Poppet 3

Last week we had our 24 week scan to check upon baby girl. I'd planned it for a holiday day so Raf could come. As it was, Raf was very sick, Nana was coming down with it, and Charlie was very much attached to the idea of not being without me. So instead of Rich and I heading to Portland for the scan, Raf stayed behind with Nana and Charlie came with us. Thankfully it was a quick scan! Charlie is quite disinterested in having a sister and I don't think he had a clue what was really going on, but he did very well (with the aid of Thomas Train clips on my phone).

Baby girl looks great. Every month I have ultrasounds to check on fetal well being (because of a lupus diagnosis), just as in my other pregnancies. She was moving around, doing her practice breathing, etc., within just a few minutes, so we were in and out. The very nice sonographer treated us to some 4D photos and video so we could show Raf. Always a little alien-like, but what a beauty! 

I'm now in my 26th week...getting close to the third trimester. It's going very, very fast. I just rejoined a nearby gym last week as it's much too slippery to run outside and my growing tummy is making rowing very tricky. I'm still able to run 5 or so miles with a few walk breaks, and on those days I feel much more energized. Without exercise I'm like a walking zombie all day. It should be an interesting final 10 weeks, especially since I am teaching right up until a week before my due date, which is right in the middle of exams. I wish we had more humane maternity policies in the States. It's utterly crazy that there is no paid time leave, and I'm feeling somewhat lucky that at least the baby will be born over the summer when I'm supposed to be doing research. We'll see how that goes.