Week Seventeen: Sunday 4th May 2008

Sometimes, just when you think you have it all planned out, and you know what to expect from the next week in your life, you are thrown a curveball and everything changes. This week went from being one I thought would be a wonderful farewell for my boss towards twelve months of baby bliss, turned out to have us both saying goodbye for good with a lot of tears, on Friday afternoon. After some pretty significant business changes were announced earlier in the week, the changes hit closer to home than I would have liked, with Kristen being offered a redundancy on her last day of work.

Although the baby shower seemed to go quite well (especially considering I didn't burn any of the food), however shortly thereafter, we were told about how the changes in our department would bring our team down to one, meaning the other person was out of a job. All things considered, Kristen took the news very well and made a huge effort to ensure she comforted me, (I was pretty devastated) and walk out the door with her usual positive attitude. Needless to say, it is going to be harder than I ever thought to go into work tomorrow, knowing now that the team is just me, and I won’t be able to look forward to coming back to working for Kristen after my break. Enough of the sad news though, here are some pics from the baby shower. And Kristen glowing with a round and pointy (we think it’s a boy) belly.

This weekend was a busy one, with Kristen’s real baby shower on today, and Ash busily completing his final assignment for the course he is completing. With not a lot of time to chill out, Ash and I sat down on Saturday to watch a DVD – well I watched, Ash worked. So there I am, sitting and relaxing, and then the most amazing feeling, the baby gave me a little kick. Up until now I think I have felt the beginnings of movements, especially when laying in bed watching telly. Not sure if I would describe them as “butterflies” but certainly something was going on down there. This feeling on Saturday though was very different, and unmistakeable. It was too strong to be anything but baby, and considering the little one is about 14cms and weighs 200grams, it makes sense Elwood is beginning to make his/her presence felt. Have not had anything like it since, and tonight, all is very quiet down there, however it makes me look forward to the day when the movements are felt every hour.

Apparently it is in week eighteen that the baby can begin to make facial movements... Hope Elwood inherits my ability to cast an evil eye – many have been frightened by my ability to deliver a look that could kill.