Hi everyone,
My book giveaway offer ends this week see this post, so this is a final reminder to please have anyone you think may be interested pop over to enter. They do not have to follow me.
Thanks!
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Book Giveaway! Includes one seemingly magical baby dust book!
Hello All,
As I said yesterday I am holding a giveaway for the fertility books that I own, as we are so fortunate to be in our 23rd week of pregnancy with our wee one.
There are 2 books which I found very informative and helpful.
The first I got before I know that I had FSH issues and before my cycle went off the rails - I was just naively preparing for what I thought would be a fairly easy process...
1) Do You Want to Have a Baby?, Natural Fertility Solutions and Pregnancy Care, By Sarah Abernathy and Linda Page, Ph.D. -168 pages full of natural fertility enhancement information
The second I won here on blogger through a giveaway Emma at One Perfect Emby
http://oneperfectemby.blogspot.com/2012/01/happy-baby-shower-to-me.html
held back in August. At that point she was 14 weeks along in her pregnancy. She had received the book through a giveaway held by Athena at A Field of Dreams http://afieldofdreams-athena.blogspot.com/ who also successfully achieved pregnancy and is enjoying being a mom to a beautiful boy.
The book travelled across the pond from Australia to me here in Canada and I love the special legacy it seems to have developed. My sincere hope (as is the hope of Emma and Athena who I have run this by) is that it will continue to bring good luck to those struggling in the difficult world of infertility.
I have written in the front inside cover the 'family tree' of the legacy of the book and I truly hope that it continues and can be passed successfully from woman to woman leaving a trail of sticky BFPs in its wake!
2) The Infertility Handbook; By Angela I. Hutchins. The complete resource for couples longing to have a baby. Published in New Zealand, with many resources for all of us in the Infertility world.
I'm not a SUPER active blogger, as many of you know - especially recently with my schooling. So I've not heavily promoted my blog and do not have a lot of followers. Many of you, however, do. If you know of anyone who might be interested in either of these books please have them pop over to my blog to enter the giveaway. They do not need to follow me. Just leave a comment that ensures I can find them again and they will be entered.
Since I don't have many followers I'm going to give it about 2 weeks for entries. Hopefully I will get a few.
To enter just leave a comment on this post (make sure I can reach you back if you are 'anonymous'!).
All the best folks...
Hugs
~SCS
As I said yesterday I am holding a giveaway for the fertility books that I own, as we are so fortunate to be in our 23rd week of pregnancy with our wee one.
There are 2 books which I found very informative and helpful.
The first I got before I know that I had FSH issues and before my cycle went off the rails - I was just naively preparing for what I thought would be a fairly easy process...
1) Do You Want to Have a Baby?, Natural Fertility Solutions and Pregnancy Care, By Sarah Abernathy and Linda Page, Ph.D. -168 pages full of natural fertility enhancement information
The second I won here on blogger through a giveaway Emma at One Perfect Emby
http://oneperfectemby.blogspot.com/2012/01/happy-baby-shower-to-me.html
held back in August. At that point she was 14 weeks along in her pregnancy. She had received the book through a giveaway held by Athena at A Field of Dreams http://afieldofdreams-athena.blogspot.com/ who also successfully achieved pregnancy and is enjoying being a mom to a beautiful boy.
The book travelled across the pond from Australia to me here in Canada and I love the special legacy it seems to have developed. My sincere hope (as is the hope of Emma and Athena who I have run this by) is that it will continue to bring good luck to those struggling in the difficult world of infertility.
I have written in the front inside cover the 'family tree' of the legacy of the book and I truly hope that it continues and can be passed successfully from woman to woman leaving a trail of sticky BFPs in its wake!
2) The Infertility Handbook; By Angela I. Hutchins. The complete resource for couples longing to have a baby. Published in New Zealand, with many resources for all of us in the Infertility world.
I'm not a SUPER active blogger, as many of you know - especially recently with my schooling. So I've not heavily promoted my blog and do not have a lot of followers. Many of you, however, do. If you know of anyone who might be interested in either of these books please have them pop over to my blog to enter the giveaway. They do not need to follow me. Just leave a comment that ensures I can find them again and they will be entered.
Since I don't have many followers I'm going to give it about 2 weeks for entries. Hopefully I will get a few.
To enter just leave a comment on this post (make sure I can reach you back if you are 'anonymous'!).
All the best folks...
Hugs
~SCS
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Resurfacing....for a moment...
Hello all my lovely ladies....
I have been in recluse mode for several months, primarily due to my heavy workload with school, so I have not been reading, or (obviously) blogging at all. This program is requiring my complete focus...so the only thing that gets my attention when I'm not studying, is my growing (and growing....and growing...) wee one.
But its a lazy Saturday morning after a week of stressful exams...and I thought of all of you. I'll be doing a bit of reading this morning trying to catch up on your lives.
I just wanted to let you all know that I am well and even more importantly baby is well.
We found out at our midwife appointment last week that combined with the ultrasound results, my measurements, and I guess some other factors, I am actually further along than we thought. I am 23 weeks and 3 days along. Baby's new due date is May 23.
I think we have either a gymnast or a drummer in the making in here....lots of moving and grooving. What a crazy (and amazingly beautiful) feeling. We won't be finding out the sex of the baby. We want it to be a surprise. We are considering a home water birth as long as the pregnancy remains as healthy as it has been.
Hubby started getting really excited after we first heard the heartbeat and its been a steady incline of excitement for him since. Its wonderful to see him so eagerly anticipating becoming the wonderful daddy that he will be. He's painted the nursery (and our bedroom, just for good measure), he's doing lots of little jobs around the house....his way of "nesting" I suppose. Its very cute to watch and makes me very proud to have chosen this wonderful man as my life mate.
I have a few infertility books that I would like to share with the community...with someone who needs them. Tomorrow I will do another post specifically regarding this and hold a giveaway. Please let those who might be interested but do not follow my blog know to pop over and 'enter'. I would love to give the opportunity to as many as possible. There is a particularly special book that I actually won through a giveaway here on blogger. It has changed hands 3 times now and has brought success to each woman who has possessed it. I would like to pass on its apparent magical qualities! More on the story in tomorrow's post.
Hugs
~SCS
I have been in recluse mode for several months, primarily due to my heavy workload with school, so I have not been reading, or (obviously) blogging at all. This program is requiring my complete focus...so the only thing that gets my attention when I'm not studying, is my growing (and growing....and growing...) wee one.
But its a lazy Saturday morning after a week of stressful exams...and I thought of all of you. I'll be doing a bit of reading this morning trying to catch up on your lives.
I just wanted to let you all know that I am well and even more importantly baby is well.
We found out at our midwife appointment last week that combined with the ultrasound results, my measurements, and I guess some other factors, I am actually further along than we thought. I am 23 weeks and 3 days along. Baby's new due date is May 23.
I think we have either a gymnast or a drummer in the making in here....lots of moving and grooving. What a crazy (and amazingly beautiful) feeling. We won't be finding out the sex of the baby. We want it to be a surprise. We are considering a home water birth as long as the pregnancy remains as healthy as it has been.
Hubby started getting really excited after we first heard the heartbeat and its been a steady incline of excitement for him since. Its wonderful to see him so eagerly anticipating becoming the wonderful daddy that he will be. He's painted the nursery (and our bedroom, just for good measure), he's doing lots of little jobs around the house....his way of "nesting" I suppose. Its very cute to watch and makes me very proud to have chosen this wonderful man as my life mate.
I have a few infertility books that I would like to share with the community...with someone who needs them. Tomorrow I will do another post specifically regarding this and hold a giveaway. Please let those who might be interested but do not follow my blog know to pop over and 'enter'. I would love to give the opportunity to as many as possible. There is a particularly special book that I actually won through a giveaway here on blogger. It has changed hands 3 times now and has brought success to each woman who has possessed it. I would like to pass on its apparent magical qualities! More on the story in tomorrow's post.
Hugs
~SCS
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thumper!
Today at the midwife, we heard the baby's heartbeat.
Thumpthump...thumpthump...thumpthump...
Wow.
I cried.
Hubby couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear.
His new nickname for the lil' peanut is "Thumper"
This is really going to happen this time!
Thumpthump...thumpthump...thumpthump...
Wow.
I cried.
Hubby couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear.
His new nickname for the lil' peanut is "Thumper"
This is really going to happen this time!
Friday, November 18, 2011
Checking in
Hello All,
So sorry for not writing for a couple of weeks. I have been popping in to read every so often, but have not had time to write a post of my own. Here is a quick one for an update...
I began school 2 weeks ago, a program for Registered Massage Therapist designation. In Ontario, Canada we have one of the most intensive and extensive programs in the world. The schooling requirements are 2200 hours - which translates into 2 years. About half of that is clinical and half sciences (anatomy, physiology, pathology). I can't believe how much I have learned in just 2 weeks - its astounding the pace of the program and the amount of information....and apparently it gets even more intense. I have 1 more week left in this, the orientation 'module' of the program. I have an exam on all of the info we learned in the 3 weeks of the module and then the next week we begin our first formal 17 week module.
So far I have been doing very well. Top of my class, in fact. Out of 4 tests we've had, I've only lost 1.5 marks, which works out to a 96% average. That is an honours designation and I would be thrilled to keep up that level of achievement throughout the program.
This is why, of course, I have not been writing. I have, instead, been studying!
Little Peanut is just a couple of days away from 12 weeks! He/She has been taking it a wee bit easier on me in the last week or so. I still get nauseous. I still do vomit here & there. I still have aversions and have to force myself to eat.....but its just slightly less than it was. Thank goodness with moderate and consistent food intake I am able to control it fairly well during school. I've only had to run off to the washroom once!
I have my next midwife appointment next week and I am going to ask for an ultrasound scan. I spoke with my naturopath about it and she agrees. I just feel like I'm hanging out here waiting for confirmation that everything is OK. I've lost 10lbs as opposed to gained. I can't tell if the bump on my belly is baby or just fat. I've had no blood tests, no scans....I just feel like its not real anymore (although I certainly am still experiencing symptoms....MS, Sore Breasts, discharge, twinges, etc). I've also been having scary dreams the last couple of weeks. I've dreamed that I started spotting, and then started freaking out and screaming and yelling at hubby and hitting him, screaming at him that he doesn't understand what is happening and he has to get me somewhere to make it stop. I wake up and everything is fine, but still, its upsetting and off putting. My naturopath agrees that it would probably just give me some peace of mind to have an ultrasound and confirm that all is going as it should be at this stage. So, I'm looking forward to that.
I think we are going to tell hubby's parents this weekend. His Aunt is in from the East Coast and she is always fun and positive and lightens the mood with his parents, so we're thinking that telling them when she is here will be good. Oh, his father will be ecstatic, whether Auntie was here or not.....but his mom is a little strange sometimes. I'm hoping to get a moment alone with her first just to quickly tell her...."Please, for your son's sake, when he tells you what he is going to tell you....don't react. Wait a moment. Think about what the appropriate reaction would be first. Then react.". Honestly, if I don't, I fear the woman will literally say "You're PREGNANT?!?!?!? EEEEEEEEWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!! OH NOOOOOO!!!! Well don't expect me to take care of the thing!!!"
My husband tolerates his parents....but if she reacts like that...then that might be the end of it all for their relationship.
That's really about all that is going on right now. I'll try to write again next week and fill you in on how things went with the in-laws and the scan! Even if I have not commented, I am reading and thinking of you all wherever you are in your journeys: with TTC, your pregnancies, raising your little ones, your weight loss, your work/school, your holidays, your families, etc.
xo
So sorry for not writing for a couple of weeks. I have been popping in to read every so often, but have not had time to write a post of my own. Here is a quick one for an update...
I began school 2 weeks ago, a program for Registered Massage Therapist designation. In Ontario, Canada we have one of the most intensive and extensive programs in the world. The schooling requirements are 2200 hours - which translates into 2 years. About half of that is clinical and half sciences (anatomy, physiology, pathology). I can't believe how much I have learned in just 2 weeks - its astounding the pace of the program and the amount of information....and apparently it gets even more intense. I have 1 more week left in this, the orientation 'module' of the program. I have an exam on all of the info we learned in the 3 weeks of the module and then the next week we begin our first formal 17 week module.
So far I have been doing very well. Top of my class, in fact. Out of 4 tests we've had, I've only lost 1.5 marks, which works out to a 96% average. That is an honours designation and I would be thrilled to keep up that level of achievement throughout the program.
This is why, of course, I have not been writing. I have, instead, been studying!
Little Peanut is just a couple of days away from 12 weeks! He/She has been taking it a wee bit easier on me in the last week or so. I still get nauseous. I still do vomit here & there. I still have aversions and have to force myself to eat.....but its just slightly less than it was. Thank goodness with moderate and consistent food intake I am able to control it fairly well during school. I've only had to run off to the washroom once!
I have my next midwife appointment next week and I am going to ask for an ultrasound scan. I spoke with my naturopath about it and she agrees. I just feel like I'm hanging out here waiting for confirmation that everything is OK. I've lost 10lbs as opposed to gained. I can't tell if the bump on my belly is baby or just fat. I've had no blood tests, no scans....I just feel like its not real anymore (although I certainly am still experiencing symptoms....MS, Sore Breasts, discharge, twinges, etc). I've also been having scary dreams the last couple of weeks. I've dreamed that I started spotting, and then started freaking out and screaming and yelling at hubby and hitting him, screaming at him that he doesn't understand what is happening and he has to get me somewhere to make it stop. I wake up and everything is fine, but still, its upsetting and off putting. My naturopath agrees that it would probably just give me some peace of mind to have an ultrasound and confirm that all is going as it should be at this stage. So, I'm looking forward to that.
I think we are going to tell hubby's parents this weekend. His Aunt is in from the East Coast and she is always fun and positive and lightens the mood with his parents, so we're thinking that telling them when she is here will be good. Oh, his father will be ecstatic, whether Auntie was here or not.....but his mom is a little strange sometimes. I'm hoping to get a moment alone with her first just to quickly tell her...."Please, for your son's sake, when he tells you what he is going to tell you....don't react. Wait a moment. Think about what the appropriate reaction would be first. Then react.". Honestly, if I don't, I fear the woman will literally say "You're PREGNANT?!?!?!? EEEEEEEEWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!! OH NOOOOOO!!!! Well don't expect me to take care of the thing!!!"
My husband tolerates his parents....but if she reacts like that...then that might be the end of it all for their relationship.
That's really about all that is going on right now. I'll try to write again next week and fill you in on how things went with the in-laws and the scan! Even if I have not commented, I am reading and thinking of you all wherever you are in your journeys: with TTC, your pregnancies, raising your little ones, your weight loss, your work/school, your holidays, your families, etc.
xo
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Feeling Better.....Ish.
Apparently I 'm impossible to please.
The last few days I have been feeling a little better. Tuesday was actually really good. Yesterday & today are about the same. I've still had nausea, but not as intense and there are actually times in the day it doesn't really bother me too much. Also I'm able to eat a few more foods.
So, of course, I'm a bit worried.
According to Dr. Google (BAD ME!!!), MS should begin to subside right around week 12 when the Placenta - my baby's lifeline! - is fully formed. I'm 9.5 weeks. That's 2.5 weeks that the placenta has not had to develop! This does not make me happy.
I know - I'm bitching when I'm sick and now I'm bitching that I'm not as sick. This is just such a time of uncertainty and worry. I'm happy and start thinking about plans, and then I freak out and think "I shouldn't get too excited and I shouldn't make plans yet!". I'm sorry for being such a nutcase...but I really don't know what I'll do if this doesn't work out.
Since I never got to the point with an RE where I was under real care or guidance from them (I was written off at first glance, essentially, and decided to go hippy-dippy natural for a while before pursuing further intervention - and I got very, very lucky), I'm not getting constant check ups and tests. I feel kind of like I'm floating out here. I don't even know when I will get my first scan. And that scan scares me too, because last time I got one at 12.5 weeks and that's when they told me the pregnancy was not viable and I would likely miscarry in a few days and that if I didn't I would have to get a D&C. I did miscarry a few days later. It was horrible.
Every time I feel a little (WARNING - this may be a bit graphic!) dampness I go rushing off to the bathroom terrified that I'm going to find pink. Thank goodness that hasn't been the case.
I know I have not eaten well and I'm not drinking enough water - I just can't. I can't stomach it or keep it down. So I worry I am not providing sufficient nutrition to my baby. My naturopath assures me that all the work I have done over the last year and a half eating super nutritiously and organic and building up my body's health reserves is more than enough for my little olive sized nugget right now. That if all I can eat are crackers and Popsicles then that's what I need to eat and that's OK. I'm getting my prenatal vitamin in daily so she says I'm good.
So, I'm just trying to be patient and calm as much as I can be right now. I'm walking a few nights a week, but mostly getting lots of sleep. When school starts next week sleep will likely diminish with studying time and work having to be fit in - so I'm trying to get lots of rest now. And as long as I'm sleeping, I'm not worrying, and I'm not throwing up - so that's all good as far as I am concerned!
The last few days I have been feeling a little better. Tuesday was actually really good. Yesterday & today are about the same. I've still had nausea, but not as intense and there are actually times in the day it doesn't really bother me too much. Also I'm able to eat a few more foods.
So, of course, I'm a bit worried.
According to Dr. Google (BAD ME!!!), MS should begin to subside right around week 12 when the Placenta - my baby's lifeline! - is fully formed. I'm 9.5 weeks. That's 2.5 weeks that the placenta has not had to develop! This does not make me happy.
I know - I'm bitching when I'm sick and now I'm bitching that I'm not as sick. This is just such a time of uncertainty and worry. I'm happy and start thinking about plans, and then I freak out and think "I shouldn't get too excited and I shouldn't make plans yet!". I'm sorry for being such a nutcase...but I really don't know what I'll do if this doesn't work out.
Since I never got to the point with an RE where I was under real care or guidance from them (I was written off at first glance, essentially, and decided to go hippy-dippy natural for a while before pursuing further intervention - and I got very, very lucky), I'm not getting constant check ups and tests. I feel kind of like I'm floating out here. I don't even know when I will get my first scan. And that scan scares me too, because last time I got one at 12.5 weeks and that's when they told me the pregnancy was not viable and I would likely miscarry in a few days and that if I didn't I would have to get a D&C. I did miscarry a few days later. It was horrible.
Every time I feel a little (WARNING - this may be a bit graphic!) dampness I go rushing off to the bathroom terrified that I'm going to find pink. Thank goodness that hasn't been the case.
I know I have not eaten well and I'm not drinking enough water - I just can't. I can't stomach it or keep it down. So I worry I am not providing sufficient nutrition to my baby. My naturopath assures me that all the work I have done over the last year and a half eating super nutritiously and organic and building up my body's health reserves is more than enough for my little olive sized nugget right now. That if all I can eat are crackers and Popsicles then that's what I need to eat and that's OK. I'm getting my prenatal vitamin in daily so she says I'm good.
So, I'm just trying to be patient and calm as much as I can be right now. I'm walking a few nights a week, but mostly getting lots of sleep. When school starts next week sleep will likely diminish with studying time and work having to be fit in - so I'm trying to get lots of rest now. And as long as I'm sleeping, I'm not worrying, and I'm not throwing up - so that's all good as far as I am concerned!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Countdown to 12 weeks
I think I'm driving my poor husband crazy.
He is absolutely the most patient man I've ever known. He is a saint to put up with me. Seriously.
I have been insufferable in the last few weeks. I'd have tossed me out on my butt 2 weeks ago.
I have been whiny, wimpy, dreary, sucky, impatient, ornery, short tempered, barfy, teary & completely lazy.
And yet he smiles and holds me and strokes my hair and rubs my neck and tells me it'll be OK and he wishes he could take this sick feeling away from me.
And then I turn into a puddle and feel like a big jerk and tell him that I promise to make him all of his favorite suppers when I can stand smells in the house again, and that soon I will feel better & we will be able to be intimate again. Right now, I just can't....and I miss him.
I don't want to blog about how terrible I feel right now - so I haven't been blogging, because that's pretty much how I feel. Please don't get me wrong - I wouldn't trade this for the world and if I have to deal with it for the whole pregnancy in order to have a healthy baby, then I will! But its difficult nonetheless, and I really do hope it will be over soon so that I can get back to being myself again.
I start school next week. I have my orientation this Wednesday. I think that will help to make the time go quicker over the next couple of weeks. Most of what I have read indicates that the illness should go away about week 12 - so I'm counting down to that. That's also when we will get to go more public and tell the rest of our friends and family our wonderful news....so we are very excited to reach that milestone.
We lost a very, very close friend of the family last week tragically, so its been a difficult time on that end as well. It seems that target is still on our backs, somehow. 14 months of death have afflicted our family. More than anything I pray that this is the end of that, and that now LIFE will share its joy with us for a while.
He is absolutely the most patient man I've ever known. He is a saint to put up with me. Seriously.
I have been insufferable in the last few weeks. I'd have tossed me out on my butt 2 weeks ago.
I have been whiny, wimpy, dreary, sucky, impatient, ornery, short tempered, barfy, teary & completely lazy.
And yet he smiles and holds me and strokes my hair and rubs my neck and tells me it'll be OK and he wishes he could take this sick feeling away from me.
And then I turn into a puddle and feel like a big jerk and tell him that I promise to make him all of his favorite suppers when I can stand smells in the house again, and that soon I will feel better & we will be able to be intimate again. Right now, I just can't....and I miss him.
I don't want to blog about how terrible I feel right now - so I haven't been blogging, because that's pretty much how I feel. Please don't get me wrong - I wouldn't trade this for the world and if I have to deal with it for the whole pregnancy in order to have a healthy baby, then I will! But its difficult nonetheless, and I really do hope it will be over soon so that I can get back to being myself again.
I start school next week. I have my orientation this Wednesday. I think that will help to make the time go quicker over the next couple of weeks. Most of what I have read indicates that the illness should go away about week 12 - so I'm counting down to that. That's also when we will get to go more public and tell the rest of our friends and family our wonderful news....so we are very excited to reach that milestone.
We lost a very, very close friend of the family last week tragically, so its been a difficult time on that end as well. It seems that target is still on our backs, somehow. 14 months of death have afflicted our family. More than anything I pray that this is the end of that, and that now LIFE will share its joy with us for a while.
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