Hey, Baby! 35 Weeks

It's been 3 weeks since my last pregnancy update, which reminds me of just how fast time is flying by. When I tell people I am 35 weeks pregnant (almost 36 now), I have a hard time believing it myself. And while I technically still have a month to get ready for the little guy, I know very well that he could always come early!

I am officially on mat-leave now (or short-term disability if we're going to get specific about it, since I'm not starting my actual mat-leave until I give birth), and it feels so good to be done work and to know I can now focus all my energy on preparing for baby. My last day was last Friday. My original plan had been to work until the end of January, but my body and my mind were just done. My job was getting harder to do, and with my unpredictable sleep patterns, shortness of breath and hip pain, I knew I needed to be done.

{34 Weeks}

At 35 weeks...

*While finding a comfortable position when sleeping is challenging, I am sleeping well for the most part. Of course, being able to sleep-in everyday helps!
*The SI joint pain in my hips comes and goes. I find on more active days, I have more pain by the evening. Ice is my friend.
*Baby's bum is up nice and high and pressing on my diaphragm. This makes me short of breath ALL.THE.TIME. Like, I can't even go upstairs in my own home without feeling like I need to sit down for a minute and catch my breath. Throw in carrying a laundry basket to that equation and I feel like I might pass out!
*The nursery is finally coming along! We had a few set-backs, but it feels good to be making progress. I can't wait to be able to start putting things away in the room.
*Eating: still cold cereal everyday. Jim told me the other day he was surprised my cereal cravings haven't been for sugary cereals like Cap't Crunch. While there's no doubt I have a sweet tooth, I have no desire to eat sugary cereals. Safeway donuts - now that's another story! Best donuts ever and a staple in this girls diet lately ;)
*Wearing: still leggings. There are no comfortable pants anymore, except for pajama pants. And my wedding ring and band still fit - yay for no swelling (yet).
*Loving: quality time with my number one baby, Saigon; all the reading I've been getting done (almost done my fourth book of the month!), and my husband for indulging my million little requests every evening :)

The Nursery: Getting Started

Even before we found out that Baby Fraser is a boy, I knew I wanted to stick to a more gender neutral nursery. I love grey and white nurseries with pops of colour like yellow or navy, regardless if the room is for a boy or a girl. I am not a theme-loving girl (unless books are a theme), and I wanted to create not only a nursery, but a room that our baby can grow up and into. So I stuck to my guns, and looked for inspiration via pinterest and blogs when it came to creating our baby's nursery.

Here is my starting point:

I love grey because I feel it works well with so many colours and doesn't limit you as much in terms of decorating. So for the walls, I chose a Manhattan Mist by Behr. The crib and dresser will be white and the Bicycle Yellow, also by Behr, is for a bookshelf I am repainting for Baby Fraser's library. I have a few other projects in the works that will also be yellow.

I am happy to report that painting finally started this past week! The trim and doors in our home are all builder beige, so it was a no-brainer that the trim and doors in the nursery would need to be painted white.  The prep work for painting trim in a room with carpet is the worst part. Luckily, Jim took on that project all on his own :)

Here's a before picture of where we started with this nursery. This is pretty much what this room has looked like since we moved in. I lovingly refer to it as the "shit room", because it's where all our shit gets dumped. Please tell me we're not the only ones who have a room like this. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

It probably took us a good week, spending our evenings sorting through the piles of junk, deciding what to keep, what could be donated and what to throw away. It was worth it though because once we were done, it felt so good to have that room cleared out.

And here's the room all ready to be painted:

Already looks better!

Saigon Sundays: Storytime

Yesterday, I spent the morning reading with two out of three of my favourite guys:

The Four B's: The Bully, the Bump, Brie and Books

I'm taking advantage of these moments because soon, Saturday mornings won't look like this :)

2013 in Books

For the past two years, my goal was to read 50 books in one year. In 2012 I fell short by 11 books. In 2013, I fell short of this goal by 18 books! In theory, 50 books a year doesn't seem like it should be that hard. That's a book a week with a 2 week grace period. This year, I decided to lower my goal to 30 books in one year. Seems more than doable - heck, I'm already ahead of schedule! Except let's not forget I'm having a baby in February, so who knows what will happen to my reading habits!

Here's how my stats for reading in 2013 stacked up:

Number of books read: 32

Number of pages read: 9502

Percentage of female authors read: 75%

Percentage of Canadian authors read: 22%

Percentage of non-fiction read: 16%

Longest book read: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at 636 pages

Ratings: 5 five-star reviews (16%); 12 four-star reviews (38%); 10 three-star reviews (31%); and 5 two-star reviews (16%) - {yes, I realize that with rounding, this adds up to 101%)

Compared to the average Goodreads rating (thank you Laura for this stat inspiration!)...

*I rated 13 books higher, with the most underrated book being The Great Gatsby. I rated this book 5-stars, while the average Goodreads rating is 3.82.

*I rated 18 books lower, with the most overrated book being 13 Reasons Why. I rated this book 2-stars, while the average Goodreads rating is 4.06.

*I rated 1 book on par with the average Goodreads rating: I gave Snow Flower and the Secret Fan 4-stars, and the average Goodreads rating is 4.01.

One book read in 2013 that I think everyone should read:

And the one book read in 2013 that I would recommend skipping:

I always enjoy seeing my reading stats even though said stats do not weigh-in when I'm picking which book to read next. Meaning, I don't consciously choose to read a female author over a male author, or a shorter book over a longer book. Although, I have always made more of an effort to read Canadian authors when the opportunity arises.

With baby coming late February, I expect my reading habits to change - a lot. The majority of my reading is done when waiting for appointments, on my breaks in my car when I'm working, or late at night. All things that won't be happening when baby comes. Except maybe late night reading during feedings (one can hope!). So it will be interesting to see how this year goes. Hmmm, just writing that makes me think even 30 books is a lofty goal! But reading has always been a big part of my life, so as long as I always have a book "on the go", I'll be happy.

Tell me: What are your 2014 reading goals? Any must-reads on your list?

 Happy Reading!

 

Hey, Baby! 32 Weeks

As of this past weekend, I am 32 weeks pregnant, making me well into my third trimester and only weeks away from meeting this little guy. Even though I'm feeling larger than ever, there are times (a lot of times!) where I still can't believe I'm pregnant and will be holding our son next month. It's such a surreal feeling and I bounce from wanting to meet Baby Fraser RIGHT NOW to panicking that it's all happening TOO FAST. But I guess we're never really prepared for a moment such as this.

{32 Weeks}

At 32 weeks...

*Sleep is becoming more difficult. I've always been a back sleeper so having to sleep on my side is not fun and I find myself doing the half-side sleep - where my hips are twisted to the side, but my back is flat. Some nights I sleep great and wake feeling rested, while others are just a write-off and I pray for a do-over when my alarm goes off in the morning.
 *Shortly after my last update, I started to get really bad SI joint pain in my right hip. I've been seeing a Chiropractor regularly who has been helping me work through the pain. I can't even put into words what this pain is like, but it is like nothing I have experienced before, and it often brings me to tears. This past week, my left hip has also started to hurt. Luckily, my Chiro clinic has an amazing massage therapist who is also helping me find some relief, even if it is short lived.
*Pregnancy hormones are in full swing. I hadn't, until this week, experienced any uncontrollable emotions or bouts of crying, but I guess it was only a matter of time! It is overwhelming to feel so out of control. Monday, I couldn't stop crying and yesterday, I burst into tears when a co-worker asked me how I was feeling. 
*Eating: still loving cereal with milk and I often find myself hitting the McDonald's drive-thru for a fountain iced tea. I have to say, Christmas was an awesome time to be pregnant because I didn't feel guilty (not even for one second!) after every cookie, chocolate or treat I ate.
*Living in: leggings everyday, all day.
*Loving: sisters who paint your toe nails for you, naps with Saigon on the couch, planning the nursery, counting down the days until I'm done working and shopping for adorable little boys clothes.

Last Christmas we were in Florida with Jim's parents, but this year we were surrounded by my family. Both my brother and sister flew home for Christmas and I think this was the first Christmas in a few years that we have been altogether.  It's the last time they will see me before baby comes!

{31 Weeks - Christmas Day}

I may be pregnant, but I can still have a blast playing games with good friends and staying up until midnight on New Years Eve! It was weird to constantly think this is the last Christmas, New Years Eve, etc, as just the two of us. 2014 is going to be an exciting year full of many firsts!

{32 Weeks - New Years Eve}