A new Advent wreath, and some book reviews that are simply PRECIOUS

Yesterday I had a wonderful, wonderful day off with Henry. I had a hard time coming back to work today and leaving him. I miss him. :(

We started the day off at the grocery store, and it got me all excited scoping out Thanksgiving turkeys. I'm terribly excited about Thanksgiving this year, it's one of my favorite holidays. Definitely my favorite of the secular holidays. It was so nice being in the store during a weekday morning. So much less crowded and so much more pleasant. And Hank was an excellent boy. As he lounged in the cart, munching on a slice of bologna that he charmed out of the lady slicing our deli meats, I thought ahead to my maternity leave late next spring. My maternity leave with Hank was a bit dicey. You see, I cried, well, ALL THE TIME. In retrospect, I'm pretty certain I had a fairly substantial case of postpartum depression, but I was simply unprepared and didn't know what to do about it. It was a difficult thing, and sometime during my pregnancy I'll devote a whole post to it. It's a very important issue, and the only way to help women is to talk about this and increase awareness. So, that's coming, but in the mean time, I'm trying to prepare for a mentally healthier time for myself after this baby is born. This time, I feel hopeful that my preparation will serve us well.

Anyway, we loaded up on food for the week, and after stashing everything in the refrigerator, we headed out to the local Christian goods store. Hank had never been there before, and he was enthralled. He was very good, but as you parents might have already discerned, him being enthralled means me not being able to focus on anything else for longer than a 10 second interval:

CL stops to look at gift Bible selection.

Hank darts off.

"Mommy, look at this ornament! It has baby Jesus on it!" (from 2 aisles away)

"Ok Honey, but remember, look but don't touch."

"It has a jingle bell, Mommy!"

*jingling, followed by a small crash*

A little bit stressful. But I managed to pick up a few gifts, AND, *drum roll*

A beautiful new Advent wreath. :) It looks very much like this one:
What I like about it is that it's very traditional, and what I've always wanted. Pine cones, greenery, purple ribbons. Mine has a bit of glitter on it, including some glittery gold balls. The clincher was that this model has little spikes in the candle holders, to secure the tapers. This is my main problem with the wreath that I currently have, my fear that they will tip when lit. It was only $24, and every year that I put out my old one I long anew for a wreath such as this. I figured I deserved one. :) So I scooped it, and soon it will adorn the center spot on our dining room buffet. *proud*

Hank especially liked the Advent section. We spent about 20 minutes in there poring over various details. Well, Henry pored and I supervised. I really, REALLY enjoyed it.

Then I lured him over to the childrens book section, because I wanted to get him a new Bible. I've mentioned before that Hank loves his original Bible, this one:

We read through it about 3 full times, and it's all beat up and tattered. I felt that he was outgrowing it a bit, so I replaced it with another one that I chose. Big fat failure. For whatever reason, Hank just did not dig this Bible. Illustrations are big with him. They have to capture his imagination. And the stories can't be too lengthy; it simply won't hold his attention. This new Bible just did not have the mojo that he needed to keep up our nightly Bible reading habit. So, at the store, I encouraged Hank to pick out a Bible that he did like, and that we could start reading again before bedtime. He chose this one:

I would rather that he picked a Catholic childrens Bible, but no biggie. I have to say, this one has GORGEOUS illustrations. The scenes depicting the first Christmas took my breath away. And it is in fact slightly larger than his old Bible, thus including some stories that he hasn't heard yet. That was my goal in the upgrade, so I was happy. It was also very reasonably priced, about $14 for a hardback. Last night we read about Gideon, new stuff for Hank. I'm very glad that we're picking up this tradition again.

Finally, I spied a book that I simply couldn't resist, and have been dying to blog about. It's called Angel in the Waters and is published by Sophia Institute Press.

This is a story of an unborn baby, adjusting to life in his mother's womb, and being comforted by his guardian angel. He grows and grows, enjoying his aquatic existence, until he becomes so big that he can't swim anymore. He knows something is changing, and his angel assures him that there is a larger world out there that he will be entering soon, but everything will be ok. The parts with the baby being upset at his water leaving and frightened by the sudden sensations made me cry.

When he is born, he's very disoriented, and can't find his angel. At this point of the reading, Hank, who despite initial protestations at wanting to read something of his own choosing, was listening with rapt attention and wide eyes, and declared:

"MOMMY, WHERE IS HIS ANGEL?!"

We read on to find that the baby indeed sees his angel again, but also comes to be comforted by his mother and father. The angel tells the baby that even when he can't hear or see him, he'll always be there. When we got to the part about the angel telling the baby that there is even a larger world than this one out there, and that one day, he'll lead him there too, I couldn't help it. I simply burst into tears.

This is a wonderful book. At $6.95 it was a few dollars more than I wanted to spend on a childrens book, but it is WELL worth it. This is an easy and enjoyable read (for parents too!) but it is not a quickie read. You know, those hardcover books for kids nowadays that you can spend $12.99 on and it turns out to be about 5 pages total, all of which are fluff. This is a substantial read, and there is a good amount of sound content. The illustrations of the baby growing are too freaking precious for words.

For anyone with a baby on the way, or just looking to share a pro-life message with children, this is an outstanding resource. Definitely check it out.

Happy Advent preparations...

Tomorrow, Henry is off from school for Veteran's Day, so I decided to stay home with him and save us a bunch of money in child care costs. We have an exciting day planned of Mommy/Precious Boy togetherness. First, I want to get to our local Christian Bookstore. We have several Catholic stores in this area, but the closest ones are a tad small. This general Christian store is very good about stocking Catholic merchandise, and is fairly large. I'm looking for some nice Christmas gifts, and want to browse. I've also bribed Hank with the prospect of a new Bible that he can pick out himself, since he never took to the one I bought him earlier in the year. The have a beautiful children's area in this store.

I'd also like to look at Advent wreaths. A bit of a splurge, since I already own an Advent wreath, but mine is somewhat problematic. It's a simple gold circle to hold the taper candles, very much like this one. And the candles simply refuse to stay upright. My thinking is that this could be very dangerous when the candles are actually lit, no? So, I think a small splurge is in order. I'd like one that is a bit more decorated. Doesn't have to be too ornate (or expensive! since I'm on a very limited budget this Christmas :) ) but something like this would be what I've always wanted, or like this. We'll see.

My mom and I have also been plotting a trip to Build-A-Bear with Hank. We're total suckers for this sort of commercial money grab aimed at the tender hearted. When we saw that they have their Christmas collection out, complete with Bumble, the Abominable Snow Monster from Rudolph (and Hank's favorite) we knew we had to go. So, I'm hoping to get there tomorrow too.

We'll get all of our Christmas decorations and Advent gear out the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and I couldn't possibly be more excited. We always have multiple Advent calendars in our house - chocolate, wood, and this year Hank has a brand new Lego Advent Calendar. He also has his own felt Advent wreath that I bought him last year. Very reasonably priced, available from the Catholic Company. I wish the baby were already here to share it with us!

Next year, he or she will be 6 months old, and at an adorable age to have his/her first Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas season. I absolutely cannot wait.

I'm all screened...

for now at least. I'll just write out my whole experience sparing no details (because that's what I do best :) ) since I know I would have benefited from reading such a thing beforehand. This is a fairly new screen, so not a lot of familiarity out there with it. So, here goes.

Mike and I arrived, and naturally, I had to fill out a slew of paperwork. I don't do illegal drugs or pound alcohol when pregnant. They always want to know about that. Of course, lots of questions about previous pregnancies. Then, the nurse took me in for the preliminary stuff. I was very unhappy to be weighed, since I wasn't expecting that at an ultrasound appointment. *begin rant* I loathe getting weighed at the doctor's office. It's always a bunch more than on my scale. Probably because I only weigh myself first thing in the morning, after a first pee, with absolutely no clothes on. Don't want a single ounce skewing the data. My scale is also on a tile floor, as opposed to carpet, which the doctor's office inevitably has. Plus, I've eaten twice already. Oh ugh. Anyway, I just hate it. I always feel portly when I leave. *end rant*

She also did my blood pressure, and asked if I wanted the blood test. She explained that you don't have to do the blood portion, but it does increase the accuracy of the final result. It's just a finger stick, so I readily agreed. She pricked my ring finger and put 5 drops on this special piece of paper. No biggie. Then I went back out to Mike, where I needed to fill out even more paperwork. Finally, we were called back.

An ultrasound technician lead us to the room, and the facilities were very nice. Beautiful large flat screen up on the wall, and the table for me to recline on was nicer than at my regular obstetrician. It was an easy transabdominal jobbie, and as she squired cold gel on my belly, she explained the test.

This new late first trimester screen (also called a nuchal fold screen, or Nuchal Translucency Screen) looks for signs of Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome), Trisomy 18 (Edwards Syndrome) and Trisomy 13 (Patau Syndrome). To do this, they look for a nasal bone (somehow this is related) and measure the thickness behind the baby's neck. The thicker the measurement, the greater the risk is that your baby is affected by one of these chromosomal abnormalities. Full results need to be combined with the blood work, and that takes about a week. She said that if the results come back normal, they just forward them to your regular obstetrician, who will address them with you at your next appointment. Mine is in less than 2 weeks. If your results come back high risk, the perinatologist calls you.

Ok good. Ultrasound gets underway, and I was relieved to see a very active baby therein. Heart was beating rapidly, and the baby liked to keep his or her hand up by their face. :) In fact, at one point, they appeared to be sucking on their little hand. Extremely precious.

The technician said that all of our measurements were "thin" which was a good sign. Also, baby had a nasal bone, another good sign. She printed off some cute pictures for us, and we were done. I'm scheduled for an 18 week ultrasound with them, and this time I will meet with the perinatologist. She will discuss amniocentesis with us (which I highly doubt I would get, but I'll listen to what she has to say about it) and address any questions we have. This ultrasound will also screen for open neural tube defects, like spina bifada, as well as continue to look for markers for these same chromosomal problems, and measure the baby's overall development. So far, Baby CL is right on track for his/her due date.

So, I'm glad that the news is all good so far. I also feel freer to tell people now that we're expecting, like my co-workers. Good stuff. This is particularly important given how my waist continues to thicken. It's good to have that out in the open, so that nobody will think that I've just overdone it with the Halloween candy. This in-between time is tough. But happily, my maternity clothes days still seem far off in the distance, so I'll take it.

Nuchal Translucency Screening tomorrow...

So, prayers appreciated. :) As I've mentioned before, this test is becoming increasingly common for women aged 35 and older, and generally those considered at high risk for having a baby with a chromosomal abnormality. I'm sure everything will go fine, but I'm still feeling a bit anxious about it. Of course, as soon as I return tomorrow afternoon, I will update you all. :) I'm not certain how to scan in photos, or believe me, you'd be having ultrasound photos foisted onto you...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and guess who's turning 5?

Ahhhh, winter. I'm one of those odd people that truly enjoys winter. Of course, I also just particularly enjoy this Thanksgiving and Christmas season, which most people do, regardless of their feelings about winter. I'm already playing Christmas music in my office, and during my walks my holiday playlist is all I listen to. I'm plotting Christmas gift purchases, and I'm stalking the Hallmark Channel's web site for upcoming shlocky Christmas movies. I can't tell you the pleasure I take from watching these. They're all pretty much the same. Some workaholic scrooge of a person, usually a banker or a lawyer, has a miserable view of life and humanity and by some quirky twist of fate must go home for the holidays. Lots of touching moments ensue, and they change their outlook and their path in life. Usually, they also fall in love. *sighs blissfully*

This weekend *set your DVR's!* Hallmark Channel is running a movie called A Family Thanksgiving. Saturday at 9 pm; everybody make your husbands watch it with you! Mine is already prepping his beer selection appropriately.

Anyway, I just love this season. Every week, I've been trying to tuck gifts away. Having children makes Christmas SO MUCH FUN; it's even better than when you yourself were a kid. The other night I got all emotional on Mike *snorts* (this happens *frequently*) because I started to wonder: how many more years will Hank believe in Santa? I can't tell you how magical Christmas is to have a young child that believes in Santa. When we first had Hank, I asked Mike how he felt about Santa, because I was a bit squeamish about, well, lying. I didn't want our kids to think that we also lie to them about other people (Easter Bunny, tooth fairy sound familiar? Well, nah, that's not really what I meant). Namely, God. Mike looked horrified that I would consider not having Hank believe in Santa, and I'm glad he convinced me. It's a WONDERFUL tradition, and it's so, SO extra special on Christmas morning when your child comes to see what Santa left them. I cannot wait for Hank to see his gifts this year.

Speaking of young Hank, his birthday is tomorrow, and I can hardly believe that it's been 5 whole years since I carried and delivered him. My precious baby! I posted extensively, and appropriately, last year about Hanks entrance into the world, and I also realized when conducting my search that this blog has been around longer than I remembered! There is also a short post from two years ago. How we have all grown together!

Thank you for reading. :)

Loving our pregnant selves and carrying our cross...

Happy day everybody. :) I'm in a very good mood today, despite having a somewhat long evening ahead of me. All parish catechists in my diocese have to attend a seminar entitled "Protecting God's Children," dealing with the prevention of sexual abuse. Pleasant? No. But I'm enjoying my foray into catechesis, and this is a necessary component. It'll be even tougher since I have a difficult time staying awake past 8:30 pm these days, and this shindig runs 6-9:30, but I'll make it. It's at a parish right near my house, so I don't have to drive far at all. And I'll be glad that I did it once it's over.

Anyway, I was dwelling on my pregnancy body image post from yesterday. I hope I didn't sound like a whiner. This blog is very important to me, and I feel that it's essential for me to blog about everyday things that I experience and believe. These are the types of writings that I find most helpful and cherished to me, and I always hope that my experiences provide some kind of help and camaraderie to others. I tend to be very honest about my feelings, and this is how I honestly feel.

I will grant, I'm thinking mostly of that dreaded 3rd trimester, those last 3 months or so. You know. You haven't seen the tops of your thighs in months. Forget about trying to, you know. I'll just say it: shave. Your belly button has been pressed beyond recognition, and your cankles making putting shoes on pretty unpleasant. Having a defined waistline is so far in the past you wonder if that time was even real, or some fantasy world in which you floated effervescently through the air. Walking and even talking don't come without you getting out of breath due to the pressure on your diaphragm and lungs. Sleeping through the night without having to up to pee? A thing of the past, baby. Turning over in bed or getting up off the couch require the intervention of a third party, or perhaps a crane. Pants with panels are your constant companion, and by this point, you begin to fear that you will outgrow even them. You are retaining so much fluid that you begin to wonder if water will spout out like a geyser should you nick yourself.

That's not an easy time, you know? Is it worth it? No question about it. But it's a cross to bear.

Relevantly enough, my Living Faith entry for yesterday, the feast of St. Martin de Porres centered on carrying our crosses:

"Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27

A friend of mine was pregnant with her fourth child and in the process of building a new home when her husband's army reserve unit was called up for duty in Iraq. The anxiety and strain of their separation showed on her face as the months wore on, and I asked how she was holding up. Her reply was one I'll never forget: 'I just want to carry this cross well.'

Our response to the crosses in life - our trials and sufferings - makes such a difference! Some may choose to dodge a cross, give up on a commitment or escape through disordered coping mechanisms. Some will take a cross and parcel it out to others through blame or complaints. But some will embrace the cross with the knowledge that Christ has already borne every burden and gives us the grace to be strengthened, rather than crushed, under its weight.

Today Lord, for love of you, I want to bear my cross well."

This really resonated with me. I have nothing to complain about. I am so blessed to have this precious baby to carry, and I love him or her so much already. Eventually I will have my body back, and I can get back into shape. But that's all temporal. Most importantly, I will have this new soul with me for all eternity.

"Wow, yeah, your face really *does* get fuller during pregnancy!"

So, this is the pregnancy body image post. :) Pretty aptly timed, since my own body is just starting to change.

When I'm pregnant (and maybe this is the case for you and others as well) it's this odd conundrum. You're anxious for the first trimester to pass by since, well, it's not all that pleasant, physically speaking. Plus, you're all anxious about first trimester miscarriage, and it's a relief to safely get to the second trimester. And plus, once the first trimester is nearly over, you can tell people that you're expecting with great abandon, and you kind of look forward to actually *looking* pregnant. Cute little bump, check. Adorable new maternity clothes, check. And then. You realize that 4-5 months have gone by, and you can barely remember your old body. You keep getting bigger and bigger, and people keep feeling freer and freer to analyze your body shape and publicly comment on it.

"Wow. Are you sure you aren't having twins?

"You seem to be carrying a lot in the back." (this was was actually said to my face, and I'm pretty sure it means that my ass had gotten bigger).

"Huh. You're carrying kind of small in the front. Is the doctor sure that the baby is ok?" (also said to my face, and it freaked me out).

"Oh wow, women retain so much water during pregnancy, huh? That must be uncomfortable." Now that you mention it...

I know that these are harmless comments, and people are fascinated by pregnant women, and that's why you're lavished with this adoring attention. :) But for me, I find it hard to listen to. I'm a self-conscious person, and I'm an insecure person in many ways. It hurts my feelings to have people comment on how large different areas of my body are getting, even if I am pregnant.

This time, I have to admit, I'm in a bit of a state of denial about actually getting bigger. I'm over 11 weeks, and my regular clothes are still loose on me, since I lost a little weight right before I conceived. Maternity clothes: wherefore art thou? In the basement. And I pray that I don't have to bring them up until after Christmas. If I can minimize the number of months that I have to wear them, will I feel less orca-like this pregnancy? Doubtful, in fact, that's pretty much completely delusional. But a girl can try.

And don't worry. I eat plenty. I've never been a woman that has eschewed food, because I love food. But I admit, pregnancy is hard for me psychologically. I couldn't be more thrilled to be pregnant, and to be carrying this precious baby. I'm so grateful. But I'm just doing my best to still love my body through May. I know that my old body will come back afterwards, but in the mean time, it's still hard.

Am I a freak, or is anybody else with me? :)

Your budding parish catechist...

Yesterday was my first foray into Children's Liturgy of the Word on solo duty, and I was quite nervous. Especially when I arrived and then remembered that our regular priest is away visiting his mother, so we had a visiting priest that I had to fill in on calling the children up prior to the first reading. As well, the table that we usually would employ was in use elsewhere holding some relics for All Saints Day, and I had to scramble during set-up. But it all worked out.

When it was time to go back, Hank and I walked forward, and I was a bit worried for a minute that Hank would be the only child that I'd have to bring back :) Luckily, a few other kids came up, followed by several stragglers, so I ended up with about 7 in total. We started with our opening prayer, and the first reading, and quickly headed into the pslam and then the gospel. The kids were very good and quiet, but it was difficult to hold the attention of the younger ones. Miraculously, l managed to get us into a good working conversation about Zacchaeus up in the tree watching Jesus, Jesus asking to go to his house to eat, and then Zacchaeus changing his life and finding salvation in Jesus. It was difficult, being as it was peppered by lots of tiny hands going up into the air:

"Yes, Honey?"

"Um, um, um. Do you want to know what I had for breakfast this morning?"

"Well, I'm sure it was very good. Oh. Yes, Honey?"

"I got lost at school on Friday. And then do you want to know what happened?"

"Oh! This is a great point. Jesus tells us that he comes for the lost. He will find us when we are lost, as long as we seek him out, like Zaccheus did. Yes, Honey?"

"The teacher found me before the parade, so I still got to march in that."

It was challenging, to say the least :) But overall, I thought it went well. I was worried about knowing what was going on out in the main sanctuary, and making sure that I picked up the proper cues as to where the rest of the congregation was in the liturgy, so that I would know when to finish up with the kids. That was actually very easy, given that this particular Mass uses the contemporary choir, so it's nice and loud when they start up the collection hymn, my cue to finish up.

There were a few things that I wanted to do and forgot, but that's to be expected. I had written down the reflection questions I wanted to ask the kids in a little cheat sheet, and that worked out really well. The kids were very sweet, and they seemed to like me :) My next time up on deck is November 21st, feast of Christ the King and the last Sunday prior to Advent. I'm very excited.

*hacks*

Well, as is the tradition of coughing-related illnesses, I'm still coughing. It's been rough, because it impacts my sleep, and I already feel so wretched in the evenings from pregnancy-related tiredness and nausea, but I'm hanging in there. Certainly, there are bigger problems than this.

Other than that, I'm doing very well. I've de-cranked considerably about the perinatologist thing. I slowly came to the realization that if our baby has special needs, I will appreciate knowing about it ahead of time so that we can be as prepared as possible. So I'm actually looking forward to the nuchal fold scan now. It'll be a nice opportunity to see our baby on a sophisticated ultrasound machine, and know what our chances are of dealing with a Trisomy 21 diagnosis. Information is power, right? This is a good thing.

Other than that, I've been a busy bee librarian at work. I had a bunch of small committee tasks to get to this week, but most importantly, I identified another journal that I thought would be a better fit for my article, and I reformatted my abstract accordingly. I just sent it in as a query to the editor, and she responded to me immediately saying that they were interested in seeing the manuscript. I'm thrilled :) So, I have to format my citations to the Chicago author-date style (don't even get me started on citation styles; I loathe them ALL), and then I can submit it early next week. This is no guarantee of anything, but I remain vigilant in hope.

Sunday is my first foray as the solo catechist for Children's Liturgy of the Word, and you can bet that I'll report in all the details on Monday.

Happy Halloween everybody!

What's going on with Baby CL?

I'm sure you just spend nights awake thinking about this, just like I do! Therefore, I thought I'd give you all the personal details, just in time for lunchtime reading :)

It seems like my nausea has peaked, meaning I'm on the slow spiral back down to normalcy. This is an excellent thing. I'm still nauseous, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't seem quite so all-encompassing as the past 4 weeks or so. Like last week, when I encountered what will heretofore be known as THE VEGETABLE FIASCO.

The week prior, my mom had given me a bag of organic vegetables that she got from a farm co-op program. Cool, right? Yes, and I used some of them to make a chicken with veggies recipe later that week. After that, I didn't have the energy to look up some new recipes for the other, more sophisticated vegetables like I hoped (anybody know a quick recipe that involves a leek? See. Not so easy :) So the bag sat on top of our cupboard, awaiting its fate. I kept meaning to get to it, but exhaustion took precedence.

Then I woke up Saturday morning and was doing my usual early weekend tornadoing. Clean, clean, clean. I approach the kitchen. Hark! What is that smell? I glance uneasily at the vegetables. A few days earlier, a bad red bell pepper from this very source caused me to dry heave for the first time in as long as I could remember.

I approach with delicate footfalls, like my stealthy manner will somehow cause the offending odor to slip away on its own. I peek in the bag. Hum. Maybe it's not really this... Wait. What's *that*?! Oh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*dry heave that JUST BARELY holds back from morphing into actual vomit*

Several vegetables have gone bad, and do you know what they created?

GARBAGE JUICE

I tell you, there are few odors and visual accompaniments that are more foul than this. Very, VERY few, my friends.

I could feel another retch beginning to form in the base of my throat, so I had to drop the bag and move away. Quickly, I leapt into emergency response mode. My baby's livelihood depending upon me eliminating the source of this wretchedness from my kitchen. I plugged my nose, grabbed the bag, and ran it over to the garbage bin. I dumped the entire thing in and snapped the lid closed with a bang. I grabbed our dish rag, and *martyrdom!* wiped up the garbage juice that had LEAKED ONTO THE CUPBOARD. This entire time, I was holding onto the contents of my stomach by a single thread. I grabbed a can of Oust and fumigated the entire kitchen, including the inside of the garbage bin, causing poor Hank to hack and head quickly back to his play room.

I calmed myself down, and told myself that everything was fine now. Once the Oust haze faded, I continued on my quest to clean the kitchen floor. Everything was good until I had to throw something away. The instant I opened that garbage bin lid, the decomposing hands of the dying vegetables grabbed my throat and attempted to squeeze the very life out of me. When Mike came downstairs, I was cowering in a corner of the kitchen, finger pointing shakily to the garbage can:

"Please, my God, the garbage!"

as if the evil man that lives in the garbage can was leering at me from across the room with a freshly sharpened pitchfork aimed at the ready.

It was SO not good. Mike had to immediately throw that bag of garbage outside in our larger bin, and it took me an hour to recover. I would label this phase as the PEAK of my nausea issues.

This week, it doesn't seem quite as bad. Although, I have to admit all those crazy cravings I was having right at the beginning of my pregnancy have faded, and fewer foods sound good to me. So, who knows.

Most importantly, Baby CL is growing and growing. Starting just this week, I'm beginning to show. I have mixed feelings about this (will write a whole separate post on body image in pregnancy) but I am glad overall, because it shows that Baby CL is thriving. It's nothing dramatic, but there is a definite sudden rounding happening in my lower abdomen. This is right around the time I started showing with Hank. I guess I would say the Hank rounding was slightly more subtle, but other than that, I don't feel like I started showing infinitely sooner with this pregnancy, although a lot of women say that they do with their second pregnancies. It just looks like I've suddenly got a little somethin' extra right around my middle. This is an awkward phase. Not nearly ready for maternity clothes (mine are still banished to the basement for the time being; putting that off as long as humanly possible) yet fitting into regular clothes becomes more of a challenge each week. Plus, since you really don't look pregnant yet, I fear that people will think that I'm just really letting myself go. Ah well. What can one do?

I hope I don't grow too fast, since I'm planning to belly dance, bare belly and all, in late December in our holiday hafla. This should be interesting.

At any rate, Baby CL now has short little arms and legs, and is moving all around. I can't wait until I can feel him or her in there. Most of all, I can't wait to meet them.