Week 26

Weight gained: 7.5kg
Feeling: hungry, but indecisive
Baby stats: 14", just under 2 lbs


At this stage now, it looks like my weight will increase exponentially since the baby is also growing more and more each week. In fact, I've noticed that in the past couple weeks, that the space between my belly and the end of the photo is getting smaller and smaller. I've already had to start cropping bits of my bum off. No longer will I be able to keep the photos a consistent size since my belly will basically go over the edge.

To give you an idea of how much I've grown, I've made a mini pictorial storyboard below.



I really wish I started taking photos from the very beginning, but then again I didn't know I was preggers until Week 7/8, and then I wasn't given the fabulous idea of taking the photos until Week 13. You can see that until my 18th/19th week, I looked like I had just had a full meal. Then by Week 20, you could no longer mistake whether I was full or pregnant (or had a beer gut). Supposedly in your 2nd and later pregnancies, you start showing a lot earlier than the first, but I guess it also depends on your body shape and genes. I still think it's funny that in Week 13 you can see my hip bones, whereas now they have disappeared underneath multiple layers of fat and baby. Hopefully after little princess comes out, they'll come back and say hello.

Last week I had my first "active birthing" class, which was very educational and helpful. The instructor taught us techniques we could use to soothe the pain during contractions in the first stage of labor--hopefully I can remember them when the time comes. Since the classes are just down the street, Vincent and I walked there together. I made the mistake of not reading the brochure properly and thinking it was a couples class, brought Vincent along. When we entered the room, about 30 pairs of pregnant eyes turned straight to Vincent. The instructor nicely asked him when he would like to come back and pick me up. Hee hee, later he told me he felt really intimidated by all the big bellies in the room staring at him.

We also had our first "Labour, Birth, and Parenting" class (held by the hospital) last night which was really great! We learned a lot--from what to pack, when to call the hospital, what to do when in doubt, had a tour of the maternity ward and a delivery suite, and had the entire process explained to us in detail. Next week we will be shown a video of 3 live births... scary!

And now for your entertainment, here's a really short video of the baby moving. Focus on the belly button area and left side.