Only 4 More Weeks, ACK!

It's really starting to hit me that I have less than a month and this baby will be here. It's a really bittersweet thought, actually. I'm looking forward to actually holding him in my arms instead of being kicked in the ribs and all that, but at the same time I can't help but to worry if I will be able to handle being a mom of two. Will I still be able to give Caleb the attention he needs? Will I be able to do that for Caleb and still give Tyrell what he needs? How do moms of more than one kid manage? I mean, I'm sure there's some natural instinct that kicks in when you need it, like with caring for a newborn when you've never done that before, but I'm a natural worrier, so here I sit hoping that somehow it will manage to work itself out when the time comes.

Caleb had a really good birthday. He ate LOTS of roast beef, which is unusual for him so I guess I did a really good job on this one. He's normally not a big meat eater. Almost every single present he got had something to do with Cars, so he was very happy about that.

On Saturday evening I was able to listen to the Relief Society broadcast. I just watched over the internet so I didn't have to go and shift uncomfortably in a chair when it wasn't necessary. John kept Caleb occupied downstairs. I really enjoyed the talks and felt really motivated by them. I'm looking forward to General Conference even more now that I've listened to the broadcast.

Not too much else is new here. My back has been better the last couple of days except for at bedtime and during the night, but I'm at least able to move around a lot more comfortably during the day, which has been a great blessing to me. I've also been having a lot more positive of an attitude the last few days and that really seems to be helping a lot. I'm not too sure where it came from, probably because I've been reading more scriptures each day than I used to. My whole attitude changes when I start putting more of an effort into doing the things that I should be doing, which is a reminder to me that Heavenly Father does indeed bless us when we try our hardest to be obedient to His commandments.

Anyways, we're on weekly doctor appointments now. I have one this Wednesday and then I'm really looking forward to next Thursday's because that's when I go to stay in Wainwright until I have the baby. Just over a week and I'll be leaving our house for the last time as a mum of one. I managed to finally get Tyrell's room clean, and then John put more empty boxes in there, lol, so he'll have to take those out tonight. Anywho, that's about all for now:)

The Miracle of Pudding

So I wasn't exactly at the top of my game in my last post, to say the least. Again, I am sorry. I spent a lot of the morning crying. Then a miracle happened tonight, I call it the miracle of pudding. I kind of forgot about FHE since I had to go and have lab work done tonight, so I decided that I was going to have John and Caleb finger paint together and I would take some pictures of them. I made finger paint using some cannery vanilla pudding and food colouring. John had to first convince Caleb that it was okay to stick his fingers into the paint, but once he got going there was no stopping him. He got excited about drawing circles on the pages and all of the pretty colours. Then we got him to realize that he could eat the paint and that it tasted good, so he was VERY excited about that. Next John decided to paint Caleb's face, and it was SO cute to watch. I was laughing and smiling the whole time and my whole day of crappiness seemed to fade away as I watched the two of them together. It was exactly what I needed. To me, it felt like a miracle to be that happy after the morning that I had so I wanted to share with everyone our Miracle of Pudding:) Hope you all had a great FHE!

5 More Weeks, At The Most

Not a lot of exciting news for the first part of last week. On Wednesday I had Enrichment and it was good. It helped me get ideas of things to do with Caleb and things I can use in the future to help teach him things and help him in school. I love learning ideas and skills that I will actually use, so this was a great Enrichment for me.

Thursday I had an appointment in Wainwright, so we headed down there for the day. I got my eyebrows waxed, which my mum paid for the day before so it didn't cost me anything, which was a very nice surprise. My appointment with my doctor was short, but I was happy because he said the baby is still doing very well, it's just me that's having all of the problems and that he will for sure induce me at 38 weeks if I haven't had the baby on my own by then. I've been really worried about the baby since we found out that he has only one artery in his umbilical cord, but the ultrasound tech and doctor both have said that he's growing right on schedule and haven't seen any problems, so that's really good news. That evening we had a dinner party for Caleb with my mum and step-dad, since his birthday is this coming Thursday. Mum made lasagna for us for supper, it was so yummy. We had chocolate cupcakes for dessert, which Caleb had a LOT of fun with and then we opened his presents. Almost everything he got from my mum, Bob, Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Shirley and Uncle Jerry was Cars. That word is fast becoming a 4 letter word in this house. I am SO tired of Cars, but he absolutely LOVES the movie, the toys, the clothes and anything that's considered a vehicle.

Saturday night I started getting contactions that were about 20 minutes apart, and I got REALLY worried since a complication with this umbilical cord issue is that 1 in every 5 babies that have it are born prematurely. After about an hour and a half I had John give me a blessing and the contractions stopped, YAY! I love having the priesthood in my home, it is such a huge blessing. But now I'm really worried about taking care of Caleb when things like this are happening, not to mention that my back and hips have hit an all new level of pain. And yesterday I was informed that there apparently isn't anyone in Relief Society who is able to take him for a whole day, which basically junks me over since I can't drive him anywhere to be watched for a couple of hours, so I guess I'm up a creek without a paddle.

Today hasn't been a very good day at all so far, and it's not even 7:30 yet. I woke up with a sore, swollen throat and I'm also pretty sure I have a bladder infection. John can't take any time off of work right now because they're working on some huge project that has to be done by the end of the month and they're really worried that it won't get done in time, so not only is he NEEDED at work, he's also working overtime right now. It's days like this where I am so jealous of my sister-in-law, who lives next door to her retired parents and has help available in situations like this. I have already called my dad though and he is going to try to at least get a couple of hours off to get me in to see a doctor this morning, so hopefully we'll be able to get that worked out. I'm also supposed to be watching Brenna for a few hours today as well, so I hope I can get to the medicentre and lab and back home in time to watch her. I AM SO SICK OF THIS PREGNANCY!!! I feel awful, I should be grateful that I can even have children, but this has been an awful time for me. I feel bad because Caleb's needs are being neglected because I just can't do much for him, my house looks like crap all of the time because even doing 1 days dishes sends my back into severe pain mode and John is working overtime so he just doesn't have the time to help me out. At least I only have 5 weeks to go, at the most. I think that's the only thought that's keeping me going right now. Anyways, sorry for the complaining and ranting, I'm at my wit's end and at a total loss of how to deal with it anymore.

PS
Sorry for the ranting, I had an awful morning. Anyways, I went to the Dr and got some antibiotics, so I should be at least somewhat improved by this time tomorrow. 35 more days, YAY:)

6 Weeks and Counting

Caleb's pink eye cleared up really quickly with the antibiotic drops, which I was really grateful for. By the time we were done giving him drops, he laughed every time we put them in as opposed to the the murderous screams he gave in the beginning. It was a very nice and very welcome change. So we went and had a visit with Jodi for a couple of hours. While we were there, Caleb caught Brenna leaning against my leg (barely) while she was watching TV. In response, he came over, climbed up onto my lap, pushed her away and said "mine". He's getting very possessive of John and I, I think he may be starting to realize that something's up in our home, but he's not quite sure what it is yet.

Most of last week is kind of a blur to me. I stopped taking my Tylenol 4s since I had my maternity support belt and ended up feeling sick to my stomach and getting cold sweats the first few nights I wasn't taking it, so I'm pretty sure that I was getting addicted to the codeine in it. Then my back hit an all time high in back pain. It seems like I'm getting worse every day. I'm lifting Caleb less now, but there are still times where I can't avoid picking him up, like if he starts crying really hard, and picking him up just sends my back into a new realm of excruciating pain. I am looking forward to 2 months from now when it won't hurt to pick him up anymore.

On Thursday we went out for dinner to Red Robin. It was a really good dinner, but Caleb wasn't hungry for much of anything other than onion ring skins. After that we picked up an electric heating pad for my back, Caleb's Christmas presents (a tricycle, helmet and elbow pads) and then stopped at the library and picked up a couple of books that we had on hold there.

Friday night John was setting up the new entertainment centre that we inherited from Rawd and Jodi (thanks again, Jodi). He put the TV onto the couch, but put the heavy end facing out and as soon as he walked away from it, it fell onto the floor with a HUGE BANG! My instant reaction was to start yelling at John, but for some reason all I could do was laugh. So I told him to plug it into the wall and see if the thing even worked still. While he was carrying the TV over to a power outlet all I could think was that I hoped the TV wasn't working so then I could get a new one (this one has an awful whine to it right now that gives me really bad headaches). Unfortunately, the TV still works fine, so it went into the new unit. The new unit is working a lot better for us than what we had though, which is really nice.

Saturday morning we had McDonald's breakfast and made our way to the Royal Alberta Museum for their dragon exhibit. Since we got there before 11am, it was half price, so John and I only had to pay $5 each. Caleb wasn't really big on the exhibit, but he did colour a picture of a dragon for John to put up at work. We checked out the gift shop after, and Caleb spotted a dark teal dragon and decided it was his. Since all of their dragon merch was 50% off (it was the last weekend of the exhibit), we bought it for him. John also got a dragon figure and a pop and I got a water (very exciting, I know). Then we headed to Toys R Us/Babies R Us, where we bought a flannel sheet for our Pack n Play, which we use as a bassinet for the baby. Made a stop at Walmart as well for some printer ink, crib sheets and a toddler computer game for Caleb, but I ended up buying the wrong kind of crib sheets, so I'm going to have to buy more as well. Somehow I managed to pick up the flat ones, but I'm still going to use them as well.

Yesterday I got released from my primary calling, after being there for over 2 years. It's a good thing, because the release means that this baby is coming fairly quickly, but I felt so lost not teaching my class. I sat in on John's Sunday School class for the youth, which was quite the interesting experience. Then I went to Relief Society and actually enjoyed the lesson, which is really nice. Then I had to bake bread yesterday afternoon because I really didn't have time to do it on Saturday, but baking bread isn't exactly hard for me to do with my Bosch, so I don't consider it 'work'. The hardest part of the whole process is just splitting the dough into equal portions. My brother and Danielle came and visited with us for a bit, so Caleb had a lot of fun showing off for them.

Now I'm just sitting around wondering what time today the plumber is going to show up to look at my kitchen sink. It's leaking somewhere around the taps, and leaking into the counter top and dripping onto the cupboard floor underneath. It wouldn't be such a huge deal if it didn't REALLY STINK! And as soon as I get Caleb, I'm sure he'll want to play his Fischer Price ABC game on the computer, which he's so cute to watch when he makes animal sounds and tries to say their names. My back is no better today, but I'm sure I'll find the strength I need somewhere to help me through the week.

7 Weeks to Go, YAY!

What a rough couple of weeks. My back and hips were getting worse by the day and I was able to do less and less for Caleb, which really sucked! So on Friday we were out shopping for a church outfit for the baby and some sewing thread when we noticed that Caleb's eyes were really gross and goopy. Since he had his 2 year check up scheaduled with the doctor for the next morning, we decided to wait until then.

Well, turns out he has pink eye, which I was pretty sure he did anyways, but other than the pink eye the doctor said he's doing great. On the way there we were trying to get him to say the doctor's name (Doctor Jackman), but all we got out of him was 'Doctor Batman', ha ha, he's so cute sometimes. John got his blood pressure checked again since it was really high a couple of months ago and he was supposed to be getting it down or he'd have to go on pills for it. Happily, it was right back to a normal range, YAY! I guess the exercise is REALLY doing him some good.

He's been exercising 6 days a week for the last couple of weeks. I think the biggest motivation is that he gets $0.50 put into a container every time he exercises and has to take $0.50 out if he misses exercising without a good reason, so he's saving up for Wii games. He also gets and extra $0.50 from me if he does all 6 days in a week and an extra $2.00 from my mum for the same thing, so he's super motivated now.

So after I picked up Caleb's antibiotic drops, we went to Healthcare Solutions and I finally invested in a maternity support belt. That was probably the best $70 I've ever spent in my life. The difference with it on is so amazing. I'm able to stand long enough to do dishes again, walking up the stairs doesn't make me cringe in pain anymore and most importantly, I'm able to sleep without having to take the Tylenol 4s. That's a good thing since I think I was actually getting hooked on the codeine. I've has tummy problems and cold sweats the last 2 nights since I stopped taking them. I'm hoping it's out of my system now, though.

So since Caleb has pink eye, we knew I'd have to stay home from church with him since it wouldn't be 24 hours since he started his medication. John was still going to go and he was going to teach my primary lesson as well. As luck would have it, right before John was about to leave for church, I started getting WICKED nasty pains in my lower abdomen. Since the baby has an umblical cord condition that gives him a 20% chance of being premature, I of course started worrying like mad and John ended up staying home to take care of Caleb while I was having the pains and in case I needed to get to the hospital. Luckily, they went away and haven't come back since, but it was still quite a big scare. My brother came over for supper, which is always fun. We had roast beef, baked potatoes and veggies. He horsed around with Caleb a lot, which Caleb absolutely loved. Caleb is a big fan of his Uncle Kyle, they have lots of laughs together.

Anyways, so that's about all that's new here, really. Now I'm really looking forward to having only 7 weeks left of pregnancy, at the most. However, at the same time I'm really nervous to have a new baby again. I'm sure that will disappear as soon as I hold him in my arms, here's hoping...

Another week...

Well, the appointment with my doctor didn't go QUITE as well as I'd hoped, but he at least gave me a prescription for Tylenol 4s. I need to take one every night before bed. They help out a little bit, but they make me tired during the day, even though I'm only taking them at night, which I find to be kind of wierd, but whatever.
On Friday I went shopping with my brother's girlfriend, Danielle. I got some stuff from Thyme Maternity and Bootlegger as well as a couple of things for John from Cole's. Amazingly enough, 2 of the 3 things that I bought at Bootlegger even fit me now, belly and all. I thought that was pretty cool. I had fun, but the mall floors totally killed my back and I was waddling worse than a penguin by the time we left.
Saturday we took Caleb to the park, which he VERY MUCH enjoyed. I took loads of pictures, but haven't gotten them onto the computer yet. We went to Heather and Mike's for supper that night for burgers, which was pretty good.
Leela's baby blessing was on Sunday, and not too much interesting happened that day.
We're mostly unpacked now, just a few boxes in our bedroom and then the basement. We got our new living room curtains today, and they look better than the old ones, so that's good. Tyrell's room is just about ready, which is nice. Anywho, that's about all that's new from here...

Loving the New House

We're moved into our new unit and loving it. The layout in the 3 bedroom is such a better layout. Our master bedroom is HUGE! I think it's about 4 times the size of Caleb's new room, ha ha. We even added another piece of furniture to it than we had in the old house and it still looks so big. Caleb got new curtains for his room. They are Cars ones to go with his Cars bedding. He really seems to like them. He's huge into cleaning up messes right now (and still making them). He likes to put things away in his room, throw garbage away and sweep the floor with his little toddler broom. The living room and kitchen are totally unpacked (I just have a couple things to put into a box from the kitchen). The baby's room is about half done and Caleb's room is done other than putting up his Cars wall stickers. Our room just has about 6 boxes left and the dining room has 4 boxes. Then it'll just be the basement to worry about. Last night we went out and bought a new pantry unit. We don't have a built in pantry here, so we had to use the unit from the living room that we used for movies as our actual pantry in the dining room. We also bought a rake for the backyard and Christmas presents for Joseph and Leela. Anyways, tomorrow is my prenatal checkup where I'm REALLY hoping my doctor will be able to give me SOME hope for my back. It's worse than usual today because I went overboard with unpacking yesterday. I should get going though, I still need to have some lunch.