Home at Last

Thursday at 6:28pm little baby girl Victoria (Tori) was born after 11 hours in hospital (only 8 hours with the oxytocin drip).

Weight - 4.180 kilos (9 pounds 3 ounces)
Length - 51 cm (20 inches)

Daddy, Mommy and Baby are doing OK (I hurt OK... but man is she cute!)

Drake is also adjusting pretty well with the new family addition. More later after I sleep in my own bed and hopefully the swelling in my feet goes down.

40 Weeks + 12 days

Baby or no baby? You don't really know yet, hahahaha!

Today on FlyLady is to pick a mission, which is a little extra tidbit after the weekly quick clean. In reality, there isn't much to keeping a clean house. This is what FlyLady seems to have as a regular maintenance, it's just the 30 day FlyBaby portion adds to it and establishes a schedule and seems to get your whole house well cleaned so that maintenance is easier.

1) Morning Routine
2) Afternoon Routine (if you need one)
3) Before bed routine
4) Quick clean your house 1 day per week
5) Zone cleaning - 5 zones in the house - 1 zone per week so you rotate through in a month. The zones are the high traffic areas and you do a more detailed cleaning when you hit that week on a particular day. These are also called the missions. This week is the master bedroom and for today's challenge I'm supposed to pick one of the daily missions for the master bedroom to do today. I already cleaned off all the dressers and night stands.

40 Weeks + 11 Days

The baby is supposed to be here by now, provided the induction worked yesterday. Honestly it could have been a few days ago, I've scheduled posts for several days since I won't be home and can't access my blog from the hospital. Sooner or later you'll get a post of the birth (might be several days after I get home).

Today's FlyLady.net challenge is to delete all the emails I've received so far from the list. It's good practice in removing things we no longer need. I've actually already done that twice, so it's not much of a challenge for me.

40 Weeks + 10 Days

Another day of waiting for baby (maybe - have I mentioned that all these posts are pre-scheduled for quite a while now and there are still 4 more to go on the scheduler?). Baby does practice contractions every 2 to 3 days, and I sit for 7 to 10 hours, finally timing them in the last couple of hours. The annoying thing is, once I reach an hour of contractions that are 4 to 6 minutes apart I'll go take a shower and rest up until a more reasonable hour of the day arrives (because usually the contractions start around 6 to 8pm, so it's 4 or 5 in the morning when I've reached the 4 to 6 minutes apart) figures I end up falling asleep and the contractions go away. Sneaking baby, maybe it just wants to get the process down perfectly before it arrives.

I did find out that if we are induced it takes 8 to 12 hours typically for baby to arrive after labour gets started. Although apparently inducing labour doesn't always get things going and either you try again another day, or have a C-section.

Today's flylady.net challenge is to write down some inspirational quotes for motivation. For example, even cleaning incorrectly still blesses your family and clutter can't be organized.

40 Weeks + 9 Days

Not much time left but still waiting for baby to arrive. Yesterday after seeing the doctor I started having some feelings, not happy ones, but not sad either. I've spent some time exploring just what exactly I am feeling, because I was having a really hard time putting words to describe it.

I believe what I feel is related to the unknown of bringing home baby. We still don't have a name, the baby's room is not quite ready (haven't hung the shelves). I'm not sure I'm ready to take take of an infant which is weird because I used to babysit one with no problems. Can it really be so simple as change, feed, burp, sleep those first few weeks? What if I have trouble breastfeeding? What if like my SIL I come home from the hospital so confused and out of sorts that I can't even figure out how to make a bottle. For example, I have a microwave sanitizer for the bottles, but oddly there are no instructions in the sanitizer on how to use it. Do I put the nipples in the sanitizer, or do I sanitize them a different way? I feel like I have so many questions and no answers, and what answers I do have I'll forget when I need them.

I confess that some of this has to do with my profession as an analyst. Part of my job is to look at defined requirements and determine solutions, but sometimes the requirements are ambiguous and its my job to refine them so there is a clear yes/no path and dealing with the alternates that can occur. I've actually noticed in the last 6 to 12 months that this analysis I do has made filling out forms somewhat interesting because when answering questions the question can be somewhat ambiguous and I could put many answers. For example, the hospital pre-registration form, asked if I have any children, then asked if I had made care giving arrangements for my children and if not why not. The way it was structured is that the care giving question was mandatory and not optional based on the number of children being greater than zero and they asked it twice, so was there supposed to be a different context the second time I had to answer the question?

Then there's my need to plan, and I feel very unplanned for being able to take care of a baby. For going to the hospital I knew I would be there at least 36 hours and hubby would be with me, so care for the dog had to be arranged. He needs to be feed twice a day and let out preferrably 3 times a day. I felt the need to have plans for the following scenarios:

1. Go into labour during the day - not an emergency
2. Go into labour during the day - emergency (need to rush to the hospital, so can't take Drake to parents or boarding)
3. Go into labour at night - not an emergency
4. Go into labour at night - emergency

See, we're not sure how Drake will initially react to our parents coming over to feed him without us being home. We also couldn't take him to be boarded if it was at night or on the weekend, and since labour could occur at any time also didn't want to take him to be boarded the day before the due date and have the baby be 10 days late as that's quite expensive.

Anyway, moving on to the cleaning topic. Today's cleaning challenge is that we can do anything for 15 minutes, so I have to set a timer for 15 minutes and go through the house to throw out all the garbage I can find and take it out to the curb/garage. Then I set the timer for another 15 minutes and I sit back and read a magazine. I'm not much of a magazine reader, perhaps I'll watch TV, listen to music or read a chapter of one of my books.

40 Weeks + 8 Days

Today I thought I'd share how Drake (our dog) has been following me around for the last 3 weeks that I've been home instead of my husband. Hubby truly is Drake's favourite person, but I think that might change over the next year while I'm home and spending time with him. Drake isn't a cuddly dog, but he has been sleeping in the same room with me more frequently rather than sleeping by the front door waiting for hubby to come home. He also sometimes sleeps beside the couch I'm on, although I think that is related to me having eaten something while sitting on the couch first. Drake often comes to sleep with me for our daily nap on the bed, although if hubby is home then Drake will likely stay with daddy than napping with me.

Today's new cleaning challenge includes decluttering an area for 15 minutes. Yesterday was to make a journal of my morning and evening routines for cleaning and tidying the house and getting myself ready and organized.

There are also weekly things that FlyLady.net does. Monday is home blessing day which is spend 1 hour cleaning, no more than 10 minutes on any one chore (vacuum, dust, mop, change sheets, garbage etc). Tuesday is planning day for the next week, i.e. menu planning, date night/family time planning, activities planning, wardrobe, trips, etc. Seems this continues throughout the week, I kind of like that there's only 1 day for quick cleaning (beyond the zone cleaning and FlyBaby 30 day habit maker) and that it is at the beginning of the week so that your house starts the week out clean.

40 Weeks + 7 Days

Not sure what to say today, I have an appointment at the hospital for a weekly non-stress test to make sure the baby is still thriving. I was kind of hoping to be in labour by now though.

I did nothing on yesterday's to do list, oh well, I need hubby to help with the shelves as it's a 2 person job. The bathrooms and kitchen are done, except the floor, mostly because it's difficult to get down to scrub the floor properly.

The house is actually pretty clean and organized now, yay! I think I'll work on finding 30 items to toss and 30 to donate. Always good to purge a bit of stuff every now and then. When in doubt it's pretty easy for me to toss hair, skin care and make-up products, and to donate books or clothes (or maybe I'll sell the books to a used book seller).

Hubby's working from home because, honestly, I'm a little scared to go into labour by myself. I keep worrying I'll be one of those rarer labours that require emergency assistance and I won't be able to get to the front door to unlock it to let the EMTs in. I know, everything will be fine, and likely I'll be a scheduled induction anyway.

40 Weeks + 6 Days

Another day of waiting. Another day to do tasks around the house.

Last night I felt a pretty much rhythmic movement from the baby, I thought it might be stress from the false labour, or some other thing that was beginning to worry me and I thought about calling the on call doctor. Finally 'hiccups' occurred to me because I have felt this from the baby a couple of times before, I just never realized it was hiccups! I can't believe it took me until being almost a week overdue to recognize hiccups.

I've learned something else today, it seems that no matter how much I clean, even after I just finished some things actually look less clean? For example, I just damp mopped the floor and I vacuumed it yesterday, yet I currently see 2 doggy hairballs, I just mopped it 20 minutes ago! I'm thinking the damp mop must have caused the hairs to stick together more and then they fell off the mop. Same for dusting the (glass) coffee table, now the 2 long edges actually look more dusty with stuck dog hairs. Maybe I should be using microfibre clothes to dry dust everything first?


Today's to do list:
Finish cleaning the bathrooms
Hang the shelves in the baby's room
Clean up the construction materials in the baby's room

40 Weeks + 5 Days

Finally got the upstairs vacuumed, and I've tried to find those knitting books, but I'm at a loss, I've checked every logical place, so only the only places left are either buried in a box somewhere, or in an illogical place while I was doing a very quick cleanup must have tossed it somewhere strange.

I made my sciatica pain worse in my right leg today, so I'll likely be taking it pretty easy, maybe I'll just take a few clothes to the donation box today and tidy up the kitchen. Although today is the day to identify and spend a few minutes tidying up your hotspots at FlyLady.net I'm on Day 6 of the baby steps program.

5 more days until inducement and the baby arrives.

40 Weeks + 4 Days

Still waiting for baby to arrive. I'm pretty tired today, so I'm thinking I'll take a break from my to do list today. I did however, finally, get the thank you cards written, I just have to mail them now. I still want to find my knitting books and vacuum upstairs, but if it doesn't happen then it doesn't happen.

40 Weeks + 3 Days

The doctor and hubby and I have set a date for inducing labour. I had a choice between Nov 20 and 25th. The doctor didn't think we'd naturally go into labour by the 20th, but that we would have delivered by the 25th. Have I mentioned that I think the delivery date will be the 23rd? Anyway, at least now I have a firm end date! The doctor wants me to take it easy until the birth, so I guess some of those activities to induce labour, like walking, is off the table as an option. Can I also remove cleaning (smile)? Also shopping for Christmas presents will be online, so I suppose I should start doing that, fortunately I have a small family, although 2 family members have birthdays close to Christmas. If I send hubby to shop for his family, then I only have to purchase gifts for 5 people for 7 occassions (10 occassions if I include my in-laws).

Today's to do list:

1. Complete the thank you cards (yah, it's been on my list for 3 days)
2. Finish the composting and recycling (it's collection day)
3. Check the light in the garage, hubby thinks it's on some setting that it's not shutting off automatically
4. Vacuum upstairs

40 Weeks + 2 days

Very early this morning I thought I wouldn't be writing this post today, but alas falso alarm and here I am. I asked hubby to work from home today since I was up all night (OK until 4:30am) with labour pains, seems the hot shower at 4am helped ease the pain, relaxed me, and I fell asleep sometime between 4:30 and 5am.

Today's list:

1. Shower and dress
2. Have breakfast and coffee
3. Clean the kitchen
4. Finish the thank you cards (I went shopping yesterday instead for b-day and xmas prezzies)
5. Pack the maternity clothes
6. Find my knitting books (I did clear 2 boxes from the office/dumping ground, but didn't find my knitting books)
7. Go to my weekly doctor's appt and find out a few things, like the last possible day she would induce me, so I can look forward to a maximum length of time.

Update: The doctor will be inducing me on Thursday November 25, although she thinks I'll go into labour on my own early next week.

40 Weeks + 1 day

Well I'm 1 day overdue. I was thinking last night I should come up with ideas to occupy and reward myself while waiting for baby to arrive. I was thinking of blogging my daily list of activities, but that doesn't necessarily include a reward. Here's today's activity list though.

1. Dress, make-up and hair done
2. Have breakfast
3. Start the beef stew in the slow cooker for dinner
4. Clean kitchen & shine the kitchen sink
5. Have coffee
6. Try to find my knitting books so I can finish the baby blanket and baby sweater I'm making (this may take a few days)
7. Put some maternity clothes away
8. Put the remaining laundry away (hubby had to bring it upstairs for me)
9. Finish writing thank you cards for shower gifts - just 5 more to go

I'm thinking one of these days for a reward I would like to get a pedicure.

40 Weeks - Due Date Arrives

Today is my due date. I'm not yet in labour, and I don't think it will be today.

I started reading FlyLady.net today, the baby step to a clean and organized home on day one is a shiny kitchen sink. Well baby step number 1 is actually "a shiny sink" but since all the pictures are of a kitchen sink, I'll just be doing that.

Since I'm not in labour yet, and feeling a little motivated to do things other than sit around and watch TV, I've put together a little to do list for the day.

My to do list:

1. Eat breakfast
2. Shine the kitchen sink
3. Put away 1 basket of clean laundry
4. Shower and dress
5. Have a coffee
6. Dry hair and put on makeup
7. Apply for government maternity leave benefits
8. Apply for work top-up to maternity leave benefits - turns out this one I can't complete until I have proof of #7 being completed.

Bonus Items:

1. Fold and put away another 2 clean baskets of laundry (it was done last night to take advantage of the cheaper electricity rates).
2. Clean master bathroom tub - just in case I go into labour because apparently a warm bath can help. It's just getting down on my knees and leaning over the tub with a huge belly to do the cleaning that is daunting.
3. Take clothing donations to the donation box (maybe I'll do this at lunch time if I go pick up a lunch).
4. Put some of my maternity clothes into a box for storage (the ones that don't fit or are no longer appropriate to the season, like my shorts and Capris).

Updates:

The main list is done, and I even gave myself a manicure!

I Wonder

As my due date approaches I think about a number of things.
Will everything be ready for baby, there are still a number of things to do?
Will the baby be a boy or a girl?
What will the baby's name be, we still haven't settled on a couple of names that we love, none seem quite right?
When will I go into labour, how will I know, will my water break, what will labour be like?

All I can do is take things one day at a time, and I guess finish those last few things to be ready, or at least what I think is ready, for baby's arrival.

9 days left, or 9 days days according to my estimated due date (EDD), since that's no guarantee as apparently only 5% of babies actually arrive on that date. I suppose I should also plan that likely I would go into labour the day before the EDD.