Bean Updates!

Time for more updates! And this will be long... sorry... =D

So at our last midwife appointment we were told that they had “sort of” revised our due date to a week earlier – August 28th. This is mostly because at our ultrasound Bean was measuring about a week bigger than it should have been. Of course, we could just be having a big baby. No way to tell really. So let’s just say Bean will be born sometime around the end of August or beginning of September. Heck, no one tells them what the due date is anyway; they come when they want to.

Also, when I had my cold I was talking to Sivan, one of the midwives, and she really urged me to go and see the homeopath that they recommend. I really hadn’t slept well since about February, and the lack of sleep and pregnancy hormones were sending my emotions all over the map. I felt completely overwhelmed at pretty much anything, which made it hard to find motivation for anything. I knew I wasn’t depressed, but I was certainly not Sunshine-y Sheila. So I made the appointment and went 2 weeks ago.

The homeopath is my new best friend!!!

But I should explain. The initial appointment was an hour and a half long. There was a questionnaire to fill out before hand with my “main complaint”. I had four: my sciatic nerve, my lack of/inability to sleep, the emotional roller coaster, and my blood pressure. The BP I wasn’t too worried about, but the midwives wanted me to mention it anyways. So, we chatted for a while about all these different things, going off on tangents if I said something that piqued her interest. After about an hour, she said “I know what I’m going to give you.” Just like that. She flipped through a couple of her reference books, just to make sure, reading out some of the descriptions. Like “for fatigue from lack of sleep during pregnancy” and “managing the emotional ups and downs of pregnancy”. I was like “Ooh! Ooh! Me, me! I need that!”. So she gave me 3 little pellets of pulsetilla (in the crocus family) and then mixed me up a vial of flower essence water that had St. John’s Wort, Red Chestnut, Chamomile, Pink Yarrow and Olive in it. The 3 little pellets should last me for at least a month and I take 4 drops of the flower water 4 times a day and every 15 minutes at night if I can’t sleep.

Let me tell you, I have never felt so much better so fast! I had taken some of the flower drops when we got home and later that night when I was sitting in my chair, I almost fell asleep. And not just dozing, I was falling ASLEEP asleep. I slept better that night than I had in months. I woke up the next day feeling almost giddy with energy. I wanted to run about and do things and work on stuff. Work wasn’t a struggle like it had been. It was the most bizarre thing. So I thought, “Okay, maybe that was a fluke, maybe it doesn’t work that well”. But it’s been a couple weeks and things are still going good. I sleep better and feel a bit more in control of myself than I have. The nerve calmed down after about a week and isn’t painful at all now. I’m certainly not at a pre-pregnancy state, which would be impossible really, but I’m definitely better able to deal with it all and make sure I get enough rest.

So yeah, the homeopath is my new best friend. Everyone should go and see one. I especially like the fact that I take ONE thing, not a bazillion different pills at different times of day. I’m so glad that I went. I can’t imagine getting bigger and more uncomfortable and sleeping LESS than I already was. I don’t think I could have done it.

Bean is jumping about and kicking quite regularly now. Nathan can feel it too, which is pretty cool. There’s definitely starting to be a pattern to the movements though. Bean is usually a bit squirmy on the bus ride to work, then it’s quiet for a bit. Around 11am there’s more movement, then quiet. Then it starts again around 2pm, then quiet. Then some wiggles for the bus ride home, then quiet. Then there’s some movement after dinner and then again just as we’re getting into bed. And of course, once in the middle of the night. It’s kind of fun to recognize it though. I’m hoping this means that Bean will only wake up once in the night to feed…. I’m sure that’s wishful thinking, but I can hope.

We’ve taken to reading Bean stories before bed. We pick a children’s book from our collection and either Nathan or I reads aloud to the belly. Ghost likes story time too – when she’s actually upstairs anyway. She’ll snuffle and snort and sigh contentedly throughout the story. Bean’s usually pretty still through out the reading, but kicks quite a bit at the end, doing a little dance. Then we play the music box we got in Paris – La Vie En Rose – to the belly and then it’s lights out. Bean’s pretty good about quieting down at this point, so this also gives me hope for painless bedtimes – so long as there’s a story and a music box!

We’ve got all the book shelves and books shifted over to the new office. My priority for next week (Nathan and I are taking a week off together to hang out at home) is to finish sorting through the miscellaneous things that are left and then get Bean’s room more in order with painting and wall decorations etc. We’ve kind of zeroed in on a crib and change table that we like and that are able to be converted and used for pretty much the life of our child. It’s a bit more expensive, but solid wood construction and you do get more bang for your buck since the bed converts up to a double and the change table can be a dresser. Not sure if we’ll buy them next week – we may try and wait for a sale…

We’ve been attending prenatal classes too for the past few weeks, with the class ending on June 2nd. It’s been pretty interesting without being scary, and I think we’ve both gotten some good information about different things to try during labour. I think I need to spend some time seriously thinking about my “labour bag”. What I want in it (music, distractions, massage implements, etc.), how I want to progress through labour. I mean, really, I won’t know until I get there, but it’s good to be prepared for different scenarios. We realized that Ghost will also need a “labour bag”. We’ll probably be sending her to either my parents’ or Nathan’s parents’ once I start labour. I don’t want to worry or upset her, and I’m sure she’ll be a distraction for Nathan and me during the parts when we’re still at home. She’ll need a couple meals worth of food, poop bags, treats, a good ol’ toy and maybe a new one. Anyway, it’s all starting to be a bit more real, but I’m not dreading or worrying about it. I’m confident in my own abilities, which helps a lot I’m sure, and I know I’ll be able to deal with it somehow. I just hope Nathan doesn’t get the worry wrinkle in his head. That just kills me….

I’m still having trouble with “slowing down”. It bugs the bejeezus out of me that I can’t walk as fast as Ghost wants to, or go to work AND come home and do stuff, or help Nathan in the yard or basement. It makes me feel lazy and that I’m ordering people to do things for me. I just want to DO things, but I’m still having a hard time realizing that maybe what I need to DO at any particular point in time is have a nap or sit and rest. It’s hard to let go. I’m starting to recognize when I get to that point where if I do more, I’ll pay for it, so at least I’m making some progress. That’s why I’m so tickled to work on Bean’s room next week. Most of it is sitting and sorting and decision making, with just a tiny bit of physical work. So I should be able to do quite a bit, without being blindsided by the Snoozlemonsters. Anyway, I’m not really surprised that I’m having this problem. I am my father's daughter. =D

Anyway, that’s about it for Bean updates for now. I’ve got a video of Ghost doing agility in the making, so hopefully that’ll get posted soon for your viewing enjoyment. We’ve finished the first class and are starting the second one on Monday. She loves it so much and I think it’s really helping her social skills with other dogs.

Ta for now!