according.to.kim

Preparation progress

I spent at least 10 hours working on my office and computer cleanup this week and am about 98% finished (I should've known it would be impossible to do in six hours). I was determined to finish completely before leaving yesterday, but the CD burner on my computer wouldn't work (or perhaps it was me) and I couldn't get some stuff burned. After four ruined discs, I was very frustrated!

We finished our baby shopping yesterday and picked up some new washcloths (the old ones were very tattered and thread-bare), a crib mattress (the old ones have lost their firmness after being used far too much like a trampoline), and a baby sling (purchased by Shauna--thanks!).

The infant car seat and crib will soon be ready, and I'm planning to pack for the hospital today or tomorrow. I don't want to be caught off-guard as we won't have time to spare when the time comes.

I'm so glad that January will be here in only 13 hours! We should make it now. I really want Georgia to be born in January like the other two. I was worried that she would arrive early for one reason or another. After midnight tonight, she has my permission (ha ha) to arrive whenever she likes! Also, since my back and ribs (probably pulled ligaments according to Glenys) are aching more each day, sooner seems like a better idea all of the time.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Quote of the day

"Dip is my favourite vegetable!"

Not to worry, Sophia eats plenty of real vegetables along with that dip! She requested tomatoes, carrots, and cauliflower for breakfast this morning.

December 28 checkup

We had our checkup and ultrasound this afternoon and it was very much the same as last week. Oh, except one thing, I'm to DIScontinue taking the Digoxin. Neil and I were both certain that Dr. Cardoso said last week that I should continue taking it, but apparently he actually told me to discontinue taking it. So I will. Starting now. I don't think it's a big deal as they don't think it's doing anything anyway. Georgia's heartrate was 133 and 70 today. I didn't gain any weight, but that's okay because I had gained 1 kg each of the previous two weeks. Dr. Cardoso said he's really happy with me, so I guess that means everything is fine. We won't be seeing a cardiologist next week as they've decided I don't need to see one again unless something changes. The cardiologists will see Georgia after she's born. I will continue having checkups on Wednesdays now along with all of the other regular patients as Thursdays are reserved for longer appointments /more complicated cases. I'm not sure I should think this at all, but I do feel more hopeful now that Georgia will be okay and she won't have to spend too much time in the NICU. I really don't know what to expect.

***

Update: Mystery of the missing onesies solved... Neil went to the farm today and brought back all of the baby stuff that was out there--the Moses basket and the things we lent to Shauna and Wayne when their baby was born 18 months ago. I had completely forgotten that there were baby clothes out there, including all of the onesies we had. So now we have a bunch more baby stuff in our house and it's amazing how looking at it--especially the newborn clothes--makes it seem that much more real.

Getting things done

We took down and put away all of the Christmas decorations and tree today while the girls were at Darren and Ali's. It seems a bit early perhaps, but I'm really happy that's done. If this baby arrives as early as Madeline did, we have less than two weeks to go! Also, as I mentioned earlier, we're now stocked up on most baby supplies; however, I got out a bin of 0-3 month baby clothes yesterday and could not find any newborn-sized onesies/diaper shirts in there. I can't figure that out! I'm sure we have some (although we did borrow several when each of the girls were born). I'll be on a mission now to find the ones I know I purchased five years ago before Sophia was born--and then I'll be seeing if I can borrow some as well. I don't want to have to buy some for just one or two months. There are several other baby preparations I need to do too.

At work, I absolutely must get my office and computer cleaned up this week. I promised myself I'd have it done by the end of the year, but we've been so busy I haven't even started yet. I don't want a repeat of three years ago...Madeline arrived early and then three days after she was born, I spent three hours in my office packing and purging as quickly as possible (Neil and Madeline came with me). I'll be at work the next three mornings, but I can only devote about six hours in total to this task, so it's really going to be a challenge anyway.

Christmas & Boxing Day

We had a really nice Christmas. On Christmas morning, the girls slept in until 9:00 a.m. which is very late for them. Neil and I were both awake much earlier and wondering when they were going to wake up. It was so easy and relaxing to get up and open gifts in our own house with just the four of us.

The girls were convinced that Santa was here. He had eaten his cookies and drank his milk, and the reindeer left bits of carrot on the back step and patio because they were in such a hurry! Sophia and Madeline both got what they wanted from Santa--a Belle dress (from Beauty and the Beast) and a Care Bear, respectively. They're enjoying all of the gifts they received for Christmas this year.

My Mom and Dad came to our house in the afternoon on Christmas day. Mom had roasted a turkey and made dressing and gravy. It turned out very well and was still hot after the hour long trip to our place. We supplied the rest of the food and together we had a delicious Christmas dinner. It was a great afternoon and evening. The girls love playing with their "Yellow Grass Grandma and Grandpa" (that's what Sophia calls them). Dad even took them to the park for a little while and helped them make a snowman in our front yard. All in all, it was a great day!

Yesterday, Boxing Day, was Neil's 36th birthday. For some reason (I think because Christmas was over), I suddenly had the urge to go out and get the rest of the baby supplies we need like nursing pads, baby shampoo, etc. So in the morning I went to the Walmart zoo and picked up almost everything we need. Parking was difficult and the store was packed with Boxing Day shoppers, but the pharmacy and baby product areas were relatively quiet. I'm just glad it's done. As each day passes, my desire to go shopping will only decrease. I don't like walking too much these days as I tire out rather easily.

At supper time, there was a World Junior hockey game on TV (Canada vs. Finland) that Neil wanted to watch. Darren and Ali came over to watch the game too and brought some of their Christmas leftovers. Along with our leftovers and some bison steaks that Neil grilled, we had an excellent supper with very little effort for Neil's birthday. And even though we had plenty of other dessert, the girls insisted that we have a birthday cake too, so I went out and got one from DQ. I think it was a pretty good impromptu birthday party.

I didn't take many photos on these two days, but here's a small album of our Christmas and birthday celebrations.

Happy Christmas Eve!

I think today will be a great day for us. Both Sophia and Madeline slept for 12 hours last night! (They usually sleep for 10 hours and the night before it was closer to 9 so they were super grouchy yesterday.) No one is sick today, except for the occasional cough. We have no shopping to do and all of the gifts are wrapped. We have a bit of food preparation to do for tomorrow, but not much compared to a lot of people I'm sure. We don't have to pack gifts or anything for overnight because we're staying home for Christmas! There are leftovers in the fridge for lunch and we're going to Neil's Aunt Glenys's for supper this evening. Looking forward to that! The girls should fall asleep on the way home (a 20 minute drive), so we shouldn't have trouble getting them to bed on this exciting eve. It will be fun to put the gifts under the tree and in the stockings tonight (no gifts are out right now). Life is good.

I hope you have a great day too!

Rainbow in December

Cool, huh? I don't know if I've ever seen a rainbow in December before. This was just after 4 p.m. yesterday. It had been sprinkling on and off all afternoon and the sun was already going down at this time. Unfortunately, this picture doesn't do it justice. The rainbow was a bit brighter than this and we could see almost the entire arch. Too bad I couldn't get a picture with snow in it; there is quite a bit of snow around here (but not in the Canadian Tire parking lot).

December 21 checkup

Not much to report today. Georgia's heartrate was 123 and 71. Everything is pretty much status quo. I'm to continue taking Digoxin every other day. The biggest news is that she grew quite a bit (~600g) over the past two weeks, so she weighs about 3 kg (6 lbs 11 oz) now. That's more than Madeline weighed when she was born (at 38 weeks). I was really pleased to hear that Georgia grew so much. Some expectant mothers might be getting a bit frightened at this point since the baby will likely gain quite a bit more over the next few weeks, but I'm just happy she's growing well. It's a good sign.

***

I'm so very tired right now. I'm going to get ready for bed right away and go to sleep with the kids. Last night was unbelievable. I had less than five hours of sleep. Sophia threw up in the middle of the night and it was really bad. I had to give her a complete bath, washing her hair very thoroughly. The whole clean up process took quite awhile and then I didn't sleep well after that. I was worried about her not being able to go to her Christmas party today, and then when I did sleep, I actually dreamt about cleaning up vomit.

Both girls slept in and didn't go to Sharon's. Fortunately, Sophia didn't throw up again. Neil said she seemed fine all morning, so we decided to go to the party anyway. Then shortly before the party, Sophia started saying that her head and her tummy were hurting. She didn't look well either. She still wanted to go to the party though, so we gave her some Advil and Gravol and went for it. I'm not sure it was the right thing to do, but she was looking forward to it so much.

I was also pretty worried about what might happen, but everything turned out fine. She seemed rather unwell for the first 15 or 20 minutes, but then perked up and was happy for the rest of the party. And when it was time to eat, she was a bottemless pit. Not just for sweets either. She ate a crazy huge amount of fresh fruit and raw veggies with dip. Surprisingly, she's been fine ever since.

Then for our appointment, we had a problem. We didn't want to ask Sharon if we could take the girls there because I had told her they were sick this morning. Thank goodness Neil's cousin, Andrea, was available to come to our house. It's a good thing--we were gone for two hours. There's no way we could have taken them to our appointment.

Eight months

Well, it doesn't look like my belly has grown much since my seven-month photo, but this feels larger to me. I'm very interested to find out how much Georgia has grown over the past two weeks. We have an ultrasound tomorrow and I expect they'll do measurements at this one as they measure bi-weekly.

***

Big day tomorrow: Work from 8:00 a.m. to noon, including my annual performance evaluation and our annual Marketing Christmas snack day. I'm taking Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread which I'll make in the morning. I only make things like this when I can share with lots of people! After lunch, all four of us are going to Sophia's preschool Christmas party from 1:15 to 3:15 p.m. (Madeline also has a cold now but is well enough to go). They'll both get gifts from Santa (which I provided on Monday). We're supplying juice and cups for the party too. Finally, we have our doctor appointment at 4:15 p.m. (we'll be taking the girls back to Sharon's). Thank goodness the evening is free!

***

By the way, this is my 500th post!

A few updates

Madeline is definitely sick. At 4:30 this morning, I noticed she was really hot (because she was sleeping in our bed of course), so we gave her some Advil. She's had a fever all day and threw up once just before supper. She's happy and more energetic when her fever is down from the Advil, but then goes back to being lethargic when it wears off. She doesn't really have any cold symptoms (except maybe a bit of a cough, but very infrequent) and is not complaining of anything, so I don't know what she has.

My cold is getting bad. Lots of coughing and sneezing and my head is stuffed up. Someday when I'm not pregnant (or nursing?), I think I'll try Cold FX for times like this, or rather, to prevent times like this.

Tonight was Sophia's last dance class until Jan 9, but we didn't go. She just didn't want to go and I didn't want to force it on her. She didn't participate much in the last few classes we went to, so it probably would've been a waste of time. She said she'll go after Christmas. We'll see. If she doesn't want to do it anymore, I'll be asking for my uncashed cheques back (it runs through May). We haven't yet tried showing her a video of Irish dancing. Laurel had the idea that if she could see what she's trying to learn, perhaps she'd be more interested. I think that may work, but we haven't looked for any such video yet.

Coincidence of #35

This is silly, but I'm going to mention it anyway. I received an email today from Babycentre.com reminding me that Madeline is 35 months old today. Tomorrow, my pregnancy will be 35 weeks along with 35 days to go according to the baby ticker. Neil and I are both 35 years old right now (Neil for only one more week). I wonder if #35 will show up again this week!

It's that time of year

We're passing around the germs here. Well, at least the girls and I are; Neil rarely catches what we have. I now have the cold that Sophia had last week. I have a productive cough coming from deep in my chest. It seems odd--the cough was in our chest right off the bat with nothing leading up to it and not much for other symptoms except a bit of congestion. At least Sophia could have cough and cold medicine. I'm not taking anything.

Now Sophia isn't coughing much anymore and the antibiotics swiftly took care of her ear infection, so she's acting normal again. Madeline, on the other hand, was not feeling well today, but I have no idea what was wrong with her. She has no symptoms of anything; she was just tired and cranky all day and said she didn't feel well. I wouldn't be surprised if she started coughing any time though.

Office Christmas party

We went to my work Christmas party last evening. We had a really good turkey dinner and then the entertainment was a hypnotist called Sailesh. Apparently (judging from the website), this guy is quite a popular hypnotist. At our party, about a dozen people (out of 150 or so) tried to become hypnotized and five were, but then only three of them were willing to participate in the show.

In general, I'd say everyone was really entertained. Neil thought the show was hilarious. I thought a few parts were pretty funny, but for the most part, it's not really my cup of tea. I'm just so uncomfortable with the idea of people not being in control of themselves and doing things that might otherwise be embarassing to them, especially in front of coworkers. I have too many inhibitions I guess and I like to be in control, so I can't stand the thought of it. The hypnotist did say though that the participants would remember everything but would not feel embarassed at all. Nevertheless, I think I'd find this kind of show more entertaining in a different setting and if the participants were complete strangers (and perhaps it would help if I was drinking too, like everyone else).

It's very interesting anyway. The whole idea of hypnotism, that is. I guess it does serve a purpose and is proven to work for some things like recalling memories and overcoming phobias. Sailesh gave everyone who was hypnotized a CD of their choice--to quit smoking, lose weight, or for general motivation.

(Back at home, we had a babysitter for the girls. She's in grade nine and seems to be very nice. She's a very quiet girl--at least in our presence. The girls really like her and it sounds like everything went well. I'm happy we have someone we can call on occasionally.)

Things to remember

Sophia has been practicing singing the alphabet song in French over the past couple of weeks. It's really cool! I'm very proud of her. Neil said she was having trouble remembering it in English now, but Thursday night--in the middle of the night actually--Sophia sang the alphabet song right through in French and then again in English and she didn't seem to have any trouble at all. (No, I didn't have a very good sleep Thursday night!) When I was at preschool yesterday, the teacher told me that Sophia is doing really well.

Last night after I read some books to Madeline, Madeline said to me, "Sophia's my best friend." and then she said, "You're my big friend." So cute!

Speaking of reading to Madeline, all she wants to hear these days are Franklin books and the new Dinosaurs book she received for Christmas last Sunday. We have six Franklin books and she's very attached to them. She carries them around and insists on them every night--especially Franklin Runs Away--that one is unavoidable! They're pretty long stories so we only read a couple of them before bed. The Dinosaurs book (Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs by Sandra Boynton) is much shorter and Madeline likes to "read' it back to me or Neil after we read it to her. After hearing that book just a few times, she's got it down pretty well. Incidentally, Sophia refuses to hear the Franklin books, so we've taken to reading to the girls separately again. Thank goodness Sophia will allow Neil to read to her while I read to Madeline.

The next few weeks

I'm happy the first couple of weeks of December are behind us. There was a lot going on (with work, Christmas parties, visiting, L & B leaving, and much more) and I found it rather exhausting. I don't know how I would've survived if I had been working full days.

Madeline and Sophia both finished and passed their swimming lessons this week (well, it's not really pass/fail at Madeline's stage). Sophia received her first swimming badge. Her instructor wrote "You are a great swimmer Sophia! Swimmerific!!" (I'm so glad she was well enough to go to her class Thursday evening; her ear infection started after that.)

Neil and I are going to my work Christmas party this evening (we have a teen babysitter lined up--so rare for us) and next week, all we have going on is Sophia's dance class on Monday evening and preschool on Monday and Wednesday. All four of us are going to go to Sophia's preschool Christmas party on Wednesday afternoon. Then there are no dance or preschool classes until January 9! I'm so looking forward to two and half weeks of no scheduled activities!

I have five days off over Christmas weekend (Dec 23-27) and we're not going anywhere so I'm anticipating a relaxing break. I'm glad Mom and Dad are planning to come to our house on Christmas day. After Christmas, I just have three three-day work weeks left. I'm not planning to do much of anything else except rest and get ready for the baby. I've decided we'll have the girls' birthday party after Sophia's birthday, probably in February. Before all of this started with Georgia's heart, I thought we'd have their party in the first half of January, but I don't want to plan anything for January now. I just want to take it easy and prepare for Georgia's birth. (There is still much to do, but we did buy a box of diapers this week!)

Sophia's ear infection

Sophia developed an ear infection this week. It started Thursday night. She went to sleep at 9:00 p.m. and then woke up screaming an hour later. It was pretty bad; she was inconsolable. I'm so glad Laurel was here. She was a big help. We tried to get Sophia to lay her painful ear on a hot water bottle, but she has an aversion to anything hot, so wasn't very cooperative. She was willing to put her ear on something cold though, so we got her to alternate hot and cold. I don't think it really helped though. Meanwhile, Neil went out and bought some anaesthetic ear drops. Sophia wasn't too impressed with the drops either, but once it started working, she settled down. She finally went back to sleep about 11:00 p.m.

After the airport yesterday morning, Neil took Sophia to see a doctor and he confirmed that her ear infection was bad. She's on antibiotics now, three times a day for 10 days. She was feverish all day yesterday and feeling so unwell that she didn't even mind staying home from preschool--even though I was the parent helper yesterday. Such an unfortunate coincidence, and disappointing for both of us.

Later in the afternoon, I layed down for a nap. Neil and Madeline were out taking Sherlock for a run. I left Sophia colouring a picture and watching a show she likes on TV. A few minutes after I layed down, Sophia came into my room and said "I just want to lay down with you." Wow! Nevermind the screaming in pain part, I know Sophia's really sick when she wants to lay down in the middle of the day! She quickly fell asleep and then after waking up an hour later (I woke her to give her Advil because she was really hot), she stayed in bed for another hour drifting in and out of sleep. Even with that late napping, she went to sleep for the night at about 10:00 p.m. and slept all night. She seems much much better this morning.

L & B have left the city

Yes, they left for Toronto today. Though I've certainly had enough time to prepare (19 months!), this morning was still pretty difficult for me. I still feel the same way I felt when Laurel first told us they were planning to move. I will miss them very much and I wish them all the best.

Their flight, originally scheduled for last evening, was postponed to this morning due to a winter storm in Toronto (it was rather stormy here too but I'm not sure that was a factor). The delay worked out pretty well from my perspective. Laurel and Bronwyn stayed overnight at our house last night and I was able to say goodbye to them privately before going to work this morning. So much better than among a crowd at the airport. Plus, I'm glad the girls didn't see me cry as that tends to upset them. Then, being at work right away helped take my mind off it pretty quickly. Neil, Sophia, and Madeline took them to the airport later in the morning. I suppose it was a much different farewell at the airport today since there were fewer people there than would have been there yesterday.

I'll be okay. We'll all be just fine. Hopefully we can get our webcams up and running soon so we can see each other often, even across a thousand miles.

December 15 checkup

We had our usual ultrasound checkup yesterday, but with different doctors. Dr. Tyrrell, the cardiologist, was really nice (as are the other two pediatric cardiologists from Saskatoon). Dr. Carson, the perinatologist, was nice too, and it was kind of funny to hear his little jabs at Dr. Cardoso. They have a bit of a rivalry. He'd say things like "if only he would write things in the appropriate boxes [on the prenatal record]..."

The results of the checkup were not surprising to me. Georgia's heart is back (if it ever really changed) to the 2:1 ratio. The rates were 143 and 73. There is no sign of heart failure, so there's no need to change the current course of action; however, it was interesting that Dr. Tyrrell said my dose of Digoxin is so low that he really doubts that it's having any effect. He thought I could quit taking it altogether, but wouldn't tell me to do that because he didn't prescribe it. Both doctors said that since the baby's heart condition has remained rather constant for so long, it is unlikely to change in utero. They also agreed that she's doing fine. Her heart is functioning well, and at 70 bpm it's beating fast enough to deliver blood everywhere it needs to go. We probably won't see a cardiologist again until January, but we will see Dr. Cardoso on the 21st and 28th.

As for me, I've finally gained some weight--exactly 1 kg since last week. I was happy to see that since I hadn't actually gained any weight since early November. All else is fine with me, except I've developed an ache on the left side of my rib cage. The more I sit, the more it hurts; I think it's just that my torso isn't tall enough for this big baby.

Happenings this week

The Christmas party at Rob and Robyn's on Sunday was fun. We had our celebration with them early this year because they're going to Texas for Christmas. Mom and Dad were there as well as my Aunt Colleen and both of my Grandmas. It was really great to see everyone, especially my Grandmas because I don't see them often enough. It's so nice to be able to get together with them once in awhile. The kids had a great time too and the gifts they received are a big hit. (Photo: Madeline, Sophia, and our niece, Jordyn, in their new pajamas.)

Sophia has had a bad cough this week. We took her to Sharon's and preschool on Monday, but by the end of the day, it was much worse than in the morning. She stayed home with Neil yesterday and today, but we did take her to preschool today as she seemed much better. I hope she didn't cough too much there. It was her show-and-tell day and she took a squishy black rubber iguana. I wish I could have heard what she said about it! Friday is our parent-helper day at preschool, so I'll be in the classroom that day. Sophia always enjoys that. We do this once a month.

We had a drizzly rain yesterday morning that left everything covered with ice and pebbled like a curling rink. It was very very slippery. As a result, Laurel decided not to drive back to the farm after kindergarten yesterday afternoon, so she and Bronwyn stayed overnight at our place. It was nice to have another chance to visit. The girls had a lot of fun together last evening and this morning. Laurel, Neil, and I also went out to Starbucks and Chapters for a treat this afternoon while Bronwyn and Sophia were in school (Madeline was at Sharon's).

When I picked Sophia up from preschool today, the door to Bronwyn's classroom was open and we saw that Bronwyn was putting her skipants on. We waved to her and she came to the doorway. They didn't say a word but hugged each other and waved goodbye. It was very sweet. Today was their last day at the same school. We will go to the airport tomorrow afternoon (after our doctor appointment) to see them off to Toronto. I've been handling this pretty well lately, but I know there will be no way to stop the tears tomorrow.

This is the tenth and last week of swimming lessons for the girls. I've been to every lesson (twice a week), except for the one we missed on the day we learned that Georgia had a heart problem. I went in the pool with Madeline every Tuesday and I must say I'm quite relieved that's done for now! Sophia's last lesson is tomorrow evening. They both absolutely love their swimming lessons, so they'll probably miss it. We'll have to see about enrolling them in the spring. The next classes start mid-January and I'm not sure that's doable. I certainly won't be able to go in the pool for quite some time, and Madeline's next class also requires a parent in the pool.

I've been enjoying having my afternoons free. I haven't been sleeping very well at night (partly due to the kids and partly due to pregnancy), so it's great to be able to have a nap in the afternoon. I've had a nap each day this week so far, but it doesn't look like I'll be able to have one on Thursday or Friday. Wow, I just realized I only have 15 half work days left! Two more this week, then four next week, and only three days for each of my last three weeks.

More Christmas fun

We're having another Christmasy weekend. On Friday, we went out to the farm to have another visit with Shauna and Cole before they went back to Edmonton (yesterday), and to spend more time with Laurel and Bronwyn before they leave for Toronto. The girls got to open a Christmas gift on Friday evening and then a few more gifts on Saturday morning. They were very excited, of course, and have been enjoying their gifts ever since. I quite like this spreading out of the gift opening for the kids because they can focus on what they're getting at the moment and they also have some time to use their gifts before the next batch. It's not as overwhelming as getting them all at once.

Yesterday, we continued our Christmas activities with putting up and decorating our Christmas tree. We listened to Christmas carols from a Disney Sing Along Songs DVD while we decorated, and then the girls also watched Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas when we were finished. This was the first time I let the girls decorate the tree. They put about three-quarters of all the ornaments on the tree and even added some of their own toys. Sophia got out a set of 12 dinosaurs with curved necks and tails (it's a game like Barrel of Monkeys) and hung them on the tree, and then they both nestled a My Little Pony on a tree branch as well. They had a lot of fun decorating! Plus I let them eat a bunch of chocolate they received from their Great Grandma Louise.

Before we could put up our Christmas tree yesterday, we had to clean the living room. I said to the girls, "Now let's try to keep it clean, okay?" I thought Sophia's answer was funny... "Yeah, we have to keep it clean or Santa might trip on something!" Then, when we were moving the rocking chair to make room for the tree, Sophia said, "We have to put it over here in case Santa wants to sit down." Then she had to figure out exactly where we will put Santa's milk and cookies so they're close to that chair. Also, on the way into the city yesterday, Sophia was asking how Santa will get into our house since we don't have a fireplace (I think she really knows her Santa stuff since watching Polar Express Friday evening). We decided on the back door, so we'll put carrots out on the patio for the reindeer.

Today, we're heading to Yellow Grass for a Christmas party with my family. The girls are very excited. I'm glad  to have our Christmas parties with our families early this year and for the first time, we'll be staying home for Christmas. I'm looking forward to it. The girls will just get gifts from us and Santa on Christmas morning, and I think it will be nice and relaxing.

This all worked out well for another reason. As time goes on, I don't want to be too far from the hospital. When I go into labour this time (which I really hope will not be until January), I need to go straight to the hospital because Georgia's heart rate will be closely monitored while I'm in labour. Also, I've had fairly quick labours (seven and four hours), so being an hour away seems like a bad idea. I'm not leaving the city again after today!