29 Weeks

Baby Connell weighs 2 1/2 pounds and measures in at 15 inches head to heel, Mama Connell's maternity clothes fit a whole lot differently than they did when they were bought in October and Papa Connell is feeling the affects of the holiday work schedule he created.

I wish I had more to say this week but I've been at work and it's been pretty slow. I have a doctor's appointment on Wednesday so there will be a lot more to report.

Happy New Year!

Ode to Baby Gap

Socks and blankets and onesies oh my!
Why do you have so many cute things for me to buy?
30% off and just for today?
Now there’s no way I could just walk away!
Here’s all my cash courtesy of Ma Con,
In ten measly minutes, my money’s all gone.

Seriously, how cute is this?


1. Yes, it's green and blue but I think it's cute for a girl.
2. Yes, that's my work chair and desk but it's the holidays and they expect you to take pictures of clothing you've bought for your unborn child during the holidays.
3. Judes likes frequent updates so this one's for her.

28 Weeks

Baby Connell weighs a little over 2 pounds and measures 14.8 inches head to heel; Mama Connell only has to work until noon today and Papa Connell moans in his sleep.

Merry Christmas to you and yours from my 7 month belly (picture taken at work on - dress down day - again!).

The Princess and the Pee

At 5:30 this morning, everyone in the Connell house was up. I woke up to pee, Owen woke up because I did, Lucy woke up because Owen did and Junior woke up because 5:30 is prime kicking-Mama's-bladder time. It takes me so long to get back to sleep that this morning I threatened to just pee the bed. The only time I don't have to pee is when I'm actually peeing. It takes me four tries in the morning to empty my bladder. Owen can't believe the number of times I go to the bathroom in one given night. Michelle at work said she had to stop drinking at 4pm everyday just to get some sleep at night. I'd try that but I'm so thirsty all the time, especially when I wake up. I am not doing well with the interrupted sleep patterns and have the dark circles under my eyes to prove it.

I've peed on the Go Train, at the Go Train station, at Union Station, in every bathroom at the Eaton Center, every floor at work, every stall on my own floor and have gotten quite chummy with the cleaning staff of my building since I'm in the bathroom so often that when they come in to clean every hour they see my (fake) smiling face. I no longer have stage fright when it comes to peeing in public. I could pee in front of the Queen these days.

All of this no sleep and no modesty must be preparing me for life with a newborn.

Happy Birthday Owen!

Mr. Connell does not like birthdays. In fact, think about how much I love birthdays - he feels the exact opposite about them. Our running joke is that his ideal birthday would be to lock himself in our bedroom and listen to 'The Logical Song' over and over and over again - then again, it's not exactly a joke when he's actually done it!

Because he doesn't like birthdays it is near impossible to snap a picture of him with his cake that doesn't have obscene hand gestures or my brother crouched behind the birthday boy with his tongue sticking out. So, here's a picture of the birthday cake Judes made for him.

Happy Birthday baby.

Sign #4 Owen's Forgotten I'm Pregnant

Owen: "You're crying?! That's not a sad song! She's a heroin addict!"
Jen: "Yeah, but someone loved her!"

Song in Question: Running to Stand Still by U2

27 Weeks

Baby Connell is still around 2 pounds and measures 14.4 inches, Mama Connell is officially in her third trimester and had a dream last night that we had a baby girl - her name was Stevie and she was born with 7 teeth and Papa Connell is prefacing everything he does with ‘this better not show up in your blog!’.

It should come as no surprise that being pregnant is way different than not being pregnant. Everyday things I’ve been doing for 32 years have changed in a way I could not have imagined. For instance:

Not Pregnant: Huh, I have to go to the bathroom. There must be one at the other end of the mall – I’ll get there after The Gap.
Pregnant: I have to go to the bathroom RIGHT NOW. I know I just went 2 stores ago but I need to try out every bathroom in Sherway Gardens.
Lesson Learned: When out in public be aware of where the bathrooms are and how long it will take you to get to said bathroom. Cleanliness is key but in a pinch you can go anywhere.

Not Pregnant: Little People, Big World is a great show. I can’t believe they have Little People conferences. What a wonderful world.
Pregnant: Wow, they are at the Little People conference. Who is that? Little Zack? He’s 13? (sob) 2 feet tall? (sob) Father being shipped off to Iraq? (sob)
Lesson Learned: Keep boxes of Kleenex readily available in various rooms of your home.

Not Pregnant: This is really good pizza, I think I’ll have another slice.
Pregnant: This is really good pizza, I’m so glad I ordered it when Owen was at work so I could eat the whole thing and destroy the box so he doesn’t know I didn’t save him any.
Lesson Learned: The baby loves pepperoni.

Not Pregnant: Wow, co-worker’s wife had his baby? That’s sweet. A big baby? Toddler size? That’s funny. Good for them.
Pregnant: How big was the baby? 10 pounds? (cross legs) 10 POUNDS 12 OUNCES? (uncross legs, place head between knees and breathe)
Lesson Learned: Do not ask a question if you don't want to know the answer.

Not Pregnant: It’s warm in our bedroom. I think I’ll only use a sheet. Oh, look how cute Owen is when he’s sleeping.
Pregnant: It’s too f-ing hot in here. Get these damn blankets off me. It’s so dry, I’m so thirsty, it’s like a desert. What is that noise? Is Owen snoring? Is he trying to keep me up all night? I’m gonna kick him. Dude is like a furnace. No wonder I’m so warm. What is the matter with him? Doesn’t he know I’m dying over here? ‘Oh, you’re awake? Couldn’t sleep? No, I didn’t kick you. Now that you're up, could you go get me a glass of water?’
Lesson Learned: Pregnancy is the reason God created spare bedrooms.

O Christmas Tree

This weekend in Kitchener, Joel and I helped Mom and Dad put up their Christmas tree. I'm always surprised at the number of ornaments Mom and Dad have accumulated over 35 years of marriage. There are the sentimental ornaments: Nan Kennedy's bell, my yellow snowman from Brownies and the giant bulb Joel made in grade school made out of sequins and push pins. There are ornaments they have had since the were married, and ornaments that have just become part of the Kennedy Christmas experience over the years.

Last night Owen and I put up our own Christmas tree. It is a lot smaller than the one at Casa Kennedy and we haven't amassed such a vast ornament collection as Judes & Donnie K. have -yet - but again there are sentimental favorites: Owen's ornaments from his childhood, a Piglet ornament we bought together as part of a private joke and of course the obligatory Toronto Maple Leaf's bulb. We listened to the Ramones sing, "Merry Christmas (I Don't Wanna Fight Tonight)" and talked about how next Christmas will be different and how we'll have ornaments on our tree that our kid(s) will remember when they're in their 30's.

26 Weeks

Baby Connell weighs a little under 2 pounds and measures about 14 inches head to heel, Mama Connell’s hair isn’t as nice today as it was yesterday, and Papa Connell was woken up by our redneck neighbour playing redneck music.

Battle of the Baby Names Part 5

Jen: So I found another girl's name I like. It's Gaelic and...
Owen: Gaelic? Well that's different.
Jen: It's Gaelic in origin.
Owen: Oh. Yeah, I was thinking that was kinda weird, you wanting to name the baby Gaelic. It is kinda nice though.
Jen: Yeah (eye roll) uh, right. So anyway it's spelt A-I-L-B-E.
Owen: So, Abigail?
Jen: No, Ailbe, pronounced Al-bee.
Owen: Allllbeeee?
Jen: Yeah, Ailbe. Good, right? I really like it. Ailbe Connell.
Owen: Sounds like the name of a dog food.
Jen: Dog food? How does it sound like a dog food?
Owen: Ailbe...Alpo...dog food.

This is what I'm dealing with people.

Things...

That Are Awesome:
- reruns of Entourage on City TV
- Apple juice
- being told you are 'the cutest pregnant woman ever!' by a co-worker
- hearing from old friends
- SexyBack
- bringing my lunch to work everday for two weeks
- 19 days until Christmas
- not having your period for 6 months
- the Boney M Christmas album
- Lobello lip balm


That Suck:
- waking up every three hours to pee
- cold sores
- brown sweater, brown pants, brown socks, brown shoes (I look like a giant turd today)
- indegestion
- no parking spaces at the Go Station
- shipping and handling
- thinking you're done Christmas shopping only to turn the page over and realized you forgot someone
- sleeping on your side and not on your stomach
- biting your nails
- your husband refusing to see a doctor when after 3 weeks his knee hasn't gotten any better

Happy Birthday Joel!

29 years ago today Angus Joel Kennedy was born. I’m told I chose the name Joel after a little boy I used to play with and since remembering our childhood is Joel’s department, I’ll have to go along with that. I don’t remember anything about Joel as a newborn but I’m told he was a ‘very good baby’ and based on photographic evidence he was also a way cuter than I was - all big eyes and smiles.

Some things never change.

Happy Birthday Jo-Jo!

25 Weeks

Baby Connell is 13.5 inches long and 1.5 pounds, Mama Connell has had a foot sticking in her spleen for most of this week and Papa Connell is trying to pretend his knee is well enough to play soccer on Sunday.

I had a doctor’s appointment this morning, up 3 pounds – that’s 7 in total for those of you keeping track. Dr. Pervy was sick so Dr. Bernstein saw me instead. He measured my belly with a nifty tape measure and told me that the baby was growing well. His exact words were: ‘no shortage of baby in there!’ so that’s good. I think. I recorded the heartbeat for the bear The Duhart is making for me and it is super fast. That means girl, right? My next visit is January 3 when I am 30 weeks. After that appointment, I will be seeing the doctor every 2 weeks as opposed to every 4.

At 25 weeks, Owen’s nephew Ronan was born. Let me let that sink in for a moment. 25 weeks into her pregnancy, Owen’s sister Carmel gave birth to baby boy Ronan, weighing 1 pound 10 ounces. He is classified as a micro preemie. From what I understand, during her pregnancy, Carmel had a fibroid growing in her uterus. As the baby got bigger, so did the fibroid until at 25 weeks when the fibroid punctured the placenta and induced labour. Ronan was born 5 years ago and I remember the months following his birth being very traumatic, not only for Richard and Carmel but for the extended Connell/Beattie family. Owen would get calls from his parents updating him on Ronan’s status based on the weekly calls Carmel made from Vancouver where they moved while Ronan was in ICU. Never did Owen think Ronan wouldn’t make it. ‘He’s part Connell! Of course he’ll be OK!’. Many a prayer was said from Ronan - from his relatives in Ireland to my relatives in Buchans. Carmel believes that it was these prayers that saved Ronan’s life. Owen and I visited Ronan and his family this past summer and cannot believe the little man he’s grown in to. He wears glasses, hearing aids, has a feeding tube, loves to pinch cheeks and boobs (which I found out day 2 of our vacation), calls me Auntie Jenny and breaks my heart. Ronan is a miracle.

Throughout my pregnancy, I waited to pass 25 weeks. I knew anything that happened after 25 weeks but before 40 weeks would be more difficult than a full term pregnancy, but in the back of my mind I knew that if I made it at least this far, Owen and I would be blessed with a little Ronan of our own.

Mai Moon

After reading Andrea's post yesterday about Britney needing to buy panties (seriously, what is up with Mrs. Federline? You've had 2 children! Put a lid on it!), I got to thinking about body parts and what you should teach your children to call them.

There are people who think that children should call their 'privates' by their proper biological name, my husband being one of them. I on the other hand, cannot think of anything more creepy than a 3 year old boy referring to his penis, unless it's a 3 year old girl referring to her vagina. I was raised properly and came to embrace words such as: moon, cookeroonie, keenies, dickie bird etc. and grew into a (mostly) well adjusted adult - until Judes started working with a woman named 'Mai Moon' and then all maturity and decorum went out the window.

I've heard many a funny word to describe human genitalia including but not limited to: bobo's, Mary's (both Paulie Grogan originals) chow-chows, cheeseburgers etc. and when I hear those words I can't help but think all is well in the world. Who needs to use clinical terms outside of an actual clinic?

Call me old fashioned, call me an irresponsible parent-to-be, but please call it a va-jay-jay!

I Can Totally Relate

Thanks to Andrea for the link to this site.

24 Weeks

Baby Connell is growing rapidly, gaining about a pound since last week and is still about a foot long, Mama Connell gets freaked out when Baby Connell moves like crazy one day, and then barely moves the next day and Papa Connell misses Mama Connell when she’s in the tub.

Here is my giant belly at 24 weeks (a.k.a 6 months). Just when you think you can’t get any bigger, you do and will continue to grow every week for the next 16. No stretch marks (yet) but from what I’ve heard they sometimes appear after the babies arrived. Good times.

‘When the baby comes.’ A lot of the conversations at our house these days start with those 4 words:

When the baby comes – we should probably listen to Classical music in the car.
When the baby comes – Lucy’s days are numbered.
When the baby comes – we’re going to have to move that: couch, chair, bed, table etc.
When the baby comes – do you think we should have chips and dip for dinner?
When the baby comes – spending $100 on boots might not be such a good idea.

They say closer to your due date, your nesting instinct kicks in and if ‘they’ are right in a few weeks I’ll be cleaning like crazy and bugging Owen to clean out Junior’s room so we (he) can paint and gets things ready for the kid.

I’ve picked a few things up along my pregnancy journey, mostly cute sleepers I’ve come across while Christmas shopping. Yesterday, I bought what is by far my favourite thing – a book. But not just any book, ‘The Monster at the End of this Book – starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover’. I barely remember anything from my childhood but I remember this book. It’s not overly educational – it based around Grover being afraid of the monster at the end of the book when in the end (spoiler alert) it’s him. Owen and I do a lot of talking about what the baby will be like and I hope that he or she will have a great sense of humour and appreciate the truly silly things in life such as Grover being afraid of a monster at the end of a book. Because damn, that’s good reading!

The Blind Leading the Blind

On Sunday, Judes and I went to Toys R Us to register for Junior's baby shower. Everything was fine up until we were given the pricing gun and sent on our way into the aisles and aisles of baby accessories. A lot of things have changed since Ma had a young one and I of course, don't know my ass from my elbow when it comes to picking strollers, playpens (now known as play yards - I guess you aren't supposed to 'pen' your child) and bathtubs. There were a lot of exchanges that went: 'what the hell is this?' and, 'Jesus, Jennifer I have no idea!'.

I've gotten some advice along the way from new mom's - buy this, don't buy that, but when it comes down to it, who knows what I'll use and what I won't. Neither Susana nor Joanne used a change table for their respective young ones but other mom's swear by them. Prince Eric didn't even like the fancy bathtub he had so Poppa Joe & Darlene had to buy him an old fashioned one.

I am getting the impression that this whole parenthood thing is trial and error. Sometimes the tub works and other times you're washing Junior in a salad bowl!

23 Weeks

Baby Connell is more than 11 inches long (another inch and Baby will be longer than my ruler!) and weighs just over 1 pound, Mama Connell tried to kill the family with some questionable pork and Papa Connell is afraid that Mama Connell is smooshing the baby’s face when she pokes around on her belly trying to locate Junior’s head.

Nothing new on the pregnancy front. I don’t have another doctor’s appointment until December 1st; soon thereafter I will have bi-weekly appointments as opposed to monthly. I’ve been feeling really good and sometimes forget that I’m pregnant – and I mean that in the best possible way – until Junior starts doing reno’s (trademark Lee Anne) in my belly. I have further developed my sweet tooth and spent the better part of this morning chewing on Starbursts. No wonder Junior’s building an addition in there!

Owen and I had another baby name conversation this week and I have to say, we are getting nowhere as far as girls’ names. I think it’s because we would both be shocked if Junior ended up being a boy.

The thing with Owen is, I can’t put anything past him. Dude knows me. So, if I suggest a name that I love, like Rory (which has been firmly vetoed by him) he rolls his eyes and makes a comment about naming the baby Lorelai instead and about going downstairs to watch the 6 seasons of Gilmore Girls I have on DVD. I think Rory is the cutest name going and can picture a curly haired girl in striped tights dancing around the living room. Owen said that with that scenario, we could name the kid Bertha and it’d still be cute. So Bertha Connell it is.

My last post made a couple people 'sniff' and left Judes speechless as far as leaving a comment so I just wanted to let everyone know things at the Connell house are going very well. Grandma Connell is out of the hospital and on the mend and Owen is back to his old self, that is making me pee my pants with laughter on a daily basis.

Kisses

What I'm Listening To: Jungle Love by The Time (downloaded for Andrea's boyfriend Jason Mewes)

When Mama's Happy, Everybody's Happy

In any relationship whether it be boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife, parent/child, friend/friend it's important to figure out early in the relationship how each other handles stress. For instance, when Owen is stressed, he shuts down and goes to bed. I on the other hand, rant, rave, kick, scream and cry (and wow, pregnancy is making me more of a lunatic than I usually am!).

I am capable of keeping myself up all night stressing about various things while Owen sleeps beside me - not soundly however. Owen has what I like to call "the terrors" (best said with a Newfoundland accent) and will moan and move around in his sleep when there is something on his mind.

To live with someone who handles stressful situations so unlike me has been an adjustment. It is safe to say that I inherited my father's stress management skills while Joel adopted Judes' (side note: now that Judes has Internet access she will call me on any shit I say about her so I am treading lightly. Hi Judes! Love You!) method which I usually sum up in the phrase "Joel & Mom are so laid back they should move to California." That is not to say that they don't appreciate stress or take it any less seriously than Donnie K. and I do, it's to say that sometimes the best medicine for stress is a good nights sleep.

Owen has been stressed lately and it's taken a toll on both of us. Where I want him to sit down and talk about it, he needs to decompress and think about it before he invites me in to the stressful situation because he knows that the delivery of the stress will dictate how I handle it - if that makes any sense. The bottom line is that Owen wants nothing more than my happiness and I have to learn to respect that he handles worries in a different way than I do because god knows what would happen if we were both as emotional as me.

There is nothing better in my life than when things are jiving between us. I can't believe that anyone has as much fun or as many laughs as we do. The last few weeks have been hard but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

22 Weeks

Baby Connell is 10.9 inches and almost 1 pound, Mama Connell has the day off today and Papa Connell felt the baby move for the first time this week.

The right thing to do on my day off would be to clean a little and rest up for the Peterson/Grogan girls arrival and the shopping weekend ahead. The wrong thing to do and what I've been doing all morning is watching back-to-back episodes of A Baby Story. So far I've watched a home birth, a c-section and the birth of twins and have gone through half a box of kleenex. The home birth itself seemed to be OK but the mother ended up in an ambulance anyway after delivery because she was bleeding a lot more than they had anticipated. The c-section mommy went into surgery with a kicky scrunchie and bright red lipstick and was "really into pain management" (a woman after my own heart) and I can't remember much of the twin birth mostly because I was still crying from the previous episodes!

The baby has been moving around like crazy this week mostly when I'm seated at my desk at work or in the car. I can't keep my hands off my belly and love to feel the "hey you!" tap of Baby Connell. On Tuesday night Owen and I were watching the Rick Mercer report and Owen was talking to my belly basically making fun of my love of Rick Mercer - has to be the accent. Anyway, when Owen stopped talking the baby started moving. I quickly grabbed Owen's hand and placed it on my belly and.....nothing. He kept his hand there for a good 5 minutes before the baby started kicking again - Owen couldn't believe that's what he was feeling. It was a nice way to spend an evening.

According to the baby books, at this point Junior can hear our voices so we're trying to cut down on the cursing and I'm trying to remove the words "dude" and "man" from my vocabulary. From the amount of singing Owen and I do in the car, Junior is no doubt getting familiar with our voices and our odd taste in car music. On Monday night, he/she was witness to such classics as "Total Eclipse of the Heart", "The Rose" and plenty of Rush. None of this classical stuff for our little redneck - we'd rather Junior learn the guitar solo from "Fly by Night".

How I'm Feeling: A vacation day is always a good day.

Things That Made Me Laugh Today - Parental Discretion Advised

• 'Magical' - what Owen said today when I asked him how he was. He wasn't having a good morning
• 'Oh, shut up' - what my English accented manager says to herself after sneezing 3 times in a row
• 'Getting on my tits' - what Judy (not to be confused with Judes) says when describing somebody getting on her nerves
• 'Kit-kat club' - what the same Judy refers to lesbians as
• 'Let the money ruin me' - I made myself laugh with this one. I bought a quick pick today for the big 649 draw and informed my lunch companions that if I won the lottery I'd become like Oprah - completly unable to deal with common folk
• 'They are the Newfies of the United States' - me again (I was on a roll today) describing the Kentucky couple from the Amazing Race, offending: Americans, Kentuckians, Newfoundlanders and myself!