Oh Boy, 30 Weeks!!

So, I have reached 30 weeks. I don't know where the time is going, but it is flying by. I can't believe that sometime in the next 8 to 12 weeks we will have a new person added to our family. It's so surreal for me sometimes. I am overjoyed and anxious and a little terrified...I imagine these are all normal feelings for first time parents. I have been raised around children and babies my whole life, so this should be no problem...but when it's YOUR OWN child, it's a little different. Sometimes I wonder if I know what I am going to do with this little person when she gets here. Obviously I will feed her, clothe her, love her, etc. But I've never been a mother before (other then to 3 spoiled cats) so as time is ticking closer and closer to that due date, I am trying to educate myself in the areas I lack confidence.
My husband and I start a couple prenatal classes at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto in October. I feel like they it might be full of obvious information, but hey, if anything, it will boost our confidence, and it will better prepare my husband who has never changed a diaper before.
I continue to read books on childbirth, preferably natural childbirth. I have been reading this blog too, which I find enjoyable.
I have found a midwife from Seven Generations and I have my first appointment coming up. We are going to go ahead with the plan to have a homebirth, but if our minds change and we decide that we're more comfortable in a birthing centre (oh how our society has put fear in us), Sunnybrook has just renovated and opened their new and improved birthing centre. So if you want a virtual tour of the place, click HERE. My midwife would be with me of course and a doctor can step in only if she feels it's necessary, but I am sure since everything has been running smoothly, everything will go just fine. I just have to trust myself, trust my body and of course have a great support system (which I have.)
I have such beautiful light in my new apartment in Toronto, so I had a fun photoshoot. It's important to me to document my pregnancy through photos. Maternity photos are some of my favourites to shoot. Before I was pregnant I thought pregnant ladies were SO cute and it was hard to understand how some people feel unattractive when their pregnant, but as I sit here with a large 3 pound eggplant sized baby in my belly, I completely understand. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable and unattractive, especially as I run out of clothes that fit properly, as all you other beautiful pregnant mama's have probably felt. My veins are more noticeable, I have what looks like cottage cheese growing on my butt and thighs and sometimes I get weird red bumps on my belly. But, when you look at maternity photos, man, pregnancy is a beautiful sexy thing. I have a collection of maternity photos here on my Facebook page, so become a fan and take a look!!
http://www.facebook.com/artist.heatherbays

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!