We have attended the first two of our eight birthing classes care of the BCT (Brussels Childbirth Trust). The group is under the umbrella of the National Childbirth Trust which is British so there are lots of Brits in the organization. Within our class there are seven other couples from all over the world (UK, Malaysia, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden, and Australia). All of the women are due within three weeks of each other and we will all be first time parents. Whenever we break up into groups the women all huddle together with furrowed brows while the men seem to be having a good laugh every few minutes. I don't think reality has quite set in for them as much, or perhaps they just know they won't be the ones going through the pain so they are a little more relaxed about it all.

I have really enjoyed all that we have learned thus far, although there are always those moments when I see the scientific drawings and think "What have I gotten myself into? And there is only one way out this. Yikes."

The baby is now kicking hard enough that I can actually see my belly move with each kick. It is an odd feeling to look down and just see your stomach moving around on its own, but it makes me laugh every time.

The main problems I have been having are that my legs jump in the evenings. Recently we have been having lots of social events at night and by 10pm I feel like I have ants in my pants I am so edgy. Between the baby kicking and my legs jumping I just can't sit still.

Maybe it's a boy

I must admit that everyone keeps saying, "Enjoy the pregnancy" but I don't really understand what they mean. Basically I am doing everything that I did before I was pregnant -- I eat, I sleep, I stay busy. The only thing that has been different is feeling the baby kick. I will admit that I do think it is fun to feel the kicks -- especially when I am in a boring meeting. It is kind of like I am having this side conversation with someone I really like that is much more entertaining, and yet it still looks like I am paying attention in the meeting!


It is interesting to feel the baby kick inside of me, but what I really love is having my hand on my belly and feeling the baby kick from the outside. However, because the kicks are still faint, sometimes my pants or skirt gets in the way. So recently I have found myself sitting watching TV with my hand down my pants. Maybe this means the baby is a boy and his testesterone is already overtaking me!!!

Fuzzy Math

So if you have made it to this blog, then you know that I am pregnant! However, even though I know I am pregnant, I don't think I will ever for the life of me know how far along I am. I just don't get it, and trust me, Kyle has tried explaining it 1,000 times. 40 weeks equals 10 months, but you are pregnant for 9 months -- I can't keep track. For instance, today I am supposed to be starting my sixth month, but I am only 22 weeks along. It drives me crazy!!!

I might be able to keep track of the weeks thing on my own, but the combination of the weeks and months is just too much. Because just six months ago I was one of those people not in pregnancy mode, I know how if you haven't had kids yet, then you only want to hear about months, not weeks (and you actually don't really even care about either). I am sensitive to this because one time I asked a woman how far along she was and she said 37 weeks. At this point I was so far away from baby talk (and not into doing math) that I said, "Oh, can you tell the sex yet?" She replied, "Umm, I am three weeks away from delivering and the baby is fully formed, so yes, we can tell the sex."

Let's just hope the baby gets Kyle's reasoning and understanding skills and not mine...