Growth

Well, it's official. I no longer fit into my regular non-pregnant pants. I was feeling pretty proud of myself for having gone 20+ weeks without gaining a pound, showing, or needing special clothes and then one morning I woke up and nothing fit. I have officially popped out.

On Wednesday, I worked my last few hours of trading baby-sitting for baby gear. The mother, whose birth I attended as assistant midwife, mentioned that her baby girl (8 months old) had just come down with her first cold and asked if I was still okay with watching her. I honestly thought it wasn't a big deal, and I knew she had already made special arrangements with her work for the day, plus I was going back on call and knew this would be my last day of unlimited availability, so I told her it would be fine.

So, baby girl and I had fun hanging out. What a cutie she is. Full of smiles. When I left, I loaded up a car seat, base, stroller, infant recliner, and a bag full of 3-6 month clothing. A pretty fair trade! Yeah, she sneezed all over me, but whatever, I scored lots of great stuff.

Thursday morning I woke up with the worst sore throat and then the body aches hit me later in the day. Ugh. I felt so miserable and just wanted to go to bed. Friday wasn't much better and when Louis came home saying that the whole cast of the musical was sick and his throat hurt, we (I) seriously considered cancelling the pre-show dinner scheduled for Saturday night. I'm glad we didn't (more on that later), but for a few days this past week, Mr and Mrs I-Can-Do-It-All Heystek were pretty out of it. It's no fun being sick and pregnant.

Fortunately, baby wasn't phased at all, even with all the coughing. I am feeling super strong movements and kicks now, but every time daddy puts his hand out to feel, baby stops. Baby is most active first thing in the morning and around 11 at night. Baby also has two new favorite foods - boneless chicken noodle soup from Le Soleil and Auntie Susie's salsa. Not together, of course, but they have now been added to the list of foods that completely hit the spot. Mmm-mmm.

And now it's time for a pickle.