Wondering & Waiting

I'm waiting, but the anticipation of meeting our baby is draining me. I'm so tired. Each night I go to bed and wonder if tonight will be the night and then morning comes and I wonder if today will be the day. Last night I had some "ouchie cramps" from 11:30pm till 2:30am and then they stopped. I was disappointed. I feel like I could cry at the drop of a hat today and for no particular reason. It's SO NOT about having this pregnancy over with. I love being pregnant. I'm just so anxious and excited to meet our baby. To hold him or her in my arms. To see this little person that I've never met and yet I love so much. Just wondering when baby will arrive....

Summer Holiday (Part 2)

After dropping off our broken quad in Jaffray Tim and I headed to Montana to spend a few days camping at Dickey Lake and shopping in Kalispell. We camped there last year and loved it.

Tim hanging out at our campsite:

Tim snorkeling:

My baby bump at about 37 weeks:

After spending 3 days there we came back to Jaffray. On Saturday morning us girls and kids drove down to the Farmer's Market, while the guys quadded down (Tim borrowed one of my dad's quads). We had breakfast there and wandered around.

Tim, Dad, and Brendan taking a break:

Tim and Brendan:

And one of the days Tim and I went with Jenn's family to the Bull River Fish Hatchery near Jaffray. The kids always love it there and I wanted to show Tim those giant trout they have. We took a picnic and had a good time.

Tim and I at the fishing pond:

Jenn's family at the fishing pond:

Uncle Tim and Jayda trying to touch one of the turtles:

Just hanging out at the turtle pond:

Everyone feeding the giant fish:

We headed home the next day as I had a doctor appointment and Tim had night shift. Guess that's it for our summer holiday. If you want to see more pictures check out the Camping 2008 (Part 3) Photos on the side of our blog.

Playing Catch-Up

I've been so busy that I just haven't had time to post lately. But I'll play a little catch-up today. On the 19th of July was my 26th birthday. Yikes! Tim got home from night shift that morning and woke me up with breakfast in bed and a birthday cake. It was great! Plus I got a gift from him that I was really wanting and that evening I went and had my maternity photo shoot. I was spoiled on my birthday.

Me, my birthday cake, and my tummy at 35 weeks:

Yesterday I had my doctor's appointment. Looks like everything is going well. I'm measuring small and my doc said that's okay cuz it just means I'm not going to have like a 10lb baby. Sounds good to me. Baby's no longer breech and my doc said he'd be REALLY surprised if the baby didn't stay head down now. I'm now 37 weeks and could technically have the baby any day. But I'm still feeling pretty good, so I'm still counting on at least another 3 weeks to get everything ready for baby. I feel like there are 101 things that I still need to do before baby can arrive. But Braxton Hicks are slowing me down (oh well). We did buy a crib last week though and have it set up now (with no bedding yet). And I think I have all the basics to at least bring baby home -- I just picked up some little sleepers (in blue and pink), some diapers, some wipes, and such. Now on the agenda for this weekend is packing my hospital bag. THREE WEEKS TO GO!! I'm so excited!

Here are Tim and I setting up the crib (sorry the one pic is blurry):

Stay-At-Home-Mom

After 7 years of working for the Government of Canada, as of last Friday, I'm officially a Stay-At-Home-Mom (with no kids...yet). I never would have thought that I'd be off work 6 weeks before my due date. It sure wasn't the plan. But my doctor felt my swelling was too bad to continue to work. He wanted me off immediately, but I went back in for 3 more days to wrap work up and train someone to cover off my desk. I'll admit it, when I walked out of my office at 4:30 last Friday I looked back at my desk and I was teary eyed. But I KNOW I'm leaving to do a much greater job, a more difficult job, a way more rewarding job, an eternal job -- that of being a mother. And I'm so overjoyed to have that opportunity. Both Tim and I are so excited. Not too much longer now. Less than 6 weeks to go!

Here I am in my office my last day. Can't complain about the view I had -- that field usually has a ton of our sheep and lambs out in it, but I didn't get them in the picture:

And a baby bump picture (34 weeks):

A Bit More Camping (Writing on Stone)

We went camping at Writing on Stone again this weekend. Tim's dad was driving up from Vegas so we thought we'd camp close to the US border for him. Tim's sister, Rachel, and her family came out too. We had a good time. The food was super yummy! And Tim even lost a bet that he and I made so he had to do all our dishes that day. However the BUGS were insane. They drove us all bonkers. They were kinda like little fruit flies and they were everywhere -- up your nose, in your eyes, in your mouth, you name it! As usual we spent time down at the river and in the hoodoos. I stuck to strolling through the hoodoos this time though -- no more climbing for me. I don't bend so well at 7.5 months pregnant. For more pictures click on the Camping 2008 (Part 2) Photos (Page 3) link on the left of the blog. And click on any of the pictures below to make them bigger.

Tim and the dogs stopped for a picture with me:

Tim & Dex jumping from hoodoo to hoodoo:

Taking a break (33 weeks pregnant):

Either my belly's getting bigger or my shirts are shrinking -- I think it's the latter (haha):

Family photo at our campsite:

Beat the Heat

Guess what I got myself for this summer heat? It's the perfect thing for smokin' hot weather when you have 8 more weeks of being pregnant. We got a sweet backyard pool.

It took 9 hours with two hoses to fill it. And it wasn't all too warm outside earlier this week, but we had to try it out anyways. Tim dove in so the shock wasn't so bad for him.

But it's a wee bit harder for a pregnant chick to dive up and over the edge. I had to climb down the ladder and IT WAS CHILLY! But I did it! I went under and everything. We warmed up in the hot tub though.

But it was super hot today and I spent the majority of my day lounging in our pool. It felt so nice. Ya, we're pretty classy with our backyard pool now. But boy, it sure is a GREAT way to beat the heat when you're pregnant!

Camping, Gophers, & Horses!

I've been super busy and didn't get the chance to update our blog last week. Two weekends ago we went camping with Trent, Tara, and Blake at Woolford Provincial Park. It's not too far from here, but it was nice to get away. It was super quiet there. Only a few other people there in the entire campground.

Our Woolford Campsite:

Uncle Tim is great at putting Blake to sleep:

Saturday afternoon we went into Cardston and met up with Julie, Kendall, and baby Kyla. We were so excited to finally meet Kyla. She's beautiful.

Then all of us headed out to Trent's parent's farm to check on our horses. Tim moved Jet out there late winter. Tim worked a bit with Jet in the round pen. He's now 2 years old (time flies eh?). Jet looks a ton like his mom Felize. And Tara's horse just had a little colt the weekend before.

Tim working with Jet:

Having a rest:

I got tired of taking pictures of Tim and Jet so decided to take a pic of my shadow.

Here's my baby bump at 30 weeks:

And OF COURSE if you're out at the farm, then a little (or a lot of) gopher hunting is a must. Tim, Trent, and Kendall loved it. The field was full of gophers. After the first few hours the wives and babies got tired. The guys went out for another hour. Silly boys!

Ready, Aim, FIRE!

Hmmm, I wonder who got that one?

To check out more pictures from the weekend go to our Photo Albums on the left of this page. Click on both Camping 2008 (Part 1) and Summer 2008.

Snip Snip

I was needing a change in more ways than not. I have a lovely waddle, a big belly, and I'm "puffy". Not feeling so hot these days. I phoned my hairdresser. Maybe new hair would give me a boost I had a bunch cut off and decided I needed to be blonde for the summer.

And while I'm trying to use the timer to take some pics of myself, I might as well throw in a baby bump one. Here it is at 29.5 weeks:

Tap Tap -- Are you in there?

When you were pregnant were you one of those ladies that would poke at your tummy just to see if they baby’s still in there and moving? I’m one of them. I’ll admit to it. I think a little of me has even rubbed off on my husband. He’ll climb in bed with me early in the morning (when he gets home from night shift) and poke and tap on my tummy till baby wiggles. Then he’ll go to sleep. I think it’s fair to say I’m a little paranoid. Everything has been going so well that I think trouble must be just around the corner. Do you ever have that feeling?

Yesterday I was WORRIED! And because I was worried I made my poor husband worry and my mom worry and my sisters worry and my boss worry. I had mentioned to Mom and Tim a few times throughout the morning and early afternoon yesterday that I couldn’t be sure if I had felt the baby move since last night. Mom thought maybe the baby was just having a good sleep and would wake up in a bit. Tim kept telling me to phone the doctor but I’d say well I’ll just give it a little more time to see if I feel something. You see, yesterday was a super busy day at work as it was my boss’ last official day of work before he retired. It was a madhouse around the office. So I would convince myself that maybe the baby was moving but I was so busy that I didn’t notice.

By 2:30 in the afternoon I still couldn’t 100% say I had felt the baby. I talked to Tim and Mom and they both told me to PHONE MY DOCTOR! I did. They told me to come straight to the clinic. I did. I was so worried that I chewed off all my nails on the drive there and I’m SO NOT a nail biter ever.

The clinic was great. They put my in a room right away. None of that waiting crap. But I didn’t relax right away. It took them over 10 minutes to find our baby’s heartbeat. Those 10 minutes felt like forever. I could see the nurse’s face looking so nervous because I was so nervous. She kept telling me that she wasn’t worried cuz she couldn’t find the heartbeat – she just couldn’t even find the baby. How does an almost 3lb baby go missing? But then she finally found the heartbeat and it was good and strong – 148 bpm. The doctor then explained that the baby is in a really awkward position right now which made it hard for them to find the heartbeat and why I hadn’t been feeling anything (or at least not feeling anything I recognized as movement). Sometime during the night the baby had flip itself around and is now breech plus he/she was facing backwards (towards my spine). So the little feet that I’ve grown accustom to pushing out of my ribs were pointing down and the little bumps from elbows and knees were towards my back. The doctor wasn’t surprised that I hadn’t felt anything all day, even in my back, given the position. I was so relieved.

My doctor then did a full check-up on me and the baby. I’m measuring one week ahead, but he said that’s still okay. And he told me the baby has 7 weeks to flip itself back upside down before being breech is a concern. As of this morning the baby is at least facing outwards again. I can feel so much more now. If I concentrate really hard I occasionally feel little “twinges” in my lower back that must be the little kicks. Feels completely different than when the little feet are in your ribs.

Driving away from the clinic I had a little chat with our baby. I told him/her to never make mommy worry again. Then thought, who am I kidding? The worrying part is only just beginning.....

Photo Albums

We've been taking so many pictures lately that it's just way too much to put on the blog. However I have been putting most of them into photo albums on Facebook. But for those of you not signed up with Facebook or just not friends with me on there -- I've added a link on the left of our blog to two albums that we'll be updating a lot over the summer. Do you see the links over there under the "Nilsson Photo Albums" heading just under the Baby Counter? One is of the "Baby Bump" so you can watch it grow as I grow. The other is our "Camping 2008" pictures. So click on either album and then flip/click your way through our photos. Enjoy!

We Love Camping - Writing on Stone

We love camping and we really love camping at Writing on Stone. We went twice last year (here and here). Trent, Tara, & Blake as well as Clay & Erica came with us this time. We had lots of fun. The weather was so nice on Saturday that we spent the afternoon swimming in the river. We also spent a bunch of time climbing in the hoodoos. I was pretty terrible at it this year. It's not so easy climbing in those when your balance is shot cuz you're almost 6.5 months pregnant. I had to take a few breaks cuz when I walk my stomach gets tighter and tighter making it hard to manouver. But if I stop for a bit it'll relax. Tim was super adventerous as usual and scaled all the tough hoodoos (makes me nervous). And our dogs were always right behind him. I find it amazing how well dogs can climb (and jump) if they really want to get to their best friend. (Click on any of the pictures to make them bigger.)

Tim & Dexter just checking things out:

I couldn't climb to the top of that hoodoo, so Tim came down to take a pic with me:

Tim calls this my pregnant pose and he catches me doing it every once and a while. It feels so good to stretch out my back and the hand on the tummy is trying to push a little foot out of my ribs:

Tara & Blake in the hoodoos:

Looking down on our campsite from the hoodoos:

This is me making Tim stop for a picture:

Just us and our dogs:

Our campsite:

Tim using the hoodoos as a climbing wall:

Blake & I chilling while the guys cooked steaks:

May Long - Traditions

Some traditions just can't be broken. And one tradition that we have is May Long weekend is spent with Trent & Tara (and now Blake). We take turns planning:

In 2006 Trent & Tara took us to Kalispell area and we had a blast (in the rain).

Last year (2007) we took Trent & Tara to Lewis & Clark Caverns in Montana. Found some rain again and some snow on the way home, but once again we had tons of fun.

But this year it was a little harder to get out for the long weekend. Tim had shift work all weekend long and Trent & Tara had a baptism on Saturday and some exchange students coming on Sunday. We still made the most of it. Tim got off work Friday night at 6pm and he didn't have to be back to work until 6pm Saturday night. So we had 12 hours...and we were going camping. Some people in Trent & Tara's ward have a bunch of land down on the river in Lethbridge...so that's where we went. Trent & Tara also bought a trailer this spring so no more tenting for all of us (camping's getting more pricey though cuz now we can't a share site and have to pay for gas in two vehicles to pull two trailers -- eek). Anywho, even though it was rushed we had a good time. I think Blake loved his first camping trip. The weather was BEAUTIFUL! It was so hot. And me being so prego now, I no longer have any shorts or capris that fit -- the baby and I sweated to death. Tim took me out on Monday to buy some maternity capris. However since that day it has rained non stop here in Southern Alberta. I think we're drowning!! Come on...bring back the sun so we can go camping again!

So our May Long weekend was cut VERY short this year, but I'm glad we were able to make it out. Even if it was for only a sleepover.