36w1d - 36w6d Last Day at the Office, My Baby Shower and more...

The last few days have been pretty busy.

Friday was my last day at the office, and instead of leaving earlier (as we do on Fridays), I ended up leaving even later than I would on a regular day. I had to file different forms with my professional organization and professional insurer, and make sure that I am all set up for the year with what a minimum requirement is for me. I was constantly back and forth between my computer, my bosses office and my replacement's office (which was mine for the past 5 years). I was physically exhausted and my legs were shaking by the end of the day.

I got a pleasant surprise in the morning, when my boss told me that he is going to top up my maternity payment to the maximum amount allowed without me losing the benefit. This was very unexpected coming from him. We did talk for a few months now, how my boss and my replacement would be contacting me with questions while I am on mat leave, and he said his conscience would be clear if he continued paying me something for my trouble, although he understands that there will be a dead zone when the baby is born.

When I got home, DH asked if I wanted to go to a movie and I told him no, but that if he wants he can go with our friends, and he did, and I just snuggled on the couch with a warm cup of tea and TV. Well, 15 minutes later there was a knock on the door. My sis came to decorate the house for the baby shower. DH did a great job in cleaning the house as the construction in the basement is still ongoing. So I helped my sis to decorate the house and then my SIL came over to help, plus they brought some of the stuff for games. We finished decorating the house and then just hung out until 12:30 a.m. The girls opened a bottle of wine, and I actually had a few sips as well, cause for some reason I really really wanted it, and I figured there will be no harm done with me having a few sips of white one for the first time in forever.

Saturday, we didn't do much. I wanted to look for a nice top for my Baby Shower, but the store I went to already had the summer stuff. It was -10C outside and they were selling short sleeve or sleeveless tops. I tried to pick through what they had on sale with 3/4 or long sleeves, but nothing really sat well. So instead I bought 2 nursing bras! We also went looking for vanities and toilets, and then ended up at my parents' house, as I was getting really hungry and we were close to their house (and had no food at home). We spent a few hours with them and then headed home for a quiet evening.

Sunday was my BABY SHOWER!!!

Here is the wording of an e-invite that was sent out to my friends:

It's A Baby Shower!

Bottles and booties, diapers and pins this is where the love begins!

____ and ______ have a baby on the way so we're throwing them a shower before the big day.

This baby is blessed with 4 cousins, and a full house of baby gear. As a result, no registry is set up and the only things missing are diapers and wipes.

This is the time for the ladies to relax, have a drink and have some fun, so leave the kiddies with your hubbies!

We woke up at around 10 a.m. to give us time to have breakfast together, tidy up a bit and for me to get ready. The guests were invited for 1 p.m., and my mom was the first to come for at around 12:30 p.m. when I was still getting ready. My cousin, my sis and SIL also came before 1 p.m. to start setting up. All together we had 19 people at our house. Once my mom came, DH joined his brother to go skating with our nephews.

Most of the guest came between 1 and 2 p.m. We had 19 people at my house. When I got downstairs my sis and cousin put a nice ribbon across the top of my tummy with a tag which said "Do not open till March 9, 2012". How cute was that? Although my initial due date was March 8 (and that's what I am going by), I still really got a kick out of this. After having some snacks (that my sis, SIL, mom and even my aunt cooked). My sis wanted to say a toast. Well, it didn't go so well. After the phrase, "Attention everyone I want to make a toast" her eyes started watering (and so did mine and my SIL). She unsuccessfully tried to start over again and again while holding back tears, but I just told her that I know what she wanted to say, we kissed and left it at that. Both her and my SIL know what hell we had to go through to finally be able to have a baby shower in our honour, and they are both extremely happy for us. I know that and I don't need her to tell me that :).

Then the fun part began. GAMES! I was lucky that since I was the mom-to-be this time around, I was the judge and didn't have to participate in any games. Ha-ha! So the first game was who can drink the first out of a sippy cup, which apparently is not such an easy task, as I was told. The sippy cups used in this game were presented to me for future use by my baby (after they undergo some sterilization of course). The next game was even more hilarious as all guests were divided into groups and the goal was to make a diaper on one of the teammates out of toilet paper without using any clips or glue etc. It was fun to watch as the toilet paper was ripping apart. One team actually made a little "pipi" too which actually fell out when they all presented themselves for me to judge.

The next game had more meaning, as the teams were mingled and then were given two magazines from which they had to cut out and glue on a paper the image of our baby and the words that would represent his character. All teams did an amazing job, and I asked that everyone sign their name on the back so that I can include those in the baby's journal. The one that won did not have much on the page, but had the main character that I am hoping for my baby - BLUE EYES! Oh my G-d, I have hazel eyes, but DH's eyes are blue. My two nephews have huge blue eyes, the eyes you can drown in. But both BIL & SIL have blue eyes, and even though DH has blue eyes I was told that darker colour usually prevails. So yes, I picked the one which specifically focused on blue eyes (that team was also lead by my mom, so it was not a surprise that she knew a bit about what I want, LOL).

The last game was - spit a binky. It was also hilarious as girls tried to spit a pacifier the farthest. My other cousin was taking pictures and apparently had lots of good ones, which she didn't show me yet.

We then had desert that my sis, cousin and aunt backed, and an ice cream cake that my cousin's DH made. It was delicious. As I was full from breakfast I barely ate any snacks, but did have some desert. It was close to 4 p.m. when the first few started to leave, and my sis stopped them and said that there was one present that she wanted me to open before anyone left. It was a present from my cousin. When I opened the box I started crying. There was a little onesie that had printed on it the word "littlest" and our last name. It was sooooo cute. My cousin made me promise that the baby will wear it for a photo shoot and then I give it back to her so she can frame it (she wanted to frame it before giving it to me, but then realized that the baby should wear it first). As for the rest of the gifts, the baby got a diaper cake that was made by two of my friends. My cousin also gave him a book in Russian with lots of colourful pictures and short poems that I've learned as a child as well. One of my friends gave the baby an album for baby's hand and foot prints. My mom's best friend also bought two book (one I didn't really like, it was mainly grey/black colour with splashes of red, but the other one made me cry when I read it later one). My aunt gave us a nice storage box (green - the colour of the nursery), and there was a rattle, photo frame and album, 3 onesies, and also a baby journal with buttons to record baby's first. The rest of the gifts were money and gift certificates, which was nice as we have to go shopping for little stuff that the baby is still missing.

After 4 p.m. the girls started leaving slowly and some guys started to come in. My cousin's DH came, my BIL with my niece and nephew, our friend C, DH & his brother with other nephews, my dad with my brother, and my mom's best friend's DH. By 5 p.m. when most of the other girls left and guys had enough to eat, we made them spit the binky :) It was so funny as DH and his brother were tied for the first place, and had to redo it 3 times as every time they would spit the binky at the same distance. The kids also joined in and had lots of fun.

Everyone left around 7 p.m. and it was the first time when I actually sat down after helping DH to clean up. With the party being at my house, I couldn't relax, as there was always something needed and when not needed I was walking around mingling with my friends. DH & I took all the greeting cards and snuggled on the couch to read them. I could feel my legs hurting all the way from my lower back to the heals and balls of my foot. When I got up to go to the bathroom, I had a shooting pain in my leg from my butt down and I almost felt as my leg gave up. DH helped me to get to the washroom, as I could only walk by holding onto walls. I didn't realize how exhausted I was and that I should have rested much sooner. The rest of the evening DH & I spent on the couch.

On Monday morning we had our OB appointment. The good news: the baby is still very high up, but with head down. My blood pressure and baby's heart beat are good. It most likely be another 3-4 weeks until birth, as on average with first time moms it takes about 2-3 weeks for labour to start once the baby drops. The bad news: I have the bacteria that he tested for last time. I wasn't really upset with the news. My sister had it and everything turned out ok.

After our appointment, DH & I headed downtown, as we needed to sign some docs to open a LOC (just in case) and also come by my office to pick up all my stuff. On the way back, DH dropped me off at my parents where I spent the rest of the afternoon. So my first day off work was really not restful at all.

On Tuesday and today, I did do some baby stuff in between of finishing up some stuff for the office. I've done all of our laundry and the baby's laundry for the initial 3 month phase. I also took the bassinet apart so I can wash all the cloth parts. I've also managed to go out for a walk today, which was nice, and hopefully I can do it every day from now on, weather permitting.

Otherwise, nothing new with the pregnancy. My bbs have been hurting for the past few days, and I am just attributing it to them getting ready for the big day. BH contractions are on the rise as well. The baby has been pretty active, so doesn't give him mommy any cause for concern. Sleeping has been difficult as I am now up every 1.5-2 hours to pee. Last night when I was up, I thought when will be the next time I can sleep through the night, and the answer was - probably a few years, LOL. Oh well, it is all part of the experience.