A Bump Update!

What's new with me and the Bump? Hmmm...

Well my ridiculous chocolate peanut butter cravings (they were OUT OF CONTROL) have been curbed thanks to an absolutely fabulous package that arrived on our doorstep last Thursday.

Jenny & Mike sent enough chocolate peanut butter to last the average person a couple weeks (a few items were missing by the time I snapped this photo - couldn't resist) but I am not the average person and the stash lasted until tonight which means it lasted SIX days which I think is rather impressive length of time for a pregnant chocolate peanut butter monster. NO I did NOT eat all of it by myself, I shared with Mike and the baby ate more than the two of us put together. Greedy, greedy baby! Thanks again Jenny & Mike!! xox

Of course this package doesn't really help with the 'being healthy while pregnant' goal I'm trying to focus on during these final few months but neither did the french fries I ate today. You may remember me talking about my french fry cravings during the first 4 months, I've been REALLY good for the last couple months and only have them once a week now... I was going to try to skip them this week and then some very inconsiderate office manager brought McDonald's fries into the room next to the space where I was teaching this morning. R.U.D.E. Obviously I couldn't sit there smelling Mickey D's fries and not stop at the golden arches on my way to the next school. Obviously.

So how are my Body During Baby goals going this week? Let's see...
* prenatal yoga - I really didn't like yoga when I tried it a few years ago but I signed up for pre-natal yoga when my doctor suggested that it might help with all the pelvis discomfort I was experiencing. I am SO glad I listened to her. The class I'm taking is through Blue Skies Yoga in Kitchener. The studio is BEAUTIFUL, the teacher is AMAZING and the yoga is FABULOUS. I love being in a class surrounded my beautiful bellies attached to glowing mamas. I have every intention of continuing with this once the baby is here and we have settled into some sort of routine. There are mommy & baby classes offered at this same studio, as well as baby massage and more. I thought I would dread my Thursday night classes but instead I find myself counting down the days until my next class.
* drink more water - I have made a conscious effort to drink more water but I know I can do better
* fruits and veggies - check! More fresh fruit in the house this week.
* swim once a week - coming soon
* walk for 20 minutes - an hour walk last night and another hour tonight
* rest & relax - thoroughly enjoying my bath and have my feet propped up as I type

I'm feeling good this week, last week was a rough one being back at work after a week off. I was moving s-l-o-w. Sleeping isn't as great as it was; I tossed and turned most of last night but I suppose it's my body's way of preparing itself for NEVER SLEEPING AGAIN as so many people like to remind me.

We had our first appointment with our OB yesterday. After a two hour wait we found out that Smidge is right on target size wise, I'm measuring at 28" which is exactly where I should be at 28 weeks. I start to going to my OB every two weeks now which is CRAZY!! I'm in the homestretch with only 11 weeks and 4 days to go until my due date. Eeek!

We also found out at the appointment that I am RH negative, in other words my blood type is O negative. What does this mean and why should I care? Well only about 10% of the population has RH negative blood and Mike isn't one of them, if he was then the baby would also be a negative blood type which would be fabulous but he's not so our baby will most likely be RH positive like his daddy and positive and negative blood don't like each other. Holy run-on-sentence. If something happens that my blood mixes with Smidge's potentially positive blood my body will think the positive blood is an invader and will attack it. The doctor told us this isn't really a concern for Smidge since it's not likely our blood will mix but I need to get a shot that will mask his blood (trick my body into thinking his blood is positive if they do mix) just in case they do - during the third trimester there is a risk of slight risk of placental tearing so it's better to be safe than sorry (HELL YEAH). If left untreated (if I don't get the shot) this RH negative thing is likely to be an issue in the future when I get pregnant again because during Smidge's birth his bits of his blood will definitely mix with mine. In a future pregnancy if something causes the baby's blood to mix with mine (say a minor tear in a blood vessel) my body will remember that the positive blood is foreign and will attack it, in turn attacking the baby. In other words I have a higher risk of miscarriage. The OB said that left untreated each subsequent pregnancy would be at greater risk since the memory becomes stronger each time. THANKFULLY there is a solution to this potential problem: a shot of RhoGAM now and then another after Smidge arrives. These shots will keep Smidge safe and my future babe(s) safe too!

That was terribly long winded and hopefully it makes sense to you. I went to the hospital today for a blood test to confirm my blood type and will find out tomorrow if I definitely need the RhoGAM but it's not likely the first test was wrong so I'm sure I'll be poked again in the next couple days. I should add that I'm not worried about anything, I'm just happy this has been caught and is being dealt with.

And that my friends is my weekly update. Hope I didn't bore you!!

Body DURING Baby Challenge

One of the new-to-me blogs I've found semi-recently is Mama Notes. I was originally drawn to the blog thanks to some fabulous giveaways but there's so much more to it than freebies! Samantha is the creator of this fabulous find and not only does she write great blurbs about her personal experiences, she also shares guest posts and poses questions relating to parenting advice and product reviews to her readers. Mama Notes is a great resource for soon-to-be, new and experienced parents.

Last year Samantha created a challenge for moms who were looking for motivation and support to get in shape following the birth of their babes; it was called the Body After Baby challenge. Samantha recently found out that she is pregnant with her second child and due in October, lucky for us because her pregnancy means a new challenge for pregnant mamas: the Body During Baby Challenge!! If you're pregnant you might want to join the challenge, pop over here to find out more and let Samantha know you're joining.

I'm due June 18th so I only have three months to go but considering I've just started *insert Olivia Newton John in leg warmers here* getting physical after a six month puddle-on-the-couch stage I've decided to join the challenge!

So here is my intro post for all the lovely mamas who are taking part in the challenge. My name is Jaime and my amazing husband's name is Mike. I'm a 32 year old teacher who lives 45 minutes south of Toronto, Ontario. I'm 27 weeks preggers with baby number one. We're having a boy YAY and we're super crazy excited about it! I'm feeling fabulous and have been most of my pregnancy, of course there have been aches and pains but I guess that just comes with the territory.

My goals for the last few months of this pregnancy are:
* continue going to prenatal yoga classes right up until the end (I started my classes two weeks ago but I'll talk more about this on Monday when I post my weekly update)
* like Samantha I need to drink more water - I've been pretty good about staying hydrated but could definitely do better
* eat more fruits and veggies and less chocolate peanut butter (Gawd, I can't believe the amount of chocolate peanut butter I've consumed in the last few months - the baby made me do it)
* swim once a week
* walk for 20 minutes on days I'm not swimming or taking part in yoga
* rest & relax when I need/want to - I'm a person who tends to GO GO GO and I have been VERY good about slowing down but need to keep at it. This week I've been on holidays thanks to March Break and I've treated myself to soaks in the tub with a good book in hand almost daily - I want to keep this up!

I think that's all for now. I have quite a few goals but they are all totally achievable!

Thanks to Samantha for creating this challenge and HELLO to all of the moms-to-be taking part, I'm looking forward to reading your updates!


Mama Notes: For Pregnant Mamas: Body DURING Baby

Daddy's First Baby Buys

Dear Smidge,

Your Daddy discovered the wonderful world of online baby shopping last night. I'm afraid. VERY afraid. Your daddy has a slight sneaker addiction (we really should be part owners of Nike) and he was hunting online for shoes for you last night. I think we might have to buy a bigger house so that you and daddy can have your own room just to house sneakers. Fifteen years from now when you want a ridiculously expensive pair of sneakers and Dad is saying NO you can print off this post and stick it under your dad's nose to remind him that he told Mom his son would have the SICKEST shoes ever. Granted he didn't say ALWAYS but he did say EVER.

Daddy did find some sweet duds for you last night in the shop Lowleepop and we can't wait to see you sportin' your new gear this summer!

The only difference is that the green onesie in the set Daddy ordered will have headphones like the white onesie instead of the stereo.

The second thing on your daddy's shopping list is this freaking awesome baby beanie!

We're waiting to hear whether they ship to Canada but assuming I Heart Baby does then you'll have one of these super sweet skull beanies for when you first join us on the outside and another to wear in the fall. ADORABLE!

Oh little man, you are going to be one stylish little dude and Daddy is going to spend a small fortune to make sure of it.

Love you baby boy,
Mommy & Daddy too xoxo

Welcome to the Third Trimester!

It's a big week! We've hit the third trimester: 26 weeks, Baby!!





I can't believe our little man will be making his way to the outer world in appx 3 months! Time flies!

Skin Volcano

Our little man is kicking up a storm these days. He rarely kicks on demand for me but as soon as Mike asks him to he usually does and last night it just took Mike laying his hand on my tummy for the kicks to start. Mike would remove his hand and I would put mine on my belly and the kicks would stop, I'd move my hand and Mike would take over and then keeeeee-yaw the kicks would start again.

Mike's super cute and while rubbing my belly he gives Smidge soccer tips to help him with his kicks; "Come on kiddo: inside kick, outside kick!" We figure our child is going to be a a superstar in whatever he decides to do so if soccer is one of his hobbies he'll definitely have a head start on all of the other kids whose parents weren't on the ball enough to coach them while they were in the womb!! Now, if he decides to sing then I might hesitate to take credit for his 'in the womb' vocal lessons. We are fairly certain our child will be walking around singing things like "Rub in the belllllllly buuuuuuuutterrrrrrrrrr" to the tune of whatever tickles his fancy on that particular day since Mike and I sing made up lyrics to various tunes on a regular basis. You might say we are vocally challenged.

Anyways back to the kicking. The baby kicks so hard my belly jumps and I've tried to record it but the end result is always the same: 3 minutes of what appears to be a one eyed Jabba the Hutt rising and falling. Trust me when I say it's not a pretty sight, and this is coming from a woman who can't stop gazing at her belly. Eventually I'm sure my belly will look like a pretty version of the ground rising in the movie Tremors and then I will definitely record it but until then I'm holding off on the video attempts since watching it freaks me out.

Speaking of freaking people out, I learned this evening that when I push on my belly in a certain way I can flip my belly button inside out! From the look of horror on Mike's face when it first happened it is quite obvious that he doesn't think my new trick is as cool as I do. Basically I can now turn my belly button into a skin volcano. A SKIN VOLCANO PEOPLE, how cool is that? Another great reason to get pregnant: create a person AND turn your belly button into a skin volcano.

Smidge's Big Buddy

I forgot to post the fabulous news over here at Just a Smidge! Last Wednesday March 3rd Jessy and Colin welcomed their little man into the world!! Isn't he adorable?!

Reid was born at 7:58 am (or was it 7:59?) a day before the planned C section. Mommy and baby are both happy and healthy and of course is Daddy is too. Actually Daddy is being super cute and "happy" doesn't quite describe the feelings that are oozing out of him.

The second time I held Reid I sat on a rocking chair with him passed out on my chest Smidge proceeded to karate kick his new buddy not once but twice. I'm imagining they were meant to be high fives rather than drop kicks, or else, down the road 'referee' might be another title Jess and I.

Mega huge congrats to Jessy & Colin for making such a beautiful baby boy. Mike and I are thrilled to have Reid on the outside to cuddle and kiss and gaze at in wonder. Miracles really do exist and babies are proof!