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.