My belly button has become some kind of weather metre.  Here in Brisbane City, Australia, we have a building in the City that has a light tower on top of it.  The lights change colour to depict what the coming weather will be.  For eg.  Clear and Unblinking: Fine Weather.  Red and Flashing: Storm.  etc

Well it seems my belly button has taken it upon itself to start reporting, not the weather (that would just be plain freaky), but the positioning of the baby. E.g Normal Innie: Baby is lying low.  Half Innie Half Outtie: Baby has moved into a higher position.  Almost A Full Outtie: Baby is lying behind belly button.

The first time I noticed this phenomena I was kinda shocked.  I hadn't read about it anywhere, no one had mentioned it.  Sure, I know that the button eventually pops when the tummy is so stretched it has no other choice, but I didn't expect to see it shape changing like this.

I mentioned it to my older (Mum of 4) sister.  I expected her to be shocked.  "Wow!  That's crazy.  Who would have thought!"  But instead she replied with, "I know, how weird is it when that happens" !!  So she had it too?  I suppose all ladies experience it, if they bother to look down and assess the button that is.  Wow.  Who would have thought indeed.

The height of strangeness was reached the other night when I was stretched out on the couch after dinner.  I lifted my shirt to give my belly a rub, felt the baby adjusting and saw my half innie half outie deflat to a full innie!!!! What the!!!!  I actually saw my belly button move before my very eyes... nobody tells you this stuff.  A girl should be prepared for an event like that.

Well we had our second scan on Friday.  This time I decided not to drink as much water they suggested, and so found it much more bearable!  Though the women did push ALOT harder than the previous lady did, (I wonder if this had something to do with the fact that my bladder wasn't as full!), and I even got a pretty horrible cramp at the end of it.

That aside, all looks 100% well with the baby.  Praise God!  And oh my, the baby looks so, so cute!  It has changed so much since the last scan, and has round cheeks, full lips and a nice little round head, phew!

The lady actually gave us 5 pics instead of 2, like the other lady, and spent alot more time chatting with us, and being friendly, which was nice. Check the album for pics of the baby.

We also went up to the Birth Centre and found out that we had been allocated a midwife.  We met her briefly, while she signed us up for our introduction meeting, which is to take place this coming Friday, so soon!  Caleb said, it is liked we have stepped up to the next stage... which is certainly true.

Our Midwife, Anne, showed us around the Centre a little, and we got to see one of the Rooms.  It looks like a hotel room complete with double bed, futon couch, kitchenette, ensuite with double shower, except perched in the corner of the room, under the window, is a large, round, white, tiled 'bath'... where the baby will be born!  Eeek!

We stood there looking round the room taking it all in.  At the far end was a baby's crib.  I looked at the double bed.  Caleb and I will sleep there.  I looked at the crib.  Our baby will be sleeping in there.  WHOA.   A moment of overwhelming reality hit me and I was left a little breathless.  It is really happening.  We are really doing it.  Growing up and all.

I had a night of stressing about the labor as a result of having been to the room I would actually birth our baby in.  But I read some stuff, prayed and had a good talk to Caleb about my thoughts/worries, and am now feeling a bit more grounded. 

Today I had a good talk to my Mum.  She told me her 4 birth stories, and again, the chat left me feeling more at ease.  If she can do it.  I can do it.

Well, it's been a while since my last entry.  What with Christmas going on and everything, I have had little time to sit down and blog.  Christmas was beautiful and wonderful as usual.   A great time with family and good will and great food.  Caleb has been on holidays for the past week and we have spent time together doing not much in drizzling weather, and heaps of fun stuff on other days while the sun is out. 

Tonight is New Year's Eve, and it would have been my father's 52nd Birthday, if he was still alive.  So young. * Love you, Happy Birthday Dad*    We have had another great day today.  Lunch with friends at a Turkish restaurant, than we saw a movie, and Caleb and I decided to have our first very quiet New Year's Eve.  What with being pregnant and all... it seems like the right decision.  I guess age also has something to do with it ;)

Baby bean is doing well.  After Christmas I had a strange couple of days where I just didn't feel pregnant anymore! I couldn't feel any movement, and I couldn't locate the hard bump in my womb... it was weird.  But after a couple of days, the bump was back and so was the movement.  I think the baby must have just turned, and was sitting in a position where I couldn't find or feel them.

Each night I savour lying down and connecting with the baby as it wiggles and kicks.  I can always find it on the right hand side, and it always gets most active around midnight.  These 2 facts baffled me for a good couple of weeks, but a pregnancy 'bible' we received as a Christmas gift, validated that babies usually are most active round midnight and that they often have a 'favourite spot' in the womb.  Who would have thought!

I am feeling SOOSOSOSOSOSOSOSO much better than I was in the first trimester.  I am amazed at how normal I feel, and disgusted when I remember how bad I felt!  Not looking forward to going through that again.  I even went kayaking this week!

I have read that in the second trimester 'feel good' hormones are circulating, and women can often have a sense of wellbeing...well, this week I think I have been experiencing this.  It probably helps that my hubby is on holidays, that we are doing fun things everyday and it is such a special time of year, but at times I have found myself just sitting down and smiling, just enjoying the moment.  The weather.  The conversation.  The car trip.  The tea.  Anything really.  I just have moments where I feel so overwhelmed with the goodness of it all.  Weird huh?  And soooo drastically different from the first trimester where all I wanted to do was DIE!

Well, next week we have our second and final scan.  I can not WAIT to see our baby again. So so so excited!  I hope the little bean has been putting on some chub and filling out those cheeks.  :)

Today I had my first midwife appointment at the hospital.  I got a young girl, who was possibly a couple of years younger than me.  I thought to myself, 'gee, surely you can't be a midwife!'  She turned out to be really lovely.  Her name was Lily and she was very easy to talk to.

She asked all those embarrassing questions like...

Ever had genital warts?  Take recreational drugs?  Have a mental illness?  etc etc

She told me that all my test results were looking really good, which was a relief as I still hadn't heard back from the hospital regarding the 12 week scan! She said our chance of having a downs baby was like 1 in 16 750... so, low risk.

And then she used the dopler to measure the babies heart beat.  It was sooo cute!  She took much longer than my GP, and actually kept looking at me with amazement and a genuine smile on her face.  She timed it for almost a minute, and it was so nice to hear the steady beat beat beat.  She said, 'you got one healthy baby in there'.

I got a whole heap of free stuff, mainly pamphlets, but also a baby journal which will be nice to fill out and keep.

So all seems to be going well. 

It was kinda strange in the waiting room.  There were all these young girls there, who I assume are around the stage week as me, all having their first appointments, and everyone you walked past would eye ball your belly straight away, looking to see how big you are compared to them.  I know, cause I do the same!

My little pot is still quite contained but the midwife reassured me  the baby is the right size and as this is my first baby my tummy muscles are still tight.  But I am looking forward to seeing this belly grow!!!