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February 22, 2004
February 23, 2004
38 weeks: Winding down at work and gearing up at home
Clearly I need to take a page from Amy F's book and start posting entries more frequently. There is just so much happening as this pregnancy draws to an end, that every two weeks is not often enough to fit everything in. Anyway, I'll try....
Home visit and another appointment
I've actually had two appointments since my last entry, one of which was the home visit from the midwives. They did it kind of early (36 weeks) so I wasn't quite ready as far as having all the supplies on hand and laid out for their inspection, but I guess this wasn't a big deal. They did all the usual appointment stuff like taking my blood pressure, measurements, urine test, etc. and everything was fine and on target. Then we gave them a tour of our upstairs, showed them the dresser that we'd have cleared off for them, where we planned to put the pool, where there were electrical outlets, etc etc. They seemed fine with it all. We kept referring to the space issue (the house being so small) and they laughed and said we must have grown up in really big houses, since ours wasn't all THAT small by urban standards! True, I suppose. They said they'd been to births in one-room basement apartments where they couldn't even stand up straight without hitting their heads on the ceiling, so I guess I'm worried for no reason. They gave us a few pointers about setting up the pool, etc, and then they were on their way. They had never heard of it being necessary to have a drinking-safe hose to fill the pool, so I officially crossed that off my "must-have" list (more on this later!).
Last week I had another appointment, this time just at their clinic. Everything was fine again, but my blood pressure had crept up slightly (130/80, higher than it has ever been). It was still within the normal range though, so nobody seemed worried. I had had a fairly busy and stressful day at work though, so this might have been the cause. We talked about standard newborn tests and procedures, and while I am still a bit confused, I think I have the big ones figured out. Apparently the eye goop is a legal requirement here, so I have no choice on that one. However, they said they usually delay it for a while to allow the new family time to bond while the baby can see clearly. So that's nice to know.
Vitamin K is optional, but I don't see any reason to NOT get it. Same goes for the PKU. I think they said they do this on baby's day 3, or at least not right away. So there was nothing that seemed like a big deal to me. Now I just have to figure out the vaccination schedule and what my plans are for that. My general inclination is to get most things, but not necessarily according to schedule. I guess I'll discuss this with the pediatrician at the first appointment, and do some more research in the meantime.
The Neverending list of Birth supplies!
Well, after being told that a drinking-safe hose wasn't necessary, we found one and bought it anyway! Thanks to Catherine for her suggestion of the camping-supply section at Walmart - that place was a gold mine. We weren't even really looking for one anymore, but we stumbled on one and figured we might as well get it! So now we have a hose, a bucket (for puking, or for emptying the pool of colder water), an air pump for blowing up the pool, a birth ball (just an exercise ball from Walmart, which we also blew up with the pump), an extra-large cookie sheet (forget what this is for), tennis balls (for massage), a pack of 30 facecloths (for only $6!), a garbage bin that will make a great diaper pail, and some more odds and ends. There is still more we need to get: a floating thermometer, a small fish net, some way to connect the hose to the faucet (they are not compatible), and some herbs. Phew! One thing is for sure: Choosing a homebirth is not choosing the easy way out! So we should hopefully be done shopping for everything this coming weekend, and we will get it all organized and easily accessible and in the right place after that.
Storage issues solved?
My mom came for a visit this weekend (she was nearby for work and will be for the next two weeks) and she insisted that she buy us a new dresser so that we'd have a place to store baby clothes. She was shocked at the amount of stuff we have just sitting in (semi-organized) piles, with no place to put anything away. It does look like there has been some sort of baby-gear explosion in that one room. I guess we'd just gotten used to it! So we went to IKEA and she bought us a new dresser, which we'll likely use for Chris. His old, smaller one will move into the baby's room. This was the plan a while back, but we'd decided that a new dresser wasn't in the budget. So now we're back to that plan, thanks to my mom! We bought the Hemnes 3-drawer dresser in white (for any IKEA junkies out there). It's nice and wide, and has more capacity than the old one Chris was using, so it all works out well. Everything is white (both dressers, and the crib), so if we decide we want to switch it back eventually, we can. A house our size is a continuous logistical shuffle and it's nice when furniture is versatile!
We also picked up the crib and mattress this weekend. It will likely remain unbuilt until the baby is ready to move into his own room in a few months, but it's nice to have it in the house and feel like we are getting ready.
Road trip last weekend
As I'd mentioned in my last entry, we went to Ottawa last weekend (the 14th/15th) for one last pre-baby visit. The drive was actually fine. I don't think I was all that more uncomfortable than usual for being in the car for that long. We stopped halfway for a pee break and all was well. We didn't do a whole lot while we were there, just hung out with my parents, went to Chris's parents' house for dinner on Saturday night, went downtown after that for a Beavertail on the canal (although it was so cold we practically sprinted from the car to the Beavertails stand and back to the car again), and did some shopping for supplies. But it was nice to get away one last time and have a relaxing visit with the folks. There's just something about going for a visit there - both mothers just love to cook and pamper us all weekend! I feel so spoiled when I'm there, it's no wonder I find it relaxing.
That Saturday was Valentine's day. Usually Chris and I just ignore this "holiday," but this year he suprised me with a gift certificate to a spa to get a facial, pedicure and 1/2-hour massage. What a nice surprise that was, and perfect timing! I will likely try to go during the week between my last day of work and my due date. They can do pregnancy massage, so that is not an issue. If I can't make it before the baby comes, I will have to try and work it in after the baby is a couple of months old; I'm sure I'll need the pampering! Either way, I can't wait.
La Leche League meeting
Last week I attended the neighbourhood LLL meeting. It was supposed to be for expectant mothers, so I figured it couldn't hurt to meet these ladies. It was at the home of one of the leaders, which is only about a block north of my house. It was a mix of people: the three leaders, one of which was in her fifties, another of which had her three-month-old baby boy there (he was so cute) and the other leader who has two young children. There were two other pregnant ladies there, and another woman with a one-year-old. Everyone was really nice and they handed out lots of literature and I got my own little one-on-one nursing demo from one of the leaders (using a doll). I learned a few things I didn't already know, and I will feel confident calling on these women should I need them in the coming months.
More on diapers...
Does it ever end with cloth diapering?? :) This past Saturday, the diaper service lady came by our house for a demo/presentation. The diapers she uses seemed pretty straightforward. They're just flat prefolds with Bummis covers. She is dropping off a load on March 4th for us to have ready! I really liked her. She was younger than I expected, and doesn't yet have kids of her own. But she was really helpful, friendly and excited to have new customers. She does all her deliveries and pickups with a special bicycle, and washes all her diapers in Nature's Clean (I think) soap and vinegar, and treats any stains by hanging diapers in the sun. So it really couldn't be a much more enviro-friendly business. It'll cost $15/week for 70 diapers. Well also rent small covers from her for $4/week (6 covers). She picks up the bag of soiled diapers from our front porch each week and leaves a clean bag in its place. Seems nice and simple. And she doesn't even require payment until after the first week when we're sure we are happy with the service.
Car seat headache
Yesterday we got all ambitious and cleaned out my car so we could try to install the car seat base into it. It turns out my car is too old (1998) to have the UAS (Universal Anchorage System) in it (same idea as LATCH in the U.S.), so we were forced to use the seat belt instead. Apparently this is a perfectly safe option, but it seemed too simple somehow. Just run the belt through the appropriate openings in the base, buckle, tighten, and presto?? The base still wiggled around quite a bit and doesn't seem like it's in there tightly enough. So I called and found out that the Toronto Police do a free clinic every Thursday to check and install child seats. I will hopefully go to that next week.
Winding down at work!
This week is my last at work. It is only Monday today, but it feels very surreal already. I've had this job for five years now, I really like it, and I can't imagine not coming here every day. What a total change in lifestyle this motherhood thing is! You might be thinking, well duh! But it is still hard for me to grasp the concept of not having to come to work every day. I know being a mother is a job unto itself, but....I dunno. I will miss all the women I work with, and in many ways I'm sad to be leaving. Of course, on the other hand, I am also celebrating the fact that I will have a year off from the rat race and that the end is so near. But there is much to do to get everything ready for my replacement and to clear out my office and clear my computer. I think my department is taking me out for lunch on Friday, which is really nice. I'll probably cry when it's time to say goodbye. In fact, I know I will.
I also wonder what is to become of my career. If we are still living in Toronto at this time next year (which is highly likely), I will probably just come back here and pick up where I left off. I might be part-time though. Or, maybe I'll choose to launch a more serious freelance career and work from home. Who knows. But things will never be as they are now, and it's freaking me out a bit. I hate the thought of putting my child in daycare, especially full time, and I know how women struggle with this decision and how it can trigger horrible feelings of guilt, etc etc. I would love to stay home, but for us this is not likely to be an option. I guess the next best thing would be the freelance, work-from-home scenario. And then there is the remote possibility that we'll skip town and move to PEI or Ottawa. Time will tell, I guess.
Pregnancy Underachiever?
Alright, so I'm more than 38 weeks along now, and I feel like an underachiever in this whole pregnancy game. I never had morning sickness (NOT that I'm complaining!), I am not swollen, I'm sleeping more or less fine still, I'm not feeling as big as a planet, I'm not already leaking colostrum, I'm not having Braxton Hicks (save for that one brief episode in my last entry), I don't have horrible heartburn, I don't feel like there's a bowling ball between my legs...what's up?? Many women on the Expecting in March board that I frequent are having lots of contractions, have lost their mucous plugs, and a few have already even had their babies! And most seem to be getting very impatient at this stage. Now, I am not feeling the least bit impatient for this baby to come. There is still much to do to prepare for his arrival, so I'm in no rush. Also, I AM "only" 38+ weeks in, so I certainly wouldn't have expected to be in labour by now. I know I'm likely to go well beyond 40, and I won't get impatient until at least 41 weeks! But I just feel like I should be complaining more, or feeling more physically, or SOMETHING! My friends and coworkers seem almost disappointed when I genuinely answer their "how are you doing" questions with a "Great!" Like I should be rattling off a list of complaints and aches, or expressing impatience for this baby to arrive. Maybe it's my laid-back approach in general, as well as my tendency to procrastinate, that has me in no hurry to meet this baby. Don't get me wrong, I'm am excited and getting more so every day. But I'm still not in any rush. Does that make me weird? Should I be fed up with the whole pregnancy thing by now??? Because I'm just not!
****TALK TO ME***
I can't think of any questions! But feel free to comment at will....
Jen H.
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