19 Weeks

A bit late on my weekly update.

We drove 19 hours in 2 days across the upper US to get home last weekend. It was a long drive but not overly uncomfortable for me which was good. We stopped about every 2 hours to get out, stretch and use the washroom. We had fantastic roads which was surprising since the entire country was basically under siege last week with the big snow storm.

Once we got home, we got right back in the car to go to my grandparents so we could see my extended family and have our Christmas. It was super fun and Baby B got a few gifts from the family. I wasnt expecting gifts at Christmas for our unborn baby, but it was great! I'll have to post pics when we get home next week.

Overall I'm feeling good. I notice that I tire more easily now and my hips hurt at night when I sleep. My bump is starting to fill out a bit, will have to post a 20 week pic next week. I'm glad we made this drive at 4.5 months pregnant instead of later.

I bought a Baby K'Tan sling when we got home. Not many stores in Ontario carry them so I wanted to be sure to get one when we came down here. I cant wait to use it.

I had the "talk" with my mother-in-law about the baby shower. She has said from the beginning that she wanted to host a shower for me which is fantastic. Personally I think that mothers/MIL's should never host a shower for their children and it should be up to an aunt or friend but whatever, I'm not going to argue about it. But I did speak with her about the location for the party. She wants to have it the last weekend in April at which point I'll be 8 months pregnant. My in-laws live 90 minutes from our home and it would be a major pain to drive there and back with what I'm sure will be tons of baby gifts and at a time when I will start to get uncomfortable. We just dont have a big enough vehicle to haul stuff. So I politely asked her to have the party at our house; she can still have all the control over food and organizing it. She wasnt happy at first because she was worried that 3 (yes only 3) friends from her work wouldnt come. Three people my DH and I dont know at all. All of DH's family members will undoubtedly make the trip so that isnt the issue. I pointed out to her that my friends live in our community and the party is for me (well I wasnt that snotty obviously, but its true) and that it would be a lot easier for us and more fun for me to have MY friends there. I know she is excited to be a grandma and to share in that with everybody she knows but if these women can't/won't drive to our town then that is their choice. After some hard convincing, she came around. I dont think she is 100% happy but she isnt arguing about it anymore so I think its ok. I dont think we are unreasonable in this request to have it at our house.

And a word about my DH: Only a great man would get up at the crack of dawn and drive 12 hours on his birthday (December 26th!!) to get his wife home to see her parents. I love this man so much and so appreciate everything he does for me.

Thats it for this week. Will update on Monday next week...almost halfway there!!

Summons....

I was summoned to witness at a child custody/protection case for a past client in November.

My first thought was: "Wow what a horrible date to be at trial. December 21 and 22, 2009. The Society will either ruin this family's Christmas or it'll be the happiest damn day of their lives."

My second thought was: "What the hell? This hasnt been resolved yet!? The kid hasnt been at the parents home for 2 years!"

My third thought was: "I hate the Society." I say this weekly. I hate it more than any other social service entity.

My fourth thought was: "Shit. I have to testify at family court."

So I had supervision with my boss about the file and the case, which wasn't all that helpful, sent a document to the lawyers summarizing my involvement, and got more prettied up yesterday than I have in recent weeks. Meaning, my hair wasnt in a ponytail, I had eyeshadow on my eyelids and I got to rock my new maternity business jacket. I may even wear the jacket after the PG because its so cute and I got lots of compliments on it. A girl gotta look good....anyway I digress.

It was a bit un-nerving. Not because I wasn't prepared or insecure about my involvement with the client or testimony. Just the whole process because I have never testified in a real courtroom before....

But I did save money on my car insurance with Geico. Har. Har. Har.

Anyway....

Like where do I put my coat when I get in there?

I hope I spell my name right.

I dont feel good, darnit Thunder, we gotta get thru this without pissing our pants. Ugh bathroom break...ok, thats over and always happens when the nerves are up. Sorry Thunder for blaming you so quickly, forgive me.

Oh yeah...dr's appt in 2 hours. Will I make it? Should I call them to reschedule just in case I'm sitting here all day? Ugh...thats RIGHT! They're doing the pa.p sme.ar today. Faaaantastic....now I gotta go wash up after court.

Where do I sit? In grad school, we had a mock trial at a real courthouse with a judge and real lawyers and I had the voir dire part meaning I was up to testify first....and I sat on the wrong side of the judge. Thankfully they were cool with it and didnt make me move or embarrass me but they did point it out. Will never forget that, lol.

Do I take my notes out before or after the lawyer starts talking about the material?

Do I acknowledge my client or will that seem fishy?

Hmmm...the cop in the courtroom is kinda cute.

Oh Thunder, please calm down. Oh wait..those are my intestines again.

"Look how cute! There is a real judge!!" Reference anyone? No seriously, she was this super cute old lady who I wanted to share a plate of cookies and a glass of milk with talking about the old days.

You get the picture. My testimony was pretty solid I think and the Society's lawyer tried to trip me up about my recommendations. Didn't work. I'm quick on my feet even under pressure.

I still dont really know what the trial was about whether the kid was going up for adoption or going home to the parents.

I so hope their Christmas wasnt ruined and that 2010 will be a better year for the family.

Oh and I didnt piss myself and I didnt get the pa.p smea.r. My blood pressure was a bit high though (125/80).

Gee I wonder why?

18 Weeks

I find the 2T is flying by insanely fast! We had our ultrasound on Friday! It was so cool....impersonal and sucky in other ways but that is stuff that is out of my hands so overall it was cool. The good parts outweighed the bad parts. Baby looked so good on the screen and was moving around a lot.

We also got to hear the heartbeat which was really cool! DH said it sounded like thunder so our baby is now nicknamed Thunder. We stuck to our guns and did not find out the sex. Hopefully the doc wont mistakenly tell us.

I had my appointment today and my blood pressure was wonky. I think it was work-stress related which I'll post about tomorrow so hopefully it will not continue to be a problem. Everything else looked ok too. Will be spending Christmas with the in-laws and then headed back to the US for the last week in December. My dad is turning 50 on NYE so we are having a big party for him. I'm excited to see my family and I know they are too!

I'm super nerdy and totally not trying to make my baby a genius by doing this (because I dont buy into music in-utero makes your baby an Einstein or Mozart) but I'm playing music for the baby. I'm not playing it too loud since the fluid is already a good conductor for noise and only for a few minutes at a time but I feel some movement when I do it. DH got a great pic of me doing it too, lol! Again, I'm a nerd but I absolutely love music and what better way to bond with the baby, I say.

Not much else to update. I just find the time going so fast. I know the first part of the new year will fly by too.

17 Weeks

The cat is officially out of the bag at work. I told everybody at our Christmas potluck last week and everybody seemed quite excited for us. Its always fun to tell people!

I have two stretch marks on my belly...wonderful.

I purchased the baby bedding this week. I can only get it from the US so its a super big pain to get it. Here is a pic of it. I bought the four piece set which is the comforter, fitted sheet, bumpers and skirt (comes with a free bear), two of the valances and the mobile, only because its too cute to pass up! I think I may hang the comforter on one of the walls or use for tummy time and push the bumpers in between the slats of the crib so there isnt a much pillowy puffiness in the crib. We'll what happens when we actually get the set and how it will all fit/tie on the crib.




I've started researching more in depth bre.ast feeding and childbirth. I plan to sign up myself and DH for some parenting classes this spring that includes basic infant care and bre.ast feeding. I will get a tour of the hospital sometime in March but I'm not sure that there is a full class on labor techniques.

Our ultrasound is on Friday, we're so excited! We can't wait to see our baby again!

16 Weeks

The tickling is so cool and is getting even more frequent. It's most often in the afternoon and evening, especially after meals. Today it was more below my belly button but it can definitely be felt all over the place.

Work still doesn't know but I hope to tell soon. I'm just tired of keeping it a secret and I want to be able to talk about it openly with the people that do know about it.

This is definitely the last week of regular pants. They are tight around the waist now and also around my butt and legs. Just getting uncomfortable.

I love my sleeping br.a. It is wonderful and comfortable and totally good for the girls.

My DH is a wonderful man. Sometimes I don't think I appreciate him enough but I try to remind myself every day how lucky I am to have him in my life.

I'm excited to be four months pregnant! Its still a surreal experience. A friend of mine is exactly 8 weeks behind me, she just told us last week! I was the first of our friends circle she told because I'm pregnant too. Its fun to have someone that is going through all of this too and its not a family member so there wont be any jealousy or fights for attention as some families with multiple pregnant women can experience.

DH and I have decided to stay on Team Green until the birth. Our ultrasound is next Friday and it will be tempting to find out but we're going to hold out for the big surprise at the end. We also discussed that we will pick two names for each sex so we have options when we see him or her. Deciding on boy names is hard, I'm fairly certain we have our girl names chosen already.

That's it for this week! Hope to feel the tickles more and more!

Good Vibrations

I picking up good vibrations...

Right now it feels like I'm being tickled....

Last night it felt like a vibration or buzzing...

The day before it felt like little tiny pokes....

However it feels...

It is the coolest sensation ever.

I can feel our baby and it is awesome.

I've been trying to figure it out for awhile now. I felt little pokes early on at around 12 weeks but didn't really think I could feel the baby that soon. It was never frequent either and not every day. But now I know it was definitely baby because the sensation is stronger and more frequent.

I've been pressing on my belly when it happens and it continues to happen after I lift my hand. Yesterday after shopping, it was happening a lot, like my tummy was rolling over and over. Last night I was laying in bed on my right side and I felt the vibrations. So I pressed and it kept happening, like a response. On the opposite side, my intestines were bubbly which confirmed that a moving baby is a totally different sensation.

So far week 15 has been my favorite week!

Belly Pics

Here are my 6 week and 15 week belly pics. Not obvious to the world yet but a definite change. Only 2lbs gained since getting PG according to my November weigh-in at my doc appt. I dont check in between appointments either.