Getting Ready

We are getting very close to being ready for our little princess to arrive. Last weekend I washed and organized all of her clothes that we have received from other people as hand me downs or gifts. Since her dresser wasn't painted yet I stacked them all over her room!

We bought some newborn diapers and new creams and things so we are ready for when she gets here!

All receiving blankets are organized, clean, and put away just waiting to be cleaned again once she arrives!

Hospital bag is packed! Picked up some last minute essentials and it is ready to go!

Made and froze some lactation cookies! They are delicious cookies that are supposed to help increase milk supply with oats, brewers yeast and flax seed meal.

Hayden made a card and gift for his baby sister that he will bring with him to the hospital to meet him!

And finally since Curtis was home again this week, we finally got Baby P's dresser painted. It went from chocolate brown to glossy black to match the crib and change table!

All that is left is putting her clothes away, bringing up the bassinet, and waiting for Grandma to bring her bedding and chair cushions when she comes for Baby P's big arrival. Getting so close!!!

Baby Shower

I am so blessed to have such great friends! I began my maternity leave on a high note yesterday with an adorable baby shower hosted by my friend Erin and with good friends in attendance! We got SPOILED as usual! Take a look and see:

One of the activities was a hair bow making station so we left with very colourful headbands for Baby P! 

An adorable outfit, toy and tethers from Erin L and her family.

Super cute outfits from Erin and Matt!

Diaper cake!

Hair clip and bow organizer and Sophie teething ring from Erin K.

Basket Full of goodies including clothes, wipes, feeding bowl, books, lotion and lots more from Lisa, Kim, Bonnie and Jodi!

Monthly onesie stickers from Steph.

Science Centre memberships for Hayden and I from Erin, Laura, Lindsay, Kelly and Steph. And a Science Centre gift card from Jodi, Kim, Lisa and Bonnie.

Adorable favours we took home. The top said Thank You and the inside was a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting! They were DELICIOUS!

After helping to open all the presents Hayden especially enjoyed the tutu and pink hair bow! How adorable is that!?

Thanks so much to Erin for hosting and my amazing friends for all of the gifts for our princess. We are so blessed to have all of you in our lives! xo

36 Weeks

36 Weeks! We have reached the 9 month mark! And by next Tuesday we will be full term!

Baby P is now the weight of a honeydew melon. She is somewhere between 4.5 - 6 lbs and around 17.5 to 19 inches long. This is where it gets different for each baby. No predictability anymore!

Dr appt today went well. I had to get my Group B strep swab done today and will find out next week if it is positive or negative. No big deal either way, just tells me whether I go to the hospital straight away for antibiotics or if I can labour at home for a little while. Baby P's heart rate was 142bpm and she kicked her way through the appt. Measuring right on track, blood pressure is good, and she is still head down. However, Dr discovered that she has dropped already. And as she mentioned babies are usually born within a few weeks of dropping….. GAH! I am not sure if this is exciting or nerve wracking news! While I am excited to meet her and introduce her to you all… I need some time after school is over to get ready! It's not up to me anymore, so we will see how this all goes!

Thankfully tomorrow is the last day of school with kids and then only 1 teacher day afterwards. It has been hard working this long and I am starting to get sore during the day. I am happy to finish out the year with my students and see who they have become, but I am ready to be done!

In nursery news, we had a major nesting weekend last weekend and bought all the stuff we needed to bring Baby P home. We now have newborn diapers, wipes, baby lotion, diaper cream etc. We washed and sterilized all the bottles we have, packed the hospital bag and so much more! It feels like so much left to do but I think we are mostly ready.

I am still feeling good. I can definitely feel the difference now that she has dropped. My ribs are getting a break from kicks, but I have to pee more and I have been having shooting pains in the lower region of my pelvis. No nausea so far, and no other physical ailments. Can't really complain!

Thanks for checking out the blog and hopefully we will have exciting baby news soon! Looking forward to my baby shower this weekend (thanks to Erin L for putting this on) and celebrating our little princess!

Check back soon and leave us a comment! xo

Maternity Photos

So we went on June 11 to Big Hill Springs Park to have our maternity and family photos taken! It was a beautiful day, overcast with peaks of sun, not a ton of bugs and almost nobody in the park! We worked with local photographers Artistry By Design. They were so great and captured us perfectly! If want to see all the photos click on the link below, but here are some you can look through:

http://www.artistrybydesign.net  -> Family Photography --> all the way to the bottom for Holly

Surprise Shower

So I was surprised today by the staff at my school with a "tea party" themed shower. The shower celebrated myself and our little princess, another expectant teacher and her soon to be princess, and my teaching partner who is getting married this summer!

We were gifted with feather boas which made us feel so fancy and special. The staff was so generous and my gift was money to put towards a Zoo membership for Hayden, Baby P and I while I am off on maternity leave. This will be great as Hayden is so active and a great way to walk off the baby weight. 

I feel so fortunate and blessed for their generosity. It was a great surprise and I felt very special! xo

34 Weeks

34 WEEKS!!!!!

Baby P is now a butternut squash, weighs anywhere between 4 - 4.5lbs, will react to sounds now, and is peeing about a pint a day! Gross I know!!!!

Our newest development is hiccups. I don't remember having so many with Hayden. She has hiccups AT LEAST 3-4 times per day. It feels like a pulsing (kind of like a heartbeat) in my pelvis area. Some have been so powerful that it has started shaking my belly in a pulsing motion. Very cool to feel!

Dr visit today went well. Heartbeat is starting to slow at 135bpm, measuring 33.5cm (which is perfect), Baby P is head down, and active. The poor Dr got a swift kick today while trying to feel her head. 

With only 2 weeks left until the last day of school, we are in the homestretch. Report cards are done, so now it is just packing up and saying goodbye. The Dr today was asking me about being signed off of work and how they only sign people off if medically necessary…. and as I am "textbook" there is a low possibility of them signing me off. I told her not to worry, unless something drastic happens in the next 2 weeks I will be off with plenty of time. She just laughed and said my timing was "impeccable". 

In more exciting news, we got our maternity photos done today!!!!!! I am so excited to get them back! We ventured out to Big Hill Springs park… it is beautiful! Waterfalls, bridges, stream, trees, field……. it has it all. We took some props with us (shoes, little chalkboards, a picture frame) so hopefully they all turned out. Will post as soon as we get any type of sneak peak or proofs back! Literally going to be counting the minutes LOL!

Baby P is still very active, especially at bedtime. I have to take a video to show you the amount of movement she can wrangle right as I want to go to bed. Some of the movements are getting uncomfortable, especially in my ribs, but I am still enjoying them! I am getting occasional pains during the day from standing, but for the most part still feeling good! I even walked around outside for an entire day last week on a field trip with my students… and NO SWELLING! I was so impressed! Go me! hahahahaha

Anyways that's all for us. We will keep you posted on anything and everything! Curtis is home again this week so hopefully we can get her dresser painted and start putting away the massive amount of clothes we have from friends and donations!

Leave us a message below! xo

They got me!

So I have this tradition of making a maternity hospital gown for all of my expectant friends as their baby shower or early baby present. Something practical and useful, as well as something that looks pretty for pictures. I have made quite a few now (10 or so).

Well on the weekend they got me back! Take a look at my stylish new maternity hospital gown and matching layette for Baby P! Thanks Jodi, Lisa, Kim, Tessa and Bonnie for the AMAZING surprise.... coral and grey, and chevron none the less! xo love you girls!