huge in euge

we made it! greg and i are finally both settled here in eugene, oregon and it has been an incredible experience. i arrived two weeks ago and there is way too much to say, so i think i'll leave that for another blog. (when i get it up & running, i'll post a link.) but we are very happy and so satisfied to have made this move. eugene is all that i had hoped/knew it would be. it is also fabulous to be together with greg again. i missed him so much and we are having a great time checking out the city, cooking dinners, and playing carcassonne.

as far as the pregnancy is concerned, i am feeling fantastic! they weren't kidding when they said that the second trimester is the euphoric one. i am eating very well- the proximity to several incredible farmers' markets helps with that. we always have tons of great produce around. and i am not as tired i used to be. i pretty much feel like my normal self again! 

well, an enormous version of my normal self. ridiculous as it sounds, one very strange thing about being pregnant is that you can't help but feel fat. it is so weird. and difficult to understand because obviously, you expect to be growing and you know that your body changes throughout the nine months. but it still is a weird feeling when your pants don't fit anymore.

however, now that my belly is rounding out and i am beginning to look more like a pregnant woman, it doesn't feel as strange. sometimes i look very pregnant and other times you can't really tell. it depends on what i'm wearing. greg took the first in a series of profile photos so that we can see how big i was at various stages (good idea, jen!). i'll post them in a few weeks when we have several.

pregnancy is wonderful!

everything is going so well.

i can't believe how differently i feel now. i can't really say that i was enjoying being pregnant during the early weeks. i remember dealing with the nausea and wondering how women voluntarily go through multiple pregnancies. at the same time, i felt a bit sad because i'd always considered myself to be a maternal type of person and expected to absolutely love pregnancy.

i was relieved to read in a book that it is in the second trimester that many women begin to experience the blissful feelings often associated with pregnancy. and that has certainly been the case for me. i feel great. much more energetic- i am really active, riding my bike and walking every day.* i am very happy and both greg and i are just so excited about becoming parents and finally meeting our child. we can't wait!

*for those who are concerned, my doctor and books i've read insist that the more physically active a pregnant woman is, the healthier she will be and that usually, staying in shape leads to an easier labor & delivery. not only that, they are now finding that babies born to very active women are healthier and have better developed brains. they suspect that it may be due to being jostled in the uterus, which encourages more muscle movement in the fetus. for more about this, check out Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. i only point this out because it has become clear to me that this is all very different from the common understanding of years ago, when people used to assume that it is a time to take it easy.

endearing things the boys said

                                                                        Billy, Joseph, Harry

1. During dinner one evening, Harry said, "Julie, you're almost an adult now." Erin asked him if she was an adult and he said, "No. You don't have any kids." Then Joe told him, "Harry, they're all adults."

2. Billy said, "Julie's not very big so I think she'll only be having one baby."

3. The boys all were sure that I would be having a boy. Various name recommendations came up, most memorably, Gerald.

4. When I was holding my cousin's newborn, Billy excitedly asked, "Did the baby come out, Julie?" and Harry later quietly approached me, pointed at the baby's chest, and asked, "Julie, is that your baby?" 

5. During a discussion of fetal life/development, Harry asked if the baby was wearing clothes.

i miss them.

sad goodbye

what an emotionally overwhelming time this has been. it's always intense when the aussies come in because we love them so much and want make the most of our short time with them. this year, it was unique because jen isn't the only one who is leaving. i fly out to oregon on the same day. i am really looking forward to moving to eugene and beginning that phase of my life there- and most of all, to seeing greg! at the same time, it's sad saying goodbye to my friends, family, and city. i'll miss everyone!

baby's first photo!

i went for an ultrasound and saw our baby moving around. it was an amazing experience and difficult to put into words just how incredible it was. i couldn't believe how active the baby was. and cute! it was just overwhelming.

the technician was able to get a wonderful shot of the baby's profile and she also captured his/her hand as it was waving around:

it was sad for greg to have to miss out on yet another exciting event but i scanned these and sent them to him. they are now displayed in his cube at work. we're already such proud parents!

missing greg / baby's heartbeat

unfortunately, greg had to go to eugene a few weeks earlier for work and i miss him. it is difficult to be apart during this exciting time. we knew that he would miss our 12-week appointment, at which we would hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time and we were both a little bummed about that.

but my friend jannis had an excellent idea: to call him during the appointment so that he could hear it over the phone. amy & erin were with me and we called greg just as he was heading in to work and he was able to hear it. it was great!

jen and the boys

well, we had a last-minute surprise this summer: jen and the boys came in from melbourne to visit before i move. we totally did not expect them this summer so this was really wonderful.

we have all been living quite communally, with various people picking up groceries and cooking different things for everyone. there is a ton of fresh produce around so that has made it easy for me to eat well during this period of transition between homes.

it is so nice that jen is able to share in the excitement of the pregnancy. and the boys are as enjoyable as ever. they have matured so much! they are extraordinarily happy and self-sufficient children and it is an absolute pleasure to have been able to spend time with them this year.