The Daily Hailey

This whole thing just feels surreal these days. The fact that we made it to 18 weeks. The fact that we found out the gender. Everything else. It just feels incredible, and new, and exciting, and scary. Thank you all for sharing in our excitement regarding Friday’s post about the baby’s gender. My heart just swelled reading through comments, messages, etc. Bambina coming home feels so much more real than it did before, and its so fun to know how many others are excited for her arrival, too! We feel so fortunate to have all the support that we have! So, again, thank you!!!

Let’s begin!

Size Comparison: Once again, this weeks comparison on the app is super variable, suggesting baby is the size of a slingshot, a sweet potato, or a croissant, which I liked best. However, she is apparently 5.5″ tall and weighing 7 oz. I don’t have current numbers, but the times I have, baby has been heavier than the app suggests. Do I already have a chubby baby in there??

Appointments: I saw Dr. Guselle last week, and I’ll have an ultrasound later this week. Soon, the appointments will drop off, though, which I admit to feeling nervous about, but I’m confident I’ll have all the care I need as I need it. As usual, my appointment with my doctor was great. Reassuring, lighthearted, and informative, with a few good laughs. Dr. Guselle was thrilled for us that we are having another girl, and made a point to print out our official report so I could keep it. She gets me. She found Bambina’s heartbeat pretty much instantly. She actually even casually mentioned to me that “some people buy their own doppler’s online.” I was floored that she even put it out there, because the risk that I’d make myself crazy is definitely there. Obviously, I haven’t told her I have one already, because I assumed she’d advise against it. I love that she suggested it. I think she trusts me. On a slightly different note, this appointment continued to show that my blood pressure is on the lower side, as usual, and my weight gain is nice and under control. I started this pregnancy about 15 lbs up from where I started my pregnancy with Jamin, and while I’ve done nothing different or significant, I’ve only gained 2 lbs! So I’m pretty happy with how thats turning out. So far, medical wise, all is well. Blood work is still to come, but not until 26-ish weeks. Until then, I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing – drinking as much water as I can, taking my aspirin before bed, and my vitamins. I’m doing all I can do.

How am I feeling emotionally: My honest answer is that I feel very strongly in two different directions these days. I feel SO excited, and hopeful. I feel like this is finally going to work!!! But I feel very vulnerable, and scared to be let down. Things like finding out Bambina’s gender made it so much more real, in such a wonderful way, but now its so much more personal. She is confidently named. What if she dies now? We’ll lose her name, too 🙁 I don’t mean to be harsh, or depressing. They’re just my real thoughts. I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose her. I can’t do it again. So I’m THRILLED, but I’m pretty scared. Pretty anxious.

How am I feeling physically: Meh :/ I’m not feeling great. I’m trying to just be done with Diclectin, dropping that last half dose before bed, but I’m finding myself gaggy in the day, so I may jump back into that dose and give it another week or two. My pelvic pain is under control, but I rely heavily on that ridiculous belt anytime I’m out and about. I had things pop out of the place the other day in a way they don’t usually, and WOW did that hurt!! It was still burning the next morning. I highly recommend against having this problem. Sneezing has never ever been so painful.

Wish List/Purchases: I bought a cute sweater and a tank top out of Thyme Maternity the other day when they had 70% off their clearance section, but otherwise we’re still trying to stay pretty modest with purchases that aren’t necessary. That being said, my online Gap and Old Navy cart eats me alive every single day when I log in and enter the promo codes, seeing just how low I can get the price down. Every few days, something sells out and is removed from my cart. And yes, it eats me. But I’m trying. Restraint is tough. Buying a few little summery items for her feels like a right of passage that I haven’t got to fulfill yet, and its a struggle. But I know, first world problems. I’ll live. But I daydream a lot! Another thing on my wish list is a diaper bag that I’ve been eyeing for literally years and I just want to get it! But its over $100, so once again, we’ll just have to wait and see, and wait and wait and wait. So the wish list is definitely there, and I’m definitely dreaming. One of these days, we’ll bite at least one of the bullets, haha!

Pictures: I think you got some pretty good, recent pictures in my gender reveal post, so if you missed it, feel free to check it out!

How are the kids feeling: So the kids are THRILLED beyond belief that Bambina is a girl!!! That was the obvious highlight of life for them this last week. When we told them we knew whether the baby was a boy or a girl, they wagered their final guesses, and they had flip flopped from their previous ideas! Dekker guessed “boy” for the first time this pregnancy, and Laela, who has been insistent that this baby is a boy (because only mommy and Laela are the girls) begged for it to be a girl! Rowan held steady with his guess for a girl, and Solly sucked on the bottom of his milk cup when asked his opinion. Everybody squealed when I stole the blue cookies off the table, leaving the pink ones there for everyone to eat in celebration. They all took to changing her nickname to Bambina right away, and they joined me in my daydreaming instantly. They are ready for a baby girl to join our family!!

Getting to know the baby: Well, we obviously know a pretty important detail about her now! She’s a little lady. With our regular ultrasounds, we know that her limbs and fingers and toes all look right. We know her organs are all accounted for, and that everything seems in order at this point! We’ve seen her fingernails and her beautifully formed spine. The one thing she’s been secretive about for the most part is her face!! We cannot get a good shot of the money maker! Hopefully later this week 🙂 Beyond that, I know she almost always hangs out on the left side of my abdomen, which is funny because Laela was the only other baby that liked it there. The boys have stretched the right side out good and proper, and I just assumed every baby from here on out would like the roomier side better. But nope. Bambina likes to be different, and literally sides with her sister.

The BEST part of being pregnant this week: I mean this one shouldn’t be hard. I LOVE being able to celebrate knowing her gender. However, that was secretly my best thing about being pregnant last week. Whoops! So I think the best thing about this week was possibly feeling the baby move??? I’m so hesitant about this because, with the stinking anterior placenta, I know movement isn’t going to be felt early. And the feelings I’m feeling are SO small. But they’re something. Easy to miss, and they’re few and far between. But, they’re little scratches and bubbles, and they’re familiar. And really, its not early. I’m 18 weeks! This isn’t an unbelievable time to be feeling movement. So just knowing that might be what I’m feeling brings me hope and excitement. That will be such a game changer when I can confidently feel her every single day. For that day, I am ITCHING!!

Favourite Thing: I think my favorite thing this week is getting back into crocheting!! I kind of jump in and out of phases of crocheting, but I love having something to keep my hands busy with when I do get down time. I am so excited to crochet for our baby! However, she will come in summer, which limits the opportunities to make her sweaters, toques, infinity scarves, booties, etc. However, I pulled out an old project I was a good chunk of the way into, and was reminded just how much I loved working on it! I won’t show it to you or really go much further into it at this point, because I’m not even sure what the end goal is at that point. A blanket? A rug? Some kind of decorative wall thing? I don’t know. But I’m back in the creative saddle and am loving it! I don’t often have a hobby on the go, just with the general busyness of life, but I’m so happy to have picked it up again. It makes me really want to go to the craft retreat coming up in a couple of months, so I don’t end up dropping it again! We’ll have to see if I can justify it 🙂 I went a few years ago and really really enjoyed it! But for now, I’ll just keep enjoying working on it here at home. I encourage you all to be a little crafty 😉

This really all wraps up to have been a great week. I’ve felt some lightness, and some excitement, and some freedom to plan and hope a little harder. I have really enjoyed how real things are feeling, and in the moments when I let myself forget the harsh realities and possibilities, I’m just jumping out of my skin excited to meet this baby, who I have NO reason to think will pass away, but will come home and join our family in five months. I just want her. I want her so badly.💜

I’m sure lots of us have heard all about the benefits of hugs from here or there. Hugs lower anxiety, burn calories, etc. They’re healing and refreshing. They boost oxytocin, leaving you feeling lighter. They relax your muscles. The list goes on. Hugs are the way to do it, and I know there are many people out there who either aren’t huggers, or don’t have the opportunities for hugs as often as they’d like to. For those of you who could use more hugs, I am ALWAYS up for a hug, just so you know <3 Safe place over here!

Yesterday was one of the smoother days we’ve had recently, even with our errands, and no one having a good solid nap. They did great. Going into bedtime, I was nervous that the beautiful, happy streak of fun would be broken. But it wasn’t! We changed diapers, put on jammies, brushed teeth, etc. and everyone was content and cooperative. I changed Rowans diaper and pulled him back up, and instead of running off, like always, to go hide in someone’s bed, he just stood really close to me, so I hugged him, and he hugged me. It was a good, soft, yummy hug that he didn’t cut off for a nice long while. When he did, he stayed really close to my face. And this can mean a couple of different things for Rowan. Either he wants you to kiss him, or he wants to kiss you, or he wants to rub noses. Haha! So I waited, and he rubbed noses with me, and kissed my nose, and my cheek. It was adorable. I smooched him back, and he came in for another hug. At that point, Dekker bellowed “Group huuuuug!” and he and Laela rushed over!

Usually in this scenario, it gets really rowdy and more like a wrestling match than a hug, but that was not the case this time. My husband, bless his heart, took pictures.

Many kisses were shared in this little group hug. It was a giggly, happy circle. The kids were SO soft in their jammies and in their hearts. Just the best hug ever!!! Too bad Solly couldn’t figure out how to join in :/ I’m sure we’ll get him next time.

I know there may come a day when my kids don’t want to hug and kiss their parents, and I’m going to soak it up every single chance I get!!

It was SO FUN for me to share our news with you guys yesterday!!! The amount of love and excitement you all sent out way felt amazing! It was fun to be excited with just my family for a bit, but being able to make our news public just made it so much more real!! I think maybe it made it more real to some of you, too. Its exciting for me to picture our family this way, knowing just that much more about the newest member. A little girly! YES!!

I’m feeling a lot lighter after yesterday 🙂 Reading all the comments, messages, and texts has been so fun, and I woke up excited and energized! Despite the brutal cold, we opted for an errand day with the fam!

They are so stinking cute, and were such good sports. I felt in good spirits, and they seemed to feel the same. We rolled through Costco and Home Depot all together for groceries and a few little things for Brady’s work. (A side note for parents, if this year is anything close to last year’s baby event at Costco, its coming up! Wipes are on sale right now, and if it follows the same pattern as last year, diapers, genie refills, and formula won’t be far behind! Keep your eyes open!!)

I did a quick duck in at Dollar Tree and was SO happy to find they had kids toothpaste on hand! I bought a new one to try (Aquafresh) from Dollarama the other day, and the kids love it. I just find it annoying that Dollarama sells things for more now, and I paid $2.50 for it. May as well just get them from the grocery store at that price. But I found the exact same kind at Dollar Tree for $1.25! So I bought an embarrassing amount of them (I have a new toothbrush drawer plan, don’t judge me) along with several hand sanitizers (we always need these, and again, cheaper there) and some plastic baskets for organizing some bathroom stuff. I walked out with three big bags of stuff for less than $20. Awesome!!

We grabbed lunch next and took a little break while Brady and I made a few more plans. I had an appointment to get the shaved side of my hair redone, so Brady dropped me at the mall a little early so I could look around a little before my appointment, and he took the kids to Walmart and got a few necessities (specifically, bananas, and a new curtain rod for the one the kids accidentally broke off the wall. *face palm*) Meanwhile, I wandered into Thyme Maternity and discovered they were offering an extra 70% off of items already in clearance! I bought a beautiful sweater to finish out winter, and a cute tank top to welcome the heat!! Once again, I only dropped $20.

My hair appointment went well, as usual. I have a beautiful feather shaved into my hair, and my lovely hair girl curled up the rest and threw a cute braid into it, just because she’s awesome and always leaves me looking put together when I leave. I met back up with my family right afterwards, and decided to call it after that. Solly was just droopy and screamy and it was time to get him either sleeping in the van or at home. Whichever came first.

Sleeping in the van came first, but the tears came instantly when we pulled into the garage, so straight to bed he went. The other kids are happily taking a tv break, Brady is starting to replace the curtain rod, and once I’m done this, I’m going to start organizing the kids bathroom a little better. Productive but low pressure is my favorite way to do a day 🙂

We’ve gotten things done, we’re still getting stuff done, and I’m in FULL daydream mode! Things feel light today. Even that biting wind didn’t touch me today.

There was some brief angst when I confessed to knowing the gender of our baby, but then didn’t actually share the info 😉 And I get it! But guys, if you had a burning little secret, would you not want to have a little fun with it first, too?? Aaaaanyway, I haven’t told you yet because I thought it would be fun to show you in photos! My lovely friend and photographer, Cher, who has been taking progress pictures for me throughout this pregnancy came out as soon as she could, and got me everything in time for me to post them TODAY! Which means, you will know, TODAY! I’ve had this secret for just over a week, lol! Sue me.

Except, don’t.

The baby’s gender may be sneakily hiding beneath a layer of clothing. Do not be afraid. There is more clothing under there. You CAN read on!

I cracked under pressure at the last minute, haha! Somehow this shoot felt like a bigger deal than our usual get togethers…

Don’t worry, I got it together. Sort of. As much as I ever do. But, we got there. I’ll just let you look now 🙂

Baby is a GIRL!!!!! 💖💖💖

Pink happy dance!!!

Bambina (See what I did there? Because, feminine) is roughly the size of an iPhone. A gold, sparkly one. 🤩

…and its upside down because thats ideal for babies, haha!

Straight talk, guys. I know that knowing the gender of the baby doesn’t ensure that she’s going to live and come join us here. I know there is no safety zone. I know we could get hurt again. But knowing she is a SHE makes things so much more real, and SO much more personal! I swore the baby was a boy. Every time I daydreamed, I was picturing a boy. Every time I secretly let myself plan ahead, it was always for a boy. I was SO peaceful and content with having a boy, and then to find out she is actually a girl just BLEW MY MIND. It still feels surreal, in all honesty. I didn’t know if I’d ever have another girl, and I’m thrilled beyond belief to be carrying one! A GIRL!!! AMAZING!!!

I have a video of us telling the kids, but I’ll save that for another day 😉 This is enough amazing for one day! But I have to offer a HUGE thank you to my girl, Cher, for once again documenting such an exciting time in my life!! You rolled with the interruptions that come along with my mom gig, even snapped a few extras, just to make memories.

You are a wonderful addition around here, so please know you’re always welcome in our home, whether you’re taking pictures or not 😘 We all love you!

Thank you, all, for your interest in our family, and for sharing in our excitement! Speaking for myself, I am completely beside myself with excitement!! I cried like crazy when I found out, haha! Having a brand new baby girl is an amazing way to welcome summer. I can’t wait to bring her to the lake, and to wear her in the carrier as the kids and I wander to the playground day after day. I’m just itching to buy her some little dresses and rompers, and to go buy fabric with my mom who will lovingly sew it into personal little receiving blankets. I can’t wait to finally pull out our little baby cradle again, clean it up, and get it ready for LIFE. To pack size 1 diapers again, even if just for a little while. I can’t wait to waste the days away with my beautiful brood of children on the deck, while they splash in the pool, and I lounge in a chair under an umbrella with the little miss, hopefully with a friend or two from time to time <3 I just want her home.

I feel so fortunate to even be daydreaming about this. I hope and desperately pray that it can become a reality! Please pray, and celebrate, with us!!!

Today was another one of those days that felt like we were going constantly, but when I step back and look at it, we really weren’t. And when I step a little further back even, today was really great 🙂 I’m trying to get away from 99% of my blog posts just being a breakdown of the day, but when the days are great, it should be recorded!

Solly slept in nicely this morning, and my mom came to help this morning while I dropped Dekker off, and then while I got Laela to preschool. It is SO handy to have help on preschool days, specifically the mornings. That weird half hour between dropping Dekker and Laela off can feel like years depending on the day. Its especially bad on the days where I have to wake kids to get them in the van, and they’re crying for breakfast or whatever else the entire time. Its totally doable, and it’ll likely all be a bit easier when the weather is nicer and the kids wake up a bit earlier with the sun, but for now, they’re pretty droopy in the mornings still. So this morning was SO nice to have the help during drop off!

My mom had a busy day scheduled herself, so she left fairly quickly after I returned, and I had a nice sit down morning with the little boys. Rowan built ramps and raced cars while Solly plunked himself down on a couch and played dolls. No joke, he LOVES Laela’s stuffed Elsa and Anna right now. It wasn’t too long before I bundled them up and drove over to preschool to pick Laela up.

We were the last to leave there today, and I was SO grateful to have a chat with Laela’s preschool teacher! We just talked parenting and the challenges that come along with it. I haven’t had many chances to really take time and talk with her, but it was SO refreshing!! We feel very similarly about a lot of important things, and I found that so encouraging! I love knowing the people who are in authority positions around my children have similar values to me and are encouraging them in the same ways I would. I really really appreciate her.

I brought the littles home and got them lunch right away, as we had plans that afternoon. Nothing too big, but I had a doctors appointment at 1:15 to get to. As it tends to happen, it was of course the lunch where everyone was 500 times hungrier than usual, so it took a while to get everyone topped up, but eventually everyone was fed and dressed, and hauled back into the van.

We made it to my appointment on time, where Brady met us. He took the kids to go fill up the van, and beyond that, just freed them from their car seats so they could run around in there and entertain themselves while I was in my appointment.

My time with Dr. Guselle was awesome. You guys know how much I love her. She answered all my questions, discussed some future stuff, and printed off my ultrasound report for me. I love information, especially about my baby, and she knows that. I told her I was a bit nervous for my appointments to start dropping off a little bit soon, since we’ll go to the regular monthly appointments once I can feel the baby move and have some reassurance that way. She was clear with me that, until I was comfortable, we’d be seeing each other. She gets me. We listened for the baby, who was nice and easy to find, and she checked my ears to follow up with the crazy plugged-ness that I’ve been struggling with. She covered all the bases, and we confirmed that I’d be meeting the resident who would be following me for the rest of my pregnancy at my next appointment. She actually thanked me more than once for being willing to “participate” in their teaching program, because the resident I’ll have is male, and apparently they get far less practice in obstetrics than women, so they are very happy to have the experience. I’m happy to provide it 🙂

The kids were very patient, and didn’t put up a fight to get back into their car seats when I came back to the van. Brady and I quickly hit the Tims drive-thru and got coffee before he headed back to work and I took the kids home.

I realized as we were almost home that it was only about a half hour before Dekker would get out of school. On one hand, to haul everyone out of the van, out of their coats and boots, and let them break into the toys only to haul them back out fifteen minutes later seemed crazy. Yet, they had been in the van for two hours at that point. I couldn’t imagine making them wait. So I drove home and parked in the garage. Solly was asleep and the other two were pretty droopy. So I asked them their opinion, and Laela and Rowan agreed that it would be silly to go in for such a short time. I promised them some tv time when we got home after getting Dekker, and they were totally satisfied!! So, we got the mail, and waited out the rest of the time.

No. One. Fussed.

Not. Even. Once.

I was AMAZED at how patient and reasonable they all were, and then how happy and thankful they were to come home and have a tv show on in the background as they played and got their energy out finally. Amaaazing!!! I give a little bit of credit to great music, but mostly to just my kids as people, because they are exceptional! I may be biased, but I don’t care. I don’t think that makes it less true.

5/6 of us are happily home now, and Brady is on his way! It’s always fabulous to be together at the end of the day. For some reason, I’m just feeling emotional this afternoon <3 Husband come home!

Its such a weird day to have off school, but for some reason, today is a teachers prep day out here and Dekker is home for the day. It would almost feel like a Saturday, except Brady is at work. Merp. So, its close, but not quite right.

The kids have spent the morning playing like champs. The Play-Doh was out in full force, stories were read, paper was colored, and arguments were refereed. It was a busy morning! Meanwhile, I discovered that Children’s Place was finally clearing out their winter gear at amazing prices, but the website (despite being one of the worst websites to shop on in general) was super limited and picked over. They had next to nothing that I was looking for. I put a cry for help on Facebook and a small handful of people got in touch with me and offered to check nearby locations. They have all now been scoured, but to no avail :/ Not sure my next move, but I was very much looking forward to having winter stuff nailed down for the kids for next winter already! Ah well, there is still time.

As the kids began their lunch, my friend Cher came over to take a few quick pictures of me. They might even reveal a detail or two that you guys might want to know 🤷 Maybe! Maybe not. I don’t know who wants what. But we had a good time together, and she was very patient and understanding as we were interrupted time and time again to put out metaphorical fires left right and centre. Eventually, we got what we wanted (I hope!) and she headed off to an appointment.

I put the three younger ones down for naps, and got myself lunch. Is it just me, or is spaghetti noodles drenched in butter and parmesan cheese just the absolute bomb sometimes? I love it, and it really hit the spot for me today. I ate lunch and had a quick chat with Brady on the phone. Now, I’m blogging, and I have some typing to do for a meeting I attended a while ago. Hopefully Jerilee will come over before too long, and we’ll have a good solid evening of the Bachelor and tuns melts!

Note to self: Don’t forget to take Dekker to kids club this week!!! Yikes! Parent fail at its finest.

BEFORE I go into todays post, I have to offer up a slightly half-assed apology about my teaser on yesterdays post, haha! I am so looking forward to sharing the news of the baby’s gender with all of you who care about our family and want to know and celebrate with us! I promise, it will be soon 🙂 Don’t hate me! Its coming! I probably want to tell you even more than you want to know, if that helps.

***

There are pros and cons to living where I live, specifically in a newer, less developed area of town. An obvious downfall is that we have no tall trees, and fewer houses to block us from the elements. We basically have no cover. So when the kids play on the deck in spring, they get ALL the wind! LOTS of sun! Everything that comes, we get in FULL. Our house is also taller than our last house was, so storms are louder and seem more powerful. Especially with the master bedroom about the garage, thunder just shakes that room. And guys, I LOVE that.

I don’t love winter, thats not a secret. But today, for instance, isn’t super cold out. Much warmer than yesterday. But the wind is completely nuts. I’m currently sitting in the living room, and the kids are napping/resting in their rooms. The only sound is me typing, and the wind just whipping at the house. It sounds amaaazing! I keep thinking a big truck is driving by or something, but nope. Its just the wind.

I’m not sure what I love about it so much. Maybe its just the fact that its white noise. Or maybe I love the security in hearing the chaos outside when my house is sturdy and warm.

As I tucked the three kids in for their naps this afternoon, the room was so loud with wind, but they were all totally at peace and ready for rests. I hope they grow up to love storms the way I do.

After spending the morning at preschool, my legs are back are burning and I’m ready to take a little rest myself! Brady somehow CRUSHED work today and won’t have to work late!! <3 I’m so looking forward to having him home. It was a lovely morning, and I anticipate a lovely afternoon and evening, too 🙂 The wind just adds to it, somehow. Makes it feel whimsical. As long as I get to stay inside, haha!

Well, guys, we did it. We passed that awful 16.5 week mark, and I am now 17 weeks pregnant. It feels like I haven’t been this far along in FOREVER, though I was days away from it just last year. I believe the last time I was this far into a pregnancy was two years ago, when I was pregnant with Solly. I know people space their kids out much further apart than we do, and both ways are fine, but its hard for me to think about how long its been, and how large of a space there will be between the two youngest. It’ll be right around two years and one month, which is the exact gap between Dekker and Laela. While their dynamic is fine, not abnormal, its always felt like a bit too long to me. But as we ALL know, this has been wildly out of my hands.

Size Comparison: My app says that the baby is around the size of a chipmunk, or a pomegranate. I’m going with the chipmunk, because while my baby is probably as sweet as a pomegranate, it is not in the shape of a ball. And a chipmunk has arms and legs and feels more relatable somehow. Also, the chubby cheeks probably don’t make sense yet but we all know they will in the future 🙂 I tend to make babies of the chubby variety.

Appointments: I had an ultrasound last week. Baby wasn’t as busy as usual, or as cooperative, but as far as I know, everything still looked well. My tech commented that this baby has never been particularly easy to get a side profile shot of, and she is required to get one as part of the anatomy scan, which is coming up. Because of my unique circumstance, and my regular ultrasounds, she’s already gotten a lot of the information she needs to fulfill the requirements of the anatomy scan, but there are still a few things left to show up, and the side face shot is one of them! I rolled in all different positions and it just wasn’t happening. But we tried. Maybe next time. It was interesting to see the baby more packed in there than usual, with less room to wiggle. I’m sure baby they will make more room in there soon. Frankly, the tighter it gets in there, the bigger the baby is getting, and the sooner I can feel movement. This ridiculous anterior placenta is driving me bananas.

How am I feeling emotionally: I feel a lot better. I have passed a big, scary point in time that, while it doesn’t ensure “safety,” was significant for me to pass. Its time to move forward. We are not out of the woods, but really, we never are. No one ever is. And we can’t live like that, waiting for the worst thing to happen. So, I will continue to miss my little boys, and make room for my grief, but keep my head up and looking ahead. Even when its scary and vulnerable. Lots of self pep talks these days.

How and I feeling physically: I was in worse shape for last weeks series post, for sure. My back was BAD and I have since seen my chiropractor twice and he’s been able to put me back in place, which has been both satisfying and incredibly painful. But worth it. I started wearing my support belt, which you may or may not have seen on Facebook or Instagram, and it has made a big difference when I have running around to do. My belly doesn’t need support yet, but my pelvis sure does. Beyond that, I’ve ben very slowly weening off diclectin, and am down to a half dose before bed. I could just stop taking it probably, but I know that causes some people to spiral back to square one pretty quickly, so I’m going slow. But nausea is down. That being said, since I’ve backed off the diclectin, my body doesn’t like coffee as much again :/ Shooooot. Also apparently I haven’t been sleeping very deeply.

Diclectin messes with my sleep. I cannot wait to be off of it completely!

Wish List/Purchases: So, I did a SMALL amount of purchasing recently. I bought a couple of clothing items when I was at Value Village the other day buying a few things for the other kids. I also finally bought a big water bottle to make that whole thing happen. I really don’t drink very much water at all, and I really should. I found a light pink Nalgene bottle that holds half of the recommended daily 8 cups of water, so I’ve made it my goal to drink one hole one before noon and ideally the other before supper. If I wait and drink it too late into the night, I’m going to be getting up to pee far more than necessary. For today, I’m halfway through that first bottle and its not even 10:00, so go me! I am not loving the huge water bloat that comes with it, but what can you do?

Pictures: I ran upstairs and snapped this picture a few minutes ago and I couldn’t help but laugh at how unflattering it is, haha! I think I look WAY bigger in this picture than I actually am, lol!

This was NOT the sweater I should’ve worn, but hey. Comfort always wins. Except when you’re pregnant and uncomfortable almost 100% of the time. But thats less about clothing.

How are the kids feeling: The kids are AMPED! Walking through baby clothes aisles have all three of the older ones in full “Aaaaawww!!!” mode, touching each piece with excitement. “Gasp! A hootie! “Gasp! A dinosaur! What do you think Bambino will like??” They’re almost as bad as me.

Get to know the baby: We got to know the baby pretty well this last week! I guess you could say we were formally introduced when baby waved at us through the whole ultrasound. Those hands just went and went and went.

 

We also found out the baby’s gender. 😯 Had I not mentioned that? 🤔

The BEST part of being pregnant: I’ve genuinely enjoyed a lot about being pregnant this week. I’ve enjoyed the excitement of carrying my pregnancy past the scary point of loss from last time. I’m enjoying that my belly is visibly growing. It somehow feels a bit more real these days, and I’m loving it!

Favourite thing: This is probably a weird one. Fried mushrooms are this weeks “favourite.” I could eat those things by the bowlful, and often do. Brady lovingly fries me mushrooms (that he hates, by the way) in butter and garlic, and I eat them with EVERYTHING. Or just y themselves as a snack. Don’t judge! I briefly tried to convince myself that it was a healthy craving, but have since given in to the fact that they’re just carriers of fat and grease and thats probably why I’m loving them. Regardless, yum. Fry something in garlic and butter this week and think of me! Lol!

Its been a good week, my friends. A hopeful, uplifting week of pushing past fear, and daydreaming about what and who is to come. I couldn’t be more thankful for all the support I’ve received over these last couple of weeks, as its been a huge part of whats kept me standing. Hopefully the future is bright, with fewer sad tears and more excitement. Healing is coming.

The last couple of weeks have been a bit off around here. No one is struggling more or less than the other, but we’re starting to think that no one is feeling 100%. But Solly is the guilty party for making church so hard to get to these days!

He is SO SCREAMY!!! Sometimes its a constant fussiness with crying thrown in, and other times he’s screeching so loud, and he just will not be stopped! We have a few theories.

1. If you’ve seen Solly in the last month or so, you’d have seen the little red blotches on his cheeks. They are humorously round and even, and they are now dry, rashy spots that are just sticking around. They don’t bug him or anything, he has no idea they’re there, but to me, they suggest teething. He has cracked everything except for his two year molars, but I’m not confident that his eye teeth are all the way through :/ So he could still be working on that.
2. Dekker and Laela have both have very small (but still relevant) bouts of vomiting in the last two weeks, and without going into too much detail, Ro has had his share of sick poops as well. So maybe Solly is just feeling a bit down and out, just without showing many physical symptoms. Maybe! That one is sort of impossible to judge.
3. This option would probably be my first choice, if I got to somehow choose why this was happening. Solly barely says any real english words at the moment, but he really wants to! He’s in a very chatty, babbly stage, and just wants to communicate! Riiiiight before Rowan finally achieved language, he did the same thing, and got suuuper loud and screamy and opinionated. Maybe Solly just wants to talk and is on the cusp of figuring it out!

Whether sickness or development, its pretty impossible to quiet through church. We work tirelessly at it last Sunday, and while everyone was very gracious and understanding when we’d haul him out of the service for the five hundredth time, it still really sucked for us. Solly’s feelings are also very easy to wound these days, so a mere “shush” sends that lower lip out and from there, its all over.

I understand there are times that church is just hard to get to, and I think thats ok. Yet I see the value in bringing everyone there and instilling the importance of going to church into the kids. But these days, with Solly screaming SO MUCH, we just had to sit a morning out. Especially when my back is in the shape its in, I can’t do much, if any, of the hauling of the Solly. I can barely lift him these days. Yikes!

So instead, we stayed home and watched a movie and coloured. I finally saw Madagascar and I’ve gotta say I’m not sure what all the fuss is about. Not that exciting of a movie at all, in my opinion! But let’s be real. I just wanted to watch Storks instead.

We may venture back into the city this afternoon to finish up one or two things that we didn’t get to yesterday on our errand day. Maybe, maybe not. We’ll how Screamy McScreamerson is feeling.

I slept HARD last night! Anyone else? Was something in the air, or was it just me? Regardless, it was such a good, refreshing sleep, and I’m feeling pretty good so far today 🙂 My bad is quite sore, which is disappointing because I just had a chiropractic treatment yesterday, but I also slipped and fell on the ice leaving my appointment, heading to my van :/ So I guess its to be expected. Merp.

We invited my parents to join us for waffles this morning. Its become a bit of a tradition. Its not every weekend, but probably every other ish? Its so fun to have a house full, and the general chaos of getting food on while kids play, stories are read, music is going, and we’re all visiting. Its loud and busy and we love it!

My parents got to our place around 9:00 and after a while, everything was ready to go. We ate our collective body weight in waffles, whipped cream, breakfast sausage, fruit salad, and coffee. It was so delicious, and no one was quick to get up afterwards. Except the kids, of course, who don’t feel the weight of the food as much as the lift of the whipped cream and syrup 😉 They were raring to go, while the rest of us sat for a bit and caught up. It had been a while, so there was a lot of ground to cover. Time flew, as usual, and very quickly, Solly was crying and slumped on Brady, in desperate need of a nap. Poor weepy baby.

So my parents headed home to take on their afternoon of house cleaning, and we gave the kids a small lunch/snack before napping the little ones. We may venture into the city for a few errands this afternoon yet, but maybe not. Its a low pressure day 🙂 As Saturdays are meant to be!