Zoë goes to the park and eats it.

Zoë on her Bumbo and Play mat

Zoë's 1st Week

Has it been only 1 week! Our little girl is growing so fast, already gaining lbs. and smiling...we think.

She Has Come And...

we gave her a bath! HERE IS Zoë

40 Weeks!

I've reached the endgame! Tomorrow is the official due date and soon I'll be transitioning from "pregnancy talk" to "motherhood talk". :) Here are some final pictures that Michael and I took yesterday to remember the pregnancy. I can't believe that soon this will all be a distant memory and that we'll be a family of three.

I'm probably feeling better now than I have at any other time in the pregnancy. It's really nice to be off work and to be able to get all the "little things" done - getting the baby's room ready and doing a little bit of housework each day and packing our hospital bags. I finally feel like I'm ready for the baby to be here! So goodbye pregnancy, hello motherhood... any day now. Roll the credits!

Winter in Brussels

It's been way too long since I've updated the blog, but I've just been way too tired. Tomorrow is my last day of work and then hopefully I'll be able to get some much needed rest for a couple of weeks before the baby arrives. We're down to the last 2.5 weeks -- almost there! In the meantime, we got some snow today in Belgium, and Michael convinced me to try out our new video camera by making a video with him. So here it is - think of it as an electronic Christmas card to all our friends and family from Jane, Michael, Zoë, Pi and Finnigan! I'll keep the posts coming in the next few days!

Nice to Meet You, Third Trimester!

I've made it to 28 weeks - the official start of the third trimester! My friend Angie calls this the "uncomfortable stage" and warns that it is followed by the "miserable stage"
(actually it's 29 weeks now, but this is the 28-week picture).

Michael and I have started our pre-natal classes, and all this talk about how you know when it's time to get to the hospital and what to do after you arrive home with a newborn has suddenly started to give us a sense of urgency... even if there are still over 2 months to go. On the other hand, preparing for the baby gives us something to do other than looking at each other every night and saying "omg, what have we done?", and a little distraction is welcome at this point.

I've started to get the backaches and general uncomfortableness that comes with this stage of pregnancy, and unfortunately for Michael they tend to be harder to deal with at night after a day of work, so he bears the brunt of the whining and complaining. He asked that I point out to everyone that he is very good at giving me back rubs and bringing me tea after I get comfortably arranged on the couch, and that he has been doing all the cooking too (on the menu this month - lots of omega-3s to help with brain development).

We're now looking forward to two November events - on the 9th we're doing the tour of the maternity ward to see the place where I'll be giving birth, and then on the 20th we have a final ultrasound to make sure that the baby has turned and is in the right position and that everything else is looking OK. It's the home stretch!!!