Halfway there

Well we finally reached 20 weeks and now with the beginning behind us we can are getting more and more excited for the end. I'm looking more pregnant everyday and I am loving every minute. Through the exhaustion, through the discomfort and through the constant need for the loo, I am enjoying my pregnant belly and feeling baby kick and move around. I've always been the one who rubs pregnant bellies and will be the first to spoil and help out any pregnant woman I know, friend, colleague or family. So now that it's happening to me I can only but stand back and watch it happen. Everyone wants to rub my belly and the first question people ask me is, "so when is baby due?"

Well to catch up with week 20, here's what's been happening.

We've been for our 20 week scan and baby is doing really well. The scan took quite a while because the sonographer couldn't get baby to turn over to measure baby. But he was able to measure baby's arms and legs, check baby's heart and brain and, well everything else. It was so surreal when baby turned and looked straight at us, probably one of the sweetest moments to date. The one thing Cameron didn't notice was when baby gave us the thumbs up, it was the funniest thing, as the sonographer looked at baby's arms, s/he literally put his/her thumb up at us. When I spoke about it later on in the car Cameron looked at me like he didn't know what I was talking about, we then realised he didn't pay attention to that part. I guess the ultrasound doesn't really look like much to him. Even though the sonographer said, "oh look he's giving you the thumbs up". And no, he didn't mean "he" literally because as we begun the whole ultrasound I quickly blurted out, "please don't tell us the sex, we don't want to know just yet."

Here's some pics we got from the scan, he didn't give us the full profile but did give us baby's face profile and his/her little hands... if you can actually see that it's hands!

Cameron also took snaps of my belly this week...

So we're getting closer and closer but we are so far from ready. We've yet to get anything besides the first bits of clothing I bought a few weeks ago, but we've decided we'll get through Christmas first and enjoy our time with Bradley & Shamini and focus on getting all baby's stuff in the new year. I've already booked my maternity leave and will be finishing work on the 23rd of March but have to get a letter from our midwife so I can formally give my notice. We see Deb again on the 8th of December so hopefully we can get it all finalised then.

Here's to the next 20 weeks...

Patience is a Virtue, so they say!

Ok, so I should have been just a little more patient. I was so eager to feel baby kick and well, yesterday was the first time I felt it! It was a definite kick. So exciting, so surreal, so magical! I have never felt more happy, more ecstatic in all my life. The first thing I did was call Cameron, and the first thing he said to me was, "are you sure it's not indigestion?" Just got to love him!!

Here's what happened.

We went for a lunch date down to Jack Tar in Wynyard Quarter. It was a beautiful day in Auckland and was a good excuse to get out and enjoy the day. So after lunch we went back to the office and a few hours later I was just sitting at my desk busy with my day, when I felt this little flutter. I've been feeling these for a while so didn't pay much attention to it. But a few minutes later I felt this literal kick, like a huge bubble bursting on the inside. It was defined and caught me totally by surprise. I know it was a kick because I've never felt that before. I know what indigestion feels like, I am acutely aware of all the fluttering going on over the past few weeks and this was nothing remotely close to any of that.

This is just another reason for me to give God thanks. Thanks for choosing me as the vessel to bring forth this glorius life, the first in the next generation for the Pillay family, another one to add to the Bonhomme brood and an extension of Cameron & myself.

18 weeks

Well we've officially reached 5 months, so they say. I don't count it like that but hey, who am I to argue!

Well there's not much to report on, still haven't felt definite kicks yet. Still some flutters and every now and then its more defined but still not convinced. Can't wait until it's defined, frequent movement. But I'm being patient and enjoying this pregnancy for everything it's worth. My belly is really starting show now, there's no denying that we're in the second trimester. No cravings yet, although I am still loving fruit and oranges are my new flavour of the month. Backache is becoming more and more frequent but luckily our new bed arrived this weekend so Im sleeping blissfully. I can finally stomach chicken, which thrills Cameron considering he wants to eat chicken 5 out of 7 days, at least. Although I'm not quite there yet, I can't eat it everyday! I don't have to eat every two hours anymore which is much better and there is absolutely no nausea anymore. Yesterday we noticed a little swelling in my feet, but I think as it was a busy day at work yesterday I was a bit exhausted and just needed to put my feet up. Once I did that, the swelling went down.

Anyway, I think that's all I can think of reporting at the moment. So here's some pics that Cameron took yesterday.

So the next scan is in 2 weeks so we'll have to have a bit of a report back then. We also see Debbie again on the 8th of December.

I've read that baby is about 14cm or so now and should weigh around 190g (or so). It's also interesting to note that baby's reproductive organs are already formed, so we could definitely see whether we're having a boy or girl at our next scan. Babies nervous system is also fully formed and functional and his/her bones are starting to harden into real bones, so the movement should become more apparent in the next few weeks.

We're almost halfway!

Baby's first clothes and 16 weeks pregnant

This week marks our 16th week of pregnancy. They say I should only start feeling baby move around week 18 - 20 but this week I'm sure I've felt baby move around. Every now and then when I lay really still or I'm relaxing while watching tv or reading I'll feel a little movement, like a butterfly fluttering within me. Who knows but I'll keep believing that it's baby! This week I've also noticed a lot of stretching in my abdomen and aches & pains in my abdomen and back, they say the stretching is called Round ligament pain because the ligaments in my abdomen are stretching to accomodate the growing uterus and baby. All the little things they don't tell you about before you fall pregnant.
Here's some pics Cam took this week of me at 16 weeks pregnant.

The baby's clothes I ordered the other day finally arrived this morning (so glad I took a sick day so was home when they arrived). I've taken some snaps just so I never forget what were the first baby clothes I ever bought for this little gift of ours.

Yes, everything is white and lemon because there wasn't much else to choose from JK Kids online that was gender neutral, and as we don't want to spoil the surprise and wait for the birth to find out what baby's sex is, I had to buy anything that wasn't pink or blue!

I am happy to report though that the morning sickness and nausea has come to an end, there are a few days when tension headaches rule the day but I am finally feeling normal and my old self again. Here's to an awesome pregnancy!!!