23+ weeks

One week to go until six months.... More people have asked to touch/pat my stomach, so I am going to guess that I look more pregnant than fat now.

Going to my next dr.'s appt tomorrow. Nothing special about this one, so I am hoping that maybe, just maybe, I'll be in and out in less than 3.5 hours.

"Your baby now weighs a little over one pound/ 500 grams and measures about 11.4 inches/ 29 centimetres from crown to heel. Her hearing is well established and she can make out a distorted version of your voice, the beating of your heart and your stomach rumblings. Loud noises often heard in utero, such as the barking of a dog next door or the roar of a vacuum cleaner, probably won't bother your child when she hears them outside the womb. In addition to advances in your baby's hearing, her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing. She's swallowing but she normally won't pass her first stool (called meconium) until after birth."
-babycentre

pregnant in look and feel

I am finally looking pregnant, more than I just look like I'm carrying some extra weight around (at least that's what friends have been saying, so I'm going to go with it). Finally! Plus, I can feel the baby moving around pretty regularly now. So far I've been lucky that this has not really been a "night-active" baby that keeps me awake. And believe it or not, I'm still able to sleep on my stomach (albeit in a modified form) for some of the night, so I am currently well rested at this point of 5 1/2 months.

This weekend we looked at houses, and found one we really liked. Of course it's somewhat out of our price range, so we'll have to figure out what to do about that. It's a nice, old house with hardwood floors, trim and stained glass windows. *Sigh*

I also drove to Burlington to cheer on the ladies running in the relay marathon. We decided I shouldn't be included a few months back when we weren't sure if I'd still be running at this point. But I definitely could have competed, at least in the shortest leg (5 km) of the relay, which took place early enough for it to be cool enough for me to run. I think the team had a lot of fun, so I am definitely eager to do it next year.

Found some jeans that still fit (clearly they were too big before, but I haven't had time to have the waist taken in, so now they fit -- at least for the next week or so), and otherwise I've moved to elasticized skirts for the most part. Comfy.

1001 books

I like lists. I like making them, and then I like crossing things off. I think love of lists was developed early on in high school when using your agenda to keep track of everything was key. Everyone used different colour pens, highlighters, etc. to keep track of assignments and activities, and there was nothing better than crossing things out once they were done.

Anyway, the NYTimes had an article about a book called 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. What better list for me than that? Plus, since I'm a lit major and on a good week get through two or three books, I should be well ahead of the game, right?

Wrong. I've only read about 250 of the books on this list (even though some are really short stories or long poems). Pretty shameful, really. I better get crackin'.

I was pleased to see Carol Shields, Ford Maddox Ford, Douglas Adams and Mikhail Bulgakov on the list, for example, but there's only 1 Agatha Christie and other must reads such as Lamb, by Christopher Moore, the Diary of Anne Frank, are missing.

Here's the list.

Here's the NYTimes article.

Happy reading!

midnight train

If you know anything about the Fischer family, you know we all can sing Gladys Knight songs in our sleep, particularly "Midnight Train to Georgia." So, it is only fitting that my cousin sent along this YouTube video with a little parody of the "Pips."

22+ weeks

"The baby now weighs almost one pound / 430 grams, measures nearly 11 inches/ just over 27 centimetres long from crown to heel, and is proportioned like a newborn, albeit a thinner version since her baby fat hasn't yet developed. Although she's getting heavier every day, her skin still appears wrinkled because she needs to gain more weight. The lips are distinct and the eyes are formed, though the iris (the coloured part of the eye) still lacks pigment. The pancreas, essential in the production of hormones, is developing steadily. Even this early, the first signs of teeth appear in the form of tooth buds beneath the gum line."
-babycentre

memories of Step Up

My dad & brother are planning to climb Kilimanjaro this summer, and have started training by climbing stairs on the mountain. On Sunday, Ian and I jogged up from the monument to the stairs to meet them. We did 5 sets (to the top and back down), and now my calves are reminding me why doing Step Up always hurts so much.

We've finally started house hunting, and are excited at the prospect of actually moving into a house rather than a condo. But, there is plenty of work ahead of us before the transition is complete. Most importantly, we need to decide where we want to be. It's pretty hard to conceive of giving up our current neighbourhood, so close to everything either walking or a short drive/metro trip away.

slow like tortoise

Went for a run yesterday on the mountain. Then again, calling it a "run" would be a stretch. I was damn slow. But, I didn't get winded or feel like I was going to pass out, so I guess that is good. Did a slightly shortened version of the typical run, so ended up going about 7 km in total.

I got passed by a lot of people, and usually when you get passed it makes you want to run faster. But, first I had to adhere to my brother's rule of running etiquette ie: you can't pass people who pass you unless they stop or slow down (read: you should have been running faster if you didn't want to get beaten). Secondly, since I am supposed to be able to run & talk at the same time, I have to maintain a pace where I can still sing.

Luckily, I have some good tunes on the mp3 player at this moment. In particular, I am enjoying the few show tunes I have from Avenue Q. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. It's one of my favourite Broadway plays! How can you not love a show that has one of its songs titled "The Internet is for Porn."

Happy Friday!

21+ weeks

"The fetus now weighs about three-quarters of a pound/ 360 grams. Up until now she has been measured from crown to rump but from this point on the measurement will be from crown to heel. And from crown to heel she is approximately 10.5 inches/ 27 centimetres long. The eyebrows and eyelids are fully developed and the fingernails cover the fingertips.

Your baby can now hear your conversations. If you talk, read, or sing to your baby, expect her to hear you. Some studies have found that newborns will suck more vigorously when read to from a book they heard frequently in utero. If you want to try, pick a book now and read it out loud. Make sure you won't mind reading it over and over once the baby is here. It may be your baby's favourite bedtime story for a long time after birth."
-babycentre

Mother's Day

We visited with some old friends on Saturday who are about to have their fourth child. We love visiting these friends in part because they always include their kids in the socializing. Ian and I each got to read one of the kids their bedtime story, and we all enjoyed watching some of the "Princess Bride." How can you not love a family that watches the best movie of all time together?

Today we took our moms to a casual brunch and a stroll around Parc Lafontaine with all their kids. It was fun and relaxing. On a whim, we also popped in to visit another family that had a child not too long ago, so we could get our cute-baby fix for the day.

Happy Mother's Day to all moms & moms-to-be. I got lots of well-wishes today, even though I'm not officially a "mom" yet.

20+ weeks (aka 5 months)

"Your baby measures about 6.5 inches/ 16.5 centimetres from crown to rump and is steadily gaining weight. A whitish coat of a slick, fatty substance called vernix caseosa begins to cover your baby and protects the skin during its long immersion in amniotic fluid. It also eases delivery. The baby's swallowing more this week, good practice for the digestive system."
-babycentre

I went to a different prenatal yoga class last night. This one had much less action and much more "let's discuss what it is like to be pregnant." It was really interesting and almost comforting to be in a room full of pregnant ladies all wanting to ask and answer questions, etc. It was a very welcoming environment (even if I was the only Anglo) and the teacher was really nice. We probably only did about 20-30 minutes of yoga postures, and none that were at all taxing. But several of the women there were 30 weeks+, so I guess it makes sense.

Since I don't have many friends who are pregnant right now (except a few who don't live in this country), it was enjoyable to be able to hear these women talk about their pregnancies. Everyone was on their first pregnancy too, which was cool.

I am tempted to continue going just for the camaraderie. I'll definitely have to find something else to do exercise-wise, though.

prenatal yoga

I went to my first prenatal yoga class last night. It was a pretty small class, maybe 7 women. There was one other woman who was probably between 4-5 months and everyone else was quite pregnant (looking, at least). I was not really sure what to expect, but it was surprisingly enjoyable. It definitely wasn't physically challenging in the way the classes I usually take are...but it was nice to get a stretch and time to relax. The owner of the studio is due next week, so we chatted a bit about being pregnant and active. The most enjoyable aspect of the class was being able to chat with other pregnant ladies.

The teacher was a substitute, and next week they go back to the regular prenatal yoga instructor. Apparently the regular teacher does a lot of exercises focused on breathing and holding things for a long time in order to get used to pushing through the pain of childbirth. Sounds intriguing, so I am definitely going to go back next time.

more on breastfeeding

Here's a study that says your kid will have a higher IQ if you breastfeed. Of course the study doesn't specify why this occurs. Furthermore, isn't measuring intelligence using IQ testing on the way out?

Last night I walked home from work again. It's actually a pretty nice walk, despite the traffic on some of the major streets. Plus the weather was gorgeous. It is about time we had some consistently nice, warm temperatures. It's MAY, after all! How am I supposed to fill myself up with ice cream if it is too cold to eat ice cream?

athletes and pregnancy

A friend sent me some links about athletes and pregnancy. Awesome.

Link 1

Link 2

ultrasound

We got to see the little peanut again at the ultrasound on Friday. This time you could see how much more developed she is (compared with the 12-week ultrasound). Everything is fine, according to the technician. It was really cool to see all the little fingers and toes and bones and four separate sections of the heart. They really check everything carefully, making sure all the bones and organs etc., are where they are supposed to be. It is pretty unbelievable that technology allows you such clear pictures of the bebe.

In other news, I went running on Sat after a week hiatus (primarily because Ian was away and as such I have less time to do extra curricular activities -- not because I was slacking off). It felt good. It was a little drizzly outside so it was the perfect temperature for me to run. I am definitely finding that I overheat, or at least heat up, much faster these days if the temp is +20C.

And, we don't have any names picked out yet, in case you were wondering.

breastfeeding

One of the questions I seem to get frequently, especially from those who are already parents, is whether I plan to breastfeed this little peanut. My instinctive response is "yes, of course." People obviously have different opinions on the matter, but it just seems like it is part of the natural process of being a mother to me. At the least, I want to try it and hope that all goes well.

However, an article in the NYT made me think a little harder about this question. Living in Quebec, I take for granted that if I want to take a year off work without consequences (except only getting paid 1/2 my salary), I can. And I am guaranteed my job back. So if I want to breastfeed for 6 months+, theoretically I should be able to without having to worry about whether I need to pump at work in the middle of a meeting, or if my baby is getting too used to the bottle, or other related concerns.

In the US, however, maternity leave is much shorter and I am not sure everyone is guaranteed leave. So this article amused me because basically it is saying that while more women in the US are breastfeeding in the first months, more can be done to encourage women to continue breastfeeding. Uh, guys? How about extending maternity leave! This might allow women to at least have the option to continue breastfeeding!!!

19+ weeks

"The fetus measures around 6 inches/ 15 centimetres long from crown to rump and weighs about 9 ounces/ 240 grams. She has started to swallow amniotic fluid, and her kidneys continue to make urine. Hair on the scalp is sprouting. Sensory development reaches its peak this week. The nerve cells serving each of the senses -- taste, smell, hearing, seeing, and touch -- are now developing in their specialised areas of the brain. Nerve cell production slows down as existing nerve cells grow larger and make more complex connections. If you're carrying a baby girl, she already has roughly six million eggs in her ovaries. By the time she's born, she'll have about one million."
-babycentre

Ultrasound is tomorrow!