Back ouch! - 24 weeks

Holy cow my back hurts! It is mostly my fault, because I keep spending hours walking on concrete and then feel paralyzed by the pain in my lower back afterward. With my wierd schedule this last week, it has been hard to stick to my exercise routine that was really working before. I know it will be good for me to get back to it though. Tomorrow I am going for a massage and I literally can't wait!!

Can't hide my belly anymore! - 24 weeks

It's official - I can't hide the baby bump any longer. Even though I've still only gained 9 pounds, my round belly and pregnancy "waddle" stride give me away every time. I find myself resting my hand on my belly alot. It's reassuring to me - almost like I feel like I am protecting my little girl inside.

She is so active now that I feel like I am getting to know her little by little. She likes super spicy food just like me (I can't get enough of it these days - nothing is too spicy for me!) and she is often most in the mood to move around in the evening and just as I am going to bed. Rowdy even got to feel her move for the first time last week. I loved watching his eyes light up as he felt her move under his hand. It is definitely no less magical the second time around.

In with the pink, out with blue! - 23 weeks

Mom is in town this week and we went shopping for our first baby girl clothes. It was so fun to get to pick out sweet soft outfits in a whole new palette of colors. I'm not a frilly person, so we steered clear of lace and ruffles. But we found some really great baby girl outfits at our village consignment shop and at Janie and Jack - even a few organic clothes too!

So, to make room for the new girl clothes, we came home and sorted through ALL of Cody's baby clothes. It took forever because we had to say "awwww... remember this one?" and "oh - I always loved him in this!". We kept alot of the clothes - anything we could possibly imagine dressing a girl in. But there is a lot we need to sell or give away too. I hope some other little boy will love them as much as we have.

It's a girl!!!

We got a glimpse of our little girl today. She was just perfect. I immediately burst into tears when they told us we were having a girl. In my heart, I felt like I knew already, but the confirmation of that was such a wonderful and overwhelming feeling. And such a huge relief to see that everything was growing just as it should be. She behaved so differently than Cody did during the same scan. She was moving gracefully most of the time, but wasn't fighting the wand like Cody did. He kicked at it so hard and made things a wee bit difficult as I remember. So, perhaps she will be our cooperator??

Cody got to come with us for the ultrasound experience. I was so glad that he was there. He behaved very well and munched his snack while mesmerized by all the images of his little sister on the big screen. There were so many "buppeens" on the control panel and they GLOWED - so he thought the ultrasound tech had the best job on the planet I'm sure. She printed out a 3D photo of his sister's face for him to see. Maybe that made it just a little more real to him.

I am so happy to know finally. And I am so glad that we get to experience raising both a boy and a girl. I'm definitely nervous about raising a girl - perhaps because it just seems harder to be a girl than a boy to me. If she is a girly girl, we are definitely in trouble. I sure hope she will like playing outside and getting her knees dirty. It comes with the family!!

Tomorrow's The Big Day! - 20 weeks

We're all excited for the big ultrasound tomorrow. Cody has been waiting for the day when he gets to see pictures of the baby (and he's hoping for photos of the birth canal as well - hmm.....). I hope that all goes well. This little one is certainly ramping up the cartwheels these days. I will be very relieved to finally know whether we have a girl or boy gymnast. I know that I'll be happy either way. Part of me will be sad just to know, because it's been fun to dream about both futures.....

Pool Class Rocks! - 20 weeks

Tried out the prenatal pool workout at Providence Portland last night. It's in a therapy pool that is awesomely WARM. It was a glorious experience. It felt so good to float in the warm water with 30 other pregnant women. A lot of maternal energy in that room! I was surprised at how aerobic the workout was - it's tiring to move alot of water with hands and feet. Shwew.

First Prenatal Yoga - 20 weeks

Ouch. Ouch. Double ouch.

I went to a prenatal yoga class at Yoga Shala yesterday. It felt really cool to be in the room with so much positive baby energy. And one of the regulars brought her new baby to class, even though she had been at yoga just one week ago with her baby still inside! Two mamas had gone into labor after yoga last week. Made me think it was definitely a good thing to take yoga. It was a bit sobering to see that tiny little girl though. Wow - the reality of what is coming hit home. Will I remember how to take care of such a helpless little baby??

We did a move that involved staying in "horse" for a couple of minutes while breathing through the pain. I was feeling great, so I just kept breathing to see how long I could stay there. Then I went home and planted a bunch of rock garden flowers down by the creek, which required some strange yoga-like positions to keep from falling in the creek. By the time I came inside, I could hardly move my body. I passed out and slept until dinner time. Guess I overdid it!

Today I am soooo very sore all over. Took a long walk with Amy to try and loosen up. It helped a little. Maybe next time, I won't be so darned stubborn! I'm definitely going to keep going though. I might even go to a prenatal water aerobics class this week too. Seems like staying in shape and bonding with other bellied mamas is a good thing.