"It's the Pits", or "Cankle Chronicles"

I was reading a post on ONTD the other day which featured some photos of one of the many currently pregnant celebs. As I scrolled down to the comments on the post, I noticed one poster sympathizing with just how swollen the poor girls feet were. Then I looked at my own (they were propped up at the time so I could see them). This celeb's feet and ankles were perfectly thin and lovely compared to my own.
I'm currently suffering from constant swelling in my feet and ankles. It goes down after I put my feet up for about an hour, but never fully away. Not even after a whole night in bed. The other night I noticed the colour of my poor feet looking a bit purple - yuck. Then I pressed in on the swelling and the indentation of my finger stayed there. Pitting Edema. As a nurse, something I never thought I would have. Pitting edema is for elderly ladies with heart failure, poor circulation, kidney problems. Of course, it happens to preggos too, but I guess I assumed I'd be one of the lucky ones kicking up my heels in...well, heels. I've been wearing flat shoes for ages now, any mostly ballet style ones at that since many of my laceups and other covered shoes and boots have been a bit uncomfortable. The last time I attempted to put on a pair of heels was 1 Aug when we were going out to the Specials show - they lasted 2 minutes.
So, another thing to chalk up to my list of pregnancy complaints and discuss with the midwife on my next appointment. So long as my BP and protein tests stay normal I guess there's not a huge issue with having huge ankles...except cosmetically, of course.

Bunny Bump

Hubs and I have chosen a name for our little girl, but we're not advertising. If it was up to Miss Almost 3, her name would be Suzie (Siouxsie, perhaps?) or Charger but I don't think those pass muster.

The ever-cute Kendra, of Girls of the Playboy Mansion fame, is expecting as well. She's due on Christmas Day - about 11 weeks after me. That makes her about 21 weeks at the moment. She's recently found out that she and her football player husband, Hank Baskett, are having a boy. What are they naming him? Hank Baskett IV, of course.

Here are a couple pics of Kendra and her hubs as she shows off her new bump.

If you want to keep up with Kendra's development, you can follow her blog, her facebook page, or her twitter!

The Final Countdown

That's what they call it when you get into single digits. And here I am at 31 weeks pregnant. 9 weeks to go.
For me the final countdown is having everyone remark how big I am or questioning whether I'm going to give birth during CPR demonstrations; it's having to wear wrist braces to bed and sleep with my arms straight while laying on my left side; it's more frequent meltdowns; it's continued obsessions with food and shopping; it's antenatal classes where I feel anti-social; and it's fear and self-doubt.
On the plus side, it also means there is a party coming up. A baby shower. I was thinking of just planning and doing it all myself but my friend, Bianca - who is also expecting, offered to help me plan and execute it. I love planning parties and I've seen, and blogged about, some pretty cool baby shower ideas. I don't know if we'll go for an all out theme but we're planning a meeting next weekend to talk about it and do a bit of brainstorming. The other thing that makes it so amazing that Bianca has stepped up to do this, is that she will be on holiday the week before the date we've set for the shower. Thanks again, Bianca, it's going to be so much fun :)

The Third Trimester

So, baby is getting close and I should be getting excited, right?
I am in the 2nd week of my third trimester and baby is 11 weeks away. In terms of normal every day stuff, 11 weeks seems like ages. In terms of the reality of having a baby here 24/7 it seems like an impossibly short amount of time.
I wake up from dreams of being an inadequate mother and still would rather lounge on the couch than set up a baby room. I get jealous when I run into people doing the things I wish I was doing - like riding a scooter along the water and then going for coffee, or having a glass of wine. I feel nothing but selfish when I allow someone to do something nice for me (like the other day when my MIL took me out shopping and I came home with a multitude of tops and even a pair of shoes).
Hormones are raging and I'm very moody and not toddler friendly. It seems to me that almost 3 year olds should be able to act in the ways they are asked and be lovely creatures at all times. I know, in reality, it's a big ask for an almost 3 year old to sit quietly or play only with their toys and not various household items they may prefer but honestly...
Week 29 is characterized by edema (swelling), moodiness, and the need to nest. I'm there, almost. At least baby is doing well - supposedly 15 inches and 3lbs - and would be 90% viable if she were to come early.

The Pregnant Pin-Up

Some time ago, I posted about my friend Shayna Kerrie of Shayna Kerrie Photography who has done some great pregnancy and newborn photography. As I get bigger, I have days where I hate my body but other days when I marvel at the amazing shape and proportions. I'm about 80% certain I'd like to get some professional photos done while I'm pregnant, but I don't think the style that Shayna favors (and it seems similar to most of the local photography websites I've found featuring a pregnancy gallery).
Instead, I'd like to have a bit of fun with the whole thing. I'm into retro and pin up art and think it would be great to do some photos styled in a 1940's Vargas girl theme. I've found a local photographer who specializes in pin-up photo shoots including hair, make up, and wardrobe called Miss T Pin-ups. Their gallery looks good, but I'm hesitant about the $470 price tag for the package I think would suite me.
I've been mulling this idea over for a while but haven't been able to decide if I thought it would "work" to have a pregnant pin-up girl. Today, I did a bit of searching and came across some great images...

I'm enjoying the lingerie and parasol in this one.

A cool illustrated Pregnant Pin-up.

A very cute classic pin-up pose.

Food, Glorious Food

Hello, my name is Angelle, I'm 6 months pregnant, and I'm addicted to food.

I suppose being obsessed by food is normal for a woman when she is six months pregnant but I am starting to wonder about myself. I've always loved food but am not sure I've ever been so food-centric. I get asked if I have cravings and I answer honestly, "no, no particular cravings." I just crave food, in all it's forms. I spend my time tweeting about what I'm eating, looking up photos of beautiful foods, and researching recipes.

Recently Raspberries featured quite heavily in a dream...


Savory and sweet ethnic foods including Mexican, Indian and Asian have been on the radar.


We went to a craft fair recently, and my favorite purchase was a cupcake...and a cross stitch pattern featuring a CUPCAKE.


Even foods like this cous cous salad get me salivating and thinking about the perfect accompaniments.

My favorite websites at the moment are:
Smitten Kitchen
AllRecipes.com
Jamie Oliver's Official Website
Martha Stewart's Food Section

Products for Preggies that bring on the LoLs

Ages ago (okay a few months ago), I was complaining about belly bands and my pants falling down. No one came to me and told me there were garter belts that would keep my pants up. When I saw them today, I burst out giggling. Would I actually attach suspenders to my bra to help keep my pants up? They seem really funny but at the same time, useful. Hmm... If you're interested, you can find Belly Ups here.


So I suppose I'm at the stage when people are going to start touching my bump. I'm not sure how I feel about that. When I teach classes now, to avoid being bombarded with questions about the bump during breaks, I've begun to add small details about the bump in my introduction (it's a girl, due Oct). The bump is certainly quite big now and there are times when you can't just feel the movement but see this little monster kicking me. These temporary tattoos are a good novelty item if you're into exposing your belly. These tell people where they can touch, what the sex is, or on a bad day tell them to get lost. If you want them, you can get them at Perpetual Kid.