The Answer to the Question is... ?

I think you can tell apart people who enjoy being pregnant and those who feel, well, not so much enthralled by the business, by whether they are counting weeks down, or weeks to go.  I'm definitely in the 'weeks to go' category.  I woke up this morning and thought, 'Nearly halfway there!'  Then lay back down and thought, 'No, in a month, I'll be halfway there.'  So, 16 weeks of pregnancy down, 24 to go, ish.  16 days of uncontrollable coughing down, back to the doctor on Tuesday.  I wonder if they do temp replacement lungs for pregnancy impaired immune systems on the NHS? 

I'm not going to regale you this week with the whole category of downs; like round ligament pain, sciatica or the whole ongoing coughing/gagging confusion.  Suffice to say, when I cough I don't know whether to hold my belly, my left butt cheek or just take off for the porcelain bowl.  

So, moving swiftly on to some ups.  The bump is now a prominent feature and despite the odd moment of 'Oh No, it's getting bigger', it's quite comforting.  It's supposed to be growing and it is.  Evidence below by popular demand (sorry about the flash rebound but when I asked MC to take a pic for me he was unable to do so without getting my Sunday morning bed-head in the shot for some reason).

Sporting a fetching belly band here because belly is now so big that all my t-shirts stop at my belly button about an inch above my trousers and it's still January people.

Other ups?  I made it through a whole 5 and a half day working week this week without any sick time, yay me!  I caught up with my now-very-pregnant cousin, who is due to pop at the end of February, for what could be the last time before her sprog arrives.  It was a fun night.  We got to make use of the 50% off voucher at Vittoria (yay pasta fest) and MC came along for some dinner and baby chat.  Yesterday I met my longest standing friend for a gossip.  I tried very hard not to do too much whingeing and whining given it had been so long since I saw her.  Other than having to sip water every 30 seconds to keep the coughing fits to a minimum it was a fun way to pass an afternoon.

Today, MC and I went to the Pregnancy and Parents Centre where they were having a nearly new sale along with a real nappy and sling info event.  The cake was good and I picked up some expando-waist work trousers for next to no pennies but we refrained from buying baby apparatus.  I was tempted by a moses basket but MC wasn't thrilled with the idea of carrying it home on the bus.  Our joiner still hasn't quoted to sort the wardrobe in the nursery yet and until that's done we can't really store anything in there.  

MC and I will be rescheduling our end of February baby-moon, and this time it's not because it doesn't fit well with my work schedule.  Our twenty week scan appointment (where yes, we will be finding out the sex of the munchkin where possible) has come through for bang in the middle of the week we were meant to be away.  Thank crunchie we didn't book anything.  "We will not reschedule this appointment unless under exceptional circumstances."  It didn't sound like they were looking to be too flexible.  Evidence suggests that the NHS is not coping well with the Scottish baby boom.  

General news - congratulations going out to two of MC and I's friends who gave birth to a gorgeous baby boy this week.  Well one of them gave birth and the other became a proud Daddy to a backdrop of a little bit of drama, what with the water breaking at work thing, but it was a job well done by both of them.  She's the second friend I've had in a short space of time who has given birth a couple of weeks before her due date.  It's making me a bit nervous about my plan to take just 2 weeks off before the munchkin is due.  Traditionally, the babies in my family turn up late (lazy little heifers) and I'd rather be spending my maternity leave with the baby than with my feet up watching Jeremy Kyle (that's a British Jerry Springer for all the relations on the other side of the big swim) but at the same time, I really don't want to have to go from work to the birthing centre with no time for a long-lie in between!

So, 24 weeks to go.  Or maybe not?  Anyone got a crystal ball handy?  I read somewhere that the answer to the question is actually 42.  Now, 16 and 24 do not make 42.  But I'm going to go with the cult classic and not book more days off before munchkin is due to make an appearance.  If by some chance I do not get that long lie, or am forced to suffer the indignity of labour related leakage in the middle of a project meeting...

Well unless I've come to love my pregnancy by then, I might just break out a manic bonkers happy dance on the well polished surface of the Wayne Enterprises-esque boardroom table!