October Updates

I am 25 weeks along now and over the last month my belly has started to poke out noticeably. It's a strange change, I've never looked pregnant before and it's surprising to see it happening to me. Here's an obligatory belly-documentation photo:


The only thing that makes me hesitate to use that photo is that I look too perky. I still have morning sickness, which should have stopped about 2-3 months ago depending on your point of view, so smiling is not often one of my facial expressions. But I don't want to scowl at you all out from the internet, so that is the picture we are going with (journalistic accuracy be damned). Morning sickness aside, other fun things are happening, like the baby kicking so that Michael can feel it, which makes him smile really big. And as long as we're talking pregnancy, some of my favorite pregnancy foods right now are: strawberries with Nutella, cheerios, and cheese bread from Little Caesar's (mmmm). Fresh fruit and protein are often what I'm craving; food evils include anything heavy in onions, cooked tomatoes, and peppers.

I got vaccinated for h1n1 on Monday with my sister, just after they got the shots in, and about 24 hours before they ran out completely. So that was lucky, though exhausting as we waited in line for about an hour and a half through a parking garage. But working at the public library has had me paranoid because we get so many sick people ("We need books and movies for the week while we get over the flu"), and I've been eyeing sniffly patrons suspiciously and wishing that they would go away. Now I think I can feel a little more sympathetic.

The world is slowly but spectacularly changing around us. My backyard has suddenly gone from green to gold:


But the tree out front can't make up its mind whether it wants to start turning yellow yet (even though all his friends on the street have already done it. I think he's trying to be cool):


This weekend takes on a somber tone as Saturday marks 1 year from the day I miscarried. As wonderful and delightful as this new pregnancy has been, we still think about how we might have a 4 month old right now. Even though we're in the midst of wonderful things like looking at fun pink baby clothes and feeling the baby kick, Saturday is at least a day to remember very significant events from last year, and to think about how much our lives have changed.

Happily, on Sunday we can go back to "pregnancy as usual"