Expansions

This baby is growing and I am feeling it!

I must confess that I had considered myself somewhat invincible to pregnancy aches and pains. I'm 25, over 10 years younger than alot of those mamas out there, I'm fit and exercise and that will make this pretty easy.

Not so much. 

The truth of the matter is, a pregnant woman's body must expand and stretch and creak and groan over a period of 9 months or so to accommodate what grows from 2 cells to an entire newborn baby, the full package! And since my little parcel weighs about 2 pounds now, it is understandable that I am worn out after a day of work, that I get leg cramps, and that my lower belly sometimes feels very overstretched.  And there are 3 more months of baby-growth (good thing this happens gradually!). 

I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining. I am quite enjoying this, and overall things are very good and my small pregnancy woes are minor and expected. I am very happy that there are still 3 more months, for a couple of reasons... baby needs to stay inside to grow, much preferrable to an incubator, and also I need time to think and process all of this slowly... to nest.

But I just want to say that it is quite the process.

And sometimes when I feel this baby kick, I really stop and think about the fact that there is a little person in there. Maybe that seems obvious, but there is someone in there who we have never met but we already love. One of my favourite things is the way that he/she reacts to Brian's voice. Probably bored of hearing my voice all the time, haha-  but if Brian talks to my belly (don't laugh! I don't mean extended conversations, just a 'hi, how are you' type thing)- the baby almost always starts kicking. And kicking some more. Pretty awesome. Glad that he/she recognizes how awesome their dad is. 

last Thursday... almost 26 weeks

Settlings

Well it's a sunny morning in St. John's and my mum and dad are coming today! They will be here from ON for 9 days. Pretty excited to show them around- also, the weather has been pretty good lately so it looks like Newfoundland will put on a good show...

Haven't posted on here for a while. Since we got back from our holiday it's been a bit of a whirlwind. We moved on September 1, and the move itself went pretty smoothly thanks to the new and old place being nice and close together, a little Yaris that holds a surprising amount of boxes, a U-Haul van and some strong-armed friends.
The place was in a bit of a state when we got here, mostly due to a tumultuous break-up of the previous tenants, and their lack of cleaning skills. It's much better now though, and yesterday we got the biggest problem fixed... a dirty furnace and a blocked chimney leading to fine soot dust all in the house- aaaaaah! But a lot of wall-scrubbing later things look a lot better-- that made it one of my most frustrating moves though. It's counteracted by the fact that I really like this house.

I also worked a lot last week so that I could take some time off when Mum and Dad are here... I am still doing fine at work but by the end of the day it's nice to put my feet up. My co-workers are so good to me and make sure that I avoid any and all hazardous situations (there's a lot of them in emergency!) such as aggressive, hitting and spitting patients, portable x-rays, infectious people, and rolling heavy or C-spine collared people around in bed. It helps a lot that they are so understanding- "go away, little mama, we don't need you here!"

Sometimes it seems so unreal that we are going to be parents in approximately (could definitely be quite a bit off this number) 109 days. But then I feel those little kicks (so amazing) and I see how my belly is growing (pics to come) and I believe it more... I see the room where the baby is going to sleep (once we get new carpet in it!) and the little baby things that I have collected in a bag and I am reminded. I read this on someone else's blog the other day and I really identify with it:

All pregnant mamas at some point have the realization that they will miss the right now, the way things are just before they are different forever. The best is yet to come, the good is what is around the corner, but it’s our nature to grieve the changes. (www.tothinkistocreate.com)


The other day I was thinking about how the 'just us', the just Brian and I, is not going to be here for much longer. And to be really honest, that made me a little sad. Because this past year and a bit of marriage has been so amazing and we have grown so much together and done so many fun things. And when babies come, things change. So many people tell me that, and I know its true.

But this little blessing is going to enlarge us, in more ways than one, I know this. He or she will make our family bigger, but also our hearts will grow and our love will grow more, as we love this new little person (and already do!) Our marriage will grow as we learn about being parents together and about taking time for each other and raising this little life who we both love so much. And these are only good things, as hard as I think they will be at times. So there is a small part of me that is sad, at times- or at least had a little sad moment a couple of days ago. (I do seem to be prone to rollercoasters of emotions, as well) - but the bigger part of me is just so excited. I will cherish these days, these just-us days, because they are slipping by slowly but surely. But then we will look forward to meeting and loving this precious gift which we have been given.


So that's all, for now. Next time I'll post pictures. For now, it's time to go eat breakfast and feed this rumbling belly :)

where we're at!

I am sitting in a motel room in Freeport, Maine (home of LL Bean, which we did go see on the way down here! And it's not as good as MEC ;). Last night it was raining as we started looking for a place to camp, and that combined with the tiredness of being on the move for quite a while now (and my slightly more fragile and prone to pampering pregnant self!) meant that we splurged for a motel. (aka the simple Super 8). And it was worth it. Clean sheets, nice shower, and all we have to do this morning is throw a couple things in the car, go eat some free breakfast, and hit the road. Right now dear Brian is still sleeping- poor guy, I keep waking up at 6 AM (really bad at sleeping in on vacation!). He has been driving the majority of this trip and we have a lot of miles to cover today so it's nice if he can rest a little longer.

So much fun and so much seen in the 16 days since we left St. John's. We have some pretty awesome pictures so I'll post some once I get them off my camera. But so many highlights and little things and big sights and sounds and oceans and views.

Brian and I celebrated our first anniversary on the 13th of August. We woke up at a beautiful oceanside campground in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia that morning. I snuck out of the tent and made coffee and fried eggs and oatmeal with peaches for breakfast- we ate it basking in the sun and then went for a glorious swim in the Atlantic. We drove leisurely for a few hours and then had ice cream followed by a  lovely dinner at a bistro in Antigonish. Then we stayed at a bed and breakfast called the Blue Tin Roof. It was a great day. So special to celebrate our first year together on holiday like that. It has been one of the best, happiest, at times most challenging, and growing years of my life thus far. We have learned a lo together and I love Brian more than I did a year ago, and it just keeps growing. i pray we are blessed with many more years together. but God only knows our days, and I will cherish each one we have so far..

that's all for now. so much more to write but it's time to go. see you in NL!

One quick thing

We are leaving for our road trip this morning and I am excited.

So is Baby Claus! I felt him or her clearly kick me today as I lay there with my hand on belly first thing in the morning (has become custom, waiting to feel something in there). Not once, but three times! He/she is definitely in there! (not that I really doubted). Amazing!

Off we go to Nova Scotia. Don't worry baby, you're coming too. :) I guess you just had to remind us.

Updates from the land of fog

Well, we are leaving for our epic road-trip babymoon holiday in 2 sleeps! Thought I should get a quick little update in before then...

(In case you can't remember, we are driving across NL, then taking the ferry to NS- exploring Nova Scotia for a few days, then PEI and New Brunswick, a day in Maine.. and then Brian's conference in Portsmouth, New Hampshire where I will relax and get to be the leisurely engineer's wife.)

Some recent events...

We went sea kayaking a couple weeks ago... a wedding gift from our friends Dave and Danielle. The weather was cloudy, but it was still fun!

Getting all fit into the boat

Out on the water

I only took a couple pics on the water because it wasn't the greatest spot for an SLR camera! Salty, wet, splashy... luckily they gave us drybags to put our cameras in, but I didn't want to bring mine out after all.

 It's not as easy as we thought. Turns out that kayaking is a whole lot different from canoeing, especially on the open ocean. But we had a great morning trying it out and then had a nice picnic lunch on the east coast trail afterwards.

These two good friends picked Newfoundland for their honeymoon! Rebecca is my old roommate from Vancouver, and Dan lived in the basement at the time. But he waited until we all moved out to profess his love. :) They just got married on July 30 and I am so happy for them. It is also a testimony to their sense of joy and adventurous-ness that they survived the week of our worst weather yet this summer and still came out all smiles... and loving it! Though they are honeymooners after all I suppose.. ;)

the newlyweds Introducing Mr and Mrs Daniel and Rebecca Poelman! Looking radiant.

Awkward arms length-fit-everyone-in shot... but still fun.

And now the baby update. Things are coming along quite nicely. Here is my little mango...

19 weeks! I promise I will get ones with my face in them soon.. when we move and I get a new picture spot probably.

 I also had my mid-pregnancy ultrasound this morning. We don't get official results until tomorrow but preliminary looks say everything is just fine. The only thing was... usually people get a nice strip of detailed pictures from these things. I, on the other hand, have a small shy squirmer inside there who was absolutely refusing to cooperate. It was pretty funny. The tech got me to go empty my bladder (in small amounts) twice just to see if things would shift a bit so little Button would move a bit better! But he or she would just not stop squirming and was all curled up into a ball. So he or she either has their mother's "I'm so antsy, I can't always sit still!" or their father's "I'm trying to sleep, leave me alone as I curl up in bed" traits.

Face! Kind of creepy looking, haha... but you can see eyes, nose, mouth and brain-space :)

 We also do not know if the little one is a boy or a girl.. by choice, though I wonder if we could have even found out if we wanted to due to baby's stubborn streak. So the big reveal will have to wait... but I think that's more fun anyway. :)

The best side profile she could get of little Squirmy!

Another face shot.. sort of.

Something else pretty awesome...

a few weeks ago I had a quick ultrasound done at work- hurray connections in the ER! I got a couple video clips on a USB to take home.. see below:

Baby Claus at 16 weeks Part 1

and

Baby Claus at 16 weeks Part 2

Because a picture is worth a thousand words..

(you can click on any picture for a bigger view)

I decided to try my hand at making bread. Turns out it helps the dough to rise a lot better when your house is 20 degrees rather than 12!

"I'm a seal. I'm just going to tread water right here. Also, I can do it with my eyes closed. "
With Matt and Janine at the Ocean Science Centre, Logy Bay

The brothers

Matt and Janine as the most easterly people in North America

Saturday night hike to Middle Cove Point. Such a beautiful evening!

So green it's hard to believe that it's real!

Part slightly slouching, part a yummy delicious meal right before, but all the rest is 17 weeks pregnant!

My love and I... it's almost been a year

Whales! The bay was full of them. See the spout?

So close!

Something to read... And read again.

My daughter asked me why God had made everything in the first place.

Because He loves beauty, He loves to create. He wanted to be able to love us and for us to love Him.


And so it is that love was wrapped up in the first act of creation. The emergence of the first bouncing particles and the new laws that governed them, breathed out into the nothing by a curious He, was a pledge of future love, a promise of fidelity. He made something dependent on Him, and so His character swore Him to love it into eternity. Is procreation not the same?

Man and woman come together in an act that, left to its own devices, brings forth life, a life that both are obligated by the image of God in them to love and nurture. If we choose to create, we are vowing at that moment to love the creation, and it is a vow we must keep. The first choice is not separable from the second.

God knew the yoke of love He was taking on when His finger stirred light into the cosmos, knew of sin and pain and the cross and neglected children and wars and the pieces of us He would have to glue back together, and yet He set the dominos in motion none the less, on down through the eons, till His love could be expressed to us. Let there be light was as good as saying I will love.

All pictures- California Road Trip 2010

God, who has loved us since we were particles in space; God, who gave us His image that we would love our children from the time they were cells in our bodies. We fail on our end of course, but our failure can only let them fall as far God’s own love, and they are cradled just the same. It is a good God who spoke matter into space that He might know and love His children.


Source: http://canvaschild.blogspot.com/. Guest post by David Nilsen