Having a whale of a time.

I think I'm finally beginning to identify with the message board posters, as the other day my feelings, classified under the subject heading "Ultrasound tomorrow," could easily have been described as "I'm so excited I can't wait to hear my baby's heart beating again!!!" It's in there. It's moving. All signs point to good health. So why not replace my previous pre-appointment mantras of I hope it's not dead with something a little more positive?

And we did hear the heart beating again, pounding along with strength and courage while we watched baby, still perfectly head-down in a bat-like position, playing ever so cutely with its umbilical cord. (Quick addition to what remains of our shopping list: more appropriate toys.)

Baby is now estimated as weighing a very precise 1.869 kilograms, up 0.569 from the rounder estimate of 1.3 less than three weeks ago. Since then, I've packed on one and a half myself, one-third (or, more precisely, 0.569 kilograms) of which is due to baby's increase. The other two-thirds can, I suppose, be attributed to my incredibly dedicated couch-sitting.

If you'd like, you can look here for the inside view, a profile shot that made me tell Gilles, "I hope it will be cuter when it comes out," and here for the outside view, which recently earned me a most unappreciated greeting of "Hello, fatty!"

(The greeting was not from my husband. Of course he can call me "fat" [quotation marks necessary]. But in our language, the noun of that adjective is not fatty but rather grosse baleine ... huge whale. I couldn't love the label – or him – more.)

oh hi.
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