By Popular Demand

So a few people have been asking me to post more about the baby, so I thought it fitting to do that today, when we officially mark the halfway point of this pregnancy (!).

Actually I don't know all that much about what's going on with the baby, other than the daily kicks and wiggles I get periodically, which is always fun. Actually a few days ago Valerie was lying across my torso and, whereas I usually have to tell her, "don't kick your baby brother," this time I had to tell my belly, "Don't kick your big sister!" I doubt she noticed anything but it amused me.

In two more weeks I go in for the full anatomy scan, where they measure all the major body parts and check that the internal organs are developing properly. Hopefully we'll get some good pictures :-) That's usually the scan where you also have the option of finding out the sex, but since we had a fancy schmantzy 3D scan at 13 weeks we already know!

We have a short list of boy names in mind, which I plan to put up in the sidebar as a poll - so you can actually submit a vote for your favorite! Not that we'll use the results to choose a name (I have a pretty strong feeling for one of them in particular) but I'm kind of curious what people think.

As for the pregnancy from my point of view, it's been uneventful so far. My blood pressure readings have been lower than they were at this time in my previous pregnancy, which is reassuring, and chances are slim that I'll develop hypertension again. I had very mild symptoms in the first trimester, and even though I still seem to need a daily nap I think that has more to do with Valerie's night-waking than the pregnancy. This trimester I've been adapting to the growing belly, and feeding it well :-). I've not had really strong cravings, per se, although I've developed a greater-than-usual fondness for ice cream. Normally I'm pretty indifferent to ice cream, I could take it or leave it, don't really care, but now I'm going through a pint a week. And not really interested in the chocolate flavors. My favorite flavor right now is Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Cheesecake. Cheesecake being another dessert that I'm normally indifferent to. So, Dairy! Yes, this baby is definitely a Jantzi!

I've sorted out all Valerie's old clothes and set aside the ones that are neutral or actually boy clothes, and we've got quite a lot for the first 6 months or so. After that it's pretty much all pink, or embellished with hearts and flowers. I'm working on a couple knitting projects - a purple sweater and a sky-blue hat - and soon plan to start a newborn set in green (socks, hat, and possibly vest if I have enough yarn). The green yarn I bought in Savannah right after finding out we were pregnant, for the new baby, before knowing the sex.

So that's a quick update.