We left for the hospital at 7am on December 4th, 2013 for an 8am induction appointment. It was a cold and icy morning.


Once we arrived at the new South Health Campus, we were given a room in triage and my belly was hooked up to a fetal heart rate monitor and contraction toco discs. The heart rate monitor had trouble picking up baby's rates consistently enough to get a baseline reading. Mostly, because baby was very active and moving every few seconds. Contractions were also a few minutes apart but irregular. After nearly five hours on the tocos the OB, Dr. Kenny, finally got a good enough reading that I was allowed to leave and get some lunch. Phil and I went to the hospital marketplace together and I bought a pair of fuzzy slippers from the hospital gift shop on our way back up to the 7th floor.

We waited again in triage, as there were no rooms yet available for delivery. At 8pm the new OB, Dr. Zakarias sent us for an ultrasound to check on baby's positioning and fluid levels. All looked great. Then since we were not able to get cervadil (since we couldn't be admitted until we had a delivery room) we had an unmedicated option instead and the OB inserted a Foley Balloon to help dilate from 1cm, which I was currently, to 3/4cms. I also got an IV of fluids and was started on antibiotics. The nurses moved us around midnight to a room in an unused hallway of the maternity ward so that we could get some sleep in a quiet area.

I slept for what seemed a long time, only to wake and see it had only been an hour. It was 1am. I got up to go to the bathroom and the foley balloon had already done its job and had fallen out. I called the nurse and we were quickly moved to a delivery room. Room 11 at the very end of the hallway.

At 3am I was given a pitocin drip and the OB inserted a heart rate monitor directly into the top of baby's head and our water broke in a trickle. I was 3cms. Contractions began to get regular and stronger from here. Our back up doula, Heather, a arrived. We waited.

Our original doula, Tracey, arrived around 5am. The progress of dilation and waiting for baby's head to drop was slow moving. Contractions were regular and strong. Baby's heart rate still took small dips during contractions and I was given an Amniotic Infusion (tube to insert warmed water back into the uterus for cushioning) just as a precaution in case the cord was being squashed somewhere. It also helped to clear out the miconium from the fluids.

After 11 hours of unmedicated labour and numerous comments from nurses and doctors of how I was doing amazing at pain control, I was given the option of taking an epidural or being knocked out if a c-section was needed. Baby's heart rate was still dipping and they were beginning to worry that my uterus might get injured and hemorrhage if we laboured too long with the strong contractions. With an epi in place I was also prepped just in case we needed an emergency c-section. I finally could relax a little bit.

By 4pm that same day, I was about 5cms dilated and baby was beginning to drop. The OB on shift, Dr. Feyhe, said she would give us another hour and if we'd made no progress, would recommend a c-section. The game was on to get get baby to turn and drop. Our doula was instrumental in getting baby to turn using different positions. At 5pm the OB was called to a surgery and we had an extra hour to make progress.

The OB returned just after 6pm to check our progress and it was good news. There had been a change and baby had dropped a bit more and was in position for birth. I was now 6cms dilated. Good news!

Then the epidural wore off. The needle had pulled out of my back, just in time to feel a completely unmedicated drop of baby into my pelvis (no natural pain suppressors were in my system at his point either due to having had the epi). I felt baby move into the birth canal and felt the head and shoulders move with each contraction. The shoulders semes to get stuck on the right side of my pelvis as baby was being pushed down. It was incredible pain (the only way I can describe it) and all I had was my breathing to get me through it. Phil and our midwife Tracey were a big help. Baby was low and I felt like I needed to push. The anaesthesiologist was called and it suddenly seemed like hours passed waiting through contractions.

Shift change at 7pm and our fourth OB, Dr. Wilson, was just coming on, as what seemed like ten nurses ran around our room prepping for birth. The anaesthesiologist finally arrived after 45 minutes of amazing pain and tried to give me Fentanyl meds by syringe via the tube. He quickly discovered that the tube wasn't hooked to my back and then left to get his stuff to put it back in. Finally he returned and set everything back up as I sat on the edge of the bed, holding into Phil and I could feel baby's head, ready to push.

After a long day of craziness, the birth was a beautiful experience and I stopped to just be in the moment. I was told to push and then to wait when baby's head emerged. I held off on pushing and all I could think about was how wonderful this moment was. I pushed four times and felt the pressure release. I knew baby had been born. The shortest and best part of the entire day.

Phil looked at baby and then at me as the whole room went quiet, and he said "You were right. It's a boy!" The baby's cry was amazing music to my ears. Then the nurses got to work tending to baby in the panda warmer. As soon as they were done they brought him to me and put him on my chest for skin to skin cuddles.


He had an apgar score of 9. He weighed 9lbs 12 oz and measured 53.5cms/21.06" long. His head measured 39.5cms. A big healthy boy.


I was up and out of bed right away and even got to take a shower within hours of giving birth. Our first night was full of cluster feeding and nurses checking in on us. Phil slept on the window seat.


The next day, we named our son Tanner Felix (after my grandfather). We waited to have blood tests done and his minor tongue tie clipped. We spent just over 24 hours cuddling with him in the hospital before heading home, after midnight, in -30c weather.


Each moment I've spent with my new little guy I fall deeper in love with him. I'd worried before he was born, that I may not bond with him as I'd bonded with our twins, or that he'd somehow he'd take away from their lives. Now I understand what second time parents must feel when bringing home a new baby. You never share love, it truly only multiplies.





I am so very thankful that our littles have siblings, since I never did. While I am in no hurry, I get to watch the three of them grow up and bond to each other. I'm already amazed.

With the addition of the Littlest Smeltz, our family is now complete.
xoxoxo

Tick Tock...

Tomorrow we are officially 40 weeks pregnant. While I am excited, I am also beginning to feel like this baby is never going to arrive and I'll be kicking it out just in time for kindergarten.

Even with how much I love being pregnant, love my belly, love feeling someone alive inside of my tummy wiggling around, love pondering the miracle of life, and even though I am a bit sad that this will be our last baby, I am ready. Did you hear me baby? I. am. ready. And so are you. I'd like my body back now please.

My mom arrived at our house on Wednesday and today is Sunday (Grey Cup Sunday to be precise). We've been waiting four entire days now for something to happen. My water to break, contractions to begin, baby to drop. Nothing. Four days really feels like forever when all you're doing is waiting.

I've tried everything I can think of to get baby to come out, some of which were suggested by friends. Also drinking loads of raspberry leaf tea, walking as much as I can (I even walked around the grocery store two days ago for nearly two hours), shovelling the deck, running after one year old twins, playing outside in the snow, sitting hunched over on the floor with them playing, colouring. Nada. No dice. Baby doesn't seem to get my hints.

Baby is stubborn. Like its mommy. And like its daddy. Great.

I feel baby kicking me often from the inside and I think, "just use that energy to come out!" It seems as though my body may not know what to do. Maybe I'm lacking those special hormones which signal for things to get moving along. Or possibly baby is waaay too comfy in there. I've tried poking my belly, pushing down to create less space and even issuing an evacuation order.





Come on baby lets get this party started. Each day you stay inside of my tummy is another day you are growing larger and we all know you are large enough now. I'm already packing away all of our newborn clothing and am afraid you will not fit into the massive amounts of newborn diapers we've bought for you. You could practically walk out on your own if you stay much longer..

The ultrasound we had done nearly a week ago said that baby was measuring 9lbs 5-6oz. I certainly hope that was wrong and that baby will be more along the lines of 8lbs something, but the longer we have to wait the more I'm sure this baby is going to be huge. If you've seen my husbands head size, that's a very terrifying thought..

Tomorrow is also our 40 week OB appointment. I plan to ask them to strip my membranes this time in the hopes of starting immediate labour. The 38 & 39 week appointments I'd turned it down. (Beginning to think that might've been a mistake, but at the time I didn't quite want to go directly into labour - just in case.)

I've been feeling so very beyond exhausted this week, more than I've ever been in my life. I am out of breath all the time and I can't get comfortable in any position - which is perplexing to me, since in my first pregnancy my belly was much larger and carried nearly 13lbs of kids in it at once...

I'm normally a mover and get stuff done but I can barely manage to do anything without feeling like I've run a race. I'm sleeping in as much as I can. (Thank you to my mom and husband for watching my babies so I can rest.) I'm napping in the afternoons and going to bed early. All of which is not leaving me feeling rested, but hoping that if labour ever freaking begins, I'll have enough energy to get by.

Our OB has told us that they normally induce between 41+1 & 31+3 days. That would put us for an induction between Dec 3rd (my father-in-law's birthday) & Dec 5th. I refuse to wait that much longer! That's a whole mother week! But, I have zero choice in this matter and all I can do is hope that baby continues to stay healthy and think positive thoughts for labour which must be coming soon.. Right? Please??

Waiting for Baby

As of two days ago, I am the most pregnant I have ever been, having delivered our twins at 38+2. Today I am 38+4 with our littlest Smeltz.

At week 36, I noticed I suddenly had pregnancy symptoms (up until then I was relatively normal). I started to have to pee all of the time and started waking at night. I also had no urge to sleep and was often awake until 2am. I had a surge of energy and got a large amount of baby tasks completed, along with wrapping Christmas gifts and writing out all of our Christmas cards. I was having trouble breathing for a few weeks, which I'd attributed to being anemic (and on iron) this pregnancy.

At week 37, I developed muscle pain in the left side of my buttocks. It began to hurt to walk anywhere for even short distances. I found that stretching and warm baths helped if only temporarily.

Now at in week 38 (or the 39th week of gestation - depending on how you count it), I've noticed that it helps to push on the back of my left hip while walking and the pain lessens, though it is still ridiculously difficult to walk and I've become extremely slow. My waddle is very pronounced this pregnancy. I laughed out loud at myself last night, as I noticed I must resemble a giant penguin.

I've also noticed a huge decline in energy! (And my energy levels are normally higher than average.) I'm way beyond exhausted after even doing just small tasks. Yet at the same time I can't get comfortable in any position enough to rest. The good part is I haven't had trouble breathing for over a week now and even though our OB tells me that baby hasn't dropped, I'm feeling like something has changed. Apparently in second pregnancies the baby doesn't normally drop until you're in labour. So I'll take comfort in that, and hope for the best. At least I know that baby is head down and hopefully that will help once labour does begin.
Above (left) is my twin belly from week 37 & on the right my 38 week singleton belly. I am still measuring way ahead even with one baby living in my tummy but you can see a rather large difference in size. I had my twins over a week after the left pic was taken.

I've been wondering a lot lately how I ever did this while pregnancy thing with a twin belly?! How did I not have all of these symptoms? All I ever had with them was hip pain (same side) around week 32 (which quickly went away magically on it's own) and numbing of my hands from excess fluids from week 30 until after their birth. Otherwise my twin pregnancy seemed much easier towards the end of my third trimester. Perhaps because I didn't have two one year olds to chase after..

Oh how I miss lying in bed watching the food channel eating KD and mashed potatoes brought me by my husband. For now I just try to stay relatively comfortable while trying to keep our toddlers on their schedule as to not upturn their routines, and wait for baby to give me a sign that it's time to be born.

My mom and my husband have been a huge help with caring for our kids lately and for that I am thankful. I know that now I can not do it alone (even though I'm stubborn and still think I can). I'm too tired to really do much with my littles lately and I feel a bit guilty for that, but I know that sometime soon I'll be back to colouring on the floor and running outside with them.

I'm doing my best to enjoy my last pregnancy belly. To cherish every movement inside of my tummy and the wonder and amazement of creating a life. On one hand, I don't want this part of my life to be over. It seems so final. Our last newborn baby. My last birth experience.

On the other hand, I'm excited to meet our baby. To see them healthy and screaming. To see what/who it is after waiting nearly this entire calendar year in anticipation. To look into their eyes and meet our child. A person I grew inside of my body, from a single cell. We get to take them home (this blows my mind) and care for and teach them. To reclaim my own body (eventually). To know that our little family is finally complete.

And now we wait...

Our Second Halloween

It's hard to believe that our twins will be 22 months on Remembrance Day. It doesn't feel like they've been here that long, more like they were just born. They've changed so much and so very quickly. We've gone from teeny infants, to walkers, to talkers. Now we are entering a wonderful phase in which they can tell us what they'd like and talk about the world they see. I'm really loving communicating with my little cubs. It also seems true that your love continues to grow for your kids more and more as time goes by (I hear this is true until the teenage years - but thats a whole other story).

We just had our second Halloween, and this year we took the kids to a local community Halloween party. They seemed to like seeing the kids but were still a bit too young this year to go and play. They enjoyed some mini cupcakes, some candy and seeing all of the people. We picked out pumpkins for charity at the pumpkin patch as well. The night before Halloween we carved our pumpkins with Grandma & Grandpa.

My sweet little kitty

My adorable puppy

This year we also went Trick-or-Treating for the very first time! We went up and down our new street with, Grandpa's help, while Grandma handed out candy. Claire & Hayden loved going door to door once they figured out what we were doing, and they even said "Thank You" at almost every house. They still hated wearing their costume hoods this year (I'm not certain that will ever change). Claire was a cute little black cat & Hayden was a fuzzy little brown dog. They also loved playing with the glowsticks we bought them but most of all they loved seeing all of the Halloween decorations on everyone's porches. Then when it was all done, we made pumpkin muffins together.

Hayden trick-or-treating with daddy's help

Claire trick-or-treating with Grandpas help

Making pumpkin muffins with Grandma & Grandpa

The littlest Smeltz should be here in the next couple of weeks! As of today we are 37+3 & are in week 38 of pregnancy. We are still waiting for the nice surprise to see if we're having a girl or a boy to complete our little family. It seems as though our pregnancy has flown by this time and soon we will have three kids under age 2! (I may need to take up coffee drinking!) I sometimes wonder how exactly I am going to do this with three, but then I know we'll all figure it out together. I am beginning to get really excited to meet this new little person who has been living inside of my rather large belly for some time now. I'm still just as amazed by pregnancy as I ever was - but I know this is to be my last one. It is happy yet bittersweet in that our pregnancy is coming to an end soon and I will not experience this feeling of being kicked from the inside again. I am doing my best to enjoy babys movements and in the back of my mind I know this is actually the easy part. Caring for twin toddlers while very pregnant and with all of the changes we've experienced this year, has been nothing short of difficult, but I am also doing my best to enjoy my toddlers now while I have a bit more time to just sit and colour or cuddle them. The future will be wonderful and our family of five will make wonderful memories together - if my sanity can just survive the next year!

We have been getting everything prepared for baby's arrival. We have the hospital bags packed (one for mommy, the cord blood kit, and two diaper bags - one for a girl and one for a boy). We have the bassinet set up and ready to put into our bedroom for our first night home and we have furniture on order for the nursery, which we plan to use once baby is 6 months old. Our house has randomly stored baby things for a girl or a boy all over - two swings, two bouncy seats, two exersaucers, two travel size playpens, etc - all hand me downs from Claire & Hayden.

We have also hired a doula for the baby's birth this time and are looking forward to a smooth happy birth. We've also hired a separate doula for postpartum care, who will help with our kids as well as helping me with baby and doing some light cooking and cleaning. My mom is coming to stay again also for a little while, which will be a very big help until we can establish some sort of schedule. Then soon after it will be Christmas and we are hoping to have lots of family around for 2-3 weeks to help out. Looking forward to seeing everyone and introducing them to baby.

36+2, October 30th, 2013

All is Well

We are now 33 weeks pregnant! I remember being so very excited to pass 32 weeks with our twins. This time 33 seems less important somehow but nonetheless is still crazy to think about, as it's only another 6-7 weeks until we will be having a baby! I am not mentally or physically prepared this time! It's coming up so very quickly! I'm excited and at the same time a tiny bit sad that this will be our last pregnancy and baby. It truly is bittersweet. I am doing my best now to relax in the evenings after the kids go to bed and just enjoy feeling baby kicking. It's such a beautiful thing.

As for our medical care, it's still unknown even at this late stage in the game. I'd gone into the South Hospital for a 3-hour blood test a couple of weeks ago. (The blood testing took from 10am-2pm and I waited in the waiting room occupying my time by crocheting a baby blanket for a good friend.) When I could finally leave, I decided I'd scope out where to park when in labour so that we could be prepared, and walk on up to the maternity ward to get a quick tour of the new facilities.

The maternity ward looked pristine. The nurse at the desk was very nice and another nurse took me to see the rooms. In this new hospital your stay in one room for delivery and postpartum. Each room had the typical bed, it's own bathroom including a huge shower and all of the birthing equipment right in the room, including the bath area for baby and bassinet. What was different was that there was a kind of huge window seat, which they turn into a bed for your spouse, so they can stay the entire time with you. There's also a room service menu that I've heard you can order from whenever you like and a flat screen tv.

Now being our second birth, I don't really plan to stay at the hospital for any extended period of time, but the amenities of this new hospital looked amazing to me compared to the room we had at an older hospital last time.

As I was leaving I stopped to talk to the nurse at the front desk and she casually asked who my OB was. "Uhh, I don't have an OB this time. I'm low risk." was my reply. To which, she explained that there were only 8 OBs delivering at the new hospital (only delivering "high-risk" pregnancies currently) and anyone else would be sent to one of the older hospitals "in an ambulance" as she put it. (I could just picture us giving birth in an ambulance on the side of the road enroute to someplace else..)

Naturally as I was walking to my truck, I called the Low Risk Maternity Clinic where I'd been going for care thus far, and who'd originally told me to go to the new hospital when in labour. They explained to me that they were originally hoping to practice there, but do not. I asked when they were going to bother to tell me this important information, seeing as we live out of the city now and the driving difference between hospitals is not small. In rush hour traffic we basically wouldn't make it to any hospital than the new one. So began my crusade to find a new OB at 31 weeks pregnant...

I contacted my new doctors office in our small town. I was told they didn't have my records so couldn't give me a referral to an OB. I contacted my old doctors office (the one where my amazing family doctor moved back home to Australia in April). They told me to make an appointment and come in to see my doctors replacement. I waited a few more days and went in. Then was told that this was no longer my family doctor so they also couldn't give me a referral. Ugh. I managed somehow to explain my situation well enough to convince this doctor to put the paperwork through to get us an OB. They told me it was a very slim chance since we were now 32 weeks along and that an OB likely wouldn't take us. Sigh.

Back in August I'd cold called every OBs office I could find online in an attempt to get us an OB in place but had zero luck with finding anyone who would take us, and even less luck finding anyone who was practicing at the new hospital.

My last resort was to email our doula, Tracey, and ask her for some advice. She got back to us a few days later with the news that she may have found a midwife who could take us on. Good news finally! I quickly called the midwife, who then explained to me that she was from out of the city (in the complete opposite direction) and could not help us but may know someone else who could. So we waited for yet another call.

Then it all happened at once. We got a call from the OBs office based out of the new hospital saying we had a referral and now an appointment to see an OB this week! At the same time, we got a call from a midwife who scheduled us in for next week, but she can not deliver at the same hospital and we would have to drive quite a ways to get prenatal care and to deliver.

I am looking forward to meeting with the OB and seeing if we accept his care if we will be allowed to deliver at the new hospital or not. Pending that, we can then go with the midwife if all else fails. It's still up in the air but at least we are getting much closer to having a birth plan in place for where to drive to, and who to see. I was beginning to think Phil may just have to deliver this baby on his own!

Today we also got the results of the bloodwork and ultrasound we'd had recently done. My blood testing is normal. The ultrasound is normal. I am low-risk and happy to be that way. At the ultrasound (done at 32w0d) baby was measuring large. It's head was 35w4d, and all I could think was "well, it's definitely a Smeltz kid". Overall baby measured between 2-3weeks on the big side, and it's weight was estimated to be 4lbs11oz. Adding approximately 0.5lbs per week for the next 6-7 weeks and I'm preparing myself for a big baby who could be somewhere in the ballpark of 8lbs11oz if their growth were to continue this way. Luckily, I've read that typically the babys growth slows down about now. I am aiming/hoping for a 7lb baby.

32 week profile picture. Taken Sept 30/13

Now we wait and see what unfolds from here in the next few weeks.

Stressful Times

It has been a stressful couple of months for our family and I'm hoping it will not and has not affected baby in any way. I'm sure it'd take a lot of stress to cause harm but as a mother its natural to worry somewhat.
This past May we sold our house and if that wasn't enough stress, we were also homeless for 6 weeks. Not like we were living on the streets, just had no place to call home and lived out of suitcases. Lucky for us we had great family to stay with for parts of that time.

Then in July we moved into a new house. Unpacking pregnant while watching two toddlers (who are fascinated by bubble wrap) was interesting to say the least.

Then our dog came home, after living her entire life in our old house, she didn't do so well with the transition. She was miserable and wanted nothing to do with our toddlers, even going so far as to curl her lip at them and growl. We knew she wasn't happy and knew she needed to find a new home. After a few weeks of stressing about what to do, we had a very generous offer from friends who are angels for taking our dog and giving her a loving home in their pack. We miss River but know she's getting care better than we could provide here.

Shortly thereafter our 13 year old cat, Halo, started peeing in random places. Toys, corners etc. we quickly put a stop to that by having him live in our laundry room. I realized it was dark in there and quite tiny, so we lived him to the back mushroom instead where at least he has a window and two litter boxes. We were poised to put him to sleep but before we made up our minds I had to travel to Manitoba.
My 88 year old Grandmother had passed away. September 10th was a very sad day in our house and it didn't feel real to lose someone you've always known to be there for you. We made the decision that Phil and our babies would stay at home while I went to my hometown (nearly 1800kms away) to say my goodbye.

I traveled with my own parents to northern Manitoba over two and a half days, while Phil's parents came from southern Manitoba to our house, to help by watching our kids so Phil could work. We really appreciated their help and it was so very nice of them to offer. We have wonderful family that's for sure.
My Grandma's funeral was held on a Monday, September 16th, and the day was beautiful. The weather was sunny and lovely, while the trees began to turn golden colour. The service was nice and many people came to say their own goodbyes and talk with our family.




I was away from home for 9 days as family cleared out my Grandma's three bedroom apartment and sorted her legal stuff out. It was a stressful, long and tiring week for us all and very emotionally draining. The following Saturday I caught a ride for the 8 hour drive from Thompson to Winnipeg with my uncle, and then took a flight back home that evening. After a 16 hour day of traveling, I was finally home.

Sunday was a wonderful family day, where Phil, his parents, our kids and myself all went for a walk and than had a nice home cooked supper together. It was a beautiful day to start autumn.

Today Phil and I left our babies in Grannie & Grampa's care and ran errands. We got a bunch of things taken care of on our to-do list. Then I took Halo for a car ride to the vet in the city, who did blood work and took a urine sample. We get the results tomorrow and hopefully they will give us some answers as to why he's not acting like himself lately. Its stressful enough to think that he's sick or has a behavioural issue, never mind thinking about how I'm ever going to bring myself to put him to sleep, especially after he's been my friend for over a decade and seen me through most of my adult life.

I also went to a doctors appointment this afternoon. Baby's heart rate was 135bpm, which is lower than anytime so far but still in the normal range. I think baby was sleeping as I didn't feel movement until after the doctor on rotation today poked around at my belly. She told me she thinks that baby is head down.
I also found out that all this time, while I've been gaining "extra" baby weight, that my fundal height (belly measurement) has been measuring large for weeks now! (Since at least week 24!) No previous doctor ever bothered to mention that! Today my belly measured 34 weeks, a full three weeks larger than normal.
The doctor sent me home with forms to get an ultrasound done to check on baby, and a form to have a more in depth glucose tolerance test done. This one will take 2 hours and requires an 8 hour fasting beforehand. I'm really hoping that I pass. I'd prefer not having GD due to complications and risks. I am also hoping that the ultrasound comes back saying baby and fluid levels are both normal. Perhaps baby is just large or my belly is larger than a normal pregnancy because it carried twins in the past.

Please wish us luck as baby has another 9 weeks to bake and I'm not sure I want to be pushing out a 9lb baby!

30 week belly - Sept 18/13

Belly Comparison, Now & Then

I've been terrible at taking belly photos this pregnancy. I keep meaning to, but then I forget because I'm busy, or truthfully just don't have the energy to get out of my pjs in order to get a nice photo. I have been trying! With our twin pregnancy I documented approximately every second week.

I had a conversation with a good friend the other night and it was mentioned that I may be as big now as I was last time. I've been curious to see the difference in belly sizes between our two pregnancies for awhile now and have been meaning to post some pictures. Though there are days I think I can't get much larger than I feel at the moment, I know my belly was bigger last pregnancy (I just can't figure out how I carried it around without feeling giant!)

Here are some comparison photos of the last few weeks, for those who are also curious, of now (2013 singleton pregnancy) & then (2011 twin pregnancy).

22 weeks now vs. 22 weeks then (twins)

24 weeks now vs. 25 weeks then (twins)

28 weeks now vs. 27 weeks then (twins)

My conclusion is that this time my belly is smaller (to be expected), and it appears as though I am carrying this baby much higher (which may explain why it's harder to breathe than with our twin pregnancy).

With our twins, both babies were head down in a vertical positioning, while this singleton baby is lying across my belly horizontally (and it had better turn head down in the next few weeks!). Another interesting fact, I feel this baby moving more and kicking/punching harder, as its placenta is posterior (in back towards my spine) and both of my twins had anterior placentas (in front of baby, between baby and my tummy).

Though, I assume that I only carried lower last time because of carrying two babies at once, it may have been a blessing in disguise as I had almost zero pregnancy complaints. I'm hoping for similar great things for the rest of this pregnancy. Only 11 more weeks to go!

Third Trimester!

August 23rd we went to UCBaby for a 3D ultrasound. Since we didn't want to know baby's gender we mostly got to see images of their face, which was pressed snugly against the placenta. Baby was lying across my belly horizontally.

We sent an email to grandparents so they could watch along live over the Internet as the technician did the scan for us. Last time, with Claire & Hayden we had wanted to know their genders and so got a ton more images. Likely also because they were two babies.

However, here are a few that we did get this time. I don't really think that baby looks much like Claire or Hayden but completely different or a combo of both (based on their faces from our 3D ultrasound back in September 2011).





Now I'm even more curious if this little babe is a girl or a boy. I have an instinctive feeling, but I guess we will just have to wait another 10-12 weeks and see.

As of yesterday we are officially 28 weeks and now into the third trimester! Baby kicks & rolls & punches me many times a day now and it feels quite strange, especially the rolling motions. I've also been out of breath most nights now and am having trouble getting comfortable enough to sleep, which does not bode well while caring for two energetic toddlers. I also was diagnosed last week through blood test as anemic so am now taking an iron pill once per day.

It's very bittersweet being in the third trimester, as I've tried my best to enjoy this pregnancy as I enjoyed our first pregnancy, but with two toddlers and moving to new house this summer, its just flown by so quickly. I really hope things will begin to settle down this fall so I can enjoy the final trimester of my last pregnancy, prepare for baby and cook some freezer meals. We also need to come up with some names soon!

25 Weeks

We are now 25 weeks along and are doing nicely. Time is flying by so quickly! We're already in month 6!

I've been feeling good and have no symptoms to report, much like my pregnancy with Claire & Hayden. It is starting to get harder to bend over to pick things up off of the floor (where nearly everything a toddler - or in my case two - leaves their things). I'm also tired a lot more than normal, but that's really to be expected.

I am consistently gaining about 1 pound per week, which I didn't think was a lot, but apparently 40lbs in a pregnancy is "too much". With Claire & Hayden I gained approx 70lbs and then fairly easily dropped 60 of those pounds before getting pregnant this time. So the random doctor I saw last week at the Low Risk Maternity Clinic has told me that I should see their dietitian next month. Being that I've previously lost 85lbs by eating properly in the past.. I'm very skeptical that a dietitian can help me at all. I could see if I was binge eating or drinking lots of soda, or something crazy, but really I'm eating fairly normally. I just gain weight easily. Go-go crappy metabolism. Sigh. However, it is free, so I'll gladly go and talk to them and see if they have some type of miracle to help me stop gaining pregnancy weight. I do miss working out and running, and am looking forward to getting back to the old me at some point mid to late next year. I'm proud to have carried 2.5 children and after baby is born, it'll be time to shape up and get myself back - right after the sleepless nights end.. As I know those are coming! At least this time I know what to expect and can take comfort in the fact that I've been through it double time so can survive it again.

At the doctor appointment Friday Aug 9th babys heartbeat was 150bpm. My BP was 119/75 - which is high for me but the nurse said it was because she had me talking while taking it. We are going to do our glucose testing around week 26-28, and I haven't booked an appointment as I'm hoping to just walk into the South Hospital (they don't book appointments yet as far as I am aware) and get right into the lab there without too much waiting.

Baby has been kicking quite a bit lately and last week Phil was able to feel baby kick for the first time! His awe was nothing short of our first pregnancy and I think it'll be more real to him from here on out. Baby seems to kick first thing in the morning and then most often at midnight every night. Though I do feel random kicks all day long. It's neat to actually know who is kicking me this time!

We go for a 3D ultrasound on Friday August 23rd. We opted to go as we had paid to go last time and really are curious to see who baby looks like. Though we will still not be finding out babys gender. We are having it broadcast live to our family and I'm happy we can share our experience with them too, even from hundreds of kilometres away. I can't wait to meet our baby in November and really hope they will arrive right on time. It will be very exciting to hear what they are as they're born. A new experience for us. There are a lot of days when we're so busy - especially with two toddlers - that I don't take much time to just enjoy and talk to baby. I pray and hope everyday that baby will keep their heart beating, keep on breathing and grow big, strong and healthy.

24 Week Belly - Aug 7, 2013

Nineteen Month Twins

Our babies are 19 months old! They're on the small side for height and weight, but still seem so big to us. I was watching old videos of them from last summer and it is amazing how fast they've changed from babies into tiny little people.

They're repeating all kinds of words now (butterfly, turtle, purple, please, teeth - when we brush our teeth, ball, bear - just to name a few) and they babble sentences of "words", that we can only explain as them trying to communicate with us, while pointing to things or showing us objects. It's really adorable to watch them analyze things and learn about the world.

They love to climb and are getting good at climbing up onto the couch to watch cartoons and movies with us. They're nearly able to climb up on our kitchen chairs too, but not quite yet. They can climb onto Grandma & Grandpas chairs though and they love their independence. The pantry is also very popular, particularly the bottom few shelves.

We're now getting canine teeth. As of today, Hayden has three (all but his bottom left) & Claire has her top two (soon to have her bottom right as well). They're sharing a bedroom at our new house for now and we think that they like to be together, even if they do wake each other often. Also today I watched as Claire proceeded to try to get her foot up over the top rail of her crib, so I suspect we'll be converting their beds into the toddler beds and bolting our dressers to the walls sooner than I'd planned. I may move them into their own rooms at the same time and try to make a big deal about it. Hoping it will work out well!

I love these guys more and more every day and am so very proud that I get to be their mommy. They love to give me kisses and cuddles which are always so very heartwarming to receive. I've even (almost) become a morning person just to wake up and see their happy little faces.