eight months

...and they still let me drive! Jer got a kick out of the belly getting so close to the steering wheel, I just think it's normal. We took a bunch of other belly shots too while I can still stand. I can't see why I'd ever regret having too many although it does take some effort to set up and I'm more self-conscious than I'd like.




This is one from that set, taken almost a week ago when I was feeling carefree, glowing, spunky and gloriously pregnant. Today...still pregnant, not so much feeling like any of those other things. It was a long week with Jer being gone again and Ivy finishing up school and having her birthday party. I ran myself a little low on energy and then on Wednesday night or Thursday morning the baby changed position. With a vengeance. He shoved me right off my fantasy pregnancy pedestal straight into the throes of late third trimester. I guess I've had that coming for months and am thankful I got off so easy as long as I did. There's also a good chance it will get better again after a few days when my body gets used to the shift.

As far as I can tell the baby is now facing the back (his back to the front of my belly) and it's brutally uncomfortable for the moment. There's some sort of pinching action that occasionally prevents me from moving and has me audibly gasping. On the upside, I got a cute little baby hat crocheted between 3 and 4am and had some great middle of the night snacks, there are some benefits to the madness. I'll try to have a good book lined up for tonite in case I need it. I'd much rather sleep though, I've got my fingers (and legs) crossed.

All this uncomfortable body stuff has changed my thinking too. I eventually got used to the idea of a baby and have gone through all the motions of getting ready but I'm only starting to really believe it now. It's like I've suddenly gone from being the energetic supermom to feeling intensely introspective and stingy with how I use my allotment of energy. I know what's coming. At least I think I do. My body is now telling me to take it easy which I find really, really hard to listen to. Which explains why I went for a bike ride this morning. Of course it could be the the lack of sleep, rainy weather or hormones messing with me, in which case tomorrow I might be feeling downright perky again.

Update: I did have that great night of sleep and it worked it's magic. The sun is out and we've got good friends coming over from out of town. I'm a giant pregnant yo-yo but at least it's mostly good!

tour de knoll

Why is this woman so happy when she can't even find a maternity shirt to fit? Because she hiked to the top of the knoll without incident - after pulling Ella in the bike trailer all the way to the base. An approximately 7 minute ride followed by a one minute climb if you're in reasonable shape. Or like the tour de France followed by an ascent of Mt. Everest if you're not.

pop quiz

1. Do you ever feel like you have a bowling ball grinding on your tailbone when you walk?

2. Has your significant other ever made you an MP3 mix that included the surprise selection "Who Made Who?"

3. Does your belly hang so low that it can rest on the front of your bike seat while you ride?



If you answered yes...

to #1 - You are very likely 7+ months pregnant and may want to get it checked out

to #2 - Your significant other is getting more than his/her share of the household beer. Often seen in combination with a "yes" in #1

to #3 - You are either 7+ months pregnant OR getting more than your share of the beer.


For the record I am most certainly heavy with child, jealous of anyone who can casually drink that glass of wine or a real beer and I enjoy a really good snicker every time AC/DC kicks in on my walks.

car shopping

We had the old Mazda at the mechanic on Wedneday and he gave us the long list of repairs it needed, and some pretty urgently. It didn't take much talking to realize we both felt there was no point putting money into a car with 290,000+kms on it. It's been virtually problem free for 10 years but it was time to move on. We figured we might as well start our shopping in Penticton the next day. We've been doing research for a while already so we had an idea what to look at to begin with. The vehicle we really wanted (a Mazda 5) was/is out of range so we were bracing to settle for something we really didn't like but would do the job.

After the first car lot we were totally disillusioned with the options, (newer domestic boat car, expensive older import sedan, or mini-van), hot and grouchy. So we did what anyone else would do - grab a snack, head to the beach and ignore the real issues. For hours. I got to stay with the kids while Jer went back into town to check out a few more places. He came back with an interesting idea...he found a 2001 Honda CR-V in the same price range as the used import sedans and the fuel economy was significantly better than any of the mini-vans. We hadn't even looked at those because A) it's considered an SUV of sorts, which I swore I'd never drive, and B) thought they were waaaaaay out of the price range. In any case, we drove it, loved it and bought it.

Considering how much trouble we have deciding what to eat for supper sometimes it amazes me how quickly we make the bigger financial decisions. A few hours of stress and it was over. I love it that Jeremy and I generally agree on these kinds of issues and there was no tension between us of wanting totally different things. It's too bad that we both equally detest any kind of wheeling & dealing but we've accepted our lot - we will never get the best deal around but won't either stress ourselves out playing mindgames and dragging out the process.

bikini belly

Here is the 7 month photo for those of you who have been anxiously waiting. I got some snarky feedback for my peeking belly on this pic (thanks Plett) so I figured I might as well let it all hang out on this one. Plus the temperature has been mid 30's and it's too hot for much else anyway. I realize this is getting to be a little odd with only posting pictures of myself but I'm sure that will taper off rapidly once I have the baby.

Since the last post we've had several great sets of company, said goodbye to our decrepit car and purchased a "new" one. Not bad for a few weeks, considering our social schedule is usually pretty slack and we drove the same car for 10 years. It was quite a stroke of luck that both the car kicking off and the weather turning amazing happened while Jeremy was on holidays.

This prego is starting to feel the third trimester creeping up. More grunting and exclamations of surprise when I get jabbed hard in sensitive spots. I'm becoming more entertaining as it gets interesting to watch the belly jump and wiggle on it's own. Suddenly the baby is starting to seem very real...