It's A Girl!

So much for maternal instinct! I was wrong and our baby is a sweet little girl.

We couldn't possibly be any happier and it's a wonderful blessing to know our lives will be graced with her presence. I'm so happy she will have Luke as a father. He will be an incredible Dad. Not that I'm biased but this kid will have "Daddy's Little Girl" written all over her.

Happiness.

Morph Thing 2

18 Weeks

Cravings: mayonnaise, ribs, egg sandwiches ala the egg mcmuffin

Feeling: started feeling small fluttering movements yesterday, some days zonked and exhausted but much better than before

Looking forward to: finding out the sex of our baby in less than two weeks at our anatomy ultrasound

Sleep: Good with the exception of the early morning trips to the loo

What I miss: Eating sushi, sleeping on my stomach, being able to eat when I want and not when my body screams "feed me!", the really cute size 4 clothes at the mall

What I bought this week: My wedding dress!

Vivid Dreams (Nightmares) at 17 weeks!

So this morning I wake up to go for my usual pre-wake up pee at 5:30 am only to discover I've had a terrible nightmare in which Luke has been diagnosed with cancer and has become distant and runs off to a cottage in the middle of nowhere whenever he gets a chance. Note: in the dream Luke tells me he was diagnosed with cancer AFTER he is cured of it. Turns out while he HAD cancer, everyone knew about it except for me, including a waitress at a restaurant who served him soup on a daily basis. Completely rational dream? I think not.

Fast forward to a couple of hours later and Luke is getting out of bed to get ready for work. I say good morning, still reeling from my own nightmare when he tells me he's had a nightmare as well. I asked him what it was about and he told me he was in a Canadian Tire but couldn't decide on a Christmas gift for the kids.

Looks like anxiety over our little bundle is hitting us pretty hard lately. In all of the reading I've done (Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy!!) the authors mention that women will, generally, have misplaced anxiety over their partner's intent to stick-it-out for the entire pregnancy and men will, generally, be anxious over providing for the wee one. Of course everything will be fine and my rational, conscious mind understands this. It's interesting how the subconscious will totally play out your deepest fears, like it or not.

Now that we're 17 weeks pregnant we are really looking forward to finding out just what kind of an adventure we're in for: boy or girl!! I totally want a girl absolutely and completely, however; I will be just as happy with a boy, though a little disappointed that I will not be able to buy super cute and adorable baby girl clothes :( Luke is pulling for a boy and, in all honesty, I have a gut feeling that this baby is of the male sensibility. Call me crazy but both my sister, Rachelle, and I thought the ultrasound picture of the baby resembled a boy. I even said it out loud at the ultrasound which made Luke and the ultrasound tech laugh out loud.

Our wedding is also coming along and it feels more real as well. Only 75 days left until we get married!! I was online yesterday looking up pregnant brides at six months trying to gauge just how big I would be for my big day and found this bride:



I think she looks stunning! I'm hoping to find a similar dress even though I will look completely different seeing as how she is at least 5 feet 5 inches and I'm only 5 feet 2 inches (and a half!). This picture restores my faith in being able to look somewhat graceful while carrying a big belly on my wedding day :)

Had to Share This Video

The subtext of this video is a little strange but if you don't read the person's comments (who knows why they posted the video?) the video itself is one of my favourites!

Pregnancy Progress

So I'm working really hard to get a literacy course I'm teaching in Toronto next week organized, collated, tight and effective. Today I found out a Ministry representative will be visiting on the second day which will definitely force me to review my second day plans. Nothing like a little pressure to improve your delivery (no labour pun intended)! I'm hoping that, in spite of my pregnancy brain, I will deliver the goods and everyone will be happy and better equipped to implement great literacy programs this fall. I love my job :)

I am absolutely positively looking prego now. My belly is rounded and sticks out and I'm just barely able to squeeze into some size six skirts my sister donated to me. Thanks Sandra! Pretty soon they will be going the way of all of my other petite clothes...into storage. I may someday see them again...?

As much as I've been reading about prenatal events and happenings I now have this sort of compulsion to begin learning about WHAT TO DO WHEN THE BABY COMES. I can already hear you saying, "one step at a time!" but I have a real fear that all of this pregnancy stuff is going to be a piece of cake compared to actually raising a child out of the womb. And I know I am right to be a little scared ;) I have nephews and a niece.

As the weeks progress I am becoming more settled into pregnancy. The second trimester has definitely been much easier than the first trimester at this point. I'm less tired, have less uncomfortable gas and my appetite has tapered to a dull roar rather than a full blown howl. Maybe not working every day has something to do with this...:)

As a final note I am also really starting to wonder how great of a Mom I can be as a multi-tasking Mom. At work I tend to give 100%, at least, and that's been a successful strategy for me. If my brain is divided into 1/4 work and 3/4 childrearing I wonder how I will fare in both arenas: childrearing and work? I'd like to be 100% effective in both. That's why I'm considering (JUST CONSIDERING) staying home after baby turns one. This will depend a lot on our finances and our ability to keep our current lifestyle on one income.

Lots to think about!

Measurements

We had our second ultrasound last Friday and it was amazing. I teared up when I saw our baby looking like a real baby with fingers and legs and a belly and a big head. Stunning! I am completely enamoured with the ultrasound picture.

The ultrasound tech measured the baby at 13 weeks 1 day on Friday, so we were five days off on the original prediction of 13 weeks 6 days. This means the due date will most likely be later than January 15th but you never know.

Five days isn't a lot but, from what I've read, five days may mean a lot near the end of pregnancy. I'm going to block off a two week period in January instead of setting my heart on one due date (even though I will most likely keep to that date in my mind).

I'm still quite hungry all of the time and today I'm particularly tired. Luke's parents were here for the weekend and we talked about the wedding and baby which was exciting for all involved.

Time to take a nap...thank goodness for summer break!

Our Baby...?

Let's Grow!

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12 Weeks and 4 Days

Woo hoo! Almost done the first trimester!

I had some more spotting that started on Monday but it appears to be a lot like the prior spotting. Small amounts and not serious or threatening to the baby. I am much more relaxed this time than I was at the six week mark.

My thyroid levels are stellar at .73 thanks to an increase in my dosage. I'm hoping they stay good throughout the pregnancy even though my baby is now able to produce his / her own thyroid hormones at this point.

To Luke the pregnancy is becoming more real as my belly gets bigger and bigger! It's so much fun to watch it grow. The doctor told me I still look pretty skinny but I've never had a belly this big before ;)

Our wedding plans are also coming along. We set the date for October 23rd, 2010. Between invitations, booking an officiant and everything else that comes along with weddings we'll be pretty busy. No complaints though!

3 Days to Go!

It's my last day of work today until September! I'm looking forward to doing things on my own time and when the mood strikes me. We are also looking forward to Vegas in the next few weeks.

Luke's 30th birthday is on Saturday and that's the baby's three month birthday as well. With each passing day the baby becomes more and more real to me.

I've gained four pounds since becoming pregnant and it seemed to all pile on at once. I'm also showing already!! There is a definite protruding belly where there was a much smaller belly before. Reading up on this shows that everyone is different and that my belly may not be as much baby as it is distended bowels and movement for baby to grow up and out. Needless to say I am excited that tight t-shirts reveal a baby bump! It's still easy to hide if I wear something more roomy though so I've got it good ;)

Looking forward to Saturday...

10 weeks 5 days

I'm feeling more and more confident about the fact that this baby is going to make it to three months. Three months pregnant! Wow. That's a mouthful.

It has both flown by and has seemed to take a lifetime. I have been waiting for the end of the first trimester!

My symptoms are definitely reducing. I have had more energy during the day and the ill feeling (without throwing up) only visits at times. Yesterday was great. I had very little gas during the day and then only felt ill after dinner, around 8:00 pm. Today was great as well. Minimal gas, a little tired in the afternoon but overall I'm feeling good.

Sleeping has been off and on. Some nights I am able to sleep through the night without getting up to go to the bathroom and some nights I'm up to go to the bathroom and can't get back to sleep again for awhile. This probably doesn't help with that tired feeling during the day!

I told one person at work today that I'm pregnant. We were going for a walk at lunch and she asked what was new. When I told her she said she knew already! Either my baby bump is a lot bigger than I thought or she really does have "a gift" for identifying pregnant women, as she claimed. There were a few clues for her: my usual tailored blouses and pants have been replaced by baggy tops and pants, I'm eating kale and lots of vegetables and she said I have a pregnant glow and a sense of calm about me. I wonder who else has noticed???

9 Weeks 4 Days

It is getting more and more exciting to think about whether we are having a boy or a girl baby. Fairly soon our baby will be a fetus and take on more of the features of a 'real baby' versus a tadpole. I wonder if it will have Luke's eyes, my sticky-outie ears or a whole new combination of features. The baby can now move around in my stomach and virtually swims around in there! I can't feel anything yet but apparently there's a lot going on.

Soon we will be telling all sorts of people we're pregnant and I'm so excited! Luke doesn't enjoy telling creatively so when we're together we just blurt it out which is fun too! When I'm alone, however, I think of all sorts of funny and amusing ways to do the big reveal. My Mom already has five grandchildren so I bought a dozen eggs and drew the baby faces of four boys and one girl on all but one. On the sixth egg I put a big question mark and our baby's due date: January 15th, 2011. It was a lot of fun watching her try to figure out what all of the eggs meant.

Today is a more energetic day for me...less exhausted and ready to tackle all of the work that has been shoved to the side for now.

9 Weeks Tomorrow

Feeling exhausted. Craving hamburgers and fries and gravy, but mostly hamburgers. If this baby grows up to be vegetarian it will be because of all the (mostly) lean red meat Mom consumed in utero. It's more likely baby will be a strapping football player.

I can't wait until June 30th as it marks the end of the work year which is really putting a dent in the amount of time I can spend napping, but also marks the end of my first trimester which, I hear, also ends the most tenuous time of pregnancy.

Feeling great as long as I can eat on a whim and nap every few hours :)

Stay tuned for an update on my doctors' appointments next week!

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