July 7, 2008 (39 weeks, 5 days)

Finally - SOMETHING! I got up to pee in the middle of the night and saw some streaks of blood. A couple hours later, a chunk of bloody show fell out of me. I was a little worried because of the bloodiness of it all, but when I called the midwife in the morning, she said not to worry unless the blood is dripping out of me - which it wasn't. So finally, something is happening. The braxton-hicks are also getting stronger - rather than being just isolated in the front, when it tightens, I feel it in my cervix and my colon. Showtime soon I think!

At our midwife appointment last week, Liz estimated the baby to be already 8 lbs or so - a BIG BABY! Anyways, that just makes wanting her to be born on time even more critical, so that she can come out as naturally as possible before she gets too big! A measurement of my circumference recorded 46 inches (117 cm) around, and when I went to Graville Island on Friday (July 4), TWO people asked if I was carrrying twins! So I guess baby Zia is growing pretty well. When she moves now, it's so tight - it really feels like it's uncomfortably tight in there.

We have pretty much bought all we need to for the baby - bassinet, crib, clothes, misc items. I got a nice gift from the car co-op (a toy and pair of robeez) and a Bay gift card from my coworkers. Tracy got me a nice ring sling, and a bunch of misc items, which helped me check off lots of my list. Everything is pretty much ready for baby!

April 27, 2008 (29 weeks, 4 days)

Baby Zia moves around a lot these days - loud noises, such as my pounding typing, movements, cold drinks - all sorts of things wake her up. A couple of weeks ago I bought a bunch of cute girly (a little too girly) baby clothes for her off of craigslist, and had some weird fun washing and ironing them all. Today I bought a super cute linen ring sling at a babywearing conference - so now we will have something to carry our newborn in. Meanwhile, sleeping is getting a bit tougher - I alternate between sleeping in a reclining position, to on my back with slightly tilted to one side of the other. It's tough to get the full sleep I need. The hypnobirth tapes help - although it feels a bit like work to practice them a lot. As for weight gain, I've already gained 30 pounds, and my face and arms are starting to show. But the belly is nice and round, so I know she's getting some of this weight, heheh. Have a bit of a cold, which makes work even more tiring. Overall, work has been good - after a nasty Friday meeting which ruined my weekend, I found out I was awarded "Employee of the month" on the subsequent weekend, which sort of turned things around for me. It's a super busy time, which I don't mind, I just need to make sure I get my sleep... Overall, feeling good - making sure I have enough energy is the biggest challenge these days. Almost feels like I can interact with the baby, at times - my stroking the belly will cause her to move - that's pretty neat.