26 months, 2 weeks old – Santa photos, return to Fantasy Fair, chatterbox

Santa photos at Markville Mall

26 months, 2 weeks old:

Nov. 29: Well, the biggest surprise is that I realize today I’m supposed to be eating 6 dates a day for an easier labour, not 4!!!! I started with eating 4 on Nov. 16, when I was in week 34. I’m week 36 +1 day today so I guess it’s still appropriate to start now since the original suggestion is to eat 6 a day starting at 36 weeks but I wanted to get a head start because of my potential induction at 38 weeks. Lol.. so much for trying to be ahead of the game, but I guess 4 a day two weeks ago still would have helped my cervix…
Drank 2 cups of raspberry leaf tea yesterday. I have the box and a half full, so I should try to be diligent and drink a cup every day to help strengthen my uterus.
Had the phone call appointment with the registered nurse yesterday. After she asked me how I was feeling and how baby was doing, she asked if I knew “when I was going to the hospital yet”. That question threw me off because I have been given no indication that I should be given a date for that… I told her my due date was still Dec 2X and that since my next OB appointment wasn’t until Wed, I had no new news yet.
She asked me how many units of insulin I was on now — 17 units as of Nov. 28 since the fasting glucose numbers were up and down. She had me read them to her so I did up until Nov. 23. To my surprise, she asked for the breakfast postprandial numbers as well as lunch and dinners. I only had spikes for meals I knew where I didn’t eat enough protein to balance the carbs or where I was stuck in a car not moving (it’s usually breakfast where this happens when we’re going out somewhere). She asked me if I still participated in exercises classes (?) and I told her I would walks but now that it’s colder out, I walk indoors in the house or on the spot. She advised me to walk 10 mins whenever I knew I would be having a spike.
Otherwise, she said my numbers were fine and that the highs and lows kinda balanced everything out so she wasn’t too concerned. Some of my postprandial numbers were definitely lower than the minimum range.
She told me that Dr. F would be speaking to me next week on the scheduled appointment about my “final insulin doses” upon entering the hospital.. it sounded so much more stark and dire than necessary. But if I were to labour beforehand, to tell the hospital what dosage I was at once there.
She said Dr. F will schedule bloodwork for me 3 months after delivery (in March) to see if I have type 2 diabetes (😥). And if I plan on a subsequent pregnancy to get bloodwork done even before trying to conceive. Wow.. what an “invasion” of privacy in a way. But they want to know what my baseline numbers are before pregnancy since we didn’t know how I was doing pre-pregnancy this time until I was already pregnant. So very interesting.
So sad this week is that we lost bb’s new winter 3T coat at the Fantasy Fair parking lot… how careless were we that 3 adults somehow didn’t notice the coat falling out from her stroller in the short distance it took to walk from the mall to our parked car. I usually don’t mourn lost items like this but I really grew to love her coat. It was so cute, blue and yellow, meant for “boys” but looked good enough for a toddler girl to wear it. (I hate all the feminine pink stuff that society expects a girl to have to wear.) I looked up my spreadsheet and we had only bought it in September for $20 along with the matching snowpants in anticipation of winter. Sigh. Now I have to browse fb marketplace again for a new coat for her. There aren’t any of the same ones near us unfortunately. 😦
Speaking of fb marketplace, I got a pair of winter boots for her. Brand new with tags, size 8, suitable for -20 temperatures, and only $12!!!! Gender neutral, of course. I had been eyeing this boots and seller for a while. She must have a big stock of them because after I bought them, she continued the listing. $12 is such a steal for toddler winter boots. DH saw some Paw Patrol ones at Walmart for $50! Ridiculous for inflation prices (but also because it’s “branded”).
Bb had fun at Fantasy Fair. It was her second time there. First time was last year in December 2021 when she was just beginning to walk. This time, she could go on all the rides (for her height) thanks to a birthday gift from her aunt (we requested it actually — love experience gifts instead of physical gifts). We rode the train together. Bb was kind of bewildered at the sights and sounds of the train. She rode it last year too but she is much more alert this year. Her eyes were so wide as we entered the dark tunnel, for example.
DH took her on the merry-go-around twice. She laughed and giggled as the horse moved up and down. DH had to hold her though because she isn’t able to sit by herself on the horse just yet.
We made a point to take a picture with the plastic Santa ride like last year. However, bb said she was scared of the Santa and wouldn’t sit in the ride at all. Lol…
She also went on the spinning cups and went on the village playground area. Surprisingly, she didn’t pass out afterwards when we got in the car. Why wasn’t she tired enough?!
We visited a miscellaneous shop that sold holiday items at Woodbine Mall. While we were there, bb found a small board book and asked me to read it. I love that she is so into reading and books. Even when we went to the Walmart and we were shopping around, we visited the books aisle and bb chose a book and asked us to read it to her. 😍
Visited DH’s relatives in Ajax. As we stepped in the door and bb was hesitant about going up the stairs, I gave everybody fair warning that “the less you engage her, the more she’ll come around on her own”, and it seemed to work. Bb wasn’t trying to hide and actually started talking very soon after we settled in. The more you hyper focus on her, the more she retreats.
She enjoys being around dogs. She hasn’t been afraid of this one since she met him last year.
We took our first-time ever Santa Claus photos at the mall this year. Unfortunately there is some kind of glitch or problem and we still can’t access our photos! What a bunch of baloney 😦 Bb didn’t know what to make of the short 5-minute photoshoot and of course didn’t crack a smile when the photographer was trying to get her to ease up. What sucks too is that the assistant who used my phone to take pictures took blurry ones. And we’re not looking at the camera so they’re not good photos either. Hope the support ticket I sent in actually reaches a live person who can help us find out photos!
When we visited Toys R Us, bb gravitated towards the stuffed animals and also the pushing popping toy. She remembered it from her visit last time. She has such a good memory.
Bb played with her magnetic tiles last night as I sat and watched beside her. She can independently place the tiles together side by side according to the shape (triangle, square, longer triangles). She could tell the difference between the slightly longer triangles and the regular ones. She also can build a 3D cube tower by herself with ease and no assistance now. So neat.
When getting a minor scrape or hit, she always seeks out DH for comfort. This is a learned spoiled behaviour lol…
I have to get up at least twice a night now to pee. The fetus is squishing some part of my bladder.. can’t sleep through the night at all unless I’m dead exhausted/sleeping late.
Belly seems to have dropped a bit as of yesterday, on the dot at 36 weeks.
Been snoring really loudly due to my exhaustion actually. It was the first time at night I snored so loudly that DH was kept awake and had to wait for my snores to subside a bit before he could fall asleep.
Trying to keep moving, walking on the spot, fulfilling my hourly 250 steps each hour when Fitbit reminds me. I’ve hit the hourly steps more often than not these days because I am committed to moving each hour.
Nov. 30: Bb actually told me verbally that she needed to go on the potty yesterday for a poop. She was initially near the rocking chair and grunting and I asked if she needed to go to the potty. She said no and that she wanted to poop in her diaper. I didn’t force or convince her not to, so I let her be. But then after grunting a bit, she said she wanted to use the potty, so we did. After sitting on the potty, she produced a pile of poops right in the potty! That was her first (second) time doing so as a toddler! (The first time was as an infant in her first year actually when grandma was training her for fun.)I was so proud of her and clapped and exclaimed extra loud so that she could feel the praise. She stayed seated and produced some urine afterwards too! Good girl!
It’s actually a little annoying that we stopped potty training the day after last week’s single day success. Even grandma was a little perplexed why we stopped. It’s difficult, I guess, since the weather is cold and hard to have b butt naked all the time and she doesn’t also go in time. Anyway, this was a sign that she does know what’s going on and will verbalize her need to go to the washroom in time to us. I won’t force it. She’s done it once and will do it again.
Bb is a huge chatterbox these days. From the moment she gets up (I hear her even though I’m not even out of bed yet) until she goes to bed, her crystal clear voice is talking utterances in Cantonese and sometimes in English (the things she remembers from her books). She talks so much and so fast that it’s interesting to wonder how fast her brain must be moving and processing things.
So I had my week 36+ 2 days appointment today with the OB. 147lbs. This was especially one to look out for because he would be telling me when I would be induced. The usual routine protein test, blood pressure, heartbeat listen, and measurement of the fundal length were all normal. I told him that I got my TDAP and flu shot last week and he just said “good!” Before he let me up from the bed though, he had me covered with a sheet and my pants lowered to my knees and he did the swab for the GBS test. Honestly, if I didn’t watch YouTube videos or read about what to expect for week 36, I wouldn’t even have known what he was doing. Week 36 is usually when they usually test for GBS and in case you have the bacteria in your nether regions, you would need an IV during labour. It was a little uncomfortable to have the swab up “there”.
I told him about my insulin and how since November 2, it’s been going up and I’m at 17 units nightly now. However, for the past three days, it’s been steady and within the fasting range. He didn’t really seem to show that that mattered though and said I would have to give birth before 39 weeks and asked me when I wanted to have the baby. I was a bit shocked at the question and wasn’t sure either… he gave me the dates of between WUPB-TPEUVE to WUPB-AEUGT. I asked if weekends were busier at the hospital. Anyway, I decided on the latest date because I wanted to see if I can go into labour naturally on my own. He said I had to schedule it now in case there were no spots available. So then there, it has been scheduled!
He ordered me another ultrasound for next week before the baby comes, another biophysical profile. I’ve had so many ultrasounds this pregnancy, probably at least two more than what I had last time. I told him about the substitute OB ordering me an ultrasound last week too. He pulled up the report on his laptop and he said baby was looking good. The next visit would be next week. Weekly visits from here on out!
I also gave the receptionist the referral to the pediatrician for my older child. When I got home, that referral was confirmed with the open file for the new baby with an appointment as well. Also booked the ultrasound appointment for next week. So many appointments and things. How do people who are working full-time deal with all these appointments? Are they already on mat leave by this point? (Next week, phone call appointment with the endo, OB appointment, flu shot appointment for bb, ultrasound appointment.)
When I drove home actually, I felt like I was in a daze. It felt really surreal to know the date of induction and the date that we’ll be counting down towards definitely. Tomorrow is December 1st. I have 1X days until we meet this new person, minimally, and also that number of days in which to prepare my body for a natural labour process.
I have started to eat the six dates a day as of yesterday and drinking the raspberry leaf tea as well. I felt a little rectal pressure yesterday while sleeping as well as a little uncomfortable tinge in my belly after a number two yesterday. Today, the number two was quite the slippery one, something I haven’t had in a while.
I asked the OB about the rectal pressure and he said it’s normal as the baby is pressing down and it’s actually a good thing. Yay.
I think the fetus is pressing down on my bladder because I definitely have to pee at least twice a night now. It’s not convenient. I also can’t sleep through the night because I’ll wake up in the middle of the night, awake, and I’ll scroll on my phone until I get tired enough to sleep again.
Daily hiccups continue.
I will miss being pregnant so much. Time flies. It’s unfortunate that I’ve been pregnant both times during the pandemic. I haven’t been able to experience the OB visits with DH or prenatal yoga (it’s possible this time, but not sure if I’m up for it anymore) or host baby showers (we just want to be safe). More friends and family have seen me pregnant at least this time around than the first time.
There were two times this past week where bb woke up and opened the door by herself and wandered out of her room. We were just close by, but it shows that she is capable of doing that. Luckily, she knows how to walk up and down the stairs by herself and holding the handrails, so it’s less of a safety issue, but still
She continues to like putting on clothes for her stuffed animals this week.
We joke that she talks so “low jit” (old mannerisms) because she follows a lot of what we say and repeats it in the same fashion.
Subscribed to the TALE open-ended play program. Hope we get a lot out of it!
She continues to ask who bought something or what something is. She continues to ask what the equivalent of the word is in English when we say it in Cantonese. She’s working on remembering the colours of orange, purple, and pink. She sometimes gets white mixed up with black. She can identify red, green, blue, and yellow easily.
I’m surprised with how much she remembers sometimes.
For the first time, she and DH visited the paternal grandparents’ place for dinner and she did really well. She didn’t shy away or cry and actually ate nicely and behaved well!
Packed our hospital bag, 85% I would say. Need to finish de-staining some newborn onesies and finish gathering some more items to put together before I can say that we’re all packed and ready. Toiletries will be last since I would have to put my toothbrush and creams and stuff in there.
Been trying to pack my remaining weekends and evenings with more outings and hangouts with friends or family because I know that once the baby comes, we’ll be in hibernation mode. Ever since the pandemic sort of lifting, I’ve been so eager to go out to eat or do things and just not stay at home. It’s quite different from when I used to love being at home. I guess I’ve been at home way too much in the past two weeks lol.
Been meaning to blog about restaurants more often again because I do have the time now that I’m off work, but these days I’d rather time the time with bb or work out/exercise.
The exercise ball is not that comfortable to roll on… need to inflate it more for a better bounce.
For some reason, eating six dates a day is much easier to fit in the day than four dates. It doesn’t even make sense lol. I can eat/stomach two a meal and feel more satisfied than eating four in a day…
Soaking the dates in warm or hot water before eating (after an initial rinse) makes the dates so gooey and soft and tasty to eat!
Been feeling more out of breath than normal..
Still kind of congested and not fully recovered 100% from my cold yet -_- Have to sleep earlier but it’s so hard.. insulin is at 10:30pm nightly and then I end up staying up too.
This morning, I had a very vivid dream where I was able to shine a flashlight against my belly and I was able to see the outstretched fingers of the baby inside of me. I was able to compare the length of the fingers to mine and it was pretty long! It was like a silhouette kind of thing.
The baby is sitting so low that it feels like my belly is right up against my lap when I’m sitting down… my belly, the top part, seems flatter. If the baby has indeed dropped down (lightning), then that makes sense that there is more space in my upper stomach area.
The baby’s movements are still wide and strong.
Bittersweet to know the exact date or “deadline” of when the baby will be coming for sure. This must be how parents with C-sections feels like. Love feeling all the kicks and movements but sad it’ll end soon. Sad that I’ll have to evict this baby out when I wouldn’t have minded being pregnant for a bit longer. It’s in the best interest of me and baby to have baby out sooner, so it’s a Catch-22 situation..
Bb can repeat stories very well. She’ll randomly go “Nei yon yee lor or dee gape, zing lang sai. Mama yei mai gor der sun gei gape. Dan hai mo dut mai!” (You like to take my hair clips and break them. I have to buy new ones and there aren’t any more! [in the stores]. I could complete the story for her but she is capable of saying the entire thing with such joy lol…
She likes to “cackle” like grandma. Very sure it was grandma who taught her that but grandma insists it wasn’t her.
Bb has such a nice clear complexion these days with red puffy cheeks when she is well fed. It’s so cute and she looks so healthy.
She’s in the habit of seeking comfort by someone whenever she hits even a small part of something..head, foot, finger, and needs it rubbed and consoled. 🙄
Whenever we tell her she will be a big sister soon, she always refuses it and says she just wants to be “lo shoo jai” instead. No “lo shoo jei jei” or “dai lo shoo” or even her name with “big sister”. She just wants to be “lo shoo jai” constantly lol.
Grandma taught her how to do a “thumbs up” this week. Bb doesn’t have good control of individual fingers yet, so it’s kind of cute and funny to see her make her initial thumbs up because the thumb is pointing out weirdly lol.
Bb can count to ten in Chinese on her own without any prompting. Woohoo! I ask her to count the number of teeth on her dino stuffie. She isn’t always good at counting every tooth and sometimes misses. I count in echo with her to demonstrate how the proper sequence is, but I don’t correct her. She needs encouragement to keep counting, and giving criticism wouldn’t help her progress.
Every time I turn over or change positions in bed, I let out a little grunt or yelp of pain because it’s uncomfortable shifting my weight around. 😪
4am insomia after getting up to pee means scrolling on my phone.. and today blogging productively for once.
I have been doing cat-cows consistently before going to bed. It feels so comfortable and I could keep going for many more minutes if I didn’t have to sleep. Stretching the hips is so comfortable.
I’ve noticed that my ring finger and pink finger nail beds are slightly longer in the white part again, just like in the first pregnancy. It’s not as pronounced as last time but it’s the same phenomenon.
Biggest compliment I’ve received this pregnancy was when we visited DH’s cousin and his gf remarked to me how fast I was moving as a pregnant person. She didn’t expect me to be up and about so quickly 😅😊😇.
Not sure if it’s because of the colder winter temperatures but my scalp is drier (more itchy) and my ear canal always seems to be oilier.. kind of annoying because I want to scratch it but obviously shouldn’t and shouldn’t overuse the Q-tips for it either.