A year ago...

Not to give away too much information (ha!), but it was around this time last year that Chloe began journey of growing into the beautiful little girl we all adore.

After 9 long months of trying to get pregnant, I called Chris in the morning while he was driving home from work and had to tell him the great news over the phone. The crazy part is - I had taken a pregnancy test and it was negative, and then a few days later when I was changing the garbages, I saw the test lying there and there was a faint positive line on it. I couldn't believe my eyes - literally! I thought that I was imagining it because I wanted it to be there so badly. So I ran out to Shoppers and picked up another few tests....and there it was again! I will never forget that feeling - so much excitement and anticipation of what was to come.

I really enjoyed being pregnant - knowing she was growing inside of me & I tried my best to be as healthy as I could so she would be too. I still can't wrap my head around what a miracle life is. When I look at her today and think about how she first started, I am in awe.

We love you baby!

Chloe's Birth Story

Chloe has arrived!

It's taken my a week since delivering to feel well enough to sit and type out her story....but today I am finally starting to turn the corner and am feeling much better.

Here we go:

Thursday June 18th:

I had my 39 wk appt with Dr Gai scheduled for the afternoon. Chris came home from work that morning very sick with the flu so I had my mom come with me to the appt....and it was a good thing I wasn't alone! While my OB was doing her routine internal, my water broke right on the table! This was around 3pm. I didn't know it until I went to get up off the table and...woah!! It really panicked me because I wasn't prepared but you obviously can't be. The previous day I was having BH contractions (false contractions) every hour so I knew it was getting close. Dr. Gai turns to me and says...well honey, the clock has just started ticking...you will meet your baby girl in less than 24 hrs.

Because I had tested positive for GBS, I was sent immediately to the nurses station to get the antibiotics started. I was allowed to go home but had to come back in 4hrs to begin the next dose and would then have to stay in the hospital because my contractions would begin getting stronger. So we went home, grabbed my bags and my husband and headed back to the hospital after dinner.

Once I arrived at the hospital they checked me and I was 3 cm dialated and contractions were 5 minutes apart. The pain at that point was tolerable but I could feel it increasing. Chris went home to get some rest because the nurses felt that nothing would really happen until the next morning. I was laying in my room, alternating between playing Scrabble on my Itouch and timing my contractions on another application (I know, I know). Although my contractions were still around 5 minutes apart - they were getting really painful. I buzzed for the nurse and asked if I could get something mild for the pain. She decided to do a quick internal and to both of our surprise I had fully dialated within the last 2 hrs!! Because they were still 5 minutes apart, I was able to get the Epi.

Smooth sailing at that point. Both my Mom and Chris mom were with me and we just talked and laughed from about midnight until 6am...bliss! But, little did I know what was ahead of me.

At around 7am, even though my contractions were only 3 min apart...I was told I could begin pushing.

At around 9am, I was given Oxi to make the contractions come on quicker.

At around 11am, it was decided that no more pushing was going to help and my OB was going to try the vaccuum. After 2 failed vaccuum attempts I was told that I was going to have to have an emerg Csection.

I was devasted. After 20 hrs of labour and 4 hrs of extreme pushing I was being rolled up to the OR. I could not stop crying - mostly because I was just drained but scared.

Chris geared up for the OR and stayed by my side the whole time. The surgery itself really wasn't that bad - the only strange point was being awake and completely numb from the waste down. I could feel alot of pressure but no pain.

Chloe arrived at 1219pm on June 19th.....just beautiful and in perfect health. Chris took her down with the nurses to be weighed and tested while I was being stitched up and left in a recover room for 1hr being monitored. They rolled me down around 130pm to meet my little girl...Wow, what a feeling!

Later that night, things got a bit scary. I woke up around 9pm and had bled out - completely covering my bed in blood. In a panic, I buzzed for the nurses and the look on their faces when they came in didn't help my panic. They immediately called my OB at home. She arrived minutes later and reacted very quickly. I had lost alot of blood and she had to go in and remove many clots. This was the most painful thing I'd ever gone through, and to make it worse, I had no family there with me because when they left I was completely fine and resting.

I ended up needing 3 bags of blood (mental note to go to the next blood donor clinic when I'm feeling better).

After a 5 day stay at the hospital, I was released with my little girl. The last week has been tough but I am already feeling 100% better and am now able to move around and carry her.

It was a very scary experience but every time I look at her I break down because she was worth every bit of it. I love everything about her - even the wake up calls every 2-3hrs.

Ange

Daddy & baby girl minutes after being born.

Chris, Jeffrey (uncle at 10 yrs old) and my Mom

Just rolled down from the OR and holding her for the first time

6 lbs 12 oz and not liking the scale!

Ooh...those precious blue eyes!

Making our way home....she looks like a grumpy old man!

First day walking & holding her....bliss

Any Day Now...

I had my 1st Internal on Friday and OUCH!

It was pretty exciting though because Dr. Gai immediately felt her head (ahh) and said she'll be here any day now because she's positioned so low. I'm only 1 cm dialated but she thinks that things will progress pretty quickly over the next few days. Due Date says your 10 days away but we'll see!

So excited to meet you lil Chloe...but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit nervous for what could happen any moment now!

37 Weeks Today!

It's official...I now have a watermelon in my stomach!!! What's even more exciting is Chloe is now 

"full-term", meaning she would survive on her own if she was born today!

Here is her status for this week:

t week 37, your pregnancy is considered full term, meaning baby is likely to thrive after birth. Baby spends these last weeks in preparation for the outside world… meaning careful refinement of the blink, suck, inhale and exhale. Meconium, which you’ll probably find in the first diaper, is accumulating in the intestines. If (okay, as) you worry about giving birth, consider what it’s like for the little one. During the journey out of your womb, baby will produce more stress hormones than any other time in life.

Chloe -I'm sorry to learn that the labour process will be the most stressful time of your life, but at least we'll be going through it together!! 

Love Mom.

20 questions...

I found this questionnaire that was intended to be filled out on a more regular basis, but oh well!

• How far along?: 36 weeks
• Total weight gain: 24 pounds. I will probably hit about 28 pounds total.
• How big is baby?: A little over 5 pounds
• Maternity clothes?: Sort of....I have lived in jersey roll down yoga style pants. Tops are a little trickier but I love wearing Bella bands to extend my tshirt.
• Stretch marks?: Just on the girls!
• Sleep?: Not very good. I get up 2-3 times a night to go to the bathroom and I'm really tired of sleeping on my side. Pillows aren't helping anymore.
• Best moment this week?: Chloe moving like crazy when I took Jeppy to see a movie....she really responds to sounds.
• Movement?: Tons. Lots of kicking, but also lots of stretching & shaking around. My whole belly shakes from side to side when she moves now & it still doesn't get old watching it. Oh...and many hiccups!
• Food cravings?: Anything citrus. I have also been loving the smell of cleaning chemicals... not sure what that's all about.
• Labor signs?: I get 2-3 Braxton Hicks contractions a day. They aren't painful... just pretty uncomfortable for a minute.
• Belly button in or out?: It's officially out!
• What I miss: Sleeping on my back & my stomach, going for runs, being able to wrap a towel around my body & not feeling like I just ran 2 miles after climbing a flight of stairs!
• What I'm looking forward to: Finally meeting our little girl in less than 4 weeks!
• Milestone: Registered at the hospital (have the card and all!), finally finished off the nursery paint touchups & steam cleaned all the carpets (I know - I'm pushing it!)

35 wk & 5 days!

We had another ultrasound today just to make sure everything was looking good before we head into the last 4 weeks! Can you believe that....only 4 more weeks! I just love the side profile shot...daddy's lips, my nose....will she be bald?

All is good.

40 days!!

Dear Baby Girl,

While we patiently await your arrival in 40 days (or hopefully less), I want to share with you some of your funny habits:

• every morning you have a dance recital in my tummy while I'm having breakfast. 
  
• Breakfast is typically my biggest meal of the day because by dinner time you make it pretty clear that you have no room to play.
  
• You get the hiccups at least 5 times a day. Although I'm sure they sound very cute & are not as earth           shattering as they feel....they do cause me to want to stand on my head and drink water to make them stop.
  
• Everytime you kick me in my right rib, you push down on me with your left hand. 
  
• Whenever I'm driving, I turn the music up, because you dance around to the beat.
  
•  I get up with you at 2am & 4am every night. I'm thinking this will probably be our regular routine once you arrive...can't wait to do it in person!
  

 

I can't believe how fast time is going now. We just installed your car seat into the truck and I almost cry every time I look at it. Your room is ready to go - you are already dressed better than all of us combined! We go on a tour of the hospital tomorrow night to see what kind of environment you are being born into. What would you like on your Itunes playlist in the hospital room? 

Love Mom.

60 Days to Go

My little time ticker tells me that I have 60 days before our little princess arrives - totally unreal! In some ways, I feel like I've been pregnant my whole life, but it really is coming very fast! I think that because I have experienced every phase of pregnancy by the book - it makes it feel long.

Have not been sleeping at all lately - lots of trips to the bathroom & back pain are keeping me awake. I switched OBs this last week also - I totally love the new doctor and it means I will be able to give birth out of Grimsby Hospital which is known for great care. 

We spent this weekend finishing up random projects around the house with Jim & Tammy. Made a kitchen bench nook so that we'd have more room to squeeze in a highchair, and moved my big glass office desk into the kitchen to use as a table. I now have a very small home office as I wind down things with work.

See you in 60 days little Chloe....

  

3D Ultrasound!!

All I can say is wow!!

What an experience - I'd highly recommend that any pregnant gal do the 3D U/S. I think I'm still crying....

She's such a little angel - the whole 30 minutes she was moving around constantly and we got a lot of great shots and a 30 min DVD. She loves to put her hands in front of

 her face - we saw her sucking her thumb and holding her hands in prayer position - our little yogi! I couldn't believe the detail in her hands & feet - we have 10 fingers & 10 toes!!!

Here's a few of my faves from the "shoot"

25 weeks today!

Wow! Time is just flying by. I thought I'd celebrate today by doing the glucose diabetes testing. Hopefully everything goes well and I don't throw up the nasty orange drink!

We leave for a little vacay to Florida on Monday and I can't wait. Our last little trip before Chloe arrives! We are doing the 3D Ultrasound on Sat and I'm looking forward to bringing the DVD with me to Florida to share with family there. My mom, brother & sister are going to come to the Ultrasound with us.

Can't wait to share those pics!
A&C

Club Pink!

Drumroll Please.....we're having a girl!!! The ultrasound shows that our lil girl is growing everything perfectly - we feel so blessed!! She's 6 inches long and is a real mover & shaker! I already feel different/more connected knowing that we're having a girl. I was a little thrown when I found out because I have felt like it was going to be a boy this whole time. Chris is so excited but is also already starting to talk about how he'll never let her leave the house.

Now the fun begins with shopping & decorating. I should've known it was going to be a girl when looking at all my nursery "insprirations" and how girl themed they were.

I've been feeling great lately and have been able to squeeze in more gym time, so I'm feeling more like myself....just more tired.

I'm excited about the new reno tax credit because we'd like to put hardwood flooring through most of the house as we prep for "Chloe". If you haven't heard about it yet - the gov't is offering a 15% tax credit on all home renos in 2009 up to a certain amount. I just love the way hardwood opens up the room.... 

What - you're having 2 kids????

17 weeks....

So the last few weekends my little brother, Jeffrey, has been sleeping over. Chris has just so happened to work the last few, so Jeffrey likes to come over & be the man of the house when Chris is gone!

Last night we were looking at a baby name book and he yet again shared that he really really hopes I'm having a boy. I told him that I feel like I'm having a boy but we'll soon find out. Then I said, besides~if it's not a boy this time...then maybe it will be the next time cause we're planning on having 2 kids. He has the goofiest look on his face and says, "What - you didn't tell me you were having 2 kids. I need to know this cause I'm going to be the one babysitting them!"

It was classic Jeppy. He has always been the super planner - like, we have to rehearse what every minute of the day is going to look like, so I wasn't the least bit surprised by this!

I'm feeling pretty good - I can actually feel my stomach growing...it feels tight & itchy all the time so I keep trying to remember to drink lots of water & moisturize.

I'll leave you with a few more nursery pics I found this week during my hours of inspired but wasteful web surfing....A

Bdump...Bdump....Bdump

Today was great - we heard our baby's strong little heart beat and it put all my worries to rest. It's funny how I wouldn't mind a bit of morning sickness once in a while to just assure me that everything's still progressing properly. Lately I've just been pretty tired and having more headaches then normal.

We now have our Big U/S booked for Feb 3rd....we can hardly wait to find out what we're having! It is unreal how quickly everything moves along....I can't believe I'm already 4 months.

On the shopping front - we headed into the world of strollers last week and ohmygoodness...not quite a morgage payment but pretty close. I love the Vibe from Phil & Ted's and it's the only stroller that converts into a doulbe down the road. So really - a cheaper in the long run :)

A

12 Week Ultrasound

Ahh - look at our little peanut!