Almost 23 weeks pregnant!

Tomorrow, I'll be 23 weeks pregnant. I can't believe there's only 17 weeks to go before Little Monkey is out. According to the books, he's now about the size of a small doll. Cool... I'll go out tomorrow to toy shops and have a look at how big he is. I can feel he's a lot bigger though... the easiest way is to just turn sideways, look in the mirror and marvel at how big my belly is now compared to just a month ago! I measure my belly sometimes (measured across the belly button), just to see how big I've grown. I'm now 35" around! Gosh! I've always worked hard to ensure my now-long-gone waist stayed in the 20"s and it's such a surprise to see the tape read that much!

When we were in Comox, Canada, we bought me a belly band and it's an absolute lifesaver. I'm now able to pull out my pre-pregnancy jeans and wear them again, unbuttoned and held up by this band. I'd looked everywhere for it here in Jakarta but couldn't find it so when I spotted it in Canada, I grabbed it.

I'm definitely looking pregnant now. The hotel staff have begun to rush out to help me each time I arrive back laden with groceries. They didn't bother much before... hehe... just thought I was probably fat and strong enough to carry everything. Don't worry, guys... I can still carry most stuff and I'm really training to be strong enough to carry a baby around all night long.

I finally picked up my Triple Screen test results from the doctor on Friday. I had my test done when I was 16 weeks pregnant, it's a screening test for Down Syndrome. Phew... I had a negative result! Yay! Now, for you worried mums out there, if you have a positive result, it does NOT mean that you have a Down baby. It merely means you must now undergo more tests for confirmation, that's what known as a diagnostic test.

The lab included a set of standards for comparison vs my own results. At about 16 weeks, it was a 1 in 3300 chance of the baby having Down's. My results came back as 1 in 3800, so I'm feeling quite relieved. They also included a results standard for your age risk. Mine (at 34 years when the baby is due) was 1 in 510.

The lab also screened for Edward's Syndrome. I didn't know what this was, so I checked up on the Net for it. It's when a baby has an extra 18th chromosome. It's a pretty serious condition with most babies stillborn before the end of pregnancy. You can read more about it here.

We've not started buying baby stuff yet as we're still living in a hotel here and haven't got any place to store our stuff. Crappo really... I'm so glad our home will be ready by early Aug and we can finally move in and have a proper home. All I've bought so far is a shirt-pants set, a souvenir baby shirt from Vancouver and a little black Canadian stuffed bear to put into his cot. I'll have to get pics of them to post up, they're all so cute!

It's been quite an uneventful pregnancy so far, for which I'm thankful. Apart from the morning sickness and lethargy in my first trimester, I've not had many probs. I've not had constipation, I don't really have muscle aches and cramps (but I still ask Top Monkey for back rubs! Hehe) and I've not had any mood swings. I've generally been happy and excited about the baby, really nervous about labour and delivery and unsure about my ability to care for a newborn. I ensure I'm out and about walking for at least 2 hours everyday for my exercise and I'm really, really, really trying to go back to the gym regularly. Honest.

Well, I've got my monthly appointment scheduled next week with the doctor. I always look forward to those, I adore seeing my baby in the scans and bringing home the new print-outs to show Top Monkey and end up staring at the print-outs for hours on end.