Thankful...

I’m feeling good, actually the best I’ve felt for at least six weeks. To wake up in the morning and not have the taste of sick wallowing in my throat and to not feel like I’m about to fall every time I get up is truly wonderful! Maybe it’s the fact that junior is officially a fetus now, and not an embryo and measures over an inch long. Wow! I never liked going to the doctor much but both Steve and I long for our next appointment every day, a chance to see and hear our little one. We have one more week to wait. This past week was the usual crazy one at school. I’m trying my hardest to stay ‘tranquila’ and everyday I am touched (though not literally yet, as still no bump) by some stranger who wishes us well. Some of the girls in my classes are mesmerized, talking about our baby every single day and I find them staring at my tummy instead of my face when I talk, but I don’t really mind. They’re hopeful my ‘favorite student’ will be revealed when we pick a name. So many teachers I have known have said that choosing a name can be so hard when you’ve had a dozen naughty ones under each letter go through your classroom. I’m just wondering how the dozens of Maria Camila’s and Juan José’s will ever understand when we don’t even take one of their six names.

Thanksgiving was a happy day, as happy as could be considering we were working and missing our families like crazy. As Steve’s parents recited all of the delicious dishes on their table over Skype, I had to tell them to stop as I was sure my favorite grown man was going to cry. We might have attempted something of a turkey dinner (without turkey, pumpkin, stuffing, but still a turkey dinner) but the gas inspector showed up around 5pm and shut us down. Apparently we had a leak in our oven and so he couldn’t let us keep it running. Probably good to know, well definitely, but not so fun now for the veinte días until he returns to reinstate us. Anyway, all of that meant it was time to rekindle Thursday night date night and to the Radisson, in hope of anything gringo, we went. We did find apple pie and ended up having a lovely dinner. I know that it’s not really baby’s first Thanksgiving, but it really does feel like it. Remarkably last night was the first night I felt like I was eating for two. We said our traditional round the table thank you’s, as this year, there is even more to be grateful for, and went to bed stuffed and excited that for the next holiday, we will be home…

I haven’t put on any weight yet but every time I eat, my tummy swells up and it makes me happy! It’s nice to think junior is storing up on whatever I can stomach. Since being pregnant, I’ve not eaten chicken or ice-cream, two things that admittedly were somewhat of a staple in my diet before, and so far I’ve had no real cravings though the treats Mummy brought us from home, above all that hunk of cheddar cheese, has made all three of us very happy. Sleeping is strangely difficult, despite having no sign of an obstacle. Boca abajo is already impossible and all night long, there’s something of a tinkle ringing in my brain, along side the endless car alarms. With Steve’s night time back phantom, we have a lot of cheery conversations at 1am, 2am, 4am and then we’re up…

Everyone has a story to tell a pregnant lady, I’ve found, and I’m making lots of new friends at school. Once home, missing TLC’s Baby Story, we found ourselves watching ‘Sala de Maternidad’ on Wednesday night which was a lot less sugar-coated and hunky-dory than Steve, at least, would have liked. In this macho society, no one can believe we don’t absolutely need a son, but how much we pray for a healthy baby… Any prayers you can spare for us too would be so wonderful. I wonder every minute what our junior will be like, will he/she have hair, will he/she think their Daddy is as hilarious as me. We’re almost a quarter through our pregnancy – isn’t that unbelievable? But how much we long to meet our baby…