Week 17: Getting bigger

Yesterday we had the amazing experience of seeing a baby who was about 10 minutes old.  Our friends Richard and Lisa were expecting their second child and opted for a home birth.  We went over to watch their 2 year old, Mia, so Richard could focus on being there for Lisa.  All in all, the whole thing was surprisingly calm and relaxed...Richard was making breakfast when we got there, we watched Disney movies in the living room with Mia, and didn't hear much of anything from the bedroom 30 feet away where Lisa was in labor.  We went out about 1 to pick up some sandwiches for everyone from Schlotzsky's (Lisa's mom was watching Mia at that point) and when we got back about 115 Kevin and I started eating in the kitchen, unaware that on the other side of the wall, little William was being born in the tub!  It was pretty amazing to see him and realize he was less than an hour old...the next baby I see that young will be ours in about 5 1/2 months! 

It was reassuring for us to see how calm the natural birth process was too,.  While we'll be at a hospital rather than our home, I also plan to have a tub in my room for labor/delivery.  At this point I have no idea what will feel best once labor comes but it's nice to know the option will be there.  It also reaffirmed for us that we definitely want a doula present to help Kevin and me through the process.  So, it was exciting to be part of their big day, and also helpful for us too.  Congrats to the new family of 4!

In other news...
In every pregnancy, there comes a time when a mom-to-be must acknowledge that most of the clothes in her closet have turned on her and no longer fit.  Well, actually most of my shirts and sweaters still fit (though, as I discovered this morning, my button down dress shirts are no longer in that category), but my pants selection has narrowed to about 5 pairs.  The good news is my favorite jeans still fit on Saturday and weren't too tight.  But this morning, a pair of gray wool slacks that had been comfortable before were pretty snug.  I drove to work this morning resigned to some maternity shopping this evening when I remembered the belly band I picked up at Target last week.   I tried it on when I got home.  Voila, the pants fit again!  I'm going to rock the belly band under a long shirt/sweater over unfastened pants, and that should buy me a few more weeks until I'm big enough for maternity clothes.

The belly band:

I felt good for much of the week, but from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday night I felt lightheaded and dizzy.  I ended up staying home Wednesday resting up.  I've been feeling better since, thankfully.  Knock on wood, hopefully that one ran its course.

Here's this week's belly picture.  Starting to fill out a little more, yes?  Last week I gained a little over a pound, a good rate.  At this rate within a month or so I will hit my Heaviest Weight Ever, which I previously attained by gaining 5 pounds in 2 weeks eating and drinking my way through Europe.  This time features plenty of eating, but none of the drinking!

We've also been playing with the doppler kit my brother got us for Christmas...the perks of having a doctor in the family.  We recorded Gunior's heartbeat.  Once we figure out how to upload it to this page we will, in the meantime we'll email it to the grandparents to be!