Saturday, January 23, 2010

The Baby’s Kicking and my Brain Is Shrinking.

January 23rd, 2010

FINALLY, I can feel the baby! As of this week I know for sure that what I’m feeling isn’t just gas. Ha ha! In fact, last night I’m sure I felt him do a full flip. It must have been the delicious dinner John took us out for. My baby already knows the difference between a good and mediocre dining experience.

Poor John is so frustrated that he can’t feel him. I think it will still be a few more weeks before we’ll be able to feel his kicks on the outside. Until then it will be a feeling only I know. How amazing.

So there’s that little update and then there is something that John read in his book* that has given me a good laugh this week. He read that a women’s brain shrinks 3-5% during pregnancy! Can you believe that? Baby brain is not a myth, it’s a fact. Now what is concerning is that the book said the shrinkage “generally clears up within a few months after birth.” Generally?! Let’s hope it does! The other day I called a blue cutting board pink.

*The Expectant Father: Facts, Tips, and Advice for Dads-to-Be Second Edition, Armin A. Brott and Jennifer Ash

Saturday, January 16, 2010

Om... GRUNT!

January 16th, 2009

I went to my second pre-natal yoga class this week. It was great. I came home feeling refreshed and happy.

At the end of class we did savasana, a pose where you lye on your back and relax with the intent to rejuvenate the mind, body, and spirit. Our instructor dimmed the lights and played soft chanting. I knew it was going to be challenging to keep myself from falling asleep because I was so tired. Despite my efforts, somewhere between the yoga instructor telling us to relax our mind and our bodies, and me telling myself not to fall asleep, I fell asleep. I was probably only out for a few seconds when I woke myself up with a grunting noise.

I’ve woken myself up before with my own snoring (something I’m not that proud of). The only difference here was that it wasn’t a snore, it was a GRUNT, and I wasn’t by myself I was in a room FULL of women. How embarrassing.

I’ve been doing yoga for a couple of years now and I have never fallen asleep before. Why do I get the feeling this won’t be the last bout of public embarrassment I face during this pregnancy?

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Houston, We've Got A Gender!

January 12th, 2009

It’s a boy! It’s a boy! It’s a boy!

Yesterday John and I had our 21 week ultrasound and we found out that the baby inside me is growing a penis, making it a boy! Ha ha! We are thrilled! John was so excited that he made the technician take a still shot of our babies manhood so that he could show his friends. Already a proud papa.

This ultrasound was amazing, the technician worked so quickly. She was able to determine that by all accounts we have a healthy baby boy. She looked at his spine, she measured his brain, she checked his feet, his nose and lips. She looked at his kidneys and even his tiny little bladder. You could see it all, it was absolutely amazing. At one point she zoomed in on the heart and we could see all four chambers. How amazing to know that all is looking good. We are so fortunate.

After all the measurements were done the technician said I could go to the washroom (thank God) to create a little more room for the baby to move around. Before that my bladder was so full there wasn’t a lot of space for him. That’s when he really put on a show; he moved around, flexed his arm muscles (just like dad) and even waved at us. The wave was awesome. His hand moved slowly, you could see all five fingers, and it swayed back and forth. Hello little man.



I have to tell you, for me, knowing the sex has already made a difference in how I feel about this whole experience. Calling the baby “it” made me feel distant from him in a sense. I feel a connection now (although still small). Knowing the gender gives this baby an identity. I’m going to be the mother of a boy. I’m going to be responsible to care and nurture and teach this boy who will grow to be a man and do wonderful things with his life. He’s going to play a role and affect people. In fact, I suppose I am the first person he is affecting by his mere presence. That is powerful. That’s my baby boy. That is something I can really feel.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

That's A Big Fruit You Have There!

January 5th, 2010

Warning: If you’re uncomfortable talking about poo you might want to skip this posting.

No wonder I was feeling huge last night! My What To Expect email told me today that at week 20 I have a cantaloupe growing inside of me! I remember when it was just an olive. They grow so fast.

Yep, I’m feeling big. It’s already kind of awkward putting my winter boots on, I honestly don’t know how guys with big beer bellies do it.

So at lunch today I finally caved and had some Metamucil. I hate that stuff. It’s the consistency that gets me. It tastes like sand in my orange juice. It usually makes me gag, but I’m so desperate for a bowel movement that I’m willing to try anything. I decided to do the good old mind over matter trick. Before taking my first gulp I said out loud, “I love Metamucil, it tastes so good”, and you know what? It kind of worked. I didn’t gag at least. Between every gulp I said out loud how delicious I thought it was. Sounds a bit crazy I know, but I got it down the hatch, even that gross clump of it that always sits at the bottom of the glass making the last sip the toughest.

I don’t know what happened… at the beginning of my pregnancy I was actually super regular, but I’m having some issues now. Maybe it’s because my intestines are getting smooshed by the large fruit growing inside me.

Speaking of fruit, I need to eat more (you know, to get things moving) so I went to the grocery store tonight and got some yummy blueberries and strawberries. I think blueberries are actually my favourite fruit right now. One thing’s for sure, I won’t be eating any cantaloupe until this baby grows into a squash.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

2010!

January 3rd, 2010

Happy New Year! Wow, this holiday season was one of my best! I had wonderful, quality visits with family and friends, but I also had wonderful time in my own house, with no agenda. I woke up when I wanted to; I cleaned a bit, I dreamed a bit, what more could I ask for from a holiday. Now it’s back to work tomorrow and I think I’ll be okay. I definitely feel refreshed and I always work better after time off charging my battery.

Some pretty cool things have happened since I last wrote. First of all I got ‘the line’. You know that line that shows up down the middle of your belly once it starts growing?! It’s faint, but it’s there, along with some new hair. Yes, I have a nice little treasure trail happening and it’s not regular hair, its dark, definitely darker than what is on my head. I don’t really mind it, but I don’t really want that much more of it either, especially before we take our trip down south.

On the subject of The Belly (like it's become an entity onto its own), it has grown to the point where not only can I not do up the top button on my jeans, but I can’t even do up the zipper. Thankfully John’s brother Andrew got me this great elastic band that I can wear right over my “open fly” and no one is the wiser. Pregnancy is an excuse for extreme comfort. Not to say that I’m going to start wearing joggers to work, but it’s comical to me that I can walk out of the house with my jean zipper wide open and not think twice about it. In fact, it’s kind of awesome.

Everyone over the holidays was great to show their excitement over the baby, and more so over the baby bump. Man, did I get lot of belly rubs. My reaction to the belly rub is dependant on my mood. Sometimes I just laugh at people’s amazement over it and other times I curse them out in my head for fondling me without even asking. Ha ha! Then there are times when I take people’s hands and put them on my tummy and wait for their response when (for all I know) they could be thinking, “Ewwwwww, why is she making me touch it?” I do think the rule of thumb should be to ask before rubbing though, don’t you? I’m pretty sure that one of these days someone is going to reach out when I’m not in the mood and… well I don’t know what might happen. It’s a good thing I don’t know karate.

I'll leave you today with a picture of my tree which is now sitting in the 6 feet of snow at the end of our driveway. I went with gold and silver as a theme and I thought it was quite beautiful.