Week 24: Further evidence that I am, indeed, pregnant.

It seems that I'm approaching that point in a pregnancy where new symptoms start to appear, like swelling and sweating and sore feet. Lovely, eh?

I went for a walk with Nic on Sunday and towards the end of the walk I noticed my hands were swelling a bit... I could barely get my rings off or make fists.

My feet feel like I've been standing on them all day even though I've been sitting on my butt for the most part!

And sweating. Well, let's just say that sitting on the sofa watching TV appears to be enough physical activity to cause perspiration.

Oh, and I've been in a fairly foul mood since Friday to top it all off. Who wouldn't be??!

Week 23: Just for Amanda!

Here's a photo of my belly at exactly 22 weeks. It's bizarre that for the first time in my life I have a "beer" belly and I haven't had a beer in 5 (long!) months!!

I've been reassured that the indent separating my upper fat belly and lower baby belly will eventually "pop" out. We shall see. Here's hoping!

Week 22: Bra shopping

This has to have been the worst experience of my entire pregnancy, so far. Nobody warns you that you that larger sized bras ALL look like grandma bras. And the sad fact is that the weight of your new boobs will mean that you'll forego fashion for comfort. I've gone from a C cup to DD in 22 weeks. I want to cry.

Week 22: Someone *finally* noticed I am pregnant!

Yep, finally! At work today a woman who didn't know I was pregnant asked. She was polite enough to be indirect with her inquiry in case I wasn't. Guess the ol' belly is starting to stick out a little!

Week 22: Rented a Doppler today

I've rented a fetal Doppler for the month so I can listen to the baby's heartbeat whenever I want (and whenever it wants to cooperate!) Most of the time it's pretty easy to detect and it's so nice to hear that little heart beating away. So nice, in fact, that I've saved a recording to my cell phone so I can listen at work too.

I'll add a link to an audio file of baby's heartbeat in the next couple of days so you can have a listen too.

Week 22: Nic felt the baby kick!

Nic felt the baby kick for the first time last night. It was subtle and he said it felt a bit like a muscle spasm (which is pretty much how it feels to me at the moment.) How cool is that?

Today is the first day of my 22nd week. I went to my cousin Lynn's baby shower yesterday and I must admit, I was feeling a little less pregnant after I arrived than before. Being around a woman who's practically full-term will do that. And the fact that everyone who knows I'm pregnant kept asking where my belly is, and those who didn't know I am pregnant were surprised to find out. I suppose I should just enjoy the fact that I don't have a big belly in the way just yet.

Week 21: Thinking about the nursery

Robin and Beth (Nic's brother and his wife) came up with the kids today and brought a bunch of baby stuff with them. They've been kind enough to loan us their crib and change table, both of which are lightly stained solid wood (maple, I think.) This is a wonderful jump start on the nursery, not to mention has saved us a lot of money. The only real piece of furniture we'll need to buy now is a dresser.

I'm really looking forward to getting started on the nursery (correction: looking forward to Nic getting started on the nursery.) We (we/he... whatever) will need to strip a wallpaper border, prime and paint the walls, trim, and baseboards, and install new carpet. I've also decided on the bedding seen in the picture; I'm just holding off on placing the order until we've had the baby's sex confirmed by 3D ultrasound.

The 3D ultrasound is booked for September 17th at See 3D in North York. I'll be about 26 weeks then. I'm pretty excited about that. The quality of the images are quite astounding (check their "gallery" to see examples.)

Oh, and a quick weight gain update: I'm up 8 pounds.

Week 20: We're halfway there, baby!

According to my new due date of December 25th, I am exactly 20 weeks pregnant today. YAY! Halfway!

Lately I've been feeling pretty well. I've had the last week off work (back tomorrow) and it was nice and relaxing. I'd really rather not go back this week! In fact, I'm looking forward to the year off even more than ever now.

Week 19: Second ultrasound report

Nic and I met with Dr. Yee, our GP, today to go over the results of our 18 week ultrasound. Dr. Newton, our OB, is on vacation.

The results are nothing but good news! Yay! No fetal abnormalities, amniotic fluid volume (AFV) is normal, and placenta is well placed. The baby is breech at the moment, but not unusual at this point, so I'm told not to worry as there's plenty of time until my due date and the baby is bound to move.

What a relief! We celebrated with an ice cream cone. :)

Oh, and the due date has been bumped up to December 25th - Christmas day!

I can hardly wait to call Grandpa Beaton this evening to tell him the good news. We'll share with Granny and Granddad Bloomfield when they're at our house tomorrow.