It's occurred to me that I'll need a new blog name.

It's not really *all* about the Benjamin anymore (although Ben might disagree). And while I'm thrilled that I'm blogging about Ben and my pregnancy, and in a few short months, another child, I'm sad to give up the blog name, frankly, because it's witty and clever (in my ever-so-humble opinion) and I'm not sure I can come up with something new that's equally witty and clever. And I'm not a fan of managing two blogs. (Twice now I've typed 'blag' instead of 'blog' and it's really annoying me... typo'ing appears to be one of my pregnancy side effects this time around. But I digress.)

So yeah, if anyone has any wonderful suggestions, please pass them on. Just don't suggest 'All About the Bloomfields' or 'All About the Kids', etc. - it just doesn't work. And if you're suggestion is really terrific I'll name the baby after you.

Week 27: 3D u/s pics of our GIRL!

Yep, she's still a girl! Here's the proof:

And now for a look at the other end...

Isn't she precious? Like a little cherub.

Wee smile here.

Feet just like her brother's - big!

Solving the world's problems already.

Little frowny face.
We really enjoyed our 3D ultrasound today. We went to UC Baby this time and the quality was much better. With Ben we went to See 3D and weren't nearly as impressed; the ultrasound was really choppy which was probably because of something simple, like the computer wasn't powerful enough to process the images.

Ben came along with us and was good as gold. He needed a little entertaining, but was behaving quite well overall. While we were watching the u/s we asked him what we should name the baby; he says 'Ben'. That might get a little confusing, so we ask him again what he thinks we should name the baby, this time he says 'Daddy'. It'd be original and I'm willing to bet there won't be another little girl named 'Daddy' at the playground. Ever. Buuuuut I think we'll keep checking the baby books to see if Nic and I can come to some consensus.

Week 27: It figures.

I got married during the SARS outbreak, and now I'm pregnant with my second child during the big listeriosis scare courtesy of Maple Leaf Foods. Yay.

Fortunately I haven't consumed any of the products on the recall list, but that list seems to be growing exponentially by the day.

I wonder what he'll think of a baby that doesn't leave...

Because Ben is absolutely adorable with everyone else's babies. He just loves Andi's Molly and Judy's Natalie. He's always giving them kisses and rocks Molly's cradle when we're visiting. It's just so cute. The other day at Judy's house he kept insisting 'we take this baby!' while pointing at Natalie.

While I expect all the typical reactions of a young child from Ben (mostly jealousy, especially when I'm unable to help him with everything), I have a hunch that he'll take well to big brotherhood.

Week 26: Mmm... orange sugar water.

What every pregnant woman looks forward to in their pregnancy: the glucose screening test. And yes, I'm being sarcastic, but I'll admit that the orange drink didn't taste as bad as I remembered.

And if you're wondering what on earth I'm talking about, the glucose tolerance test is used to check pregnant women for gestational diabetes. It consists of drinking a horribly sweet orange soda-like drink, then sitting and waiting an hour before a surly lab tech draws blood (seriously, is lacking a personality a job prerequisite??).

I'll get the results at my next OB appointment on September 10th. If the test indicates elevated blood sugars, I'll have to return for a 2-hour glucose tolerance test, the results of which are the true indicator of gestational diabetes (hopefully not!).

Ben had an ultrasound today

He had one about 6 months ago because I noticed he had what I assumed was a swollen lymph node (confirmed by that u/s that it was). It wasn't very big, but when he turned his neck a certain way and in the right light I'd notice it.

Today's u/s was to follow up and see if there was any change in size, and in particular, to be sure it wasn't getting bigger. So, the tech got all her images and measurements, then compared to the previous report and found that it'd gone down a little in size and said it wasn't anything to worry about.

Phew!

I wasn't particularly worried because Ben's in great health, aside from the peanut allergy (which could explain the swollen lymph node, perhaps...?), but it's still nice to get some confirmation that everything looks okay.

Well, I knew that'd come back to bite me in the butt sooner of later!

In an effort to curb Ben from rising too early in the morning I've explained to him that if it's still dark out he should stay in bed and go back to sleep, and when when it's sunny out it's time to get up.

Fast forward to naptime this afternoon. He gets up and says 'Mama, it's sunny out. No sleep. It's good morning time!'

How can I argue with that logic? Lord knows, I tried!

:S

25 weeks today!

Hello third trimester!! 15 more weeks to go.

And we better get on the ball soon. Some bigger things I'd like to get done before I have the baby:

• purchase a new convertable crib; the height of Ben's crib, which was generously loaned to us by family, is too high for me to easily lean into and reach the baby once the mattress is dropped - this resulted in many middle-of-the-night obscenities muttered by your's truly, exacerbated by the finicky side-drop feature
• paint the nursery; I already have a colour in mind
• purchase curtains and rod, lamp, nightlight, and quilt wall hanger dealie

I'm especially excited about getting a new crib. And going with a convertable means we'll get a lot more use out of it as it converts to a toddler bed, then later, a full/double.

What do you want to be for Halloween?

I asked Ben this question today. His reply? A foot.

Hoping he'll change his mind because I have no idea how I'll pull that one off. I keep thinking of The Simpson's episode where Homer made Lisa's 'Florida' costume for the school pageant.

A mildly disturbing new development

Ben's taken with scratching the eyes out of all the Cars characters in his Cars colouring book and declaring that they can't see. (I actually find this pretty funny. Kids are weird.)

Vacation photos!

Here's Ben in his stroller at Pearson Airport. We'd just unloaded our stuff from the Park n' Ride bus, which Ben called 'Bertie' (from Thomas and Friends).

Like father, like son.

Ben with Nanny Anita at her home in Dartmouth.

Ben with Nanny Anita's cat, Nala. (It's love.)


My little beach baby on Inverness beach. He *loved* the waves. And if he fell over he was back up for more; totally unfazed. He even gave the waves a standing ovation. Haha!

Cool dude.

Super boy! There were many variations of super boy, like when naked he'd be super naked boy, or partially dressed he'd be super half-naked boy. And he didn't hesitate to run outside and make an announcement!

Ben's first purchase. A car. He had been collecting money (he learned a lot about scavenging change during this vacation) and saved about 18 cents which he proudly slapped down on the counter in front of the cashier (we comped the rest :).

Just a funny picture taken in Baddeck.

One of few family photos we have (I'm about 21 weeks pregnant in this shot). Taken in Baddeck.

Ben with Daddy in Baddeck.

Ben's first ice cream sundae. I still can't believe we found a peanut/nut-free restaurant in Baddeck, of all places. It's tough enough to find them in the GTA! These guys even make their own ice cream. It's called the Bell Buoy Restaurant and Supper House.



I can't begin to tell you how much this made the trip for Ben. This was right outside the Bell Buoy in Baddeck. The rest of the trip Ben kept reminding us that he was a 'big boy' who 'sat on the motercycle'. Adorable! (At least until he's older and wants one of his own.)

Good thing we brought the little potty for roadside emergencies!

Ben riding 'Trigger' with Mama at Grandpa's.


Heave-ho! At Inverness Beach. The path from the cottages (where we stayed) to the beach area forked briefly into two paths, and so Ben always insisted that Mama and Daddy go one way and Ben the other. He was always so proud of himself taking his own path. Which reminded me of when I was a little kid and my dad would take me out 'hunting' (which was really more of a winter nature walk) and I would insist on taking my own path (I wasn't much older than Ben). It's kind of neat being on the other side of that story. :)
Ben says 'cheeeeeeeeese!' and shows off his three-eyed playdoh snowman.

Ben and more bikes. At Inverness Beach Village.

Ben's first girlfriend, Katherine. He called her 'my new friend' the whole time, despite her correcting him after a week and telling him he could drop the 'new' and just call her his friend.

Happy about this hug! His feet aren't even touching the ground! Haha!

Ben modeling his new McQueen duds from Grandpa and Nanny Jean.

Helping get a fire started with Grandpa.

Grandpa pulling Ben on the toy quad.

Then Ben insisted he return the favour. You can see here that he's giving Grandpa some clear instruction.

Toasting marshmallows is serious business.

And back to work pulling weeds at home. (Our yard was overrun while we were away!)


And that's it! :)

Week 24: OB appointment today

So it turned out my OB appointment was today at 6pm. I didn't realise this until 4.30pm, and so while I made the appointment I didn't bring along my obligatory cup of first morning pee of which the nurse checks protein and keytone levels. Other than that, the appointment went well.

First order of business: the anatomical ultrasound results. They were great. No problems detected with the baby or the placenta. Wonderful, wonderful news.

Second, my blood pressure - couldn't be better.

Third, baby's heart rate - 148 bpm - is within the healthy range. My OB had a tough time getting the heartbeat at first because every single time he applied pressure with the doppler wand the baby would kick/punch/bump it away. So much so that we both started laughing. She's a fiesty one!

In a few weeks I'll go in for my gestational diabetes testing aka drinking a bottle of gross orange stuff and being bored stiff for an hour waiting for someone to draw your blood. And then my next OB appointment is on September 10th.

And finally, here's a recent pic taken at 23 weeks 5 days:

Week 24: Pregnancy update

Since I've been away for almost three weeks I'm way overdue for an update.

I think I've already mentioned I'm exhausted. I didn't sleep very well while we were away. A combination of discomfort and restlessness mostly. I tried to compensate with naps, but the opportunity wasn't always there. So yeah, I'm very tired. More tired than I was in first trimester.

Baby seems to be doing well though. Lots of movement these days and when I watch my belly closely I can see the twitches and jabs from the outside. Nic hasn't felt the baby move yet, because much like with Ben this baby stops moving the minute Nic puts his hand on my belly. Of course, almost without fail the instant he removes his hand the baby moves again. Already giving Daddy a hard time!

I gained about three pounds while away, so I'm up a total of ~12.5-13 lbs. Unfortunately I started our 5 lbs heavier with this one than I did with Ben! In the short time we've been away I've become more obviously pregnant and less like I've been overdoing it at the buffet.

Soon we'll book our 3D ultrasound. I'm looking forward to that. It'll be nice to get another look at this sweet little person who's poking and kicking me all day. And, of course, I'm really curious to know if I'm growing a girl or a boy. I'm not convinced by the tech who performed our 2D u/s. Then we can really zero in on names, which we've decided to keep secret until we have the baby. There has to be some element of surprise, right?? :)

I have another OB appointment coming up soon. I'll get the results of the anatomical ultrasound, which hopefully will be good. I imagine I would have come home to a phone message if something wasn't quite right in the report. I'll be sure to post an update of those results.

Oh, and I can't believe I forgot to mention the 'sneezy pees'. Great fun. And not something I dealt with during my last pregnancy. I guess giving birth once created the lovely opportunity for me to experience the efficiency of peeing every time I sneeze from about 23 weeks onward this time around. Have I mentioned already that I've caught a cold, too?

Back from vacation!

We all had a great time. Ben was a very good traveller. He slept in many different beds in many different homes, cottages, and hotel rooms without complaint. Having his inflatable Thomas bed and a plug-in night light seemed to provide him enough consistancy from place to place, although he didn't use his Thomas bed every night it was a good 'plan B'. The first few nights he'd wake up looking for me (he slept in the same room as Nic and I), but after that he was back to sleeping through.

Ben seemed to grow up a lot in a few short weeks. His level of verbal communication has improved quite a bit and is more complex, and in other, inexplicable ways he just seems more mature than when we left home.

I'll try to post photos and some vacation stories tomorrow. I'm exhausted. I don't think I had a solid night's sleep the entire time we were gone. And I was up with Ben at 6am this morning after an equally crappy sleep in my own bed last night (lucky me brought a cold back home). Hoping for a solid night of sleep tonight!