Hmmm, this might be a long post.

First off, I hope that everyone had a great Christmas! We managed to make it to Ottawa for the holidays and spend some quality time with friends and family. Michael's grandmother was also gracious enough to let us stay at her house on the way to Ottawa, even though we got there at 2AM...sorry Grandma! We did have a nice visit with her, but I didn't really want to leave because I was so comfortable there!

Our little car proved to be up for the test as we criss-crossed Ottawa. I saw my friend that is due a few days before me...it's nice to commiserate with someone who is feeling *exactly* the same way as me. We're both first-timers with our babies. She's not finding out the sex either, but it's not stopping us for coming up with strategies on how to make our kids best buddies with each other. We're both hoping that we have the same sex, and it'll be easier to set up playdates.

My brothers got a good look at me with my belly, and after their eyes stopped bugging out of their head, they seemed really excited about being uncles. Being the firstborn, I threatened them that *I* had to have a baby before them...or else! They were more than happy to comply. :)

We got to spend Christmas Eve and morning with my mom, and then we went to Michael's dad's for Christmas dinner. I found out that a good family friend had her baby Christmas eve, so I went to the hospital to see her new boy. WOW! He was soooo cute, with dark hair, and cute lips, and nose, and fingers, and head....you get the picture! He was over 7 pounds, and when I was holding him, I was thinking, "It looks like a tiny head to everyone else, but it looks big when you think of pushing it out of the birth canal!". His mom looks awesome; she was so relaxed and happy and glowing. I can't wait to see them both again when we get back to Ottawa.

The baby is getting stronger now; when it moves, I can see my belly moving. It's quite funny to watch and it looks like waves on the ocean when it gets really active.

I went to the doctor's today for my latest appointment. Heartbeat is 150/minute, and the baby is now upside down. I'm sure that my ribs will be getting a pummeling in the near future! I don't really have any questions for the doctor, as I'm reading like crazy on the internet (the reputable sites), as well as my 2 baby books.

I also found out today that a good friend of ours is pregnant too!!! She's due 3 months after me, and I could hear her smiling & glowing over the phone. So many little friends for the baby to play with, (or at least drool with!).

I looked at my calendar, and I have 10 more weeks of work to go. Yikes!

You made it to the end of the post! Congratulations! When I find the camera, I'll put up some Christmas shots. I know I packed it somewhere...Nothing like baby brain to forget that you're forgetting everything!

Have a great New Year's!

98 more days to go! That means I have 13 weeks, or just over 3 months left. Yikes! Time is flying by fast! We're heading back to Ottawa in a couple of weeks to spend Christmas with the family, which will be great, because we haven't seen them since the middle of October for Canadian Thanksgiving.

I put some pictures up of my Christmas party at http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/utic2003iriley/my_photos

It's at the very bottom under "L-Windsor"

I didn't realize how few pictures that we've been taking since we got here. I guess we're just not playing tourist, that's all.

Ooh, recovering from the Christmas party....

For those in the know about Windsor, we went to a place called the Caboto club for the annual TDCanadaTrust Christmas Party. We went to a manager's house for pre-party drinks (and yes, I was the designated driver, and no, I only smelled the drinks!). Our branch was in fine spirits when we headed off to the main venue.

Upon arrival, Michael and I checked our coats and walked inside the hall. I was surprised to see everyone sitting down and eating already. I asked one of the servers where our table was and she said that we just sit wherever we want to. Michael went to the bar to get some drinks, and I walked outside to where some people from my branch were.

They asked, "What are you doing in there?"
I replied, "There's no seats in there for us! What are we going to do?"
"That's not our party. Ours is around the corner. This place is really big. Haven't you been here before?"
"Noooo." (Of course no one looks familiar to me either as we don't know too many people in Windsor).

I immediately ask one of my co-workers to get Michael, and he saunters out with drinks. Turns out that the place next to us is open bar, so he accidentally got a free drink...oops!

We were eventually guided to the right room where the festivities are underway.

I wore a wonderful red dress that my mom picked out for me in Trinidad and wore my inappropriate-but-oh-so-cute high heels...no Shelley, I didn't fall down this time! I danced to such memorable tunes like:
"Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson and
"My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas. Hum the chorus and you'll laugh!

I realized that my branch is the party branch, as we were the only people that stayed until the lights went back on and we got kicked out-at the early hour of 1AM!!! What's up with that? In any case, we had a blast, and it was great to see a new side of my co-workers. Plus, there was no snow yet, so the ladies didn't have to bother with things like heavy coats or snowboots.

So today finds us relaxing and recovering at home.

*yawn*

Hope that everyone else has had a great weekend!

Well, I'm at week 24 now, which means that I'm about 5.5 months along, if you look at the calendar. We've wrapped up our prenatal classes too. I can't believe that it was 5 weeks long, and now it's over. Am I even going to remember all the instructions that they've given to us?

Baby's getting more active now. Michael could feel the baby a little bit last night, but not all the kicks are strong enough yet to feel on the outside. It tends to be more active at night than during the day. My next doctor's appointment is next week, so I'm excited to hear the heartbeat again.

Weather wise, it's been really foggy in Windsor for some reason...it's kind of mysterious, like a Stephen King novel or a mystery book. I'm still getting used to the radio stations here. One of them has been playing non-stop Christmas music for the last 3 weeks. I think I would enjoy it more if it looked Christmasy outside, but alas! There's no snow here!

We went out this week to a Faculty of Education pub. I ordered a (virgin!) Caesar, and waited for someone to attempt to lecture me, but I think that everyone presumed that I was behaving myself. I even danced for a little bit, but I felt self-conscious until I was told that I was a 'cool mom'. I did meet some nice people, though.

By the way, 'Casino Royale' was an enjoyable movie! I didn't think at first that Daniel Craig would fit into the Bond role, but he did a really good job. There's no gadgets, and no silly puns, and I think that helped in improving the movie.

31 more days till Christmas! Are you ready?

Ok, a photo update...from left to right, here's me at 15 weeks, 18 weeks, and 22 weeks. And yes, this is the same shirt! At this point in time, I'm wondering if it's going to fit me up until the end!

Did you know....?

-Newborns (0-3 months) will cry on average of 3 hours a day? That's 270 hours, or over 11 days straight of crying!!!
-Babies cry more during the first 3 months of their life than they will the rest of their entire life!

Our prenatal class was more fun this week. We had little newborn dolls to greet us when we came in, and we were learning to put on a diaper, bathe it and dress it. We got a boy doll (is that a sign?).

In any case, the nurse told us to put on a diaper without her giving instructions. Michael put it on, and I told him to make sure he didn't cover the bellybutton, since the imaginary umbilical cord was attached. When the nurse came around, she was impressed by our skills. She also complimented the couple next to us, but I think that they overheard what I said! :)

As we covered swaddling, bathing and changing diapers, Michael hijacked the baby and did all of it himself! I did manage to put a hat on when he was occupied by fastening the buttons on an outfit. I even got a compliment from one of the other moms-to-be at how good he was at it!

We also learned about car seats, which is required by law. Those things are pretty complicated! I think that we're going to go to a workshop early next year which the police host so we're assured that the baby's fastened up properly.

Today I had my second ultrasound, and the technician did a through examination and measured all the babies parts. She also found out the sex of the baby....But I asked her not to tell me! We got to see the heart again; it was much more defined and the heartbeat was 153 beats/minute. At one point, we got to look at the baby's face, and you could see the details pretty well. The eyes were closed and it was swallowing the amniotic fluid. I got to see inside it's stomach, and you could see that it was pretty full!

I also got to see what the baby's face looks like. You could clearly see the eyelids, nose and mouth, which was amazing. I guess that's the advantage of waiting this long.

The baby was pretty active as well and was grabbing its foot with it's right arm and was holding on for a while. Baby also had its arms up by its face again and was also making it harder for us to get a good shot of the face.

She was also measuring the circumference of the head and tummy. The tummy measured at 21.5 weeks, which is what I am, but the head measures at 22.5 weeks!!! Ouchie! Michael couldn't stop laughing because he has a big head too.

Anyway, it was very reassuring to see all the movements, which I'm starting to feel a little bit...Just a tap here and there. I really have to concentrate in order to feel it.

I can't believe that the baby started from something the size of a speck! We have just over 4 months to go before our big day, and its coming up fast. My coworkers are speculating that it's a boy now, but we'll just have to wait and see!!!

My next doctor's appointment is in 3 weeks, so the only thing that I anticipate happening between now and then will be Michael being able to feel the baby kicking.

Well, we went to our first OB(baby doctor) appointment yesterday. I did end up getting a woman (yay!). Once I met her, I felt really relaxed because she is very easy to talk to and she is genuinely happy about her job. She also looks really young, but that doesn't bother me at all. If she wasn't wearing her labcoat, I would have mistaken her for a student!

Anyway, she took a Doppler (like an electronic stethoscope), and we could hear the baby's heartbeat. It was 141 beats per minute(which is a good number), and it made the same 'woosh woosh' sound that you hear on TV shows. Also, when the doctor put the Doppler and found the heart, we heard it for a few seconds, and then the little bugger moved over 3 inches to the side! And I thought that they didn't move around that much.

I *think* I'm feeling flutters and *maybe* a poke or 2, but I can't say for sure that it's the baby. At least, there's nothing for me to say OUCH about....yet...

I should be getting an ultrasound in the next few weeks, and we should have better pictures...although we are still waiting to find out if it's a boy or girl. I have been told that it's a boy from my coworkers because: the heartbeat is slower, and that I'm carrying the baby in front and up high.

It's amazing all the theories that come out, not to mention horror stories! It's not bothering me right now, but that doesn't mean that I'm inviting anyone to try to out-scare me!

We also went to our prenatal class where they were talking about pain management and options, along with breech births(where the baby comes out bum first or feet first), as well as C-sections.
We also practiced breathing again, which was pretty much the same as the last time, and pretty relaxing.

Now, I'm not a graceful person to begin with, but I'm even worse now! I'm also getting slower, which isn't bothering me too much yet, but Michael swears it takes me 5 minutes to get up from the couch!

Today is the halfway point!!!

As of today, I'm 20 weeks along, and things are going great!

So, right now the baby weighs about 2/3 of a pound and is about 10 inches long from head to foot. Over the next 20 weeks, it should double in length and weigh somewhere between 6-8 pounds (hopefully not more than 8!).

Very crazy stuff!

Have a great weekend!

We went to our first pre-natal class on Tuesday night.

I must say that one thing I really like about Windsor is that it takes less than 15 minutes to get anywhere in town. Plus the streets are grid-like, and anywhere you want to go seems to be just off of one of the main 5 or 6 streets.

Anyway, the nurse conducting the course was really nice, and there must have been at least another 8 couples there. We got to watch (on the big screen) how the baby grows from 1 cell to 9 months, *and* we watched the Miracle of Birth not once, but twice!!! To Michael's credit, he actually watched both births! I think that he was still horrified at how gooey the baby is when it's born, but at least he won't be shocked when it happens to us!

There were some moms on the video talking about the pain they experienced, and it made me think: Why don't they show this to teenagers? When I was in high school, they showed the birth, but not the mother sweating and groaning over the pain!

Ah, not only that, but we did go on the mats to do breathing exercises. And I was incorrect; it's not "hee hee hoo", it's "hee hee hee hoo". I knew we were going to classes for a reason! The nurse told us that we need to practice, otherwise we won't remember.

Other than that, I liked seeing other moms there, and knowing that all the changes aren't happening just to me. In other words, I'm not *that* special! :)

I also didn't realize that you get free stuff from going to class! So far we have 2 newborn diapers (Michael didn't realize that they came in that small), some 'womanly' stuff, and a bunch of reading materials.

That's all the excitement that's happening around here! I'm thinking about dressing up as Britney Spears during her second pregnancy for Halloween, but I can't seem to find a big blonde wig. Heheh... that's okay. I don't think that it would go over too well at work!

I thought I'd do this as a comparaison... I have been taking pictures weekly since Week 15. There hasn't been a weight gain from one pic to the other, but my theory is that my weight is just 'redistributing'.

The one on the left is at 16 weeks, the one on the right is 19 weeks (yesterday).

Here's 2 fun videos that I found on youtube.com:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMpMoeIgwoQ&mode=related&search=

You can see the baby moving around inside. Mom is lying on her side.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU6ojtBW0Qo&NR

9 months of gestation in 20 seconds. It's really neat-o, and I wish I thought of that idea first!

Enjoy your week!

What an awesome day! I am now officially 19 weeks along today (almost halfway there!), and I finally have an appointment with an OB!!! (Yes, I'm easily impressed now.)

Right now, we're just waiting to feel the baby move for the first time. So far it's just bubbles and grumbles. I'm told that I'll 'just know' when it happens, but as you know, I'm not the most patient person in the world! I keep on poking my belly to see if I'll get an answer.

We've also signed up for pre-natal classes, so I'm looking forward to finding out as much as I can before the birth. However, I do have visions of sitting cross-legged on a floor with Michael rubbing my back while doing that deep breathing with everyone ..."heee...heee...hooo". I hope I don't crack up in class!

I will put up some pictures soon of myself, and I promise there will be no photoshopping going on!

I finally caught the bug that's been going around. I know that when I'm not hungry at all, then I must be sick! Crackers and water have been my best friends. I was worried about not giving the baby any nutrients, until Michael pointed out that I had told him before that the baby will take whatever it needs from me if I don't eat it, (ie. Calcium from my bones, etc). Weird, huh?

***WARNING*** Rant begins here...

On a sour note, I'm still trying to find an obstetrician (OB) after being here for 6 weeks. You really have to jump through a few hoops! I had to:
-go to a clinic(this took a couple of weeks, once we had settled in)
-get an ultrasound to find out how 'old' the pregnancy is (This took us to Oct 3-a 2 week wait)
-have the ultrasound results returned to the clinic (2 days-I harangued the doc on Oct 5th)
-get the requisition for the next set of bloodwork (which I received and obtained on the 5th)
-get the referral to the OB.

I talked to the receptionist on Oct 10th, and she said that one of the OB's I requested turned me down, and she was working on the others. I went back to the clinic on the 13th, but it was closed! ARRGH! Look, I do know that she is probably overworked, but I want to get this referral so I can go on to the next steps.

I have a feeling that I need to turn into one of those annoying people that keep on pestering and pestering until they get their own way. My strategy will be to go in and ask, "What can *I* do to help with this referral?" Goodness knows I had to do that to book my own ultrasound!

Rant over.

Well, the baby found my bladder tonight. It definitely takes after its dad! I think that sleeping through the night will be a thing of the past soon!

Ode to Yoga Pants

My jeans are tight,

But my yoga pants are all right!

Hail stretchy!

Hail stretchy!

First baby picture!

We went in at 3pm. I really had to pee, but was afraid that I'd have to drink more water! I went in first with the techie, and she measured the baby. Then Michael came in and this was our first glimpse.

In the picture, the arms are up by the face(the head is on the right hand side). If you tilt your head to the right, you can see the baby looking directly at you.

Then the techie showed us the spine & ribs, then moved down to the legs. We could see it kicking! It was so amazing! (Can you tell it's my first baby?). Then she moved down so we could see the feet. We can't get a video till the next time we go for the 18 week ultrasound.

This is me at 2 weeks. Even though we're still waiting to find out the sex, I'm guessing it's a girl because the arms are right by the face.

For those who are laughing, I think it's a better indicator than hanging a needle over my belly!

In any case, it really started to hit me today that I'm actually responsible for another person! (Yes, I do know that I'm not the first to come to this realization!)

In any case, I'm looking forward to meeting my OB and the next ultrasound. Hopefully it'll be before the end of October.

Ok, I guess it's about time I started one of these.

As of today, I'm 15 weeks and 4 days along, and I'm starting to show. My 1st ultrasound is on Tuesday, so I'm very, *very* excited. The estimated due date is March 20th.

Things to know:
-we're not finding out the sex of the baby
-we haven't decided on a name yet(if you ask Michael, you're going to get the name 'Abraham' and that's it)
-I have not had any morning sickness (unless you count the one time I threw up after eating Cocoa Rice Krispies)
-I have food aversions to chicken, and I'm not into desserts like I used to. However, I have the urge to buy a big bucket of KFC so I can eat the skin off of all the chicken!
-I'm enjoying life in Windsor, and everyone has been really nice to us.

We went shopping today and there were these little belly pillows so you could see what you'd look like in a few months. I think that Michael went into shock, as it became a bit more 'real' to him! He looked more relieved when I took it off.

It's really weird because I wake up, and think,
"Baby." Then,
"I have to pee."