typealice

I just came back from my monthly midwife appointment. As usual, I am glowing. I love hearing that heartbeat! I am already looking forward to my next appointment. My midwife is so wonderful; I’m actually really upset that I’m not giving birth in London because I think she would just be so great to have around before, during and after the birth. I have one more visit before moving into the “every-two-weeks” visit stage, which means JESUS CHRIST, I’M ALMOST THERE.

The baby was pretty quiet (not kicking or hiccupping) this morning, but when she put the Doppler on my belly, he swiftly kicked it so hard that she felt it. Then he got the hiccups, which made both of us laugh and made it hard to measure the heartbeat. We got it though, 150, which is right where it’s supposed to be.

She measured my belly as well, and the placenta is also right where it should be, even though she mentioned that it could be 2-3cm off. She confirmed the results from my last ultrasound and told me that I have a 1 in 50,000 chance that the baby has Down syndrome, which is wonderful news. Everything else (spine, heart, both arms and legs etc) looks perfect.

The only thing I’m concerned about is my weight gain. In 22 weeks I’ve gained between 15-20lbs without binging on anything terrible. I guess it’s time to really amp up the protein and vegetables. Next month I’m going to be tested for gestational diabetes, just in case. The weight keeps piling on, and I’m not sure why. I’m actually eating less than I was in my first trimester, but in the past month I’ve gained 10lbs alone. Every time I step on the scale, I seem to weight three pounds more, and it’s really frightening.

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So, Frema took part in the five-question survey that’s been going around blogs, and I asked to participate.

1. Growing up, which TV family was most like yours? Why?

Um, they generally don’t allow that kind of television show on normal broadcasting, unfortunately. I suppose you could take the dad from Driving Force and remove any encouraging words that he may utter to his children and increase the level of spite. He was about that angry all the time, just meaner. My mom is like any TV mom that loved and cared and sacrificed for her children. My brother, sister and I were less athletic than most, and preferred building forts on our 30 acres of farmland to doing much of anything else. We also loved kittens, a lot.

2. Which relationship experience changed you the most as a person?

I’m going to limit this question to boyfriends, because I have spoken enough about my family for one entry.

I had a boyfriend when I was 21-22 that was wonderful to me (even though he cut off all communication a couple of years ago) and very, very calm and in touch with who he was as a person, even though he was four years younger than me. That type of energy was very contagious, and I felt more at peace when I was with him than I ever had in my life. He also introduced to me to hard drugs, which I enjoyed for several months (and haven’t touched since). Those two things stand out the most about the relationship.

My relationship with Clive has also changed me, of course. He’s the first person that I’ve travelled extensively with, the first and only person to ever get me pregnant, and the person who can make me laugh and feel comfortable without fail every day. He’s the first man I’ve been with that I have complete confidence in their ability to be a good father. He will be a wonderfully supportive, loving, fun and calm dad.

3. Which song serves as your personal theme song? Why?

I really don’t have an answer for this because most of my music listening is done via the radio, and even then, I prefer CBC’s talk radio. The Beach Soundtrack has some amazing music that always makes me feel nostalgic for traveling (I listened to it a lot during my travels through Europe in 2000).

4. What is your definition of a friend? Using that definition, how many friends do you have?

Friends to me are those select few people who don’t mind if they don’t talk to me, or me them, for months at a time due to my (or their) lifestyle (traveling, living abroad etc). I love having people in my life that I can pick right back up with, without having to explain and apologize for the lack in communication.

I’ve traveled a lot in the past eight years, and because of that, I have very few friends. I know a lot of people, have a lot of acquaintances, but I think my friend tally is less than five. It’s a very low number, but I’m happy with it because those people who I’ve been able to remain friends with mean so much to me.

I’m sure my definition of friendship will change now that my lifestyle is doing a 180, but we’ll see.

5. Is there a topic you’ve blogged about that you wish you didn’t?

The only thing I can think of is talking about how I wanted the first week after my son’s birth to go, on my blog a couple of months ago. It ended in a fairly heated discussion with a family member who misinterpreted the meaning and caused a lot of stress. I said I didn’t want out of province visitors before the birth and for a week after, which is still the case, and it just blew up from there.

That said, I’ve been blogging for about seven years, so I’m sure there are lots of things I wish I hadn’t said, but nothing beats the time my ex snooped in my paper journal only to read that I thought he had a small penis. He didn’t get over that… well, ever.

And now, to quote Frema:

If my answers didn’t put you to sleep, read on to see how you can score your own rockstar interview.

1. Leave me a comment saying, “Interview me.” (If I don’t have your email address already, either leave it in the comment or email me at [your e-mail])
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.