Baby Shower!

Darryl & I drove up to Canada on the morning of Mar. 9, to visit my family and friends. It was, all in all, a lovely visit and the weather was relatively temperate. We arrived about 2 a.m. on Saturday and, after some sleep, just relaxed with the family. I won't detail our entire trip, but I will highlight some get-togethers that have to do with William's arrival.

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On Sunday, after church and a nice lunch with Kate, Debra, Katherine, Sara W., and the family, we drove everyone (save Debra) up to St. Catharines to attend a baby shower hosted by Tante Hilde. The guests: Tante Hilde & Uncle Peter, Steve & Marie, Sara, Oma & Opa, Tante Anna, Uncle Owen & Tante Helga, Karl, Katie, Peter, Tante Dorothy & Uncle Nick, Jen & Scott & Eben, Dave & Katherine, Kate, and Lindsay (a guest of the Wegeners).

We played two shower games: the first was 15 wrapped baby items (e.g. socks, wipes) and everyone had to guess what each item was; the second was a bowlful of Skittles, of which everyone had to take 15. After each person had their candies, points were allotted for each colour; Dave won that game since he had chosen all purple Skittles and purples had the highest point value.

After the games, we opened up our gifts, which were numerous. Many thanks to Katie, who wrote down who gave us what, else I'd never have been able to keep track of it. Here is a general list of the gifts we received:

- blankets of all sizes and textures
- hooded towels
- baby essentials (wipes, lotions, diapers, thermometer, etc.)
- stuffed animals and toys
- sleepers
- books
- hats
- socks
- bibs
- washcloths
- teethers
- a "twirly whirly", which is an accessory you can twirl onto a stroller or crib that has toys and doodads hanging off of it to stimulate baby
- little outfits
- John Deere truck (guess who that was from!? :-)
- baby sling
- vibrating bouncer and batteries
- (some gifts for the parents: bath foam and peanut butter Smarties)

And from my parents: a lot of nostalgia items from my own babyhood. This included a crib mobile (the fluorescent colours date the decade of my birth!), some socks & shoes, little outfits (mostly the yellow ones I wore that are gender-neutral), a teddy bear, a crocheted/knitted blanket, and a lot of other baby essentials like diapers. Also a cute Winnie-the-Pooh letter "W" and a letter "P" for William's initials.

After the gifts, we ate a wonderful supper and dessert, and got some time to converse with everyone. It was a really nice get-together and we enjoyed seeing everyone very much. I should also mention that before she left after lunch, Debra gave me a nursing bracelet that she made: it helps you keep track of your last or next feeding.

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On Monday, we went to have a brief tour of the new home for Morris Marketing Group in North York. I enjoyed saying "hi" to all of Pap's colleagues again, chatting with them, and seeing how much they really are fond of Pap. :-) The next day, Maggie sent home a gift for William with Pap: a blue teddy bear and a baby picture frame. I can't wait to put a photo in there! After visiting Pap's work we had lunch with Dave and then a hectic walkabout in downtown T.O. Finally we went to Audrey & Ben's condo in the evening and got together with my high school chums. That was a very nice get-together too. Ben cooked, and it was great to catch up on how everyone is doing. My friends presented us with a gift for William: Robeez shoes (they are apparently popular but--not being a fashion connaisseur, especially not of children's clothes--I had never heard of them), "Love you Forever" book by Robert Munsch, a Dr. Seuss book, and a Curious George book.

Tuesday, while visiting Jen & Scott & Eben, Jen loaned us a huge bag of cloth diapers for William -- yay!! So, even though I'll be working full-time, at least I can be a tiny bit enviro-conscientious.

Later in the week, while visiting Oma & Opa with Mom, Tante Marichen dropped in to say "hi" and gave us some little candy cane socks for William. Also she showed us photos of Beth & Jay's daughter, Aspen. I hadn't seen Tante Marichen in several years, so that was a particularly pleasant surprise.

Darryl & I had a fabulous week in Canada: we got to see a lot of people, got to spend some time (albeit not enough) with the family, got to play games, etc. I enjoyed it a great deal, though time seemed to just fly and now I'm back in Alabama (it was nice to get back to where it's warm and things are sunny and blooming!). THANK YOU very much to everyone for the company and for the gifts for William. I'm looking forward to seeing you again in July!!!! I will post some shower photos once I get around to it!

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In other news: I am finally into the third trimester. I am definitely feeling a little more "rotund" even though both Darryl & I got compliments in Canada about how good we look. Some things are definitely uncomfortable, like: some of my usual sitting positions (on the bed), bending over, leaning with my stomach against a surface, getting into and out of my car. For the most part, though, I have good energy and am in a good mood. I still like to feel William kicking (only Pap, of the family, seemed interested in feeling him kick), and I am very much looking forward to meeting him. Yes, I know I keep saying that!! Darryl started painting William's room, and I ordered the ABC wallpaper border. Yay!!

Ron, from Darryl's work, gave us a baby health kit which includes comb, brush, nail clippers, etc.--a lot of those small things one might forget. Thank you, Ron! And I forgot to previously mention that a girl at my work, Donna, gave me a humorous pregnancy book and little keepsake boxes to put William's first tooth and first lock of hair in. Thank you, Donna! Additionally, we recently bought a baby bathtub, some diaper cream, and some more wipes.

TMI (=too much info) Alert:
THE WEIRDEST THING is that (and, if you are at all squeamish you may wish to stop reading) I am starting to lactate a bit. This is not unsual and some of the women on the pregnancy.org online bulletin board (who are also due in June) have been lactating for some time. Two nights ago I thought I saw a milky drop escape in the shower, but I felt I might be imagining things. Last night during my shower, same thing. So I basically tried 'milking myself' as one would a cow, and sure enough: clearish, milky discharge. Darryl seemed much more interested in this than I was. To tell you the truth, it is kind of freaky and I have an aversion to the thought of it at the moment. Hopefully I will get used to it over time. Thankfully I am not "leaking" yet...

Week 28

"By this week, your baby weighs a little over 2 pounds and measures about 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. Her fat layers are continuing to build up as she gets ready for life outside the womb. The big news this week is that your baby can open and close her eyes — which now sport full lashes. This movement is more of a reflexive blink than a deliberate opening and closing, but it won't be long before she's batting those beauties at you!"

-- from: www.babycenter.com