A blog from a working Mommy about her fun, crazy, very busy life that is filled with a hard working husband, two handsome sons and an adorable daughter.
In just a few short hours (3 to be exact) we will no longer be the Barrows 3...we will have welcomed our newest little family member and will forever be known as the Barrows 4 (unless of course we decide to have a 3rd baby down the road!).
James and I spent the morning visiting around town and tidying up the house, then he had a nap and I relaxed on the couch waiting for Jim to get home at 3 for some fun family time. We headed to my parents of course to play some baseball in the backyard and ended up getting Subway for supper. We left him there at 7 pm with a quick hug and tears from this emotional Mommy and off we went to get my last pregnancy craving of a McDonalds hot fudge sundae! I laid on the couch and enjoyed my last pregnancy foot massage and happily dozed off to a Gravol induced sleep!
Considering the excitement of today I'm surprised at how good I actually slept! Been awake since just after 4 and everything is ready to go. I still can't believe that the next time I come home I will have a new baby...now off to FINALLY find out if it's a BOY OR A GIRL!!
Here's some photos from yesterday!
The next pictures I post will be of all of us together!
I can't believe that this will be the last week that my portraits are of just 1 kid! Next week I'll be introducing Baby Barrows #2. Such an exciting time for our family, but for this last post I'm going to post some awesome photos of James from last night's impromptu backyard baseball game. Have I mentioned yet how much I love our new camera?!?!
"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2013"
A few months back I posted a picture of me with Ashleigh and Theresa and said that I intended to take another photo before our baby was born, so yesterday morning we converged on our deck just before Ash and family headed out of town for the weekend. Of course I did it JUST in case baby is born this weekend while they are away, but now I'm hoping that because I did that baby will wait until planned day of Thursday.
3 preggos
1 baby, 2 preggos!
Baby Maddie is now almost 7 weeks old, I am 39 weeks and Theresa is already 30 weeks! Time is flying and soon Baby Barrows and Baby Slack will be here with us!
Two more pictures to come in this series! Can't wait to see if our lives will be filled with little girls this time around or if we will adding some more boys to our already loud get-togethers with the 4 boys we already have. Love you ladies and thanks for putting up with me and my dorky photo ideas!
Daddy is such a good sport to paint Mommy's belly again after a long 10 hour work day and night of baseball!
Which one of Mommy's childhood Cabbage Patch Dolls will Baby #2 have their
monthly photos taken with?
Here is a link to an online baby pool we have set up!
Put in your guess for date of delivery (will baby wait for c-section on Thursday or come early?), gender (we are those crazies that don't find out) and of course weight and length.
I have heard about a bunch of old wives tale gender tests that can be done by doing various things or by examining things about your pregnancy. Below are a few of these tests and what their results have been for me and this pregnancy.
Baking Soda Test - Put a tablespoon of baking soda in a glass. Add some urine to the baking soda. If it fizzes like a shaken soft drink you are having a boy, if it does nothing then it is a girl. My result: BOY
String Test - Tie your wedding bad to a piece of string. Hold the string so it hangs down in front of your belly, it should start moving on its own. If it rings in a circular pattern you are having a boy, it is moves in a straight line then it's a girl. My result: GIRL
Chinese Calendar - You put in your age at time of conception and month of conception into the online form and it tells you whether it will be a boy or a girl. My result: GIRL
Beauty - If you feel more beautiful during pregnancy it's a boy, less beautiful it's a girl. My result: BOY
Heart Rate - If baby's heart rate is above 145 at 20w scan then it's a girl, if under 145 it's a boy. My result: GIRL (based on heart rate at Dr. appt at 20 weeks)
Cravings - Sweets = girl, Savory = boy. My result: GIRL for sure!
Mommy Intuition - I'm gonna say GIRL on this one because I've regularly thought this baby was a girl, but maybe it's just because I am really kind of hoping for one! I will be really happy if it's a boy of course but would be completely pumped if I end up with one of each!
....and soon we will be a family of 4! Here is a recent picture from this past week at just about 39 weeks along!
With Baby #2's arrival coming any day now I thought I would try to get a few pregnancy focused blogs done that I can then move into a photobook that I am hoping to also get working on. Just a couple of questions I've been thinking of that I want to remember in the years to come.
What I will miss: The kicking and moving of baby, watching Jim and James talk to my belly, seeing James help Dr. Naude at our appointments, knowing I was growing another human being and wondering what the baby's gender is, sharing this amazing experience with close friends, being a family of three, giving James my undivided attention, having Jim rub my feet almost every night, wearing comfy maternity clothes.
What I will not miss: greasy hair, heartburn, nausea, forgetfulness, clumsiness, being warm/hot all the time, sciatic pain, being so big that even my maternity clothes are no longer comfortably, having to pee CONSTANTLY!
The best parts about being a second time mom instead of a first time mom: knowing the love that I will feel for this child, feeling more confident in my pregnancy and not worrying as much about things, being able to look forward to the stages of baby/childhood that I loved with James, knowing how fast time flies and doing everything I can to remember and commemorate our family's memories.
The worst parts about being a second time mom instead of a first time mom: knowing what is coming and how hard having a newborn is (and that was without a 3 year old to chase after too!). The naivete that comes with first time parenthood is kind of nice!
The emotional differences between the two pregnancies: in my first pregnancy I remember feeling angry, cranky and moody a lot of the time and wondering if this was normal. This time I've felt much more emotional like all I want to do is cry. I'm sure some of that has to do with the fact that now I'm already a mom so I feel more emotional wondering how having another baby will not only affect myself and Jim but of course James too. Last time I was very nervous about how our life would change and this time I don't worry about that nearly as much as I worry about how baby will arrive (VBAC or elective repeat c-section). I'm sure I am in for my fair share of surprises with what life with 2 will be like but I'm looking forward to taking on the challenge!
The physical differences between the two pregnancies: I always tell people and I truly mean it...this pregnancy has been 100x better than my first one was! I didn't hate being pregnant last time as it did have some good points and a great end result, but this one has been a walk in the park in comparison! Maybe it's because this time my body knew what it was doing, or that I had another kid to look after and think about but either way I appreciate it greatly. Last time I was so nauseaus from pretty much 6 weeks till 22 weeks, this time I was only on Diclectin from 6-10 weeks. After that I legitimately felt better and although I think I was more tired this time (again, think toddler!), just not having the raging daily heartburn has made this 9 months considerably more enjoyable. Last time I started out my pregnancy just more than 15 lbs heavier than this time which I think contributed to the horrible hip and back pain I experienced. When I got pregnant this time I was not only weight wise smaller but was also in much better shape from using the treadmill before my friends July wedding. The only physical pain I've experienced this time is some sciatic pain around the middle of my pregnancy and some sore and swollen feet in the last 6-8 weeks.
My thoughts on whether this is or isn't our last baby: I honestly don't know at this point whether we will have one last child. I would like to say that if it's a girl we'll be done, but I'm not even completely sure about that. I have always dreamed about having 3 kids as I'm one of 3, and I know that even though Jim and I are a great team and could do 3 kids, I just don't know if financially it is a great family decision. If we do have a third I'm pretty sure it will be another 3 years from now because I am loving the age that James is at now and think the age difference between the two will be wonderful. I also dream of what being a surrogate mother would be like and still have hopes of looking at pursuing this if/when we decide our own family is complete. Either way I know we won't be making any permanent decisions for at least a few years. Although I'm not getting any younger, I certainly don't feel like in another couple years I'll be TOO old to have a third if we do choose to do so. Sometimes when I look at James I think to myself "am I really okay with only ever doing this 1 more time?" which leads me to believe that until I am at that stage again and sometimes pulling my hair out that I will really know whether I am able to say yes to that question.
A recent video of Baby #2 moving around in my belly a few weeks ago. I can't believe that in just a few days I may never feel a baby moving inside of me again!
For most of my pregnancy I had today chosen as the day that I was going to push to have my c-section, and waited months to hear Dr. DuPlessis say that he would do it that day. However, as I said last week, when I saw him I changed my mind and went for next Thursday, May 23 instead, in hopes that my Mom would be feeling more up to meeting her new grand baby instead of 2 days after her surgery. I know it increases my chances of a VBAC delivery by a lot and I will admit that terrifies me a little bit, but I figure it is what it is and it will be what it will be. I keep telling baby to stay inside until at least Tuesday so we can enjoy our last long weekend as a family of 3, but we'll see if he or she listens. If they are anything like James I doubt they will and will probably appear today anyways! At least the hospital bag is packed now and my Mom is out of the hospital which were the 2 most important things, after that everything else can wait!
We have our last appointment today with Dr. Naude and I'm looking forward to it. Seeing James "help" him with measuring the baby and hearing the heartbeat on the doppler has made me feel much better about his acceptance of the fact that he will soon have a little sibling. Below is a video from our appt last week.
There are a few more things I want to get done before baby arrives and a few last minute strata things I want to finish too, so I'm spending today doing them in hopes that after tonight's meeting I can relax a little bit and not worry so much if baby does decide to come. Really, I'm 39 weeks now, he or she could come ANYTIME! I can't wait to find out what it is! :o)
Two surgeries booked and within 10 days we'll be down one cancerous lump and will be up one beautiful baby!
Mom's surgery is tomorrow and my scheduled c-section is next Thursday, May 23. I had been waiting 5 months to have Dr. DuPlessis agree to do my section this Thursday, May 16 but once we knew when Mom's surgery was going to be I willingly told him I would wait the extra week...knowing full well that I may just go into labour on my own which scares the hell out of me but I figure I'll cross that bridge if and when it happens!! Being there for my Mom this week for whatever she needs is far more important than guaranteeing myself the c-section. Many people say that a VBAC isn't that bad, so I guess we'll see if I have the opportunity to find out for myself or if my body holds onto baby until the 23rd. Bet you can guess which one I'm hoping for?!?!
My Mom is the strongest lady I know and I am taking whatever strength I can muster for the next 10 days right from her. I have faith that all will work out how it's supposed to and we will be a stronger family at the end of it. Please send your thoughts and prayers our way as we navigate these new areas of our world!
It's a day I look forward to every year and yesterday was another great day!
It started with an 8 am sleep in while James and Jim got up and started their day at 7. Then I got up to my cup of tea waiting and 2 wonderful cards from my boys as well as a pre-paid Mastercard to buy whatever I want! Hhhhmmm...maybe some new books for my E-Reader (although when will I have time to read them?) or some new clothes for after baby comes? or maybe some new make-up and perfume? Definitely something to think about!
At 9:30 we headed off to my parents house for our Sunday brunch with the family. We usually like to do Mothers and Fathers Day as brunch instead of our regular Sunday dinner so everyone has the afternoon and evening to enjoy with their own families if they wish. This year was wonderful as Jimmy made an awesome meal of waffles, pancakes, bacon, sausage and fresh fruit. YUMMY!
After brunch my Mom came over to help me finish off the baby's room and now that that is done I have to admit I am feeling much better about baby coming soon...but not too soon! Preferably after this Friday if I can help it! We put away clothes and receiving blankets and separated all the massive amounts of blue baby clothes we have and put all the gender neutral stuff we have in the closet and dresser. Once we know what baby is we can either put the boy stuff back into rotation or take out the boxes of girl clothes we have stored in the basement just waiting :o) Last stuff to get done is packing the hospital bag, finishing James's baby book and my pregnancy belly book that is a few weeks behind!
Mom and I spent the rest of the afternoon visiting, drinking tea and spending time together while James napped, Jim did some house stuff and Dad golfed. Then we had another yummy meal, but this time not one that anyone had to cook, we got Chinese food from Quality Foods!
I finished off the day with snuggles with my boy reading stories and having a 2 hour foot massage while we watched the Survivor finale. It really was a fantastic Mother's Day spent doing things I love with my favorite people in the whole world! I am so very grateful for the wonderful family that I have, including an amazing husband and adorable son that make me feel special much more than just 1 day a year!
James helping Nana open her present
Kisses for his favorite girl
Smiles from the soon to be big brother
Attempting to get a new great one of the 3 of us
And one of me and my Mama
Oops, forgot to take one of just me and James earlier in the day so excuse the bad hair and PJ look!
A coworker and friend of mine Kelly offered to take some maternity/family photos for us before baby comes in just a few weeks. I really want to change the photos in baby's room and will put the rest into the photobook that I have yet to start for this pregnancy :o)
Here are the photos from the shoot that James didn't really want to cooperate for. She was still able to get a few good ones of him but he definitely was not in a photo taking mood that morning, even though he knew a mid-morning ice cream treat was his reward if he did behave. Needless to say he didn't get ice cream but he clearly just didn't care that much!
This is definitely the 'money' shot... one of the very first she took and definitely the very best of the whole lot!
I think this one is my favorite of just Jimmy, me and baby!
His "cheese" face!
His awful fake laugh face
His abracadabra face!
Stealing Daddy's nose is definitely a highlight of his life... poor Daddy's nose was red afterwards!
Aaaaawwww!
He also loves popping Daddy's bubblegum bubbles!
Definitely a great family photo!
Just about 38 weeks pregnant and still feeling really good and I think this picture really shows that well.
While I was having the above photos taken the boys were down the trail a bit climbing up the hill to sit on the crooked tree.
Thanks again so much Kelly for taking some great photos for us!
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