My first stranger comment!

I had a dentist appointment today, which is never fun, but it's extra not fun when you're pregnant. One of the side effects of pregnancy is bleeding gums. And I'm not just talking about once in awhile when you floss. I'm talking every time you brush your teeth. It's very annoying. And gross. But, one of the things they recommend you do at least once during your pregnancy is to get your teeth cleaned. So there I was, waiting for my own torture when a very old woman (who had pigtails....in braids...) was on her way out of the office when saw me from across the room and smiled. I smiled back (I thought she might have been a bit crazy to be honest) and then she said the magic words, "your first?" Oh...that's why she was smiling at me. Anyway, not only was she brave enough to assume that I'm pregnant (old people probably don't know/care when they're offensive) but she also must of thought I was young enough to look like it was my first! Double bonus. This means I am finally out of the just looking fat stage (it was a very long stage...) but it leads me to thoughts on belly touching. You know, the number one thing pregnant people complain about. When random people coming up to you and touch your belly. Now granted this hasn't happened to me yet (probably the next stage after recognition) but this is where I really don't see eye to eye with the rest of my pregnant ladies. I really don't get what the big deal is. It's not like people are grabbing your ass, or worse, your growing bust line. But this whole united front on it is annoying because I feel like it's scared people off, even friends, from experiencing one of the coolest things about pregnancy. At least for me, I want to feel my belly all the time (becasue quite honestly, it is REALLY weird. I still can't get over how it feels like a hard rock, and then the fact that it moves is just really weird/cool. On Wednesday in my yoga class when I was in table top position, I could actually see that his head/butt was sticking out on the left side of my body). So of course, I like to subject anyone else around to the weirdness (akin to..."you should taste this...isn't it gross?" Ok...not the best analogy...but the point is it is definitley out of the ordinary and you want other people to share in this experience). So now I feel like I'm one of those annoying people asking people to feel her belly all the time (my husband gets it the worst. I make him put his head on my belly pretty much everyday. But I think it's so cool that he can actually hear the heart beat in there). Most people seem excited when I ask them to (or at least they haven't said no) so this confirms my suspicion that pregnant women have scared people off from touching pregnant bellies. It's a shame really. I'm telling you, it really never gets old.

24 weeks

Since feeling the baby move a couple weeks ago I now feel him all.the.time. Definitely everyday and sometimes during odd momments (like when people are talking to me and I forget that they can't tell that there are things moving around in me, interupting me when I'm trying to have a conversation). But it's good. It's very reassuring just to know that he's still alive in there (ok I know it's a sick thought but this is how I think).

So far I have gained 10 pounds since getting pregnant. I think I'm pretty much on track - with lots of room for the remaining 14-16 weeks. If I keep to the pound a week rule I should be good. But I could tell I was starting to pick up the pounds in the last couple weeks because my appetite has increased like crazy. Literally my stomach is growling mid morning if I don't have a snack. And I can completely finish whatever is on my plate (we're talking a full size burrito at chipotle). So it's not a mystery how the pounds get added on. At this point he is about 1 1/4 pounds (sounds like a burger) and 8 1/2 inches. And his face is fully formed! So if we got a pic of him in there we'd know what he looks like. More or less...I mean even when they're born it's kind of hard to tell what they'll look like in a non-baby form. But I have been thinking about getting a 3D ultrasound. They're not that expensive and it could be cool....or creepy....hard to say.

I included here a pic from my baby shower in Halifax. This was the game where people guessed how big I was with a piece of string. People were not very good at this game. My sister cut a piece that barely went around her own waist. And several people refused to get up and measure against me once they realized how huge they had cut it. But nevertheless, one of my cousins got it right on. I didn't measure it but I did save it somewhere. The shower was very fun (special thanks to my two former bridesmaids!), despite many of my relatives not being able to make it, we had a good turn out. I thought I would make things easier by not doing a registry in Canada - since I knew I needed everything I figured a few duplicates here and there wouldn't be a big deal (since you pretty much need everything in multiples). However, I did not anticipate everyone having the same idea. Blankets seemed to be the theme (who knew this was such a popular baby gift?). Although I got all different kinds of blankets, for different kinds of uses, I ended up with 10 different blankets (did I mention I had 13 people attend the shower?). Kind of funny considering I live in Arizona but if the baby is as cold blooded as me he'll probably need it. I was really glad that I gave a "theme" suggestion (animal saffari) because most everyone followed this and hence I thought everything was really cute (really, how can monkeys, giraffe's, elephants, and lions get old....oh wait, maybe the 5 foot long wooden zebra I got was a bit much. But still, cute). It was fun getting stuff for the baby though and it felt a lot less awkward than when I opened gifts for my bridal shower - maybe because it's more practical and not as much "I really would love a kitchenaid mixer". I am really lucky in that I have TWO more showers coming up. One in Phoenix (with my work friends) and one in Tucson (for my husbands family and our friends there). So that will be really helpful as it is kind of overwhelming how much stuff you need for a baby. Most things are inexpensive on there own, but there's just so much of it. And I keep forgetting things that I might need (like baby nail clippers). Not that I can't take the baby home from the hospital without it...but still, it makes me panic a little.

My mom bought us a car seat as a gift and we picked it up this weekend. I'm looking forward to trying it out in my car. Cross your fingers as if this doesn't fit it may be the end to Little Red. I just can't justify keeping the car if my child won't fit in it. Because even if my husband and I coordinate vehicles (did I mention we also bought a brand new car 2 weeks ago so that we could at least have 1 4-door vehicle?) there's going to be times when I'm going to want to run out of the house to go get something or go somewhere last minute. But I'm holding out hope that we'll get it to work.

22 weeks and kicking!

A lot has happened since 20 weeks. If you would like to compare and contrast the photos you will see that I am monumentally huger (is that a word?). My mom saw me around 20 weeks so when she saw me yesterday (oh yeah, I'm in Halifax right now) she said "oh you really look pregnant in that tank top". me, "this black tank top?" "yeah" "yeah, it's not the tank top." Yeah, if you look pregnant in a black tank top chances are you're pretty huge.

Also, I finally got to feel the baby! After all that travelling on the plane I finally felt him just before landing in Halifax. I was pushing on my stomach (mostly because I was just really uncomfortable after becing squished in airplane seats and airport chairs for 14 hours) and then I felt like a rolling sensation. Then since then I've felt little pokes here and there off and on during the day. Not exactly kicks, more like someone blowing bubbles in my internal organs. Yeah, you know how that feels. I also have started to feel more pregnant in the fact that it kind of hurts to put my shoes on without sitting down. No more hopping around and bending over at odd angles. It's pulling out a chair time.

Anyway, so it's been an exciting time - except of course that my DH isn't here to experience all this with me :( Lots of time for that though.