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.