Two Monkeys: Nicholas & Joshua Read

Here's my growing belly at 31 weeks. Surprisingly, I haven't had too many people coming up and patting it. I do find myself being more and more protective of it in crowded locations and I am more anxious in the car. It must be a mother's natural instinct. I even avoided eating some pork last week that sat on my desk for 2 hours. Normally, my stomach of steel never let me down. This time, I decided to not take the risk. Check out the belly at 31 weeks - 9 more to go!  

Some belly shots from the 30th week - it's now big enough that people are taking notice.

Nicholas is going to have so many friends by the time he's born! We visited his little friend Liam Nicolas Smith this morning. His mom, Mary, is doing extremely well and Mackenna's mom, Tania, is excited to have two little boys ready to meet her little girl. Here's a pic that Adam took for us after breakfast. Liam has a full set of hair as you can see and was a cutie pie.

Last weekend, we enjoyed an amazing walk on Sunday afternoon at Pink Lake in the Gatineau's. The leaves are on the bring of changing their colors, so we were able to enjoy some red and orange trees. They are still mostly green at the moment, but a few short weeks will definitely mark the true colors of fall.

I have to say that Yoga has been a tremendous activity during pregnancy. I am now taking my second round of yoga on Saturday mornings at Dovercourt - Shanti Prenatal - and it's been very soothing and good for my limbs. I also did a yoga class at IBM yesterday and was amazed at my flexible ligaments as I was able to do the front splits on my right side. I inched down slowly, the went lower until I reached the floor - just like when I was 10. I've always been flexible, but couldn't believe that I still had it in me. I don't think I'll make it a regular activity, just in case a ligament snaps and I lose the ability to push when I'm 10 weeks away. The Saturday classes are definitely not that intense, but has taught me some great techniques that I hope to remember when the time comes for delivery.

Baby Hiccups This week marks the first time our little Nicholas started hiccups in the womb. At first, I couldn't figure out what the spasms were, as they are usually down low in the belly. I heard about babies having hiccups in the womb and wondered how you'd know - but our little guy seems to be having them quite often these days that it's got to be hiccups. Apparently, they are quite normal and caused by the intake of amniotic fluid and breathing. Kicking Around The other night, I decided to turn from my left side over to the right - which I do every night. This time, it was about 4 am and I instantly felt him kicking me continuously. I shrugged it off as his night time partying in the belly and even tried to wake Cam to tell him about it. The next day, Sue advised me that it was likely Nicholas telling me that I was pushing down on him and making him uncomfortable! Hahha....a far cry from a belly party. I am now more aware of his gestures and do notice him nudging

I enjoyed my 28th week off on holidays. The first weekend, I spent with my mom at the Hilton where I sat by the pool for two days loving every minute under the sun.

It was time to see Nicholas again via ultrasound. I am now a bit past 29 weeks and the belly has emerged. I sometimes forget that I'm pregnant because it really doesn't feel that much different. I've gained 19 pounds so far and 4 pounds away from being as heavy as Cam. More people are noticing my belly these days, so the bump is here to stay. The ultrasound was scheduled because we guessed that Nicholas was in a transverse position in my belly for the longest time. Since last week, I began feeling his legs at the top of my uterus, which likely meant that he shifted position to head down. That was finally confirmed at today's ultrasound. He's definitely a boy, so no surprises there. He's now 3 pounds and a bit and just the right size. His heartbeat was normal and all his organs were in tact. He was also visibly practicing his breathing in the womb. My mom and sister came with me, so it was a great experience to be able to share it with them. At 29 weeks, the baby

The weather was perfect this Labor Day weekend. I spent the day with Jean and Robert today. We started the day off with a wonderful breakfast at the Hilton, went for a swim with Cam and the Read's at the pool and sat outside to savor the last days of summer. Nicholas was quite responsive to the sun exposure again. We then went for a nice walk in the Gatineau's with the Liu's and ended the perfect day with some ice cream at La Cigale. A picture perfect day - here's Nicholas with his grandmother Jean!

I'm in my nesting phase and spent a day washing all the clothes that were kindly given to us by Tania and Sue - as you can see there's quite a generous portion for little Nicholas already. Cam came up from the laundry room and he was in disbelief how Nicholas' wardrobe is already filled. I warned him that this is only the beginning...hahahha! Plus, they're for all the various stages he'll go through. I'm so glad that we now have a head start with baby clothes though. I can't imagine starting off from scratch. At least they're all clean, sorted, folded and ready for his arrival in 3 months. I guess Cam kept pulling sleepers out of the dryer - hahaha.

Nearing my 28th week, it was time for the fantastic experience of downing a can of pure sugar. I was careful not to eat any sugar prior and arrived at the clinic. The nurse handed me the drink and I had imagined it being gross and possibly gagging on it. It was the opposite - after one sip, I finished it in 20 seconds. Then came the 1 hour wait before they needed to test my blood. Well, I thought I was going to read a book, but I ended knocking right out and felt extremely drowsy. I was advised that I couldnt' walk anywhere but to the bathroom. I lasted the hour, but I felt as though I hadn't slept. Thank goodness I asked the nurse what I could eat afterwards - avoid sugar and carbs was what I was told. After a whole afternoon of errands and some Lebanese food to fill my stomach, I got home at about 4 pm and completely crashed. I took a nap at 5 pm and then had to lie down at 7 pm for another hour. After all that - I finally feel much better, but that feeling of having no energ