Two Monkeys: Nicholas & Joshua Read

One question I get most often is "How are you feeling"? Throughout the pregnancy, I've been blessed with a no stress lifestyle. The most tired I felt was for a few weeks in the 1st trimester and early in the 2nd trimester. I was so proud of myself for even making it out to a rave in Montreal for Sonia's birthday where I lasted until 2:30 am. Most nights, I'm still a night owl and stay up till midnight reading and tiring myself out in order to have a deep sleep. Reading the Economist: The Secret to a Good Sleep If anyone wants to know a secret in how to sleep fast --- read the Economist! It's Cam's favorite reading material, but I swear by it. All I do is read about the economy in Germany or articles on the new hobby of chicken farming and I'm out like a light. The stories also don't impact my dreams either - so it's the perfect solution for head dropping sleep. If anyone knows me, it doesn't take much for me to sleep anyhow. I used to fall ...

Sonia is keeping me well trained by inviting me over during a babysitting session she had with her nephew Roman, who is 11 weeks old. Cristina and Mark are lucky to have such an angel. He'll definitely be hanging out with Nicholas soon. He's chubbers and has the cutest little lips and a full head of hair. I went over on Sunday to help for a whole hour! I pushed the stroller and was careful to ensure that he wasn't run over by any crazy drivers. I bottle fed him so that he wouldn't chew off his hand. I burped him so that he wouldn't feel bloated. The only thing I didn't dive into was a full diaper change. I let Sonia do the poop change and remained an observer. Cam was disappointed, but I'm sure there will be a time when I will have to make my first diaper change soon. I was also sure to avoid the firehose !

Baby planning is definitely a lot different than wedding planning. The baby is here forever, where a wedding takes place on one day and then it's over. With 3 weeks until our anniversary, I was feeling sad tonight that it is coming up so soon as I had such a good time with friends and family. I'm glad that baby planning is occupying me daily to keep me busy. At 22 weeks, we've managed this week to pick up a crib and find a doula . I was finally able to make it to Kiddytown last week to check out the cribs. The decision was simple as the crib I chose was the right price, included a mattress and doesn't require any additional pieces to turn it into all the other bed options when Nicholas grows. Doula Search Done I also completed my interviews of 3 doulas and have picked one that I think will do a great job for us. They were all extremely nice, gentle and friendly woman. I talked to one nasty doula -- imagine that -- on the phone who was a bit too vocal about her phi...

This week, I took Nicholas to Montreal during Amelia's visit to Ottawa. The day was beautiful, so we thought we'd drive out to my favorite city to visit some of our favorite spots. We visited St. Laurent so that Amelia could dive into a tasty sandwich at Schwartzes . I chose to feed Nicholas some chicken from Coco Rico. I've always wondered what it tasted like, so thought that it was time we did a taste test and plus, he was hungry. For dessert, I fed him a chocolate croissant from my favorite bakery - Au Pain Dore . There's nothing like chocolate croissants from Montreal! Yum Yum. I seem to be addicted to them lately. After lunch, we drove up to Mont Royal for a nice scenic walk amongst the beautiful park. My mom keeps telling me to enjoy leisurely walks while pregnant, so I took advantage of the beautiful surroundings and soaked up the scenery. The Chinese believe that you are supposed to surround yourself with a poetic existence during pregnancy so that you will be c...

I have finally reached 20 weeks and the belly is definitely larger than a pot now. Cam's nick name for me is 'chubby'. I've been feeling some more light kicks that really feel like muscle twinges in the belly. I keep pushing down on the belly to try to wake Nicholas up, but I guess he doesn't kick on demand. The growth spurt has also caused me to gain 4 pounds in 1 week. I haven't experienced any ravaging feelings of hungriness, but I do make sure I keep a lot of food on hand during the day. The past few weeks, I've been eating a pint of blueberries every day. The result - I don't think I'll share everything, but I'm hoping that I'm getting a lot of antioxidants. Cherries area also in season, so it's been a daily part of my diet as well. We've also come up with a middle name for Nicholas as well. My mom has suggested "Ying" after my grandfather. My grandfather Ying is now 93 and has a very long, happy life filled with globa...