3 weeks to go

Well I can't believe that I only have 3 weeks to go. This pregnancy has gone way to fast. I love feeling her moving around and stretch her legs and arms, I'm going to miss that part of being pregnant so much. I do have my moments of aaaahh feeling so uncomfortable but really overall it has been such a wonderful pregnancy and I waited for this for so long I cherish every minute. I can't wait to see what she looks like and if she will have hair, how big she is etc but I really am going to miss having her inside me and have that special bond. At my last Dr appt he said that since I am measuring a week ahead he thinks she is going to be tall like her daddy!!! He guessed she would be a high 7lbs or low 8lbs. I was not thrilled with this obviously and Ted was like why and I said because you don't have to try and push her out!!! Even though I know all the steps and stages of labor what to expect, the edpidurals and c-sections I can say I'm starting to get really nervous. Like am I going to be able to handle the contractions (believe me I am getting an epidural I just want to be at least 3 cm first) who knows if that will really happen. How is baby doing in labor, I will be watching the monitor like a hawk the entire time. I love/hate that I know too much!!! I hope I go into labor on my own but honestly the chances of that happening being my first baby are slim, but I do the stairmaster at the gym to try to get me contracting!! It works but the contractions don't last after I get off. Heres to hoping.

36 weeks
35 weeks

Baby Shower Mania

The following is picture overload of my baby showers. The first pictures were the ones my mom and sister in laws threw for me and then last ones are at my house that my church friends put together. This little girl has been very spoiled and she is not even here yet. The one at my moms house had a nursery rhyme theme. There was JAck and Jll lemonade and little miss muff-its sandwiches and mother goose devils eggs it was all very cute. They also served tea with the cupcakes my sister in-law made which were amazing (her cream cheese frosting is to die for) As part of the decorations we put baby pictures up on the fireplace mantle of Teds parents and himself and me and my parents. So people could see what this little girl might look like. Also my cute sister in-law Kelly made this Wishing tree idea where people could write well wishes for TEd, Me and the baby. I loved the rhyme she came up with to match it, I took a picture of it.

Preg Update: I'm 35 weeks now woohoo 5 to go. Everything is going well except for the fact that I'm not getting much sleep at night anymore. I have to lay all the way left or right and end up waking up several times to pee. The baby's room is almost all set up I have the crib and change table and all her clothes in place but still have to wash everything. I still have to clean/organize lots of cupboards and closets before I will feel that everything is ready for this baby to come. Oh and I still need to pack a hospital bag!!! Might want to do that soon I guess but I don't think this baby is going to come early, not with my mom and sisters history of labors.

Our Christmas Vacation

Well Christmas for the cox's started off with a nice quiet trip to the cottage to enjoy a little R&R before this baby comes. It was officially our last time at the cottage without kids. We went for walks with Roxy, read books, magazines and most importantly slept in every morning! Next we headed to my parents for Christmas with my family and had many family nights up late talking/eating way to much. I swear all scales are evil when you are pregnant around christmas. We did the traditional christmas reading of the birth of christ and had all the kids act it out. Boxing day we went skating downtown toronto which was a ton of fun. Yes I did go skating at 7.5 months after some much provided caution by my parents/husband and I had to explain that skating is like walking for me. I did not fall but I can say this now that everything was ok but it was a little harder skating when your center of gravity is changed by a big ball in your front side. For New Years we didn't do anything exciting except go off the the movies and came home to enjoy some bubbly with oranges for me. I can't seem to get enough oranges/grapefruits. Ted says this baby is going to come out looking like an orange. I was bad at taking pictures over christmas but we did get one documented photo of our last New Years as just us. I know, we debated going downtown dressing up nice and going to dinner but it was nice to just relax.

Pregnancy Update: I have gone off work because I had some bleeding and pretty strong cramping/braxton hick contractions. We don't want her coming too soon, better safe than sorry. So now I am starting to feel the nesting setting in and seeing everything in my house I want to de-clutter/organize before the baby comes. Ted calls it Stressting instead of nesting!! He is so supportive of this time in my pregnancy!!! haha Well sleeping is getting more difficult and the pregnancy insomnia usually sets in every day at 4am I wake up wide awake and can't go back to sleep for 2 hours. Ted seems to complain when I have a bad night because that means he is up more because he hears me getting up to pee and toss!!! I say oh I feel so sorry for you!!! I have been bad at taking preg pictures I only have one to show this week even though I'm actually 33 weeks now. I will post pictures of the baby shower I had while I was home later.

Skating in the city at out door rink.

All the boys on the their I-phones waiting to go eat lunch. How could we survive without our i-phones!!!

29 weeks
Ted enjoying reading by fire at the cottage for last time

I swear we aren't drinking alcohol even though I look drunk! This was our New Years celebration

Oranges at midnight on New Years I have to be pregnant!!!

Lately.....

Well lots has been going on since I last posted. I am now 27 weeks pregnant and still loving every minute of it. I can finally see this little girl move around from the outside of my belly now. She still likes to do her gymnastic moves at night when we are lying in bed. Its funny to see my belly move without me doing anything. She also like to lie on my left side and my belly is often lopsided. It was funny one morning Ted looks at it and asked why it was in his words "all messed up" Meaning the the right side was higher than the left! I have been having lots of braxton hick contractions and the first time I told Ted he said what the heck is a braxton what?? Needless to say my husband has been learning a lot in the last few weeks.

Teds parents came to visit for American thanksgiving and we went to visit his cousin for dinner in Michigan and then onto my parents house that weekend for my brothers little boy "Max" baby blessing. Where my sister informed me that I have that pregnant face now!!! translated as my face now looks fat and chubby!! Great!! Its really easy to keep your self-esteem high in my families house between my sister saying I look fat and my dad calling me tubby everywhere I go!!!
So its onto Christmas now. I will post pictures of our house decorated next.

25weeks
26 weeks

Boy or Girl???

Well to keep everyone updated we are having a little baby GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes at 15 weeks my dr scanned me and thought it was a boy but our official 20 week ultrasound showed girl! The lady said I think its a girl and I about died. I said ahhh what?? We thought it was a boy so she said well I will have another person just double check me. So she went to get another tech but by that point unfortunately the baby refused to open her legs back up. So instead of being left in the dark going back and forth the next day at work I had a Dr confirm and there she was bum up showing us all her "lack of bits". There was no denying it we had such a good a shot its really a GIRL!!! Ted will tell you I smiling from ear to ear with tears in my eyes. I had from the moment we got pregnant the maternal instinct that it was a girl. And now I get to go shopping for all that cute girly stuff!!!

I have been feeling the baby move for weeks now and I could feel her move all day everyday. Its a nice little way she tells me everyday she is there and growing stronger. I love the little kicks and punches she makes. It almost feels like someone is tickling me from inside. She goes crazy within minutes of me eating any sort of chocolate, just like a true girl. Her most active time is at night after we have eaten dinner and are relaxing. Ted can't quite feel her move from the outside yet and that is mostly because my placenta is on the anterior wall of my uterus so I can feel her move all over but the placenta is blocking him from feeling anything yet. But this little girl has already got her Daddy wrapped around her little finger.

Here are some recent belly shots.

23wks

19wks

Baby Bump update

We had an ultrasound done around 14 weeks and since the tech knew I worked at the hospital she tried to see the gender for us. We got a nice clear view and it looks like its a boy!! We have another ultrasound in a couple weeks to confirm but everyone knows how inpatient I am so I had one of the Dr at work scan me again and this little cox is not afraid to hide his parts. It definitively looked like a boy. Since ted wasn't able to be there I had him come to my work on the weekend and I scanned my self and he got to see this little one jumping all over. He kept moving his arms and legs like he was kicking something. It was so weird to see him move and not feel anything. And at one point I started to laugh and the little one starting jiggling from my laugh. Its so cool to watch I could do it all day. Ted asks me all the time what I would do if I couldn't hear the baby's heart beat at work everyday or see it with the ultrasound and my reply is be even more crazy than I already am!

So everyone keeps bugging me for baby bump photos so here it is now that I have started showing. A girl at work said oh you don't look like there is a bump at all and I responded just wait as the day goes on and eat it gets really big. So by the end of my shift she goes oh you were right I can totally tell now. This baby still loves fruits and veggies but I'm not nauseated anymore which I love, but always very tired. I still don't like to eat meat it just doesn't taste good to me but I am trying to make sure I get my protein. Unfortunately my normal sweets craving is back in full force and I'm not liking my scale results. Even though my Dr. says I'm gaining right on track it feels like a lot to me. I can still wear my regular jeans but my tops are all getting way to tight. Time to go shopping for some more comfortable clothes.

(Please disregard the no make-up, hair not done look, I was running out to the gym, which doesn't happen as much as I'd like)

Guess What........??????

I have plotted and planned writing this specific post for a long, long time. At times, I thought I might not ever get to write it. But oh how happy and blessed we are to finally be writing this. As the news has started to spread fast, we are PREGNANT! We got a bit of a late start as this will be grandchild #18 in the Templeman family and #30 in the Cox clan!!! Due March 5, 2012, I am officially into my second trimester and enjoying every moment of this pregnancy.

Ironically, we actually found out while Ted was in Toronto for work. As some of you know, Ted spent most of the summer in Toronto working for a law firm. While staying at my parents house on a visit to see him, I took a test and when it came back positive all I could say for 20 minutes was OH MY GOSH!!! I couldn't believe it!! So we took a picture to document the moment. (Ted's thought at the exact moment of the photo: wait, did you just pee on this??)

We tried to go back to bed and let my parents sleep some more before we told them, but lets face it neither one of us got anymore sleep.

As as side note, Ted has pointed out that this blog post is Phase 3 of telling people. Phase 1 was our parents after the positive test; Phase 2was telling our immediate families after our first ultrasound, and Phase 3 is now telling the world at large after hearing a safe successful heartbeat.

So back to Phase 1 of telling people: to tell Ted's parents we thought of a cute way since we couldn't tell them in person. We sent Barb an email with a picture of both of us holding a BYU baby onesie. We got his parents on the phone and told Barb to go check her email and of course she passes the phone off to Big Ted and goes upstairs to check and leaves us on the phone with his dad. We had obviously hoped to hear her dramatic reaction when she saw the photo in the email--that was the whole plan. So Ted had to improvise quickly and tell his dad to chase her upstairs so we could hear her reaction. With Barb living up to her reputation for hysterical-ness, we were still able to hear her screaming/crying as she opened the email and saw the picture.

"Baby's first picture at about 9 weeks"

For our Phase 2 reveal, we told my family at our annual family cottage week this August. Here is the video of how we told my family while we were on vacation at the cottage. Roxy actually helped us out. We thought that since many people announce their pregnancy by putting their oldest child in a shirt that says "BIG BROTHER/SISTER" we would put Roxy in a little dog shirt that said BIG SISTER since she has been our first and only "child" for so long [btw, if you're wondering, our cat is more like our red-headed step child that we pretend isn't there most of the time and think about all the things we could have done if we didn't have kitty].

Beware, the video is sideways for some reason and I cant seem to rotate it, so Ted says to just turn your monitor/laptop/iPad sidways.

Some pregnancy stats so far:

Everyone keeps asking if I have been sick/ had weird cravings yet and the answer:

- Lots of nausea that is finally going away but no throwing up.

-No weird cravings but many aversions, I use to love chocolate but not anymore (sweets in general which is so not me I usually love desserts), I can't get enough fresh fruit for example -For example, on one day, I ate a plum, apple, banana, peach, and watermelon!!!

-Taking lots of naps whenever I can, never felt so tired before

-Don't like any meat really

-Peeing all the time

- Still able to wear my normal clothes (hope this lasts a lot longer)

We can't wait to find out whether we are having a boy or a girl--mostly because I can't wait to go shopping! My family thinks we are having a boy because we have a girl name picked out but we can't agree on a boy name.

I will post belly pics later when something starts to show.