I am ever so grateful for (1) being pregnant and (2) that things have gone fairly smoothly over the past 6.5 months. However, the past few weeks of this pregnancy have taught me a lot about patience and that one can't always plan how things go.

I have felt increasingly out of breath and faint over the past few weeks. I've had two spells of feeling faint and a third time I actually 'hit the deck' while out with two friends walking their dog. This has forced me to completely slow down. I no longer jog and any exercise is confined to my 1-mile walk to and from the train station.

It is slightly frustrating to walk so slowly, but I don't want to do anything to compromise the safety of the baby. When I fainted, I face-planted the hood of a parked car and all that I could think of when I came to was whether I had hurt the baby in the fall. He was fine when we were both checked over, but I've realized that I just have to listen to my body and just slow down. I won't be jogging into my 30th week like I had planned, but there are more important considerations now.

Like, preparing for the baby! All of his clothes are washed, we just need to sort out where we are going to put them. We haven't had to buy very much at all thanks to thoughtful gifts from friends and family and a brother-in-law who is happy to share the clothes his son has grown out of.



We're waiting on delivery of a single bed for the baby's room and then we can finally get started on getting it organized. We figured that with Lee working shift work, it would be useful to have a second bed to use in case we both needed a nap. I just can't wait to get things finished, although I know that we still have plenty of time. We don't plan on buying too much more (besides the bed and the crib) and just using the bookcases and armchair that were already in the room.

I have yet  to see any stretch marks on my rapidly growing bump (I'm sure they will appear in due course), but this pregnancy has already left me with one small scar: a little horizontal one on the top of my nose. I'm just grateful that my glasses didn't break when I face planted the car :)

Uh oh... I spotted these lovely biscuit tins in M&S yesterday.

I really don't need any more M&S tins, but I don't think I can help myself (and the shortbread inside is ever so tasty).

Canada in March

Last week Lee and I returned from a relaxing one-week trip back to Canada. As is usually the case, we spent the week eating (too much), relaxing, and just enjoying spending time with family and friends. I also managed a visit with my lovely dentist and renewed my Ontario driver's licence.

The abnormally warm weather precluded any ski plans but we were still able to enjoy some apres ski and some general larking about in the backyard with my parents' dog.





I was also home for a lovely baby shower. I will admit that this was, at the age of 33, my first shower (baby or even wedding). I guess living in the UK - where showers are not the norm - for almost a decade is the primary cause!









The funny bit [at least for me] was that it was my own baby shower!

It was graciously planned by my dear sister and my mom's good friend, who put a lot of time and effort into orchestrating the event to coincide with our previously planned holiday in Canada. It was a lovely afternoon filled with my favorite brunch food, some tasteful games, and just a lot of catching up with women who are very important to me.







The best part of our visit was that my dearest friend Robyn, her husband, and their little dog Moose, drove the 9 hours north from Washington DC to attend the shower. They surprised us by arriving on the Thursday and I still get veklemp thinking about when they burst into my parents' kitchen. It was such a thoughtful and generous thing to do. Thanks to the wonder of Skype, my dearest Carrie was also able to 'join' us remotely from South Africa :)

I'm still trying to get my head around the fact that Lee and I are going to become parents in late July. Our son (!) is due to arrive just before the London Olympics start. This is something that we have wanted for so long, and I almost felt like we would jinx things if I talked about it too much.

Just like when I attempted a diary as a young girl, I have been pretty rubbish at recording this pregnancy. Again, I think I was worried about jinxing things...but we have managed to capture a picture of my growing belly every four weeks or so. [mental note: stop taking these pictures just before bed!].



We're trying not to get too carried away and are buying a lot of things second hand or off of friends/ebay. Baby Wood (or McWood as jokingly refer to him as) also already has lots of clothes and quite a full library as a result of the shower last week and thanks to gifts from family both here in the UK and in Canada.

We're really hoping that it snows this year in Worcester so that baby Wood can wear this bad boy: