17 weeks

Today I'm 17 weeks pregnant. Wow! Almost halfway through - time is flying.

Bunlet is now the size of an onion.



I took WeeMo's suggestion on my last belly pic post and decided to take belly pics with something that is close to Bunlet's size. So this week it's our stuffed Christmas penguin.

I really don't like this picture. I need to take my belly pics in the morning, because I look like death warmed over at night.



I got my hair done this week and admitted to my hairdresser that I am indeed pregnant. She said that she immediately noticed when she saw me that I had a tummy but wasn't sure if it was due to pregnancy or just weight gain. So apparently I'm still at the "is she pregnant or has she just had too much beer" phase.

Noteworthy (pregnancy-related) events of the week:

1) It is now extremely easy to find Bunlet's heartbeat on the doppler both at home and at the doctor's office. We used to have to search quite a bit for it, but now it's a piece of cake.

2) Roy and I actually went to Babies R Us last Saturday. It was not as overwhelming as I expected it to be, maybe because I don't go crazy over baby stuff in general. But it did spur me to look for baby things online. I found a couple of bedding sets that I like, both of which seem to be gender-neutral to me.

This one is labeled for a boy, but whatever, it's cute for a girl, too. Down with the pink and blue stereotypes!



This set is really cute. I had a huge collection of stuffed monkeys as a kid, so I really love monkey stuff for kids.



Of course, I will do a ton of research before we start buying/registering, all with the help of my well-loved copy of Baby Bargains.



3) The night we celebrated Paul's birthday, my nephew Noah asked me, just as I was about to bite into my big honkin' piece of cake, "Aunt Leslie, did you have your baby?"

"No," I said, "why do you ask?"

And then he replied, "Because you're eating cake."

I couldn't help but laugh. I love kids. I love the stuff they come up with. I can't wait to hear the crazy stuff that is bound to come out of Bunlet's mouth.

4) I already know that Bunlet is moving around like crazy, but within the next few weeks I should actually begin feeling it. While Roy and I were shopping this past weekend, I felt a strange sensation. It felt like something was poking me very gently from the inside. It happened a few times in a short amount of time and then stopped altogether, and I haven't felt it since. So it probably wasn't baby movement. It's really hard to tell, though, with all the other weird things that are going on (stretching, etc).

5) Melinda, she of poo-flinging fame, has generously offered to throw us a co-ed baby shower. This is a girl who wakes up at 4:00 AM for work five days a week and will be in school until 10 PM four nights a week next quarter. She's freaking insane. But she insists she can handle it. She's a braver woman than me, that's for sure.

That's all the news I've got for now, but watch for my official vote-if-Bunlet-is-a-boy-or-girl post coming up this weekend. There's a prize in it for you - maybe even more than one prize if I get enough participants.