WHOA lansi

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Pregnancy 2 \\ Second Trimester Recap

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On May 11, 2021

In Baby, Family, Personal

I thought time was weird last time, but being pregnant during a pandemic adds a whole new level. I’m somehow well into the third trimester & could have a baby before the end of this month. THIS month. Don’t know how that happened! I’m sure I’ll reach the point where everything slows to a crawl any day now, but for now I feel like this pregnancy has flown by (while also being pregnant forever). Hope you enjoy this little second trimester recap, brought to you by my love of bullet journalling. 

Second Trimester

Weeks 13 to 28
IMPORTANT MILESTONES
  • Week 15 – Dec 16, 2020: Announced to my team & work, and then later on social media. I changed my background in our Teams meeting to a photo of Anni holding an ultrasound picture. It wasn’t super obvious though, so I had to put the photo in our chat instead. They were all pretty excited. As with last time, we got lots of congratulations on social media & a few surprise revelations as well. 
  • Week 19 – Jan 13, 2020: Anatomy Scan. Thanks to COVID restrictions, N couldn’t join me for the anatomy scan this time around. They did give us a USB with photos though. Everything looked great on the scan, which is always a huge relief. I had a student start the ultrasound & she was great, but baby fish was a bit stubborn so a more experienced tech stepped in to get the rest. Luckily, she managed to get all the measurements they needed (although it took a while) so I didn’t have to go back for more appointments like last time. 
  • Week 20 – Jan 20, 2020: Midwife appointment. This was my first time meeting part of my new midwife team. My previous midwife, Alissa, transferred me since she’ll now be away around my due date. I was sad to not get to continue with her (she’s amazing!), but I really like both my new midwives. They had a student helping at this appointment – I’ve had a lot of students so far this pregnancy. They’ve all been great. It took her a little while to find Baby Fish’s heart rate because they were moving around so much, but she got it eventually. I was measuring right on track and my blood pressure was good too. I learned that I have an anterior placenta, which explains why I’ve been feeling fainter kicks. 
  • Week 22 – Feb 4, 2021: I was feeling lots of kicks at bedtime so I asked Nathan if he wanted to see if he could feel them too. He could! It’s fun that he gets to experience more of this stuff this time. 
  • Week 26 – Mar 3, 2021: Gestational Diabetes Screen. I booked an early morning appointment, hoping it might be quieter so I wouldn’t have to sit around a bunch of people for an hour. Unfortunately, this kind of backfired since a lot of people who need blood work drop in in the morning. They’ve expanded their waiting room into the mall though, so it wasn’t too bad having to sit there. I had another student, but she wasn’t able to get the draw she needed (sorry for my tiny veins). Overall it went pretty smoothly, and I didn’t feel too gross afterwards. 
  • Week 27 – Mar 10, 2020: Midwife appointment. I met my other midwife at this appointment & went over my glucose results. They came back great. Despite my love of sugar, I don’t have GD. We talked about dTap (whooping cough vaccine) and group B strep. When the student midwife went to listen to baby’s heart rate this time, they kept pushing back. It was pretty funny. I was still measuring right on track and BP was normal, so overall good appointment!
Anatomy Scan Hand
That orange drank
CHANGES

The most striking change in the second trimester is definitely the baby bump. I still find them fascinating, even though it’s the second time I get to experience this. I was already showing before the start of the second trimester this time, but since we don’t go out much, no one really saw me. I’ve been documenting the changes every week though & I love being able to look back on these silly cell phone photos, especially since we don’t plan to do this again. 

SYMPTOMS

Both this time & last, I felt like the second trimester is a free pass in terms of symptoms. The fatigue passed around week 15 & I felt a bit more myself again. Both pregnancies have been relatively easy. I know isn’t always the case, so I feel pretty grateful for that. 

Energy: My energy levels returned to mostly normal a few weeks into my second trimester. I still find I’m more tired than my pre-pregnancy self ever was, but I’m not struggling to get out of bed every morning like I was in my first trimester.

Lower Back Pain: I had some mild back pain last time, but this time has been much worse. I guess I can blame my new geriatric status for that. 😉

FOOD: AVERSIONS & CRAVINGS

My pregnancy love for sugar is still going really strong. N does a double take every time I reach for the bag of candy I inevitably picked up on my last grocery run. We have a treat almost every single night. I even went so far as to bake 48-hour cookies one week (I love cooking, but have never been much of a baker. Too much measuring!). This baby has been fueled by bread, cheese, donuts, ice cream…all the quick carbs basically. (I was the same with Anni – I think that’s just how my body copes with pregnancy.)

DECISIONS

COVID really changed so much about this pregnancy. I had to put a lot more thought & planning into things that were normally an easy yes. A couple of of those types of decisions that popped up this trimester were the Gestational Diabetes Screen & dTap vaccine. 

Gestational Diabetes Screen

Numbers were pretty high when it came time to booking my glucose test so for those who are considered low risk for GD, the test was optional. After talking to some friends who deal with the potential side effects of unmanaged GD, I decided to do mine anyway. From what I understand, there’s no real way to know for sure you don’t have it without getting a test & it can be really serious if you don’t manage it properly. I booked a test for an early Tuesday morning at one of the labs that I knew had good spacing in their waiting room, & although it was quite busy, it felt relatively COVID safe. 

dTap Vaccine

Right towards the end of my 2nd trimester, we also talked about the dTap vaccine. In Canada, they now recommend it for all pregnant women, to help protect their babies from whooping cough until they can get vaccinated themselves, around 2 months. I got it last time (I was long overdue for my booster & so was N, so we both got it) even though it wasn’t part of the 2018 recommendations in Canada. Since we’ve all been isolating so much with COVID, they haven’t seen as much whooping cough this year, so my midwives told me it came down to my preferences.

Ultimately, I opted to get it. It’s really easy to make an appointment through Public Health, & I know I want to give myself the best chance of feeling comfortable seeing friends & family once baby is born. Whooping cough is just one less thing I need to be worrying about in postpartum. & there will certainly be plenty of other things to worry about since we’re still in pandemic mode.  

FAVOURITE PART OF THE TRIMESTER

Kicks & movement are my favourite part of the second trimester. I felt them earlier this time around, probably because I knew what to expect. They’re so reassuring & weirdly wonderful, especially as they get more frequent & predictable with time. They also never stop being strange.

Anni came up with the nickname Baby Fish, & I’ve really loved watching her start to interact a bit with my growing bump. She’s not always super keen, but when she is, it’s adorable. I can’t wait to see her as a big sister.

LEAST FAVOURITE PART OF THE TRIMESTER

I never thought about being pregnant in a pandemic, & I certainly didn’t expect things to still be as bad as they are at this point in my pregnancy. I feel grateful that I got to experience pregnancy in a non-pandemic world first (I’m sorry if this year or last was your first pregnancy – it’s not fair!). & with Nathan being in California most of my pregnancy last time, there are many things that just felt normal for us (his absence at most appointments was disappointing, but he missed a lot last time too). Overall, I haven’t felt as much anxiety around general pregnancy this time, but I wonder if it’s because I’ve done it before or because I’m too busy worrying about COVID. It’s tough to say. In general, I feel like pregnancy is pretty good to me & we have a lot of privilege when it comes to protecting ourselves & Anni from illness. I don’t want to complain, but I still want to acknowledge the fact that it has been a more challenging time.  

HELLO THIRD TRIMESTER!

I hope you’ve enjoyed getting a little insight into this stage of pregnancy. Thanks to Cassy Joy from Fed + Fit for the great idea – I so loved following along with her recaps. You can expect a final recap for my 3rd trimester (& maybe the 4th?). & I still have plans to blog about so many things outside of pregnancy & parenting too. This is just so much of my reality right now &, as usual, I have far too much to write about & not enough time to get it out. 

xo,

A

Pregnancy 2 \\ Place your baby bets!

By

On April 1, 2021

In Baby, Family, Personal

Pregnancy Poll: Boy or Girl

If you’ve known me for any length of time, I’m sure it comes as no surprise that we are once again signing up to not find out the sex of our baby. I’m predictably stubborn, & I think it’s fun to see what our friends, family, & internet strangers think. There are lots of passionate opinions on the who, what, where, when in the baby world!

Once again, we’ve also decided to make a game of this whole thing and take bets. Nothing like a little game or competition to make things more exciting, and it works great in our still mostly virtual world. 

So, I’ve set up an online pool on Baby Bookie. It’s free to place a bet, but we’re open to setting up some more serious gambling too if there’s enough interest. In order to help you make your decision, I’ve combed through a bunch of Old Wives Tales & compiled my answers. Let’s break it down!

Chinese Gender Prediction Chart

There are two different charts you can use. Lucky for me, both the Chinese Lunar Calendar & the Ancient Chinese Gender Chart say girl. This chart is supposed to be the more accurate of the two though, if you’re looking for results yourself. (With Annika, both of these also predicted girl.)

RAMZI Method

I read somewhere that this one is said to be 95% accurate. It’s based on an early ultrasound. The idea is that you can tell the gender based on what side the placenta is forming on. I used my 8 week transvaginal ultrasound. Story goes that if baby is on the right, it’s a boy and if it’s on the left it’s a girl. (It will be reversed for an abdominal ultrasound, from what I’ve read.) From what I could tell, baby is a boy. (With Annika, boy was also predicted, but I used an abdominal ultrasound instead of transvaginal.)

8 week ultrasound
8 week ultrasound
Skin Changes

There are a few different predictions here. Firstly, boys are said to give you dry skin, whereas girls bring out the oil in your skin. My skin has been drier than dry all winter (like everyone’s this winter in Calgary, I suspect) so we’ve got another vote for boy. They also say that if you’re getting a lot of compliments that you’re glowing, you’re having a boy. No comments? Girl. I can’t think of any comments of this nature, so another girl vote. Lastly, girls are said to “steal your beauty”, leading to more breakouts. I’ve definitely had a lot more breakouts than normal (I generally have pretty clear skin, aside from psoriasis). So there’s a girl vote again. (This is essentially the exact same as with Annika, so all the votes are pretty much the same!)

Linea Negra

Some moms get a dark line that runs down the center of their baby bellies. Both this time & last, this didn’t appear for me until I was in the third trimester. Both last time & this time the line continues above my belly button, which is supposed to mean we can expect a boy.

Hair

If your hair is thick and glossy, they say you’re having a boy. If it’s dull and limp, it’s a girl. I have seen no real change in my hair, aside from it growing slightly faster than normal since I started taking prenatal vitamins & having very few hair cuts in the last year (yay scraggly ends!). I’m not sure I can attribute any change to pregnancy though, so I guess we’re having another puppy according to this one. 😉 Neither. (This was the same last time. I think I just have a lot of hair.)

Baking Soda Test

This is another test that boasts a pretty high level of accuracy: 80%! I’m not the biggest fan of this one since mixing my own urine with something else isn’t the most appealing, but I once again axed the cabbage test so we’re keeping this one.You take 2 tablespoons of baking soda and mix it with your urine. If it fizzes, you’re having a boy. If it remains flat, you’re having a girl. Mine fizzed: BOY. (It fizzed last time too.)

Body Hair

Yeah, I know, a few of these are maybe a little TMI. I’m sure the Internet doesn’t really need to know about this. Too late now! Lucky for me, my body hair is growing normal, which is supposed to mean girl. (Same as last time!)

Weight Gain

If you are carrying all your weight out front (like you’re smuggling a basketball), baby is likely a boy. If the weight piles on all over, it might be a daughter. I decided not to use my own judgment on this one, since my own weight gain seems significantly more noticeable to me than it does to anyone else. Everyone I asked said I seemed to be all bump so far. Maybe they were just being nice, but we’re going with it. Boy. (Same as last time. I think you’re all just nice, but thanks!)

Baby’s Heart Rate

Many people swear by this one. It’s said that girls have faster heart rates than boys. The normal range is between 120 bpm and 180 bpm, but over 140 bpm is supposed to signal a baby girl. Baby Fish’s heart rate has averaged in the 140 bpm range, & has never been below 140 bpm so far. Girl. (The same as last time….once again.)

Cravings

The good ol’ salty vs sweet. Sweet foods are supposedly linked to girls and salty to boys. I’ve always had a major preference for salty foods. Even the sweet treats I enjoy best err on the side of salty (salted caramel all day every day!). That is until I was pregnant with Anni. Suddenly, I was always craving candy, ice cream, chocolate…basically all things sweet. It was a bizarre change for me. Some of this newfound love of sweets stuck around after I had Anni, but I mostly went back to my preference for savoury treats. As soon as I got pregnant again though, this craving came back in full force. It’s really throwing N off (he wasn’t around as much for it with Anni). I guess we’re predicting girl again thanks to this one. 

All the sweet treats
Headaches

Extreme headaches are said to signal a baby boy, while no headaches are said to mean girl. I’m happy to have been relatively headache free throughout my pregnancy so here’s another girl vote. (Same as last time!)

Sickness

Baby girls supposedly trigger nausea with vomiting whereas a boy will only cause nausea. Again, I was really lucky to have very minimal nausea. I was mostly able to control it by eating regularly, which I don’t generally have a problem with. 😉 BOY.

Clumsy vs Graceful

I would never describe myself as graceful; however, I saw no real change in my level of clumsiness since getting pregnant. Supposedly that means we’re having a girl.

Wedding Ring Test

I think everyone is pretty familiar with this one. You’re supposed to dangle your wedding band over your belly on a string and wait for it to start moving. Back and forth means boy & in a circle means it’s a girl. I read somewhere else that it’s supposed to be with mom’s hair, so we added that to the mix this time instead of a string. It was back & forth again, so I guess we have another vote for boy. (Boy last time too.)

Sibling Intuition

I don’t think this is on any old wives tale list, but we asked Anni to weigh in on whether she thinks she’s getting a brother or sister. Honestly, this changes by the minute, but when we officially asked, she said boy. 

TL; DR

We’ve got 8 votes for boy, 8 for girl, & 1 for neither. As far as the two supposed most accurate tests, they both predict we’re having a boy. You can decide if you believe they have more merit.

Our pool will also allow you to predict Baby Fish’s birthdate (& weight, length, etc). My due date is officially June 7, 2021. I was induced due to hypertension at 41 weeks with Ans. It was pretty quick once we got things started, so she was born 8 days after my due date.  

& that’s all I have for you! Check the site, place your bets, & let us know if you bought into any old wives tales!

You can follow along with the rest of my pregnancy bumpdates here.

Pregnancy 2 \\ First Trimester Recap

By

On February 25, 2021

In Baby, Family, Personal

You know I love a pregnancy recap – everyone’s experience is so different & I love hearing about all your different journeys. It’s so fun! So I’m finally pulling this together now – well into my second trimester.

Thankfully, I’ve documented this pregnancy in my journal, as I do with most of my life, or I’d never remember half these details. This time around, I’ve been enjoying the What to Expect App, mostly for the fun baby size comparisons. I also still have the Nurture App (like last time), since I found it super useful for tracking feeds, sleep, BMs, etc once baby is here. 

In order to keep some sort of order to my thoughts, I’m going to follow the same format as last time and answer the same questions for all three trimester recaps. If you’re curious about something, leave me a comment or send me a message. If I’m getting a lot of the same questions, I’ll think about adding an FAQ or something. Let’s get into it though!

First Trimester

Weeks 1 to 13
Important Milestones
  • Week 3.5 – Sept 25, 2020: Positive test result on TWO home pregnancy tests! 
  • Week 8.5 – Oct 30, 2020: Dating Ultrasound. I had my initial midwife visit the day before and we opted to do this ultrasound. It’s always reassuring to see the baby on the monitor. It’s also a much more accurate indication of how many weeks you actually are – over LMP (last menstrual period). It changed my original due date just slightly. 
  • Weeks 9 – 15 – Nov/Dec 2020: Like last time, we mostly waited to tell anyone I was pregnant until after my dating ultrasound. We had told a few close friends beforehand, but waited to tell most until after. I didn’t have to sneakily drink as much non-alcoholic beer/wine as last time (thanks COVID), so it was easier to hide overall. We told our parents in person, but mostly, we had to let everyone else know over text message, zoom, or social media. We drove to Vernon for my Nana’s 90th Birthday in November, so we got to tell her in person. I told my coworkers in a meeting in mid December and then publicly announced on December 17 (at 15 weeks). 
  • Week 11 – Nov 20, 2020: First Trimester Blood Work. I’d heard so much about how hard it could be to get an appointment with lab services during COVID, but I managed to score one at the location near us. It was busy compared to what I’m used to, but apparently very slow for COVID times. My nurse was great & got all the blood she needed super quickly. I was impressed – they generally struggle with my tiny veins!
  • Week 12 – Nov 25, 2020: First Trimester Screen. With all the new restrictions, I thought Nathan might not be able to join me for this ultrasound. Luckily, they were still allowing support people at the time. The actual ultrasound went really well. Baby Fish was moving around so much. It was fun to see! Their heart rate was similar to Anni’s at this time. 
  • Week 13 – Dec 1, 2020: Midwife Appointment. We went over my ultrasound results. My midwife, Alissa, said she had no concerns for any of the trisomies, which is how we felt after seeing the odds too. She mentioned that the bruise they saw on my dating ultrasound was still there, but would probably go away before my next ultrasound. My blood pressure was normal again (something I always think about after having high blood pressure with Anni at the very end of my pregnancy). She tried the doppler again & was able to find the heartbeat. It was in the 150s (similar again to Anni’s). It’s always so cool to hear the heartbeat for the first time!
Dating Ultrasound
FTS Ultrasound
Changes

As pretty much everyone says, I started showing so much earlier this pregnancy than I did with Anni. It’s fun to compare this time to last. I honestly started showing around 10 weeks this time, and couldn’t really do up my pants well before the end of this first trimester. It was nice to be working from home so I didn’t have to get creative with my workwear. I was a bit nervous to tell work given I hadn’t even been there a year yet & I will be missing our busy summer season. 

9 weeks, 12 weeks, & 13 weeks
11 weeks & 13 weeks
Symptoms

My symptoms are almost identical to those I had with Annika. Nausea-wise, I’ve been pretty lucky this time & last. I would mostly feel sick if I didn’t eat often enough or regularly. Often, I just felt generally gross. It wasn’t really distinct, I just didn’t feel like my normal self. It was also more often in the evenings than any other time of day. 

I’m generally low sleep needs, so my need for more sleep once again ramped up. This time, I couldn’t really nap in the middle of the day that often (although I did sneak a few in on the weekends). One perk of COVID was being able to sleep in more though. I did experience a fair bit of insomnia in the first trimester this time, which I don’t remember having with Anni. I’d lay awake for so long after we turned the lights off to go to bed. It was frustrating because it seemed to make getting out of bed in the morning that much more difficult. 

My food aversions & craving have also mirrored my experience with Anni. I was just getting away from the sweet tooth I’d earned while pregnant with her, & now it’s back in full force. Carbs & melty cheese are big hits too. My veggie aversion wasn’t as strong this time around luckily, but it still hasn’t been my most nutritious few months. Oh well. It is what it is!

Some food favourites in the first trimester

Towards the end of the first trimester, I started to get more lower back/glute pain. I think it might be something related to sciatica since it comes & goes. So far, it hasn’t been too much of an issue, but I’ll definitely be bringing it up when I start chiro towards the end of the second trimester. 

Decisions

There aren’t a ton of decisions to be made in the first trimester, especially with a second baby. First Trimester Scans are standard of care in Alberta, so we got one. I also opted to do a dating ultrasound since I have found it offers a lot of peace of mind. 

Comparing FTS results: Annika’s on the left, Baby first on the right

I’m once again going with a midwife practice – I love my experience so much, even though I was transferred to OB in the 11th hour. I still got all the postpartum care afterwards, which I found invaluable. One of my midwives from last time has since taken a break from midwifery, so I was originally with just Alissa. She’s absolutely amazing, so I was more than happy with that. Unfortunately (although for happy reasons), she is not going to be available around my due date, so she’s transferred me to new midwives. I’ll talk about them more as I’ll meet both in my second trimester. I’ve heard nothing but great things! 

Although we’re going the midwife route, I am still planning to deliver in a hospital like last time. Again, this is an extremely personal decision, & everyone should do what they feel most comfortable with. For me, I felt most comfortable being close to a NICU & everything else that comes a level 1 trauma center. In hindsight, I wouldn’t have been able to go the birthing center or home birth route anyway, due to my hypertension at 41 weeks. I think such a huge change in location would have been much harder for me to deal with, so I feel pretty confident in the decision we made to deliver in hospital & will do the same again. 

Swaddling Anni’s babies for practice

Favourite Part of the Trimester

Seeing the baby at the dating ultrasound was a really happy moment in a pretty tough year. I also loved telling Anni that she was going to be a big sister, & having her come up with the nickname, Baby Fish.

Annika Baby Fish Announcement
Annika Baby Fish Announcement
Least Favourite Part of the Trimester

I haven’t shared this side of pregnancy very publicly yet. The month before this pregnancy, I had a very early miscarriage. I would have been 4.5 weeks, & we’d only just found out 4 days prior. While it is so common, it still stung. It made me feel a lot more cautious about who I was ready to share this pregnancy with & when. I do plan to write & share more of my experience at some point. I think talking about it can be really helpful for others who experience the same loss. Right now, I’m still sorting through a lot of my thoughts & what I might want to say. I hope if you have experienced or do experience something similar, you have people to reach out to. ❤

I hope you’ve enjoyed getting a little insight into my first few months of this second pregnancy. Thanks to Cassy Joy from Fed + Fit for this idea – I so loved following along with her recaps & doing my own last time. You can expect another recap for my 2nd & 3rd trimesters, but I promise there will be non-pregnancy posts in the mix again at some point too if that’s just not your thing. I have a lot of thoughts, and a huge backlog of travel tips for when we can do that kind of thing again.

xo,

A

My Newborn Essentials

By

On March 5, 2020

In Baby, Family

Babies! How can such a tiny being take up so much space in your heart, & in your home? I love research, so reading about all the baby items was a bit of a thrill. I talked to friends, read Lucie’s List, devoured books, blog posts, & reddit threads. These are the things I found most useful in those first months being a mom – & some that have carried us through to now, with an 18 month old.

Reading list

This list is technically my few favourites from while I was still pregnant, & some resources I consistently went back to when I felt unsure about something.

  • Lucie’s List: I loved slowly going through this whole list & thinking about what pieces I might need or not. It’s probably not for the faint of heart, so if you don’t love information, it might not be the best resource for you (but check it out & cherry pick the info you do want!)
  • CandoKiddo: I wish I had found this website/IG sooner. Rachel is a pediatric OT & I love all her cheap & easy ideas for what to do with your newborn. There is SO much information about pregnancy (& sleep & eating), but very little about what to actually do with this little baby once they’re here. This is it! (Her tips also gave me the confidence to not going overboard with baby gear like swings, bouncers, etc., & instead wait to see what I needed.) Bring on the great tummy time activities & tips!
  • The Baby Whisperer: I will admit that I kind of found Tracey condescending when I first read her book. She firmly believes in her techniques & isn’t afraid to tell you why she’s right. Sleep Training is a touchy subject (do it, don’t do it, you do you!), but I found her routine suggestions invaluable & totally agree with her that babies are born with certain personalities. I followed her EASY (eat, activity, sleep (you)) routine from the day I brought Anni home from the hospital & I think it set us up with a lot of great habits. (I could go on about sleep, so I’ll leave it at this: do some reading before you’re super sleep deprived with a newborn. My brain was basically mush for the first three months, even though I felt like I was fine.)
  • Taking Cara Babies: I only did a but of reading from her site before I gave birth, but since then I’ve found her Instagram stories amazing & insightful, & she has lots of great (free) blog posts for many different milestones (& flexible routines, not rigid schedules! 😉)
Eat

Aside from labour, this was probably the thing I was most nervous about. As someone who loves a plan, it’s just one more thing you can’t really plan for. That fact really influenced my choices. I didn’t have any insurance coverage for a pump & I didn’t want to spend a lot in case it didn’t work out. I was lucky enough to inherit a hand pump from a friend, which I wound up using the whole time.

  • Madela Harmony Manual Breast Pump: This handpump worked great. I’ve read that you can get more milk with a hand pump, but I don’t know if that is true. Since I wasn’t exclusively pumping, I found this worked perfectly for me. It was also small enough to throw in my purse or overnight bag the first few times I was away from Annika over a feeding.
  • Haakaa: This little pump is amazing! It works by suction. You put it on the opposite side to the one babe is nursing on. In the beginning, I would easily get 4 oz while she fed & it really helped me build a freezer stash.
  • Bamboobies Nursing Pads: I found these especially useful at night & ordered an extra set for overnight.
  • Formula: There are lots of companies that are willing to send out free samples & I took advantage of that, although we never really wound up using much of it. It was nice to know we had a backup if we needed.
  • Bottles: My madela pump came with a few bottles, but Anni never liked them, so we ended up using another free sample – a Philips Avent bottle. It took Nathan trying every night for months for her to reliably take it, but eventually she did & has been great with it ever since. Don’t forget to look into different nipples as they grow (I didn’t really realize nipple flow rates were a thing at first!).
  • Glider: We went with a white leatherette glider that swivels & reclines. I’ve spent many hours in this chair & I’m glad we went with one that reclined. It made those overnight feeds so much more manageable. That said, we also have one of those typical Ikea chairs you find in virtually every University student’s apartment. When it got really hot in the summer, we slept in our basement & I used that. It totally did the trick.
Sleep

Oh baby sleep. Aside from breastfeeding (or not breastfeeding), this may be the most talked about baby thing. When you’re sleep deprived, there’s little else you can think about. This is some of our favourite sleep-related baby gear:

  • Bassinet: we used a Moses basket that we bought off a friend. I just wanted Annika nearby & this is what worked for us. It sat on a rocker, which I don’t necessarily think is necessary, but was nice sometimes. I liked that it was lightweight & easy to move closer to our bed if we needed.
  • Velcro swaddles: It took me a long time to master a regular swaddle (like the ones the nurses so effortlessly manage in the hospital), so velcro swaddles really came in handy for us. I liked the Halo brand, but there are so many out there.
  • Miracle blanket: Once Anni Houdini-ed her way out of the velcro sleep sacks, we moved on to the Miracle Blanket. It’s basically a straight jacket for babies who aren’t ready to transition to a sleep sack, but end up with a lot of loose blankets in their crib/bassinet.
  • Pack n Play: This is probably one of the most versatile pieces of baby gear out there. There are so many brands – we have the Graco one, which works great, but if you have the budget there are definitely some better lighter weight options out there. Besides its more obvious uses (travel, a safe place to let your baby play), we primarily used this for getting back to hanging out with friends. Seriously, it’s invaluable. Find a dark room, set it up, & put baby down at their regular bedtime while you spend some time with friends. The best. We still do this pretty often, as do several friends in our group & it’s definitely helped us get back to feeling like ourselves.
  • Sound Machine: We swear by our sound machines (yes, we have more than one because we got so used to sleeping with one when Ans was in our room that we kept it there). The Hatch Baby Rest is my favourite. You can set up programs from your phone (so it eventually works as a time to rise clock when Anni gets older) & it’s sleep & simple. We recently added a travel version to the roster, so we’d always have it on the go.
  • Baby Monitor: We are one of the few families we know that didn’t go with a video monitor. We’d had an unsettling experience with our dog camera & decided we were fine with just sound. Our Philips Avent monitor has been great. Sound only comes through if it detects a change (such as baby crying) so we don’t have to listen to the sound machine all night, & it shows the temperature. The range is pretty good & the battery lasts more than 24 hours. No complaints. It has a few extra features that we don’t use, but overall, it’s a simple & effective monitor.
  • Bassinet, Halo Swaddle, Hatch Baby Rest, & two sleepy babies
  • Avent Monitor
Gear

I really tried to keep a lot of baby gear to a minimum. A lot of it is only useful for a very short amount of time & I was finding that everyone had different favourites. Often they offered really conflicting opinions. What worked for one baby wasn’t necessarily going to work for my baby.

I also felt that if I had access to a lot of gear, it would be really easy to overuse it. So I decided to be really choosy about what we did buy (basically the essentials) & see how it went for the rest. We wound up using a swing borrowed from family friends & were gifted a Fisher Price bouncer that we used a lot when we wanted to put Anni down & eat dinner or make something. She loved the vibration. So of my other favourite baby gear includes:

  • Stroller: This is one of the pieces of baby gear I was most excited about, & 19 months later, I’m still really happy with my choice. We went with the Thule Urban Glide 2. I think it fits our lifestyle perfectly. If you’re planning on using it to hit the mall, it’s not your best option. Since I’m more likely to be hitting the paths or going for walks in our neighbourhood, it’s rugged suspension & smooth maneuverability is exactly what I was looking for. & as Anni got older, I was able to go for runs, which is so amazing. It fits great in the rooftop box on my car & is light enough for me to lift it up there. No regrets. (Find YOUR stroller – there are so many great options out there!)
  • A wrap: Babywearing very quickly became one of my favourite things. Wraps are a little bit intimidating at first, but once you get it, there’s no looking back. Watch a couple YouTube videos (Solly Baby has a ton of great tutorials) & you’ll figure out it in no time. I had a Milk Snob wrap, but I hear the Solly Baby ones are incredible too. I basically never went anywhere without my wrap – Anni had some of her best naps in it.
  • Baby carrier: As babe gets older, & heavier, carriers are amazing. We have the Ergo Baby Omni 360 & I love it so much. If you can find a store that will let you try a few (after baby comes) to figure out what you really like, that’s probably your best option. We still use ours for short hikes (we carry her on our backs now) so we’ve really gotten a lot of mileage out of it.
  • Diaper bag: This might seem silly, but having a diaper bag you love really makes a difference. My mother-in-law gifted me a black Freshly Picked bag & I LOVE it. You can wear it as a backpack or shoulder bag, but it’s not immediately recognizable as a diaper bag. In fact, I still use it now as a work bag.
  • Ikea Play Gym: I got this one at the recommendation of Rachel from CandoKiddo. A lot of play gyms don’t allow you to move things around to very many places & are pretty expensive. The Ikea one is cheap, adaptable, & does what you need it to.
Our stroller with carseat attachment
  • Carrier on the front, diaper bag backpack on my back
  • Gang’s all here (& the trick to drinking hot coffee is a thermos. You’re welcome!)
Wrap life, all the time.
Anni chilling in her bouncer while we enjoy a sweet anniversary dinner (Chicco Keyfit 30 carseat & Graco Pack n Play in background #allthebabystuff)
clothing

I’m not going to list a ton here. Everyone has their own priorities when it comes to clothes, so I’ll just list the couple truly practical things I love. There are a ton of local brands out there too, so check your local market for some seriously amazing finds.

  • Bonds zippy’s: two way zippers, hand & foot cuffs, adorable patterns, reasonable prices. I can’t say enough good things about Bonds sleepers. We were gifted a 0-3 month size that fit Anni from the time she was about a month old until she was over 6 months old. They fit large (so the foot cuffs generally fit when they’re on the younger end of the size & then later they can still wear them without their feet in them). They’re based in Australia, so it takes a bit of planning if you want to order. I generally wait for a sale & then recruit enough friends to meet the minimum requirement for free shipping. It takes about 2 weeks for them to arrive & you have to pay duties, but for how long Anni is able to wear each set, they’re worth it.
  • Robeez socks: The only baby socks that really stay on. I bought her a pack of three pairs when she was little & anytime she wore a different brand, I wondered why I’d even bothered.
Accessories

Last section! Woohoo! Even my attempt at a really minimal baby list is getting long. It’s hard to reign it in.

  • Jacket Extender: I opted to use a jacket extender for my non-maternity jacket instead of getting a winter maternity jacket. The best thing about this decision is that you can flip it around and use it over your wrap or carrier after baby comes. It came in really handy for getting out in cooler weather.
  • Keekaroo Peanut Changer: It might seem a bit silly, but when you’re doing as much laundry as you tend to with a newborn, anything that cuts down on that is amazing. In the beginning, she serious peed every time we went to change her diaper & all we had to do was wipe it up & be done with it. Now that she’s super squirmy, & often doesn’t want her diaper changed, it still comes in handy. It’s a bit of a splurge, but arguably worth it.
  • Baby ComfyNose Nasal Aspirator: A snot sucker. Definitely up there on the list of things you probably haven’t pictured yourself doing. Babies can’t blow their noses though, so you’ll inevitably probably need this at some point. The Frida Baby version is really popular, but we like this brand because you don’t need to buy expensive filters (you can use tissue paper or toilet paper).
  • Carseat cover: Our milk snob carseat cover has gotten a ton of mileage. I used it over our bucket seat when she was little & now it lives in my car so I can use it to hide all the grimy shopping cart parts from little hands.
An early nursery photo, showcasing our glider & the Keekaroo peanut changer.

So there you have it – my newborn essentials. I tried to keep in pretty minimal (I truly don’t believe you need as much stuff as you probably feel you do when you’re looking at that seemingly endless list while pregnant). A lot of gear can be replaced with a soft spot on your floor (you can never have too many blankets) or a playard. So don’t stress if it’s not in your budget (& seriously, check out @Candokiddo – she has a million great, inexpensive ideas for what to do with your new baby!). In order to keep this list manageable, I also limited myself to things we used in the first 3 months or so – the sleepy newborn phase. The next phases are truly my favourite though, so I’ll be back with some of the feeding, sleep, & play gear we love!

hi Annika Rose: A Birth Story

By

On May 15, 2019

In Family, Personal

Forty one weeks & one day in, forty one weeks & one day out! I thought it was a fitting time to share our sweet girl’s birth story. I’ve gone back & forth about whether I would actually share this on the blog. I’ve made a conscious effort to keep Annika off my own public social media accounts so she can dictate her own online story (that’s a whole other blog post). I’ve ultimately decided that this story is part of my own though. I loved reading birth stories when I was pregnant. I still do, in fact. So here we go, my birth story.

When my midwife came over for my first postpartum check up after Anni was born, she asked me how I felt about her birth. We had “planned” for as intervention free of a hospital delivery as possible &, spoiler alert, that’s not really how things went down. Strangely (& happily) I feel really positively about it. It wasn’t what I’d wanted, but it was the best possible experience given the circumstances. I’ll break this out into sections so you can skip through to whatever you want. Buckle up, it’s a long story.

BACKGROUND

I’d luckily gotten into a midwife practice fairly early on my pregnancy. I wasn’t loving the OB experience so far and had heard midwifery care here was amazing, & covered by our provincial healthcare. I feel so lucky to have had it as an option, to have loved both my midwives, & to have had an easy, uneventful pregnancy.

I’m not a huge fan of hospitals, but wanted to deliver at one in case something went sideways & they needed to transfer care. A hospital birth under midwife care felt like a happy middle ground. I was seeing a chiropractor who specializes in pregnancy & postpartum care in hopes of making sure labour could progress as smoothly as possible. My goal was for an unmedicated, vaginal delivery. I’m not a big fan of needles & the idea of an epidural totally freaked me out, despite hearing of its supposed magic. I also don’t love situations I can’t control, but was trying to keep an open mind & accept that I may not have a choice with much of what would happen. I still had conversations with both my husband & our midwife team about my ideal birth plan. Basically, if labour was going well, & I was coping, epidural would not even come up. If it wasn’t or labour was long & I need a break, I was open to it. We had a TENS machine packed & hoped to have access to the one room with a tub at the hospital for other pain management options.

LEADING UP

At 40 weeks & 5 days, I chatted with my midwife about what our next steps were. It didn’t seem like labour would be starting anytime soon, despite my trying to will my body into it. I was trying all the old wives tales & natural labour induction techniques & was really tired of being pregnant. We booked a routine NST at the hospital for 41 weeks where we were going to discuss the plan for that week.

Last photo of me with the bump

Monday (41 weeks) came around & I headed to the hospital to meet my midwife in the afternoon. Triage was busy, but they had a bed for me & hooked me up to a monitor. Babe was doing so well. She saw everything she needed to from baby in the first few minutes – she said it was the loveliest NST she’d seen in months. She kept me on the monitor for the full twenty minutes to make sure it was all still good & we started discussing the risk/benefit of waiting for my body to go into labour naturally & what our next steps were. She was going to send me home with some stats about those risks in the 41st week, but the plan was for her to start checking me at home every two days & hope things started on their own. She would be willing to let me go to 42 weeks if I decided that’s what we wanted. We were chatting and joking & I was feeling good.

Before she checked my cervix, she decided to check my BP. We were still just chatting casually & joking when the reading came back. It was high, like 170/85 or something. I don’t think I realized how high it was until much later. She took it again a few minutes later to confirm & it was unfortunately still sky high. I felt great & had no other high BP symptoms. I still didn’t really realize what it meant or where things were going, but the friendly nursing team started stepping in to take my blood pressure.

Our conversation changed to talk of getting an OB consult & blood work pretty quickly at this point. I was texting my husband and I think we both still thought I might be going home, but then my readings weren’t getting any better. Instead, they were climbing higher. Triage was busy & loud & distracting but even that didn’t explain why it was so high. They ordered some blood work & tested my urine for protein, as we chatted about what would likely happen. My midwife said she was 90% sure they’d have to induce me & that she was going to have to transfer my care to obstetrics. I think this was the hardest part for me. I had gotten to know my midwife team so well, & had had a generally great pregnancy with no complications. To have this come out of nowhere so suddenly was really emotional for me.

While we waited for the OB consult, they were cycling through taking my blood pressure & it was just getting higher. They prescribed some oral medication, but at one point it still jumped up to 190/102. I had a couple like that before the medication kicked it & it started to go down.

When my husband arrived, the OB resident was talking to me about their plan & explaining the transfer of care forms. She was going to put a Foley catheter in & once I had a few good blood pressure readings, I could go down to antepartum & wait for it to do its thing. They both thought it would take all night.

I was only about 1 cm dilated when she went to put it in & it was super uncomfortable. I was crying a lot but it had more to do with feeling overwhelmed by all the changes and being induced so suddenly. I hate crying in front of people, especially in a situation like that. I knew it was the right decision to be induced – I was 41 weeks & delivering the baby would most likely bring my blood pressure down. There was no reason to give her more time to come out. But I was still upset, & scared for what I figured would be a long labour.

I was still in triage & getting pretty hungry as it was 7 pm at this point. I’d been there for hours. They were just waiting on a couple more lowered BP readings before moving me to antepartum & then we could go for dinner. We figured we’d get pizza across the street since everyone we talked to predicted I wouldn’t be dilated enough to induce until morning. We finally moved downstairs around 8 pm and started getting settled. My SIL came over from her unit (she’s a nurse) on her break & I was commenting that I felt like the catheter was dropping down each time I went to the bathroom & was going to come out. My nurse was like, yeah maybe, but don’t get your hopes up. We got ready to head for dinner and I went to the bathroom one last time. Sure enough, the catheter fell out.

We paged the nurse and she was pretty surprised. She said it could have been placed incorrectly so an OB resident was on his way to check. He arrived with a medical student, another guy. This was definitely something I had thought I’d have a hard time with when I was with an OB practice in the beginning & knew there were male OBs in the practice. Funnily enough, it didn’t bother me though. More than anything, it seemed pretty funny.

Good Earth dinner before induction. We are ready?

He checked me, & the Foley catheter had been correctly placed. I was actually 3-4 cms dilated. Hurray! We packed our stuff up, grabbed some food from the cafe downstairs quickly, & headed up to Labour & Delivery.

INDUCTION

Once we’d eaten & gotten settled back up on Labour & Delivery, they broke my water. There was some talk of whether there was meconium, but they decided they didn’t think so. We discussed waiting to started me on oxytocin, but the OB said he didn’t think there was much point. I was pretty resigned to the fact that I was going to be induced so we decided to just go for it & start the oxytocin. It was 9 pm. Because of my high blood pressure, I was also hooked up to two monitors the whole time, one for baby’s heart rate & one for my contractions. We had a nurse assigned to monitor these & check my blood pressure every 30 minutes. She never left the room, but we were allowed to wander the halls with all my gear. It seemed super quiet on the ward, with maybe two other rooms occupied. Contractions started pretty quickly, but were super mild in the beginning. We kept walking around to get things moving. My SIL came for a visit when she got off work just after 10. We chatted for a bit and then got back to wandering the halls.

SIL Visit

My contractions were pretty regular right off the bat, which the nurse was happy with. We just needed them to get longer & more intense to get things going, so we kept walking a fair bit. At this point, I remember thinking they just felt like a squeezing feeling. Sort of similar to cramps, but not really at the same time. It didn’t take too long for me to get to a point where I couldn’t walk or talk through them.

ACTIVE LABOUR

At that point, we moved back to the room. I was really feeling it in my lower back so I wanted to use our TENS machine & lean over the back of the bed. I just couldn’t stand being on my back. The nurse also offered to hook up the laughing gas, which I decided to go for even though most people had told me they hated it. Luckily, I found it really helpful. It didn’t stop the pain but it took the edge off & forced me to focus on proper breathing. N was also really great at applying counter pressure & rubbing my back. I thought I’d be a lot more vocal through the pain, but I mostly just put my head down and tried to breath.

I laboured like this from about midnight until 2 am, when the OB resident came back because my blood pressure was back up. He wanted me to consider an epidural, not for pain management, but to lower my blood pressure. I was hesitant since I really couldn’t stand being on my back, but it also seemed like a logical decision given the issues we were having with my blood pressure, so we decided to get it.

The anesthesiologist came pretty quickly & started the whole process. This was probably the worst part for me. I kept telling myself that at least I’d get some pain relief & maybe we could both sleep for a bit, but I was really struggling with the whole thing. At one point, I felt something weird & involuntarily arched my back. Both N & the nurse were holding me so tightly & were pretty worried that I’d jerked back. The anesthesiologist was pretty quick afterwards & it didn’t take long for me to start feeling the effects.

EPIDURAL

Unfortunately, the epidural never fully worked for me. My left side was definitely numb, but I was still having a lot of pain on my right side, in the front, & had significantly more mobility in my leg on that side. They kept propping up my left side since they said gravity should help it work, but that didn’t do anything for me. The pain kept getting worse & I was really grateful for the laughing gas & my husband’s encouragement.

At 4 am, the OB resident came back because my BP had spiked again. He told me I’d earned a check (we’d asked a couple times before this point, but he’d told us less fingers were better, so we were excited he was going to check so we’d have an idea of where we were. I hadn’t had one since I was first induced). N said he was suggesting that if I wasn’t at a certain point, they’d be doing a c section. I luckily didn’t catch that since it was one of my fears going into labour.

To his surprise, baby was right there when he checked me, which he said was probably why my BP was up & the epidural wasn’t working. Looking back, I’m curious how long I’d been at that point. He told us we could start doing some practice pushes & the nurses could get ready for baby. This was just after 4 am. My husband got on the phone right away to call our midwife back. We wanted her there for delivery & were supposed to call her when I was at 8 cm.

The nurse talked me through how we’d push. They were gonna have me start on my back, which I wasn’t super excited about after having learned it isn’t the best position in baby class, but my back pain was pretty intense at this point. I was still sucking back the gas with every contraction, to a point where she said, you’re going to have to put that down on the next one if you want to push. I was pretty unsure I could manage it.

I did though. N & the nurses counted for me. He liked feeling like he had something useful to contribute & I liked having something to focus on. Pushing was so much better than the waiting. I couldn’t actually feel what I was doing or feel any pressure so I just focused on pushing like they told me. It seemed to do the trick. I was making progress quickly & they were starting to see the top of babe’s head.

Between contractions I was really struggling though. I couldn’t feel an urge to push or anything like that & the pain in my back had really increased. I actually looked forward to each contraction so that I could push. It was such a welcome distraction from the back pain. After trying a few push just on my back with N & a nurse helping me hold my legs, we decided to try to use the squat bar. We did that for a little bit, but it wasn’t my favourite. I was still making really good progress though. With every push, they were seeing more of the head. N said it was really cool to see.

My midwife arrived around this point. I was really happy to see her & glad she made it for the delivery, although I’d felt so bad calling her so late. She was also pregnant & I’d hoped to give her a little more time to get herself there.

I switched back to pushing more on my back, using the squat bar for support. I thought I would like the squatting position more than I ended up. I think it was just hard given that one leg was numb from the epidural. With every push, I got so much encouragement from everyone around me. They asked if I wanted to see the head with a mirror & I decided to look. I think my response was, that is so weird. It was strange to see, but I’m glad I looked.

The room was pretty full at this point. A lot of the nurses on the unit had made their way to our room & were pretty excited for us. The OB resident came back & was ready to catch the baby. He guided me through the last few pushes, telling me to stop at one point, which felt so weird but probably saved me from a much worse tear.

The last few minutes we a blur. All of a sudden, babe was out and they were lifting this little slimy bundle onto my chest & cleaning her up & asking if we’d seen if it was a boy or girl. Someone used the pronoun, she. She’s a girl!

There were tears & photos & video. My husband eventually cut the cord. Mostly she snuggled on my chest & let us admire her. There was a flurry of congratulations & excitement. The actual OB came to congratulate us & check that his resident had it all under control.

Anni’s first snuggles

I had a mild second degree tear so the resident stitched it up, which seemed to take forever. Our OB also showed us the placenta, which is so bizarre, but pretty cool. The whole time, babe was just chilling on my chest. They didn’t even think of taking her to weigh her or anything for so long, which is exactly what I’d hoped for. We got so much great skin to skin.

Our beautiful Annika Rose weighed in at 7 lbs 11 oz & 21 inches. Her official time of birth was 5:15 am (I pushed for about 45 minutes). We’ve been smitten from the moment we met. She’s an amazing, sweet, easy-going baby, & we feel so lucky.

Pregnancy \\ Third Trimester Recap

By

On January 21, 2019

In Family, Personal, recap

Well, that was quite the break! I started this post July 12, & then I got preoccupied with the waiting game. For some reason, I could not motivate myself to finish writing this post. So, here we go, over 4 months late. Let’s take a trip back in time & look at my third trimester.

Third Trimester

Weeks 29 to 41
IMPORTANT MILESTONES
  • Week 29 – May 7, 2018: Baby Moon! I flew down to SF to meet Nathan and pack up his condo. I was lucky to be able to work from home that week, & enjoy a final week of California living. I went to 2 NPSF workouts & an East Bay Free Fitness one too (they’re now officially NP Oakland!). We said goodbye to all our favourite spots & spent time with his wonderful coworkers. It was a really lovely final week in the Bay.
  • Week 30 – May 14, 2018: Baby moon! We road-tripped home from California. Highlights: Mendocino, Avenue of the Giants, Oregon Dunes, Oregon Coast, Cannon Beach, Portland, Vancouver. I love this drive. I’ll do a recap of it sometime. I have so much to share.

  • All the bump pics on the coast!
  • Week 32 – June 3, 2018: My Baby Shower. My best friend, Danel, & my mom hosted my shower at my parent’s house. It was an incredible shower. They put so much work into it & I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect afternoon. My Nana flew in from Vernon, which was the best surprise & baby & I felt so incredibly loved.
  • Week 33 – June 7, 2018: My midwife thought baby might be breech so we scheduled an ultrasound. We learned that baby had flipped & that it has a lot of hair, which is rare at this stage. They estimated that baby is about 5 lbs, which is in the 75th percentile. Everything else was normal, which is a huge relief.
  • Week 34 – June 13, 2018: First birth & babies class. It was a really great class. Our instructor was great & we learned a lot about the pelvis which was really interesting. Most of us are due between July 21 & 23, & delivering at the Foothills.
  • Week 34 – June 14, 2018: Dr for Moms Chiropractic adjustment. I had such an amazing & informative first appointment with Dr. Hort. My back felt so much better right afterwards & she did some other adjustments that will hopefully help make labour go smoothly.
  • Week 36 – June 29, 2018: Last day of work!
  • Week 40 – July 23, 2018: Due date! & my birthday! Went for lunch with my SIL & MIL & then my brother’s girlfriend took me for ice cream. No signs of baby.
  • Week 40 – July 24, 2018: Membrane sweep at midwife appointment. Baby was in a good position, but it didn’t do much. I went to acupuncture after, which was really relaxing. I definitely fell asleep.
  • Week 41 – July 30, 2018: Non Stress Test at Foothills. I was scheduled for this routine NST as I was one week overdue. It went really well, but (spoiler alert!) babe had other plans for us, so this marks the end of the third trimester for me. I’ll share more with my birth story.
CHANGES

I was expecting to feel huge in my final month of pregnancy, but I was still surprised by how massive I felt. I still managed to get out & do a lot, but I had to slow down & do less, especially in July when it was also really hot. The only shoes that fit me by then were my Birkenstocks.

I stopped working at the end of 36 weeks, which gave me plenty of time to prep meals, wash all of babies clothes, & do all the things you feel like you should get done beforehand. It should have also given me ample time to finish this blog post, but instead, I watched a lot of Netflix, took long walks with Odin, met up with friends, agonized over possible labour symptoms, & ate my weight in dates.

  • hospital bag prepped
  • stroller ready
SYMPTOMS

I felt great up until about 37 weeks. & even then, I felt pretty good, just huge & hot & swollen. I wasn’t sleeping great since I was constantly thinking about baby or labour or…god knows what, & getting up to pee 1000x a night. I was feeling very ready to not be pregnant anymore, anxious to meet baby, & scared for labour.

Energy: My energy was all over the place. Sometimes I felt great & went on a cooking/cleaning spree. More often, I napped a lot to make up for my increasingly broken night time sleep.

Lower Back Pain: Although it was a lot better thanks to Dr Hort, it was still there. It was hard to find a comfortable position to sleep in & I think that really contributed to my back pain.

Foot Pain: My arches were still bugging me (although, I was no longer running) & my feet also got quite swollen in the final weeks.

Swelling: My hands, my feet, my face. I stopped being able to wear my rings in mid June (around 32 weeks) & by the end, even my bracelets were snug. My feet were definitely the worst. I could get my runners on, but they looked pretty comical so I mostly wore my Birkenstocks. I had to loosen the buckles several holes. I thought I’d be able to wear flip flops, but my feet seemed to almost spill out of them. V attractive.

FOOD: AVERSIONS & CRAVINGS

I was still craving all those quick carbs & sugar. I fear my love of sugar might be here to stay now, which I’m still finding quite strange. I was loving pizza, burgers, french fries. Someone told me that greasy food sometimes puts people into labour, so I took advantage of that & felt no guilt eating Wendy’s or Taco Time in those final weeks. I also craved caesar salad (which is a very normal craving of mine, actually) & chili chicken a couple days before I was induced. Random!

DECISIONS

There weren’t too many big decisions left to make by the third trimester. The biggest ones had to do with labour. I had planned a pretty low intervention, hospital birth. It seemed like the best of both worlds. Ideally, I wanted to go into labour on my own & see how things went. If everything was going well & I was managing the pain, I didn’t want an epidural. My midwives were both on board with this & really supportive of everything on my “wish list”. It’s funny how much you really get to know them & how they’re such a huge part of this short period in your life, & then you don’t really see them again. (That’s a bit of a tangent, but it’s weird!)

I had decided to see a Chiropractor who specializes in helping moms. She was amazing & I definitely felt she made a big difference in my back pain. She also did a lot to make sure my pelvis was in the right position. I’m not sure if I’d have had issues if I hadn’t seen her, but I’m happy I did since everything went well!

Once I hit 40 weeks, I decided to also do acupuncture to try & help move things along. I’d never been before so I had no idea what to expect, but I ended up really enjoying it. It was mostly just nice & relaxing. I got some sleep & just chilled out. It was wonderful.

a last photo of our little family of 3
FAVOURITE PART OF THE TRIMESTER

My baby shower. It was incredible. I felt so loved. My mom & bestie put so much care into planning & organizing it. I felt so lucky to have so many kind, generous, loving people in my life, & so many people who already love our little person.

LEAST FAVOURITE PART OF THE TRIMESTER

Waiting! & the heat. I normally love summer & the heat, but it was tough to handle while pregnant. & I am pretty impatient, so it probably comes as no surprise that I hate waiting for my due date to come (& go) with no baby. I had thought I might be early (for no real reason, honestly), so that made it all the more difficult. & as someone who really likes to plan things, it’s hard having no control over this huge event in your life. I suppose it’s good practice for when you actually have a baby, but it’s definitely a struggle.

I hope you’ve enjoyed getting a little insight into this stage of pregnancy. Thanks to Cassy Joy from Fed + Fit for the great idea – I so loved following along with her recaps. You can expect a birth story soon (I actually already have it all written as I didn’t want to forget) & perhaps a 4th trimester recap, since we’re done with that as well. & I swear I’m still working on many non-pregnancy posts as well, or at least, I’d like to get back to more blogging of that nature.

xo,

A

Pregnancy \\ Second Trimester Recap

By

On May 10, 2018

In Family, Personal, recap

Second Trimester Bumpdate

It’s hard to believe I’m in the third trimester of pregnancy. On the one hand, I feel like I found out I was pregnant in another lifetime. On the other, it feels like it was only just yesterday. Time is bizarre. It passes both so slowly & so quickly. I’ve continued to journal pretty often, which is pretty much the only reason a post like this is possible. There’s no way I’d remember many of these details otherwise. I’m so glad I’ve kept it up – I’ve always loved reading recaps like this.  Hope you enjoy this little second trimester recap!

Second Trimester

Weeks 13 to 28
Important Milestones
  • Week 13 – Jan 15, 2018: Nuchal Translucency/First Trimester Scan. N had to fly out that afternoon, so we got there early in hopes that N might get to see baby for the first time. It did seem to work, although they somehow didn’t have my bloodwork so we didn’t get any results. It was so cool to see how much babe had grown though & seemed to be flipping around & covering its face with its arms. So cool to see!
  • Week 14 – Jan 22, 2018: Calgary Midwife Collective appointment. First appointment with CMC. I met one of my two midwives, Jamie, & we got my file transferred. She also checked baby’s heart rate, which was still a pretty big novelty for me. It measured around 150 bpm.
  • Week 14 – Jan 23, 2018: Announced to both work & social media. I emailed a photo to the ladies in my department after telling my boss & it was fun to watch them figure it out. They were really excited & happy for us. We also got so many congratulations from social media, & a few surprise revelations as well.
  • Week 14 – Jan 25, 2018: We got the FTS report in the mail & even though I had talked to my GP earlier in the week & knew the results were fine, it was reassuring to see it in writing.
  • Week 18 – Feb 20, 2018: Felt some tiny baby movements for the first time! It was hard to know for sure at first since they’re pretty subtle in the beginning, but this was the first time I felt certain it was the baby.
  • Week 19 – Feb 26, 2018: Anatomy Scan. We were able to book a morning appointment this time so N didn’t have to rush off to the airport, which was nice. Baby looked much more human this time around, aside from its lack of body fat. Ten fingers, ten toes, a stubborn personality like its mom & dad. They weren’t able to get everything they needed, so I had to schedule another appointment (I ended up having two more to get it all). Heart rate was 144 & we got a CD of photos as a keepsake.
  • Week 26 – April 19, 2018: Glucose Test. Given my newfound love for all things carbs & sugar, I was a little worried about this Gestational Diabetes Test. The orange drank didn’t taste as bad as I expected, but made me feel a bit nauseous. It’s mostly just an odd consistency. Everything came back normal at my midwife appointment the following week, so I’m in the clear for GD, it seems!

 

Bachelorette party at 26 weeks

26 weeks

4 pregos go to a Baby Shower

It’s fun being pregnant with a bunch of friends!

Changes

It seems funny now to think about how felt like there were so many physical changes in my first trimester. The second was definitely filled with significantly more changes, especially in terms of baby bump. Mine really seemed to pop around the halfway point, but others really took notice while I was visiting N in California at 22 weeks. Now, at 28 weeks, it’s now impossible to deny I look pregnant, as expected.

22 weeks

22 weeks: visiting N in California was the first time others took notice of the bump.

Workout Gear Progress: 19 weeks & 26 weeks

Grey Dress Progressions: 21 weeks & 27 weeks

For the most part, I’m just incredibly fascinated by all the changes. It’s by far the strangest experience of my life. Seeing the baby grow with each checkup & feeling its kicks get stronger from week to week – it’s hard to put into words how magical it all seems. Baby is getting so active lately. I can see my stomach moving sometimes now. It’s all very strange.

Odin & Mom: 25 weeks

16 weeks, 19 weeks, & 27 weeks

Symptoms

The second trimester feels like a bit of a free pass in terms of symptoms. It took a bit longer than I expected for the exhausted phase to pass, but once my energy returned the whole pregnancy thing seemed pretty fun. There are definitely mild annoyances here & there, but overall I feel extremely fortunate to feel so good. I’ve had a really easy pregnancy so far, & I know that’s not the case for everyone so I’m feeling extra grateful.

Energy: My energy levels returned to mostly normal a few weeks into my second trimester. I still find I’m more tired than my pre-pregnancy self ever was, but I’m not accidentally dozing off at my desk every afternoon like I was in my first trimester.

Lower Back Pain: I’ve never really had back pain, & luckily it’s super mild. I can’t really complain too much. I’m loving my heating pad & find I’ve made extremely good use of the Runner’s Relief roller oils I’ve gotten for finishing the last two SeaWheeze runs. That Peppermint Halo is addictive!

Foot Pain: I haven’t had much real foot pain from running in years, but it seems to be back in this trimester. I first experienced it while training for my first half & ended up getting orthotics. They helped the issue to a point, & I got through training, but afterwards, I looked for some other solutions. I found strengthening my foot muscles really helped me to run pain free for the last 5 years. I think if I were more diligent about keeping up with those strengthening exercises now, it wouldn’t be as much of an issue for me, but I also think with all the other changes in my body, some discomfort is to be expected. Luckily, it’s pretty mild & I’m managing ok by wearing slightly more supportive shoes than my usual minimal choice. Overall, I’m happy to still get out for runs!

embarrassed Odin

Embarrassing Odin pre-workout

Leakage: This definitely falls under the category of things I never thought I’d share with an online community, but wish I’d been a bit more aware of before. So, TMI, but I’m sharing anyway. Buy some kind of pad/panty liner when you get pregnant. As things progresses, there’s significantly more going on & it’s just awkward otherwise. For you, for others, for your pants. It’s so much easier to swap out a liner than your pants.

I’m not usually very sneezy when I get sick, but I caught a cold in March & was sneezing excessively for about a week. Like upwards of 20 times a day. It was bizarre. & I was so grateful I’d started wearing liners. They come in handy when you’re not sick though too. The joys. 

Food: Aversions & Cravings

I’ve gotten better about eating more veggies in the second trimester, but I still primarily crave sugar, whether in the form of carbs or treats. I guess baby wants that quick energy! I’ve been loving anything with melted cheese, bread, cupcakes, & ice cream. Nutritious! I try to balance it out with veggie bowls or smoothies, but I try not to worry too much about it.

Excessive Ice Cream consumption continues

Decisions

As I mentioned in my First Trimester Recap, we decided to do the First Trimester Scan. This non-invasive scan combines an ultrasound with bloodwork to determine your baby’s risk for a few specific chromosomal issues. Depending on the results, more invasive testing may be warranted. While this test is just a screen & doesn’t guarantee these chromosomal issues are not present, it does help ease some of the worry, & is much less invasive than a diagnostic test like the CVS or amnio.

Due to a mix up with my bloodwork, I didn’t actually get my results at our ultrasound, like you’re supposed to, & had to redo my bloodwork. Our doctor also always says no news is good news, which I had a hard time with since I didn’t know for sure when she’d actually get my lab results (or if she’d get them at all given that they’d already screwed up once). I called a few days after & was told that everything looked good, but it was still a huge relief to get the results in the mail another few days later. Since our results showed a low risk, we decided not to do any further testing.

More bloodwork

This trimester we also started thinking about some fun things, or at least I think they’re fun! My mom & my best friend are planning a baby shower for me in June, so I got to make a few decisions about that before they took over planning. I’m excited to see what they’ve got up their sleeves.

I also spent a significant amount of time researching baby items. There is so much stuff out there. I’ve mostly decided to start with a lot of good quality basics & go from there. It seems like there are many “nice to have” things that take up a lot of space & are only useful for a short time. I’m trying to avoid those.

baby box

Odin approves of free baby items

Favourite Part of the Trimester

Feeling kicks & movement scores high on the list here. It’s reassuring and wonderful, while also being the strangest thing I’ve ever experienced, especially as their strength & frequency has increased.

I’ve also loved getting to a stage where I had a real bump & didn’t just look like I’d been eating too many crave cupcakes (although I 100% have been. Cravalicious if you’re wondering.)  I seem to be in a bit of a sweet spot where my bump still looks mostly cute & I don’t feel too huge yet, so I’m trying to embrace that before things get uncomfortable. I’m so glad the weather has been warmer & I can wear more dresses. I’ve just never really been a pants girl. 

H & A baby bumps

H is due 3 weeks after me. It’s so great having a close friend pregnant at the same time as you.

27 weeks & 5 days

27 weeks & 5 days

Least Favourite Part of the Trimester

The unwanted advice or negative comments. This hasn’t been terrible, but I knew it was going to be my least favourite part & they definitely ramped up once we announced I was pregnant. There are so many comments about why you aren’t ready or how big you’re getting. I mostly just try smile & shrug, but it definitely gets on my nerves. No, our nursery isn’t ready. Yes, we’ve decided on a stroller, but we don’t have it yet. Yes, I know babies come early sometimes. No, I’m not worrying about the possibility of going into labour during our road trip. & no I’m not going to entertain your questions about my weight gain, size, diet, etc. Sorry (not sorry)!

Bumpin in SFO at 22 weeks

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed getting a little insight into this stage of pregnancy. Thanks to Cassy Joy from Fed + Fit for the great idea – I so loved following along with her recaps. You can expect a final recap for my 3rd trimester (& maybe the 4th?) & I swear I’m still working on many non-pregnancy posts as well. As usual, I have far too much to write about & not nearly as much time to do it as I’d like.

xo,

A

Pregnancy \\ Place your baby bets!

By

On April 6, 2018

In Family, Personal

Are we having a boy or a girl?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been adamant that I wouldn’t find out the sex of my first baby. I’ve personally never felt like I wanted to know beforehand. I understand why so many people do choose to find out, it just never seemed like the choice for me. I want the moment I find out whether it’s a girl or a boy to take place when I meet this little one. I’ve also never really felt like I need to prepare any differently for a boy or a girl. The more anyone contests my decision or defends their own, the more stubbornly resolved I feel.

As with anything pregnancy-related, there are all sorts of opinions here. I love how differently everyone feels about this & think it makes our pregnancies so unique. Many have expressed that they never could have waited, or they wouldn’t have felt prepared, or they wanted more of a connection to their baby. Those are all fair feelings, albeit incredibly personal to each peron. & I just don’t feel that way myself. With technology making it so easy to find out now, it seems like most do, another factor in my not wanting to. I’m a stubborn Leo & like to be different.

N probably would have found out if it were totally up to him. Once we decided to make a game of it and take bets, he came around to my side though. Nothing like a little game or competition to make things more exciting!

So, I’ve set up an online pool on Baby Bookie. It’s free to place a bet, but we’re open to setting up some more serious gambling too if there’s enough interest. In order to help you make your decision, I’ve combed through all the Old Wives Tales & compiled my answers. Let’s break it down!

Chinese Gender Prediction Chart

There are two different charts you can use. Lucky for me, both the Chinese Lunar Calendar & the Ancient Chinese Gender Chart say girl. This chart is supposed to be the more accurate of the two though, if you’re looking for results yourself.

RAMZI Method

I read somewhere that this one is said to be 95% accurate. It’s based on an early ultrasound. The idea is that you can tell the gender based on what side the placenta is forming on. I used my 9 week abdominal ultrasound. Story goes that if baby is on the left, it’s a boy and if it’s on the right it’s a girl. (It will be reversed for a transvaginal ultrasound, from what I’ve read.) From what I could tell, baby is a boy. I’m not sure I read my ultrasound correctly or that 9 weeks is early enough for this one.

9 week ultrasound photo

9 week ultrasound photo

Skin Changes

There are a few different predictions here. Firstly, boys are said to give you dry skin, whereas girls bring out the oil in your skin. My skin has been drier than dry all winter (like everyone’s in Calgary, I suspect) so we’ve got another vote for boy. They also say that if you’re getting a lot of compliments that you’re glowing, you’re having a boy. No comments? Girl. I can’t think of any comments of this nature, so another girl vote. Lastly, girls are said to “steal your beauty”, leading to more breakouts. I’ve definitely had a lot more breakouts than normal (I generally have pretty clear skin, aside from psoriasis). So there’s a girl vote again.

Linea Negra

Some moms get a dark line that runs down the center of their baby bellies. At first, I didn’t think I was going to get this, but then one day it suddenly appeared. My line continues above my belly button, which is supposed to mean we can expect a boy.

Hair

If your hair is thick and glossy, they say you’re having a boy. If it’s dull and limp, it’s a girl. I have seen no real change in my hair, aside from it growing slightly faster than normal since I started taking prenatal vitamins. I’m not sure I can attribute any change to pregnancy though, so I guess we’re having a puppy according to this one. 😉 Neither.

Baking Soda Test

This is another one touted as having a pretty high level of accuracy. 80% this time. I almost didn’t do it since it just seemed a little too weird & intimate, but then I cut a weird (wasteful) cabbage water one from the list so I figured I could do this one. You take 2 tablespoons of baking soda and mix it with your urine. If it fizzes, you’re having a boy. If it remains flat, you’re having a girl. Mine fizzed: BOY.

Body Hair

Yeah, I know, a few of these are maybe a little TMI. I’m sure the Internet doesn’t really need to know about this. Too late now! Lucky for me, my body hair is growing normal, which is supposed to mean girl.

Weight Gain

If you are carrying all your weight out front (like you’re smuggling a basketball), baby is likely a boy. If the weight piles on all over, it might be a daughter. I decided not to use my own judgment on this one, since my own weight gain seems significantly more noticeable to me than it does to anyone else. Everyone I asked said I seemed to be all bump so far. Maybe they were just being nice, but we’re going with it. Boy.

Baby’s Heart Rate

Many people swear by this one. It’s said that girls have a faster heart rates than boys. The normal range is between 120 bpm and 180 bpm, but over 140 bpm is supposed to signal a baby girl. Baby dB’s heart rate has averaged 144 bpm, & has never been below 140 bpm so far. Girl.

Cravings

The good ol’ salty vs sweet. Sweet foods are linked to girls and salty to boys. I’ve always had a major preference for salty foods. Even the sweet treats I enjoy best err on the side of salty (salted caramel all day every day!). That is until I got pregnant. Now I’m always craving candy, ice cream, chocolate…basically all things sweet. It’s been a bizarre change for me. I guess we’re predicting girl thanks to this one. (Or it’s just one of many signs that this is truly N’s child. He loves his sweets!)

Headaches

Extreme headaches are said to signal a baby boy, while no headaches are said to mean girl. I’m happy to have been relatively headache free throughout my pregnancy so here’s another girl vote.

Sickness

Baby girls supposedly trigger nausea with vomiting whereas a boy will only cause nausea. Again, I was really luckily to have very minimal nausea. I was mostly able to control it by eating regularly, which I don’t generally have a problem with. 😉 BOY.

Clumsy vs Graceful

I would never describe myself as graceful; however, I saw no real change in my level of clumsiness since getting pregnant. Supposedly that means we’re having a girl.

Wedding Ring Test

I think everyone is pretty familiar with this one. You’re supposed to dangle your wedding band over your belly on a string and wait for it to start moving. Back and forth means boy & in a circle means it’s a girl.

I think this one has more to do with what mom thinks babe might be than anything else, but maybe that’s good for accuracy. When we did this it started out moving back & forth, & then went to circles. N said that we should go with boy, since that what it did first. I think this is a clear indication that I have absolutely no idea what we’re having. 😉

TL; DR

We’ve got 7 votes for boy, 8 for girl, & 1 for neither (or puppy, are we getting another puppy?!). As far as the two supposed “most accurate” tests, they both predict we’re having a boy. You can decide if you believe they have more merit.

Our pool will also allow you to predict baby’s birthdate. My due date is July 23, 2018 (my birthday!). Some say you can look to dad for whether babe will be early or late – N & I both came early. They say you’re usually late with your first, but we’re both first born. Will babe follow his parent’s lead & come early, or will be add a third Leo to the family?

That’s all I got! Check the site, place your bets, & let us know if you bought into any old wives tales!

You can follow along with the rest of my pregnancy bumpdates here.

Pregnancy \\ First Trimester Recap

By

On February 23, 2018

In Family, Personal, recap

I’ve been meaning to do a first trimester recap since we announced we were pregnant. I love reading pregnancy recaps, especially now, & hearing about how things went for different women. Every pregnancy is so different & it’s so fascinating!

I’ve been keeping track of my thoughts & feelings in both my bullet journal & on the Nurture App, although I’ve fallen away from the app more recently. I’d still much prefer to write things down than log them on my phone.

In order to keep some sort of order to my thoughts, I’m going to answer the same questions for all three recaps. If you’re curious about something, leave me a comment or send me a message. If I’m getting a lot of the same questions, I’ll think about adding an FAQ or something. Let’s get into it though!

First Trimester

Weeks 1 to 13
Important Milestones
  • Week 3.6 – Nov 11, 2017: Positive test result on a home pregnancy test! As I mentioned in our announcement post, N was down in California so I told him over skype. This would have been the first day of my cycle & I’d held off taking a test as long as I could. I felt like I’d been on an emotional rollercoaster all week (think crying on the bus listening to TAL) so I had a strong suspicions that the test would come back positive, but I still had butterflies as I waiting for the result.
  • Week 9 – Dec 18, 2017: Dating Ultrasound. We weren’t originally going to have this ultrasound, but when I booked our 14 week one, they suggested I do it. It was so cool (& such a relief) to see the little heartbeat on the monitor.
  • Weeks 9 – 12 – Dec 2017: We started telling people just before my dating ultrasound. We told our parents the weekend before & let friends figure it out as they noticed me not drinking at various Christmas parties.
  • Week 12 – Jan 8, 2018: First appointment with the Low Risk Maternity Group my doctor referred me to. I didn’t really know what to expect from this appointment, but it was great. We went through medical history with the nurse and then she found baby’s heartbeat (152, if you’re curious). I wasn’t expecting it to work since my GP hadn’t been successful the week before so it was the best surprise!
  • Week 12 – Jan 8, 2018: The day got even better when I got an email from a Midwife group about setting up an initial appointment for mid-January. I had applied as soon as we’d found out we were pregnant, but hadn’t heard back yet. They’re in high demand here. We still plan to deliver in a hospital.

A very high quality photo of our dating ultrasound photo

Changes

Unsurprisingly, I took a lot of photos of myself throughout the first trimester. I felt  silly taking them at first, but they’re really nice to have now. I wouldn’t have thought there was much change otherwise, especially in those first couple months. I wasn’t showing, by any stretch of the imagination, but when you compare photos, it’s easier to notice slight changes. I also thought it might be nice for N to have these photos, since he isn’t here most of the time.

Of course, I feel like I progressively filled out everywhere, but the most remarkable changes were in my midsection & boobs. The only word I can think of to describe my torso is “thicker”. Although that seems like a negative description, I don’t mean it that way at all.

As things progress, I’m more & more fascinated by all the changes my body is going through. Towards the end of the first trimester, I found it became increasingly frustrating to find things to wear. & since I hadn’t told my boss yet, I was trying to keep anyone from guessing I was pregnant. It really amplified my perception of how different I looked.

Subtle changes from 4 weeks, 6 weeks, & 12 weeks

Symptoms

I feel pretty lucky to have experienced very mild nausea in those first months. Mostly, I’d just feel off. It seems funny that everyone refers to it as morning sickness – I felt nauseous maybe twice in the morning. If I did feel slightly nauseous, it was most likely in the afternoon or before bed.

The biggest change for me was how much sleep I felt I needed. I was exhausted! I’m used to feeling great after 6 or 7 hours of sleep, but found myself needing at least 8 hours to even function. I also unintentionally napped all the time. I’d literally fall asleep sitting up. I found it frustrating – I just wanted to go to my usual early morning workouts or make it through the day without falling asleep. I’ve finally gotten some energy back now, but it was a tough adjustment for this night owl.

As for food aversions & cravings, my likes & dislikes have shifted significantly. I usually reach for salty snacks over sweets, but I’ve been loving the sweets since day one. I also crave melted cheese in all forms: pizza, nachos, grilled cheese, all the really healthy stuff. Surprisingly, the hardest thing for me has been vegetables. I have a bit of an aversion to them, which is so bizarre since I love veggies! I’ve been tricking myself into eating them by hiding them in smoothies & making delicious veggie bowls (with lots of sauce). In general, I’m reaching for bland carbs (bread, potatoes), cheese, & protein. It has certainly not been my most nutritious few months, but I’m trying not to overthink it too much.

Decisions

We haven’t had to make a lot of decisions yet, however, we did decide to do a First Trimester Scan. I’ll talk more about it in my Second Trimester Recap though since I did mine pretty late in order to accomodate N’s schedule.

As I mentioned above, we also decided to go with a midwife practice. I think the decision to go this route, or not, is extremely personal. For me, I like the more personal feel of my appointments & that I will meet both of the two potential midwives who will be there at my delivery. With the maternity group, there were 17 possible doctors, so the likelihood of meeting the one who would be on call was pretty slim. This midwife practice also does three at-home visits after delivery, in addition to the usual check-ups in their clinic. There are many factors that go into this decision, & I don’t think there is a right answer. This is what I decided was best for us.

Although we’re going the midwife route, I am still planning to deliver in a hospital. Again, this is an extremely personal decision, & everyone should do what they feel most comfortable with. I wanted the reassurance that we were in a facility designed to handle a scary complication (heaven forbid). I know there are great birthing centers, & have many friends who have gone that route, but I think this is the best decision for us.

Favourite Part of the Trimester

Telling friends & family! It was so honestly so fun. My two best friends knew as soon as I did, but otherwise, we kept it a secret until 9 weeks in. We had two Christmas events with friends where we let them figure it out & I won’t forget their reactions any time soon. There was so much excitement from everyone we told – it was so heartwarming to see how loved this baby will be.

Christmas gifts

First little onesie gift, & my fav Montreal bagels & a new book. <3

Least Favourite Part of the Trimester

The exhaustion! I’d heard it could be bad, but I still wasn’t expecting it to hit me quite as hard as it did. It was so frustrating.

I hope you’ve enjoyed getting a little insight into my first few months of pregnancy. Thanks to Cassy Joy from Fed + Fit for the great idea – I so loved following along with her recaps. You can expect another recap for my 2nd & 3rd trimesters, but I promise there will be non-pregnancy posts in the mix as well if that’s just not your thing.

xo,

A

ABOUT

whoalansi

whoalansi

| FRANCOPHILE | OENOPHILE | LOGOPHILE | TUROPHILE | A self-professed foodie, lover of language, & travel enthusiast, I find joy in sharing my adventures as I eat, travel, & try to find the right words to tell you about it. International experiences are my jam, & I have some serious wanderlust. I'm cheesy, loyal, independant, & most of all, passionate; I wear my heart on my sleeve. I've been called intense, & I can't deny the label: I’m earnest & embrace my interests wholeheartedly. My experiences abroad have fueled an appreciation for a wide variety of foods & I love watching Calgary diversify. I delight in the ongoing search for delicious fare & take great pleasure in sharing my knowledge of Calgary's food scene.

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whoalansi

whoalansi

| FRANCOPHILE | OENOPHILE | LOGOPHILE | TUROPHILE | A self-professed foodie, lover of language, & travel enthusiast, I find joy in sharing my adventures as I eat, travel, & try to find the right words to tell you about it. International experiences are my jam, & I have some serious wanderlust. I'm cheesy, loyal, independant, & most of all, passionate; I wear my heart on my sleeve. I've been called intense, & I can't deny the label: I’m earnest & embrace my interests wholeheartedly. My experiences abroad have fueled an appreciation for a wide variety of foods & I love watching Calgary diversify. I delight in the ongoing search for delicious fare & take great pleasure in sharing my knowledge of Calgary's food scene.

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