Guess When Baby O Will Arrive!

We're making this pretty easy on you as we've decided to do this pretty late in the game but we decided it would be fun to post a poll to see when people think Baby O will make an appearance.

To make it even easier for you, I'll remind you that today is less than a week before her due date...October 5th if you go with the "last monthly period" calculation or October 6th if you go with the measurements from the ultrasound tech.

If Darren were betting, he would have already lost. For the past 3 evenings, he has had a feeling that "tonight would be the night" and last night was tempted to blow up the birthing pool "just in case" but still no Baby O.

I played around with a few options of for polls but my lack of tech savyness proved that the easiest way to set up the poll would be to do a blogger poll right on the sidebar of the blog here. I had to change the whole layout because I couldn't figure out how to have it show up on the other layout I was using but it still seemed easier than trying to figure out how to get widgets & hyperlinks to work for me (I tried and they weren't working!).

Please comment to let me know which date you chose, I just realized the Blogger poll lets the voters anonymous. In other words, unless you comment to say you voted, I won't if you guessed correctly.

We're hoping & praying it will be soon so get your guesses in quickly.

Update On Lamby: Still Vacationing!

Sadly, the guesthouse we stayed at in France didn't reply to our email about lost Lamby. He'll have a good life in beautiful Nice but we'll miss him.

Thankfully Sebby wasn't too phased by the loss of Lamby & quickly became attached to Giraffe. The  thing that makes me smile when I get whacked with Giraffe in the mornings is the reminder of just how much God notices and takes care of us.  Only God would have known that Lamby would be lost a few days later and that we would be in need of a new "best friend" for Sebby. 

The Giraffe was "randomly" given to Sebby by a little girl on the playground in France. I was really struck by the whole scene. A little girl of about 6 was going around the park offering her old dolls and teddy bears to the younger kids to take home. What a generous sacrifice, yet no parent was allowing their children to accept the gift that the little girl was offering. I thought it was a very kind gesture as well as an important lesson in generosity for the little girl so I gladly allowed Sebby to choose Giraffe from among the stack of loved teddies she held out. 

 

It made me a bit sad that other parents were so closed to receiving the gift. Parents not allowing their children to accept a gift from another child on a playground reminds me of how so many people have that same attitude towards the Gift of eternal life that God so generously offers us. People are either too proud or too sceptical (or too whatever) to accept the gift and their choice also affects those around them, especially their children. The Gospel message is like that, to some people, it's weird, to others, it's too good to be true to others, it makes them feel weak because they would rather "do it on their own". When we overcome all of these barriers to accept the gift, we discover that we are in for an even better gift than we could have imagined.

Thinking back, I'm so glad I let Sebby take the Giraffe. Sebby has already "loved" Giraffe so much that one of his legs is becoming detached. Need to sew it back on before it comes off completely!

PS: Another benefit of having Giraffe is that he has a rattle inside so we can hear if Sebby is getting out of bed at night because of the noise  as Giraffe tags along with him to the door. 

Feeling Pregnant

At 38.5 weeks, I have to say that I am finally feeling very pregnant! I am thankful that for the most part, this pregnancy has been easy on my body and that I have been able to be  quite mobile and active throughout the pregnancy.

***

This week I have needed to slow things down...

I am starting to find bending down very difficult/somewhat uncomfortable, it makes my stomach feel a bit sick actually. 

I used to get down on the floor a lot when picking up toys, playing with Sebby, helping him get dressed but am making more of an effort to sit on couches, chairs or beds because I am finding it such effort to get back up again from the floor.

I wake up feeling achy and sore and am beginning to feel like a whale when I turn over in bed. I am happy (for the most part) to stay at home and putter around with Sebby for most of the day, although I still aim to make it outdoors for at least a half hour per day even if its just to the park at the bottom of our street. I know that fresh air & exercise is important for all of us!

***

I am glad to have completed most of the items on my pre-baby to-do list and although new items are continually being added (like sorting through the toy box this morning at 6am!), I am quite content with my progress made. I have post-baby paperwork mostly figured out & filled out. We booked my moms tickets for her November visit. The hood of the kitchen stove has been de-greased. The bassinet, carseat & baby chair were dropped off on Monday night (which made me feel so much more ready for her to arrive knowing that she has a place to sleep!).

Getting pretty excited for Baby O to arrive!

4am

One of the signs that my body is getting ready to have this baby is the 4am wakings! For well over a month now, I have been waking up between 4 and 4:30am and feeling wide awake.

I remember this happening during my last pregnancy. When I asked someone about it, she said she saw it as part of God's way of preparing mothers for what is to come when the baby arrives, which I felt was a helpful perspective on the whole thing.

This time around, having already experienced life with a newborn, waking once at 1am to go to the bathroom and then again at 4am "for the day" isn't so bad at all, especially when you've gone to sleep at 10pm.

Darren's body must be getting him ready for a newborn too! He's been sleeping so deeply/breathing so heavily/snoring so loudly that it makes it almost impossible for me to fall back asleep once I'm awake. Poking him gives me about 2 minutes of reprieve but that's not long enough for me to fall asleep. Plugging my ears only muffles the sound but its hard to get comfy while plugging ones ears.
I usually end up falling back to sleep eventually, usually not until Sebby wakes up between 4:45 & 5:30 cause with Darren being busy with work, I have been going into his room to help him get back to sleep at that time so that Darren can sleep a bit longer.

Today we started having Darren go into the room when Sebby wakes up so that he can learn to fall back to sleep without me before baby O is born...hopefully at least!

 In the meantime, I'm wondering if I should dig out a pair of earplugs. And I am looking forward to being able to sleep more soundly and comfortably once O is born.

37 Weeks...Almost Ready!

It's hard to believe I'm already 37 weeks, full term by many definitions! Here in Scotland, the National Health Service defines full term as 38 weeks so since I'm being cared for under this system, I'm trying to go by their definitions.

Although I'd be a bit disappointed to not have the opportunity to attempt a homebirth if O is born this week, I'm so looking forward to meeting her and would be excited for her to arrive anytime. She could decide to make an appearance any day now since I'm in that "five week window" (between 37 & 42 weeks) when the baby is most likely to come.

And I have a feeling she will show up before her October 5th or 6th due date.

(If I go by when I had my last period, the 5th is my due date but after my ultrasound, they adjusted it to October 6th).

Thankfully the weather hasn't been great and the urge to nest hit me pretty strong and early this pregnancy as Darren is quite busy with work this month. Sebby has been a great little helper as I've been getting lots done around the flat over the past few weeks. 

A few of the projects I've worked on...

- Washed all our baby girl clothes 

(a friend dropped off a big suitcase of 0-6mths stuff)

- Cleaned and re-organized our kitchen cupboards

- Re-organized Sebby's closet 

(to make room for O's 0-3 mths clothes) 

- Re-organized our closet 

(to make room for O's blankets and diapers since she'll be sleeping in our room at first)

- Took out of boxes and put away all baby stuff in new homes

- Washed the outside of our large & very dirty living room windows 

- Cleaned & organized the front closet 

- Washed walls, baseboards and heater in the living room

- Received the homebirthing kit & re-organized the front closet

(I had to make room for the 4 large bags)

-  Got our homebirthing pool ready to go

(read the instructions, ordered a liner & cover)

- Started practicing Hypnobirthing breathing & visualization exercises every evening

- Attempted potty training Sebby

(he just couldn't figure out how to poo in the potty so he's back in diapers for the time being)

 - Moved Sebby to the big bed

(although this wasn't high on the priority list, he was interested and so far, so good)

I still have a few more projects to work on/things to get ready, although the top few are most important and I won't stress if I don't get to the rest of them...

-  Borrow bassinet & infant carseat

 (need to get on this one ASAP in case she comes early!)

- Continue daily practice of relaxation, breathing & visualization

- Spend time researching strategies for helping Sebby have a smooth transition to being a big brother

- Book flights for my Mom's visit 

(we're planning to have her come in early November)

- Get together with 2 friends in Glasgow who have had homebirths to learn more about their experiences & get tips/advice

- Give the kitchen a good clean

- Wash the outside of our bedroom window 

(need Darren's help to move the bed)

- Do a good clean of the kitchen including inside the oven, washing the walls & stove top

- Look into the process for getting O a passport, birth certificate & visa

Although "to do's" are important, I am trying to prioritize spending quality time with Darren & Sebby and getting lots of rest before O arrives because I know once she's here, I may have at least a few months of sleep deprivation ahead of me. Babies are more than worth it but there is no denying that they are physically and emotionally demanding.

Big Bed Update

The first few days of transitioning Sebby to a big bed seemed a bit too good to be true. Every nap and bedtime, he would eagerly get into bed and wave goodbye as we left the room. As soon as the door closed, he would cry softly for a few minutes then go to sleep. 

We were amazed that he never tried to get out of bed until a few nights later when he did. A few minutes after we left the room, we heard the door creak then saw Sebby with a huge smirk on his face re-emerging from the bedroom. He was pretty proud of himself for figuring out that he could escape. Darren couldn't help but laugh, which of course made Sebby think what he was doing was hilarious. He ran up to me asking me to sing him more "Bee bees" (the ABC song). I took him back to bed and sang to him a few more times then left. He came out again few minutes later with the same request. We repeated the process a few more times until we decided, much to his dismay, that he would sleep in his crib that night.

Although naptimes in the big bed continued to go smoothly, each night he would come out a minute or two after we left the room. We would give him a few chances to stay in bed but would end up sleeping in his crib. We thought perhaps we might go back to having him sleep in the crib until Darren had an idea...

He would sit outside the door, holding it closed so that when Sebby tried to come out, he wouldn't be able to open the door. Since he was asking for more "Bee bees," Darren said that he would sing more from outside the room once he was back in bed. He got out of bed once or twice more but then decided that since he couldn't get out of the room anyways, he would settle in and go to sleep. 

Success!

We'll see if this strategy will stand the test of time and if after a few nights, he will give up getting out of bed and just settle down to go to sleep as he was doing initially. 

 

 

The Name Game

Sebby has become a real parrot of other people's speech and spends a great deal of time every day repeating what he hears. We now realize even more what a little sponge he is and are more aware of what comes out of our mouths because it is repeated back at us throughout the day.

Lately, he's picked up on the fact that Darren calls me "hun" and has started calling me "hun" when he really wants to get my attention.

He usually does it when Darren is there too and Darren always explains that my name is "Momma" and that Daddy's special name for "Momma "is "hun" bur he figures if it works for Daddy, it works for him too.

He has also started calling me "Mom" recently. 

 

 He must be realizing that people can have multiple names. 

 

He knows himself as "Sebby" or "Sebastian" and even "Lung See Chuen" (his Chinese name) but he can't pronounce any of those names, he calls himself "Bobby." We thought it was hilarious because that's what his cousin Bryce (2 months older) was calling him this summer when we were back in Canada.

Wonder if the nickname "Bobby" will stick?

Bed Time?

For over a week now. Sebby has been drawing attention to the bed in his room at naptime and bedtime. I thought he wanted to sleep in the bed instead of his crib but Darren explained that he wanted us to lie down in the bed until he went to sleep.

Saturday afternoon at naptime, Darren asked him if we wanted to sleep in the bed when he mentioned it. Much to our amazement, he lay down and although he cried for us a few minutes after we left the room, he stayed in bed and went to sleep.

For real?
Our mischevious little Sebby stayed in bed? We figured we could hold off on transitioning him from the crib to the bed for a few months, thinking that he would be scrambling around, emptying the drawers and climbing on the window bench the moment we left the room. But he surprised us and stayed in bed. Again at bedtime, we left him in the bed and he went to sleep after a few minutes.

Well it's been a few days and so far so good, he's stayed in bed and doesn't seem phased by the transition. I guess we'll see over the next few weeks how he does with sleeping in the bed and if it continues to go well, Sebby will offically be transitioned to a big bed. If he decides that he wants to go back to sleeping in the crib, that's OK with me too. We weren't in a rush to move him out of the crib as Little Lungette won't be needing it for at least a few months. That being said, if he is ready to start sleeping in the big bed now, that's cool with us. I can say that the transition to the bed was surprisingly easy (far easier than the transition out of diapers), however, I know he has been really tried at both naptimes and bedtimes lately.

Sure seems like our little guy has been growing up so fast lately.