28 Week Update

Before I bore you with the pregnancy details, here's a very serious picture of Fiona after she woke up from her nap yesterday...

She might be wearing her 'don't mess with me' face, but she's still so cute!

Well, we officially have less than 12 weeks to go before #2 arrives. Are we ready? Certainly not mentally!

Tuesday was my 28 week checkup. From now on I see the doctor every 2 weeks until 36 weeks, then it's every week. That's when you know the end is really nigh.

The good news is that I passed the gestational diabetes test. Woohoo! Bring on the chocolate cake! Except, according to the nurse I've also gained about 5lbs too much at this point, so maybe just give me a small slice. When she told me this, out loud I just said 'ok' but in my head I said 'well it's not my fault I'm hungry every 20 minutes, and by now with Fiona I looked like a blimp and had gained about 20lbs too much, so really, let's not focus too much on 5 measly pounds'. Boy, did she get an internal talking to...

Other than that, everything looks good. Baby is measuring just the right size, her heartbeat is great, and other than Fiona-induced exhaustion I feel really good.

Fiona is becoming more and more obsessed with my tummy the larger it gets. She wants to blow raspberries on it and snuggle with it all day long. Last night she kept stopping eating during dinner to ask me to come over and lift up my shirt so she could pat it (I know this sounds impressive, but she communicated her wishes with whining, grunting, and pointing, so we have a long way to go in the language department!). She has no idea that there's a baby in there, but something about it is comforting to her, and she'll lay her head on it when she's sad. It's sweet, in an 'inappropriate in public' kind of way...

Amanda and Michelle: here's your bump picture...

Thanks for all the votes on names! We still have not decided, but it has been fun to hear what you think!

The best thing about being a grown up!

The best thing about being a grown up... is making a batch of brownies at 10pm, and then being allowed to eat them from the inside out because the middle ones are the best...

And the best thing about being pregnant is eating as many as you like in one sitting. Mmm brownies.

Fiona and Mama visit the doctor

Thursday was an exciting day - both Fiona and I had checkups. Fiona's was second, but we'll cover her first because she's cuter... see?

Fiona is now 15 months old, and weighs 21lb, 9oz (29th %). She is 30 1/2 inches tall (52nd %). Her noggin is more in proportion with her height now, and is 45.8cm in circumference (47th %). So she hasn't grown much in the last three months, but that's normal given that she's a lot more mobile than she was and some days refuses to eat anything but yogurt. She also got 3 shots, one of which was for flu, which aches for days (for me anyway) and she's had a fever and been in a horrible mood all day today, so I'm going to assume that means they're working ;-)

Other than that she's healthy and developing just right and we're happy we have made it this far without ruining her. Yay! :-) And see how happy she is?

Fiona thought my appointment was much more entertaining than hers... she thought it was very interesting when the doctor got to inspect my tummy (because normally that's Fiona's job). We're pleased to report that at 16 weeks everything is still going great, and apparently I'm 'gaining weight nicely'. Thanks twixes!

Michelle and Amanda keep asking for 'bump' pictures, so here's one for you guys showcasing all those twixes... :-)

We're looking forward to the next appointment in 4 weeks where we'll (hopefully) find out which variety of baby we're having. If you'd like to guess the variety, take the poll on the right hand side!

That doesn't make any sense! Or does it...?

Between the fact that I look like I've eaten all the pies, and I'm sick to death of endless laundry, I thought I might use some of Fiona's afternoon nap (and Ben's hard earned money) for internet shopping and buy some new shirts.

I'm cheap, so I don't usually shop in Gap, but I thought I should check out their online sale items because sometimes you can get a really good deal. I thought that maybe if I was wearing maternity clothes already, I'd look more pregnant and less cream-filled.

After searching though many lovely options, I came to the 'shoes' section. "Huh" I thought to myself "I wonder what makes those different from normal shoes?" and assumed they were more supportive, extra comfortable, maybe had a built in foot massager... something along those lines. You can imagine my surprise on scrolling down to find... these!

Huh......wha...?

Well, I guess strippers get pregnant too, but really, I cannot imagine tottering around on these pregnant or not! Bizarre...

But then it all became clear... in the 'about this product' section I found this...

Now it makes sense!! We've all seen the movies and sitcoms... when you go into labour, your water always breaks all over your shoes. It's bound to happen. Knowing this, the most important thing a pregnant lady can have is wipe clean shoes! Thank you Gap for making such a useful, thoughtful product. I'm ordering a pair in each colour.

12 Weeks

Today Ben, Fiona and I made the exciting trip to downtown Minneapolis to visit my baby doctor. Doctor visits are still exciting at this point because they're infrequent, and the only way to have real proof that yes, there's really a baby in there, I'm not just faking.

Today number 2 is 12 weeks and 1 day old. After some searching the doctor was able to find its heart beating with the doppler, but only for a couple of seconds before it squirmed away again. So it's still in there, and it's not very cooperative!

Here's a somewhat gruesome picture of what everything is looking like inside. Proof that the lovely round tummy I'm sporting is indirectly caused by baby, because even though baby is not that big yet, there used to be a bunch of stuff there, which had to go somewhere!

Later in the day I continued my effort to eat a healthy, balanced diet to adequately nourish the miracle within... we walked to the ice cream shop for dinner, which I followed up with a grilled cheese sandwich and potato chips for dessert. I boosted the health properties of the sandwich by using two kraft cheese slices. They're calci-yummy. I'm now getting ready to head to bed with my heartburn.

As for excitement to look forward to... we scheduled our big 'does the baby have all its limbs, and maybe even a tiny willy?' ultrasound... it will be September 24th. Don't touch that dial ;-)

Big, Big News

Posts about our adventures have been few and far between recently. We're still having them, but I've been way too tired to make regular blog updates. I'm sorry. But why so tired?

Well, Fiona's going to be a big sister, and all my energy is being used to grow a baby.

Yep, pretty exciting! Luckily I'm almost at the end of the first trimester, so hopefully in the next couple of weeks I should start getting some energy back and we can once again share our super exciting adventures with you.

We had an ultrasound a few weeks ago. Baby is 8 weeks and a few days in this picture. We were able to see its little heart beating like crazy, and it was kicking and squirming around. I've labelled it so you can see which way up the blob goes...

I think if you kind of squint a little you can see a smiling face... By now (11 weeks) it looks like a teeny alien baby and is about 2 inches long (though my big tummy would indicate otherwise).

Here are some frequently asked questions...

The baby is due on February 7th, though it is likely I'll have to have another c-section, so it'll probably be around a week before that. and definitely not on my birthday!

Yes, it's definitely only one baby.

We find out whether it is a boy or girl in about 9 weeks, at the 20 week ultrasound.

I'm feeling ok... I have been feeling terrible, but between magic drugs, the first trimester ending, and a wonderful husband who is willing to get up at 6am with Fiona, I'm feeling a lot better now. Thanks for asking ;-)

We're super excited, and we'll keep you updated along the way!