictures of Dennard, myself and Little Sweets with her new iPad. I absolutely LOVE the pictures she took. We did a few treatments to the pics to make them look professional. I have attached some of them below for you all to see.

Here is Daddy, myself and Little Sweets at 37 weeks:

3.5 weeks to go and sick with a cold :-(

I've spent the day today on my couch trying to nurse a nasty cold I caught at work this week :-(

I haven't been sick this entire pregnancy, aside from the bizarre flu type bug I had that put me in the hospital a few months ago.

I haven't had a cough, a sore throat , etc. I have done very well in keeping healthy and staying away from sicknesses......that is....until now!!!

My husband has been very cautious and considerate not to pick up any viruses and sicknesses from work to bring home to me throughout my pregnancy as well. He has been really great about that.

Unfortunately, with only 3.5 weeks (or less) to go, I caught a cold. My throat has been sore and scratchy and I have a chest cough. I was up most of the night last night tossing and turning because of hot flashes from having this cold and because of my sore and itchy throat. The cough came on around 5am this morning.

Since I can't take anything to dull the cough or sooth my throat, I've been stuck with only bed rest, orange juice, soup and tic tacs to help get me through.  And let me tell you...the tic tacs have done nothing to help with my throat. lol

I can't take Halls, Fisherman's Friend, etc. for my throat as they are all contain menthol, which is not safe for my little one.

I was up at 5:30am making chicken soup in hopes it would sooth my cough and throat. I wasn't able to get much sleep today as every time I layed down, I'd either get cramping or pain in my hip.

The coughing has caused a bit of concern for me as it has brought on more cramping. I am just praying I dont cough myself into early labour!!! My coworker coughed herself into early labour a month before her daughters due date two months ago :-S

In anycase, my sweetheart just came home from work now with a box of chocolate drumsticks for me and Little Sweets :-) He said "the baby and I deserved a treat". hee hee

Maybe these will help a bit :-)

Last Prenatal Class :-(

Well, it was a bittersweet farewell tonight :-( We had our last prenatal class.

I was hoping to get to class a bit early tonight so that I could chit chat with some of the couples before class started, but I ended up falling asleep on the couch after dinner and waking up in just enough time to get dress and race to class.

Dennard was meeting me at class tonight, so I didn't have anyone watching the clock for me.

In anycase, I got to class only 5mins late (fewfh) to find Dennard and one other couple in the class. lol Everyone was running a bit late tonight I guess.

Unfortunately, two couples didn't end up showing tonight, so we didn't have our regular full class.

Tonight the main focus of the class was bringing the baby home and baby care. Ie. How the baby will look after birth, how to properly secure the baby seat in the car, how to wash and care for the baby, what to look out for, etc.

Class ended 1/2 hour early; however, our instructor set up a few stations for us to practice diaper changing, bathing the baby, etc. Dennard and I ended up chatting with the other couples as oppose to trying out the various stations, lol; however, I believe that we will have plentttttty of hands on experience learning and doing what was set up at the stations once the baby arrives.

Before everyone left, I asked our instructor to take a picture of the group for my memory book and blog. Here is a picture of our class :-)  (minus two couples)

We became close with the couple in the yellow shirt and the couple in the purple dress. We shared a lot of laughs together over the last 7 weeks :-) I exchanged contact information with the girl in the yellow shirt; her name is Alicia. I found out tonight she is a photographer!! We are thinking about hiring her to do our baby pics once Little Sweets arrives. I saw a few of the pics she has taken of babies, couples, etc. and they were beautiful!!!! I told her she can come over one afternoon with her baby once he/she is born and we can exchange stories.

She is due July 25th-10 days after Little Sweets :-)

Anyhow, tonight was a sad night for me. As mentioned a few times in earlier posts, I have really enjoyed these classes.Now that these classes are over, it's just another reality that pregnancy is coming to a fast end. However, on the positive, it's just another reality that my precious one will soon be here!!!! Hurray!!!!

I will forever look back and remember these classes with fond memories. Memories and laughs Dennard and I will forever be able to reflect and look back on :-)

A special email from 'daddy'
Today I received a special email from 'daddy' at work today. It read "I can't wait to hold my beautiful child".  Daddy is just as excited and anxious to meet Little Sweets as I am. I have a feeling we will be fighting over who can hold the baby next, who will rock him/her to sleep, etc.!!!! LOL

Dennard without  question will be  a very hands on and involved dad. I just know that by seeing how he is with me and how he talks about the baby. He has already started banking time at work so that he can take off a week of work when the baby is born and a few days every month until Christmas to spend with me and the baby. He has even booked two weeks off at Christmas so we can spend some more time as a family. He said "I don't want to miss anything in our child's life and development. I want to be there to witness it too!!".

He is going to be an incredible daddy to Little Sweets!! xox

First Father's Day!! (36 Weeks Pregnant)

Happy Father's Day! Today I am 36 weeks pregnant :-)

At this stage, Little Sweets is gaining roughly 28g of weight everyday. He/she weighs roughly 6lbs (the size of a very large yellow melon) and is 18.5" in length.

At the end of this week the baby will be 'full term'- Hurray!!! A baby born before 37 weeks is considered 'premature', a baby born between 37 and 42 weeks is considered 'full term' and a baby born afer 42 weeks is considered 'post-term'.

Today was Dennard's first Father's Day. I was so excited for him!! In the AM before church I gave him a great big hug and kiss and wished him a Happy Father's Day on behalf of Little Sweets :-) With a shy face and a big ear to ear smile, he said "Thanks!!!". It was very cute!

He was also blessed by a bunch of Father's Day texts this AM from some of his friends and family-he really appreciated that!

We had a special Father's Day tribute for all the daddy's at church this morning. I called all the father's up to the front and read two beautiful Father's Day poems ("Walk a Little Slower Daddy" and "My Daddy is a Christian"). Before presenting each father with their gift, I read the scripture I had included with each gift (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

We had more daddy's than what we had known/expected, so we were short gifts :-S Dennard was sweet enough to forfit his gift to bless another one of the dads. I felt horrible that he didn't get a gift with the rest of the father's, but I had another gift from Little Sweets waiting for him at home :-)

I have included a picture of Dennard and the other father's in the church below:-)

(From left to right: James, Fred, Louie, Volton, Rochdelle & Dennard)

I was planning on taking Dennard out for a Father's Day brunch after the morning service, but there were two guys in the church who were open to fellowship, so I encouraged Dennard to hang out with them. We could always do our brunch another time :-)

This evening after Sunday PM Bible Study, back at our home, I presented Dennard with his first Father's Day gift- a picture frame that reads "I Love My Daddy".

Dennard may hate taking pictures, but he really appreciates and enjoys looking back on them. With that in mind, I thought a picture frame to hold a picture of him and the baby for his office desk would be a nice idea.

Here is a picture of the proud daddy of Little Sweets holding his first Father's Day gift!!!

(with a white dad and child in the frame!!! lol Too funny!!!) I cant wait to put a picture of Dennard and the baby in this frame!

Date Night :-)

Last night (Friday) Dennard and myself had a 'date night'. There wont be many opportunities for 'date night' over the next little while as any and all of our outings for the next few months will include a third person; our Little Sweets!! hee hee

In anycase, last night was just about the two of us :-) No baby talk, no financial talk, no 'to do' list talk, etc. It was a night about 'Dennard and Devin'. Church talk of course creeped in, as it always does, lol, but we didn`t get carried away.

It was a beautiful night. The weather was fantastic and the mood for romance was in the air!

Before dinner, Dennard spent some time outreaching as I treated myself to a manicure :-)

After meeting back at the house, we quickly changed our clothes and decided to go to the Mandarin for dinner.

After dinner we decided to pop by my dad`s house for a bit to see how his recovery was going since being released from the hospital the day prior.

What was suppose to be a quick in and out, turned out to be a 3 hour visit and the two of us falling asleep on my dad`s couch! lol

We were hoping to have a brief visit with my dad and then head back home for a nice walk around our neighbourhood; however, we got caught up in the hype of the tight rope walker over Niagara Falls live on the news.

Dennard was the first to fall asleep; however, I was soon to follow. My poor dad was left there watching the action alone! lol We stayed awake long enough to see the man walk to wire and land safely on the other side, but once the excitement was over, we both crashed!

My dad snuck a picture of the two of us sleeping which I will post once he sends it to me.  A cute picture for us to look back on :-)

The absolute exhaustion I felt dragging my feet to our car afterwards was a wake-up call to the exhaustion I will soon be facing when Little Sweets arrives. I couldn`t help but think about the extreme exhaustion I will feel some days with no hope for rest or sleep. I hope those days will be few and far between as I have been praying for a `good sleeper` with Little Sweets. lol

Here is a picture of me at 35 weeks outside of the Mandarin on our `date night`.

Today, Saturday June 16th, Dennard and myself had our maternity photos. We hired a photographer to come to the home and take maternity pictures of us. We had pictures taken inside the house and outside by our garden. She took 300 pictures of us in various poses and outfits. I am anxious to see how the pictures turned out; however, I will have two wait a week or two before we can view anything.

I have to give credit to Dennard for being such a sport and being so patient. He HATES getting pictures taken; however, he was a real trooper today. He smiled and did everything he was asked for the full two hours the photographer was there.

I will post some of the pictures from our session today once I can get my hands on them :-)

Ready for Launch!!! lol

This AM I had my regular OB appointment. I will be going every Friday now as oppose to every other Friday.

Tomorrow I will be 36 weeks!!!! 4 weeks left to go- OR LESS!!!

I see one of eight doctors each OB appointment;  today I had Dr.Corbey again. She walked in and said "Wow-you look great! How do you feel?". Enthusiastically I said "Fantastic!!!!!!  I have NO complaints!!!".

I have been feeling incredible; aside from the cramping on and off.

I layed down on the bed and she checked the size of my tummy and the baby's heart beat-all routine procedures. The heart beat was 160 today. Big jump from my last OB appointment two weeks ago when the heart beat was 144. I said "Wow! That's high isn't it?". She said "Nope- it's totally normal".

As she felt around my tummy and lower abdomen, a shocked look overcame her face as she said "Oh...the baby is VERY low!!! The baby's ready!!".  I smiled and said "Ohhh yes!!! I know!!! I've been feeling a ton of pressure and cramping".

I asked her if the lowness and cramping meant I would go early. She smiled and said "Well....I don't see you making it until your due date. You'll probably go early."

Excited, yet nervous at the same time (as I want this baby in my tummy for the full term) I said "How early is early?". She said "Ummm, it could technically be any time. You could go in three days, one week, two weeks or even up until full term. There really is no way of knowing."

My eyes literally popped out of my head.!! lol 3 DAYS?!?!? That's way too early!!! Even one week from now is still too early?!

I don't finish work until the 29th, my shower is on the 30th and the baby isn't suppose to come until a month from now (July 15th). Yikes!!!!

I can handle a week before my due date, but no earlier. There is a reason why God has it that a baby is to stay in his/her mommy's womb for 9 months- I do not want that to be cut short!

After feeling around my tummy a little more, Dr.Corbey said that the baby seems to be a really good size; not too big and not too small. She 'guesstimates' the birth weight to be 7lbs-5oz. It's funny that she said that as I guessed a 7lbs baby as well.  We will soon see :-)

Soooo, to sum up my OB appointment today, the baby is 'ready for launch'! lol

I called Dennard on my way back to the office and told him the exciting news. I said "Babe...you're going to have to stay by your phone a lot more now!!! The doctor said the baby could come anytime now-the baby is fully engaged!!". I explained the rest of what the doctor had told me and he started to laugh. He said "My heart just dropped like a bowling ball!!".

Through laughter, I asked him why his heart dropped. He said that it just became REAL that the baby is coming!!!!!!!!!! lol 

I called my mom, dad and sisters after. I like to update them on each OB appointment to let them know how Little Sweets is doing :-)

Cheryl started to explain to me the special moment when the baby is born and when he/she will look into my eyes. How they will know and become familiar with my scent and my face and know right away that I am his/her mommy. As she was explaining all of this to me, my eyes filled with a pool of tears. I began to play out everything she was saying in my head and picturing that wonderful moment when I see my child for the first time!!!

Funny Story
After making my rounds of calls on the way back to the office, I called Dennard one final time before going into work to ask him a question. The phone rang twice and he picked up without a 'hello' but a 'I am on my way!!!'. lol We both broke into a hysterics of laughter!!!!! I said "No, no babe...not yet!!!". lol He was joking, but it was still so funny!!!

I stopped off at the mall really quickly after my appointment and my phone accidentally dialed Dennard. When I saw it was calling him, I hung up immediately. Within seconds, I get a call on my phone with the caller ID 'Dennard'. I picked up and said it's ok sweets...my phone dialed you accidentally. I am alright!!". Reassured he said "ok!" an hung up. lol

Poor guy, I am sure that every time I call him between now and July 15th he'll be paranoid that the call is 'THE CALL!!!'- lol