It's A......

So, we had our ultrasound just over a week ago that checked to make sure baby is growing okay and could determine the gender if we wanted to know. We knew from the moment we found out we were pregnant that we would want to know the gender. I am not one for surprises and for something like this, I really needed to know. Thank goodness I live in today's western world because a little over 20 years ago this just wasn't possible and for many people in many countries, this still isn't possible.

We got the photos from her "photoshoot" and most of them look like blobs of gray and I can't really make out what it is. But some of them are pretty obvious. Like this one here shows that it's a GIRL!!! Those are her legs and butt and as you can see, there is no willy. I know that these things aren't 100%, but they are pretty accurate.

This next one is a face only a mother could love, lol. It sorta looks like I am pregnant with Jack the Pumpkin King, lol! But there she is, laying on her side looking right at you.

These ones below are my favourites. She has her arm up covering her eyes and you can see her little lips and her tiny nose nicely framed by her arm.

This one is a little closer.

And here is the last one I will post, of her cute baby feet.

So of course there are all these numbers and letters and I didn't know what they meant. Was this a normal looking ultrasound? I didn't know. My appointment with my doctor isn't until the end of next week, so I wouldn't get the results until then. So, I researched like crazy on how to read an ultrasound. What things meant. This was the most helpful website:
http://www.baby2see.com/medical/charts.html
So, you gotta study your ultrasound and find the numbers and find the averages and then ta-da! What I discovered was she is doing just fine. Everything is in the normal ranges and that for me was SUCH a relief. I know that they can't tell everything from the tests and ultrasounds but nothing wonky has shown up yet so there is no reason to think that this baby will have any problems. THANK GOODNESS we didn't listen to the first 3 doctors that I saw. It just goes to show that you are the best person to listen to. Now time to make an appointment with my homeopathic doctor to detox me from this ultrasound!

Wildlife Haven Rehabilitation Centre

So, I went to the Wildlife Haven Rehabilitation Centre on Monday to photograph the animals! These photos here plus many more will be used for fundraising purposes. The proceeds will go directly to the animals in need there. You can view more photos by visiting my fanpage on Facebook here:
http://www.facebook.com/HeatherBaysPhotography

They have recently changed locations to a temporary place in Ile Des Chenes because of flooding. This place is really in need of some donations, so if you have some cash hanging around that you want to donate to a place that needs it, send it to them, they would really appreciate it! They always get so many baby raccoons every year, over capacity.

But they aren't the only ones who are in need of more space. The whole facility could use more of everything! And if you have some extra time on your hands? Why not volunteer?!

Here is there website for information on donations and volunteering!
http://www.wildlifehaven.ca/
After I was done photographing all the adorable animals, there was a call from a lady saying that some baby ducks and their mother had fallen in a manhole. So Reesa (one of the volunteer workers) and myself headed over to Waverly to try and help. When we got there we felt like we entered a hopeless situation! There was a mother duck with 10 babies (one of them on it's side struggling until finally it took it's last breath) floating on the water about 9ft down a manhole that was about 4 feet in diameter.

There was a ladder going down to them, but there were bars that didn't have enough space for either of us to fit through, (though a small child could easily fit through them).
So we called the City of Winnipeg to see if we could get someone down to open the bars but the lady was rather unkind and very unhelpful! She told us that someone could be down in 2 days!!! Well, that wasn't good enough, they would die in 2 days! So we realized a friend of ours (Lisa) lived in the area and we called her to see if she had a net. She didn't answer. So, we drove to Superstore and just about bought 2 lacrosse nets when Lisa called back. She said she would see if she had a fishing net and she would meet us by the ducks. So we bought duct tape in case we needed to make the handle longer. When we got back there, some city workers had shown up! Alas, they were unable to open the bars for us. Lisa showed up right after us with a hockey stick and some mosquito netting that she had just quickly sewn like a net, so we duct taped the netting onto the hockey stick and then taped a pole to the end of the hockey stick which was thankfully long enough to reach the ducks!

So it was time to save the 9 living ducks and their Mum! Sometimes one was scooped out and sometimes a few at a time! Mum didn't put up a fight at all, she seemed relieved and thankful!


The babies were placed in a box as they were saved so we could drive them to a pond away from this manhole. I am happy to say that the Mum and her 9 remaining babies were all rescued after being stuck for almost 5 hours! We released them into a pond in Whyte Ridge where another mother duck and her young came and greeted them. It was too sweet and a perfect way to end the day!

19 Weeks...Half Way There!

So, a fetus is considered full term at 38 weeks, which means, we are half way there...unless I pop early! All this time I felt like I was climbing a hill and now that I have reached 19 weeks, I can start my way back down. Of course if the baby is overdue, which is anytime after 40 weeks, I will be waiting at the bottom of the hill standing still...so maybe I will bring a tent, lol.
We are slowly collecting things we need thanks to close family and friends who have children and kept all the stuff their kids grew out of. Babies hardly use anything because they grow so fast. My sister gave us this pretty bassinet which is mint green. Bassinets are so sweet. I wish babies could sleep in them longer then they can, but thanks to my parents, we'll have a crib to upgrade to. Though, my cats seem to really like the bassinet, lol. (These 2 pictures can be enlarged if you just click them!)


Sometime is the next couple weeks we will be heading back to Health Science Centre for hopefully our last ultrasound which will have more detail on the anatomy of our baby. We'll also find out the sex of the baby then too. I had another dream last night that it was a boy, but we'll see...
After the ultrasound I will be going back to see my homeopathic and naturopathic doctor to detox me from the ultrasound and to see how my vitamin levels are. I have started taking a teaspoon of cod liver oil everyday and I must admit...it's one of the grossest things I have ever swallowed, but thank god for B12 spray because I just breath out of my mouth for a while until the B12 is absorbed and then swallowed so I can't taste or smell lemony cod anymore, only spearmint from the B12. But cod liver oil is good for brain development in fetuses and makes for smarter babies! Not to mention all the GREAT things it does for YOU! You'll know cod liver oil is a good natural healthy brand when you stick it in the freezer and the oil doesn't freeze. I was told the 2 best kinds are by Carlson's and Nordic Naturals (which is the one I use. I bought it at the vitamin store on Corydon Ave called 'Thrive'.)
Thanks for reading and stay tuned!