He's here!!!

So I'm incredibly late posting this, but yes, our son finally decided to meet the world!!! Colby Curtis Cameron arrived on Friday, December 7, 2007 at 3:22 am weighing in at 7 lbs. 11 oz. and 19.5" long. He came out showing us that he has a very healthy set of lungs! Grandpa and Auntie Kristy (who were waiting in the lounge) could hear him as soon as he arrived! He is the cutest (although I'm a little biased!) with big blue eyes and a full head of light brown hair. He's a very alert baby and has been since he was born. He enjoys "showing off" (according to his dad) how well he can hold his head up already. He's a pretty strong little guy and has been lifting his head since the day he was born. He's a really great baby and is doing very well. He has actually slept through the night twice so far (in 2 1/2 weeks of being here!)

I am adjusting well to motherhood and loving every minute. It was really great to have Gerry home for the first week after he was born. It was really hard to see him go back to work the second week! But with the craziness of the holiday season, time has flown by and I can't believe he's going to be three weeks tomorrow! I can't believe how fast he's growing and changing already. He is absolutely adorable and certainly looks like his dad (little lips and all!)

We had a great Christmas, although Colby slept through Christmas morning and most of the day after meeting more aunts, uncles, and cousins. He is getting back to normal now after a very busy few days and late nights celebrating the Christmas season with family.

We are having a great time with the two grandsons on the McCracken side of the family. We are convinced that Colby and our nephew, Landon, who is 10 weeks older than Colby, are going to be the best of friends, just like their moms! :) I'm pretty certain that my parents are totally loving every minute of being grandparents too!!! Mom scoops up the boys as soon as we walk in the door, which is great to see!

Hope everyone had a great holiday season and I'm sorry that my updates are so late! I will try very hard to continue to update the blog more regularly... things are a bit busier these days with a three week old baby and Christmas. Forgive me?? :)

Take care and Happy New Year!

Lesley
xoxo

Non-Stress Tests

Last Friday (Nov. 30), I had my 40 week doctor's appointment. At this time, she realized that I lost centimetres in my measurements again (for the third consecutive week). I am only measuring 36.5 cm., which is outside of the normal 2 cm +/- each side. She thinks that I might be losing fluid and this could be the explanation, but is not sure. She tried getting me in for an ultrasound, but the earliest would be Thursday or Friday of this week, which was too late. So instead, I have been sent for numerous non-stress tests and the Misericordia Hospital to monitor the little one and make sure he's alright. I had to go on Friday for one after my appointment with her and everything was fine. He was rather sleepy at first, so the heartbeat was not "reactive", as they like to see. I had to turn over onto my side and then he was much better. Today's test was quite long (about 45 minutes on the monitor), but everything was excellent. A very reactive heartbeat and several movements were exactly what they were looking for. I go back on Wednesday morning for another appointment and then see the doctor on Thursday morning if I haven't gone into labour by then. At this time, she will do induction papers, which will be next Monday if things don't happen on their own. It seems like a very long time to wait, but I guess it's neat to know that one way or another, in one week, he'll be here!

Hope everyone is doing well and is staying warm! I'm convinced that the weather is why he doesn't want to come out yet!! Take care!
Lesley
xoxo

Smile!

Last night (Nov. 26), my sister, Kristy, came over to take a few pregnancy pictures of Gerry and I before it's too late! Thanks so much, Kristy! We set up our own little photo studio in our living room and she got some great shots of my belly and the two of us. It was a lot of fun, but moving around while sitting on the floor proved to be the most challenging part of all!! LOL! Hopefully soon we'll have a baby to take lots of pictures of instead of a big belly!

Take care,
Lesley
xoxo

The wait continues...

The waiting game is on... I am nearly 40 weeks pregnant and Saturday is my due date! We're very excited, but are also waiting anxiously for this little man to arrive. On Saturday (Nov. 24), I woke up thinking that my water had broken, so we headed into the hospital to get everything checked out. Turns out it was a false alarm and my membranes hadn't ruptured yet. :( Hopefully soon... if nothing happens this week, I go back to see my doctor on Friday morning for another check-up. I'm trying to stay busy during the day while Gerry's at work and continue to do a lot of sleeping. Those who truly know me know that sleeping is one of my favorite past times! I know I'm definitely in for lack of sleep very soon, so I'm trying not to feel guilty for sleeping as much as I want now! We attended another baptism yesterday (Nov. 25). Our nephew, Blake, was baptized at Pilgrim United Church in Edmonton. He was such a great baby in church and didn't make a peep at all! He looked adorable in his corduroy pants, dress shirt, and sweater vest. Too cute! Cal and Tracy hosted a lovely lunch afterwards and it was great to visit with everyone at their house. Hopefully soon I'll be able to create a post indicating we are now a family of three! Keep your fingers crossed for us! :) Lesley xoxo

Non-Stress Test

Last night (Nov. 21), I went to the hospital when Gerry got home and was monitored for a while including a non-stress test on the baby. I haven't been feeling well over the past few days (awful sinus thing again) and haven't felt the baby move much. I was getting somewhat worried, so I called Labour & Delivery and they asked me to come in and get checked out. We were there for about an hour and a half and they monitored his heart rate, movements, as well as any contractions. Turns out everything is fine, thank goodness. His heart rate was very "reactive", which they like to see. There were lots of spikes and dips, which shows a strong heartbeat and active movement. I felt silly for going in there since everything was okay, but they kept reassuring me that it's better to come in than not! As I said, I haven't been feeling well and really wish that I could take some medication to get over whatever this is! Too bad I can't... :( I'm trying to get lots of rest, as I really want to be over this before he decides to arrive! Wish me luck... :) I have another doctor's appointment tomorrow (39 weeks), so I'll keep you posted! Lesley xoxo

Another appointment...

I had another doctor's appointment today (37 1/2 weeks). Usually my appointments are on Fridays and have been all along, but because the clinic moved into a new building on Friday, I had to go today. Everything was fine... heartbeat was a little bit higher than it has been lately (140-145 bpm). She said he's still in the head-down position and is ready anytime now, since term is considered 37 weeks. I had lost a little bit of weight, but she wasn't too concerned about it, as my fundal height measurement increased by 1 cm. So now I'm 36 cm, which is in the normal range (2 cm + or - is considered normal). I also got my prenatal papers, which I need to carry with me at all times and take into the hospital when I go. Now's just the waiting game..... I'm beginning to adjust to being at home a little easier. It has been rather strange to be home all day by myself and not have school work to be thinking about or working on. Everyday is a little easier, especially if I try to keep busy. Today I had some errands to do after my appointment and then spent a few hours cleaning. I'm trying to get the house really clean so that I don't have to worry about things when he decides to come! With the craziness that has been the past couple of weeks at school, the housework has definitely taken a back seat, so now is my time to catch up! I'm pretty sleepy from my cleaning... must have time for a nap before Gerry gets home!! :) Talk soon, Lesley xoxo

The Nursery!

Our long-awaited crib FINALLY arrived on Friday, November 9th.
We picked it up from e-children on Saturday while doing a bunch
of errands and shopping for last-minute baby stuff in the city. We were very excited to put it together and finish up the room. It felt really great putting everything in his room and see it come together. I have one more little project that I want to do this week (hopefully!). I'm going to paint wooden letters that spell out his name to mount above his crib. Hopefully that gets done this week!

I demonstrated my first Stampin' Up! home party at Kristy's house yesterday. It was a lot of fun and I think quite successful (for my first one!). Thanks to everyone who came and I hope you liked the cards we made!

I'm trying to catch up on some rest now that I'm at home. I have to admit, it's still quite strange to be home all day with Gerry gone to work. I'm not quite adjusted yet, but I'm sure it will seem natural soon. I have another doctor's appointment tomorrow, so I will keep you posted on how everything goes! I can't believe I'm due in 2 1/2 weeks... my third trimester has definitely flown by!!!

Lesley
xoxo

Last day!

I cannot believe this day has finally arrived... but it is my last day of teaching today! I have been very emotional this week, but it was especially difficult this morning on my drive in to school. I am feeling so many mixed emotions... excitement, worry, sadness, anxiety, and the list goes on. It makes it so much more real now that I will be beginning my maternity leave tomorrow! Teaching is such a huge part of my life and it will be strange to not teach for quite a while! I am truly going to miss my students who I have taught since the beginning of last year when they entered my classroom as grade four students. It's going to be difficult to say goodbye to them today, but will be back to visit often! Can't wait to see them all perform at the Christmas Concert! We have such a close knit staff at school that I'm really going to miss. Thank you to all for the good wishes! I'm going to miss being at Entwistle School...

Take care,
Lesley
xoxo

Progress...

I had my 36 week doctor's appointment yesterday (Friday, Nov. 2). The baby's heartbeat was between 125 and 130, slightly lower than it has been for several months. She said he must be pretty relaxed! I am only measuring 35 cm still (same as last week), but she wasn't too concerned because he's been very active and I gained weight throughout the week. Perhaps next week he will have grown a bit so my measurements catch up to my weeks... guess we'll have to wait and see! He has been very active, especially in the afternoons and evenings. I feel a lot of rolling and body parts like elbows and feet kicking my ribs! My doctor thinks I have dropped a little bit, which I feel as well. She also did an internal and I am beginning to efface and am 1 cm dilated already! Hopefully this pace continues so I'm not much overdue, if any at all! Maybe he'll arrive closer to my original due date of November 23...... I only have 4 more teaching days... my last day of work is on Thursday, November 8th! :) I'm looking forward to the time off, as I haven't been feeling so great lately. I've had headaches daily and am very tired. My days at school have been pretty long trying to get ready for the new teachers taking over my position, so it makes for some very long days! Only 4 more though, so I'm hanging in there!! Next week is our last prenatal class at the Misericordia Hospital. The last couple of sessions have been very informative (stages of labor, pain relief, c-sections, etc.). Gerry didn't enjoy the stages of labor talk so much (with yet another very graphic video!) I think he'll be happy that they're over this week. We're loving being an Auntie and Uncle to Landon Boe! He's so adorable and LOVES to snuggle, which makes Auntie very happy! :) Hopefully our little man enjoys snuggling too! Gerry is really good with him too! We are STILL awaiting the arrival of our crib! I am getting very frustrated with the situation, as it was supposed to arrive at the end of August, but now we're told should be here this week. I just want to finish setting up the nursery to feel somewhat more prepared!! Lesley xoxo

A very busy week!

This week has been pretty crazy!! On Tuesday night, we started our prenatal classes at the Misericordia Hospital. It was interesting... Gerry didn't particularly enjoy the birthing video that was shown or the anatomy and physiology discussion that took place. Other than that, it was alright. We got a tour of the hospital, which was good. I sure hope that there aren't too many women having babies on the day that I go in so that we can get a theme room!!! They are quite luxurious private rooms decorated by Edmonton hotels... and they only have 4 of them! Kristy was in one during her last night at the hospital and it was so nice! Wish us luck...

I then had Parent-Teacher Interviews on Wednesday and Thursday nights, so they were both late nights. Not getting very much sleep to begin with and then working late is not so fun. A few people went back to one of our friend's places in Edmonton last night for some drinks. It was a late night too, but very fun. Thanks, Bryn!

Hooray for Modified School Days... I didn't have to work today (Friday, Oct. 19th)! I was so happy to sleep in, then take a nap even. :) I'm glad I got to catch up on some needed sleep and hope that this weekend proves to be more of that with few plans as of right now. Fingers crossed!

The nursery is coming together (minus the crib still!) and it's looking really good. I'm excited for our crib to come in, as that's one of the last big things to put in there. It has been VERY delayed (we were supposed to get it at the end of August!) but apparently it's now in Vancouver in customs. Perhaps another week and a half... good thing we ordered it when we did!

Our little man has been very active these days! No wonder I'm having troubles sleeping with continuous kicks and rolls happening whenever I lie down for some rest. Although I'm not complaining as I truly love to feel his every movement and think I'm going to miss it in a few weeks! 6 more weeks to go until my due date and only 3 more weeks of work!!! I cannot believe how fast my third trimester has gone! He'll be here before we know it!

Have a great weekend everyone and talk soon!
Lesley
xoxo

He's getting ready.....

I had another doctor's appointment today... I'm now 33 weeks. All went really well and I'm measuring exactly 33 cm, which was a relief to me. I was worried I was going to be bigger again this week. The baby has finally moved into the proper head-down position, which was really good news. At my last appointment, he was still lying in a transverse position and my doctor was hoping that he would move downward by 34 weeks at the lastest. He did, so that's good! When she took the heartbeat, it was incredibly high at first (158 bpm)! It was so high because she was poking around trying to find his head. It was dropping to its norm after a minute when she stopped pushing around on him in there. I'm sure he was wondering what was going on and why someone was pushing around on his head!

I'm feeling pretty good these days, just feeling extremely tired. I'm sleeping not too badly, just never long enough it seems. My days at school are very long and I'm quite tired by midday. The drive isn't helping for sure... it adds an hour and a half to my day! Only 17 more teaching days with kids, so the time is flying by really quickly. My last day of work is Thursday, November 8th. It's going to be tough to leave my kids that I've taught for a year and two months, but I also think I'm going to be ready for the time off!

We start our prenatal classes at the Misericordia Hospital on Tuesday night. They run every Tuesday from October 16th from 7:30-9:30 pm until November 6th. I'm looking forward to the information and relieving some of my anxieties about a few things!

I also have a new adventure... I am now a Stampin' Up Demonstrator, so I'm looking forward to putting my passion and excitement of scrapbooking and cardmaking into practice with others! I'll be sending out some more information on this new adventure via email soon, but hopefully I can see you soon for a home party or something!

Hope all is well with you! Enjoy the weekend ahead!
Luv,
Lesley

A new nephew!!!

It has been an incredibly CRAZY week... the final preparations for my sister's wedding kept us busy enough, but on top of all of that, my sister, Kristy and my brother-in-law, Kyle, welcomed their son into the world on Thursday afternoon!!! I am so glad that both are doing fine now and we have an absolutely adorable new nephew, Landon Don Boe. I can't wait for our son to meet his cousin, Landon, very soon!!!
Jody's wedding went very well... it was a gorgeous day and everything was great. I was very nervous to do my reading at the church, but even more nervous to co-MC the evening with Kristy. All was fine once we got underway and we even got several comments on the program, which was really nice! It was a really fun, but very eventful and tiring day. I was silly enough to dance to the New Kids on the Block dance with my sisters and the Schram girls just like old times! I can't believe I did the "Running Rabbit" while 8 months pregnant! Looking back, probably not the best idea I've ever had! Gerry was a little upset I subjected our child to the singing and dancing of NKOTB!!! LOL! We came home by about 11:30. When we got home and I tried to lie down to go to sleep, the baby thought it was time to get up and play for a while apparently! It was not a very restful sleep, as I kept waking up to kicks and rolls throughout the night! :( I couldn't believe how run down I felt... glad it's a long weekend to get some more rest before another busy week at school.
I only have one more month of school left! My last day of work is Thursday, November 8th, which will come quickly, I'm sure. September flew by with being really busy, so I'm sure October will as well.
Happy Birthday, Mom!!! My mom is celebrating her 50th birthday today!!! Hope you have a fantastic day, Mom! Love you!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Enjoy the long weekend! I'm sure counting my blessings... I have a lot to be thankful for in my life!!

Luv,
Lesley

So much to catch up on!!

Wow, it has been a long time since I've added a new post to the blog! So sorry! Things are really busy at school again (as September usually is)! I'm feeling pretty well these days, but just really tired by the end of the school day. Not too much energy to work too much in the evenings, although it has to be done!
What have we been up to...?? Last weekend (Sept. 22/23), we painted the nursery, which looks great! We painted it a sage green that matches our crib bedding. I'm really happy with the way it turned out, although Gerry and I now know that we are never going to do renovations together... we might end up divorced!! LOL!
Auntie Jen came for a visit on Sept. 27th! I was so excited to see her since we haven't seen her in quite a while. With a three-week trip to Europe including racing in the World Triathlon Championships, we've missed her! She got to feel our little man kick her for the first time, so I was really excited she could feel it!! He is moving so much lately... I LOVE it! He especially likes to roll around at night time as I'm lying in bed. It's pretty crazy to see my entire tummy move as he's rolling around or to see a body part kick out of me!! It's like no other feeling, that's for sure. I think I'm going to miss it once he's born... :(
I had another doctor appointment yesterday (Sept. 28). Everything is still fine... baby's heartbeat was 130 bpm and I'm measuring 32 cm. Just one cm bigger, but she said nothing to worry about! Back again in two weeks!
Things are definitely becoming more real now with the purchase of our first packs of diapers and wipes today! We had quite the shopping day today and even found our little one his first two pairs of Oilers booties, as well as a soother and clip! So cute!!! An Oiler fan already, just like his daddy!!
Auntie Kristy's due date is today, but no baby yet. :( We are so excited for them and can't wait to meet Baby Boe soon. Hopefully he/she arrives soon, since Auntie Jody's wedding is next weekend! We're hoping that all happens quickly (and soon) so that she's out of the hospital and is able to make it to the wedding. All the best, Kristy and Kyle!! Love you!
So there's a quick update in a nutshell. I'm really going to try and post more often... I promise!

Lesley
xoxo

Uncooperative baby...

I kept this somewhat of a secret in my last post, so here's the news... we're going to have a BABY BOY!!! On Saturday, we decided to find out the sex of the baby at our first UC Baby appointment. We felt this overwhelming feeling that we needed to know if it was our son or our daughter that we were looking at! We're so excited to know and just can't wait to meet him soon!!

Today we went back to UC Baby for a follow-up attempt to obtain better pictures of our little man. He was quite uncooperative and didn't really want to get his picture taken! At first, he had one of his feet up at head and was playing with his foot in his hand. The umbilical cord was still in the way of great pictures. Then by the end, his entire arm was in front of his face! Crazy baby!!! A bit disappointing, but I'm really glad we got some good pictures on Saturday. She got some shots of his manhood and actually commented on 'his nice package'! LOL! She said that since I wasn't feeling so great, the baby is most likely affected too and was a bit more lazy today. Could be why he didn't want to move so much today...

I'm starting to feel a bit better now after having a brutal cold. It's still not gone yet, but it's definitely getting better!

Lesley
xoxo

UC Baby!!!

On Saturday, September 15, Gerry and I went to UC Baby in downtown Edmonton. It is a company that specializes in 3D ultrasounds for babies between 20 and 35 weeks. Since I was 29 weeks, we thought it was a great time to go.

It was such an incredible experience! Seeing our baby on the screen looking more developed than we've seen before was pretty amazing! It was kicking a lot, but I couldn't feel it because the knees were kicking into the placenta. Only when it kicked harder off to the side can I feel it now. Then it was nap time for a while. I love how snuggled up it was!

The ultrasound technician found out the sex of the baby right away, but we didn't want to know. Then, we both decided that we wanted to know... seeing our baby on the screen made us just want to know if we were having a son or a daughter!!! So finally, she told us and we are so happy to know now! Give us a call if you want to know... :)

We are going back on Tuesday, September 18 for another session because the baby would not let go of the umbilical cord. There was a shadow across its face and chin because it was holding onto it so tightly! I had to get up and walk around and eat three suckers within the hour we were there to try and make it move a bit. No such luck then, so we'll try again on Tuesday!

Evened out!

I had another prenatal appointment this morning and am relieved to know that my measurement has evened out. I am now measuring 29 cm, just as I should be now that I'm 29 weeks. Thank goodness! However, I didn't gain any weight the past two weeks, which she said we'll have to keep an eye on. If I don't gain any weight in the next two weeks, I might have to have another ultrasound to find out why. Hopefully it's just the fact that I'm really busy at school and am much more active now than I was in the summer time during the day and nothing to do with the baby's growth! Walking the halls of my school several times a day is keeping the weight gain down apparently! The baby's heartbeat was 140 bpm this morning, which is still consistent to what it has been. The baby is in good position right now (head down already), but could still easily move since there is a lot of fluid and still some time to go.

We are going to UC Baby tomorrow morning, which is a 3D ultrasound company in downtown Edmonton. We're really excited to see pictures of our developing baby! When my brother-in-law and his wife had it done with our nephew, it was amazing to see the pictures!! I'll be sure to post some pictures of the little one!

School is going really well... I have a great class this year of only 16 students. They are really great kids, but I'm still exhausted at the end of the day. They're very understanding, as I tend to sit a lot on my stool at the front of the classroom. :) Only a couple more months to go... I'm going to be done work on November 8, which will be 37 weeks. I'm sure it will go by quickly.....

Lesley
xoxo

Too big??!!

Last Friday I had another regular prenatal appointment (at 27 weeks). Everything is still great... strong heartbeat at about 135 bpm. It has been between 135-145 bpm for several months now. Lower heartbeat = maybe a boy??!! Who knows... I am apparently measuring 2 cm larger than I should be at this point (29 cm instead of 27). She wasn't too concerned about it, but will check and see at the next appointment in two weeks. If I'm still a bit bigger then, then I might need to go for another ultrasound to find out why. So strange, as everyone keeps telling me I look small for being due in three months!! Everyone carries so differently, I suppose!!

Well, it's back to school for me now... things are busy now as always as a new school year begins. Thank goodness I have such a great class (only 16 students!) this year. They make it much easier to make it through the day! I'm feeling well... just really tired by the end of the day with sore feet and back. I'll make it until November 8th I'm sure, which is when I intend to be finished working (37 weeks advised by my doctor). Only 2 months to go and then I'll have a few weeks to be at home before Baby Cameron arrives! My students are very inquisitive and are asking a lot of questions about the baby, which is neat (especially the grade 2's). Today during one of my music classes, it seemed to enjoy the song I was playing on the piano and we were singing, as it really kicked a lot during that block!! It was pretty fun!

Have a great week, everyone!
xoxo
Lesley

Soccer Player?!

Last night (August 28th) was the first time that Gerry felt the baby kick!!! I was lying down and noticed that it was the most strong kick that I've felt so far. Gerry put his hand on my tummy and it kept kicking hard so Gerry could feel it! It was really exciting, as he hasn't felt it before then. Makes things feel more real than seeing the baby on an ultrasound machine or in pictures!

It was my first day back to school and had a PD session this morning followed by a staff meeting in the afternoon. It was great to be back at work. The baby really enjoyed the humor and songs of the presenter this morning as it kicked most of the time throughout his presentation! I think he/she might enjoy music a lot, especially with all of the music classes that I teach!

We're heading out of town this long weekend for one more quadding trip of the year. It will most likely be our last camping trip without a baby... Enjoy your long weekend everyone!

xoxo
Lesley

Busy weekend!

Gerry and I headed down to Strathmore this weekend to see some friends before it's back to the craziness of the school year. We were happy to spend some time with Mark, Corinne, Matthew, and Cameron. I absolutely LOVE watching Gerry play with the boys... he's going to be so great with our kids! We spent Saturday and Sunday with Chuck, Danielle, and Finley! We haven't seen them for about 8 months (since Finley was a newborn)... WAY too long! Finley is absolutely adorable and it was so great to hang out with the Plett's for a while! We went to the GlobalFest International Fireworks Finale last night and watched in the rain. Pretty neat, but the weather definitely could've been better! After a delicious brunch at the good old Strathmore Station this morning, I stopped in at a school I used to teach at to have a quick visit with Sherri! What a great weekend to spend time with friends!!
Tomorrow I'm going for my gestational diabetes test in the morning and then will probably head out to school... AGAIN! I'm now 26 weeks, which means that my younger sister is 35 weeks! She's very close to her due date and we are all getting very excited! Can't wait to have another niece or nephew soon (although most everyone thinks it's a girl!!)

Have a good week everyone.
xoxo
Lesley

Back to reality... soon!

It's that time of year again... I can't believe how quickly the summer has gone by! The baby and I are busy trying to get ready for a new school year. While they are doing renovations in my classroom, which means I can't even set anything up yet, I have been out to the school a few times getting ahead on photocopying and stuff. It's stressing me out that we start work in a week and my classroom has nothing but a huge, new furnace in it!! Oh well... just need to try and be patient!

The baby continues to be very active, sometimes at some inconvenient times of the day like in the middle of the night! I still love feeling every movement! I'm still working on navigating around this site and adding photos properly, so be patient... I have some belly pics coming!!

Hope everyone is enjoying the last week of summer, although the weather sure isn't making it feel like summer!

Take care,
Lesley

Welcome to our blog!

Well, here it goes... I'm going to try out keeping a blog of this journey called pregnancy. We are so excited for the baby to come (although we're not exactly 'ready' yet!) I am now 23 weeks and every week brings something new, which is great! Life is never boring having a little one growing inside... I have been feeling quite a bit of movement, which has been interesting. It's an indescribable feeling to have a little baby kicking and punching throughout the day (and night!). We hope you enjoy following this journey through our blog as much as we do!
Talk soon,
Lesley