Maija Puddle.com

I’m 37 weeks pregnant so the baby can arrive at any time now. Which is so crazy to think since I’m such a planner and I have the next few weeks covered with activities and errands and chores that need to be done BEFORE our baby arrives. Its funny, of course I need to plan but yet be open to the baby arriving at any time.  Our little bundle (or “superbaby” as the nickname given at a surprise baby shower Sunday) will decide when its good and ready to show its head

There’s still many things to prepare, purchase and do. I feel like I can’t get everything done in my slow turtle pregnant body pace but I’m sure gonna try. Know I have to space the tasks out but trying to fit in doing late pregnancy exercises daily since its supposed to  make labour easier.  I’m not a fan of pain so keeping exercises on my daily to-do list.

Catching myself saying things that I’d never thought I’d hear myself say:

“Is my tummy too small … should it be bigger?”

“Can you just buy two vanilla icecreams since I go thru one in a day?”

“I’m stuck … I can’t get up.”

“What’s my phone number again, I can’t remember?”

Starting to feel so big and uncomfortable…SO I’m starting the official countdown… about 5 more weeks to meet our little Puddle. Oh baby I love you! Baby seems to be growing really fast now, I’m gaining weight very rapidly. A friend who’s seen me a couple days in a row commented that I seem like I’ve grown over the last three days. No doubt, feeling a bit bigger everyday. You should see me bumping into things now on a daily basis, every time I get used to my new parameters they change! So confusing. Squeezing past obstacles making room for the expanding tummy but forgetting how big I am until *bang* awww! haha… I look like a new driver. I pride myself on my driving but now I can’t even walk like a pro. Oh humility!

This Christmas was so special for us as we countdown towards our new arrival, our belated Christmas gift. Even though both of us are oceans apart from our immediate family we were able to join my second cousins’ family for festivities, and what a blessing it was to be around family! We celebrated Finnish style with joulu sauna, and I got to cheer Jonathan on from the sidelines as he dipped himself through the ice to cool off. Of course I couldn’t go in, the baby told me it was not interested in being cooled off.

Its been so nice to be around extended family and friends this holiday. We are now visiting a city just south of our hometown, and catching up with friends. We feel so rich and refreshed surrounded by love and friendship.

Lately I’ve been feeling more and more pregnant if that’s possible. I know you either are or aren’t, but I’ve been experiencing pregnancy in my brain and not just the visible ever expanding areas. I know its normal but it certainly does feel funny. I keep bumping into furniture totally misgauging my own body’s parameters.  Jonathan describes it as when you get a new car and it takes a few days to learn the car’s parameters and do a perfect parallel park.  Well I’m getting used to new parameters almost weekly now. I finally stopped jabbing my side on Jonathan’s desk every time I roll out of bed. (He moved his office into our bedroom to make room for the baby in old office.)

But the part that feels the strangest is the complete obliviousness to the passage of time. I think pregnant women should be warned about the time warp you step into during the third trimester.  I have completely lost the ability to tell how much time passes and gauge how much time it takes to preform tasks.  I’m moving slower now, but I don’t feel as if I am. I realized this when I set out to put socks on the other morning, and it took 30 minutes. Told a friend I’d be over in 20 minutes, arrived an hour and 40 minutes feeling like only 20 minutes had passed.  Fall asleep for a 10 minute nap and I blow through two hours.  But the scary thing is it feels like 10 minutes, can’t tell the difference at all. So I’ve resorted to wearing a watch.

Amused myself this week by beginning to decorate the baby room. Looking forward to next month when we’ll start buying furniture. Oh lala…

Can you guess what movie I just watched?   …………… Kung Fu Panda

Eventful week, so this weekend is quite the welcome break.  Been nice to start having regular visits from friends who are in town for Christmas.  I’m no longer walking any significant distances, recently decided after falling  twice on the slippery snow/ice. But don’t worry the baby didn’t break the fall my trusty padded BUTT and HANDS did.  Didn’t realize I was so exhausted until I literally couldn’t keep my eyes for an hour straight today (I even had to take a break half way thru the movie.)

This week we toured the hospital’s birthing unit where our baby will be born. I tried my best not be traumatized or act traumatized as I stared at all the medical equipment and wondered out loud their uses. Jonathan had to keep squeezing my hand every once in awhile, so maybe my emotions were not quite hidden very well. Big surprise… that’s the pregnant me these days, every emotion written across my face.

I did like the big colourful exercise balls though. The midwife giving us the tour and briefing was very nice and cheery. The hospital delivery unit is pretty small so they don’t expect you to come in until you’re an hour or two away from delivery. And HOW am I supposed to know that, I asked. Apparently I’ll just know, and its some instinct that’s inside me somewhere. So let’s see if it surfaces.  But I did leave the hospital feeling slightly more at ease, ready and relieved, so now if i can just find some online birthing classes/videos to watch since there aren’t any around here.  If anyone has any suggestions, I’m all ears.

Doing well. Getting used to this last trimester of pregnancy. Leg cramps if I accidentally sleep on my back, needing 2-3 hour naps in the middle of the day and naps if I do ANY whatsoever exercise, eating early hours in the morning (again!), and sleeping a larger percentage of the day than I’m awake.

Yesterday we met probably the first impatient Finn I’ve encountered since moving here, or at least one who let their emotion show.  We got honked at while crossing the street in town, because we were too slow. I had just walked about 2 km and was waddling my way across an intersection, tired, achy and trying not to slip on the ice.  So this individual driver decided we were walking too slow for his liking and want us to get a move on it so he  laid his hand upon his horn.  He chose the wrong person to mess with that morning. I felt my blood begin to boil as I was ready to let myself explode, and yell “I’M SEVEN MONTHS PREGNANT, SORRY I’M NOT WALKING FAST ENOUGH!” AHHHHH!!!! (in Finnish of course.)

But luckily in time I noticed the driver’s window was closed so he wouldn’t have heard anything. Boo… I wish Finns were a bit more confrontational and he’d opened his window to call out giving me at least a chance to give a polite response. hfmph. Guess I’m starting to notice that maybe all these pregancy hormones are effecting me slightly.

On a funnier note, I woke up from a bad dream this week feeling like someone in the room just shook up stomach trying to wake me. I sat up in the dark and looked around the room. Jonathan was sound alseep beside me, I poked him just to make sure he wasn’t faking. Who touched me or more like karate chopped in the stomach…? Probably a more rational person, or someone who didn’t just wake up from a bad dream, wouldn’t have started imaging goblins ready to pounce from the shadows. AND that’s when I felt it again, the baby give me one good karate kick in the centre of my stomach Hahahaha… I threw myself down into the bed laughing. Geez baby you scaried me! Such a playful baby, loving the baby before even meeting him/her.

1.  The excuse to eat as much as I want.

2.  Dinner choices become my choice almost everyday.

3.  The luxurious excuse of getting to sleep in late and take naps.

4.  Breakfast in bed.

5.  Daily back massages.

6.  Wearing comfy clothes EVERYDAY.

7.  Someone else – Jonathan does up the laces and buckles on my winter boots.

8.  Don’t have to carry anything (or at least not heavy things.)

9.  Haven’t vacuumed once yet.

10.  and OF COURSE having our wee little one with me all day, every day!  Each day I feel like I get front row seats to watch the baby dance out its excercises and respond to my cheering.  Jonathan join us too so don’t worry he doesn’t feel too left out.

Intro to Puddle Video Blogging

Looks like I’m not alone in my latest frustration. I’ve decided to write out my complaints to get them out of my system so to speak. (Don’t want to bottle up frustrations and harbor negative energies that the baby can pick up on.)

So here it is AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Ok just had to get that out. It looks like I’m not the only one though, try googling “Canada Post sucks” and you’ll see what I mean. So I moved away from the homeland a little over a year ago and since then have been sending letters and packages back to Canada regularly from Finland.

I’ve discovered that its such a hit or miss postal service. I mean sometimes the letters/packages get there under 4 days! And this week my letter arrived within 2.5 days of sending it! But the CRAZY thing is that I mailed a package and a letter to the same person 2.5 weeks ago that still hasn’t arrived!!!! So yes the birthday cards are late, and yes I’m working on my some Christmas cards now to make sure they actually get to Canada by Christmas. In July I sent a package to a friend in Toronto and she received it mid-October! So really it seems that the service Canada Post provides is ALL over the place and reliably consistent what-so-ever.  But the problem looks to be also within Canada and sending packages out; last Christmas my sister send me a Christmas present that arrived mid-February.

But I’m not really allowed to complain about Canada Post to one of my sisters, who tells me “I’ve got nothing”. She almost ended up with a criminal record for the package she sent. Apparently someone at Canada Post thought it would be an amazing prank to open her police check application, insert some porn and send it on to the station.

Well all I’m thinking is if my family and I have had all these experiences of the Canada Post’s lacking services then I’m pretty darn sure we aren’t the only ones, as I know my luck doesn’t suck that much.  Its not like I can stop sending packages, but maybe actually….. and start sending money and e-cards? hmmmm… that might be the my solution. Don’t think anyone will complain, who doesn’t like receiving money?

It took alot of convincing that he was capable of making them as he was quite confused with how they were supposed to look. But I think they turned out great and are super comfortable to wear! Go Dad go!