Across the big pond

After four days of house hunting in Mexico we're finally settled and enjoying our vacation in Florida (see picture) with my family. The few days in Mexico were tiring and we did find a nice house we liked but we aren't being too optimistic about it just yet. Like the last house we found the realator just says 'okay' and we just shake hands. We hope they'll honor our handshake in a few weeks.

I've been expanding at an alarming rate and I look like I'm at least a month ahead of my 6 month belly. When I leave I'll be 7 months and then some so I hope the airlines will let me fly back to Mexico. We were surprised that Mexicana airlines is so strict about pretty much everything--cats, toddlers, seatbelts, pregnant ladies and strollers--they hassled us a lot. Airline personnel kept asking "how far along are you anyway?" and giving me that look like "hmm we aren't too sure" with glaring eyes. I'm worried about the trip back to Mexico where I'll join Seb in early September. I hope they'll let me on the plane without a medical certificate. I will have to fib a little and say I'm still just sixth months along.

I'm having a terrible time typing on the qwerty keyboard on my new laptop. I love my new laptop though. It's so sweet! I can't believe I went three weeks without a computer and survived. It's been hard.

Little S (the s is for spoiled by the way) is doing well and speaking nonstop in French lately, go figure. He loves the States though. Everyone here has a swimming pool and a boat so he's in heaven. He's learning to swim and he loves the beach or the 'beesh' as he calls it. He's definitely a water baby.

Itchy and scratchy

I found out this weekend that I'm allergic to the sun while pregnant. I remember something mildly like this with my first pregnancy but this is awful. All weekend I sunburned very easily and broke out in these red, itchy welts. This isn't good news for someone spending the month of August in Florida and the rest of the pregnancy in Mexico. I guess I 'll have to start wearing long sleeves and high collars!

Otherwise the pregnancy is going really well. I am pretty huge this time around. There is a saying that the second pregnancy picks up where the last one left off. It's funny because I often get asked "when the baby is for" (in France it's phrased like that...) and when I respond with November I get a shocked "oh bon!" I guess they must be thinking I'm due in the summer sometime and November sounds a long way off.

We pretty much have the name all figured out for Little Miss Sushi and although we aren't telling everyone just yet a lot of our friends and family know. We chose the name about eight years ago when we first met in one of those corny "if we ever have kids what names do you like" conversations. The one we agreed on was a girl's name and unfortunately we didn't get to use it with Little S although we did call him by this name for the first four months of the pregnancy poor guy. Now we can finally use it, our abstract baby name. I hope it suits her!

Quickening

Baby Sush (soosh) is moving! With my first pregnancy I was was one of those lucky women who got to feel the baby move very early, at about 14 weeks. I didn't know what it was at first but I remember telling Seb that I felt like a giant snake had done a slithery roll in my stomach and I added "I think it was the baby!" It was weird but it was an amazing experience.

This time around it's phenomenal though. It's only 12 weeks and the little flutters are undeniably her/him (okay we want to say her here let's be honest). In fact I think if I had been more aware in my first pregnancy I would have been able to know what the early flutters were early on and it wouldn't have taken a "python roll" to get me to notice the baby.

If there was any doubt in my mind, yesterday I went to get my teeth cleaned and she went crazy fluttering around. Whirrrrr...bzzzz, all that noise echoing through my throat and she was jumping around like a mexican bean. I remember Little S doing this at a dental cleaning when I was pregnant, long into the fifth or sixth month. It must be very scary for them because who knows what it must sound like for them way down there.

I don't know why I get to feel my babies so early but I consider myself very lucky. It's at that point in the pregnancy where the bond becomes clinched and it's not to say it doesn't get clinched early on but it makes the little person seem more like a part of the family and less like a blurry ultrasound blob.

The tired insomniacs club

I'm not one to stay awake all night and then sleep until noon on Sunday, but load me up with progesterone and there I am staring at the ceiling from one until nearly four a.m. Last night was one of those night. I finally fell asleep in the wee morning hours, dwindling my way to the impossible quest for a silent cerveau. Then like a New York party girl I dragged myself out of bed at 12 Sunday morning for a brunch that I had to eat all alone because the guys had pretty much abandoned me, given me up for dead. I was ravenous and downed almost an entire log of chevre, half a baguette and a bottle of mineral water in ten minute flat. That followed by juicy, ripe tomatoes drowing in salt and cracked pepper. Cravings...uh huh...we got 'em.

We moved cautiously the first few weeks not telling a soul and I made Seb swore that he would keep everything secret until the second trimester started but alas the belly has given me away. At nearly eleven weeks everyone pretty much knows just by looking at me. I didn't even get to make a grand announcement. Second pregnancies pretty much take up where the last one left off, or so I've discovered. I am rapidly turning into the 39 week parade float that was me circa October 2004. It's like the baby says "woo-hoo a 100 square meter apartment with a great restaurant upstairs!" and she is happy as can be...

as are we...

And no it's not twins (the answer to everyone's second question)

And no my ass is not normally this large (the answer to everyone's third question)