Baked

I'm going to bake a cherry pie today!

The girls and I picked some beautiful fresh cherries off a friend's tree last weekend so I'm feeling inspired. I make a mean apple pie so I'm sure I can do the cherries justice as well.

Come to think of it, the last few months that I've been home has been very productive in the kitchen. This is what I've baked up so far in single or several batches: chocolate zucchini muffins, chocolate chips cookies, gingerbread cookies, chocolate chip chick pea cookies, lemon loaf, cupcakes, peanut butter cookies, chewy raisin oatmeal cookies, banana loaf, apple oatmeal muffins, apple crumble, tapioca pudding.

The list will go on because I've been stashing away recipes for granola bars, puddings, and various chocolate and oatmeal inspired desserts. Maybe being home with the children has fired up the domestic instinct in me, or something...

To be honest, I like eating homemade treats, so what better way to keep up the supply that to keep baking!

It has crossed my mind to start a second career in baking and open a shop, but I hear it's tough. Really tough. Good quality ingredients are expensive and you need a steady stream of clients to keep business on track. Maybe I'll give it a crack when I have "more time" on my hands.

For now I'll keep on baking in my kitchen for my own enjoyment.

Chart topping

Yes indeed, Claire is a big baby!

Went to see Dr. B on  Monday and got the nitty gritty on Claire's size. I didn't jot  down the exact measurements, but she's 99th percentile for head size, 99th percentile for length and 90th percentile for weight. Wow!

I can already imagine her looking down at me when she's a teenager. Yikes, lol!!

Four months old

Claire is 4 months old today.

Where the last 3 months went to, I have no idea. It's been a whirlwind, but it has been great. She's at a fun stage in her development now, grabbing all she can get her hands on, showing off big gummy smiles to everyone and chatting up a storm. I suspect a tooth or two wants to come out judging by all the drool coming out of her mouth, and all the fingers she shoves in to chomp down on.

The parenting centre loaned me the use of a baby Excer Saucer for the summer and Claire loves it. She can stand upright and kick her little legs around 'til her heart's content. I would not be surprised if she started walking sooner than later. Although I thought she would be born sooner too and that didn't exactly happen...

I'll make an appointment with Dr. B next week for Claire's 4 month check-up and get the nitty-gritty details on how big she is. She seems long to me, and feels heavy, but I'm sure it's all proportional. Babies do come in all shapes and sizes after all.

I'm hoping to get the go ahead to start her on solids. Breastfeeding has been very good, and so convenient of course, but I'm curious to see if she'll take to food more easily than Lauren did. I don't want to resort to jarred food so easily as I did (although it was organic), and am anxious to try out some yummy baby food recipes. Should be a fun experience all around!

Late fees

I used to be really good at returning borrowed library material on time. That was until 4 years ago. Now I'm terrible.

You know you've really gotten careless when the library sends a letter to your home to notifiy you of  your amount of fees owing ($10 and change) and reminds you to be considerate of others who are waiting to borrow books that aren't returned on time.

Zut alors!!

Yikes. That's pretty bad. To be fair, keeping track of return dates was the last thing om my mind during that last week or pregnancy, and I did return most books just a few days late. It was just the odd one or two of three books that didn't get returned that brought up the fee. Plus I've been holding off on paying the fee because I didn't have cash on me when I did return the books.

Anyway, the letter came with a warning of a card suspension if the fee isn't paid soon. So, off to the library I  go tomorrow. Hopefully no hard feelings. I'd like to regain my flawless on time return record. 

Simple pleasure #9 - relaxing

Quiet & lazy Sunday afternoons.

February 14 or bust

So it seems this baby had us all fooled.

Tomorrow is my "official" due date, but I somehow convinced myself that baby would be early. No wonder it feels like it's already late. With all the moving around going on inside and all the aches and pains I figured baby wanted out sooner than later. Also,  Lauren was two days early and shot out like a canon, so I assumed the same only quicker this time. I'm pretty sure Dr. B was of the same opinion when she felt the head sitting way down low at an appointment two weeks ago, and then mentioning that she was on call to deliver on the 28th and 31st.

At my appointment on the 31st I was 2 fingers dilated "and stretchy" and was told "any day now".  I was close to getting in the car on Monday night, but the cramping eventually stopped and I fell asleep. Ah well. This baby is coming when it's good and ready.

So, today's appointment showed that I'm "3 stretched to 4" cm dilated and 50% effaced. In other words things are progressing gradually but not really as quickly as I would have thought. Dr. B is next on call on the 14th by which time I'll be heading towards 41 weeks. The plan is that if nothing happens before then I'll get a call on that day to come in so they can get things going.

I would have never guessed a Valentine's baby, but it could happen! We'll see soon if this baby has other plans.

To be a he or a she, that is the question

"Do you know if it's a boy or girl?" By far the most asked question this time around.

Of course my answer every time is, "No, it's a surprise!" which almost always gets a surprise reaction. Obviously we're a family in the minority for not knowing or wanting to know, but I am 100% satisfied with the decision.

When we were expecting Lauren, I didn't want to know the gender but C did. When I mentioned this to the technician performing the ultrasound she didn't put any gender on the report so no one knew what was coming, not even Dr. B. After several people had guessed boy leading up to Lauren's birth we too were convinced - so much so that C was momentarily confused when she turned out not to be. When Dr. B announced "girl" I was thoroughly delighted. Not that I wanted one over the other, but that it was a true surprise. So rare in this day and age.

Ultimately a boy or girl  doesn't really matter. All I really want to know is that my baby is healthy, so I'll accept the 9 months of check-ups and exams and ultrasounds and tests and poking and prodding and will save one grand surprise for myself.

Hearing people's guesses and theories is part of the fun as well. One person mentioned that if you see legs crossed in an  ultrasound it's likely a girl because boys don't usually cross their legs. Another said that it's a boy if your belly button pokes out, although a friend of mind who had a boy doesn't remember her own belly button poking out. Several people have suggested that carrying low and outward it a sign of a boy and carrying around is a girl, but I'm pointing out, just as I did with Lauren. And the last boy theory I heard is that if you crave foods you can't have (like my craving for wine and sushi), it's a boy. Something to do with conflicting hormones, I think.

Despite all the theories, there have been far more boy guesses than girl, and they've all been very definite.

As for my own guess, I didn't really have one until recently. I'm carrying the same as with Lauren - basketball shaped and way out front, only bigger.  I'm definitely eating more and have put on more weight. Nausea was milder but more drawn out into month 5 and 6 and I even now feel a little ill if I don't eat breakfast soon after waking up. I still get a weird aftertaste after eating some foods. With Lauren I was felt quite ill for the first 3 months, but don't remember it lasting much after that.

First time around I used to have visions of walking hand in hand with a  little girl in pony tails. This time around I had a dream that I was holding a baby that looked like Lauren from the face, but it really could have been a boy or girl. Just the other night I had a dream that I was holding a baby boy.  

As for the balance of the sexes of the 3rd generation in the families, we're at 3 boys and 2 girls for my side, so a girl would even the score. For C, there are 3 girls and 3 boys so it could really go either way.

Just a few more days (or hours??) and we'll know.