Baby at 21 weeks.

Heather

Desperate Pregnant Housewife

Okay, maybe not desperate! Anyway, it seems we have come to the infamous half-way point of 20 weeks. I am so thrilled to be here, and just have to praise God for it!

Life has been good, despite another ugly cold that began to brew last week. I am now "nasally incapacitated", and I have been coughing a lot. The coughing really hurts my stomach muscles, so I've been trying to take it easy, and drinking tea calms the cough. But other than that, things are going great. Apparently this week the baby's brain starts to really grow, and so Omega 3 is the nutrient to pack in. I was proud of my lunch yesterday - a salmon salad sandwich on enriched white bread (they only had white left at the store), a caesar salad light on the dressing and a big cup of milk. I thought it looked pretty darn healthy. My latest symptoms are basically just the fetal movement, a growing belly and zits! They say a baby girl "steals her mother's looks". If that is the case, then this must be a girl - because I just don't look too hot these days.

Being a full time housewife has also been great. I love having a quiet morning to do some cleaning, or the laundry, or the dishes - or whatever! Right now the sound of the running dishwasher makes me happy. I love having the radio on, and I love being followed around by our cats - though usually they are sleeping during the day, and find ways of getting in my way. It is also nice to be able to go walking in the mornings, when I am actually motivated and invigorated to do it. I've been walking with my mom, and that has been a treat. Yesterday we were invited to a BBQ for all those living on our street - our invitation had never been received, as it blew away in the wind. So, despite the late notice, I made an impromto (humungous) bowl of "Death By Chocolate" and came home with a nearly empty bowl. This could not have been accomplished had I been working - and McCain cake would have had to suffice. Not that I'm dissing the wonderfulness of McCain cake, because I LOVE it! So, I am enjoying my early maternity leave. However, seeing as I can't apply for maternity E.I. benefits for a few more months, I will be starting to do some work from home. I have my new computer all set up, so now I just have to wait for the work to roll in. I'm looking forward to working at home, and on my own time.

Heather's Favourite "Death By Chocolate" Recipe

1 pkg. Devil's Food Cake
2 pkgs. Instant Chocolate pudding
3 cups Milk
2 lg. tubs Cool Whip
6 Skor chocolate bars
2/3 cup Kahlua (optional)

Prepare the cake as per package directions. I make mine in a big cookie sheet so it's easier to cut later. Freeze the Skor bars. Prepare the pudding with 3 cups milk and chill. Thaw the Cool Whip. Once cake is cooled, pudding is chilled and Cool Whip thawed, cut the cake into three equal parts, and then into 1" squares. Put the Skor bars in a ziplock bag, and crush fine with a rolling pin, or meat mallet. Put one layer of cake in a large bowl or trifle dish. Drizzle cake with some of the Kahlua. Top with 1/3 of the pudding, 1/3 Cool Whip and 1/3 Skor pieces. Repeat layers, ending with the Cool Whip and Skor bars on top. Keep refrigerated. Usually tastes best if it chills for 3-4 hours before serving. Enjoy!

It's A Girl!

Congratulations Myron, Tracey and big brother Elijah on the arrival of Sloane Elizabeth!

Daddy's First...

Hi everyone! I'm sorry I haven't been blogging much lately. My sister-in-law, brother-in-law and my niece and nephew have been out here visiting this week. I've been trying to see them as much as possible, so blogging has taken a back seat. I'm also frustrated with dial-up, so hopefully in the next couple of weeks I will get all set up with high speed and I will be back to my usual blogger self, as I also begin working from home. Yay!

Pregnancy has been going wonderfully the last couple of weeks - with many exciting developments! I've been feeling really good, although I seem to have pulled some muscles or ligaments on one side this week - possibly from lifting my 1 1/2 year old nephew, or maybe it's just growing pains. I hope it goes away, because it's tough enough to sleep well without a pain in my side! Anyway, I started feeling faint movements a few weeks ago, but over the last week the movements have been a lot stronger and more often. I can usually get some really good kicks if I eat and then go and lie down. Last night the baby was going nuts in my tummy after I went to bed! I ate mandarins from a can, maybe that was the trick. Anyway, the baby was going all over the place and I could feel it all from outside my tummy. I told my hubby it was his chance to feel the baby, so he lightly held his hand on my belly. Just a few seconds later Daddy got his first two baby kicks! It was so neat, I was so pumped that he got to feel it! Hopefully he will get to feel a lot more yet! The baby is actually kicking me right now as I type all this. It's just amazing, and a blessing, and incredible - I just thank God for every little kick! I've waited for this moment my whole life. Thank you Lord for the miracle of life, and all of the many experiences I get to have with it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Forever in Our Hearts

As we near the date of Baby Plett's would-have-been due date I am reminded of a special gift that we received the day after the D & C. It was a little album given to us from my friend Heidi, who had received the same album when she miscarried with her first baby. Now a happy mother to her baby boy Kai, she wanted to pass on the gift to us, as it had been healing for her. She warned me not to even look at it until I was ready. I didn't really know at the time what she meant by that. When I first paged through the album, I thought it seemed like "too much". I didn't know that I would want to fill in all these pages about a baby I never knew, and if I wanted to put that much emphasis on it. However, after a few weeks I realized I wanted that baby to be remembered, and the next time I opened the pages they appeared like a beautiful space to record my brief memories on. If you, or anyone you know is dealing with the grief of a miscarriage, may I suggest getting this little album. It is a really special gift, and it helped me to heal as I read the pages and filled in my few little memories of our first little miracle. You can buy them online at www.quietrefuge.com for $14.99 (US).

Almost 18 weeks...

Heather

Tears & Sadness

Yesterday Ryan and I found out that dear friends of ours from B.C. lost their precious baby last week. Our hearts are aching for them, and I can't seem to keep the tears from flowing - that pain is all too real, and fresh. Despite our successful pregnancy thus far, the pain of our loss is still there and I, in particular, think of it often. I would be due in about 2 weeks. Please pray for our friends. I won't mention their names for the sake of their privacy. We know all too well how they must be feeling right now, and we wish that we could offer them better support during this time for them. It never ceases to amaze me how in life, gifts are given and taken away. Life is fleeting - live and love every moment of it as though it were your last. Blessings to you all.

"You give and take away, You give and take away, my heart is here to say 'Lord, blessed be Your name'."

The Seventeen Week Update

Hi everybody! Looks like we've made it another week - woohoo! Things are relatively the same as last week. My tummy keeps getting bigger. I saw a friend today that I hadn't seen in about a week, and she just laughed when she saw me. "Whoa, you have really blossomed in the last week!" she said. Hahaha! I just love it! After all your great thoughts, insight, advice and some prayer on my part, we decided to skip the triple screen test. I much appreciated all of your thoughts on it, and I especially liked the idea that if we were to be blessed - yes, blessed - with a child with a handicap, God would give us the strength at that time to handle it.

So, today was my first day at home. Weird! I wasn't even sure what to do with myself. I did keep quite busy though, and I'm sure once I get used to being home I'll find more and more to do (bake buns, make perogies, clean, etc.). Maybe I'll even let Ryan teach me how to use the riding mower. There are some downgrades to being at home as far as my blog goes. We are now on dial-up instead of the high speed connection I had at work. This means that photos are not as readily available to upload because they take forever. Hopefully we will know in a few months (or sooner) if we can afford to install high speed internet. For now, it's slow going for me. I also don't check my email as regularly, and already had a few people ask me today "Didn't you get my email?". Ack! I will make regular time each day to check it.

Anyway, I am getting more and more excited to meet one of my new blogger friends in person this weekend! Janelle and her daughter Kamryn will be in my hometown this Sunday! Yay!

Excellent

My appointment today went really well. When we arrived at the doctor's office, we were immediately told that we should head over to the hospital so that I could get my WinRho shot. I guess what had happened was that when I got my first shot (due to the bleeding I was having in early pregnancy) they only gave me a six week dosage, and it should have been a twelve week dosage. It's nice that someone watches for these things! So, I'm all topped off now - and don't need another shot until August. We headed back to see the Doc.

The doctor is super nice, and talks really, really fast! Her whole wall was filled with pictures of babies she had delivered. She gave me all the necessary info, and a few options to choose from for various matters. Then she measured me - a perfect measurement for 16 weeks she said! Then we listened for Pepe's heartbeat, and that was good too. A healthy 150. While we were listening to the heart, there was a little "thump" - the doctor said "That's the baby kicking you!". It happened a couple of more times while we listened. Heehee - can't wait until I can FEEL those kicks!

She offered me the triple screening test, for Spina Bifida and Down's Syndrome. Of course, we would never terminate our pregnancy - even if our child was diagnosed with a handicap. I wasn't sure what to do, so I opted to take it - knowing I could cancel it if I wanted to. I still haven't decided. Did you take it, just to find out? Or did you just skip it entirely? Or if you haven't been pregnant, what is your opinion on it?

Panic Attacks, My Last Week of Work & The Obstetrician

Yesterday I had a little bit of a scare! My doctor's secretary called and told me that the Rh Lab in Winnipeg had called, and I need to get another shot of WinRho. She seemed unsure if I needed it immediately, or if it could wait (my doctor wasn't in, so she couldn't ask her) - but she told me just to ask my obstetrician on Friday, as she new I was going to be seeing her. I hung up the phone. Two minutes later panic set in! What if I needed that shot NOW?! What if I shouldn't wait?! I called my husband, and he calmed me down, and told me to call the secretary back and ask her to ask for a doctor's opinion. I did as he told me, and although the secretary probably thought I was going nuts, she humoured me. She called back, and said the doctor on call felt it was fine to wait. Hallelujah! I mean, we're dealing with a baby's LIFE here, right?

Today is also my last full day of work. Crazy! I will likely still come in a little next week, but otherwise, I'm outta here! I'm a little scared about the drop in income, but otherwise I'm excited about all the rest of it. I will be working from home too, but that will be much more relaxing and I can work as much or as little as I like. Woohoo! So, those of you who send to my work email, please use my personal email eternal_13@yahoo.com. And, you can reach me at home during the day!

Anyway, I go to meet my obstetrician tomorrow morning. I am pretty excited! I don't have a clue what to talk to her about, but I guess she'll know. I am going to ask her to check the heartbeat again, if she doesn't already check it. I just love to hear that beat - it makes me relax. What do you suggest I should be asking her about, or talking to her about?