23w 1d: low-maintenance parenting

I'm quite enjoying this stage of pregnancy.

There are things that make me nervous about taking care of my baby while he (or she) is still inside. Mainly, I can't see him to check up on him; I have to wait for him to kick me so that I know he's ok. Plus, we're sharing a body -- if I get sick, he might get sick too. And little things, like I am starting to get a little tired from carrying this extra weight all the time... at least once he's born, I can put him down sometimes.

But on the other hand, there's so much I don't have to worry about right now! The baby gets fed automatically -- all I have to do is make sure I eat plenty myself. (Not. A. Problem.) I always know where he is. He doesn't cry. I can take him anywhere with me. He pees, but I don't have to do anything about it. He's never too hot or too cold. And yet, I feel more and more aware of the baby's presence -- especially when I'm getting lots of kicks, I don't feel alone even if there's nobody else at home. I'm hanging out with my kid.

So in a way, it's the best of both worlds.

22w0d

So, I haven't been updating here much lately. Since I went public about being pregnant, I've been talking more about it on my personal blog, and on a forum on another site. But I don't want to abandon this one.

The pregnancy is going well. I'm getting lots of kicks, and Don has been able to feel a couple of them too, and can even hear them if he puts his ear to my belly. (I'm a little jealous of that, but I also like that he and the baby can share something that's just between them.) We had the anatomy scan this week, and everything looked good -- it was great to see the baby wiggling around, swallowing and poking his or her tongue out.

I'm feeling ok in myself. There are aches and pains and mind-boggling boob itches, but nothing serious. Overall I'm enjoying pregnancy, which in my first trimester I thought would be impossible. I'm more than halfway through now and can't wait to meet my little person.

19w0d

So it's been a while since I posted here, and this will just be a quick update.

My pregnancy is going fine. But we have had a tragedy in the family; a few weeks ago, one of my sisters lost her baby, at full term.

As you can imagine, it's a difficult time right now.

But I have one little comfort -- I am getting more and more sure that I can feel my baby moving.

15w0d: keeping on

Things are still going well. The hospital appointment went fine -- the place is quite bureaucratic and a little overcrowded, but the staff seemed nice. They also seemed quite pro-breastfeeding, which is encouraging -- I think I disappointed the midwife a little bit, as she was all geared up to convince me I should BF, and seemed a little deflated when I said I'd already decided to do it. Don got a leaflet on how husbands can support breastfeeding mothers, which should have been titled "How to be a basically decent human being" -- it was full of useful advice like "Look after the baby for a little while so that your partner can sleep or have a bath," "Help out around the house so your partner can feed the baby," and "Spend time with your baby in order to bond." YOU DON'T SAY.

I had another scan, which was fun. Baby was standing on its head and waving its hands around -- we could see all the fingers and toes, as well as the spine, which looked like a little feather. I also got a blood test and they said I was anaemic, so I've been put on some heavy-duty iron tablets, and have been feeling a lot better since: less tired, less down, less out of breath.

After the hospital appointment we broke the news about the baby -- mainly on Facebook. That was a big relief because we don't have to keep things secret any more. And it was nice to get congratulated by everyone :)

Overall I'm very glad to be out of the first trimester -- I wasn't prepared for how hard it would be, and the whole thing was quite a shock. Now onward and upward!