On Sunday we had a Girls Night – not your typical evening though because we’re all pregnant! It was a blast, 6 women, all having their first (or first two) babies within the next month to 3 months. No alcohol of course, but that didn’t stop us from having a fantastic time and laughing a lot.  Meanwhile, some of the boys were enjoying a poker night.  I heard they had fun, but I doubt they had as much fun as we did.

One of the things I have really enjoyed about being pregnant is meeting all of these amazing women! It’s a totally new circle of friends and a whole new community. Many of my closest friends already have children and this part of their lives has passed. I feel that it’s really important to connect with others who are going through the same stage of life right now – we have so much in common and we often share similar hopes and dreams.

I’d like to share a little bit from one of the things we did on Sunday.  It might seem a bit cheesy, but once we got into it, we really enjoyed it.  I thought it would be nice to do a gratitude exercise together – to keep focused on the positive things in our lives and to be in a positive mindset as we get closer to our due dates.  The first exercise was to write down Things I Love About Being Pregnant. And the second was to write Things I’m Looking Forward to After Baby’s Birth Day.  This is something that you could do with your family, or the girls (or the guys) – just choose an opening sentence that works for your situation.  We wrote down many on our own and then brainstormed and shared ideas.  It was a really great experience and a little bit emotional actually.

Here’s a few of the Things I Love About Being Pregnant:

• How affectionate my husband is – even more than before
• The new circle of friends I’ve met
• Feeling baby girl move
• Enjoying dessert!
• Learning about my body and being amazed at what it can do
• Imagining what baby girl looks like
• Having a human being growing inside me
• Going to the front of long bathroom lines
• Everyone’s excitement – family, friends, even strangers wish me well

And here are a few of the Things I’m Looking Forward to After Baby’s Birth:

• Meeting baby girl and looking into her eyes for the first time
• Falling in love with my daughter
• Being a mom
• Seeing my husband as a father
• Getting my body back!
• Using all of the cool baby stuff we bought
• Her first smile and laugh
• Drinking alcohol and eating sushi! (anyone up for a sushi date?)
• Meeting other new moms and continuing to build a community

Just writing that list out again put a smile on my face. It’s amazing how just a few minutes of gratitude can really make your day. I encourage you to do the same (or similar) exercise this week. It will allow you to change your focus – even if just for a few hours. Please share some of your gratitude thought in the comments. Create a wonderful day!

Isn’t interesting that when you’re pregnant everyone shares their pregnancy and birth stories with you? It’s almost as though you have carte blanche to share the details and most intimate stories of your life with someone because they are about to go through it as well.  I’ve heard stories of c-sections, natural births, epidurals, water births, complications, inducing, episiotomies, premature births from many women in my life.  Even those who haven’t had children of their own have to share a story about a sister, a cousin or an aunt. And I’ve been told many different horror stories too.  My pregnant girlfriends and I wonder why people feel the need to “warn us” with their scary birth stories. I’d much prefer to hear from those who have positive birth stories – yes, they do exist. It does seem like you’re much more likely to hear the long, drawn out labour story then the quick natural birth story because it is more captivating for the audience.

The first time I had ever heard the possibility of using a midwife was about 4 years ago, when a good friend at the time had shared her home birth story.  She told me that when I got pregnant, to make sure I got a midwife. I didn’t know that they were covered by our provincial health plan (they are) and that you could still birth in a hospital in the care of a midwife. A few years later this friend had one more home birth – a wonderful, safe and joyous experience.  When I found out I was pregnant, the first thing I did was call to get a midwife – I had heard that it’s hard to get a spot since there is a shortage of midwives in Ontario.  Then I told my husband I was pregnant (yes, the receptionist at the midwives office knew first). I didn’t know much about the role of a midwife so they provided books and literature so that I could educate myself.

One of the things I have really liked about being the care of midwives is the amount of education that is encouraged. Every visit a different book is recommended and I have watched several documentaries as well, based on their recommendations. Also, I feel like I am a part of the community, having met several of the midwives in the practice in passing, and also having met other pregnant friends who are also in the care of the midwives. I like that our appointments involve a good conversation and an open forum for questions. It’s also nice that Dan has been able to come to the appointments too – secretly I think he likes being surrounded by so many women!

So back to the scary stories – here’s what I can relate to in my life. I haven’t been through my birth story yet, so I don’t know what’s going to happen and therefore cannot comment yet. But there has  been another time in my life where people shared their scary stories with me, and I ended up having a great experience. When I was preparing for Ironman, I heard so many stories of difficulties, people dropping out, ending up in the medical tent, even someone not making it out of the water from the swim. I did my preparation, trained not only my body but my mind, visualized my race and my finish over and over again. And guess what? It ended up being an amazing experience.  I truly believe that we create our experiences in our minds before they happen.  And I have been training for this birth since I found out I was pregnant. Although I won’t be sharing my plans on this blog, I do plan to have a safe, wonderful and joyous experience – and I promise to share the story after wards.

I would love to hear more positive and joyful birth stories! If you have one to share, please do, or include a link back to your blog where the story is posted.

An interesting customer service/social media story has been developing in the past week.  Some of you may remember that we ordered our crib and dresser from Costco.ca – The Status 2-piece set. We received the two 80 lb boxes last Tuesday. Turns out the product is actually Storkcraft, it’s just been renamed by Costco.  We were very excited to put everything together.  It looks beautiful in the photos, right? We opened the boxes to check for shipping damages. Although there were a few gouges on the outside of the boxes, both were double cardboard and plenty of foam between the pieces, so all was good.

Then we started to take the pieces out of the boxes and realized that unfortunately, a few of the pieces had been damaged before they even left the manufacturer.  It’s a quality set, solid wood and very sturdy, so we were disappointed. We decided to call the manufacturer, Storkcraft, to see about getting replacements. None of this has to do with Costco, as they have a full money back guarantee on all products purchased online. We chose not to return it for two reasons: First, it’s very heavy and the crib box is too large for our cars and second, what if the same thing happened with the next shipment?

I called Storkcraft on Friday Sept 3rd. After a 35 min wait on hold, I did connect with a helpful customer service rep. While waiting on hold, I tweeted about it and was contacted by Adam @StorkCraft - their social media manager, almost immediately.  He offered assistance if needed.  Once I spoke to the live CSR, I told that the parts would be replaced (yeah!) and that all I had to do was to email my receipt.  This is where things get confusing.

I emailed parts@storkcraft.com on Friday Sept 3rd.  Over the weekend, I received a delay message from my email provider (gmail).  On Monday, I received an error message, that the connection had timed out and the message was not delivered. So, not wanting to wait on hold again, I contacted Adam on Twitter. I told him what had happened and he offered his direct email and personal email so that he could forward the message for me. I sent a message to both, the one to his Storkcraft email never went through, but the personal one did. Then I received a reply for Customer Service, (so I can receive some of their messages) requiring more information, since Costco had changed the name of the product to Status 2. I tried to email yet again, and it didn’t go through.  Once again, I had to contact Adam through Twitter, send him a personal message and have it forwarded.  It finally got to customer service yesterday and my replacement order is confirmed.  Interestingly enough, I never received the confirmation from customer service, it was forwarded by Adam.

A long, and very strange story. I still have no clue why my emails were not getting through. I haven’t had any error messages from any other emails I have sent. Thanks to their social media manager, Adam, I was able to get through. The unfortunate thing is that when we put the dresser together on the weekend (it’s the top part that is being replaced) we noticed that the drawers were a different shade of white:

Not sure if you can tell in the photo, but it’s very obvious that the top one is a different colour. So – after all of the trouble it took to get the first parts replaced, we decided to paint the drawer fronts white so they would all be the same colour, instead of trying to get them replaced.

As my friend Chantelle put it, there should be some kind of law against stressing out very pregnant women in their third trimester! I just want it done, taken care of, so that I can put her clothes and diapers in it and figure out what we will still need, as she’ll be arriving anytime in the next 3- 7 weeks.

If you’ve got a furniture delivery disaster story to share, include it in the comments below!

Yesterday was an interesting day. I spent much of my day baking and then even prepared an elaborate (ok, maybe not elaborate) meal for Dan and I. Now, I’m only 34 weeks pregnant, so I figured it’s too early to be nesting.  And I’ve pretty much been organizing and cleaning since I found I was going to have a baby, so it’s nothing new.

I have been enjoying the bounty of the Farmer’s Market this summer and one of the biggest challenges is eating all of the produce before it goes bad. I find that the fresh produce from the market doesn’t last as long, likely because it is picked later in the growing cycle and therefore is more ripe when you buy it. Dan had never tried a peach crumble (or any kind of crumble) so I kept promising that I would make him one. And ever since I made yummy banana bread with my summer camps, I have been making my own.

Armed with 8 peaches, 1 pint of blueberries and 3 overripe bananas, I headed to the kitchen to BAKE. The most time consuming process was peeling the peaches. They were fairly ripe and soft, so I blanched them to make it easy to take the skins off.  I have never done this before, it worked really well, except that the peaches were a bit slimy after.  The peach/blueberry crisp was first in the oven and happily, turned out to be amazing. We both enjoyed more than one helping after dinner last night – with vanilla bean ice cream of course. We still have some left over, if anyone wants to drop by?  The banana bread was next, an for some reason it was smaller than usual, but still turned out to be very tasty. After trying a few sample pieces, I prepared a plate full for Dan to bring to his pot-luck lunch at work today.

I felt very domestic during all of this. Two recipes in one morning, it was very ambitious for me. Of course, doing the cooking/baking camp probably helped me get into the mood for baking.  During the camp I had several helpers for dishes and to share the food, so I missed that. As for dinner, I basically prepared every fresh veggie we had in the fridge – corn on the cob, yellow zucchini, yellow and green beans, red onion, mushrooms, new potatoes and little orange peppers. Stir fry for most of the veggies, zucchini grilled on the BBQ and potatoes boiled and fried in olive oil and paprika.  It was all very yummy! A true bounty of the earth feast. If I was a food blogger, there would be photos. Let’s just say the plates were empty by the time I thought of taking photos.

My question is this: am I more interested in doing all of this because I am about to become a mom? Or is it just that I had extra time on my hands and thought this would be a good way to fill it? I’m curious to know for those of you who are parents, did your habits in the kitchen change before or when your child arrived? Even more interested to hear from the men on this subject. Share with us in the comments!

A reminder about the 2 special events on Sept 15th and Sept 22nd.  See previous post for details.

Here we are – anywhere from a month to two months til baby girl makes her appearance. I was reflecting this week on all of the things I have done during the pregnancy that I swore I wouldn’t do.  And I start to wonder what this means about my upcoming parenting skills!

First, there is all of the sharing on facebook. I had said that I wouldn’t share too much on facebook, not too many photos of the belly etc. Yet for some reason, I keep doing it! I have the urge to share my growing bump with the world. I feel like I’m the only person in the world who’s pregnant and it’s the most special thing ever and I have to share. Of course, I realize that I’m not alone and thankfully so since I have a great network of friends who are also going to be new mommies.  What I did realize is that I like it when friends share their growing bumps with us on facebook, so I figured it was ok for me to do the same. And, truth be told, more than once I asked other pregnant friends to share photos too.

Second, the 3D ultrasound. I had been against it from the beginning. I mean, why spend $120 – $200 to see a photo or two of your little one in utero? He or she will be out soon enough, right? Well, thanks to friends who shared it on facebook (lol!) I was sold. And a good friend also told me about how great the experience was, so I knew I had to do it. The biggest challenge here is that we waiting too long to make the appointment, so by the time we went, it was harder to see her, since she’s been in a very comfortable position (facing my back) for some time now. We loved the experience though.  Seeing her move, play, yawn, stretch and kick was just amazing. And we were able to get a few good photos to remember this very special (and very short) time. Here’s the link if you haven’t seen it:

Baby Girl!

Finally, one of the most unexpected things for me is how quickly my new community of friends has grown. I never expected this actually. Even though we’re not quite in the parents club yet, being pregnant allows us to be accepted. I even joined a mom group, which I didn’t think I would do until after baby came. Looks like I’m not the only mommy-to-be who’s part of a mommy group! We are really lucky to have such a strong community here in Burlington and Oakville.

Thank-you to all of you who have commented on the photos in facebook, it’s been a really wonderful journey so far and everyone’s support is truly appreciated.

Today I’d like you to take a moment and share with us something you did while pregnant or as a parent that you swore you’d never do! See comments below. Have a super last few days of summer vacation!

This is a great time of year. We are experiencing perfect weather, in my opinion.  It’s not too hot during the day, the humidity has dropped and it’s cool at night for sleeping. The days are getting shorter, but it’s easier to sleep in til 7 am, since the sun isn’t as bright yet. The nights are crisp, with a slight hint of fall. I really love this time of year.

I remember when I used to go to camp every summer. My favorite first camp experiences were at Camp Kitchikewana on Beausoleil Island, out of Honey Harbour in Northern Ontario.  I used to go to camp in August, and the last two weeks always had the best weather. Beautiful clear, crisp nights for looking at the stars or occasionally, the Northern Lights. Waking up to a chilly morning where you could see your breath, and crawling out of bed for Morning Dip (yes, we used to wash in the lake before we knew any better). Days full of sunshine, for sailing, canoeing, kayaking, hiking on the trails and swimming in the lake. The lake, Georgian Bay, was already mighty chilly by the end of August.

Of course these are all distant memories for me, but I still relish the end of summer. The growing season seems to have been extended this year in Ontario, and last weekend I attended not one or two Farmer’s Markets, but FOUR! I came home with a watermelon, cantaloupe, corn, tomatoes, sausages (for Dan), cheese curds (yum) and a few other treats. I want you to imagine this – when I purchased the watermelon, I was alone.  Dan was at a volleyball tournament and my friend Wendy who had accompanied me to the other markets, had called it a day.  I bought a four dollar, 20 lb watermelon and had to cart it back to my car.  The guy at the stall put the melon in a large corn bag (for a couple dozen ears of corn), and I slung the melon over my shoulder to carry it.  This must have been a sight – my round, melon-like belly in front and a large, round melon slung over my shoulder.  Lesson learned, no shopping at the market alone for the rest of the season.

We have been enjoying our bounty all week, in fact there was too much. The melons were so fresh and actually ripe when we bought them, so they had to be eaten quickly.  The watermelon was HUGE when we cut it and realized how much we had. It was so juicy and tasty, worth every bit of discomfort to carry it. If I was a food blogger, I’d have taken a few photos.  I am looking forward to another visit to the market this week, maybe even tomorrow!

What do you enjoy most about this time of year?

Finally, I don’t have the photos from the 3D ultrasound just yet, who knew that it might take a few visits to actually get a few good shots of her face. She has been very active during our sessions, she’s playing with the cord, sucking on it, grabbing her toes – all in front of her face! She’s a healthy baby and it already active and strong. We think she’s quite beautiful actually. I promise to share the photos after we hopefully get a few more tomorrow (Friday).

Have a super day everyone!

One of the comments I hear most often is that “your life will change so much when the baby is born”, well guess what, it’s already changed quite a bit and she’s not even here yet.  Baby girl will be making her appearance in October so we have any time between 6 – 9 weeks to go! There are so many things that have already changed for Dan and I.

First, we spend our weekends planning and shopping for her upcoming arrival.  For such a tiny little person, she’s already got a lot of stuff. And she has a much nicer wardrobe than either Dan or myself. We spend time in crib stores, baby stores, looking online and trying to make decisions about what would be best for her. Of course, she won’t really care what kind of crib she sleeps in or what the dresser looks like – at least for a few years. Our apartment layout has been changed twice already, and we are planning to change it a third time in a few weeks when the crib arrives.

This past weekend was a major purchase weekend for baby – we got the crib and dresser online from costco.ca and it should arrive in about 10 days. We have no clue how it will be in “real life” but it looks sturdy (weighs 80 lb) and we liked the style. Another big purchase is a shelving unit for the living room – we figured she’ll probably have toys and such that need a home, so we’re going to have baskets in the shelving unit.  One last fun purchase – that’s not really for baby, but for mom & dad’s relaxation.  We have been using our projector (business tool) for the past year and a half as a tv. Of course, they aren’t meant to be used that much and the bulb burnt out about a month ago. We’ve been doing a lot of reading and just hanging out on the computer since then.  We decided to finally invest in a tv and found this one on special at Best Buy.  Interestingly, the price has already gone up by $100 since the weekend. We are still without cable, we find that we are happy just watching movies and tv series on DVD.

And one of the best changes so far, we’ve made so many new friends. Through pre-natal classes, yoga and other connections, we have met many other couples who are expecting their first child at around the same time as we are. We all live in Burlington, so we’re close by.  It’s been fun going through this together, since most of our friends already have children and are done with being pregnant. It’s amazing how many different people you connect with when you’re expecting! We’ve always had lots of friends who have kids already, so we weren’t really spending too much time with couples who didn’t have kids, but now it’s exciting to finally be a part of the CLUB.

For my pregnant friends who are reading this, what changes have you already noticed in your life? For those of you who have kids, do you remember what life what like before you had your first? Do you remember how things began to change before he or she was even born? Looking forward to reading your comments.

One more thing – we are getting our 3D ultrasound tonight! Looking forward to meeting our little girl.

Today is officially 31 weeks in my pregnancy.  Our little girl is quite active and has developed a personality already. Dan, my husband, heard her heartbeat this week just by leaning his ear up to my belly. It was a pretty amazing thing for him – he had the biggest smile on his face . I am still enjoying being kicked and punched – she’s not too big yet so it’s not painful at this point. I am certain I will miss this time when she arrives in October. I am making an effort to enjoy every day of this pregnancy because I know that all too soon, it will be over and we’ll be parents for life.

The weather has been beautiful this week, mid 20s (Celsius) and a light breeze every day. I have really been enjoying being outside in this comfortable, less humid weather. It’s pretty amazing how the weather can affect our moods and the enjoyment of the day.  I’d like to say that I am beyond letting the weather affect me – but seriously – when it’s over 40C with 98% humidity – who is comfortable (pregnant or not)? I am still on the search for a place to live that is around 20C all year round with less humidity. That is my dream place!

It’s easy to get caught up in the busyness of life and to forget to enjoy the simple things everyday. Summer is when time just seems to fly by, with all of our holidays, vacations, BBQs, summer sports and activities, it seems like the summer doesn’t last very long. And being pregnant during this time can also be uncomfortable, many of us wishing the summer away for milder and less humid days. Yet this is such a special time and especially in our climate, truly a very short period of time in the year. I encourage you to enjoy the simple things of summer in these last few weeks before labour day and relish the beauty of our summer.

Some of the simple things to be thankful for:

• Waking up to the sunrise and beautiful morning light
• Summer sports – softball, baseball, beach volleyball, ultimate frisbee
• Long weekends! We still have one more to enjoy
• Natural source of vitamin D
• Spending more time outside
• Swimming in pools, lakes, oceans, ponds
• More time with friends and family
• Gelato! See previous post.
• Cool August nights, sleeping with the windows wide open
• Pedicures and sandals (yes, you too men – your toes need to be taken care of!)
• Wearing only 1 layer of clothing
• Summer nights … tell me more, tell me more
• Air conditioning on the very hot and humid days (one of the best modern inventions if you ask me)
• Fresh, local fruits and veggies – have you been to the Farmer’s Market this year?
• The sounds of summer – birds, insects, the wind in the trees

What else do you love about summer? Check in below, we’d love to hear all about your favorite summer things!

What is it with the international obsession with celebrities and their pregnancies (or lack of pregnancies)? I am really glad that I’m not a multi-million dollar superstar celebrity like Jennifer Aniston.  I get to enjoy being pregnant without my belly being plastered all over the tabloids and other magazines. It’s become the newest way to sell magazines, I swear.  The cover story seems to be about someone having a baby, wanting a baby, being ready for a baby or adopting a baby. What kind of reproductive pressure must these celebrities be under?

Trying to get pregnant can be a challenging process for many couples or single women who choose to have a baby on their own. There is enough pressure without the added pressure of the media’s fascination with celebrity women and their attempts to have children.  Sure, it’s part of the deal when you become a celebrity to lose many aspects of your private life, but isn’t it about time we left these women and their reproductive struggles alone?

Think about it, as an average women, you start getting the “when are you having a baby?” question within minutes of getting married.  Depending on your family, you might get this question at every family event until you actually have a baby in your belly.  That alone is enough pressure for most women.  And isn’t true that if the women is under stress, then it’s much more difficult to conceive? Dan and I are really blessed, we thought that it might take us years to conceive, and we were able to after 4 months (thanks to TCOYF!).  We have many friends who are still struggling to conceive, and countless others who had to use medical interventions in order to conceive. Even my parents struggled, it took them over 6 years to conceive me!

So why is there so much pressure on reproduction? Why are stories of these women and their challenges selling more magazines? Perhaps for some women, there is an element of understanding and being able to relate to their situations.  In some way, many women are still waiting for the perfect partner, like Jennifer Aniston and their biological clock just keeps ticking.  So perhaps there is a feeling of safety in numbers.

What are your thoughts about the fascination with celebrity pregnancies? Should we leave them alone, or is it our right to know about their reproductive hope, dreams and challenges? Check in below in the comments.

A Poem To My Unborn Daughter

My beautiful daughter,

You live inside me,

Growing, stretching, learning

A miracle of life and love.

When I was younger,

I dreamt of you.

My heart already knew you

Before you were even made.

The moment came and

You were finally created,

And I loved you in an instant.

I can protect you,

Keep you safe from the world,

Feed you and nourish you

Talk to you and teach you

Safe in my womb.

You have my full attention,

I always know you’re there

Feeling your movements,

Your reactions and interactions

Reassure me you’re well.

This special time is very short

For soon enough

You’ll be in my arms.

Will I be able to protect you?

Let you take risks,

Yet keep you safe?

The miracle is not simply

You growing inside me,

The miracle is that I will

Give you room to grow,

Once you’ve entered our world.

My beautiful daughter,

You’ve changed our lives

In such wonderful ways

I am blessed that you’ve

Chosen me to be your mom!

Julie Boyer, July 7^th, 2010