Is my bump big enough?

Can you believe I am already seven months pregnant? I know I can't. The most wonderful feeling in the world, at the moment, is feeling the baby move around inside me. The kicks can be quite sore at times but I most love it when she turns over completely and you can watch your belly moving across in a wave. It still freaks me out at times to think I am carrying a "living" human being inside of me.

My main worry recently has been that I have not been getting a very big bump. I went out to a BBQ on Saturday and met a lot of new people and they didn't even realise I was pregnant until I told them. It may be my memory playing tricks on me but I seem to remember most people I knew at seven months pregnant being clearly pregnant, so I was slightly worried that baby girl was not growing enough inside me. The non-pregnant logical side of my brain (which is reducing in size every day, lol) was telling me that it was only due to my height that I wasn't showing very much. I have a long body so there is a lot more room in there than the average woman.

My last monthly visit to the OB/GYN was yesterday and I had a lovely doctor called Dr Osman. He did seem very young but is part of a reputable practice so I trust him completely. I had to take a Glucola test which is a standard test for Gestational Diabetes and Anemia. You have to drink a super sweet drink and then you get blood taken and tested an hour later. I should get the results today or tomorrow but have no reason to believe that I will have any issues but will report once I have received the results. One of my main questions was about the size of my bump so the doctor dully measured me and confirm that as my bump is 27 centimetres (yes this American doctor actually used centimetres rather than inches unlike everyone else in America!) long so is fine for my stage. He also confirmed that it is just due to my height that I am not protruding out the way very much as the baby has lots of room lengthwise to stretch out so doesn't need to stick out. That and the fact that I am not retaining any water or putting on excess weight (although an extra 19 pounds onto my weight feels fairly sizeable to me) all adds to my neat little bump. Long may this neatness continue then through the long, hot summer months ahead of me.

Starting putting together some preparation. We have ordered the crib and nursery furniture and I ordered the stroller. I did a lot of research on the strollers as I knew I wanted a travel system that had a built in bassinet, could take a car seat and was a regular stroller as well. The options for this, at first, were either to buy separate units or invest in one of the more expensive designer brnads like Bugaboo or Uppababy. Being the tight Accountant still at heart I was reluctant to pay the money for the Bugaboo along with all the extras you had to pay for separately so continued with my research. I came across a newer option called Stroll Air Zoom which had all the same specifications as the Bugaboo but came with all the extras included in teh price and worked out at at least $400 cheaper. The only downside was that there were no local stockists so I had to order from the internet without trying it out in person. Be assured I watched every video of it I could, checked and double-checked the spec and read the reviews before I committed to ordering it. So thanks to Kim and Andrew for buying me the $20 book called Baby Bargains which helped me to get the stroller system I wanted at a price that I could justify to myself.

Well off now to prepare myself for a busy few weeks which should give me lots to write about in my blog. A weekend at the beach in Ocean City with Vicky, a visit from Dale, Sonia and their kids and a visit from my sister in law Alison. I will be tired out by the end of July but really looking forward to it. I have August free to relax and get back my energy reserves before baby comes along.

Hope everyone is well and lookign forward to a fun summer whatever you are planning. Xx

Goodbye Doggy Friends.

Yesterday was my last day at my hobby job and it was quite a sad event. I had some of my regulars and my favourite three doggy pals to take care of.

I surprised myself as to how attached I became to the dogs. Never having a dog myself I always wondered just how much love you would get from them and I certainly found out that it is a lot. Even only seeing the dogs once every weekday and not being their owner they gave me such a lot of love. I have given up the walking slightly earlier than I had intended but it was motivated by a couple of reasons.

The weather has been really hot and the temperature has been in the high eighties or nineties most days (thirties celsius for the Brits). This along with the high humidity has been quite sapping of my strength. I sometimes forget that my body is supporting two people at the moment and it does get tired out a lot quicker. Walking over 5 miles in that sort of heat every day does eventually take its toll. This added to the fact that I have a very busy July with several family members coming to stay, I decided that it was best for myself and the company if I just packed it in completely.

So here are some memories of my three favourites:

To Plato the Standard Poodle. He is my number one favourite and shows so much love despite being a bit daft - definitely relies on his looks rather than his brains to get through life! His owners tell me he was moping about the house on Wednesday after I left and would not even go to his master. They swear he realises I am leaving and is depressed because of it, not sure myself whether a dog would be able to sense this. I have made a friend through Plato though with Esfira the Russian Grandmother who looked after the child in the house. We have swapped contact details and hope to continue to have afternoon tea a few times over the summer as we had started doing this after I had walked Plato. Plato will be surprised when I turn up at the house as a visitor.This little one is Ellie a rat terrier/chihauhau cross. From the early days when Ellie was so scared of everyone that she would not come out from under the bed and actually snapped at my finger the first time I went into the house to her running to meet me at the door and jumping all over me with love. I still find it hard to think that someone could have abused this little mite the way she had been abused as a puppy but glad to see that through some tender, loving care we have helped gain her trust and shown her that human beings can give her some love.

This old dear is Sheba a black Lab. Now 13 years old I am not sure how many more years she will have left. Her owner Barbara will certainly do all she can to ensure she has as long and happy a life as possible. She also asked for my contact details so I can tell her when the baby is born as she wants to sent a baby gift but does not want to send it before the birth. Hopefully, I will get to hear how Sheba is doing as well at that time.

I was also happy that I got to take my replacement around with me yesterday so I could introduce her to the dogs and some of the owners and let her know all their little habits and dislikes. I think she was grateful as well as it makes her job a lot easier knowing where everything is in each house and having met the dogs there is not that trepidation as to what you are going to be facing when you enter a new house.

Well I always knew it was just a hobby job but it certianly served it's purpose, particularly getting me outside over the worst of the winter. I need to try and keep going out a walk every day to keep some movement and fitness even while pregnant but at least I can go out earlier in the morning when it is a lot cooler and less humid.

So Goodbye to all my Doggy friends, I will miss you all very much. Xx