It feels like years ago that I said goodbye to my waist, and most recently, I’ve bid a fair adieu to both my ankles and my knuckles.

Swelling towards the end of pregnancy is totally normal, so there’s nothing to worry about – aside from what my darling husband refers to as ‘Shrek feet’ not fitting into any regular footwear and the discomfort that comes with stretched skin, there’s nothing to worry about.

And not much that can be done, either.

Back in the dog days of summer heat, my feet swelled but could be relieved with a cool bath or shower. Chilly temperatures no longer give me relief.

Even getting hubs to rub my sausages doesn’t seem to help, and I could spend half my day with my feet up in the air and still look like some kind of monster. Continue reading →

After a somewhat difficult start to the week, I was feeling really bummed out being pregnant.

That’s when my amazing coworkers completely knocked my socks off with the most wonderful surprise – a baby shower attended by most of the ladies of the office.

I went in thinking about how grumbly I was feeling to be meeting for a last-minute holidays brainstorming session, but left feeling so completely loved and supported by this wonderful group of women. It was so incredibly humbling and completely lifted my spirits out of the grey I was feeling.

I was also mad impressed that the mastermind behind the whole affair was one of my closest coworkers, we admittedly is not quite sure about the whole idea of children herself, yet still managed to pull of a lovely fete.

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So lately I’ve been feeling like I’ve quite nearly had enough of being pregnant already. I can totally understand now why baby showers are held towards the end of a woman’s pregnancy – it is certainly a welcome distraction from your sore back, swollen feet and growing bigger-by-the-hour belly.

OK, maybe not the growing belly – since everyone wants to comment on how you’re carrying and touch your expanding self. But to be surrounded by your closest family and friends, the love in the air is palpable, and the positive energy is as infectious as the laughter.

One of my closest and dearest friends gathered the troops and put on a lovely affair which left hubs and I both feeling thoroughly feted and incredibly grateful to the people in our lives who love us, and this new addition to our family, so dearly. Continue reading →

Last week I had the opportunity and great pleasure to meet with our doula to discuss options for our labour and delivery, in order to help hubs and I sort out our birth plan.

I knew the basics already of what I wanted – no medication, lots of involvement from my support team – but what I didn’t know was just how granular we could get in planning things, and just how many different procedures hospitals will do if you let them. (And you don’t have to let them.)

Everything from deciding what clothes out baby will wear (hospital-provided versus outfits we bring), to having snacks (a must, as hospital food is pricey and not super tasty) and delaying vaccinations are all a part of the things we get to have a say in.

I find all this choice very empowering, especially since I thought that I’d be giving up a lot of it by having the baby in hospital. Continue reading →

I can’t even tell you how excited I was when our little one’s crib arrived from the U.S. on Friday! I was running around the office showing anyone who cared to listen the picture message (at left) hubs had sent to my phone to show me the delivery boxes.

Now, I can’t wait until the next piece of the puzzle is in place: the spot in the bedroom where we’re planning to place the crib to be ready. Hubs is still working on drywalling and sanding baby’s little nook, and then we’ll have to paint and put up a piece of trim before we can set the crib up.

After that, we’ll really be waiting for the final piece to come – baby him/herself!

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Well, it’s official. I’ve finally hit that stage in my pregnancy where I am forced to accept the fact that my body doesn’t move the way it once used to, and I need to slow down a little.

I discovered this the other day when I was walking to the subway with a coworker. His pace, which at one time would have been nothing out of the ordinary to me, was far too brisk for me to keep up with. I found myself getting winded and achy, after just a block of trying to  keep up.

So, I decided to wish him a lovely evening, and put my headphones in for some tunes to help me out on the rest of my journey.

What did I expect? That I’d be as active and speedy throughout my whole pregnancy as I was before…? Continue reading →

Pregnancy has made me feel like many things.

At first, I felt like a zombie – what with the caffeine withdrawal and the constant nausea that was par for the course for me during the first trimester.

Then, I felt like a sausage – slowly expanding, trying to stuff myself into clothes growing tighter and tighter by the day.

Not long ago, in the middle of the night, I started to feel like the infamous French Bulldog who couldn’t roll over. Trying to switch from sleeping on my left side to sleeping on my right side has become the biggest challenge during the night, second only to actually sitting up in bed (can’t happen anymore, I’ve got to push myself up now).

Lately, I’ve felt a little bit like the bear at the zoo who people sneak food to, despite the giant warning sign above the cage. Continue reading →

One of the joys (?) of pregnancy is that due to the many hormonal changes happening, you tend to have more vivid and easily recalled dreams.

And boy, have I had my fair share of these over the past 7 months.

At first, my dreams had recurring themes of me running full-tilt searching for something I’d lost (like my nanna, who had simply vanished from outside my childhood home) , or super x-rated scripts involving some of my favourite celebrity crushes (sorry hubs).

One of the strangest and most detailed I can recall from early in my pregnancy was that I taking a taxi to work, my bicycle beside me in the back of the car, only to find that when I got to the office that the building was on fire. It was 3 or 4 in the morning, and that taxi drove us down into the entrance for streetcars. I still can’t figure out what it means – if it means anything. Continue reading →

I went for my monthly doctor’s check-up today to see how little one and I were doing, and like every other visit, this time around the doctor was pleased to let me know that everything looks wonderful.

As you’ll remember, last time I saw the doctor I had to do a little terrible test to check for gestational diabetes – I found out today that although I felt like I was going to die at the time, my body is handling sugars just fine and I passed with flying colours.

No gestational diabetes for this mama-to-be! I had been especially worried I’d flunk, given that my mother had the condition while pregnant with me.

Doc also said that my ever-growing belly (see photo at left) was also perfectly on track for a happy and healthy little one, and babe’s heartbeat was just as strong as his/her kicks and jabs.  All very good things. And, I managed to keep my weight gain to just 4 pounds this past month – a miracle, after last month’s 9-pound shock.

But, I still find myself not able to fully relax and enjoy this seemingly worry-free pregnancy. Continue reading →

Part of being pregnant means that you have to avoid or give up entirely many common foods and activities that could put you or your baby at risk.

It’s all for your own health (and your little one’s) so it hasn’t been that big a deal for me. Most of the time, anyways.

I also keep reminding myself (as I do so many times when I get to feeling handicapped by my pregnancy) that it’s not forever – there is an end date, a light at the end of the tunnel.

Here are some of the things I’m missing these days: Continue reading →