Baby B in 3D

Here I am! Back from the windy east coast, I am happy to announce that we know what we're having! It's a...
























...BABY!

Haha, gotcha. We're not telling. When I showed Wayne the 3D photos and DVD, and it revealed the gender, he wanted to tell everyone (even though 10 mins. earlier, he didn't want to know at all!). So we told our parents, and then stopped there.

I have to say, for all the people who advised me not to "ruin it" by finding out the gender, I know I made the right choice to find out. I have figured out that knowing this one piece of solid information in our very unstable life right now (i.e. not knowing if Wayne will be home for the birth, not knowing how much time we'll have together if he is, not knowing where or even when we'll be moving at the end of the year...agh!) has created a sense of comfort and peace for us. We spent our entire 8 days together referring to the baby by name and being able to actually visualize our lives with him/her and discuss how we will parent this little miracle. We got to talk a lot about the important, but different, roles moms and dads play in the lives of their sons/daughters and how we need to be conscious of these roles. And now, when I get a little jab in the tummy/side/cervix, I can chastise the little kicker by name...gets me ready for all those disciplining moments!

The UC Baby experience was so relaxing and sweet. The ultrasound room is more like a massage room at a spa, with a massive flat screen tv mounted close to the ceiling and a theatre of chairs available for all the loved ones you want to bring with you! Having Danielle there (Wayne's stand-in) to experience it with me was extra special and I'm grateful to have found out the gender with her. We were in there for over 45 mins. and the technician got some great face shots of our little one. Check them out below!

I highly recommend this service and was pleased with the experience. It was a little pricey, but so worth it because Wayne couldn't come to ANY ultrasound appointments with me.

You need to read this

God bless you, Ryder.

18 weeks

All is well on the baby front. Heartbeat is 135 BMP and baby is developing normally. I think s/he is pretty darn cute, too.

I now have a bump and it makes me feel better about seeing the numbers on the scale finally start to increase. I think I've gained almost 5 lbs. now, which would normally freak me out, but I know it's a good thing.

I'm eager to find some maternity pants, skirts and shorts, and some long tanks and a couple of summer dresses. Alas, this will have to wait until next payday. Thank goodness there is a four-day weekend coming up where I can live in yoga gear.

For anyone not-yet-pregnant or who is planning to have another kiddo, I've found that since I've popped, but have no maternity pants, the BellaBand is a real life saver. Yes, I am sitting at my desk with my pants unbuttoned. :) But the handy dandy BellaBand is holding them up.

Love your neighbour

So we are reading through 1 John in our Life group right now and the theme of loving people - and how badly we suck at this - is our focus.

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
1 John 4:19-21

What I didn't realize is that the term "brother" refers to "fellow believers." I realize that this makes sense: how can you claim to have a close, solid, "loving" relationship with the Lord, yet take an issue or be unforgiving or cruel to a fellow believer? As Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did (or did NOT do) for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40)*. One commentary I read explained that like the spokes of a wheel, in which God would be the hub, believers who grow closer to the Father also grow closer to one another. Therefore, it is impossible to deepen your relationship with Him if you have issues with others. (This would explain why pastors ask you to pass on taking communion if you are in the midst of a conflict with a "brother," to go settle it first, forgive one another, and then partake of the bread and wine.)

Anyway, we got to talking about the difference between loving our "brothers" (and "sisters") and what Jesus calls the "second greatest commandment": loving your neighbour. I began to understand the reason why differentiating the two reasons to love was essential: loving your brother is about deepening our own relationship with God, and expanding the Church as the body of Christ. This is what Jesus meant in Matthew 25:40. Because He calls the Church His "body," we are only sinning against Him if we exercise anger or cruelty (or whatever) toward another believer. However, loving your neighbour is about reflecting the heart of God to those in a fallen world who may not have ever experienced it before. This comes with The Great Commission. Many people who don't understand Christianity will wonder if we are "nice" or if we serve others because we "have to." Well, no. We are redeemed and saved and that's that. And while the Great Commission is a command straight from the lips of our Saviour, like all commands from the Lord, it is something we should feel compelled by the Holy Spirit to perform out of this "love" John talks about, not out of duty or hassle. Being a Christ follower is all about receiving the love and forgiveness, mercy and grace He gave us when we certainly didn't deserve it. It is also about overflowing with so much of these godly qualities that it should spill out and onto those around us who have yet to meet Him.

Now that I think I have a handle on that (phew!), our group is praying and brainstorming this week about how we start as a group to bless and serve others as the fruit of this study. Giving blood was one option that came up - and practical one that would surely bless many people - but two of us are pregnant, one is not a Canadian citizen yet, one can't give for health reasons, and that leaves half of our group. So it's not all that inclusive. Serving food to the poor is another option, but we need to figure out what exactly that would look like.

Have you got any creative ideas you've done in a group (or not) to bless your neighbours? Comment here! I'd love to hear them. I promise, I won't claim them as my own ideas. :)


*Italics and parentheses added

Baby update - 17 weeks

I just had my monthly midwife appointment and all is well. I'll be 17 weeks along tomorrow! I still have only gained three lbs and baby is nestled quite comfortably in my pelvis still, hence the lack of “pop.” Soon enough it will come, and I bet I’ll be complaining that nothing fits! All my lab results came back fine (no STDs, HIV, iron is good, etc.) - woot! Baby’s heart rate is now at 136 which is good. The only hiccup is that I tested positive for Group B Strep so I’m on a week-long cycle of antibiotics for that to prevent kidney infection. If it persists and reappears near labour, I’ll have to have a penicillin drip during delivery to prevent the transfer from me to babe.

I keep forgetting I’m pregnant; I haven’t popped yet but most of my symptoms have settled. My two friends who are due the same week as me have popped big time, but they are both much shorter and must not have as much room for baby in their smaller torsos. Hopefully as the baby doubles up to the size of a cantaloupe in the next three weeks, it will peek over my pelvic bone in time for Wayne to see it when I go to visit again at the end of April.

Hearing that heartbeat every month is a real relief, too. It makes me remember my body is working and doing what it’s supposed to do.

Spring beauty

Thanks to Shawna's detective work, I took her advice and I just picked up Quo's Total Perfection Face Primer last night and it makes my face feel like silk! Love it.



I also bought Quo's illuminating concealer for under my eyes in shade #01 - works like a charm. It's hard to find concealer sticks that don't have yellow undertones for my pink, British skin, so this super light tone was a real blessing.

Last week, realizing I was out of my beloved Lip Venom (I'm not a lipstick person - I prefer to just plump what I got!), but not willing to make a trip over the bridge to a specialty store to pick it up, I settled for Rimmel's Volume Booster Liquid. It does a great job, has a bit of a punch after about 5 minutes of wear and makes my lips look yummy (Wayne would approve!). But even though it claims to last up to 6 hours, don't plan to eat or drink in that time. It comes right off and loses its plumping effect. While not as effective as the Venom, it does the temporary trick.

I saw a good makeup tip on Jay Manuel's show Style Her Famous the other day to help achieve a dewy, less caked-on look for foundation: before applying, spritz your face with water from a spray bottle. I tried it and not only did it even out my foundation application, it really set my foundation and it didn't move or melt ALL DAY!

Moving on

So I have regretfully had to start a new book. The Book of Negroes was lent to me by a former co-worker whose book club loved it, and I must admit that the first pages I've read are mightily compelling. I wanted to start reading the stack of military books I have accumulated, but getting on the plane to go see Wayne this weekend was not the appropriate time for me to read about battles in Afghanistan. I think I am on a fiction kick, which usually means I would rather read about someone else's life than deal with my own (hello, Twilight). But hey, we all go through phases.

I say "regretfully" had to start a new book because I honestly feel like I'm cheating on Edward and Bella by letting them go and reading a new story that takes place on the other side of the world (or at least, it begins there). I don't think I have ever been so wrapped up by a story like I was with Twilight. Except maybe in the life of Delores Price in She's Come Undone, which I should really reread because I don't remember a lot about it now. It's odd how a series of books which really aren't terribly well written can consume one's mind! I have to say that while reading the books, I found myself unfairly comparing Edward's sense romanticism and perfection to Wayne's...well, everything. While in real life, no one is perfect, Edward's only downfall is that he will live forever. Pooh! So if you have not read these books yet and you are married, beware of the "seduction of the ideal man." I was a bit miffed at the "happy ending," but had to remind myself that it is geared toward teens and the tortured soul aspect of a deeper character would need to be saved for a deeper book.

Hopefully, The Book of Negroes will provide more substance.