i've decided i'm not enjoying pregnancy at all. hopefully i'll enjoy motherhood a lot more :P for the past 2 weeks, i've had headaches almost everyday to different degrees of pain. it really sucks that i can't take excedrin for my pain...that's always a GREAT drug :-) i went for more bloodwork on wednesday, including the triple-screen marker...i didn't really want that one done in the first place, but since my first doctor didn't get all the tests done at my initial prenatal testing, i had to get blood taken anyways. i can still see where the damn needle was inserted into my arm. stupid. too bad blood can't be taken from my nose...i've had my share of nosebleeds recently. apparently i need to drink more water for the baby :P
i love to sleep on my back...it's the only position i'm 100% comfortable with. but, i've been trying to train my body to sleep on my left side. so far it's not working out well. i have a $10 body pillow that i got from superstore (the snoogle pillow at babies r us costs $60!) but the past 3 nights when i've woken up for my 1:30 a.m. pee-time, i discover i've thrown the pillow off the bed. i might have to snuggle with my former smaller pillow, and use the body pillow to stuff behind me so i can't roll over. good thing we have a queen bed now!
our baby is going to be born with puckered-up lips :P i've determined what my food craving is...anything and everything sour. sour skittles, dill pickles, salt & vinegar chips, balsamic vinegar, sour icebreakers, etc. etc. i'm also hungry 24/7 now. on sunday night, i woke up every 1.5 hours for no reason...so, at 3 a.m. i decided why not have some cheese & crackers?! chris bought pasteurized brie at granville island so i've been enjoying that immensely :-) i recently discovered i shouldn't be eating raw bean spouts. shame i put them on my beef noodle soup a couple weeks ago, and they were in my noodle dish at hon's :P i'm also finding it hard to avoid feta cheese... i can't wait to eat tuna sashimi again! ethical beans is going to be opening a kiosk at the commercial drive skytrain station, and they've been offering free coffee to commuters...i love the smell of coffee and it's been tempting to grab a cup :(
on a happier note, i attended my 2nd prenatal yoga class last night. i didn't push myself as hard as last week, so i wasn't in nearly as much pain this morning when i woke up. i also didn't breathe in-and-out as hard, so i wasn't light-headed when i left the class. i learn from my mistakes :-)
and lastly, i have the babies r us catalogue, so i've been perusing it for ideas for our baby. chris' parents are buying us a crib and my parents are buying us furniture. i've flagged a bunch of things i need to research further (strollers/car seats), things i need/want (playmat, safari bedding collection, highchair), and things that are still quesionmarks (bathtub, bassinette). it's far too overwhelming sometimes...i just want someone else to do all the work for me :-) any takers?! haha!
Friday, April 11, 2008
Thursday, April 03, 2008
prenatal yoga
after more discussion with my physiotherapist, and a discussion about prenatal exercising, i signed up for prenatal yoga through trine yoga. i never thought i'd take a yoga class, but this is more about healing myself than "getting in shape".
tonight was my first 75 minute class, and i've come to the realization that i don't like to exercise. i left the class feeling sick...perhaps its because i pushed myself too hard, unsure of whether the pain was a stretching type pain, or if it was actually my sciatica screaming "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?". perhaps it was having to stretch in different positions that i'm not used to. or perhaps i just don't enjoy "exercising" in dark environments lit by candles.
on a positive note, i did benefit in one aspect...i definitely feel like my hips are a lot more relaxed and loose. that's probably a good thing for child-birth :-) the instructor, cielo, is really good. she was aware of my condition and she modified some of the moves for me, and she looks out for all the women to ensure our comfort and safety, not allowing us to move incorrectly or strain our bodies.
anyhoo, the prenatal classes last 8 weeks, so hopefully things will get better. combine that w/my physio and massage therapy, hopefully i can get my sciatica under control. and now, dinner's calling...we're having steak tonight :-)
tonight was my first 75 minute class, and i've come to the realization that i don't like to exercise. i left the class feeling sick...perhaps its because i pushed myself too hard, unsure of whether the pain was a stretching type pain, or if it was actually my sciatica screaming "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?". perhaps it was having to stretch in different positions that i'm not used to. or perhaps i just don't enjoy "exercising" in dark environments lit by candles.
on a positive note, i did benefit in one aspect...i definitely feel like my hips are a lot more relaxed and loose. that's probably a good thing for child-birth :-) the instructor, cielo, is really good. she was aware of my condition and she modified some of the moves for me, and she looks out for all the women to ensure our comfort and safety, not allowing us to move incorrectly or strain our bodies.
anyhoo, the prenatal classes last 8 weeks, so hopefully things will get better. combine that w/my physio and massage therapy, hopefully i can get my sciatica under control. and now, dinner's calling...we're having steak tonight :-)
Thursday, March 27, 2008
5 weeks only
after 5 weeks of puppy-love, it was a sad evening for me and chris. we had to let icon go. my sciatica is deteriorating rapidly, and all the physio and massage in the world wasn't helping me. the bending/leaning motion that comes with puppy care and the incessant pulling on the leash was killing my nerve. today was the final straw...as i was at the door putting on my shoes for work, i got stuck and couldn't move. i had to take the day off work to relax :P so frustrating and painful!
today i saw my doctor who told me to definitely take some tylenol to ease some of the pain, i'm wearing a maternity pelvic belt to hopefully keep things in place, along with my massage therapy and physio. after today's massage, i admit i felt a lot better, so hopefully i'm on the right track now. no more bending!
back to icon...she is now living with the family that raised frankie (who we did a puppyswap with back when we had nugget). it's a temporary situation for the weekend, a trial run, but hopefully by monday they'll have fallen so deeply in love with her that we're hoping she stays with them.
so for awhile, chris and i are puppyless so i have a chance to recuperate and get my lower back into shape before i start gaining weight. speaking of weight, i've now lost 4 pounds. who knew that getting pregnant would be my solution to weight-loss!
Monday, March 24, 2008
vacation day!
whoo-hoo! for the first time in many many years, i've taken easter monday as a vacation day! a lot of my peeps are off for spring break still, so i'm taking advantage of the quietness. originally i thought i'd have no plans, and just chill at home with icon. but on friday chris and i decided to grow up. that's right, we're graduating to a queen size bed! we hit sleep country after dim sum and tested a few beds and then bought it right on the spot :P so much for shopping around. the main reason for the purchase is due to chris' back...he's not getting a good night's sleep on the bed we currently have. the second reason for getting a bigger bed is me...once my belly starts growing, there won't be room for chris in the bed :-) haha!
so over the weekend i had to buy new bedding, and today i'm going to shop around for a new duvet filling...ours is kind of tired. and later this afternoon after sleep country delivers our bed, i'll probably take a pre-dinner nap to test it out. i can't wait! we've got new pillows, too!
i was on a roll this weekend...i even checked out the ikea website for new dressers for me and chris. we're gonna have to do some serious consolidating of our stuff so there's room for baby in september. we've already determined some of the stuff we're sending to my parents' storage room, but some of the stuff we'll have to re-org and find a new location for. i got totally research-motivated over the weekend, but actually getting out and doing the work is another story. also, chris has been a star and he won't let me lift heavy items anymore...which is probably good because of my sciatic nerve, plus i get the occasional lower-belly pain. i wish i could say it's nice to let someone else do all the work, but it's just frustrating sometimes.
oh well, maybe i'll take another nap before i go out shopping...
so over the weekend i had to buy new bedding, and today i'm going to shop around for a new duvet filling...ours is kind of tired. and later this afternoon after sleep country delivers our bed, i'll probably take a pre-dinner nap to test it out. i can't wait! we've got new pillows, too!
i was on a roll this weekend...i even checked out the ikea website for new dressers for me and chris. we're gonna have to do some serious consolidating of our stuff so there's room for baby in september. we've already determined some of the stuff we're sending to my parents' storage room, but some of the stuff we'll have to re-org and find a new location for. i got totally research-motivated over the weekend, but actually getting out and doing the work is another story. also, chris has been a star and he won't let me lift heavy items anymore...which is probably good because of my sciatic nerve, plus i get the occasional lower-belly pain. i wish i could say it's nice to let someone else do all the work, but it's just frustrating sometimes.
oh well, maybe i'll take another nap before i go out shopping...
Sunday, March 16, 2008
a mini-lok
the secret's out!
as we've been seeing our family and friends this past weekend, we finally let the cat out of the bag. if you've heard through the grapevine, it's true...chris and i are having a baby!
how we told our parents:
about 6-8 months ago, my mom asked me if chris and i planned on having kids. i told her that yes, they were in our future, but not yet. she then said she had a bit of travelling she wanted to do before she and my dad had to "settle down" and babysit for us. so, in anticipation of this, i went to bcaa and picked up some guided tour books for europe and we headed over to my parents house. i put them on the counter and suggested my parents might want to consider a vacation before september 2008 rolled around. after a quizzical look from my mom and utter confusion from my dad, i spelled it out for them...in september they would be grandparents!
well, right after we told my parents, we booted over to tell chris' parents. unfortunately only his mom was home at the time, and chris just give her the news straight-up.
it's a first grandchild for both our parents, and they're all super excited.
how i told my work-mates:
i actually spilled the beans to 2 of my mates fairly early on. they had just announced their july due-dates, and i wanted to share in the pregnancy development with them. so the 3 of us have had hushed conversations for the past 6 weeks around the office...it's been really great to share experiences with them, and to know that hopefully i'll snap out of my eternal sleeping habits :P
i told 2 of my bosses almost 2 weeks ago...i was feeling guilty about all my "appointments" that i had to go to, and i didn't want to get in trouble or rouse any suspicion. they are both mothers of two, and after the initial "oh my god, what are we gonna do with out you!" reaction, they were both very happy. my boss has to keep reminding herself that she's very happy for me, even though my team is up a creek :-) it's really nice to know how valued i am in the organization.
and then came the moment when the news was completely public. a new tradition started this year in our office. one of the consultants bought a mommy and baby penguin set from the vancouver aquarium for a colleague who's due at the end of march. after 2 more pregnancies were announced, he went out and bought more penguins. so a couple weeks ago, he asked me if we needed any more penguins, and i told him to get a few extra, just in case :-) so on thursday, i told him that a penguin was needed...for me! he ran to his desk and got me my penguin (a.k.a. waddles). so waddles sat on my desk on thursday afternoon waiting for some attention. when nothing happened, my boss finally spelled it out for a few of my teammates. and that's how the news started spreading. and now everyone knows to watch out for waddle-appearances!
about the pregnancy:
anyways, back to me! our due date is one of these days: september 23, 24 or 25. we're not really sure, since we've been told all 3 days by 3 different doctors. so, i've chosen to stick with september 24, since it's right in the middle and happens to be 1 week after our 3 year wedding anniversary. on thursday at our doctor appointment, we were fortunate enough to hear our baby's heartbeat for the first time. there really is a baby growing inside of me!
asides from sleeping ALL the time, i've been feeling pretty good. i initially gained 2 pounds, but then i lost 3 pounds, i've had no food cravings, and no morning sickness. i get a little nauseous if i don't eat in awhile...so i try to always have some crackers within arms reach for that little snack i need. i've also quit my coffee habit...no more starbucks for me :( the day we found out we were pregnant, the front page of the vancouver sun screamed "caffeine linked to miscarriage", so to stop the nagging from chris and my parents, i just quit altogether :P harsh. it's also upsetting that i can't eat sashimi...i really miss my tuna. the other day, chris had a tuna sub, and i had a bite of it...i was in heaven!
so now my blog will be taking a new turn, down the baby road. our puppy adventures will be coming to an end this summer because i won't be able to raise a baby and train a dog simultaneously. that's not to say we're ending our relationship with PADS! i'm still keeping my monday night cuddles (evening timeslots are hard to come by!), but it will be a little while before we bring a puppy back into our household. in the meantime, we're going to enjoy our limited time with icon and hope to train her well before we say goodbye puppy, hello baby!
as we've been seeing our family and friends this past weekend, we finally let the cat out of the bag. if you've heard through the grapevine, it's true...chris and i are having a baby!
how we told our parents:
about 6-8 months ago, my mom asked me if chris and i planned on having kids. i told her that yes, they were in our future, but not yet. she then said she had a bit of travelling she wanted to do before she and my dad had to "settle down" and babysit for us. so, in anticipation of this, i went to bcaa and picked up some guided tour books for europe and we headed over to my parents house. i put them on the counter and suggested my parents might want to consider a vacation before september 2008 rolled around. after a quizzical look from my mom and utter confusion from my dad, i spelled it out for them...in september they would be grandparents!
well, right after we told my parents, we booted over to tell chris' parents. unfortunately only his mom was home at the time, and chris just give her the news straight-up.
it's a first grandchild for both our parents, and they're all super excited.
how i told my work-mates:
i actually spilled the beans to 2 of my mates fairly early on. they had just announced their july due-dates, and i wanted to share in the pregnancy development with them. so the 3 of us have had hushed conversations for the past 6 weeks around the office...it's been really great to share experiences with them, and to know that hopefully i'll snap out of my eternal sleeping habits :P
i told 2 of my bosses almost 2 weeks ago...i was feeling guilty about all my "appointments" that i had to go to, and i didn't want to get in trouble or rouse any suspicion. they are both mothers of two, and after the initial "oh my god, what are we gonna do with out you!" reaction, they were both very happy. my boss has to keep reminding herself that she's very happy for me, even though my team is up a creek :-) it's really nice to know how valued i am in the organization.
and then came the moment when the news was completely public. a new tradition started this year in our office. one of the consultants bought a mommy and baby penguin set from the vancouver aquarium for a colleague who's due at the end of march. after 2 more pregnancies were announced, he went out and bought more penguins. so a couple weeks ago, he asked me if we needed any more penguins, and i told him to get a few extra, just in case :-) so on thursday, i told him that a penguin was needed...for me! he ran to his desk and got me my penguin (a.k.a. waddles). so waddles sat on my desk on thursday afternoon waiting for some attention. when nothing happened, my boss finally spelled it out for a few of my teammates. and that's how the news started spreading. and now everyone knows to watch out for waddle-appearances!
about the pregnancy:
anyways, back to me! our due date is one of these days: september 23, 24 or 25. we're not really sure, since we've been told all 3 days by 3 different doctors. so, i've chosen to stick with september 24, since it's right in the middle and happens to be 1 week after our 3 year wedding anniversary. on thursday at our doctor appointment, we were fortunate enough to hear our baby's heartbeat for the first time. there really is a baby growing inside of me!
asides from sleeping ALL the time, i've been feeling pretty good. i initially gained 2 pounds, but then i lost 3 pounds, i've had no food cravings, and no morning sickness. i get a little nauseous if i don't eat in awhile...so i try to always have some crackers within arms reach for that little snack i need. i've also quit my coffee habit...no more starbucks for me :( the day we found out we were pregnant, the front page of the vancouver sun screamed "caffeine linked to miscarriage", so to stop the nagging from chris and my parents, i just quit altogether :P harsh. it's also upsetting that i can't eat sashimi...i really miss my tuna. the other day, chris had a tuna sub, and i had a bite of it...i was in heaven!
so now my blog will be taking a new turn, down the baby road. our puppy adventures will be coming to an end this summer because i won't be able to raise a baby and train a dog simultaneously. that's not to say we're ending our relationship with PADS! i'm still keeping my monday night cuddles (evening timeslots are hard to come by!), but it will be a little while before we bring a puppy back into our household. in the meantime, we're going to enjoy our limited time with icon and hope to train her well before we say goodbye puppy, hello baby!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
pain, pain go away
i haven't blogged in awhile...no real excuse for my absence. i guess there hasn't been a lot going on since we got icon.
the biggest news is my sciatic nerve has reared its ugly head. i've been in pain for almost a week now, and i finally started my physio treatment this a.m. it was also recommended that i do some massage therapy as well...we'll see how that goes on friday...i'm ridiculously ticklish and i hate pain. i'm not sure what's worse...the pain from my nerve or the pain from someone trying to massage it better :P
the biggest news is my sciatic nerve has reared its ugly head. i've been in pain for almost a week now, and i finally started my physio treatment this a.m. it was also recommended that i do some massage therapy as well...we'll see how that goes on friday...i'm ridiculously ticklish and i hate pain. i'm not sure what's worse...the pain from my nerve or the pain from someone trying to massage it better :P
Sunday, February 24, 2008
icon!
here's our latest PADS recruit...8 week old icon. she's a purebred golden retriever, born dec. 24.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
nugget - final update
well, i got the phone call today. nugget's instructor called to tell me that he's being released from the PADS program. after 2 successful weeks of assessment, nugget was on a field trip to 8 rinks that sealed his fate. from a distance he saw a backpack and went absolutely nuts...growling, barking and lunging at the bag. ok, once could just be a coincidence. but they continued on the journey and a man wearing a toque approached nugget to say hi, and nugget reacted the same way...growling and barking. so that officially ended his career as a potential service dog. he isn't really suitable for a drug-sniffing dog either because he doesn't have that "go" drive...he's more laidback. who knew ;-)
chris and i were asked if we'd like to adopt nugget for our own pet. as much as we love nugget and want to watch him grow up, we just don't have the space or time available to dedicate to him. also, with us getting another PADS puppy tomorrow we definitely don't have room for 2 dogs! so, the next best people are being offered nugget...his sister diamond's puppyraisers expressed interest awhile back. and since diamond was released as a VIP on the variety show on sunday, i know that having a dog from the mineral litter would please them to no end! hopefully it works out with them...fingers crossed!
and so our adventure with nugget has come to its official conclusion. he was the last of the mineral litter and he made it further than his siblings. and because he was the first "puppy" we raised, he'll always have a special place in our hearts. enjoy the pet life, nunu!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
a tribute to nugget
after a full week back at PADS, i'm pleased to hear that nugget is still in the program! he's become friends with corr, a fellow yellow labrador retriever, and he has 2 more days of assessment this week. once he completes that, he'll be partnered with margaret, one of the advanced trainers. they have noticed a barking behaviour from my boy, but they're hoping to work through that with him during the first semester. how cute is that?! just like regular school :-) my boy's growing up!
here he is at 4 months:
at 8 months:
10+ months:
my handsome boy!
Sunday, February 03, 2008
more goodbye's
what an exhausting week. after giving the eulogy at my grandma's memorial service, i was completely drained. i think chris, nugget and i fell asleep for a good 2-3 hours late that afternoon. we had a very low-key weekend with absolutely nothing planned, which was quite peaceful.
now that we've said goodbye to grandma, we're now getting ready to say goodbye to nugget. 6 months ago when we signed up to raise him, we knew this day would come but it still caught us off guard. it feels too soon to say goodbye, and i just can't bring myself to say goodbye to him yet. as i write this, chris is watching tv and nugget is curled up in his lap. it's so sweet :-) i know everyone who's raised one of the halloween or mineral litter puppies has grown fond of their dogs and tuesday's going to be a very sad day indeed.
just one note: out of the mineral litter (jade, ruby, diamond and coal), nugget is the last remaining puppy. jade and coal were released as pets but ruby and diamond were VIP's through the variety club. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that our boy pulls off some magic this week during his assessment, but i'm also a realist...his preydrive instinct is pretty strong...we'll just have to wait and see what happens. i'm going to put together a photo montage of our highlights w/nugget. so many pictures to go through!
on a slightly happier note, faedra's golden retriever puppies will be arriving at PADS in mid-february, so my monday night cuddles will be resuming...can't wait! and perhaps i'll even get to keep one of them...we'll see! i've also heard through the grapevine that 2-3 other labradors are pregnant, bringing even more puppies into PADS this spring. so exciting!
now that we've said goodbye to grandma, we're now getting ready to say goodbye to nugget. 6 months ago when we signed up to raise him, we knew this day would come but it still caught us off guard. it feels too soon to say goodbye, and i just can't bring myself to say goodbye to him yet. as i write this, chris is watching tv and nugget is curled up in his lap. it's so sweet :-) i know everyone who's raised one of the halloween or mineral litter puppies has grown fond of their dogs and tuesday's going to be a very sad day indeed.
just one note: out of the mineral litter (jade, ruby, diamond and coal), nugget is the last remaining puppy. jade and coal were released as pets but ruby and diamond were VIP's through the variety club. i'm keeping my fingers crossed that our boy pulls off some magic this week during his assessment, but i'm also a realist...his preydrive instinct is pretty strong...we'll just have to wait and see what happens. i'm going to put together a photo montage of our highlights w/nugget. so many pictures to go through!
on a slightly happier note, faedra's golden retriever puppies will be arriving at PADS in mid-february, so my monday night cuddles will be resuming...can't wait! and perhaps i'll even get to keep one of them...we'll see! i've also heard through the grapevine that 2-3 other labradors are pregnant, bringing even more puppies into PADS this spring. so exciting!
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